PPV’s working, and we’ll be live.

Doug Fischer
matchboxing.com

Really? MATCH boxing? Maxboxing is one of the most respected sites out there.

“This fight will be one of the most exciting fights people will ever see.”

Pacquiao with a Billy Goat in a Cubs cap. Excellent.

There is no way anyone thinks Diaz hits harder than Pacquiao. I’m sorry, but that little bit of talkin’ is straight gibberish. Diaz’s power is moderate on a good day.

Here’s to ya, Ma!

Hopefully that blip a few minutes ago was the end of it.

I figured Soto-Lorenzo would go first.

Lampley thinks Valero fights at 126. A rare boner from Big Jim.

Couple of southpaws here, too. Santiago is staying light on his feet and trying to come in with combos, and Luevano wants to counter as usual. Luevano with a straight left that doesn’t quite get there. They’re trading a lot of leather over the first 1:15 of the fight.

Luevano is picking his spots really well so far, which he usually does. Santiago seems reckless, even, not just aggressive. Nice body shot from Luevano, then a pot shot upstairs. Nice combo from Luevano, who looks faster than Santiago. And stronger than usual, too. Luevano is able to get in some good stuff so far.

Nice first round from the titleholder, but Santiago isn’t going to go down easy, either.

Luevano 10-9

Part of any server blips we have tonight could come from the fact that the Pacquiao fan sites have exploded our visits in the last hour and a half or so.

Bam! Santiago catches Luevano with a stiff overhand left, and Luevano hits the canvas on a knee. That was a lot like the Jandaeng knockdown.

WHAM! Luevano with a beautiful, perfect left handed shot, and SANTIAGO is down! Not huge knockdowns, just clean shots that wobbled the knees.

Mario landing the jab now, and Luevano snaps his jaw with another pretty left hand. This is a hell of a fun fight thus far. Can’t ask for much more, can you?

Luevano is coming in over the jab with his long left really well, which I think is due to hurt Santiago again sooner than later. Two guys throw vicious left hands, Luevano’s seems to land better. Tough round to score, obviously.

Luevano 10-9
Luevano 20-18

Santiago comes out throwing big shots again. Luevano is clearly the better fundamental boxer, but Santiago seems to think he can win on aggression. It’s probably his best shot, and the mesh has been good for the viewer.

Luevano is landing cleaner shots, though. Both countering and coming first. The pacing is pushed by Santiago, but Luevano is having no problems adjusting. Santiago caught with a couple more good shots.

We only have Jim and Manny on the mic tonight, by the way. Why Max isn’t here I can’t figure, but hey.

Stiff right hook from Luevano, and he’s started to make Santiago miss a lot more. This is more like the first round than the second. Luevano gets SLAMMED with a left hand, but he’s fighting back even though clearly hurt. That punch was stronger than the one that put him down last round, but he was more balanced this time.

Luevano 10-9
Luevano 30-27

You have to like what Luevano does even if you don’t find him exciting, and this fight is showing him very able to mix it up with a guy that presses and can do so with fast hands, unlike Jandaeng, who was just way too slow for Luevano.

Luevano loses his mouthpiece after hurting Santiago a bit early in the round, which might disrupt Steven’s rhythm a little. I still like Santiago, but he’s looking plain outclassed by Luevano, who is impressing me more tonight than he did against Jandaeng or Davis, his last two PPV undercard appearances.

Stiff straight left by Santiago, really pretty. Weeks warns Luevano for holding the hit and throwing uppercuts. Santiago did a couple nice things this round, but it’s yet another on the boards for Luevano.

Luevano 10-9
Luevano 40-36

Clean right counter from Luevano. Clean left counter from Luevano. There’s a sharp right hook, and he might have Santiago in trouble—OH MAN, Santiago DRILLS Luevano with a right uppercut. That was nearly cartoonish, and Luevano stayed on his feet.

Santiago comes in with a big left and ducks his head down a lot. Luevano continues to neutralize Santiago, but there are some body shots that score. BIG left from Santiago. Luevano’s in trouble! ANother left lands! And another! And another!

Santiago is swarming, and runs out of gas it appears. This is a hell of a fight!

Luevano loses his mouthpiece again, and that buys him a few seconds. BIG round for Santiago.

Santiago 10-9
Luevano 49-46

CompuBox through five rounds:

Luevano - 107/292, 37%
Santiago - 102/374, 27%

There’s a right hook by Santiago, a swatting shot that catches Luevano. Luevano has definitely slowed down some, or else Santiago is just figuring him out a little as this goes on. Another scoring left from Santiago.

Luevano’s lefts are starting to catch shoulder instead of jaw bone. Nice 1-2 from Luevano. And another one. Right hand by Santiago as Manny references seeing Jorge Linares on youtube.

Luevano is bleeding from the nose, it appears. Luevano is trying to grab and hold on a lot.

LAMPLEY. VALERO DOES NOT FIGHT AT 126. SOMEONE CORRECT HIM.

Santiago tears into Luevano again near the close of the round, sealing a second straight 10-9.

Santiago 10-9
Luevano 58-56

Hurrld has the same score I do.

Santiago backs Luevano into the ropes again, and he’s landing that left to great effect. There it is again! And again!

I’ll tell you, the tide has turned. Monster left from Santiago just barely misses. That could’ve been a KO shot. I’m not sure at this point why Luevano doesn’t take his foot off the gas and just counter. There’s some good jabbing from Luevano.

Luevano has taken to clinching, and his legs just don’t look great at all. He shot up 13 pounds to 139 since the weigh-in, so maybe his conditioning just isn’t great, or maybe it’s simply Santiago wearing him out with big shots.

Santiago 10-9
Luevano 67-66

This is a four-round sweep in the making that has turned into an up-for-grabs affair.

Weeks gets all over both for holding. The pace has been dialed down the last two rounds, and Luevano is boxing better this round. There’s the left, and then a strong right hook from Santiago. And he hits him with a big left. Santiago is going to knock Luevano out if this keeps up. He’s taken over entirely. And, again, this is a hell of a good fight.

Santiago’s power punching has made this fight the last few rounds. And Luevano’s hurt again! 10 secnds left, and Santiago just UNLOADS in the corner. Luevano has no choice but to fire back!

Give these two a hand right now, Las Vegas, they’re earning it.

Santiago 10-9
76-76 through eight rounds

A tale of two fights so far. Let’s see what happens in the last third.

Luevano finally blocks the left hand. When Luevano comes in, Santiago has stayed busy with at least a sloppy jab, deterring Luevano’s advances. And Steven just isn’t landing the power stuff he did earlier.

Nice left from Luevano. 1-2 from Luevano. And another. You can hear him forcing himself to throw those punches. But they are landing and scoring, and he’s making an obscene habit of it now. Santiago can’t afford to give rounds away. He needs to open up.

Luevano with another long left. There isn’t a ton on what he’s landing, but landing a little beats landing nothing at all. Steven has out-worked Santiago this round and done a great job rebounding. Good round for the titleholder.

Luevano 10-9
Luevano 86-85

you guys thought ordering this was bad… a friend of mines just told me his direct tv lost its signal about 10 mins ago… lloooorrrddddd

Santiago comes out with a MASSIVE left, and he’s storming again! Luevano is hurt. And Weeks breaks them when I think he could’ve left them alone.

Santiago rips a right hook counter, and he goes to the body with Luevano leaning against the ropes. Luevano with some nice right hands, and he’s shoving Santiago now. Santiago catches him again! On the ropes, and Santiago has him hurt again. Big uppercut!

Luevano keeps throwing back. Santiago is unloading! Body shot from Luevano. This is a hell of a damned fight! So far so good on spending money tonight.

Luevano goes to the body and shuts Santiago down. Now Santiago is the one backing into the ropes. He’s tired. 45 seconds are left to go this round, and Santiago is looking out of gas.

Santiago’s legs are shot right now, and he’s just trying to get out of the round. Luevano is chasing, but he can’t find a good opening. Santiago survives the round, and that might be the toughest one of the night to score. I have to give it to Mario, he won more of the round and had Luevano rocking again.

Santiago 10-9
95-95

Two rounds to decide this fight on my scorecard. Hurrld has the same score.

Luevano is controlling again, and for whatever reason Santiago is no longer pressing. Did he punch himself out in the 10th? I don’t get what he’s doing here. His best moments have all come from just going balls-out.

Luevano is coming at him again, and Luevano AGAIN loses his mouthpiece. That’s the third freaking time.

And he drops it again before we get back into action! What is it with Tony Weeks fights and mouthpieces?

Man, Santiago has essentially given two of the last three rounds away. That is just not a good idea. I don’t get what Mario’s doing.

Luevano 10-9
Luevano 105-104

They get a deserved ovation at the opening bell. They should get one at the end of the round, too. These guys have made their portion of tonight’s money more than worth it.

They come out throwing the leather, and I can’t ask for much more. Santiago’s looking for an opening, too tentative for my tastes. He’s done his best work - his good work - as the aggressor. Luevano is just trying to land a few shots and then clinch up, which is very smart.

Right hooks from both, and Santiago gets the left in again. Heads clash, but they seem OK.

One minute left. Mario Santiago needs to do something big.

30 seconds to go. Santiago with an uppercut, left misses. Left to the body, and now they trade. Can Santiago steal this round? It’s very, very close.

Bell sounds. Man, I’m taking a moment to think about this round. Good damn fight, and these guys deserve a round of applause.

You know what?

Santiago 10-9
114-114 draw

They do happen.

EDWIN VALERO IS NOT A FUCKING FEATHERWEIGHT. JESUS CHRIST.

117-111 Luevano
115-113 Santiago
114-114 draw

DRAW – Luevano retains title

What the fuck? 117-111? Are you high?

Now we get to the meat of the show. If either of these next two fights are worth having seen, then we win on the night. Pacquiao is must-see, period, and we got our money’s worth with Luevano-Santiago.

Just slug it out, big fellas.

At least aesthetically.

Fields is putting on the bum’s chase right away. Awkwardly pawing his galoot hands around. Fields tries to

GOODNIGHT TYE FIELDS

Barrett just UNLOADS on Fields and beats him down. This is over.

Goodnight, Fields. Goodnight, bum.

MONTE BARRETT KO-1

Can we ALL agree now? Even Bob Arum? This guy is a joke. He just got the dog shit beaten out of him by a 37-year old who capped out at fringe contender.

Fields: 2/16, 13%
Barrett: 6/10, 60%

Barrett’s were all power punches. Fields was just pawing with his long arms.

Jesus even the winner can’t believe it look at that face

I can’t explain how happy I am that I’ll NEVER see Tye Fields on a show I paid for again. That is awesome news. Thank you, Monte.

Again, it’s not that I dislike Tye Fields the person. He started fighting at 24. He’s not a boxer.

Both hit the scales at 130. Soto is at 145 tonight, Lorenzo at 140.

Lorenzo’s story is a hell of a thing. Single father of seven? Jesus. That is a task.

OK, fuck. Does Michael Buffer join Lampley in not knowing the difference between featherweight (126) and super featherweight/junior lightweight (130)? Soto is not ranked No. 1 in the world by the WBC at featherweight.

Soto coming out with the jab. Lorenzo winning would be a pretty damn good upset. Soto’s a lot better than his record, which we all know.

Soto’s landing good stuff early, and Lorenzo doesn’t appear to have a good gameplan. He comes in, gets hit, runs out, and tries to swipe his left in lazily. Heavy right hand from Lorenzo. Uppercuts look good for Soto. He wants to, as usual, go to the body.

Lorenzo has landed some good right hands this round, but Soto takes it.

Soto 10-9

Both come out winging shots. Lorenzo is standing in there and trying to sting back-and-forth with Soto, which is quite admirable. Soto to the body, and that’ll probably be the difference. Soto with big shots, headhunting combos, and Lorenzo holds up.

Two left hooks, and Soto is just pouring it on.

Lampley just said that Jorge Arce fights at 108-112. Is he on fucking dope tonight or what?

Soto dominates the round. This can’t last too long going this way.

Soto 10-9
Soto 20-18

Left hook by Soto, but I’ll tell you what. Lorenzo is fighting with real balls. He’s coming in on the harder puncher, and coming in hard and fast. He’s getting tagged, but he’s not wobbling. Tough guy.

Heads clash with about a minute left in the round. Ruled accidental as the doctor takes a look.

There isn’t a lot to say about this fight. It’s a mismatch but the underskilled guy is showing a lot of grit. If he could hit harder, this would be a barnburner. He just can’t even get Soto’s attention. Soto has a small cut outside of his right eye.

Couple of body shots by Lorenzo. Lorenzo is fighting damn hard, and I actually think he won this round.

Lorenzo 10-9
Soto 29-28

ok what the fuck just happened

Hurrld has it 3-0.

Soto is loving the hooks to the body, and that’s due to wear Lorenzo the hell down. Lorenzo weathers another storm, ducking and holding on. Right hand by Soto, and then Lorenzo walks right into a shot. He’s starting to get pretty desperate to hang on and push this as far as he can.

Lorenzo has a bloody nose.

Soto with another combo, and Lorenzo goes down.

He’s up at 8 and he’ll fight on. This isn’t going to make it out of the round. Lorenzo is shaken badly.

Combo, and Lorenzo is beaten up in the corner. Joe Cortez does something weird. Lorenzo’s down again, and he’s bleeding everywhere.

Apparently Cortez called time, and Lorenzo is down after having being beaten on. Blood is streaming down his face.

They’re talking about disqualifying Soto?

I have no idea what’s going, but I do know the fight is stopped.

Lorenzo is down and bleeding all over the place, seemed to be complaining of a rabbit punch. He’s moving around OK, which is good news.

We still have no decision. Cortez is working with the doctor and the judges or…I don’t know what’s going on.

If they call this a DQ, I completely disagree.

Noooooooooooo thats a fucking TKO

Francisco Lorenzo via DQ

Horseshit decision. Absolutely awful.

Absolutely fucking disgraceful.

Way to go, champ!

Man, Joe Cortez sucks. The Hatton legions were right.

This is garbage. Keep in mind that the seventh loss on Soto’s record comes with a MASSIVE asterisk. He was clearly the better fighter tonight. Lorenzo has no business claiming any title whatsoever. Cortez screwed that entire fucking sequence up. He stepped in TWO TIMES when it looked like he was going to stop it, and then Lorenzo took a knee, and Cortez called a GLANCING BLOW to the back of the head as a DQ.

Get real. This is a joke. I don’t blame Lorenzo, all he did was get beaten and wrongly given a win. Joe Cortez is an idiot.

where Bob Arum should aggressively appeal.

“I don’t know if he wants a rematch, next time I’m gonna knock his head off.”

Manny’s PISSED. I’ve never seen Manny have such an infuriated expression. He wants to fight over this.

And he’s right. Everyone’s right. It’s an awful, awful call that robbed a good fighter of a big win.

No Cortez interview is going to happen, though they want one. They’re trying to get the Nevada AC over there.

They think Lorenzo had a concussion from that glancing blow? That’s what they were worried about? REALLY?

Jesus Christ, did they fudge this one or what.

Time to move on from that debacle.

They’re interviewing Joe Cortez…

From the little I got was that he had no choice but to disqualify because the rule states that a blow to the back of the head on the opponents knees is points deduction of disqualified.

Really? He had no choice. Maybe point deduction that was clearly a TKO.

Looking forward to a good fight.

Dude’s: PACMAN MARRY ME
Lady’s: PAC MAN #1 LB 4 LB

??

If on purpose, hey, whatever floats your boat.

Fernando Vargas is FAT.

Pacquiao jabs, then goes with a left to the body. Pacquiao with a couple of potshots to the head. Diaz brawls on the inside, testing Pacquiao’s durability. Pacquiao is trying to go to the body, and Diaz is trying to do the same. Manny is showing his hand speed. Diaz is covering up very well so far.

Manny’s wild uppercuts aren’t getting past the forearms. Jab and a left from Manny. Nice combos from Pacquiao, even if all of them aren’t making it through the gloves. Pacquiao’s speed advantage is very clear. Diaz is trying to slug inside and test Manny. At range, David can’t do much of anything.

Two shots from Diaz as Manny holds. Uppercut from Pacquiao, and there’s a flurry. Left hand shakes Diaz up a little. “Come on!” Diaz is ready to fight.

Diaz with a pretty jab, and his defense is looking good. But this is a tough row to hoe offensively.

Pacquiao 10-9

Manny comes out showing speed again. That’s the biggest difference between the two by far. Pacquiao is a LOT faster. He’s able to throw three, four punches to David’s one or two.

Nice uppercut by Manny, but Diaz doesn’t budge. If nothing else he is a durable SOB, and there’s a big left by Diaz, perfectly timed. Pacquiao with a left lead and an uppercut. Diaz is blocking a good amount of this stuff, fighting tight and waiting for openings. He’s not getting enough of them to win rounds like this, but he’s doing what he can.

Short left by Pacquiao as they get close. Uppercut sneaks through the guard. Pacquiao with another exhibition of speed. Crowd’s getting feverish.

Diaz hit with a right. Big left by Pac, big left by Diaz! Diaz bleeding near the right eye. This is just what you might have expected. Good action, Pacquiao the better man so far.

Diaz with a straight right, Pacquiao fires back with a hook. Good work by Pacquiao as the ten second gavel sounds.

Pacquiao 10-9
Pacquiao 20-18

Hurrld scored the last round 10-8 for Manny.

Pacquiao smacks him with a right hook, and Diaz is now trying to mix it up a lot more. He catches Pac with a hook to the chest. Pacquiao is just out-quicking Diaz. Boxing well, mixing his punches up, coming from his trademark angles. He looks great.

BIG shot by Pacquiao. And another. He’s peppering the shit out of David Diaz. This is getting pretty uneven. Manny’s slicing and dicing him. He looks fantastic.

Manny’s countering everything, then he’ll lead it off, and he’s landing about 3-to-1. Pacquiao is smoking Diaz this round. Every round, it gets more distant. The skill level is just not there for Diaz.

More combos from Manny. He smacks Diaz with a left and a right, back to back. And he pops him with another left cross.

Make no mistake—this is a lamb to the slaughter right now. But Diaz just refuses to back down or give up on himself. He’s a fuckin’ fighter.

Pacquiao 10-8
Pacquiao 30-26

I don’t know if Manny can knock Diaz OUT, but at some point Vic Drakulich might be forced to get in there. Diaz is getting knocked around pretty hard.

But goddamned if David Diaz doesn’t JUST KEEP COMING. Diaz is trying his ass off and working, but getting killed. Diaz is trying to bomb when Manny bombs, trying to box when Manny boxes, trying to brawl when it’s a brawl.

Oh Jesus, they’re looking at a cut. “He’s good, he’s good.” Thank you, doc.

Here comes Pac again, swarming on Diaz. Manny won’t even stop punching the gloves when it’s clear he’s not getting through. He’s all over the ring, running Diaz ragged, and just beating the hell out of him.

Put simply, if you thought Manny should have been a major favorite but admired Diaz’s toughness, this is exactly what you thought it would be. No matter what David does, Pacquiao finds a hole.

Beautiful shot by Pacquiao. David’s bleeding outside the right eye now, too.

They land at the same time, and Manny’s lands a lot harder. David just lunges at him and tries to make a fight of it. Goddamn is he a fighter. He’s out of his depth, but he won’t stop.

Pacquiao 10-8
Pacquiao 40-34

This is not close.

This might wind up a great example of a fight where the loser is too tough for his own good.

Diaz is getting swatted with right hooks and uppercuts, and he just isn’t good enough for this fight. It’s not even an argument. I’m already looking forward to Manny’s next couple of fights. I hope he takes on Marquez again if Juan Manuel beats Casa, and then maybe Hatton. This is a clear mismatch.

Diaz will NOT stop moving forward. He’s bleeding badly around his right eye now, just getting wailed on. Pacquiao is all over him. Like white on rice in a bowl of milk.

Just nasty right hooks, and Diaz WILL NOT relent. That is a MAN, by God. Diaz deserves to be considered a true warrior. He knocks Pac back with a hard left! By God, this is entertaining if not competitive.

Pacquiao 10-9
Pacquiao 50-44

Diaz continues to get punched square in the face. And he continues to move forward and fight back to the absolute best of his ability.

Diaz’s white trunks have turned pink.

There’s more speed from Pacquiao. Manny is so good. Diaz is not the best fighter in the world, obviously, but he’s no bum. Pacquiao stings him again. Manny’s just trying to pick the big spots this round. He knows he’s sweeping. He has to. Pac just keeps opening up like nobody’s business. “Incomparable ring violence,” says Lampley.

They’re going to look at the cut again. “He’s OK, he’s OK.” I LOVE this doctor.

Pacquiao 10-9
Pacquiao 60-53

Diaz: “I can handle his punches. He’s just too fast.”

Hurrld has it 60-53, too.

Quick jab by Manny. Apparently the eye cut was from an accidental headbutt, according to Lederman. If it’s stopped due to that cut, they go to the cards. Which will give the right man his win.

Pacquiao continues to dominate. This is a fantastic performance, as good as Manny’s looked perhaps ever. He is making mincemeat of a tough, solid guy.

Diaz comes in and gets popped with two right hands. And Manny flurries again at the gavel. This is just absurd.

Pacquiao 10-9
Pacquiao 70-62

Pacquiao jumps on Diaz right away. Right away. This is getting pretty brutal. At what point does the corner say, “You know what? We gotta protect our guy.” He has no hope. He admits he can’t handle the speed. The power isn’t shaking him up any. The speed is killing him.

As John Madden says, speed kills.

Diaz backed against the ropes, covers up and blocks, and gets out. How tough is David Diaz? This is a guy that should have toppled rounds ago.

Pacquiao again swarms near the ropes. Diaz cannot do anything this round. Offensively he has never gotten out of park. He’s not really hurt, doesn’t get staggered, but he’s not in this at all.

Pacquiao 10-8
Pacquiao 80-70

They’re talking about stopping it between rounds if Diaz doesn’t pick it up.

And here comes Diaz with a little bit of offense. Diaz has had to chase to even start throwing, or else he’s throwing while Manny is battering him.

FINALLY, David is staggered a little by a big left hand, but he comes right back. And a right hook hurts him. Yeah, this is wearing him out now. Diaz is just getting killed.

Diaz stunned with a short left, and it’s over. It’s over. He’s down, and hurt, and out. They stop it immediately. No count.

MANNY PACQUIAO TKO-9

God he looks like the wierd guy from the goonies

Politically, there are a lot of fights that can happen. Campbell wants this sort of event, thinks he deserves it, and probably does. If Pac, Campbell, Guzman, Cassie, Khan, Katsidis and Baby Bull are all in play, I think the Lightweight division is going to be very, very juicy over the next couple of years.