The sky is the limit for Yuri Gamboa (22-0, 16 KOs) after winning his Manny Pacquaio vs. Juan Manuel Marquez undercard fight at the MGM Grandin Las Vegas on Dec. 8.
Gamboa, a former Cuban Olympic boxing Gold medalist and 50 Cent’s first promoted fighter, knocked off Filipino fighter Michael Farenas (34-4-4) by a convincing 117-109, 118-108 and 117-108 advantage. He obtained the WBA interim-super featherweight title with the victory.
Before the match, 50 Cent made his mark by lowering himself down to the ring from the rafters while rapping his new single "My Life."
In the ring, things started out slow but quickly turned around for 50 Cent’s heavily favored client. Gamboa brought the fight to Farenas throughout the bout in order to score his convincing win.
He dropped Farenas to the mat in the second round, cut him open in the third and then dropped him again with a vicious combination in the seventh.
Farenasdidn’t give up, though, and tagged the favorite with a big left hook in the ninth round, sending him hurt to the mat.
It was a good but expected performance from the former Olympian. The fact that it came on as big of a stage as it did makes the win one of the biggest of his career.
The undefeated Gamboa is likely to find himself in the ring with super lightweight Adrien Broner as a result of pulling off this win.
Promoter 50 Cent said he was going to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
“I would [put Gamboa against Broner]. Gamboa’s next fight, he’ll probably move up to 135. That’s exciting, right? That what people want to see, right?,” 50 Cent said, according to Chuck Creekmur of AllHipHop.com.
The fight, if it does goes down, would be the biggest of Gamboa’s career.
If he can pull a win off at a greater weight and against a fighter of Broner’s caliber, there would be nothing stopping him from stardom.
LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao never saw it coming. He never saw the punch that snapped his head back Saturday and dropped him to the canvas and left him sprawled there momentarily, face down, while his wife sobbed uncontrollably and the packed crowd at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena rose to its feet in shock.
With that, a rivalry known for its lack of a definitive triumph suddenly had the most definitive ending of them all.
Juan Manuel Marquez threw both arms skyward, as blood dripped from his nose. Bedlam ensued all around him, but Marquez said little. His face said it all.
His face summarized four fights between two men, two scored in favor of Pacquiao, another one a draw. His face summarized the release of nearly a decade of frustration. For the moment that Marquez waited for and obsessed over, for the moment he set the record straight.
“I threw the perfect punch,” he said.
It happened in the sixth round, after Pacquiao mounted the most furious of comebacks, after he overcame an early knockdown with a reciprocal knockdown, after he stung Marquez with a series of left hands. As Round 6 neared its conclusion, Marquez (55-6-1, 40 knockouts) crept in close to Pacquiao, and he came over the top from a short distance with that right.
The shot crumpled Pacquiao (54-5-2) to the canvas, right in front of Bob Arum, his promoter, who held his hands out as if he wanted to catch his prized fighter in his arms. Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, held her face in both hands and cried. It took her husband several minutes to rise, and when he did, his face was bruised under both eyes, which were vacant. He looked lost.
“We knew it would be a tough fight,” Marquez said. “But not an impossible fight.”
Pacquiao was later sent to the hospital for a CAT scan; Marquez had a broken nose and a suspected concussion.
Before the fight, Pacquiao strode deep inside Grand Garden Arena, through a maze of tunnels. He entered Dressing Room 2 at 5:40 p.m. This was about an hour earlier than for his previous foray against Marquez. Pacquiao was so early that he caught the drug testers off guard. One ran off to fetch a test kit. Pacquiao just smiled, his face filled with confidence, so sure.
The boxer embraced his trainer, Freddie Roach.
“How are you?” Roach asked him. “You good?”
Pacquiao simply nodded.
He wore a blue T-shirt imprinted with his likeness; T-shirt Manny held a microphone, wore boxing shoes and spun a basketball on an index finger. Real-life Manny sat in a chair below where highlights of his previous Marquez fights played on a flat-screen television.
As if to underscore his mood, Pacquiao did not wait for the HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant to interview him. He grabbed the microphone and interviewed Merchant instead. Merchant ably played along. To one query, he said he wanted to confirm HE won the previous three fights against Marquez.
Pacquiao looked up, incredulous. “Wait,” he said, “that’s my line.”
Then it got surreal. In came Mitt Romney. Yes, that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and the presidential runner-up, every hair on his head in place. Romney, in fact, came in twice. His introduction was at once awkward and hilarious.
“Hi, Manny,” he said. “I’m Mitt Romney. I ran for president. I lost.”
All that really happened, truth stranger than fiction. Or just another Pacquiao fight.
The fighter himself stood coiled in his corner before the opening bell ring, his fists already raised. Then he charged at Marquez like a bull at a matador. Pacquiao fought the smarter fight early, as he tagged Marquez with lefts and avoided the right hand.
That all changed in the third round, all changed with one punch. It came from Marquez, who sent his right arm wide, over Pacquiao’s left glove, flush into Pacquiao’s face. The punch sent Pacquiao flying backward, on his backside. He climbed to his feet quickly, his face twisted into a sneer.
It marked the first time in 39 rounds between the fighters that Marquez had knocked Pacquiao down. If anything, it seemed to galvanize Pacquiao. Well, at least until the sixth.
Through three previous fights, through 36 razor-thin rounds, Pacquiao and Marquez had already staged a trilogy that lacked but one significant element: a clear outcome. In those bouts, Pacquiao did not lose. But he did not exactly win, either. His Marquez tally consisted of two victories and one draw and enough doubt to make a rare fourth fight compelling enough to stage.
Boxing history is much like blockbuster movies in that regard. They are plenty of trilogies, three meetings between two fighters that defined careers. A fourth fight is more uncommon. It happened with Sugar Ray Robinson and Gene Fullmer, with Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles, with Bobby Chacon and Rafael Limon and in a handful of other instances.
Pacquiao did not want a fourth bout, not initially. Nor did Roach. Marquez, among the best counterpunches of his era, often befuddled Pacquiao with stylistic kryptonite. He waited until Pacquiao came to him. And when Pacquiao, against Roach’s instructions, shifted left and led with jabs, Marquez countered over the top with stinging straight right hands.
Marquez arrived here like some boxing Popeye, his body bigger, his muscles carved from long hours in the gym. The questionable past of his trainer, Angel Guillermo Heredia, an admitted steroids dealer who testified for the government in the Balco scandal, only added to rampant speculation, which Marquez and his camp vehemently denied.
Still, Roach maintained that speed, not bulk, won fights. “I don’t think muscle men have a better chin,” he said.
The last time these boxers met, Pacquiao entered the ring with his personal life in shambles. He arrived late to the arena, and in an argument with his wife. Throughout that camp, his confidants described Pacquiao as a changed man who replaced his numerous vices with religion. Now, they say that Pacquiao, obsessive in all endeavors, had binged too much on Bible study.
Only in boxing could someone cite too much Bible study as a distraction for a fight.
For this bout, Pacquiao cut out plyometrics from his training, exercises that he said led to cramping in his calves. His promoter, Arum of Top Rank Boxing, said the last time he saw Team Pacquiao this peaceful was before Pacquiao fought Oscar De La Hoya, before he became famous and his life personal life imploded, before he won a Congressional election in the Philippines.
Whether such tranquillity could translate into the aggression Roach desired remained to be seen. They had a game plan for the third fight, after all, until Pacquiao discarded it.
This time, Pacquiao appeared to follow the plan. He remained aggressive, even as he lunged forward, at times off balance, susceptible to the right. Asked afterward if he would entertain a fifth fight, Pacquiao said, “Why not?”
Perhaps he will want to watch the punch on replay. It happens to most every fighter, one of boxing’s starkest and saddest truths. They all get hit, all get knocked down. Some champions, even Pacquiao, get knocked out.
“I got hit by a punch I didn’t see,” he said.
Marquez knocking out Pacquiao
Freddie Roach post fight press conference
Manny Pacquiao talks about KO and possible rematch with Marquez
Trinidad James links up with Mike Will Made It for "The Turn Up." The song is off of Mike Will's upcoming mixtape Est. In 1989 2.5 dropping on December 24th.
Atlanta rapper Future is feeling good about his current status in the rap. Watch him count cash and stunt on haters in his new music video for "What's Wrong."
Future's latest album Pluto 3D is now available on iTunes.
Pictures have surfaced of Ice-T's wife Coco all boo'd up with another rapper by the name of AP.9. Apparently Coco is out in Vegas and got close with AP. Pics taken of the two together are not the kind a married woman would normally take.
As word spread about the pics Coco took to her Twitter account to downplay them.
Unfortunately for Coco, Ice wasn't buying that excuse. He went on Twitter to let the world know he felt like his wife did him dirty.
"Coco's in Vegas. She has given me her explanation of the pics on the net from her first weeks out there with some dude. She said he knew someone in the crew from our show and would pop up where ever they would go. He also said he knew me.. I don't know dude," Ice wrote. "Regardless.. They would take Posed pics every time. Most of them disrespectful and in bad taste. She's made me look.. And feel like sh-t. I say this on Twitter because there's no way to avoid the obvious misconduct of a married couple. That's it. Any more questions ask @Cocosworld. Don't get it twisted... I'm not happy about this sh*t. Daily Game: Trust no one."
Coco reacted by issuing a public apology to Ice.
"Ice is right,the pics I took with this man were in poor taste & I disrespected my husband however the pics were the only thing that happened," Coco wrote.
Is this the end for Ice and Coco? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
An outpouring of anger is being directed today at the two Australian radio hosts after the death of a nurse who was caught in the DJs' prank call to hospital where Kate Middleton was treated earlier this week.
Lord Glenarthur, the chairman of King Edward VII's Hospital - the U.K. hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment, condemned the prank in a letter to the Max Moore-Wilton, chairman of Southern Cross Austereo, the Australian radio station's parent company.
Glenarthur said the prank humiliated "two dedicated and caring nurses," and the consequences were "tragic beyond words," The Associated Press reported.
"I think that it's a bit early to be drawing conclusions from what is really a deeply tragic matter," Rhys Holleran, CEO of Southern Cross Austereo told a news conference in Sydney. "I mean, our main concern is for the family. I don't think anyone could have reasonably foreseen that this was going to be a result."
Nurse Jacintha Saldanha was found dead Friday morning after police were called to an address near the hospital to "reports of a woman found unconscious," according to a statement from Scotland Yard.
Circumstances of her death are still being investigated, but are not suspicious at this stage, authorities said Friday.
Following news of Saldanha's death, commentary on social media included posts expressing shock, sadness and anger.
A sampling of some of the twitter posts directed at the DJs included: "you scumbag, hope you get what's coming to you" and "I hope you're happy now."
The hospital said that Saldanha worked at the hospital for more than four years. They called her a "first-class nurse" and "a well-respected and popular member of the staff."
The hospital extended their "deepest sympathies" to family and friends, saying that "everyone is shocked" at this "tragic event."
"I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife Jacintha in tragic circumstances, she will be laid to rest in Shirva, India," Saldanha's husband posted on Facebook.
The duchess spent three days at the hospital undergoing treatment for hyperemesis gravidarum, severe or debilitating nausea and vomiting. She was released from the hospital on Thursday morning.
Kate Middleton
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Jacintha Saldanha," a spokesman from St. James Palace said in a statement.
On Friday, Greig and Christian had been gloating about their successful call to the hospital, in which they pretended to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and were able to obtain personal information about the Duchess's serious condition.
"You know what they were the worst accents ever and when we made that phone call we were sure a hundred people at least before us would have tried the same thing," said Grieg on air. She added with a laugh, "we were expecting to be hung up on we didn't even know what to say [when] we got through."
"We got through and now the entire world is talking, of course," said her co-host Christian.
When the royal impersonators called the hospital, Saldanha put through to a second nurse who told the royal impersonators that Kate was "quite stable" and hadn't "had any retching."
The hospital apologized for the mistake.
"The call was transferred through to a ward, and a short conversation was held with one of the nursing staff," the hospital said in a statement. "King Edward VII's Hospital deeply regrets this incident."
"This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore," John Lofthouse, the hospital's chief executive, said in the statement. "We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously, and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."
The radio station also apologized for the prank call.
"2Day FM sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the inquiry to Kate's hospital. The radio segment was done with lighthearted intentions," the station said in a statement earlier.
Backlash
The Sydney radio station - famous for its pranks and outrageousness - has suspended all advertising in the face of an advertising boycott.
It was warned by Australia's broadcast regulator last spring about its violations of the "decency provision" of the country's broadcast code. Authorities are now looking to see if the radio hosts violated the criminal code, with some calling for charges of involuntary manslaughter.
The prank had been cleared by the Australian radio station's lawyers. CEO Holleran said the DJs followed the company's procedures before broadcasting the call.
"I think the more important question here is that we're very confident that we haven't done anything illegal. Our main concern at this point in time is what has happened is incredibly tragic and we're deeply saddened and we're incredibly affected by that."
730 Dips artist Sen City is getting ready to release his new Clear Smoke mixtape December 9th. Sen gives fans a taste of what's to come with "She Bad" featuring Jim Jones.
Uncle Murda and Diddy Bop recently paid a visit to the Shade 45 studios to chop it up with The Drama King A.K.A. DJ Kay Slay. While there the two hopped on the "No Worries" instrumental and filmed a freestyle.
Super talented R&B singer Chrisette Michele releases her new Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation project. Chrisette secured features from Rob Glasper, 2 Chainz, Fogo, Lem Payne, Wale, Dunson, Bilal, Kenneth Whalum and more.
Big Boi was the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon recently. The Atlanta rapper performed "Mama Told Me," the lead single off of his sophomore album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. Little Dragon was on hand to lend an assist.
Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors goes on sale December 11th. You can pre-order it HERE
Black Hippy member Jay Rock becomes the latest artist to step into the BET Backroom booth for a freestyle session. The Top Dawg Entertainment spitter reps California well.
Katt Williams had a change of heart and decided he was wasn't going to retire after all. Several days ago the comedian announced he was hanging up the mic, but on Thursday his management issued a statement to TMZ saying he was frustrated when he made that comment to a Seattle TV station.
"Katt is definitely NOT retiring. He will be moving forward with the tour ... Friday is Texas, Saturday New Orleans, and on to Alabama. The reason why he made remarks was due to him feeling totally disrespected by all the things that happen to him in the city of Seattle. He had a moment where he felt very unappreciated. He now just wants to move forward from those unfortunate events and give his fans outstanding shows from this point forward."
Despite his renewed commitment to stand-up, Katt was a no-show for his appearance in Houston last night. Toyota Center officials issued a statement late Friday stating the event was canceled "due to circumstances beyond their control."
Instead of telling jokes in Texas, the troubled 39-year old comic was busy getting arrested in Dunnigan, California. Katt was popped at a gas station Friday after a traffic stop. An arrest warrant had been issued for him out of Sacramento County Thursday for a reckless driving incident that happened in November in which he led Sacramento police on a wild chase while riding a three-wheeled motorcycle.
According to KCRA, Katt will be back in a Sacramento court in January after assault charges were filed against him for slapping a Target employee in the face on the same day he fled from police.
Snoop Dogg told TMZ that he hopes his friend gets some help.
"Katt needs some help. Somebody really needs to sit him down and get him some help," Snoop said. "I'm his friend, I can't clown or laugh at him. I really wanna see him get some help before he goes too far."
Posted by BIGGA RANKIN on December 7, 2012 at 6:09pm
Charge Nation releases the lead single and video for "BORN SLAVES, DIE KINGS" from Young Swift's mixtape "MAJOR DEAL MINOR ISSUES: M.D.M.I." download now via www.LiveMixTapes.com For more information contact one of the following today:
Nando 678.410.4478 or Ab 678.578.7807 or Rick 404.482.8934
50 Cent'sStreet King Immortal album will arrive in stores on February 26 via Shady/Aftermath/Interscope.
The disc is 50's final album obligation under his current contract with Interscope. In a new interview with Billboard, he explains the album's delay and why he wouldn't mind remaining at the company after it's released.
"All the success I've had has been with Interscope, so of course I'd stay where I'm comfortable," he says. "It took a little longer than we needed with business affairs at Interscope to get everything done. [The offices now have] new people I have to get acquainted with," 50 added, referring to John Janick being named president/COO of Interscope Geffen in October.
The business mogul also talks about how Occupy Wall Street influenced him while establishing Street King energy shots and SMS Audio. Every energy shot sold provides a meal for a hungry child abroad through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). For each domestic purchase of a headphone at smsaudio.com, SMS donates 250 meals to those in need here in America through a partnership with Feeding America.
"[When] I was developing the market for [Street King], [there] was a lot of protesting going on -- Occupy Wall Street, L.A. and Chicago, all those different places -- so it was really visible how people felt major corporations didn't actually care about them," he says. "It felt like the right thing to do."
Machine Gun Kelly is no stranger to controversy and he's launched a new video game that is sure to get people talking.
"Nun Puncher" allows fans act as a cartoon version of MGK and "use their iron fists to fight off evil, zombie like nuns who attempt to kill the Cleveland rapper." The more nuns you punch, the more powerful you become.
Players are encouraged to tweet their high scores to the Bad Boy rapper with the hashtag #NunPuncher to get a retweet from the "Wild Boy."
Rick Ross has cancelled the remaining dates on his Maybach Music Group tour. The trek was supposed to run through December 16th.
As we previously reported, Ross cancelled shows that were scheduled in Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina amid reports that he had received death threats from the GD's (Gangster Disciples). Today reps for the rapper told AllHipHop that due to the “apparent lack of organization and communication on the part of the tour promoter,” the remaining dates of the Maybach Music Tour have officially been canceled.
Ross issued the following statement:
“I want to apologize to all of my fans who I missed performing for due to the cancellations and want to let them know that I will get back to their cities. I enjoyed my experience with my little bros Wale and Meek Mill and I’m ready to get back in the studio to make good music.”
The timing of the cancellations would lead some to believe that the GD's might have Ross hesitant to be on the road at the present time. The GD's have released several videos from factions in Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado and Georgia warning promoters not to book Ross without checking with them first. The group is demanding Ross pay for disrespecting them by using their imprisoned leader Larry Hoover's name in the song "B.M.F. (Blowing Money Fast)."
They reportedly gave him a pass initially, but he gave them false contact information and backed out of an agreement to speak at some of their functions at schools and appear at events to help them further their "growth and development" movement.
Ross further angered the GD's by putting his face on their six point star on the cover of his Black Bar Mitzvah mixtape.
We'll keep you updated as this story continues to unfold.
Colorado GD's get at Rick Ross
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Pusha T is getting ready to deliver his first solo album titled My Name Is My Name in 2013. But first the G.O.O.D. Music rapper will break fans off with the Wrath of Caine mixtape.
Check out the black and white trailer for Wrath of Caine below.
Big Boi will release his second solo album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors on December 11th. The Outkast spitter has recruited some top notch talent for features.
T.I., Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi, Killer Mike, A$AP Rocky, B.o.B, Little Dragon and more have added their talents to the project.
Check out the booklet and production credits courtesy of HHNM. You can pre-order the album HERE.
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