By James Dampney, Fox Sports
Anthony Mundine won his middleweight bout against Rob Medley by a unanimous points decision at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Monday night.
Mundine, a two-time former World Boxing Association super-middleweight champion, looked in control for much of the fight, but didn't have it all his way against the rank outsider.
The judges scored the bout 117-113, 117-115 and 117-112 in Mundine's favour, and the former St George Illawarra star was quick to reiterate his dominance after the bout.
"I knew I was the superior fighter,'' Mundine said. "I don't know what the judges were doing.
"He never hurt me, I wanted to knock him out, but he showed his fitness and preparation.''
Medley had the odd moment and won some admirers, catching Mundine with a nice right to the temple in the fifth round, but Mundine never lost his composure
A huge right hand to the abdomen rocked Medley one minute into the sixth round as the challenger crumpled into the ropes and appeared to be finished, but the underdog climbed back up off the canvas.
Medley proved he has some skill with the gloves, landing some solid blows in the ninth and tenth rounds and again in the final round, but Mundine responded in kind on every occasion.
'The Man' took his professional record to 38-3, inflicting on Medley just the third loss of his career, though Mundine hasn't knocked an opponent out since stopping Jose Alberto Clavero in 2007
"I haven't had one for a while. I tried to look for one tonight,'' Mundine said of his lack of knockouts in recent years.
"There's nothing wrong with my strength and my power. I think I tried a little bit too hard tonight.''
Medley's only previous losses in a now 27-3 professional career were in unsuccessful challenges to South Africa's Isaac Hlatshwayo for the IBO welterweight world title.
The pair were originally scheduled to clash for the vacant IBO light middleweight world title before Mundine declined to make the weight.
Mundine's next fight will be against another former rugby league player in Garth Wood, who earned a shot by beating Kariz Kariuki in the final of reality television show The Contender.
Source: foxsports.com.au
Monday 11 January 2010
Poonsawat rules in Tokyo -- Sky Sports
By Rachel Griffiths, Sky Sports
Poonsawat Kratingdaeng has successfully defended his WBA super-bantamweight title against Japan's Satoshi Hosono.
The fight was scored 115-113 and 117-113 in Poonsawat's favour by two judges, while the third deemed it a 114-114 draw, giving the 29-year-old the majority decision in Tokyo.
Poonsawat developed a strong lead in the middle rounds and held on to secure the first defence of the title he won by defeating Irishman Berard Dunne last year.
"I'm proud that I defended the title in a foreign country. He (Hosono) is a big fighter, so I'm satisfied with a decision victory," said Poonsawat.
The win saw the Thai boxer's record stretched to 40 wins, including 28 KOs, against one defeat.
And now Poonsawat has his sights set on a possible showdown with Hozumi Hasegawa.
Poonsawat confirmed: "If the WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa wants to challenge me, I'm ready to fight against him."
It was the first loss of Hosono's professional career after the Japanese fighter, ranked 10th in the WBA, won his first 16 bouts, including 12 KOs.
Shock
"It was a shock for me that I couldn't beat the champion," said Hosono.
"I couldn't hit him because of his excellent technique. I'm going to work harder and get stronger."
Meanwhile, Japanese challenger Takashi Uchiyama captured the WBA super-featherweight belt by stopping Juan Carlos Salgado in the dying seconds of their fight.
Uchiyama delivered a combination to Salgado's head to send the Mexican to the canvas late in the final round.
Salgado briefly returned to his feet before the referee stopped the clash with just 10 seconds to spare.
The 30-year-old Uchiyama, ranked third in the WBA, improves to 14-0 with 11 knockouts, while Salgado, who relieved Venezuelan Jorge Linares of the title last October, falls to 21-1-1.
Source: skysports.com
Poonsawat Kratingdaeng has successfully defended his WBA super-bantamweight title against Japan's Satoshi Hosono.
The fight was scored 115-113 and 117-113 in Poonsawat's favour by two judges, while the third deemed it a 114-114 draw, giving the 29-year-old the majority decision in Tokyo.
Poonsawat developed a strong lead in the middle rounds and held on to secure the first defence of the title he won by defeating Irishman Berard Dunne last year.
"I'm proud that I defended the title in a foreign country. He (Hosono) is a big fighter, so I'm satisfied with a decision victory," said Poonsawat.
The win saw the Thai boxer's record stretched to 40 wins, including 28 KOs, against one defeat.
And now Poonsawat has his sights set on a possible showdown with Hozumi Hasegawa.
Poonsawat confirmed: "If the WBC bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa wants to challenge me, I'm ready to fight against him."
It was the first loss of Hosono's professional career after the Japanese fighter, ranked 10th in the WBA, won his first 16 bouts, including 12 KOs.
Shock
"It was a shock for me that I couldn't beat the champion," said Hosono.
"I couldn't hit him because of his excellent technique. I'm going to work harder and get stronger."
Meanwhile, Japanese challenger Takashi Uchiyama captured the WBA super-featherweight belt by stopping Juan Carlos Salgado in the dying seconds of their fight.
Uchiyama delivered a combination to Salgado's head to send the Mexican to the canvas late in the final round.
Salgado briefly returned to his feet before the referee stopped the clash with just 10 seconds to spare.
The 30-year-old Uchiyama, ranked third in the WBA, improves to 14-0 with 11 knockouts, while Salgado, who relieved Venezuelan Jorge Linares of the title last October, falls to 21-1-1.
Source: skysports.com
Money rules out Hatton clash - The Sun
By GAVIN GLICKSMAN, The Sun
MATTHEW HATTON'S dream of facing Floyd Mayweather Jnr has been crushed.
Magic Matthew had been touted as a possible opponent for Mayweather following the collapse of the American's scheduled mega fight with Manny Pacquiao.
But while Money will still box on March 13, it will not be against the 28-year-old Mancunian.
Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer said: "There is absolutely no truth to the rumours about Matthew Hatton.
"I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you it won't be Hatton."
The biggest fight in boxing was KO'd last week when Mayweather and Pacquiao failed to agree terms on random blood testing.
Joshua Clottey has since been lined up to face Pacquiao on the original date and Mayweather will also box on the same night.
Schaefer admits it is far from ideal to have two of the sport's biggest names competing on different pay-per-view cards, but insists there is no way round it.
He added: "March 13 a date Golden Boy has had for a long time and nothing has changed.
"We have been talking to Team Mayweather to see who the opponent will be. I hope to have something to announce in the next few days.
"It is unusual to have two pay-per-views on the same night, but what can I do?
"It wasn't Floyd who walked away from the Pacquiao fight. There is nothing I can really say about it.
"It's not good for Pacquiao to go on that date, which we had for a long time.
"It's not good for boxing that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other."
Source: thesun.co.uk
MATTHEW HATTON'S dream of facing Floyd Mayweather Jnr has been crushed.
Magic Matthew had been touted as a possible opponent for Mayweather following the collapse of the American's scheduled mega fight with Manny Pacquiao.
But while Money will still box on March 13, it will not be against the 28-year-old Mancunian.
Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer said: "There is absolutely no truth to the rumours about Matthew Hatton.
"I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you it won't be Hatton."
The biggest fight in boxing was KO'd last week when Mayweather and Pacquiao failed to agree terms on random blood testing.
Joshua Clottey has since been lined up to face Pacquiao on the original date and Mayweather will also box on the same night.
Schaefer admits it is far from ideal to have two of the sport's biggest names competing on different pay-per-view cards, but insists there is no way round it.
He added: "March 13 a date Golden Boy has had for a long time and nothing has changed.
"We have been talking to Team Mayweather to see who the opponent will be. I hope to have something to announce in the next few days.
"It is unusual to have two pay-per-views on the same night, but what can I do?
"It wasn't Floyd who walked away from the Pacquiao fight. There is nothing I can really say about it.
"It's not good for Pacquiao to go on that date, which we had for a long time.
"It's not good for boxing that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other."
Source: thesun.co.uk
From $2,500, Pacquiao premium tickets to cost just $700–Arum - Manila Bulletin
By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin
LOS ANGELES — Tickets to the March 13 welterweight war between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey will be priced reasonably, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said on Sunday night after returning to Las Vegas from a weekend visit in Dallas, Texas.
The premium ringside seat will cost $700, while the cheapest at $50, said Arum with the Cowboys Stadium to be reconstructed to sit 50,000, stressing that in case a demand is felt in the days leading to the fight, it would be easy to add more seats.
“Manny will enter a new realm with this fight in Dallas,” said Arum, whose promotional outfit Top Rank is staging the show in close partnership with Texas billionaire and Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones.
Weeks ago, when it appeared that a deal had been made for Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Arum said the top seat would be sold at an unheard of $2,500, higher than the $2,400 that was retailed when Lennox Lewis faced Mike Tyson in June 2002 in Memphis.
All it took for Arum to make a deal with Jones was pay him a visit as the Cowboys were playing the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday night.
The next morning, Arum and Jones easily dotted the Is and crossed the Ts and Arum hurriedly hopped on a plane bound for Sin City with the frame of mind of a boy who found himself inside a candy store.
“The arena is just magnificent. I’ve been to a lot of venues but the Cowboys Stadium is unbelievable. I have no doubt this show is going to be a huge success,” said Arum.
Arum was compelled to look elsewhere for an opponent for Pacquiao after a falling out with Mayweather and his promotional team last week.
Even though Clottey’s popularity is not as immense as Mayweather, the New York-based Ghana native has a solid reputation of being a tough customer in the ring, something that Pacquiao will have to contend with once they finally get it on.
Source: mb.com.ph
LOS ANGELES — Tickets to the March 13 welterweight war between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey will be priced reasonably, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said on Sunday night after returning to Las Vegas from a weekend visit in Dallas, Texas.
The premium ringside seat will cost $700, while the cheapest at $50, said Arum with the Cowboys Stadium to be reconstructed to sit 50,000, stressing that in case a demand is felt in the days leading to the fight, it would be easy to add more seats.
“Manny will enter a new realm with this fight in Dallas,” said Arum, whose promotional outfit Top Rank is staging the show in close partnership with Texas billionaire and Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones.
Weeks ago, when it appeared that a deal had been made for Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Arum said the top seat would be sold at an unheard of $2,500, higher than the $2,400 that was retailed when Lennox Lewis faced Mike Tyson in June 2002 in Memphis.
All it took for Arum to make a deal with Jones was pay him a visit as the Cowboys were playing the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday night.
The next morning, Arum and Jones easily dotted the Is and crossed the Ts and Arum hurriedly hopped on a plane bound for Sin City with the frame of mind of a boy who found himself inside a candy store.
“The arena is just magnificent. I’ve been to a lot of venues but the Cowboys Stadium is unbelievable. I have no doubt this show is going to be a huge success,” said Arum.
Arum was compelled to look elsewhere for an opponent for Pacquiao after a falling out with Mayweather and his promotional team last week.
Even though Clottey’s popularity is not as immense as Mayweather, the New York-based Ghana native has a solid reputation of being a tough customer in the ring, something that Pacquiao will have to contend with once they finally get it on.
Source: mb.com.ph
Sharkie’s Machine: Did Mayweather Really Want to Fight Manny Pacquiao? -- Eastside Boxing
By Frank Gonzalez Jr., Eastside Boxing
In lieu of a boxing version of the Super Bowl or World Series, the best we could hope for would be a big fight between two of the most hyped up fighters in the sport. And obviously that would mean Floyd vs. Manny. But now, we can’t even have that. I wanted to see if Floyd could counter punch the aggressive Manny with the kind of success he enjoyed over Ricky Hatton. But you had to figure this fight somehow wouldn’t happen, something would kill it. Businessmen fighters want low risks and high rewards. This fight may have been too dangerous for Floyd to risk. So here’s to the big media hype job followed by an equally big let down. Thanks Floyd.
What kind of businessman boxer lets a 30 million dollar fight go down the drain is a mystery--or is it?
Like Roy and Floyd before him, Manny Pacquiao has been groomed into the promotional status of “Best Pound for Pound Fighter” in boxing, which means all his fights are on Pay-Per-View from now on. Of the three, Manny has clearly been the most exciting to watch and most willing to fight tough fights that fans want to see. Roy fought a lot of duds and Floyd picks his own fruits once they’ve long fallen from the tree. Plus, it’s not a real title if you didn’t even fight the best fighters in your own weight class.
How did Manny just jump right past Tim Bradley, Nate Campbell, Kendall Holt or even Juan Diaz at 135, then hop over the top dogs at 147 and hit the lottery sweepstakes for richest purse in boxing; a PPV fight against an aged and faded Oscar De La Hoya? His performance against Ricky Hatton was impeccable but Hatton did not possess a major title and was coming off a devastating loss to Mayweather Jr. so he was clearly not the best either. Don’t you have to beat the best to be the best?
Manny is a great fighter, he’s humble, likable and well deserving of praise but in fighting the trio of expiring marquee name fighters he managed to duck a bunch of prime, top level fighters with title belts in his own weight class while becoming the “best P4P fighter in boxing.” How can there even BE a best p4p in boxing? How is that structured and is he going to fight the one of Klitschko brothers next? If there were a legit ranking system and Manny or Floyd beat everyone on that ladder of contention to get to the top, that would be valid but that’s not how anyone gets there these days. It’s clear that Manny’s been groomed so certain people can cash in big on his marketability. Unlike his two predecessors at P4P, Manny has not ducked anybody except avoiding a third fight with J.M. Marquez, who on the books, he has beaten twice.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the “best P4P fighter” but he retired at the start of 2008, right when his 147 pound division was really starting to heat up. Guys like Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto were the inevitable opponents, none of whom Floyd appeared interested in facing. Two years later, when the waters calmed, Floyd bravely returned and decided to take on one of the best fighters in boxing. Too bad it was a guy from a division 15 pounds south of Floyd’s division of Welterweight (147). That was 126, 130 and 135 pound titlist Juan Manual Marquez, who had to move up to the 147 pounds to accommodate Floyd’s conditions to make the fight.
Aside from the obvious advantages Floyd afforded himself, on fight night Floyd showed up a few pounds over the contracted limit, for which he paid a $600,000 penalty to the Marquez camp. Floyd won every round of that boring, one sided Pay-Per-View event. He was too big, too fast and too slick for the smaller man with the big heart.
Floyd is very talented but his heart came into question after the Marquez fight when Shane Mosley jumped into the ring and challenged Floyd in front of the whole damn world—to fight him next. Floyd looked about to wet his trunks and things in the ring got weird for a minute, then settled down as Floyd told Mosley not to disrespect him, cause he don’t jump into the ring after Mosley fights to disrespect him. It was a fair point and Mosley was respectful to it but in a standoffish way. It was like watching a business deal fall dead on arrival.
Max Kellerman insisted on talking about a fight with Pacquiao but Floyd ignored it. Max ended the interview when Floyd decided to disregard questions about Manny Pacquiao and talk about what he wanted to talk about. Venue security kept things civil in the tense, crowded ring. But the damage had been done. Floyd gave the distinct impression that he’s afraid of Shane Mosley. There’s only one way to cure that.
The official line is that Floyd’s not interested because it’s not a marketable fight, since Mosley isn’t a good enough draw for PPV. What does it require to believe that?
Mosley has a few losses on his record but he’s shown that he’s still a great fighter. If Floyd’s so confident, why wouldn’t he jump on the chance to fight the very famous “Sugar” Shane Mosley? Could it be because of the way Mosley threw that wicked beating on another guy Floyd didn’t want to fight, named Antonio Margarito? A win over Mosley would be HUGE for Floyd. It would automatically give Floyd wins over Margarito and everyone else on Mosley’s resume that Mayweather fans thought Floyd shouldn’t have to fight because Mosley already beat them, and Floyd beat Mosley. That’s how it works, isn’t it?
And yet, who knows what Shane’s straw has been a stirring? He looked better against “dirty gloved” Margarito than I’ve ever seen him. That was strange, considering how drained and aged Shane looked after his twelve round last second knockout win over a clearly past his prime Ricardo Mayorga. Mosley was a year younger then and there was talk about whether he was closing out his career. But all the BALCO stuff aside, we all know Mosley’s clean. So why won’t Floyd fight him? He fits Floyd’s criteria perfectly, he’s a big name at the twilight of his career, what’s the problem? My guess is he’ll fight Andre Berto… after Mosley beats Berto. And Floyd will remain… the best P4P fighter in boxing. What will we be?
Aside from his hard to like personality, Floyd is an amazing talent on defense and offense. I’d love to see him take on someone like Mosley or get really bold and call out Paul Williams to show the world that yes, he is the best in boxing and has the rocks to prove it. Whatever anyone thinks of him, he has great reflexes and defensive boxing skills. I’ve only seen him lose once, and that was in a close fight with Jose Luis Castillo, who used pressure to check Floyd’s superior agility and boxing prowess by forcing him into continuous defensive postures, where Castillo was able to land to the body often and dictate the terms of engagement. At the end of that one, the Judges had Floyd’s back and Castillo was dealt a Loss by Decision.
There was a lot of buzz afterwards, questioning Floyd’s win that Floyd agreed to fight a rematch with Castillo, where he easily out boxed him for twelve rounds. It was a strange rematch, since Castillo didn’t look like he was there to win but just collect a big payday. Castillo did that against Ricky Hatton too, so who knows?
Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have a point about drug testing for Manny Pacquiao but the Nevada State Athletic Commission already uses a drug testing method that were okay with Floyd in the past but suddenly, is not good enough to fight Pacman. While watching Friday Night Fights on ESPN, Teddy Atlas weighed in on this issue of Floyd and Manny and how the fight is now officially OFF. He told how Manny’s camp is suing Mayweather’s camp for defamation of his character, as now, fans are talking about Manny being a possible user of performance enhancing drugs. Freddy Roach was on the show too and he said Manny is 100% clean. Teddy also remarked that a source of his said they had seen email exchanges between the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps asking what would happen if Manny did test positive.
Manny has never officially tested positive for steroids or other illegal substances in the past. Manny did not impose any dramatic conditions on Floyd in order to make this fight. Floyd did make unusual demands that did kill the fight. I doubt Floyd ever wanted to fight Manny. After the Marquez fight, Kellerman wanted to talk about Manny but Floyd wanted to change the subject.
So, instead of talking about Manny vs. Floyd, we’ll be talking about Manny vs. Josh Clottey instead. Hey, it’s not a great fight but it’s decent. Clottey has good skills and has hopefully has learned from the Cotto fight that appealing to the ref instead of appealing to your opponents face with your fists will not get it done where you’re the visiting team. Clottey will need a knockout to get a win against Manny in the USA. Many, including Manuel Stewart of HBO, think Clottey beat Cotto and have good arguments as to why. But Clottey, for all his skills and toughness, is not a good finisher. I’m picking Manny by TKO late.
But I’d much rather see Pacman vs. Tim Bradley at 140 pounds for their titles. But we’re not supposed to think about that. We have to “Unthink” like they say in those stupid, mind numbing KFC commercials on TV. Unthink and accept.
I’m not surprised to hear who Mayweather is considering fighting in place of Pacman—Paul Malignaggi. Wow, that should be exciting. Of course it will be on PPV, just to make it that much more exciting. My prediction; Floyd by decision. Yawn.
Floyd would do much to improve his standing by manning up and accepting Mosley’s challenge. Financially, he only stands to make a fortune fighting Mosley, win or lose. But if its heart he wants to show, I’m sure Paul Williams would love to fight Floyd on PPV. If Marquez could come up 15 pounds to fight Floyd, Floyd can move up seven pounds to fight Williams at 154. And since money is his primary motivation, think about this, what fight fan on Earth would miss Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. vs. Paul “The Punisher” Williams on PPV? That’s a lot of money.
* * *
Comments can be emailed to dshark87@hotmail.com
Source: eastsideboxing.com
In lieu of a boxing version of the Super Bowl or World Series, the best we could hope for would be a big fight between two of the most hyped up fighters in the sport. And obviously that would mean Floyd vs. Manny. But now, we can’t even have that. I wanted to see if Floyd could counter punch the aggressive Manny with the kind of success he enjoyed over Ricky Hatton. But you had to figure this fight somehow wouldn’t happen, something would kill it. Businessmen fighters want low risks and high rewards. This fight may have been too dangerous for Floyd to risk. So here’s to the big media hype job followed by an equally big let down. Thanks Floyd.
What kind of businessman boxer lets a 30 million dollar fight go down the drain is a mystery--or is it?
Like Roy and Floyd before him, Manny Pacquiao has been groomed into the promotional status of “Best Pound for Pound Fighter” in boxing, which means all his fights are on Pay-Per-View from now on. Of the three, Manny has clearly been the most exciting to watch and most willing to fight tough fights that fans want to see. Roy fought a lot of duds and Floyd picks his own fruits once they’ve long fallen from the tree. Plus, it’s not a real title if you didn’t even fight the best fighters in your own weight class.
How did Manny just jump right past Tim Bradley, Nate Campbell, Kendall Holt or even Juan Diaz at 135, then hop over the top dogs at 147 and hit the lottery sweepstakes for richest purse in boxing; a PPV fight against an aged and faded Oscar De La Hoya? His performance against Ricky Hatton was impeccable but Hatton did not possess a major title and was coming off a devastating loss to Mayweather Jr. so he was clearly not the best either. Don’t you have to beat the best to be the best?
Manny is a great fighter, he’s humble, likable and well deserving of praise but in fighting the trio of expiring marquee name fighters he managed to duck a bunch of prime, top level fighters with title belts in his own weight class while becoming the “best P4P fighter in boxing.” How can there even BE a best p4p in boxing? How is that structured and is he going to fight the one of Klitschko brothers next? If there were a legit ranking system and Manny or Floyd beat everyone on that ladder of contention to get to the top, that would be valid but that’s not how anyone gets there these days. It’s clear that Manny’s been groomed so certain people can cash in big on his marketability. Unlike his two predecessors at P4P, Manny has not ducked anybody except avoiding a third fight with J.M. Marquez, who on the books, he has beaten twice.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the “best P4P fighter” but he retired at the start of 2008, right when his 147 pound division was really starting to heat up. Guys like Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto were the inevitable opponents, none of whom Floyd appeared interested in facing. Two years later, when the waters calmed, Floyd bravely returned and decided to take on one of the best fighters in boxing. Too bad it was a guy from a division 15 pounds south of Floyd’s division of Welterweight (147). That was 126, 130 and 135 pound titlist Juan Manual Marquez, who had to move up to the 147 pounds to accommodate Floyd’s conditions to make the fight.
Aside from the obvious advantages Floyd afforded himself, on fight night Floyd showed up a few pounds over the contracted limit, for which he paid a $600,000 penalty to the Marquez camp. Floyd won every round of that boring, one sided Pay-Per-View event. He was too big, too fast and too slick for the smaller man with the big heart.
Floyd is very talented but his heart came into question after the Marquez fight when Shane Mosley jumped into the ring and challenged Floyd in front of the whole damn world—to fight him next. Floyd looked about to wet his trunks and things in the ring got weird for a minute, then settled down as Floyd told Mosley not to disrespect him, cause he don’t jump into the ring after Mosley fights to disrespect him. It was a fair point and Mosley was respectful to it but in a standoffish way. It was like watching a business deal fall dead on arrival.
Max Kellerman insisted on talking about a fight with Pacquiao but Floyd ignored it. Max ended the interview when Floyd decided to disregard questions about Manny Pacquiao and talk about what he wanted to talk about. Venue security kept things civil in the tense, crowded ring. But the damage had been done. Floyd gave the distinct impression that he’s afraid of Shane Mosley. There’s only one way to cure that.
The official line is that Floyd’s not interested because it’s not a marketable fight, since Mosley isn’t a good enough draw for PPV. What does it require to believe that?
Mosley has a few losses on his record but he’s shown that he’s still a great fighter. If Floyd’s so confident, why wouldn’t he jump on the chance to fight the very famous “Sugar” Shane Mosley? Could it be because of the way Mosley threw that wicked beating on another guy Floyd didn’t want to fight, named Antonio Margarito? A win over Mosley would be HUGE for Floyd. It would automatically give Floyd wins over Margarito and everyone else on Mosley’s resume that Mayweather fans thought Floyd shouldn’t have to fight because Mosley already beat them, and Floyd beat Mosley. That’s how it works, isn’t it?
And yet, who knows what Shane’s straw has been a stirring? He looked better against “dirty gloved” Margarito than I’ve ever seen him. That was strange, considering how drained and aged Shane looked after his twelve round last second knockout win over a clearly past his prime Ricardo Mayorga. Mosley was a year younger then and there was talk about whether he was closing out his career. But all the BALCO stuff aside, we all know Mosley’s clean. So why won’t Floyd fight him? He fits Floyd’s criteria perfectly, he’s a big name at the twilight of his career, what’s the problem? My guess is he’ll fight Andre Berto… after Mosley beats Berto. And Floyd will remain… the best P4P fighter in boxing. What will we be?
Aside from his hard to like personality, Floyd is an amazing talent on defense and offense. I’d love to see him take on someone like Mosley or get really bold and call out Paul Williams to show the world that yes, he is the best in boxing and has the rocks to prove it. Whatever anyone thinks of him, he has great reflexes and defensive boxing skills. I’ve only seen him lose once, and that was in a close fight with Jose Luis Castillo, who used pressure to check Floyd’s superior agility and boxing prowess by forcing him into continuous defensive postures, where Castillo was able to land to the body often and dictate the terms of engagement. At the end of that one, the Judges had Floyd’s back and Castillo was dealt a Loss by Decision.
There was a lot of buzz afterwards, questioning Floyd’s win that Floyd agreed to fight a rematch with Castillo, where he easily out boxed him for twelve rounds. It was a strange rematch, since Castillo didn’t look like he was there to win but just collect a big payday. Castillo did that against Ricky Hatton too, so who knows?
Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have a point about drug testing for Manny Pacquiao but the Nevada State Athletic Commission already uses a drug testing method that were okay with Floyd in the past but suddenly, is not good enough to fight Pacman. While watching Friday Night Fights on ESPN, Teddy Atlas weighed in on this issue of Floyd and Manny and how the fight is now officially OFF. He told how Manny’s camp is suing Mayweather’s camp for defamation of his character, as now, fans are talking about Manny being a possible user of performance enhancing drugs. Freddy Roach was on the show too and he said Manny is 100% clean. Teddy also remarked that a source of his said they had seen email exchanges between the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps asking what would happen if Manny did test positive.
Manny has never officially tested positive for steroids or other illegal substances in the past. Manny did not impose any dramatic conditions on Floyd in order to make this fight. Floyd did make unusual demands that did kill the fight. I doubt Floyd ever wanted to fight Manny. After the Marquez fight, Kellerman wanted to talk about Manny but Floyd wanted to change the subject.
So, instead of talking about Manny vs. Floyd, we’ll be talking about Manny vs. Josh Clottey instead. Hey, it’s not a great fight but it’s decent. Clottey has good skills and has hopefully has learned from the Cotto fight that appealing to the ref instead of appealing to your opponents face with your fists will not get it done where you’re the visiting team. Clottey will need a knockout to get a win against Manny in the USA. Many, including Manuel Stewart of HBO, think Clottey beat Cotto and have good arguments as to why. But Clottey, for all his skills and toughness, is not a good finisher. I’m picking Manny by TKO late.
But I’d much rather see Pacman vs. Tim Bradley at 140 pounds for their titles. But we’re not supposed to think about that. We have to “Unthink” like they say in those stupid, mind numbing KFC commercials on TV. Unthink and accept.
I’m not surprised to hear who Mayweather is considering fighting in place of Pacman—Paul Malignaggi. Wow, that should be exciting. Of course it will be on PPV, just to make it that much more exciting. My prediction; Floyd by decision. Yawn.
Floyd would do much to improve his standing by manning up and accepting Mosley’s challenge. Financially, he only stands to make a fortune fighting Mosley, win or lose. But if its heart he wants to show, I’m sure Paul Williams would love to fight Floyd on PPV. If Marquez could come up 15 pounds to fight Floyd, Floyd can move up seven pounds to fight Williams at 154. And since money is his primary motivation, think about this, what fight fan on Earth would miss Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. vs. Paul “The Punisher” Williams on PPV? That’s a lot of money.
* * *
Comments can be emailed to dshark87@hotmail.com
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Dallas to host Pacquiao fight -- Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Manny Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title defence against Joshua Clottey will take place at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on March 13.
It will be the first fight staged at the home of the NFL team with a capacity crowd of 40,000 expected to be present for the pay-per-view event.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had tendered a bid to stage the ill-fated Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather fight on the same day but was delighted to welcome the Filipino legend in his first title defence.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?" said Jones.
"Manny Pacquiao is boxing's number one pound-for-pound attraction and the world champion.
"Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great event, it's a great fight, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium. We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Promoter Bob Arum was pleased to announce Pacquiao's first fight in the Lone Star State.
Sellout
"Manny Pacquiao is the lone star of boxing," he said. "There isn't a more appropriate place in the world for him to fight.
"Jerry Jones knows exactly how big and important this event is which is why it was so easy to put this deal together.
"If Jerry could sell me on Cowboys Stadium and the North Texas market, you know he is going to have no problems selling out Cowboys Stadium on March 13.
"We are ready to roll up our sleeves and promote Manny's debut as world welterweight champion."
Pacquiao is the hottest property in boxing following successive victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto in the space of 12 months.
Ghanaian Clottey (35-3) is one of the toughest around at 147lb, having beaten Zab Judah for the IBF belt before losing to Cotto on a split decision last June.
Source: skysports.com
Manny Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title defence against Joshua Clottey will take place at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on March 13.
It will be the first fight staged at the home of the NFL team with a capacity crowd of 40,000 expected to be present for the pay-per-view event.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had tendered a bid to stage the ill-fated Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather fight on the same day but was delighted to welcome the Filipino legend in his first title defence.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?" said Jones.
"Manny Pacquiao is boxing's number one pound-for-pound attraction and the world champion.
"Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great event, it's a great fight, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium. We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Promoter Bob Arum was pleased to announce Pacquiao's first fight in the Lone Star State.
Sellout
"Manny Pacquiao is the lone star of boxing," he said. "There isn't a more appropriate place in the world for him to fight.
"Jerry Jones knows exactly how big and important this event is which is why it was so easy to put this deal together.
"If Jerry could sell me on Cowboys Stadium and the North Texas market, you know he is going to have no problems selling out Cowboys Stadium on March 13.
"We are ready to roll up our sleeves and promote Manny's debut as world welterweight champion."
Pacquiao is the hottest property in boxing following successive victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto in the space of 12 months.
Ghanaian Clottey (35-3) is one of the toughest around at 147lb, having beaten Zab Judah for the IBF belt before losing to Cotto on a split decision last June.
Source: skysports.com
Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather in popularity race with bouts on same night -- Telegraph
By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk
Instead, it will be a commercial battle, and one of popularity, as they race off for pay per view buys on the same night. I wouldn’t mind betting that both contests nosedive tin views - as fans around the world have been registering distaste at the shenanigans emerging from the saga.
On Friday night, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter at Top Rank, revealed that Pacquiao would defend the WBO welterweight title against former title holder Joshua Clottey - on March 13, at the NFL Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.
The MGM Grand was in the running to host the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight before the collapse of the contest after a dispute between the camps on the drug testing protocol. Shame. It was only being touted, realistically enough, as the highest grossing fight in history. More importantly, it was, and remains, the defining fight of this generation of boxers. Egos and one-upmanship is only damaging the sport in this instance.
Instead of the proposed megafight, Mayweather is now looking at the likes of Paulie Malignaggi, Nate Campbell, or Kermit Cintron, although Richard Schaefer completely ruled out Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of former light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton.
"There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won't be Matthew Hatton," Schaefer told ESPN.com.
There is talk of Mayweather facing Shane Mosley, if Mayweather wins his March bout, although Mosley must also defeat the clever skills of Andre Berto in a welterweight unification fight on Jan 30. But the top of the boxing tree has itself in fine mess at the moment.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Instead, it will be a commercial battle, and one of popularity, as they race off for pay per view buys on the same night. I wouldn’t mind betting that both contests nosedive tin views - as fans around the world have been registering distaste at the shenanigans emerging from the saga.
On Friday night, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter at Top Rank, revealed that Pacquiao would defend the WBO welterweight title against former title holder Joshua Clottey - on March 13, at the NFL Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.
The MGM Grand was in the running to host the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight before the collapse of the contest after a dispute between the camps on the drug testing protocol. Shame. It was only being touted, realistically enough, as the highest grossing fight in history. More importantly, it was, and remains, the defining fight of this generation of boxers. Egos and one-upmanship is only damaging the sport in this instance.
Instead of the proposed megafight, Mayweather is now looking at the likes of Paulie Malignaggi, Nate Campbell, or Kermit Cintron, although Richard Schaefer completely ruled out Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of former light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton.
"There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won't be Matthew Hatton," Schaefer told ESPN.com.
There is talk of Mayweather facing Shane Mosley, if Mayweather wins his March bout, although Mosley must also defeat the clever skills of Andre Berto in a welterweight unification fight on Jan 30. But the top of the boxing tree has itself in fine mess at the moment.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Mayweather near deal with mystery opponent -- The Ring
By Michael Rosenthal, The Ring
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are fighting on March 13 after all – just not against each other.
Richard Schaefer, Mayweather’s promoter, reiterated shortly after the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight was formally announced on Sunday that his client will fight on that date at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Schaefer said he’s close to a deal with a prospective opponent but said he can’t reveal who it is.
Among those rumored to be possible opponents are Paulie Malignaggi, Kermit Cintron, Nate Campbell and Timothy Bradley.
Another issue would be television. HBO Pay Per View can handle one of the fights or choose neither. Another company would have to showcase the other fight if HBO does go either direction.
And the fact that the Nos. 1 and 2 fighters will go head to head both live and on TV is very unusual. It almost guarantees that that both pay-per-view buy rates will suffer.
“Obviously that’s not ideal,” Schaefer said. “I hate to do that. I’d be a fool to say it’s a good thing. Somethings you have to play the cards you’re dealt with, though.”
Mayweather and Pacquiao were supposed to fight on March 13 but the fight fell apart because the fighters couldn’t agree on a cut-off date for blood testing.
Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Clottey at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Source: ringtv.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are fighting on March 13 after all – just not against each other.
Richard Schaefer, Mayweather’s promoter, reiterated shortly after the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight was formally announced on Sunday that his client will fight on that date at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Schaefer said he’s close to a deal with a prospective opponent but said he can’t reveal who it is.
Among those rumored to be possible opponents are Paulie Malignaggi, Kermit Cintron, Nate Campbell and Timothy Bradley.
Another issue would be television. HBO Pay Per View can handle one of the fights or choose neither. Another company would have to showcase the other fight if HBO does go either direction.
And the fact that the Nos. 1 and 2 fighters will go head to head both live and on TV is very unusual. It almost guarantees that that both pay-per-view buy rates will suffer.
“Obviously that’s not ideal,” Schaefer said. “I hate to do that. I’d be a fool to say it’s a good thing. Somethings you have to play the cards you’re dealt with, though.”
Mayweather and Pacquiao were supposed to fight on March 13 but the fight fell apart because the fighters couldn’t agree on a cut-off date for blood testing.
Pacquiao is scheduled to fight Clottey at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Source: ringtv.com
Manny Pacquiao to Fight Joshua Clottey at 144 Catchweight -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
One of the first things that seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, says that he will do long before stepping into the ring against challenger, Joshua Clottey, on March 13 will be to attempt to get a good feel and to acclimate himself to the expansive venue that is the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium.
"We're scheduled to come in either Saturday or Sunday to America, and on Jan. 18, there is a press tour, and I'm sure that we'll go look at the stadium when we're in Dallas," said Michael Koncz, Pacquiao's adviser.
"Manny's heard that it's just out of this world, that's it's a high-tech, top-notch stadium with some plasma screen that goes around half of the field," said Koncz. "We've heard that it holds more than 100,000 people, and that's a spectacular place."
That story was relayed on Sunday night by Koncz, from the Philippines, where he is with Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) as the fighter spends time with his children and his wife, who will celebrate a birthday on Jan. 13.
Pacquiao is expected to be in Los Angeles to begin preparing for the 32-year-old Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) at the nearby Wild Card Boxing Club of his trainer, Freddie Roach, in Hollywood by Jan. 17. Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank CEO, Bob Arum, plans to hold a press conference to announce the fight on Jan. 18 at the Dallas Stadium, followed by another on Jan. 19 in New York.
Arum and his stepson, Top Rank president, Todd duBoef, completed the deal in Arlington, Texas, with Dallas Stadium during Sunday's face-to-face with owner, Jerry Jones, who allowed them to watch his Cowboys rout their NFL rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-14, from his luxurious box suite on Saturday night.
"Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great event, it's a great fight, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium," Jones told FanHouse. "We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
The $1.2 billion domed stadium seats 80,000, but is expandable enough to accomodate up to 111,000 beneath a retractable roof that protects against rain. The stadium also features more than 3,000 Sony LCD displays throughout the luxury suites, concourses, concession areas, and Jones said that all, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night.
A southpaw, Pacquiao is 11-0, with eight knockouts since losing by unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005, having contested all but two of those bouts in Las Vegas. Pacquiao last fought in Texas at San Antonio's Alamo Dome, where he stopped Jorge Solis in eight rounds in April of 2007.
Pacquiao is coming off of November's 12th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto, from whom he lifted the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown -- one that will be on the line against Clottey.
Like Cotto, who was contracted to come in at a catch weight of 145 pounds, Clottey will be required to weigh-in at no more than 144 pounds -- "that's what the catchweight is for this fight," said Koncz.
That could be a huge advantage for Pacquiao, since Clottey is listed to have not been at that size since March of 1997, when he decisioned Mark Ramsey -- a fighter with a record of 13-11-2 -- over eight rounds.
Known to be a big welterweight who has been troubled, at times, with making weight, Clottey has weighed more than 147 pounds for bouts 11 times during his career, twice, at 154.
Pacquiao-Clottey replaced a previously scheduled, highly-lucrative matchup between Pacquiao and 32-year-old, five-time king, Floyd Mayweather (40-0,25 KOs), that was scheduled for March 13 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand before a drug-testing controversy led to a negotiations impasse.
Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, also his CEO of Mayweather Promotions, said that undefeated fighter will face an opponent to be determined at The MGM Grand also on March 13.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, who has been negotiating on behalf of Mayweather, could not be reached for comment.
But Schaefer told Boxing Scene's Rick Reeno that the winner of a Jan. 30 bout between 26-year-old WBC welterweight champ, Andre Berto (25-0, 19 knockouts), and 38-year-old WBC super champ, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), could be a future opponent for Mayweather.
"Shane is considered by most as the best 147-pounder out there. He has a tough fight on January 30 against an undefeated champion, Andre Berto," said Schaefer. "I'm very excited about that fight, and there is a lot at stake -- including a possible fight with Mayweather."
Mayweather and Pacquiao had agreed to face each other at 147 pounds even, while Oscar De La Hoya and Cotto each fought Pacquiao after having weighed in at 145 pounds. De La Hoya, who was knocked out in the eighth round, said that dropping the pounds drained him, while Cotto's contracted weight was 145.
Pacquiao, who stopped De La Hoya in eight rounds, weighed, 142, and, 144, respectively, against De La Hoya and Cotto.
Pacquiao reviewed video of WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), New York's junior welterweight (140 pounds) star, Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), and, WBA junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York before settling on Clottey.
Malignaggi "would have been very boring," said Pacquiao, and "the size of Yuri Foreman" would have forced Pacquiao to be "more of a boxer, and the fans wouldn't have appreciated that."
Pacquiao felt that he had nothing to prove against Marquez, whom he has battled to a draw and beaten by decision, respectively.
So the pick was Clottey.
"We didn't see any video on Clottey, but because Manny is a consumate performer, he wanted to give his fans the best that he could give them. Manny felt that this was the right opponent to do that," said Koncz. "The size, the styles, and the marketability -- that's why he chose Clottey. Out of the selections that were available, Manny felt that this would provide the most entertaining fight for the fans."
Pacquiao was, however, at ringside when Clottey lost June's disputed, 12-round decision to Cotto, who scored a flash knock-down against the native Ghanian in the first round.
"Our mutual thoughts were that we thought Clottey won the fight against Cotto. It was a very close fight, but we thought that he won it. Truthfully, we were focusing on Cotto, because that's who we were focused on. But I think that the styles are going to make for a spectacular fight, and Manny feels the same way," said Koncz.
"In some aspects, he's tougher than Cotto. He throws a lot more punches than Cotto, he's more muscularly-built than Cotto, and he probably takes a few better shots than Cotto can to the body," said Koncz.
"Those are the two advantages that Clottey had over Cotto," said Koncz. "Plus, Clottey's a little tighter in his defense, and we'll have to penetrate that. Cotto had a tendancy to drop his hands, but Clottey didn't do that when he fought Cotto."
On the undercard, former world champion, Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) of Mexico is hoping to return to the ring.
Margarito is trying to get back in for the first time following a year's suspension by the California State Athletic Commission for having been found to have had an illegal, plaster-like substance as part of his hand-wrappings prior to his January 24, ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley (pictured at right) for the WBA super world welterweight crown.
The 31-year-old Margarito, whose gloves discrepancy was resolved and the plaster removed before he entered the ring against Mosley, will have to be approved for re-licensing by the Texas State Athletic Commission before he can be allowed on the card.
If Margarito is permitted to fight, his opponent will be 23-year-old Carson Jones, who has a deceptive record of 24-7-1, with 15 KOs.
A resident of Oklahoma City, Jones is coming off of December's third-round knockout of Philadelphia's hard-hitting, KO artist, Tyrone Brunson, who entered their fight with a mark of 21-0-1, with 20 knockouts -- the first 19 of which he had accomplished in the first round for what is believed to be a world record.
Jones is on a remarkable run of 7-0 with one no-decision that includes five stoppages -- and that's just since losing in February by a 10-round, unanimous decision to world title contender, Jesus Soto Karass. After that, Jones scored second-, and, fourth-round knockouts of Mike McGuire and Dan Wallace in March.
Then, in succession, Jones scored May's 10th-round knockout of Michi Munoz, July's third-round stoppage of Steve Walker in July, battled to a no-decision against Eloy Suarez in August, and won an eight-round, unanimous decision over Jose Adelaydo Gonzalez in October.
Before facing Margarito, Jones will take on the 36-year-old Suarez (11-7-1, five KOs) in a Jan. 28 rematch at the Coca Cola Center in his hometown of Oklahoma City on Jan. 28.
Another matchup, said Arum, has former world champion Jose Luis Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KOs) of Mexico going up against 29-year-old Alfonso Gomez (21-4-2, 10 KOs) of Whittier, Calif., in a clash of welterweights.
The 36-year-old Castillo will be after his fifth straight knockout, and Gomez is coming off of November's sixth-round, technical decision victory over Soto Karass.
Also on the card will be hot, junior featherweight (126 pounds) prospects Roberto Marroquin (11-0, eight KOs), a 20-year-old Dallas resident, and 24-year-old Mexican, Salvador Sanchez (18-3-2, eight KOs), a winner of eight consecutive fights who is the nephew of the late former world champion by the same name.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
One of the first things that seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, says that he will do long before stepping into the ring against challenger, Joshua Clottey, on March 13 will be to attempt to get a good feel and to acclimate himself to the expansive venue that is the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium.
"We're scheduled to come in either Saturday or Sunday to America, and on Jan. 18, there is a press tour, and I'm sure that we'll go look at the stadium when we're in Dallas," said Michael Koncz, Pacquiao's adviser.
"Manny's heard that it's just out of this world, that's it's a high-tech, top-notch stadium with some plasma screen that goes around half of the field," said Koncz. "We've heard that it holds more than 100,000 people, and that's a spectacular place."
That story was relayed on Sunday night by Koncz, from the Philippines, where he is with Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) as the fighter spends time with his children and his wife, who will celebrate a birthday on Jan. 13.
Pacquiao is expected to be in Los Angeles to begin preparing for the 32-year-old Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) at the nearby Wild Card Boxing Club of his trainer, Freddie Roach, in Hollywood by Jan. 17. Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank CEO, Bob Arum, plans to hold a press conference to announce the fight on Jan. 18 at the Dallas Stadium, followed by another on Jan. 19 in New York.
Arum and his stepson, Top Rank president, Todd duBoef, completed the deal in Arlington, Texas, with Dallas Stadium during Sunday's face-to-face with owner, Jerry Jones, who allowed them to watch his Cowboys rout their NFL rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-14, from his luxurious box suite on Saturday night.
"Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great event, it's a great fight, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium," Jones told FanHouse. "We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
The $1.2 billion domed stadium seats 80,000, but is expandable enough to accomodate up to 111,000 beneath a retractable roof that protects against rain. The stadium also features more than 3,000 Sony LCD displays throughout the luxury suites, concourses, concession areas, and Jones said that all, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night.
A southpaw, Pacquiao is 11-0, with eight knockouts since losing by unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March of 2005, having contested all but two of those bouts in Las Vegas. Pacquiao last fought in Texas at San Antonio's Alamo Dome, where he stopped Jorge Solis in eight rounds in April of 2007.
Pacquiao is coming off of November's 12th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto, from whom he lifted the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown -- one that will be on the line against Clottey.
Like Cotto, who was contracted to come in at a catch weight of 145 pounds, Clottey will be required to weigh-in at no more than 144 pounds -- "that's what the catchweight is for this fight," said Koncz.
That could be a huge advantage for Pacquiao, since Clottey is listed to have not been at that size since March of 1997, when he decisioned Mark Ramsey -- a fighter with a record of 13-11-2 -- over eight rounds.
Known to be a big welterweight who has been troubled, at times, with making weight, Clottey has weighed more than 147 pounds for bouts 11 times during his career, twice, at 154.
Pacquiao-Clottey replaced a previously scheduled, highly-lucrative matchup between Pacquiao and 32-year-old, five-time king, Floyd Mayweather (40-0,25 KOs), that was scheduled for March 13 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand before a drug-testing controversy led to a negotiations impasse.
Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, also his CEO of Mayweather Promotions, said that undefeated fighter will face an opponent to be determined at The MGM Grand also on March 13.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, who has been negotiating on behalf of Mayweather, could not be reached for comment.
But Schaefer told Boxing Scene's Rick Reeno that the winner of a Jan. 30 bout between 26-year-old WBC welterweight champ, Andre Berto (25-0, 19 knockouts), and 38-year-old WBC super champ, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), could be a future opponent for Mayweather.
"Shane is considered by most as the best 147-pounder out there. He has a tough fight on January 30 against an undefeated champion, Andre Berto," said Schaefer. "I'm very excited about that fight, and there is a lot at stake -- including a possible fight with Mayweather."
Mayweather and Pacquiao had agreed to face each other at 147 pounds even, while Oscar De La Hoya and Cotto each fought Pacquiao after having weighed in at 145 pounds. De La Hoya, who was knocked out in the eighth round, said that dropping the pounds drained him, while Cotto's contracted weight was 145.
Pacquiao, who stopped De La Hoya in eight rounds, weighed, 142, and, 144, respectively, against De La Hoya and Cotto.
Pacquiao reviewed video of WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), New York's junior welterweight (140 pounds) star, Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), and, WBA junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York before settling on Clottey.
Malignaggi "would have been very boring," said Pacquiao, and "the size of Yuri Foreman" would have forced Pacquiao to be "more of a boxer, and the fans wouldn't have appreciated that."
Pacquiao felt that he had nothing to prove against Marquez, whom he has battled to a draw and beaten by decision, respectively.
So the pick was Clottey.
"We didn't see any video on Clottey, but because Manny is a consumate performer, he wanted to give his fans the best that he could give them. Manny felt that this was the right opponent to do that," said Koncz. "The size, the styles, and the marketability -- that's why he chose Clottey. Out of the selections that were available, Manny felt that this would provide the most entertaining fight for the fans."
Pacquiao was, however, at ringside when Clottey lost June's disputed, 12-round decision to Cotto, who scored a flash knock-down against the native Ghanian in the first round.
"Our mutual thoughts were that we thought Clottey won the fight against Cotto. It was a very close fight, but we thought that he won it. Truthfully, we were focusing on Cotto, because that's who we were focused on. But I think that the styles are going to make for a spectacular fight, and Manny feels the same way," said Koncz.
"In some aspects, he's tougher than Cotto. He throws a lot more punches than Cotto, he's more muscularly-built than Cotto, and he probably takes a few better shots than Cotto can to the body," said Koncz.
"Those are the two advantages that Clottey had over Cotto," said Koncz. "Plus, Clottey's a little tighter in his defense, and we'll have to penetrate that. Cotto had a tendancy to drop his hands, but Clottey didn't do that when he fought Cotto."
On the undercard, former world champion, Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) of Mexico is hoping to return to the ring.
Margarito is trying to get back in for the first time following a year's suspension by the California State Athletic Commission for having been found to have had an illegal, plaster-like substance as part of his hand-wrappings prior to his January 24, ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley (pictured at right) for the WBA super world welterweight crown.
The 31-year-old Margarito, whose gloves discrepancy was resolved and the plaster removed before he entered the ring against Mosley, will have to be approved for re-licensing by the Texas State Athletic Commission before he can be allowed on the card.
If Margarito is permitted to fight, his opponent will be 23-year-old Carson Jones, who has a deceptive record of 24-7-1, with 15 KOs.
A resident of Oklahoma City, Jones is coming off of December's third-round knockout of Philadelphia's hard-hitting, KO artist, Tyrone Brunson, who entered their fight with a mark of 21-0-1, with 20 knockouts -- the first 19 of which he had accomplished in the first round for what is believed to be a world record.
Jones is on a remarkable run of 7-0 with one no-decision that includes five stoppages -- and that's just since losing in February by a 10-round, unanimous decision to world title contender, Jesus Soto Karass. After that, Jones scored second-, and, fourth-round knockouts of Mike McGuire and Dan Wallace in March.
Then, in succession, Jones scored May's 10th-round knockout of Michi Munoz, July's third-round stoppage of Steve Walker in July, battled to a no-decision against Eloy Suarez in August, and won an eight-round, unanimous decision over Jose Adelaydo Gonzalez in October.
Before facing Margarito, Jones will take on the 36-year-old Suarez (11-7-1, five KOs) in a Jan. 28 rematch at the Coca Cola Center in his hometown of Oklahoma City on Jan. 28.
Another matchup, said Arum, has former world champion Jose Luis Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KOs) of Mexico going up against 29-year-old Alfonso Gomez (21-4-2, 10 KOs) of Whittier, Calif., in a clash of welterweights.
The 36-year-old Castillo will be after his fifth straight knockout, and Gomez is coming off of November's sixth-round, technical decision victory over Soto Karass.
Also on the card will be hot, junior featherweight (126 pounds) prospects Roberto Marroquin (11-0, eight KOs), a 20-year-old Dallas resident, and 24-year-old Mexican, Salvador Sanchez (18-3-2, eight KOs), a winner of eight consecutive fights who is the nephew of the late former world champion by the same name.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Mayweather, Pacquiao sharing March 13 bad for boxing, could hamper future negotiations -- Grand Rapids Press
By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao apparently will fight the same day now. And MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Cowboys Stadium in suburban Dallas, apparently both will get fights on March 13, just as both sought all along.
But Mayweather and Pacquiao will not fight each other.
So that’s the zany, crazy, absurd upshot to the botched negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao, that both men could fight in competing pay-per-view bouts on the same night, further muddling the possibility of boxing’s biggest possible fight occurring later this year, after their own fight failed to materialize because of the drug-testing issue everyone has endured for weeks.
The scheduling snafu arose over the weekend, almost as quickly as Mayweather-Pacquiao talks seemed to reach fruition, before falling irreparably apart.
It is bad for boxing, bad for HBO -- which must choose which fighter to televise -- and bad form, altogether.
The problem arose when Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, quickly pulled together an attractive substitute fight for the the Filipino star against dangerous Joshua Clottey. After Arum’s discussions with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones failed to produce a fight in the new Arlington, Texas, stadium, Pacquiao-Clottey was placed there instead.
Arum said he was targeting March 20 for Pacquiao’s new date. Mayweather continued to eyeball March 13.
Then, Arum moved back.
And Mayweather, whose opponent will be named within a matter of days, refused to budge.
What would make most sense is if HBO Pay-Per-View showed Pacquiao-Clottey from Texas, then Mayweather-T.B.A. from Las Vegas, as part of one megashow. But that would require extraordinary coordination from the competing promoters, Top Rank and Golden Boy, even under the most cooperative circumstances.
These hardly have been the most cooperative circumstances.
Now, here’s the problem: One fight will outperform the other if they both go the pay-per-view route, probably by a substantial margin. Whichever one HBO opts to televise probably will be the winner, simply because of its ability to promote via its regular network, although Top Rank has produced several pay-per-view shows itself, in the event Pacquiao-Clottey is the fight the network spurns.
Mayweather’s side consistently has said it has the better draw, that the Grand Rapids native’s pay-per-view fights against common opponents have outdrawn Pacquiao’s by substantial margins. And that is correct.
Pacquiao’s side argues that its man is the pound-for-pound king, has fared better against the biggest of common opponents -- stopping Oscar De La Hoya when Mayweather couldn’t, and knocking out Ricky Hatton in two rounds when it took Mayweather 10 -- and that, too, is correct.
Both sides extrapolate out those arguments in taking the position that their man deserves more money.
And in the original Mayweather-Pacquiao talks, both sides set aside those positions and agreed to a 50-50 purse split.
As it turned out, money wasn’t the sticking point in making Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Both men appear set to fight March 13, one will escalate the boast that he is the bigger pay-per-view seller, and the likelihood of that 50-50 split being part of their next negotiation almost certainly vanishes.
It’s good that Mayweather and Pacquiao are fighting March 13, as everyone wanted all along.
But the way it apparently will happen not only constitutes a petty effort to undercut each other, but also threatens the possibility that we ever see the two pound-for-pound claimants share the same ring on the same night.
E-mail David Mayo at dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo
Source: mlive.com
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao apparently will fight the same day now. And MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Cowboys Stadium in suburban Dallas, apparently both will get fights on March 13, just as both sought all along.
But Mayweather and Pacquiao will not fight each other.
So that’s the zany, crazy, absurd upshot to the botched negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao, that both men could fight in competing pay-per-view bouts on the same night, further muddling the possibility of boxing’s biggest possible fight occurring later this year, after their own fight failed to materialize because of the drug-testing issue everyone has endured for weeks.
The scheduling snafu arose over the weekend, almost as quickly as Mayweather-Pacquiao talks seemed to reach fruition, before falling irreparably apart.
It is bad for boxing, bad for HBO -- which must choose which fighter to televise -- and bad form, altogether.
The problem arose when Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, quickly pulled together an attractive substitute fight for the the Filipino star against dangerous Joshua Clottey. After Arum’s discussions with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones failed to produce a fight in the new Arlington, Texas, stadium, Pacquiao-Clottey was placed there instead.
Arum said he was targeting March 20 for Pacquiao’s new date. Mayweather continued to eyeball March 13.
Then, Arum moved back.
And Mayweather, whose opponent will be named within a matter of days, refused to budge.
What would make most sense is if HBO Pay-Per-View showed Pacquiao-Clottey from Texas, then Mayweather-T.B.A. from Las Vegas, as part of one megashow. But that would require extraordinary coordination from the competing promoters, Top Rank and Golden Boy, even under the most cooperative circumstances.
These hardly have been the most cooperative circumstances.
Now, here’s the problem: One fight will outperform the other if they both go the pay-per-view route, probably by a substantial margin. Whichever one HBO opts to televise probably will be the winner, simply because of its ability to promote via its regular network, although Top Rank has produced several pay-per-view shows itself, in the event Pacquiao-Clottey is the fight the network spurns.
Mayweather’s side consistently has said it has the better draw, that the Grand Rapids native’s pay-per-view fights against common opponents have outdrawn Pacquiao’s by substantial margins. And that is correct.
Pacquiao’s side argues that its man is the pound-for-pound king, has fared better against the biggest of common opponents -- stopping Oscar De La Hoya when Mayweather couldn’t, and knocking out Ricky Hatton in two rounds when it took Mayweather 10 -- and that, too, is correct.
Both sides extrapolate out those arguments in taking the position that their man deserves more money.
And in the original Mayweather-Pacquiao talks, both sides set aside those positions and agreed to a 50-50 purse split.
As it turned out, money wasn’t the sticking point in making Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Both men appear set to fight March 13, one will escalate the boast that he is the bigger pay-per-view seller, and the likelihood of that 50-50 split being part of their next negotiation almost certainly vanishes.
It’s good that Mayweather and Pacquiao are fighting March 13, as everyone wanted all along.
But the way it apparently will happen not only constitutes a petty effort to undercut each other, but also threatens the possibility that we ever see the two pound-for-pound claimants share the same ring on the same night.
E-mail David Mayo at dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo
Source: mlive.com
Mayweather also fighting on March 13 -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will still compete against each other on March 13, but not in the ring. Instead, they will be duking it out for pay-per-view buys.
Two days after Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, announced plans for Pacquiao to defend his welterweight title against former titlist Joshua Clottey on March 13, Mayweather is making plans to fight on the same night.
While Pacquiao will face Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, just outside of Dallas -- Arum concluded a deal with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Sunday -- Mayweather will face an opponent to be determined at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Sunday night.
"It's a date Golden Boy has had for a long time and nothing has changed," Schaefer said. "We have been talking to Team Mayweather to see who the opponent will be. I hope to have something to announce in the next few days."
The MGM Grand was supposed to host the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight before it broke up for good on Friday over a month-long dispute between the camps on the drug testing protocol for a bout that many believed would be the highest grossing fight in history.
According to sources, Mayweather's list of potential opponents includes former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi and Golden Boy-promoted former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell, both smaller men than Mayweather, as well as former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron, who is a similar kind of opponent as Clottey is for Pacquiao. There is also a more remote possibility of Mayweather facing junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr., who has ties to Showtime, which may not want to let him walk away for a possible fight on rival HBO PPV.
One opponent Mayweather will not be facing is Matthew Hatton, the brother of former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton, whom Mayweather knocked out in a 2007 welterweight title fight. Reports in Matthew Hatton's native England indicate that he is under consideration.
However, Schaefer said that is not the case.
"There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won't be Matthew Hatton," Schaefer said.
With Pacquiao and Mayweather going their separate ways against lesser opponents on competing pay-per-view cards, HBO, which has broadcast both fighters' biggest bouts on pay-per-view, is in a position where it will have to make a choice on whether it will support one fighter over the other or neither.
The network has been mum on its plans for March 13, although Arum and Schaefer both told ESPN.com that they have spoken to the network about their fights. Arum is also prepared to put on his event as a Top Rank-produced pay-per-view.
It would be highly unusual for there to be pay-per-view cards on the same night featuring major stars in separate bouts, but that is exactly what could happen.
"It is unusual, but what can I do," Schaefer said. "It wasn't Floyd who walked away from the Pacquiao fight. There is nothing I can really say about it. I've had the date [March 13] for a long time. Initially it was for the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones fight [which won't come off because Jones was knocked out in a Dec. 2 interim bout]. You know what? It is what it is. I'm not getting excited about it anymore. I am sitting outside having a cigar and [expletive]. It is what it is.
"It's not good. Its not good for Pacquiao to go on that date, which we had for a long time. We had that date, end of story. So it's not good. How can it be good? It's not good for boxing. It's not good for boxing that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other. I worked really hard to make that happen and it's not. And I am not belittling Pacquiao's fight with Clottey. It's OK. Hey, we have a piece of [the promotional contract of] Pacquiao. But is it ideal? No it's not. Is it the end of boxing? Is the world collapsing? No it is not. We all have to look to March 14. March 13 will pass and on March 14 boxing will still be there and there will be exciting fights, and nothing will change that."
Schaefer said he was unsure what HBO planned to do, but he hoped it would support Mayweather's bout.
"Nobody wants competing fights. HBO doesn't want it," he said. "Nobody in their clear mind can be happy about Mayweather fighting somebody else or Pacquiao fighting somebody else. But we all have to live with it and accept. I'm a boxing fan too and I am pissed off about what happened. Anyone who says anything different is lying. I wish there had been something I could do about it, so I am very frustrated and disappointed, but Floyd Mayweather will still fight."
If Mayweather wins his March bout, Schaefer said he could next meet Shane Mosley, the welterweight champion (and Golden Boy partner) who first faces Andre Berto in a Jan. 30 unification fight. Before taking the fight with Berto, Mosley spent months trying to land a bout with either Mayweather or Pacquiao.
Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will still compete against each other on March 13, but not in the ring. Instead, they will be duking it out for pay-per-view buys.
Two days after Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, announced plans for Pacquiao to defend his welterweight title against former titlist Joshua Clottey on March 13, Mayweather is making plans to fight on the same night.
While Pacquiao will face Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, just outside of Dallas -- Arum concluded a deal with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Sunday -- Mayweather will face an opponent to be determined at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Sunday night.
"It's a date Golden Boy has had for a long time and nothing has changed," Schaefer said. "We have been talking to Team Mayweather to see who the opponent will be. I hope to have something to announce in the next few days."
The MGM Grand was supposed to host the Pacquiao-Mayweather megafight before it broke up for good on Friday over a month-long dispute between the camps on the drug testing protocol for a bout that many believed would be the highest grossing fight in history.
According to sources, Mayweather's list of potential opponents includes former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi and Golden Boy-promoted former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell, both smaller men than Mayweather, as well as former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron, who is a similar kind of opponent as Clottey is for Pacquiao. There is also a more remote possibility of Mayweather facing junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr., who has ties to Showtime, which may not want to let him walk away for a possible fight on rival HBO PPV.
One opponent Mayweather will not be facing is Matthew Hatton, the brother of former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton, whom Mayweather knocked out in a 2007 welterweight title fight. Reports in Matthew Hatton's native England indicate that he is under consideration.
However, Schaefer said that is not the case.
"There is absolutely no truth to the rumors about Matthew Hatton. I can't tell you for sure who Floyd will fight, but I can tell you for sure it won't be Matthew Hatton," Schaefer said.
With Pacquiao and Mayweather going their separate ways against lesser opponents on competing pay-per-view cards, HBO, which has broadcast both fighters' biggest bouts on pay-per-view, is in a position where it will have to make a choice on whether it will support one fighter over the other or neither.
The network has been mum on its plans for March 13, although Arum and Schaefer both told ESPN.com that they have spoken to the network about their fights. Arum is also prepared to put on his event as a Top Rank-produced pay-per-view.
It would be highly unusual for there to be pay-per-view cards on the same night featuring major stars in separate bouts, but that is exactly what could happen.
"It is unusual, but what can I do," Schaefer said. "It wasn't Floyd who walked away from the Pacquiao fight. There is nothing I can really say about it. I've had the date [March 13] for a long time. Initially it was for the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones fight [which won't come off because Jones was knocked out in a Dec. 2 interim bout]. You know what? It is what it is. I'm not getting excited about it anymore. I am sitting outside having a cigar and [expletive]. It is what it is.
"It's not good. Its not good for Pacquiao to go on that date, which we had for a long time. We had that date, end of story. So it's not good. How can it be good? It's not good for boxing. It's not good for boxing that Pacquiao and Mayweather are not fighting each other. I worked really hard to make that happen and it's not. And I am not belittling Pacquiao's fight with Clottey. It's OK. Hey, we have a piece of [the promotional contract of] Pacquiao. But is it ideal? No it's not. Is it the end of boxing? Is the world collapsing? No it is not. We all have to look to March 14. March 13 will pass and on March 14 boxing will still be there and there will be exciting fights, and nothing will change that."
Schaefer said he was unsure what HBO planned to do, but he hoped it would support Mayweather's bout.
"Nobody wants competing fights. HBO doesn't want it," he said. "Nobody in their clear mind can be happy about Mayweather fighting somebody else or Pacquiao fighting somebody else. But we all have to live with it and accept. I'm a boxing fan too and I am pissed off about what happened. Anyone who says anything different is lying. I wish there had been something I could do about it, so I am very frustrated and disappointed, but Floyd Mayweather will still fight."
If Mayweather wins his March bout, Schaefer said he could next meet Shane Mosley, the welterweight champion (and Golden Boy partner) who first faces Andre Berto in a Jan. 30 unification fight. Before taking the fight with Berto, Mosley spent months trying to land a bout with either Mayweather or Pacquiao.
Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Cowboys Stadium to host Manny Pacquiao fight -- Dallas News
By Todd Archer, Dallas News
Jerry Jones is in the fight business.
Cowboys Stadium will host its first boxing match on March 13 when Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey get together for a welterweight championship bout after Jones came to an agreement with Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.
A formal announcement of the event will be held next week to provide ticket and pay-per-view details. Cowboys Stadium will be configured to hold 40,000.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?" Jones said in a press release. "Manny Pacquiao is boxing's No. 1 pound for pound attraction and the world champion. Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it's a great event, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium. We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Jones had not hid his desire in bringing a top-flight bout to his $1.2 billion stadium and made a $25 million bid to host a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight that never came to fruition.
Ultimately talks regarding that fight broke down over drug testing after Golden Boy Productions pulled out of a December meeting with Jones to tour the stadium.
Pacquiao, the welterweight champ, has a career-record of 50-3-2 with 38 knockouts. Clottey is 35-3 with 20 KOs. Arum and Top Rank president Todd duBoef were guests of Jones at Saturday's wild-card win by the Cowboys.
Having already hosted several international soccer matches, college football games, the AT&T Cotton Bowl in addition to 11 Cowboys' games, the stadium is turning into the destination spot Jones envisioned in the planning stages.
The NBA will hold its All-Star Game at the Stadium next month, Super Bowl XLV will take place there in Feb. 2011 and the NCAA Final Four will come to town in 2014. The Cowboys would also like to host World Cup games should the world's biggest event return to the United States.
Source: cowboysblog.dallasnews.com
Jerry Jones is in the fight business.
Cowboys Stadium will host its first boxing match on March 13 when Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey get together for a welterweight championship bout after Jones came to an agreement with Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.
A formal announcement of the event will be held next week to provide ticket and pay-per-view details. Cowboys Stadium will be configured to hold 40,000.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?" Jones said in a press release. "Manny Pacquiao is boxing's No. 1 pound for pound attraction and the world champion. Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it's a great event, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium. We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Jones had not hid his desire in bringing a top-flight bout to his $1.2 billion stadium and made a $25 million bid to host a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight that never came to fruition.
Ultimately talks regarding that fight broke down over drug testing after Golden Boy Productions pulled out of a December meeting with Jones to tour the stadium.
Pacquiao, the welterweight champ, has a career-record of 50-3-2 with 38 knockouts. Clottey is 35-3 with 20 KOs. Arum and Top Rank president Todd duBoef were guests of Jones at Saturday's wild-card win by the Cowboys.
Having already hosted several international soccer matches, college football games, the AT&T Cotton Bowl in addition to 11 Cowboys' games, the stadium is turning into the destination spot Jones envisioned in the planning stages.
The NBA will hold its All-Star Game at the Stadium next month, Super Bowl XLV will take place there in Feb. 2011 and the NCAA Final Four will come to town in 2014. The Cowboys would also like to host World Cup games should the world's biggest event return to the United States.
Source: cowboysblog.dallasnews.com
Clottey no joke a live opponent -- 8CountNews
By Brad Cooney, 8CountNews.com
Now that Floyd Mayweather Jr is no longer in the mix as of right now all eyes turn toward the big, tough, Joshua Clottey. This is by no means a walk in the park for Manny Pacquiao. Clottey is a bull that has a great chin, and can crack. You can ask Antonio Margarito how tough Clottey is. In 2006 Margarito was getting his whole behind kicked up until Clottey injured his hand. It was only then when Margarito was able to survive the rest of the fight and got a gift decision.
Clottey has impressive wins over Zab Judah, and the late Diego "Chico" Corrales. He performed well against Miguel Cotto, coming up a bit short on the cards, yet fought impressively. Joshua is a big strong opponent, one that may be able to walk through Pacquiao's punches. If this happens, it could be an interesting evening. As with most of Pacquiao's opponents, Clottey will probably have trouble dealing with the pound for pound king's speed.
This is an interesting match-up, one that should not be taken lightly by team Pacquiao. The fight will take place at the brand new Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, TX. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones lands a big fight in his new venue after all. KUDOS to Jones for bringing boxing to the big house in Big D.
By taking on big Joshua Clottey, once again Manny Pacquiao demonstrates that he takes on all comers. On the flip side, this is a HUGE opportunity for Joshua Clottey. Can you imagine how his world changes if he messes around and wins this thing? A Clottey victory over the great Manny Pacquiao? Yes, I think it would be safe to say that his world would change immediately.
This fight doesn't have the hype, nor will it sell as many PPV numbers as a Floyd Mayweather fight would but it is certainly a good match up. This is a fight worthy of watching and kudos to Bob Arum for finding a worthy opponent in Joshua Clottey.
Source: 8countnews.com
Now that Floyd Mayweather Jr is no longer in the mix as of right now all eyes turn toward the big, tough, Joshua Clottey. This is by no means a walk in the park for Manny Pacquiao. Clottey is a bull that has a great chin, and can crack. You can ask Antonio Margarito how tough Clottey is. In 2006 Margarito was getting his whole behind kicked up until Clottey injured his hand. It was only then when Margarito was able to survive the rest of the fight and got a gift decision.
Clottey has impressive wins over Zab Judah, and the late Diego "Chico" Corrales. He performed well against Miguel Cotto, coming up a bit short on the cards, yet fought impressively. Joshua is a big strong opponent, one that may be able to walk through Pacquiao's punches. If this happens, it could be an interesting evening. As with most of Pacquiao's opponents, Clottey will probably have trouble dealing with the pound for pound king's speed.
This is an interesting match-up, one that should not be taken lightly by team Pacquiao. The fight will take place at the brand new Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, TX. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones lands a big fight in his new venue after all. KUDOS to Jones for bringing boxing to the big house in Big D.
By taking on big Joshua Clottey, once again Manny Pacquiao demonstrates that he takes on all comers. On the flip side, this is a HUGE opportunity for Joshua Clottey. Can you imagine how his world changes if he messes around and wins this thing? A Clottey victory over the great Manny Pacquiao? Yes, I think it would be safe to say that his world would change immediately.
This fight doesn't have the hype, nor will it sell as many PPV numbers as a Floyd Mayweather fight would but it is certainly a good match up. This is a fight worthy of watching and kudos to Bob Arum for finding a worthy opponent in Joshua Clottey.
Source: 8countnews.com
Manny Pacquiao to fight Joshua Clottey at Dallas Cowboys stadium in March -- Las Vegas Sun
By Brett Okamoto, Las Vegas Sun
There will be no mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 13.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced Sunday that Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, would host a welterweight fight between Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey on March 13.
The stadium, which was built in 2009 and regularly holds about 80,000, will be configured to hold 40,000 fans for the event.
Jones, who had made a $25 million offer to host the fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, jumped at a second opportunity to bring boxing to the stadium.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years," Jones said in a statement. "Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it's a great event. We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Arum, who represents Pacquiao, said he was excited to work alongside the Dallas Cowboys owner.
"Jerry Jones knows exactly how big and important this event is, which is why it was so easy to put this deal together," Arum said in a statement. "We are ready to roll up our sleeves and promote Manny's debut as the world welterweight champion. Manny Pacquiao is the lone star of boxing."
The news initially left the MGM Grand without a fight, as originally the date had been requested by Golden Boy Promotions for the mega-fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather. On Sunday, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com that Mayweather would face an undetermined opponent on the same date.
It will be Pacquiao's first fight as welterweight champion, a title he claimed when he defeated Miguel Cotto by TKO in the 12th round of their championship fight in November. With the win Pacquiao made boxing history, as he became the first fighter ever to win a world title in seven different weight classes.
When talks between Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO) and Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) began to fall through over a disagreement in drug-testing methods, Arum had mentioned Paulie Malignaggi and Yuri Foreman as potential replacements for Mayweather.
Eventually, however, the Pacquiao camp settled on the Ghanaian fighter, Clottey (35-3, 21 KO).
"I wanted an action fight ̵ I don't want Manny in a boring fight," said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer since 2001. "With Paulie it would be a blowout. Yuri Foreman is a good fighter, but he's boring. I wanted Manny in an action fight and that's what we got with Clottey."
Clottey lost his last fight by split decision to Cotto on June 13, 2009, at Madison Square Garden.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.
Source: lasvegassun.com
There will be no mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 13.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced Sunday that Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, would host a welterweight fight between Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey on March 13.
The stadium, which was built in 2009 and regularly holds about 80,000, will be configured to hold 40,000 fans for the event.
Jones, who had made a $25 million offer to host the fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, jumped at a second opportunity to bring boxing to the stadium.
"I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years," Jones said in a statement. "Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it's a great event. We're going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl."
Arum, who represents Pacquiao, said he was excited to work alongside the Dallas Cowboys owner.
"Jerry Jones knows exactly how big and important this event is, which is why it was so easy to put this deal together," Arum said in a statement. "We are ready to roll up our sleeves and promote Manny's debut as the world welterweight champion. Manny Pacquiao is the lone star of boxing."
The news initially left the MGM Grand without a fight, as originally the date had been requested by Golden Boy Promotions for the mega-fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather. On Sunday, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com that Mayweather would face an undetermined opponent on the same date.
It will be Pacquiao's first fight as welterweight champion, a title he claimed when he defeated Miguel Cotto by TKO in the 12th round of their championship fight in November. With the win Pacquiao made boxing history, as he became the first fighter ever to win a world title in seven different weight classes.
When talks between Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO) and Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) began to fall through over a disagreement in drug-testing methods, Arum had mentioned Paulie Malignaggi and Yuri Foreman as potential replacements for Mayweather.
Eventually, however, the Pacquiao camp settled on the Ghanaian fighter, Clottey (35-3, 21 KO).
"I wanted an action fight ̵ I don't want Manny in a boring fight," said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer since 2001. "With Paulie it would be a blowout. Yuri Foreman is a good fighter, but he's boring. I wanted Manny in an action fight and that's what we got with Clottey."
Clottey lost his last fight by split decision to Cotto on June 13, 2009, at Madison Square Garden.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.
Source: lasvegassun.com
Pacquiao wraps up deal for Clottey -- Forbes
By GREG BEACHAM, The Associated Press
Manny Pacquiao will fight March 13 at Cowboys Stadium, but not against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said Sunday he has finalized a deal to match Pacquiao against Joshua Clottey in a welterweight bout at the new $1.2 billion stadium. Arum moved swiftly to land a lucrative fight for his Filipino star after his contentious negotiations for a megafight with Mayweather fell apart in a prolonged dispute over blood testing.
Arum was in Texas over the weekend to wrap up details for the pay-per-view fight, which will be the first boxing match in the stadium. Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said the arena will be configured to seat 50,000 fans for the fight, but the capacity could be raised or lowered.
"This stadium has blown me away," Arum told The Associated Press. "It is the most magnificent facility I've ever seen."
Arum took in the Dallas Cowboys' playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night, sitting just two seats from former President George W. Bush. Arum said Bush had the same reaction he's heard repeatedly since negotiations with Mayweather bogged down
"Too bad you didn't get Mayweather, but what difference does it make?" Arum said Bush told him. "Everybody just wants see Pacquiao anyway."
Source: forbes.com
Manny Pacquiao will fight March 13 at Cowboys Stadium, but not against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said Sunday he has finalized a deal to match Pacquiao against Joshua Clottey in a welterweight bout at the new $1.2 billion stadium. Arum moved swiftly to land a lucrative fight for his Filipino star after his contentious negotiations for a megafight with Mayweather fell apart in a prolonged dispute over blood testing.
Arum was in Texas over the weekend to wrap up details for the pay-per-view fight, which will be the first boxing match in the stadium. Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said the arena will be configured to seat 50,000 fans for the fight, but the capacity could be raised or lowered.
"This stadium has blown me away," Arum told The Associated Press. "It is the most magnificent facility I've ever seen."
Arum took in the Dallas Cowboys' playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night, sitting just two seats from former President George W. Bush. Arum said Bush had the same reaction he's heard repeatedly since negotiations with Mayweather bogged down
"Too bad you didn't get Mayweather, but what difference does it make?" Arum said Bush told him. "Everybody just wants see Pacquiao anyway."
Source: forbes.com
Jones lands Pacquiao-Clottey bout -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
Jerry Jones got his fight.
The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who made a strong pitch to host the now-aborted Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight at Cowboys Stadium by offering a record $25 million site fee, landed the next best thing.
The new $1.2 billion state-of-the-art facility in Arlington, Texas, will host Pacquiao's March 13 pay-per-view welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey.
Jones and Top Rank's Bob Arum and Todd duBoef, who toured the facility and were Jones' guests at Saturday night's Cowboys playoff victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, closed the deal for the bout on Sunday afternoon.
"Bob was persistent in keeping this alive as a place for Manny's fight," Jones told ESPN.com, while celebrating the deal with Arum and duBoef. "I'm so glad Bob came back to us. We are so excited about this event and that we will be able to bring a big fight here for the Hispanic boxing fans, and all boxing fans in this area, who are also Dallas Cowboys fans. It's important for us. Manny is such an exemplary athlete."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Jones could not contain his excitement.
"I never got into the NFL or bought the Cowboys for the money. I was lucky enough to already have some," he said. "This is about having a fighter like Manny and an event like this in our venue. When we finished the deal, I was shaking as much as I was when we beat the Eagles. I'm just as excited."
The timing of the formal news conference has not been determined because Pacquiao still needs to come to the United States from the Philippines and Clottey is headed to the U.S. from Ghana.
DuBoef said it probably won't be until after the Cowboys' Jan. 17 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones said the stadium won't be set for the full 100,000 seating capacity as was planned for a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout. Instead, they'll start in the 40,000-seat range.
"But that's one of the great things about the stadium -- we can expand the seating capacity as it warrants," Jones said.
Arum (a huge New York Giants fan, not a Cowboys fan) was already in full promotional form after the deal was agreed to.
"This is going to be one of the biggest events in the history of boxing," Arum said. "This is the most incredible stadium setting I have ever seen. It is absolutely unbelievable. This is going to be much, much more than just a boxing match. A lot of things that happen are ordained by God. We weren't going to go here for Pacquiao-Mayweather fight because [Golden Boy CEO Richard] Schaefer wouldn't get on a plane and come down here and see the place. So that didn't happen. And now that fight isn't happening. And now we are here with Manny for another fight. When people see this event and how it will be presented, nothing in the past will ever compare to it."
Before the fight fell apart over a single issue -- the protocol for drug testing -- Arum was intrigued with the idea of bringing Pacquiao-Mayweather to Cowboys Stadium.
Arum, Schaefer and HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg were scheduled to be in Dallas on Dec. 9 to meet with Jones and tour the facility. But the night before, Schaefer called off the trip, a move that in retrospect was the beginning of the fight going downhill.
Besides being the home field for the Cowboys and now the host for Pacquiao-Clottey, Cowboys Stadium hosts the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and will host the NBA All-Star Game next month, the 2011 Super Bowl and the 2014 NCAA men's basketball Final Four.
One of the stadium's most significant fan-friendly elements is the world's largest (and most expensive at $40 million) HD video board, which is 72 feet high and 160 feet wide. Jones said every fan, regardless of where they are seated, would have a good view of the action because of it.
Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Jerry Jones got his fight.
The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who made a strong pitch to host the now-aborted Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight at Cowboys Stadium by offering a record $25 million site fee, landed the next best thing.
The new $1.2 billion state-of-the-art facility in Arlington, Texas, will host Pacquiao's March 13 pay-per-view welterweight title defense against Joshua Clottey.
Jones and Top Rank's Bob Arum and Todd duBoef, who toured the facility and were Jones' guests at Saturday night's Cowboys playoff victory against the Philadelphia Eagles, closed the deal for the bout on Sunday afternoon.
"Bob was persistent in keeping this alive as a place for Manny's fight," Jones told ESPN.com, while celebrating the deal with Arum and duBoef. "I'm so glad Bob came back to us. We are so excited about this event and that we will be able to bring a big fight here for the Hispanic boxing fans, and all boxing fans in this area, who are also Dallas Cowboys fans. It's important for us. Manny is such an exemplary athlete."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Jones could not contain his excitement.
"I never got into the NFL or bought the Cowboys for the money. I was lucky enough to already have some," he said. "This is about having a fighter like Manny and an event like this in our venue. When we finished the deal, I was shaking as much as I was when we beat the Eagles. I'm just as excited."
The timing of the formal news conference has not been determined because Pacquiao still needs to come to the United States from the Philippines and Clottey is headed to the U.S. from Ghana.
DuBoef said it probably won't be until after the Cowboys' Jan. 17 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Jones said the stadium won't be set for the full 100,000 seating capacity as was planned for a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout. Instead, they'll start in the 40,000-seat range.
"But that's one of the great things about the stadium -- we can expand the seating capacity as it warrants," Jones said.
Arum (a huge New York Giants fan, not a Cowboys fan) was already in full promotional form after the deal was agreed to.
"This is going to be one of the biggest events in the history of boxing," Arum said. "This is the most incredible stadium setting I have ever seen. It is absolutely unbelievable. This is going to be much, much more than just a boxing match. A lot of things that happen are ordained by God. We weren't going to go here for Pacquiao-Mayweather fight because [Golden Boy CEO Richard] Schaefer wouldn't get on a plane and come down here and see the place. So that didn't happen. And now that fight isn't happening. And now we are here with Manny for another fight. When people see this event and how it will be presented, nothing in the past will ever compare to it."
Before the fight fell apart over a single issue -- the protocol for drug testing -- Arum was intrigued with the idea of bringing Pacquiao-Mayweather to Cowboys Stadium.
Arum, Schaefer and HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg were scheduled to be in Dallas on Dec. 9 to meet with Jones and tour the facility. But the night before, Schaefer called off the trip, a move that in retrospect was the beginning of the fight going downhill.
Besides being the home field for the Cowboys and now the host for Pacquiao-Clottey, Cowboys Stadium hosts the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and will host the NBA All-Star Game next month, the 2011 Super Bowl and the 2014 NCAA men's basketball Final Four.
One of the stadium's most significant fan-friendly elements is the world's largest (and most expensive at $40 million) HD video board, which is 72 feet high and 160 feet wide. Jones said every fan, regardless of where they are seated, would have a good view of the action because of it.
Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Cowboys' Jerry Jones 'Excited' For Pacquiao-Clottey -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones sounded like a kid who had just gotten a late Christmas gift as he spoke to FanHouse from Sunday's meeting at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with Top Rank Promotions' president Todd duBoef and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.
"I'm proud to be sitting here with Bob and Todd, and we're having a really good visit," said Jones, whose venue he hopes will soon be hosting its first-ever boxing event. "We are really just now getting into our business here, but we're excited about doing this fight. Personally, I am very, very, very excited to be holding our very first boxing event."
Arum said that the trio was "very close -- about an hour or two" from completing the deal for Jones' venue to host Filipino star Manny Pacquiao's March 13 defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title against Joshua Clottey of Accra, Ghana.
The $1.2 billion domed stadium seats 80,000, but is expandable enough so that it can hold up to 111,000. The stadium also has a retractable ceiling that protects against rain.
In addition, the stadium boasts over 3,000 Sony LCD displays throughout the luxury suites, concourses, concession areas and more, allowing fans the ability to watch the action beyond just the field.
All, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night, Jones said.
"The technical aspect is going to be an amazing thing, because I built the stadium like a stage. So we have such flexibility that we can consider our coverage in many different ways. We have such flexibility from the sidelines in creating the proximity to the fighters because of what we have here," said Jones. "We have three million square feet in this building, but if you were here, you would be impressed by how intimate we can make these areas of the stadium relative to the field.
"We're going to be able to have, I think, the sort of intimacy and proximity to these fighters from a technical and perceived relationship, because of the way we've got all of our screens located to present the fighters that alone will create a first, in my mind, for boxing and the people who are accustomed to watching it."
Jones is particularly proud of the stadium's major feature, a monstrous high-definition screen known as "Jerry-Tron," which is believed to be the largest in the world.
"We think that we have a chance with our huge center-hung screen, to drop that down if we want to within 25 feet of the fighters," said Jones. "And that means that every bead of sweat and every movement that goes on in that competition is going to be reflected to the people who are in this venue. I think that's going to be an unparalleled experience for the people here -- as well as for myself -- as we're watching two of the greatest fighters of their caliber."
Arum and duBoef spent Saturday night in Jones' luxurious box suite watching his Cowboys throttle their NFL rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-14 in a first-round playoff game -- all the while schmoozing with such notables as former president George Walker Bush and his wife Laura, former Texas Rangers' star pitcher Nolan Ryan and conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh.
"Those [LCD] screens are going to be very, very prominent in this event -- as prominent as Manny Pacquiao," said Arum, who was invited to go down onto the field prior to the game, and said that he believes that he has convinced Bush -- a fan of Pacquiao's -- to attend the fight.
"The crowd is unbelievable. This is going to be incredible. This stadium, I'm telling you, with this fight, we're going to pack this place," Arum told FanHouse on Saturday night from the stadium. "I'm definitely going to sign for it tomorrow and finalize the deal tomorrow."
The fighters already have agreed to the deal in principle, which, "for all intent and purposes, it's a done deal," said Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.
Clottey is expected to fly back from Ghana to New York on Monday or early Tuesday. Pacquiao is expected to be in Los Angeles to begin preparing for the fight at the nearby Wild Card Boxing Club of his trainer, Freddie Roach, in Hollywood by Jan. 17.
Arum plans to hold a press conference to announce the fight on Jan. 18 at the Dallas Stadium, followed by another on Jan. 19 in New York.
"And on Jan. 18, all of the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders are going to be there," said Arum. "This fight is going to be absolutely huge."
In the meantime, Jones said that he will spend the next few weeks watching his Cowboys take a run at the Super Bowl -- they play the Minnesota Vikings next week -- while also promoting Pacquiao-Clottey.
"If I may arm-wave with you a minute, we have such visibility in the NFL -- in my opinion, the Cowboys are the No. 1 team in the NFL when it comes to visibility -- that kind of interest going on as we build up to March is really going to be a large impact in terms of people's interest in this fight," said Jones.
"Not taking away one iota from the caliber of the drawing power of Pacquiao and Clottey and the event, but the venue itself is going to create a lot of interest, and we're not going to allow that to be accidental, either," said Jones. "I want to spend a lot of our organization's energy in making sure that the fight fans and the sports fans in general transcend some interest not only from the individual fighters and boxing fans, but to the general sports fan."
Jones told FanHouse that hosting a fight between the 31-year-old Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) and the 32-year-old Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), who now resides in the Bronx, "is the fruition of a longtime dream" of hosting a boxing event at his venue.
"Boxing has always been on the forefront of my thoughts in building this stadium. In fact, there was a part of me that almost named the stadium 'Vaqueros de Dallas,' which is 'The Dallas Cowboys' in Spanish," said Jones.
"Because of the interest among our Hispanic fan base in Texas, and in general our great Hispanic following for the Cowboys and our proximity to Mexico, I've always been aware of their great love for boxing and the fights. There is a lot of promise with the Spanish market, and the future that we have relative to the interest in boxing and that fan base."
Pacquiao-Clottey will replace a previously scheduled blockbuster fight between Pacquiao and 32-year-old Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) that was proposed for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which reached a negotiations impasse over how the fighters would be drug-tested.
Jones had bid $25 million to host Mayweather-Pacquiao, but lost out to the MGM. Jones said that he saw Arum's returning to him for Pacquiao-Clottey as a sign of appreciation and loyalty.
"I'm glad that he came back to us. Bob and I have several mutual friends, and I know that in their communication with Bob, he knows how much I value that in my business thinking," said Jones.
"And that can only happen and be demonstrated when it's a tight, challenging thing to do," said Jones. "And Bob's shown me that when it's tight, or when it's important, he shown me that side of him -- which is the loyalty -- that preceded him as part of his reputation among our mutual friends."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones sounded like a kid who had just gotten a late Christmas gift as he spoke to FanHouse from Sunday's meeting at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with Top Rank Promotions' president Todd duBoef and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.
"I'm proud to be sitting here with Bob and Todd, and we're having a really good visit," said Jones, whose venue he hopes will soon be hosting its first-ever boxing event. "We are really just now getting into our business here, but we're excited about doing this fight. Personally, I am very, very, very excited to be holding our very first boxing event."
Arum said that the trio was "very close -- about an hour or two" from completing the deal for Jones' venue to host Filipino star Manny Pacquiao's March 13 defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title against Joshua Clottey of Accra, Ghana.
The $1.2 billion domed stadium seats 80,000, but is expandable enough so that it can hold up to 111,000. The stadium also has a retractable ceiling that protects against rain.
In addition, the stadium boasts over 3,000 Sony LCD displays throughout the luxury suites, concourses, concession areas and more, allowing fans the ability to watch the action beyond just the field.
All, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night, Jones said.
"The technical aspect is going to be an amazing thing, because I built the stadium like a stage. So we have such flexibility that we can consider our coverage in many different ways. We have such flexibility from the sidelines in creating the proximity to the fighters because of what we have here," said Jones. "We have three million square feet in this building, but if you were here, you would be impressed by how intimate we can make these areas of the stadium relative to the field.
"We're going to be able to have, I think, the sort of intimacy and proximity to these fighters from a technical and perceived relationship, because of the way we've got all of our screens located to present the fighters that alone will create a first, in my mind, for boxing and the people who are accustomed to watching it."
Jones is particularly proud of the stadium's major feature, a monstrous high-definition screen known as "Jerry-Tron," which is believed to be the largest in the world.
"We think that we have a chance with our huge center-hung screen, to drop that down if we want to within 25 feet of the fighters," said Jones. "And that means that every bead of sweat and every movement that goes on in that competition is going to be reflected to the people who are in this venue. I think that's going to be an unparalleled experience for the people here -- as well as for myself -- as we're watching two of the greatest fighters of their caliber."
Arum and duBoef spent Saturday night in Jones' luxurious box suite watching his Cowboys throttle their NFL rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-14 in a first-round playoff game -- all the while schmoozing with such notables as former president George Walker Bush and his wife Laura, former Texas Rangers' star pitcher Nolan Ryan and conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh.
"Those [LCD] screens are going to be very, very prominent in this event -- as prominent as Manny Pacquiao," said Arum, who was invited to go down onto the field prior to the game, and said that he believes that he has convinced Bush -- a fan of Pacquiao's -- to attend the fight.
"The crowd is unbelievable. This is going to be incredible. This stadium, I'm telling you, with this fight, we're going to pack this place," Arum told FanHouse on Saturday night from the stadium. "I'm definitely going to sign for it tomorrow and finalize the deal tomorrow."
The fighters already have agreed to the deal in principle, which, "for all intent and purposes, it's a done deal," said Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.
Clottey is expected to fly back from Ghana to New York on Monday or early Tuesday. Pacquiao is expected to be in Los Angeles to begin preparing for the fight at the nearby Wild Card Boxing Club of his trainer, Freddie Roach, in Hollywood by Jan. 17.
Arum plans to hold a press conference to announce the fight on Jan. 18 at the Dallas Stadium, followed by another on Jan. 19 in New York.
"And on Jan. 18, all of the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders are going to be there," said Arum. "This fight is going to be absolutely huge."
In the meantime, Jones said that he will spend the next few weeks watching his Cowboys take a run at the Super Bowl -- they play the Minnesota Vikings next week -- while also promoting Pacquiao-Clottey.
"If I may arm-wave with you a minute, we have such visibility in the NFL -- in my opinion, the Cowboys are the No. 1 team in the NFL when it comes to visibility -- that kind of interest going on as we build up to March is really going to be a large impact in terms of people's interest in this fight," said Jones.
"Not taking away one iota from the caliber of the drawing power of Pacquiao and Clottey and the event, but the venue itself is going to create a lot of interest, and we're not going to allow that to be accidental, either," said Jones. "I want to spend a lot of our organization's energy in making sure that the fight fans and the sports fans in general transcend some interest not only from the individual fighters and boxing fans, but to the general sports fan."
Jones told FanHouse that hosting a fight between the 31-year-old Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) and the 32-year-old Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), who now resides in the Bronx, "is the fruition of a longtime dream" of hosting a boxing event at his venue.
"Boxing has always been on the forefront of my thoughts in building this stadium. In fact, there was a part of me that almost named the stadium 'Vaqueros de Dallas,' which is 'The Dallas Cowboys' in Spanish," said Jones.
"Because of the interest among our Hispanic fan base in Texas, and in general our great Hispanic following for the Cowboys and our proximity to Mexico, I've always been aware of their great love for boxing and the fights. There is a lot of promise with the Spanish market, and the future that we have relative to the interest in boxing and that fan base."
Pacquiao-Clottey will replace a previously scheduled blockbuster fight between Pacquiao and 32-year-old Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) that was proposed for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which reached a negotiations impasse over how the fighters would be drug-tested.
Jones had bid $25 million to host Mayweather-Pacquiao, but lost out to the MGM. Jones said that he saw Arum's returning to him for Pacquiao-Clottey as a sign of appreciation and loyalty.
"I'm glad that he came back to us. Bob and I have several mutual friends, and I know that in their communication with Bob, he knows how much I value that in my business thinking," said Jones.
"And that can only happen and be demonstrated when it's a tight, challenging thing to do," said Jones. "And Bob's shown me that when it's tight, or when it's important, he shown me that side of him -- which is the loyalty -- that preceded him as part of his reputation among our mutual friends."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Pacquiao-Clottey undercard takes shape -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
Now that Manny Pacquiao is going to defend his welterweight title against former beltholder Joshua Clottey -- instead of against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the fight the world wanted to see before the sides handled the entire situation like a hand grenade -- on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it's time to start thinking about what else is going to be on the pay-per-view undercard. More on that in a minute.
While Pacquiao-Mayweather would have been on HBO PPV, Top Rank is handling the Pacquiao-Clottey pay-per-view on its own, at least for now, according to company president Todd duBoef, who was with boss Bob Arum in Dallas this weekend meeting with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to finalize the deal while also taking in Saturday night's NFL wild card playoff victory against the Philadelphia Eagles as one of Jones' guests.
The stadium won't be set up for the 100,000 capacity. Instead it will use a setup that would accommodate in the 40,000 neighborhood, according to duBoef, who told me the other night he was "blown away" by the stadium.
Whether HBO or another network gets involved in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight remains to be seen, but duBoef said any of them are welcome to make an offer and that there has been some discussion with HBO. But with Mayweather also possibly fighting in March the network doesn't seem quite sure what it wants to do yet. HBO has a hard decision to make: Support Pacquiao, support Mayweather, support both weak pay-per-views or support neither.
In any event, Top Rank is moving full-steam ahead with its event.
DuBoef said that former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito would fight on the pay-per-view card in the co-feature. Margarito had his license revoked in California for attempting to load his gloves with an illegal substance before facing Shane Mosley in January '09 and is eligible to ask for his license back after a year, although there is no guarantee he will get it.
However, it is possible Margarito will be licensed in Texas without going to California first. It will be interesting to see what happens on that front.
If he's licensed, Margarito's opponent could be Carson Jones (24-7-1, 15 KOs), who thoroughly exposed Tyrone Brunson with a third-round knockout win against the prospect on Dec. 4.
Besides a potential Margarito fight on the pay-per-view, there are two other bouts Top Rank plans to include on the pay-per-view telecast:
• A welterweight bout between Alfonso Gomez (21-4-2, 10 KOs) and former two-time lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KOs). It's a meaningless fight, but it could at least have some fireworks. Gomez's last bout was on the Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto undercard on Nov. 14. He won a six-round technical decision against fringe contender Jesus Soto Karass. Castillo has won four bouts in a row against woeful opposition in Mexico.
• A showcase for junior featherweight prospect Roberto Marroquin (11-0, 8 KOs), a 20-year-old from Dallas with a bright future. Marroquin has an interim bout on Feb. 6.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Now that Manny Pacquiao is going to defend his welterweight title against former beltholder Joshua Clottey -- instead of against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the fight the world wanted to see before the sides handled the entire situation like a hand grenade -- on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it's time to start thinking about what else is going to be on the pay-per-view undercard. More on that in a minute.
While Pacquiao-Mayweather would have been on HBO PPV, Top Rank is handling the Pacquiao-Clottey pay-per-view on its own, at least for now, according to company president Todd duBoef, who was with boss Bob Arum in Dallas this weekend meeting with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to finalize the deal while also taking in Saturday night's NFL wild card playoff victory against the Philadelphia Eagles as one of Jones' guests.
The stadium won't be set up for the 100,000 capacity. Instead it will use a setup that would accommodate in the 40,000 neighborhood, according to duBoef, who told me the other night he was "blown away" by the stadium.
Whether HBO or another network gets involved in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight remains to be seen, but duBoef said any of them are welcome to make an offer and that there has been some discussion with HBO. But with Mayweather also possibly fighting in March the network doesn't seem quite sure what it wants to do yet. HBO has a hard decision to make: Support Pacquiao, support Mayweather, support both weak pay-per-views or support neither.
In any event, Top Rank is moving full-steam ahead with its event.
DuBoef said that former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito would fight on the pay-per-view card in the co-feature. Margarito had his license revoked in California for attempting to load his gloves with an illegal substance before facing Shane Mosley in January '09 and is eligible to ask for his license back after a year, although there is no guarantee he will get it.
However, it is possible Margarito will be licensed in Texas without going to California first. It will be interesting to see what happens on that front.
If he's licensed, Margarito's opponent could be Carson Jones (24-7-1, 15 KOs), who thoroughly exposed Tyrone Brunson with a third-round knockout win against the prospect on Dec. 4.
Besides a potential Margarito fight on the pay-per-view, there are two other bouts Top Rank plans to include on the pay-per-view telecast:
• A welterweight bout between Alfonso Gomez (21-4-2, 10 KOs) and former two-time lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KOs). It's a meaningless fight, but it could at least have some fireworks. Gomez's last bout was on the Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto undercard on Nov. 14. He won a six-round technical decision against fringe contender Jesus Soto Karass. Castillo has won four bouts in a row against woeful opposition in Mexico.
• A showcase for junior featherweight prospect Roberto Marroquin (11-0, 8 KOs), a 20-year-old from Dallas with a bright future. Marroquin has an interim bout on Feb. 6.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Thai champ Poon faces undefeated Hosono today -- Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
WBA super-bantamweight champion Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym faces undefeated knockout artist Satoshi Hosono in the first defence of his belt in Tokyo today.
Poonsawat snatched the title from Bernard Dunne with a third round knockout in Ireland last November, but looks to have a much tougher assignment this time against the former Japanese amateur champion.
Hosono has won all 16 of his fights, with 12 stoppages, and scored his best victory last time out when he upset former world title challenger Hiroyuki Enoki.
Sakhon Nakhon's Poonsawat has a 39-1 record with 28KOs and is one of Thailand's four world boxing champions alongside Oledong Sithsamerchai (WBC strawweight), Denkaosan Kaovichit (WBA flyweight) and Usanakorn Kokietgym (WBC women's bantamweight).
The 29-year-old has been labelled as Thailand's Manny Pacquiao in some quarters of the international press and was chosen as the Bangkok Post's best boxer of 2009.
Channel 3 will televise the fight live, with the broadcast starting at 2.30pm.
Source: bangkokpost.com
WBA super-bantamweight champion Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym faces undefeated knockout artist Satoshi Hosono in the first defence of his belt in Tokyo today.
Poonsawat snatched the title from Bernard Dunne with a third round knockout in Ireland last November, but looks to have a much tougher assignment this time against the former Japanese amateur champion.
Hosono has won all 16 of his fights, with 12 stoppages, and scored his best victory last time out when he upset former world title challenger Hiroyuki Enoki.
Sakhon Nakhon's Poonsawat has a 39-1 record with 28KOs and is one of Thailand's four world boxing champions alongside Oledong Sithsamerchai (WBC strawweight), Denkaosan Kaovichit (WBA flyweight) and Usanakorn Kokietgym (WBC women's bantamweight).
The 29-year-old has been labelled as Thailand's Manny Pacquiao in some quarters of the international press and was chosen as the Bangkok Post's best boxer of 2009.
Channel 3 will televise the fight live, with the broadcast starting at 2.30pm.
Source: bangkokpost.com
Official death of Mayweather-Pacquiao fight at hand -- Los Angeles Times
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
The sides are no longer talking, last-minute attempts to strike a compromise appear to be futile, and Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, says he's three hours away from finalizing a site deal with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to stage an alternative Pacquiao fight at the team's stadium on March 13.
"If Bob's so strongly moving to the other fight, then we have no choice but to move on," Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s promoter Richard Schaefer told The Times this morning. "They didn't want the fight."
Mayweather and Pacquiao failed to strike a deal because of their dispute over blood testing for performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao, who has sued Mayweather for alleged defamation because of public statements made implying the Filipino star has used those drugs, won't accept a blood test closer than 24 days before the fight. Mayweather wants the fighters to be subject to blood tests up to 14 days before the fight. A Pacquiao advisor said the fighter himself has rejected the 14-day proposal.
Arum flatly said today that "the horse has left the building," in reference to a Mayweather fight, and instead was enthused to discuss his plans for Pacquiao's March 13 fight against welterweight contender Joshua Clottey. Clottey lost a decision last year to Miguel Cotto, who later lost to Pacquiao by 12th-round TKO in November.
"This place [Cowboys Stadium] is absolutely sensational; the boxing fans will love it," Arum said. "I can't even properly describe it without sounding crazy."
Arum attended Saturday night's Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game in Jones' private suite, a gathering that placed the liberal promoter in the same box as former President George W. Bush and conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.
"They both love Pacquiao, and [Bush] said he'll come to the fight if his schedule allows," Arum said.
Arum said Pacquiao will earn a minimum $10 million for the Clottey bout, with seating capacity being placed at 50,000.
Meanwhile, the Mayweather camp is considering its options for March 13 and beyond.
Take a fight at MGM Grand against someone liker Paulie Malignaggi? Wait until a later date, like May 1, and fight longtime rival Shane Mosley if he defeats Andre Berto on Jan. 30?
Schaefer said Mayweather is willing to fight Mosley, a pairing that will conclude years of jawing between the two gifted foes that have long been near the top of the world's top pound-for-pound lists. Mosley is currently a world welterweight champion.
"At 147 pounds, the man to beat is 'Sugar' Shane Mosley," Schaefer said. "Floyd will take that fight, and will shut up all those who are saying he's a coward."
-- Lance Pugmire
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
The sides are no longer talking, last-minute attempts to strike a compromise appear to be futile, and Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, says he's three hours away from finalizing a site deal with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to stage an alternative Pacquiao fight at the team's stadium on March 13.
"If Bob's so strongly moving to the other fight, then we have no choice but to move on," Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s promoter Richard Schaefer told The Times this morning. "They didn't want the fight."
Mayweather and Pacquiao failed to strike a deal because of their dispute over blood testing for performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao, who has sued Mayweather for alleged defamation because of public statements made implying the Filipino star has used those drugs, won't accept a blood test closer than 24 days before the fight. Mayweather wants the fighters to be subject to blood tests up to 14 days before the fight. A Pacquiao advisor said the fighter himself has rejected the 14-day proposal.
Arum flatly said today that "the horse has left the building," in reference to a Mayweather fight, and instead was enthused to discuss his plans for Pacquiao's March 13 fight against welterweight contender Joshua Clottey. Clottey lost a decision last year to Miguel Cotto, who later lost to Pacquiao by 12th-round TKO in November.
"This place [Cowboys Stadium] is absolutely sensational; the boxing fans will love it," Arum said. "I can't even properly describe it without sounding crazy."
Arum attended Saturday night's Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game in Jones' private suite, a gathering that placed the liberal promoter in the same box as former President George W. Bush and conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.
"They both love Pacquiao, and [Bush] said he'll come to the fight if his schedule allows," Arum said.
Arum said Pacquiao will earn a minimum $10 million for the Clottey bout, with seating capacity being placed at 50,000.
Meanwhile, the Mayweather camp is considering its options for March 13 and beyond.
Take a fight at MGM Grand against someone liker Paulie Malignaggi? Wait until a later date, like May 1, and fight longtime rival Shane Mosley if he defeats Andre Berto on Jan. 30?
Schaefer said Mayweather is willing to fight Mosley, a pairing that will conclude years of jawing between the two gifted foes that have long been near the top of the world's top pound-for-pound lists. Mosley is currently a world welterweight champion.
"At 147 pounds, the man to beat is 'Sugar' Shane Mosley," Schaefer said. "Floyd will take that fight, and will shut up all those who are saying he's a coward."
-- Lance Pugmire
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
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