Bill Velasco
114 articles · PhilBoxing.com
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Higher calling
By Bill Velasco
This is my quest To follow that star No matter how hopeless No matter how far To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march into Hell…
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ALA memories
By Bill Velasco
“The good is oft interred with their bones.” – William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar” The demise of ALA Promotions definitely leaves a big void in the Philippine boxing landscape. The company streamlined and…
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Boxing history repeats itself
By Bill Velasco
In 1924, Asia?s first world boxing champion Pancho Villa had his license revoked for allegedly refusing to take a fight. He decided to return to the Philippines for vacation and fan the…
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Manny Pacquiao: Alone on the mountaintop
By Bill Velasco
What do you get the man who has done everything? This is the question Manny Pacquiao faces. And how do you wind up a career as mythic and pock-marked as his? What…
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Good times for boxing
By Bill Velasco
A gargantuan confluence of circumstances is towing Asia to the dominant position in professional boxing. The domino effect of political and economic upheaval has redounded to the benefit of the region. Here…
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The champions we need
By Bill Velasco
The WBO World Super Flyweight title is still vacant, as Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte battled to a split draw Saturday evening in California. In many observers? opinion (including this writer?s) Nietes…
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Why Dubai?
By Bill Velasco
It appears WBO world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is keen on having his next fight in the United Arab Emirates. With no opponent slated for April 23, Pacquiao is going against all…
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Confusing signals
By Bill Velasco
Once again, Top Rank founder Bob Arum has managed to turn the sporting world on its head, announcing a demanding four-fight ?farewell tour? for WBO welterweight champion Sen. Manny Pacquiao. In a…
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Why bother with Crawford?
By Bill Velasco
WBC and WBO world super lightweight champion Terence Crawford and his trainer Brian McIntyre have been attempting to goad Sen. Manny Pacquiao into a big-money fight next year. McIntyre has been particularly…
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Farewell, Ronnie
By Bill Velasco
It is the irreversible end of an era in Philippine sports. With the passing of my old friend and colleague Ronnie Nathanielsz, we have lost a bridge to the richness of the…
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Roach confirms Manny-Floyd 2 talks
By Bill Velasco
HOLLYWOOD, California ? New WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach confirms that talks for a possible rematch have taken place between the eight-division world champion and former WBO welterweight title-holder…
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Pacquiao in their eyes
By Bill Velasco
LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Manny Pacquiao is many things to many people: a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, a deeply spiritual man, a devoted husband and father, a generous benefactor, a striving public servant. But…
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Why Pacquiao should win
By Bill Velasco
LAS VEGAS, Nevada ? It has been unusually quiet for a Manny Pacquiao fight in this loud city. This is not to say that nothing is happening; in fact, it?s the opposite.…
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Morris East gives back
By Bill Velasco
?It doesn?t matter how strong you are but if you lack the discipline and resistance you won?t last when you strive to go the distance.? ? Morris East Former WBA light welterweight…
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Friends in right places
By Bill Velasco
But there was a different air, one of hope and possibility, at the opening of the ?Top-Level Consultative Meeting in Development Plan for Philippine Sports and Set-Up of Philippine Sports Institute?. This…
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ABAP: The fight continues
By Bill Velasco
You have to keep fighting. That is the philosophy of Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) executive director Ed Picson, when asked about once again going for a breakthrough gold…
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Strong sports under Duterte
By Bill Velasco
It looks like Philippine sports will experience a resurgence under the administration of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte, from top to bottom, his government will be filled with sportsmen and women, from his…
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Boxing revelations
By Bill Velasco
CEBU CITY, Philippines ? WBO superbantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr.?s homecoming capped a long, exciting night of boxing at a warm, packed Cebu City Sports Complex. Seven of the nine bouts on…
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Why Pacquiao-Bradley III is important
By Bill Velasco
When you mark time in eras, as most of us do, there are milestones and threshold events that become part of your memory. For the percentage of us who can afford school,…
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No sense of history?
By Bill Velasco
January was an eventful month for Philippine sports. Just look at all that transpired: the Philippine Olympic Committee Hall of Fame Awards, the Philippine Basketball Association Finals, the start of the Pacquiao-Bradley…