Stories from Oz: Pacquiao needs to train smarter not harder, says Kambosos, Mitchel schools Yilixiati, Tszyu injured but Punches at the Park plays on, Flanagan gets back in the saddle

Manny Pacquiao 59-7-2 (38) needs to train smarter not harder if he wants to defeat Jeff ‘The Hornet’ Horn 17-0-1 (11) in their rematch tentatively scheduled for early December in Australia at a venue to be determined.

That is the opinion of undefeated Pacquiao sparring partner ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr who sparred 45 rounds with the eight-division champion in preparation for his fight against Horn.

Kambosos insists it wasn’t a case of the Filipino fighting senator taking Horn lightly, but rather trying to keep up with younger boxers in the gym that saw him overtrain for the fight.

“He trained very hard but we were trying to pull him back,” said Kambosos 12-0 (6).  “I know Justin [Fortune] and Freddie [Roach] were trying to pull him back.  Manny has been there so many times before and he is 38 years old going on to 39 and he’s got these young guys like myself pushing him in training and he wanted to try to compete with that.  He’s a fighter.  These guys, they want to be the top guy.  I’m running against him and he wants to win, I want to win.  We’re sparring, I want to get the better of him, he wants to get the better of me.  Always pushing each other.  But he needed to slow it up a little bit.  I believe he might’ve overdone it, overtrained for the fight.” 

Pacquiao, who lost his WBO welterweight title to Horn in a 12-round slugfest before 51,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia on July 2, trained well for Horn but might have left some of his fight in the gym.

“He didn’t underestimate Jeff because he trained very, very hard,” said the 24-year-old lightweight contender from Sydney.  “There was no underestimating Jeff, we knew what he was, and I was telling them he’s a hungry guy, just like myself.  There’s a big crowd and it was a big, big opportunity for himself. 

“I haven’t been part of his other camps so I can’t really compare with his other camps, but all in all it was a great camp and he should’ve just slowed it up and added to his game a little bit. 

“It might’ve made it a little bit easier for him on the night.”

Kambosos believes that Pacquiao deserved the nod in the first fight but gives Horn credit for his unexpected victory.

“But I still believe he [Pacquiao] won the fight,” said Kambosos.  “He’s the champion and you have to take the belt off the champion.  Jeff had to take the belt off him.  But in saying that Jeff fought a really great fight.  Credit to Jeff as well, he put Australia on the world scene map and he done a great job too that night.”

Top Rank, who co-promotes Horn with New Zealand outfit Duco Events, announced last week that Pacquiao wants to exercise the immediate rematch clause in his contract.  The return bout will bring Horn a minimum $2 million windfall with the fight likely to be hosted by one of the three state capitals on Australia’s east coast.

The exact date of the fight will be determined by when the Philippines Senate declares its recess.

"Once I have an answer from the Senate when they have their recess, I will go to my partner in Australia, Duco [Events], and we will figure out where we’re going to do the fight,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael.  “Queensland has certain rights from hosting the first fight, but we need to figure out where the fight will be.  The problem is we can’t have it outdoors again because of the weather.  November is the summer there, and it’s brutal to do it outdoors.  We can’t do it.  Even in July, which is their winter, it was pretty hot outdoors."

The rematch will once again be broadcast on ESPN.

This comes as Horn’s trainer Glen Rushton has called for random drug testing ahead of the rematch to ensure there is a level playing field.

“It is something I’d bring up because what I don’t want is for them to go ‘The only way we can win this fight is if we are trying to get an unfair advantage’,” Rushton told Fairfax Media.

“I’m very happy with any drug testing.  I signed Jeff up for the WBC VADA Clean Boxing Program, which means you can be tested at any time.  As an Olympian, we’re used to this sort of drug testing.  We’ve had to do this many times.  He’s clean as a whistle.  If we thought it was a fluke, we would be dodging this.  But we’re saying let’s do it again, next time we’ll make it more convincing.”

Pacquiao has frequently claimed an aversion to needles.  His refusal to undergo Olympic-style random drug testing in 2009 put the kybosh on a mooted clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr that was tentatively scheduled for March 13 2010 when both boxers were in their respective primes. 

MITCHELL OUTPOINTS YILIXIATI IN 10 ROUND MASTERCLASS

Super middleweight Jayde ‘J-Mitch’ Mitchell 15-1 (8) turned in a career-best performance when he comprehensively outclassed formerly undefeated Chinese banger Aniwaer Yilixiati 10-1 (8) at the Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington, Australia on a Big Time Boxing card last Friday night.

The 24-year-old Chinese boxer of Turkish descent displayed his power late in the first round, landing a stiff right cross to Mitchell’s chin that stiffened the hometown hero’s legs in his own corner.

“Round one he caught me cold, definitely stunned me, but I recovered fast,” said Mitchell.  “Watching the replay you could hear the impact throughout the venue, it was a real chin-check.  I feel I passed with flying colours, nothing wrong with the old whiskers!”

It looked like it was going to be a long night for the popular 31-year-old from the Mornington Peninsula, but to his credit he bounced back in the second and third rounds using the whole ring to set up power shots off the back of an educated jab.

“I felt in control from the second round although you could really feel his vast amateur experience,” Mitchell admitted.  “He cut the ring of well his balance and timing was brilliant.  He was a little faster on his feet than I had imagined but through constant variety of my attacks, angles and timing, I was able to take control, but having said that I was made to work hard and make adjustments throughout the entire 10 rounds.”

Mitchell’s movement and angles clearly bothered Yilixiati and by the middle rounds his frustration showed with a low blow late in the sixth.

With the fight slipping away from him, Yilixiati came charging out of his corner to start the seventh and landed two hard shots to the body.  Mitchell remained composed and retaliated with a hard left hook of his own.

In an effort to stem the tide Yilixiati started to switch hit in the eighth but it had no real effect.  Mitchell brawled with him in spots, getting the better of the exchanges and getting out of there before any real damage was done in return.

After nine rounds of smart, effective aggression Mitchell took the fight to Yilixiati in the tenth and final round, looking to lose the show with a bang.  All the big shots were coming from the local fighter, who was slipping Yilixiati’s power shots and walking him into bone-jarring counters of his own.

When the bell finally rang to end the fight it wasn’t a question of who won, but by how much.  Two of the three judges had Mitchell pitching a shutout while the third judge could only find a single round to award to Yilixiati.

“It impressed me in the middle rounds when he switched to southpaw he was just as powerful and just as balanced,” said Mitchell. “It was a real mental battle to get the right angles to attack safely as he was an intelligent fighter, not just a banger.”

WBA #14 and WBA #15 Mitchell retains his interim WBA Oceania title and OPBF title with the win and can expect another boost in the world rankings next month.

The victory also clears the path for a proposed October clash with hard-hitting domestic rival Billal Akkawy 14-0-1 (12) of Sydney.

The same card saw Gaige Ireland 4-1-2 (3) retain his Victorian state lightweight title with a TKO5 of teak-tough Shaun ‘Too Deadly’ Thomas 4-4 (2) in the main support bout.  The very game Thomas had some early success but Ireland was able to use his five inch height advantage to keep the much shorter challenger on the outside and on the end of his punches for much of the fight.  The 35-year-old Thomas announced his retirement after the fight.   

Super middleweight Jake Carr 14-1 (5) took seven rounds of a scheduled eight to get rid of China’s Adili Abulimiti 8-2-1 (5).  At the time of the stoppage Carr was leading by three points and two points twice.  Abulimiti was penalised a point for holding in the sixth round.

The ever-improving Joel Camilleri 14-4 (7) put a three minute beating on Ben Nelson 2-4 , dropping him three times in the first round before referee Tony Marretta stepped in to save him from further punishment.

The 26-year-old junior middleweight has now won five on the trot and looks ready for a step up in class.  A fight with Eltham’s Ben Capps 14-4-2 (6) for the state or national title would be a natural.