News MAYWEATHER CALLS MARQUEZ OUT ON TWITTER

Las Vegas, NV (August 5) - Floyd "Money" Mayweather has never been one to stay mum when verbally challenged by an opponent, and with the recent comments made by his upcoming foe Juan Manuel Marquez, today is no exception. As Marquez claims he is bulking up and training hard to "attack Mayweather to his body" when the two superstars meet in the ring on September 19 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, Mayweather clearly isn't afraid of Marquez's promise to "hit him where he got hurt."


Through his official Twitter page http://twitter.com/MAYWEATHERMANIA, Mayweather had this to say about Marquez and his bravado:

"Marquez says hes goin after my ribs but theres no weakness in MONEY MAY. Only ribs he'll b diggin n2 will b at Outback after I take him down."

Click here to follow the Floyd Mayweather on Twitter as he "tweets" throughout his preparation for this unbelievable welterweight match-up.

* * *

Mayweather vs. Marquez: "Number One/Numero Uno," is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with Marquez Promotions and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, Quaker State, Dewalt Tools, Affliction Clothing and Southwest Airlines. The 12-round bout will take place Saturday, September 19 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.

Tickets priced at $1,000, $750, $600, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets previously purchased for the July 18 date will be honored.

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-26260.html

Freddie Roach Talks Mayweather Jr, Pacquiao vs Cotto

BoxingScene.com spoke with trainer Freddie Roach on a variety of subjects. Roach is still smarting over the fact that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. opted to fight Juan Manuel Marquez before Pacquiao.

“I don't get it, all he had to do was wait one more day [after the Hatton fight] and he could have had Manny,” says Roach. “I would have loved to have gotten to Floyd before Marquez, but that's that.”

In the meantime, Roach says he has begun studying tapes of Miguel Cotto and that, “I have his last six fights on tape, but I'm paying particular attention his fight against Shane Mosley because that's the one where he was able to take away Shane's speed to beat him.” Roach claims that he hasn't settled on the exact plan of attack for Cotto but he's getting close and should have something together in the next couple of weeks.

Freddie also mentioned that Pacquiao's handlers would like to hold the first month of his training camp for the Cotto fight in the Philippines. Roach is averse to that idea, "Because there's way too many distractions over there for Manny. Bob [Arum] is working on something over here, something closer."

Roach also says that no matter where he goes, the only fight everybody is talking about and the one that everybody asks him about is Manny vs. Floyd.

“When I was in the U.K. with Amir last month that was all anyone wanted to ask me about,” said Roach. “That's the fight that has to be made. Bob and Al Haymon will have to put their differences aside to make that fight because it would be good for the entire sport. It's a fight that has to happen. People talk about making big fights, but to me, that's about as big as they come. I think it will happen.”

Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21432

"Unfinished Business": Chronicling the past 10 years of Boxing's best (part 12)

"Unfinished Business"

Despite besting Marco Antonio Barrera in their rematch on October of 2007, many people were being critical of Manny Pacquiao’s suddenly souring reputation. His many distractions were starting to catch-up on his public image as lawsuits flew from a slew of various matters that was associated with him like an alleged tax evasion on a vehicle he brought in from abroad to rumors and controversies linking his name to an actress he starred in a film in. His alleged gambling and other extra-curricular activities were also taking heat from the media and his fans. And with a ho-hum performance against Barrera, people were also wondering whether all the distractions were also catching up on Pacquiao’s boxing career.

During the Christmas season, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach and his promoter Bob Arum stepped in to intervene and reminded Pacquiao the significance of his actions and his career. Roach and Arum took their turns in flying in from the states to the Philippines and sat Pacquiao down to address issues regarding his boxing career. Arum and Roach laid down an ambitious outline of possible mega-fights and title fights that would propel Pacquiao as one of the greatest the sport has ever seen, but before any of those could come true, it had to start from the source. Pacquiao had to understand and realize that despite his good nature, there were certain sacrifices he had to take to take his career to the next level.

Pacquiao’s career was yet at another crossroads. Will he follow suit to the requests of his trainer and promoter? Or would he be content with the accomplishments and riches he had already achieved?
Next in line was some unfinished business. Juan Manuel Marquez was lined up to face Pacquiao anew. Four years after their epic clash in 2004 that garnered fight of the year accolades, both fighters would find themselves crossing paths once again. This time Marquez had the WBC super featherweight belt at stake and The Ring belt was also up for grabs.

For Marquez, it was personal. He was the last Mexican standing in the list of Mexican legends Pacquiao set forth in conquering. He also claimed that he was victorious and was robbed of a victory in his previous outing with Pacquiao wherein he came back from three first round knockdowns to masterfully box Pacquiao majority of the way. Incidentally one of the judges for that bout admitted an error he committed in scoring the first round 10-7 instead of 10-6 in favor of Pacquiao due to the three knockdowns which would’ve given Pacquiao a split-decision win. Regardless of the result however, everybody that knew anything about boxing knew they had to do it again.

And again they would in a bout fittingly dubbed “Unfinished Business”. On March 15, 2008 the rematch boxing fans were clamoring for was finally going to take place. The venue was the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and right from the promotional tours through the weigh-ins, passionate Mexican and Filipino fight fans received the bout with ardent support. It was another chapter to be added to the Philippines-Mexico rivalry that was initiated by Pacquiao’s dominance of the best boxers in the divisions he dwelled in who happened to be Mexicans.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Both men entered to the ring amidst a raucous jam-packed crowd. Here’s a video from a fan’s perspective of Pacquiao’s ring entrance to give you an idea of the excitement that filled the air during that night. If there's one thing this video shows, it's the fun-loving nature of Filipinos that despite everything the country goes through, from poverty to violence and natural disasters, nothing can stop Filipinos from smiling.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Unfinished-Business-Chronicling-the-past-10-years-of-Boxings-best-part-12

ROGER OR FLOYD? DOES IT MATTER WHO TRAINS MAYWEATHER JR.?

On Sunday, Roger Mayweather, trainer of undefeated 5-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., was arrested after allegedly assaulting Melissa St. Vil, a female fighter that he once trained. According to reports, an altercation between Roger and Melissa took place. When police arrived, St. Vil was found still coughing up blood and Roger was arrested and charged with "coercion with force" and "battery-strangulation". Although Roger was later released on bond, with a pending civil and criminal lawsuit sure to follow, many are wondering if a new trainer will step in to finish preparing Floyd for his upcoming return to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez. Some might assume that his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., will take over training duties, but does it really matter who's working Floyd's corner come September 19?

For the most part, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has kept his entire boxing career a family affair, training solely with his father and his uncles, Roger and Jeff. After capturing his first world title as a super featherweight with his father at his side, the flashy and flamboyant Mayweather Jr. grew tired of being told what to do by Mayweather Sr., who was away in prison during the early years of his son's boxing career. After a bitter split, Floyd would later bring in his uncle Roger to take over as head trainer and would go on to capture titles in the lightweight, jr. welterweight, welterweight and jr. middleweight divisions. All the while, Mayweather Jr. would proclaim Roger as being the best trainer in the world while the feud with his father would continue over the years. That was until recently, this past May, when shortly after he announced his return to boxing, Mayweather Jr. reunited with his father and revealed that the two would be working together as he prepared for his upcoming showdown with Marquez.

"My dad's been working with me every day since the Hatton fight," Floyd would reveal in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Mayweather Sr. would echo those sentiments in an interview with FightHype's own Percy Crawford back in June, stating, "I'm going to help Lil Floyd out here and there. Me and Lil Floyd alright now. I'm going to go back into town and help out a little." Although the Mayweather family had reunited and were all working together, Mayweather Jr. made it clear that Roger would still be the head trainer when it came time to working the corner on fight night. Of course, for Floyd, it really doesn't matter who's working his corner as the pupil became the master many years ago when he first dismissed his father as head trainer. In fact, this won't be the first time that his head trainer was missing from his corner.

In 2006, during the 10th round of Floyd's fight with Zab Judah, Roger got involved in a near riot inside the ring after Judah landed an intentional low blow. Floyd would go on to finish the last two rounds of the bout without his uncle, who was ejected from his corner due to his involvement in the scuffle. Afterwards, Roger would be fined and suspended for an entire year for the incident and then later had to serve a six-month jail sentence for committing "battery with substantial bodily harm" against the grandmother of his infant son. Later that same year, Floyd would face Carlos Baldomir and was forced to replace his uncle with then-advisor Leonard Ellerbe as head trainer. "Everything that Roger has taught me has stuck with me. I already know what to do. After being in the sport for so many years, you know what you have to do. Roger don't have to tell me to throw the jab. I know I have to throw the jab," Floyd stated prior to winning nearly every round on all three scorecards against Baldomir.

Truth be told, Floyd's right. It doesn't really matter who's training him. At this point in his career, Floyd's the one calling all the shots when it comes to training. If he wants to train at 4 AM, he's going to train at 4 AM! When it comes to skills, he'll be the first to tell you that he's the creme de la creme, the best of the best and there's nothing you can teach him that he doesn't already know. "I equate this to when Michael Jordan was playing and maybe Phil Jackson had to go out for hip surgery and [assistant coach] Jim Cleamons fills in. Just give Michael the ball and let him go. That's what I equate this to...The fight won't be decided on who is working the corner," Leonard Ellerbe reiterated the first time Floyd had to deal with the absence of his head trainer. Come September 19, after nearly a two-year layoff, we'll find out if Juan Manuel Marquez has what it takes to be the first to cause problems for Floyd. As of now, however, regardless of who's training him, expect to see the same shoulder-rollin' Mayweather who has racked up 39 wins and 0 losses through 13 years and five different weight divisions.

Source: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content5381.html

Inside the Mayweather mess

So now that Roger Mayweather seems to be heading out of the picture, will Floyd Sr. take this chance to hop back into Junior’s corner? His opportunity seems pretty realistic, that is, if the accusations are solid and subsequent punishment for Roger involves jail time.

With a report fresh out of Las Vegas claiming that police officers caught Mayweather “in the act”, it is hard to wonder how, if possible, would Roger get himself out of this one and whether it be in time for Floyd Jr.’s September bout. Even if the terms are soft, this would greatly affect training camp.

The attack happened after Melissa St. Vil, a former boxer under Mayweather, returned home after scoring an upset win in New Mexico over Jennifer Han, a local favorite. St. Vil initially was signed on under Roger but has since switched camps citing “harassment” from the former pound-for-pound king’s uncle. The apartment St. Vil rented was owned by Mayweather. She shared it with a roommate.

It is still very early to dissect the events that happened in Vegas involving Mayweather and St. Vil but all-in-all, this can not be good for Floyd as he has a tough and tested Mexican in Juan Manuel Marquez to make his return to the ring against on the weekend of the Mexican independence celebrations.

On the other side of the globe, Pacquiao is drying the ink on his contract with Miguel Cotto, who opened camp today. Since the public release and notification of this proposed welterweight showdown, dubbed “Firepower”, Mayweather-Marquez seems to be buried more and more. The Filipino and Puerto Rican were supposed to duke it out without the risk of Cotto’s belt but recent debates and ensuing meetings (and paid sanctioning fees) garnished the bout as a championship match-up.

Let’s get this straight, even if the fight were to take place at 145 pounds, this will still be a welterweight battle and therefore I believe a belt CAN be put on the line without diminishing the value of a championship bout. As long as the catch-weight is within the welterweight division and both parties agree, then I see no problems. I’ve witnessed the highly debated topic of whether a belt should be involved since the fight will take place 2 pounds lighter than the 147-limit, at 145. Maybe we are all forgetting that when Oscar de la Hoya fought Bernard Hopkins, that was also a catch-weight. The bottom line is that the welterweight (and other divisions) limits are a “window” so-to-speak. If you weigh between the window of 141 to 147 pounds, you must compete in the welterweight division. The same goes for each and every other weight class in the sweet science. There is nothing that requires you to always be at the max limit come weigh-ins. This is the favored weight in the welters considering a boxer would ideally be at their “max” potential.

Instead of focusing on the 2 pound difference we should, instead, redirect our attention to the core of the matter: this will be a GREAT fight. Quite honestly, the move that Manny Pacquiao has made thus far exceeds the limits that a boxer should/could normally make. One would deem Joan Guzman a madman if he were to ever challenge say, Paul Williams. But for the sake of examples pretend that Guzman is p4p king and Williams is at number 3 or 4, would it be fair for the much smaller Guzman to make the hike up alone? Let’s be real because the fact is Cotto wants this fight as much as Pacquiao does. It wouldn’t be fair to ask Cotto to come down to 140, a division in which Pacquiao recently disposed the reigning king of, so why ask the Pacman to lay it all on the line—alone?

The Pacman is considered one of the two best fighters in the world, he wants to take on the best, and in essence Cotto would be closer to the contracted limit of 145 than Pacquiao is. Had Cotto been campaigning at 154 and was asked to shoot down to 145, then that’d be a different argument altogether. But it’s not, and we cannot bury the fact that we have two great athletes that are close enough in weight to battle it out for the sport and the fans. So let’s let the 145-debate go to sleep as we anticipate Mayweather-Marquez and Pacquiao-Cotto. Besides, Wladimir Klitschko outweighed Ruslan Chagaev by almost 20 lbs in their heavyweight title fight but we won’t hear much of that since that division, unlike the lighter classes, does not parade a number that’s tied to the division (147, 154, 160, etc.) so we hear less of it. Later this year when David Haye battles Nico Valuev, their weight disparity will almost be in the triple digits. Haye tipped the scales at 215 when he ousted heavyweight gate-keeper Monte Barrett. Valuev, on the other hand, has been as high as 349 pounds on the scales.

These heated ‘weight’ talks would soon be over once the WBO officially sanctions the fight--which would mean Pacquiao would be rated as the number one challenger—and Cotto would be ‘pressured’ to lay his belt on the line. Although I disagree with ranking Pacquiao, who has had only one welterweight fight, as number one by the WBO I still want to see the fight. I do not see the 145 limit as an advantage for the Filipino. In fact Miguel Cotto will be closer to his natural, more comfortable and broken in weight even after dropping 2 pounds whereas Manny Pacquiao will be as far from home as he has ever been.

Source: http://www.diamondboxing.com/newsstory.php?list=9007

The Roger Mayweather Incident and Implications for Mayweather/Marquez

In its own right, the recent news about Roger Mayweather, the uncle and trainer of boxer Floyd Mayweather, is tawdry material, another night of conflict and violence from the lunatic fringe, more turmoil among the Cops demographic. But looked at in the context of Floyd’s career and current circumstances, it could come to have enormous implications.

If you haven’t yet read the news, police were summoned to a private residence in Las Vegas on Sunday morning. They found Roger Mayweather there strangling Melissa St. Vil, a female boxer who was formerly trained by Mayweather. Among the grisly details of the encounter to make it into the press is that St. Vil began coughing up blood when Mayweather released her from his choke-hold. Evidently, he’d previously hit her in the ribs several times. Mayweather was immediately taken into custody at the Clark County Detention Center.

Over at Boxing Scene, there’s a description of the incident from Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger’s brother and the father of Floyd Jr. Though he didn’t witness the altercation, Floyd Sr. said that there was tension between St. Vil and Roger because St. Vil recently had split with Roger as her trainer. St. Vil was staying with the boxer Cornelius Lock (also trained by Roger) in a condo owned by Roger, and this was what led to the physical confrontation on Sunday. Roger wanted her out of the condo and she refused to go. Evidently, during the scuffle St. Vil broke a lamp over Roger’s head, though it would appear that the majority of the violence was done by Mayweather.

In Michael Marley’s piece on the incident at the Examiner, you can see a picture of St. Vil (a Haitian-born woman known as “Guard Your Grill" St. Vil ... good nickname) and Mayweather’s mugshot.

Though the Mayweathers are often fodder for hilarity, and have become the family you love to hate on HBO’s 24/7 documentary series, this is just not one of those “oh those guys are so crazy" kind of stories. Beating on a woman never is such a story, even if that woman happens to be a professional boxer. Throw into the mix that Mayweather has been down this road before and the story becomes even uglier. In 2006, Roger Mayweather did six months of prison time for beating the grandmother of his son.

It’s dark stuff. For Roger, it doesn’t seem unlikely that he could be facing more prison time. For his nephew, Floyd, it’s at the very least a possibility that he could be facing one of the most important fights of his career, his September 19 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, without his trainer of the last nine years.

Floyd has fought without Uncle Rog in his corner before. When Roger was serving his sentence in 2006, Floyd fought Carlos Baldomir in a three-belt welterweight unification bout. Leonard Ellerbe, Floyd’s close adviser and manager, served as his trainer, and though the fight was boring in the extreme, it was also a virtual shutout for Mayweather.

Given Floyd’s work habits and his knowledge of boxing, I imagine that he’ll be fine come fight night with or without Roger in his corner. He hasn’t fought in almost two years, which makes the current situation a little more loaded than the Baldomir fight, but then again, Floyd is generally one of the hardest training fighters and most intelligent boxing minds of the last 20 years. The nuances of the game are inscribed in his DNA. I don’t think there’s anything that anyone could teach him at this point, not even Rog.

But the promotion of the Marquez fight is not nearly as healthy as Floyd’s boxing IQ, and that’s where this Roger Mayweather incident figures to have the most impact. There’s simply not a lot of buzz about Mayweather/Marquez right now in the sports world. Compare it to the buzz generated by the Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto fight, scheduled for November 14, and Mayweather/Marquez seems like a fly buzzing around a rhinoceros.

The main hope for changing that situation is HBO’s upcoming Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 series, which debuts on August 29. For all of Floyd’s ridiculous boasts about himself, one is undeniably true – he made the 24/7 franchise with his star-making turns in the premiere of the series, De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, and then the follow-up, Mayweather-Hatton 24/7.

And a big part of the compelling package of drama with Floyd is his crazy family - his crazy, wild-eyed trainer-uncle and his even crazier, poeticizing trainer-father, and all the feuds and turmoil and trouble among the three. Taken together, they are inarguably great television, some strange fusion of Wide World of Sports and The Wire.

But you have to wonder if this recent storyline with Uncle Rog isn’t too gruesome for even HBO to want to face head on. The 24/7 series has been built on celebrating the antics of the Mayweathers, but this, choking a woman and making her spit blood, is nothing to celebrate, to put it mildly. The situation at the very least will remove Roger from the light of the cameras, and even more, may cast a pall over the coverage of the whole Mayweather training camp. Because one way or the other, this incident is going to be a major issue in that camp. If Rog is there, it will be with the possible consequences of the incident hanging over his head. If he’s not, it will be because of the incident.

What this fight very much needed was a glowing 24/7 of the kind that the Mayweathers have delivered in the past, with all of their verbose, dysfunctional and often hilarious mayhem in full bloom. Now there is a dark, violent pall cast over the entire enterprise before it’s even begun. They say “all press is good press," but this situation may exceed the limitations of that adage. And the result may be that Roger Mayweather’s latest disaster has less impact on Floyd’s performance in the ring than it does on his performance at the box office.

Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/29269/_the_roger_mayweather_incident_and_implications_for_mayweathermarquez_

Mayweather Sr: “Cotto Can Take Pacquiao’s Head Off”

I’ll admit, I’m one of the few scribes to pick Miguel Cotto to beat Manny Pacquiao on November 14. Most of my colleagues believe Pacquiao’s speed and overall movement will overwhelm Cotto. I spoke in detail with trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. and he agrees with my belief that Cotto has enough power to end the fight with a single shot.

“I think Cotto has a very a good shot to win. He’s got a good puncher’s chance. If Cotto hits him to the head or the body, he is going to take his ass out. Cotto did not look good against Clottey and I think Clottey beat him. That was a bad cut [suffered by Cotto during the Clottey fight]. I think a cut like that would affect anybody. A cut like that can keep you out of the game,” Mayweather Sr. told BoxingScene.com

If Mayweather was training Cotto, he would advise him to keep a tight defense and protect the left eye as a precautionary measure to prevent the cut, suffered during the Clottey fight, from re-opening.

“A cut like that can open up again at any time and turn the fight around,” Mayweather Sr. said.

He gets the impression that Freddie Roach [Pacquiao’s trainer] is overlooking the high level of danger that Cotto represents. Mayweather doesn’t see Pacquiao being able to withstand a flush Cotto power shot, whether it be to the head or body.

“He whooped on Oscar De La Hoya who was dehydrated and had no liquids in him. Ricky Hatton was suspect before the fight. Cotto is a puncher. If Cotto is in good shape and he hits him to the body or the head, he can take him out, my mark my words. [Roach] made a mistake by thinking Cotto ain’t that good. If Cotto hits him right, he take his head off, remember I told you that. Cotto is going to be ready for this fight, believe me. If Cotto hits him to the head or the body, he is gone - Rick, remember I told you,” Mayweather Sr. said.

Mayweather Sr. had trained Hatton for the May fight with Pacquiao. He told BoxingScene that miscommunication during training camp was a big factor in Pacquiao’s ability to blow Hatton out in two rounds. Mayweather would not advise Hatton to fight again. During the training camp for Pacquiao, Mayweather saw rookies giving Hatton a lot of trouble during sparring sessions.

“He wouldn’t do what I told him. He kept listening to Lee Beard [assistant trainer]. He was suspect before the fight anyway. We had lesser fighters, four round pros, shaking him up in the gym. The way my son knocked him out, he was bound to get knocked out again and again. That’s how it happens sometimes. My son knocked him out bad and then Pacquiao knocked him all the way out. And mark my words, if he fights again, and I don’t care who it’s against, he will get knocked out again,” Mayweather said.

Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=21410

Dana White can deliver knockout blow to Mayweather and boxing for 2009 with UFC 103

For all it’s worth, the rivalry and competition between boxing and UFC is no myth. It does exist from the bottom to the top, from fans to the promoters and the fighters.

Two of the higher-profile figures in both sports have butted heads recently in Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Dana White. Mayweather blasted MMA and UFC by likening it to an animal sport and says it’s a sport for “beer drinkers” and that MMA was created for white fighters to have a place to dominate again since boxing is ruled by black and Hispanic fighters. Floyd said in an interview with CBS Sportsline last week,

"It takes true skills to be in the sport of Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts is for Beer drinkers." And added, “Boxing is for everybody... I mean you can't take my shoes off and take my shirt off and just throw me in a cage... you do that with animals, you don't do that with humans,"

In the past Floyd has also been quoted badmouthing MMA when he said more than a year ago,

“UFC ain’t sh**. It ain’t but a fad. Anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight. We should put Liddell against a good heavyweight, under Mayweather Promotions, and if Chuck wins, then I’ll give him a million dollars out of my own pocket. These are guys who couldn’t make it in boxing, so they do (MMA). Boxing is the best sport in the world and its here to stay.”

UFC CEO Dana White responded saying and as quoted by MMAonTap,

“You know, Floyd Mayweather just came out and said some stupid sh** about Chuck Liddell,”

and continued,

“He said he’d pay a million dollars if Chuck could hang with a heavyweight boxer. How about if he pays a million dollars to see if a heavyweight boxer can fight MMA with Chuck Liddell? Or, even better, I’ll put up a million dollars of my own money if Floyd Mayweather can sell more than 10 tickets without Oscar De La Hoya.”

Well, as they say, success is the ultimate revenge. And knowing White’s nature, there’s nothing more he’d like to do than rain on Mayweather’s comeback parade by stacking up his UFC 103 card in Dallas that happens to be on the same day, September 19, as Mayweather’s bout against Juan Manuel Marquez in Vegas.

For starters, White has a point in saying Mayweather is not a big draw by himself if not billed next to the likes of an Oscar De la Hoya. In fact, his comeback fight is already marred by rumors suggesting its original fight date of July 18 was moved to September 19 because of struggling ticket sales. As of today, fans haven’t responded to Mayweather’s comeback fight against Marquez in the manner for it to be considered as a mega-fight.

Another added reason for White to go hard on Mayweather-Marquez is the fact that the card is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which also has a hand in promoting UFC's main MMA rival in Affliction MMA events such as the cancelled Emelianenko-Barnett bout.

Last week, White announced through his Twitter site that he had made up with former UFC superstar Tito Ortiz. A lot of people speculated that White was bringing in the popular Ortiz back to match him up against Rick Franklin as the main card for UFC 103. Right now, however, it looks like White is tapping the services of another former UFC star, Vitor Belfort, to fight Franklin. Belfort is explosive and all and was a fan favorite back when he fought in the UFC a few years ago, but will his addition be enough to stifle Mayweather's return to Pay-per-View?

The UFC 103 card itself is pretty stacked with some high-profile names like Frank Trigg and Mirko Crocop but begs the question: Why not bring back Ortiz to really deliver the knockout rebuttal for Mayweather's claim as the biggest draw in fight sports?

It's going to be interesting how all of this will play out. Some people and even the big names in boxing like Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach actually doubt whether the Mayweather-Marquez fight will push through because of the lack of fan support. Will this be White's shining moment and finally one-up boxing and his critics like Mayweather?

Truth be told, there's only been one real megafight this year in boxing and that was Pacquiao-Hatton, and you can make a case I guess for Mosley-Margarito. But other than that the UFC by itself has been outdoing boxing with its blockbuster cards like UFC 100, GSP vs BJ Penn, Evans vs. Machida and a slew of other big fights that generated a fortune.

Dana White and UFC definitely has boxing on the ropes right now, but can they deliver the knockout blow on September 19? We'll see.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m8d3-Dana-White

Manny Pacquiao: To make history, just be like Floyd

As of two weeks ago, this fight was a lock. Fast forward to today, August 3rd, 2009, and there are more questions surrounding this issue than those facing the rising odds of a healthcare reform in the U.S.

Among the biggest obstacles is still the question of the WBO strap being on the line. One major issue seems simple to overcome, but the way that issue is resolved will impact all other details involved.

If the strap is on the line regardless, who's to say that Cotto has to follow through with Team Pacquiao's request to enter the ring at 145lbs?

If Cotto stunts the whole fight by showing up at the welterweight limit (147lbs) for the weigh in, and subsequently enters the ring at a near 160lbs like he has in the past, will Pacquiao go through with the fight under those terms?

He would have to if his pledge to become 7-time world champion in 7 different weight divisions can be realized, but would it be worth the disadvantage?

I said a week ago that I felt Arum had announced this fight to the world before it was signed for a reason, and we now find out why. He was under the impression that this move, along with the media buzz around the globe would force the fighters to conform and sign, but he's now learning these guys are not only fighters in the ring. They also fight outside of it, to make their position inside of it a bit easier to handle.

This is just another example of what continues to plague our sport.

You have a sanctioning organization that is more concerned about getting paid than it is about anything else. For those Pacquiao fans who think the WBO has their back, think again. This is about money.

The WBO only wants to get paid their $150K. If both fighters agree to terms, they will make more, but if all else fails, they want atleast that amount, which they would get, even if Cotto abandons the strap and allows Team Pacquiao to pay the cost to earn it.

These type of politics continue to hurt what some refer to as a dying sport.

In the midst of it all, you have Pacquiao, eager to fight anyone, yet his promoter has only given him one option for reasons that only benefit him (Arum).

You have Miguel Cotto who's eager to face anyone as well, but not willing to do it in a fashion that calls for him to concede to a smaller purse, a lower weight, and with the title on the line as well.

This fiasco continues to get wilder by the day, and there's no end in sight.

At the end of the day, this fight negotiation all comes down to two things.

How much Pacquiao wants a shot at breaking history, and how much he plans to give up for that shot? Arum (who has his own agenda) is not gonna back out and substitute Cotto with Mosley, which means that there has to be more give and take from Team Pacquiao.

If they want the title on the line, the weight limit will inevitably need to go up. If they don't agree to it, Cotto has no pressure to meet their 145lb limit, and many expect him to train for a regular 147lb fight and weigh in at that weight, which won't matter because the bout won't be sanctioned as a defense of his title anyhow.

Cotto has not agreed to enter no heavier than 145lbs, and you can firmly believe that he won't.

So Cotto's position (whether we agree or not) is to stand pat. Neither Arum or Pacquiao can make him do anything else.

My resolution....Let Cotto get his extra two pounds. Oscar De la Hoya had an extra four pounds on Mayweather, but it didn't stop the smaller man from being more effective.

Floyd gave Oscar the higher weight and totally destroyed him with speed and defense. Oscar threw 106 more punches, yet Floyd landed 85 more. Pure execution.

Pacquiao has that same ability, and in this case for history, sense Arum won't swap to a Mosley fight for personal reasons, Team Pacquiao may have to adopt that same philosphy.

If they can't, this fight for history will in fact be history.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-845-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m8d3-Manny-Pacquiao-To-make-history-just-be-like-Floyd

ROACH: MAYWEATHER-MARQUEZ FIGHT WILL BE CANCELLED

Folly Beach, SC -- As I was relaxing at Folly Beach, SC from a long day's work, I was thinking how does it feel to be sitting at the beach bar and talking to the brilliant Freddie Roach while interesting views pass by and enjoying my Bud Lime, so I did call him, before I finished my voicemail, he called me back.

Hey Freddie! How are you? I’m fine just got home and ready to work again. Work again, means analyzing Cotto’s flaws in video.

Freddie told me that he can’t tell me yet the exact flaws of Cotto, he’s still gathering everything, to make his fight plans, but he will let me know Sunday.

How about Mayweather–Marquez fight, can you comment? A big, AAAHHHH!!! That is a losers fight, I believe that it won’t happen at all, it will be cancelled again. He added, first of all not a lot of people are interested of the fight, so the ticket sales are very slow. When we announced Pacquiao-Cotto fight, it suffers more, the November fight overrides their upcoming fight. So, I think it will be cancelled.

I did asked him more questions regarding Mosley or Mayweather, 2nd to Manny among Filipinos, the WBO Belt, AJ, Donnie, Mayol, Kid Patara etc… and many more… but you have to listen this coming Sunday evening, I’m guesting at Salven’s all about boxing program… bonus is my conversation with my very good friends in Boxing, Dougie Fischer and Int’l referee Frank Garza…

No Oh! Beertime because a real overtime early tomorrow.

Kumbatea!

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-26174.html

FREDDIE ROACH: "I WANT MAYWEATHER RIGHT NOW; I DON'T SEE THE GREATNESS"

"I want Mayweather right now. I wanted him first the whole time. I mean, let's face it, that's the fight the whole world wants to see; the fight I want to see. I think he's the easiest fight of the three. He's not that big. He's not that strong. He breaks down quickly. He's been off for two years. You know, at 135 and 140, he might have been great, but at 47 and 54, I don't see the greatness...I think Manny will knock him out," stated world-renowned trainer Freddie Roach as he talked more about a potential clash between Pacquiao and Mayweather and much more. Check it out!

Source: http://www.fighthype.com/videopopup.php?aid=5364

UFC's White Man tells truth, MMA may knock out Floyd Mayweather Jr.

I carry no brief for UFC bossman Dana White or his so called sport.

Yeah, I know I am old fogey who goes out for those Early Bird dinners and plays shuffleboard with blue hair ladies of a certain age.

I prefer curling, either on ice or in a hairdressing salon, to MMA. It's not a real manly sport like mmy beloved golf.

Send your hate screeds and other rips to mlcmarley@waitingtodie.com.

Let’s get past that.

The White Man, as I call the outspoken Bostonian, is 1000 percent right in saying that the Sept. 19 Juan Manuel Marquez-Floyd Mayweather Jr. PPV bout in Las Vegas is not a “big fight.”

I got nearly 18,000 emails on the hot button issue of whether Manny Pacquiao should be fighting for the WBO welterweight title on Nov. 14. One gentleman named M. Guzman, who has a Filipino social group and a website called Greatpinoy.com, informed he had 6,000 members ready to “Mannycot” the Bob Arum promoted bout if it was not for the title belt.

I don’t think Mayweather, who is an exquisite talent, has 6,000 fans on the planet.

He may he some on Uranus, I can’t be sure and I hesitate to look.

Sure, the White Man is chopping up Marquez-Mayweather for selfish reasons. He has a show the same night and is fearlessly going head to head with Pretty Boy and the Mexican count puncher.

On the same night, the UFC 103 show rolls in Dallas and if guys named Swick and Kampmann draw more live viewers and TV eyeballs than Mayweather and Marquez do, boxing will be bleeding and bleeding bad.

White has not played his TV card yet, meaning there's been no indication if he will put the American Airlines Arena show on regular cable or bang heads with boxing on PPV. If White puts his show on Spike, many people will opt for the Juan Ma-Mayweather "free replay" on HBO and keep half a hundred in their battered pockets.

New flash for L'il Floyd: although you claim UFC is only for honkies, crackers, ofays and Whitey Bulger types, the key color in the viewers choice on 9/19 will be green as in saving or spending green.

If boxing and MMA go head to head on PPV, that might be Armageddon.

I will have to check with TV genius Brian Ricco, the former Showtime brain, on this.

But whether he’s selfish or just a shellfish, it doesn’t matter.

Whitey speaks the truth here because, while I am interested to see if Midget Marquez can be competitive against the jab and dash tactics of a rusty Money Must Pay IRS, it is in no way, shape or form a big fight by any measurement.

It’s not a hot ticket, nobody’s talking about it except for some Maynuthuggers and there is no way in hell it will deliver the mayhem of Pacman against Cotto.

On this topic, the White Man is the right man.

Ask your neighborhood scalper how Marquez-Mayweather tickets are moving and he will laugh at you.

The only way the Golden Boys will have a sellout is to buy thousands of ticket themselves.

This was a stupid match and whoever came up with the idea first should be embarrassed.

It’s two great ring talents in a match that will never get hot.

I don’t necessarily see Sept. 19 as the ultimate confrontation between boxing and MMA. I just don’t buy into the idea that MMA is going to put boxing out of business any time soon.

But the White Man does not speak with forked tongue.

The selling of this match is pathetic.

Latest example is Mayweather turning up in massive UK tabloid, The Sun, today saying he left Ricky Hatton as a mere shell of himself and that’s the reason Pacman feasted on the plucky Mancunian.

Isn’t this backward, folks? Why is Mayweather chatting to the press about a guy he fought rather than his upcoming opponent

I guess the ready answer is, to use an Arum expression, that “nobody cares” about JMM-PBF in England.

I won’t say “nobody cares” in the USA but you could fit the number of people who are stimulated by this event into a thimble.

Marquez comes off a scintillating, and it was, victory over Juan Diaz. They are trying to rehabilitate Diaz with a bout next month against Paulie Malignaggi.

Come to think of it, Malignaggi and Mayweather have something in common now.

All they both talk about is a physical wreck named Hatton.

White is driving forward, both feet hammering the gas pedal.

Mayweather is occupied with his rear view mirror.

Wake up, Floyd, it may not be too late, the sport you save may be your own.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m7d29-UFCs-White-Man-tells-truth-MMA-may-knock-out-Floyd-Mayweather-Jr

Forget Manny, I finished Hatton

FLOYD MAYWEATHER JNR claims he is the man who effectively ended Ricky Hatton's career.

Hatton's unbeaten record bit the dust when Mayweather KO'd him in December 2007.

The Hitman bounced back from his first defeat by recording victories against Juan Lazcano and Paulie Malignaggi before Manny Pacquiao destroyed him inside two rounds.

But Mayweather reckons Hatton, who is still weighing up his future, was finished the day he stepped in the ring with him in Las Vegas.

Money said: "Ricky fought everyone. Until he came up against me, he'd reached the highest plateau in boxing — and then he failed.

"But it's OK because at least Ricky tried.

"In life, you need to take the big risks to know who you are."

Hatton's younger brother Matthew will appear on the undercard of Mayweather's comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in September.

And Mayweather insists there is no bad blood between him and the Mancunian.

He added: "I don't think he holds a grudge against me for effectively ending his brother's career."

* For the full interview with Floyd Mayweather Jnr, pick up a copy of the September issue of FHM, available from Thursday.

Nostradamus - Interview with Freddie Roach Pt. II (Roach on Pacquiao vs Mayweather and More!)

This is a continuation of an interview with boxing’s legendary trainer (See link at bottom for Part One), Freddie Roach that took place in the WildCard gym, Hollywood, California
, July 23 and 24. Previously, Freddie had predicted the results of upcoming fights and gave us his P4P picks. Not afraid of looking around the corner, Freddie dissects a possible 2010 super mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the P4P champ, Manny Pacquiao.

David T. - Fred you have already predicted that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and your Ninja, Manny Pacquiao would win their next fights. Would you like to discuss a possible Mayweather/ Pacquiao super-mega fight?

Freddie Roach – Dave, everywhere I go that’s all that I am asked, when will Manny fight Mayweather?

DT – Kayo?

FR – Easily. He presents no problem for Manny. He is too small and fragile for Manny. He doesn’t have the skills to hurt my fighter. Manny will break him apart before he knocks him out.

DT – What exactly do you mean by “break him apart.”

FR – The key to beating Mayweather is literally beat him up. You take what you can get. He is elusive but he can’t move his body. He is very quick with head movement. You break his body down, he has bad hands, bad ribs, bad knee and he’s had rotator cuff surgery. This is not a guess it’s the facts, period.

DT – He has won all of his fights and maybe the best two wins were against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton…..

FR – Dave, hold it there for a moment. I question that ….I think below 140 lbs. he was great and anything above that has been problems. Let’s face it, the De La Hoya fight was at least a draw. Mayweather looked very sluggish. Same with Hatton at 147 lbs. After six rounds Ricky was ahead and then Mayweather took over and won the fight.

DT – The point being?

FR – Look what Manny did to both De La Hoya and Hatton. His victories looked very easy. Mayweather struggled and Manny blitzed through both opponents. You can’t say either fighter was over the hill or a shot fighter. These were the same two opponents that gave Mayweather fits especially early in the fight. Marquez is a very clever opponent that will give Mayweather a tussle. Even though I pick Mayweather to win the fight, it would not surprise me if Marquez won. After all, Mayweather has been off for two years.

DT – So Manny will apply pressure and never let up?

FR – Now you’re beginning to see what will happen in the fight. That’s exactly why Mayweather will be, an easier opponent than Cotto or Mosley or even Marquez. Manny will be applying pressure from the beginning and never let up. He will use both hands and he is certainly the faster fighter. The difference will come in the middle of the fight. Manny is continuing to throw shots from all angles and Mayweather will feel the Kayo.

DT – How did you turn Manny into the best fighter in the sport today?

FR – With a ton of hard work. He now has lots of confidence and by that I mean he is not afraid to stand “toe to toe” without backing out of an exchange. Hard to believe but he now hits just as hard with the right hand as he does with his left hand.

DT – Any weaknesses on Manny’s part?

FR – Not really. He used to rely solely on the left but he will not revert back to his old habits.

DT – If you were Mayweather’s trainer, what advice would you give Floyd against Pacman?

FR – Don’t take this fight! Even though this is the fight that all boxing fans want to see, it would not surprise me to see Mayweather fight Mosley instead of Manny. Why fight a guy you can’t possibly beat?

DT – Anything else?

FR – Manny will be here next week. We can talk then. I would like to say one more thing about the “Pay for View” fights.

DT- Go ahead.

FR – I would like to thank all the fans who support boxing by paying their hard earned cash to purchase these fights. We are all aware that we live in tough economic times and boxing is just one of many venues out there vying for the fans to spend money. Also, I and the crew at WildCard have received a lot of positive feedback from the fans. I would like to thank them for their kind words of support.

Thank you Freddie for giving us such an insightful interview. Good luck with Manny and Amir in their upcoming fights.

Source: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/DHB/Tyler072909.htm

What if UFC decides to launch heavy artillery at Mayweather-Marquez?

Not ten minutes after I posted this article, the Los Angeles Times reported that Fedor will be announced as signed by the UFC on Friday. This could be more real than I expected:

A long-awaited agreement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the man considered the world's best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is expected to be announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday, a source with information about the negotiations told The Times today.

The source, who asked not to be identified because he's not authorized to speak publicly about the dealings, called negotiations between the UFC and Fedor "very civil" just days after Fedor's scheduled Affliction Trilogy fight Saturday against Josh Barnett was canceled.

* * * * * * * * * *

MMA superstar Fedor Emelianenko will hold a press conference on Wednesday in Anaheim to discuss his future in the wake of Affliction's death as an MMA fight promoter, and the cancellation of his proposed August superfight with Josh Barnett. If UFC signs Fedor -- who is considered the #1 heavyweight by everyone in the world except the UFC, officially -- and, say, puts him at UFC 103 against Brock Lesnar, then Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez will have a serious problem selling their fight. UFC 103 and Mayweather-Marquez both fall on September 19, and it would not remotely surprise me if Dana White tries to load up that card to embarrass Mayweather at the bank, which is really Mayweather's own fault for being so dumb lately.

This is all total "what if?" on my part admittedly, but Dana's that kind of "go for the jugular" promoter, which has been a part of what's made him so successful. Fedor is no lock to go to UFC no matter what, since his manager Vadim Finkelstein is (as Bloody Elbow puts it) something of a Russian Don King who is demanding that the world's biggest MMA promotion "co-promote" Fedor fights with M-1 Global. There have been other sticking points in past negotiations, too, including Fedor's genuine love of participating in sambo tournaments. I don't even actually expect a Fedor-UFC deal to get done, just as an observer, at least not right now.

But for the sake of argument: If Lesnar-Fedor went head-to-head with Mayweather-Marquez, the boxing show would get slaughtered. UFC is doing huge business these days, including a reported over 1.5 million buys for UFC 100 in July. If we assume Mayweather-Marquez might cut into their audience a tiny bit, a low-end estimate might be 850,000 buys for that show. Assuming UFC cut into the boxing PPV (which is more likely), who's going to buy the Mayweather show? The Mexican audience is an incredibly loyal PPV demographic, and Marquez currently stands as the king of the Mexican fighters, plus it's on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, which will help. But there's only so many Mexican fans that are going to buy the show. The promotion relies heavily on them as it is.

This would be the test of Mayweather's drawing power to end all tests. If he could even compete with that hypothetical UFC show, it'd be huge at the bargaining table. If he can't, who's he going to blame? He's the star, he says, and he's the lead promoter, too. I wouldn't be stunned in this scenario to see Mayweather pull up with another injury. It's impossible to verify, but a lot of the swirling winds around the postponement that put them on September 19 said that tickets weren't moving too well and the buzz wasn't there, rather than the rib injury to Floyd that served as the official reasoning.

I'm starting to find the potential business of Mayweather-Marquez to be more intriguing than I am the fight itself, and I'm pretty interested in seeing JMM try to beat Floyd, personally. Mayweather has talked so big about being The Man at the box office. A lot of folks believe that it was Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton drawing the houses and the buys for Mayweather's two biggest fights, and they have their reasons to think that. Absolutely Oscar was the superstar that drew for the first fight; it was "The Golden Boy" trying to dethrone the unbeaten pound-for-pound king. But as much as I think Mayweather is overestimating his own star power, Floyd is surely a bigger star now than he was before then, and part of that is his own hard work building a character, essentially. HBO's "24/7" gave him opportunities he never had before, and he ran with them. Mayweather-Hatton was a feather in the cap for both of those fighters, I believe.

But now you have Marquez, a great fighter and a star, but not a mega star, and there are a lot of people that just think the fight either won't be very good or won't even be close, some of whom see this as Mayweather taking a "gimme" fight against a smaller man and ducking stiffer challenges like Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto.

A lot of times it's easy to make a fair guess at what kind of business a fight will do. The last two boxing megafights -- Oscar-Manny and Manny-Hatton -- weren't too hard. I was fairly close in my estimate for both fights' PPV business. But Mayweather-Marquez is a mystery right now, and a potentially huge UFC show (perhaps driven by Dana White going out of his way to grind an ax against Mayweather) could really throw it for a loop.

Source: http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/7/28/966700/what-if-ufc-decides-to-launch

Defending the Floyd Mayweather Jr "Chip"

It’s no secret that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is both the most beloved and hated character in professional boxing today. If you were to ask Floyd whether this distinction was acceptable or even relevant in his life, I would imagine that he would relish in his detractors hatred and bask in their ignorance. The reason I say ignorance is because no matter what side of the fence you tend to stand on in reference to Mayweather Jr. and his career, one thing is clear and that is that the man in a phenomenon. He can box your ears off, and he can back up everything he says. When a fighter has that much clout they tend to become a target. Fans cry foul because anyone you put in front of the man basically gets demolished. Love him or hate him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is undefeated and he’s willing to make sure you remember that fact. Sometimes when a boxer is truly the best out there everyone resents him. Floyd Mayweather Jr. falls into this category unfortunately.

I’ll be honest with you here; I didn’t used to like Floyd for that very same reason. Fighters that I was a fan of and liked would get crushed under his leather in the ring. At first I couldn’t help but dislike him, but he represented everything that is actually great about professional boxing, and I came to realize that the only reason I didn’t like him as a fighter is because he beat all the fighters I liked. I disliked Oscar De La Hoya for the same reason, but with time and insight, and a true love for the sport of boxing, I realized that Floyd, much like De La Hoya, were just men doing their job and doing it proficiently, amazingly, and most importantly far better than the boxers who I admired. You have to swallow your pride and call it like you see it. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the best fighters if not the best fighter of our generation. There is no question that he is the number one Pound-For-Pound fighter out there.

I agree with Mayweather and his having a “chip” on his shoulder and I’m going to tell you why. He has every right to have one. He’s stated that he no longer fights for bragging rights and he has a point. There is basically nothing left for Floyd to prove in the ring. He could drift off into the sunset still very young and very rich without a care in the world and a bank account that is overflowing. But that wouldn’t be fair to Floyd the boxer and it wouldn’t be fair to the fans who need to witness his brilliance in the ring once more. I admire and respect Floyd Mayweather Jr. for his boxing prowess and his defense of not only his career but the legend that he has built in its wake. I have read on message boards from fans that his fights are boring, which is a ridiculous assumption. It’s just that his skill level is so incredible and that the critics watching his bouts are so ill-versed and unknowledgeable about boxing that when any type of skill or mastery is displayed in the ring they find it boring.

You can’t help but tune into a Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. His numbers and earnings over the year prove it. Even when someone who doesn’t like the fighter knows he has a fight coming up they’ll be sure to watch it. Deny him as you must, but Mayweather Jr. has to be one of the most accomplished and intelligent boxers of our generation that’s still in action today. He speaks his mind and gives fans a performance in the ring and we criticize him for it, which to me is a little selfish and discourteous. And I agree with him also about his comments about the UFC. I’ve actually been saying that for years about the UFC. Truth be told, they are unskilled and look ridiculous dry humping one another for 20 minutes. Boxing takes true discipline and true talent, not clown colored hair and a few lucky shots placed here and there. And you can quote me on that, I’ll always defend boxing and its fighters. Just remember that without boxing there would be no UFC. That’s enough on that circus; don’t want to give them any more press as it is.

Back to Mayweather. He has every right to have an enormous “chip” on his shoulder, and I’ve been watching his verbal sparring online with Brian Kenny which I find not only hilarious but entirely true from the angle of Floyd. He’s honest in what he says and he’s right, there are always excuses made by the press and media in regard to certain fights and who fights who. One guy fights another guy and they call the victor brilliant. But another fighter fights that very same guy and beats him and maybe they call the loser old, or past his prime. Judgments are passed down so frequently and persistently by writers who don’t really know boxing. Floyd Mayweather made an excellent point when he told Kenny that he doesn’t know anything about boxing, in a way he’s right. I have nothing against sports commentators but who are they, or we for that matter, any of us, to tell a fighter who he must fight or how well he did in our eyes? What right do we have? Isn’t that almost like trying to be somewhat elitist and talking out of your ass about something you haven’t experienced yourself? I think it is.

So if Floyd or any of his people are reading this, I support you man and everything you do in the ring. You made me a believer a long time ago, but I have to be honest here and tell you that I will be rooting for Marquez in your fight with him. I’ve been a fan of Marquez for awhile, and I wrote an article a few years back saying that I thought Marquez beat Pacquiao as well; it’s just that with time most people don’t acknowledge the truth. I knew Hopkins would school Pavlik too, even when no one wanted to listen. This doesn’t make me knowledgeable or better than anyone else, what it makes me is honest and a boxing fan. Nothing more. Best of luck in everything you do, I know I’ll be watching.

Source: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Jason/Petock072809.htm

Mayweather/Castillo I: the Night “Money” Got a Bailout (Was Marquez Watching?)

By Giancarlo Malinconico: Throughout many of his promotional tours throughout his career, Floyd is quick to criticize his opponents for receiving gift wins, while touting his undefeated record. Mayweather claims Pacquiao lost to Marquez both times. He also said De La Hoya lost to Ike Quartey. But Mayweather seems to neglect his own controversial decision victory against Jose Luis Castillo in April 2002.

Mayweather was moving up to challenge the WBC 135-pound champion Castillo after dominating the super featherweight division. Mayweather was an overwhelming favorite coming into the fight; Castillo had four losses all by TKO. So the consensus was that Castillo was selling his title to the younger, hotter rising star, Mayweather. But the pundits failed to consider that Castillo had developed into a better fighter, a ferocious body puncher who can take a licking and keep on coming. The pundits were not the only ones writing off Castillo in this fight; his opponent, “Money” Mayweather, was as well. Mayweather hardly mentioned Castillo in any of the prefight interviews, preferring to discuss his growing wealth and exposure.

Although Mayweather seemed overly confident in his ability to win, he seemed to be in very good shape for his big fight. Mayweather would outbox Castillo effectively using his jab to take rounds 1 and 2. Castillo would start landing more in the 3rd, taking the round by landing power shots downstairs.

Round 4, would go to Mayweather, as he effectively landed lead-left hooks and right hands. The 5th round leaned Castillo, as he out landed Mayweather 15 to 7 in power shots. Castillo would have his best round in the sixth, pinning Mayweather to the ropes, and continuing the assault to the body.

Castillo would have another big round in the 7th with a sustained body attack, occasionally landing upstairs as well. Castillo continued to land power shots to the body and win round 8, but the ref (Dracula as I like to call him) deducted a point from Castillo for hitting on the break. It was a very questionable call. Larry Merchant continually criticized the ref for being overly involved in breaking up the action. The ref’s judgment was questioned further by the commentators when a frustrated Mayweather blatantly threw a punch after the bell in round 9, but was not deducted a point. It was a close round to score; I have no argument if you wanted to give it to Mayweather.

In the 10th, the ref, probably trying to justify his mistake in the previous round, deducts a point from Floyd for a forearm. Castillo, nevertheless, won the round pounding the body of a backpedaling Floyd (10-8 round for Jose Luis). In round 11, Mayweather surprisingly decides to stay in the pocket and exchange with Castillo, which turned out to the make the fight exciting, but it was the wrong strategy. Although Mayweather landed some nice shots, he allowed Castillo to impose his will and pound Floyd to the body, outworking him to win the round. Castillo started the 12th round fast and never took a break. Castillo ended the fight big, clearly out working Floyd up until the final bell.

Harold Lederman scored the bout 115-111 for Castillo. But the scorecards read (a laughable): 116-111, 115-111 and 115-111 in favor of Floyd. Castillo had been the aggressor, threw more and landed more, especially when it came to power shots. Floyd was clearly defeated on this night, but the judges granted “Money” Mayweather a bailout. I understand Floyd complained of shoulder and hand trouble throughout the fight, and Floyd won a very close decision in the rematch, which ironically was closer on the scorecards than the first fight. That does change what happened on the night of April 20, 2002 nonetheless.

With the Mayweather/Marquez match looming perhaps many are wondering if Juan Manuel can have the same success that Castillo had. Marquez is not as big, does not have the chin, and does not have the power to the body that Castillo had. Marquez, nevertheless, is an excellent fighter who has stated he will target Floyd’s body, keying in on those recently injured ribs.

My head says Mayweather will convincingly win. But we will wait and see if Marquez can prove me and the odds makers wrong (as he is listed as a 4-1 underdog), and cause Mayweather to experience the déjà vu of the first Castillo fight.

Floyd Mayweather and the World Welterweight Crown

In the most recent display of what is becoming an almost Ali-Cosell relationship, ESPN’s Brian Kenny and Floyd Mayweather briefly touched on the topic of the Welterweight championship. Mayweather went after a previous Kenny assertion of Mosley as the ‘real’ champion right now, referencing his 2006 win over Carlos Baldomir. The inference was that Mayweather, having defeated the lineal champion of the division at that time, should somehow still be seen as the champ at 147 lbs.

Does he have a point?

The obvious answer is no. Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO) retired after his lone title defense, versus then-Jr. Welterweight Ricky Hatton. Even accepting no one took his retirement seriously, his management made quite public his vacating of the WBC and Ring Magazine belts. When he steps in with World Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KO), he will be a few months shy of two years off. There is no case to be made for him as the current Welterweight champion.

There is a case to be made that no one else can be until he has his say.

Upon his return, the most fair answer to the question ‘who’s the champ?’ is, simply, no one.

While he may have the strongest claim, even recognized as the rightful champion by the Cyber Boxing Zone already, the WBA titlist Mosley (46-5, 39 KO) finds the claim in a single win over Antonio Margarito earlier this year. Margarito of course was riding the high of a career-best win over the man who appeared heir apparent to Mayweather, Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KO). Margarito, tainted by an attempt to load his gloves prior to the Mosley loss, finds the validity of his Cotto win under a cloud. Cotto was the last man to beat Mosley and has, post-Margarito, added a WBO belt and a win over top Welterweight Joshua Clottey.

Follow the bouncing ball and it ends at high-level parity and plenty to argue about. The easiest answer to crowning a new outright Welterweight champion, based solely on recent results, remains a rematch between Mosley and Cotto, a fight not in the sights of anyone at the moment. Cotto is locked in for a showdown with World Jr. Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in the fall; Mosley’s slate remains open.

And Mayweather complicates the road to easy answers.

There have been occasions in boxing’s history where champions have retired their crowns only to return later on. While new men had laid claims in their absence, conquering the man who had been king conferred the direct lineage, and legitimacy, of the championship. Three of the most notable examples happened at Heavyweight.

Jim Jeffries, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali all retired at the top of their class but none could stay away from the ring. They were replaced by Jack Johnson, Ezzard Charles, and Larry Holmes, all men who the public questioned as successors and then resented after the newer, fresher models thrashed the vain attempts of old idols to find their youth again.

Sugar Ray Robinson, like Mayweather, also went through a brief retirement though under different circumstances. Enjoying his second reign as Middleweight champion, he attempted to lift the Light Heavyweight title from Joey Maxim and famously collapsed ahead on the cards with heat stroke. Robinson decided to become a traveling dancer and when the money turned out to be less than desired, the ring called him home.

A two-plus year layoff meant ring rust and Robinson embarked on a shaky six-fight comeback featuring a tough loss to Tiger Jones and an off the floor decision over rugged Rocky Castellani. His name still being what it was, it was enough to merit a shot at the man who replaced him, previous rival Carl “Bobo” Olson. Olson didn’t have a chance to legitimize his claim as Johnson or Charles had at heavyweight, stopped brutally in two frames.

Unlike any of these legendary names, and their equally storied replacements, Mayweather returns to a title still vacant after his absence. With schedules being what they are, a win in September puts Mayweather firmly back in the mix at Welterweight. Should Cotto lose to Pacquiao in their catch weight affair, Mayweather could be considered as high as second in the division.

The biggest money would be in Mayweather-Pacquiao.

Mayweather-Mosley might be easier to make before it happens.

A fight long talked about in boxing circles, it could provide Mayweather the rare opportunity to take years off and return to reclaim his crown without anyone causing a definitive skipped beat between reigns. If Mosley could take the win, even in the shadow of a Cotto win over Pacquiao, he could make firm his claim in the same fashion Holmes did a generation ago.

There’s plenty of road to travel before any of these scenarios become truly relevant but they are worth considering as they impact the top of one of boxing’s most storied classes. Floyd Mayweather is clearly not the Welterweight champion of the world today, but it may be there can’t be one at all without him going forward.

Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/index.php?m=show&id=21249

THE IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE FOR MARQUEZ

On September 19 two of boxing greats, Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather and Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez will face off in a battle that will help establish who is boxing's pound for pound king.

The question boxing fans are now asking themselves is: what chance does Juan Manuel Marquez have against a fighter as talented as Mayweather, who will hold advantages over the Mexican warrior in terms of speed, strength and power. Not to mention that Floyd is looked as an equal to Marquez in terms of technique and professional experience.

But before we completely rule out a Marquez victory, let’s consider some facts that favor the Mexican fighter.

Mayweather has been retired for the last two years while Marquez has remained active and fighting top competition. In the time Mayweather was away, dancing with the Stars and chilling with his homies, Marquez was having tough fights against the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Joel Casamayor, and Juan Diaz. Top notch opponents for any fighter.

We also need to take into consideration the fact that Marquez’s trainer is Nacho Beristain. Nacho has trained many of Mexico’s great fighters, including Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzales, Daniel Zarazoga and Ricardo “Finito” Lopez. Nacho is considered by many to be one of the best trainers, not only in Mexico, but all-of-the world.

Also, Marquez may be the smaller fighter, but that may play a smaller role in this fight then people imagine. It is my opinion that this fight will be determined more by skill then it will be by strength and power. Mayweather will be the bigger guy, but he’s not a fighter who’s ever beat his opponent based on bullying them inside the ring. Mayweather will look to counter Marquez (who is also an excellent counter puncher) and land his lead right which is his favorite punch. Mayweather will look to utilize his speed and technical abilities as he has against all his other opponents. The question that we really need to be asking ourselves is will Marquez be able to counter the counter puncher or will he find a way to lead in this fight and be effective.

Lastly, Marquez will be fighting not only for himself, but for the pride and glory of his country. At 35, Marquez is a veteran of the sport, but with so much of his career spent in the shadows of popular Mexican greats Marco Antonio Barrera and Erick Morales, Marquez is still hungry to prove his place as one of Mexico’s all-time greats.

There is no doubt that Marquez is the underdog and rightfully so. No amount of writing can change the fact that Mayweather should be able to win this fight as he has the advantage in almost a very category, but in a year in which so many of the Mexican champions, and top prospects have lost some tough bouts, Mexican boxing fans are hoping Marquez can pull of the upset and put a bright spot on their 2009 boxing year.

Source: http://boxeomundial.net/boxeo.php?category=english&id=12929

Floyd Mayweather in the Fight of His Life ... with the UFC

On September 19, Floyd Mayweather will make his return to boxing after almost a two-year absence. He’ll be fighting two hungry and motivated opponents that night – Juan Manuel Marquez in the ring, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the ratings. And though no one in boxing would dare to challenge the skills of the great Marquez, given the fact that he’ll be fighting a good three weight classes above his natural weight, well, the UFC just may prove to be Floyd’s more formidable foe.

Mayweather’s fight with Marquez was supposed to go off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on July 20, but Mayweather postponed the bout due to what remains a mysterious rib injury. Many boxing pundits opined that Floyd might have manufactured the injury in order to push the bout back due to sluggish ticket sales and the overall malaise that has surrounded Vegas during this recession summer.

So the bout was rescheduled at the MGM Grand for September 19, when it will be broadcast live on HBO pay-per-view. Of course, there will be another big-time PPV fight card that same night, UFC 103, which is taking place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and headlined by Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson.

It’s the first time in history that a major mixed martial arts card will be competing with a big-time boxing match on pay-per-view. Granted, neither event is gigundous. It’s not as if you have UFC 100 going up against De La Hoya/Mayweather. But the fact of the coinciding pay-per-view cards will still garner a lot of media investigation, especially because the plotlines involved are thick, and all center on that enigmatic, tempestuous braggart known as Money May.

After a dubious stab at retirement, Mayweather is returning to boxing purportedly to reclaim his status as the sport’s pound-for-pound king from the upstart Manny Pacquiao, who is currently boxing’s consensus pound-for-pound best. Since the announcement of Mayweather/Marquez, which came at a press conference on the morning of Pacquiao’s stunning knockout of Ricky Hatton in May, even casual boxing fans have been electrified at the eventual possibility of a winner-take-all pound-for-pound showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather.

To this point, there have been no formal negotiations between the two camps about making this fight (none reported anyway), but the informal negotiations that have taken place via the media have been hot and heavy, with both sides insisting that their man is the best fighter and biggest draw in the sport and therefore should command the lion’s share of the money when and if a Pacquiao/Mayweather fight goes down.

In terms of the actual boxing, each has a compelling claim to top dog status, but when it comes to the question of drawing power, right now Floyd would seem to have the better argument. After all, Pacquiao and Mayweather share two prior opponents – Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Each fought them back-to-back, respectively – Mayweather in 2007 and Pacquiao in December of ’08 and then May of this year. All four bouts were broadcast on HBO PPV, and a comparison of the numbers gives a decided advantage to Mayweather. His bout with Oscar did a record 2.4 million PPV buys (making it the biggest boxing match of all time) while Pacquiao’s did 1.25 million, and his bout with Hatton did 915,000 buys while Pacquiao’s did 850,000.

Of course, even more than most things, boxing is a “what have you done for me lately?” universe, and while Mayweather has sat out his dance card since December of 2007, Pacquiao has turned himself into a marquee pay-per-view draw. Once could even argue that Pacquiao’s 850K against Hatton is more impressive than Floyd’s 915K when you adjust the scale for the down economy.

Either way, it goes without saying that the numbers for their next fights are going to be very significant to any negotiations that might take place between them. And on that front, Floyd appears to be skating on thin ice. Pacquiao’s next fight was announced this past week – he’ll face Miguel Cotto on November 14, also at the MGM Grand in Vegas. This news was greeted with almost universal exhilaration from the boxing community and the fight is already a hot topic of debate all over the internet.

Meanwhile, Mayweather/Marquez has failed to capture the imagination of even the hardcore boxing audience. While no one connected with boxing in any way would ever disrespect the skills of Marquez, the fact that he is facing such an oppressive weight disadvantage in the fight makes it a less than compelling narrative. Granted, there are nearly two months left until fight night, but still, this event is simply not generating the kind of buzz that presages a massive PPV bonanza. HBO’s Mayweather/Marquez 24/7 likely will help with that, and no doubt Floyd has some crazy antics up his sleeve to draw attention to the fight, but nevertheless, if I were to wager on the pay-per-view over/unders right now, I’d put Pacquiao/Cotto at a mill and Mayweather Marquez at 500K, with the caveat that 500K is a very generous number.

Especially when you factor in the x-factor of UFC 103. September 19 promises to be a watershed night for both boxing and MMA, because it’s a night that will provide some hard numbers toward an investigation of whether the two sports are directly competing for fans or not. There’s been some low-level, ill-defined war of words between boxing and MMA for years now concerning who’s tougher, who would beat who in what, which is more popular, etc. And it’s fitting that Mayweather should be at the center of the upcoming storm, because he has a long history of shooting off his mouth about the UFC, questioning the skills of its combatants, likening them to “animals,” and most recently making this bizarre racial argument for the entire existence of mixed martial arts:

“In boxing, we know who's dominating. Black fighters and Hispanic fighters is dominating in this sport. And this is not a racial statement but no white fighters in boxing that's dominating, so they had to go to something else and start something new."

I’m not going to go into the reasons that this is a ridiculous, ignorant and offensive thing to say (and Floyd, if that’s not “a racial statement,” then what the hell is?). It’s not worth wasting my precious typing energy refuting something so plainly stupid. I only bring it up to illustrate the ways in which Floyd has shown himself to be more than willing to hit below the belt where mixed martial arts is concerned.

But now, MMA has a chance to hit him back, and hit him where he lives. Maybe it will turn out that there is no relative impact on the pay-per-view numbers of Mayweather/Marquez and UFC 103, and we can all conclude that the much ballyhooed competition between boxing and MMA for the fight fan’s dollar is a red herring. Or maybe not – maybe each event will take a perceived hit at the box office, or one more than the other. Or maybe, as has been suggested on the blogs for a few weeks now, the UFC will move UFC 103 to Spike and really mess with Floyd’s world.

As it stands right now, the UFC 103 card is relatively weak, and it’s hard to imagine many boxing fans that generally would buy Mayweather/Marquez deciding to jump ship to the UFC for such a lukewarm roster of fights. But if it were free? If fans can save 50 bucks in this economy, still get a good Saturday night of bloodlust, and then check out the May/Marquez replay on free HBO the following week? That seems like a situation that definitely could negatively impact the PPV numbers for Mayweather/Marquez.

And those numbers aren’t shaping up to be that good to begin with. The fact is that if Floyd/Marquez does somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300K in PPV buys, it’s a tremendous embarrassment to Mayweather win, lose or draw, and a huge obstacle to his future success at the negotiating table. On that score, Marquez is only one of the fights Floyd will be waging come September. The other is with those “animals” in the cage, and right now, I got that fight at even money.

Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/28783/floyd_mayweather_in_the_fight_of_his_life_..._with_the_ufc_