'Pacman' Pacquiao expected to gobble up Algieri SPORTS

SPORTS
IMPHAL SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2014
'Pacman' Pacquiao expected to gobble up Algieri India's new league making a big splash
MACAU, Nov 21
A rejuvenated Manny Pacquiao
will look to make short work of
Chris Algieri Sunday to defend
his World Boxing Organisation
welterweight belt and raise his
chances of a showdown with
Floyd Mayweather.
Few believe the eightweight world champion,
oozing confidence and surrounded by a 300-plus
entourage in Macau, will be
seriously troubled by Algieri.
The 30-year-old American
(20-0) is a capable and likeable former kickboxer from
Long Island with a master's
degree and an ambition to be
a doctor.
In June, he got up from
the canvas twice in the first
round to shock Russia's formidable light welterweight
champion
Ruslan
Provodnikov and take the
WBO belt on a split decision.
Now he says he wants to
pull off an almighty upset and
end the fabled career of the
36-year-old Filipino icon and
congressman from Sarangani
province.
The last man to make such
a bold prediction was another
American, Brandon Rios, at
the same venue a year ago.
Rios instead received a lesson
in boxing, speed, agility and
power from "Pacman".
Pacquiao, who once described Algieri as just an
"okay" fighter, remains dismissive of his challenge.
"I know my opponent is
excited to win, but I won't let
that happen," he said at the
Venetian Macau venue.
Pacquiao, whose record
FIFA ethics chiefs agree next
step for 2018/2022 report
ZURICH, Nov 21: FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert and
investigator Michael Garcia met on Thursday and agreed on the
next step for their probe into the bidding process for the 2018/2022
soccer World Cups. They decided that Garcia's report on his
investigation would be sent to the chairman of FIFA's audit and
compliance committee, Domenico Scala, who would in turn decide
how much of the report would be sent to the FIFA executive
committee.
Eckert, head of the ethics committee's adjudicatory chamber, said in a 42-page statement last week there were no
grounds to reopen the bidding process which led to Russia
and Qatar getting the tournaments run by FIFA, world soccer's governing body.
But FIFA was plunged into chaos when Garcia said
Eckert's statement on his 430-page report contained misrepresentations and that he would appeal to FIFA's appeal
committee. Eckert and Garcia said in Thursday's joint statement: "Both chairmen agreed that it is of major importance that
the FIFA Executive Committee has the information necessary
to evaluate which steps are required based on the work done
by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
"The chairmen also offered to answer any questions the
chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee and the
Executive Committee might have."
The statement confirmed that "the investigatory chamber
has already opened a number of formal cases against individuals as a result of that inquiry." It said those cases would not
be affected by Thursday's development, nor by the recent
referral of the reports to the Swiss Federal Public Prosecutor’s
Office. Switzerland's attorney general last week confirmed the
receipt of a complaint submitted by FIFA along with a copy
of the Garcia report. "Both chairmen stressed the vital role of
the FIFA Ethics Committee in ensuring the highest standards
of ethics and governance at FIFA. "Irrespective of the independence of the two chambers, the two chairmen regard good
communication as key to fulfilling that role." —Reuters
stands 56-5-2 with 38 KOs,
had a questionable build-up
in which he made his professional basketball debut in the
Filipino league last month.
But he says his fight
preparations have helped him
regain the aggression and
power that put away worldclass adversaries such as
Oscar de La Hoya, Erik
Morales, Marco Antonio
Barrera,
Juan
Manuel
Marquez, Ricky Hatton and
Shane Mosley in his younger
days. "I'm very happy with
my training camp because it
was a new birth. It was like
back to the old days -- my
speed and power and determination are back," Pacquiao
said. Only by stopping
Algieri will Pacquiao prove
the fearsome "fighter of the
decade" in the 2000s is back,
two weeks before his 36th
birthday.
If he does -- and his Hall
of Fame trainer Freddie
Roach has predicted a firstround knockout -- then a
potential $1 billion megafight
with "Money" Mayweather
may become closer to reality
next year.
Pacquiao and Algieri will
fight for the WBO welterweight (147lb) title at a
catchweight limit of 144lb.
A host of celebrities will
be ringside as promoter Bob
Arum aims to show Saturday
night pay-per-view audiences
in the United States that Chinese territory Macau is
growing to rival Las Vegas
as a fight venue.
Hollywood
superstars
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold
Schwarzenegger have already
confirmed they will be there.
On the undercard they will
see another screen star.
Chinese double Olympic
gold medallist flyweight Zou
Shiming (5-0, 1 KO) had a
cameo role in the recent
"Transformers 4" blockbuster
movie and he will take on
Thailand's
Kwanpichit
Onesongchaigym (27-0, 12
KOs) in a final eliminator for
a world title shot.
Kwanpichit is an uncanny
Pacquiao look-alike -- dubbed
'mini-Manny' by the media -and Zou will be hoping that
the similarity applies only to
the Thai's looks and not his
punching power.
Two other world title fights
complete the pay-per-view
card. WBO featherweight
champion Vasyl Lomachenko
(2-1, 1 KO) and WBA super
lightweight champion Jessie
Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs) will
defend their titles against
Thailand's
Chonlatarn
Piriyapinyo (52-1, 33 KOs)
and
Mexico's
Antonio
DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KOs)
respectively.
NEW DELHI, Nov 21: The
spectators are streaming in, the
foreign players are sparkling on
the pitch and the organizers are
striking the right notes.
The Indian Super League
seems to have added the zing
that football needed in this
country of 1.2 billion people,
which Fifa chief Sepp Blatter
once called "a sleeping giant."
But while the new eightteam league featuring big
names like Nicolas Anelka,
Alessandro Del Piero, Robert
Pires and Luis Garcia has lifted
the game to a level not seen
here before, some football
observers wonder whether it
will be enough to help grow
the sport in the long run.
The league, which began in
October and finishes in December, has big money and
sponsors behind it - it was
organized by IMG-Reliance in
collaboration with Rupert
Murdoch's Star India group
and the All India Football
Federation.
And interest among fans
has been high through the first
half of the tournament, with
attendance averaging 22,639
Blind and Falcao injury blows for Man United
LONDON,
Nov
21:
Manchester United suffered a
double blow on Thursday with
Daley Blind ruled out for a
"long" spell due to a knee
problem and Radamel Falcao
receiving a "new injury" that
will keep him out for at least two
more weeks.
"Blind is not ready, he has
a brace on his knee. He needs
10 days' rest. Then we'll have
another scan and say more
about his injury," manager
Louis van Gaal was quoted
as saying on the club website
(www.manutd.com).
"It's not as bad as the doctors thought after the match.
It shall be a long story, I
believe, but not six months or
something."
Midfielder Blind limped
off in the Netherlands' 6-0
win over Latvia in a Euro
2016 qualifier on Nov. 16.
Earlier on Thursday,
United said on their Twitter
account that Blind "could be
out for six months".
On-loan striker Falcao,
who has not featured since
United drew 2-2 at West
Bromwich Albion on Oct. 20,
has injured his calf and is at
least two weeks away from
returning to fitness.
Radamel Falcao (L) and Daley Blind (R) pose with manager Louis Van Gaal during a photocall
"It takes time," Van Gaal
said. "Next week he shall
train...and then he needs two
weeks and maybe a game."
The Colombia international
dismissed media reports he
was struggling to get over the
serious knee injury he suffered last season.
"It detracts from the credibility of the media that there
is so much speculation and
that so many falsehoods have
been written," Falcao said.
"I did take a small injury
to my calf, which is something that I need to be careful
with, but there are a lot of
stories circulating that are
pure speculation."
United had doubts about
12 players for this Saturday's
Premier League match at Arsenal in the wake of the
international break but Van
Gaal was hopeful winger
Angel Di Maria, keeper
David De Gea, full back Luke
Shaw and midfielder Michael
Carrick would be fit.
"It's difficult to say if anyone is back because we have
to wait for Friday's training
session to decide if they're
back," the manager said.
"Di Maria has trained today normally so I don't think
that is a question mark but
Shaw is. De Gea is good, no
problem. I think I have to
wait for the reactions tomorrow in training with Carrick
but I also expect he's ready to
play."
United are seventh in the
table, one point and one place
behind Arsenal after 11
games with both teams struggling to put together a
consistent run of form.
per match, the highest for a
football league in Asia and
fifth-highest globally after the
Bundesliga, English Premier
League, La Liga and Serie A.
"Indian football has never
been packaged so well before," said Sukhvinder Singh,
managing director of the football marketing consultancy
Libero Sports. "It's reached
even people who do not follow football and some 70
million watched it on the first
day. I feel it's already the second best sports property here
after cricket's Indian Premier
League."
Part of the reason for its
success has been the use of
cricketers
like
Sachin
Tendulkar and Mahendra
Singh Dhoni, as well as a
handful of Indian film stars, to
market the league across the
country.
But despite the added glamour, some critics believe Indian
football will not benefit greatly
if the country's top domestic
league, the I-League, is left to
rot.
Brazilian great Zico, who
helped lead the transformation
of domestic football in Japan,
said the existence of two separate leagues could be an
impediment to the sport's
growth.
"In Japan, the difference
was that everyone was playing in one league only and not
two leagues like in India," said
Zico, who is coaching the Goa
club in the ISL. "Here, some
of the very good players are
not playing in ISL."
Top football officials such
as Fifa secretary Jerome
Valcke and AIFF president
Praful Patel insist the I-League
remains India's only league
and the ISL is merely a tournament.
India has a good
tradition in tennis: Venus
BENGALURU, Nov 21: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams feels that the success of Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes
and Sania Mirza at the international stage proves that India has a
"good tradition" in the sport.
Citing examples of some of the great Indian tennis stars,
Venus said she expects the tradition to continue in future.
"India has a very good tradition in tennis. You have (Vijay)
Amritraj, Leander Paes, (Sania) Mirza. I don't see why that
tradition can't continue," the American told PTI in an interview
here today. Besides seven singles title, Venus also boasts of
13 Grand Slam titles in women's doubles along with her sister
Serena. Venus and Serena, famously known as 'the William
sisters', once made up for the most lethal women's doubles
combination having won 13 Grand Slam titles together. The
siblings have also won three Olympic gold medals in doubles
and have expressed their desire to play in the 2016 Rio
Games. Venus, a former world number one player, attributes
her and Serena's success in doubles to mutual respect for each
other. "I think we both play well together and we also have
good relationship. In doubles, you have to get along with your
partner and respect him or her. If it it not there, then quite
often the relationship deteriorates," she said ahead of the
Champions Tennis League tie between Bangalore Raptors and
Hyderabad Aces.
Even though she is satisfied with her performance in 2014,
Venus was eyeing to rectify the mistakes she committed in this
year. "Year 2014 is a great year for me. I had a lot of success.
You keep on learning, you never stop. I expect 2015 to be
another year for learning. I want to get better. Every time you
lose you learn from it and after every win you look to building
on the tempo," she said.
After playing the game for more than two decades, the
question of retirement is bound to creep up in any
sportsperson's mind, but Venus wants to continue as long as
the desire for the game is still there.
MessichasesrecordamidstiroverBarcelonaexit Ebola-ravaged Guinea overcome odds to reach Nations Cup
BARCELONA, Nov 21:
Lionel Messi will chase the
Spanish league scoring record
on Saturday amid a state of near
panic at Camp Nou caused by
his comments that his future at
Barcelona may not be secure.
Barcelona hosts a strong
Sevilla side on Saturday
while trailing leader Real
Madrid by two points. Madrid visits promoted club
Eibar on the same day.
Messi has been stuck on
250 league goals for the past
three games, leaving him one
shy of matching Telmo
Zarra's all-time record.
But many will surely be
wondering about Messi's future after he hinted that he
may be rethinking his once
steadfast commitment to the
club he has played for since
he was 13.
"While I always said that I
would like to stay there (Barcelona) forever, sometimes
not everything happens the
way you want," Messi said.
Messi's father and agent
downplayed the stir by saying that people "exaggerated"
his son's comment, insisting
that the four-time player of
the year was "happy" at Barcelona.
Here are some other things
to know about this weekend's
games:
MOYES DEBUTS
David Moyes said he had
come to Spain to test his
coaching talents against the
Lionel Messi: Chasing record
best teams in the world, no
doubt referring to European
champion Real Madrid,
league champion Atletico
Madrid and, of course, Barcelona.
Moyes will get an easier
first taste of the Spanish
league, however, with a trip
to Deportivo La Coruna on
Saturday.
The former Manchester
United and Everton manager
takes over a Sociedad side
that has underperformed and
finds itself level on points
with Deportivo in a pack of
five teams only three points
out of last place.
Sociedad forward Chory
Castro said Moyes is looking
to gradually mold the team to
his liking.
"What he has most emphasized is that we pressure
every time we lose the ball,"
Castro said. "He doesn't want
to change everything at once.
He has told us that he will
introduce new concepts little
by little."
MADRID'S A MACHINE
Madrid has erased its
bumpy start to the season and
coach Carlo Ancelotti has his
players scoring more consistently than at any time in the
last 15 years.
Madrid is the only team to
score in all 11 matches, the
first time it has done so since
the start of the 1999-2000
campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo has
powered Madrid's scoring
burst with a league-leading 18
goals and has scored in all 10
league matches he has played.
Madrid will miss Luka
Modric, out with a leg injury.
Either Francisco "Isco"
Alarcon or Sami Khedira will
likely take his place in the
starting lineup.
EXPORTING EIBAR
Eibar will welcome Madrid to its Ipurua Stadium,
which has a capacity of only
6,000 spectators, for the first
time.
And Eibar is not letting the
international exposure go to
waste. The small Basque club
has sold advertising to a Chinese car parts manufacturer
that will appear on the back
of its player's shorts just for
the Madrid game.
Through 10 matches, Eibar
had established the best start
to a season by a debutante in
the league. It arrives from a
2-1 loss at Malaga last match.
KEEPING PACE
Valencia, Atletico and
Sevilla all need to bounce
back after dropping points
last time out.
Valencia is in third place,
three points behind Madrid,
before its city derby at
Levante on Sunday. Atletico
and Sevilla are another point
back in fourth and fifth place.
Atletico hosts a surging
Malaga side on a five-game
winning streak on Sunday.
Sevilla will head to Barcelona led by two of
Barcelona's promising talents
in Gerard Deulofeu and Denis
Suarez, who are playing on
loan this season.
JOHANNESBURG, Nov
21: Ebola-ravaged Guinea
overcame considerable odds to
book an African Nations Cup
finals place, but must still deal
with logistical difficulties and
prejudice as they look ahead to
the tournament in January.
Guinea is one of the African countries hit hardest by
the ravages of the deadly
haemorrhagic fever, which
has claimed more than 1,100
lives there.
Their national team have
had to play homes games at a
neutral venue after the Confederation of African Football
banned the hosting of international matches in Guinea.
Their players have also
come under pressure to avoid
the competition.
Borussia
Moenchengladbach’s Ibrahima Traore,
who scored for Guinea in
their decisive tie against
Uganda on Wednesday to
secure qualification, was
threatened with isolation from
his Bundesliga team mates
when he returned.
"We have had to go
around in a very strange context," coach Michel Dussuyer
said this week, “with health
checks and fleeting glances."
Morocco allowed them to
play their ‘home’ games in
Casablanca, but the players
had to undergo temperature
checks twice daily.
"There have been some
measures we’ve felt have
been discriminatory and when
you have your temperature
taken twice a day it can get
annoying. But everything really is in the attitude of people
you meet and the strange responses we get," Dussuyer
added.
The coach has stayed in
Guinea's capital Conakry
even though almost all of his
players fly in and out of Africa from their clubs in
Europe.
"We ourselves have been
very attentive to what is hap-
pening within the squad. We
are not irresponsible. We are
prudent, it’s a logical approach and it is accepted,”
Dussuyer said.
The coach, however, also
thanked Morocco, who allowed them to play their
qualifiers in Casablanca, and
Benin, where they held training camps. Guinea now need
to find a training venue for
two weeks in January, before
the Nations Cup kicks off.
“There is great satisfaction
in being able to qualify and to
silence our detractors,”
Dussuyer added, after Guinea
finished second in their group
behind Ghana.