Freddie Roach: “Cotto, Floyd, or Mosley next for Pacquiao”

The Legendary Freddie Roach was in studio this weekend on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" and commented on his thoughts as to who he thinks Manny Pacquiao will face in his next fight.

“Cotto, Floyd, or Mosley,” Freddie Roach replied when asked by ESPN2’s Brian Kenny who pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao would fight next. “I think it will be one of those three, and really it will probably come down to who is the easiest to deal with at the negotiating table. All three of them are good fights, and I’d like to see us fight either one of them at a catch weight of 143 or 144 pounds. My guy is the champion at 140 pounds and all of those guys are welterweights so I’d like to see a catch weight to even the playing field a little bit.” Roach was candid in studio when being questioned by Kenny and as is his trademark he pulled no punches. In a later segment Roach answered a question from a fan asking how Pacquiao would approach a possible Mayweather fight. “Floyd’s shoulder roll wouldn’t work against Manny. If he wants to lay on the rope we’d love that. Manny will go to his body and Floyd will be broken down,” Roach stated.

Source: http://fightfan.com/2009/05/freddie-roach-cotto-floyd-or-mosley-next-for-pacquiao/

Mayweather to lay ‘blueprint on beating Pacquiao’ if fight materializes

MANILA, Philippines – Comebacking Floyd “Money" Mayweather, Jr. firmly believes that if there’s one fighter who could put an end to the Manny Pacquiao’s juggernaut, it would be him.

In London to promote his July 18 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather said he would beat the Filipino pound-for-pound king with his ring skills and IQ if ever their dream showdown eventually materializes.

"If the Pacquiao fight presents itself after this one (Marquez bout), then I'll lay the blueprint on how to beat him," Mayweather said, as quoted by Eastside Boxing’s James Slater.

"Pacquiao's a good fighter but he can be got. He was knocked out twice before and I'm a slick, smart boxer. I would tie him up. There's a science to this game and I could adapt to any style," he added.

If Mayweather (39-0) can easily figure out a “how-to-beat Pacquiao" formula, the Pacman, he boasted could not find one for him.

“I take nothing away from Manny Pacquiao. He’s gone out there and done what he’s had to do as a fighter. I respect him for what

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/162677/Mayweather-to-lay-blueprint-on-beating-Pacquiao-if-fight-materializes

Floyd Joy Mayweather man of many traits, master of villainy

Where’s the Joy in being Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr.?

There has to be some joy to being able to announce a boxing comeback and immediately show that you are the sizzle for the steak, the pepper which goes with the salt and the straw that stirs the drink.

Mayweather knows the earth revolves around the sun. He just thinks that boxing revolves around him. And he wants you to think it also.

Buzz, buzz, your cuz, Pretty Boy. I just got sprained my neck reviewing the 13-minute tennis style volley between a chip on the shoulder Mayweather and twinkle in his eye Brian Kenny of ESPN.

For Kenny, son of a New York City cop, Mayweather is the interview gift that keeps on giving.

If I was BK, I’d be at the printers right now getting new business cards that have this subtitle:

"Brian Kenny, ESPN, Man of Many Traits, Master of None."

That’s quite a nifty title Money May Pay (to the IRS hounds) has bestowed on the sportscaster.

I bet Teddy Atlas is getting jealous.

Whenever Mayweather is around, you get smoke and mirrors, you get a dog and pony show.

But what’s often obscured is the diligent and dare I say prudent boxing mentality that Mayweather brings to the table.

Herewith my list of smart Mayweather moves of recent vintage:

1. CHOOSING JUAN MA AS HIS FIRST TARGET: Despite all the time he spent on the road and in the gym and never getting out of shape, PBF knew he needed to have one pre Pacquiao bout to shake off ring rust. Choosing Marquez is slick because I’ve little doubt that Mayweather will beat the Tiny Tot from Mexico City more convincingly that Pacman did in two bouts. I would not be shocked to see PBF win nine or 10 rounds against the little counterpuncher.

2. HARPING ON PACMAN’S LOSS TO ERIK MORALES: This is psychological warfare and these are what Floyd hopes will be seeds of doubt which will be planted in the Pacman camp. It goes along with his telling Kenny that he had to use 10 ounce gloves and that De La Hoya was at a natural weight when he fought him.

3. LABELING HIMSELF THE CASH COW OF PPV FIGHTS: Oscar’s retirement opened up that door for PBF. My all knowing, all seeing PPV TV industry source tells me that Marquez-Mayweather on July 18 will outdo Hatton-Pacquiao. This unindicted conspirator tells me while Hat-Pac ran up about 825,000 buys, Juan Ma and Mayweather will hit the one million mark. Ka-ching, ka-ching, I am Mayweather and I make them ring, Floyd and his trained parrots will say.

4. PLAYING THE MAN YOU LOVE TO HATE ROLE TO PERFECTION: He’s no thug, no gangsta and no wanksta. Mayweather just plays his role like Eminem does. There are many parallels between Slim Shady and Floyd Shady but more on that later. Even the most diehard Pachugger can admit this, it’s nothing but fan hating on anyone named Mayweather.

5. DRAWING PACMAN’S ARMY INTO THE JULY 18 TENT: Come on, you know you will pay to watch Juan Ma, who just dislike, and Mayweather, who you are beginning to despise. Mayweather’s nasty man act brings back memories of comedian Buddy Hackett’s crack about my ex-boss, Howard Cosell. People have mixed feelings about Cosell, Hackett said. “Some people hate him like poison, the rest just hate him regular.”

Mayweather will keep wearing the black hat, playing his Johnny Ringo role.

It pays so well and, at the end of the day, it’s the money which brings the ultimate joy to Floyd Joy Mayweather.

Bragging about himself, belittling all others...these are the phrases that pay for Money May.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m5d23-Floyd-Joy-Mayweather-man-of-many-traits-master-of-villainy

Boxing’s Biggest Losers: Pound-for-Pound

Waiting for my “Ring” magazine renewal to kick in, I have been stuck with the May 2009 issue proclaiming the “upcoming” Hatton-Pacquiao fight. I have read it cover to cover many times as I kill time during pre-fight pageantry – the two, three, even four national anthems sung before main events these days. I hear an Icelandic chorus – “Iceland’s thousand years,” they pipe. Worrying the tune might last that long, I try to save my sanity with a sampling from “Ring.” I do manage to find safety in numbers – its ratings. I discover something interesting.

For the period ending March 1, 2009, one division in boxing is full of losers. Except for the light heavyweights, middleweights and the junior flyweights, no top-ten has more losses. But that’s not all. If the exceptions, the fighters with the most and least losses in these divisions, are removed, no division has more losses. Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? Readers must think I’m talking about the heavyweights or cruiserweights. But I’m not; I’m talking about the pound-for-pound top-ten.

The pound-for-pound fighters have thirty losses. The light heavyweights, middleweights, and junior flyweights have more, with thirty-six, thirty-three, and forty-one respectively. But after taking away the fighters with the least and most losses (good bye number seven Ivan Calderon and number three Mr. Hopkins) the pound-per-pound has twenty-five losses. That leaves the light heavyweights with twenty-four (good bye number two ranked Chad Dawson and at number three Glen Johnson) and the middleweights with twenty-one (Goodbye undefeated number one contender Arthur Abraham and David Lopez’s twelve losses.). The junior flyweights have two fighters with eleven losses. Who should go? Number five ranked Juanito Rubillar or number eight Bert Batawang? Take your pick. I choose both, taking that division down to nineteen losses. An examination of these ranked fighters’ records leads to a boxing truism, something that I thought was just a cliché. To be a winner in boxing, to be a true champion, one also has to be a loser. Every top-ten pound-for-pound fighter, with the exception of Ivan Calderon, has at least one loss.

Why, then, are pound-for-pound fighters given such esteem if they are a bunch of losers? It’s because their losses are of a certain kind. They are close. Bernard Hopkins has five losses – his first fight, Roy Jones, Jermain Taylor twice, and Joe Calzaghe. The Jones and Calzaghe fights were both competitive and occurred at the right time: one came early in Hopkin’s career and the other, late in his career. The Taylor fights could’ve gone either way. At number five, Shane Mosley has five losses: two to Vernon Forrest, two to Winky Wright, and one to Miguel Cotto. The first four losses were competitive losses for Mosley but they were to probable Hall of Famers. The Cotto fight could’ve gone either way. Manny Pacquiao, “The Ring’s” top-fighter, lost to Eric Morales but came back to beat him twice. The second best fighter in the world, Juan Manuel Marquez, lost a close one to Pacquiao and maybe was robbed by Chris John in Indonesia. Vazquez, ranked fourth, lost to sixth-ranked Rafael Marquez in a terrific fight. Marquez lost to Vazquez twice in fights of the year. Hatton, ranked eighth, was knocked out by former pound-per-pound king Floyd Mayweather when the Brit moved up to welterweight – no shame for this junior welterweight champion. Ranked ninth, Celestino Caballero hasn’t lost since 2004. And tenth-ranked Vic Darchinyan came back from a knockout loss to Nonito Donaire. His comeback from that loss makes him pound per pound worthy. So, of the thirty pound-for-pound losses, I can, without referring to boxrec, account for at least nineteen of them – all “good” losses.

Divisions with fewer losses tell us a different story. If we look at the heavyweights, a division with only sixteen losses, the fewest among all the divisions, we see ten fighters untested against each other. Ranked first and second, the Klitschko brothers both have fought Samuel Peter, ranked seventh. Oleg Maskaev, ranked eighth, also fought Peter. Ruslan Chagaev and Nicolai Valuev, ranked third and fifth, have fought each other. At number six, Sultan Ibragimov lost to Wladimir Klitschko. But that’s it. No one else has fought each other. That accounts for five of their seventeen losses, not even a third of them. The heavyweights then are just ten Jupiters circling in their own orbit, not daring to collide for fear of upsetting their cosmos. That’s not good for fight fans.

On the other hand, there are the super middleweights, a division often called the best and the deepest in boxing. It has only thirteen losses. This number seems to go against my premise that to make a division great, you need losses. But if you examine this division closely it’s interesting. Many of the losses came when fighters took on others in the top-ten. The top contender, Mikkel Kessler, got his lone loss from former champ Joe Calzaghe; at number three, Librado Andrade got his two losses from Kessler and number two ranked Bute. At number four, Anthony Mundine has three losses and one was to Kessler; Bika, ranked seventh, got one of his three losses to champion Joe Calzaghe and another from Bute; at number ten, Denis Inkin got his one loss from number nine ranked Karoly Balzsay. That accounts for seven of the thirteen losses, over half. This is a division clearly trying to work out who’s the best and trying to get on that fast-track to loser-dom: the pound-for-pound list.

Muhammad Ali used to ask a rhetorical question about daring to be great. And what he meant was a boxer has to put everything at risk – his health, his title, and the chance to make the big money. In exchange, by taking on the best competition around, that fighter gains respect. When Ali came out of his three year exile, in his third fight he fought Joe Frazier, taking an enormous beating, almost being knocked out in the eleventh and fifteenth rounds, and losing a decision. But he was finally appreciated as a great fighter because even though he lost, he was game throughout the fight – soon after, Budd Schulberg entitled an Ali biography “Loser and Still Champion.” Ali arguably gained more from that loss than from any win.

And that’s how the pound-for- pound works. Everybody on that list, to a greater or lesser extent has dared to be great and has achieved or approached it – win or lose. That is something the heavyweights should keep in mind. But these days heavyweight champions and contenders both are manufactured by fighting retired ex-contenders and ex-champions and by the wishful thinking of a boxing media anxious for the next great American heavyweight.

With the end of Iceland’s national anthem, so to end my musings on the pound-for-pound top-ten. But the anthems continue. I hear the Mozambique national anthem play a perfect coda to my pound-for-pound thoughts: “they had dared to fight.”

With another I don’t know how many national anthems left before the main event, I re-read “Ring’s” cover story: Hatton vs. Pacquiao. I wonder who will win. As long as my subscription isn’t renewed in the next seven days, maxboxing readers can look forward to my Hatton-Pacquiao preview next week. Here’s a sneak peak: Floyd Sr. will find a son-substitute in Ricky Hatton, training him with such professionalism that the Brit will have the smartest, craftiest, most error-free performance of his boxing career. By daring to be great, Hatton will elevate himself to the top of the pound-for-pound list.

Source: http://www.maxboxing.com/Conway/Conway052409.asp

If you had it your way, who whould you rather have had Mayweather fight?

Albert, if you had it your way, who would you rather have had for Floyd to face first? I say Mosley since he is the welter weight king right now. Dennis, NJ



Dennis, I agree with you that it should be Mosley. I mean why make a lightweight move up 12 pounds when you already have Mosley at your weight? Thing is Dennis, that we are talking about Floyd here. Floyd recognizes that the ''real Pay Per View King'' Oscar De La Hoya is gone, so Floyd now wants to take Prizefighting to that same level, only without the legacy part. Sure, I would love to see Floyd face true welters like Cotto, Clottey, and Mosley but when Brian Kenny blasted Floyd in a ESPN interview the other day, Floyd made it clear to me that he doesn't care at all about his legacy when he told Brian that he doesn't fight for belts. Wow!!! Allot of heat was fired on to Oscar when he signed to fight the smaller Pacquiao, but Oscar had always taken risks in the past by facing guys like Quartey, Trinidad, Mosley, Whitaker, Mayweather and by moving up to 160 for a big risk fight against Bernard Hopkins. Oscar became the Pay Per View King by also taking risks not just by fighting smaller men. Floyd however, is not in the risk business he is in the money business, money talks, and right now all talks lead to the Pac-Man. ''Money'' Mayweather is the true definition of a Prizefighter.

Albert, what's up bro, this is your boy Armando from the Sac-town. Man bro everyone seems to be thinking that Victor Ortiz is the next Oscar but I saw last night that everyone is all wrong. The real next Oscar title goes to Escobedo. Escobedo took care of Kelley real quick. Did you check it out? If you did, I am sure that you also agree with me. I'll get at you later, and hey why so much coverage on Floyd and Marquez, I love Diamond Boxing it's the first thing I check when I get on in the morning but the Floyd Marquez fight is going to be real boring. Armando, Sacramento



Armando, you know, I didn't see the Escobedo/Kelley fight, for some reason I thought it was going to be on tonight. A friend of mine did see it and told me that Escobedo took care of the Flushing Flash in a Flash. No pun intended. Escobedo does have some Oscar traits to him as well, but correct me if I am wrong but weren't his last 2 fights against 2 guys that had their better days like 5-8 years ago? In Escobedo's last fight against Carlos Hernandez, Vicente was taken into real deep waters in that one. Where with Ortiz, Ortiz fought Mighty Mike, a guy who many including myself thought would take Ortiz into the late rounds, and Ortiz responded by knocking Mighty Mike out on his feet inside 2 rounds. What Escobedo has best going for him is that he is being trained by Nacho Beristain, if Nacho can teach Escobedo how to box while moving backwards as well as he did the Marquez brothers and the way he is doing with Abner Mares, watch out because Escobedo will then be a real problem. Everyone knows that the Golden torch is up for grabs, only time will tell who gets to it first.



Albert, who do you think would win in a real war between Angulo and Chavez Jr.? I would say Chavez Jr. since he has way more fights. Ben, Pomona



Ben, if Chavez Jr and Angulo were to fight right now, I see Angulo crushing Chavez Jr. I do see a few improvements in the kid’s game, like that right hook to the body, the kid now seems to have a better idea on how to place it. Even with some improvements, I still see Angulo overwhelming Chavez and forcing his corner to stop the fight. True, that Chavez has allot more fights than Angulo, but please don't let that fool you. It's just the case of one fighter being protected allot more than the other.



Yo Albert why is everyone eating up this Mayweather/Marquez fight? It's not all that, they both are counter punching fighters, no excitement at all, so what are you and everyone out there seeing that I'm not? Raiden, Chicago



Raiden, is that your real name? If so, cool name, I likes, I likes. Alright so I was just asked this by Armando from Sacramento, I left it alone because I noticed that you also asked the same question. So here it is, kill 2 birds with one stone 101. Raiden, who is the hottest fighter out there right now? I'll give you a hint, he just smashed Hatton out cold in 2 rounds. The Pac-Man!! Next question, of all the fighters that Pac-Man has faced, who gave the Pac-man the most trouble? If you answered Morales, you are wrong because even in the fight Morales did win it was still close, then Pacquiao went on to crush Morales in their 2nd and third fights. The answer is Juan Manuel Marquez!!! So now that Floyd is back and undefeated, the world would love to see him face the new pound for pound killer. Sure, Mayweather could have came back and went right after Pacquiao, but that’s only one check. Mayweather coming back to face the man that many believe beat Pacquaio and hopefully beating that man makes Pacquiao/Mayweather that much bigger. It's just that Mayweather wanted to pick up a big check first in order to get to the biggest check. After all, 2 checks are better than 1. Even if Marquez is to shock the world and be the first man to beat Mayweather, imagine how big Pacquiao/Marquez 3 would be, am I missing something here?

Source: http://diamondboxing.com/newsstory.php?list=7525

BOXING: Mayweather looking for buyers

The fight with De La Hoya did a record 2.44 million buys. But De La Hoya is the undisputed all-time pay-per-view king. Mayweather's fight with Hatton did 900,000 domestic buys on HBO, as well as 1.4 million in Great Britain.

England's Hatton has as fanatical a following as any boxer.

Mayweather was already a two-division world champion when he took on Arturo Gatti for a super lightweight title in his first pay-per-view fight in June 2005. It did 365,000 buys.

Mayweather fought Zab Judah in a welterweight title fight in April 2006. Mayweather promoter Bob Arum predicted it would do more than the 1.4 million buys De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad Jr. did in 1999.

But it sold 375,000 buys.

And Mayweather's welterweight title fight against Carlos Baldomir in November 2006 did 300,000 buys.

In other words, Mayweather has yet to prove that he can generate big-time buys without fighting someone named De La Hoya or Hatton.

Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) is a tremendous fighter who has won titles in five weight classes. How popular he has become remains to be seen. But we'll find out soon enough when he takes on Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez in a welterweight fight July 18 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view for $49.95.

This will be a big pay-per-view test for Mayweather. If, after everything he has accomplished in the ring - not to mention the anticipation of him fighting again after a 17-month retirement - he is unable to generate at least 750,000 buys, he will have failed this exam.

Mayweather and Marquez were on hand Monday in Los Angeles to begin a press tour, which this week also made its way to New York City and London.

Mayweather is very intelligent, his trash-talking notwithstanding.

Instead of saying things such as Marquez has no chance, that he is too big for the Mexican slugger who has never fought at higher than lightweight, that he doesn't belong in the same ring with him, Mayweather sang a different tune.

"Marquez is a great Mexican warrior who is going to be in tremendous shape," Mayweather said. "He is a hell of a guy and a hell of a fighter."

Those were Mayweather's words. Not surprising, though, because Mayweather has to know deep down he needs to produce big numbers for a fight that some believe may not be a thriller because both are counter-punchers.

He needs to make people want to see this fight.

"I like to get hit, but I don't get hit," Mayweather said. "Marquez hits and gets hit. He seems used to it and still comes out on top 90 percent of the time.

"I expect a great fight. If Marquez is aggressive, it could turn into a brawl and that is exactly the type of fight fans love to see."

Mayweather wasn't finished. He also praised the fans he know are going to have a lot to do with the pay-per-view numbers.

"I've got nothing but love for Mexican fans; they are some of the most loyal fans in boxing," he said. "Mexican fans really know boxing inside and out."

This is true. It's just weird hearing Mayweather dole out so much love. Usually, he is tearing down someone.

As for Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs), he made sure he said his weight disadvantage will not be an issue. He came with a little comedy, too.

"I have a tough fight with Floyd," Marquez said. "I'm training right now and will go up to the mountains to build muscle for the fight.

"It isn't exactly my weight. But that only means I'll have to eat more tacos, burritos and carnitas."

Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather promotions, pointed out just how much the sport of boxing has missed Mayweather.

"No matter where he goes, fans are always coming up to him asking, `When are you coming back?"' Ellerbe said.

De La Hoya is president of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Marquez. He made his pitch, too.

"This is truly a fight that the fans want to get behind," he said. "In my eyes, Mayweather is the best in the world, who is about to meet the No. 1 Mexican in the ring to duke it out and show who is truly No. 1."

That's funny.

When Manny Pacquiao - the consensus pound-for-pound king - was about to take on Golden Boy's Ricky Hatton earlier this month, everyone associated with Golden Boy was correctly acknowledging that Pacquiao was No. 1.

Guess Pacquiao's blistering second-round knockout of Hatton wasn't enough to keep him there in the eyes of De La Hoya.

Source: http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_12431902

Floyd Mayweather Jr: The King (of contradictions) is Back

Earlier this month at a Las Vegas press conference, former pound for pound champ and linear welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced he was returning after a little more than a year and a half layoff from the sport of boxing. “The King is back,” his advisor and CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe, declared. With this announcement, Mayweather would state that he was fighting the current lightweight champion, Juan Manuel Marquez, in a bout titled “Numero Uno/Number One,” which is being sold as a fight to declare who is pound for pound the best in the sport, a distinction bestowed on a fighter in seemingly endless ways depending on who you talk to. In this case, it’s a nice way of saying ‘we have one fighter who last weighed 12 pounds lighter than this other one, is skilled but smaller, fighting someone who has proven to be effective fighting above 147 pounds. So while it’s a mismatch on one level, it’s kind of fair given the skill set of the smaller Marquez.’ Since you can’t really market what is being labeled a super fight with that kind of honesty, the pound for pound label seems the surest way of selling this brand of snake oil.

Interviewing the members of the promotional team, as well as Mayweather, is always an interesting task. Straight answers are at a premium. Take for instance the weight limit for the fight. Initially, the fight was reported to be at “143 pounds give or take a pound,” according to Eric Gomez, chief matchmaker for Golden Boy Promotions. “A maximum of 144 pounds.” When Ellerbe was asked he simply repeated “It’s a welterweight fight,” three times as if it was hard to hear him from three feet away. Following the Los Angeles press conference, the fight was reported at 147 pounds, which is the welterweight limit. Just days after that, rumors began swirling that the fight was back at 144. As of press time, I had given up trying to figure it out. The bottom line is that a career featherweight, who looked maxed out at lightweight, was fighting a man last seen knocking out the former 140 pound kingpin, Ricky Hatton, at 147 pounds. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

But contradicting or hard to get answers are nothing new to Floyd Mayweather. As elusive out of the ring as he is in it, the man self billed as “Money” never met a question he couldn’t dodge or a self-justification he couldn’t conjure. Just look back at an interview he did with ESPN’s Brian Kenny, one from before his bout with Zab Judah following the Brooklynite’s loss of the welterweight crown to Carlos Baldomir. Despite the loss, Mayweather went ahead and signed to fight Judah and justified his decision to Kenny thusly.

“Well you have to realize that Zab wasn’t 100%,” said Mayweather. “He didn’t get knocked out and he didn’t lose a unanimous decision. They let Erik Morales come back and fight Pacquiao after he lost to Zahir Raheem. They let Oscar De La Hoya come back after he lost to Felix Trinidad and fight Mosley for a title. So is Zab entitled to fight me? Yes he is because he fought to a split a decision. A split decision is a iffy bout.”

“When a bout gets to a split decision,” he added, “we don’t count that in our books.”

However, in reference to his split decision win over Oscar De La Hoya he would say “It was a split decision, but Oscar and I know how it really is.”

When pressed as to why he took the Judah fight, he would tell Kenny, “I don’t make the rules. I just beat the guys they put in front of me.”

Now jump cut to 2009 and his answer to the question of why he chose to fight lightweight Marquez instead of Shane Mosley, the man currently held as the best at 147 pounds.

“Well, what I don’t understand, the thing you have to understand is that, if you go back and look at my career, years and years ago, I’ve been calling out Shane Mosley forever. Now after Shane Mosley has five losses and his career is almost over, of course he wants to fight me and get a big payday. Which, I’m not knocking Shane Mosley. He’s a helluva fighter. He’s a good fighter. But now he wants to fight now that his career is coming to an end. I wish him nothing but the best. I wish all fighters nothing but the best. But I am here to fight some more fights. If the Shane Mosley fight happens then it does. But I’m not chasing anybody. The fighters are chasing me because I’m on top of the throne. I sit on top of the throne. I left the sport as the best and I returned to the sport as still the best because nobody has beaten me. People forget that 4 or 5 years ago, when Pacquiao fought Erik Morales, he got out-boxed but just before that fight Erik Morales lost to Zahir Raheem. Fans seem to forget certain things like or how Manny Pacquiao has been knocked out twice. People forget about that. Pacquiao has three losses with two draws. With those five plus his winning record, our knockout ratio is around the same.”

A dizzying array of information but it actually never answered the question as to why Mayweather didn’t take the fight.

In their most recent interview, Brian Kenny asked Mayweather the same question. Mayweather responded with “You mean the Shane Mosley who has five losses?” Ignoring the fact that when Mayweather chose to fight them Judah was coming off a loss and had been knocked cold years before, Arturo Gatti had 6 losses, Carlos Baldomir had a whopping 9 with 6 draws, Sharmba Mitchell had four and was one fight removed from a devastating knockout, Henry Bruseles had 2 losses and was TKO’d once, DeMarcus Corley was coming off a loss and had one previous, Philip N’Dou had a TKO loss, and Oscar De La Hoya had 4 losses, one by KO. Sure, at the top levels, most fighters have losses but the question arises why is it okay for these guys to have multiple losses but not Shane Mosley who has only lost to Vernon Forrest twice, Winky Wright twice, and Miguel Cotto?

Kenny pressed further and stated that Mosley was the welterweight champ and since Mayweather retired as the welterweight champ, the fight makes sense.

“The belts don’t make me,” responded Mayweather.

Jump cut back to that pre-Judah fight interview. Judah, despite his loss to Baldomir kept his IBF belt due to the usual alphabelt gang shenanigans. Because of this, Mayweather claimed to be fighting for his fourth title in under eight years. To most boxing historians and members of the media, the title, like Arturo Gatti’s at 140, was a paper title and nothing more. Mayweather seemed perfectly fine with the situation.

“I’m a belt collector,” he said.

And the double standards just keep on rolling.

Whatever the reason for not fighting Mosley, all the answers conveniently ignore that even at 37 years old, “Sugar” Shane is on top of the welterweight division and coming off one of his biggest wins ever in dismantling and knocking out Antonio Margarito in front of a record breaking crowd at the Staples Center. Mosley/Mayweather on paper is a helluva fight and arguably the most dangerous fight for Mayweather in the welterweight division. While it’s understandable that Mayweather wouldn’t take such a fight right out of the gates of retirement, the justifications surrounding the why not ring hollow.

Fighters taking tune-ups following a long layoff is nothing new in the sport, but generally they call it what it is. Some insiders have stated that Golden Boy Promotions needed a new cash cow now that Oscar De La Hoya has retired and Mayweather fits that bill perfectly, having generated a reported quarter of a billion dollars in his last two fights. Mayweather had originally wanted a tune-up fight with a super fight salary, but HBO balked at the idea and this fight was consequently made. It kills two birds with one stone. It allows him to take a safe fight to shake the rust off while being able to market it as tough given the skills and pedigree of Marquez. After all, any man that goes 24 rounds with Manny Pacquaio and arguably wins the majority of the rounds is not exactly a tune-up. But there is a contradiction at play here.

If Shane Mosley is too tough, then how can this fight, especially considering the weight differential, be billed as anything other than a safe comeback bout? It isn’t as if Marquez is a young man moving up from weight class to weight class. Nor can the fact be ignored that in recent years, Marquez, once thought to be a defensive specialist, has been getting hit more and more and getting into war after war. Against Juan Diaz, Marquez looked to be getting blown out early before rallying in the middle rounds and knocking the younger Diaz out. It was a spectacular fight but one that showed vulnerability in Marquez. Perhaps that above all, is the reason this fight is happening. After all, beating the rival of Manny Pacquiao, who hasn’t shown vulnerability as he has moved up to the welterweight division, is a perfect way of setting up what would truly be a super fight between the current consensus number one pound for pound fighter and Mayweather.

Whatever the case, the fight is on and with it the hype train has left the station. A multi-city, international tour is already underway, tickets have gone on sale and will most likely sell out in hours, and HBO’s reality show 24/7 will be back on in full tilt to follow the fighters up to the first bell.

"Move over Paris Hilton and the Kardishians; Donald Trump,” said President of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg, “empty out the boardroom, and survivors get off the island because Money Mayweather is back on 24/7 and the first episode premieres June 27th."

In the midst of all the pre-fight hype, only one man kept it real at the L.A. presser and revealed what fight fans and media members should know right out the gate. The fight isn’t a true test of who is the best fighter in the world. It’s simply is what it is. The return of the one of the sport’s biggest names to the spotlight. Forget pre-fight prognostication. From the time the bout was signed, the outcome was assured through creative matchmaking.

"I know what's going to happen,” said Floyd’s trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather, “and I'm sure all of you know what's going to happen."

Nothing could be closer to the truth.

Source: http://www.maxboxing.com/Gabriel/Montoya052309.asp