By Kevin Mitchell, Guardian.co.uk
Any bookmaker framing odds on the chances of Manny Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, this spring or summer might have it at close to even money this morning.
The reasons are these: Floyd, one of life's great gamblers, has already pushed Manny too far in their drawn-out blood feud, and he needs the money more than the little guy. I think the Mayweathers are cracking.
Six weeks ago, when negotiations for the 13 March fight started, Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's closest business adviser, said: "If the fight happens, Floyd deserves the lion's share of the purse."
This is a standard negotiating posture, one that led Bob Arum, representing Pacquiao, to point out to him that only the egos of the negotiators could scupper the promotion.
To everyone's amazement, within days Mayweather agreed to split the $50m purse down the middle and cut a deal on the pay-per-view take. That was when I figured he was more desperate for the fight than Pacquiao was – and when they decided on the next stage of their negotiating strategy.
Just before Christmas they tried to rattle Pacquiao by demanding he take random blood tests for performance-enhancing drugs, knowing he didn't like giving blood, especially in the last month of training. He did it before, against Erik Morales (promoted at the time by Oscar De La Hoya), and lost. They were also putting in place what they thought was the perfect excuse: if Pacquiao refused the blood tests and won the fight, Mayweather could claim again he was on the juice.
But Pacquiao fashioned an even better counter. When he announced last week he was suing Mayweather, his father and uncle, as well as their business associates Richard Schaefer and De La Hoya, for defamation, claiming they portrayed him as a drug cheat, he challenged them to back down.
They have not yet done that, but they are nervous.
Ellerbe, who doesn't give many interviews, told Fanhouse.com yesterday, "From day one, I've never accused Manny Pacquaio of anything. All that I've said is that we want to ensure that there is a level playing field."
This, clearly, is unsustainable nonsense. If he is not accusing Pacquiao of anything, why ask him to take tests they have never demanded of any of Mayweather's previous 40 opponents? There is no logic in the Mayweathers' position – unless they believe Pacquiao is taking performance-enhancing drugs.
If they have proof of that beyond gym scuttlebutt, you would imagine they'd produce it. Or would they? Because, to do so would not only wreck Pacquiao's career but a pay-day north of $40m for Mayweather, as well as big bunce for his partners.
Pacquiao, if he is innocent, will know they have no evidence and so will have to compromise. If he is guilty, he will be reasonably certain they won't wreck the promotion by providing the proof. He also knows Mayweather, who called him out in the first place, really wants the fight. He has some serious tax bills to pay, and loves a bet. The signs are encouraging.
Ellerbe said yesterday, "We're still ready, willing and able to make a deal. We feel that this is the biggest fight in the history of boxing. We want to give this fight to the fans."
Of course they do.
And, not only do they want to make a pay-per-view killing, the biggest in the history of the sport by a factor of possibly two, they want to avoid punitive damages of "tens of millions" above the headline $75,000 Pacquiao is suing them for. Those big zeroes are the estimate of Pacquiao's celebrity attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, and any gambler would do well not to ignore him. He has form.
If Pacquiao extracts an apology from Mayweather and agrees to a suitable form of drug testing, all will be well. Otherwise, he will take the legal action the whole way. I have no idea if he will win in court – but neither does Mayweather, and I reckon his legal advisers will be telling him to think hard about bailing out of this one.
Given this is boxing, there has to be another twist – and the most mysterious of all is that Golden Boy owns a slice of Pacquiao, who signed with it in 2006. This inspired Top Rank to sue GBP, which counter-sued. They now each have a bit of Manny, a curiosity that has yet to be resolved.
It is not just a boxing match between Pacquiao and Mayweather, the two best practitioners in the world; it is a willy-waving contest between a whole cast of players: Arum and De La Hoya, for a start. The Golden Boy boxed for Arum – until they fell out, naturally. Nor does Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, get on with Mayweather Sr. In fact Mayweather Jr is not crazy about De La Hoya, who lost to him in 2007 but out-earned him by $58m to $25m. Oscar then sacked his trainer – Freddie Roach. The Borgias have got nothing on this lot.
Ellerbe told Fanhouse.com, "We checked our egos at the door" when they started talks. I don't think so. The fight game is all about egos. It's why they are in this mess in the first place.
There is an outside chance, of course, that this absurd row is a publicity scam of towering genius, one that ensures maximum interest from outside the hardcore boxing community, punters who will push the pay-per-view numbers past three million and make everyone concerned considerably richer.
It might not have begun like that. But, as in life, what started as a cock-up born of animus has become a war, and it plainly suits both sides to milk it until they settle. It is getting a lot of ink.
So if the fighters, alongside Arum, Ellerbe, Schaefer and De La Hoya, gather this week – let's say Wednesday – to announce the war is over, it would not surprise me in the least. I'd put the odds at about 4‑6.
Source: guardian.co.uk
Monday 4 January 2010
A contrarian’s dry-eyed look at the (possible) collapse of Pacquiao-Mayweather -- 15Rounds
By Bart Barry, 15Rounds
“This one storm is going to change the face of our planet. When this storm is over, we’ll be in a new ice age. My God.” – Professor Jack Hall, “The Day After Tomorrow”
Thank heavens the hyperbolic professor didn’t have an internet connection and an interest in boxing these last 40 days. Who knows how many worlds he might have seen ending? But then, if he’d had those things there’s an outside chance his carrying on might have been ridiculous enough for us to snicker, find our equilibrium and realize that – much as in the poorly scripted case above – the end of the world is not nigh.
Nor is the end of boxing. Nor – mercilessly enough – is the end of negotiations for Manny Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather and determine the mythical pound-for-pound titlist of 2010. Soft deadlines have passed. Hard deadlines have come and gone. New Year’s Day is in the books. Both sides are unwilling to budge. And with March 13 looming but 68 days from here, there’s not nearly enough time to fill Cowboys Stadium!
Get a hold of yourself. This fight was never going anywhere but Las Vegas. With MGM Grand the settled site for Pacquiao-Mayweather, there are no tickets to sell; attracting pay-per-viewers is the only point of the promotion. That means HBO’s “24/7” program is the de facto promoter and the ultimate deadline needn’t come before Feb. 1.
That could be the last word in optimism if optimism were warranted. It isn’t.
Anyone reading this column cares enough about our sport to cast a wary eye at outsiders who assure us boxing’s future relies on this fight coming off. I know, I know. We finally had the New York Times and Wall Street Journal’s validation. Well, so long as this fight looked doable, it behooved us all to agree this was the most important happening of the millennium. Now that Pacquiao-Mayweather in Texas has gone the way of Pacquiao-Valero in Macao, though, ask yourself: How does this fight affect me?
Manny Pacquiao is considered the world’s best fighter. Floyd Mayweather is considered the world’s second-best fighter. If they were to fight, those positions would likely switch. How is that good for boxing?
Pacquiao is a charismatic action fighter who’s created a market for prizefighting in the Philippines and made it popular as ever throughout Asia. Mayweather is a foul-mouthed defensive specialist whose fights lose more fans than they gain. Pacquiao is good for boxing. Mayweather is good for Mayweather.
Mayweather is also too smart by half, this time. He’s devised a strategy of implying Pacquiao has been cheating, without exactly saying it. He didn’t want fair play; he wanted another psychological advantage over another opponent. He knew Pacquiao would consider the blood testing intrusive. He knew in Pacquiao’s mind it would be “Money May” himself reaching in those veins and doing God knows what with the blood.
Hey, as an American immune to superstition, I’m with Mayweather on the testing. I’d probably agree to the testing even if I did have something to hide – betting on the testers’ incompetence. But most Filipinos would refuse blood tests even if they had nothing to hide.
If the fight’s off because neither side flinches on blood tests, Pacquiao remains the world’s best fighter. Mayweather holds down the two spot. Works for me.
But let’s hope it doesn’t work for Mayweather. Let’s hope being a runner-up enkindles him enough to declare war on the welterweight division, demand the head of whoever wins the upcoming match between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto, and then issue beatings to Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Luis Collazo.
Wait, stop laughing.
A more likely scenario of course is that Mayweather will pursue dwindling-money fights with old guys and b-level talents until he, too, becomes an old guy. If that happens, Mayweather’s ultimate legacy will look like this: Top 10 talent, Top 100 resume.
Oh, no it won’t! I’ll remind the world till the day I die that Pacquiao ducked him by refusing blood tests!
No, you won’t. Someday you’ll be married with kids and a full-time job and no more than an hour of every week for message boards. Then, only Mayweather’s record of actual fights will matter, and some youngster half your age will say: “Not one prime hall-of-famer on that 50-0 record.”
Based on their past exploits, we can assume Pacquiao really wants this fight, Mayweather sort of wants this fight, Golden Boy Promotions really wants this fight, and Top Rank sort of wants this fight. Though they share similar levels of enthusiasm, Mayweather is wrong and Top Rank is right – coincidentally, for the same reason:
If anyone can solve Manny Pacquiao, it’s Floyd Mayweather.
Pacquiao and his millions of fans don’t know this. Mayweather and his dozens of fans do. And so, one assumes, do a few people in Top Rank – the company that developed Mayweather before it developed Pacquiao. Top Rank won’t jeopardize the Pacman party till it gets plenty more concessions at the negotiating table.
If Pacquiao-Mayweather does happen, though, it will be an event. The New York Times will be there. The undercard will be unwatchable. The fight itself will be dull. Mayweather will hold the sport of boxing hostage – whupping the daylights out of the Matty Hattons of the world – for five more years. And we’ll all be $100 million richer.
No we won’t. Yet, that’s the final reason why many seem to think they have a vested interest in this fight happening: Because it will make a lot of money. Money for whom? In prizefighting the money distributes like the talent on a super-fight’s marquee: 90 percent in the top 10 percent.
So, dry your eyes. And remember, less money in boxing, not more, is what made 2009 so much better than 2008.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Source: 15rounds.com
“This one storm is going to change the face of our planet. When this storm is over, we’ll be in a new ice age. My God.” – Professor Jack Hall, “The Day After Tomorrow”
Thank heavens the hyperbolic professor didn’t have an internet connection and an interest in boxing these last 40 days. Who knows how many worlds he might have seen ending? But then, if he’d had those things there’s an outside chance his carrying on might have been ridiculous enough for us to snicker, find our equilibrium and realize that – much as in the poorly scripted case above – the end of the world is not nigh.
Nor is the end of boxing. Nor – mercilessly enough – is the end of negotiations for Manny Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather and determine the mythical pound-for-pound titlist of 2010. Soft deadlines have passed. Hard deadlines have come and gone. New Year’s Day is in the books. Both sides are unwilling to budge. And with March 13 looming but 68 days from here, there’s not nearly enough time to fill Cowboys Stadium!
Get a hold of yourself. This fight was never going anywhere but Las Vegas. With MGM Grand the settled site for Pacquiao-Mayweather, there are no tickets to sell; attracting pay-per-viewers is the only point of the promotion. That means HBO’s “24/7” program is the de facto promoter and the ultimate deadline needn’t come before Feb. 1.
That could be the last word in optimism if optimism were warranted. It isn’t.
Anyone reading this column cares enough about our sport to cast a wary eye at outsiders who assure us boxing’s future relies on this fight coming off. I know, I know. We finally had the New York Times and Wall Street Journal’s validation. Well, so long as this fight looked doable, it behooved us all to agree this was the most important happening of the millennium. Now that Pacquiao-Mayweather in Texas has gone the way of Pacquiao-Valero in Macao, though, ask yourself: How does this fight affect me?
Manny Pacquiao is considered the world’s best fighter. Floyd Mayweather is considered the world’s second-best fighter. If they were to fight, those positions would likely switch. How is that good for boxing?
Pacquiao is a charismatic action fighter who’s created a market for prizefighting in the Philippines and made it popular as ever throughout Asia. Mayweather is a foul-mouthed defensive specialist whose fights lose more fans than they gain. Pacquiao is good for boxing. Mayweather is good for Mayweather.
Mayweather is also too smart by half, this time. He’s devised a strategy of implying Pacquiao has been cheating, without exactly saying it. He didn’t want fair play; he wanted another psychological advantage over another opponent. He knew Pacquiao would consider the blood testing intrusive. He knew in Pacquiao’s mind it would be “Money May” himself reaching in those veins and doing God knows what with the blood.
Hey, as an American immune to superstition, I’m with Mayweather on the testing. I’d probably agree to the testing even if I did have something to hide – betting on the testers’ incompetence. But most Filipinos would refuse blood tests even if they had nothing to hide.
If the fight’s off because neither side flinches on blood tests, Pacquiao remains the world’s best fighter. Mayweather holds down the two spot. Works for me.
But let’s hope it doesn’t work for Mayweather. Let’s hope being a runner-up enkindles him enough to declare war on the welterweight division, demand the head of whoever wins the upcoming match between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto, and then issue beatings to Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Luis Collazo.
Wait, stop laughing.
A more likely scenario of course is that Mayweather will pursue dwindling-money fights with old guys and b-level talents until he, too, becomes an old guy. If that happens, Mayweather’s ultimate legacy will look like this: Top 10 talent, Top 100 resume.
Oh, no it won’t! I’ll remind the world till the day I die that Pacquiao ducked him by refusing blood tests!
No, you won’t. Someday you’ll be married with kids and a full-time job and no more than an hour of every week for message boards. Then, only Mayweather’s record of actual fights will matter, and some youngster half your age will say: “Not one prime hall-of-famer on that 50-0 record.”
Based on their past exploits, we can assume Pacquiao really wants this fight, Mayweather sort of wants this fight, Golden Boy Promotions really wants this fight, and Top Rank sort of wants this fight. Though they share similar levels of enthusiasm, Mayweather is wrong and Top Rank is right – coincidentally, for the same reason:
If anyone can solve Manny Pacquiao, it’s Floyd Mayweather.
Pacquiao and his millions of fans don’t know this. Mayweather and his dozens of fans do. And so, one assumes, do a few people in Top Rank – the company that developed Mayweather before it developed Pacquiao. Top Rank won’t jeopardize the Pacman party till it gets plenty more concessions at the negotiating table.
If Pacquiao-Mayweather does happen, though, it will be an event. The New York Times will be there. The undercard will be unwatchable. The fight itself will be dull. Mayweather will hold the sport of boxing hostage – whupping the daylights out of the Matty Hattons of the world – for five more years. And we’ll all be $100 million richer.
No we won’t. Yet, that’s the final reason why many seem to think they have a vested interest in this fight happening: Because it will make a lot of money. Money for whom? In prizefighting the money distributes like the talent on a super-fight’s marquee: 90 percent in the top 10 percent.
So, dry your eyes. And remember, less money in boxing, not more, is what made 2009 so much better than 2008.
Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry
Source: 15rounds.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is best of the best since 2000 -- Miami Herald
By SANTOS A. PEREZ, The Miami Herald
Breaking down a ``best of'' has become a popular topic the past two weeks. With the beginning of a new decade, it is an appropriate occasion to recognize the best 10 fighters of the 2000s.
Eligibility for a decade ``Best 10'' list would require an extended body of work. World champions Lennox Lewis and Ricardo Lopez fought early in the decade, but neither had sufficient bouts to make the list.
Lopez retired after only two victorious bouts, and even though Lewis flirted with comebacks after winning his last fight against Vitali Klitschko in 2003, the former heavyweight titleholder settled into a post-fighting career as an HBO analyst.
Early in the decade, Pensacola's Roy Jones Jr. seemed like a logical selection. But after his successful one-fight venture as a heavyweight, when he defeated John Ruiz for a title in 2003, Jones suffered consecutive knockout losses against light heavyweights Antonio Tarver and Miami's Glen Johnson the following year. Jones lost three additional fights later in the decade, including a one-round TKO loss against Danny Green last month.
In descending order, we list our best 10 fighters of the decade:
10. Tie -- Miguel Cotto, Ronald ``Winky'' Wright.
9. Israel Vazquez.
8. Wladimir Klitschko.
7. Arthur Abraham.
6. Chris John.
5. Kostya Tszyu: Retired since losing to Ricky Hatton in 2005, Tszyu was the top junior welterweight of his era. Tszyu made seven successful title defenses in his second stint as champion, including a 14-month undisputed reign. Tszyu's signature performance was his second-round technical knockout over Zab Judah in a title unification bout in 2001.
4. Bernard Hopkins: Began the decade unifying middleweight titles, including a TKO over Felix Trinidad in 2001. A part-time Miami resident, Hopkins enjoyed a 20-fight run as 160-pound champion. Hopkins later moved up to the light-heavyweight class and scored victories over Wright, Tarver and Kelly Pavlik.
3. Manny Pacquiao: Difficult to imagine, but Pacquiao began the decade as a super bantamweight. The Philippines native is now considered by many as the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter, defeating established champions in five successive weight classes. Pacquiao was 23-1-2 in the decade, and his knockout conquests included Cotto, Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Marco Antonio Barrera.
2. Joe Calzaghe: At the decade's outset, Calzaghe already was in his third year as super-middleweight champion. A native of Wales, Calzaghe remained champion through 2007, when he defeated Mikkel Kessler in a title-unification bout. Calzaghe moved to light heavyweight in 2008 and won decisions against Hopkins and Jones. Calzaghe retired after the victory over Jones and ended his career with a 46-0 record and 32 knockouts.
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.: For most of the decade, Mayweather was found near the top of best pound-for-pound lists. Having ended 2009 with a spotless career record, Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) deserves recognition as fighter of the decade. Mayweather finished the 2000s with an 18-0 record and KOs. His 10th-round TKO of Diego Corrales as super-featherweight champion in 2001 set the tone.
Source: miamiherald.com
Breaking down a ``best of'' has become a popular topic the past two weeks. With the beginning of a new decade, it is an appropriate occasion to recognize the best 10 fighters of the 2000s.
Eligibility for a decade ``Best 10'' list would require an extended body of work. World champions Lennox Lewis and Ricardo Lopez fought early in the decade, but neither had sufficient bouts to make the list.
Lopez retired after only two victorious bouts, and even though Lewis flirted with comebacks after winning his last fight against Vitali Klitschko in 2003, the former heavyweight titleholder settled into a post-fighting career as an HBO analyst.
Early in the decade, Pensacola's Roy Jones Jr. seemed like a logical selection. But after his successful one-fight venture as a heavyweight, when he defeated John Ruiz for a title in 2003, Jones suffered consecutive knockout losses against light heavyweights Antonio Tarver and Miami's Glen Johnson the following year. Jones lost three additional fights later in the decade, including a one-round TKO loss against Danny Green last month.
In descending order, we list our best 10 fighters of the decade:
10. Tie -- Miguel Cotto, Ronald ``Winky'' Wright.
9. Israel Vazquez.
8. Wladimir Klitschko.
7. Arthur Abraham.
6. Chris John.
5. Kostya Tszyu: Retired since losing to Ricky Hatton in 2005, Tszyu was the top junior welterweight of his era. Tszyu made seven successful title defenses in his second stint as champion, including a 14-month undisputed reign. Tszyu's signature performance was his second-round technical knockout over Zab Judah in a title unification bout in 2001.
4. Bernard Hopkins: Began the decade unifying middleweight titles, including a TKO over Felix Trinidad in 2001. A part-time Miami resident, Hopkins enjoyed a 20-fight run as 160-pound champion. Hopkins later moved up to the light-heavyweight class and scored victories over Wright, Tarver and Kelly Pavlik.
3. Manny Pacquiao: Difficult to imagine, but Pacquiao began the decade as a super bantamweight. The Philippines native is now considered by many as the sport's best pound-for-pound fighter, defeating established champions in five successive weight classes. Pacquiao was 23-1-2 in the decade, and his knockout conquests included Cotto, Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Marco Antonio Barrera.
2. Joe Calzaghe: At the decade's outset, Calzaghe already was in his third year as super-middleweight champion. A native of Wales, Calzaghe remained champion through 2007, when he defeated Mikkel Kessler in a title-unification bout. Calzaghe moved to light heavyweight in 2008 and won decisions against Hopkins and Jones. Calzaghe retired after the victory over Jones and ended his career with a 46-0 record and 32 knockouts.
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.: For most of the decade, Mayweather was found near the top of best pound-for-pound lists. Having ended 2009 with a spotless career record, Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) deserves recognition as fighter of the decade. Mayweather finished the 2000s with an 18-0 record and KOs. His 10th-round TKO of Diego Corrales as super-featherweight champion in 2001 set the tone.
Source: miamiherald.com
Judge to Mediate Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao Talks Tuesday -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Representatives of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will meet on Tuesday in retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein's Santa Monica office of Judicial Arbitration and Midiation Services (JAMS) in an attempt to revive talks for the fighters' potential, March 13, welterweight (147 pounds) megabout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, said he will be present on behalf of Pacquiao, as will his stepson, Top Rank president, Todd duBoef. Also there will be a representative of the Los Angeles-based law firm, O'Melveny and Myers, whose attorney, Dan Petrocelli, has been retained to take the case.
Perhaps best known for gaining a wrongful death civil conviction against O.J. Simpson in 1997, Petrocelli, on Wednesday, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Pacquiao seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character against Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., and the fighter's uncle, Roger Mayweather.
Contacted through his administrative assistant, Schaefer, via e-mail, declined to comment.
But Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather promotions, told FanHouse recently "we're still trying to make a deal," adding, " "We feel that this is the biggest fight in the history of boxing. We want to give this fight to the fans."
The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000 for Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts), who contends that the camp of Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) has damaged his reputation by demanding that both fighters be randomly drug-tested using urinalysis as well as blood work -- the latter being a procedure that never has been used in boxing.
Mayweather's camp initially wanted the Olympic-style, random blood-testing to be done by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. It has since back off of that stance.
Neither Pacquiao, nor Mayweather has ever tested positive for any banned substances.
Pending Tuesday's mediation at JAMS, Petrocelli can no longer comment directly on the case. Petrocelli did, however, speak to FanHouse on Wednesday -- within an hour of filing the suit.
"We filed a defamation of character lawsuit in the federal court in Las Vegas, Nevada, against the Mayweathers, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer based on their false and defamatory statements about Manny Pacquiao," said Petrocelli, "specifically their publicly stating that Pacquiao was taking steroids or other illegal drugs to enhance his performance -- knowing that there is absolutely no basis for any such assertions...These guys have no right saying what they're saying. It's knowingly false, highly injurious."
Arum said that the only way for the negotiations to continue is for Mayweather's side to drop its demand for random blood-testing, and to apologize, publicly, to Pacquiao.
"What they have to do -- and what I know the option is going to be -- is that they have to apologize. All of them. They have to make a meaningful apology," said Arum.
"If they want random blood-testing, they would have to go before the Nevada Commission and petition the commission for that," said Arum. "They have to agree that the Nevada Commission is regulating this fight -- period. No outside agency, no nothing. The have to go with the Nevada Commission -- period."
A native and resident of General Santos City in the Philippines, the 31-year-old Pacquiao's career began as a 106-pounder. The Filipino superstar's Nov. 14, 12th-round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto earned the WBO's welterweight title -- his unprecedented seventh in as many different weight classes.
Since losing a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005, Pacquiao's ring performances have been extraordinary, if not, exceptional.
Pacquiao is riding an 11-0 winning streak that includes eight knockouts -- a run that encompassing KOs in the 10th, and, third rounds, respectively, over Morales.
Pacquiao's past six victories include super featherweight (130 pounds) decisions over Mexican greats, Marco Antonio Barrera, and, Juan Manuel Marquez -- this after having battled Marquez to a draw nearly four years earlier.
Pacquiao has knocked out his past four opponents, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and, Cotto, respectively, while rising from the lightweight (135 pounds), to the junior welterweight (140), to the welterweight classes.
Some members of the boxing community have speculated, publicly, about Pacquiao's ability to carry his uncanny power with him as he has risen in weight.
Arum believes the criticism to be unprecedented and unfair, asking, "When has this ever come up in the past like this?"
Following his Sept., 2003, junior middleweight victory over Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley admitted to having used the doping agent, EPO, in connection with the BALCO Labs steroid scandal.
"Shane Mosley was an admitted drug-user. And I've had Shane Mosley fight two of the guys that I've promoted in the last few years -- one of them was Miguel Cotto and the other was Antonio Margarito. Did I ever, ever, ever even indicate in any way that Shane Mosley should be subject to special testing? Ever? No," said Arum.
"The feeling in the Philippines, really, is that Manny's an Asian guy, and this is really xenophobic. And because of his great success, this is what they're focusing on," said Arum. "So this is absolutely prepostorous, and hopefully, the mediator will convince them of that."
If the Mayweather-Pacquiao does not take place, Arum has said that he is prepared to match Pacquiao against newly-crowned WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York, possibly on March 20 at The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Representatives of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will meet on Tuesday in retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein's Santa Monica office of Judicial Arbitration and Midiation Services (JAMS) in an attempt to revive talks for the fighters' potential, March 13, welterweight (147 pounds) megabout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, said he will be present on behalf of Pacquiao, as will his stepson, Top Rank president, Todd duBoef. Also there will be a representative of the Los Angeles-based law firm, O'Melveny and Myers, whose attorney, Dan Petrocelli, has been retained to take the case.
Perhaps best known for gaining a wrongful death civil conviction against O.J. Simpson in 1997, Petrocelli, on Wednesday, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Pacquiao seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character against Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., and the fighter's uncle, Roger Mayweather.
Contacted through his administrative assistant, Schaefer, via e-mail, declined to comment.
But Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather promotions, told FanHouse recently "we're still trying to make a deal," adding, " "We feel that this is the biggest fight in the history of boxing. We want to give this fight to the fans."
The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000 for Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts), who contends that the camp of Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) has damaged his reputation by demanding that both fighters be randomly drug-tested using urinalysis as well as blood work -- the latter being a procedure that never has been used in boxing.
Mayweather's camp initially wanted the Olympic-style, random blood-testing to be done by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. It has since back off of that stance.
Neither Pacquiao, nor Mayweather has ever tested positive for any banned substances.
Pending Tuesday's mediation at JAMS, Petrocelli can no longer comment directly on the case. Petrocelli did, however, speak to FanHouse on Wednesday -- within an hour of filing the suit.
"We filed a defamation of character lawsuit in the federal court in Las Vegas, Nevada, against the Mayweathers, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer based on their false and defamatory statements about Manny Pacquiao," said Petrocelli, "specifically their publicly stating that Pacquiao was taking steroids or other illegal drugs to enhance his performance -- knowing that there is absolutely no basis for any such assertions...These guys have no right saying what they're saying. It's knowingly false, highly injurious."
Arum said that the only way for the negotiations to continue is for Mayweather's side to drop its demand for random blood-testing, and to apologize, publicly, to Pacquiao.
"What they have to do -- and what I know the option is going to be -- is that they have to apologize. All of them. They have to make a meaningful apology," said Arum.
"If they want random blood-testing, they would have to go before the Nevada Commission and petition the commission for that," said Arum. "They have to agree that the Nevada Commission is regulating this fight -- period. No outside agency, no nothing. The have to go with the Nevada Commission -- period."
A native and resident of General Santos City in the Philippines, the 31-year-old Pacquiao's career began as a 106-pounder. The Filipino superstar's Nov. 14, 12th-round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto earned the WBO's welterweight title -- his unprecedented seventh in as many different weight classes.
Since losing a unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005, Pacquiao's ring performances have been extraordinary, if not, exceptional.
Pacquiao is riding an 11-0 winning streak that includes eight knockouts -- a run that encompassing KOs in the 10th, and, third rounds, respectively, over Morales.
Pacquiao's past six victories include super featherweight (130 pounds) decisions over Mexican greats, Marco Antonio Barrera, and, Juan Manuel Marquez -- this after having battled Marquez to a draw nearly four years earlier.
Pacquiao has knocked out his past four opponents, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and, Cotto, respectively, while rising from the lightweight (135 pounds), to the junior welterweight (140), to the welterweight classes.
Some members of the boxing community have speculated, publicly, about Pacquiao's ability to carry his uncanny power with him as he has risen in weight.
Arum believes the criticism to be unprecedented and unfair, asking, "When has this ever come up in the past like this?"
Following his Sept., 2003, junior middleweight victory over Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley admitted to having used the doping agent, EPO, in connection with the BALCO Labs steroid scandal.
"Shane Mosley was an admitted drug-user. And I've had Shane Mosley fight two of the guys that I've promoted in the last few years -- one of them was Miguel Cotto and the other was Antonio Margarito. Did I ever, ever, ever even indicate in any way that Shane Mosley should be subject to special testing? Ever? No," said Arum.
"The feeling in the Philippines, really, is that Manny's an Asian guy, and this is really xenophobic. And because of his great success, this is what they're focusing on," said Arum. "So this is absolutely prepostorous, and hopefully, the mediator will convince them of that."
If the Mayweather-Pacquiao does not take place, Arum has said that he is prepared to match Pacquiao against newly-crowned WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York, possibly on March 20 at The Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Cotto's father passes at 57 -- The Ring
By The RingTV.com editors
Miguel Cotto Sr., the father of former two-division titleholder Miguel Cotto, passed away in Puerto Rico on Sunday morning, the apparent victim of a heart attack, according to El Nuevo Dia.
The the Puerto Rican daily newspaper reported that Cotto Sr., who suffered from health problems such as asthma and had to carry an oxygen tank around to help him breathe properly, was driving early Sunday, felt ill, stopped the car and asked for help before collapsing.
Cotto Sr., who served in the Puerto Rican National Guard for 25 years and worked the Cotto's corner during the fighter's loss to Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 14, was very close to his son.
Source: ringtv.com
Miguel Cotto Sr., the father of former two-division titleholder Miguel Cotto, passed away in Puerto Rico on Sunday morning, the apparent victim of a heart attack, according to El Nuevo Dia.
The the Puerto Rican daily newspaper reported that Cotto Sr., who suffered from health problems such as asthma and had to carry an oxygen tank around to help him breathe properly, was driving early Sunday, felt ill, stopped the car and asked for help before collapsing.
Cotto Sr., who served in the Puerto Rican National Guard for 25 years and worked the Cotto's corner during the fighter's loss to Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 14, was very close to his son.
Source: ringtv.com
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