Boxing: Wins for legend Manny Pacquiao and David Haye.
Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:19 am
LEGENDARY boxer Manny Pacquiao won an eighth world crown early today - hours after David Haye beat Audley Harrison, in a contest fight fans booed, to retain his WBA heavyweight title.
Pacquiao recorded a unanimous points victory over Antonio Margarito in a brutal WBC super welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
He dished out a pummelling to Mexican Margarito, who bravely saw out all 12 rounds before the judges scored the fight 120-108, 118-110, 119-109 in the Filipino ace's favour.
It was a masterclass from Pacquiao, who knocked out Ricky Hatton last year, this time up against a much bigger opponent.
The Philippines fighter claimed the vacant WBC super welterweight title.
The 31-year-old southpaw dominated the 12 rounds against his Mexican opponent to land an eighth world title in an unprecedented eight weight class
In contrast, fight fans booed the opening two rounds, with hardly a punch thrown, before Haye delivered on his promise to "destroy" bitter rival Audley Harrison with a third-round stoppage to retain his WBA heavyweight title.
The champion maintained throughout the build-up that his fellow Londoner was not deserving of a title shot and that the fight was made simply due to the public's interest in a former Olympic champion who is now simply a figure of fun.
So it proved tonight, with Haye starting extremely tentatively before stepping it up to knock Harrison down and leave the 39-year-old surely staring at retirement.
While 30-year-old Haye came into the fight with a record of 24-1(22KOs), defending his title for the second time and hunting for unification bouts with the Klitschko brothers, Harrison was 27-4, (20KOs) and seeking to build on the momentum of a European title win in April.
Harrison boasted a three-stone weight advantage as well as a two-and-a-half-inch height difference, though Haye's slimmed-down frame enhanced his superior speed.
Harrison was booed into the ring like a pantomime villain and that continued in a tame opening round, with Harrison landing three southpaw jabs to Haye's solitary body shot and occasional probing.
Referee Luis Pabon called the fighters together to urge them to fight during the second round, though Haye at least landed a hard right early on and two more later in the session before the fight exploded in the third.
Haye jumped in with a right hand and hurt Harrison visibly. With Harrison on the ropes he followed it with a left-right, left-right combination which snapped the challenger's head back.
A further assault to the body followed before he focused on the head once more, unleashing left hooks and straight rights which sent his man crumpling to the floor.
Harrison was on his feet at eight but Haye ran across the ring to finish him off, teeing off with vicious right hands, a right uppercut and left hooks which repeatedly found their target.
When a dazed and endangered Harrison tried to cover up helplessly but took a roundhouse right flush, the referee called a halt to the fight one minute 53 seconds into the round.
Haye was satisfied with his work against Harrison - and insisted he could have ended a non-event of a fight even quicker than he did.
After a first round virtually devoid of punches, Haye upped the tempo slightly in the second and finished the 39-year-old off in the next with a brief flurry of blows to retain his WBA world heavyweight title in lacklustre fashion.
"I'm very happy, I said I'd stop him in three rounds and that's exactly what I did," Haye told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I think I could have got him out of there earlier but I had that three-round limit I'd set myself and I knew I would finish him in the third, for sure. As soon as I let my punches go it was effectively over.
"Audley's awkward, he doesn't give you too much to hit, but I knew I could feint him out of that."
Trainer Adam Booth labelled Haye's performance "disciplined and perfect", and claimed Harrison had clammed up on the big occasion.
"It became real very quickly in front of him," he said. "He's always known what David's about.
"He began to freeze and get anxious, and David had to stoke up that anxiety - he had to stomach the boos for a couple of rounds before going for it in the third."
The talk through the bulk of Haye's heavyweight career has been of a high-profile fight against one of the Klitschko brothers - Vitaly and Wladimir between them hold all of the division's other belts.
Haye is confident the match-up will now take place in the next year and said: "There's nowhere else for those guys to go. If they want to fight for big money they've got to come to me."
Booth added: "They want a defining fight and David wants a defining fight.
"David will be retiring in October next year so they haven't got a lot of time to speak sense. He'll take out Wladimir before summer and take care of Vitaly after the summer."
Earlier, Commonwealth super-middleweight champion George Groves got off the floor and stopped Scot Kenny Anderson to defend his title and move closer to a possible showdown with arch enemy James DeGale.
Hammersmith's Groves was given the sternest test of his unbeaten, 10-fight career at Manchester's MEN Arena, climbing off the canvas in the third round and relying on animal instinct to stop his fellow unbeaten prospect in the sixth round.
Meanwhile, British bantamweight champion Stuart Hall retained his title with a seventh-round stoppage of Gary Davies.
Pacquiao recorded a unanimous points victory over Antonio Margarito in a brutal WBC super welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
He dished out a pummelling to Mexican Margarito, who bravely saw out all 12 rounds before the judges scored the fight 120-108, 118-110, 119-109 in the Filipino ace's favour.
It was a masterclass from Pacquiao, who knocked out Ricky Hatton last year, this time up against a much bigger opponent.
The Philippines fighter claimed the vacant WBC super welterweight title.
The 31-year-old southpaw dominated the 12 rounds against his Mexican opponent to land an eighth world title in an unprecedented eight weight class
In contrast, fight fans booed the opening two rounds, with hardly a punch thrown, before Haye delivered on his promise to "destroy" bitter rival Audley Harrison with a third-round stoppage to retain his WBA heavyweight title.
The champion maintained throughout the build-up that his fellow Londoner was not deserving of a title shot and that the fight was made simply due to the public's interest in a former Olympic champion who is now simply a figure of fun.
So it proved tonight, with Haye starting extremely tentatively before stepping it up to knock Harrison down and leave the 39-year-old surely staring at retirement.
While 30-year-old Haye came into the fight with a record of 24-1(22KOs), defending his title for the second time and hunting for unification bouts with the Klitschko brothers, Harrison was 27-4, (20KOs) and seeking to build on the momentum of a European title win in April.
Harrison boasted a three-stone weight advantage as well as a two-and-a-half-inch height difference, though Haye's slimmed-down frame enhanced his superior speed.
Harrison was booed into the ring like a pantomime villain and that continued in a tame opening round, with Harrison landing three southpaw jabs to Haye's solitary body shot and occasional probing.
Referee Luis Pabon called the fighters together to urge them to fight during the second round, though Haye at least landed a hard right early on and two more later in the session before the fight exploded in the third.
Haye jumped in with a right hand and hurt Harrison visibly. With Harrison on the ropes he followed it with a left-right, left-right combination which snapped the challenger's head back.
A further assault to the body followed before he focused on the head once more, unleashing left hooks and straight rights which sent his man crumpling to the floor.
Harrison was on his feet at eight but Haye ran across the ring to finish him off, teeing off with vicious right hands, a right uppercut and left hooks which repeatedly found their target.
When a dazed and endangered Harrison tried to cover up helplessly but took a roundhouse right flush, the referee called a halt to the fight one minute 53 seconds into the round.
Haye was satisfied with his work against Harrison - and insisted he could have ended a non-event of a fight even quicker than he did.
After a first round virtually devoid of punches, Haye upped the tempo slightly in the second and finished the 39-year-old off in the next with a brief flurry of blows to retain his WBA world heavyweight title in lacklustre fashion.
"I'm very happy, I said I'd stop him in three rounds and that's exactly what I did," Haye told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I think I could have got him out of there earlier but I had that three-round limit I'd set myself and I knew I would finish him in the third, for sure. As soon as I let my punches go it was effectively over.
"Audley's awkward, he doesn't give you too much to hit, but I knew I could feint him out of that."
Trainer Adam Booth labelled Haye's performance "disciplined and perfect", and claimed Harrison had clammed up on the big occasion.
"It became real very quickly in front of him," he said. "He's always known what David's about.
"He began to freeze and get anxious, and David had to stoke up that anxiety - he had to stomach the boos for a couple of rounds before going for it in the third."
The talk through the bulk of Haye's heavyweight career has been of a high-profile fight against one of the Klitschko brothers - Vitaly and Wladimir between them hold all of the division's other belts.
Haye is confident the match-up will now take place in the next year and said: "There's nowhere else for those guys to go. If they want to fight for big money they've got to come to me."
Booth added: "They want a defining fight and David wants a defining fight.
"David will be retiring in October next year so they haven't got a lot of time to speak sense. He'll take out Wladimir before summer and take care of Vitaly after the summer."
Earlier, Commonwealth super-middleweight champion George Groves got off the floor and stopped Scot Kenny Anderson to defend his title and move closer to a possible showdown with arch enemy James DeGale.
Hammersmith's Groves was given the sternest test of his unbeaten, 10-fight career at Manchester's MEN Arena, climbing off the canvas in the third round and relying on animal instinct to stop his fellow unbeaten prospect in the sixth round.
Meanwhile, British bantamweight champion Stuart Hall retained his title with a seventh-round stoppage of Gary Davies.
Re: Boxing: Wins for legend Manny Pacquiao and David Haye.
Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:40 am
I only watched the Haye fight, it took me longer to have a shit than watch the fight. It was expected though, well done Haye.
Re: Boxing: Wins for legend Manny Pacquiao and David Haye.
Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:43 am
pac man! awesome! has pretty boy floyd got the balls is the question! 
Re: Boxing: Wins for legend Manny Pacquiao and David Haye.
Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:46 am
Margarito stood out for me!! what a brave warrior ! i wanted him to win, great fight!