James, Wade lead charge as Heat eliminate Bulls

CHICAGO (AP)—LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) joined to win a championship. Well, now they have their shot. James scored 28 points, Wade added 21, and they led a furious rally in the final minutes as the Miami Heateliminated Derrick Rose(notes) and the Chicago Bulls 83-80 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

James and Wade were simply spectacular down the stretch, each scoring eight during a game-ending 18-3 run as Miami wiped out a 12-point deficit to win the series.

Now, the Heat are headed back to the NBA finals for the first time since 2006, and in a fitting twist, they’ll be facing the Mavericks. Back then, with Wade leading the way, Miami beat Dallas to capture the championship. This time, it’ll be James and Dirk Nowitzki(notes) going for their first rings.

The Heat will host Game 1 on Tuesday night.

For Miami’s Big Three, this was the plan right from the start. The Heat had their difficulties along the way, but look at them now.

They just knocked off the team that won more games than any other, that boasted the league’s MVP in Rose and sent expectations soaring around Chicago in a way not seen since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were racking up championships.

Rose led Chicago with 25 points but hit just 9 of 29 shots. He fouled Wade on a key four-point play and missed a tying free throw with 26.7 seconds left.

James had 11 rebounds and six assists. Wade’s late surge helped negate his nine turnovers. Bosh added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Heat pulled out a dramatic win.

The Bulls looked like they were in good shape up 77-65 with about three minutes to go, but Wade started the deciding run with a runner and layup. A 3 by James pulled Miami within 77-72 with 2:07 left. Rose then scored on a spin move in the lane, but fouled Wade as he nailed a 3, resulting in a four-point play.

Then, after a miss by Rose, James tied it at 79 with another 3 with 1:01 remaining, sending a loud groan through the arena.

James buried another jumper to put Miami ahead 81-79 with 29.5 seconds left. Rose immediately got fouled by James, but missed the second free throw after making the first.

Kurt Thomas(notes) then tipped the inbounds pass, but the Heat recovered, leading to two free throws for Bosh. The Bulls still had one more chance to tie it, but Kyle Korver(notes) got doubled up top and passed to Rose on the wing. His 3-pointer got blocked by James, with Udonis Haslem(notes) doubling him as time expired.

Now, James and his gang have their title shot.

He came close with Cleveland, getting all the way to the finals in 2007 but never could win it all. His surge at the end capped a terrific series in which he repeatedly made big shots and helped contain Rose at times.

For Chicago, it was simply a bitter end.

After losing out on their bid to land two of the Big Three in free agency, they built a solid team that leaped to the top of the Eastern Conference with a league-leading 62 wins. That’s probably little consolation after they let this one slip away.

They took the opener 103-82, but the series soured for them after that. They were in every game and led this one for much of the way.

Things were looking good in the early going, with Luol Deng(notes) scoring 14 points as they built a 45-38 halftime lead. That included a highlight reel sequence late in the first half, when he stole a pass from James and threw down a vicious one-hander over him on the break, getting fouled in the process.

He missed the free throw, but Rose scored on a layup after a miss byMike Bibby(notes) to put Chicago ahead 16-15. And the Bulls outscored the Heat 15-6 over the final four-plus minutes of the period to take a 25-21 lead.

The lead reached 12 midway through the second after a two-plus minute stretch in which Chicago ran off seven straight and the Heat committed four turnovers—three by Wade. Two of his turnovers led to baskets for Chicago, with C.J. Watson(notes) stealing his dribble and feeding Ronnie Brewer(notes) for a fast-break layup and Carlos Boozer(notes) nailing a jumper to make it a 12-point game midway through the quarter.

Notes: Not since the Houston Rockets dropped Game 1 to Phoenix in the 1995 Western Conference semifinals had a team won a best-of-seven after dropping the opener by more than 20. Twenty-three teams had lost Game 1’s in that situation and gone on to lose the series before the Heat eliminated the Bulls. … Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau had high praise for rookie center Omer Asik(notes), who missed the game with a season-ending broken left fibula. “He wasn’t a typical rookie, in the sense that he had been in a lot of big games (for the Turkish national team) and he had played against a lot of NBA players before. I think he’s got that quiet confidence, he’s very smart, he’s got a great work ethic. And you could see the second time around in the league, how much improvement he’d made, how he studies and prepares himself to play. He’s got a great future. He’s done a terrific job for us.” With Asik out, veteran Brian Scalabrine(notes) was active.

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Pacquiao Takes Decision, but Doesn’t Win Over Fans

LAS VEGAS — For much of his welterweight title defense on Saturday, Manny Pacquiao heard from the MGM Grand crowd a unified sound rarely belted at his boxing matches. As Pacquiao and Shane Mosley tapped gloves, made small talk and generally engaged in a glorified sparring session, the crowd, once rowdy, once standing, once into it, simply booed.

When it ended, Pacquiao (53-3-2), the winner by unanimous decision, hung his head in victory. He did not look happy. Neither did the crowd.

Pacquiao counts “I want to entertain the fans” among his favorite phrases, and for much of the bout, he tried. He knocked down Mosley (46-7-1-1) in the third round and stalked him throughout. But this felt more like a first date than a typical night featuring Pacquiao’s furious fists. He retained his World Boxing Organization belt, but without the usual panache.

As the decision was announced, his wife smiled nervously on the arena big screen. Even Gus Johnson, perhaps broadcasting’s most excitable announcer, shrugged and shook his head as he walked from his front-row seat.

“We tried our best,” Pacquiao said. “We both tried our best.”

The signs of the fight’s pacing and style came early, perhaps as early as the sixth round, when someone in Mosley’s corner yelled, “He’s not your friend, Shane!” Still, Mosley continued to engage far less than expected. Of course, Pacquiao tends to have that effect on opponents. To engage is to walk willingly into the fastest hands in boxing, which, by the end of the sixth round, had swollen Mosley’s face.

In Round 10, Mosley registered his own knockdown, which appeared on replay more like a push. This actually qualified as action. Mosley spent much of the final two rounds pedaling backward like an N.F.L. cornerback. Ultimately, the event again begged an answer to boxing’s most important question: when, if ever, will Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight?

“I don’t care,” Pacquiao said. “I’m satisfied with what I’ve done in boxing. I want to fight Mayweather because the people want it.”

Afterward, Mosley agreed he had taken too few risks. He said he had never planned to be aggressive. He also said a blood blister opened on his foot.

Pacquiao said his legs had tightened in the fourth round, which he described as a problem throughout training camp. This hampered his movement and leverage. Given that, his trainer, Freddie Roach, labeled his performance as “gutsy.”

Mosley also tossed compliments at his opponent, while declining to address his thoughts on retirement. “I just fought the best fighter in the world,” he said. “He has power, exceptional power, that I’ve never been hit with before.”

Before the action, Pacquiao greeted Senator Harry Reid and the entrepreneur Steve Wynn in his dressing room, multitasking right up until the fight. He entered to the theme song from “Rocky” before an audience of 16,412, which included Tyrese, Jamie Foxx and Paris Hilton. Mosley sauntered in first, to L. L. Cool J.’s hit song “Mama Said Knock You Out.”

Despite the inaction early, Pacquiao kept stalking, kept charging, kept chasing Mosley around the ring. Late in the third round, he blitzed Mosley, landing a right hand, then a straight left that dropped Mosley to the canvas. The crowd, sensing a knockout, rose to its feet. Mosley looked dazed afterward, and stumbled back to his corner, limping.

At the start of the fourth round, Mosley appeared confused. Pacquiao continued his assault, overwhelming his older, slower opponent with typical speed and precision, when possible at least. Mosley’s corner implored him to go forward, but he seemed simply overmatched.

Earlier Saturday, Pacquiao was involved in a fender bender, as first reported by TMZ and confirmed later by his camp. Those close to him described the accident as minor and Pacquiao as unharmed. But Pacquiao is extremely habitual by nature. He fights on the same days, follows the same routines and makes no secret of his superstitions. Even a missed meal makes him grumpy.

Thus the question lingered. Would this disruption, however minor, affect his mind-set? (No.)

In recent months, Pacquiao served in Congress in the Philippines, collaborated with the singer-songwriter Dan Hill on seven versions of Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch,” visited Washington for the first time and met President Barack Obama. Basically, a normal month.

On Saturday, he returned to what he does best, annihilating foes inside a boxing ring, perhaps better than any current fighter on the planet. For this fight, Pacquiao received $20 million guaranteed; Mosley, $5 million.

The promotion lacked the usual, often manufactured, boxing animosity, as if the fighters were competing to win dual Mr. Congeniality awards. On Friday, after Pacquiao weighed in at 145 pounds and Mosley tipped the scale at 147, they even hugged.

Their boxing bromance stood in stark contrast to the action expected in the ring. In Pacquiao’s last fight, a battering of Antonio Margarito last November, he threw more than 1,000 punches, according to CompuBox. In four of his last five fights, Pacquiao bludgeoned Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Joshua Clottey and Margarito, none of whom have fought since.

On Wednesday, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing, noted that Margarito had been told “by a number of doctors he will never be able to fight again,” a result of the still-not-healed orbital bone Pacquiao had fractured. “Look at the careers he ended,” Arum said.

Will Mosley be next in line? He did not say. But Saturday marked his third straight lackluster fight. He started his career with 38 wins. His record since: 8-7-1-1.

News from Pacquiao’s training camp helped make Mosley an underdog in the 7:1 to 9:1 range. Roach declared the camp Pacquiao’s best ever. Roach said Pacquiao had never been in better shape.

Early into fight week, word leaked that Pacquiao planned to fight Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time in his next contest. Yet afterward, Arum said, “Nobody is going to beat this guy.” So why not put him against Mayweather, the other candidate for best boxer on the planet?

source: New York times

Manny Pacquiao weighs in lighter than Shane Mosley

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Manny Pacquiao weighed in just two pounds lighter than American Shane Mosley after the Filipino was welcomed by deafening cheers from his supporters on the eve of Saturday's WBO welterweight title fight.


Pacquiao, 52-3-2 (38 knockouts), tipped the scales at 145 pounds in front of a boisterous crowd of about 6,500 at the MGM Grand Hotel's Garden Arena.


Mosley, 46-6-1 (39 KOs), was weighed first and was right on the 147-pound limit for the scheduled 12-round bout.


The two fighters were all smiles as they posed for the photographers for their pre-fight pictures and they embraced one another once that task was done.


"I am just so excited to be in this fight," Mosley, a 39-year-old veteran who is a three-division world champion, said on the stage. "The whole world is watching. It should be great."


Pacquiao, a 10-times world champion in a record eight weight divisions, is a 6-1 favorite to win but he has taken great pains not to underestimate his American challenger.


"I believe that Shane Mosley is a strong fighter, a good fighter," the 32-year-old Filipino said. "He has trained hard for this fight so I have to train hard and focus on this fight."


Pacquiao and Mosley are renowned for being ideal boxing ambassadors and have refused to indulge in any of the pre-bout trash-talking so common in the sport.


NO TRASH TALKING


"This is a good example for the boxing fans and for all the fighters," Pacquiao told reporters earlier this week.


"The fight will be happy and a good example for the children who are idolizing the fighters, especially Mosley and me."


The atmosphere was electric as the two fighters made their way on to a raised stage for Friday's televised weigh-in where former boxing great Roberto Duran and Britain's WBA world light welterweight champion Amir Khan were among those attending.


Shouts of "Manny, Manny" rang out before the tracksuit-clad boxers finally emerged, Pacquiao and Mosley each smiling and waving to the fans before stepping on to the scales.


There were also friendly boos for Mosley who, despite being born in nearby Pomona, California, had a much smaller number of supporters in the arena.


Pacquiao is fighting for the first time since he recorded a ruthless points victory over Mexican Antonio Margarito in November for his eighth world title in an unprecedented eight weight class.


Mosley has not competed in the ring since his draw with Sergio Mora in September.


Pacquiao, already acknowledged as one of the best offensive fighters of all time, is guaranteed $20 million from Saturday's bout while Mosley will earn a minimum $5 million. 


source: Mark Lamport-Stokes

PACQUIAO - 145 LBS, MOSLEY - 147 LBS

May 6, 2011, Las Vegas, Nevada -- (L-R) Filipino Superstar Manny Pacquiao (L) weighed in at 145 lbs and "Sugar" Shane Mosley came in at 147 lbs for their World Welterweight championship fight Saturday, May 7 (Sunday May 8 in Manila) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Pacquiao vs Mosley is promoted by Top Rank in association with MP Promotions, Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions, Tecate and MGM Grand. The Pacquiao vs Mosley telecast will be available live on SHOWTIME Pay Per View. 

source: phil.boxing

Manny Pacquiao declares war....

LAS VEGAS, Nev.  -  Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2) and Shane Mosley (46-6-1) held a final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday at the MGM Grand for their welterweight title fight on May 7. Plato once said that "the measure of a man is what he does with power."

On Wednesday, the 5' 6.5" former flyweight, who wields power in boxing and politics, announced his intention of giving poverty a black eye.  "All of my life, I’ve had to fight," said Pacquiao.  "As a child I had to fight to eat," Pacquiao said. 

"Now when I fight, the Filipinos call me a hero. I think the world needs more heroes."  Video: Final pre-fight press conference

The World Bank estimates that 45 percent of the population live on less than $2 per day.  Sarangani, where Pacquiao serves as congressman, is considered one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines.

"My biggest fight is not in boxing.  My biggest fight is to end poverty in my country, Pacquiao added.  "I will be wearing yellow gloves into the ring on Saturday – as a symbol of unity in the fight against poverty."

"In Manila, Manny would wake up at 5:30 in the morning and jog around the city wearing only slippers," Ben Delgado, Pacquiao's former trainer, told Examiner.com.  "He would eat only three tiny pieces of pandesal (bread) for the entire day.  That was all he could afford.  I really pitied him.  But he was never discouraged," said Delgado.

Victory at all costs; victory however long and hard the road.  For Pacquiao, there was no survival without victory. 

Speaking of his desire to help, Pacquiao said: "I hope to help them . . . . I was just thinking, imaging that I could help them.  I could feel what they are feeling because I’ve been there."

PacMan Yellow  >

The PacMan urged his fans to wear yellow this Saturday.  The color is a symbol for happiness, joy and optimism - traits that hardly escape a man who began his fighting career at 98 lbs., and who now transforms into a fearsome whirling dervish inside the ring.  Someone rival Floyd Mayweather Jr (41-0) wants no part of. 

Pacquiao has a guaranteed purse of $20 million while the Pomona-native has a $5 million guarantee with both able to share on financial incentives from pay-per-view revenue. 

Manny Pacquiao:

"I’d like to thank everyone involved with this promotion – the MGM, Top Rank, SHOWTIME and CBS. It’s my first time on CBS. It’s good to be back in Las Vegas. I miss being in Vegas for a big fight. 

There has not been trash talk for this fight, and I am happy for that. It sets a good example for the children who idolize fighters. In my life, this is the best promotion I’ve ever had (been involved in).

I am looking forward to Saturday and making a good fight with Shane Mosley for the fans. I am definitely not taking this fight lightly and I am not underestimating Shane Mosley. Mosley has good hand- and foot-speed and he moves like he is 31 or 32. 

Both of us have worked hard and had great training camps. We will both be doing our best, which should make for a lot of action and make the fans happy. I will be happy if this happens."

Shane Mosley:

"Pacquiao is a short welterweight, but he’s not a small welterweight. He’s very powerful. This is like a Mike Tyson fight – we’re heavyweights out there. I’m looking to go out there, take charge and beat Manny Pacquiao.

We’re going to go out there and not take our foot off the gas pedal.

I can muster all that energy that I had against Margarito. This type of fight reminds me of when I was able to do a lot of damage in the lightweight division. It’s kind of like going back in time.

I think I can do all the things I could do in the ring five years ago. Ten years ago, I can’t think back that far.

I’m a great fighter but I’m a regular person at heart. I think that’s why a lot of people are attracted to me

I don’t know, that’s what the odds makers are saying. That’s fine with me. The main goal is to get the win and then we can talk about being an underdog. I don’t pay attention to that – I’ve been an underdog in a lot of my fights.

Every time I fight my goal is to give a great fight. I always want to do my best, whether I knock him out in the 12th, 10th, whatever.

I think living healthy and living clean, keeping myself active even when I’m not fighting (is what keeps me young). I think that’s why I’m still able to do this. Maybe it’s good genetics, too. I still feel good, I still feel young. I feel like I could fight for years.

That’s great. Floyd does what he does and he says what he says. But, for the most part, we’re all friendly with the Mayweather family and I think that’s why he’s pulling for me."

Bob Arum:

"It’s no secret we’ve been out of Las Vegas with Manny Pacquiao fights for over a year. We had two fights in Dallas but I’m happy to say we’re back because Las Vegas needs an event like this. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be brought into Las Vegas with this event.

The way we’ve conducted this promotion is something new to the sport of boxing. The pairs of eyeballs that watch Fight Camp 360 is well over three million and by Saturday it will be well over four million.

The measure will be that more people will be able to know and do know about this fight than any other fight in recent memory.

Everybody loves “Sugar” Shane Mosley because he respects his opponent and he respects the sport. But when he gets in the ring he has a fire in his belly. When the opponent gets in the ring and is ready to fight nobody is braver than Shane Mosley."

Freddie Roach:

"I’m very proud of Manny and the training camp he just went through. He said at the start that this was a tough fight and he has trained his butt off since Day 1.

This is definitely a tough fight but Manny is 100 percent ready. We have a great team. I want to thank the entire camp for helping make this the best camp ever.

Manny is in the best shape ever. He knows he has to be. We are facing a determined guy who is extremely crafty and experienced.

We anticipate a sensational championship event this weekend and we know the fans in the sold-out arena and those watching on TV will witness a battle between two of the sport’s greatest champions.

Manny Pacquiao will return to MGM Grand for the first time since 2009 and looks to earn his fourth straight win inside this arena. He will once again bring his high-energy action to the ring while entertaining his supporters not only from the Philippines but those around the Globe.

It’s also a pleasure to welcome back Shane Mosley to MGM Grand, where he fought exactly one year ago. Mosley has had tremendous success here and in Las Vegas over the course of his career. We are obviously anxious once again to see the skills and exceptional speed he brings into the ring each time he fights."

Naazim Richardson:

"I’m very protective of my athletes. You have to protect them and look out for their best interests.

Margarito took shots early in the fight from Shane Mosley that, to this day, I’m still surprised. Margarito is a special athlete and what Shane did still surprises me.

We tend to overlook the high IQ that Shane has in boxing.

It’s not about him trying to be like Pacquiao. This is a legend. This is “Sugar” Shane Mosley. He doesn’t have to be like Pacquiao. He has to be “Sugar” Shane Mosley. If he can be the best “Sugar” Shane Mosley then Manny Pacquiao is going to have problems.

Shane Mosley is a great person; he just happens to know how to fight his ass off.

source: 

You’re not talking about an ordinary guy getting older. You’re talking about a legend. “Sugar” Shane Mosley doesn’t have to match Manny Pacquiao because he’s bringing his own weapons."