Another Leather sucker!

Charleston, SC – Bottom line is that, only a Manuel can go toe to toe with another Manuel. Only a Manuel can withstand another Manuel. The “real” Manuel will eventually win against Miguel Cotto, the post Tito Trinidad, the new boxing superstar of Puerto Rico. No questions ask. For me one of the tops of this pound for pound will lose their coming fights. The inclination is, its gonna be the Moneyman who will lose his fight.

The downbeats are all on Mayweather’s. Long layoffs, rusty, not on the proper mind sets, etc… all these will come out after his date with Manuel Marquez. People are salivating for Pacquiao–Mayweather fight, not so fast, it’s not gonna happen, because Marquez was knocking out people who never been knocked out. Marquez’s last two fights were equally or maybe more difficult fights than that of Manny’s.

The only boxer who can give our Manny a run for his money is not the Moneyman, that man is Juan Manuel Marquez. He rallied on their first fight, like climbing from bottom of the "Dead Sea to the peaks of Mt. Everest”, coming from 3 knockdowns to almost win the fight, whew that’s courage and talent for me, and the second fight was equally gallant fight from Marquez, he won the fight from the press row we knew that, I compared scorecards with other press people, they have Marquez winning that fight, so do I (115-114). And do you think Mayweather can top that? No he can’t. Marquez is too smart for him and too hungry.

Pacquiao – Cotto… Cotto is just a little bit bigger than a Lusa in the Philippines. Manny can e-rock him anytime of the day, especially in the evening. Roach chose Cotto in the first place, he never mentioned Mosley. Roach knows who are these fighters that are suckers of Manny’s leather. If Hatton cocks before he punch, watch Cotto how he double cocks. See how wide he throws his punches. Roach sees this, I know that. And let's examine Cotto’s last 2 fights, after that questionable loss to Antonio Margacheato, an unimpressive KO win against unheralded Jennings and slow start/ almost lost to Joshua Clottey. And of course we all know his feud against his former Uncle/Trainer Evangelista Cotto. These things will be reasons, will be factors for this biggest fight of the year (it’s way bigger than Hatton, coz he is more dreadful opponent). Cotto is still on his prime, he is 29 years old, but still he didn’t recover from Margarito’s beating. Before he could throw those wide hooks, Manny’s leather is already sucked as Roach mentioned.

In other words, another Manuel fight happening first thing next year. And JMM will be a big draw because he will beat Mayweather. If he can withstand Manny’s storm, there is no question he can neutralize Floyd’s. HE WHO SURVIVES THE REAL NUMBER ONE, WILL DO BETTER AGAINST THE FAKE ONE. Ask Casamayor and Baby Bull.

How about Mosley? Roach is a thinking Man, let’s make this Money first and face a real threat next.

Make sense? Make sense? Ok give me a right, oops, I’ll give you the truth, not just right.

OH!BEERTIME… Arum said that undercard will be spectacular, what’s your wishlist?... Donaire-Darchinyan II, Mayol-Calderon II, Tyson 4 rds, Khan-Prescott II, Banal-Concepcion II, Ortiz-Maidana II, DelaHoya-Trinidad II? You name it its gonna be spectacular… Arnel Pineda will sing this time?... hope Cotto’s fans will sing “There’s only one Miguel Cotto!” then sing no more… this fight will not be as big as Manny’s next one…

Source: http://philboxing.com/news/story-25925.html

Can Marquez humble Mayweather?

By Phil George: Floyd Mayweather Jr. could be underestimating Juan Manuel Marquez in his September 19th fight. Many people are writing off this durable Mexican fighter, making Mayweather the considerable favorite. Is this justifiable? Marquez has humbled Cuban Joel Casamayor and the “Baby Bull” Juan Diaz in his last two fights, which is proof enough that he is one tough cookie. In his two huge fights with Manny Pacquiao, Marquez proved that he has the natural ability to adjust in fights, a quality which all champions possess.

Marquez fought a smart fight against Casamayor in September 2008, stopping him late in the 11th round. And Diaz thought he could go to war with Marquez, but was stopped after running out of gas in the 9th. Then we have Manny Pacqiao, who has not rushed to give Marquez another shot at him. Could it be Marquez is somebody to be avoided?

This is one dangerous fight for Mayweather. Marquez has a great chin, is a great counter puncher like Mayweather, and knows when to change his tactics. The more I think about this fight and Marquez’s attributes, the more I realize he has the ability to give Mayweather big problems. Both these fighters like to counter punch. The problem being this could make for a slow, cagey fight, both fighters trying to quietly score points forcing the other to go out of their comfort zones in the late rounds.

If Marquez can keep using that jab of his to score points and force Mayweather to be a little too ambitious in the late rounds, Marquez could well steal the fight. Could Mayweather’s relative inactivity as of late taken that edge off him? Marquez has certainly kept himself busy. Perhaps Manny Pacquiao will indeed have to face his old rival once again, and Mayweather’s questionable p4p champion title been decided, avoiding fighters like Paul Williams, and Antonio Margarito has to be questioned.

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/07/can-marquez-humble-mayweather/

The Perfect Storm Is Forming: Is Pac v Mayweather Possible?

By Mike Burnell: Two of boxing’s supernovas are on a collision course creating the Perfect Storm…if things go “right.” Love them or hate them Pac v Mayweather would be a match of monumental, record setting proportions. What is right depends on who you favor. There is a chance of partial clearing by low pressure systems named Cotto and Marquez.

Reports indicate that Pacquiao is to meet Cotto at 145 on November 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be broadcast on HBO PPV. A contract that was considered doubtful between the fighters was reconciled within days of “Sugar” Shane Mosley’s brazen challenge of Pac at 140, a weight that certainly favors the Filipino sensation.

It is obvious that the bout that virtually all fight fans, casual or rabid want to see is Pacquiao v Mayweather and its been on the radar since “Money” Mayweather announced his return to the ring. Enter angry storm clouds…

Rest assured neither fighter is avoiding the other. If both fighters are successful in their respective scheduled bouts you will see storm clouds swirling like we haven’t since Sigourney Wearver irritated the Gatekeeper in Ghostbusters.

Mayweather aspires to look impressive v pound for pound resident Juan Manual Marquez. It’s not likely to be a tall order as Marquez has never fought at this weight. He is the perfect foil, however because he gave Manny the fights of his life. What observers may forget is that those occurred at 125 and 130, not Welter.

Mayweather’s first fight “back” is designed to be impressive. He beats the number two pound for pounder. It will be enough to incite the “mainstream” masses and create the Tension that marketing executives dream of. Too bad for Marquez, celebrity has its influence. Mayweather wins in 7th round by TKO.

In an interesting concession Pacquiao has selected dangerous Miguel Cotto at 145.While Cotto has a cult-like following it wont be enough to save him. Wars with Margarito and Clottey have revealed exactly the weaknesses that an educated fighter like Pacquiao sees and will exploit Pac will struggle early then rally to stop an always game warrior Cotto on cuts in 10.

It looks like rain….

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/07/the-perfect-storm-is-forming-is-pac-v-mayweather-possible/

Floyd Mayweather still mum on details of rib injury

Grand Rapids native Floyd Mayweather, scheduled to make his comeback Sept. 19 against Juan Manuel Marquez at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, refused last week to specify how he suffered the rib injury which prompted their bout to be postponed from its originally scheduled date last Saturday.

He dismissed an Internet claim that a sparring session with a promising amateur caused the delay.

"It happened in training and we'll leave it at that," he said. "It wasn't no small guy that done it, believe me. It didn't even happen in sparring, so nobody else knows exactly what happened. Accidents happen. It was just a freak accident. When it happened, I tried to work through it. It was fine for a while then it happened again.

"I know all these young guys are trying to come for me because now I'm an old cat in the sport of boxing. I just have to stay mentally strong. I'll be OK physically. I've been through a lot of physical mishaps before but only the strong survive and I'm one of the strongest."

One thing Mayweather did confirm is that he was a big Michael Jackson fan and several years ago bought every vintage replica doll of the singer at The Beat Goes On, a Grand Rapids music store.

"Yeah, I done that," he said. "I went to the store one day and I seen the dolls. I was like, 'How many dolls you got in the store?' I bought them all. I've got one of them in my garage right now."

Mayweather said he also has a gold record of Jackson's, given to him as a gift.

Undercard beefed up
The Mayweather-Marquez undercard gained a serious semi-main event when the Chris John-Rocky Juarez featherweight sequel was added.

John-Juarez II originally was scheduled June 27 until John, the Indonesian with only two draws marring his undefeated record -- one against Juarez -- withdrew when he was feeling fatigued and his blood work showed unspecified problems.

Their first fight was a terrific give-and-take draw Feb. 28 in Houston, Juarez's hometown, although most observers believed John should have been declared the winner.

The rematch adds heft to a card which also features a Zab Judah-Matthew Hilton fight.

Source: http://www.mlive.com/boxing/index.ssf/2009/07/floyd_mayweather_still_mum_on.html

Is Mayweather/Pacquiao Finally About To Happen?

For a while now, fight fans and pundits have been operating on the idea that if the pound-for-pound superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather were going to take place, it would have to be in 2010. The reason for that was clear: Floyd is fighting Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19th (rescheduled from the original date of July 18th) and Pacquiao was considered all but certain to fight Miguel Cotto on November 14th.

Not so fast.

Today in this piece from The Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather is quoted as saying, “If Manny Pacquiao really wanted the fight with me, all he's got to do is say it. We could pay Marquez some step-aside money. Pay him a million dollars, that's nothing. Step aside. Then, my man, me and you can make seven figures. Is you ready? Let me know."

So Manny, dah… is you ready? You certainly don’t seem ready to commit to the Cotto fight that we’ve been hearing about for months now. As far as Bob Arum is concerned (Arum promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto), that fight is a done deal, and it appears to have been cleared by the Cotto people, but the unsigned contract has been with Pacquiao’s team for going on two weeks and still the dotted line has not been signed. Quotes from Pac’s people have been cagey on the matter. They’re not sure about the money split (reported to be 65-35 in Pac’s favor). They’re not sure about the catch-weight (reported to be 145 pounds).

In short, it seems like they’re not sure about Cotto. Boxing Scene is reporting that Pacquiao will make a decision on the Cotto contract in the next two days. Meanwhile, the headlines from the boxing world this week (those not devoted to the death of Arturo Gatti) are dominated by a back and forth in the press between Mayweather and Pacquiao’s camp battling over the money split in their non-existent fight. Mayweather says that he won’t consider fighting Pac for a 50-50 deal because he’s the main draw, or to put it in his own words, “the biggest fight in boxing in Mayweather vs. Anybody.” Bob Arum replies that no, of course the fight will not happen at 50-50, because Pacquiao would never settle for that deal either, being that he is the bigger star and deserves a bigger slice of the pie.

On paper, it appears to be a negotiating impasse, and yet I ask you… why are they negotiating at all? Are they negotiating? It certainly sounds like it. Add to that the fact that Floyd is suddenly talking about paying Marquez to step aside from their September bout and Pacquiao is avoiding signing his Cotto contract, and one has to wonder if the biggest fight in boxing, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, isn’t soon to become more than just a fight fan’s fantasy.

Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/28370/is_mayweatherpacquiao_finally_about_to_happen?_

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr in the Lead

LAS VEGAS (July 15, 2009) –The two greatest pound-for-pound boxers today, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., lead a group of six active champions in “The World’s Greatest Ever Boxers” (TWGEB) promotion.

On-line voting at www.GreatestEver.com allows boxing fans from around the world to select the greatest boxer in each of the original eight weight classes, highlighted by the all-time pound-for-pound “Greatest Ever.”

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), riding a 10-fight win streak against a contemporary “Who’s Who” list of world-class boxers, is 3-0 versus other TWGEB nominees, Marco Antonio Barrera (twice) and Oscar de la Hoya. A candidate in TWGEB featherweight division, “Pac Man” has held world titles in five different weight classes, defeating other world champions such as Ricky Hatton, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales (twice).

Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) joins Rocky Marciano, Ricardo Lopez, and Joe Calzaghe as the only unbeaten TWGEB nominees. “Pretty Boy” Floyd, or “Money” Mayweather, retired after stopping Hatton in December of 2007, but he’s returning September 19 to fight Marquez. Mayweather, a lightweight TWGEB candidate, has captured six world titles in five different weight classes.

The four other active fighters who are TWGEB nominees are middleweight Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs), featherweight Marcos Antonio “Baby Faced Assassin” Barrera (65-7, 43 KOs), bantamweight Hosumi Hasegawa (26-2, 10 KOs) and flyweight Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan (32-2-1, 26 KOs).

Hopkins, arguably the No. 3 rated pound-for-pound fighter today, hasn’t been active since, at the tender age of 44, shocking previously unbeaten Kelly Pavlik last October. Barrera hasn’t fought since losing to Amir Khan this past March by a bloody fifth-round technical decision. Hasegawa makes his ninth WBA bantamweight title defense tonight (July 14) against Nestor Roche in Japan, while Darchinyan moved-up in weight to bantamweight and lost last Saturday night to IBF title-holder Koseph Agbeko by 12-round decision.

The eight categories represent the eight original weight-class divisions: Strawweights are included in the Flyweight category; Super Middleweight in the Light Heavyweight division. Many fighters fought and won titles at a number of different weights. As far as possible they have been nominated in the division that they made their biggest impact. Fighters have not been nominated on the basis of whether they would beat another fighter in that division, though this is, of course, a consideration. More importantly is their overall record, who they fought at the time, as well as the impact they made on the boxing world, and indeed the world around them. All nominees are listed in the voting section at www.GreatestEver.com.

GREATEST EVER WEEKEND OF EVENTS

Boxing fans attending the festivities will be able to celebrate, up close and personal, the achievements of the World’s Greater Ever Boxers. A three-day boxing spectacular is planned October 2-4 at the Paris Las Vegas, commencing that Friday with an official welcome reception and official weigh in for the following evening’s professional boxing show, presented by Sterling Promotions, and featuring Team USA versus Team Europe, capped by an exclusive after party. The event culminates Sunday with The Greater Ever black-tie awards dinner, featuring some of the greatest boxers ever, as well as world-class entertainment, and then an exclusive after party.

The Retired Boxers Foundation (RBF) is the official charity for The World’s Greatest Ever Boxer. RBF assists retired professional boxers in the transition from their days in the ring to dignified retirement, helping those suffering from alcohol and substance abuse problems, homelessness and effects of pugilistic dementia.

Four ticket packages are on sale for the Oct. 2-4 weekend’s events through agents at the following numbers: North America – The Sports Alliance (914.941.3366) Smart Ticket Solutions (847.917.8497); United Kingdom and Europe – Rock Solid Events (UK: 0845 0945 606, Outside UK: +44 845 0945 606); Australasia – Events Worldwide Travel Group (Australia: 1300 788 666, Outside Australia: +61 3 5989 7666).

The event-only packages are as follows (all prices USD): Super VIP ($2,500), Platinum ($1,900), VIP ($1,400) and Gold ($1,115). The Super VIP, Platinum and VIP packages have a number or premiums in addition to those detailed in the Gold (welcome function, weigh-in, Greatest Ever poker tournament, exclusive Paris Las Vegas gaming
area, exclusive memorabilia, movie screenings, access to Greatest Ever dedicated gaming areas and VIP bar, media and legends signings, general seating for the fights and at the awards dinner). Regional agents can provide additional premiums for individual packages.

Source: http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Chee/Chee0715a09.htm

Mayweather-Marquez mystery

The weight-limit mystery persists.

The camps of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez -- and the fighters themselves – still refuse to reveal the exact weight limit of their Sept. 12 fight in Las Vegas.

They only reiterated on a conference call Tuesday afternoon that “it’s a welterweight fight,” which presumably means the limit is the welterweight standard of 147 pounds.

Could it be a marking ploy to drum up interest in the fight?

“It will be the most-covered weigh-in ever,” said Golden Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “Everyone wants to know what the weight is. Don’t miss it!”

We can assume the limit is NOT 143, one of the numbers that has been mentioned. Mayweather dismissed that number when it was raised.

Mayweather, 32, hasn’t fought since he met Ricky Hatton in December of 2007 and hasn’t weighed in at less than 146 since he met the late Arturo Gatti in 2005.

“This is a welterweight fight,” said Mayweather, who estimated his weight to be 149-150 on Tuesday. “I’ll weigh what a welterweight weighs. I don’t have to weight no 143.”

Even Marquez wouldn’t divulge any more information.

“We have an agreement,” he said through an interpreter. “Anything over 140 is considered to be welterweight. This is a welterweight fight. I’m not expecting anything different.”

Second mystery: Mayweather also refuses to say what he was doing when he damaged cartilage in his ribs and had to postpone his fight against Marquez, although he did say it didn’t’ happen during sparring.

He added that, “I’ll never tell exactly what happened.”

Then, when he was asked why it was a secret, Mayweather responded: “Who said it’s a secret? I got hurt in training. Let’s leave it at that.”

(Scratching my head.)

The nice side: As usual, Mayweather spent much of the conference call insulting half the people in the boxing business. However, he softened when it came to Gatti, who he stopped in six rounds in 2005.

“Gatti was blood and guts,” he said. “Even in the sixth round, (Gatti’s trainer Buddy) McGirt said, ‘I’m gonna stop it.’ Gatti said, ‘No, let me fight.’ McGirt said again, ‘I’m gonna stop it.” He said, ‘No, let me fight.’ That’s a warrior. I take my hat off to him.”

Mayweather also had advice for other athletes and entertainers.

“Careful who you marry, who you choose as girlfriends. You never really know a person,” he said.

Gatti’s wife has been accused of murdering him in Brazil.

Ego run amok: Mayweather was asked whether he’d be disappointed if he never fought Manny Pacquiao.

“I’ll already going down as one of the best of all time – if not THE best,” he said.

Uh, right.

No 50-50: Mayweather said a fight against Pacquiao -- the fight most people believe is the biggest possible in boxing -- could happen but won’t if Pacquaio’s promoter, Bob Arum, doesn’t rethink his position.

Mayweather said Arum has offered a 50-50 split of the purse.

“(Arum) knows that’s not going to happen,” he said. “… If Bob wasn’t so greedy, the fight would happen.”

Source: http://www.ringtv.com/blog/880/mayweathermarquez_mystery/