mannypacquiao

Danny Garcia & The Puerto Rican Market

March 15, 2014 — 4 Comments

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By Rudy Mondragon 

On March 15, 2014, Danny Garcia (27-0, 16 KOs) will take on Mauricio Herrera (20-3, 7 KOs) in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. This is a good fight for Danny Garcia for many reasons. He needs a tune up fight, which this will be. He is coming off a tough fight last Fall against Lucas Matthysse, so he needs to face someone who does not pack much of a punch. But the most important reason this is a good fight is that it is in Garcia’s country of heritage, Puerto Rico.

What does history tell us? Romanticizing  is something that is done in sports and is used in order to capitalize on individual athletes or sports team. In other words, idealized stories are created to cast shadows over bottom line agendas. When Fernando Valenzuela came to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the fans were told that he was the next big thing. And he was, but what gets less attention is that Fernando was the Dodgers ticket to regaining Latina/o fans. Prior to Fernandomania, Latina/o fans boycotted the Dodgers because many Latina/os were displaced from their homes in order to build Dodger Stadium over Chavez Ravine. Jackie Robinson is an amazing story about an athlete of color breaking into an all white sport. The bottom line for the Dodgers, however, was not trying to be racial justice fighters, they wanted to win a championship. This fight between Garcia and Herrera is no different. There is a goal in mind.

Danny Garcia will be fighting in Puerto Rico for the first time in his career. Why is he not fighting in his hometown of Philadelphia? Why is he not fighting in Los Angeles or Las Vegas? There is an intentionality that Golden Boy Promotions in exercising. Fighting in Puerto Rico means tapping into the boxing fan base that currently exists there. Danny has fans in the United States, but the goal of this fight is to get buy-in from the fans who live in the US unincorporated territory that is Puerto Rico.

Tito Trinidad had fans on both sides. The fans knew him and loved him. Same with Julio Cesar Chavez,  Hector “Macho” Camacho, Manny Pacquiao, and many others. Fighters like Oscar De La Hoya, and in this case Danny Garcia, who are US born and bred have a hard time gaining acceptance from the fans of their country of heritage.

This fight represents an opportunity for Golden Boy Promotions and Danny Garcia to tap into a new market. This will afford them more Puerto Rican-based fans and, looking into the future, more pay-per-view sales when Danny Garcia becomes a PPV level fighter.

So in the name of Boxing and Money, tonights fight represents an opportunity to capitalize on Danny Garcia and make financial killings in the future. It does not mean that tonight won’t be exciting though. Tune in tonight and also watch Daniel Ponce De Leon take on Juan Manuel Lopez.

What are your thoughts BMB Fam?

VIDEO: Strength & Conditioning Changes in Pacquiao Camp

March 14, 2014 — Leave a comment

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By Rudy Mondragon 

In a recent trip to Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym, I was pleasantly surprised to learn of some team changes. As I was talking to some of Manny Paquiao’s fans from Texas, strength and conditioning coach Cecilo Flores walked right by me. I was naturally shocked! This is the man who had been working with Robert Garcia in Oxnard, California. Shocked because I saw him in my last two trips to Garcia’s gym. Is he now working for the rival gym? He sure is.

It all made sense when Cecilio broke it down. The arrival of Alex Ariza in Robert Garcia’s gym meant two strength and conditioning coaches under the same roof. It was time for Cecilio to look for a new challenge and move on. Alex Ariza is the former strength and conditioning coach for Freddie Roach and some of his fighters, including Manny Pacquiao. In a funny way, it was like the gyms traded each other’s strength and conditioning coaches. I’m sure it’s more complex than that as context is every bit important in a situation like this.

Good for Cecilio. He is a stand up guy and a professional. He had nothing but great things to say about Robert Garcia, Garcia’s Boxing Academy, Alex Ariza, and the boxers in that stable. He looked happy, excited, and motivated to work with Freddie Roach and Manny. Blood Money Boxing wishes Cecilio Flores the best of luck in preparing Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming fight and in Cecilio’s future training endeavors. He even gave Blood Money Boxing a quick shout out, check it out here:

Manny (2014) Official Documentary Trailer

February 4, 2014 — Video — Leave a comment

By Rudy Mondragon

Shout out to Pound 4 Pound DVD (you can find them on Facebook) for sharing the youtube link to the trailer for “Manny.” “Manny” is soon to be released at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival. The synopsis describes this documentary as the story of Manny Pacquiao and his journey from poverty to capitalistic riches, becoming 8 time boxing world champion, his political career, and his international icon status.

Many notable figures appear in the trailer, including his current trainer Freddie Roach, long-time fan Mark Wahlberg, and former strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, to name a few.

The documentary is narrated by Liam Neeson.

Floyd scared? Manny Says “Kinda”

January 10, 2014 — Video — Leave a comment

Credit goes to the Ring Magazine article (http://ringtv.craveonline.com), but this is a crazy compilation on basically what would make ALL of my 2014 be the best of all years, a fight between Manny and Floyd. We’ll see, but overall, after this video, and if Floyd NEVER fights Manny, I would still tell my kids that Manny was the people’s champ, period.