The Philippines Rocky Fuentes of the famed ALA Gym of respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer has  won the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight  title with a majority decision over defending champion  Masafumi Okubo of Japan  at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

“Fighter of the Decade” and pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao is so eager to get on with his WBC title defense against former champion Joshua Clottey at the fabulous Dallas Cowboys $1.2 billion state-of-the-art stadium that adviser Michael Koncz says “too bad the fight is not tomorrow.”

Former Philippine super flyweight champion and Philippine Boxing Federation super bantamweight champion Eric “The Maverick” Barcelona has lost in a ten round bout against undefeated former Japanese bantamweight champion Kohei Oba in a fight card at the International Conference Hall in Nagoya.

Filipino flyweight Rey Migreno may earn a shot at WBA champion Daiki Kameda (16-2, 11 KO’s) if he beats Thailand’s former world champion Denkaosan Kaovichit in Uttaradit, Thailand on March 26.

Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao looked flawless in his final workout at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles on Monday before taking the flight to Dallas, Texas aboard a specially chartered plane along with his charming wife Jinkee and a planeload of 160 people.

By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News

It started with a chance question back in September. Jerry Jones had gassed up his private jet and flown to New York to appear on Joe Buck’s talk show on HBO. The topic: owning a professional sports franchise in a struggling economy.Back in the green room later while the likes of Joe Namath and Dan Marino and Curt Schilling were chatting with Buck on camera, Jones and Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, made small talk. Then Greenburg, who worked with Jones through two Cowboys appearances on the training camp Hard Knocks series, popped a big question.

Female boxer, flyweight Keisher “Fire” Mcleod-Wells will return to the ring on March 31^st at BB King Blues Club and Grill in Times Square, New York City.

For years, Manny Pacquiao has possessed the ability to paralyze a nation, to freeze 96 million Filipino citizens and hypnotize them with every punch.
 
Yet,
his influence grows. He forced Oscar de la Hoya to quit. He destroyed
Ricky Hatton in two short rounds. He systematically dismantled Miguel
Cotto.  
On
Saturday, the fighter regarded as the best pound-for-pound in the world
returns to the ring against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium to defend
the WBO world welterweight title.  
The
Philippine Islands make up only a portion of the Pacquiao universe. “I
am expecting a lot of Mexican fans to be at the fight,” Pacquiao said
during a teleconference.  
Pacquiao,
31, reigns as the boxer of this generation, dabbles as a singer,
aspires to be a political candidate and continues to grow in
popularity, whether with Mexican fight fans or the late-night
television crowd.  
Boxing
society has evolved to a point where race doesn’t matter as much as the
individual fighter’s ability to induce a thumping heartbeat and
uncontrollable screams pleading for a knockout. “PacMan”
provides just this with fists that fly like uninhibited falcons, feet
that glide like a marble on ice and a willingness to fight as if he
wore an invulnerability cape.  
Fort Worth boxing trainer Vincent Reyes serves as an integral part of both the Mexican community and the local boxing scene.
“He’s
beat the top Mexican fighters and the Mexican fans like a crowd
pleaser,” Reyes said. “He’s certainly a crowd pleaser. He’s not boring.
The Mexican fans want action and that’s what he gives.”  
George
Rincon holds a Texas State Golden Gloves championship and at 18 sits
fully entrenched in pop culture awareness. The Hispanic fighter and his
father both appreciate the pure fighting skills Pacquiao exhibits and
consider him the fighter of this generation. In
fact, the boxing community thought it laughable that Tiger Woods, a
golfer, was named the “athlete” of the decade. The notion that someone
in a non-contact sport, who demands complete quiet, doesn’t worry about
opposition hindering his efforts and walks during his competition is
simply ridiculous.  
“I
believe in boxing you have to be tough,” Rincon said. “When you say you
are a boxer, that’s saying a lot. When you say you are a boxer, you are
a true athlete.”  
Hall
of Fame promoter Bob Arum said having Hispanic fighters on Saturday’s
undercard helps sell the bout locally. However, he suggested the
Mexican population has embraced Pacquiao because of his
accomplishments. Pacquiao became the first fighter in history to win
seven world titles in seven weight classes.  
“Our
goal when we started with Manny was to break him out from the Filipino
base that he had,” Arum said. “We were able to pick up millions of
Hispanic fans and we have broken him into the general conscience of the
people around the world.  
“He is truly a crossover star. How many fighters of our time go on Jimmy Kimmel Live and go on Good Morning America and have a big article coming out in Time magazine? I think that is saying something.”
 
Something else to be said is that Pacquiao plans to run for Congress in the Philippines with campaigning beginning on March 26.
 
If
he wins, it certainly will force him to split time between political
service and jumping rope, working the speed bag and knocking people
out. 

Judging by all accounts Filipino challenger Vinvin Rufino deserves a rematch against

Japan’s newly crowned Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation featherweight champion Naoki Masuda who is ranked No. 13 by the World Boxing Council.