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Top Rank big boss Bob Arum admitted that he will have a hard time trying to sell Guillermo Rigondeaux's next fight, probably a mandatory title defense against any challenger who wants to test the Cuban champion's defensive style. Rigondeaux outboxed and outsmarted Nonito Donaire Jr. where he made the Filipino Flash look bad by dancing, ducking and spinning his way around the ring to score a unanimous decision victory and unify the 122-pound belts during their 12-round bout Saturday night at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Rigondeaux (12-0 with eight knockouts) is an accomplished amateur fighter after winning eight gold medals spread out in two Olympic Games, two World Amateur Championships, two Boxing World Cups, Pan American Games, and the Central American and Caribbean Games. He added Donaire's World Boxing Organization and The Ring super-bantamweight crowns to the World Boxing Association title he previously won over American Rico Ramos last yea...

Juvic Pagunsan was among the big-name stars that were clearly missing after one round of the US$300,000-rich Solaire Open at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s east course. Pagunsan did not get injured or even missed the cut at 65, instead, the 2011 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner had to rush beside his wife Len, who is due to give birth to their second child. The 34-year-old veteran golfer called Asian Tour organizers, particularly tournament director Fritz Katzengruber, early Thursday morning (5:15 a.m. to be exact) informing them that he is pulling out. He decided to play even though he knew that any moment his wife is about to give birth. He was scheduled to tee off at 6:45 a.m. Too bad, since Pagunsan was just six shots behind, after shooting an even-par 72, opening-round leader Dodge Kemmer’s sizzling six-under-par 66. Still, Pagunsan welcomed the new Asian Tour event. “We are all happy with this new event on the Asian Tour and in the Philippines. This new t...

Angelo Que hopes to take advantage of his knowledge of Wack Wack Golf and Country Club's par-72 layout in the inaugural US$300,000 Solaire Open, which will be held this weekend at the East and West courses. The 34-year-old Que, whose last Asian Tour win was in the 2010 Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia, ruled the 2008 Philippine Open also held at Wack Wack. He's been aching to celebrate again after a three-year title drought and missing the cut of an Asian Tour event for the first time, the Chiangmai Golf Classic, in four events this year. And Que believes that his new equipment, and a bit of luck, would help him win again in the Asian Tour after placing fourth in the season-opening Zaykabay Myanmar Open in February. "So far I'm getting there with my new equipment. It is still early in the year. Every time you change equipment, you need time to adapt. I think I need a lot of luck to get my fourth win. I think anybody that wins needs it. You also ...

Guillermo Rigondeaux vowed to silence Nonito Donaire Jr. and snatch the Filipino-American’s World Boxing Organization super-bantamweight crown to unify the 122-pound belts. Rigondeaux (11-0 with eight knockouts), who holds the World Boxing Association version of the super-bantamweight title, will face Donaire (31-1 with 20 knockouts) on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba said he has been annoyed by Donaire’s statements in an interview with ESPN. Donaire has said that boxers like Fernando Montiel and Abner Mares are better opponents than Rigondeaux. “I’m going to shut that stubborn Filipino’s mouth and I will unify the titles,” vowed Rigondeaux. Donaire said the Cuban champion is an experienced amateur but “he doesn’t have enough knowledge in the professional ranks.” Rigondeaux also told ESPN that Donaire has been underestimating him. “This fight is a golden opportunity for my career. I’ll be...

Brian Viloria apologized to his fans, particularly to his Filipino supporters, for failing to defend the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight belts against a younger Juan Francisco Estrada on Saturday in the Venetian Resort’s Cotai Arena in Macau, China. But Viloria, who lost both of his 112-pound titles via split decision to his Mexican challenger, vowed to bounce back again similar to what he did when he suffered a 12th-round technical knockout (TKO) to Colombian Carlos Tamara on January 23, 2010, that cost him the International Boxing Federation light-flyweight title. "To my Filipino fans, I apologize for letting you down. But I promise you, I will come back from this setback, and make you proud once again," said Viloria, who suffered his fourth loss against 32 wins with 19 coming by TKO. "Like always, I will bounce back from this." The loss also ended Viloria’s six-match winning streak, the last one an impressive 10t...

Filipino-American Treat Conrad Huey and new doubles partner Francis Casey Alcantara gave the Philippines a 2-1 lead over Thailand in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II second-round tie on Saturday at the Plantation Bay Resort & Spa in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Huey and Alcantara survived a third-set tiebreak in squeezing out a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over the Thai pair of Pruchya Isarow and Nuttanon Kadchapanan in the doubles. Alcantara is a known doubles specialist after winning the 2009 Australian Open boys’ junior doubles crown with teammate Cheng-Peng Hsieh of Chinese Taipei. The Philippines can wrap up the Group II tie with a win by either Ruben Gonzales or Johnny Arcilla in the reverse singles, which is being played at press time. Gonzales takes on 207th-ranked singles player Danai Udomchoke while Arcilla battles Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul. The Philippines opened with a 1-0 lead after Gonzales won the opening singles match against Trongcharoenchaikul, 6-7 (6...

Chris Banchero is turning out to be San Miguel Beer’s number one offensive option. The 6-foot-1 Filipino-American guard had his fourth 19-point game to power the Beermen to a 78-57 rout of the Singapore Slingers on Saturday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It was also an emotional win for the Beermen as they dedicated their seventh straight victory to former coach Bobby Parks, who died last week after a long battle with lung cancer. San Miguel improved to 10-3 and stayed one game behind defending champion Indonesia Warriors’ 11-3 slate. Singapore dropped to 5-10 at fifth place. Banchero has been averaging 19 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals while shooting 46 percent from the floor in all of San Miguel’s seven wins. The reigning league's most valuable player Leo Avenido provided scoring support with 16 points and seven rebounds while import Justin Williams added 14 markers, seven boards and blocked three shots. Rashad Jones-Jennings had a doub...