Listening to podcasts alleviates the pain and mundane experience working as a temp office monkey.  A daily dose of Fresh Air, How Stuff Works, Marathon Training Academy, Talk of the Nation, Ring Theory and Sherdog provides a decent mixture of current affairs, useless knowledge, health, and some sense of masculine validation.

With the drama surrounding the racially charged elements of Arizona’s SB 1070, it was without coincidence that a caller into Sherdog’s Savage Dog Show would have made a comment pertaining to a certain tattoo on the chest of the next contender for UFC’s heavyweight title.  The caller took on a typical “reverse racism” angle by saying that the “Brown Pride” tat on Cain Velasquez would never fly if were it a Caucasian fighter with a “White Pride” tat.

Interestingly enough, “Hawaiian Sovereignty” shirt-wearing BJ Penn’s [1] site has a video with Cain discussing the importance of La Raza as a Mexican-American living in Califaztlan.

“For everything my parents did to come over to this country, all the hardships they had to take, crossing the border. Brown pride when we were growing up man, Mexican pride it’s just something we would say to feel proud about where we came from…Another reason I got it was because growing up I had no one to look up to, there was nobody that was my size, that was Mexican, that looked like me, that I could see in the media…Now I’m in that position I put “Brown Pride” on my chest to let people know I’m Mexican, I’m proud to be Mexican, I’m doing good things.”

Having parents who came to America undocumented and having earned his college wrestling chops in Arizona, Cain’s voice would be great to hear in the immigration discourse.  Searching the internet for any sign of the Salinas, CA native discussing SB 1070 turns up nothing.  With the middle America audience that Dana White tries to reach through UFC, one is tempted to question whether or not Cain’s political voice has been silenced so as not to attract “controversy”.  With a strong personal connection to issues of immigration, I hope this isn’t the case.

Check the video after the jump.

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Obligatory post-Pacquiao fight post.

And I was wrong.  The fight wasn’t as cool as I thought it would be.  Rather, it ended up being Pacquiao offering a boxing clinic, with Clottey demonstrating how to professionally block.  Indeed, it was boring.

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I’m as irate as the next boxing fan for the failure of a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on March 13.  Had the fight taken place on that date, boxing history would have been made.  Pay-per-view records would have been shattered. Not to mention that rarely do boxing fans ever get to witness the top pound for pound fighters meeting in the squared ring.  Witnessing the buzz that surrounded the possible venues could easily have battled that of city bids on the Olympics.

But enough of wondering about “what ifs”.  The fight could still take place, just not on March 13.

The newly signed fight between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey does not garner the same spectacle that the originally proposed fight received.  It’s still a great fight, nonetheless.  I’m not hyped just cause Josh Clottey looks a lot like Brian, my neighbor who lived across the street from me growing up, but it makes sense:

1. If Pacquiao wins this fight, it will have been two serious fighters that Mayweather had dodged, with the first being Cotto.  Who’s PBF going to fight now?  Matthew Hatton?  Paulie Malignaggi?  I doubt there will be a contender PBF will take as competitive as Clottey.  Pipe dreams are the only locations where we’d see PBF take on someone like Paul Williams.

2. Clottey is a serious welterweight contender.  Many debate whether Cotto won the fight with JC.  I saw the fight as a JC victory.  JC should have done more in the later rounds, but he was clearly not beaten as bad as Cotto.  A victory over Clottey would surely demonstrate Manny’s position as a top welterweight.

3. It’s going to be an exciting fight.  Clottey engages.  He won’t present the great defense boring cautiousness that PBF is known.  JC is a counter puncher with a different type of defense.  His movements aren’t the swift and evasive type that PBF provides, instead, he has an exceptional blocking game.  Take a look at post fight pictures after Cotto fought Clottey and compare the two’s faces.  Manny can prove tons by winning JC.

4. None of us really know what took place in the negotiations with Manny and PBF, but who knows how much longer it would have taken.  We should be pleased that Manny is at least fighting during the first quarter of 2010.

5. He’s not Paulie Malignaggi or Yuri Foreman.  The “Jersey Shore” reject, Paulie M, would have made no sense being that he got technically knocked out by Ricky Hatton.  As for Yuri, do you remember his undercard fight before Pacquiao-Cotto? Exactly.  We all want to erase that and the other boring undercards from our memory of that card.

My only real problem with this match up is the threat it poses to Pacquiao.  As hyped as I am about an entertaining boxing match, there is a real danger that Manny could lose, which would gravely end the discourse of a Mayweather bout.

-Ninoy Brown

Someone should have made a bet with me, going against my steadfast position that this mega-fight would ultimately take place on March 13.  No sensible, capitalist-minded fighter [1] could pass up a $50 million pay day.

Apparently, I was wrong: “Fight Off”

In the end, apparently egos >>> money, the sport, fans, history

How poetic how I still see “Money” as the one to blame in all of this.  This isn’t the first time Money May has been known to duck fighters: Mosley, Cotto, Margarito, Williams, etc.  Instead, recent history has shown him go for outclassed/overmatched opponents [2].  Now we see him making unfounded accusations of steroid and human growth hormone abuse because Pacquaio broke records unheard of in boxing.  Could these accusations simply come as a result of Pacman breaking Asian stereotypes?  Possibly.

An article, that I’ve been scouring the internet, quoted Arum discussing Manny’s jump in weight classes.  Unfortunately I can’t find the piece, but to summarize it: give a malnourished street kid food, and he’ll grow.

As much as I’m blaming Money May for being too shook to put a blemish on his perfect record, I still have to put some blame on Pacquiao’s team.  It is easy to call out Manny for not owning up to the accusations and just agreeing to blood tests, but in the psychological chess game that is involved in the sport of boxing, Floyd would have gotten a huge upper hand.  Not to mention possible sponsorship damage.  Top Rank, on the other hand, I hold no remorse.  Arum sipping daiquiris in Cabo during negotiations didn’t do much to illustrate intent on this fight taking place.  The shadiness and incompetence of boxing promoters have offered more fuel for the likes of Dana White to talk.

This fight isn’t just huge for both fighters but for boxing, which is probably the only other thing that beats Hip-Hop’s claim of impending or existing death.  Now because both side failed, we get to read more sports writers talk about boxing irrelevancy.

I’m still sticking to my bet that this fight will happen, regardless of whether it occurs on March 13.  This controversy is just added hype for a possible battle.  Let’s just hope Yuri Foreman and/or Matthew Hatton don’t destroy the potential for a card in late summer.

[1] I guess this point holds some optimism for those of us who’s guts wrenched when we hear about Pac entering politics.  Not sure about the validity, but I overheard he was running on a ticket that was pretty progressive.

[2] No diss to JMM.

*Update: Mayweather blames Team Pacquiao on collapse

-Ninoy Brown

Filipino celebrity tabloids seem to be abuzz about Manny’s infidelity.

I had previously written about machismo/marianismo characteristics within the Filipino culture in a blog titled, “Filipino Masculinity & Infidelity Through Manny”.

Vestiges of Spanish colonization?  Maybe.  Considering the practice of egalitarian family systems from the indigenous roots of the Philippines, I ponder upon how Spanish influences and Catholicism has created systems where infidelity becomes practice.  Husbands having mistresses is basic knowledge but never really discussed.

In no way am I being an apologist for this type of behavior, but truth be told, Manny’s not a saint that some paint him out to be.

Of course it’s cool/funny to see him sing on Jimmy Kimmel and during his post-fight interviews.  His charisma and carefree energy is enduring and contagious.  This is why many folks gravitate to the Pacman.  When tabloid issues gain the attention of reporters and fans, folks are either going to defend him to death or call him out on what they perceive to be another case of adultery.  Again, this news about Manny is not new to me.

But when we do criticize Manny for what he’s doing, we should also look at how patriarchy in our culture plays out.

Bam’s quote in the article hit’s the point on multiple levels, “He encompasses and embodies that Filipino spirit.”

How our community looks at that spirit is something that we should critically discuss and collectively address.

-Ninoy Brown

Of course y’all knew I was going to do my obligatory/celebratory Pacquiao post after picking apart Miguel Cotto.

I thought that after demolishing Hatton, it was what boxing really needed right now.  So if that was the treatment to prolong boxing’s life, then this fight could potentially have been the antidote that cures and resuscitates boxing’s vegetable state.  Though, restructuring the way the sport is promoted and fights are set up need to be considered as a part of the rehabilitation process.

Earning a seventh title in a seventh weight class is of historic significance for boxing, but it cannot be understated how collectively significant this moment was for the Filipino people.  My previous article for WireTap and this more recent one from The Ring mean so much more right now.  With the pain placed upon the Filipino people due to Typhoon’s Ondoy and Pepeng, a lot was riding on the people’s spirits for a victory tonight*.  The humbleness and upbeat mood he exhibited before, during, and after the fight shows why he possesses the charisma for folks to be drawn to him and consider him to be a “people’s champ”.  Big ups to the “L”s for “laban” during Michael Buffer’s introduction.

I wonder if it would be possible for someone to create a graph of Pacquiao mentions in rap lyrics over the past year, and to see what type of spike takes place after this fight.

In my opinion, he’s already solidified his placement with the greats.  When boxing historians look back at the greatest of all time, be on the lookout for Manny’s name with Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, etc.  That statmenet might be premature to make, but it is crazy to see how he has been able to carry along his power and speed, as he has gone up in weight, not to mention that his skills have also improved throughout this period.

Next up is the inevitable battle with Floyd Mayweather, as long as he doesn’t try to make excuses (Money May doesn’t deserve more than 50% from the fight).

Much respect to Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez, and Miguel Cotto.

Prayers to Z Gorres.

Michael Koncz, you can lean back with Fat Joe.

*I do digress a little bit, though, knowing the connections Pacquiao has with GMA and her own failed response to the disasters and almost every other aspect of the domestic affairs of the Philippines.

-Ninoy Brown

On a lighter note…

Readers of this blog should know from repeated posts about Filipino/Filipino American, politics, professional fighting Hip-hop, etc. where my interests are.  When two of those topics intersect, it gains even more interest from me.  Unfortunately one intersection often gets less shine.  So…

Earl Simmons aka DMX is apparently exploring his employment options by entering the world of mixed martial arts.  On the same bill as Butterbean and Tank Abbot, Dark Man X is going up against Eric Martinez at an oddly titled event called Alabama Pride.

“Troubled Rapper, DMX, the Latest Celeb Trying to Cash in on MMA”

Going for DMX is that he already has a track that could be a hype entrance song.  Going against him, he also has a track that could be the background theme if he gets knocked out.

Let’s also hope that his post fight interviews don’t consist of him engaging in a tearful prayer where he dedicates his fights to his dog, Boomer.

-Ninoy Brown

In May, UFC 98 featured a light heavyweight bout between Phillipe Nover and Kyle Bradley.  1 minute and 3 seconds into the fight, Nover was caught in a fury of punches, dropped to the mat but quickly regained ground.  Even though Nover appeared capable of continuing in the fight, referee Yves Lavigne thought otherwise and quickly called a TKO in Bradley’s favor.  The fans booed Lavigne’s decision.

Nover, considered by many to be the toughest registered nurse, faced a second disappointing loss in the Octogan; this time it was due to a questionable referee.  While Nover’s losses put a giant dent in his career, profiteer, Dana White, was probably the most disappointed as it placed another road bump in his plans for bringing a UFC fight to the Philippines.

In an interview soon after his The Ultimate Fighter loss, Nover remarked on plans for UFC to capitalize on the Filipino market by bringing a fight to the country.  This business decision reflects a trend seen, more evident in the sphere of professional fighting, whereby Filipinos are being seen as a viable market.  One needs to look no further than the success and marketing strategies being used to “sell” Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao has created a platform for many Filipino-Americans to identify with a mainstream figure; he matters.  It is with the loyal following that Pacquiao generated which allows sports industry heads to take notice.

A few weeks ago, Bob Arum, announced that he would not be able to hold a night of Filipino boxing featuring fights with Nonito Donaire and Brian Viloria at AT&T Park due to a scheduling conflict.  Arum acknowledges the strength of the Filipino-American community in the Bay Area, a community that sold out a Filipino Heritage Night for the San Francisco Giants.  It isn’t just in the Bay that these Filipino Heritage nights have generated big turnouts, as they have been successful at ball games in Los Angeles and San Diego as well.

It is evident that fight promoters have taken notice of this market audience.  Aside from this and dancing, what other segments of pop culture do people notice has began to receive a Filipino focus?

On March 7, at his UFC debut, Mark Munoz gave fight archivists footage worthy of being in a UFC top knockouts list.  Unfortunately for Munoz, the knockout came from Matt Hamill’s head kick.  The “Filipino Wrecking Machine” was seen as being too green to enter the UFC, but knowing Dana White’s plans, one wonders whether Munoz’s premature jump was a direct result of an attempt to create another Filipino-American fighting hero.  Folks seem to be quick to pay attention to a segment of the population that they had previously ignored but are now doing what they can to sell us a bar of soap by attaching an eight rayed sun and three stars.

-Ninoy Brown

She hits like a girl

For this edition of FoW, we enlist the writing skills of  our friend, Dianne Que.  Dianne works for the nation’s premiere presenter of contemporary and tribal Pilipino art, Kularts. Peep her own blog and cop some of her handmade accessories.

A few weeks ago, Manny Pacquiao solidified his standing as the world’s #1 P4P boxer after handing Ricky the Hitman Hatton a devastating 2nd round knockout, silencing the most raucous of British brass bands. He, along with Pinoy fighters like Nonito Donaire, has garnered the utmost respect in the boxing world and beyond.

While I too revel in the Pacmania, as a female fight fan, its always dope to find women fighters who dominate in their field. MMA’s Gina Carano & Cris Cyborg, Pinay Muay Thai Fighter Christine Toledo, Fight Girls’ favorite-turned-MMA up-and-comer Kerry Vera (married to UFC Pinoy Boy, Brandon Vera), among others have proven that the art of contact sports isn’t just for the boys.

Enter Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton, world-class Pilipina American Boxer.

This 28-year-old Daly City native boasts a 4-1-1 record in her young professional boxing career and is the only female fighter coached by legendary boxing trainer, Freddie Roach, Jr.  She can be seen training at the Hollywood, CA Wild Card Boxing Club furiously hitting the speed bag or working the mitts with Coach Roach himself. In the ring, she applies constant pressure while remaining elusive, a style she employed during her solid amateur career. Though her last professional fight ended in a loss against the Dominican Republic’s heavy-hitter, Dominga Olivo, the Hurricane’s professional career remains promising with her formidable power and fierce determination, along with an unmatched training team in her corner.

Besides Pacquiao and Julaton’s shared heritage and trainer, I’m amazed by something else these fighters have in common - a deep humility, kindness, and all-together cheery disposition outside of the ring. While the Pacman can swiftly and decisively light up Ricky Hatton or toss Boxing’s Golden Boy Oscar de la Hoya into retirement, he can also humbly, ecstatically, and goofily profess, “It’s nothing personal, I’m just doing my job!” Similarly, Ana Julaton’s good looks, bright smile and politeness don’t immediately convey her knock-out power. While these traits definitely make Paquiao and Julaton more “likeable” fighters, I can’t help but theorize that since the colonial days of the “happy native/little brown brother,” Pilipinos have possessed the exceptional ability to disorient their opponents with charm, modesty, and charisma, yet at the drop of a dime slice their throats open with a bolo. Fascinating.

There’s no news of her next bout, but Ana The Hurricane Julaton - a fly, don’t-take-no Pinay competing at a high level in a male-dominated sport - is definitely one to watch out for. So, to answer the double-edged question often asked by my male counterparts, “Is she good?,” the answer is 1) YES, she’s cute, and 2) YES, she will kick your ass.

More on The Hurricane:
1)    Comcast Sportsnet Interview
2)    Summary of Ana’s Boxing Career at 15rounds.com

-Dianne Que

“The left hand of doom”

Couldn’t crash tonight without posting something more than 140 characters.

My prediction was wrong.  I had it at the 9th round by stoppage due to a bloodied up Hatton.  A prediction that even Lampley had made. Instead Pacquiao ended it within the second round.  5 minutes and 59 seconds to be exact. A knock-out that had an astonished Jay-Z get up from his seat.

I was blown away by the performance. But the fight left no doubt the power that Pacquiao possesses. This was at Hatton’s prime, undefeated weight class, without ballooning to the notrious Ricky “Fatton” status pre-fight.

Now the quest is onto Mayweather, who is trying to reclaim his P4P status. I don’t question Mayweather’s ability to take out Marquez, but I question how quickly, cause it won’t be easy for him. If Pacquiao has his game plan on point, and Money May, who took 10 rounds to take down a Hatton who fought at an unatural weight class, struggles against Marquez, then we will further solidify Pacquiao’s historical P4P status. Not to mention that Hatton was defeated under the tutilage of the same trainers who will likely continue to train Mayweather.

Arum and many say we don’t know what Pacquiao’s true weight class is. In addition to Mayweather, talks have been made against Cotto.  This fight that would pit brothers of Spanish/American colonization. We pushing him too far? We will see.

Back to the fight: even with Hatton’s Manchester drums and brass instruments blasting away, Manny didn’t need the kulintang ensemble to help him out. Hatton’s crew was better off saving their energy to play “Taps”.

-Ninoy Brown