Philippines Fighting Pride MANNY PACQUIAO

July 2, 2006 Sunday

Manny Pacquiao WON! a unanimous decision victory

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Filipino Manny Pacquiao “Pac Man” maintained his World Boxing Council (WBC) international super-featherweight belt Against Mexican challenger Oscar Larios “Chololo” by way of unanimous decision after 12 rounds of their Mano-a-Mano showdown today, July 2, 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Philippines.

The game started with a national anthem from Mexico sung by Erika Alcocer and from Philippines sung by Bituin Escalante. Ring announcer is by Michael Buffer and Referee is by Bruce McTavish.

The ringside judges scored unanimously for Pacquiao, France's Humbert Furgoni saw it 117-110, Belgium's Daniel Van Del Wiele penned it 118-108, while Thailand's Noppharat Sricharoen had it 120-106 all in favor of the Filipino Manny Pacquiao.

The southpaw with sledgehammer fists Pacquiao floored and knocked down Larios twice in the seventh and final rounds and Pacquiao’s hand speed, made the Mexican in trouble for most of the fight.

Pacquiao's record improved to 42 win-3 losses. with Larios' falling to 56 win-5 losses.Most analysts had expected Pacquiao to come out strong and look for an early knockout, but Larios appeared to win two of the first three rounds. Pacquiao was in cruise control in the fight, except in the third when the Mexican dashed out to start the third, and a strong left hook had Pacquiao reeling on the ropes and looking close to going down.

"I controlled the fight. I did not rush," said Pacquiao. "I was hit but I was never hurt."
"Starting in the 4th round, I made an adjustment because he's also a good inside fighter," said Pacquiao when asked about the third-round scare.

Pacquiao opened a cut over the left eye of Larios in the third round, and carried the action from that point on, ripping the 29-year-old Mexican with hard straight left hands and right hooks. Pacquiao took control in the sixth, putting together several effective combinations that appeared to hurt Larios and reopen the cut. The crowd went crazy as a right hook dropped Larios to one knee early in the seventh.

There had been rumor that commercial endorsements which Pacquiao had after beating Erik Morales in January -- along with a late-night lifestyle and the shortest training period of his career - might erode Pacquiao's skills and leave him running out of gas. But Pacquiao demonstrated differently from what the people expected. He was still throwing punches with sting at the end, knocking Larios down with less than a minute to go. The Mexican shook it off and got back up, and Pacquiao tried in vain to finish him

Pacquiao (42-3-2) lived up to his reputation as the "Mexican Assassin" and dominated a game Larios (56-5-1) over 12 physical rounds. Pacquiao, who earned the nickname after victories over the two biggest Mexican stars in the sport, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, defended another first-class Mexican fighter, today in Philippine country.

Larios said he prepared well for the fight and blamed himself for not listening to his corner. "Manny is a great fighter, I felt that he beat me primarily with his speed," Larios said. After the defeat of Mexican Oscar Larios from Filipino Manny Pacquiao, he still wanted to say Thank you to all the Filipinos which shows a great sportsmanship

Pacquiao ruled out a rematch with Larios and said he was now after a rubber rematch with Mexican Erik Morales, he beat in January 2006 to win the WBC international super featherweight crown on November 18, 2006 at Las Vegas, USA.