Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather

I don't need Manny Pacquiao. I make $70 million every time I fight - Floyd

2011-09-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. had to get his mouth stitched up. Victor Ortiz went scalp-to-chin against him in the corner, late in the fourth round Saturday.

Ortiz would be penalized rather drastically for that mistake, and for others, but it didn't keep Mayweather out of the clinic

Or off the microphone.

Somehow all that oral discomfort did not restrain Mayweather from declaring the following:

•“If I became a heavyweight and started beating the Klitschkos, everybody would say I was on something. But he can go from 105 to 154 and it's all right. Come on, guys.”

•“Everybody knew Ray Leonard was going to be a great athlete from the beginning. Everybody knew the same thing about Michael Jordan. Floyd Mayweather was always going to be a great athlete. But you turn 29 and all of a sudden you pop in here and start making a leap forward and beating people? It's not natural.”

• “He's got two bosses. He has to give up 30 percent of his revenue. I left Bob Arum because I wanted to fight for myself. Now I keep 100 percent of the revenue. They say I'm ignorant. Well, I must not be too ignorant if I'm keeping all the revenue.”

“I don't need Manny Pacquiao. I make $70 million every time I fight.”

Well, at least he's not obsessed with the guy.

Pacquiao-Mayweather is boxing's destination fight. It also has become the Mars landing of sports. Irresistible but no longer inevitable.

It became even more poignant Saturday night when Mayweather found a new way to win a championship match — give Ortiz the old one-two when Ortiz was waiting for the restart command from referee Joe Cortez.

Mayweather simply understood the fight had resumed before Ortiz did.

Now, it's true that a gentlemanly fellow such as Alexis Arguello or even Pacquiao would have waited until Ortiz was ready.

Mayweather's ambush was the rough boxing equivalent of Jered Weaver throwing strike one while Mark Teixeira was digging in.

Legal? Yes. Ethical? Irrelevant.

“He had just done me dirty (with the head butt) and then he wanted to be real nice,” Mayweather said. “So what goes around comes around. This is the hurt business.”

Gustavo Arrellano, Ortiz's manager, made some noises about going to the Nevada commission, but that will float about as well as his call for a rematch, even though Mayweather shrugged and said fine.

Maybe that would work if Ortiz had been winning the fight, but Mayweather's right hand was busy playing a Keith Moon drum solo on Ortiz's forehead.

“I was busting him up slowly,” Mayweather said. “He was going down at some point no matter what.”

Said Ortiz: “My strategy was to start taking over in the fifth or sixth round because we noticed Mayweather liked to start off strong.”

But Mayweather has changed his approach, too. He goes after people. It wasn't the safest play against Ortiz on paper but it looked fine for 11 minutes, 59 seconds.

“Everybody looks at my fights and thinks I can be beat,” Mayweather explained. “Once you get inside the ring against me, it's different.”

Since a fight with David “Big Papi” Ortiz might be more plausible than a rematch with Victor, what's next for Mayweather? For the near future, nothing.

“Some guys are told when to fight,” he said, referring to you-know-who again. They have to do it on this date and on that date. One of the great things about working for myself is that I can take 16 months off if I want to and spend it with my family. Is that all right?”

Sure. It's also OK if he fights Pacquiao before both men are AARP-eligible.

“I've been around all these years,” Mayweather said. “Where was he in 1999, 2000, 2001? When I fought (Juan Manuel) Marquez, everybody said he was too old. Well, that's who he's fighting now (Nov. 12). See, I'm in a no-win situation.”

He won't win this Mayweather vs. Larry Merchant match he's drumming up either. He cursed the 80-year-old HBO analyst in the ring, to which Merchant replied, “If I was 50 years younger, I'd kick your ass.” Merchant also has no problem with drug testing.

But Mayweather isn't all venom and fangs. When he talked of his support group, led by lawyer Al Haymon, manager Leonard Ellerbe and trainer/uncle Roger Mayweather, he briefly came to tears.

He wants to be known as the face of boxing, in the manner of Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya and Mike Tyson were. What bothers him is this new Filipino face.

“I'm not ducking and dodging anybody,” Mayweather said. “But all I want is a level playing field.”

But first, his mouth needed stitches. Presumably he had to close it first.

Source: ocregister.com

Pacquiao and Roach unimpressed on Mayweather's win over Ortiz!

2011-09-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

By Dan Ambrose: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach didn’t like what they saw of Floyd Mayweather’s controversial 4th round stoppage victory over WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While Pacquiao doesn’t see anything illegal with the two shots that Mayweather nailed Ortiz with in the 4th round after Ortiz had been deducted a point for a headbutt, Roach saw it as a “Cheap shot”.

Speaking with the Philippine Star, Pacquiao said “Very poor sportsmanship. It was not illegal.”

Roach said “The referee was still talking to someone [timekeeper?] at ringside. And I didn’t see him say ‘box’ like they always do. I think he [referee Joe Cortez] lost control.”

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz also described it as a “I agree that it was a cheap shot.”

I’m personally in agreement with them. I think it might have been legal, but the referee Cortez was concentrating on what appeared to be the timekeeper outside of the ring and he didn’t restart the fight the way that referees typically do by coming forward, motioning with their arms and telling the fighters to resume action.

I can see how Ortiz would have been confused and thinking that the fight still hadn’t been restarted. Mayweather clearly wasted no time in hitting Ortiz with a left hook, as he had just hugged him and was in the process of backing away when he got hit by Mayweather. It didn’t seem like a sporting move by Mayweather, and it had the affect of marring what could have been a great victory for him. Mayweather was in charge of the fight from the 2nd round on and was hitting Ortiz at will with straight hands in the 3rd and 4th. It was embarrassingly easy for Mayweather, but then he went and ruined it with shots while Ortiz wasn’t prepared to fight.

Source: boxingnews24.com

Pacquiao vs Mayweather - The only legitimate fight left!

2011-09-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Pacquiao vs Mayweather is the only fight that everybody in the boxing world would truly look forward to, but it won't happen until at least 2012. After his November bout against Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao should call Mayweather's drug testing bluff.

The two high-profile champions had an agreement to fight in early 2010, but the deal broke down after Mayweather's camp demanded drug testing similar to that done at Olympic events. Pacquiao, who is an extremely regimented person, declined the offer.

With $50 million in guaranteed money on the table at that point, it's amazing that an agreement couldn't be reached. It reeks of posturing on Mayweather's part in order to avoid the fight.

Pacquiao shouldn't have much trouble dispatching of Marquez, just like Mayweather had no problem with Victor Ortiz. The win over Ortiz moved Pretty Boy to 42-0 in his career. A win over Marquez would improve Pacquiao's record to 54-3-2.

However, Pac-Man has won his last 14 fights dating back to 2005.

In his post-match interview, Pacquiao should send shock waves throughout the sports world by announcing that he is willing to accept Mayweather's drug testing offer. Not only would the statement send fans into a tizzy, but it would force Money into a tough position.

Does he accept Pacquiao's offer, or does he back down and tarnish his legacy forever?

Mayweather had some tough words for 80-year-old HBO commentator Larry Merchant after his win over Ortiz, so it's clear he's trying to show off that tough-guy persona. If he wants to live up to it, however, there's no way he could back down from Pacquiao.

The problem for Pacquiao is that if he never agrees to advanced drug testing, there will be whispers about his rise to the top of the sport. Being able to cover seven divisions is a terrific feat, but it raises questions about how he was able to make such a seamless transition each time.

Pacquiao would likely be a sizable favorite in the bout, which would net both men huge paydays regardless of the outcome. Both Pac-Man and Money know how big of a fight it has the potential to be, and for the sake of the sport, they have to make it happen.

The ball is in Pacquiao's court to make Mayweather put up or shut up.

Source: bleacherreport.com

Mayweather vs Ortiz - Weigh in Video

2011-09-16T19:05:00.001-07:00

Mayweather 146.5 LBS - Ortiz 147 LBS - Weight In Las Vegas

2011-09-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS – When Floyd Mayweather grabbed WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz by the throat at the end of their weigh-in at the MGM Grand's Grand Garden Arena on Friday, Ortiz just laughed and did not retaliate. Some pushing and shoving ensued before it was broken up.

"It's all a big joke," Ortiz mumbled. "It's nothing."

Perhaps. This is the biggest stage Ortiz has been on and may ever be on. However, the 24-year-old with the amazing life story remained unruffled, and calmly told Mayweather, smiling, "you're going down, you're going down."

Mayweather, who is guaranteed $25 million for the fight, is a veteran of the big Las Vegas boxing stage and knows how to incite the crowd. And this crowd estimated at 4,000 was solidly in Ortiz's corner, including hundreds of fans who came in from the Garden City, Kan., area, where Ortiz — who is guaranteed by far his biggest payday at $2.5 million — grew up, and where his mother and eventually his father abandoned Ortiz and his siblings.

Almost unnoticed in the weigh-in crowd was Floyd Mayweather Sr., who got into a knock-down, drag-out shouting match with his son that was aired on the first episode of HBO's 24/7: Mayweather vs. Ortiz. This is the first time the elder Mayweather been seen in the same vicinity as his son since that much talked-about episode, which ended up with Mayweather Sr. being escorted from his son's gym. Mayweather did not acknowledge his father at the weigh-in.

Ortiz tipped the scales at 147 pounds, the welterweight limit, and Mayweather came in at 146½.
"I have been at this for 16 years," Mayweather said. "This is the first time for Ortiz.
"I just have to keep my composure, stick to my game plan, and listen to what my (trainer) Uncle Roger tells me."

The Mayweather-Ortiz extravaganza (HBO, 9 p.m. ET, pay-per-view) has been called the "Super Bowl" of boxing by its promoters, and HBO is giving it Super Bowl-style treatment.
If you subscribe to the premium network and are a boxing fan, HBO will sate your appetite for the highly anticipated fight between the undefeated, 34-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) and Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs), the WBC welterweight champion.

Source: usatoday.com

Smart marketing makes Mayweather ‘Money

2011-09-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS – Richard Schaefer had had enough of Floyd Mayweather Jr. During a cross-country tour to promote the 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, Schaefer quickly grew irritated of Mayweather’s antics.

One day, Mayweather intercepted De La Hoya’s lunch. Another time, he swiped the Golden Boy’s gym bag. At one point during the cross-country tour, Mayweather brought a chicken with a gold medal around its neck onto stage at a news conference to mock his adversary, who had been unflatteringly dubbed “Chicken” De La Hoya by the great former New York Daily News boxing writer, Michael Katz.

The De La Hoya-Mayweather fight would go on to become the highest-grossing match in history, and Schaefer had more than enough work to keep him busy. Every day, it seemed, Schaefer got a call from De La Hoya complaining about yet another Mayweather prank. Angry, irritated and anxious to get back to work, Schaefer sought out Mayweather.

The one-time Swiss banker angrily confronted the superstar boxer and went nose-to-nose with him, telling Mayweather he didn’t appreciate his childish antics.

“It was an ugly conversation and confrontation, really ugly,” Schaefer said. “I actually told him, ‘If you continue with this behavior, I’m going to send you back to the plane and I’m going to send you home.’ He got upset and we were really going at each other hard.”

It wasn’t long, though, before Schaefer earned a grudging respect for Mayweather’s business sense. And a few months after Mayweather and De La Hoya set a pay-per-view record by selling 2.45 million units, Schaefer found himself seated next to Mayweather on a flight to London.

They had a conversation about promoting and marketing. Suddenly, Schaefer’s grudging respect turned to admiration. Mayweather, he discovered, was far brighter, more analytic and filled with clever ideas, than he’d ever imagined.

From his earliest days as a professional, Mayweather was adamant he should be marketed primarily to an urban market, and he proved correct. He has turned into the biggest pay-per-view draw in boxing, drawing numbers rivaled only in the sport’s history by ex-heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. In his last four fights, he’s sold over 6 million pay-per-view units that have generated nearly $400 million.

On Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he’ll meet Victor Ortiz for the World Boxing Council welterweight title in a bout that almost certainly will top 1 million sales and could exceed 1.5 million.

As great as he is as a fighter, however – rival promoter Lou DiBella believes Mayweather may deserve to be ranked in the top 10 all-time – he may even be better as a promoter. He knew he had to expand his audience, so after beating De La Hoya, he appeared on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” After a win over Ricky Hatton, Mayweather appeared on several WWE telecasts and ultimately was featured in Wrestlemania 24.

DiBella was an HBO executive more than a decade ago when Mayweather not only rejected a lucrative contract offer from the network, but he dismissed it as “slave wages.” Almost to a man, the boxing industry was outraged at Mayweather’s gall.

DiBella, who had worked long and hard on the deal, was apoplectic. Mayweather was barely into his career and had been offered what at the time was a massive deal, more than $12.5 million for six fights. Even though his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., urged him to accept it, Mayweather Jr. unhesitatingly said no.

“He called it a slave contract and I got really [angry],” DiBella said. “I told him that if he walked through Times Square with me and a single person recognized him, I’d reopen the negotiation. But here’s the amazing part of this story: The kid wasn’t happy with the way he was being promoted. He wanted to be promoted in a different way, to a different market. He and [Top Rank’s Bob] Arum fought for years over that. He finally got what he wanted. And guess what? He was right.

“The Dancing with the Stars thing worked. The WWE thing worked. And I wasn’t raised to throw $100 bills in the air, but you know what? That worked. It got him an awful lot of play. It got him a lot more play than if he’d paid 10 grand that month to a publicist.”

Mayweather signed with Arum’s Top Rank in 1996 after he won a bronze medal in the Atlanta Olympics. Top Rank was, as now, one of the sport’s dominant promoters and tried to push Mayweather as the next Sugar Ray Leonard.

Top Rank had gone to extraordinary success with Leonard in the 1980s, pitching his good looks, a clean-cut persona and dazzling skills. The formula clearly worked.

Mayweather, like Leonard, was an Olympic medalist. He had the same good looks and dazzling skills. But he chafed at being pushed as the second coming of Leonard.

“He had great respect for Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali [men Arum promoted], but for as long as I’ve known him, he always pushed back on attempts to promote him as the next Leonard or the next Ali,” said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s close friend and the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “He didn’t want to be the second anybody. He wanted to be the first Floyd Mayweather.”

Mayweather complained so incessantly about it that in early 2004, a few months after a Nov. 1, 2003, stoppage of Philip N’Dou, his attorney, John Hornewer, flew to Las Vegas to sit down with Arum and Arum’s stepson, Todd duBoef.

Hornewer and Ellerbe sat in Arum’s Las Vegas office and pitched Mayweather’s message: Promote me in the urban community and to the hip hop crowd. Dump the Sugar Ray Leonard campaign.

At the time, Top Rank was making a heavy push to promote to the Hispanic market, particularly in the Southwestern U.S. Arum wasn’t doing a lot of business in the urban market because there was a perception among boxing insiders at the time that that audience didn’t buy pay-per-view.

Mayweather believed that, given one of its own to root for, they would buy in big numbers. Hornewer said duBoef was open to considering the idea, but Arum was not.

Though Arum would promote Mayweather for more than two additional years, that was the beginning of the end of the relationship between Top Rank and Mayweather. But when Schaefer began promoting Mayweather’s fights in 2007, the relationship between them was initially not great.

“When we first did [HBO’s boxing reality series] ’24/7’, we bumped heads,” Mayweather said. “He didn’t understand me. But we got on a flight to London and we sat next to each other and we talked and talked. He said, ‘Floyd, I see things this way.’ And I said, ‘Well, I see things that way.’ We came to understand each other. It’s been a great relationship.”

Schaefer was amazed by Mayweather’s business acumen. Ellerbe said that long before former HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg developed the “24/7” series, Mayweather came to him and proposed a show that was essentially what would become “24/7.”

It draws big ratings and has become essential to promoters trying to sell a pay-per-view card. What it has really become is a vehicle for Mayweather to build his brand.

“24/7 is the Floyd Mayweather Show,” DiBella said. “When it’s not the Floyd Mayweather Show, with all due respect, it’s very ordinary. That’s fact. 24/7 was invented for him and, truthfully, Mayweather is the star of it. If he did another reality show, it would work. He’s a compelling personality. Whatever you think of him, he causes you to react.

Though the reality show was the vehicle that propelled him to stardom and made him a superstar in the general public, he had long since become an icon in the hip-hop community.

Ernesto Shaw, known professionally as DJ Clue, a DJ, rapper and prominent New York City radio personality, said in the hip-hop community, Mayweather is one of the three or four biggest sports figures. Mayweather is right at the level of NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, LeBron James of the Heat and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, he said.

“He’s part of the community and he speaks that language and he knows how to market it,” Clue said. “Floyd is flashy and shows that money and the fancy cars and the beautiful girlfriend. He’s got Mayweather Records and that helps. But he’s always doing something to keep himself relevant within the community.

“He’ll be out at the clubs hosting parties, going to strip clubs, that kind of thing. He also aligned himself with 50 Cent and that really helps him, too.”

Schaefer said Mayweather is one of the greatest self promoters he’s ever seen, but even Ellerbe admits that not all of his stunts work.

Earlier this year, when a federal judge in Las Vegas had ordered him to give a deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather was at a night club in Atlanta where he was videotaped burning a $100 bill.

It raised a huge backlash and Ellerbe said that Mayweather knows it was a mistake.

“First of all, that was the character, ‘Money Mayweather,’ not the man, Floyd Mayweather, who did that,” Ellerbe said. “But if he had it to do all over again, I think it would have come out differently. In the middle of a recession, with people looking for work, struggling and hurting for money like they are, we understand how that looked.”

Mayweather can be extraordinarily charitable, and often drives into inner city Las Vegas to feed homeless people. When boxer Genaro Hernandez – The man Mayweather beat in 1998 to win his first world championship – died after a long battle with cancer in June, Mayweather picked up the cost of the funeral. Mayweather, though, didn’t publicize it and declined to speak about it. It was Hernandez’s brother, Rudy, who told the story.

“That was incredible the kindness he showed our family,” Hernandez said.

Doug Stewart, the co-host of the sports talk radio show “2 Live Stews” on 790-AM in Atlanta, has been close to the hip-hop community for many years. He raves about Mayweather’s marketing genius and said he clearly has his finger on the pulse of the hip hop world, but Stewart said he fears Mayweather made a critical mistake when he erupted at his father in the opening episode of the current “24/7.”

What started as playful banter quickly turned into a nasty confrontation and Mayweather Sr. was escorted out of the gym owned by his son. The elder Mayweather will not attend Saturday’s bout, though he said he will buy the pay-per-view.

Stewart wasn’t taking sides, but said the ugly scene failed to go over well.

“He has all these crazy theatrics and does so many outlandish things to promote his fights, it proves his genius,” Stewart said. “But the one thing that everyone in the black community I’ve spoken with didn’t agree with was the blowup with his Dad on ’24/7.’ That’s the first thing he’s done where the feeling, from top to bottom in the black community, was unanimously against him. I know he lost points with me doing that.

“No matter what ill feelings you hold toward your father, at the end of the day, it’s still your father and your father deserves respect. It was way over the top. I’m one of the biggest Floyd fans there is. I always defend him and I think he’s one of the best ever to do it. But not even I could validate that huge argument with Senior. It was totally, totally uncalled for.”

Mayweather’s critics, of where there are legion, say that’s one of only many things he’s done that have been totally uncalled for. Mayweather is facing six separate lawsuits, as well as felony charges from a domestic violence case against the mother of his children, ex-girlfriend Josie Harris.

Mayweather wouldn’t comment on his legal cases, but said he’s largely misunderstood. He is, he said, only trying to enjoy his life and the perks that come with being one of the greatest boxers ever.

The monster depicted in the lawsuits is alien to him, he says. He doesn’t worry about what others choose to do and would prefer if he were offered the same courtesy.

“I never count the next man’s money or worry about what he’s doing or how he lives,” Mayweather said. “Each man lives how he wants to live and takes care of his family. Some people want to live, you know, a real just relaxed life. Me, myself, I’m animated. I’m happy, full of energy. You only got one time here on Earth, so me, if I only got one time, I’m going to have fun.

“When I get to be [cutman] Rafael [Garcia’s] age, I still want to have fun. I want to be his age, dancing like he does. I’m energized, I’m happy and that’s how I want to live my life, having fun. Money don’t make me. I make money, but money don’t make me. It doesn’t define who I am as a person.”

Source: yahoo.com

Freddie Roach: Fight against Floyd wont happen!

2011-07-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach remains pessimistic on the chances of his charge fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr, despite the positive noises emanating from both camps over the past couple of weeks.

At a press conference to promote his September clash with Victor Ortiz, Mayweather confirmed he was "absolutely" interested in fighting Pacquiao for the title of the planet's pound-for-pound king.

Then, more importantly, Pacquiao's trainer Bob Arum revealed the Filipino was willing to meet Mayweather's demand for random drug-testing up until fight night, prompting speculation the bout could go ahead next year.

But Roach thinks that another of his pupils, WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan, has more of a chance of facing off against Mayweather.

"I don't think Mayweather will ever fight Manny Pacquiao," said Roach to mlive.com. "They have a better chance of getting Mayweather into the ring than Manny. If the fight was going to happen, it would've happened already."

The situation is complicated by the ongoing legal proceedings between Mayweather and Pacquiao, who has launched a defamation lawsuit against his American rival.

Source: espn.co.uk

Nacho Beristain: Manny will beat Floyd

2011-07-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – Mexican trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain is confident that should a Pacquiao vs Mayweather superfight ever happen, Pacquiao will "definitely" come out as the victor.

Beristain, who trains Pacquiao's next opponent Juan Manuel Marquez, told BoxingInsider.com that, "It won't be an easy fight but Pacquiao will win."

Beristain said the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout is very important for boxing, but it should not happen.

"It's a very good, important fight but that fight should not happen, because I believe that Pacquiao will beat Mayweather. You're gonna take away the glory that has made Mayweather these past years," Beristain said.

Beristain is very familiar with Pacquiao, having trained Marquez for both his fights against the Filipino ring icon.

"Everybody picks Mayweather to win the fight because he wins so much against easy fighters, but Pacquiao is just too tough, too strong," Beristain said.

Beristain said that the key to Pacquiao's success was his hard work.

"He just works too hard. His training is too hard," said the Mexican.

Marquez is set to meet Pacquiao for the 3rd time in November.

"Juan Manuel has beaten him twice," Beristain said, referring to the controversy surrounding the first two Pacquiao-Marquez battles.

Their first bout in 2004 ended in a controversial draw and the rematch in 2008 ended in a close split decision for Pacquiao.

"If Juan Manuel does his work very good, he can win the fight," Beristain said.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Arum: Pacquiao camp OKs random testing

2011-07-12T05:05:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing promoter Bob Arum said the camp of Manny Pacquiao has agreed to random drug testing for the superfight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. to push through.

Arum said in an ESPN report that the Filipino boxing superstar agreed to random testing as long as it will be done by a neutral organization.

"We have agreed in the Pacquiao camp to unlimited random testing done by a responsible, neutral organization," Arum said. "We don't believe USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) is a neutral organization.”

Arum said they can arrange for an Olympic organization to handle the random drug testing.

He added that the drug tests will be supervised by an athletic commission respective of the state where the fight will take place.

"I don't think anybody's test is as vigorous as the test administered by the Olympic Organization,” said Arum.

Mayweather earlier said that he will only agree to a superfight against Pacquiao if the latter undergoes USADA random drug testing.

“If Mayweather says he's agreeable to us, then we can have the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight next year," said Arum.

Pacquiao is already scheduled for a third fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12.

Mayweather, on the other hand, will clash against Victor Ortiz on September 17.

Boxing observers believe Mayweather chose to fight the lefthanded Ortiz to prepare himself against Pacquiao, who is also a southpaw.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

New deflection in Mayweather-Pacquiao testing controversy: Fan’s take

2011-07-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

Garnering headlines and stoking the fading fire of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao mega-fight, Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum, just came out with a statement that can only be considered a Grade-A deflection and yet another hurdle that seems more focused on avoidance than compromise.

"We have agreed in the Pacquiao camp to unlimited random testing done by a responsible, neutral organization." Arum told AC/Yahoo. "We don't believe USADA is a neutral organization…When you have a Philippine fighter and an American fighter? Wouldn't it be better if it would be done by the Olympic drug-testing organization?"

The USADA that Arum is referring to is the United States Anti-Doping Agency, "the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sport in the United States."

The non-profit organization, almost completely funded through US government grant, works in conjunction with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the organization that handles all Olympic testing protocol for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). The USADA not only uses the exact same procedures and methodology, but they also report directly to WADA, as well as the International Olympic Committee.

In short, the USADA is the only approved organization to administer Olympic-style random testing within the boundaries of the United States. When WADA wants to conduct testing within the US, they turn to the USADA.

"I don't think anybody's test is as vigorous as the test administered by the Olympic Organization," Arum said in the same interview.

But, the USADA does adhere to the same testing protocol. As a matter of fact, they are the ones who actually do the testing.

Arum's apparent new-found love of random testing can be seen as downright insulting to the intelligence of the fans. He supports Olympic-style testing, except not by the agency that actually does it.

The 79-year-old promoter also stated his mistrust of any blood testing not "done under the auspices of a boxing commission."

"We can arrange for the Olympic Organization to handle the test under the supervision of the Athletic commission respective of the state where the fight is going to be held," Arum declared. "USADA tests these two fighters and the Nevada State Athletic Commission is responsible for the fight. So, if one of the fighters is tested dirty, what can happen? I mean, nobody can sort this thing out. This is absolutely absurd!"

So, in essence, Arum is willing to compromise on Olympic-style testing for the fight, except not by the agency that would actually be able to handle it and only under the supervision of a boxing commission not really familiar with testing protocol and not even in favor of utilizing it within their own jurisdiction.

More and more, it looks as though the mega-fight between boxing's two biggest draws will forever be held up by rhetoric, half-truths, and empty words. And Bob Arum, one of the key figures in this mess, just seems content on adding more twists and turns to the already jumbled maze.

Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. His work can also be found on Fox Sports and The Boxing Tribune. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com

Anti-doping agency says no bias against Pacquiao

2011-07-12T05:02:00.001-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has no bias or prejudice against Manny Pacquiao or any other athlete.

This is what the agency told Examiner.com after Top Rank boss Bob Arum said that USADA was not a “neutral organization.”

Arum earlier announced that the Pacquiao camp had agreed to random drug testing for a superfight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., provided that the testing will be done by a neutral organization.

The boxing promoter said that USADA was not a neutral organization and that they can arrange for an Olympic organization to handle the random drug testing.

But USADA’s media relations manager, Annie Skinner, said there is no bias against Pacquiao.

“We certainly do not have a bias against any athlete,” Skinner said. “We do not have a bias (favoring) one athlete over another. All athletes are presumed to be clean until such time as they are proven otherwise.”

Arum had alleged that the head of USADA, lawyer Travis Tygart, favors Mayweather. Tygart had previously referred to Mayweather in public as “the clean athlete.”

Skinner asserted that the USADA is the gold standard for drug testing in the United States.

“We completely adhere to all the international standards as promulgated by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency),” Skinner said. “No other organization in the US does the type of gold standard testing that we do."

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao vs Mayweather won't happen! - Schaefer

2011-07-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, doesn't expect a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao to take place in 2012. Both of the boxers have fights scheduled for the fall. Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight crown against Juan Manuel Marquez in a trilogy bout on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, while Mayweather will challenge WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz on September 18, which also takes place at the MGM Grand.

Despite both fighters having commitments for the fall, the boxing public continues to chant for a mega-fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. But Schaefer is confident the fight won't happen, and it doesn't have anything to do with money or random Olympic style drug testing. Schaefer has no doubt that Ortiz will defeat Mayweather in September.

"Victor is in an amazing position. He is able to face the best fighter in the world. A fighter who hasn't fought in 16 months [by the time of the fight] and has had a lot of distractions outside of the ring that he's had to deal with. Let's face it, he can't hurt Victor Ortiz, but Victor can hurt him," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com's Luis Sandoval.

"I don't think the [Pacquiao vs Mayweather] fight is going to happen. And I don't think that it's not going to happen because Mayweather doesn't want to do it or Pacquiao doesn't want to do it....or the split or the drug testing. I'll tell you what's going to be the reason on why the fight is not going to happen. The reason is - Victor Ortiz is going to beat Floyd Mayweather."

Source: boxingscene.com

Judge denies Mayweather appeal on Pacquiao case

2011-07-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Undefeated prizefighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have to give testimony to lawyers for rival Manny Pacquiao sooner than he wants after a federal judge in Las Vegas denied his request to push back a deposition in a defamation case.

In a lawsuit first filed in 2009, Pacquiao claims Mayweather and his camp defamed him by saying he used performance-enhancing drugs.

U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks this week denied Mayweather a protective order excusing him from a deposition that was scheduled June 17. Mayweather missed the deposition, and Pacquiao's lawyers said at the time that they planned to seek a default judgment as a result.

Mayweather gave no legal basis for asking to overturn a lower judge's order to hold the deposition, Hicks said in his ruling.

"Mayweather Jr. does not provide any points and authorities in support of his motion other than to state that this court should reverse the magistrate's order," Hicks said.
Hicks did not award Pacquiao a default judgment.

Mayweather's lawyer didn't return messages seeking comment from The Associated Press. In the appeal, he asked to hold a hearing to talk about the boxer's training regimen as he prepares for a Sept. 17 fight against welterweight champion Victor Ortiz.

Pacquiao's lawyers countered that the appeal was irrelevant, in part because they tried several times to set a date that would have worked for Mayweather before his training camp and promotional tour started. Ten previous dates were rejected, Pacquiao's attorneys said.

The suit was originally filed as both sides were negotiating terms on what many believe would be the richest fight in history. The talks fell apart over demands from Mayweather that the fight use more stringent drug testing than what is required under Nevada regulations. Mayweather wanted blood tests up to 14 days before the fight, while Pacquiao claimed he feels weak after drawing blood and would not agree to testing within 24 days.

In New York this week, Mayweather said he has talked about athletes overall using drugs, not specifically Pacquiao.

"I've never said that Manny Pacquiao was taking steroids, I never said he was taking enhancement drugs," Mayweather said.

"It's not just Pacquiao, it's sports, period," Mayweather said. "If you look at sports in the Olympics, they're cheating. Everyone is cheating. And I never once said Manny Pacquiao was cheating, only thing I said was this: Me and any other opponent I face must take the test."

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Floyd: Mosley told me to demand drug test

2011-07-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines – Controversial boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has claimed that a former opponent of Manny Pacquiao advised him to insist his drug test demand against Filipino superstar.

Mayweather said in a video posted on Fighthype.com that he was able to get in touch with "Sugar" Shane Mosley following the latter's defeat to Pacquiao last May.

"Me and Shane talked and he told me the truth. These words that Shane told me: 'Floyd, if I was you, I'll make Pacquiao take the test,'" said the outspoken American boxer.

Mayweather had repeatedly insinuated that the Filipino champion was into performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

This forced Pacquiao to pursue a defamation suit against Mayweather.

The American boxer, however, snubbed a court-ordered deposition in relation to Pacquiao's defamation case.

Who called who?
Mayweather made the claim during the press tour for his upcoming fight against Victor Ortiz.

"Once you guys meet up with Shane Mosley, ask him what he told me…I talked to Shane Mosley on the phone. I didn't call nobody, I don't have Shane's number, but I was able to get in touch with Shane," said Mayweather.

Mosley suffered a lopsided decision to the power-punching Pacquiao last May. The Filipino scored a 3rd-round knockdown en route to the unanimous decision win.

Mayweather also boasted that he is a better fighter than Pacquiao, citing that he can adapt to any kind of opponent.

He claimed that he quickly rose to stardom compared to Pacquiao.

"He was pro before me but he was a preliminary fighter. And I moved quickly," said Mayweather.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Floyd: Manny Pacquiao you’re next !

2011-06-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Mayweather gave Ortiz plenty of credit, insisting he would never lose sight of his next fight, but still, his comments came back to the Philippine congressman.

"I’m never going to overlook a guy like Victor Ortiz," Mayweather said. "He’s young, he’s strong and he’s the WBC welterweight champion of the world. ... To be the best, you got to beat the best in front of you.

"We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and yes, Manny Pacquiao you’re next."

Mayweather last fought May 1, 2010, defeating Shane Mosley in Las Vegas. Ortiz’s layoff has been drastically shorter, winning the WBC belt from Andre Berto in April.

Source: bostonherald.com

Mayweather: I never said Pacquiao is on steroids!

2011-06-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (AP)—It seems Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will be forever linked, regardless of whether they ever face each other in the ring.

The two have danced around the richest fight in boxing for several years, unable to come to terms. Meanwhile, their animosity has grown to the point that Pacquiao has a pending defamation lawsuit alleging Mayweather unfairly accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs.

So it’s not surprising that Mayweather spent just as much time answering questions about Pacquiao on Tuesday as he did about Victor Ortiz, the welterweight champion whom he’ll face in his next fight on Sept. 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I’ve never said that Manny Pacquiao was taking steroids, I never said he was taking enhancement drugs,” said Mayweather, who failed to turn up for a court-ordered deposition in Las Vegas earlier this month involving the defamation suit.

“I want to fight the best they got out there, not just him, the best they got out there,” Mayweather said, “and if he’s on the list as one of the best guys, then absolutely.”

Mayweather said he’s willing to fight Pacquiao if there is random blood and urine testing, which is more stringent than the protocol used by most state athletic associations. Mayweather said Pacquiao’s team would only agree to blood and urine testing at certain times.

“It’s not just Pacquiao, it’s sports, period,” Mayweather said. “If you look at sports in the Olympics, they’re cheating. Everyone is cheating. And I never once said Manny Pacquiao was cheating, only thing I said was this: Me and any other opponent I face must take the test.”

Mayweather will be returning to the ring for the first time since defeating Shane Mosley in May 2010, though the undefeated former champion has made plenty of news since then.

Last Friday, 21-year-old Anthony Cliff filed a lawsuit accusing Mayweather of ordering his bodyguards to attack the man outside the Palms Casino Resort on March 27, 2010.

The lawsuit accuses Mayweather of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention of employees.

Mayweather also faces felony charges stemming from a domestic argument and misdemeanor harassment and battery charges in separate cases.

“When you’re young, black and rich, you go through things in life,” Mayweather said. “But I’m a strong individual. I can survive through anything.”

Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, declined to discuss the litigation.

“We focus on the business part and the boxing part,” Ellerbe said. “We let the attorneys handle the legal stuff.”

Mayweather and Ellerbe joined several hundred fans inside the Hudson Theater in New York City to kick off a promotional tour for the fight against Ortiz, who is coming off a career-defining victory over Andre Berto that made him the WBC welterweight champion.

Ortiz said he doesn’t mind that people want to talk about Pacquiao—even if that person is Mayweather—because he’s staring at the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I’m supposed to be a piece of nothing, I’m not supposed to be here, according to the statistics,” said Ortiz, whose parents abandoned him when he was young, forcing him and his five siblings to live in foster care. “I’m tired of, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that.”’

Early in his career, Ortiz was anointed the next Mexican-American superstar by Oscar De La Hoya, whose company promotes him. But his meteoric rise met a wall when he fought Marcos Maidana two years ago. Ortiz was losing after six rounds and essentially quit in the ring, one boxing’s cardinal sins, and fans and the media were quick to write him off.

Ortiz has been spectacular on the slow road to redemption, though, and in April climbed off the canvas twice to beat Berto as the heavy underdog and win the welterweight championship.

“I realize he’s a great fighter, but since I was 9 years old, I always said I’d fight Mayweather one day as champion of the world, and check it out,” Ortiz said. “It’s crazy.”

Ortiz said he asked to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao after his most recent fight, even though he heard whispers from people—including some in his own promotional company—who said he was overmatched or out of his mind. But he wanted to fight the best in the world, and depending who you ask, he may have achieved that by landing a shot at Mayweather.

As for Mayweather’s plan to fight Pacquiao next?

“There’s only one problem,” Ortiz said. “I’m fighting Pacquiao next.”

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Paquiao keeping an eye on Mayweather

2011-06-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao is taking Floyd Mayweather’s scheduled fight with Victor Ortiz as a sign of good things to come.

“Maybe he wants to fight me now,” said Pacquiao in a recent interview with ABS-CBN before he took off for a quiet vacation with his family in Boracay.

The pound-for-pound champion has been in the island paradise for almost a week now, staying in a place owned by his close friend Luis “Chavit” Singson.

Pacquiao was supposed to leave for the United States last Sunday for a previous commitment. But there was a change of plan, and instead the entire family flew to Boracay.

Pacquiao said Mayweather choosing Ortiz, a 24-year-old southpaw, as his opponent on Sept. 17 could be taken as a sign that the American is gearing up for the Filipino congressman.

Mayweather hasn’t fought since May of 2010, when he outpointed Shane Mosley, and coming out of his shell to fight Ortiz is something that left a lot of people guessing on his immediate plans.

“Maybe that’s why he chose to fight a southpaw,” said Pacquiao.

Twice over the last couple of years, a superfight between Pacquiao and Mayweather came close to happening. But for various reasons it never happened, and others have given up on it.

But there’s too much money on the table that sooner or later, perhaps by the first quarter of 2012, it might happen.

Pacquiao vs Mayweather would be the richest fight in boxing. Both fighters stand to earn no less than $40 million each for the fight, even as recent stories said Mayweather is asking for $100 million or the fight won’t happen at all.

Pacquiao has been busy through the years beating up bigger foes like Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Mosley. He said he’s ready to fight Mayweather anytime, anywhere.

It’s just a matter of the promoters agreeing to do the fight, according to Pacquiao, and both fighters agreeing on the drug-testing procedure.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, felt the same way when it was announced that the undefeated American, now 34, had chosen Ortiz (29-2-2 with 22 knockouts) as his next foe.

“Of course, that’s the first thing I thought,” Roach was quoted as saying of Mayweather’s fight with the reigning WBC welterweight champion and fellow American.

Pacquiao said he can only wait and see what the future holds, what Mayweather wants.

For the meantime, he’s enjoying Boracay with his wife and kids, and looking forward to his November clash with Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Good luck sa kanya (Mayweather),” said Pacquiao.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. skips deposition

2011-06-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Floyd Mayweather Jr. defied a court order Friday when he failed to appear for a deposition in the defamation lawsuit filed in Las Vegas by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather tried to postpone the deposition at the last minute, but federal magistrate Judge Robert Johnston denied his request Thursday and ordered Mayweather to appear Friday.

Pacquiao is suing Mayweather, along with his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., and uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather, over statements they made accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs for his fights.

Pacquiao, boxing's only eight-division champion and a reigning welterweight titleholder, denies he has ever used PEDs.

"Mr. Mayweather maliciously leveled false accusations about Mr. Pacquiao. We are anxious to examine him under oath about those statements," Daniel Petrocelli, Pacquiao's attorney, said in a statement. "He is just dodging his deposition because he is afraid to testify, but he has no right to defy a court order."

Leonard Ellerbe, a Mayweather adviser, told ESPN.com, "This is a legal matter and we're not allowed to comment on it."

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Mayweather ordered to testify in Pacquiao case

2011-06-17T02:36:00.000-07:00

Pacquiao vs Mayweather will not be in the ring anytime soon. As Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been ordered by a judge to testify starting Friday in a case involving pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao.

On Thursday, Federal Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston denied an emergency motion filed by Mayweather, who is being sued by Pacquiao. Mayweather is being led to court for allegedly using defamatory statements accusing Pacquiao of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

The news comes nearly three weeks after Pacquiao settled his defamation lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer over allegations that Pacquiao used PEDs. The lawsuit against De La Hoya and Schaefer was settled on confidential terms and dismissed.

Mayweather was also named in the original suit, filed in December 2009, which stemmed from the contentious leadup to a possible fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao the following year.

Mayweather and Pacquiao never fought, at least in part because Pacquiao wouldn't agree to the Olympic-level drug testing suggested by Mayweather.

The next fight for Mayweather is scheduled for September 17 against Victor Ortiz for the WBC welterweight title.

Source: miamiherald.com

Pacquiao vs Mayweather will happen after all

2011-06-10T01:17:00.000-07:00

After Manny Pacquiao agreed to fight Marquez this November, Floyd Mayweather was just silently negotiating for a fight. It was reported first on the forums after a poster had seen it on boxrec.com that Mayweather vs Ortiz will be fighting. At first I didn’t believed it since boxrec.com is sometimes not really credible. Second, Mayweather’s choice was really Andre Berto but he was upset against Ortiz. And lastly his court hearings that will be his hindrance in getting back to the ring.

Not until Mayweather announced this week via his Twitter account that he will fight Victor Ortiz for WBC 147 Belt this September. And that is the reason why Mayweather is preparing for Pacquiao bout next year. Ortiz just like Pacquiao is a lefty and packs a power. Though Pacquiao has a blinding speed, Ortiz is not fast but they have similarity in weapons of choice the STRAIGHT LEFT.

Mayweather has really problems against lefty especially with a straight left, which his shoulder roll cannot block it. Picking Ortiz will be a good tune up for Mayweather thought slightly dangerous on the paper but it will be totally mismatch on the fight night.

Once Pacquiao and Mayweather dismantle their dance partner this year they could meet next year for 100 million each and could be the biggest fight in boxing history.

Floyd Be Floyd, Stop Begging Him To Fight Pacquiao!

2011-06-07T00:24:00.000-07:00

So he turned up his nose at $65 million bucks. Floyd Mayweather, with $65 million reasons to say yes, instead said no, I will not at this time fight Manny Pacquiao.

Difficult to believe, isn't it? We've all played the game "what would you do for a million dollars?" game with pals, and suffice to say, the bulk of us would allow ourselves to be semi debased and disgraced in exchange for securing a fat pile of loot. $65 million, even chopped up into portions for the taxman, and management types, is actually an obscene pile of loot.

The liberal softie in me does some math calculations in my head, dreams of all the good that $65 million could do. Starving kids in Africa could get plenty of nourishment for a long spell with that dough. You could build a real nice cancer wing in a big city hospital for that. And the jokester in me points out that you could get the IRS off your back if you owed him back taxes, if you said yes to $65 million.

But Floyd said no.

Promoter Bob Arum told videographer Elie Seckbach that despite his being an optimist, he now believes Mayweather will never fight Pacquiao. Arum said last week "legitimate people" from Signapore put $65 million on the table for Mayweather to meet Pacman, and "he turned it down...What does that tell you? It tells you he doesn't want to fight Manny Pacquiao."

"Everybody who knows boxing knows Manny Pacquiao would clean his clock," said Arum, skillfully speaking to Mayweather's ego, trying to get him to take the bait, and spurn all those people who know boxing. (By the way, count me out in this Arum scenario...I still lean toward Mayweather, one of if not THE best defender boxing has ever seen, if and when he and Pacquiao meet. I thought Manny took a half step back against Mosley, and wasn't impressed at times with his footwork as he tried to track down Mosley, who was in "not be hit" mode for 95% of the night.)

Arum said Floyd's legacy will take a hit if he doesn't fight Manny, that his record should be 41-1, because he has ducked Manny.

You might think that I will now delve into conjecture, and ponder reasons why Mayweather hasn't embraced the challenge. You might suspect that I will offer my belief that Mayweather enjoys the thrill of the chase as much as the actual preparation and combat, that he gets off on being wooed, on being romanced. You might think I'll offer some speculation on his psyche, talk about his fear of losing, of a fragility of ego. But I won't.

It's time for all of us to ditch the speculation, end the water cooler chats, cease the discussion as to why Mayweather won't fight Pacquiao.

Mayweather has made up his mind, and we have reached the point where the situation is ludicrous. Too much time has been wasted on trying to convince this man to do something he's not inclined to do. For two years, the keyboard tappers have churned out column after column, talking about blood tests, and PED allegations, and played amateur shrink as we covered the "will he or won't he" drama...Well, the drama has become stale, played out. The plotlines have been exhausted. There is nothing new, nothing fresh to be reported. What's next, Floyd will be offered $100 million to fight Pacquiao, and will turn that down?

Let's move on and deal with the concrete, with athletes who unabashedly seek the the challenges that make great sportsmen into legends. Let's focus on the people who don't shrink from the possibility of failure, for whatever reason, and luxuriate in what it is that makes them what they are. Let's let Mayweather fade away, build his brand, brag about his bets, however he wants to spend his time, and if and when he's ready to rock, and sign on to meet Manny, then we'll play along.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Mayweather's Below the Belt Tactics against Pacquiao

2011-05-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his camp will do anything to be constantly in the shadows of Saranggani Congressman Manny Pacquiao. While Mayweather and company have made it pretty tough for the much-awaited Pacquiao-Mayweather clash to materialize, they are making sure that they won’t be left out in the cold - at least not yet.

Notorious for making all the excuses a person can think of, Mayweather is known as the author of blowing up the much publicized steroid and performance-enhancing drugs issue pointing to the Saranggani Congressman. The issue has drawn varied reactions from pro and anti-Pacquiao camps but just the same, nothing has been proven and Manny is simply laughing them off.

It has been an irritating issue that has recurred and become pointless. Medical professionals have openly deliberated on the matter, sharing their medical inputs concerning the potential aftermath of using such banned substances. Regardless, the issue has become a broken record and is notably up in the air prior and after Pacquiao enters the ring.

On the professional side, Pacquiao is simply minding his business and continues to take on comers. Even without Mayweather in the list, the Pacquiao main events have been box office hits any boxing fan looks forward to. In fact, the probability of seeing Pacquiao retiring without facing Mayweather looms should the latter continue with his arrogant stand.

As for the unbeaten and rapidly aging Mayweather, his stars are slowly falling. Already stricken out of the pound for pound circle, he has managed to accumulate lawsuits and charges one after the other. The last of these series of problems is that of a criminal complaint which claimed that the former pound for pound king has committed two misdemeanor acts of harassment (LA Times Blog).

As for the PacMan, the mental attacks continue. The Mayweather camp starring Floyd Jr., his father Floyd Sr. and lately even his uncle, are out to try and tarnish the Pambansang Kamao’s credibility for as long as they can.

Foul as it may seem, the strategy is simply to stay in circulation to make sure that Mayweather is not totally erased (or forgotten) in the boxing circle. And by golly, it has been working at the expense of the Filipino prized boxer.

Saranggani Congressman Manny Pacquiao has once again opened the books on possibly pushing through with his planned lawsuits against the Mayweather camp. If ever Pacquiao resorts to step one, you can bet Mayweather to once again keep quiet and wait for everything to cool down.

However, that is a conservative approach. And if ever the Pacquiao camp does decide to pursue this case, it looks like they now have to get in line with the many cases the Floyd Mayweather Jr. has to deal with.

Source: mb.com.ph

Mayweather to Pacquiao - "Just take the test"

2011-05-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr in a recent 8 part video interview conducted by FightHype.com showed the fans his robe and boots that he had already designed for the fight Vs. Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather says that he was under the impression that the fight was a go. Floyd tells the fans that he had agreed to his end of the bargain, but that Pacquiao never did.

Listen to Part 8 of the interview HERE

The 8 part video interview does shed some light on Mayweather's side of things. 8CN gives all sides a fair shake, so we will give credit where credit is due and report what Floyd had to say during the interview.

Throughout the interview Mayweather on more than one occasion said, "Just take the test." This of course meaning that Pacquiao take random blood tests up to the day of the fight. The video interview gives boxing fans an opportunity to see Floyd away from boxing and in a more relaxed type of atmosphere. The multiple part interview gave Mayweather an opportunity to clear some things up that according to Floyd were misreported.

8CN has reported on more than one occasion that Floyd has indeed helped the homeless folks in Vegas and that he has done good charity work. This being said, we also reported on the arrests that were made on him, and his rants on Twitter and YouTube. Nobody is perfect, and Floyd is a human being just like the rest of us are.

Floyd has said some hateful things toward Filipinos in the past, so he will have quite a bit of damage control to do in order to regain some of their respect. That being said, it's not too late for Floyd to do what he has to do in order to regain a lot of support that he has lost over the past few years.

In the video interview, the fans do get to see a more relaxed and much less cocky Floyd Mayweather Jr. There is no doubt that Floyd knows how to sell tickets, and he plays the bad guy role like no other. Hopefully he can get the legal issues behind him, and we can get back to focusing on boxing again.

8CN will be reaching out to Team Pacquiao in the VERY near future for their side of things.

Source: 8countnews.com

Peddling bad blood

2011-05-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

It’s no shame to confess that I chose to joining issues with the mainstream, after all, over the frenzy and hoopla generated by the speculated ring encounter between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather for all the marbles. It’s been so tempting.

Pro boxing could well steal the thunder in a year (2011) both the Olympics and the World (football) Cup are on vacation. But, whereas the companion world heavyweight title unification fixture involving the Klitschko dynasty (Vs Englishman David Haye) is confirmed, Pacman Vs Mayweather remains the king-sized speculation it has been since a few smart alecs first came up with the idea nearly two years ago.

My friend and colleague, Stanley Opokuma, keeps wondering aloud if ever – and, indeed, when – this presumed mega-event that is expected to surpass any other fixture in the history of ring combat will come up. At this moment of writing, it is still nowhere close to confirming both camps have accepted the challenges and paved the way for formalities to get underway.

Predictably, it is the view of the vast majority that the blitzkrieging Pacquiao will account for the Pretty Boy the same way he had left his last 13 opponents mangled, since embarking on the amazing trans-divisional invasion that has seen the Filipino win 10 titles scanning seven weight classes. Methinks it is because he has never met Mayweather.

It is the established thinking in boxing circles that a boxer – no matter how good he is – tends to leave his punch behind him as he transits to higher categories. True enough, proven ring legends from the past, including Robert ‘Hands of Stone’ Duran and Henry Armstrong, merely overwhelmed their foes with guile and sheer volume of punches thrown.

Pacquiao has proved to be exception to the proven theory, delivering improved versions of the same consuming aggression and punch that is his major forte as one that cannot be resisted by any boxer 147 pounds and under.

However, it is the new shape this cherished event is taking that bothers me. No matter what, boxing is a sport that is played by normal humans, as opposed to the sister wrestling which is largely determined by actors/actresses following the script.

Not that boxing has never had its own script and actors. Perhaps the most notable actor of them all has to be Muhammad Ali who was the game’s greatest salesman. Whatever he did during his active fighting days was intended to promote/sell tickets for his bouts.

Ali called his opponents names for which he may not have been pardoned till this day. He called Joe Frazier an Uncle Tom at the time Ali was contending with the US establishment. Next, he called him a gorilla in the days leading to the memorable Thriller in Manila in 1975.

At that time, Muhammad Ali was beginning to feel the threat of losing his place to a rival who was the main factor while he (Ali) remained inactive. But it was all so decently orchestrated as it left no bad blood with the generality of the populace till this day.

Floyd Mayweather feels the threat of losing his place he had earned during his fighting days. It is 40 months Pretty Boy has been out of contention since dispatching Englishman Ricky Hatton in defense of his welterweight marbles December 2007. He has engaged in just two non-threatening non-title contests vs Juan Marquez and Shane Mosley.

In Mayweather’s absence, Pacquiao has taken over every available space with truly breath-taking performances that have caught all attention. Which leaves the immediate ex-Pound-for-Pound king with very little left.

But while Ali went about the campaign to reclaim his glory from Frazier in a decent way, same cannot be said of what Pretty Boy is up to. Thus far, Mayweather has embarked on a smear campaign that is only marginally short of calling the Filipino an abnormal human activated by drugs.

When Mayweather first demanded Pacman undergo a special blood test a week from the contest as part of the conditions to which acceptance of the proposition is subject, it raised eyebrows questioning the American’s courage. But that was only the beginning of a far more sinister campaign orchestrated underground.

Currently, there’s a flood-gate of internet letters referring to Pacquiao as gay and coming from a country of indecent citizens not fit to live among decent people. It is not known how Pacman and his countrymen are reacting – or will react – to this rather unsporting campaign intended to brand an entire nation in the negative.

To be fair to Mayweather, it is not established that he is directly in link with this new development. Yet, considering his past antecedents which clearly portray him as a brash young man lacking in discipline and self-control, posting such a bill on Pacman is not beyond him.

Outside the ring, I have had the privilege of encountering Pacquiao who, certainly, has a lot to show besides his dizzying accomplishments. His private lifestyle that has thus far, not brought him into any controversy, coupled with his election as a honorable Congressman in his native Philippines, are feats Floyd may never dream of in his whole lifetime.

Source: vanguardngr.com

Manny Pacquiao: Boxing Needs to Step Up

2011-05-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

It was an incredible sports weekend RSR fans, but for a moment, forgive me. As I loved the fight between Pacquiao vs Mosley resulting in a clear cut victory for my beloved Pacquiao, my team, my former defending NBA World Champion Los Angeles Lakers are OUT of the playoffs.

I was on a high on Saturday after the Pacquiao win, but after Sunday, I’m ehhh.

It is that finally emoticon that summarizes how I might feel after a blah date. But please, no tears RSR Readers, I am here, ready to give you my take on the Mosley – Pacquiao bout. And you know what, it’s not pretty – about as bad, if not worse than how my Lakers did against the Mavericks. But give me a moment, I’m just wallowing.

I’ll start with the obvious post fight visual. After the winner was announced, did all of you catch a glimpse of Mosley’s face and skull? He took a few hits from Pacquiao and stated, as he removed an ice pack, “Pacquiao has power.” Mosley should have taken more risks and create an offense, but as one Showtime commentator stated, “Mosley showed all the signs of the aging fighter.”

Throughout the fight, Mosley found himself mostly retreating, unable to counter effectively and create an effective offense and defense. In other words, his mind was “willing, but his body not” willing to take a risk and attack. Mosley looked surprised, but felt the brunt of Pacquiao’s power.

As for Pacquiao, he fared pretty well against Mosley. He looked a bit more cautious in his offense and his tremendous output of punches was cut in half. First, Paquiao admitted at the end of the bout that he had “leg issues and it was less than a perfect performance.” One commentator stated, Pacquiao was “without his A-game, but still won.” This bout demonstrated that Pacquiao is a more disciplined and fit fighter and he seems to do well at 145 lbs. I think any heavier than 145 pounds, Pacquiao may lose his performance speed.

More significantly, if Pacquiao should fight anyone heavier, he could feel the impact of the power more. If you look a little more closely at Pacquiao, his right eye was also a bit swollen, which means that Mosley connected a few as well. Pacquiao is a much better boxer technically and has a controlled, effective aggression and he earned the judges’ scorecards. In defense of his WBO Welterweight title, the final scorecards read as follows: 119-108, 120-108, and 120-107.

So, RSR readers, the bout wasn’t even close.

So, that’s the post fight assessment. With every Pacquiao bout, I usually give Pacquiao about two or three rounds to figure out his opponents. But in this bout, whether or not his legs tightened up, Pacquiao did not produce very many punches from all angles as he normally does.

According to one stat, Pacquiao landed 182 of 552 punches along with 48 jabs of 268. As we know from both the Clottey and Margarito bouts, he usually produces over 1,000 punches in a bout without expending too much energy. Pacquiao will win a fight because his productivity is endless and he doesn’t allow his opponent to ever look busier. Mosley perhaps, in his reluctance, couldn’t put together the amount of punches he needed to show he could take the fight away from Pacquiao. In the opening round, Mosley did his best to make solid shots to the body. Pacquiao also looked relaxed and had a tentative offense as he tried to figure out Mosley.

In the 2nd round, there was a clash of heads, but Pacquiao put together enough combinations to show that he was about to take control of the fight. Finally, it happened, in the 3rd round, Pacquiao landed a solid left hook and Mosley got knocked down convincingly as the champion fighter had a glazed look on his face while he was on the mat.

Had Pacquiao been a heavier, KO puncher, he could have ended the fight. But since Mosley hasn’t ever been knocked out, a KO result would have been a tough one for Pacquiao to pull off.

So, RSR fans, the fight continued…and continued. And, not much to really comment on. Pacquiao was winning the bout. He was a more tactically strong boxer. But then, in the 10th round, Mosley scored a knockdown, in what really, fight fans, looked like a push.

I think Mosley even looked surprised.

The bout ended with a dazed Mosley just wondering how it is the Filipino fighter managed to generate his power. It left no doubt for Mosley that Pacquiao is the best pound for pound fighter. And, he should know, he’s faced Mayweather JR and he lost. But give credit to Mosley for making a fight with Pacquiao happen. It’s definitely more than can be said about Mayweather JR.

It’s definitely sad to say that I have to agree with the Showtime commentators that Sugar Shane Mosley definitely showed he has to reconsider the ‘R’ word in boxing – retirement. Although his body may be willing, he was really outclassed mentally and psychologically.

Mosley has shown heart throughout his career and he provided great challenges to his opponents, but he is definitely a different Mosley than from 10 years ago. And, it’s the naturally progression of a boxing career. Mosley should be proud that he went the distance against the best boxer in the world and he really didn’t need this bout. But actually, he showed a courageous fight against a superior boxer. He even took a pay cut, so to speak, by accepting $5 million for the fight as Pacquiao was guaranteed $20 million.

I also give a nod to Showtime and Top Rank for making the bout a premier event. I admit that I am used to HBO Commentators Jim Lampley, Emanuel Stewart, and Larry Merchant. And, I missed the Lederman card. But, there was something more straight laced in this bout. With the Super Six Middleweight Tournament coming to a close, Showtime and its commentators have provided a fresh new voice to boxing and have revamped the sport and spectacle of a sport that definitely needs some excitement.

So, as I write this article, internet rumors are whirling. I don’t read them all because we all know that not everything we read on the internet is true. Regardless, the rumor afloat right now is that Floyd “Money” Mayweather, JR may be fighting Victor “Vicious” Ortiz, 29-2-2, 22 KO’s. Do you remember Ortiz? He fought against Andre Berto, 27-1, 21 KO’s in April and earned the 12 round unanimous decision for the WBC Welterweight title.

Ortiz is also currently ranked #2 among welterweights. Mosley is now ranked #3 and Berto ranks at #4. Noticeably absent from the list? Floyd Mayweather, JR remains absent as well as inactive. With the current state of boxing, the sport needs a big bout and the only bout that should happen is Pacquiao vs Mayweather JR. The bout needs to happen. And luckily there is still enough time in the year to make the mega-bout the premier fight of the year.

So far now, as I mourn the loss of my Lakers, I’d offer that with this bout, Manny Pacquiao won the bout convincingly as a skilled, powerful, and technical fighter. And, right now, he can and will take on anyone willing to fight him.

ringsidereport.com

Fans want Pacquiao vs Mayweather

2011-05-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines — Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao scored another ho-hum victory by outfoxing, outhitting and overpowering Sugar Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao’s unanimous decision victory was cheered by the millions of fans over at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and the people who watched the match via pay-per-view. Others were glued to their radios where the outcome had already been known as early as lunch time in Manila.

Among the highlights of the bout included that 3rd round knockdown and the controversial push that merited a count from referee Kenny Bayless in the 10th round. Mosley, who chose to fight defensively and dodge Manny’s attacks got booed even if the “Pambansang Kamao” tried his best to give the fans a good show.

As per promoter Bob Arum, they will be sitting down next week to discuss who Pacquiao’s next opponent will be.

The names of Juan Miguel Marquez and Timothy Bradley have been mentioned although based on reports, Marquez will be his next opponent this coming November.

While the third installment of the Pacquiao-Marquez match-up appears interesting, fans would like to Pacquiao collide with the controversial Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Negotiations were made before but Mayweather’s demands have become too much for Pacquiao’s camp (which included that Olympic-style drug testing rant), a sign that Mayweather may indeed be just trying to make excuses to avoid a confrontation with the pound-for-pound king.

At the time of these negotiations, Pacquiao and Mayweather were practically on the equal footing.

With Mayweather being taken out of the list and at the same time in trouble with all the lawsuits, a light of hope may yet rekindle that this much awaited dream match where Pacquiao obviously has the upper hand right now.

But the earliest that this could happen is probably by 2012 after the brewing bout between Pacquiao and Marquez.

Pacquiao and Marquez first met in 2004 where the match ended in a questionable draw. Marquez got floored three times in the first round in their match but still managed to escape with a draw.

Source: mb.com.ph

Floyd Mayweather: No Manny Pacquiao Next, but Maybe Champion Victor Ortiz

2011-05-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

Floyd Mayweather and No Manny Pacquiao Next, but Maybe Champion Victor Ortiz

While Floyd Mayweather won’t admit that he watched the Manny Pacquiao fight, I bet my bottom dollar that he was watching it closely.

Mayweather is scared and now it looks like he will try to dodge the Pacquiao bullet again by fighting WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz.

Ortiz tells Kansan.com:

Next, Ortiz will face Floyd Mayweather Jr. The details of the fight are still being worked out, but Ortiz said contracts should be signed soon.

“I have been striving for success, to be that All-American and to be all that I can,” Ortiz said.

MUST READ: Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley: "Sugar" Shane's Sweetest Knockouts (With Video)

While I feel Mayweather is the better fighter, Ortiz has the ability to rock a rusty fighter that doesn’t take him serious. I hope this is just the appetizer for Mayweather and he is eyeing Pacquiao as his main dish.

While this all sounds good, there are serious flaws in Ortiz story.

Ortiz tells KUSports.com:

WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, a native of Garden City, told the Journal-World on Tuesday night that he plans to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.

“I just need to look at the contract and make sure everything is OK. It’s not 100 percent sure yet, but that’s what I’m setting my sights on.”

I want to believe him, but it doesn’t seem likely. September 16 is a Friday and there are other big fights scheduled that weekend including the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito Rematch on September 17 in Las Vegas.

Source: bleacherreport.com

Shane Mosley Says Pacquiao the Strongest Puncher He's Faced

2011-05-10T02:49:00.000-07:00

Shane Mosley has been in the ring with some guys who can punch, and some great fighters.

Since turning pro in 1993, Mosley has faced a who's who list of star fighters during his era. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar de la Hoya (twice), Vernon Forrest (twice), Winky Wright (twice), Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Ricardo Mayorga, Fernando Vargas (twice), and many other top fighters.

Last night, the 39-year-old Mosley was a clearly spent force in the ring, and in the third round, he was sent to the canvas. The expression on Mosley's face, if you go back and watch it, appears to be honest surprise. Lem Satterfield of BoxingScene.com reports that Mosley's expression was the real deal:

"I'm not sure if there weren't openings that I couldn't pull the trigger on, but there were shots that I couldn't see. I've been knocked down by Vernon Forrest, so that was a strong knockout punch. But this second time, that couldn't compete with Manny Pacquiao," said Mosley.

"I was pretty hurt. I was pretty stunned. It surprised me, because I didn't think that it was a big shot when he threw it. But Manny Pacquiao was very strong," said Mosley.

Part of this is probably that Shane Mosley is, you know, 39 years old and all that, but Shane has taken some strong punches over the years, and taken them as well as anyone. His chin has been proven time and again as exceptional. And not only did Mosley obviously feel Manny's power and hit the mat, but it seemed to stay in his mind the rest of the fight. Even more than having difficulty pulling the trigger, Mosley tried his damnedest to stay away from Manny Pacquiao for the rest of the fight. Shane Mosley has never run before. Last night, you can say

Source: badlefthook.com

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather jr have a new opponent in Tim Bradley

2010-07-10T21:37:00.001-07:00

He is still a nobody in the top boxing world but Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather jr have a new opponent in Tim Bradley

There is a new challenge to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Though he is still being taken as nobody but he aspires to fight the two fighters some day in the near future.

Tim Bradley is an emerging fighter and his powerful punches are already talk of the boxing world.

In his weight class 140 pound, he is among the most promising boxers and is yet to find a boxer who could beat him. Now this frail looking boxer is looking towards meeting the top two fighters some day in the boxing ring.

In a recent interview he talked everything from his being the top boxer in the world to the one who could beat Manny and Mayeather saying that after some time the world would demand that Manny Pacquiao face him.

In a freewheeling interview he said, “And if Manny Pacquiao's still going to still be in the game, then, it's going to be inevitable that he will have to fight me. Trust me. The fight fans, the media, everyone will be calling for the fight.”

Notwithstanding the big mouthed talk of Tim Bradley, he is still talking of probabilities. It is like Amir Khan taking on Mayweather Jr and Manny pacquiao.

Source: ndchronicle.com

Pacquiao may opt to fight Antonio Margarito outside US

2010-07-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

FILIPINO boxer Manny Pacquiao, a seven-weight-division winner, is willing to fight former world champion Antonio Margarito outside the United States if his mega bout against unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would not go on. Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz divulged to boxing.funhouse.com that Pacquiao (51-3-2 win-loss-draw with 38 knockouts) could also possibly hold a rematch against Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto (35-2 with 28 KOs).
Pacquiao seized Cotto’s World Boxing Organization’s welterweight belt in 2009.

For Margarito, he can’t fight Pacquiao in the US soil since his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission after an illegal hand-wrapping scandal in January 2009 when he beat Cotto.

“We are looking at a venue outside of the US, and it doesn’t make a difference whether it’s Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto. It’s not Mexico, but until I have a concrete deal in place, I don’t want to divulge what country that is,” said Koncz.

Margarito (38-6 with 27 Kos) is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision last May against Roberto Garcia in a junior middleweight clash that was fought in Mexico, which licensed him for the bout.
Margarito could not still apply a license in Nevada last week.

“But it doesn’t eliminate a possible fight against Manny. If Manny decides to fight Margarito, just because he got denied in Nevada—that’s not going to squash the fight,” he added.

Source: manilatimes.net

Money Talks: The Manny Pacquiao – Floyd Mayweather JR Superfight Complications

2010-07-10T21:20:00.001-07:00

ver the past few months professional boxing has delivered some good match- ups. The first half of this year has not been that bad! Even though the biggest fight of the decade fell apart, the sport continued to stride. With the access of HBO Sports, Showtime and ESPN2, boxing is alive and well. There have been some exciting fights on all of these networks.

We enjoy HBO Boxing, HBO Boxing After Dark, Showtime’s Super Six and ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. Some of these events were with the best fighters boxing has to offer, such as; Paul Williams, Sergio Martinez, Andre Berto, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Victor Ortiz, Joshua Clottey, Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather JR.

These fighters and there were some I didn’t mention here, have already fought in this first half of 2010. The sport is off to a good start. It seemed that most of the match ups went pretty well, even the negotiations.

Why is Floyd Mayweather JR. and Manny Pacquiao fight so complicated?

First of all, these two fighters are special, but human. Sometimes the bigger the demand, the more complicated it gets. The public has made these two special fighters immortals. To add to that, they know how important they are to boxing fans. Right now these two fighters are sitting at the very top of the world in boxing with their promoters strapped to their ankles.

Even though we have enjoyed some good fights this year, it seems the one everybody wants to see is Floyd “Money” Mayweather JR. vs. Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. It seems the boxing public do not care what other good match ups are out there and I’m sure there are some. Right now it seems nothing can fill this void, except that fight. Fight fans are like junkies needing a fix when it comes to these guys. These two fighters know the magnitude of this fight and what it’s worth in dollars, which has somewhat made them gods.

They are so big that their promoters have very little power over them. Turn the calendar back five years and these two fighters were known only by boxing fans, now they are both household names. When you think of one, you automatically think of the other. That’s why this fight has to happen. They are forever linked together even if a fight never materializes.

I don’t believe either fighter is afraid of the other. Fighting is what they are trained to do, it’s their job. Some believe the media and all the hype around it is what delaying this match. The promoters and the way they have handled things has made this fight complicated. What happen to the days when a both promoters get the signatures of their fighter, and then put together a contract they both agree on, then make the announcement?

Say what you want about Don King, I must admit, I can’t remember any of the big fights that he promoted in the past (and he’s promoted some big ones); go through this kind of behavior. This is ridiculous! These two fighters are in the position to take part in one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport, and they continue to drag their feet.

Marketing a fight is a good thing, but enough already… This fight doesn’t need anymore marketing. If it was a fruit it would have fallen off the tree already, “it can only get so ripe.” These two fighters are at the very top of their game right now and it would be sad to see this fight fall apart for a second time.

There should be no questions regarding the conditioning of these fighters come fight time, because neither fighter has showed problems in the past. Floyd Mayweather, JR., is undefeated as a boxer. He has beaten everyone who’s stepped in the ring with him. Winning is all he knows. Mayweather JR. is one of the smartest fighters in the ring today. He usually figures his opponent out within the first few rounds.

By the middle rounds, he starts to punish his opponents. It’s like watching something on the Discovery Channel. There are certain animals like the lion for instance. I’ve seen the lion catch its prey and not kill it right away. They seem to enjoy seeing their prey struggle first, before taking it out. Floyd Mayweather, JR., has displayed this type of embodiment in the ring against his opponents.

What makes Manny Pacquiao different from Mayweathers JR’s past opponens?

It is his will to win. He is a southpaw who is more skillful and hits harder than Zab Judah, the last southpaw Mayweather JR. faced. Judah gave Mayweather, JR., problems early in their fight. Manny Pacquiao has improved tremendously over the past few years. He brings everything he has, when he steps in the ring and lately, he’s been beating up elite fighters, left and right.

Fight fans already know if anyone out there who can give Floyd some problems or maybe even his first loss, is none other than Manny Pacquiao. That’s what makes this fight so exciting! Pacquiao has speed and power which keeps most of his opponents on their toes. He brings the fight to his opponents and once he gets into a rhythm he usually takes them out.

The biggest problem I see for Pacquiao, if and when this fight takes place is his defense. Well, some would say a good offense makes up for a bad defense, and in most cases this would be true, but not with Mayweather JR. No one knows how well their offense will work until in the ring with him. He is hard to hit clean. During the Shane Mosley fight back in early May; Mayweather JR. got hit clean in round two, but never hit clean again throughout the whole fight.

He has a way of making adjustments in the ring. If Pacquiao doesn’t move his head while fighting Floyd, he will get beaten badly. Trainer Freddie Roach better put in some serious work regarding the defense and head movement, because Floyd’s hands are lightening fast. He will not let Pacquiao get out a single round without tasting some leather. That’s the type of fighter he’s dealing with in “Money” Mayweather.

This fight can become very ugly going into the later rounds, if it ends up there. Floyd Mayweather JR. lives for big moments when he can shut up his haters. It’s these kinds of fights that he shows up very big, and usually wins by a large margin. As a boxing fan myself, I like both fighters and what they share alike is; they both seem to be great athletes who will put it all on the line to be known as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Tell me what individual would want to live his life 30 to 40 years from now, knowing that he walked away from what could have been the biggest fight in the history of boxing, only because there was a disagreement regarding random drug testing. It’s a given, either way these two names will forever be linked together, so why not give the boxing fans what they want and also pocket one of the biggest paychecks in the history of the sport?

Source: ringsidereport.com

Pacquiao set to slug it out in Congress

2010-07-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines—The world’s best pound-for-pound boxer is raring to slug it out in the political arena where he promised to be vocal, productive and always present.

“For me, I don’t consider it as an achievement my election as a congressman. It is my ambition to help those who have long wanted to get help from government. It’s just like boxing, I dreamed of becoming a world champion. Now, my dream is to become a good public servant and good leader of Sarangani,” said Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao after attending a special orientation program for neophyte lawmakers Thursday.

Pacquiao said he had already expressed his interest in joining the House committees on sports and on energy and he was eager to join in on his debates or defending his bill in the session hall.

“I’m not nervous (about making a privilege speech or engaging peers in a debate), I’m even excited to represent my constituents because I don’t want to let down the people from Sarangani,” said Pacquiao.

Time management

He said it was important that he attend every session or have a full attendance sheet because this is what his constituents expected from him even though he would continue to pursue his boxing career.

“It’s just time management. I can’t turn my back on sports because that is the one which gave me my name and honor,” said Pacquiao.

With no final deal on the table for his next fight, Pacquiao said he was focused on living up to his duties as a representative, particularly the promises he made during the campaign.

“I really want to show everyone the right governance,” said Pacquiao who noted that his managers were hoping to put the finishing touches on his much-anticipated bout with American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“They’re just ironing out some things in the contract.”

Pacquiao hinted that his fight with Mayweather could be his last because he was really serious in making a good name in public service.

Political savvy

He admitted sheepishly that he would be earning more by fighting in the ring rather than being a representative. “Abonado nga ako. I am getting funds out of my own budget but that is okay. I really want to help,” said Pacquiao.

Pacquiao showed his political savvy when pressed on some issues that he would tackle as a lawmaker.

On the proposal to cut the pork barrel allocation, Pacquiao said it was difficult to make a decision on something that needed deeper study.

On the need of the government to impose new taxes to bridge the widening budget deficit, Pacquiao said he was all for it as long as it would help in uplifting the lives of Filipinos.

When he was reminded that “sin taxes” were likely to be the first tax measures to be pushed by the government and that San Miguel Beer was his biggest corporate sponsor, Pacquiao did not waver and quickly pointed out that he would still push for it if the majority of the people would benefit from the measure.

“We are just representatives of the people and we are thinking of what is good for the majority and not just what will benefit a few people,” said Pacquiao.

Source: inquirer.net

Pacquiao won't entertain more demands from Floyd

2010-05-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said Saturday that the super fight between him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. now depends on the American boxer after he has agreed to undergo a blood test 14 days before their faceoff.

"Talagang hindi siya lalaban kung mangatwiran ulit siya," Pacquiao told radio dzMM when asked what he would do if Mayweather comes up with a new demand.

He said that if ever the superfight fails to push through, he may still fight another boxer or just retire and focus on his newfound career in politics.

Pacquiao has been proclaimed as winner in Sarangani Province's congressional race. He toppled a member of a powerful political clan in the province.

The Filipino boxer said he will take a 1-week crash course on public administration and governance at the University of the Philippines.

He said he is also determined to finish his business management course at the Notre Dame University in 2 years and then take up law.

Pacquiao clarified Friday that the blood that would extracted from him should only be minimal for the drug test.

“Pumayag naman ako pero hindi yung talagang maraming dugo na kukunin. Kung anong dugo ang kelangan sa drug test, ganoon lang karami. Fourteen days [before the fight],” Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News' Dyan Castillejo.

Pacquiao said during the radio interview that he has yet to receive a feedback from the camp of Mayweather.

The reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion said he softened his stand after listening to boxing fans’ clamor for a mega fight between him and Mayweather.

“Everywhere I go… gusto talaga nila ng Mayweather fight. [They ask me] over and over,” said Pacquiao.

Pacquiao made the decision to fight the former pound-for-pound king weeks after he received permission from his mother, Dionisia Pacquiao, for one last bout.

The blood test controversy was the reason the negotiations between the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps collapsed early this year.

The two would have fought last March 13, but Mayweather ended up fighting Shane Mosley and Pacquiao battling Ghana's Joshua Clottey.

Pacquiao’s camp earlier agreed to undergo tests 24 days before the fight, but Mayweather’s group insisted that blood should be taken 14 days prior to the fight.

Blood test as the drug protocol is the personal requirement for Mayweather. Athletic commissions require urine tests on boxers as the form of drug testing, and Pacquiao has never had a problem.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he learned the last day for blood testing used by Mayweather and "Sugar" Shane Mosley in their recent fight was 18 days prior to the fight.

"The USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) stopped the blood test... they took 5 or 6 tests but the last one was 18 days for Mosley and 19 days for Mayweather," he told ABS-CBN News' Dyan Castillejo in a phone interview.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pacman’s big plans

2010-05-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

The candidate himself–Manny Pacquiao–was the least surprised over the outcome of the fight for the lone congressional seat of Sarangani. A week after being proclaimed winner over the heavily-favored Roy Chiongbian, Pacquiao said there was not even an iota of doubt in his mind that he would bounce back from the humiliation that he suffered in 2007. “I didn’t have doubts that I would win,” said the 31-year-old boxing star during a recent interview while he was shooting a commercial. “I was confident that I was going to conquer another world.”

Pacquiao credits his long-term preparation as key to his victory, a win that ranks alongside his 2008 knockout of the great Oscar De La Hoya.

“I lost in 2007 because I was not prepared. This time, I had everything in place and I showed the people of Sarangani that I will bring about change,” said Pacquiao, referring to his donation of firetrucks, hospital beds and other basic needs the last two years.

Pacquiao got 120,000 votes, while Chiongbian only earned half, something the one-time construction worker and vendor described as being “the voice of the people.”

“The people of Sarangani really wanted change,” said Pacquiao, who is eyeing a return to the ring on Nov. 13 either in Las Vegas or Dallas.

Since he will now be also working as a lawmaker, Pacquiao said he has decided to cut back on activities that are close to his heart.

Told about his perennial participation in big-time derbies, Pacquiao said he would still take part but will no longer immerse himself the way he used to.

“I will greatly reduce my participation in derbies and other things that give me joy. I now have two responsibilities,” said Pacquiao, stressing that quality healthcare and education and the welfare of athletes as tops in his priorities.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao is hopeful that the Mayweather fight finally pushes through for November 13 “for the sake of the boxing fans from around the world.”

Pacquiao has agreed to be tested 14 days before the fight but Mayweather hasn’t come out with an official stand regarding Pacquiao’s bold move.

Source: fightnews.com

Mayweather-Mosley test dates revealed

2010-05-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

The United States Anti-Doping Agency confirmed Friday that the final blood sample taken from Shane Mosley was April 12 and the final one taken from Floyd Mayweather was April 13 as part of their agreement to undergo random, Olympic-style testing prior to their May 1 welterweight boxing match in Las Vegas.

Mayweather won the fight by a wide unanimous decision. Each man was tested seven times prior to the fight and then again on the night of the fight by USADA, which will retain their samples for future testing. Each of the eight tests included required the fighters to provide urine samples; they were required to give blood four times.

Mayweather gave blood and urine on March 22, April 1, April 13 and then May 1 after the fight. He gave urine only on April 3, April 6, April 21 and April 24.

Mosley gave blood and urine on March 23, March 31, April 12 and then May 1 after the fight. He gave urine only on March 29, April 7, April 20 and April 26.

The news of the date of the final pre-fight blood draw – 18 days before the fight, in Mayweather’s case – might give hope to fans who want to see a bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

An attempt to make the fight for March 13 failed when they couldn’t come to terms over Mayweather’s demand for random testing.

In a story written Thursday by Nick Giongco in the Manila Bulletin, Pacquiao said he would agree to a test as late as 14 days prior to a Mayweather bout provided they weren’t taking large samples.

“As long as they’re not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight,” Pacquiao told Giongco.

But if you’re thinking that concession will lead to Pacquiao vs Mayweather on Nov. 13, slow down. There is a big difference between what Pacquiao told Giongco he’d agree to and what Mayweather and Mosley did, said Travis Tygart, the chief executive officer of USADA.

“That totally misses the point,” Tygart said of the reaction some may have upon hearing of Pacquiao’s concession and the timing of Mayweather’s last blood test. “If you know you aren’t going to be tested within the last 14 days, you can cheat and get away with it. It is our right to test at any time, 30 days before the fight, 20 days before, the week of, the morning of – that provides the deterrent. If you block out a period of time and say we can’t test during that period, then an athlete could cheat and get away with it.”

Tygart praised Mayweather and Mosley and said they fully embraced the program. They were, he said, “consummate professionals throughout the entire process.”

Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, still believes a 14-day cutoff is reasonable.

“Fourteen days should give them plenty of time to do what they need to do, especially in light of what they did with Mayweather and Mosley,” Arum said.

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said he doesn’t understand why a fuss would be made over the time of Mayweather’s final blood test. Ellerbe said Mayweather boxed at least 11 rounds, and as many as 14, after three of the blood draws.

“Random is random,” he said. “It could be at any time. That’s what random means. I will say this: If and when Floyd Mayweather decides to fight again, random blood and urine testing will be part of it. Period.”

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said he heard no complaints from either fighter about the testing program, terming it an unqualified success. Schaefer said he hoped that boxing promoters and other stakeholders could get together and adopt a plan under which similar testing would become a regular part of the sport.

“I’m not a drug-testing expert and I’ve never put together a testing program protocol, but where there is a will, there is a way,” Schaefer said. “Our interest as promoters should be to have a clean sport. At the end of the day, this is protecting our fighters and doing something positive for the sport.

Source: yahoo.com

BOB ARUM - Pacquiao vs Mayweather this November

2010-05-13T02:17:00.000-07:00

BOB ARUM: I am back from one of the most exciting trips of my life and one of the most fulfilling trips. I am thinking now whether to pack it in as a boxing promoter and be a political consultant…but only in the Philippines and around the world. I don’t think there is anything more exciting and more interesting than politics and I really have to compliment Manny. People don’t realize that this victory over the candidate that he beat was a tremendous upset that very few people expected him to pull off. His opponent’s family holds all of the major businesses in this province. All the mayors and the congressman in the province are either related to this family belong to the family or are associates of the family. Manny Pacquiao was running against the elder son of the family and they hadn’t been defeated and won overwhelmingly in every election for 25 years. Manny Pacquiao is a fighter and with his grit and determination was not only able to win but to win by a landslide.

It reminded me of when he was fighting Oscar De La Hoya and all the boxing writers said we should be ashamed of ourselves because it was a mismatch and De La Hoya would destroy him. It was a mismatch but it was a mismatch the other way with Manny destroying De La Hoya. This was the same thing. Everybody said he was crazy, spending his own money. In certain precincts, Manny was beating this guy 90-10 and in other precincts 70-30 and when the dust settled, Manny will win by about a 3/1 margin. Manny is so humble and so soft spoken, you think, how can he be a politician? Then you go to his rally, and you hear him speak in the native dialect and he gives a rousing speech that brings the crowd to its feet. It is tremendous to hear him speak even though you don’t even understand a word. Something else that I learned – there are 7 dialects in the Philippines and Manny can speak every one of them.

Some of the reporters over there, who understand English, don’t even understand some of the dialects. I’m pumped up. When he’s 35 he can run for Senate, and when he’s 40, I am sure he’ll be President of the Philippines. He is special and we in boxing are lucky to have him be part of the sport.

Where do we stand with Manny’s next fight?

BOB ARUM: Manny is definitely going to fight in November. It’s amazing how many people came up to me as I was leaving the Philippines and asked me when is the Mayweather fight going to happen. That’s the fight people want to see. That’s the fight that I’m going to do my darndest to make happen. I don’t want to discuss any of the issues involved in making that fight because we are going to be involved in negotiations and my first goal and Manny’s first goal is to make that fight happen. But we are not going to negotiate this thing in the press, because given the egos of all the camps, it would never happen.

Did you discuss boxing at all with Manny?

BOB ARUM: Obviously, everybody was consumed with politics. But we did a lot of rallies, held on big stages, and before they get to Manny all the other politicians would speak. But we did discuss what we would do next.

What does Manny want to do next?

BOB ARUM: It’s the Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight. There is no question that is the fight that the public wants and that is the fight that Manny wants. I am not going to go into any details of our discussion only to say that is the case.

How do you engage with the other side?

BOB ARUM: I don’t want to get into that, only to say that there is a plan. I don’t want to get into what’s happening but there are things happening on the ground.

Do you think his political career will affect his boxing?

BOB ARUM: As far as psychological make-up I really can’t answer that. Let me again go through what I believe his duties will entail and how it will blend with boxing. A Congressman in the Philippines, especially one that is elected in a province has responsibilities over and above that of a congressman in the United States. By that I mean the federal government allocates the money to him that goes to the province. He in turn must allocate that money to various towns and mayors and so forth and that is a pretty big responsibility. He also has to attend sessions of congress, but that I believe is not time consuming. The sessions are not particularly lengthy. There will be a session in July then they are off for a few months. When he is training, he runs in the morning then sleeps then trains in the gym and then eats dinner then he has all this free time – that you see on 24/7. He’s around with his people. A lot of that free time will now be devoted to his people. I think that will be better, because there will be less wasted time that there appears to be now. There will be plenty of time to do his politics when he is in training and when he is out of training. The one activity I know it will affect is his playing billiards. He devotes a lot of time to playing billiards. I don’t see where his political responsibilities will affect how he prepares for fights, but we have to be aware of what those responsibilities are.

When do you plan to initiate contact with the Mayweather camp?

BOB ARUM: I would rather not comment on that. Just to say I have my marching orders and it will be sooner rather than later.

Do you expect Dallas to be interested?

BOB ARUM: Yes, I think the two sites we would be looking at are the same two sites, the MGM and Cowboys Stadium. Jerry is certainly interested and so is the MGM Grand. If the fight happens and I hope it will, in mid-November in one of those two places.

Do you think media reports affected negotiations in a bad way?

BOB ARUM: Absolutely. Once you start negotiating through the media, it becomes ego driven. People can’t wait to give a statement to the press. The flames just shoot up and there is no real opportunity for rational behavior to take over. Everyone is so interested is setting forth his position to the media that it becomes the contest. That involves me as well as everybody else.

Did you reserve specific dates?

BOB ARUM: Yes, November 13. November 6 would be reserved, but that is not as good a date because No. 1, I think the baseball World Series could possibly go that late and there is also question of the election. There is a big senatorial and congressional election.

Do you have reason to believe either side has softened its stance?

BOB ARUM: A negotiation is a negotiation. A lot of nice things happen if people negotiate in good faith and people want something good to happen and negotiate without going through the media. So let’s see what happens.

Could we bring the fighters to the table?

BOB ARUM: My guy is too busy with his congressional duties to do that. That’s why he has to delegate these things. The answer is he couldn’t do it. He doesn’t have the time to do it. He is not a congressman like the U.S. Congressman, he will get an allocation of millions of dollars of American money and he has to allocate to hospitals, schools, municipalities. To sit and spend time negotiation a fight is not something that’s productive. But he does have time to train and perform his best for a fight.

Do you think Manny will move on the drug questions?

BOB ARUM: I am not going to discuss through the media. I understand you need to ask the question, but I am not going to answer because that starts the negotiation in the media.

Did he say he only wants to fight one more time?

BOB ARUM: He discussed it but I’m not going to say what the answer is. It was told to me in confidence and I’m not at liberty to say. My belief is, based on my conversations with him, he will engage in probably 3 more fights.

Is your marriage with Dallas something that you are willing to let go?

BOB ARUM: First of all, I’m not married to Dallas. I’m a Giants fan, not even a Cowboys fan but I love Jerry Jones but I am not going to advocate putting any fight of Manny’s unless it makes the most sense. That’s not necessarily Dallas.

Is the lawsuit still in play?

BOB ARUM: Not in play, but the lawsuit is still being actively pursued.

Is this the biggest fight that boxing has ever seen?

BOB ARUM: Ever is a hard word. You are comparing different eras. There is no fight in my time that is equally anticipated as the first Ali-Frazer fight. But electronically, it was like the dark ages when we look back on it. There was no PPV, no satellite and so forth. Moving on, when Leonard and Duran fought. That was a huge fight. Leonard was on the cover of Newsweek which was a very big thing then and that was anticipated. And Leonard-Hearns. This fight in this era is probably the most anticipated fight and probably if it happens, will do the most dollar business. It is a different dollar now than it was then, and secondly it is not a fair comparison because electronically we can do so much more, not only in the U.S. but also around the world. We have all these PPV homes in the U.S. and in England, Canada, Puerto Rico…Philippines…all over. It’s THE FIGHT, that people want to watch. Getting on the plane in Manila, Going through that airport, hundreds of people came up to me and asked “is the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight going to happen? That’s the fight people want to see, there is no question a bout it.

BOB ARUM: I have no idea whether it is going to happen or not. Anybody that believes that the fight should happen should bet with Kevin Iole who doesn’t think the fight is going to happen. I don’t know.

Does the lawsuit become a deal breaker?

BOB ARUM: All these issues are on the table and they will be negotiated and nothing cannot be discussed.

If this fight doesn’t happen do you turn to Margarito?

BOB ARUM: California does not have to license him and obviously if we went to a Margarito fight he would apply for the license in the state he would fight in next, whether that would be Nevada or Texas, I would expect a good result.

Why is a stadium important?

BOB ARUM: Stadiums are important to boxing because it enables the most possible people to watch the event and that helps deal with the popularity of the sport. It’s not unique to boxing. Look at the Final Four, all now take place in massive venues and the reason is they can accommodate more people at a better price for the fans. I’m not the genius that figured this out. I’m just going along with what seems to be common sense. If you want your product seen by the most people you have to put it in the biggest venue.

What would this fight mean to you?

BOB ARUM: It would be great but there are other things other than fights. My great dream is to still be around to be at the inauguration of Manny Pacquiao of President of the Philippines. That would be the greatest achievement in my career. But that fight would be one of the greatest experiences in my career.

BOB ARUM: I think the person that lost is going to cooperate with Manny because it would be in their best interests to do that. I know that flying home from General Santos to Manila, I happened to be seated next to the candidate’s brother-in-law and he couldn’t have been more gracious in congratulating him.

Are you going to argue over the shape of the table?

BOB ARUM: No, I think we have moved on from that and I’m very optimistic that once we start we will conclude this time. I have to get on with it because I have another big campaign coming up. I feel very James Carville-like and have to make sure that my guy Harry Reid gets re-elected.

Have you been re-energized?

BOB ARUM: That is exactly what happened. It turned back the clock. I was checking on the precincts and the Philippines. I was amazed how I got into this and some of these discussions we were having. I really think that maybe more than a boxing promoter, my calling was as a politician or an operative. Manny will be in New York and will be at the Boxing Writers Awards dinner on June 4 and the Yankee Stadium fight on June 5. By the way, when we did another media tour we stopped in San Francisco and Manny threw out the first pitch to the Cy Young winner Lincicum and he said Manny threw a really good pitch.

If you can’t make this fight, is the back-up plan to fight in Dallas?

BOB ARUM: I can’t say that now but why not? I can’t look at that now. I thought you were going to ask whom he would fight, but the number one guy would be Margarito.

He was originally on the undercard of the Clottey fight, what happened?

BOB ARUM: We needed to have a hearing to get him licensed in Texas and we didn’t have enough time. We’d have to have a hearing, but we have time now.

* * *

BOB ARUM: On June 30, Manny will be sworn into office and we are planning to do a worldwide telecast of the swearing in. These are very exciting times. When he knew that he won the election, he told me two things. It made him so happy, even more than the big victories in the ring. And secondly he said something that really touched me. He said, “Bob, I am so proud of what I have accomplished. When someone says that, you know it was a life-long dream of his. He pulled it off and I am so happy for him. I have never seen anything like it and to me it is the pinnacle.

Source: fightnews.com

No More Bull, Give us the fight we want Pacquiao vs. Mayweather

2010-05-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

By George Napier: Like many fans across the globe, I have become sick and tired of the whole Pacquiao vs Mayweather facade. It’s time this fight was made; or for both fighters to disappear, because frankly there are no other fighters out there for either man.

Both have fought their way to a position where nothing else matters, they both reside #1 and #2 in both the welterweight and pound for pound rankings; so anything less is simply not good enough. I’m not interested in seeing either fighter face off against a fighter making the transition from light-welterweight, neither am I interested in witnessing either man take on a soft touch at light middleweight; to win yet another phoney title.

Fans, or should I sat worshipers of both fighters need to seriously take a reality check; I myself am a fan of the sport of boxing and not any one particular fighter. Yes, I like and appreciate certain styles, but that’s where the buck stops. However, when it comes to some fans of these two fighters it’s like they worship the man, and not the sport.

The sad thing about this is they probably don’t even realise they are being ripped-off. Let’s start with Pacquiao’s last fight, anyone who knows anyone who actually picked Clottey to win please let me know, because of all the fans I interact with on social networking sites and boxing forums I never did come across anyone who picked the Ghanaian to win. Is this really, what we want form a pound for pound fighter, facing off against someone whom no-one gives a chance. In truth the bout was a facade and the smokescreen was the venue in where the bout was staged, the Cowboy’s stadium, Arlington, Texas, it was the venue, the event as a whole we looked forward to and not the fight.

So rather than both sets of fans throwing verbal assaults at each other why not be more constructive by openly criticising both fighters.

Drug Testing
In my opinion, camp Mayweather’s approach was all wrong, if they handled it in a different manor and put the proposal forward as a request rather than a demand we could have ended up with a different outcome. Voices from the camp openly expressed their views and literally accused Manny Pacquiao of using performance enhancing drugs. This accusation added a completely new dimension to the negotiations, instead of both agreeing to clean up the sport and to undergo stringent testing, they found additional problems with the defamation of character citations that followed.
Photo By Yehoshua Rey

I find it hard to criticise a man who is trying to clean up the sport, yes, we can question the motives behind this stance, but when it’s all said and done if it results in the implementation of more stringent testing through the sport, I don’t really care about the motives.

Now it’s a matter of principle, was Pacquiao right to walk away from the fight, I don’t think so; and let me tell you why. This is the sport of boxing where most opponents through the history of the sport have tried underhand tactics including slander to get under the skin of their opponent. There is also the persona projected by Pacquiao, Pacquiao is regarded the peoples champion, a man fighting for a nation and a higher cause; giving his fellow countrymen hope and inspiration. (We don’t need to even mention Mayweather in this segment as he openly admits he fights for money).

So if you were fighting for a nation and the people would you not do anything to give the fans the fight they want, would such a man not walk through walls to give the fans the fight they crave?

Example: Willie Pep was Featherweight Champion and widely regarded as the peoples champion in 1947. On January 5th, 1947, Pep was in a small plane that overshot Newark Airport and landed in nearby woods killing 5 people. Pep had 2 broken vertebrae as well as a broken leg; Doctors told him he would never fight again. He was in a cast until June, and incredibly several days after the cast was removed with little, training or preparation he returned to the ring on June 17th and won a tenth round decision, his opponent Victor Flores was sent to the canvas twice during the fight.

Will o' the Wisp went on to compile ten fights through 1947. That’s what you call a peoples champion. People say Pep was never the same after the crash; he lost something as a fighter. Before the plane crash, Pep had a record of 108-1-1, and retired almost 20 years after the crash with a record of 229-11-1, testament to a great fighter and a great champion.

Source: theboxinghistorian.com

Sugar Ray: Mayweather vs Pacman inevitable

2010-05-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a toss-up between two pound-for-pound champions who just can’t get it done in the ring.

Sugar Ray Leonard, one of the great boxers of all time, said it would be too close to call if Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. ever get to face each other.

“It’s a toss-up, a pick-’em fight,” Leonard, who with Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns formed of the Fab Four of the 1980s, told the Grand Rapids Press.

The big question, however, is if the fight that the entire planet wants to see would ever happen.

There’s a big disagreement regarding the drug-testing procedure, and it’s so big that the fight that should decide who the greatest boxer of this era truly is might never take place.

Pacquiao is against Mayweather’s call for random blood testing Olympic-style, one that would require probably a dozen tests in the months, weeks, days or hours before the fight.

Pacquiao said Mayweather knows how he hates the drawing of blood close to a fight, and the Filipino icon said it’s Mayweather’s way of dodging the fight, his only way out of it.

On the other side of the coin, Mayweather’s father said the fight would never ever happen because Pacquiao wouldn’t take the test. All along, he had doubts if Pacquiao is into performance-enhancing drugs.

But Leonard insists that the fight should happen, probably with or without the blood tests.

“The fight has to happen,” Leonard told David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press, adding that it would be a big disappointment if Pacquiao and Mayweather end up hanging up their gloves without fighting each other.

“They both are letting people call them pound-for-pound. They both are considered pound-for-pound right now. They’ve got to fight each other to prove who’s the best, pound-for-pound – fact.

“It’s about the money, because boxing’s a business. But also, if you want to be considered one of those guys, you’ve got to put up. That’s a fight that appears to be inevitable at some point in time, hopefully sooner than later,” Leonard said.

Sooner perhaps.

Source: philstar.com

Floyd Mayweather is the Greatest Ever? Don't Let Him Fool You

2010-05-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Don’t let him fool you. Money talks.

He talks a lot.

Floyd Mayweather is twice as smart as you think he is. In the weeks leading up to last Saturday’s showdown with Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather displayed the skill that truly sets him apart from anyone else—his knack for propaganda.

Through various prefight specials and postfight interviews, Floyd “Money” Mayweather declared his supremacy like a Roman gladiator by defaming past warriors and welcoming all challengers.

“Is there no else?”

Don’t let FMJ fool you.

We all know who’s next—who has to be next. Not even 10 minutes passed after the final bell Saturday before questions about the possibility of a supernatural showdown between FMJ and Pacquiao rose to the surface.

Mayweather talks about a match with the Filipino Pacquaio as if it would be just another fight.

Don’t let him fool you.

Manny Pacquiao would not be just another notch on Mayweather’s belt. A dethroning of Pacman would without a doubt place Mayweather amongst the ranks of boxing history.
Saturday’s victory over Shane Mosley is not enough to crown Mayweather king.

At 46-6, Mosley has had a long and impressive run. But, in reality, he has lost almost all of his big-time fights. His claim to fame—wins over De La Hoya and Margarito—pales in comparison to the image Floyd Mayweather would want us to have of “Sugar” Shane.

The ultimate self-promoter, Mayweather’s performance outside the ring seems to have surpassed his work inside of it. With the way everyone is talking, it’s hard to imagine anyone ever being considered greater than FMJ.

For example, many people thought Shane Mosley had a shot in this contest. Mayweather makes claims of grandeur; Oscar De La Hoya calls him “King of the World”; and everyone starts nodding their head in approval.

At this recognition, Mayweather rolls his eyes, wondering what took us so long to listen to him.

There’s no denying it. Floyd Mayweather is good, very good. Whether he ever beats Manny Pacquiao, he has been very impressive for a long time.

He’s like Mozart. He’s no good to pump through your system for a summer drive. He’s not going to satisfy your thirst for thrills. He won’t have you jumping out of your seat and cheering.

But he’s an artist, and he has mastered his craft. The best way to enjoy Mayweather is to study him—his big picture, his career, his impressive streak of lopsided victories, his flawless technique—all coming together to play a symphony on the canvas.

But, he’s even better at playing up his image.

Before Saturday’s fight, Floyd predicted such a glorious victory that he forced us all to sit back incredulously and dare him to come through.

And in 12 dazzling rounds, Floyd dominated a highly-respected veteran, shooting I-told-you-so looks to the crowd as he assumed his self-made throne.

With an unwavering confidence, and a smile so glossy it would make Lucifer jealous, Floyd Mayweather has once again stolen the show.

But don’t let him fool you.

Whether you were impressed with Floyd’s win Saturday, do not let Manny Pacquiao’s boring dominance over Josh Clottey tempt you to forget who has established a reign of terror in the last decade of boxing.

When Floyd Mayweather announced his return to the ring, it was Manny Pacquiao’s party that he was crashing. For the past five years, Pacquiao has terrorized the best names in modern boxing, with or without Mayweather in the picture.

Don’t let Floyd fool you. Manny Pacquiao is scary for Floyd Mayweather.

He is faster and can hit harder than anyone FMJ has ever faced. Pacquiao knows how to finish when he’s winning, and he knows how to fight back when he’s losing.

Watch the first two rounds of the De La Hoya fight. Pacquiao can hurt his opponent while playing the cherry-picking—one—punch—cover—one—punch style in which Floyd trapped Mosley.

Without the worry of tainting a perfect record, Pacquiao would be playing with nothing to lose. He wouldn’t have to fear a strong counter or a surprise big shot. Pacquiao could just keep coming and coming.

So, don’t let Floyd fool you. He doesn’t want any part of a fearless Manny Pacquiao.
Forget Sergio Martinez or Margarito. Forget Cavs versus Lakers. This is once in a lifetime. This is Ali—Frazier. This is finally making it to Disneyland after years of false promises. This is the Beatles at Shea Stadium.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather. Defense vs. offense. Robin Hood vs. King Midas.

To promote his fight against Mosley, Mayweather posed for a number of pictures in which he was dressed in a classical soldier’s armor with shield and sword, not unlike the hero Achilles.

Remember that in the Iliad, Achilles was the greatest of all warriors, the strongest and fastest fighter in the entire world. He was virtually invincible, unless his opponent was able to find and exploit his one fatal weakness.

Floyd Mayweather claims that he does everything right. He doesn’t have a weakness. In truth, with his unbelievable defense, he seems almost impossible to touch, to hurt. He looks invincible.

Don’t let him fool you.

Source: bleacherreport.com

Desperately seeking Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr.

2010-05-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Like the rest of the planet, I am fervently awaiting the Pacquiao vs Mayweather match. It could be the sport's last great gift to the huddled masses. Beyond Dempsey-Tunney, Louis-Schmeling, Robinson-La Motta, Ali-Frazier and Hearns-Leonard, Pacquiao- Mayweather will embrace the new multicultural world order and return boxing -- if only for a single night -- to the brightest lights on the biggest stage.

That's assuming they ever fight and assuming folks are willing to pay $64.95 to view it.

(That price might sound steep, but look at it this way -- the next time you fly, if you forego checking two bags, right there you've saved enough money to afford Pacquiao-Mayweather!)

The two have fought outside the ring in trying to set up a fight inside the ring.

Mayweather implied Pacquiao had used performance-

enhancing drugs and insisted on blood testing just before they fight. Pacquiao would not agree and sued Mayweather for defamation of character.

Pacquiao says giving blood just before a fight would weaken him.

(My own anecdotal evidence supports Pacquiao. In 1998, I gave blood and, less than 72 hours later, foolishly proposed to my second wife. Then last year I gave blood just before writing a column on statistical debris in sports, and dozens of readers e-mailed to tell me it was the worst article they had ever read.)

Unable to come to terms on a fight, Pacquiao proceeded to dominate Joshua Clottey March 13 and Mayweather proceeded to dominate Shane Mosley May 1, reviving debate on which champion is the world's best pound-for-pound boxer.

(I am often asked why the term "best pound-for-pound boxer" is used. Indeed, was G. Gordon Liddy referred to as the best pound-for-pound plumber in the business? Is Bobby Flay the best pound-for-pound chef? Is Yo-Yo Ma the best pound-for-pound cellist? The pound-for-pound expression essentially acknowledges the fact that a bantamweight, say, cannot beat a middleweight, but pound-for-pound, the bantamweight might be a better fighter. Of course, outside of the United States, they talk about the best "kilogram-for-kilogram" boxer.)

Whenever Pacquiao-

Mayweather happens, it likely will attract one of the biggest pay-per-view audiences ever; in 2007, Mayweather's fight against Oscar de la Hoya drew a record-breaking 2.45 million buys.

Source: washingtonpost.com

Roach/Ariza: PED accusation at Manny Pacquiao taken as compliment (at first)

2010-02-25T06:14:00.000-08:00

Although Freddie Roach has a slightly different view (click on video above), Alex Ariza, Manny Pacquiao’s head strength and conditioning coach, has insisted the allegations being levelled at Pacquiao, emanating from the Mayweather camp, relating to the smear campaign over PEDs, was not looked on first of all by something negative by the Pacquiao Camp.

Indeed, they saw it as a veiled compliment, at first, towards the intense work they had done to build Pacquiao’s body for his contest with Oscar de la Hoya, a fight in which they knew their man was clearly the smaller of the two. The ballistics analysis they put together created a plan. They didn’t know what they would acheive. But it worked.

“In the beginning, I just thought it [the comments from Mayweather Snr] was a compliment, in a way, because of the work we have done to develop Manny into the fighter he is, but at the end of the day, we know it [the allegations] is not true, ” Ariza told Telegraph Sport.

“It doesn’t hurt us. Fighters are still going to come to Freddie because they want to be trained by him. People are still going to be trained by us, and when they come to the gym, they will see how hard we work there. We know exactly what we put our guys there through.”

Ariza is preparimng Pacquiao for his contest against Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Texas. He explained: “We are following the same format as we did for Miguel Cotto. I sat with Freddie and we felt the training regimen and the diet regimen for Manny against Cotto was dead on correct.”

To keep weight on Pacquiao, he has a protein shake before bed, in the middle of the night, and first thing in the morning.

“The weight-speed conditioning was all there, and we feel Joshua Clottey is a similar opponent in that Manny may have to absorb some punishment. Manny said afterwards that he felt in such good condition, he could take Cotto’s punches, and so Manny changed the game plan early in the fight against Cotto, wanting to demoralise him by absorbing his punching power.”

“It might not be exactly the same against Clottey. But the fight against Cotto went so well, Manny was strong for the entire fight, so we did not see any reason for changing anything. The only real difference between this and the Cotto fight is that we started doing a bit more strength training …”

“Manny was 151 lbs at four and a half weeks out, we keep him on a 7000 calories a day diet, and once we get to Dallas, I just have to take a few things away from the diet. We have to keep his intake up. He has to have a protein shake before going to bed, he has one at 3am, and another one first thing in the morning. He has up to six meals a day and six protein shakes a day when in training for a fight. We have to keep weight on him, as he trains so hard. We can’t have his body dropping calories.”

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Mayweather: Pacquiao should get less if fight pushes through

2010-02-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

Here goes Floyd Mayweather again.

The trash-talking former holder of the mythical title of pound-for-pound king went on the offensive over the weekend, expressing his wonder to his hometown paper – the Grand Rapids Press – why Manny Pacquiao would not agree to “a $25 million drug test.”

Still resentful about the collapse of the lucrative bout with Pacquiao, Mayweather said that if their camps revive talks about a matchup in the next few months, the Filipino will have to agree to get less of the money at stake especially if his May 1 fight with Shane Mosley fares better than Pacquiao’s March 13 bout with Joshua Clottey.

“Instead of 20 or 25 (million dollars), he may have to drop to 15 or 17 and you know me, they have to throw that extra 5 or ten on mine and we can rock and roll. Take it or leave it,” said Mayweather.

Pacquiao and Mayweather appeared on their way to agreeing on a deal but Mayweather demanded that Pacquiao undergo random blood testing to level the playing field even though Pacquiao has never failed a drug test ever.

While Mayweather insists that he is not accusing Pacquiao of somebody who uses performance-enhancing drugs, the American fighter sounds off that the current pound-for-pound king is guilty.

“The thing is this: I’ve never seen a guy who didn’t want to take a $25 million drug test. If you’re clean, take the drug test.”
Mayweather lamented the fact that he had agreed to an unheard-of demand by Pacquiao on the issue of penalties on excess weight.

“In my clause, he told me if you would weigh over 147 I had to pay him $10 million for each pound. I agreed but he didn’t agree to my terms and we both would have had to take tests. It wasn’t just steered toward him. It was both me and him.”

Stung by Mayweather's nasty accusation, Pacquiao has filed a defamation lawsuit against him as well as the Oscar De La Hoya-owned Golden Boy Promotions.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, is right on track in his preparation against Clottey even though he took a break when he traveled to Las Vegas to throw his support behind the Filipino fighters who fought there.

Pacquiao told a Manila-based station covering the fight at ringside that he didn’t find it hard to regain his old fiery form because he was coming off a big fight.

Over at Clottey’s training camp in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, the Ghana banger is said to be awesome as well during sparring sessions, his chief handler Vinny Scolpino told ace fight scribe Mike Marley.

“He’s on target, he’s beating the crap out of people in sparring and I would say he is definitely on his A game,” said Scolpino.

Source: mb.com.ph

The Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Debacle: Five Things We Learned

2010-01-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

1. Money doesn’t talk.

The consensus among observers was that there was just too much money involved for the fight not to happen.

The fighters were being guaranteed an equal split of $50 million upfront, plus a percentage of pay-per-view revenues that could have raised the pot to somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 million.

That’s an awfully nice neighborhood to drive past without pulling over for a paltry 36-minutes to collect the large, overstuffed moneybags loitering on the street corners.

I guess money doesn’t always talk. Or maybe it does but sometimes there are just so many idiots yelling and screaming around it that no one is able to hear it.

2. There needs to be a single overseeing body in the sport of boxing.

Manny is promoted by both Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions. Floyd is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, but had authorized Golden Boy to negotiate the fight on his behalf.

So one of Manny’s promoters was negotiating on behalf of Manny’s other promoter who was negotiating on behalf of Floyd.

The fighters haggled over the specifics of adding a regulation to a fight overseen by a commission that has no authority to supervise or prohibit such a change in the regulations.

And we wonder why we’re left without a mega-fight, feeling like we’ve been simultaneously kicked in the teeth, gut, and jewel sack by a three-legged freak.

Power in the sport of boxing needs to be in the hands of a single organization—not splintered among promoters, state athletic commissions and miscellaneous sanctioning bodies.

3. That Manny Pacquiao is one popular dude—and not just in the Philippines.

If Barack Obama is sarcastically referred to as the Messiah, then Manny Pacquiao just may be God himself. And I’m not sure, but I think that would make Floyd Mayweather the devil.

I don’t know much about culture in the Philippines, but Filipino pride is a pretty amazing thing. That is a people who stick together and know what they believe.

Now I think I understand why Manny would rather pass up a $40 million payday than give a teaspoon of his blood—he could get twice that on Ebay.

4. There are some seriously passionate, angry, and insane fans out there.

Which one do you hate—Pedquiao or Gayweather?

Give the wrong answer to the person who asks that question and you may as well have hocked a fat loogie into the urn containing their grandmother’s ashes.

Let’s just get it over with and have all of the Mayweather fans wear red, the Pacquiao supporters wear blue, and start flashing signs, getting affiliation tats, and doing drive-bys.

It’s like we woke up one morning and found ourselves in a Jerry Springer boxing-themed Twilight Zone.

5. No matter how many times we, the fans, get screwed by the sport, we keep coming back.

Being a boxing fan is like being the wife of a mobster—you’re associated with a business filled with scumbags, you know you’re going to be cheated on, and you’re committed to it for life.

Having a fight the magnitude of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather wind up in a toe-tag is more than just another black eye for boxing—it’s the sport’s equivalent of Riddick Bowe having his scrotum used as a speed bag by Andrew Golata.

But, as always, we’ll stagger back to our corners, leer at the ring card girl, and somehow find a way to answer the bell for the next round.

Source: bleacherreport.com

As Pacquiao-Mayweather fails, boxing proves its own worst enemy

2010-01-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. So let's make a visual out of the current state of boxing.

Close your eyes and remember. October 1993. Las Vegas. The land is needed more than the building, so they fill the venerable Dunes Hotel on the Strip with dynamite, push a button and it implodes.

January 2010. The good ol' USA. No dynamite, just stupidity and ego. Same thing happens. Boxing implodes.

Last Sunday, promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank announced that Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines will fight Joshua Clottey of Ghana. The fight will be March 13 in the Dallas Cowboys' new football stadium.

Later that same day, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions announced that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would fight an opponent to be determined. The fight will be March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Yes, these are the two premier boxers in their sport.

Yes, they were supposed to fight each other.

And yes, that fight was supposed to be on March 13.

The world anticipated that one. Wallets and checkbooks were open. Sponsors were lining up. The estimated $60 pay-per-view tab even seemed reasonable. The bout would put boxing on the front pages next to the likes of Lakers and Dodgers, and in the same breath with them on the nightly newscasts.

This was a big deal, and then it wasn't. The fight was off. Mayweather's camp implied that Pacquiao must be enhancing his performances with drugs because he got so big and so good so fast. Pacquiao, with no credible hint whatsoever of any such activity, was offended, eventually said he wanted no part of the Mayweather camp and even sued for defamation.

Keep in mind that each fighter was to be guaranteed $25 million, and the likely final take for each, with projected pay-per-view revenue, was closer to $40 million.

In the end, this was an impasse the size of the Grand Canyon.

Then boxing made it worse.

By announcing separate fights on the same date, they split everything in two, especially their fan base. Television networks would have to choose. HBO is the sport's cash cow and it now must choose, alienating whomever it rejects.

Even if the two shows come off at different times with a two-hour difference from Central to Pacific zones, few are likely to plunk down money to buy both. Sports editors, website editors and TV program directors are likely to look at this mess, look at their ever-dwindling budgets and keep their reporters at home.

In essence, boxing canceled a Super Bowl and replaced it with two lesser events at the same time on competing channels. Nice work.

What ever happened to "United we stand, divided we fall"? In boxing, it appears to be "Every man for himself and take the other guy down with you."

If you are looking for a winner in this non-fight fight, it is probably the Pacquiao side. His fight with Clottey has the possibility of being competitive. It also has the attraction of a shiny new venue. Plus, whatever media attention is available, it will go more to the current star, Pacquiao. He has been backing up the Brinks truck after each fight for the last several years, while Mayweather, already retired and unretired once, has been less active.

Pacquiao, and promoter Arum, were in much better financial standing to walk away from a mega-fight. Mayweather has made millions, but has also fought recently, at least in part, for the benefit of the Internal Revenue Service.

Arum was Mayweather's promoter for many years, and is not shy about telling people he never made money with Mayweather and that Mayweather walked away from him just as his career became financially viable. Mayweather is now managed by Al Haymon, with whom Arum has dealt over the years for many fights. They like each other like cattlemen like sheepherders.

Walking away from these guys had to bring Arum at least a tinge of satisfaction.

The possibility of a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight later in the year will depend on several things, including Pacquiao's possible status as a congressman in the Philippines. If he is elected in May, he could conceivably do all his fighting henceforth in political chambers, not boxing rings.

Throughout this saga, Mayweather has acted badly, as is his wont. As recently as last week, with the fight and his likely $40-million payday falling apart around him, he issued a statement that used foul language and further insulted Pacquiao.

Ultimately, he trash-talked his way into the garbage bin.

The last word on this story will go to Golden Boy's Schaefer, who unwittingly summed it all up. Early on in the talks, he said, "If we can't make this fight, we are idiots."

Source: latimes.com

Pacquiao, Mayweather deliver fans a final insult

2010-01-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

It's bad enough that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. aren't fighting each other on March 13, after both sides detonated boxing's version of a nuclear bomb and destroyed the biggest fight in the sport over a disagreement on the drug-testing procedures for the bout.

Now they -- and we -- are stuck with meaningless alternatives.

Shame on everyone involved. Shame, shame, shame.

The sport and its fans be damned, they said.

This wasn't just the destruction of any old fight. It was one of the biggest fights in history being pulled out from under millions of fans who were ready and willing -- excited, even -- to shell out hard-earned money while in the depths of a recession, just to see the two best fighters in the world throw down.

It was a fight that would have made boxing relevant again in the mainstream, even if briefly, and a great opportunity for the sport to capitalize on its great momentum of the past few years.

But that came to a grinding halt because of pettiness, ego and insanity on both sides.

After more than a month of holding the boxing world hostage while bickering over drug testing, they failed miserably. It is easily the most disappointing turn of events that I have covered in 10 years on this crazy beat.

And now it gets even worse: In the wreckage of the dead fight, the geniuses/babies at Top Rank (Pacquiao's promoter) and Golden Boy (which represents Mayweather) are again giving the finger to boxing fans by planning fights for their stars on the same day in competing pay-per-views.

They've already wounded boxing, so why not just jam the knife in a bit deeper, right?

Competing pay-per-views is just dumb, but Top Rank's Bob Arum -- who deserves a lot of the blame for Pacquiao-Mayweather going down in flames -- and Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer are just stubborn and arrogant enough to do it, no matter what damage it inflicts.

So Pacquiao is headed for Cowboys Stadium in Dallas to defend his welterweight belt against Joshua Clottey. If you can get past the Mayweather fight not happening (which I haven't yet), Pacquiao-Clottey is not a bad match, although it pales in comparison to a Mayweather bout. But it says something when the most interesting aspect of the bout is the stadium in which it will take place.

In fact, if you take a look at the poll that has been running on the ESPN.com boxing page for the last couple of days, it asks simply: "Will you watch the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium?" The results are stunning. With more than 49,000 votes in early Wednesday evening (and still counting), it was 69-31 against watching the fight. If you examine the breakdown of the state-by-state vote, every state had voted in the majority against watching the fight except Hawaii, which has a large Filipino population.

That is just anecdotal evidence, of course, as it is not a scientific poll. But it's pretty clear that the sports public is extremely angry that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other. The backlash against any other fight is enormous and deserved, something the promoters just do not understand yet, although they will when both pay-per-views tank miserably.

Mayweather, meanwhile, plans to fight the same night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and seems headed for a match with either Paulie Malignaggi or Nate Campbell. Both are good fighters, but neither bout is remotely compelling and beating either means nothing for Mayweather. They are both horrible mismatches. Let me repeat that, just in case you didn't get it the first time: They are both horrible mismatches. Even as non-pay-per-views, Mayweather against either opponent stinks. For a $50 fee to watch, it's grotesque.

If you think the ESPN.com poll numbers are bad for Pacquiao-Clottey, the numbers for a Mayweather-Malignaggi/Campbell poll should be much, much worse. Why? Because yet again, Mayweather, who claims to be the greatest fighter ever, would be facing a much smaller man with virtually zero chance to win. There's a shock. That's what Mayweather has systematically done since arriving at welterweight in 2005 -- duck the best opponents. At least Pacquiao has consistently challenged himself by facing bigger men. In Clottey, Pacquiao will be facing a man who poses some danger.

What it boils down to is this: Instead of fans clamoring to spend $60 for Pacquiao-Mayweather, they are stuck with two far lesser fights on the same night with a pay-per-view tab that will run $100 or so if they want to see both men in action. Hopefully, enough folks will reject both, which ought to teach both camps a lesson.

Only in boxing could those who are the de facto caretakers of the sport take a glorious event and dump all over it. What these guys needed more than mediator Daniel Weinstein's last-ditch effort to help them see their way through the drug-testing issue was group therapy.

One of the interesting elements in this depressing situation is how HBO will handle it. For the past several years, HBO PPV has handled Pacquiao and Mayweather fights. Now, it's faced with the cold reality of making a decision on which fighter and promoter it will support. Top Rank is prepared to go it alone with Pacquiao-Clottey, but it would like HBO's support. Golden Boy has been dependent on and enabled by HBO since its birth.

I know it's a rough situation because HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg ain't talkin' and he's ordered his staff not to talk either. They've got some serious decisions to make inside the ivory tower.

Greenburg doesn't want to alienate either fighter or promoter. Nor does he want to alienate Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (who is paying a roughly $6 million site fee to bring Pacquiao to his stadium), especially since Greenburg was the one who championed Pacquiao-Mayweather being held at Cowboys Stadium in the first place.

So what's going to happen? Pacquiao is going to fight Clottey because he wants to get in a bout before his campaign for political office in the Philippines get rolling. (Side note: Would you really want Pacquiao, a guy who once signed a contract with Top Rank and then accepted a bag full of cash from Golden Boy to also sign with that company, representing you in government? But I digress.)

Mayweather, who has no real opponent to fight on March 13, continues with plans to fight on that date, although he ought to wait until June and fight Shane Mosley (assuming Mosley beats Andre Berto on Jan. 30).

I don't know for sure what will happen other than, no matter what happens, there will be no winners.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

UFC chief: Floyd blew fight vs Pacquiao

2010-01-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White blamed Floyd Mayweather Jr. for ruining what might have been the biggest fight in recent boxing history with Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao.

“I think [Floyd] blew this fight,” White said in a report by 5thRound.com.

“When another fighter starts dictating a drug test, first of all, Pacquiao’s never tested positive for any drug but Floyd’s going to make him go through drug testing? That’s ridiculous,” he said.

White was referring to Mayweather’s demand to have Pacquiao undergo an Olympic-style drug test, which, in effect, sent a message that the Filipino might have been using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). The demand led to the collapse in the negotiations and the cancellation of the fight.

The UFC chief earlier had a spat with the former pound-for-pound king in 2007 when Mayweather claimed mixed martial arts fighters can’t handle boxing.

White said that like other fight fans, he wants to see the Pacquiao-Mayweather match.

“I want to see this fight. I’m dying to see this fight.”

With regards to Mayweather’s random blood-testing demand, White said Floyd should have left the matter to the athletics commission to decide.

“That’s what the commission is there for,” commented White in another report by Sherdog.com.

“The athletic commission is there for the safety of the fighters. They drug test, they blood test, they do all those other things. For another fighter to be calling out another fighter for some type of blood work is [expletive] crazy. Just [expletive] train for the fight and fight; that’s what everybody wants to see,” he said.

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight was supposed to take place on March 13. But since it was called off, the Pacquiao camp decided to take on Ghanaian Joshua Clottey on the same fight date.

Mayweather is also reportedly looking for an alternate opponent to compete with the Pacquiao-Clottey bout in Texas.

Moorer speaks out for Pacquiao
Former world heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, who worked with Pacquiao and Freddie Roach for the Ricky Hatton fight, defended the Filipino from allegations he’s been using PEDs.

“Manny Pacquiao has that work ethic that a lot of boxers don't have these days and a lot of people are jealous and a lot of people are trying to make something out of it because they don't know what hard work and dedication is,” the former boxer said in a report by FightHype.com.

Moorer added that Pacquiao has the best chance of finally breaking Mayweather's unbeaten record. Mayweather hasn't lost in 40 fights.

“I haven't been in camp with Floyd Mayweather, but I feel that Manny Pacquiao would give Floyd Mayweather that one loss,” he said.

Pacquiao, the current World Boxing Organization welterweight champ, has 3 losses against 50 wins. But despite the losses, the Filipino is heralded as today’s top pound-for-pound boxer because of his exciting style of fighting.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Boxers should not set rules, Viloria says

2010-01-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

The buzz about the cancelled Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout maybe over for now, but Brian Viloria is not yet done rattling off his take in the dream match that was billed as the richest in boxing history.

In a free-wheeling chat with reporters Wednesday, the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight champion said Pacquiao made the right decision not to give into the demands of the Mayweather camp to conduct an Olympic-style of (random) blood testing – a kind of test beyond the ordinary.

The governing Nevada State Athletics only requires urine tests for the proposed March 13 fight in Las Vegas.

Both camps did not see eye to eye with the issue, prompting Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter to cancel the fight.

“It’s a shame for boxing that Mayweather had to go down to that point (demand a blood test). Boxers should not set laws or rules but rather abide by them,” Viloria said.

“I don’t see the point why fighters should demand ‘you have to do this and do that.’ The commission should have the authority and not the boxers dictating what another fighter needs to do.”

With the collapse of the negotiation, Pacquiao has been penciled to face Ghanaian Joshua Clottey whom he’ll face in an 80,000-capacity stadium in Dallas.

“Manny is the draw here. Mayweather thinks he’s the draw but nobody cares about him,” Viloria said.

Source: mb.com.ph

The depressing realization that the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather fight is kaput is finally settling over the boxing community. As has been repo

2010-01-13T06:19:00.000-08:00

The depressing realization that the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather fight is kaput is finally settling over the boxing community. As has been reported by Dan Rafael at ESPN and a variety of other news outlets, it seems that Pacquiao will now be slated to face welterweight contender Joshua Clottey while Mayweather is working on lining up an opponent for himself.

Both fighters are still planning on using the proposed March 13 date, which means that instead of battling it out in the ring they will be battling it out on the balance sheets to see who draws more pay-per-view sales and possibly gains an upper hand in further negotiations should the fight ever rematerialize. Yes, it's likely that after having our strings pulled for the better part of two months, that a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao could still rise to the surface in September of this year.

For his part, potential Mayweather opponents have been rumored as Kermit Cintron and Paulie Malignaggi, although a handful of other fighters have been named as well. Mayweather's fight will still likely take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, while Pacquiao will take a trip down to the Palace in Dallas to fight in Jerry Jones's new Cowboys Stadium.

After all of the back and forth drama, the media ploys and what ultimately amounts to an epic failure on the part of all sides, one question remains in the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight cancellation fiasco.

Lots of people deserve a share of the blame for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather not getting made. Starting with those who deserve the most...

Bob Arum: Yes, he of, "Yesterday I lied, today I'm telling the truth," fame. Throughout the entire affair Pacquiao's promoter was more interested in taking shots at Floyd Mayweather and his camp, and trying to work over the media then to work out a deal. As Golden Boy representative Richard Schaefer repeatedly told media outlets that the fight could still get done and only small issues needed to be ironed out, Arum jumped at every opportunity to say the fight was dead.

Arum formerly promoted Mayweather, until their relationship turned sour and Mayweather bought his way out of the contract. Arum's stubborn refusal to work amiably with Mayweather when it would have benefited everyone involved was one of the driving factors of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight

Pacquiao Vs. Mayweather Comes to a Screeching Halt, Who's to Blame?
being tanked.

Manny Pacquiao: Boxers are superstitious people. That's why they have such rigid routines and it forms the basis of some of their courage to step into the ring and exchange thunderous shots to the face with one another. However, Pacquiao's superstitious belief that having his blood drawn would make him weak and his resulting refusal to adhere to the demands of Mayweather was the final boulder that could not be moved out of the way for the mega-fight to get made. Ultimately, if you are a clean fighter, why wouldn't you agree to have your blood taken for $50 million?

Floyd Mayweather: Accusing Pacquiao of taking steroids was a win-win media ploy for Mayweather... except if Pacquiao retaliated by refusing to take the tests and instead filing a lawsuit, which he did. For his part, Mayweather did compromise on many of the details of the bout, however at the end of the day his stance on Olympic drug testing instead of the typical commission-based tests gets the "he never wanted the fight anyway" tag thrown back in his face.

Fighting a junior welterweight contender such as Paulie Malignaggi while Pacquiao fights a welterweight contender would be further embarrassment. Not to mention, how can a fighter with the self-given nickname "Money", not cease his demand making, and let his fists do the talking for an absurdly rich payday?

Richard Schaefer: Despite being far less culpable than Arum, Schaefer could have come up with more creative negotiating strategies to get the fight made. Mayweather's camp agreed to a ludicrous $10 million fee for coming in overweight. Schaefer could have compromised on the blood testing demands of Mayweather and came back with a $10 million penalty for any pre or post fight positive test results.

There's more blame to go around too. Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach for his media sensationalism and constant interviews one minute approving the bout and the next minute deriding it; Mayweather's father Floyd Mayweather Sr. for getting the Pacquiao steroid allegations started; fans, promoters and networks for aimlessly allowing the charade to play itself out and on down the line.

Somebody, anybody, needed to step up - or suck it up - and do something to save this bout. Nobody did, and it's truly an atrocity for everybody involved. Long, drawn out and venomous negotiations are a common occurrence for major boxing contests, but traditionally, the fight always got made.

The fact that this one didn't is a monumental catastrophe for all parties involved. Maybe the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout happens in September. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe one of the two guys loses their interim bouts on March 13 and all of the glam and glitz falls off the contest. At this point though, who cares?

Source: associatedcontent.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are foolish to throw away millions

2010-01-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

PHILADELPHIA — Toward the end of every calendar year, the Darwin Awards document incidents of human behavior so preposterous that the only conclusion is that the winners never made it very far up the evolutionary ladder.

It’s only a week and a half into 2010, but my early nomination for a Darwin Award goes to everyone concerned with the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. megafight that has imploded into a million pieces, again leaving boxing fans to wonder whether those who control the sport are suicidal, stupid or perhaps a combination of both.

Incensed by claims from the Mayweather camp that his rise to superstardom was fueled by performance-enhancing drugs, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) has agreed in principle to a consolation-prize bout with Ghana’s Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 13, the date he was to have fought Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

With the possible intent of demonstrating that two wrongs somehow do make a right, Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) insists he also will fight on March 13, most likely against pitty-pat-punching Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KOs) at the MGM Grand.

The only thing more nonsensical than two spiteful guys willfully throwing away a payday of up to $40 million apiece, in a fight that almost certainly would have been the highest-grossing in boxing history, is the notion that they’ll go head-to-head on the same date in competing pay-per-view events. I now declare nominations for the top prize for this year’s Darwin Awards closed.

Of course, proponents of each fighter will insist that failure to reach an agreement falls to the other side. There have been, and will continue to be, assertions of who deserves to get the larger slice of the blame-game pie. But no one comes out of this smelling like a rose.

Former Philadelphia Daily News sports editor and veteran HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant has been around long enough to understand that most impasses are based less on principle than on ego and money. Elite fighters, by nature, are a self-centered lot.

"I think of negotiating as a kind of dominance in which both fighters are trying to show that they’re the man, they’re the stronger guy, they’re the one who can impose his will on the other guy and that this will somehow show up in the ring," Merchant said when asked for his thoughts on the collapse of Pacquiao-Mayweather for now and perhaps forever.

After both sides — Top Rank founder Bob Arum and his stepson, company president Todd duBoef, represent Pacquiao, while Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer stood in for Mayweather Promotions, which is not licensed to do business in Nevada — agreed to the date and MGM Grand site, Mayweather’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., and uncle-trainer, Roger Mayweather, began popping off about how Pacquiao had gone from skinny 106-pounder to ripped 147-pounder, thanks in large part to steroids.

Pacquiao, who never has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, said he was highly offended by claims his success was anything but all natural. The Mayweather camp then demanded both fighters submit to more stringent, Olympic-type drug testing administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which includes random blood testing up to the day of an event.

During the past several weeks, Pacquiao filed a defamation suit against the Mayweathers, Golden Boy, Schaefer and the "Golden Boy" himself, Oscar De La Hoya. Various compromises were proposed and rejected, and now we are left with a mess of nothing, except, of course, pending litigation.

Is Pacquiao in the right? He’s never tested positive for any form of PED, so maybe his anger is justified.

Is Mayweather in the right? Shane Mosley, an executive and fighter for Golden Boy, tested clean for a matchup with De La Hoya, but later admitted to a grand jury he had injected himself with the doping agent EPO. If Mosley can beat the system, Team Mayweather contends, Pacquiao can, too.

A nine-hour mediation session last week with retired judge Daniel Weinstein failed to bridge the gap. In fact, the chasm appears to be widening.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said random blood testing up to the day of the bout would weaken his fighter, the naturally smaller man. He also claims Mayweather insisted on it because he’s "scared" of the Filipino and doesn’t want to risk his undefeated record, no matter how many millions of dollars are at stake.

Ever the chest-thumping gangsta, Mayweather said in a prepared statement that fans will see through Pacquiao’s "smoke screens and lies."

Big talk, however, has never settled anything. As the Darwin Awards demonstrate, we have met the enemy and once again it is us.

Source: bostonherald.com

Two Rights Make a Wrong

2010-01-13T06:13:00.000-08:00

Two wrongs don't make a right but sometimes two rights make a wrong. Witness the debacle about the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega bout -- the only fight that the public has demanded in years and a fight that has now been counted out. Why? How could boxing deliver such a vicious uppercut to itself?

As the story goes, and there are many narratives buzzing around, the contest was all but a done deal when Floyd Mayweather and company demanded Olympic-style drug testing. Pacquiao went ballistic and refused to comply. With perhaps the biggest bout on record hanging on the ropes, representatives for the two parties went into mediation but to no avail. Now Pacquiao has signed to fight Joshua Clottey on March 13, and in keeping with their strife, Mayweather is eager to match up with someone else on the same night.

As irritating as Mayweather can be, he was within reason and his rights to be concerned about the possibility of the Pac Man using performance enhancing drugs. After all, Pacquiao has leapt over weight classes as though they were puddles. He is the only fighter to win titles in seven different weight classes, prompting boxing historian Bert Sugar to tab him the "Evil Knievel" of boxing. To be sure, others have jumped divisions but none so many and while retaining, if not increasing, their punching power. Moreover, Pacquiao has been likened to Lance Armstrong in his supreme conditioning. His ability to workout for hours at very intense levels with little need for days off and recovery time are not the kind of stories to allay suspicions about PED.

While some commentators have accused Mayweather of groping for an excuse to excuse himself from a fight with Pacquiao, it is a fact that elite boxers have been going into the medicine cabinet. Some have been caught. Some haven't. By and large boxing does not have either the infrastructure or the financial means to demand rigorous random testing for every fight. Although Mayweather and his Golden Boy Promotions should not have approached the issue in such a public manner, their worries about the use of steroids or human growth hormone were understandable.

On the other hand, Pacquiao has never tested positive for anything and so from his point of view there was no reason to single him out for tests that go beyond what is required by the Nevada Boxing Commission. Assuming his innocence, Pacquiao is right to take serious umbrage at the implication that chemistry is responsible for his astounding accomplishments. He would also be right to do what he has done, namely, file a law suit against Floyd Mayweather and Golden Boy for defamation of character. But that is not the end of it.

With his exciting style and masterful technique, Pacquiao has single handedly scraped boxing off of the canvas. A one time street kid from the Philippines, he has become a national treasure and, according to Time, one of the most important people in the world. Pacquiao's popularity is in large part due to the fact that he is seen as a symbol of purity. Indeed, many Filipinos would prefer that he not seek political office (he is running for congress in the spring) because they believe that, no one, not even the mighty Pac Man, could avoid being corrupted in the political arena.

And yet with just a few comments, Floyd Mayweather has punched a hole in Pacquiao's image. If Pacquiao is to survive Mayweather's salvo and preserve his reputation, he needs to step forward and say that, while he is furious about the implication and is proceeding with the lawsuit, he will, for the good of boxing and his fans, submit to Olympic style testing.

The Pac Man has always crowed about his love of the sweet science and his followers, but does he have enough love to put aside his pride? If not, how are people to understand why he would storm away from 30 million dollars plus, and be willing to leave his legacy in Mark McGwire type tatters, just to avoid a few drug tests? Pacquiao has shown unprecedented toughness in the ring but he needs to show a different sort of toughness in order to get into the ring for the fight that his sport and fans demand.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather in popularity race with bouts on same night

2010-01-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

Instead, it will be a commercial battle, and one of popularity, as they race off for pay per view buys on the same night. I wouldn’t mind betting that both contests nosedive tin views - as fans around the world have been registering distaste at the shenanigans emerging from the saga.

On Friday night, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter at Top Rank, revealed that Pacquiao would defend the WBO welterweight title against former title holder Joshua Clottey - on March 13, at the NFL Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.

Not to be outdone, by the end of the weekend, it was announced that Mayweather will fight at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on the same night. Talk about brinkmanship.
The MGM Grand was in the running to host the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight before the collapse of the contest after a dispute between the camps on the drug testing protocol. Shame. It was only being touted, realistically enough, as the highest grossing fight in history. More importantly, it was, and remains, the defining fight of this generation of boxers. Egos and one-upmanship is only damaging the sport in this instance.

Instead of the proposed megafight, Mayweather is now looking at the likes of Paulie Malignaggi, Nate Campbell, or Kermit Cintron, although Richard Schaefer completely ruled out Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of former light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton.

"There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won't be Matthew Hatton," Schaefer told ESPN.com.

There is talk of Mayweather facing Shane Mosley, if Mayweather wins his March bout, although Mosley must also defeat the clever skills of Andre Berto in a welterweight unification fight on Jan 30. But the top of the boxing tree has itself in fine mess at the moment.

Source: telegraph.co.uk/

Mayweather also fighting on March 13

2010-01-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will still compete against each other on March 13, but not in the ring. Instead, they will be duking it out for pay-per-view buys.

Two days after Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, announced plans for Pacquiao to defend his welterweight title against former titlist Joshua Clottey on March 13, Mayweather is making plans to fight on the same night.

While Pacquiao will face Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, just outside of Dallas -- Arum concluded a deal with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Sunday -- Mayweather will face an opponent to be determined at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Sunday night.

"It's a date Golden Boy has had for a long time and nothing has changed," Schaefer said. "We have been talking to Team Mayweather to see who the opponent will be. I hope to have something to announce in the next few days."

The MGM Grand was supposed to host the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight before it broke up for good on Friday over a month-long dispute between the camps on the drug testing protocol for a bout that many believed would be the highest grossing fight in history.

According to sources, Mayweather's list of potential opponents includes former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi and Golden Boy-promoted former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell, both smaller men than Mayweather, as well as former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron, who is a similar kind of opponent as Clottey is for Pacquiao. There is also a more remote possibility of Mayweather facing junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr., who has ties to Showtime, which may not want to let him walk away for a possible fight on rival HBO PPV.

One opponent Mayweather will not be facing is Matthew Hatton, the brother of former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton, whom Mayweather knocked out in a 2007 welterweight title fight. Reports in Matthew Hatton's native England indicate that he is under consideration.

However, Schaefer said that is not the case.

"There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won't be Matthew Hatton," Schaefer said.

With Pacquiao and Mayweather going their separate ways against lesser opponents on competing pay-per-view cards, HBO, which has broadcast both fighters' biggest bouts on pay-per-view, is in a position where it will have to make a choice on whether it will support one fighter over the other or neither.

The network has been mum on its plans for March 13, although Arum and Schaefer both told ESPN.com that they have spoken to the network about their fights. Arum is also prepared to put on his event as a Top Rank-produced pay-per-view.

It would be highly unusual for there to be pay-per-view cards on the same night featuring major stars in separate bouts, but that is exactly what could happen.

"It is unusual, but what can I do," Schaefer said. "It wasn't Floyd who walked away from the Pacquiao fight. There is nothing I can really say about it. I've had the date [March 13] for a long time. Initially it was for the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones fight [which won't come off because Jones was knocked out in a Dec. 2 interim bout]. You know what? It is what it is. I'm not getting excited about it anymore. I am sitting outside having a cigar and [expletive]. It is what it is.

"It's not good. Its not good for Pacquiao to go on that date, which we had for a long time. We had that date, end of story. So it's not good. How can it be good? It's not good for boxing. It's not good for boxing that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other. I worked really hard to make that happen and it's not. And I am not belittling Pacquiao's fight with Clottey. It's OK. Hey, we have a piece of [the promotional contract of] Pacquiao. But is it ideal? No it's not. Is it the end of boxing? Is the world collapsing? No it is not. We all have to look to March 14. March 13 will pass and on March 14 boxing will still be there and there will be exciting fights, and nothing will change that."

Schaefer said he was unsure what HBO planned to do, but he hoped it would support Mayweather's bout.

"Nobody wants competing fights. HBO doesn't want it," he said. "Nobody in their clear mind can be happy about Mayweather fighting somebody else or Pacquiao fighting somebody else. But we all have to live with it and accept. I'm a boxing fan too and I am pissed off about what happened. Anyone who says anything different is lying. I wish there had been something I could do about it, so I am very frustrated and disappointed, but Floyd Mayweather will still fight."

If Mayweather wins his March bout, Schaefer said he could next meet Shane Mosley, the welterweight champion (and Golden Boy partner) who first faces Andre Berto in a Jan. 30 unification fight. Before taking the fight with Berto, Mosley spent months trying to land a bout with either Mayweather or Pacquiao.

Source: espn.go.com

Life after Mayweather for Pacquiao

2010-01-10T03:19:00.000-08:00

MANNY PACQUIAO will fight Joshua Clottey instead of Floyd Mayweather Jnr on March 13.
Pacquiao's proposed mega fight with Mayweather bit the dust earier this week after the two camps failed to agree terms over blood testing.

And the Filipino has wasted no time in finding a new opponent.

His promoter Bob Arum said: "Clottey's a real strong, aggressive and hard punching African who poses a real test for Manny."

Pacquiao, 31, will defend his WBO welterweight title against Clottey in Las Vegas.

But Arum insists the Mayweather bout could still happen in the future — if Money drops his drug-testing demands.

The Top Rank supremo added: "There's always later in the year and there's next year, it's up to Mayweather.

"But if he starts this nonsense again with testing or anything then let him take a walk.

"We are not going to get into a debate with him ever again on stuff we know nothing about and that only regulators really can understand.

"We have commissions regulating this sport.

"If Mayweather wants any special testing he should address it to the commission that will have jurisdiction over the fight."

Clottey's last outing was a defeat against Miguel Cotto, who Pacquiao defeated in November.

The Ghanaian, 32, has lost three times in a 39-fight career.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Mayweather, Pacquiao Dueling Fights: HBO Sides With......?

2010-01-10T03:18:00.000-08:00

By Rick Reeno

Based on the word going around, the failed Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather negotiations is creating an aftermath scenario where both fighters will headline separate pay-per-view events on March 13 - the very day that Pacquiao-Mayweather was tentatively scheduled to happen.

The wheels are in full motion for Pacquiao to defend his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey. Top Rank's Bob Arum flew to Texas on Saturday to finalize a venue deal with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Both of the fighters have agreed in principle and a finalized deal is expected in the next few days.

According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, Mayweather will also return on March 13 but at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Schaefer told several reporters - "no matter what, Floyd Mayweather will fight at the MGM Grand on March 13."

The real question, and the one question that most industry insiders want to know - is which event will HBO back. Pacquiao already has an opponent locked in, while Mayweather doesn't have a set replacement. Rumors of Paulie Malignaggi and Matthew Hatton are out there but nothing has been confirmed or denied by Team Mayweather.

Top Rank will move forward with or without HBO. They consistently stage their own pay-per-events. Golden Boy does not. During the course of the day, I spoke to a few promoters with no connection to either fighter, and none of them expect Golden Boy to move foward on March 13 if HBO picks up Pacquiao-Clottey. One source believes Schaefer is bluffing on the date. Another source believes Schaefer is serious.

Another interesting angle is the battle of pay-per-view buyrates. Pacquiao-Clottey is going to be an action fight. Mayweather is going to need a real solid opponent to compete. Top Rank is interested in revisiting the Mayweather fight in a few months. We sat back in 2009 as both sides were arguing over which of the two fighters was the bigger pay-per-view draw and deserved the bigger piece of the money. That argument will resume in 2010 when both fighters return to pay-per-view.

The negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao was an absolute soap opera. The final buyrate numbers for both events will give us an indication, to an extent, on which fighter had a falling out with the general boxing public. We sat through several weeks of soap opera-style drama as both sides tried to make the fight.

Some of the mudslinging has been vicious. I have a very hard time believing that anyone affiliated with Pacquiao or Top Rank would be stupid enough to send an email requesting an agreement between both sides to hide any information resulting from a "positive test result" for performance enhancing drugs. If either side had possession of such an email, it would have come out by now or at the very least - someone would have quoted the exact language from the email. We've heard both sides quote language from internal text messages, emails and voicemail messages but nobody has been able to quote anything or present any proof that such an email actually exists.

I would have to say Pacquiao's career took the bigger hit from this entire mess with all of the allegations, rumors and the cloud of doubt that swirls above his head. And the mess is far from over. With Pacquiao's pending defamation suit against Golden Boy and several of the Mayweathers, there will be a lot more drama in the coming months.

Source: boxingscene.com

Mayweather's Blow Hits Below the Belt

2010-01-10T03:16:00.000-08:00

It's been 17 years since Floyd Mayweather Jr. made his first imprint on the boxing world. It was at the 1993 National Golden Gloves Championships in Little Rock, Ark. He was 16 and won his weight class.

Mayweather weighed 106 pounds then.

Less than two years later in January 1995, a kid who unbeknownst to any of us then would become Mayweather's most stubborn nemesis, Manny Pacquiao, made a professional debut as a boxer in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. He was 16 and won a four-round decision against someone named Edmund Enting Ignacio.

Pacquiao weighed 106 pounds then.

How about that? Mayweather and Pacquiao were both 106-pound, 16-year-old pugilists.

But to hear Mayweather's camp tell it -- as led by Mayweather's loquacious father, Floyd Mayweather Sr. -- Mayweather Jr. basically has been a welterweight all of his life while Pacquiao has been hiding in a trainer's room hooked up to an intravenous feed of steroids to inflate his body over the years.

If ever there was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, it is Mayweather's camp accusing Pacquiao of being a steroids cheat, a charge that has cast a fight between the two -- something steeped in so much anticipation that it would be the richest prizefight in history -- into a sea of uncertainty.

Mayweather's camp, pointing its accusatory finger at Pacquiao, demanded Olympic-style, virtually-up-to-the-last-second blood testing for both combatants. Pacquiao's camp countered that it would agree to blood testing within 24 days of stepping into the ring. Mayweather's camp refused to budge. Now Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, said he is signing up Joshua Clottey as Pacquiao's opponent on the proposed March 13 date for Mayweather-Pacquiao. (This is the same Arum who, it can't be forgotten, said famously once: "Yesterday I was lying; Today I'm telling the truth.")

In a lot of ways, this is boxing as usual. One day a fight is on; the next day it is off. Most times the sticking point in negotiations is the share of the purse. Sometimes it is the size of the ring or the gloves.

Olympic-style blood testing for steroids is a new stumbling block, and it is understandable. This is the steroids era and stars of the ring haven't proven to be cleaner than stars of any other sports. Shane Mosley got busted as a client of the infamous BALCO business (the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative) that proved to be a Pandora's Box (spilling out were the world's supposed fastest man Tim Montgomery and his then-lover Marion Jones, baseball All-Stars Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds, et al.) of the steroids era. Evander Holyfield, who grew from a 177-pound light heavyweight to a 221-pound heavyweight champion, admitted he took steroids (unwittingly, of course) around 2004.

Accusing someone of cheating, however, is a new and below-the-belt attack. It's not in the same category as name-calling, which Muhammad Ali engaged in. That would explain why Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather and his handlers for their thus far unsubstantiated claims that he's been juicing.

After all we've learned the past few years, though, no name would surprise me if it popped up on a performance-enhancing drug blotter, neither Pacquiao's nor, for that matter, Mayweather's. Both have grown nine weight classes, from light flyweight to welterweight, and have taken on and beaten Oscar De La Hoya, who has weighed as much as a middleweight, 160 pounds.

That is not to say that Mayweather has attained his greatness through the nefarious means he has alleged Pacquiao of getting to at this point in Pacquiao's career. I've never wondered for a second about Mayweather's rise to fame as arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter of his time. I have, however, often wondered why he's made it so difficult at times to make big fights happen. He was dismissive of Antonio Margarito when Margarito would have given him his biggest payday.

But I never thought twice about Pacquiao's ascendancy until Mayweather Sr. started calling out Pacquiao the last couple of months and his son didn't voice disagreement. (In the interest of full disclosure, I must state that at one time I was represented by one of Pacquiao's lawyers, Nick Kahn, and accepted a gift of two tickets to Pacquiao's second fight with Erik Morales during my brief hiatus from the regular writing business.) Upon further review, however, I found no more reason to wonder about Pacquiao unless I'm going to start looking at Mayweather with doubt, too.

For as history shows, Mayweather has made the exact same climb over nearly the same time period and with results similar to Pacquiao's, though not as spectacular. Mayweather hasn't run roughshod over seemingly bigger men as Pacquiao has, like an aged De La Hoya, who Pacquiao put into retirement, or Miguel Cotto, who Pacquiao turned into mincemeat.

Mayweather has put on as much as 44 pounds since he was 16 (he fought De La Hoya at 150 pounds); Pacquiao has put on as much as 38 pounds since he was the same age.

Mayweather was up to 131 pounds when he debuted as a pro in October 1996, just over three years after his first Golden Gloves title. Pacquiao didn't get up to 130 pounds until late 2005. Is slow gain not more natural than quick gain?

Mayweather has put on the bulk of his added weight -- 19 pounds -- since debuting as a pro. Being from an impoverished region of the Philippines, Pacquiao started boxing for dollars immediately.

It doesn't mean much that Pacquiao has never been busted for using banned performance-enhancing drugs. Few athletes own up to as much until they are found out. But that goes for Mayweather too. The only difference between the two is that Mayweather has sounded as if he's chomping at the bit to be tested and Pacquiao has sounded as if he's not so eager.

Does that mean Pacquiao has something to hide? Or is Mayweather just calling his bluff? I don't know.

All I know is that these two guys are a lot more similar than has been portrayed and the only cheating going on for certain is of the fans.

Source: kevin-blackistone.fanhouse.com

Mayweather to blame for Manny Pacquiao debacle

2010-01-10T03:14:00.000-08:00

Now that the scheduled March 13 megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. officially is kaput, "Pac-Man" has moved on to a meeting with Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium on the same day. You can thank Team Mayweather for that.

"Pretty Boy" Floyd and his advisors, Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, managed to execute one of the biggest blunders in boxing history -- throwing $40 million in the toilet over an allegation. They were pompous, arrogant, self-serving and laughably detached from reality, and they severely miscalculated Team Pacquiao's fortitude.

Now they're backpedaling faster than Uncle Floyd against Chavez Ê-- still believing the showdown can be saved. It can't.

Team Floyd: you blew it.

Big time.

Vegas or bust

First, there was the issue of venue. Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and the HBO brass were to meet with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in early December about the possibility of staging the fight at the new Cowboys Stadium.

The meeting -- which included a tour of the $1.2 billion dollar facility -- was set. All three parties had agreed to take a look.

Then, the day before they were to arrive in Dallas, Schaefer pulled out -- citing reasons that didn't even make sense. It became apparent that Schaefer's interests were in Las Vegas, and that the fight would happen there, or nowhere.
Despite the fact that staging Pacquiao-Mayweather in Cowboys Stadium would bring unprecedented national and international attention to a sport that sorely needed it -- Schaefer, Mayweather, De La Hoya and the rest of the pugilistic "Three Stooges" didn't care.

So, the MGM Grand in Vegas was chosen as the site.

A flustered Arum vented, but rolled with the punches.

Then, right about the time negotiations appeared to be complete, Schaefer and Mayweather started this drug-testing nonsense.

They insisted specifically on Olympic-style drug testing -- which calls for blood to be drawn randomly in the weeks and days leading up to the fight. Originally, Pacquiao said no to the blood tests. Then he relented, allowing for blood to be drawn two months prior, one month prior and immediately after the fight.

Mayweather -- somehow still taking someone's misguided advice seriously -- said no.
The bottom line is that nothing had been proven. And therefore, if you're proud like Pacquiao -- why should you concede to anything? ÊWhy would you allow an opponent to dictate the terms of the drug test and irresponsibly fling unfounded allegations at you in public?

Pacquiao later filed a lawsuit against Golden Boy claiming defamation.

And, since it was Mayweather's team that demanded the fight be held in Las Vegas, why isn't the well-respected Nevada State Athletic Commission dictating the drug protocol? Why hadn't Mayweather insisted on Olympic-style drug testing in his previous fights in Las Vegas?

Senseless

The biggest question is this: how can Mayweather -- who is reportedly in financial straits after well-documented IRS trouble -- balk at the prospect of $40 million guaranteed?

Pacquiao can earn big money elsewhere because he's exciting and he's the biggest name in the sport. Mayweather needs another big name to be relevant because he's about as thrilling as a test pattern. It's a point his crack advising team has failed to pound home.

Mayweather's not scared. He's just being advised by a comedy troupe. The extent to which Golden Boy has mucked this up is epic.

Let's just hope Mayweather stops taking this sage advice and wises up in time to make the fight a reality one day.

Matthew Aguilar may be reached at maguilarnew@yahoo.com

Source: elpasotimes.com

Mayweather puts blame on Pacquiao for failure to work out deal

2010-01-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

A day after Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, blamed Floyd Mayweather for scuttling the mediation and negotiations for their proposed March 13 megafight, declaring that "Floyd Mayweather walked away. the fight is off," Mayweather lashed out at Pacquiao and his promoter.

In a statement released Thursday, Mayweather said, "Throughout this whole process I have remained patient but at this point I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them," he said.

"First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk a—."

Arum, reached by phone Thursday, responded by saying, "Now that the fight's off, he wants to whip his punk a—. That's a real manly statement."

Mayweather explained in his statement that before the mediation, his team proposed a 14-day, no blood testing window leading up to the fight. "But it was rejected," he said.

"I am still proposing the 14-day window but (Pacquiao) is still unwilling to agree to it, even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cut-off. The truth is he just doesn't want to take the tests."

Arum said, "Floyd Mayweather can say whatever he now wants to say, but his actions over the last several weeks demonstrate that he didn't want to get in the ring against Pacquiao. He made excuse after excuse, and when put to the test, he chose to flee rather than fight.

"I've been in this business for almost 50 years. I've handled some of the greatest Hall of Fame fighters — Ali, Foreman, Hagler, Hearns, Duran, Leonard — they argue about this, they argue about that, but every fighter agrees to be bound by the rules and regulations of the athletic commission in which the fight is to take place. That's been the historic basis for this sport, and I made a terrible, terrible mistake at trying to appease this egomaniac kid.

"When he started with the special blood-testing, we should've told him 'goodbye, forget about it, if you want to fight, the fight's in Nevada, the commission will regulate it.' You don't appease. I made a fundamental mistake. In order to get this fight the public wanted, I appeased an egomaniac by talking to him about blood testing. And that was stupid on my part."

Arum had said Wednesday night he couldn't discuss the sticking point in the mediation with retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein in Los Angeles. But going in, Arum had said the biggest issue was the drug testing, as well as a demand by Pacquiao for an apology from Mayweather's side for saying that Pacquiao had taken performance-enhancing drugs. He said Thursday that Pacquiao agree to urine tests any time leading up to the fight and afterwards, and orginally agree to blood tests no closer than 30 days from the fight, then moved it to 24 days out.

Weinstein issued a statement Thursday that said, among other things, that "Both parties participated in the mediation in good faith. Both parties participated in many hours of negotiation, with a number of proposals issued by each side and carefully considered by the parties and their representatives."

Weinstein said he himself "did not formulate, recommend or issue a Mediator's Proposal. The Mediator did not make an evaluation or finding that any one of the many proposals considered by the parties was the correct protocol."

He went on to say that "Any attempt to characterize the mediation process as an acceptance or rejection by any of the parties of a mediator's or an arbiter's proposal or of any specific proposal is false.

d. In the end, the parties could not agree on a testing protocol acceptable to all."

Arum refused to accept any blame for the failure of mediation. "The fight's off not because of us, not even because of (Mayweather's) people —he was represented by Golden Boy Promotions — it's because of (Floyd) personally."

"It's not surprising. I always felt that he wasn't going to do the fight. He knows Manny will beat him. Mayweather's never stepped into the ring with a guy he had any question but that he was going to beat.

"That's why there's never been a (Shane) Mosley, there's never been a (Antonio) Margarito, there never was a (Miguel) Cotto, and there's no Pacquiao.

"Floyd Mayweather is a coward. He will never fight anyone that will remotely give him a tough fight."

Mayweather, not surprisingly, saw it a completely different way.

"In my opinion it is Manny Pacquiao and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest fight ever," Mayweather said. "I know the people will see through their smokescreens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract. Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight."

Both Mayweather and Pacquiao figured to make $25 million to $40 million for the fight, which was supposed to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Arum said Pacquiao will now look at fighting undefeated Israeli WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman either March 13 or March 20 in Las Vegas. "We're going to check out all the sites tomorrow," Arum said.

Mayweather has talked about fighting WBO light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas on March 13.

Mayweather's manager, Leonard Ellerbe, said Thursday night he hopes the fight will eventually be made.

"I'm hopeful that we can come to an agreement," Ellerbe said. "Floyd has made one heck of a compromise. They wanted 30 (days), we didn't want any, Floyd met him in the middle. Isn't that a significant compromise?

"Boxing has a wonderful opportunity to take the sport back to the mainstream. Millions upon millions of people will watch this fight, and you have a fighter who thinks he's the best, and a guy who knows he's the best. (Floyd's) been the best for over a decade now. And he has an unblemished record.

"The ball is in Manny Pacquiao's court now. We'll see what happens."

Arum had said Wednesday night that the fight will never happen. Thursday, he softened that stance a bit. "Maybe we'll revisit it in the fall," he said. "At that time, I won't make the same stupid mistake I made before. I'll tell him, 'you want to fight Pacquiao, it's under the rules and regulations of the Nevada Commission.' Period. End of story."

Source: usatoday.com

Pacquiao, Clottey reach deal to fight March 13 at Cowboys Stadium

2010-01-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON -- As representatives from Golden Boy Promotions work feverishly to keep a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao megafight alive, Pacquiao has reached an agreement in principle to defend his WBO welterweight title against former title holder Joshua Clottey on March 13, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told SI.com.
The fight between Pacquiao and Clottey will likely take place at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Arum and Top Rank have been embroiled in contentious negotiations with Mayweather and representatives from Golden Boy Promotions, which is representing Mayweather. At issue is drug testing: Mayweather is insisting on random blood testing before the fight while Pacquiao will submit to unlimited urine testing -- all that is required by the Nevada commission -- but only agree to blood testing 30 days before the fight.
Earlier this week, the two sides agreed to mediation by retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein. During the mediation, Pacquiao agreed to blood testing up to 24 days before the fight. Mayweather refused and, according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, countered with a 14-day testing window.
Schaefer told SI.com on Friday that he believed Pacquiao was never told of the 14 day offer. He referred to an Internet report where Pacquiao and his representatives denied that Mayweather had offered to reduce the testing window to 14 days before the fight. Schaefer said he had text messages between Golden Boy's Chief Marketing Officer Bruce Binkow and Top Rank President Todd DuBoef during this week's mediation discussing the 14-day window.
Arum, however, says Pacquiao has known about the 14 days since Jan. 1 and said he had an email exchange between DuBoef and Pacquiao's advisor, Michael Koncz, that prove that Pacquiao had received the offer and rejected it.
"That offer was rejected a long time ago," said Arum. "It was off the table. They are just trying to get under Manny's skin. It serves no purpose than to aggravate Manny Pacquiao."
Arum scoffed at the notion that the fight could be saved, indicating that neither he nor anyone in his company had been in contact with anyone from Mayweather's camp. " If they are negotiating, they are negotiating with themselves," said Arum. "We aren't talking to them."
Schaefer said Arum approached him on Thursday to discuss the possibility of making a third fight between Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. But the discussions went nowhere because besides insisting on a 50-50 split, Marquez also asked for the same level of drug testing as Mayweather. Schaefer also said that while he had not spoken to Shane Mosley about a future fight with Pacquiao, it was likely that Mosley would also require blood testing before any fight with Pacquiao.
Arum said he would no longer consider any form of testing beyond what the state commission requires for any future fight with Pacquiao -- including Mayweather.
"This is beyond stupid," said Arum. "That was my biggest mistake, allowing any of this to happen. I should have said no. We're not revisiting [blood testing]. We're not negotiating with these punks anymore. If Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao down the road, he will have to go by the testing the state commission asks for. If not, life goes on."

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

After the Dust Has Settled – Pacquiao Still in Control

2010-01-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Right now, boxing fans are feeling like a victim of Ashton Kutcher’s old television show Punk’d.

Since Nov. 14, better known as the night that Manny Pacquiao scored an electrifying 12th- round TKO win over Miguel Cotto, anybody that follows the sport has had their appetite whetted by the mouth watering prospect of seeing a showdown between the world’s two top pound-for-pound boxers – Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

But with the negotiations for that fight now having imploded like the demolition of The Sands Casino in Las Vegas, boxing fans are left with nothing more than a cloud of dust as they try to make sense of what it all means and what will be next for both Pacquiao and Mayweather.

By any measure one wishes to use, there is no doubt that Pacquiao and Mayweather are ranked #1 and #2 – in that order.

Pacquiao is the best boxer on the planet and Mayweather is further down behind him – lower on the list in second place.

Never mind that Pacquiao is ranked #1 in the ratings by every reputable boxing publication or Internet boxing Web site in existence and that he has been honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America as the fighter of the year for the past two years in a row.

What is probably more important is that Manny is also #1 at the box office. And in the sport of boxing, better known as the business of boxing, that is his most significant achievement.

It is Pacquiao that draws fans in droves to his live events. For comparison purposes, Pacquiao’s recent bout against Miguel Cotto attracted a standing room only crowd of over 16,000 to the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Less than two months earlier, Mayweather met Juan Manuel Marquez at the same venue and they failed to draw a paid attendance of 13,000 to a relatively subdued affair.

Ticket brokers and scalpers were able to charge upwards of ten thousand dollars for one Pacquiao vs. Cotto ringside ticket. The Mayweather-Marquez fight was lucky to get half that amount for the same seat. The MGM Grand was forced to offer special packages to attract customers to the Mayweather vs. Marquez fight – everything from discounted fight tickets, free meals and free limousine rides to and from McCarran International Airport. On the other hand, Pacquiao vs. Cotto was sold out weeks in advance and the night of the fight brought the city of Las Vegas to a virtual standstill.

Mayweather calls himself "Money" – but it is Pacquiao that attracted more fans this year to Las Vegas. It is also Pacquiao that caused more fans to push the pay-per-view buy buttons on their television remote control. His fight against Cotto earned nearly $14 million more in pay-per-view revenue than Mayweather’s fight against Marquez.

So, since boxing fans will not have the matter settled as to who the best boxer on the planet is with a match-up of skills between Pacquiao and Mayweather – the only other measurable manner available to them is the rankings of the various organizations that keep track of such things - and the latest box office receipts.

Using both of those measuring sticks, it is Pacquiao that easily comes out on top.

Mayweather and his supporters will point to his 2007 fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton as evidence of his supremacy on the pay-per-view front. However, the De La Hoya fight was nearly three years ago. The world was a different place then; money and credit were easy come and easy go. People thought nothing of making a weekend trip to Vegas or dropping a Grant on the pay-per-view. In the world economy of 2009, where funds were sparse, and folks searched for value in their entertainment dollar, they spent more in person and via their TV screens to see Manny Pacquiao.

Promoters spent an astonishing $20 million on marketing costs for the Mayweather vs. Marquez fight. The fight was also broadcast in 170 movie theaters around the country – yet Pacquiao still attracted more fans.

In the day and age of the Internet, any Web-site publisher will tell you that when a Manny Pacquiao news item or feature appears on their site, it is a good day for them in terms of the all important page views. Ask a boxing magazine publisher who sells more copies when Pacquiao or Mayweather appear on their cover and they will tell you that the Pinoy idol is "bank".

Mayweather and his backers will counter with the argument that both of his fights against De La Hoya and Hatton drew more than Pacquiao’s did – but again – we’re talking about numbers going on nearly three years ago.

Boxing would probably best be known as a sport of "What have you done for me lately?"

Using that simple question, it is Pacquiao that is clearly the more personable fighter/celebrity. Devoted fans flock to him, they smile, they pose, they rush to get an autograph or a picture.

Mayweather’s highly publicized open workout at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood in the days before his bout against Marquez barely drew a crowd of 200 people. On the other hand, in the same town, just around the corner and down the street, Pacquiao attracts that many people every single day to watch him simply walk in and out of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym.

Whether one wishes to blame the non-happening of the Pac-May fight on Pacquiao’s refusal to submit to Mayweather’s demand for the unheard of Olympic style drug testing is their prerogative. However, they should remember that based on the most recent accomplishments it is Manny that is universally regarded as the best boxer on the planet, Manny that is the more popular person with the public and Manny that is the recent box-office champion.

Based on all of that – it is Pacquiao that was clearly in the drivers’ seat of the failed negotiations. It is also Pacquiao that clearly sits atop the boxing world as 2010 gets underway. For Mayweather to lay claim to anything he will have to get in the ring, fight and beat a contender of consequence and perhaps win a title. It will be the only way to turn the tide in his favor.

In the Corners

The latest news is that Pacquiao will likely face the always tough, durable and rugged Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. The Ghanaian is perhaps the toughest and one of the most avoided welterweights in the world. I will say that unless Pacquiao is totally focused he will not beat Clottey, who is a larger man who can take a great punch. Clottey will likely be a middleweight by the time he steps into the ring on fight night and he has a tight defense...Meanwhile, rumors persist that Mayweather will meet the smaller and light punching Paulie Malignaggi - or even worse – Matthew Hatton, the limited younger brother of Ricky. My view is that since Mayweather needs to make a statement of supremacy and gain more leverage in any potential future negotiations for a Pacquiao fight, that he should face the winner of the Jan. 30 Shane Mosley vs. Andre Berto title fight…Nice to see the return of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights as well as the upcoming new series on FOX Sports. Who says boxing is dead?

Source: boxingscene.com

Pacquiao-Clottey Bout for W.B.O. Title

2010-01-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao will put his W.B.O. welterweight title on the line against the Ghanaian Joshua Clottey in March after talks for a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. fizzled, Pacquiao’s promoter said. The fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather broke down when negotiations between the sides hit a snag over Mayweather’s demand for a rigorous dope-testing procedure. Clottey beat Zab Judah for the I.B.F. welterweight title in August 2008 and lost a split decision to Miguel Cotto last June.

Source: nytimes.com

LAWYER EXAMINES PACQUIAO LAWSUIT

2010-01-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

DON’T TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS….
Pittsburgh, PA- Much as you and I would prefer to bloviate about an actual fight between the world’s two best, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) and Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs), we’re stuck talking about the defamation suit filed this week by Pacquiao against Mayweather, his father Floyd, Sr., uncle/trainer Roger, Mayweather Promotions, and Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya and CEO Richard Schafer. I’ll take off my boxing analyst hat and put on the lawyer cap so as not to discuss the appropriateness within the sport of one boxer suing another for something he said, and I’ll just stick to the (sigh!) civil complaint and legal process.

… YOU TAKE ‘EM TO COURT

In what often reads as a press release, Pacquiao’s twelve page suit alleges that the Mayweathers, De La Hoya and Schafer besmirched his reputation by claiming or insinuating that he ingests performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). In order to prove that their statements were defamatory, Pacquiao must show that they were intentionally or recklessly false and that they caused harm to his reputation. The amount of monetary damages Pacquiao receives would be based upon the harm caused, how much money Pacquiao’s out due to the comments in light of his extraordinary wealth, and any money needed to punish the defendants in order to get them and others to refrain from further comments. Because Pacquiao is a celebrity – i.e., a “public figure” – it’s not enough for him to show that the statements are in error, he must also show they were maliciously made.

BUT WHO TO SUE?

Interestingly, Golden Boy Promotions is not a defendant; not surprisingly, neither are uncle Jeff Mayweather nor boxers Kermit Cintron and Paulie Malignaggi, other Pacquiao accusers. In order to be found liable, defamatory statements must either be directly attributed to each defendant, or they must be responsible for them by requesting or authorizing them. Therefore, little Floyd can’t be held liable for something his dad said unless it was under his direction, and so on. As you can see, then, the legal path Pacquiao’s team must weave will be circuitous and somewhat tedious, as in many lawsuits. Not only must Manny show the claims are false (and that could get interesting), he must show they were malicious, who said them, and under whose direction or permission.

WON’T BE LIKE THE PEOPLE’S COURT

Expect the defense to move for dismissal of the claims, where they allege that the complaint on its face doesn’t even merit a jury trial; however, like most pre-trial requests for dismissal, this one won’t likely succeed, meaning that a jury trial circus is in the cards if all involved don’t come to their senses, or unless this is just a P.R. stunt. After tons of discovery requests, depositions, motions and Mayweather legal bills, jury trial would likely not commence for at least a couple years if not more, which can seem like an eternity in the boxing world.

WHAT (I HOPE) THIS IS REALLY ABOUT

If not to gain leverage in their mega-fight negotiations by eliciting an apology from team Mayweather along with say-so and perceived moral superiority about the method of drug testing, Top Rank chief Bob Arum will at least use this opportunity to attempt to jostle Golden Boy’s financial piece of the Pacman. Expect any negotiations in that regard or about a potential bout this year to include Pacquiao dropping this complaint. If that happens, you can take comfort in the knowledge that our discourse will move away from the courts and back to the ring. In the meantime, I’ll find some comfort in knowing that at least I didn’t have to write about the only thing worse than this lawsuit: the Pacman vs. Yuri Foreman! (If that debacle does go off, can I be the first to suggest that it’s entitled “The Chase.” Arum can pretend like that’s a reference to Manny’s quest for yet another division’s title, but we’d know what it really means.)

Brian Gorman
Note: Mr. Gorman is a practicing attorney practicing in “The Steel City.”

Source: ringtalk.com

Floyd Mayweather's adviser: Bob Arum's misleading of public over negotiations 'childish'

2010-01-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

Floyd Mayweather’s adviser railed against Manny Pacquiao’s promoter for what he called a misinformation campaign after the proposed March 13 Mayweather-Pacquiao fight fell apart.

Leonard Ellerbe said Bob Arum intentionally has tried to mislead the public throughout negotiations, including omitting information that the Mayweather camp proposed a 14-day window before the fight when there would be no blood testing.

“Arum is trying to trick the public into thinking there was no compromise at all,” Ellerbe said. “He never mentioned that a 14-day compromise was offered -- and rejected -- prior to mediation.

“I think it’s more than a fair compromise, particularly since, realistically, it’s not an issue that should be compromised on at all.”

Ellerbe also disputed a media report in which Arum was quoted as saying two key members of Mayweather’s negotiating team -- business adviser Al Haymon and Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions -- tried to talk the Grand Rapids native into accepting the Pacquiao side’s compromise proposal of a 24-day window with no blood testing before the fight.

“It’s a childish, amateurish attempt by Bob Arum to divide and conquer,” Ellerbe said. “It’s absolutely not true. It never happened. It’s a lie.”

Ellerbe said he still is hopeful a deal could be struck to preserve the fight proposal, although there is no dialogue between the camps and that wish appears less likely by the hour.

“I said last week that Manny Pacquiao has surrounded himself with smart people but I have to retract that statement,” he said. “They’re not very smart people at all, because Manny Pacquiao is going to wake up, another deal is going to be presented to him, and he’s going to say, ‘What? I’m not going to make eight figures?’

“If there’s an award for bonehead decision making of the year, we all know who that award gets presented to.”

Ellerbe stressed that Mayweather wants the fight and that the 14-day window his team proposed was middle ground between the random testing right up until fight night that it wanted, and the 30-day window Pacquiao initially agreed to accept.

“The bottom line is that what we’ve been proposing all along is random, Olympic-style drug testing,” Ellerbe said. “Why would the guy refuse random blood and urine testing? Why?”

Source: mlive.com

http://www.examiner.com/x-34564-New-England-Boxing-Examiner~y2010m1d7-Massachusetts-Boxing-Commissioner-Thinks-Mayweather-is-Ducking-Pacquiao

2010-01-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

In wake of the Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather negotiations apparently having fallen through, Massachusetts state boxing commissioner Dan Fitzgerald has weighed in on the issues halting the fight from being made. Namely, the issue of drug testing.

"I do believe that certain boxers, however, Muhammad Ali being one of the masters at it, will say or do things to gain a psychological advantage before a match, and Mayweather is known for that. Frankly, I do not think that Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao, or anyone else for that matter, where Mayweather believes he may lose. I have told you before that Mayweather will never fight Paul Williams or Shane Mosley no matter what promoters promise to pay him. Because Mayweather does not need the money, I would not be surprised if he was thinking along the following lines: Mayweather knows he would come in over weight (something for which he has a reputation), that he would have to pay a substantial fine (something that we know and that Mayweather certainly knows that the Nevada Commission is quite capable of imposing), a fine anywhere from $5-10 million dollars, and that he would end up netting the same amount as he would any other fighter, but one that he knows he could beat. So, why fight Pacquiao? Rather than go through all of that, what does Mayweather do? He postures a little, raises an obscure issue that no one can prove or disprove, (it is very difficult to prove a negative), gets the fight cancelled, argues "I told you so," and comes away claiming he won without ever having to fight the guy. I am not saying that is what he is doing or going to do, but that scenario is a thousand times more likely than someone like Pacquiao cheating. No wonder Pacquiao sued him."

Fitzgerald is no stranger to weighing in on controversial topics related to Pacquiao. In 2008, he publicly opposed the Pacquaio - Oscar De La Hoya welterweight fight being approved because he felt it would be a mismatch due to the size difference between the two fighters.
Of course the perceived smaller man, Pacquiao, pounded De La Hoya en route to a 8th round TKO in that fight. Pacquiao weighed in at 148 pounds unofficially on the night of the fight to De La Hoya's 147. This would later lead Fitzgerald to joke, "well I was right that the bigger man would win."
In regards to the issue of drug testing that is holding up that Pacquiao - Mayweather fight from happening, Fitzgerald said the following in an email.

"I would find it extremely difficult to believe that Freddie Roach, a man well known for his integrity in this sport, would allow himself to be associated with any boxer who cheats."
Nevertheless, Fitzgerald feels there is always the possibility that a fighter could be trying to get a competitive edge.

"When judges instruct juries on the law during a trial, for example, they always make a point to explain to the jury that anything is possible, and there exists a chance for anything, however remote those possibilities or chances may be."

When asked if he feels Olympic style drug testing, which is what the Mayweather camp is asking for in this fight, be implemented on a more regular basis in boxing, Fitzgerald had the following to say.

"I know that some substances can only be detected in blood where others can be detected in both urine and blood. One of the ways to keep people from abusing or cheating any system is to keep changing the system. If a Commission or an Olympic Committee or any other regulatory body always conducts tests at a specific time period before or after any contest whether it be a fight, an Olympic event, or an audit, it gives potential cheaters a specific time frame to work around. This is why broad discretionary language in one's regulations regarding testing really helps."

Whether you agree with Fitzgerald or not, one thing we can all agree on is we hope this fight eventually happens.

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao rejects Foreman for fight

2010-01-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

Israeli boxing sensation Yuri Foreman's chance of fighting world pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao was ended on Thursday after Pacquiao's camp rejected Foreman as a potential opponent to replace Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Foreman, the 29-year-old who won the WBA super welterweight title in November, is represented by Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum and had been considered a potential opponent for the March 13 slot vacated when negotiations between Pacquiao and Mayweather broke down on Wednesday.

The LA Times reported that Pacquiao's US business manager Michael Koncz said, "Manny's concerned about Foreman's height. We'll go through the entire [welterweight and junior welterweight] categories and see what we can come up with."

However, the Israeli, who lived in Haifa from the ages of 10 to 19 and now resides in New York, was still proud to have been turned down.

"It's a real honor the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world doesn't want to fight me," Foreman said. "Aside from winning the world title, this is the greatest compliment I've gotten in boxing."

"We would have liked [Pacquiao] but it didn't work out," Foreman spokesman Dovid Efune told The Jerusalem Post. "But we know that everything that God does has a purpose."

Source: jpost.com

Once again, boxing knocks itself out

2010-01-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

Boxing’s ability to destroy its image rivals that of Tiger Woods. The only difference is boxing has more practice at it.

For the past decade or so, the men who run the sport have been on a constant campaign of self-immolation, finally doing to boxing what the Mafia could not when they controlled it. They made it irrelevant in the eyes of many sports fans and even more sports editors.

Yet as Bernard Hopkins once said, “As long as you got ghettos, you’ll have boxing,” and so boxing has survived relentless efforts to ruin itself. The past year saw the latest resurgence in interest led by Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino wunderkind who has won world titles in seven weight classes and, before his last fight, was the subject of major features in Time magazine and the New York Times [NYT] - two journalistic entities that long ago forgot the sport existed.

With interest again growing, record numbers were expected to pay to watch a March 13 showdown between Pacquiao and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world until Pacquiao usurped him during Mayweather’s 21-month self-imposed ring exile.

But amid projections of $200 million in revenue, a record live gate at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas and the possibility of shattering the all-time pay-per-view record of 2.44 million buys set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya two years ago, the fight collapsed yesterday. Not over greed, which is the usual culprit in boxing, but rather over Pacquiao’s refusal to submit to random drug testing insisted by Mayweather.

The final collapse came after a nine-hour mediation effort Tuesday in which Pacquiao agreed to be tested three times, including immediately after the fight and within 24 days of it. Only problem was the 24-day test is required by the Nevada Athletic Commission and most experts believe random testing is the only way to catch the use of performance-enhancers.

Mayweather refused the proposal, costing each fighter an estimated $30 million to $40 million and leading Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, to claim Mayweather never wanted the fight.

“Manny accepted what was on the table and Mayweather rejected it,” Arum told ESPN. “(Mayweather manager Al) Haymon and (Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard) Schaefer tried to convince Floyd and he wouldn’t agree to it. . . . He never wanted the fight.”

The mediator, retired judge Daniel Weinstein, issued a statement last night refuting some of Arum’s claims, saying he was forced to do so because both sides agreed to confidentiality and, if it was broken, Weinstein was to set the record straight.

“Various articles have appeared in the press purporting to characterize the substance and outcome of the Mayweather-Pacquiao mediation and the negotiations between the parties,” his statement read. “Many of the reports are incorrect. Any attempt to characterize the mediation process as an acceptance or rejection by any of the parties of a mediator’s or an arbiter’s proposal or of any specific proposal is false. In the end, the parties could not agree on a testing protocol acceptable to all.”

Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court in Nevada against the Mayweather entourage claiming they accused him of using PEDs. Where that will lead no one knows, but if it leads where Roger Clemens ended up, Pacquiao may rue the day he was talked into it.

Mayweather, meanwhile, made his first public pronouncement last night, saying in a statement: “Throughout this whole process I have remained patient, but at this point I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them.

“First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass. Before the mediation, my team proposed a 14-day, no blood testing window leading up to the fight, but it was rejected even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cutoff. The truth is he just doesn’t want to take the tests.”

A fight the world wanted has now become just another war of words that continued when Pacquiao issued a statement insisting it wasn’t his fault even though he’s the one refusing to be tested effectively.

In the wake of this, Arum has proposed Pacquiao fight 154-pound champion Yuri Foreman, while Mayweather may fight ex-140-pound champion Paulie Malignaggi.

To quote Bill Belichick, “Not what we’re looking for.”

Source: bostonherald.com

ARUM SLAMS MAYWEATHER’S LATEST 14 DAY BLOOD TEST PROPOSAL

2010-01-08T08:05:00.001-08:00

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has slammed the latest proposal by Floyd Mayweather Jr asking pound-for-pound king and boxing hero Manny Pacquiao to agree to a blood test, 14 days before their planned March 13 mega fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Arum told www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that “after the horses leave the barn and they rejected Manny’s 24 days offer he now comes up with the 14 days which is totally unacceptable” although Mayweather, in a statement on boxingscene.com claimed that “before the mediation my team proposed a 14 day, no blood-testing window leading up to the fight and it was rejected”

However, Team Pacquiao vehemently disputed Mayweather’s claim even as we learned that no such proposal was offered even during the mediation talks let alone before.

Mayweather said he is still proposing the 14-day window but that Pacquiao is still unwilling to agree to it, “even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cut-off. The truth is he just doesn't want to take the tests.”

Here again Team Pacquiao said it was a falsehood since they had agreed to bring forward the cutoff date to 24 from the original 30 for the blood test proposed by the Mayweather camp.

Arum stressed that the Mayweather proposal was made after the mediation efforts of former federal judge Daniel Weinstein had failed to get the two sides to agree on a cutoff date and the blood testing procedure pointing out that “this is not a swap thing among a bunch of kids.”

Arum made it clear that the initial position of Pacquiao was that he would agree to a blood test one day before the kickoff press conference, a second test 30 days before the fight and a third in the dressing room immediately after the fight.

He said “we agreed to go to 24 days before the fight for the blood test but he rejected it and that’s it. It's over.”

Arum feels that since Mayweather has been getting a bad press where the majority are blaming him for the collapse of a fight that millions wanted to happen, he is trying to turn things around but that “it's not working.”

In typical fashion Mayweather in his statement said "First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass.”

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz branded the Mayweather statement as “both humorous and ludicrous all in one.” Koncz revealed it he had been told by experts that any performance enhancing drugs “will be in your blood 40 days before the fight or the day after the fight. Whatever is there is there for that time period. So what the hell does 14 days have to do with it? Nothing other than to irritate Manny knowing that he has whatever, a fear or a superstition of extracting blood less than 30 days.”

With Arum insisting that the fight is off and blaming Mayweather for the failure of the mediation efforts of retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, Team Pacquiao is moving ahead to schedule a good, competitive fight either on March 13 or 20 in Las Vegas.

The original proposal for Pacquiao to go after an eighth world title against 154 pound champion Yuri Foreman has been turned down by Pacquiao himself simply because Foreman is much taller than him besides being much heavier. Australia’s Michael Katsidis was also ruled out as nothing more than a tune-up fight with no real value and would be hard to market.

Koncz said while a possible trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez was “thrown into the mix” he had discussed it with Pacquiao Friday morning before they flew to Pacquiao’s hometown of General Santos City and they agreed that “the entertainment value I don’t think is there. Manny has nothing to prove by fighting Marquez because we beat him twice. If he fights him ten times, all ten fights will end in controversy because of the styles of the two fighters for some reason, they happen. There is no entertainment value there. They fought twice and couldn’t beat the 430,000 pay-per-view numbers.”

As for Paulie Malignaggi who has joined the Mayweather chorus in alleging that Pacquiao is on some performance enhancing drug Koncz said “the fans will boo throughout because he will jab and run.”

The top choice subject to Pacquiao’s approval, is Joshua Clottey who many people believe beat Miguel Cotto in their WBO title fight but lost the decision. Koncz told us that he doesn’t wish to emphasize that it's Clottey right now because no decisions have been made although he did admit that Clottey is “a good enough fighter and Manny and I both think he beat Cotto and I think he is marketable. But we have to work on the financial terms” even as he didn’t foresee a problem since Clottey is promoted by Top Rank.

Retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein who spent nine hours on Tuesday with representatives of Pacquiao and Mayweather in an effort to break the impasse over blood testing issued a statement to set the record straight in which he stated: a. Both parties participated in the mediation in good faith. Both parties participated in many hours of negotiation, with a number of proposals issued by each side and carefully considered by the parties and their representatives. b. The Mediator himself did not formulate, recommend or issue a Mediator's Proposal. The Mediator did not make an evaluation or finding that any one of the many proposals considered by the parties was the correct protocol. C. Any attempt to characterize the mediation process as an acceptance or rejection by any of the parties of a mediator's or an arbiter's proposal or of any specific proposal is false and d In the end, the parties could not agree on a testing protocol acceptable to all.

Source: philboxing.com

Golden Boy Promotions in jeopardy of losing percentage of Pacquiao's fight earnings

2010-01-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

It is perhaps one of the worst deals in boxing. I'm talking about Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and their hand inside Manny Pacquiao's pocket as a result of the arbitration a couple of years ago to settle the contractual mess Pacquiao got himself into when he signed promotional contracts with both Top Rank and Golden Boy.
Yes, each time Manny Pacquiao fights, Golden Boy Promotions has a cut on his earnings. So when Oscar De La Hoya was trying to knock his head off, Pacquiao actually had to pay him for his efforts. Fortunately for him, it was a one-sided beating to his favor.

"There's an arbitration which calls for them to lose any percentage of Manny's promotional contract, something we asked for and had postponed, but now it will go forward," Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum said on ESPN.com.

In an article by ABS-CBN, Arum also added , "We did that two weeks ago before Manny filed his lawsuit. It's binding arbitration. Our request was for Golden Boy to forfeit its interest in Pacquiao's contract based on the fact that they had demeaned Pacquiao with their remarks [alleging he used PEDs] and that it violated the [2007] agreement between Pacquiao, Top Rank and Golden Boy," Arum said.

It's about damn time. Honestly, my take on it is that Golden Boy is shameless and cheap for taking money from a fighter and yet they repeatedly have stabbed him in his back, side, front and wherever else they can find. They have made enough money from Pacquiao without lifting a finger and as much as I do think the Pac Man is definitely accountable for his actions when he signed those contracts, all I can say is that he was naive then and a suitcase full of money is something that will easily sway anyone to sign on any dotted line. Heck, if GBP knocked on my door tonight and offered me a mil to stop writing about Pacquiao, I'd definitely take it. But just like Pacquiao, I'll still keep writing about Pacquiao after spending the money. What I'm trying to say is, Pacquiao has already payed his dues to GBP, and if all they do is discredit, dishonor and ridicule him, they shouldn't be taking his money along the way while doing it. That's some unheard of shizz if you ask me.

Source: examiner.com

Megafight off; Pacquiao very mad

2010-01-07T03:21:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao was disenchanted and enraged when told that Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided to walk away from their March 13 super fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I am very disappointed that we could not make this fight for the fans and I am angered because of the false accusations from Golden Boy and the Mayweather camp that I used some type of drugs and that is why I have instructed our American lawyers to proceed with the lawsuit to clear my name,” said Pacquiao in a statement released shortly after it was announced that the fight is off.

After Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank and Mayweather’s representatives – Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) – failed to reach an accord during mediation talks on Tuesday, the arbiter, retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, gave the two sides until the following day to come to an agreement.

But Mayweather simply did not accept a compromise that would have mandated Pacquiao to be tested for blood 24 days before the fight and immediately after the bout.

Bob Arum was furious, declaring that Mayweather “is scared to death of Pacquiao.”

Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz said “the whole blood testing issue that Mayweather wants from Manny is just a façade to get Mayweather out of this fight.”

“I believe that Floyd did not want to tarnish his perfect record and used this blood testing as an excuse to get out of the fight because he knew Manny would never do it. Floyd being the coward found a way out and he did not care if he tarnished another man’s reputation,” added Koncz.

Mayweather had demanded that Pacquiao undergo Olympic-style (random) drug-testing but the Filipino fighter vehemently rejected the proposal and was later incensed that Mayweather and even GBP officials went to the extent of accusing him of having taken performance-enhancing drugs.

Pacquiao has never failed a drug test in all of his close to 20 fights on American soil.

Had both sides agreed on the terms, Pacquiao and Mayweather would have made $25 million apiece plus a hefty share in the pay-per-view, gate receipts, and closed-circuit viewing.

Now that Mayweather is out of the picture, Arum is eyeing reigning World Boxing Association super-welterweight titlist Yuri Foreman, a Belarus-born Israeli now living in Brooklyn, New York.

If Arum picks Foreman for a March 20 date at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Pacquiao will be gunning for his eighth world title.

While a Foreman fight is a landmark bout for Pacquiao, another fight that looks much more attractive is a third fight with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, a pairing that Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach wants.

Source: mb.com.ph

There's no chance for it ever to happen - Arum

2010-01-07T03:20:00.001-08:00

The proposed mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr has apparently been scrapped after the two sides failed to reach an agreement over drug testing for the contest.

The lucrative showdown had been pencilled in for March 13 in what would have been a box office record-breaker, pitting the world's two leading fighters against each other.

However, Pacquiao recently began legal proceedings against the Mayweather camp after they made certain demands about drug testing which the Filipino claims defamed him by insinuating he has been guilty of doping in the past.

A mediator was brought in this week in an attempt to bring the sides together and save the pay-per-view bonanza but agreement could not be reached, with Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum claiming Mayweather never wanted the fight in the first place.

"I knew this was going to happen," said Arum. "There is no chance ever of salvaging it for March. There's no chance for it ever to happen."

In reality there remains every chance the bout could be resurrected with cynics suggesting the row is simply a publicity drive and typical boxing politics.

With the fight seemingly all but agreed, 'Pretty Boy Floyd' insisted upon random blood tests as well as the usual mandatory urine testing which Pacquiao's side, including trainer Freddie Roach, rejected.

Talks on Tuesday continued into yesterday with hopes of salvaging the fight but such optimism proved shortlived as Arum pronounced the bout dead.

Source: sportinglife.com

Floyd Mayweather's intransigence scraps fight with Manny Pacquiao

2010-01-07T03:18:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao's promoters say his prospective bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr has been abandoned after mediation talks failed to resolve differences over drug testing.

The bout, likely to have been for the biggest purse in boxing history, was slated for 13 March at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, but Top Rank said it could not reach an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, which represented Mayweather in the negotiations, after nine hours of talks on Tuesday and further discussions yesterday.

Although both sides were prevented from publicly airing the specifics of the dispute, Mayweather apparently balked at a compromise over the stringent drug-testing requirements his camp had insisted upon.

"I knew this was going to happen," said a weary Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter. "You had to play it out."

Golden Boy's chief executive, Richard Schaefer, and Mayweather's adviser Leonard Ellerbe did not respond to requests to elaborate.

The promoters went into the lengthy mediation process on Tuesday. Both sides claimed every other detail for the fight had been decided but Mayweather had demanded random blood testing in addition to unlimited urine testing, with Pacquiao unwilling to agree to the stipulation.

The fighters' representatives apparently thought they had a compromise after the mediation and were expected to announce the bout formally yesterday – but subsequent discussions with Mayweather during the day led Top Rank to announce the fight had been cancelled.

Arum was left fuming by Mayweather, who fought under Top Rank promotion for several years. "I've been saying this for years: he's a psychological coward who doesn't want to fight anybody who has a chance of beating him," he said. "He walked away from a rematch with Oscar [De La Hoya] that would have paid him a fortune because De La Hoya held him close in the first fight [in May 2007]."

After stellar pay-per-view numbers from their previous fights, both Pacquiao and Mayweather stood to make more than £16m from the welterweight bout. Mayweather returned to the ring after a 21-month absence in September with a victory over Juan Manuel Márquez, while Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto in November for his 13th victory in succession since 2005.

Mayweather initially appeared eager to fight Pacquiao in a bout between two contenders for the title of pound-for-pound champion of the world. Both fighters quickly agreed to the initial points of a deal, with the fight scheduled for March so it would not interfere with Pacquiao's run for political office in the Philippines.

But Schaefer then infuriated Top Rank by refusing to travel to a meeting with the Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, who offered to pay lavishly to hold the fight in the NFL team's new stadium. Schaefer's actions, apparently at Mayweather's behest, meant the fight went to the MGM Grand in Mayweather's adopted home town.

After Mayweather went public with his requests for drug testing that went beyond the standards of the Nevada Athletic Commission, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit last week alleging Mayweather and his camp had defamed him by accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs. That led to the talks, which apparently produced a solution acceptable to everybody except Mayweather, according to Arum.

Arum said there's "no chance ever of salvaging it for March, no chance for it ever to happen".

"No deal was reached and Manny is moving on," the communications expert Fred Sternburg said on behalf of Arum. He plans to propose a mid-March bout with the WBA super-welterweight champion, Yuri Foreman, to Pacquiao, who could become a champion in his eighth weight class.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Pacquiao vs Mayweather is off

2010-01-07T03:14:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) -- The much-awaited March 13 fight between World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is off, ABS-CBN's Dyan Castillejo reported from the US on Thursday.

In an interview over radio dzMM, Castillejo said both sides failed to resolve their differences over random drug testing.

She quoted Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, as saying Pacquiao will still be fighting on March, but it will no longer be against Mayweather.

She said Arum was looking at Israeli Yuri Foreman as Pacquiao's opponent either on March 13 or 20 in Las Vegas.

Castillejo said this would allow Pacquiao to claim an 8th world title. Foreman is the current World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion.

She said that as a 154-lb. fighter, Foreman would be another heavier opponent for Pacquiao.

Citing her interview with Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz, Castillejo said the Pacquiao camp had agreed to blood tests 24 days before the fight, not just random blood tests that the Mayweather camp was asking for.

"But still, the Mayweather camp rejected it. Hindi magkasundo so the fight is off," Castillejo said.

Castillejo said Pacquiao is "very disappointed" that fans will not be able to see him fight Mayweather.

However, Castillejo said Arum is "still looking at other possibilities and will decide over the next few days who the next opponent will be for Pacquiao."

‘He didn't want to lose’
Arum said retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who acted as mediator between the two parties, rang him to inform that the mega-buck fight won’t push through.

"The mediator called me [before 8 p.m.] and told me the fight was off," Arum told LATimes.com. "The fight's off, Mayweather never wanted it. Manny wanted the fight. He was agreeable to terms."

The promoters earlier wanted Pacquiao and Mayweather to star at news conferences in New York and Los Angeles next week.

However, Mayweather reportedly thumbed down the concessions offered by Pacquiao’s camp, which means that the richest boxing bout in recent history will not push through.

Both boxers stood to receive up to $40 million each in fight revenues had the super bout proceeded.

"I am disappointed in the sense this fight will not happen," Arum said. "I'm not surprised. I always knew Mayweather would kill it because he didn't want it. He didn't want to lose."

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao-Mayweather agree to mediator

2010-01-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

Weinstein sees hope in Pacquiao-Floyd standoff

2010-01-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

Retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who's trying to mediate the negotiations between the camps of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., believes the conflict can be resolved.

On the eve of the mediation sought out to make the March 13 super bout that many believe could go down as the richest in prizefighting history, Weinstein sounded optimistic about solving the issue, since, according to him, “all parties are negotiating in good faith."

“Neither side is insisting on pre-conditions, and both sides will present their position in an effort to resolve the dispute," said Weinstein in a statement published by the L.A. Times.

Weinstein is scheduled to preside over the mediation Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) at his Sta. Monica office of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS).

Bone of contention which Weinstein hopes to settle is the drug-testing procedure to be done on both Pacquiao and Mayweather.

The Mayweather camp, suggesting that Pacquiao has been using performance-enhancing drugs, demanded that the two undergo random, Olympic-style drug testing to be supervised by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum rejected the idea, but are amenable to do blood and urine testing under a certain period of time and to be handled by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Along the way Pacquiao also sued Mayweather, his father, Floyd Sr., trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather and Mayweather representatives Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions for their statements implying the Filipino boxing champion had been under steroids – the main reason why he had been winning his fights even as he goes up in weight.

“I….have been asked by representatives of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to mediate certain disputes that have arisen in connection with the negotiation of a bout between the two fighters," said Weinstein.

Mediating between two warring sports parties is nothing new to Weinstein.

In 2007, he was responsible for reaching an accord between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, which were caught in a case of tug-of-war after Pacquiao signed with both promotional outfits.

As per the structure of the agreement, Top Rank retained the promotional rights on the 31-year-old Filipino, but with Golden Boy receiving a percentage of Top Rank’s profit from future Pacquiao bouts.

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum was naturally impressed with the way Weinstein handled the case back then. And he’s keeping his fingers crossed that the retired federal judge will be able to do it again.

“This guy was successful resolving our nutty problem before, and hopefully, he can be successful this time," said the 78-year-old Arum.

“He's a guy who is a big fight fan and loves the sport, and I found him last time to be a delight to deal with. Everybody did." - GMANews.TV

Source: gmanews.tv

Last effort to save Pacquiao-Mayweather mega fight

2010-01-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have turned to mediation in a last-ditch bid to save their March 13 super-fight in Las Vegas.

The proposed bout has been thrown into considerable doubt after a row over drugs testing escalated with Pacquiao taking legal action against Mayweather and his connections.

But representatives of the two fighters are due to meet on Tuesday with retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who solved a dispute relating to promotional rights for Pacquiao three years ago.

Pacquiao's promoter and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum has every faith in Weinstein's abilities.

"This guy was successful resolving our nutty problem before and hopefully he can be successful this time. He's a guy who is a big fight fan and loves the sport, and I found him last time to be a delight to deal with. Everybody did," he told ESPN.com.
Filipino hero Pacquiao has been infuriated by the insistence of Mayweather and his team at Golden Boy Promotions that both fighters submit to Olympic-style blood testing in the buildup to their pay-per-view extravaganza.

Source: edition.cnn.com

Pacfans petitioned vs. Mayweather

2010-01-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- Supporters of 7-time world champ Manny Pacquiao launched an online petition urging US communications giant AT&T and other sponsors to cut endorsement relationships with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for engaging the Filipino boxer into a smear campaign.

The petition initiated by BleacherReport.com contributor Kevin Riley said they launched the campaign in response to the Mayweather camp’s “unfounded, unwarranted and unjustified accusations” of performance enhancement drug (PED) use against Pacquiao.

“For reasons unbeknownst to us, Mr. Mayweather, his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe and his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions have decided to engage in a smear campaign against Mr. Pacquiao. Their efforts have included press releases, interviews and internet blogs. And their unfounded, unwarranted and unjustified accusations have all centered around the illegal use of steroids, human growth hormones & other chemicals,” the group said in the petition.

The group sided with Pacquiao, citing that the Filipino champ has never before been accused of using PEDs and has passed every drug test.

The group added that the alleged campaign by Mayweather’s camp has damaged Pacquiao’s “pristine image”.

“He (Pacquiao) will no longer be able to enjoy the fruits of his hard-earned image thanks to Mr. Mayweather and his associates,” it said.

As of posting time, 1,964 supporters have signed the online petition.

Negotiations for a March 13 mega-buck clash between Pacquiao and Mayweather came to a stand still when the camp of the American boxer demanded an Olympic-style drug tests, which insinuated that the Filipino was using PEDs.

The demand prompted Pacquiao’s camp to file a defamation suit against the Mayweathers.

Representatives of both camps will meet on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) in the office of retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein to try to save the March 13 bout.

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is the biggest boxing match in years with both fighters expected to get up to $40 million in revenues.

“We believe there is no place in the world of sport, nor the world in general for this type of behavior. And we earnestly hope that you will also find there is no place for this type of behavior in your upstanding organization as well,” the petition told the corporate sponsors.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Arum wants Mayweather to apologize!!!

2010-01-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

In a last-ditch effort to save the proposed March 13 megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, representatives of both fighters will meet Tuesday in the office of retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein in Santa Monica, Calif., to try to revive talks between the sides through mediation.
Weinstein will serve as the mediator. He previously successfully mediated a dispute between the same two sides — Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions — in 2006 over promoting Pacquiao, who had signed with both groups.

Q&A: HBO's Merchant on Mayweather-Pacquiao standoff
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who will represent Pacquiao at the mediation along with Top Rank President Todd DuBoef, said Sunday night the only way that talks will resume is for Mayweather's side to drop its demands for random blood-testing, and to apologize publicly to Pacquiao for previously implying that the Filipino superstar and seven-time world champion was taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

"Absolutely, from every single one of them," Arum said of the apology. "Everybody."

Mayweather's side originally said it wanted Olympic-style, random blood-testing to be done by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, but has since softened on that demand. Pacquiao has said he is reluctant to have his blood tested within 30 days of the fight.

Neither fighter has ever tested positive for any banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Arum said he has "no feeling one way or the other" whether the mediation can be successful in saving the possible welterweight fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. If the dispute can't be resolved over the next few days, there's still a chance the sides can come to an agreement later and the fight pushed back to May or later in the summer.

Arum also said he was under a gag order and couldn't comment on whether Pacquiao's lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions — which represents Mayweather for this fight — for defamation of character would be part of a mediation settlement.

Pacquiao's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, filed a lawsuit last week seeking $75,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. Petrocelli will be present at the mediation.

The Tuesday meeting at Weinstein's office was first reported by AOL Fanhouse.

Source: usatoday.com

Judge to salvage the mega fight

2010-01-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

Representatives of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will meet on Tuesday in retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein's Santa Monica office of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) in an attempt to revive talks for the fighters' potential March 13 megabout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, said he will be present on behalf of Pacquiao, as will his stepson, Top Rank president Todd duBoef. Also, there will be a representative of the Los Angeles-based law firm O'Melveny and Myers, whose attorney Daniel Petrocelli has been retained to take the case.

Perhaps best known for gaining a conviction in a wrongful death civil suit against O.J. Simpson in 1997, Petrocelli last Wednesday filed a lawsuit on behalf of Pacquiao seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character against Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., and the fighter's uncle, Roger Mayweather.

Contacted through his administrative assistant, Schaefer, via e-mail, declined to comment.

But Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, told FanHouse recently "we're still trying to make a deal. We feel that this is the biggest fight in the history of boxing. We want to give this fight to the fans."

The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000 for Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts), who contends that the camp of Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) has damaged his reputation by demanding that both fighters be randomly drug-tested using urinalysis as well as blood work -- the latter being a procedure that never has been used in boxing.

Mayweather's camp initially wanted the Olympic-style, random blood-testing to be done by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. It has since backed off of that stance.

Neither Pacquiao nor Mayweather has ever tested positive for any banned substances.

Pending Tuesday's mediation at JAMS, Petrocelli can no longer comment directly on the case. Petrocelli did, however, speak to FanHouse last Wednesday -- within an hour of filing the suit.

"We filed a defamation of character lawsuit in the federal court in Las Vegas, Nev., against the Mayweathers, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer, based on their false and defamatory statements about Manny Pacquiao," said Petrocelli, "specifically their publicly stating that Pacquiao was taking steroids or other illegal drugs to enhance his performance -- knowing that there is absolutely no basis for any such assertions ... These guys have no right saying what they're saying. It's knowingly false, highly injurious."

The Los Angeles Times noted that Weinstein successfully stepped in when Top Rank and Golden Boy declined to promote fights together in the past, including his intervention that led to a truce that was a catalyst for the Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera bout in 2007.

Arum said that the only way for the negotiations to continue is for Mayweather's side to drop its demand for random blood-testing and to apologize, publicly, to Pacquiao.

"What they have to do -- and what I know the option is going to be -- is that they have to apologize. All of them. They have to make a meaningful apology," said Arum.

"If they want random blood-testing, they would have to go before the Nevada Commission and petition the commission for that," said Arum. "They have to agree that the Nevada Commission is regulating this fight -- period. No outside agency, no nothing. The have to go with the Nevada Commission -- period."

A native and resident of General Santos City, Philippines, the 31-year-old Pacquiao's career began as a 106-pounder. The Filipino superstar's Nov. 14, 12th-round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto earned the WBO's welterweight title -- his unprecedented seventh in as many different weight classes.

Since losing a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March 2005, Pacquiao's ring performances have been extraordinary, if not exceptional.

Pacquiao is riding an 11-0 winning streak that includes eight knockouts -- a run that includes KOs in the 10th and third rounds, respectively, in subsequent bouts with Morales that avenged the earlier loss.

Pacquiao's past six victories include super featherweight (130 pounds) decisions over Mexican greats Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez -- this after having battled Marquez to a draw nearly four years earlier.

Pacquiao has knocked out his past four opponents, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Cotto, respectively, while rising from lightweight (135 pounds) to junior welterweight (140), and on to the welterweight classes.

Some members of the boxing community have speculated publicly about Pacquiao's ability to carry his uncanny power with him as he has risen in weight.

Arum believes the criticism to be unfair, asking, "When has this ever come up in the past like this?"

Following his Sept. 2003, junior middleweight victory over Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley admitted to having used the doping agent EPO in connection with the BALCO steroids scandal.

"Shane Mosley was an admitted drug-user. And I've had Shane Mosley fight two of the guys that I've promoted in the last few years -- one of them was Miguel Cotto and the other was Antonio Margarito. Did I ever, ever, ever even indicate in any way that Shane Mosley should be subject to special testing? Ever? No," said Arum.

"The feeling in the Philippines, really, is that Manny's an Asian guy and this is really xenophobic. And because of his great success, this is what they're focusing on," said Arum. "So this is absolutely preposterous and hopefully the mediator will convince them of that."

If the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout does not take place, Arum has said that he is prepared to match Pacquiao against newly-crowned WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York, possibly on March 20 at The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Source: fanhouse.com

Pacquiao vs Maywather not dead

2010-01-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines - For Golden Boy Promotions, the mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not yet dead despite the standoff over the drug test issue.

Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer, said the federal suit filed by Pacquiao against Mayweather and his team “doesn’t necessarily kill the fight.

I want to exhaust any and all possibilities to get the fight done. Everything I have is going into finding a way to make this fight and getting a compromise that is acceptable to all parties,Schaefer told Yahoo! Sports.

“I still hope that somehow a compromise can be found and that this fight can be saved, Schaefer said. I fully realize that this fight not happening is not only a big blow for the fight but it has much bigger, much more serious ramifications.

Many others, however, believe the fight is dead.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum is targeting newly crowned WBA Jr. middleweight champion Yuri Foreman even as a clamor for a Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez trilogy is fast growing.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s world-renowned trainer, himself is keen on giving Marquez a third shot at the Filipino champion.

Arum said he is no longer considering Paulie Malignaggi as an alternative opponent since they did research and discovered that few believe Malignaggi would have been a credible opponent.

If a Mayweather fight can’t be made, Arum said he would try to finalize a deal for a fight between Pacquiao and Foreman. Both fighters are promoted by Top Rank.

Negotiations for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight came to a halt after a request by Mayweather that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-style drug testing that would be administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and which would include random blood and urine draws.

Pacquiao agreed to any testing requested by the Nevada Athletic Commission, but balked at testing by any outside agency.

It’s unlikely that the two parties will resume negotiation with Pacquiao making good his threat at filing defamation lawsuit against Mayweather Jr., Mayweather Sr. and Golden Boy Promotions.

Source: philstar.com

Mayweather still hopeful for the Pacquiao fight

2010-01-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

Hope springs eternal, and for Leonard Ellerbe, a close associate of unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., somehow, a fight with boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao is still very much possible.

Notwithstanding the accusations made and a lawsuit filed, Ellerbe said he remains hopeful of finding a way for a deal to be made.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“We’re still trying to make a deal," said the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mayweather Promotions in an interview with FanHouse. “We’re still ready, willing and able to try to make a deal. We feel that this is the biggest fight in the history of boxing. We want to give this fight to the fans."

Negotiations for the March 13 bout reached an impasse following disagreements by both parties on the drug-testing procedures to be used.

The matter got even worse when Pacquiao filed a lawsuit against Mayweather Jr., his father Floyd Sr. and Golden Boy Promotions executives Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya for suggesting that he’s been using steroids in his previous fights.

Ellerbe clarified that he didn’t accuse the Filipino boxing champion of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

From Day One, I've never accused Manny Pacquiao of anything. All that I've said is that we want to ensure that there is a level playing field because this is what the fans deserve.

“Boxing has a great opportunity to be out front before the whole world and to say, 'We have a wonderful sport, and this is a clean sport, and we have the two best fighters in the world going head-to-head to find out and to prove who is the best.'

Check out egos at the door

The Mayweather Promotions official added that they already acceded to the terms of the Pacquiao camp for a hefty penalty in case either one of the fighters exceeds the 147-pound welterweight limit, ditto with the use of the 10-ounce gloves.

“On our side, we checked our egos at the door. That’s why we asked Richard Schaefer to represent us in these negotiations. So we’ve done everything on our part to try to make this fight come to fruition. Now, the other side just has to check their egos at the door and make a deal and give the fans what they deserve."

Source: gmanews.tv

Matthew Hatton: I will shock Mayweather

2010-01-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

MATTHEW HATTON believes he can do the impossible and KO Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
Money Mayweather, who has never been beaten, knows his mega clash with Manny Pacquiao on March 13 is on the verge of collapse.

The American knocked out Hatton's big brother Ricky inside 10 rounds in December 2007 and is keen to complete a double by defeating Magic Matthew.

But Hatton reckons he can beat the welterweight great if they end up squaring off in England this spring.

The 28-year-old said: "Give me the chance and I can beat Mayweather and cause the biggest shock in boxing history.

"I know that people would give me a slim chance and I would be a huge underdog — but I absolutely fancy my chances of beating him.

"I would be prepared to fight anyone and in boxing all it takes is one punch to upset any man.

"It would be an honour for me to share the ring with the best fighter in the world and it is great to know he wants to box me.

"He is keen to fight in England and made it clear I am top of the list if Pacquiao falls through."

Source: thesun.co.uk

Pacquiao will start US training next week

2010-01-03T05:59:00.000-08:00

IT’S back to the training camp for Manny Pacquiao amid the contentious developments in the proposed megafight between the Filipino ring icon and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said the Filipino ring icon “will arrive in California next week to begin training for his next bout,” boxing website Fighthype.com reported Saturday.

The Nevada boxing commission had already ordered Pacquiao and Mayweather last Tuesday to submit to urine tests to break the impasse that has jeopardized the monumental showdown slated March 13.

But the proposed fight received another blow when Pacquiao sued Mayweather—along with the American’s father Floyd Sr., his uncle Roger and Golden Boy Promotions for accusing him of using performance -enhancing drugs—in a federal court in Las Vegas just before the year ended.

Fighthype.com also reported that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has also eyed newly crowned WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman as the likely replacement for Mayweather.

“Our preference if we go to Foreman would still be to fight March 13 at the MGM,” the website quoted Arum. “But if there were another event on that night, we could go to March 20 at the Thomas & Mack.”

Arum also targeted earlier Italian-American Paul Malignaggi, a flashy but light-hitting boxer.

But Roach isn’t keen on Pacquiao fighting Foreman and even proposed, in a separate interview recently, that his top ward battle Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time.

Pacquiao captured an unprecedented seventh title in seven weight classes following his 12th-round stoppage of welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas last November.

The feat kicked off the public clamor for a bout between the Filipino pound-for-pound king and the unbeaten Mayweather (40-0).

But the lucrative bout hit a snag when Mayweather demanded Olympic-style dope testing, a request rejected by Pacquiao.

Mayweather later backed off on his demand for the tests to be conducted by the US Anti-Doping Agency, but insisted that tests be done randomly and include blood tests within 30 days before the fight.

Source: inquirer.net

The Ring Magazine’s Nigel Collins’ early Pacquiao-Mayweather forewarning

2010-01-01T18:27:00.000-08:00

As we take officially take in the New Year it still seems a bit surreal that on March 13th we most likely won’t be seeing Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather do battle.

While ultimately disappointing, at least for now, it is what it is and all we can do is move forward with the hopes that one day the two men will meet.

One man who probably isn’t terribly crushed is the Ring Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Nigel Collins, who had been very vocal in weeks past about the possibility that a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown could very well be less than scintillating in terms of action. Speaking recently in a piece entitled ‘Careful What You Wish For’, Collins opened up on his thoughts on the bout from the get go.

“The possibility of a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight has captured the imagination like no other in recent memory,” Collins stated. “The overwhelming consensus is that the match is absolutely the greatest thing that could happen to our eternally embattled and incredibly resurgent sport. I’m not so sure.”

Elaborating further, Collins flashed back to May of 2007 when the aforementioned Mayweather did battle with another one of the sports biggest superstars.

“Remember when Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya fought?” Collins asked. “The biggest money-maker in boxing history, right? A pay-per-view bonanza so large that it floored even the folks who promoted and televised it. But what did the mainstream media say the day after that fight? Boxing is dead because it had been a boring fight. Forget the unprecedented financial success. The fight sucked.”

While a primed Pacquiao would seemingly bring much more fire and excitement to the ring than a 34 year old De La Hoya, Collins never felt that meshing his style with Floyd’s would produce something eye-opening.

“Anybody who thinks that Pacquiao-Mayweather is going to be a great fight hasn’t been paying attention,” Collins boldly claimed. “When is the last time that Mayweather has been in a great fight? The Ricky Hatton fight had a great finish but was hardly a great fight.”

Collins went on to state that while Mayweather is a fantastic boxer, he didn’t have the proper mindset towards being the greatest of all-time as he claims. Some would counter Collins by saying that pitting Mayweather with Pacquiao’s relentless attack would bring out the best in Floyd. Collins doesn’t seem to take the bate.

“Moreover, don’t expect Pacquiao’s whirlwind aggression to compensate for Mayweather’s safety first style,” Collins pointed out. “There’s an outside possibility Pacquiao could impose his will enough to force a good fight, but not a great one. It takes two to do that. And unlike Pacquiao, the last thing on Mayweather’s mind will be to make everybody happy.”

In closing Collins stated his belief that the fight will one day happen, but fears how the eventual outcome may look.

“Some fights are just meant to be and Pacquiao-Mayweather appears to be one of them. It’s going to happen and it should. I have no beef with the necessities of history.

Yet I still worry. I have this haunting feeling that we’ve already seen the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, and it’s going to look a lot like the final few rounds of the Pacquiao-Cotto fight-one guy running and the other guy chasing him. And if that’s not bad enough, wait until you read the headlines the next day.”

Collins was far from shy in sharing his feelings before the fight itself fell apart and looking back his words are almost chilling in some regards. For a fight that has been clamored for by nearly everyone, seeing Collins go against the grain and state his beliefs was somewhat striking. As a fan first, all I can hope is that Pacquiao and Floyd do meet and that they end up proving Collins wrong by producing something memorable. Gut feeling here is that Collins and everyone else involved wouldn’t mind too much.

Source: examiner.com

How Team Mayweather May be Able to Weather the Defamation Storm

2010-01-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

A Quick Review of the Necessary Elements of Defamation Per Se in the Backdrop of Manny Pacquiao’s Lawsuit Against Team Mayweather and How Team Mayweather May be Able to Succeed in Challenging the Lawsuit

Round one of the battle between boxing’s pound-for-pound best, Filipino sensation Manny (Pac Man) Pacquiao and the undefeated Floyd (Money) Mayweather took place about two and half months ahead of schedule. On December 30, 2009, at a time when boxing fans around the world remained cautiously optimistic that Mayweather and Pacquiao would put their respective feelings on the drug testing controversy aside and salvage the March 13, 2010 mega-bout, Pacquiao filed a federal complaint (the “Complaint”) in the United States District Court of the State of Nevada against Mayweather, as well as his father, Floyd Mayweather, Sr., his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions, LLC, Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions executive who has been acting as Mayweather’s mouthpiece in negotiations for the Pacquiao fight, and Oscar De La Hoya (collectively the “Defendants”). The Complaint alleges a single cause of action, defamation per se, and cites to several specific instances where the Defendants purportedly made statements inferring that Pacquiao uses or has used performance-enhancing drugs. Since the filing of the Complaint, it has already been reported that the March 13, 2010 date is off, and with the legal wrangling that will inevitably occur in the coming weeks, some may wonder if this fight will ever happen at all. At the core of this lawsuit is not when or if the fight will happen, however, but rather a basic legal question: Can the Defendants be found liable for defamation per se pursuant to the allegations made in the Complaint? A brief analysis of this possibility follows.

What are the Elements of Defamation and Defamation Per Se?

There are two basic forms of defamation, libel, which is defamation in a written form, such as in a newspaper, magazine, or blog, and slander, which is a defamatory spoken statement. The basic elements of a defamation cause of action are: (1) a false statement; (2) publication of the false statement to a third party; (3) fault amounting to at least negligence on the part of the publisher if the defamatory matter is one of public concern; and (4) damage to the person alleging defamation. When alleging defamation per se, or defamation by, of, for, or in itself, proof of damage is not necessary. Rather, one must be able to establish simply that a defamatory statement was made. When a public figure brings an action for defamation, he or she must also show “actual malice,” or that the person making the statement at issue knew it to be false or issued the statement in reckless disregard to the truth. Mere opinions are legally protected.

What Can Team Mayweather Do First?

Upon service of a federal complaint, a defendant may either answer the complaint, meaning that he or she would provide an itemized written response to the allegations contained within the complaint, or make a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) and/or a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Although Rule 12(b) provides seven separate grounds for filing a motion to dismiss, the most common ground is failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. By filing such a motion, a defendant is essentially alleging that the plaintiff has failed to allege the requisite elements of a given cause of action within the four corners of the complaint. To successfully oppose a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, a plaintiff must show that he or she has, in fact, made a prima facie showing, or showing at first view, that he or she is entitled to the relief sought in the complaint as a matter of law.

Given the high stakes involved in Pacquiao v. Mayweather, one would anticipate that the Defendants, or at least a few of the Defendants, will be making a motion to dismiss the Complaint. In order to make a successful motion to dismiss, the Defendants will have to allege that Pacquiao failed to allege the requisite elements of a cause of action for defamation per se. Pacquiao would then have oppose the Defendants’ motion by showing that he made a prima facie showing to entitlement to relief for defamation per se as a matter of law. To do so, Pacquiao would have to walk each statement made concerning his use of performance-enhancing drugs that is referred to in the Complaint through the elements detailed above and show why, before the start of any depositions or other discovery, he has made a sufficient initial showing of defamation per se based on same. The federal court must then review the Complaint, review the arguments, review the case law supporting the arguments, and decide whether or not Pacquiao’s cause of action is legally sufficient as to all or some of the Defendants.

Can Team Mayweather Succeed in Having the Complaint Dismissed?

Pacquiao’s Complaint details seven or eight specific instances where he was purportedly defamed. Of the specific instances documented, three or four of them appear to indicate that Pacquiao uses or used performance-enhancing drugs, while the balance of the instances seem fall into the category of innuendo, inference, or opinion. The strongest claim appears to be against Roger Mayweather, who allegedly told the website Boxing Scene that “I know he’s got somethin’ in his system anyway.” This particular statement reportedly came on December 30, 2009, the same day the Complaint was filed and several days after Pacquiao first started telling the press that he would be filing a lawsuit. Unlike most of the others, Roger Mayweather’s quote most explicitly declares that Pacquiao uses performance-enhancing drugs as if it were a fact. An allegation against Richard Schaefer is concerning for similar reasons, but is not directly quoted. The Complaint is thus rather vague as to how defamatory Schaefer’s alleged statements actually were.

The weakest claim appears to be made against Oscar De La Hoya, whose written tirade on his blog about the drug-testing situation is quoted within the Complaint. De La Hoya’s blog reportedly read as follows:

“If Pacquiao, the toughest guy on the planet, is afraid of needles and having a few teaspoons of blood drawn from his system, then something is wrong. The guy has tattoos everywhere; he’s tattooed from top to bottom. You’re telling me he’s afraid of needles? Now I have to wonder about him. I’m saying to myself ‘Wow, those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same.’ I’m not saying yes or no. I’m just saying that now people have to wonder, ‘Why doesn’t he want to do [even more blood tests]? Why is it such a big deal?[‘]”

The Complaint goes on to allege that De La Hoya also added that “[w]hy don’t you want to do it? C’mon. It’s only a little bit of blood. If you have nothing to hide, then do the test.”

Despite its incendiary nature, at no time within the language quoted above does De La Hoya expressly accuse Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs. Instead, De La Hoya uses a fact about Pacquiao to undermine Pacquiao’s claims of a dislike of needles, opines about Pacquiao’s punching power as against prior, naturally bigger rivals, and opines that Pacquiao should submit to random testing if he has nothing to hide. The rest of the allegedly defamatory statements fall between Roger Mayweather’s and De La Hoya’s remarks in their degrees of severity. A few, like De La Hoya’s, arguably appear to be nothing more than opinion, which is legally protected. In sum, therefore, it would appear as if several of the Defendants might be able to stop Pacquiao in round one of the mega-fight of 2010 and be dismissed from the lawsuit if a motion to dismiss is made.

* * *

And Speaking of Casting Doubt on an Athlete’s Gifts, There’s Also the Danny Green vs. Roy Jones Controversy: Lost on the firestorm that is the Mayweather-Pacquiao drug testing controversy was the December 22, 2009 letter written by John S. Wirt, Chief Executive Officer of Square Ring Promotions, Roy Jones, Jr.’s promotional company, to the New South Wales Sports Authority, regarding the hand wraps used by IBO cruiserweight champion Danny (Green Machine) Green in his December 2, 2009 bout with Jones in Sydney, Australia . Wirt alleges in the letter that Green, who won the bout by first round technical knockout, used wraps that were both wider and of a different, less soft type than is allowed under New South Wales’ Boxing and Wrestling Control Regulations. Wirt thus requests that the result of the bout should be overturned.

While a quick look at the Regulations appears to support Wirt’s position, there are a few items to consider before joking that Danny Green is Australian for Antonio Margarito. First, Green’s wraps were allegedly inspected by New South Wales Sports Authority officials before the fight and were given clearance. It is thus an open question whether the New South Wales Sports Authority will rule against Green given its own potential culpability. Further, unlike Team Margarito’s placement of an overtly illegal substance on his hand wraps before his bout with “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Green’s allegedly improper wrapping appears to constitute, at best, a technical violation of the New South Wales Boxing and Wrestling Control Regulations. In other words, the wraps, as described in Wirt’s letter, may have been banned by the text of the Boxing and Wrestling Control Regulations, but may have not been otherwise improper if used in other jurisdictions. On the other hand, a Plaster of Paris-like substance, like the one found on Margarito’s wraps, is very likely banned by most every athletic commission worldwide.

Source: 8countnews.com

Manny Pacquiao will get Knocked Out in court

2010-01-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

Can’t you just see the headlines when Manny loses his ridiculous lawsuit?

How ironic that the cocky/loud mouth Floyd Mayweather has stayed quiet during all of this and watched Team Pacquiao unravel themselves. Pacquiao is going to have a hard time troubling Mayweather with this “slander” lawsuit (which everyone knows is just a ploy to draw attention away from his own suspicious behavior) when Mayweather Jr. hasnt made any comments regarding his alleged steroid abuse.

This is a really stupid move by Pacquiao unless they are just using this as a negotiating ploy to make Mayweather drop his demands for blood testing throughout the training period. This lawsuit opens Manny Pacquiao up to so much investigation about his training techniques and others who believe and have stated that he uses PEDs.

If I were the lawyer representing Mayweather I would file a quick answer denying that Pacquiao has suffered any damages as a result of any statements made and asserting that as an affirmative defense that any statements that may have been made are in fact true.

I would then immediately schedule depositions with Manny Pacquiao himself, Freddie Roach, all of his former training partners, and anybody else who has been in any way involved in his training over the last ten years. I would also schedule a deposition of Arum and ask him about any and all conversations that he had with Pacquiao and any of his representatives about why they will not agree to the testing (this should delve a little farther than the public relations spin that they have tried to put on this).

I would then make the focus of our case that if Pacquiao is truly clean why won’t he agree to testing (this will resonate with a jury who doesn’t follow boxing). I would also immediately petition the Court to require Pacquiao to submit to random blood testing throughout the pending lawsuit. Pacquiao will surely fight that and the Judge would be unlikely to grant it, but again the fact that they fought the testing would resonate with the jury.

Pacquiao has got to understand that he has to prove that he has never used drugs. Mayweather does not have to prove that he is dirty! Pacquiao has to prove that he is clean. And given that he is unwilling to submit to tests a jury is going to have a hard time believing that. Additionally, because Pacquiao is a public figure he can’t just prove that it was unreasonable to think that he was on drugs, he has to prove that they knew that he was clean.

This is a tremendous burden. It is not as if he just has to prove he didn’t use drugs on a particular day or at a particular time. He has to prove that he never used PEDs and he has to prove that they knew he didn’t use them. And even if he is able to prove that, in order to obtain damages he has to prove that the allegations actually cost him money.

Forgive me if I have missed something, but I am not aware of any opportunity that has been denied Pacquiao because of anything that Mayweather or his camp said. Additionally, even he could prove that he lost money because of PED allegations how can he prove that the money that he lost was because of something Mayweather said or because of something Malignaggi or someone else said.

Speaking of Paulie Malignaggi, I wonder why he isn’t named in this lawsuit? It’s quite shocking that his name isn’t apart of the lawsuit as he has been the most vocal advocate for the Manny Pacquiao steroid rumors.

Malignaggi thinks the boxing media has dropped the ball, and not exercised due diligence in examining the possibility that Manny has used PEDs. In a recent interview he was quoted as saying….

“I understand most people like Manny, and not Floyd. Just cause that’s the case doesn’t mean Manny might not be cheating. It’s nothing to do with him personally. But I call a spade a spade. Too many people avoid the possibilities because Manny’s a likable person. He’s got that front, his country loves him. That front works like crazy. Floyd plays the bad guy, but he’s natural. Just don’t downplay the fact that Manny might be cheating. You have to open your eyes and at least be willing to look at it. This is bigger than me. The fact that the fight is not being made, you have to question the integrity of Pacquiao.”

Malignaggi was then asked why he has been so vocal about this issue and said “I don’t like cheaters,” “This is not baseball. You’re not just hitting home runs. You have to worry about peoples’ lives. Miguel Cotto in my opinion has been beaten by two cheaters. Manny if he’s cheating is taking away from guys who are doing things the right way. His team is reneging on their words.”

Source: officialscorecard.com

Why this crazy Pacquiao-Mayweather legal battle could turn ugly

2010-01-01T02:44:00.000-08:00

When the anger that had been burning in Manny Pacquiao's perfectly flat and apparently legal belly for three months finally erupted in litigation, Floyd Mayweather Jr was rudely made aware that he has started a fight his lawyers will have to finish.

The little Filipino says he does not want to share a ring with a man he says thinks he is a drugs cheat – so he is suing him. There can't be a problem with that. It is up to Mayweather to back down – or defend himself, a skill he has perfected in the ring to the point of artistry.

It is hardly the sporting contest millions of boxing fans have been waiting for but, in the absence of sanity, it might have to do for the moment. And Pacquiao's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, says others might be named alongside Mayweather and members of his family and promotional team. This could get ugly. And drawn out.

How did a promotion that seemed to be going so smoothly come to this? If things looks too good to be true in boxing, they usually are. This is a story that suggests something else was always going on in the background.

First, the fighters' respective promoters, after quickly working out a mutually acceptable deal in nearly every respect, indulged themselves in a dangerous and tedious game of brinkmanship for nearly two weeks – at the end of which they have been reminded in the quick issue of a writ in the Nevada Federal Court yesterday that Pacquiao is not just a great fighter but a proud man.

They didn't know that already? He has legal history with Golden Boy Promotions going back to 2006, when he switched to Bob Arum's Top Rank. He was the feistiest deal-maker before agreeing to fight Ricky Hatton in May. Hatton's American promotional partners? Golden Boy. Pacquiao is nobody's doormat.

That he is prepared to defend his reputation so fiercely is not only predictable but the single nugget of integrity in a dispute that again makes professional boxing an international joke.

We have to wait now until supposedly wise men are jerked into compromise by the only language they speak: money. Otherwise, no fight – and that is inconceivable.

Still, there are too many odd twists in this tale. It is a case littered with idiocy and inconsistent moralising.

Since the row began, the Mayweathers have had the unquestioning support of Golden Boy's chief negotiator, Richard Schaefer, in their demand that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-standard random blood tests. Yet Schaefer steadfastly objected to blood tests for the shamed Shane Mosley only two years ago. Overnight, almost, Schaefer has become an avenging angel for the anti-drugs lobby.

Bob Arum, meanwhile, has been even more pro-active in the dispute on behalf of Pacquiao and has generated valuable ink for a fight that has captured an audience beyond boxing's hardcore, albeit for spurious reasons. He has talked tough, then backed down. Schaefer, to a lesser extent, has postured to no convincing effect. But the headlines have grown.

This is, after all, a bout – for Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title but really for the mythical pound-for-pound championship of boxing – that three million TV viewers in America will pay for, and probably half that again in the UK, plus whatever other markets the promoters can ginger up around the world.

Then into this mix is dropped the contentious suggestion that Pacquiao won't take random blood tests because he fears exposure as a drugs cheat. He denies the claim vehemently – and sues.

The numbers on offer for all concerned in the mega-fight of all time are considerable – yet we have been asked to believe that the fighters and their connections are willing to junk the promotion because of an unproven and, until three months ago, unvoiced suspicion about the most marketable boxer in the business.

So, how did they get themselves into such a fix? Here's a scenario that would not have displeased anyone on either side:

Mayweather did not get much of a workout in his comeback with Juan Manuel Marquéz in September, his first fight since stopping Hatton 21 months earlier. So, the theory goes, he was never going to fight Pacquiao on 13 March without a tune-up. He realises he risks his unbeaten record, perhaps even a knockout defeat, if he is not in peak form, so he looks for a way out, a postponement.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, was never that keen to take on Mayweather in March either, preferring to wait until the summer. He even mentions that Yuri Foreman, the new world light-middlweight champion who can't punch (and is promoted by Arum) might be an easy interim opponent, giving Pacquiao a chance to win his eighth world title at different weights – and upping his cachet in renewed negotiations with Mayweather.

Then Mayweather, for whatever reason, gives everyone "wriggle room" by calling for tests he knows Pacquiao will not agree to. The negotiations, which have been going suspiciously well, unravel and disintegrate.

Fight off. For now.

Pacquiao fights the smaller, less threatening Paulie Malignaggi or Foreman on 13 March... and Mayweather fights Matthew Hatton in the UK. These are mere ticking-over fights that nonetheless will milk the beast of a few more bucks.

The main event is postponed until Saturday, 1 May, nine days before Pacquiao runs for Congress in the Philippines. The fight grosses even more than the $200m (£123m) originally predicted.

Pacquiao beats Mayweather (as Mayweather, deep down, had feared he might). Pacquiao is elected to Congress.

Arum and Schaefer sit down to discuss the rematch, at the MGM Grand or the 100,000-plus-seater Cowboys Stadium in Texas later in the summer. Estimated revenue? $250m.

Stranger things have happened. And Bob Arum, 78 and still kicking, has been involved in quite a few of them.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Super-fight? Super farce

2010-01-01T02:40:00.000-08:00

There are reasons why boxing is the only sport that consistently translates into great art, and they are the same reasons it is viewed with suspicion by many modern sports fans.

The boxing world is dark, dangerous and amoral, the sporting equivalent of the Wild West: no-one seems to know who's in charge, and many seem not to care. This apparently lawless environment froths with characters living by their own laws, while those in the civilised and sanitised world avert their gaze, genuinely amazed that such chicanery still goes on.

Some will doubtless accuse me of overstating my case in a fit of journalistic hysteria, but they will be those who haven't been following the unravelling story of Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao, the Fight of the Century that might never happen.

When negotiations for the fight came grinding to a halt two days before Christmas, I laid much of the blame at the door of Mayweather, who was insisting Philippines legend Pacquiao be subjected to random drug testing in the lead-up to the fight, which had been slated for 13 March, probably in Las Vegas.

My belief was that Mayweather was grandstanding, attempting to score psychological points, and that Pacquiao would soon put his pride aside and agree to play ball. In short, I thought Mayweather and his camp were just playing silly beggars.

Now, however, it is Pacquiao's reputation that is in the spotlight, whether he's guilty of any wrongdoing or not. Why, fans are asking, doesn't he just take the tests?

"I will provide any specimen, whether it be blood or urine samples, just right after the fight, but not a day or two before, for obvious reasons," fired back a furious Pacquiao. Problem is, Manny, the reasons aren't obvious at all.

Travis Tygart, the chief of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, who Mayweather's camp wants to oversee the testing, told the New York Times that not being blood tested in the 30 days prior to the fight, as Pacquiao is insisting on, "is totally unacceptable".

Tygart claimed "it would provide a huge loophole for a cheater to step through," before pointing out that basketball star Kobe Bryant and swimming great Michael Phelps have both undergone random testing of this type. If it's good enough for Bryant and Phelps, why not Pacquiao?

Meanwhile, the sheriffs in Mayweather's camp have been tying themselves up in knots with contradictory statements.

Head of Golden Boy promotions Richard Schaefer, whose outfit is representing Mayweather, has been nagging in his insistence that Pacquiao agree to random testing, yet it has emerged that Schaefer turned down Zab Judah's request for additional testing before his scheduled fight with Shane Mosley in 2008.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Schaefer said Mosley would not agree to "other tests than the Nevada [Athletic] Commission requires. The fact is Shane is not a cheater and he does not need to be treated like one". So, pretty much what Pacquiao is saying now then.

Mosley, it should also be noted, has admitted to unwittingly using illegal substances in the past.

There's the intrigue, now for the comedy. If the fight does fall through, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum has suggested his man will fight New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi instead.

This is the same Paulie Malignaggi who was torn to shreds by Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas last year, and the same Paulie Malignaggi who, following Pacquiao's savage destruction of Miguel Cotto last month, hinted in a raft of interviews that Pacquiao's rise through the weight divisions has been fuelled by performance-enhancing drugs.

Meanwhile, Hatton's younger brother Matthew, who has never even fought for a British title, has confirmed his representatives are in talks to fight Mayweather in the UK if the Pacquiao bout falls through.

"At first I thought it was a wind-up when my name was mentioned for Mayweather," said Hatton, echoing the thoughts of just about everyone else. A rematch with his older brother would have been a tough enough sell.

Matthew Hatton is a very respectable domestic fighter, but as far as Mayweather is concerned, it's the equivalent passing on a Beverly Hills date with Angelina Jolie and plumping for pie and mash with some actress off Eastenders instead.

Enough of the intrigue and the comedy, now for the tragedy. While the big shots are trashing the place, digging their spurs in and waving their pieces around with scant regard for the consequences, it's the poor saps who love boxing who are suffering.

There have been signs in recent years that those who run the sport are getting their act together, have finally realised that only by regularly matching the best against the best will boxing regain a foothold in the public consciousness.

To his credit, Pacquiao, who has ducked no-one, has been at the forefront of this revival, so too Mayweather, although to a lesser extent.

But if they are unable to put aside their differences and make this fight happen, there's a danger they'll be remembered by many for the wrong reason - not as the men who saved boxing, but as the men who turned their backs when boxing needed them most.

As I write, news reaches me that Pacquiao has filed a lawsuit alleging that Mayweather and others have falsely accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs. From super-fight to super farce, whatever happens between Mayweather and Pacquiao in court, millions will find boxing guilty.

Source: bbc.co.uk

The FJ Fury 01.01.10: Mayweather-Pacquiao Impasse Surfaces a Lot of Hypocrisies, Contradictions, and Ironies

2010-01-01T02:38:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, folks.

First of all, I want to wish you all a happy New Year.

For Christmas day, I know we boxing fans all wished for one thing for the sport: for the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight to happen.

Now, after witnessing a lot of tomfoolery go on and on about actually making that fight happen, we find ourselves wishing it again for the New Year.

If you look around at boxing sites from the most obscure internet source to the mainstream newspapers, the section of boxing and sports headlines the potential fight of the century between Mayweather and Pacquiao. There are a lot of nonsense going on, and, as one could imagine, even a lot more of nonsense being written. So, for all your updates and the coverage of the Mayweather-Pacquiao saga, make it a habit to check 411mania.com/boxing.

"The FJ Fury" returns and there's only one thing to talk about.

The negotiations for the pound-for-pound showdown of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is at an impasse.

Now how many times have you read that this week? Strangely though, if the fight is at an impasse and is not moving, there should be nothing much to report about, right?

Well, not really. At least one news writer has filed this case inside the "Man Bites Dog" docket. That tells you a lot about how big this fight is. It could seriously be the biggest fight of all-time that any or all the issues pertaining to it can grab a news heading. First, the purse split; thought to be the detail that would be most difficult to settle, it was fixed most diplomatically. Then, the fight venue; everyone knew the fight was eventually landing in Las Vegas, but Jerry Jones put up a good fight-- damn would Mayweather-Pacquiao be great at the $1.2 billion, 100,000-capacity Cowboys Stadium! Everything IS bigger in Texas. That was headline-worthy as well.

The current stalemate the negotiation is standing at wrings the most balderdash but is also the most compelling so far. Truly a stalemate, as people are now looking at the discussions as a chess match between the two business sides. The fight is reportedly hanging in the balance, and all those problems root from one thing-- the drug tests.

As we all know, the camp of Mayweather Jr. asked for a special drug testing protocol for the fight. This is based on the accusations originally made by his father, Floyd Sr., about Pacquiao being on performance-enhancement drugs.

I guess special fights, with special fighters, should be given special treatments. That's why as baseless as one would argue Mayweather's allegations to be, you would give this one a pass. But as the issue sets sail, I observe a lot of hypocrisies, contradictions, and ironies from everyone involved surfacing.

The primary reason Mayweather Sr. may have sniffed something fishy about the freakish Filipino fighter is his ascension and domination to higher weight classes. Pacquiao went up from 106 all the way to a maximum of 144 lbs. in his last fight, and he continues to knock people down and out.

If this is unnatural to Floyd Sr., then how about his son? Junior fought as low as the super featherweight limit to the junior middleweight limit (130-154 pounds). Mayweather Jr. himself has stated that he was around the same weight that Pacquiao was as a teenager, only he was an amateur (he said this to demean Pacquiao's achievement in the professional ranks of winning a title in as low as the flyweight division and moving up in weight like he did). Clearly, Floyd Jr. understands the natural process of gaining weight (and subsequently, the special process of sustaining boxing success in that manner), so what is he yapping about?

A number of others have bought the ticket to the bandwagon, including the owner of Golden Boy Promotions (the company promoting Mayweather for this fight), the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De la Hoya. (By the way, Mayweather Jr. has always said that he is his own boss unlike Pacquiao, who has Bob Arum. So why is GBP promoting him in this fight? Hy-po-cri-ti-cal.)

Making the highly-respected Ring magazine website (which he also now owns) his soapbox blog, De la Hoya wrote these lines recently:

"I'm saying to myself, 'Wow. Those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same.'"

As some of us would remember, De la Hoya blatantly said that Pacquiao doesn't hit hard and he didn't have enough power to knock him out. Bad Left Hook points out that De la Hoya's latest statement was either a contradiction or a lie. I'm picking De la Hoya's poison and picking the former.

The same source offered a 2008 quote from De la Hoya's gopher, and one of the most vocal representatives of Mayweather, Richard Schaefer. Schaefer was defending their stable's fighter, Shane Mosley, against submitting to other drug tests beyond what the Nevada State Athletic Commission requires. Yeah, and now the opponent of the fighter they represent should be enforced to? If Earl Hickey knows this, he would have said that this is hypochronical. Or hypoconjugal. Hypothetical?

Promoters are sometimes understood to be that way. They go out of their way to support their fighter and to criticize other fighters, even if they have to lie. Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum has never been at a loss for that (and hyperbole). Mayweather asked for an Olympic-style drug testing for his fight against Pacquiao, a standard that can be conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Such a test includes random blood testing at any time before the fight. According to Arum, Pacquiao refuses to have blood taken from him 30-days prior to the fight, and will only accept up to three "random" blood withdrawals: one at the kickoff press conference (originally scheduled for mid-January), 30 days before the fight, and right after the fight.

But, as one of my colleagues here at 411 noticed, Pacquiao was taped to have taken a blood test as close as 14 days to fight night (against Ricky Hatton in the HBO 24/7 show). Arum also indicated that Pacquiao doesn't have a liking to needles making contact with his body, but Pacquiao has tattoos all over his body.

Was Arum just putting words into Pacquiao's mouth? If he lied, no surprise there. Arum is a promoter now and a lawyer before that-- it just ups the chances of committing a lie! Furthermore, if Pacquiao really does think that blood withdrawal close to the fight can physically or mentally weaken him, or that he's just superstitious about it, then that HBO 24/7 clip puts punch holes in his argument. Thus, even Pacquiao doesn't escape this hypocrisy hysteria.

Another promoter, Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather's promotional outfit, said that his client has taken concessions to Pacquiao in the fight deal (the 50-50 purse split and the 147 lb. limit). If that doesn't fall under hypocrisy, contradiction, or irony... it's a lie. Oh, these promoters. The 50-50 purse split is arguable both ways, but at the end of the day, it is just. And the 147 lb. limit? Can anyone please tell me how that favors Pacquiao more than Mayweather? If I remember correctly, some reports indicated that Mayweather made absurd demands for the fight to take place at 154. Whether those are rumors of not, it's still absurd. So is Ellerbe's lie.

So Mayweather Jr. has conceivably trapped Pacquiao in the warfare outside the ring. Mayweather necessitated a stricter drug testing in the contract, Pacquiao budges at it, and now, some people are doubting Pacquiao. But it continues to befuddle many smart boxing fans how the onus is on Pacquiao to prove his innocence. It's a baseless accusation in the first place, something that should simply be ignored. Instead, it has worked its way as a legit concern. Shrewd Mayweathers.

So, what does Pacquiao do? He sues the Mayweathers.

The craziness in the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations has intensified another notch.

Those craziness floated up some normal human errors like hypocrisies, contradictions, ironies, and lies for the people involved. Perhaps they all should use mirrors and memory boosters to avoid it.

I'm susceptible to it as much as we all are. Like William Detloff, I think that if Mayweather really thinks that Pacquiao is on something, then by all means he is on his right by pushing it, if only to find the truth and protect himself. But I can't blame Pacquiao either by telling Mayweather Jr. to screw over and refusing to be pushed. He's on his right too. I'm pointing my finger at it yet I don't espouse the most constructive and fair solution. Maybe I'm hypocritical, contradictory, ironic, or a liar. I don't know.

But I do know this: amidst all this craziness, the craziest thing is for both Pacquiao and Mayweather to walk away from the kind of money they will make in this fight.

Crashing Right Hooks:

The random thoughts return as well, readers...

- If this fight falls through, there wouldn't be a replacement. And what I mean is there's no substitute to this event. You can't call a new opponent a "replacement." It just won't deserve it. This bout is as big as it ever, ever gets.

- But if it does, and hopefully and begrudgingly not, Pacquiao could be fighting Paulie Malignaggi. I know you would easily dismiss that as an easy Pacquiao win, but I have my reservations (not saying Pacquiao loses, though). If the news about Mayweather-Pacquiao still come along this slowly, I would write about it.

- This portion is called "Crashing Right Hooks", but I will talk about a certain left straight. It's called "The Pacquiao" over at the "other" sport (if you may label it) and it's getting pretty popular there. BJ Penn and Frank Mir said they used it to win their recent fights.

- It really sucks that Pacquiao is running for politics right now. The fight with Mayweather could be delayed and the event will be set up even bigger. If it gets pushed to late 2010 and they both take tune-up fights, I'll be fine with it as well. Pacquiao can fight Yuri Foreman at 154 for a title, or Malignaggi. As for Mayweather, err...

- If Malignaggi is not fighting Pacquiao, some have suggested that he fight in the undercard of Pacquiao-Mayweather to face Timothy Bradley. It's a main event on its own but for this once-in-a-generation event, a great undercard is a must.

- This just in: A video from TMZ was posted right here at 411 Boxing showing Mayweather toying and trash talking with a sparring partner (I won't give you the link but you can check it out, as it may be transferred to the Media section from News when our ed. comes back). Here's what I had to say in the comments: "What unimpressive? Did you see how Floyd quickly docked that punch early in the video? He was toying with this guy. What's unimpressive is him trash talking with the guy working with him. Good boxing, bad talking."

- Told you, it's all about Pacquiao vs. Mayweather.

- I will write about my decade's boxing awards soon. Just stay tuned.

- 411Maniacs, boxing fans, and everyone in between, let's talk about sports, stuffs, and everything in between! Follow my on Facebook and Twitter. Hit me there, and I'll hit you back. Thanks a lot!

Source: 411mania.com

Manny Pacquiao set for new weight challenge as Floyd Mayweather showdown hopes fade

2010-01-01T02:34:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao was yesterday being lined up to challenge for a title in an eighth different weight division with his fight against Floyd Mayweather junior looking doomed.

Talks have failed to resolve a row over Pacquiao rejecting Mayweather's demand for random blood tests for performance enhancing drugs.

Instead of taking on the American in Las Vegas on March 13, Pacquiao may face New York-based Yuri Foreman for the Israeli's WBA lightmiddleweight crown a week later.

Although negotiations with Mayweather's camp are still going on, Filipino Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, was not optimistic.

"We contacted Manny and his position is firm, irrevocable," he said. "He instructed us to pursue another fight, period. I don't see the fight happening now."

Source: mirror.co.uk

Pacquiao sues Mayweather for defamation

2009-12-30T22:49:00.000-08:00

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Manny Pacquiao is fighting mad, and taking on Floyd Mayweather jnr in court even as a potential blockbuster bout between the two is on the ropes.
Filipino hero Pacquiao filed a lawsuit in federal court in Las Vegas on Wednesday alleging that Mayweather and others defamed him by falsely saying Pacquiao used performance-enhancing drugs.

"Calling a professional athlete a cheater is the most serious charge one can make," the lawsuit says, "and in today's world, accusing an athlete of using performance-enhancing drugs - however baseless and lacking in evidence - is toxic."

Pacquiao has been angered by the Mayweather camp's insistence on doping control blood tests in the buildup to their welterweight showdown - a demand that has the March 13 fight in doubt.

Mayweather has said the blood tests, which could detect substances not found by urine tests, are vital to ensure a fair fight, although blood tests are not routinely used in boxing.

Pacquiao - who says he fears having blood drawn less than 30 days before the fight would 'weaken' him - has taken exception to the demand and to comments made by the Mayweather camp in media interviews.

His lawsuit asks for damages in excess of 75,000 dollars and names Mayweather, his father, Floyd snr, and uncle Roger Mayweather as defendants. Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer, who operate Golden Boy Promotions and are promoting Mayweather, are also named as having "stated publicly that Pacquiao has used and is using performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids."

The lawsuit cites several interviews given by the Mayweather camp, including the unbeaten US boxer's comments in a radio interview in October about Pacquiao's physical development, when he said: "cause we know the Philippines got the best enhancing drugs."

Also quoted in the suit were Mayweather's remarks published in the british newspaper The Guardian, in which Mayweather said he had "great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night."

"The truth did not stop Mayweather and the others," the suit alleges. "That is because they are motivated by ill will, spite, malice, revenge and envy."
Pacquiao, who has supplanted Mayweather in the estimation of many as boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter, has earned titles in seven weight classes.
Their fight could bring each as much as 40 million dollars, and it had appeared to be virtually set after squabbles were settled over issues including the division of the purse and the type of gloves to be used.

The dope test procedures, however, have proved a sticking point.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum is preparing to open negotiations with World Boxing Association super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman as talks with Mayweather falter.

Arum, contacted by the newspaper while on vacation in Mexico, sounded pessimistic that Pacquaio-Mayweather would happen on March 13.

"This is only my opinion, but I don't see the fight happening now," he told the Times. "Positions are hardening ... Manny's fit to be tied. He's very angry."
Arum acknowledged there could still be a breakthrough, but said: "It might be best to visit this fight later in 2010."

Source: google.com