still undefeated

it was a super weekend for sports fanatics. marquee matchups in different arenas and different sports disciplines. reputations were challenged and undefeated records were on the line but when the smoke cleared after all the hostilities, they remained standing with hands up in the air… clearly victorious.


(photos courtesy of msn.foxsports.com and ufc.com)

honestly, for me, boxing has lost its appeal. too many questionable judges’ decisions coupled with too many uneven matchups led the sport to a downward spiral. add to that the rising popularity of mixed martial arts and sports fans began shifting from boxing to mma. this was actually a good thing for boxing because promoters began putting up exciting fights in order to save the sport hence, the resurgence of boxing.

it was dubbed as undefeated. two fighters with unblemished records going head-on. ricky hatton vs floyd mayweather jr. hitman vs pretty boy. england vs usa. it had the makings for an explosive fight.

i have always been a mayweather fan. his skills are way above everybody else. he is not the most powerful puncher but his accuracy, quickness and smarts are second to none. i didn’t know much about hatton but with an unbeaten record for more than 40 fights, he must be really good. kaya naman noong nakita namin si hatton entering the ring, with his stern look and solid physique (sabi ko nga kay selle, “he looks scary.” 😀), i knew mayweather is in for a fight.

right on the onset, it was obvious how hatton wanted the fight to be… rough and lots of inside fighting. that was a smart tactic because it would negate mayweather’s definite reach advantage and evasiveness. the problem is, despite being pinned on the ropes, mayweather was still too difficult to hit. nakakatawa nga ang mga abs-cbn commentators because they were all obviously pro-hatton (or anti-mayweather 😀) as they kept on commenting how good hatton is despite being unable to mount a serious offensive. this mugging, pushing, shoving trend continued until the middle rounds. by that time, mayweather started to dance around and launch his seemingly laser-guided punches unto hatton’s head and body. grabe talaga ang bilis. by this time, the abs-cbn commentators finally realized to give up the biased commentary 😛 and started to praise mayweather’s skill set.

and then it happened. sidestep + left hook counter. bam! game over. (actually, nakatayo pa si hatton pero it was obvious na tapos na laban).


(photos courtesy of msn.foxsports.com)
(left) the hitman firing blanks at the “unhittable” mayweather
(right) even in close quarters, mayweather had the advantage

it was also a big night for ufc fans last december 8 (dec 9 dito sa pinas) with the finale of the ultimate fighter season 6. top-billing the finale was a lightweight matchup of two of our favorite fighters, roger huerta vs clay guida. huerta has been undefeated in the octagon (although he has 1 loss outside of the ufc) and has been very busy this 2007 with four straight wins prior to this fight with guida. unfortunately, this fight was not shown on local tv hence, we had to rely on the internet for the results.

huerta wins via submission. just by reading the report, how we wish that the fight had been shown here. as expected, it was action packed. huerta apparently lost the first two rounds to guida but totally dominated the third round leading to the tapout.

we expect big things for huerta in 2008. a lightweight championship bout perhaps? 🙂


(photos courtesy of ufc.com)
(left) huerta letting a left high kick fly
(right) the finishing rear-naked choke for the win

lastly, in the sport of football, the new england patriots remained undefeated for the season. they are now just three games away from having a perfect season. i like their coach, bill belichick. i think he is really smart. randy moss is a freak-of-an-athlete. their defense has always been good. but this year, i can’t find myself rooting for this team. maybe because they are just too good. i don’t know. i thought their streak would end last week against the ravens and that vicious defense. but it didn’t. the steelers could’ve ended it this week… but they made a major mistake even before the game started. nag-yabang sila. you don’t do that to a reeling team. that only woke the patriots up and made them angry. that only gave added motivation to an already very good team. kawawang steelers tuloy. 🙂

dominance in sports is something to revel and applaud at. much props to mayweather, huerta (both of whom we really, really like 🙂) and to the patriots as well. 🙂