Hopkins eyes Haye while Jones vows victory in rematch

LAS VEGAS - Bernard Hopkins is talking about fighting heavyweight world champion David Haye of Britain while Roy Jones is talking about giving Hopkins his first knockout loss in their April 3 showdown.

The boxing legends spoke Wednesday in conference calls ahead of their fight at Las Vegas, which 41-year-old Jones said could be the capper to his career and 45-year-old Hopkins said could launch him into a bout with Haye.

"Start pumping that now. You're thinking like me," Hopkins said. "That scenario sounds good to me but I have got to do my thing on April 3."

Haye, the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion who is 23-1 with 21 knockouts, fights American John Ruiz on April 3 in England but hopes to next fight a Ukranian rival champion, either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko.

Hopkins has been counted out in ring deals before, if never in the ring, but wears his age like a badge of pride as he plans for Haye and perhaps beyond.

"As I keep being reminded that I'm 45 like it's a death sentence, have I been fighting like I'm 45?" Hopkins said.

"I'm saying this fight is for my future career. I have to not only win this fight but win impressively. I'm setting up the next big thing to Bernard Hopkins."

Jones 54-6 with 40 knockouts, is a former heavyweight champion himself thanks to a victory over Ruiz. He won a unanimous decision over Hopkins, 50-5 with one drawn and 32 knockouts, in their first fight in 1993 at Washington.

"He was more of a young fighter trying to win by any means necessary," Jones said. "This time he's a little smarter. He doesn't take as many risks. He's more of an opportunist than he was back then."

Jones said no matter how the fight goes, it might be his last.

"It could be a way to end my career," Jones said. "I will have to see. If everything turns out well, then maybe. And if Bernard Hopkins can hurt me, it's time to hang it up."

Both fighters have something to prove. Jones suffered a first round knockout in his last fight last December to Danny Green and is 5-5 in the past six years while Hopkins has lost three of his past seven fights and beat Mexico's Enrique Ornelas last December in his only start for the past 18 months.

"He feels like I'm done. I'm washed up. I'm old goods. That's the only reason he's taking the fight now," Jones said.

"I'm going to give him my secret punch, guaranteed to stop him. He's going to sleep by knockout. There's nothing he can do to win."

Hopkins, naturally, disagrees.

"Roy ain't going to knock Bernard Hopkins out," Hopkins said. "He's one up on me. It's a personal vendetta. I've got something legitimate to me personally in this fight. That's how much animosity is there. That's how deep this thing is.

"Every punch is going to mean something for over 17 years so I've got to land a lot of combinations."

Hopkins called his first fight with Jones "a night that changed both of our lives. That fight there helped sculpture my psyche and character."

Jones sees no tarnishing of his legacy by continuing to fight beyond his prime.

"Ain't many of them who can do it as well as I still can so why should I not be doing it," Jones said. "I was smarter and slicker than him 17 years ago and I'm smarter and slicker than him now.

"I want to show him he's still not better than me. He has been hating me for 17 years because I beat him and he can go on hating me for another 17 years after I beat him again."

PBA: Tigers mangle Coffee Masters

MANILA, Philippines -- Coca-Cola demolished Barako Coffee, 94-74, for an auspicious start in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

James Penny scored a game-high 27 points but his defense on Coffee Energy Masters import Sammy Monroe spelled the difference to help the Tigers notched their opening game win.

“I told the boys, especially James (Penny), not to get affected by that what’s been said about (Sammy) Monroe,” said Coke mentor Bo Perasol.

“Defensively we really planned how to minimize Monroe, as well as the rest of the team, and we were able to get him out of his rhythm in the first half. Although he (Monroe) managed to score, some of it them not were significant in their game,” he added.

Gary David added 17 points while Asi Taulava chipped in 11 for Coke, which led from start to finish.

Monroe, who scored 39 points in 39 minutes in Barako Coffee’s 97-93 win over Sta. Lucia Realty, managed to finish with 25 markers but held to just 3 points in the opening quarter as Coke set the defensive tone early on him.

Richard Alonzo was the only other Barako Coffee player in double figures in scoring 10 for coach Junel Baculi, whose team dropped to a 1-1.

Beermen halt Express

Defending champion San Miguel Beer opened its title retention bid with a hard-earned 92-87 victory over Air21.

Gabe Freeman finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds for the Beermen, who almost blew a 10-point lead in the last 3 minutes of the game but San Miguel made crucial plays in the end to preserve the win.

SMB was holding an 84-74 lead when the Express, behind the efforts of Ronnie Matias, unloaded a 13-4 blast to close the gap at 87-88 with 1:11 left in the game.

But Anthony Washington hit two free throws off the foul of Keena Young and Arwind Santos blocked Beau Belga’s three-point attempt that led to Alex Cabagnot’s break-away lay-up to peg the final score.

Young led Air21 with 23 points and 21 rebounds.

US F1 omitted from 2010 F1 entry list

(CNN) -- Motor Sport's governing body, the FIA, have formally confirmed the entry list for the 2010 Formula One season -- with potential newcomers US F1 omitted from the grid.

The financially-troubled team had asked the FIA if they could miss the first four races of the season in order to attract extra sponsorship, but have instead been told that they must re-apply if they are to be on the grid for the following season.

The official entry list shows 12 teams and 24 drivers -- two teams more than last season.

Three new teams are lining up -- Lotus, Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing -- with Toyota deciding to leave the sport.

There are also two team name changes. Last year's winning constructor's Brawn GP have been taken over by Mercedes, while BMW Sauber have reverted back to being the Sauber team, although they have to retain the BMW title for this season due to legal obligations.

Meanwhile, there is also no place on the grid for the proposed Serbian-backed Stefan GP team, who had been hoping to gain a late entry in place of US F1.

An official FIA statement read: "The US F1 Team have indicated they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One world championship.

"Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the championship at this late stage.

"In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season."

US F1 have faced a race against time to have their car ready for the grid, after a number of sponsors opted to pull out the project.

Production of the car had been stopped with the team struggling to pay wages, resulting in a number of staff choosing to leave.

Team principal Ken Anderson is yet to comment on whether he will attempt to make the grid for the 2011 season.

The decision leaves Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez, who had already been offered a drive with US F1, without a team.

Tuesday also saw the final driver appointment confirmed, with Karun Chandhok becoming the second Indian to compete in the sport having been named by Hispania Racing.

The 26-year-old follows in the footsteps of Narain Karthikeyan, who had one season with Jordan in 2005.

There will be four world champions on the grid; Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, while 11 of the 24 drivers have experienced winning a grand prix.

Official 2010 Formula One grid:

1. Jenson Button GB McLaren Mercedes

2. Lewis Hamilton GB McLaren Mercedes

3. Michael Schumacher Ger Mercedes GP

4. Nico Rosberg Ger Mercedes GP

5. Sebastian Vettel Ger Red Bull Racing

6. Mark Webber Aus Red Bull Racing

7. Felipe Massa, Brz Ferrari

8. Fernando Alonso Sp Ferrari

9. Rubens Barrichello Brz Williams

10. Nico Hulkenberg Ger Williams

11. Robert Kubica, Pol Renault

12. Vitaly Petrov Rus Renault

13. Adrian Sutil Ger Force India

14. Vitantonio Liuzzi It Force India

15. Sebastien Buemi Swi Toro Rosso

16. Jaime Alguersuari Sp Toro Rosso

17. Jarno Trulli It Lotus Racing

18. Heikki Kovalainen Fin Lotus Racing

19. Karun Chandhok Ind Hispanic Racing

20. Bruno Senna Brz Hispanic Racing

21. Pedro de la Rosa Sp BMW Sauber

22. Kamui Kobayashi Jpn BMW Sauber

23. Timo Glock Ger Virgin Racing

24. Luca di Grassi Brz Virgin Racing

Pacquiao to hold fundraiser for Z Gorres

MANILA, Philippines – Pound-for-pound king and seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao is all set to go the United States for the promotional tour and training for his March 13 fight against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey.

He will leave for Los Angeles Sunday night in order to make it to the press conferences scheduled on Tuesday in Dallas, Texas and Wednesday in New York.

Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Clottey, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion, at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Apart from his busy promotional schedule, Pacquiao is slated to hold a dinner fundraiser for fellow Filipino ZC Oliveros “Z” Gorres in Las Vegas, reported ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo.

Gorres, won over Luis Melendez of Colombia in their 10-round bout in November by unanimous decision, went through an emergency brain surgery in November. The Filipino fighter suffered a left straight punch to the temple from Melendez in the 10th round which caused a blood clot in his brain.

According to PhilBoxing.com, he has been discharged from the University Medical Center (UMC) in Las Vegas after being deemed out of danger after undergoing his 2nd major surgery. (Read: Z Gorres undergoes 2nd major surgery)

Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz said in a press conference that all proceeds will be given to Gorres to help him rebuild his life. He added that they are aiming to raise $500,000 for Gorres.

Returning to the ring as a fighter has been ruled out for the promising Filipino boxer because of the grave injury he suffered.

Still open to fight Mayweather

Meanwhile, Koncz added that they are not closing their doors on Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whom Pacquiao was supposed to face on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Negotiations for the Pacquiao-Mayweather super bout crumbled when the fighters’ camps disagreed on the drug testing protocol. Pacquiao even sued Mayweather and some members of his team for alleging that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Koncz said Team Pacquiao believes that Mayweather did not want the fight that is why he brought up the drug testing issue.

Despite this, Koncz mentioned that they are still open to fight Mayweather just to give the fans the fight they want to see.

Pacquiao and Mayweather earlier agreed on a 50-50 split. Each fighter was estimated to earn at least $40 million to $50 million.

Koncz admitted that Pacquiao will earn less in his fight against Clottey, but it is still a “decent” amount.

Mayweather - I will defeat Pacquiao

Unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather, Jr. claims he will knock out WBO welterweight world champion Manny Pacquiao when the two boxing giants lock horns next year.

Speaking on HBO TV's Joe Buck chat show, the 32-year-old Mayweather -- who has an unblemished record from 40 fights -- said: "Pacquiao's a good fighter but I've been around the sport a long time and I've dominated boxing for around 15 years now.

"Nobody has defeated me yet so we'll have to see. The thing is, I don't want the fans to be really shocked by what will happen when we do happen to meet up -- because it's not going to be anything new for them."

"The things is, Manny has been knocked out before and he's taken losses. I'll be victorious."

Pacquiao will come into the fight following a remarkable 12 months which has seen him defeat Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Meanwhile, Mayweather has fought only once in two years, a unanimous points victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.

Although definitive plans for the mega-money contest are yet to be confirmed, a date of March 13 is widely rumored to be agreed, with three possible venues in the running to stage the contest.

The two fighters are regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world right now and the fight is expected to generate record levels of interest, easily surpassing the previous record of $18.4 million for gate receipts, which was generated for Mayweather's bout with de la Hoya in 2007.

Two NFL stadiums are reported to be bidding to host the fight. Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys, is competing with the Superdome in New Orleans, as well as the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The two stadiums could accommodate up to 100,000 spectators, while the MGM Grand seats about 16,000.

Miller's triple lifts RP five to victory over Taipei

Willie Miller buried a booming three-pointer in the waning seconds that clinched Powerade-Team Pilipinas’ 77-70 thrilling win over Chinese-Taipei in the 25th FIBA-Asia men’s basketball championship Monday in Tianjin, China. With the shot clock winding down and the Nationals holding on to a slim 72-70 lead, Miller dribbled the ball just atop the three-point area, waited for the seconds to tick away and then made his move by pulling off for a trey as Chinese-Taipei big man Tseng Wen-Ting Lei sagged on defense with 13.7 to go. Swish! “Nakababa iyung kamay kaya alam ko may pag-asang pumasok," said Miller of his game-clinching shot, the last of his perfect 5-of-5 stint from downtown. He finished with 17 points, behind the 23 of top scorer James Yap, who went 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. “Naka-tsamba lang," said the player who just a day before assured he wouldn’t have another poor shooting performance like the one he had in a 56-69 losing cause to South Korea.

The scores:

Philippines 77 – Yap 23, Miller 17, Thoss 8, Helterbrand 8, Baguio 6, Raymundo 5, Dillinger 3, Pennisi 3, Taulava 2, Norwood 2, Aguilar 0. Santos 0. Chinese-Taipei 70 – Tseng 21, Lee 8, Chang 8, Lin 7, Tien 6, Chang Tsung-Hsien 6, Wu 6, Yang 4, Yang Chin-Min 2, Su 2. Quarterscores: 16-21; 33-35; 62-54; 77-70 “Willie is one of the best shooters in the Philippines, so we expect him to make the shot," said coach Yeng Guiao of his No. 11 man whom the international press kept on referring to as “Miller Time." “But he’s just exceptional today."

The thrilling win pushed the Philippines within reach of making the quarterfinals of the tournament serving as the gateway for the 2010 World Basketball Championship in Turkey. With the victory over an ousted team (against Sri Lanka) not carried over into the second phase of the eliminations, the Nationals now carry a 2-1 record and next meet defending champion Iran at 11:00 am. Tuesday.

They face Kuwait at 9 a.m. Wednesday for their final elimination round assignment.

One more win needed “I feel relieved because I think we have one foot in the door already in the top eight. Of course, we still need to assure ourselves by winning one more game, pero tingin ko kaya naman," said Guiao.

The Nationals were pounded inside by the Taiwanese, 38-16, but were extra hot from three-point land where they converted 15-of-30 for a high 50 percent shooting. Miller and Yap both said they were hard on themselves during practice the other day after shooting a combined 3-of-18 from the floor in that loss to the Koreans. But Guaio disagreed, hollering, “Nakuha lang yan sa mura at sigaw. Hindi mo naman puwedeng ma-perfect ang mga tira mo sa isang araw lang." Before Miller took charge, it was Yap who did the most damage for the Nationals, hitting four three-pointers – including three straight in one stretch - in the third period when Team Pilipinas finally grabbed the lead, 56-50. JayJay Helterbrand’s long three-pointer off the board that hit the third quarter buzzer gave the Nationals their biggest lead at 62-54. Chinese-Taipei came back strong, however, stringing eight straight points to open the final quarter, and then regained the upperhand on two free throws by Wu Tai Ho, 68-67, with 4:49 seconds left. But Kerby Raymundo hit three straight free throws and Sonny Thoss made a side jumper as RP got back on top, 72-68. Just when the Nationals appeared headed for the win, Lee Hsueh-Lin was fouled by Miller on transition for two free throws. He made both to pull the Taiwanese to within two. “Miller Time" took over from there.

Yap’s marching orders from Cory: Play for flag

James Yap has been given an all-important instruction he’s bound to follow. According to Powerade-Team Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao: “I’ve been informed that Tita Cory (former President Corazon Aquino) instructed (her son-in-law) James to keep on playing for the country."

James Yap, center, will have to continue his stint for Team Pilipinas as instructed by his ailing mother-in-law, former President Corazon Aquino. Guiao of course, has been a known close family friend of the former Chief Executive, who's currently battling cancer. His late father, one-time Pampanga Governor Bren Guiao, was a close ally of Mrs. Aquino during her term, while Yeng himself had her as godmother during his wedding. He said the 27-year-old Yap apparently got Mrs. Aquino’s order when he visited her at the Makati Medical Center last week shortly upon arriving from Chinese-Taipei, where the RP men’s team was seeing action in the 31st William Jones Cup basketball tournament. Yap is husband of Aquino’s youngest child, popular movie and TV personality Kris, with whom he has a three-year old son. Mrs. Aquino has been confined at the hospital for more than a month now due to colon cancer. Next week, the Nationals are bound for Tianjin, China to compete in the FIBA-Asia tilt, the tournament that serves as qualifier for the World Basketball Championship next year in Turkey. The FIBA Asia meet is set August 6-16, with Yap considered the best pure-shooter in the 12-man roster mostly composed of professional players. Guiao believes Yap, a former PBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and star player of Purefoods, is bound to follow the wish of her ailing mother-in-law. Despite her condition, Ma’am (former President Corazon Aquino) still knows that this is a service James (Yap) will have to do for the country. – Yeng Guiao, Team Pilipinas coach “Knowing James, I believe na gagawin niya yun," he said. Yap didn’t suit up in the RP team’s last two games in the Jones Cup against Taiwan-B and Iran as he hurriedly returned to the country to personally see Mrs. Aquino. “The coaching staff saw the need for him to go back. Kailangan siyang umuwi dahil mas priority naman talaga yun," said Guiao of his decision to allow Yap to come home ahead of the team.

Perhaps so as not to distract Yap when faced with the same situation come the FIBA-Asia meet, Mrs. Aquino deemed it wise to urge her son-in-law to give his service for the country first instead of minding her. “Despite her condition, Ma’am still knows that this is a service James will have to do for the country," Guiao added. -

Endurance Athletes - A Panel

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P1.1-million Omega watch at stake in Goma Cup Reunion

If the participants in Richard Gomez’s Goma Cup Reunion would play harder than usual, it must be because at stake for the overall champion is an Omega Constellation Double Eagle Co Axial “Mission Hills” Numbered Edition Rose Gold in black strap worth, hold your breath, P1.1 million!

The Goma Cup Reunion is slated for April 22 to 25 at the Fairways & Bluewaters in Boracay.

Also at stake is a P.4-million Omega Constellation “Mission Hills” in Titanium as the “hole in one” prize.

The P1.1-M Omega watch will be raffled off if nobody emerges overall champion.

The Goma Cup was last held in 2002. This time, the network war will be set aside as the Goma Cup gathers both Kapamilya and Kapuso golfers who have joined previous Goma Cups.

“Guests will also do their share in helping clean the environment since they will participate in a beach clean-up,” assured Richard.

Guests will also be treated to special dinners for three consecutive nights wearing summer’s hottest shades and glittery glam outfits.

Organized by Richard and Marilen Nuñez in 1994, the Goma Cup is regarded as the longest-running and most successful celebrity event in the country. It gathers the country’s biggest stars, media personalities and other golf enthusiasts.

The Goma Cup Reunion is organized by LEN PLUS Inc., sponsored by Fairways & Bluewaters, Philosophy by Mikaela, Rudy Project, Omega, Ocean Minded, Bench, Hawaiian Tropic, SEAir, Republic, Tides Boracay, Jagermeister, Jose Cuervo Tequilla, Hi-Tech Printing, Fuentes Publicity Network, Inc. and the Philippine Tourism Authority.