Manny Pacquiao Will Fight Oscar De La Hoya

Goliath meets David in a fair and square battle. In a non-title bout on 6 December in Las Vegas, WBC lightweight world champion Manny Pacquiao will fight Six-weight division world champion Oscar de la Hoya.

The fight, which the 35-year-old De la Hoya refused to label his last, will take place at the MGM Grand.

"My focus is on my next fight. I am not going to talk about retiring," said the American, who has won 10 world titles in all.

"I am going to give 100% of my focus to this fight and then we will see."

De la Hoya had been scheduled to fight Floyd Mayweather on 20 September before his countryman announced his retirement in June this year.

De la Hoya rose to fame by winning a gold medal for the United States at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where he earned the nickname "Golden Boy".

Since then he has won titles at six different weight classes and boasts a record of 39-5 that includes 20 knockouts. His last victory, over American Steve Forbes, came in May.

Filipino Pacquiao, 29, has built up a huge following back home and he believes he can upset his opponent by utilizing his greater speed.

"I'm faster and younger and I think I can beat him, it is going to be a great fight," he said.

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US Open 2008 Rafael Nadal Win Over Bjorn Phau

Rafael Nadal currently World number one at the US Open vanquished his German opponent Bjorn Phau 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) and got his first-round win at Flushing Meadows. Nadal, 22, needed almost three hours to see off a determined challenge from qualifier Phau in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Spaniard even double-faulted when serving for the match to hand Phau a break back, and he required a second tie-break to finally wrap things up.

Rafael Nadal goes on to face American Ryler De Heart, ranked 251, who had a surprise 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over Belgian Olivier Rochus.

"To win in three sets is always a good result," said Nadal. "I had some difficult moments, so that's going to help me a little bit to be prepared for the pressure moments. "I played well today when I had the pressure moments."

He added: "I am a little bit tired, yes, but it is the US Open so I have to try my best here. "The problem is playing Toronto, Cincinnati and Beijing, then coming back here. In two weeks, two times, 12 hours' jet lag. "I'm a little bit more tired than I usually am but, at the same time, I must be very happy how I did this year."

There were easy wins for fourth seed David Ferrer, who beat Martin Vassalo Arguello, and seventh seed David Nalbandian, who overcame Marcos Daniel.

But ninth seed James Blake needed five sets to overcome fellow American Donald Young 6-1 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4.

Blake looked poised to make quick work of Young, leading two sets to one and up 2-0 in the fourth before the left-handler hit back to take the match to a deciding set.

"Donald really picked up his game and really played great toward end of the match," said Blake, who committed 50 unforced errors in the match.

Gael Monfils was an early winner on the first day's play in New York, the Frenchman crushing Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4 6-4 6-1, while 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka beat Simone Bolelli 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-3.

Jurgen Melzer upset 27th seed Feliciano Lopez 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 2-6 6-4, with Britain's Andy Murray a possible third-round opponent for the Austrian.

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Olympic Football Gold Kicks By Argentina

Beijing Olympics – Argentina is on heat beating Nigeria 1-0 to win its second Olympic football title in a row. Angel di Maria collected a through ball from Lionel Messi in the 58th minute to give 2004 winner Argentina another gold medal and leave the Nigerians, champions in 1996, the silver. Brazil won the bronze on Friday by beating Belgium 3-0 in Shanghai.

The only football game to be played in Beijing's Olympic stadium, Saturday's match was watched by a crowd of 89,102 but hampered by very hot conditions and the referee took the rare step of twice allowing players to stop and take drinks.

Who Is Angel di Maria
Angel Fabian Di Maria was born on February 14, 1988 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Di Maria is an Argentine football midfielder who currently plays for S.L. Benfica and is known as "The Little Angel".

Di Maria started his professional football career in 2005, when he made his debut for Rosario Central. In January 2007 he had an opportunity to play in Russian Premier League when FC Rubin Kazan offered him a contract. At first he agreed, but soon afterward he changed his mind and turned down the offer. After putting up a remarkable performance in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, playing for Argentina, Di Maria caught the eye of several international teams and in the end Benfica signed him for €6m.

So highly regarded was Di Maria by Benfica that the president of the Portuguese club, Luís Filipe Vieira, when presenting the young Argentine, told the club’s supporters he had bought the perfect replacement for Benfica’s departing captain, Simao Sabrosa, a talismanic figure for Benfica for over five seasons.

During the first months of his tenure in Lisbon, Di Maria showed that he was not in the least weighed down by the expectations, and the fans quickly took to the exciting talent.

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Usain Bolt Going To Racks Up The Gold Bars

GENEVA - In anticipation of new records by the sport's newest superstar Usain Bolt the fastest man on the planet, European track meet organizers are polishing the gold bars for the Weltklasse meet in Zurich next week, where Bolt can collect a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of gold and prize money worth a combined US$93,000 (€63,000) if he breaks his 100-meter world record of 9.69 seconds.

After that, Bolt is staying in Switzerland to run the 200 at the Sept. 2 Athletissima meet in Lausanne, where he can net another gold bar worth around US$27,000 (€18,300) if he improves on his newly minted 19.30 mark.

By dominating the Olympic sprint events with devastating ease, Bolt has quickly become the new darling of international meet organizers. Aside from increased bonuses, he can also expect to receive significantly higher appearance fees.

"In the contract, with the two world records, maybe we can pay $30,000 more," Athletissima spokesman Pierre-Andre Pasche said Thursday. "For us it is very important. He is the superstar of the Olympic Games and we expect to fill all the stadium with people coming to see Usain Bolt."

Some 14,000 are expected in Lausanne for the meet, and Zurich's 25,000-seat Letzigrund stadium is sold out for Bolt's first competition after the Olympics.

Weltklasse meet director Patrick Magyar said it may not take long for Bolt to break his 100 mark — which he set in Saturday's final despite showboating for the last 20 meters.

"I still think he has the potential to improve the 100 by quite a bit to get it to the same level he is running the 200," Magyar said. "There is, of course, a very nice bonus available if you run a world record in Zurich."

Weltklasse said it is offering a US$50,000 (€34,000) record bonus on top of US$16,000 (€10,900) for winning a race. A Swiss bank sponsor has promised the gold bars.

Long recognized for fast times, the Zurich track is expected to run even quicker since being resurfaced during stadium renovations last year. The synthetic rubber surface was poured into place rather than rolled out like a carpet to ensure consistency and energy efficiency.

"I think Zurich is probably the most advanced track there is in the world," Magyar said. "It needs time to settle in so we expect the track to be in better condition for the athletes than last year."

Bolt is slated for a rematch with Olympic runner-up Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago and Walter Dix of the United States, who won the bronze medal. The 100-meter record has been equaled or broken on three previous occasions at the meet.

In 1960, Armin Hary of West Germany clocked the first 10.0 time, while Carl Lewis in 1988 equaled the 9.93 mark he shared with fellow American Calvin Smith. Two years ago, Bolt's Jamaican rival Asafa Powell ran 9.77 for the third time.

Bolt ran the 200 at Weltklasse last year, clocking 20.19 to finish second behind Xavier Carter of the United States.

He was also beaten at the 2007 Athletissima, where his 20.11 run trailed far behind American Tyson Gay's time of 19.78.

Pasche said Bolt has missed the meet just once since debuting in 2003 but has never won there. World record or not, that streak seems sure to end.

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P1 Billion For Manny Pacquiao If He Fights Oscar De La Hoya

P990 million for an ordinary people is too much, but Manny Pacquiao apparently stands to make that much if he decides to soften up on his previous demand. Pacquiao insisted that the prize money should be split 60-40. De la Hoya was adamant about a 70-30 cut. Talks have bogged down since no one refused to give way, although the handlers of both fighters continued to express interest in making the bout possible.

If he accepts Oscar de la Hoya’s offer, Pacquiao could earn a staggering $22 million or roughly P990 million, trainer and confidante Freddie Roach said.

“Oscar is a big draw. He draws millions of pay-per-view buys. And Manny is bigger than Floyd Mayweather Jr. I think Manny will break records and I think he and Oscar will make 200 million buys. If Manny does that at 70-30, Manny will get over $22 million (P990 million)," Roach told Sports Radio personality Dennis Principe.

Roach also confirmed in the radio interview Friday that the negotiations for the blockbuster meeting is apparently not yet over.

“The negotiations are not dead yet," Pacquiao’s trainer said. “I’ve talked to Bob Arum and Michael Koncz and we feel the fight is not dead yet."

Talks for a Pacquiao-Oscar de la Hoya megabuck fight broke off last week when both fighters stuck to their pay-cut demands: 60-40 for Pacquiao and 70-30 to de la Hoya.

On Monday, two US-based media outfits reported that the major players involved are still moving to make the megabuck fight scheduled on December a possibility.

“I think Oscar wants to go against a big name and wants to make a big event … and certainly Pacquiao is one of those names," Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy Promotions CEO, said on the Sports Illustrated web site Monday.

Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, told the Los Angeles Times that Pacquiao “remained adamant about receiving more than 30-percent share of the purse"

“There’s still the possibility of meeting somewhere in the middle," Arum said.

Schaefer also told the LA Times that he had heard Pacquiao was softening up on his previous demand.

“He sort of realized that 30 percent of the big pie is better than 100 percent of the small pie," Schaefer said of Pacquiao. Last week, Pacquiao said he wanted to “move on" and had instructed Arum to look for “another opponent". Roach believes Pacquiao’s decision was not final.

“We’re going to try and make this deal happen. It’s not yet a final decision of Manny."

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Sailors Iain Percy And Andrew Simpson Sail GB Fourth Gold Medal

Great Britain's fourth gold won by sailors Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson in a thrilling climax to the Star class event in Qingdao. Percy and Simpson started the medal race in second place and had to fight tooth and claw with Sweden before getting to the line just ahead of them.

The gold provided the perfect finish to Britain's most successful ever regatta.

Brazil's Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada took silver, and Sweden's Fredrik Loof and Anders Ekstrom claimed the bronze.

Britain finished on 45 points, eight in front of the Brazilians and Swedes. The South Americans took silver by virtue of their better result in the medal race.

Percy and Simpson added another gold medal to Britain's tally in Qingdao, following in the wake of Ben Ainslie, Paul Goodison and the Yngling crew of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson.

"It's unbelievable and it's so special to do it with this fella (Simpson)," said Percy, after claiming the second Olympic gold of his career.

"I knew we weren't going to bottle it, and we didn't."

Simpson, who took gold in his first ever Olympics, added: "I'm just shocked. To do this after this week and this year we've had is unbelievable.

"There are no words to describe how happy we are.

"Since last year, everything focused on this week. We've worked really hard for the last 12 months.

"We had to pull it back from the brink. It was a tough race and we just did enough."

Britain eventually finished fifth in the medal race, behind race winners Poland, but the crucial factor was that they finished ahead of Sweden.

The two boats were neck-and-neck for much of the race but Percy and Simpson, who started the race two points behind Sweden, did just enough to keep their noses in front as the pressure increased in the closing stages.

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Usain Bolt The Fastest Man On The Planet

Jamaica's Usain Bolt sprints to victory and rise to stardom in the Beijing Olympics 100 metre race and sets a new world record of 9.69 seconds. With world champion Tyson Gay out in the semifinals, the 21-year-old Jamaican seemingly only had Asafa Powell to beat, but when he looked around and realized he was all clear with 30 metres to go.

Well behind, Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago took the silver medal in 9.89, and Walter Dix of the United States was third in 9.91.

Powell again crumbled under the pressure of a big competition and finished fifth.

"Usain was spectacular," Powell said. "He was definitely untouchable."

Who Is Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt was born on August 21, 1986, Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter. He is the reigning Olympic champion over 100 meters and holds both world and Olympic 100 meters records with a time of 9.69 seconds. Bolt is also the world junior record holder in the 200 meters (19.93 seconds), and Jamaican national record holder in the 200 meters (19.67 seconds). His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt."

Bolt was born in Trelawny, Jamaica, to Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt. As a child he was successful in the annual, national primary schools' meeting for his parish, and enjoyed playing cricket, specializing in fast bowling. Upon his entry to William Knibb Memorial High School, his cricket coach noticed Bolt's speed on the pitch and urged him to try track and field events. Pablo McNeil and Dwayne Barrett coached Bolt, encouraging him to focus his energy on improving his athletic abilities. The school had a history of athletic success with past students including Michael Green. Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001, attaining the silver medal in the 200 meters with a time of 22.04 seconds.

Performing in his first Caribbean national event, Bolt clocked a personal best of 48.28 seconds in the 400 meters in the 2001 CARIFTA games, earning himself a silver medal. The 200 meters also yielded a silver as Bolt finished in 21.81 seconds. He made his first appearance on the world stage at the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Running in the 200 meters event, he failed to qualify for the finals but he still set a new personal best of 21.73 seconds. In 2002 Bolt won both the 200 and 400 meters events in the High School Championships, CARIFTA Games and Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships. He set championship records for both 200 and 400 meters in the 2002 CARIFTA games with 21.12 seconds and 47.33 seconds respectively. He continued to set records, with 20.61 seconds and 47.12 seconds finishes at the CAC Junior Championships.

Bolt grew up in Trelawny, Jamaica, with his parents, Jennifer and Wellesley Bolt, and his sister Sherine. Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. The first sport to interest him was cricket and he said if he wasn't a sprinter he would be a fast bowler instead. Bolt's Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and, former Jamaican 200 meters record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the 200 meters world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt.

After winning the 200 meters title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. During the Beijing 2008 100 meters final, Bolt wore golden Puma spikes that had "Beijing 100m Gold" emblazoned across them.

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