Bareboxer's Journal

Pacman vs Mosley

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:31:00 +0000

Yes it is going to happen. Time and place, Saturday, May 7, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao vs Mosley.

Speed/power against speed/power. At least that's what its hyped up to be.

Judging from Mosley's last performance, against the great Mayweather, does he even deserve this fight against Pacquiao? No. Not in my opinion. But hey, its a good payday for him. The fight with Mayweather proved that he doesn't quite have what it takes anymore to be in the top tier. Don't get me wrong, Mosley is already a hall-of-famer, but he is past his prime and should not fight this fight. But on the other side, the people want to be entertained.

People are saying this fight has the makings of an upset. I find that hard to believe. Mosley almost dropped Mayweather twice, but fact is he didn't. It was "close to bring him down" at best. Yeah he took Margarito out, because Margarito doesn't move laterally, he walks straight at you.

Maybe what people think is that when it gets to a brawl, there is a chance Manny will drop. Yes there is always that possibility. But I really see this fight going one sided. Mosley will have his moments but it will be a Pacman fight.

My prediction: Pacman to drop Mosley in the 6th, and beat Mosley by decision. Mosley has got a tough chin so I don't think there will be a knockout. Knockdowns however could be on the cards.

The Bareboxer

Boxing 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:06:00 +0000

What a year of boxing 2010 has been!

We have seen interesting fights all over the globe, fighters of different races/creeds have come together to give us an entertaining year indeed.

Manny Pacquiao entertained us by making Clottey a walking punching bag early this year.

We saw some future talents by the names of Gamboa, Maidana, Amir Khan..

Andre Berto staked his claim in the welterweight division by defeating Quintana.

Martinez beat Pavlik to become the middleweight champion.

Of course, there was the Mayweather fight against Mosley, where the latter almost dropped Mayweather twice. But Mayweather is too smart a fighter, a few adjustments, and it was back on the road to winning for him. Mosley proved too straight a fighter and ate many right hands.

Amir Khan went toe to toe with heavy puncher Marcos Maidana, in what was a very entertaining match. The action was back and forth, and the fight proved a few things. Khan can take a punch, Khan's defence is suspect and he can improve in his ring generalship.

HBO sums it up best in this video.

The Super Six tournament gave us some middleweight action with Carl Froch, Abraham, Dirrel, Andre Ward, Mikkel Kessler, Allen Green. My fav being the strangely elusive and talented Carl Froch. There is something interesting about a fighter who can box as well as knock people out. I'm behind him in the tourney and hope to see him win it.

The Bareboxer

Manny the king of the world

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Manny Pacquaio is sitting on a pedestal now, high enough to observe the chaotic boxing world around, high enough to literally pick and choose who he fights, if he wanted to.

This was after his emphatic win against probably his toughest opponent to date, in the form of hard hitting Miguel Cotto.

The win propelled him to superstar status, not that he wasn't already, but made him the first boxer to win in 7 weight divisions. And also the first Asian boxer! Words can't describe how proud I am of him. Philipines are in a standstill everytime he fights.

He had many naysayers before the fight, saying he is lucky and other nonsense like he will get knocked out by Cotto. He sure changed their minds with that fight. There is no more reason to shun him. He beat every fighter thrown his way, not by a decision, but by his never ending onslaught of punches.

My predictions so far have been quite accurate, I picked Mayweather to win on points and Pacman to win via TKO. I was right for both. What I said would happen is slowing happening. You see where I'm going with this? This fight has to happen, but will it? Will the two protagonists take the stage.

We can only wait. And I know whose side I'll be on that day. Manny's.

The stage is set

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:28:00 +0000

We live rare times and I would say we are lucky.

In the world of boxing, we are faced with a tricky situation that will go down in history in the welterweight division, and may well set the stage for a fight that MUST happen, between the current and the previous Pound-for-Pound holders.

Let's look at the first upcoming fight: Mayweather vs Marquez. This is an interesting fight, one that Mayweather puts a certain amount of risk into. He has the advantage being the bigger man, but I believe he has taken this fight to prove a point, maybe to Pacquiao or to remind the world of arguably the greatest boxer of this generation. On the other corner is Juan Manuel Marquez, a veteran of the game and by no means a push over. I see him as the trump card to the Welterweight division. If he is able to defeat Mayweather, he will then face Pacquiao again for a third time, and that should settle the score once and for all. If Mayweather wins, he will be first in line to go up against Manny.

Prediction: Based on the skills of both these fighters, I think Mayweather will beat Marquez on points because of his speed advantage. But with Marquez its really hard to say because he has a heart of iron and a never say die attitude in the ring.

Mayweather to win via points

Next fight: Pacquiao vs Cotto. Miguel Cotto has been an upcoming fighter for some time and is a tough opponent. He record is impressive with only 1 loss. His last match was controversial but I give him credit for being a smart and tough fighter. Pacman will face a serious challenge in Cotto, a man who doesn't give up and leaves everything in the ring. Cotto is not an easy boxer to knock out and also has viable knockout power. In all aspects both are about the same except their style, stance and one important factor: speed. Speed I think will be the key to Pacman winning and I believe Pacquiao will go on to win in a very hard fight.

It could really go either way, but I think Pacquiao will get a late round TKO of Cotto and his speed will prove too much for the slower moving Cotto.

Prediction: Pacquiao to win via TKO in 8th round

As far as I can see, these two bouts are not easy but it will be a good test. If my predictions are correct, the boxing world will see probably the MOST important fight of the century. We need to know who will fare better in the ring, Mayweather or Pacquiao. Each fight only has a couple more fights before they retire so lets hope they agree on this one fight for the world to see.

The Bareboxer

Pacquiao TKO's Hatton in 2

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:46:00 +0000

This picture sums up the fight, Pacquiao triumphs, Hatton has no answer

Pacquiao is standing on top of a mountain, a mountain of greats. He has just cemented his position as number 1 pound for pound king in the boxing world.

My prediction for his fight was that he would win in 12 via decision. I was right that he would win, but so wrong about the way it happened.

All it took was 2 rounds, towards the end of round 2, a devastating left hook left Ricky Hatton on the canvas, in dream land, wondering about his future.

Naysayers said Pacquiao couldn't do it, that Hatton would knock him out. Then there were many excuses thrown about prefight about Hatton's weight, feuds with trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr and such.

But at the end of the day, it boiled down only to two camps, ultimately two great fighters. They bared all in the ring.

I read comments that Hatton couldn't take a punch any more, but if you see the replay, I don't think anyone could bolster that left hook to the chin and stand, even in their prime. The punch was so precise, it ended the match so abruptly along with the Manchurians hope of competing at this level again. It just proves that Hatton was too one dimensional, and he can't use the same pressure fighting style everytime and hope to win.

What now for both fighters?

Hatton

It is recommended by both coach and family for Hatton to retire at this juncture. I guess he should focus on his family and promotion business.

Pacquiao

The future is brighter than ever for the pinoy boxer, he has faced every good boxer from 5 divisions and come out tops. Mayweather Jr.(another of my favourites) knocked out Hatton in 10, Pacman did it in 2. Mayweather fought De La Hoya and beat him in 12 rounds, Pacman forced him to quit in 9.

Don't get me wrong, you can't compare them this way, only gauge their performances on a professional level.

Mayweather has announced his return and against Marquez, the guy who gave Pacman trouble in an amazing trilogy( 1 win, draw, loss). If Mayweather defeats him convincingly then Mayweather will have a calling card in a game where Pacman holds the important cards now.

The only reasonable fight left is a match up between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Lets see how this one unfolds.

The Bareboxer

Round 5 Series 3

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:44:00 +0000

I love Round 5 and their vinyl like style of replicating the MMA fighters of UFC. It is one of my dreams to do something like that one day for boxing.

Anyway, they have come out with a 3rd series and guess who's in it?

Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski
Big John McCarthy
Frank Mir
Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira

Thats right, this series even has long serving referee John McCarthy in it. The world of MMA figurines just got bigger.. you can check it out here.

My story so far..

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:22:00 +0000

My life is heading towards a different direction.

For the past month, I've been working as a Production Assistant for a production house called Ricebarn and it's been great. After 24 years of living, I now know what I want to do for a living.

Don't get me wrong, I will always love boxing but it can only get me so far in life and although I love boxing, a part of me has always felt it is a waste of time doing it in Singapore. I mean you spend money and commit alot of time, at the end of the day it doesn't put food on the table.

I'm currently learning the ropes of the filming industry all working towards a specific goal: to direct my own movie someday. I love everyday on set, even as problems and hold ups beset me, it is a personal challenge to accomplish my goals.

I don't know where life will bring me with this, but I sure as hell know it beats working 9-5 in an office job. I just couldn't torture myself like that. This is where I am headed, I have mentors to guide me andI love the new experiences on every job and the people I meet.

Till my next adventure..

The Bareboxer

Tyson movie coming out..

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:39:00 +0000

The trailer for the new movie Mike Tyson is a complilation of his old boxing footage, interviews and it looks promising. This will be a great summary for those of us who don't want to read his whole life story and can just watch this feature.

Interesting article..

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:11:00 +0000

Aaron, author of how-to-box.com wrote an interesting piece about Boxing vs MMA. He states there are two kinds of fans on both extremes.

I'm a boxing fan but I don't shun away MMA for its brutality, because it used to be worst. Now there safer rules imposed. I'm neutral and enjoy watching both sports.

"Boxing has stagnated in that regard. The problem I see is that boxing lacks the lustre and character present in the UFC. Personally, the characters in UFC which are no more than a reinvention of what the WWF provides, seem to take away from the sport, but that's just me. From a business perspective, it is a goldmine. They took the best of the WWF and added in the thing it lacked -- the actual fight. How can a WWF fan not love watching the UFC - it's like the WWF on steroids. And, like it or not, UFC is hot. It is growing exponentially, and it is because of the characters involved."

Boxing has stagnated in regards to colourful and memorable characters. It's all about the money these days.

Read the full article here.

Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns wants last fight

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:24:00 +0000

You heard that right, Tommy Hearns, an all time legend and hall-of-famer wants to one last fight, and a title fight no less. This can come as both good and bad news for all Hitman fans, but the prospect of watching one of my all time favourite boxers in action is certainly enticing. That was the latest news from Eastside Boxing.

The bad news? Tommy is 50 years old, and way past his prime. His weight at 190 pounds will see him in light heavyweight. This means that there will be younger, tougher and very hard hitting opponents out there, fresh and ready to destroy. Whether or not Tommy Hearns can still take a punch is another question.

The good news is we get to see a legend in the ring, and if he is anything like his former self then we'll be treated to a great performance. The signature ring entrance and bow, the flicker jabs, the chopping right, reminiscent of the Hitman. We might just see him give it everything he has left for his one last fight and watch him hoist a championship belt over his head.

What a way to retire that would be. And I sincerely hope it will end that way, or least with fighting spirit as he leaves the boxing world with the mark he already left on many a fan and boxer alike.

Here's a match he lost but regarded as the match of the century by many, a reason why he is so revered in the ring.

The Bareboxer

Check this shit out!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Hey guys it seems like round5mma is here to stay and series 3 is on its way to an online store near you. I've personally purchased series 2 and will be getting the next one because..

There's long time referee BIG JOHN MACARTHY in there, serious contender to the heavyweight throne FRANK MIR is in this one, Pride legend ANTONIO MINOTAURO NOGUEIRA will be made and I've just seen some latest updates onand a freaking ANDREI "THE PITBULL" ARLOVSKI sculpt to top this series off. Beautiful stuff.

The sculptors from Round5 possess a knack for capturing the most familiar of poses that are a signature and essence of the fighter, one look and you know this is The Pitbull, his fangs are a dead giveaway though.

This is the first time a referee has been made into a figure, and if it is any referee, it should be John McCarthy. He's been in the scene since the start and deserves to be immortalized in vinyl or whatever they make these figures out of.

You can get them from Bigbadtoystore if interested.

The Bareboxer

Hatton-Pacquiao looks all set

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Come May 2nd, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton will face Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao in an all out Welterweight clash of the titans. And we will be treated to a spectacle of boxing history as worlds collide, Manny bearing the weight of Phillipines on his back and Ricky carrying the pride of England.

Lets look at the statistics here, both pugulist are at their prime(early 30's) with decent records, Pacquiao 45-3-2, 35KO's and Hatton 43-1, 31KO's. Both have punching power, footwork, speed and stamina. Pacquiao reigned as king as Featherweight and Flyweight whilst Hatton remained dominant at his natural weight of 140 pounds.

Now the reason Pacquiao is the reigning Pound for Pound is because he has not only beaten boxers at different weight classes but decimated most in devastating fashion. That's not to take away anything from Hatton as he wins mostly by knockouts and likes to wear his opponent down from the start. His only loss came by way of a superior Mayweather Jr. and it was a knockout.

So who's going to win?

Whether it is Hatton or Pacquiao's hand who is raised, it will be a hell of a match from start to finish. But for the record I'm rooting for Pacquiao.

The key factor in this fight will be SPEED, period. You take all other aspects, power, endurance, chin, technical ability, footwork, heart and you get a pretty even contest, but the main difference here is speed. Which Pacquiao possess's in abundance.

Hatton is a quick fighter, no doubt, but he was in a world of trouble fighting Mayweather Jr, because of his quick jabs and straights. That's something he couldn't deal with.

Now if Pacquiao can do this effectively and avoid taking too much punishment from Hatton's powerful hooks and bodyshots then this one's in the Pacman's bag. He showed how quick he was against De La Hoya, but Hatton will be a different challenge.

But I see this one going down to the wire, and Pacquiao is one that goes down fighting, Hatton will too because he wants to prove he is the best in his division. It's going to be very interesting, but my money and support is on Pacman.

My Prediction: Pacquiao wins via decision after 12 rounds

Oscar De La Hoya called his match against Pacquiao "The Dream Match." Well he was wrong.

THIS is the Dream Match, HATTON VS PACQUIAO!

The Bareboxer

My toy haul for CNY..

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:08:00 +0000

Finally got the package from big bad toy store and it looks sweet. I've been waiting for a while for these MMA collectibles, don't think I'll open the packaging. Dilemma.

In boxing news, the iron chinned Antonio Margarito has lost his match against Shane Mosley in emphatic fashion, with Shane scoring a 9th round TKO proudly cementing his "Sugar" status. This is also the first time I have seen Margarito down, excellent stuff from Mosley. What a david and goliath match up, critics already put an aging star like Mosley down before the match even started, but look at what happened in the ring. Mosley didn't even look past 30!

The Bareboxer

Happy Chinese "Niu" New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:53:00 +0000

Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone in Singapore and around the world. It's a good time to meet up with relatives for a reunion. It's been a very busy week and I don't have the time to blog about stuff, so much to update. Will do it tommorrow then, with pictures and all.

Boxing events in 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:03:00 +0000

Here's a quick video of the fights that happened throughout the year 2008.

And for some info of the SABA competition visit HFC or read the article HERE.

1st Quarter SABA Championships

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:14:00 +0000

Well the 1st Quarter SABA boxing championships was a successful two day blast, in my humble opionion. It was held at Marsiling Drive, under a big shelter in the open.

I didn't participate, partially because I haven't been training for months and partially because no one fucking told me. Until 4 days before the fight.

This competition boasted 33 bouts, pitting 66 boxers against each other. Nothing new really, but what was significant was that it was held near a residential area, with a coffee shop just beside. Now this is the way to bring up the sport, by gaining a wide viewership - Uncles, Aunties and kids stopped to watch matches, some giving their two cents worth. The location was crucial. The crowd started to pick up at about 8 onwards and it looked like one of those Muay Thai matches in Thailand, minus the betting. It was great.

A total of 10 or so clubs participated, my friend Yeo's Harbinger Fight Club also fighting for the first time.

Pictures to be updated.

I heard there is a competition in April, don't know if I'm up for it.

The Bareboxer

Resolutions for 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:36:00 +0000

I've got a few, more like goals to acheive this year. I hope to see them through.

1) Buy a car, a small one. I'm practical, a car is never an asset, its always a liability. You will never buy your car today and sell it at a higher price tommorrow.

2) Put a downpayment for a private apartment. That's a big sum of money, but if things go well for me, investments in real estate are a safe bet. You can always live in it if you can't rent it out.

3) Open a live forex account with MIG and start trading real time. Of course this means I have to be more careful and pay more attention to how I trade. Fx1 has taught me well.

4) Beef up and build a better physique, it seems after boxing that I can't gain any weight back on, everyone says I look too skinny. Back to the gym for me.

5) Invest in the stock market, prices are at a discounted price, in 2010 I see all stock having major rebounds, having mutiple returns in the long run.

6) I hope to acheive financial freedom this year, so I can pay my parents back and start to enjoy my life.

The bareboxer

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:33:00 +0000

Well, the New Year is here, gone is 2008 as it paves the way for 2009. Some people say "wow another one gone already, it seems to have passed by so fast!", but not for me. I felt like this year took it's time to pass, and I enjoyed all the moments that went by. So it's always good to reflect and see what you've done and accomplished and the events that shaped the year.

The start of the year I had time to test out Internet marketing and that made me open my mind to the wide opportunities the Internet provided. I started putting two and two together for an online business selling boxing equipment. I hired a designer and did the legwork. This experience made me learn about business in a practical sense and changed my mindset towards work. It didn't take off like I wanted but I'll learn from my mistakes and do it better in the future. Oh yeah if anyone is interested in buying boxing shoes for $70 bucks (almost cost price), do send me an email at bareboxing@gmail.com for inquiries. I have sizes from 39-42.

It was about February that I went back to boxing and trained at Farrer Park. I got back to the sport I loved and re-trained my skills. I also enrolled for Mass Communications in MDIS because I've always been interested in the media industry.

In March, Farrer Park held a 7 day boxing demonstration in a bid to gather support and attention to the sports scene at Velocity. The 1st Quarter SABA Championship was also held there.

In June, I participated in my first boxing tournament, the 2nd Quarter Championships, which I lost, but gained invaluable experience. And I learned something, after all is said and done, in the ring, if both pugilists are about equal, then it boils down to who has more heart. I didn't on that day. I celebrated my girlfriend's birthday on the 23rd too and went to Bintan.

Fought my own friend, Vin, in the ring

Early in the year I set out to accomplish two things; a Diploma and my driver's license. Thankfully, I accomplished both. I finally got my drivers licence after two failed attempts in July and subsequently finished my last exam in September, I got my results slip with all modules passed.

I also went to Genting with my family, that's almost a ritual with us. Genting Highlands is like our most visited destination... and my parents are going again, this time without me and my brother.

After coming back from Genting though, I still felt something was missing. I knew I had to do something, and I sure as hell didn't want to join the Rat Race again. I was pretty much jobless, looking around for a media related job, searching high and low from the newspapers with my mom's help for any offers. Sadly only an interview with Mediacorp sufficed, and they weren't hiring till January.

Then one day my Mom told me there was a free Forex Seminar from FX1 Academy, and I went without hesitation. There was a catch, there always is - the course didn't come cheap. So I somehow convinced my mother that this would help me reach financial freedom and eventually pay off our bills and loans. And guess what, after going through that tiring 2 day course, I learned a lifetime of knowledge, and the importance of Money Management, the only thing that keeps the rich people rich. I'm still trading my demo account today and will open a live one after the 6 months period.

In the sporting world, about mid this year, Singapore hosted The Contender Asia series and I watched it religiously. I also went for the finals at the indoor stadium, that was my first time watching a live match of this scale. Subsequently, Singapore also hosted the F1 race which garnered immense response and media attention. The Contender(Boxing series) was filmed in Singapore as well and I was part of the crew who set up the ring. I managed to catch a number of live fights, so I'll be looking forward to the episodes and how it turns out on TV.

In the UFC, Brock Lesnar made history. He defeated Randy Couture and won the Heavyweight Championship. In Boxing, Roy Jones Jr came back to challenge Welshman Joe Calzaghe in a match that would finally put an end to who was better. Roy Jones came short. But the biggest fight of the year for me was watching Manny Pacquiao take apart Oscar De La Hoya in wicked fashion. It was domination, the only thing missing was a knockout.

Beijing, China showed the world how to do a proper Olympics, and it's hard to topple that. London are you listening? The Si Chuan earthquake may have happened, but the life goes on for China. The human spirit is strong.

It was a year that gave us great movies like The Bucketlist, The Dark Knight and Australia. America had their first black president in Barrack Obama.

But towards the end the world faced its worst economic crisis since God knows when.

Amidst the gloom, I was introduced to something. I'm now part of a great online business opportunity now and I'm going to pull this off. Money is a priority now and there's no turning back. I've got to give this my best. I read somewhere that it is the recession that is when people make their millions.

2009 never looked brighter for me.

The Bareboxer

UFC 92

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 12:10:00 +0000

UFC 92 lives up to the hype with 3 big name fights including, Rampage Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva, Frank Mir vs Minotauro Nogueira and the main event featuring Forrest Griffin's light heavyweight title defence against Sugar Rashad Evans.

First up was a battle between two of Pride's old fighters, Rampage and Wanderlei, with the former having suffered two losses before. It would prove third time lucky as this time, Rampage was the more composed fighter, blocking shots before landing a well timed left hook to Wanderlei's chin in the first round. It was never going to go to the scorecards between these two.

Result: Rampage wins by KO in first round

The other big fight was Frank Mir up against Minotauro Nogueira, and on paper, both had good ground defence and offence, both BJJ black belts and same styles with Nog a slight advantage in experience. But never follow paper when it comes to the UFC because anything can happen. Mir came in strong in the first round scoring a knockdown and was the better stand up fighter, throwing more combos. It was obvious Mir didn't want to take this to the ground. Round 2 was no different as Mir came out stronger, scoring a couple of takedowns and finishing with a straight and pounding Nog into submission. Almost a slap in the face of Lesnar because of the same way he beat Nogueira. The win for Mir set the stage for the Heavyweight championship with Lesnar, who will seek revenge for his loss before. Mir may have the psychological advantage, but Lesnar has about every other thing.

Result: Frank Mir wins by TKO in 2nd round

I was hoping the main event would last longer because the previous fights ended so quick, brutal yes, but where was the drama? Griffin Evans had just that. Griffin was the light heavyweight champion, but Evans had the perfect 17-0 record. These two had built their reputation from nothing, winning fights over big names. But it was Griffin who was the aggressor in the first and second rounds, throwing punches in bunches, landing his accurate leg kicks. Almost to a point where Evans had to change to southpaw to cope with it. Evans had his share of punches, and seemed to be using more of his footwork to hop around and try to see a mistake in Griffins stance or style. It took 3 rounds to feel him out but when Evans saw his chance, he pounced and took Griffin down, landing elbows, hammerfists and heavy punches. To his credit, Griffin took his tirade well but the rush of blows was just too good. Forrest bowed out and in stood a new king, Sugar Rashad Evans, the new Light Heavyweight Champion.

Result: Rashad Evans wins by TKO in the 3rd round

There seems to be a pattern with the big matches, TKO in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd round. This is one of the best UFC events so far, great matches and good results.

The Bareboxer

Merry Christmas to all!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:21:00 +0000

Christmas is a special time for me, being a Catholic and all. It's not just a holiday, it's a day the savior was born. Our savior. And it's also a good time to meet up with relatives and friends for gifts exchange, but its more about giving rather than recieving.

Hope this Christmas was special to you.

Here's something funny about Batman and Christmas.

Ip Man was the shit!

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:23:00 +0000

I caught Ip Man last week with my family, it's been a while since we watched a movie together, so why not a movie about a kung fu kicking china man's life.

The movie definately has its charm, the lead man portrayed by Donnie Yen is in his most humble and polite character yet. There are subtle scenes where the hilarity is through the roof - Ip Man's wife telling him if you want to fight in the house, that he better not break anything or when Ip Man's son rides a bicycle in the middle of the fight and says something really silly.

The fighting is top notch stuff, Donnie Yen steadfast in his Wing Chun abilities, cementing his place in todays Kung Fu films as the Chinese actor and martial artist of our era. Much respect to him.

Ip Man

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:10:00 +0000

I've got to catch this movie, just the trailer makes me want to pick up Wing Chun straight away.

About The Movie

"Ip Man is adapted from the life story of Ip Man, the grand master of the Wing Chun style kungfu and sifu (master) of legendary kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. Wing Chun has a history of more than 200 years. It was founded by Yim Wing-chin, took root in the hands of Leung Chun, and prospered with Ip Man. The art of Wing Chun has now become very popular with martial arts enthusiasts, especially overseas. It is a traditional Chinese martial art with a formidable reputation internationally.

Wing Chun Chuan is characterized by close body combat, requiring practitioners to show speed and power. Its Chi Sao of sticking hands is more similar to modern day combat skills and has a rich feel of genuine strikes. This is also why Ip Man differs from the dazzlingly romantic and purely fictional style of previous martial art movies. Its explosive punches and aggressive close-range combat offer a new thrill never experienced by modern day audiences.The story of Wing Chun began in the 1920s and 30s, in wartorn China.

Ip Man was martial arts unyielding follower, devoted whole-heartedly to the free learning of wushu. The fight to be top between the Wushu schools in the southern and northern regions of China had not stopped him having goodwill matches with other practitioners. Nationalistic bad feelings and racial hatred had not lessened his respect for Japanese martial arts warriors. In this great era of hatreds and tragedies, Ip focused only on wushu. His enthusiasm for martial arts saw him having devastating straight fights with various elite practitioners.

To this date there have been neither movies nor publications about Ip Man. This movie will be the first important record of the masters life. Ips persistent devotion to Wing Chun is a classic example of the love and respect shown to wushu and the freedom and spirit it represents. This movie will see the making of a modern whushu representative of Chinese people worldwide. Ip Man is a concept, a spirit, a way of thinking and it represents a new peak in Hong Kongs wushu movies."

Bruce Lee, revived..

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:29:00 +0000

I love how they directed this and made it look so realistic, seems like there's no special effects. This is in line with a new Nokia N96 that they are promoting at the same time. Kudos to these guys for bringing back the one and only, Bruce Lee.

The Bareboxer

Pacquiao destroyed De La Hoya

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:16:00 +0000

After watching half the fight, it was enough to know the outcome of the "dream match". It was a one sided affair, with Manny, in the green.

There were nay sayers and arm chair critics giving their two cents, mostly picking Oscar to dominate and be the eventual winner on points. Boy were they wrong about this one.

I said before that this is one of the matches I was dying to see, but I was away in Bintan enjoying a short getaway. So when I saw a glimpse of the match in the news, I just had to see the replay.

The "dream match" was a mismatch to begin with, but people got it wrong who was mismatch against who. I thought before the match that De La Hoya would give it his all, matching punch for punch, which he tried, but failed miserably.

From round 1, Pacquiao dissected his opponent with surgical precision, picking off DLH with his fast straights and connecting with the jab first. De la Hoya didn't use the jab effectively because of Pac-man's bobbing and weaving, which he used to close the distance and score points where it mattered. DLH had a little bump from Round 1, that turned into a big bruise under his left eye.

Pac-man then went on to dominate the rest of the rounds, out manouvering and making De La Hoya look slow and sluggish against a Pacquiao in the prime of his life.

The match ended in an 8th round TKO, and like so many other fighters, Oscar De La Hoya fell into the trap of fighting late into his career, a mistake that tarnishes records and questions a boxers status.

But with 20 million in his pocket and possibly more from pay-per-view revenues, "Golden Boy" can't be sore about that. I sure as hell wouldn't mind getting beaten up for half an hour for that. Oscar needs to rethink his career and concerntrate on Golden Boy Promotions, because it seems that his fighting days are over. It's Pacquiao's time to shine.

The Bareboxer

FightWorks Asia Novice Boxing Championships 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:58:00 +0000

Fightworks Asia are having their first 1st Novice boxing championships which will be held at the vicinity's rooftop. Fights are scheduled for 2 days, on the 22nd and 23rd, Sat and Sun.

In case you are interested to watch the matches, you can go to
565 Macpherson Road #04-00 Singapore (368234) @ the Old Photo building

I passed my details to coach Yeo to send it to them, but I don't know what happened along the way. Anyways I'm in no current condition to be in this one, I think I'll train for the next one. Earning money is more important now.

Checkout the event http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=34653473802

Cheers

The Bareboxer