Right after finishing my route for tonight, I went home immediately to watch the highly anticipated super featherweight fight between Manny "The Destroyer" Pacquaio (Philippines) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (Mexico). Though I've been waiting for this fight for weeks, the two fighters have been waiting for FOUR YEARS since they last fought, which resulted in a draw.

I'm still a bit speechless about the fight. It was close. Way too close that I seriously thought that it was going to be another draw. But Manny Pacquaio WON!!! w0000t!!! But Marquez put up such a great fight, that it was almost a near repeat of what happened four years ago.

I need some rest. Here's the news from The Canadian Press:

Manny Pacquiao beats Juan Manuel Marquez in a sensational split decision

LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao's rematch victory over Juan Manuel Marquez was worth every minute of the four-year wait.

Pacquiao won a narrow split decision to claim Marquez's WBC 130-pound title Saturday night in a sensational fight that left two of the world's best boxers bloody and triumphant.

Though Marquez landed more punches at a higher percentage, Pacquiao (46-3-2) knocked down Marquez (48-4-1) in the third round and persevered through a nasty cut. Marquez also was cut in the fight, but neither backed down from one scintillating exchange after another.

Their first matchup ended in a draw in May 2004. Marquez was knocked down three times in the opening round of that acclaimed bout, but improbably rallied to win most of the later rounds in a possible career-saving performance.

May 2004

And that meeting was just a warmup.

Judge Duane Ford favoured Pacquiao 115-112 and Jerry Roth called it 115-112 for Marquez, while Tom Miller gave a 114-113 edge to Pacquiao. The Associated Press narrowly favoured Marquez, 114-113.

But with outstanding action in nearly every round producing bloody injuries and heart-stopping moments, the fight was befitting of a matchup between two of the world's most gifted boxers.

From the opening bell, the action was fast and frenetic at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Marquez staggered Pacquiao in the second round, but Pacquiao knocked down Marquez in the third with a left hook. Pacquiao then wobbled Marquez again late in what's sure to be one of the year's best rounds, but couldn't finish off Marquez.

"I don't like the decision," Marquez said. "I still feel I am the champion. It was a bad decision. That first knockdown, he got me cold, but then I adjusted my game plan and I thought from then on, I dictated the whole fight. ... The people are the best judge, and the people are booing him. I won." Pacquiao won a major world title in his fourth weight division, and he intends to take on a fifth when he moves up to 135 pounds for his next fight against David Diaz, the WBC lightweight champion who won on Saturday's undercard

w0000000000000t!!!

Pacman the Destroyer, Manny Pacquiao WON!!!


Read more about it here: Pacquiao beats Barrera again

...more on this later.

Kelly Pavlik, one of my "Hometown Heros" has won the Middleweight Champion TITLE by TKO against Jermain Taylor!!

 

I am *so* proud of Kelly!! I don't care what anybody says, MY town is an AMAZING town that has pumped out quite a few stars in all sorts of genres. Kelly gave props to his town AND to the Oaks, which is my spot- for myriad reasons.

 

On MY scorecard, Pavlik wins- hands down!

I was thinking recently about all the rules I learned when I was introduced to boxing. Most of the rules seemed stupid, designed to keep a person from hurting the other guy (no grapples, no hitting below a certain point, no elbows or knees). I mean, what's the point of fighting, if you're going to deliberately avoid hurting the other person? When I learned Akido and Tae Kwon Do, there was discipline, accuracy, heavy rulesets, but you always knew that the goal was to neutralize an enemy through force. But here, in Boxing, the rules seemed bent on not hurting each other.

It took me a long time to realize that boxing was not supposed to be about fighting. Despite the many ham-fisted pugilists who try to get around the rules, boxing really is an art. It's about strategy. A good boxer feels out his opponent for weaknesses and exploits them, in the same way that coaches stress over calling the right plays in football. The end result is force, but properly applied force is far more noble and artful.

I was thinking about that yesterday because I was considering the backlash that the RIAA/MPAA are suffering, due to their DRM crackdown. Lots has been written, software has been made and broken, and many people have been angered over this. Still, you have to look at the end result.

The world is now more aware of piracy than they ever have been. People are more informed about what they can and can't do with the audio and video that comes through the airwaves, and through their internet. While Fair Use is still getting a hammering, average citizens are now aware of "piracy" "P2P" and "file swapping". They may not be getting good information about it, but people are more aware of it.

The RIAA has filed thousands of lawsuits against customers and has never won. Not once. Not one win over thousands of tries. Most people simply cave and pay the extortion money, rather than go to court. And every time they sue a child or grandmother, they get more publicity. But even more interesting than informing people about piracy, they are sending another, more subtle message.

By assigning an astronomically huge value to their media, the RIAA/MPAA are giving people the subconscious message that the media is worth a lot of money. Then, even if they disagree with how much the media is worth, that makes people think that the media is valuable, hence, worth buying.

Think about it, in the 80s I used to tape music off the radio, I used to pass it around to my friends, it was no big deal. But by my treating it cheaply, wasn't I devaluing the music? If I was afraid to let it go, nervous about what would happen to me if someone got my music, wouldn't I then horde the music? Wouldn't I hold it to my chest, ensure that I have backups, and try to build my war chest of music? Wouldn't I be giddy to see a sale on music, desperate to keep it in my personal locker of entertainment?

It's possible that, by making us afraid of giving away music, the RIAA wants us to value music, and buy more of it. They may not care at all about DRM, but still want to put the fear of music into us so that we each desire a cache of music to keep all to ourselves.

Boxing may look like fighting, but it's really a game of strategy.

Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson has been indicted on charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs.  He could face up to 7 years in prison.

 

I used to like Tyson...at least as a boxer.  But what has he done lately?  Nothing.  And now he might be going to prison.  What a waste of talent.