By Simon Sheppard:
www.BoxingNews24.com
Manny Pacquiao seems to have grown tired of Floyd Mayweather’s games and antics. So much that Pacquiao has just issued an open challenge to Mayweather.
“Bring it on!”
From his Philboxing website, these are the words of Manny Pacquiao:
“I hope Mayweather is serious enough in doing business with Don King and is not doing this only to save face. I hope Don King does the same in return, that he can make miracles happen. I say this to both these men: Let’s Get It On. Fight like warriors and brave men.”
“I am the champion, I have the belts and I should not be the one challenging you. I should not even be the one trying to make this fight happen. But Pacquiao vs Mayweather is what everyone wants, that’s why I am calling out your names. My promoter Bob Arum will be waiting for your call and will be very glad to hear what you have to say. The sooner, the better…”
In the past, when Floyd was interviewed asking him some of the reasons why he is not facing Manny Pacquiao, he always has this to say: “Pacquiao never called me out. When they ask him, he says talk to his promoters. I say be your own man. Guess what, Marquez called me out, Mosley called me out, but Pacquiao never called me out.”
Everybody knows by now that the PED accusations and drug testing demands by Floyd were just a tactic. His so-called “crusade” was not serious, otherwise why didn’t he stand up to the NSAC? As for PED use, so many have been misinformed about the accuracy of these drugs on combat sports.So much have been written about them but no one has ever confirmed the positive effects of these drugs to practitioners of a combat sports like boxing.
Now these drugs fundamentally do three things:
1. Increase lean muscle mass.
2. Increase “short duration” strength and power burst.
3. Increase blood cell production which in turn carry oxygen to the muscles.
Item number one – Boxing is not Body Building. Sometimes superfluous muscles are actually are a hindrance to performance.
Power punches are not generate by muscles but by laws of physics called leverage and momentum. From the feet to the waist to the shoulders, the body of a boxer is one perfectly synchronized machine when it delivers that blow. And like a whiplash that creates momentum, the force end up with the fists. JuanMa looked so skinny compared to Concepcion when they fought. Donaire looked malnourished when seeing him beside Darchinyan. And we all know what happened in those fights.
Item number two – Short term power burst mostly benefit power lifters and baseball players. Where in a short span of time, the muscles are strained to exert a tremendous amount of power. This will not work in combat sports.
Item number three – These drugs will help in the increased production of red blood cells. These cells carry oxygen to the muscles. These effects manifest themselves better in sports like cycling, not boxing.
So the bottom line is, these drugs may help you develop a sculpted physique, lift a heavier barbell for a couple of seconds, hit that ball harder with
the bat, or pedal that bike harder and faster, but it will not make you a better fighter. They will not prevent you from being hit. From having cuts or from having your face busted up. These drugs will not prevent you from getting KO’d when the brain slams against the cranial walls ensuing in a short circuit of the organ. What they will do is just let you stand on your feet the whole fight to absorb more punishment, which is way more dangerous for a fighter. No documented fact exists extolling the virtues of these drugs on fighters and boxers. And most of all, these drugs will not make you a better fighter, ever.
Not having the skills and talent, these drugs will only prolong your agony inside that squared circle.
Anyway, Pacquiao went on to say:
“This is the only way for Mayweather to save face. Make the fight happen in November and stop using Mr. Don King for publicity stunts. He claims he is the best. He says he is No. 1. There is only one way to prove his greatness and that is to face me. I should be ready by November.”
Like Pacquiao said, he should not be the one calling out Floyd. But since Manny wants to give in to the fans, he’s trying his best to make this fight happen. He even went out of character by calling out his opponent which he has never done before.
Well Floyd, I guess it’s time to face the music. No more excuses.
You talked the talk, now it’s time to walk the walk.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Arum wants Marquez to beat Clottey, Berto, Alexander or Bradley before he’ll match Marquez against Pacquiao
By Dan Ambose:
www.BoxingNews24.com
If Juan Manuel Marquez wants a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, he’s going to have to fight and beat some of the top light welterweights and some welterweights as well. In an article by Dan Rafael of ESPN, Top Rank Promotion Bob Arum had this to say about Marquez fighting Pacquiao in the future:
“Marquez is a terrific kid and a terrific fighter, but he’s a smaller-weight fighter. He demonstrated that at the higher weight he can’t handle it [when he lost every round to Floyd Mayweather at welterweight. Now, if that perception is incorrect, let Marquez go fight a bigger guy and prove that he belongs with Manny at a higher weight. Let him go fight Andre Berto or [Joshua] Clottey, Tim Bradley or [Devon] Alexander. If he beats one of those four guys, he can say, ‘I belong with Manny at the higher weight.”
This is rather disappointing news if you were looking forward to seeing Pacquiao and Marquez mix it up for a third time. It’s hard to understand what Arum is talking about, because Marquez fought Pacquiao so effectively in their two previous fights.
Of course, those fights took place at the lower weights and Pacquiao has since bulked up quite a bit, but a fight between Marquez and Pacquiao would still likely be competitive and it would also probably do fairly well in terms of pay per view buys.
How can you say that it wouldn’t do as well as Pacquiao’s last fight against Joshua Clottey, because Marquez is clearly better known than him. A third fight between Marquez and Pacquiao would at least bring in a minumum of 800,000 you would think. But it’s a fight that boxing fans want to see and its also a fight that Marquez, a pound for pound star boxer, deserves.
How is that Antonio Margarito is being given a fight against Pacquiao? Margarito may have been one of the best fighters in the welterweight division in the past, but he looked bad in losing to Shane Mosley last year and didn’t look good in beating Roberto Garcia in his comeback fight this year.
And with the hand wrap issue still having boxing fans turned off towards Margarito, you have to wonder what Arum was thinking when he decided to go with Margarito rather than a third fight between Pacquiao and Marquez.
Arum is obviously looking at how Marquez did in his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year as reasoning why he thinks that Marquez would do poorly against Pacquiao at the higher weights. However, we don’t even know how Pacquiao would do against Mayweather.
Pacquiao may even get beat much worse than Marquez, because Pacquiao would be coming right at Mayweather all night long and presenting all kinds of opportunities for Mayweather to land counter shots and make Pacquiao look really bad in doing so.
Marquez was hit a lot in his loss to Mayweather, but he did a good job of limiting a lot of the shots that Mayweather could have landed had he been as aggressive as Pacquiao.
www.BoxingNews24.com
If Juan Manuel Marquez wants a third fight with Manny Pacquiao, he’s going to have to fight and beat some of the top light welterweights and some welterweights as well. In an article by Dan Rafael of ESPN, Top Rank Promotion Bob Arum had this to say about Marquez fighting Pacquiao in the future:
“Marquez is a terrific kid and a terrific fighter, but he’s a smaller-weight fighter. He demonstrated that at the higher weight he can’t handle it [when he lost every round to Floyd Mayweather at welterweight. Now, if that perception is incorrect, let Marquez go fight a bigger guy and prove that he belongs with Manny at a higher weight. Let him go fight Andre Berto or [Joshua] Clottey, Tim Bradley or [Devon] Alexander. If he beats one of those four guys, he can say, ‘I belong with Manny at the higher weight.”
This is rather disappointing news if you were looking forward to seeing Pacquiao and Marquez mix it up for a third time. It’s hard to understand what Arum is talking about, because Marquez fought Pacquiao so effectively in their two previous fights.
Of course, those fights took place at the lower weights and Pacquiao has since bulked up quite a bit, but a fight between Marquez and Pacquiao would still likely be competitive and it would also probably do fairly well in terms of pay per view buys.
How can you say that it wouldn’t do as well as Pacquiao’s last fight against Joshua Clottey, because Marquez is clearly better known than him. A third fight between Marquez and Pacquiao would at least bring in a minumum of 800,000 you would think. But it’s a fight that boxing fans want to see and its also a fight that Marquez, a pound for pound star boxer, deserves.
How is that Antonio Margarito is being given a fight against Pacquiao? Margarito may have been one of the best fighters in the welterweight division in the past, but he looked bad in losing to Shane Mosley last year and didn’t look good in beating Roberto Garcia in his comeback fight this year.
And with the hand wrap issue still having boxing fans turned off towards Margarito, you have to wonder what Arum was thinking when he decided to go with Margarito rather than a third fight between Pacquiao and Marquez.
Arum is obviously looking at how Marquez did in his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year as reasoning why he thinks that Marquez would do poorly against Pacquiao at the higher weights. However, we don’t even know how Pacquiao would do against Mayweather.
Pacquiao may even get beat much worse than Marquez, because Pacquiao would be coming right at Mayweather all night long and presenting all kinds of opportunities for Mayweather to land counter shots and make Pacquiao look really bad in doing so.
Marquez was hit a lot in his loss to Mayweather, but he did a good job of limiting a lot of the shots that Mayweather could have landed had he been as aggressive as Pacquiao.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Mayweather Responds!: Not Interested – News
by Christian Ramos:
www.BoxingNews24.com
After a sudden disappearance from the public, Pretty Boy Floyd broke his silence. The boxing world has been waiting for a response from its biggest attraction after Bob Arum announced a deadline for Floyd to respond to the negotiations regarding himself and Manny Pacquiao. For the first time since anybody can recall, Mayweather has been completely without words during an attempt at negotiations.
Once the deadline arrived and Mayweather was a no-show, Bob Arum announced he would move on to negotiate between both Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito to fight Manny Pacquiao. He also reassured Mayweather still has the first dibs at Pacman, as long as Manny was not under contract to fight anyone else. Floyd would just simply have to respond for Top Rank to push the fight.
There were many speculations as to why Floyd never responded to the negotiations. Many fans believed Money was scared or ducking. Others however, including Bob Arum himself, took a more rational approach and brought up the issue regarding is uncle/trainer Roger Mayweather and his up-coming trial date. Roger Mayweather soon has a trial date and faces the possibility of going to jail for quite some time. There was also a huge speculation to what was actually on the contract that both sides supposedly agreed on, but no one really saw it.
Well, after his brief absence, Pretty Boy himself responded to the boxing world. His response was short and simple. It was a comment that only Floyd Mayweather Jr. can make when regarding possibly the hugest fight in the sport’s history. He’s simply not interested.
“I’m not interested in rushing to do anything. I’m not really thinking about boxing right now. I’m must relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I’m just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family and enjoying my vacation. Like I said, I’m just supporting my family and relaxing. That what I’m doing right now.”
This would have you think for a minute. Is he really that concerned about his uncle’s case? After all, everyone mentions that he’s so important to training, but more importantly, Roger’s his blood. Did Arum make his biggest mistake in trying to pressure Floyd into the fight? Or most importantly, how appealing was the offer from the promoters?
One thing is sure though. The fight is not happening this year. Can some just find Don Corleone! Hey Don, make Floyd an offer he can’t refuse!
www.BoxingNews24.com
After a sudden disappearance from the public, Pretty Boy Floyd broke his silence. The boxing world has been waiting for a response from its biggest attraction after Bob Arum announced a deadline for Floyd to respond to the negotiations regarding himself and Manny Pacquiao. For the first time since anybody can recall, Mayweather has been completely without words during an attempt at negotiations.
Once the deadline arrived and Mayweather was a no-show, Bob Arum announced he would move on to negotiate between both Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito to fight Manny Pacquiao. He also reassured Mayweather still has the first dibs at Pacman, as long as Manny was not under contract to fight anyone else. Floyd would just simply have to respond for Top Rank to push the fight.
There were many speculations as to why Floyd never responded to the negotiations. Many fans believed Money was scared or ducking. Others however, including Bob Arum himself, took a more rational approach and brought up the issue regarding is uncle/trainer Roger Mayweather and his up-coming trial date. Roger Mayweather soon has a trial date and faces the possibility of going to jail for quite some time. There was also a huge speculation to what was actually on the contract that both sides supposedly agreed on, but no one really saw it.
Well, after his brief absence, Pretty Boy himself responded to the boxing world. His response was short and simple. It was a comment that only Floyd Mayweather Jr. can make when regarding possibly the hugest fight in the sport’s history. He’s simply not interested.
“I’m not interested in rushing to do anything. I’m not really thinking about boxing right now. I’m must relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I’m just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family and enjoying my vacation. Like I said, I’m just supporting my family and relaxing. That what I’m doing right now.”
This would have you think for a minute. Is he really that concerned about his uncle’s case? After all, everyone mentions that he’s so important to training, but more importantly, Roger’s his blood. Did Arum make his biggest mistake in trying to pressure Floyd into the fight? Or most importantly, how appealing was the offer from the promoters?
One thing is sure though. The fight is not happening this year. Can some just find Don Corleone! Hey Don, make Floyd an offer he can’t refuse!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Manny Pacquiao agreed to drug testing all the way to the fight
By Simon Sheppard:
www.BoxingNews24.com
The generosity of Manny Pacquiao can not manifests itself better than in this light. He could have turned away and rejected Floyd Mayweather’s demands on the testing using the NSAC as his point of argument. But no, he conceded to the demand.
Bob Arum told Dan Rafael of ESPN that Pacquiao accepted the terms of the random drug testing, blood and urine, leading up to the fight. He wasn’t forthcoming on the details, but Michael Koncz, the advisor of Pacquiao, said that there was also no argument regarding the 50/50 purse split.
Manny Pacquiao seemed to have got tired of all the nonsense. Like ok, whatever you want, let’s just fight. Knowing it’s the fight everybody wants to see, he did everything on his part to make it happen. Going against his principles to please all the boxing fans. Wanting to leave a lasting legacy. Wanting to answer the big question, once and for all, inside that squared circle.
However the negotiations turn out, Pacquiao will still fight on November 13th . What is still undecided is if it’s going to be against Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito. Whomever he faces of the two, Pacquiao is gunning for another record, an 8th weight class, the Junior Middleweight 154 title. Against Miguel Cotto it’s for the WBA belt. And against Margarito for the WBC version, which Sergio Martinez vacated.
Now it’s up to Floyd whether the fight gets made or not.
Floyd can forget the fans.
He can forget the legacy, of which he doesn’t care anyway.
Floyd can do it even just for the money.
We would understand perfectly, even applaud him for it.
Like Arum said “It’s Friday, and it’s 11:00 pm, if Floyd says we have a deal, we have a deal.”
But if Floyd wants to fight next year, they even gave him that option.
Both fights, Cotto and Margarito, would be a hard sell to most fans.
Cotto was dominated by Pacquiao in their previous fight, while Margarito lost a lot of his fans after the handwrap incident.
It is very rare in an era, or in a generation, that two prime fighters at their peaks get to face each other. Many questions will be answered with this fight. Questions like who will prevail – slugger vs. the pure boxer? Offense vs. defense? Who will be faster?
And the biggest question of all – who is truly the Pound for Pound King in this generation?
It’s all up to Floyd now to have the chance to answer all those questions.
www.BoxingNews24.com
The generosity of Manny Pacquiao can not manifests itself better than in this light. He could have turned away and rejected Floyd Mayweather’s demands on the testing using the NSAC as his point of argument. But no, he conceded to the demand.
Bob Arum told Dan Rafael of ESPN that Pacquiao accepted the terms of the random drug testing, blood and urine, leading up to the fight. He wasn’t forthcoming on the details, but Michael Koncz, the advisor of Pacquiao, said that there was also no argument regarding the 50/50 purse split.
Manny Pacquiao seemed to have got tired of all the nonsense. Like ok, whatever you want, let’s just fight. Knowing it’s the fight everybody wants to see, he did everything on his part to make it happen. Going against his principles to please all the boxing fans. Wanting to leave a lasting legacy. Wanting to answer the big question, once and for all, inside that squared circle.
However the negotiations turn out, Pacquiao will still fight on November 13th . What is still undecided is if it’s going to be against Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito. Whomever he faces of the two, Pacquiao is gunning for another record, an 8th weight class, the Junior Middleweight 154 title. Against Miguel Cotto it’s for the WBA belt. And against Margarito for the WBC version, which Sergio Martinez vacated.
Now it’s up to Floyd whether the fight gets made or not.
Floyd can forget the fans.
He can forget the legacy, of which he doesn’t care anyway.
Floyd can do it even just for the money.
We would understand perfectly, even applaud him for it.
Like Arum said “It’s Friday, and it’s 11:00 pm, if Floyd says we have a deal, we have a deal.”
But if Floyd wants to fight next year, they even gave him that option.
Both fights, Cotto and Margarito, would be a hard sell to most fans.
Cotto was dominated by Pacquiao in their previous fight, while Margarito lost a lot of his fans after the handwrap incident.
It is very rare in an era, or in a generation, that two prime fighters at their peaks get to face each other. Many questions will be answered with this fight. Questions like who will prevail – slugger vs. the pure boxer? Offense vs. defense? Who will be faster?
And the biggest question of all – who is truly the Pound for Pound King in this generation?
It’s all up to Floyd now to have the chance to answer all those questions.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Mayweather 146 lbs, Mosley 147 lbs..!
by -Noreaga-
www.UndefeatedBoxing.com
The 33 year old Floyd "Money" Mayweather weighed in at 146 pounds. Suger Shane Mosley age 38, was 147 pounds, in todays public weigh-in held at the MGM in Las Vegas.
www.UndefeatedBoxing.com
The 33 year old Floyd "Money" Mayweather weighed in at 146 pounds. Suger Shane Mosley age 38, was 147 pounds, in todays public weigh-in held at the MGM in Las Vegas.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Pacquiao expects Mayweather to run from Mosley
By Dan Ambrose
www.BoxingNews24.com
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao gave his own prediction for this Saturday night’s fight between undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. and WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley, picking Mosley to win and thinks that Mayweather will run from him. In an interview by Greg Leon at Boxing Talk, Pacquiao said “I think Mosley has a great chance of winning. I expect him and his team to come up with different plans to fight Mayweather, who I think will run all night.” There you have it. Pacquiao thinks that the 38-year-old Mosley will beat Mayweather this Saturday at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mayweather is unbeaten at 40-0, 25 KO’s. However, many of Mayweather’s best wins have come in the distant past, and he hasn’t faced anyone his own size for long while. It’s been three years since Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya, a light middleweight at the time, but old and considered past his prime. Although technically a junior middleweight at the time that he fought Mayweather, De La Hoya was more of a welterweight who put on extra weight to fight at light middleweight.
Mayweather hasn’t fought anyone his size that had much talent for ages. This is why Mayweather, 5’8”, could be in serious trouble this Saturday night against the slightly taller and equally talented 5’9” Mosley. Mayweather doesn’t like to mix it up, preferring to move a lot on the outside to avoid taking shots. Mosley doesn’t like to get hit either, but he’s willing to mix it up and isn’t afraid to take shots in order to land his own. Mosley throws more punches than Mayweather and might hit a little harder.
Mayweather has the better defensive skill of the two. If Mosley can force Mayweather to stand and trade with him, the fight will favor Mosley because Mayweather doesn’t like to fight hard for any length of time. It’s been a long time since Mayweather was forced to throw a lot of punches and there’s a concern here that he could tire out quickly if Mosley gets him in a war.
There’s also the question about how much punishment Mayweather can take. Because of his movement and defensive skills, he’s rarely taken that many shots in any one fight during his career. If Mosley is able to land as often as he did in his last fight against Antonio Margarito, then there’s a chance that he could take Mayweather out.
www.BoxingNews24.com
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao gave his own prediction for this Saturday night’s fight between undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. and WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley, picking Mosley to win and thinks that Mayweather will run from him. In an interview by Greg Leon at Boxing Talk, Pacquiao said “I think Mosley has a great chance of winning. I expect him and his team to come up with different plans to fight Mayweather, who I think will run all night.” There you have it. Pacquiao thinks that the 38-year-old Mosley will beat Mayweather this Saturday at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mayweather is unbeaten at 40-0, 25 KO’s. However, many of Mayweather’s best wins have come in the distant past, and he hasn’t faced anyone his own size for long while. It’s been three years since Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya, a light middleweight at the time, but old and considered past his prime. Although technically a junior middleweight at the time that he fought Mayweather, De La Hoya was more of a welterweight who put on extra weight to fight at light middleweight.
Mayweather hasn’t fought anyone his size that had much talent for ages. This is why Mayweather, 5’8”, could be in serious trouble this Saturday night against the slightly taller and equally talented 5’9” Mosley. Mayweather doesn’t like to mix it up, preferring to move a lot on the outside to avoid taking shots. Mosley doesn’t like to get hit either, but he’s willing to mix it up and isn’t afraid to take shots in order to land his own. Mosley throws more punches than Mayweather and might hit a little harder.
Mayweather has the better defensive skill of the two. If Mosley can force Mayweather to stand and trade with him, the fight will favor Mosley because Mayweather doesn’t like to fight hard for any length of time. It’s been a long time since Mayweather was forced to throw a lot of punches and there’s a concern here that he could tire out quickly if Mosley gets him in a war.
There’s also the question about how much punishment Mayweather can take. Because of his movement and defensive skills, he’s rarely taken that many shots in any one fight during his career. If Mosley is able to land as often as he did in his last fight against Antonio Margarito, then there’s a chance that he could take Mayweather out.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
More on Dirrell-Abraham
by: FightNews.com
Andre Dirrell turned the Super Six World Boxing Classic upside down and handed previously undefeated Arthur Abraham his first loss on an 11th-round disqualification Saturday in a fight at the Joe Louis Arena during a Free Preview Weekend on SHOWTIME® that ended in bedlam with family, friends, officials and team members of both camps in the ring. Referee Laurence Cole stopped a Group Stage 2 bout in which Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich., had performed magnificently at 1:13 of the 11th after Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) connected with a sweeping right hand while Dirrell, who had slipped in Abraham’s corner, was down on one knee.
At the time of the disqualification, Dirrell was ahead by the scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice. He was taken from the ring to the hospital for observation.
By winning, Dirrell became the fourth hometown fighter to triumph in as many tournament fights. He scored the bout’s lone knockdown in the fourth round, although Abraham, who was bleeding from the right eye, thought he had scored a knockdown in the ninth that the referee missed.
With the victory in the first of three Group Stage 2 fights, Dirrell earned his first two points in the tournament. Abraham remains the tournament leader with three points.
Until he was knocked unconscious from the late hit, Dirrell had boxed beautifully, switching effectively from orthodox to southpaw throughout.
But Abraham, a notorious slow starter, was rallying. He said the foul was unintentional.
“He did not go down. I shouldn’t be DQ’d for this,’’ the favored Abraham told SHOWTIME’s Jim Gray in the ring afterward. Later, at the post-fight press conference, Abraham added, “I was not looking at his feet. I was looking at his eyes. If you are a professional boxer, you look for every opportunity to knock out your opponent. You do not wait for him to recover. But I wish Andre Dirrell well and hope he is OK.’’
Group Stage 2 bouts in the Super Six World Boxing Classic resume on Saturday, April 24, and Saturday, June 19, on SHOWTIME. Undefeated Carl “The Cobra’’ Froch (26-0, 20 KOs) of Nottingham, England, will defend his WBC 168-pound title against former WBA 168-pound champion Mikkel “Viking Warrior’’ Kessler (42-2, 32 KOs) of Denmark on SHOWTIME (9 p.m., ET/PT, same-day delay) from MCH Arena, in Herning, Denmark, while undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) 168-pound champion Andre Ward (20-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland, Calif., will make his first title defense against world-ranked contender “Sweetness” Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs), of Tulsa, Okla., on June 19 on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC SCOREBOARD
Record Fighter Points
1-1 Arthur Abraham 3
1-1 Andre Dirrell 2
1-0 Carl Froch 2
1-0 Andre Ward 2
0-1 Mikkel Kessler 0
0-0 Allan Green 0
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING announcers Steve Albert, Al Bernstein and Antonio Tarver called Saturday’s action with Jim Gray reporting from ringside. The executive producer of SHOWTIME Sports is David Dinkins with Bob Dunphy directing.
Saturday’s bout, which was co-promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and Sauerland Event, will re-air Monday, March 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME 2. The fight will be available On Demand beginning Tuesday, March 30.
Floyd is Afraid to Fight Manny
By Epifanio M. Almeda
PhilBoxing.com
My good friend, Engr. Samson Tiukinhoy, texted to share his daughter’s (Dr. Susan Tiukinhoy) first hand conversation with George Foreman in a Houston elevator. Recognizing big George, Dr. Susan asked what he thinks of a fight between Manny and Floyd. The fearsome heavyweight champion of the world replied, “Floyd is afraid to fight Manny”.
Foreman knows first hand what happens when a fighter fears his opponent. The fighter who fears loses the fight even before the first bell rings. Ken Norton couldn’t look straight at George’s eyes and just bowed his head as the referee was giving the pre-fight instructions. The fight for the heavyweight championship was held on 26 March 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela. Muhammad Ali sat at ringside as a fight commentator.
George was undefeated when Norton was shoved forward to fight him after scoring a win over the great Ali. Norton couldn’t shake off his mind Foreman’s fearsome reputation of being a big puncher with a frightening KO record. George knocked down Norton’s good friend, Joe Frazier, six times before stopping him in the 2nd round to wrest the heavyweight championship of the world. Foreman and Norton were about the same size but George knocked down Norton three times in the second round to end the fight. Muhammad Ali identified the cause of Norton’s loss. Norton was scared of Foreman.
George’s observation on Floyd vs. Manny he shared with Dr. Susan confirms Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s own fear for little Floyd which the Sr. showed as he tried to identify the kind of performing enhancing drugs (PED) he accused Manny of taking. Who wouldn’t fear the Pacman who comes from a country whose World War II guerillas have a reputation of continuously charging forward despite facing a barrage of gunfire? If no gunfire could stop a guerilla from charging forward, how much less could Floyd’s brittle bare hands stop a such PED enhanced Manny who already has that reputed habit in the ring of always charging forward?
With little Floyd’s ability to come up with excuses for the fight not to happen, the Floyd-Manny fight may never happen. No disrespect intended for Shane Mosley, but Floyd is just too slick and too good for Shane to handle come May 1. Floyd’s been there facing a fighter many thought had a good chance to beat him. Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Ricky Hatton, Oscar dela Hoya, to name them who had names in the fight game. Floyd didn’t fear them and he beat them all.
But Manny Pacquiao is different. He retired the 6 weight division champion Oscar giving him no round of 8, bulldozed Hatton in 2, and ate the best Miguel Cotto could dish out while still asking for more. It was the legitimate welterweight Cotto who said “no more” by dancing away from the charging Manny until what has become a mere semblance of a fight was mercifully stopped just before the end of the 12th round.
When Manny’s charging forward could not be stopped with a legitimate welterweight champion firepower, Manny must really be somebody no other else is. All these did not escape the Floyd Mayweather camp’s attention and Floyd Jr. himself despite his claims of intentionally not viewing Manny’s fights.
Floyd Jr. already has the advantages of size, reach and maybe his defensive skills and accurate counter punching. But what can these do to a fighter who “punches very hard” according to Marco Antonio Barrera, is “so fast” according to David Diaz, smiles after a great round of skirmish with his opponent in some of his good fights, and seems to be more motivated to charge further forward when hit and bloodied?
The over US$40 million guaranteed purse couldn’t make Floyd fight after Manny’s beat up of Miguel Cotto. With Manny’s recent shut out of Joshua Clottey who had the advantages of size, reach, a tight defense, and with a reputation of not having really been overwhelmed by fighters his size, Floyd will come up with even more excuses for the fight not to happen.
If he beats Mosley and the PPV buys outnumber the Pacquiao-Clottey number, expect Floyd to no longer agree to a 50-50 purse split. “Negotiations” will go nowhere as it did before. The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, which all and sundry want to see, will not happen.
And the reason is as what George Foreman told Dr. Susan, “Floyd is afraid to Fight Manny”.
PhilBoxing.com
My good friend, Engr. Samson Tiukinhoy, texted to share his daughter’s (Dr. Susan Tiukinhoy) first hand conversation with George Foreman in a Houston elevator. Recognizing big George, Dr. Susan asked what he thinks of a fight between Manny and Floyd. The fearsome heavyweight champion of the world replied, “Floyd is afraid to fight Manny”.
Foreman knows first hand what happens when a fighter fears his opponent. The fighter who fears loses the fight even before the first bell rings. Ken Norton couldn’t look straight at George’s eyes and just bowed his head as the referee was giving the pre-fight instructions. The fight for the heavyweight championship was held on 26 March 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela. Muhammad Ali sat at ringside as a fight commentator.
George was undefeated when Norton was shoved forward to fight him after scoring a win over the great Ali. Norton couldn’t shake off his mind Foreman’s fearsome reputation of being a big puncher with a frightening KO record. George knocked down Norton’s good friend, Joe Frazier, six times before stopping him in the 2nd round to wrest the heavyweight championship of the world. Foreman and Norton were about the same size but George knocked down Norton three times in the second round to end the fight. Muhammad Ali identified the cause of Norton’s loss. Norton was scared of Foreman.
George’s observation on Floyd vs. Manny he shared with Dr. Susan confirms Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s own fear for little Floyd which the Sr. showed as he tried to identify the kind of performing enhancing drugs (PED) he accused Manny of taking. Who wouldn’t fear the Pacman who comes from a country whose World War II guerillas have a reputation of continuously charging forward despite facing a barrage of gunfire? If no gunfire could stop a guerilla from charging forward, how much less could Floyd’s brittle bare hands stop a such PED enhanced Manny who already has that reputed habit in the ring of always charging forward?
With little Floyd’s ability to come up with excuses for the fight not to happen, the Floyd-Manny fight may never happen. No disrespect intended for Shane Mosley, but Floyd is just too slick and too good for Shane to handle come May 1. Floyd’s been there facing a fighter many thought had a good chance to beat him. Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Ricky Hatton, Oscar dela Hoya, to name them who had names in the fight game. Floyd didn’t fear them and he beat them all.
But Manny Pacquiao is different. He retired the 6 weight division champion Oscar giving him no round of 8, bulldozed Hatton in 2, and ate the best Miguel Cotto could dish out while still asking for more. It was the legitimate welterweight Cotto who said “no more” by dancing away from the charging Manny until what has become a mere semblance of a fight was mercifully stopped just before the end of the 12th round.
When Manny’s charging forward could not be stopped with a legitimate welterweight champion firepower, Manny must really be somebody no other else is. All these did not escape the Floyd Mayweather camp’s attention and Floyd Jr. himself despite his claims of intentionally not viewing Manny’s fights.
Floyd Jr. already has the advantages of size, reach and maybe his defensive skills and accurate counter punching. But what can these do to a fighter who “punches very hard” according to Marco Antonio Barrera, is “so fast” according to David Diaz, smiles after a great round of skirmish with his opponent in some of his good fights, and seems to be more motivated to charge further forward when hit and bloodied?
The over US$40 million guaranteed purse couldn’t make Floyd fight after Manny’s beat up of Miguel Cotto. With Manny’s recent shut out of Joshua Clottey who had the advantages of size, reach, a tight defense, and with a reputation of not having really been overwhelmed by fighters his size, Floyd will come up with even more excuses for the fight not to happen.
If he beats Mosley and the PPV buys outnumber the Pacquiao-Clottey number, expect Floyd to no longer agree to a 50-50 purse split. “Negotiations” will go nowhere as it did before. The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, which all and sundry want to see, will not happen.
And the reason is as what George Foreman told Dr. Susan, “Floyd is afraid to Fight Manny”.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The End Is Near For Floyd’s Reign
By Scoop Malinowski
BoxingInsider.com
There were some very surprising happenings at the Mosley vs. Mayweather Los Angeles press conference earlier this month which seem to have been overlooked by the media. I just saw the video this week and let me tell you this, Floyd is showing signs of falling apart mentally.
Unlike in New York and Washington DC, Mayweather was heavily booed repeatedly on this sunny afternoon in Los Angeles. And this harsh reaction at the introduction of his presence seemed to have an effect on the sensitive 33-year-old who tried his best to ignore it and cover up the hurt.
Remember, Sonny Liston could not overcome the negativity his reputation and behavior inspired and surrendered to Clay in Miami. George Foreman also was deeply affected by playing the role of the villain and those “Ali Bomaye!” chants in Zaire and was destroyed by Ali.,
“The humble shall be exalted and the exalted shall be humbled.”
Shane Mosley is highly respected by just about everyone in boxing because he’s always been a gentleman, always carried himself with class and humility, always taken on the best of the best. He is the symbol of a true champion, a positive inspiration of the people.
Sugar Shane stated at the podium simply that “May 1st is gonna be May’s first (loss). I’ll make sure of that. Thank you.”
The key phrase was spoken softly but with a severe certainty. “I’LL MAKE SURE OF THAT.”
Floyd was booed again as he rose to speak. He seemed flustered and frustrated about it, and that Mosley was exuding a supreme confidence. Floyd is not used to dealing with that intangible. Floyd also seemed hurt by the fact that after all he’s worked for and all he’s been through, the fans greeted him with a shower of insulting and disrespectful boos as he walked meekly to the podium. It was as if Floyd felt shame and just did not have the strength to combat them. Maybe he understands they’re right to disrespect him for all his wicked conduct.
I’ll never forget the time in Miami when Floyd lifted his head up to acknowledge the huge roar of love from boxing fans to Oscar De La Hoya at the Oscar-Floyd Miami press conference in January 2007. Floyd was in awe and proud to even hear something like that, surely craving that kind of positive adoration for himself someday. All the money in the world can’t buy that type of respect.
Three years later, Floyd’s behavior has made him arguably, as evidenced by the booing, one of the most loathed characters in all of sports. He has no love except from a small band of fans and his team of sychophants.
Floyd composed himself to speak a fair bit but none of it was convincing in the least, “I want Shane to believe in himself. I believe in my skills…”
It was eery to see such a self-proclaimed great champion look and sound so weak and command such little respect. And appear so vulnerable. “I have a great trainer, he has a great trainer, we must understand – our trainers can’t fight for us…”
“That’s what I want to do, I want to test my skills against the best guys out there…”
About the new drug testing protocol he demanded for this fight…”I just want to change the way the sport of boxing is. I want to say, My sport is clean.”
The truth is he never cared about any of this until it was time to be sacrificed to Manny Pacquiao on March 13.
In the middle of this soliloquy, a red glove was brought over to Shane to sign from Floyd’s side of the stage. Floyd kept on babbling this bulljive to himself, which only an ignorant few really believe. “That’s why me and Shane are taking random…”
But suddenly Floyd began to stutter badly. The pressure to conceal the truth suddenly broke out. It was as if the hidden truth was leaking out of himself. He was losing his mind. He really didn’t know what he was talking about, it wasn’t coming straight from his heart, it was all really a horrible scheme concocted to defame and discredit Pacquiao, to avoid getting brutalized by Pacquiao on March 13.
The stuttering continued, astonishingly. “…random urine and random blood, random blood…” Floyd began to wave his hands helplessly, stuck for words, he really didn’t even know what he was talking about, even Richard Schaefer and Mosley looked up at him, like, wow, partly embarrassed for him.
He finally figured out what to say: “..random blood test.”
Floyd could not have sounded more unconvincing and fake. The whole random blood testing is obviously a lie, a scam, a fraud to prevent the bigger fraud from being revealed.
I believe the massive booing hurt Floyd and weakened him to expose his true self in Los Angeles. If Mosley has enough left in his tank, the now clearly fragile and flustered Floyd will be destroyed once and for all in Las Vegas on May 1.
But it could actually be a blessing in disguise for Floyd. If he can take the loss with class, he will gain more respect by far in defeat than all his wins combined.
“The humble shall be exalted. The exalted shall be humbled.”
“The man enslaved to wealth can never be honest.” — Democritus
“The truth annihilates falsehood.” –Qoran
Contact Scoop: mrbiofile@aol.com
BoxingInsider.com
There were some very surprising happenings at the Mosley vs. Mayweather Los Angeles press conference earlier this month which seem to have been overlooked by the media. I just saw the video this week and let me tell you this, Floyd is showing signs of falling apart mentally.
Unlike in New York and Washington DC, Mayweather was heavily booed repeatedly on this sunny afternoon in Los Angeles. And this harsh reaction at the introduction of his presence seemed to have an effect on the sensitive 33-year-old who tried his best to ignore it and cover up the hurt.
Remember, Sonny Liston could not overcome the negativity his reputation and behavior inspired and surrendered to Clay in Miami. George Foreman also was deeply affected by playing the role of the villain and those “Ali Bomaye!” chants in Zaire and was destroyed by Ali.,
“The humble shall be exalted and the exalted shall be humbled.”
Shane Mosley is highly respected by just about everyone in boxing because he’s always been a gentleman, always carried himself with class and humility, always taken on the best of the best. He is the symbol of a true champion, a positive inspiration of the people.
Sugar Shane stated at the podium simply that “May 1st is gonna be May’s first (loss). I’ll make sure of that. Thank you.”
The key phrase was spoken softly but with a severe certainty. “I’LL MAKE SURE OF THAT.”
Floyd was booed again as he rose to speak. He seemed flustered and frustrated about it, and that Mosley was exuding a supreme confidence. Floyd is not used to dealing with that intangible. Floyd also seemed hurt by the fact that after all he’s worked for and all he’s been through, the fans greeted him with a shower of insulting and disrespectful boos as he walked meekly to the podium. It was as if Floyd felt shame and just did not have the strength to combat them. Maybe he understands they’re right to disrespect him for all his wicked conduct.
I’ll never forget the time in Miami when Floyd lifted his head up to acknowledge the huge roar of love from boxing fans to Oscar De La Hoya at the Oscar-Floyd Miami press conference in January 2007. Floyd was in awe and proud to even hear something like that, surely craving that kind of positive adoration for himself someday. All the money in the world can’t buy that type of respect.
Three years later, Floyd’s behavior has made him arguably, as evidenced by the booing, one of the most loathed characters in all of sports. He has no love except from a small band of fans and his team of sychophants.
Floyd composed himself to speak a fair bit but none of it was convincing in the least, “I want Shane to believe in himself. I believe in my skills…”
It was eery to see such a self-proclaimed great champion look and sound so weak and command such little respect. And appear so vulnerable. “I have a great trainer, he has a great trainer, we must understand – our trainers can’t fight for us…”
“That’s what I want to do, I want to test my skills against the best guys out there…”
About the new drug testing protocol he demanded for this fight…”I just want to change the way the sport of boxing is. I want to say, My sport is clean.”
The truth is he never cared about any of this until it was time to be sacrificed to Manny Pacquiao on March 13.
In the middle of this soliloquy, a red glove was brought over to Shane to sign from Floyd’s side of the stage. Floyd kept on babbling this bulljive to himself, which only an ignorant few really believe. “That’s why me and Shane are taking random…”
But suddenly Floyd began to stutter badly. The pressure to conceal the truth suddenly broke out. It was as if the hidden truth was leaking out of himself. He was losing his mind. He really didn’t know what he was talking about, it wasn’t coming straight from his heart, it was all really a horrible scheme concocted to defame and discredit Pacquiao, to avoid getting brutalized by Pacquiao on March 13.
The stuttering continued, astonishingly. “…random urine and random blood, random blood…” Floyd began to wave his hands helplessly, stuck for words, he really didn’t even know what he was talking about, even Richard Schaefer and Mosley looked up at him, like, wow, partly embarrassed for him.
He finally figured out what to say: “..random blood test.”
Floyd could not have sounded more unconvincing and fake. The whole random blood testing is obviously a lie, a scam, a fraud to prevent the bigger fraud from being revealed.
I believe the massive booing hurt Floyd and weakened him to expose his true self in Los Angeles. If Mosley has enough left in his tank, the now clearly fragile and flustered Floyd will be destroyed once and for all in Las Vegas on May 1.
But it could actually be a blessing in disguise for Floyd. If he can take the loss with class, he will gain more respect by far in defeat than all his wins combined.
“The humble shall be exalted. The exalted shall be humbled.”
“The man enslaved to wealth can never be honest.” — Democritus
“The truth annihilates falsehood.” –Qoran
Contact Scoop: mrbiofile@aol.com
Monday, March 22, 2010
Pacquiao: I don’t need Mayweather "Pacman Picks Mosley to win over Mayweather"
By Dennis Principe
www.FightNews.com
In what is so far his strongest message against bitter rival Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao said he considers his legacy in boxing as already cemented that he sees no need to fight the undefeated American boxer. Pacquiao made this declaration in a mini-press conference held during his courtesy call to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Malacanang Palace moments after the pound-for-pound king arrived in the country Monday morning. “Our records will show I have beaten far better fighters compared to Mayweather. I’ve stated before that I am willing to fight him if that’s what the fans want to see. But if the fight doesn’t happen, I’m fine with it,” said Pacquiao.
Late last year talks about a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout went full steam until a stringent demand by the undefeated American that they both undergo Olympic-style blood testing messed up what would have been one of the sport’s most anticipated match-ups.
Mayweather has made countless allegations that Pacquiao used Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PED) to increase the chances of the seven-time world champion against bigger foes in moving up in weight from a skinny light flyweight all the way up to the welterweight division.
“He needs me more than I need him. If he wants the fight then let’s do it. I’m clean because I get my strength through hardwork and my faith in God,” said Pacquiao.
Mayweather is out to prove his point both in boxing skills and his aim of establishing new standard in drug testing when he battles fellow American Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.
For their 12-round battle, Mayweather and Mosley have agreed to a no-advance-notice urine and blood testing to be conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
“I pick Mosley to win that fight because he can throw a lot of punches compared to Mayweather who’s a very defensive boxer. Defense can’t win fights especially against a fighter like Mosley who relies on speed,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao meanwhile has indicated his willingness to hang-up his gloves especially now that his already illustrious mother Dionisia is more vocal than ever in earnestly seeing his son retire for good.
“That’s something that I am seriously considering because I’m sure you do not want to see me end up being a beaten man, right? I know I can still compete but it’s better to retire while I’m still healthy and enjoy my success with our countrymen,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, a congressional candidate in the coming May elections, recently defended World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown via a 12-round decision winover Ghanaian Joshua Clottey in front of 51,000 paying fans last March 14 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas
www.FightNews.com
In what is so far his strongest message against bitter rival Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao said he considers his legacy in boxing as already cemented that he sees no need to fight the undefeated American boxer. Pacquiao made this declaration in a mini-press conference held during his courtesy call to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Malacanang Palace moments after the pound-for-pound king arrived in the country Monday morning. “Our records will show I have beaten far better fighters compared to Mayweather. I’ve stated before that I am willing to fight him if that’s what the fans want to see. But if the fight doesn’t happen, I’m fine with it,” said Pacquiao.
Late last year talks about a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout went full steam until a stringent demand by the undefeated American that they both undergo Olympic-style blood testing messed up what would have been one of the sport’s most anticipated match-ups.
Mayweather has made countless allegations that Pacquiao used Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PED) to increase the chances of the seven-time world champion against bigger foes in moving up in weight from a skinny light flyweight all the way up to the welterweight division.
“He needs me more than I need him. If he wants the fight then let’s do it. I’m clean because I get my strength through hardwork and my faith in God,” said Pacquiao.
Mayweather is out to prove his point both in boxing skills and his aim of establishing new standard in drug testing when he battles fellow American Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.
For their 12-round battle, Mayweather and Mosley have agreed to a no-advance-notice urine and blood testing to be conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
“I pick Mosley to win that fight because he can throw a lot of punches compared to Mayweather who’s a very defensive boxer. Defense can’t win fights especially against a fighter like Mosley who relies on speed,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao meanwhile has indicated his willingness to hang-up his gloves especially now that his already illustrious mother Dionisia is more vocal than ever in earnestly seeing his son retire for good.
“That’s something that I am seriously considering because I’m sure you do not want to see me end up being a beaten man, right? I know I can still compete but it’s better to retire while I’m still healthy and enjoy my success with our countrymen,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, a congressional candidate in the coming May elections, recently defended World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown via a 12-round decision winover Ghanaian Joshua Clottey in front of 51,000 paying fans last March 14 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Mayweather Gave Pacquiao a Chance, But No More Mr. Nice Guy
By Lorne Scoggins:
www.8countnews.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is an interesting character. He’s a man of extremes. Inside the ring he is undeniably brilliant, but outside of it, his egomaniacal persona can only be evidence of one of two things. He is either an extremely insecure individual hiding behind a carefully constructed and perfectly maintained facade, or he has severe delusions of grandeur. There’s no other possibility. Take your pick.
In comparison, Manny Pacquiao is a man of contrasts. He is widely considered one of the gentlemen of the sport. He speaks of his opponents with respect. His calm demeanor and humility are in direct contrast with his killer instinct, ferocity and frenzied fighting style inside the ring.
Pacquiao will fight Joshua Clottey on March 13, and Mayweather will fight Shane Mosley on May 1. Although both fights promise to be exciting events, boxing fans the world over are still itching to see a bout between the top two pound for pound fighters in the world. The still hypothetical bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has already been fought vicariously through fans of both pugilists on various boxing forums a thousand times over.
Both fighters are continually asked about the possibility of a future match-up, even as they are promoting and training for their upcoming bouts. Pacquiao has to contend with questions regarding allegations of PED use that were fabricated by Team Mayweather. Despite the constant questioning about the doping allegations, he hasn't fired back with irresponsible or distasteful remarks about his accusers. In fact, he has kept his replies short and simple, wisely refraining from an all out attack against Mayweather. He has simply stated that he believes that Mayweather doesn’t want to fight him. Mayweather, on the other hand, has been more vocal. In a recent interview with David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather upped the anti for the possibility of a future match with Pacquiao.
“Instead of 20 or 25 (million dollars), he may have to drop to 15, or 17,” Mayweather said. “And you know me, they may have to throw that extra five or 10 on mine, and we can rock and roll. Take it or leave it.”
Mayweather also said, “I gave him a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight. They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That’s what it is.”
How kind it was for Floyd to have given Manny a chance. He's a swell guy. But now Floyd's had enough. No more Mr. Nice Guy. If negotiations reopen down the road, things will be different. It appears that poor Manny will “have to” give up 10 million dollars, submit blood samples at the weigh-in, before the fight and possibly between every round to prove that Team Pacquiao isn't slipping a little something special into his water. Failure to do so could result in Floyd pouting in the corner and glaring disdainfully at Manny, which would certainly hurt Manny's feelings.
Let's get real. Regardless of what Mayweather says Pacquiao “may have to” do, Pacquiao has already proven that he doesn't “have to” do anything that is not mandated by the boxing commission. It is also noteworthy that Mayweather was actually the one who was given a chance. Pacquiao is the WBO welterweight champion of the world as well as the No. 1 ranked pound for pound fighter. That makes Mayweather the challenger. He seems to be forgetful of that fact.
Contact Lorne: lscoggins@8countnews.com
I answer all emails but please direct all death threats to my publicist.
www.8countnews.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is an interesting character. He’s a man of extremes. Inside the ring he is undeniably brilliant, but outside of it, his egomaniacal persona can only be evidence of one of two things. He is either an extremely insecure individual hiding behind a carefully constructed and perfectly maintained facade, or he has severe delusions of grandeur. There’s no other possibility. Take your pick.
In comparison, Manny Pacquiao is a man of contrasts. He is widely considered one of the gentlemen of the sport. He speaks of his opponents with respect. His calm demeanor and humility are in direct contrast with his killer instinct, ferocity and frenzied fighting style inside the ring.
Pacquiao will fight Joshua Clottey on March 13, and Mayweather will fight Shane Mosley on May 1. Although both fights promise to be exciting events, boxing fans the world over are still itching to see a bout between the top two pound for pound fighters in the world. The still hypothetical bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has already been fought vicariously through fans of both pugilists on various boxing forums a thousand times over.
Both fighters are continually asked about the possibility of a future match-up, even as they are promoting and training for their upcoming bouts. Pacquiao has to contend with questions regarding allegations of PED use that were fabricated by Team Mayweather. Despite the constant questioning about the doping allegations, he hasn't fired back with irresponsible or distasteful remarks about his accusers. In fact, he has kept his replies short and simple, wisely refraining from an all out attack against Mayweather. He has simply stated that he believes that Mayweather doesn’t want to fight him. Mayweather, on the other hand, has been more vocal. In a recent interview with David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather upped the anti for the possibility of a future match with Pacquiao.
“Instead of 20 or 25 (million dollars), he may have to drop to 15, or 17,” Mayweather said. “And you know me, they may have to throw that extra five or 10 on mine, and we can rock and roll. Take it or leave it.”
Mayweather also said, “I gave him a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight. They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That’s what it is.”
How kind it was for Floyd to have given Manny a chance. He's a swell guy. But now Floyd's had enough. No more Mr. Nice Guy. If negotiations reopen down the road, things will be different. It appears that poor Manny will “have to” give up 10 million dollars, submit blood samples at the weigh-in, before the fight and possibly between every round to prove that Team Pacquiao isn't slipping a little something special into his water. Failure to do so could result in Floyd pouting in the corner and glaring disdainfully at Manny, which would certainly hurt Manny's feelings.
Let's get real. Regardless of what Mayweather says Pacquiao “may have to” do, Pacquiao has already proven that he doesn't “have to” do anything that is not mandated by the boxing commission. It is also noteworthy that Mayweather was actually the one who was given a chance. Pacquiao is the WBO welterweight champion of the world as well as the No. 1 ranked pound for pound fighter. That makes Mayweather the challenger. He seems to be forgetful of that fact.
Contact Lorne: lscoggins@8countnews.com
I answer all emails but please direct all death threats to my publicist.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Pacquiao-Mayweather Debacle, a Timeline
By Ryan Dunn:
www.BoxingNews24.com
There has been more finger-pointing, slandering, name-calling, insulting, whining, crying, and in-fighting surroudning the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations than a kindergarten playground. I have engaged in several (hopefully spirited) debates myself, offering my point of view on the matter. Let me summarize what I personally believe to be the situation, and the readers can weigh-in with their thoughts.
A brief timeline… Manny Pacquiao fights Miguel Cotto on November 17, 2009, and wins in an exciting fashion. Having come off two big performances against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, the world hopped onto the Pacman Bandwagon, hailing him as the next best thing since Henry Armstrong.
But something was brewing. Before the Cotto fight, Floyd Mayweather Sr., a hall of fame trainer and father to Floyd Jr., proclaimed his doubts as to Manny’s legitimacy as a viable champion at heavier weights. After Floyd Sr. trained Ricky Hatton for one match and lost to Manny Pacquiao, he claimed that Manny Pacquiao — while still fighting like an amateur — is too strong for his frame. He noticed that, by the way Manny flexes his muscles at weigh-ins, you know something’s going on there. This accusation went mostly unheeded, however, because Floyd Sr. is nothing if not a good trash talker (where do you think his son gets it from?).
So the Cotto fight happened, and Manny won in such an impressive manner, that there were really only two immediate places for Manny to go; he would either have to face Shane Mosley or Floyd Mayweather next. Of course, there are a growing group of top welterweights who would all give Pacquiao a good challenge, some of them being better match-ups on paper than others, but everyone wanted to see Mosley or Mayweather take on the Filipino phenom.
Mayweather was obviously the top choice, since Floyd left the sport with a perfect record, and is hailed by many (myself included) to be one of the most technically sound and naturally gifted boxers in the sport. Unlike Manny, Floyd Jr. did not need a decade of fights to improve his ringcraft. He always had the gift, and it always came easy to him. We all can play the “Who Did He Duck?” game (I’ll get to that in a minute), but the truth is he took on some great challengers, and worked with his promoters to pick some very “smart” fights — competitive match-ups that never posed a mortal threat to him or his legacy (for the record, Manny has done the same).
Shortly after the Cotto fight, the world was buzzing with the prospect of the Superfight to end all Superfights. The fans wanted to see Mayweather and Pacquiao enter the squared circle, and prove to the masses who was best. Many skeptics had their doubts as to whether Mayweather would entertain the fight, or if he would avoid it, or put out lofty demands that could never realistically be met. But he surprised many when he opened the door to negotiations with Top Rank in no time at all.
There were some complications early on. The first was settling the purse split (Floyd came to Bob Arum with a 60/40 proposal, favoring Mayweather). Another surprise came when Golden Boy Promotions (the promoters who handle Floyd’s fights of late) stated that Floyd would agree to a 50/50 split. Everything seemed downhill from there. After that, Manny threw a curve ball, requesting an earlier fight date (in March instead of May) so that he could campaign for a senate seat in his homeland through April and May. Again, Team Mayweather agreed to the date.
The fans became cautiously optimistic. Could it be? The Superfight to end all Superfights might actually happen? And in MARCH no less? It all seemed so fast, so easy… almost TOO easy. Along with those bigger issues (the purse, the date), there were more minor issues, such as ring size, glove size, fight location… as well as two other items not mentioned up until this point.
The first came in the form of a weight limit penalty clause. Team Pacquiao realized they were coming into the fight as the smaller opponent. Floyd has fought as heavy as 150 against De La Hoya, while Manny has said he can’t fight at his level much higher than 145. So after Mayweather came in overweight against a much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez, paying a $300,000 fine with a smile on his face, Pacquiao and his handlers demanded a much higher penalty if Mayweather were to come overweight in their fight. They demanded a $10 million per pound penalty for every pound Floyd Jr. came in over. This was not meant to line Pacquiao’s pockets, but to ensure that both fighters met at the same weight by the end of their training regimes.
And in another surprise, Floyd agreed.
But you see, while all of these demands were acquiesced to (from Mayweather keeping the fight in Vegas, to Manny getting the standard ring size), Team Mayweather had their own clause, a drug testing addendum, which required both fighters to undergo Olympic style drug testing, blood and urine, to ensure the cleanliness and level the playing field. On the surface, this seems no more absurd than Manny’s $10 million per pound penalty. Right?
Well… you remember when I mentioned something was brewing back when Floyd Sr. made his baseless accusation of Manny Pacquiao? Well it was about to boil over, in ways I don’t think either side could have predicted. Some sources have stated that Freddie Roach himself had agreed to any kind of blood or urine testing the promoters saw fit, no problem. And while Manny Pacquiao never came out and acknowledged this to be true (he was in the Philippines at the time, remember), those who knew of the situation trusted that Freddie’s word was good.
However, Floyd Mayweather, before the contracts were ever signed (before the Pacquiao/Cotto match), in early October of last year, called in to Shade45, a satellite radio channel, and did an interview with RA the Rugged Man. RA drilled Floyd for ducking great fighters, and for picking on smaller men (at the time, those smaller men could only have been Marquez and Hatton, since De La Hoya was a bigger man than Floyd, and those were the only fights anyone cared about at the time). Floyd got upset in that interview, and was pressed by RA to challenge Pacquiao and enter the ring with a true cmapion. That was when Mayweather, in his flustered state, made an off-handed remark which bared a scary resmblance to his father’s accusations from several months earlier.
Floyd implied that Manny may be on something, and that the Philippines were the makers of some of the best performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) on the market. Whether this was true or not, the statement seemed to come out of nowhere.
This interview didn’t break big to the boxing public right away. Once the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations got serious, however, word got out. Eventually it reached the ears of Top Rank and Team Pacquiao. But it was too late for Team Mayweather to save face. It spread like a brush fire. And before long, other boxers like Paulie Malignaggi, and even Miguel Cotto, began to share their suspicions about Pacquiao being a clean fighter. You would have thought these guys were running for president the way the smear campaign took hold. Once De La Hoya (Floyd’s own promoter!) threw his hat into the ring and changed his own story about Pacquiao’s uncanny punching power, you knew things were getting bad.
But where did this all come from? Nobody had ever publicly accused Manny of being on PEDs before he fought Cotto besides Floyd Sr. Nobody even seemed to have their theories in place after he destroyed Cotto. The naysayers simply said that Cotto might have been too damaged from the Margarito fight, which is a fine debate. Now, all of the sudden, Manny is guilty in the court of public opinion? My, my, what a couple of weeks made!
Well needless to say, Manny was none to pleased to find out that not only he but his own country had been accused of illicit behavior. This was right around the same time that Team Pacquiao started their litany of excuses. Whether intentional or not, Team Mayweather could not have asked for a better result. What started as a brushfire had now grown into one of the most public defamation stories in all of sports.
Instead of denying the accusations outright and threatening to sue (both of which Pacquiao did), Top Rank and Pacquiao floundered around. One minute their story was that Manny didn’t feel that taking blood from the body was natural. Then the word got out that Manny was afraid of needles (in fairness, this was never mentioned during the Mayweather negotiations, but something Manny had stated in the past), regardless of all of his tattoes. Then Moralesgate™ hit the airwaves, and people learned that in the fight Manny lost to Morales, he had blood taken from his body two days prior, in a NSAC mix-up in which they had misplaced Manny’s original sample from his physical.
It all began to look like the behavior of a guilty man. And though I hate to admit it, I questioned the boxer’s honesty myself. Could Mayweather and his cohorts actually have found some nugget of truth amidst their wild and unfounded accusations? I began to wonder.
But then I thought about it more. Was this really a story about Mayweather trying to “clean up the sport of boxing,” as is his current hue and cry (it’s worth noting that in his last fight out of retirement vs. Marquez, there was no blood testing clause)? Or was this about a fight that was never really going to happen regardless of how swimmingly the negotiations had gone up until that point?
Let’s examine some of the motives at play here…
If you subscribe to the “Manny is Guilty,” camp, you claim that Manny’s refusal to take the tests as an admission of guilt. That is a fair position, but you have to take this stance knowing that there is absolutely no proof in existence to support the claim — no dirty needle in the duffle bag, no vile of The Clear in his locker, no frozen bag of his blood in his freezer at home — only the suspicion of some less-than-credible sources. But still, I will agree, when OJ fled from the authorities in his white Bronco, most of us knew what was up. The question here though is this: Why not just take the test and prove your innocence? What’s the big deal?
But if you take the “Manny is the Victim,” approach, AKA innocent until proven guilty, then you have to look at facts objectively. Not only facts but motive. Why would Manny refuse testing for drugs he hasn’t even taken yet? Should we believe that Manny is so dependent on PEDs that he won’t agree to NOT take them even though he stands to make more than $30 million for a few hours in the ring?
It just didn’t add up for me. Yes, I agree, Manny and his team handled the defamation very poorly. They should have just said something like, “We don’t have anything to hide, and we don’t have anything to prove,” and left it in Mayweather’s court to try and get the NSAC to change the rules. At least then it would be a firm stance upon which you could judge Team Pacquiao upon.
But I honestly don’t think Pacquiao has any fear about facing Mayweather. The motive just isn’t there, and here’s why:
Is Manny afraid of losing? No. He’s already lost in the past. Is Manny afraid of Floyd’s punching power? No. Floyd is not a knockout artist. Is Manny worried he won’t get any big fights after this one? No. He can retire the wealthiest man in the Philippines if he loses.
By this logic, there is no reason Manny, if he so chose, couldn’t have just said “Fine,” to the testing, and trained for Mayweather totally clean. Even if he was the biggest steroid user in all of his 55 fights leading up to this fight, he STILL could have gone clean on this one, and lost the fight badly.
So the “Manny is Guilty,” line of thought doesn’t hold water for me. But does Floyd have any motivation NOT to make this fight happen? I think you will find this hard to refute. Let’s take a look…
Is Floyd concerned about keeping his undefeated record? Of course he is, he brags about it every interview he has (and rightfully so!). Is Floyd afraid of Manny’s power? He might not tell you he is, but he’s mentioned many times how proud he is of the fact he never took any punishment in the ring. Does Floyd need the money? He won’t admit it, but the IRS has exposed that Floyd went a long time without paying his taxes, and had millions of back-moneys to pay to the government.
He has also said that skills pay the bills, and that legacy doesn’t feed your family. So you have to think that part of his reason for coming out of retirement has something more to do with money than a strict love for the sport, correct? By this logic, a risky fight, including a loss to Pacquiao, would not only ruin his perfect record, it could seriously jeopardize his value as a boxer after that. Remember, he was never the biggest draw in boxing until AFTER his fight with De La Hoya (if you don’t believe me, understand that De La Hoya made $52 million in their fight, while Mayweather made less than half that, at $25 million).
So the question of who is ducking who seems to me to point more to Mayweather than it does to Pacquiao. But I’m also not 100% clear that anyone is ducking anyone. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this whole thing spiralled out of control, and it came down to the egos of two fighters getting in the way of the deal. Or it could be a publicity stunt conducted by the promoters involved to drum up even more interest in the match up for an even larger purse and PPV record late this summer or early this fall.
All I know is that Mayweather and Mosley are going to fight. And if you’re going to duck Pacquiao, then you damn well better duck Mosley, because both of those guys (if anybody) stand a very good chance of beating you.
The debate will continue, of course, maybe forever, but I think down deep we STILL all want to see this fight happen. Both of these guys, both Mayweather and Pacquiao, have Spring fights to get past first, and both of them have their hands full with strong fighters who can hurt them.
www.BoxingNews24.com
There has been more finger-pointing, slandering, name-calling, insulting, whining, crying, and in-fighting surroudning the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations than a kindergarten playground. I have engaged in several (hopefully spirited) debates myself, offering my point of view on the matter. Let me summarize what I personally believe to be the situation, and the readers can weigh-in with their thoughts.
A brief timeline… Manny Pacquiao fights Miguel Cotto on November 17, 2009, and wins in an exciting fashion. Having come off two big performances against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, the world hopped onto the Pacman Bandwagon, hailing him as the next best thing since Henry Armstrong.
But something was brewing. Before the Cotto fight, Floyd Mayweather Sr., a hall of fame trainer and father to Floyd Jr., proclaimed his doubts as to Manny’s legitimacy as a viable champion at heavier weights. After Floyd Sr. trained Ricky Hatton for one match and lost to Manny Pacquiao, he claimed that Manny Pacquiao — while still fighting like an amateur — is too strong for his frame. He noticed that, by the way Manny flexes his muscles at weigh-ins, you know something’s going on there. This accusation went mostly unheeded, however, because Floyd Sr. is nothing if not a good trash talker (where do you think his son gets it from?).
So the Cotto fight happened, and Manny won in such an impressive manner, that there were really only two immediate places for Manny to go; he would either have to face Shane Mosley or Floyd Mayweather next. Of course, there are a growing group of top welterweights who would all give Pacquiao a good challenge, some of them being better match-ups on paper than others, but everyone wanted to see Mosley or Mayweather take on the Filipino phenom.
Mayweather was obviously the top choice, since Floyd left the sport with a perfect record, and is hailed by many (myself included) to be one of the most technically sound and naturally gifted boxers in the sport. Unlike Manny, Floyd Jr. did not need a decade of fights to improve his ringcraft. He always had the gift, and it always came easy to him. We all can play the “Who Did He Duck?” game (I’ll get to that in a minute), but the truth is he took on some great challengers, and worked with his promoters to pick some very “smart” fights — competitive match-ups that never posed a mortal threat to him or his legacy (for the record, Manny has done the same).
Shortly after the Cotto fight, the world was buzzing with the prospect of the Superfight to end all Superfights. The fans wanted to see Mayweather and Pacquiao enter the squared circle, and prove to the masses who was best. Many skeptics had their doubts as to whether Mayweather would entertain the fight, or if he would avoid it, or put out lofty demands that could never realistically be met. But he surprised many when he opened the door to negotiations with Top Rank in no time at all.
There were some complications early on. The first was settling the purse split (Floyd came to Bob Arum with a 60/40 proposal, favoring Mayweather). Another surprise came when Golden Boy Promotions (the promoters who handle Floyd’s fights of late) stated that Floyd would agree to a 50/50 split. Everything seemed downhill from there. After that, Manny threw a curve ball, requesting an earlier fight date (in March instead of May) so that he could campaign for a senate seat in his homeland through April and May. Again, Team Mayweather agreed to the date.
The fans became cautiously optimistic. Could it be? The Superfight to end all Superfights might actually happen? And in MARCH no less? It all seemed so fast, so easy… almost TOO easy. Along with those bigger issues (the purse, the date), there were more minor issues, such as ring size, glove size, fight location… as well as two other items not mentioned up until this point.
The first came in the form of a weight limit penalty clause. Team Pacquiao realized they were coming into the fight as the smaller opponent. Floyd has fought as heavy as 150 against De La Hoya, while Manny has said he can’t fight at his level much higher than 145. So after Mayweather came in overweight against a much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez, paying a $300,000 fine with a smile on his face, Pacquiao and his handlers demanded a much higher penalty if Mayweather were to come overweight in their fight. They demanded a $10 million per pound penalty for every pound Floyd Jr. came in over. This was not meant to line Pacquiao’s pockets, but to ensure that both fighters met at the same weight by the end of their training regimes.
And in another surprise, Floyd agreed.
But you see, while all of these demands were acquiesced to (from Mayweather keeping the fight in Vegas, to Manny getting the standard ring size), Team Mayweather had their own clause, a drug testing addendum, which required both fighters to undergo Olympic style drug testing, blood and urine, to ensure the cleanliness and level the playing field. On the surface, this seems no more absurd than Manny’s $10 million per pound penalty. Right?
Well… you remember when I mentioned something was brewing back when Floyd Sr. made his baseless accusation of Manny Pacquiao? Well it was about to boil over, in ways I don’t think either side could have predicted. Some sources have stated that Freddie Roach himself had agreed to any kind of blood or urine testing the promoters saw fit, no problem. And while Manny Pacquiao never came out and acknowledged this to be true (he was in the Philippines at the time, remember), those who knew of the situation trusted that Freddie’s word was good.
However, Floyd Mayweather, before the contracts were ever signed (before the Pacquiao/Cotto match), in early October of last year, called in to Shade45, a satellite radio channel, and did an interview with RA the Rugged Man. RA drilled Floyd for ducking great fighters, and for picking on smaller men (at the time, those smaller men could only have been Marquez and Hatton, since De La Hoya was a bigger man than Floyd, and those were the only fights anyone cared about at the time). Floyd got upset in that interview, and was pressed by RA to challenge Pacquiao and enter the ring with a true cmapion. That was when Mayweather, in his flustered state, made an off-handed remark which bared a scary resmblance to his father’s accusations from several months earlier.
Floyd implied that Manny may be on something, and that the Philippines were the makers of some of the best performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) on the market. Whether this was true or not, the statement seemed to come out of nowhere.
This interview didn’t break big to the boxing public right away. Once the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations got serious, however, word got out. Eventually it reached the ears of Top Rank and Team Pacquiao. But it was too late for Team Mayweather to save face. It spread like a brush fire. And before long, other boxers like Paulie Malignaggi, and even Miguel Cotto, began to share their suspicions about Pacquiao being a clean fighter. You would have thought these guys were running for president the way the smear campaign took hold. Once De La Hoya (Floyd’s own promoter!) threw his hat into the ring and changed his own story about Pacquiao’s uncanny punching power, you knew things were getting bad.
But where did this all come from? Nobody had ever publicly accused Manny of being on PEDs before he fought Cotto besides Floyd Sr. Nobody even seemed to have their theories in place after he destroyed Cotto. The naysayers simply said that Cotto might have been too damaged from the Margarito fight, which is a fine debate. Now, all of the sudden, Manny is guilty in the court of public opinion? My, my, what a couple of weeks made!
Well needless to say, Manny was none to pleased to find out that not only he but his own country had been accused of illicit behavior. This was right around the same time that Team Pacquiao started their litany of excuses. Whether intentional or not, Team Mayweather could not have asked for a better result. What started as a brushfire had now grown into one of the most public defamation stories in all of sports.
Instead of denying the accusations outright and threatening to sue (both of which Pacquiao did), Top Rank and Pacquiao floundered around. One minute their story was that Manny didn’t feel that taking blood from the body was natural. Then the word got out that Manny was afraid of needles (in fairness, this was never mentioned during the Mayweather negotiations, but something Manny had stated in the past), regardless of all of his tattoes. Then Moralesgate™ hit the airwaves, and people learned that in the fight Manny lost to Morales, he had blood taken from his body two days prior, in a NSAC mix-up in which they had misplaced Manny’s original sample from his physical.
It all began to look like the behavior of a guilty man. And though I hate to admit it, I questioned the boxer’s honesty myself. Could Mayweather and his cohorts actually have found some nugget of truth amidst their wild and unfounded accusations? I began to wonder.
But then I thought about it more. Was this really a story about Mayweather trying to “clean up the sport of boxing,” as is his current hue and cry (it’s worth noting that in his last fight out of retirement vs. Marquez, there was no blood testing clause)? Or was this about a fight that was never really going to happen regardless of how swimmingly the negotiations had gone up until that point?
Let’s examine some of the motives at play here…
If you subscribe to the “Manny is Guilty,” camp, you claim that Manny’s refusal to take the tests as an admission of guilt. That is a fair position, but you have to take this stance knowing that there is absolutely no proof in existence to support the claim — no dirty needle in the duffle bag, no vile of The Clear in his locker, no frozen bag of his blood in his freezer at home — only the suspicion of some less-than-credible sources. But still, I will agree, when OJ fled from the authorities in his white Bronco, most of us knew what was up. The question here though is this: Why not just take the test and prove your innocence? What’s the big deal?
But if you take the “Manny is the Victim,” approach, AKA innocent until proven guilty, then you have to look at facts objectively. Not only facts but motive. Why would Manny refuse testing for drugs he hasn’t even taken yet? Should we believe that Manny is so dependent on PEDs that he won’t agree to NOT take them even though he stands to make more than $30 million for a few hours in the ring?
It just didn’t add up for me. Yes, I agree, Manny and his team handled the defamation very poorly. They should have just said something like, “We don’t have anything to hide, and we don’t have anything to prove,” and left it in Mayweather’s court to try and get the NSAC to change the rules. At least then it would be a firm stance upon which you could judge Team Pacquiao upon.
But I honestly don’t think Pacquiao has any fear about facing Mayweather. The motive just isn’t there, and here’s why:
Is Manny afraid of losing? No. He’s already lost in the past. Is Manny afraid of Floyd’s punching power? No. Floyd is not a knockout artist. Is Manny worried he won’t get any big fights after this one? No. He can retire the wealthiest man in the Philippines if he loses.
By this logic, there is no reason Manny, if he so chose, couldn’t have just said “Fine,” to the testing, and trained for Mayweather totally clean. Even if he was the biggest steroid user in all of his 55 fights leading up to this fight, he STILL could have gone clean on this one, and lost the fight badly.
So the “Manny is Guilty,” line of thought doesn’t hold water for me. But does Floyd have any motivation NOT to make this fight happen? I think you will find this hard to refute. Let’s take a look…
Is Floyd concerned about keeping his undefeated record? Of course he is, he brags about it every interview he has (and rightfully so!). Is Floyd afraid of Manny’s power? He might not tell you he is, but he’s mentioned many times how proud he is of the fact he never took any punishment in the ring. Does Floyd need the money? He won’t admit it, but the IRS has exposed that Floyd went a long time without paying his taxes, and had millions of back-moneys to pay to the government.
He has also said that skills pay the bills, and that legacy doesn’t feed your family. So you have to think that part of his reason for coming out of retirement has something more to do with money than a strict love for the sport, correct? By this logic, a risky fight, including a loss to Pacquiao, would not only ruin his perfect record, it could seriously jeopardize his value as a boxer after that. Remember, he was never the biggest draw in boxing until AFTER his fight with De La Hoya (if you don’t believe me, understand that De La Hoya made $52 million in their fight, while Mayweather made less than half that, at $25 million).
So the question of who is ducking who seems to me to point more to Mayweather than it does to Pacquiao. But I’m also not 100% clear that anyone is ducking anyone. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this whole thing spiralled out of control, and it came down to the egos of two fighters getting in the way of the deal. Or it could be a publicity stunt conducted by the promoters involved to drum up even more interest in the match up for an even larger purse and PPV record late this summer or early this fall.
All I know is that Mayweather and Mosley are going to fight. And if you’re going to duck Pacquiao, then you damn well better duck Mosley, because both of those guys (if anybody) stand a very good chance of beating you.
The debate will continue, of course, maybe forever, but I think down deep we STILL all want to see this fight happen. Both of these guys, both Mayweather and Pacquiao, have Spring fights to get past first, and both of them have their hands full with strong fighters who can hurt them.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Floyd Jr fight will happen - Roach
By Joaquin Henson
(The Philippine Star)
www.philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach isn’t closing the door on WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao
staking his crown against Floyd Mayweather Jr., this year but the much-anticipated fight is dependent on what happens in the Filipino icon’s appointment with Ghanaian challenger Joshua Clottey in Dallas on March 13.
Roach said Pacquiao isn’t taking Clottey lightly and called it a “difficult, action-packed fight.”
Writing a guest column in the weekly Boxing News of London, Roach said he’s carefully studying how Clottey beat Zab Judah, a southpaw like Pacquiao, in their bout for the vacant IBF welterweight crown in Las Vegas in 2008. Clottey was ahead on the three judges scorecards, 87-84, 86-85, 86-85, when the bout was stopped at 1:12 of the ninth round because of a huge cut over Judah’s eye. Referee Robert Byrd ruled that the cut was inflicted by an accidental headbutt and declared Clottey the winner by technical decision.
Some ringside reporters disagreed with Byrd and insisted the damage was caused by a left uppercut-right cross combination. Clottey, however, has a reputation of using his head in cutting up opponents like Carlos Baldomir and Miguel Cotto.
“We’ve got a gameplan in place having watched the tapes and right now, I’m noting little adjustments Clottey makes fighting southpaws as I just got the Judah tape and he does act a bit differently with the southpaw stance,” said Roach.
“I’m waiting on one more tape of another southpaw he faced to see if it was from what Judah was doing or a tendency he might have against southpaws.”
Roach is known to meticulously break down film of Pacquiao’s opponents in devising strategies and tactics to anticipate any eventuality in the ring. Assistant trainer and Pacquiao’s boyhood friend Buboy Fernandez usually takes the lead role in scouting opponents.
Roach said he’s not sure if Pacquiao can knock out Clottey who’s bigger and stronger.
“Can we knock him out? I don’t know about that so I’m planning to go 12 hard rounds,” continued Roach. “If the knockout comes, it’ll be a bonus.”
As for Mayweather, Roach said he suspects Pretty Boy is just out to hype up the inevitable showdown with Pacquiao.
“I honestly think Floyd does all this stuff just to make the fight bigger,” said Roach. “He’s a great salesman and I think it’s probably going to work. I think it will definitely happen because Manny’s going to retire this year, he told me.”
Although Mayweather recently announced he’s taking on Sugar Shane Mosley on May 1, Roach said he’s not convinced it will push through because of the risk involved. A Mayweather loss will seriously jeopardize a huge payday expected in fighting Pacquiao.
“I’ve heard about Floyd fighting Mosley,” said Roach. “I love that match but don’t believe it will happen because I feel that when Floyd finds out that with Mosley, he’ll only make possibly $6 to 8 million – because it’s not that big a draw – or he can make $40 million fighting Manny, I think he’ll wait for the big one.”
Mayweather Thursday signed the contract to fight Mosley.
Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer refuted Roach’s contention, saying unless Pacquiao agrees to Olympic-style drug testing which means random blood examinations, Mayweather won’t come to terms.
“I am not as optimistic as Bob Arum stated his position very clearly that Pacquiao would not agree to random Olympic-style blood testing,” said Schaefer. “Unless Pacquiao changes his position, there is really no sense to discuss a potential fight any longer.”
Mayweather has waged a media campaign to discredit Pacquiao and goad him into agreeing to random blood-testing, even hours before a fight. Pacquiao has filed a damage suit against Mayweather for claiming the Filipino takes illegal performance-enhancement drugs to retain his speed and power while moving in and out of higher weight divisions.
Pacquiao has never tested positive for illegal drug use but will only agree to a blood examination 14 days before a fight and any time after. He is open to random urinalysis tests which will confirm usage of illegal performance-enhancement drugs.
US state athletic commissions supervising boxing matches do not require Olympic-style blood tests, raising speculation as to why Mayweather is insisting on a condition he is not qualified to impose.
In an on-line survey conducted by Boxing News, 65 percent of respondents blamed Mayweather for scuttling the Pacquiao bout. Others blamed for the fall-out were Pacquiao, Golden Boy, Arum and Mayweather’s father Floyd Sr.
(The Philippine Star)
www.philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach isn’t closing the door on WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao
staking his crown against Floyd Mayweather Jr., this year but the much-anticipated fight is dependent on what happens in the Filipino icon’s appointment with Ghanaian challenger Joshua Clottey in Dallas on March 13.
Roach said Pacquiao isn’t taking Clottey lightly and called it a “difficult, action-packed fight.”
Writing a guest column in the weekly Boxing News of London, Roach said he’s carefully studying how Clottey beat Zab Judah, a southpaw like Pacquiao, in their bout for the vacant IBF welterweight crown in Las Vegas in 2008. Clottey was ahead on the three judges scorecards, 87-84, 86-85, 86-85, when the bout was stopped at 1:12 of the ninth round because of a huge cut over Judah’s eye. Referee Robert Byrd ruled that the cut was inflicted by an accidental headbutt and declared Clottey the winner by technical decision.
Some ringside reporters disagreed with Byrd and insisted the damage was caused by a left uppercut-right cross combination. Clottey, however, has a reputation of using his head in cutting up opponents like Carlos Baldomir and Miguel Cotto.
“We’ve got a gameplan in place having watched the tapes and right now, I’m noting little adjustments Clottey makes fighting southpaws as I just got the Judah tape and he does act a bit differently with the southpaw stance,” said Roach.
“I’m waiting on one more tape of another southpaw he faced to see if it was from what Judah was doing or a tendency he might have against southpaws.”
Roach is known to meticulously break down film of Pacquiao’s opponents in devising strategies and tactics to anticipate any eventuality in the ring. Assistant trainer and Pacquiao’s boyhood friend Buboy Fernandez usually takes the lead role in scouting opponents.
Roach said he’s not sure if Pacquiao can knock out Clottey who’s bigger and stronger.
“Can we knock him out? I don’t know about that so I’m planning to go 12 hard rounds,” continued Roach. “If the knockout comes, it’ll be a bonus.”
As for Mayweather, Roach said he suspects Pretty Boy is just out to hype up the inevitable showdown with Pacquiao.
“I honestly think Floyd does all this stuff just to make the fight bigger,” said Roach. “He’s a great salesman and I think it’s probably going to work. I think it will definitely happen because Manny’s going to retire this year, he told me.”
Although Mayweather recently announced he’s taking on Sugar Shane Mosley on May 1, Roach said he’s not convinced it will push through because of the risk involved. A Mayweather loss will seriously jeopardize a huge payday expected in fighting Pacquiao.
“I’ve heard about Floyd fighting Mosley,” said Roach. “I love that match but don’t believe it will happen because I feel that when Floyd finds out that with Mosley, he’ll only make possibly $6 to 8 million – because it’s not that big a draw – or he can make $40 million fighting Manny, I think he’ll wait for the big one.”
Mayweather Thursday signed the contract to fight Mosley.
Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer refuted Roach’s contention, saying unless Pacquiao agrees to Olympic-style drug testing which means random blood examinations, Mayweather won’t come to terms.
“I am not as optimistic as Bob Arum stated his position very clearly that Pacquiao would not agree to random Olympic-style blood testing,” said Schaefer. “Unless Pacquiao changes his position, there is really no sense to discuss a potential fight any longer.”
Mayweather has waged a media campaign to discredit Pacquiao and goad him into agreeing to random blood-testing, even hours before a fight. Pacquiao has filed a damage suit against Mayweather for claiming the Filipino takes illegal performance-enhancement drugs to retain his speed and power while moving in and out of higher weight divisions.
Pacquiao has never tested positive for illegal drug use but will only agree to a blood examination 14 days before a fight and any time after. He is open to random urinalysis tests which will confirm usage of illegal performance-enhancement drugs.
US state athletic commissions supervising boxing matches do not require Olympic-style blood tests, raising speculation as to why Mayweather is insisting on a condition he is not qualified to impose.
In an on-line survey conducted by Boxing News, 65 percent of respondents blamed Mayweather for scuttling the Pacquiao bout. Others blamed for the fall-out were Pacquiao, Golden Boy, Arum and Mayweather’s father Floyd Sr.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
“Pacquiao will discover it’s difficult to find a rhythm when nothing’s landing”- Jim Watt on predicting Mayweather-Pacquiao
By Peter Wells:
www.BoxingNews24.com
I have just read the poll vote in Boxing Monthly’s latest magazine on who’ll win out of Pacquiao-Mayweather. In the end it was very surprising to see the final score but all 38 of the voters gave good reasons.
Carl Froch said that, “Floyd Mayweather beats him 10 times out of 10. He’s too technically proficient and his defensive skills and reflexes are too good”. He also added, “Mayweather’s the main man and, if I can get decent odds, I’ll bet my house on it”. That isn’t a great thing to say in a fight like this maybe in a fight where you know who’ll win, but he does sound very confident. Bert Sugar said Pacquiao on points because of the better opponents that Pacquiao has fought. Jim McDonnell, Buddy McGirt and Johnny Nelson all went with Mayweather. Nelson believes Floyd could stop Manny by keep on hitting and holding ruining Pacquiao’s game plan. Frank Maloney, Ken Buchanan, Don Majeski all go for Pacquiao the first two going for a stoppage.
Also current fighters Antonio Tarver and Tim Bradley go with Mayweather, but Tarver says that Floyd can’t make any mistakes, while Bradley says it’ll be an easy fight. Jim Watt said, “I think Pacquiao will discover it’s difficult to find a rhythm when nothing’s landing.” Which is very true, if you’re not landing it’s almost impossible to get a rhythm going. Also former Hatton trainer Billy Graham goes for Floyd. The super six tourney leader Arthur Abraham also goes with Mayweather.
Angelo Dundee believes that Mayweather back off to the ropes won’t work against Pacquiao and Dominic Ingle, Dean Powell, Marco Huck, Alan Minter, former Pacquiao opponent David Diaz and Paul Hodkinson all go with Pacquiao.
While Frank Warren, Nick Charles, Barry Hearn, Richie Woodhall, Duke McKenzie, Brendan Ingle, Ronnie Shields, Jimmy Tibbs, Colin McMillan and Alex Arthur all go for Floyd. The main vote came from Ricky Hatton who predicts that Floyd will take it on points as Floyd beat a better Ricky Hatton than Manny, also that Mayweather can pace a fight to how he likes it.
The final result was 25-13 Mayweather, but most predicted the fight to go the distance. It was very good to read so if you get a chance then it’s a good read and gives you plenty of reasons to decide what you think will happen.
Freddie Roach: Manny Pacquiao 'Really Wants to Knock Floyd Out'
By Lem Satterfield
www.FanHouse.com
Freddie Roach was recently named Trainer Of The Year by The Boxing Writers' Association of America, and his prized pupil, Manny Pacquiao, was named Fighter of The Year -- both for 2009.
The honors were bestowed for the third, and, fourth times in a row, respectively, upon Pacquiao and Roach. Pacquiao also was named Fighter Of The Decade by the BWAA.
Reached at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., Roach, in this Q&A, discussed the most recent events involving the failed negotiations for a fight with Floyd Mayweather, the Mayweather camp's accusations of steroid use by Pacquiao, and the seven-division titlist's March 13 defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown against Joshua Clottey.
FanHouse: So how does it feel to receive Trainer Of The Year for the fourth straight time?
Freddie Roach: It's my favorite award, because it's named after my trainer, [the late] Eddie Futch, my mentor. And, I like to give Eddie all of the credit for where I am today. I just love winning the award. I was the first one to win it three times, and now, I've won it four. I'm going to keep working my a** off to win it again, and again, if I can.
FH: Maybe they should name it the Eddie Futch-Freddie Roach Award?
Roach: [Chuckles] Maybe someday.
FH: Seriously, Freddie, you've overcome a lot, personally, with the Parkinson's, and I wonder if you ever think about who might be watching you and being inspired by you?
Roach: It's just that we work hard at the gym. Everyone works together, and we have a good team. Some days, when I'm really busy with some fighters, I have a lot of guys that pick up the slack. It's a good situation. My gym's just really active, and the other thing is that I'm so thankful to a guy like Eddie Futch, who taught me the ropes inside the ring and outside of the ring.
He taught me first, as a fighter, and then, I worked as an assistant to him for five years. And he taught me how to train fighters and how to get to them, and it's worked out really well for me.
FH: Can you talk about what it means to you to have Manny win the Fighter Of The Year honors for the third time?
Roach: Manny, he deserves it. Getting Fighter of The Decade also, that's a great honor for him. It's funny, his work ethic from Day One until today has not changed. It amazes me that he can still come through the gym doors and all of the distractions go away, and he's 100 percent focused on the next fight.
FH: Manny arrived in Los Angeles recently this time from the Philippines on Jan. 17 -- which was Muhammad Ali's 68th birthday and the day prior to the observation of Martin Luther King's birthday. Do you see any symbolism there at all, considering what Manny means in stature to his Filipino people?
Roach: It's can be a coincidence, but the thing is, Manny just means so much to his people. The thing is, he fights for them because he doesn't want to disappoint them. I think that's where he gets his fire from. It comes from his people. He wants to win for them, and to do the best that he can. Obviously, he wants to improve his country also, and that's why he's running for congress and getting into politics.
I think that he can do more for his country as a boxer rather than a politician, but he just wants to do the best that he can for his people. He's an amazing person.
FH: Has it been difficult to transition from preparing for a slick, boxer-type of fighter like Floyd Mayweather to preparing for a rugged fighter like Joshua Clottey?
Roach: The thing is, we work hard for everybody we get a chance to face. That hasn't really changed. What changed is the sparring parteners and the style that we're fighting and the gameplan, of course. The thing is, focusing on Clottey is completely opposite from what we were going to do. The thing is, you just have to get a mindset in there that we're not fighting Floyd Mayweather now.
We have to get ready for a guy that is going to come to us and fight us, possibly. It's a little disappointing that we didn't get Mayweather, but we're not going to sit around and dwell on it. We're going to go with the biggest challenges that we can find out there, and Manny doesn't want to fight just any fight, but he wants to fight the best out there.
I'd love it if Floyd and Manny could come to an agreement someday soon, and hopefully that can happen. But if not, Manny could retire and go right into politics.
FH: What do you see as strengths and weakness of Joshua Clottey? (pictured at far right, with Pacquiao)
Roach: Well, he's got a good chin, and he takes a good shot, and he can be a little heavy-handed. But he can be passive at times, and he lays on the ropes and kind of rests there a little bit. I've been studying him really well, and he makes too many mistakes. Pacquiao, I truly feel will be the first person to knock Clottey out.
FH: Has Manny faced anyone with his combination of endurance, accuracy and speed on his punches?
Roach: Clottey's accurate if you stand in front of him, but the thing is, we're going to be in and out and side to side and use our angles on him. He's not going to be able to catch us. It's going to be very similar to the Oscar De La Hoya fight [Eighth-round knockout for Pacquiao] I feel. He's a very tall, comes to you type of guy, who is supposed to be stronger.
But I don't think that that will be the case. I think when the fight time comes off, Manny will be the bigger, stronger guy because he has the bigger heart.
FH: How significant is it that there is no catchweight for this fight, as there was a requirement for Miguel Cotto to come in at no greater than 145 pounds, and that you are going with the welterweight limite of 147 pounds?
Roach: Well, we got a little flack for going with a catchweight last time, so Manny wants to be a true welterweight, so Manny is going to fight at 147. We're not going back to 140, we're going to stay where we're at. And if anyone wants to challenge us, it'll be at welterweight.
FH: How much does Manny consider going for an eighth title in a different weight class -- the rise to 154 pounds beyond the Joshua Clottey fight?
Roach: Well, the fight against [WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champ] Yuri Foreman was offered, and so forth, and Manny was just interested in more challenges.
Yuri was more of a boxer, and Manny doesn't want to be in a boring fight. So, 154 might be stretching it a little bit. I think that 147 is as high as we're really going to go. But you know, we'll see what presents itself after this fight. If Mayweather doesn't come around, Manny might retire.
FH: What did you think of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, where the fight will be held?
Roach: It was amazing. It was just unbelievable. The big screen over the field, the people, it was a great place. It's a really, really nice stadium. It's going to be huge with the fight being there, and there's a lot of stuff going on in Dallas right now.
[Cowboys' owner] Jerry Jones wants to bring the best athletes into the stadium, and you know, Manny Pacquiao's one of the best athletes in the world right now, and that's why Jerry Jones picked this fight.
FH: How will it be different for you being in Dallas Cowboys' Stadium, considering most of Manny's biggest victories have been in Las Vegas.
Roach: We have a lot of good memories of Vegas, but we have one good memory of Texas also. That's where we got our one big break and we knocked out Marco Antonio Barrera in Texas [in the 11th round in November, 2003, at The Alamodome.]
Texas has always been good to us. Regardless of where the ring is, it's still the same size, so we have no problem traveling.
Manny just likes to fight. If we fight in Manila, his home town, it doesn't really matter. He's going to go out and fight his fight. We've got a good gameplan down already for this one, and, he's pulling it off in sparring already, and he's looking really good. He's way ahead of schedule. His weight's already getting down there low right now.
He's already at 146, so we'll get some protein shakes out there and start feeding him.
FH: On the matter of steroids, why do you believe those suspicions were leveled at Manny by some members of the Mayweather camp?
Roach: Well, they have no foundation or no history. It's just they say, 'How can a guy go from 106 all the way to 147 without being on steroids?' But if you take that thinking into consideration, now, at age 16, Floyd Mayweather fought in the amateurs at 106, and then he went to 154 [to fight Oscar De La Hoya,] so he must be on steroids too, I guess?
But I'm not going to say that, because he's just a good fighter, and I respect that. The thing is, it's not unusual for the best fighters of their era to dominate many different weight divisions because that's where all of the challenge are.
FH: Do you buy the notion that Floyd was afraid of losing for the first time in his career?
Roach: No. I think that he was just trying to make the fight bigger. I think that he's trying to make the Pacquiao fight bigger down the line. I think that he's just doing his thing.
FH: What do you believe that all of the Manny Pacquiao fans in the Philippines thought of the entire steroid drama related to the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations?
Roach: You've got people out there who want to go along with the notion of, 'Well, he's so good, that he must be on steroids,' because it was said once. And the thing is, just by that, people can think that you're guilty. Of course, we have no history. I have trouble giving Manny Pacquiao vitamins.
The Mayweathers are just trying to tarnish his reputation, so Manny's not very happy with them right now, and he really wants to knock Floyd out. That's what he told me. That's the first time that I've really seen him angry with a fighter. He says, 'If we fight, I will knock Floyd out.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Mayweather signs contract for Mosley Bout – Breaking News
By Eric Thomas
www.BoxingNews24.com
Undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. has reportedly signed the contract to fight World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley, according to AOL Boxing Fanhouse. The fight will take place at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 1st. Mosley, 38, already signed the contract to fight Mayweather a week ago. Mosley, his attorney and Golden Boy Promotions were worried after Mayweather failed to sign his part of the contract, and there was doubts in the minds of some people that Mayweather might be having second thoughts about the Mosley fight.
Judd Burstein, the attorney for Mosley, said “Richard Schaefer [the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions] just called me and told me that Al Haymon [Mayweather’s advisor] called him, and it’s [the signed contract] is being faxed.” This is really great news. It means now that Golden Boy Promotions can start marketing the Mayweather-Mosley fight, and boxing fans can start getting excited about this fight. This is the best fight that can be made at this time, aside from a future Mayweather-Pacquiao bout.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Roach: Manny Pacquiao will fight Mosley if he defeats Mayweather
By Gareth A Davies
Telegraph.co.uk
Pacquiao – Clottey… news update from the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood
Freddie Roach has insisted to Telegraph Sport that Manny Pacquiao will fight Shane Mosley if he defeats Floyd Mayweather (although Money is yet to sign the contract) but the four-time trainer of the year believes it is Mayweather’s fight to lose.
I caught up with Freddie Roach yesterday. How is Manny Pacquiao shaping up for his contest with Joshua Clottey ? “He has sparred twice, he looks really good, he knocked out one sparring partner and we have four other sparring partners in here at the moment.” Pacquiao weighed in yesterday at 147 lbs.
Roach is studying Clottey intently. “Clottey is very basic, he does the same things, but he is very good at what he does, but Manny is going to knock him out. He has a great chin, a big right hand, but Manny knows how to nullify his strengths.”
The big question, of course, is whether Pacquiao v Mayweather will ever happen…?
“I think it will happen, and it will be Manny’s next fight. What has happened may make the fight bigger. I think Mayweather will fight Shane Mosley, but if he doesn’t, it will make the fight with Manny happen sooner. If Floyd does fight Shane, that’s a good fight, and one I’d like to see. But Mosley will be beaten by Floyd. Mosley does well with guys who will come at him. He has had trouble with guys who move. Mayweather wins that fight. But Mosley is a brave guy. If for any reason Mosley wins, Manny would definitely fight him. We’ll take that fight
Telegraph.co.uk
Pacquiao – Clottey… news update from the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood
Freddie Roach has insisted to Telegraph Sport that Manny Pacquiao will fight Shane Mosley if he defeats Floyd Mayweather (although Money is yet to sign the contract) but the four-time trainer of the year believes it is Mayweather’s fight to lose.
I caught up with Freddie Roach yesterday. How is Manny Pacquiao shaping up for his contest with Joshua Clottey ? “He has sparred twice, he looks really good, he knocked out one sparring partner and we have four other sparring partners in here at the moment.” Pacquiao weighed in yesterday at 147 lbs.
Roach is studying Clottey intently. “Clottey is very basic, he does the same things, but he is very good at what he does, but Manny is going to knock him out. He has a great chin, a big right hand, but Manny knows how to nullify his strengths.”
The big question, of course, is whether Pacquiao v Mayweather will ever happen…?
“I think it will happen, and it will be Manny’s next fight. What has happened may make the fight bigger. I think Mayweather will fight Shane Mosley, but if he doesn’t, it will make the fight with Manny happen sooner. If Floyd does fight Shane, that’s a good fight, and one I’d like to see. But Mosley will be beaten by Floyd. Mosley does well with guys who will come at him. He has had trouble with guys who move. Mayweather wins that fight. But Mosley is a brave guy. If for any reason Mosley wins, Manny would definitely fight him. We’ll take that fight
Where, oh where, is Floyd's signature?
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is usually a calm, cool and collected sort. The former Swiss banker doesn't get rattled easily.
Tuesday morning, however, he sounded rattled, expressing concern about why Floyd Mayweather Jr. has not signed his contract to face welterweight champ Shane Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in as big of a fight as there is in the sport.
It has been five days since both sides acknowledged an agreement on terms.
Mosley, of course, put pen to paper on Friday in Las Vegas, where his attorney, Judd Burstein, went through the paperwork with him point by point.
"He is excited to move forward with the bout," Burstein told me at the time.
Burstein also added that he had been assured by Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, that there were no problems on their side.
"I confirmed with Leonard that there are no issues," Burstein said.
Ellerbe's quote to me for the story I wrote Friday was, "All of the deal points have been agreed to. We still have to put pen to paper, but everything is agreed to."
Yet five days later, Schaefer still does not have a signed agreement from Mayweather. He was clearly at wit's end when he called me about it Tuesday morning.
"He still hasn't signed. I am so frustrated," Schaefer said. "I wanted both guys to go down to the Super Bowl in Miami to do some promotional stuff. I don't know what Floyd is waiting for. I have no clue. I have a signed contract from Shane on my desk. I have nothing from Floyd."
Schaefer said he is in constant touch with Ellerbe and Al Haymon, Mayweather's other adviser, and when he asks them where the paperwork is, the response is always the same: "Every day, it's the next day. They say, 'Don't worry, it's going to come.' Well, where is it? I'm waiting for the signature before we can move on."
Burstein said he and Mosley were also quite aggravated by the delay.
"I am outraged," Burstein said when I reached him Tuesday afternoon. "I have a client who acts in a professional manner. He allows me to negotiate a deal for him in constant consultation with him. When it all gets put on paper, we go over it and, as promised, he signs if it's OK. That's what happened on Friday. It was signed with the assurance from Al Haymon and Leonard Ellerbe that everything was agreed to and there was no problem."
So what does Burstein believe is the issue?
"It's either one of two things that has happened," he said. "Either he's rethought the wisdom of risking his undefeated record against Shane or he chooses to act like a 7-year-old. Hopefully, it's the latter and he will mature very quickly. But either of these possibilities is completely unacceptable to us. He's going to end up in a fight with Mosley. The only question is whether it will be in the ring or in court."
Now, May 1 is still a ways off, but for a megafight the magnitude of Mosley-Mayweather, kicking it off with promotional appearances at the Super Bowl is significant. When Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya met in May 2007, their media rounds at the Super Bowl generated enormous interest in the fight, which went on to set the all-time pay-per-view record.
Schaefer wants to follow the same blueprint. He said Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr., who will meet April 3 in a pay-per-view rematch that Golden Boy is co-promoting, will be in Miami to help drum up interest in their fight, so he can't understand why Mayweather is MIA.
So I asked Schaefer if he was concerned that the Mosley-Mayweather fight might be in trouble?
His answer was simply, "Yes."
I asked him if he would elaborate.
"At this point, I don't know," he said. "We want to do some big PR, so this is frustrating. I read Leonard's quotes that it was agreed to and that it was just a matter of time to get it signed, but if it's all done, why isn't it signed?"
Schaefer has been down this road with Mayweather before, perhaps one of the reasons for his concern. He negotiated a fall 2008 rematch between Mayweather and De La Hoya, which also had been agreed to and was on the verge of being announced. However, Mayweather never signed the paperwork and instead announced his retirement, which lasted 18 months.
"I am not having flashbacks to anything, but [the Mosley fight] is still not signed," Schaefer said. "I don't know what it means. Obviously, we can't move forward with the promotion, including some important activities that were planned for this coming weekend, unless we have a signed deal."
Before negotiating with Mosley, Mayweather was close to a deal to face Manny Pacquiao on March 13 in what would have been, by far, the sport's biggest fight. But that fight fell apart shortly before what was supposed to have been a kickoff news conference in early January. The reason was because the fighters couldn't reach a compromise on drug-testing protocol. Mayweather insisted on testing that went far beyond the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. While Pacquiao accepted some additional testing, he refused random blood testing.
Both fighters moved on. Pacquiao quickly made a deal to defend his welterweight belt against Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mayweather and Mosley began their talks after Mosley's Jan. 30 unification fight with Andre Berto was canceled.
So while Pacquiao wrapped up his deal with Clottey in about two seconds and Mosley signed on the dotted line in pretty short order, we all continue to wait for Mayweather's John Hancock yet again, including Schaefer.
"I always tell you, a signed deal is a done deal," Schaefer said. "It will only be done when Floyd signs, and that hasn't happened yet. I don't know of any deal terms that are not agreed to. I don't understand it."
ESPN.com
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, is usually a calm, cool and collected sort. The former Swiss banker doesn't get rattled easily.
Tuesday morning, however, he sounded rattled, expressing concern about why Floyd Mayweather Jr. has not signed his contract to face welterweight champ Shane Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in as big of a fight as there is in the sport.
It has been five days since both sides acknowledged an agreement on terms.
Mosley, of course, put pen to paper on Friday in Las Vegas, where his attorney, Judd Burstein, went through the paperwork with him point by point.
"He is excited to move forward with the bout," Burstein told me at the time.
Burstein also added that he had been assured by Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, that there were no problems on their side.
"I confirmed with Leonard that there are no issues," Burstein said.
Ellerbe's quote to me for the story I wrote Friday was, "All of the deal points have been agreed to. We still have to put pen to paper, but everything is agreed to."
Yet five days later, Schaefer still does not have a signed agreement from Mayweather. He was clearly at wit's end when he called me about it Tuesday morning.
"He still hasn't signed. I am so frustrated," Schaefer said. "I wanted both guys to go down to the Super Bowl in Miami to do some promotional stuff. I don't know what Floyd is waiting for. I have no clue. I have a signed contract from Shane on my desk. I have nothing from Floyd."
Schaefer said he is in constant touch with Ellerbe and Al Haymon, Mayweather's other adviser, and when he asks them where the paperwork is, the response is always the same: "Every day, it's the next day. They say, 'Don't worry, it's going to come.' Well, where is it? I'm waiting for the signature before we can move on."
Burstein said he and Mosley were also quite aggravated by the delay.
"I am outraged," Burstein said when I reached him Tuesday afternoon. "I have a client who acts in a professional manner. He allows me to negotiate a deal for him in constant consultation with him. When it all gets put on paper, we go over it and, as promised, he signs if it's OK. That's what happened on Friday. It was signed with the assurance from Al Haymon and Leonard Ellerbe that everything was agreed to and there was no problem."
So what does Burstein believe is the issue?
"It's either one of two things that has happened," he said. "Either he's rethought the wisdom of risking his undefeated record against Shane or he chooses to act like a 7-year-old. Hopefully, it's the latter and he will mature very quickly. But either of these possibilities is completely unacceptable to us. He's going to end up in a fight with Mosley. The only question is whether it will be in the ring or in court."
Now, May 1 is still a ways off, but for a megafight the magnitude of Mosley-Mayweather, kicking it off with promotional appearances at the Super Bowl is significant. When Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya met in May 2007, their media rounds at the Super Bowl generated enormous interest in the fight, which went on to set the all-time pay-per-view record.
Schaefer wants to follow the same blueprint. He said Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr., who will meet April 3 in a pay-per-view rematch that Golden Boy is co-promoting, will be in Miami to help drum up interest in their fight, so he can't understand why Mayweather is MIA.
So I asked Schaefer if he was concerned that the Mosley-Mayweather fight might be in trouble?
His answer was simply, "Yes."
I asked him if he would elaborate.
"At this point, I don't know," he said. "We want to do some big PR, so this is frustrating. I read Leonard's quotes that it was agreed to and that it was just a matter of time to get it signed, but if it's all done, why isn't it signed?"
Schaefer has been down this road with Mayweather before, perhaps one of the reasons for his concern. He negotiated a fall 2008 rematch between Mayweather and De La Hoya, which also had been agreed to and was on the verge of being announced. However, Mayweather never signed the paperwork and instead announced his retirement, which lasted 18 months.
"I am not having flashbacks to anything, but [the Mosley fight] is still not signed," Schaefer said. "I don't know what it means. Obviously, we can't move forward with the promotion, including some important activities that were planned for this coming weekend, unless we have a signed deal."
Before negotiating with Mosley, Mayweather was close to a deal to face Manny Pacquiao on March 13 in what would have been, by far, the sport's biggest fight. But that fight fell apart shortly before what was supposed to have been a kickoff news conference in early January. The reason was because the fighters couldn't reach a compromise on drug-testing protocol. Mayweather insisted on testing that went far beyond the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. While Pacquiao accepted some additional testing, he refused random blood testing.
Both fighters moved on. Pacquiao quickly made a deal to defend his welterweight belt against Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mayweather and Mosley began their talks after Mosley's Jan. 30 unification fight with Andre Berto was canceled.
So while Pacquiao wrapped up his deal with Clottey in about two seconds and Mosley signed on the dotted line in pretty short order, we all continue to wait for Mayweather's John Hancock yet again, including Schaefer.
"I always tell you, a signed deal is a done deal," Schaefer said. "It will only be done when Floyd signs, and that hasn't happened yet. I don't know of any deal terms that are not agreed to. I don't understand it."
Friday, January 29, 2010
Mosley, Mayweather reach terms
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have agreed to terms for a welterweight super fight, Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe said Friday.
Although the contracts are not signed, "all of the deal points have been agreed to," Ellerbe said. "We still have to put pen to paper, but everything is agreed to. It's with the lawyers. Shane is a great fighter, one of the best of his era, and so is Floyd. It's going to be a great fight. It's a fight fans have wanted to see for a long time."
Assuming the paperwork is signed, Mosley will defend his welterweight title against Mayweather on May 1 on HBO PPV at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Ellerbe said that he expected the paperwork to be completed in the next few days with a formal announcement likely next week.
The fight came together after an unexpected turn of events.
First, Mayweather became available for a fight three weeks ago when negotiations with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao disintegrated. They had agreed to all terms for a March 13 fight that loomed as the biggest in boxing -- except for a drug testing protocol.
They had agreed to random urine testing, but Mayweather also wanted random blood testing, even though that is not required under the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Pacquiao agreed only to three blood tests, but none within 24 days of the fight, and the third one immediately after the bout.
Mayweather has alluded to Pacquiao using performance-enhancing drugs, even though he has never produced any evidence, and Floyd Mayweather Sr. has outright said he believes Pacquiao uses.
The rancor over the drug testing issue caused the fight to fall apart and Pacquiao moved on. He will defend his version of the 147-pound title against former titlist Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Then Mosley became available two weeks ago. He was scheduled to meet Andre Berto in a title unification bout at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Saturday night. However, Berto, a Haitian-American, withdrew from the bout after eight members of his extended family were killed in the earthquake in Haiti.
Immediately after the cancellation of Mosley-Berto, Mosley and Mayweather -- the former welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king until giving up the mantle during a brief retirement -- began negotiating.
"The negotiations were very cordial and went very smoothly," Ellerbe said.
Mosley has agreed to undergo random blood and urine testing, as has Mayweather, Ellerbe said.
Mosley has admitted to using PEDs and was connected to the BALCO scandal. Although he publicly denied using PEDs for years, Mosley admitted during grand jury testimony, which was later released, that he used designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream" and injected himself with EPO, a blood oxygen enhancer, during the lead-up to his 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley said he took the steroids unknowingly.
"Floyd only wants to be sure of an even playing field no matter who he fights," Ellerbe said.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), a five-division champion, and Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), a three-division champion, have seemingly been on a collision course since the late 1990s, when Mosley was lightweight champion and Mayweather was junior lightweight champion.
Although their careers took different paths, talk of a potential fight heated back up in 2006 after Mosley's two knockouts of Fernando Vargas, but talks never got too serious.
However, Mosley stepped up his call for a fight with Mayweather, 32, last year after Mayweather ended his 18-month retirement. After Mayweather easily beat lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in a lopsided decision in September, Mosley crashed his post-fight interview in the ring and called him out to his face.
It didn't look like Mosley would get the fight because two months later, Pacquiao knocked out Miguel Cotto and talks began for Pacquiao-Mayweather.
Mosley, 38, hasn't fought since last January, when he upset Antonio Margarito to win his title via ninth-round knockout.
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
Mayweather-Mosley announcement imminent
By Kevin Iole
yahoo sports
An announcement of a welterweight fight between unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. and World Boxing Association champion Shane Mosley for May 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena is imminent.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said Thursday that “all major deal points have been agreed upon” for the bout that is the biggest that can currently be made in boxing.
Schaefer had been working with Top Rank’s Bob Arum to put together a bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in a match that would have pitted the top two fighters in the world.
When that match fell apart over a dispute over a drug testing protocol, Schaefer turned his attention to arranging a Mayweather-Mosley bout. While it doesn’t have quite the cachet of a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout, it still will pit the Nos. 2 and 3 ranked fighters in the most recent Yahoo! Sports ratings.
“I hope to have something to announce in the next few days,” Schaefer said.
Mosley has agreed to the Olympic-style random blood and urine testing that Pacquiao balked at and which eventually scuttled the bout. Mosley admitted in sworn grand jury testimony that he used two designer steroids, “The Cream” and “The Clear,” as well as EPO prior to a 2003 fight with Oscar De La Hoya. He alleges he took the substances unknowingly.
Mosley had been slated to fight World Boxing Council champion Andre Berto on Friday at Mandalay Bay, but that fight was canceled earlier this month. Berto is of Haitian descent and has much family in Haiti and felt he couldn’t properly prepare in the aftermath of the disastrous Jan. 12 earthquake in the island nation.
A news conference to kick off the Mayweather-Mosley fight will likely be held in New York, perhaps as early as next week.
yahoo sports
An announcement of a welterweight fight between unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. and World Boxing Association champion Shane Mosley for May 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena is imminent.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said Thursday that “all major deal points have been agreed upon” for the bout that is the biggest that can currently be made in boxing.
Schaefer had been working with Top Rank’s Bob Arum to put together a bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in a match that would have pitted the top two fighters in the world.
When that match fell apart over a dispute over a drug testing protocol, Schaefer turned his attention to arranging a Mayweather-Mosley bout. While it doesn’t have quite the cachet of a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout, it still will pit the Nos. 2 and 3 ranked fighters in the most recent Yahoo! Sports ratings.
“I hope to have something to announce in the next few days,” Schaefer said.
Mosley has agreed to the Olympic-style random blood and urine testing that Pacquiao balked at and which eventually scuttled the bout. Mosley admitted in sworn grand jury testimony that he used two designer steroids, “The Cream” and “The Clear,” as well as EPO prior to a 2003 fight with Oscar De La Hoya. He alleges he took the substances unknowingly.
Mosley had been slated to fight World Boxing Council champion Andre Berto on Friday at Mandalay Bay, but that fight was canceled earlier this month. Berto is of Haitian descent and has much family in Haiti and felt he couldn’t properly prepare in the aftermath of the disastrous Jan. 12 earthquake in the island nation.
A news conference to kick off the Mayweather-Mosley fight will likely be held in New York, perhaps as early as next week.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Everything’s Sweeter With Sugar; Why “Mayweather vs Mosley” would be a better fight for boxing
By Michael Mason:
www.BoxingNews24.com
For now, the saliva inducing showdown between Floyd and Manny has been packed back into its box, and placed back on boxing’s dusty shelf of fights that should have been…
But when one door closes, another opens. Instead of having the Mayweather vs Pacquiao bout, boxing fans may have been thrown another, yet slightly smaller bone. Golden Boy Promotions stating that now Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Shane could be in the mix for the near future now that the Berto bout has collapsed.
“Mayweather is interested and so, of course, is Shane. Now it’s a matter of negotiating the right deal structure that makes everyone happy.” Said Richard Schaeffer the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, clearly the fight would not be of the same magnitude as a meet with Pacquiao and that’s because Mayweather acts as an anchor, like a balloon tied to a rock, its much more exciting if you untie it and watch it fly… he will be like that no matter who he fights. Saying that, have you seen a boxer with a defence to match his? Marquez missing over 500 punches in his fight with Mayweather. Pristine counter punching and an enigmatic style nobody has yet managed solve.
Unfortunately that’s not what captivates an audience, people find attack is the best form of defence (completely wrong in boxing) and that’s what gets viewers hearts racing.
Mayweather is an oxymoron, his own worst enemy… his superlative style against people in the ring, that at one point made him the best boxer on the planet; also takes on the role as an incredible anti-climactic style for the spectators.
What could be worse than having Manny and Floyd’s fight dubbed one of the biggest events in boxing history, only to find it was a relatively plain fight, one boxer chasing and the other running. An exciting boxer + a relatively dull boxer = an average fight.
However if Mayweather decides to take on Mosley, and Mosley conquers, well we have quite a different story altogether..
The only welterweight fighters I can see really in with a shout against Mayweather are now Manny and Shane (I hate to say it but I think cotto’s had too many wars) and if Shane can beat Floyd we have a much larger mouth watering prospect knocking on our doors. A super fight that could actually live up to its own hype, two hungry boxers creating a bout that could imprinted into our memories for years… for all the right reasons. Both fought Cotto, and both fights were heads and shoulders above many of Mayweather’s.
Who remembers Oscar v Floyd? Well, it speaks for itself. The fight that would save boxing, was a complete bore from start to finish… and that sometimes more than anything can be damaging to the sport, the best of the best in the ring.. and they end up having a similar effect on the fans as nitrous oxide would… inducing calm to the point you’re drowsy.
On the other hand, if Shane loses we are no worse off than before, Mayweather will be set to collide with Pacquiao later in the year, and atleast then Mosley would have had his well earned shot he’s been waiting for.
Just for now though we have to hope Pacquiao can beat Clottey (another very good fight) and for Mayweather and Mosley to agree on terms… because lets face it, at this time most boxers want their fights to be “Sugar-free”.
www.BoxingNews24.com
For now, the saliva inducing showdown between Floyd and Manny has been packed back into its box, and placed back on boxing’s dusty shelf of fights that should have been…
But when one door closes, another opens. Instead of having the Mayweather vs Pacquiao bout, boxing fans may have been thrown another, yet slightly smaller bone. Golden Boy Promotions stating that now Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Shane could be in the mix for the near future now that the Berto bout has collapsed.
“Mayweather is interested and so, of course, is Shane. Now it’s a matter of negotiating the right deal structure that makes everyone happy.” Said Richard Schaeffer the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, clearly the fight would not be of the same magnitude as a meet with Pacquiao and that’s because Mayweather acts as an anchor, like a balloon tied to a rock, its much more exciting if you untie it and watch it fly… he will be like that no matter who he fights. Saying that, have you seen a boxer with a defence to match his? Marquez missing over 500 punches in his fight with Mayweather. Pristine counter punching and an enigmatic style nobody has yet managed solve.
Unfortunately that’s not what captivates an audience, people find attack is the best form of defence (completely wrong in boxing) and that’s what gets viewers hearts racing.
Mayweather is an oxymoron, his own worst enemy… his superlative style against people in the ring, that at one point made him the best boxer on the planet; also takes on the role as an incredible anti-climactic style for the spectators.
What could be worse than having Manny and Floyd’s fight dubbed one of the biggest events in boxing history, only to find it was a relatively plain fight, one boxer chasing and the other running. An exciting boxer + a relatively dull boxer = an average fight.
However if Mayweather decides to take on Mosley, and Mosley conquers, well we have quite a different story altogether..
The only welterweight fighters I can see really in with a shout against Mayweather are now Manny and Shane (I hate to say it but I think cotto’s had too many wars) and if Shane can beat Floyd we have a much larger mouth watering prospect knocking on our doors. A super fight that could actually live up to its own hype, two hungry boxers creating a bout that could imprinted into our memories for years… for all the right reasons. Both fought Cotto, and both fights were heads and shoulders above many of Mayweather’s.
Who remembers Oscar v Floyd? Well, it speaks for itself. The fight that would save boxing, was a complete bore from start to finish… and that sometimes more than anything can be damaging to the sport, the best of the best in the ring.. and they end up having a similar effect on the fans as nitrous oxide would… inducing calm to the point you’re drowsy.
On the other hand, if Shane loses we are no worse off than before, Mayweather will be set to collide with Pacquiao later in the year, and atleast then Mosley would have had his well earned shot he’s been waiting for.
Just for now though we have to hope Pacquiao can beat Clottey (another very good fight) and for Mayweather and Mosley to agree on terms… because lets face it, at this time most boxers want their fights to be “Sugar-free”.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Pacquiao-Clottey can break US gate record
BY JUN MEDINA Special Correspondent
www.ManilaTimes.net
The Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey March 13 fight has the golden chance of breaking the record for the biggest attendance in a covered arena in the United States as it has sold more than 20,000 tickets in just four days.
“The public response is just unbelievable,” said Top Rank Promotions spokesman Lee Samuels from Las Vegas. “We are happy to report that since ticket sales started last Saturday [January 23] more than 20,000 tickets have been snapped up by boxing fans.”
Most of the tickets already sold were the expensive ones, Samuels said—those in the $100, $200, $300 up to the most expensive $700 ringside seats.
“We still have thousands of tickets for $50 and up, which are available for families who simply want to have a night of boxing excitement and fun,” Samuels said.
He said the presence of substantial numbers of ethnic Filipinos in Dallas and nearby areas plus the huge Hispanic population who love boxing would boost interest in the fight dubbed as “The Event.”
According to veteran American boxing scribe Michael Marley, the current record is 63,315 paid attendance generated by the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks rematch at the Louisiana Superdome in 1978.
On September 10, 1993, 58,891 people paid to watch the Julio Cesar Chavez-Pernell Whitaker super fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Quoting Top Rank Chief Executive Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, Marley said more than 24,000 tickets have been sold by Ticketmaster since Saturday.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the new and huge football arena with retractable roof will be configured for 40,000 to 50,000 seats, but that can easily be expanded up to 90,000 seats, depending on demand.
Samuels said they were pleasantly surprised by the early ticket sales results for Pacquiao-Clottey, which he described as a competitive match-up between two of the best welterweights in the world who both come to fight.
If the media interest in the fight is any indication, Samuels said, about 1,000 media men from around the world are expected to cover the fight, the first boxing event in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter in the world. He has speed, superb footwork and explosive power in both hands,” Samuels said. “Josh Clottey is certainly a worthy, dangerous challenger—bigger, stronger and tough—who has never been stopped.”
What makes Clottey dangerous are not only his toughness and size advantage but also his being “hungry for a world title” and the fact that he has a game plan against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“I expect Clottey to be aggressive throughout the fight because he feels that’s his only chance against Manny,” Samuels said, adding that a big, tough and aggressive fighter like him, who has pop in his punches, could pose a real challenge for Pacquiao.
www.ManilaTimes.net
The Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey March 13 fight has the golden chance of breaking the record for the biggest attendance in a covered arena in the United States as it has sold more than 20,000 tickets in just four days.
“The public response is just unbelievable,” said Top Rank Promotions spokesman Lee Samuels from Las Vegas. “We are happy to report that since ticket sales started last Saturday [January 23] more than 20,000 tickets have been snapped up by boxing fans.”
Most of the tickets already sold were the expensive ones, Samuels said—those in the $100, $200, $300 up to the most expensive $700 ringside seats.
“We still have thousands of tickets for $50 and up, which are available for families who simply want to have a night of boxing excitement and fun,” Samuels said.
He said the presence of substantial numbers of ethnic Filipinos in Dallas and nearby areas plus the huge Hispanic population who love boxing would boost interest in the fight dubbed as “The Event.”
According to veteran American boxing scribe Michael Marley, the current record is 63,315 paid attendance generated by the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks rematch at the Louisiana Superdome in 1978.
On September 10, 1993, 58,891 people paid to watch the Julio Cesar Chavez-Pernell Whitaker super fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Quoting Top Rank Chief Executive Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, Marley said more than 24,000 tickets have been sold by Ticketmaster since Saturday.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the new and huge football arena with retractable roof will be configured for 40,000 to 50,000 seats, but that can easily be expanded up to 90,000 seats, depending on demand.
Samuels said they were pleasantly surprised by the early ticket sales results for Pacquiao-Clottey, which he described as a competitive match-up between two of the best welterweights in the world who both come to fight.
If the media interest in the fight is any indication, Samuels said, about 1,000 media men from around the world are expected to cover the fight, the first boxing event in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter in the world. He has speed, superb footwork and explosive power in both hands,” Samuels said. “Josh Clottey is certainly a worthy, dangerous challenger—bigger, stronger and tough—who has never been stopped.”
What makes Clottey dangerous are not only his toughness and size advantage but also his being “hungry for a world title” and the fact that he has a game plan against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“I expect Clottey to be aggressive throughout the fight because he feels that’s his only chance against Manny,” Samuels said, adding that a big, tough and aggressive fighter like him, who has pop in his punches, could pose a real challenge for Pacquiao.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Ticket sales booming for Manny Pacquiao fight
By Lance Pugmire
Los Angeles Times
More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for Manny Pacquiao's March 13 fight against welterweight Joshua Clottey at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and officials say there could be close to 60,000 in attendance on fight night.
"The first days of sales for boxing events can be about 25% of the total," said Texas boxing publicist Lester Bedford, who's assisting Top Rank and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight promotion. "There'll be a heavy Hispanic undercard that has yet to be announced, and that could trigger more sales.
"With the fight being in this new stadium there's no history to predict how a boxing event will do. It could go to 50,000, 60,000."
Jones originally arranged a seating plan to accommodate 40,000, and tickets went on sale Saturday through Ticketmaster.
The undercard could feature the return of former world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, who had his boxing license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission February 2009 after officials removed plaster-caked inserts inside wraps on both of his hands before being defeated by Shane Mosley last January at Staples Center.
Margarito is planning to apply to get his license restored in Texas next month, and promoter Bob Arum said if Margarito wins the super-welterweight undercard fight against Carson Jones, he'd strongly consider making a Margarito-Pacquiao bout at Dallas Cowboys Stadium later this year.
Bedford said former lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo will also appear on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
-- Lance Pugmire
Los Angeles Times
More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for Manny Pacquiao's March 13 fight against welterweight Joshua Clottey at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and officials say there could be close to 60,000 in attendance on fight night.
"The first days of sales for boxing events can be about 25% of the total," said Texas boxing publicist Lester Bedford, who's assisting Top Rank and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight promotion. "There'll be a heavy Hispanic undercard that has yet to be announced, and that could trigger more sales.
"With the fight being in this new stadium there's no history to predict how a boxing event will do. It could go to 50,000, 60,000."
Jones originally arranged a seating plan to accommodate 40,000, and tickets went on sale Saturday through Ticketmaster.
The undercard could feature the return of former world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, who had his boxing license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission February 2009 after officials removed plaster-caked inserts inside wraps on both of his hands before being defeated by Shane Mosley last January at Staples Center.
Margarito is planning to apply to get his license restored in Texas next month, and promoter Bob Arum said if Margarito wins the super-welterweight undercard fight against Carson Jones, he'd strongly consider making a Margarito-Pacquiao bout at Dallas Cowboys Stadium later this year.
Bedford said former lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo will also appear on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
-- Lance Pugmire
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Mosley, Mayweather sides open to bout
By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
Floyd Mayweather is ready to negotiate a fight with welterweight champion Shane Mosley in the wake of Mosley's fight with Andre Berto being canceled, Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN.com on Monday night.
Mosley was due to face Andre Berto in a welterweight title unification match on Jan. 30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. However, Berto, a Haitian-American who had at least eight members of his family killed in the recent earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation, withdrew from the fight earlier Monday because he was "mentally and physically exhausted" from dealing with the catastrophe and needed to be with his family.
"I know everyone is rushing to make this fight with Mosley, but I want people to know that Floyd feels awful for Berto and his family for what they and their country are going through," Ellerbe said. "That is first and foremost. But if, in fact, Shane Mosley is available, that's the fight that Floyd would love to make. It's no secret that Floyd has been trying to make a fight with Shane for the last 10 years.
"Our condolences go out to Berto and his family because that is the human side of this. Everyone is talking about us making a fight with Mosley, but Floyd wants people to know that his prayers -- all of ours -- are with Berto. But he also wants people to know that he is ready to fight Mosley. That's the fight he wants more than anything. And Floyd has instructed me and Al [Haymon, Mayweather's other adviser] to make the biggest fight possible. We will be talking with [Golden Boy CEO] Richard [Schaefer]. Floyd against Shane is the biggest fight in boxing right now that can be made."
Mayweather had been tentatively scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao on March 13 before that bout fell apart when the sides would not compromise on the drug testing protocol for the bout. Mayweather insisted on rigorous blood testing, which he would also be subject to, but Pacquiao rejected it.
Instead, Pacquiao took a fight with former welterweight titlist Joshua Clottey, and they will meet on March 13 on pay-per-view at Cowboys Stadium. There is a news conference to formally announce the bout at the stadium on Tuesday followed by another news conference on Wednesday in New York.
Schaefer, who works with Mayweather, had said that Mayweather would fight a different opponent on March 13 in a competing pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
However, with Mosley becoming available, attention immediately turned to Mosley-Mayweather, which, aside from Pacquiao-Mayweather or Pacquiao-Mosley, looms as the biggest fight in boxing.
According to Schaefer, he has the MGM Grand Garden Arena on hold for May 1 and May 8. Ellerbe said that time frame is fine with Mayweather for a fight with Mosley.
"Most definitely," Ellerbe said. "Shane is a great fighter and if a deal could be made, Shane would be the toughest fight out there. That fight is tougher than the other fight [Pacquiao-Mayweather]. It's a mega fight if it can be made."
If the bout is finalized, it remains to be seen if Mayweather would insist on the same rigorous drug testing he wanted Pacquiao to undergo. Pacquiao denies he has ever used performance-enhancing drugs even though Mayweather has alluded to him using and Mayweather's father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., has said outright that he believed Pacquiao used PEDs, despite having no evidence. The accusation led Pacquiao to file a defamation suit against the Mayweathers and others, including Schaefer and Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya.
Mosley, however, has admitted to using PEDs and was connected to the BALCO scandal. Although he publicly denied using PEDs for years, Mosley admitted during grand jury testimony, which was later released, that he used designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream" and injected himself with EPO, a blood oxygen enhancer, during the leadup to his 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), a five-division champion, and Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), a three-division champion, have seemingly been on a collision course for years dating to the late 1990s, when Mosley was lightweight champion and Mayweather was junior lightweight champion.
More recently, Mosley repeatedly called Mayweather out before he got involved negotiating the fight with Pacquiao. In fact, Mosley crashed Mayweather's post-fight interview in the ring following his September victory against Juan Manuel Marquez and publicly called him out to his face.
Schaefer said he would try to make the fight.
"That is a super fight, and now my next order of business -- to see if we can put [Mosley-Mayweather] together," he said. "That is what I am going to be doing in the coming hours. The sooner the better if we can get this potential fight done. With Shane now being available and Floyd being available, that's a fight all fight fans and sports fans would embrace. This would be a huge showdown. Shane has wanted that fight for a while. That's what I am going to try to do."
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
ESPN.com
Floyd Mayweather is ready to negotiate a fight with welterweight champion Shane Mosley in the wake of Mosley's fight with Andre Berto being canceled, Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN.com on Monday night.
Mosley was due to face Andre Berto in a welterweight title unification match on Jan. 30 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. However, Berto, a Haitian-American who had at least eight members of his family killed in the recent earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation, withdrew from the fight earlier Monday because he was "mentally and physically exhausted" from dealing with the catastrophe and needed to be with his family.
"I know everyone is rushing to make this fight with Mosley, but I want people to know that Floyd feels awful for Berto and his family for what they and their country are going through," Ellerbe said. "That is first and foremost. But if, in fact, Shane Mosley is available, that's the fight that Floyd would love to make. It's no secret that Floyd has been trying to make a fight with Shane for the last 10 years.
"Our condolences go out to Berto and his family because that is the human side of this. Everyone is talking about us making a fight with Mosley, but Floyd wants people to know that his prayers -- all of ours -- are with Berto. But he also wants people to know that he is ready to fight Mosley. That's the fight he wants more than anything. And Floyd has instructed me and Al [Haymon, Mayweather's other adviser] to make the biggest fight possible. We will be talking with [Golden Boy CEO] Richard [Schaefer]. Floyd against Shane is the biggest fight in boxing right now that can be made."
Mayweather had been tentatively scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao on March 13 before that bout fell apart when the sides would not compromise on the drug testing protocol for the bout. Mayweather insisted on rigorous blood testing, which he would also be subject to, but Pacquiao rejected it.
Instead, Pacquiao took a fight with former welterweight titlist Joshua Clottey, and they will meet on March 13 on pay-per-view at Cowboys Stadium. There is a news conference to formally announce the bout at the stadium on Tuesday followed by another news conference on Wednesday in New York.
Schaefer, who works with Mayweather, had said that Mayweather would fight a different opponent on March 13 in a competing pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
However, with Mosley becoming available, attention immediately turned to Mosley-Mayweather, which, aside from Pacquiao-Mayweather or Pacquiao-Mosley, looms as the biggest fight in boxing.
According to Schaefer, he has the MGM Grand Garden Arena on hold for May 1 and May 8. Ellerbe said that time frame is fine with Mayweather for a fight with Mosley.
"Most definitely," Ellerbe said. "Shane is a great fighter and if a deal could be made, Shane would be the toughest fight out there. That fight is tougher than the other fight [Pacquiao-Mayweather]. It's a mega fight if it can be made."
If the bout is finalized, it remains to be seen if Mayweather would insist on the same rigorous drug testing he wanted Pacquiao to undergo. Pacquiao denies he has ever used performance-enhancing drugs even though Mayweather has alluded to him using and Mayweather's father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., has said outright that he believed Pacquiao used PEDs, despite having no evidence. The accusation led Pacquiao to file a defamation suit against the Mayweathers and others, including Schaefer and Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya.
Mosley, however, has admitted to using PEDs and was connected to the BALCO scandal. Although he publicly denied using PEDs for years, Mosley admitted during grand jury testimony, which was later released, that he used designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream" and injected himself with EPO, a blood oxygen enhancer, during the leadup to his 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), a five-division champion, and Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), a three-division champion, have seemingly been on a collision course for years dating to the late 1990s, when Mosley was lightweight champion and Mayweather was junior lightweight champion.
More recently, Mosley repeatedly called Mayweather out before he got involved negotiating the fight with Pacquiao. In fact, Mosley crashed Mayweather's post-fight interview in the ring following his September victory against Juan Manuel Marquez and publicly called him out to his face.
Schaefer said he would try to make the fight.
"That is a super fight, and now my next order of business -- to see if we can put [Mosley-Mayweather] together," he said. "That is what I am going to be doing in the coming hours. The sooner the better if we can get this potential fight done. With Shane now being available and Floyd being available, that's a fight all fight fans and sports fans would embrace. This would be a huge showdown. Shane has wanted that fight for a while. That's what I am going to try to do."
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
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