By David Anderson, Mirror.co.uk
Ricky Hatton's comeback looks set to take place in his old stomping ground of Manchester's MEN Arena.
Hatton was hoping to make an emotional return to his beloved Eastlands where he packed in a post-war British record crowd of 55,000 to see him outpoint Juan Lazcano in May 2008.
But he has run into problems trying to secure the stadium for his proposed fight date in the last week of May-first week of June.
Old Trafford is an obvious non-starter and Lancashire's cricketing home across the road is also not viable.
That leaves the MEN as the Hitman's only real option in Manchester and he hasn't fought there since he famously vanquished Kostya Tszyu in May 2005 in the highlight of his career.
Hatton used to pack out the 22,000-capacity MEN regularly when he was the WBU light-welterweight champion before his split with Frank Warren.
And he could look forward to another sell-out crowd for his eagerly-awaited comeback following his KO by Manny Pacquiao in May 2009.
Hatton, 31, has no shortage of potential opponents and Juan Manuel Marquez, who is also coming back off a loss to Floyd Mayeweather Junior, has been mooted along with IBF champ Juan Urango.
Intriguingly, Marquez is slated to fight on May 8 against an opponent yet to be named, but at Las Vegas' MGM Grand rather than Manchester.
Hatton will begin his training camp at his Hyde gym next month when he returns from holiday in Australia and he will have to shift around three stone to make the 10-stone limit.
He claims he is only coming back for this fight and that he may quit for good if he feels he no longer can cut it at world level.
But those close to the Mancunian say he has got his old hunger back and don't rule out an autumn superfight against Amir Khan.
Khan's split with Warren removes the last obstacle to that clash taking place and Hatton would love to put Khan in his place and reclaim his old WBA light-welterweight title.
Source: mirror.co.uk
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Joshua Clottey: Pacquiao Is Beatable -- Daily Guide
Daily Guide Ghana
Ghana’s Joshua Clottey is confident of defeating the current world best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacman Pacquiao on March 13 in Dallas, Texas.
The two would vie for Pacman’s World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Welterweight crown in the USA in a fight boxing pundits have described as the biggest ever for the Ghanaian.
Addressing the press yesterday in Accra, Clottey, who has lost only thrice in his career, promised to raise the Ghana flag very high on the D-day.
“I will ensure that Ghana’s flag is raise very high in the USA by accounting for the Filipino.
“He is beatable and as such I will put up my very best fight ever in my career to ensure that I beat him,” said Clottey who arrived in Accra over the weekend.
On whether Pacquiao’s status as a southpaw would pose challenges to him, Clottey said he had never lost to a southpaw and as such he would never succumb to him.
He acknowledged Azumah Nelson’s offer to be at the ring side on the D-day to show solidarity, adding that the boxing professor has urged him to go all out and stun the whole world by winning the fight.
Already, 25,000 tickets have been sold for the crunch fight between Clottey (35-3, 21KOs) and Manny Pacquiao.
According to reports, boxing fans across the United States are hoping to witness the biggest fight in Dallas, Texas, hence a scramble for tickets to watch one of the biggest fights of the century.
Source: dailyguideghana.com
***
Ghana’s Joshua Clottey is confident of defeating the current world best pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacman Pacquiao on March 13 in Dallas, Texas.
The two would vie for Pacman’s World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Welterweight crown in the USA in a fight boxing pundits have described as the biggest ever for the Ghanaian.
Addressing the press yesterday in Accra, Clottey, who has lost only thrice in his career, promised to raise the Ghana flag very high on the D-day.
“I will ensure that Ghana’s flag is raise very high in the USA by accounting for the Filipino.
“He is beatable and as such I will put up my very best fight ever in my career to ensure that I beat him,” said Clottey who arrived in Accra over the weekend.
On whether Pacquiao’s status as a southpaw would pose challenges to him, Clottey said he had never lost to a southpaw and as such he would never succumb to him.
He acknowledged Azumah Nelson’s offer to be at the ring side on the D-day to show solidarity, adding that the boxing professor has urged him to go all out and stun the whole world by winning the fight.
Already, 25,000 tickets have been sold for the crunch fight between Clottey (35-3, 21KOs) and Manny Pacquiao.
According to reports, boxing fans across the United States are hoping to witness the biggest fight in Dallas, Texas, hence a scramble for tickets to watch one of the biggest fights of the century.
Source: dailyguideghana.com
***
Freddie Roach exclusive: Manny Pacquiao wants to fight Mayweather ‘in the worst way’ -- Telegraph
By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk
Freddie Roach Telegraph Sport exclusive interview: Part 4
Manny Pacquiao wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jnr “in the worst way”, according to Freddie Roach, who has told Telegraph Sport that Pacquiao “wants to shut him [Mayweather] up.”
“I want the public to know that,” Roach told me. Pacquiao has been angered by slurs on his name and behind the scenes is determined to enact vengeance with the world as referee.
Roach is also looking ahead to some fights which may happen, he believes, in 2010. “Hatton v Marquez, Hatton v Amir, there are some great fights out there. Last year was my best year ever, and I’m hoping 2010 will be an even better year.”
But the fight he really wants to see is the one most boxing fans, and many casual sports fans, believe must happen. Roach certainly does – believing that boxing’s global credibility “could go into recession again” if the fight fails to materialise.
Roach revealed that in spite of the delay to what many believe will be the inevitable fight of the year – PACQUIAO v MAYWEATHER – some of his research into Mayweather’s technique and style had already been undertaken. That is, of course, now on hold with Pacquiao facing Joshua Clottey in Artlington, Texas, on March 13.
“When fight time [with Mayweather] eventually comes around…we’ll have the perfect game plan. There are I’ve found some things he does really well. He’s good. Whatever personal things there are…I talk **** about him, he talks **** about me, but I think have respect for each other.”
“I like Floyd Jnr. I have no problems with his b******, or trash talk, it sells fights, but if we get him in a ring, we’ll beat him. I studied him. He sucks you in, he let Ricky Hatton win a couple of rounds, gave Hatton confidence, let Hatton come after him, and Hatton was all set up. You have to be very, very intelligent when you fight him.”
TOMORROW: Final part – Roach breaks down Mayweather…
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Freddie Roach Telegraph Sport exclusive interview: Part 4
Manny Pacquiao wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jnr “in the worst way”, according to Freddie Roach, who has told Telegraph Sport that Pacquiao “wants to shut him [Mayweather] up.”
“I want the public to know that,” Roach told me. Pacquiao has been angered by slurs on his name and behind the scenes is determined to enact vengeance with the world as referee.
Roach is also looking ahead to some fights which may happen, he believes, in 2010. “Hatton v Marquez, Hatton v Amir, there are some great fights out there. Last year was my best year ever, and I’m hoping 2010 will be an even better year.”
But the fight he really wants to see is the one most boxing fans, and many casual sports fans, believe must happen. Roach certainly does – believing that boxing’s global credibility “could go into recession again” if the fight fails to materialise.
Roach revealed that in spite of the delay to what many believe will be the inevitable fight of the year – PACQUIAO v MAYWEATHER – some of his research into Mayweather’s technique and style had already been undertaken. That is, of course, now on hold with Pacquiao facing Joshua Clottey in Artlington, Texas, on March 13.
“When fight time [with Mayweather] eventually comes around…we’ll have the perfect game plan. There are I’ve found some things he does really well. He’s good. Whatever personal things there are…I talk **** about him, he talks **** about me, but I think have respect for each other.”
“I like Floyd Jnr. I have no problems with his b******, or trash talk, it sells fights, but if we get him in a ring, we’ll beat him. I studied him. He sucks you in, he let Ricky Hatton win a couple of rounds, gave Hatton confidence, let Hatton come after him, and Hatton was all set up. You have to be very, very intelligent when you fight him.”
TOMORROW: Final part – Roach breaks down Mayweather…
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Haye: I'll score in Manchester -- The Sun
By PAT SHEEHAN, The Sun
DAVID HAYE will watch Manchester United and Chelsea slug it before trying to united the bitter rivals.
The WBA king takes on American John Ruiz at Manchester's MEN Arena on April 3 — the same day the red and blue Premier League title credentials will be examined at Old Trafford in another heavyweight clash.
Haye wants to pitch up at United for the day's early kick-off, which is being labelled the Brunch Punch, before becoming the first world heavyweight champion to defend his title on British soil since Lennox Lewis a decade ago.
(Watch Pat Sheenan talked about David Haye)
The Hayemaker said: "I'm hoping to get both sets of lads there. It is two vicious rivals but for a boxing match I would want them to put their differences aside.
"This isn't about rival teams. This is about supporting the same guy from Britain. Boxing goes beyond team rivalry.
"I would like to think all the players and fans will be supporting me."
Haye has been pals with United defender Rio Ferdinand since their schooldays in the same area of South London, while Chelsea playmaker Joe Cole is another big fight fan.
Millwall supporter Haye added: "I'm hoping all the Chelsea mob can be there.
"And it would be great if Rio can bring along Wayne Rooney, who I know is a boxing nut, and the rest of the United stars for what should be a terrific night out.
"If I can get a couple of tickets for the United-Chelsea game it would make my day. Maybe I can do my warm-up pitchside during half-time!
"I am not a fighter who sits around all day worrying about what can happen on fight night.
"I usually find something to do — two hours before I won the world title against Nikolai Valuev I was looking at internet sites to see what fans were saying about me."
Lewis was the last British champion to successfully defend his title at the old London Arena in Docklands, when he knocked out Francois Botha in two rounds.
A skinny 19-year-old Haye was ringside that night in July 2000 — but only after he bunked in because he could not afford a ticket.
Haye revealed: "I was at the last world heavyweight title fight in England when Lennox smashed Botha in two rounds. I didn't pay to get in. I bunked through a back door with a couple of mates.
"I was jumping seat to seat to get as close to the ring as I could. I'd sit there until someone came up and said, 'That's my seat'.
"Eventually I reached inner ringside when one of the security guys I knew pointed me in the direction of an empty seat.
"That was the last time Lennox boxed in England. After that he fought all over the world.
"As a kid growing up I thought I would eventually fight Lennox for the world title. Thank God he's retired.
"I remember Lewis-Botha vividly. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be the next world heavyweight champion to defend in Britain.
"People talk about going to fight in Las Vegas, but what American is there coming through to reach the big numbers?
"I want as many big nights in England as I can get — the more the merrier. MEN in April is just the start."
Source: thesun.co.uk
DAVID HAYE will watch Manchester United and Chelsea slug it before trying to united the bitter rivals.
The WBA king takes on American John Ruiz at Manchester's MEN Arena on April 3 — the same day the red and blue Premier League title credentials will be examined at Old Trafford in another heavyweight clash.
Haye wants to pitch up at United for the day's early kick-off, which is being labelled the Brunch Punch, before becoming the first world heavyweight champion to defend his title on British soil since Lennox Lewis a decade ago.
(Watch Pat Sheenan talked about David Haye)
The Hayemaker said: "I'm hoping to get both sets of lads there. It is two vicious rivals but for a boxing match I would want them to put their differences aside.
"This isn't about rival teams. This is about supporting the same guy from Britain. Boxing goes beyond team rivalry.
"I would like to think all the players and fans will be supporting me."
Haye has been pals with United defender Rio Ferdinand since their schooldays in the same area of South London, while Chelsea playmaker Joe Cole is another big fight fan.
Millwall supporter Haye added: "I'm hoping all the Chelsea mob can be there.
"And it would be great if Rio can bring along Wayne Rooney, who I know is a boxing nut, and the rest of the United stars for what should be a terrific night out.
"If I can get a couple of tickets for the United-Chelsea game it would make my day. Maybe I can do my warm-up pitchside during half-time!
"I am not a fighter who sits around all day worrying about what can happen on fight night.
"I usually find something to do — two hours before I won the world title against Nikolai Valuev I was looking at internet sites to see what fans were saying about me."
Lewis was the last British champion to successfully defend his title at the old London Arena in Docklands, when he knocked out Francois Botha in two rounds.
A skinny 19-year-old Haye was ringside that night in July 2000 — but only after he bunked in because he could not afford a ticket.
Haye revealed: "I was at the last world heavyweight title fight in England when Lennox smashed Botha in two rounds. I didn't pay to get in. I bunked through a back door with a couple of mates.
"I was jumping seat to seat to get as close to the ring as I could. I'd sit there until someone came up and said, 'That's my seat'.
"Eventually I reached inner ringside when one of the security guys I knew pointed me in the direction of an empty seat.
"That was the last time Lennox boxed in England. After that he fought all over the world.
"As a kid growing up I thought I would eventually fight Lennox for the world title. Thank God he's retired.
"I remember Lewis-Botha vividly. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be the next world heavyweight champion to defend in Britain.
"People talk about going to fight in Las Vegas, but what American is there coming through to reach the big numbers?
"I want as many big nights in England as I can get — the more the merrier. MEN in April is just the start."
Source: thesun.co.uk
Manny Pacquiao – Joshua Clottey: A Great Showdown and Steroid Speculation -- Ringside Report
By Geno McGahee, Ringside Report
The Manny Pacquiao allegations still linger over boxing and the public is divided somewhere around the middle. It will not affect the upcoming pay per view showdown with Joshua Clottey. The show will go on and it will be very successful. Clottey is a great opponent…far better than Paulie Malignaggi or Yuri Foreman, two other considered challengers.
Clottey has a much better chance to upset the “Pacman” then Ricky Hatton or Miguel Cotto did. His tight defense and consistency is something that Pacquiao will have to figure out. What Team Pacquiao is counting on, I’m sure, is the susceptibility of Clottey to straight punches. That straight left hand coming down the pike would do some serious damage to Clottey, or so they hope. Cotto was able to drop Clottey with a jab. Manny punches very hard and is very quick and his straight left is more powerful than any jab. Clottey will have to be extra defensive and use a very disciplined style, which he seems to do naturally anyway.
The steroid allegation has made many other boxers’ misdeeds resurface, proving that this is not an isolated incident and there should possibly be stricter guidelines.
Jameel McCline, the 4-Time Heavyweight Title Challenger, received more than 12,000 worth of steroids (Stanozolol, nandrolone, testosterone, and tamoxifen) in 2005 and 2006. He never tested positive for any substance, which means that he knew how to play the game and avoid positive testing while using.
James Toney, former Middleweight, Super Middleweight, and Cruiserweight Champion won the WBA Heavyweight Title in 2005 with a decision over then champion, John Ruiz, but would test positive for stanozolol and the decision would be turned into a no contest. Toney insisted that he was given the steroid by a doctor and didn’t knowingly cheat. He would test positive again in 2007 for boldenone and stanozolol.
Shane Mosley, multiple division champion, admitted using steroids prior to 2003, although he stated that he did so without knowledge. Many in the Mosley camp during this time beg to differ. Mosley stated to a grand jury in 2003 that he injected himself with EPO prior to his second bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
Former WBO Heavyweight Champion, Tommy Morrison, admitted using steroids to get an edge on his competition.
Recently, another former WBO Heavyweight Champion, Shannon Briggs tested positive for an illegal substance, although he claims that is was his asthma medication. No further details have emerged.
In 2002, former IBF Light Middleweight Champion, Fernando Vargas, tested positive for stanozolol after a bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
In a competitive sport where millions of dollars can be made, there will be steroid abuse and there will be controversies with loaded gloves and crooked judges. It is unfortunate that boxing has this dark cloud and especially as it hangs over the most popular and best fighter in the game, Manny Pacquiao. At this time, we have to believe Manny to be innocent until proven guilty but some would argue that he has not acted like an innocent man. Time should tell us the truth. For now, we can look ahead to the Pacquiao-Clottey showdown and hope for a great fight.
Allan Green in the Super Six
The Showtime super middleweight tournament lost a fighter in Jermain Taylor. He was scheduled to take on Andre Ward for the WBA Super Middleweight Title and for more points in the tournament, but bowed out after a knockout loss to Arthur Abraham in his first appearance. Allan Green has been eager to get into the tournament and felt that he belonged more so than many of the accepted competitors. He has only lost once in 2007 to Edison Miranda, and when you figure in his medical condition, you can forgive it. He has been flawless since.
Now slated is Allan Green, 29-1, 20 KO’s, as he challenges for the WBA Crown against Andre Ward, 21-0, 13 KO’s, on April 17th. Ward was lightly regarded prior to his title winning performance against tournament favorite, Mikkel Kessler. Now he is a big favorite to not only defeat Green but to go all the way.
Make no mistake, Ward looked great in his fight with Kessler. He used cagy tactics and timing to befuddle and subdue the strong champion en route to a technical decision. Ward fights like a veteran and knows many tricks and although he stands in front of his opponent, he proves hard to hit. Green will have to solve that and is quick enough to find him.
Jermain Taylor is a great fighter but he most likely would not have been mentally in the fight with Ward and would have lost a wide decision. Green is not only mentally in this fight, it’s an opportunity he’s been awaiting his entire career. He has a huge punch and great timing. If his timing is great enough to catch Ward, we will have a new champion and even more excitement in this tournament. This is a great turn for the event.
Source: ringsidereport.com
***
The Manny Pacquiao allegations still linger over boxing and the public is divided somewhere around the middle. It will not affect the upcoming pay per view showdown with Joshua Clottey. The show will go on and it will be very successful. Clottey is a great opponent…far better than Paulie Malignaggi or Yuri Foreman, two other considered challengers.
Clottey has a much better chance to upset the “Pacman” then Ricky Hatton or Miguel Cotto did. His tight defense and consistency is something that Pacquiao will have to figure out. What Team Pacquiao is counting on, I’m sure, is the susceptibility of Clottey to straight punches. That straight left hand coming down the pike would do some serious damage to Clottey, or so they hope. Cotto was able to drop Clottey with a jab. Manny punches very hard and is very quick and his straight left is more powerful than any jab. Clottey will have to be extra defensive and use a very disciplined style, which he seems to do naturally anyway.
The steroid allegation has made many other boxers’ misdeeds resurface, proving that this is not an isolated incident and there should possibly be stricter guidelines.
Jameel McCline, the 4-Time Heavyweight Title Challenger, received more than 12,000 worth of steroids (Stanozolol, nandrolone, testosterone, and tamoxifen) in 2005 and 2006. He never tested positive for any substance, which means that he knew how to play the game and avoid positive testing while using.
James Toney, former Middleweight, Super Middleweight, and Cruiserweight Champion won the WBA Heavyweight Title in 2005 with a decision over then champion, John Ruiz, but would test positive for stanozolol and the decision would be turned into a no contest. Toney insisted that he was given the steroid by a doctor and didn’t knowingly cheat. He would test positive again in 2007 for boldenone and stanozolol.
Shane Mosley, multiple division champion, admitted using steroids prior to 2003, although he stated that he did so without knowledge. Many in the Mosley camp during this time beg to differ. Mosley stated to a grand jury in 2003 that he injected himself with EPO prior to his second bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
Former WBO Heavyweight Champion, Tommy Morrison, admitted using steroids to get an edge on his competition.
Recently, another former WBO Heavyweight Champion, Shannon Briggs tested positive for an illegal substance, although he claims that is was his asthma medication. No further details have emerged.
In 2002, former IBF Light Middleweight Champion, Fernando Vargas, tested positive for stanozolol after a bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
In a competitive sport where millions of dollars can be made, there will be steroid abuse and there will be controversies with loaded gloves and crooked judges. It is unfortunate that boxing has this dark cloud and especially as it hangs over the most popular and best fighter in the game, Manny Pacquiao. At this time, we have to believe Manny to be innocent until proven guilty but some would argue that he has not acted like an innocent man. Time should tell us the truth. For now, we can look ahead to the Pacquiao-Clottey showdown and hope for a great fight.
Allan Green in the Super Six
The Showtime super middleweight tournament lost a fighter in Jermain Taylor. He was scheduled to take on Andre Ward for the WBA Super Middleweight Title and for more points in the tournament, but bowed out after a knockout loss to Arthur Abraham in his first appearance. Allan Green has been eager to get into the tournament and felt that he belonged more so than many of the accepted competitors. He has only lost once in 2007 to Edison Miranda, and when you figure in his medical condition, you can forgive it. He has been flawless since.
Now slated is Allan Green, 29-1, 20 KO’s, as he challenges for the WBA Crown against Andre Ward, 21-0, 13 KO’s, on April 17th. Ward was lightly regarded prior to his title winning performance against tournament favorite, Mikkel Kessler. Now he is a big favorite to not only defeat Green but to go all the way.
Make no mistake, Ward looked great in his fight with Kessler. He used cagy tactics and timing to befuddle and subdue the strong champion en route to a technical decision. Ward fights like a veteran and knows many tricks and although he stands in front of his opponent, he proves hard to hit. Green will have to solve that and is quick enough to find him.
Jermain Taylor is a great fighter but he most likely would not have been mentally in the fight with Ward and would have lost a wide decision. Green is not only mentally in this fight, it’s an opportunity he’s been awaiting his entire career. He has a huge punch and great timing. If his timing is great enough to catch Ward, we will have a new champion and even more excitement in this tournament. This is a great turn for the event.
Source: ringsidereport.com
***
Arum: De La Hoya should not throw stones from glass house -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.com
Oscar de la Hoya says he is “disgusted” about the boxing return of former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito.
To hear the Golden Boy tell it, the Mexican fighter is doing things the wrong way by coming back from a one year California commission suspension without going public and spilling his guts about the loaded handwraps he and trainer Javier Capetillo were nabbed with in the dressing room before a loss Jan. 24, 2009, in Los Angeles to admitted steroid user Sugar Shane Mosley.
Without such a "mea culpa," de la Hoya opined that Margarito should remain banned from boxing for life.
GBP rival Bob Arum plans to have “Margocheato” as he has not so laughingly become known as launch his comeback underneath the Joshua Clottey-Manny Pacquiao main bout at the Dallas Cowboys new stadium in Arlington, TX., on March 13.
I phoned the Top Rank top dog to tell him of his former charge’s public contempt for Margarito and Arum said de la Hoya should be careful in hurling any kind of rock.
“Who is Oscar to tell anyone to come clean?” Arum barked. “What I would say to Oscar is this, to sign the (confidentiality) waiver for the (Nevada) commission as suggested by (writer) Tom Hauser (on Secondsout.com). Let Oscar sign the waiver and let’s find out if there was ever any proof of Oscar using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
“People who live in glass house, as the saying goes, should not throw stones.”
Here's how racingmeridian,com reacted to the explosive Hauser piece:
"Then, in a bombshell, Hauser implies that Oscar De La Hoya was a juicer and, moreover, had a failed test covered up by the Nevada Boxing Commission. He pleads with De La Hoya to agree to a release of his own Nevada records, a broadside Hauser would not deliver unless he was sure of his info. It’s a dark, sordid tale, and Golden Boy Promotions come off as villains. Any suspicion they about Pacquiao likely derives from their own stables active and persistent usage."
Hauser’s Jan. 17 column on this topic was answered, in part, by NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer who was quoted as saying he “doesn’t know what Mr. Hauser is talking about.”
Here's the pertinent parts of Hauser's lengthy article:
"But there is something very simple that Golden Boy can do to set an example. It involves the Golden Boy himself.
Oscar De La Hoya can show the world how a righteous PED-free fighter acts. In order to fully inform the public on the issues involved (and remove any hint of suspicion that he himself might not have clean hands) Oscar should waive his right to confidentiality and authorize the Nevada State Athletic Commission to release the results of any tests for performance enhancing drugs that he has taken in the past. The same waiver should authorize all present and past NSAC personnel and any other person with knowledge of the situation to discuss the test results with any media representative who inquires about them.
I’m not talking about Lidocaine (which Oscar acknowledges having taken when he suffered a cut prior to his 2004 fight against Bernard Hopkins). Nor am I talking about creatine (which Lem Satterfield, then of the Baltimore Sun, authoritatively reported that Oscar incorporated into his training regimen in 1999 when he was preparing to fight Felix Trinidad).
I’m talking about the possibility of something more.
Let me even suggest wording for the waiver that Oscar can make public and send to the Nevada State Athletic Commission:
“I, Oscar De La Hoya, hereby waive all right of confidentiality with regard to the past testing of my blood and urine for steroids and other performance enhancing drugs conducted by or on behalf of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In that regard, I also authorize all present and past Nevada State Athletic Commission personnel and any other person with knowledge of the situation to speak openly with the media about such testing.”
To paraphrase: “C’mon, Oscar. If you have nothing to hide, then do it. It’s only a piece a paper. Just sign the waiver.”
Arum admitted that, without verification, rumors about de la Hoya being found to have a PED in his system on the basis of a postfight urine test are “hearsay.”
The rumors, which circulated long before Hauser put them on the Internet, are that this happened at a time when in boxing, as was once the case also in major league baseball, the use of steroids and other PEDs was not specifically prohibited.
Arum confirmed by story of Sunday that Margorito has completely dropped Capetillo (who continues to work with fighters in Mexico despite the California ban) and will now be trained by former world champion Robert Garcia.
Arum said Margarito will eventually face the media and answer any and all questions about the handwrap incident.
Parsing his words carefully, Arum made it clear that Margarito will stick to his story, as told under oath before the commission in California, that he was unaware that Capetillo had done anything illegal with the handwraps.
“He said it all under oath,” Arum said. “The commission found he was totally unaware of the facts as to the pads but they held him responsible as the fighter, as the captain of his ship so to speak. He has cut all ties to Capetillo. The inspectors in his dressing room also said they did not think the fighter knew what went on with the handwraps.”
Over to you, Oscar.
I don’t know about anyone else but I’m feeling glassy.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
***
Oscar de la Hoya says he is “disgusted” about the boxing return of former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito.
To hear the Golden Boy tell it, the Mexican fighter is doing things the wrong way by coming back from a one year California commission suspension without going public and spilling his guts about the loaded handwraps he and trainer Javier Capetillo were nabbed with in the dressing room before a loss Jan. 24, 2009, in Los Angeles to admitted steroid user Sugar Shane Mosley.
Without such a "mea culpa," de la Hoya opined that Margarito should remain banned from boxing for life.
GBP rival Bob Arum plans to have “Margocheato” as he has not so laughingly become known as launch his comeback underneath the Joshua Clottey-Manny Pacquiao main bout at the Dallas Cowboys new stadium in Arlington, TX., on March 13.
I phoned the Top Rank top dog to tell him of his former charge’s public contempt for Margarito and Arum said de la Hoya should be careful in hurling any kind of rock.
“Who is Oscar to tell anyone to come clean?” Arum barked. “What I would say to Oscar is this, to sign the (confidentiality) waiver for the (Nevada) commission as suggested by (writer) Tom Hauser (on Secondsout.com). Let Oscar sign the waiver and let’s find out if there was ever any proof of Oscar using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
“People who live in glass house, as the saying goes, should not throw stones.”
Here's how racingmeridian,com reacted to the explosive Hauser piece:
"Then, in a bombshell, Hauser implies that Oscar De La Hoya was a juicer and, moreover, had a failed test covered up by the Nevada Boxing Commission. He pleads with De La Hoya to agree to a release of his own Nevada records, a broadside Hauser would not deliver unless he was sure of his info. It’s a dark, sordid tale, and Golden Boy Promotions come off as villains. Any suspicion they about Pacquiao likely derives from their own stables active and persistent usage."
Hauser’s Jan. 17 column on this topic was answered, in part, by NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer who was quoted as saying he “doesn’t know what Mr. Hauser is talking about.”
Here's the pertinent parts of Hauser's lengthy article:
"But there is something very simple that Golden Boy can do to set an example. It involves the Golden Boy himself.
Oscar De La Hoya can show the world how a righteous PED-free fighter acts. In order to fully inform the public on the issues involved (and remove any hint of suspicion that he himself might not have clean hands) Oscar should waive his right to confidentiality and authorize the Nevada State Athletic Commission to release the results of any tests for performance enhancing drugs that he has taken in the past. The same waiver should authorize all present and past NSAC personnel and any other person with knowledge of the situation to discuss the test results with any media representative who inquires about them.
I’m not talking about Lidocaine (which Oscar acknowledges having taken when he suffered a cut prior to his 2004 fight against Bernard Hopkins). Nor am I talking about creatine (which Lem Satterfield, then of the Baltimore Sun, authoritatively reported that Oscar incorporated into his training regimen in 1999 when he was preparing to fight Felix Trinidad).
I’m talking about the possibility of something more.
Let me even suggest wording for the waiver that Oscar can make public and send to the Nevada State Athletic Commission:
“I, Oscar De La Hoya, hereby waive all right of confidentiality with regard to the past testing of my blood and urine for steroids and other performance enhancing drugs conducted by or on behalf of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In that regard, I also authorize all present and past Nevada State Athletic Commission personnel and any other person with knowledge of the situation to speak openly with the media about such testing.”
To paraphrase: “C’mon, Oscar. If you have nothing to hide, then do it. It’s only a piece a paper. Just sign the waiver.”
Arum admitted that, without verification, rumors about de la Hoya being found to have a PED in his system on the basis of a postfight urine test are “hearsay.”
The rumors, which circulated long before Hauser put them on the Internet, are that this happened at a time when in boxing, as was once the case also in major league baseball, the use of steroids and other PEDs was not specifically prohibited.
Arum confirmed by story of Sunday that Margorito has completely dropped Capetillo (who continues to work with fighters in Mexico despite the California ban) and will now be trained by former world champion Robert Garcia.
Arum said Margarito will eventually face the media and answer any and all questions about the handwrap incident.
Parsing his words carefully, Arum made it clear that Margarito will stick to his story, as told under oath before the commission in California, that he was unaware that Capetillo had done anything illegal with the handwraps.
“He said it all under oath,” Arum said. “The commission found he was totally unaware of the facts as to the pads but they held him responsible as the fighter, as the captain of his ship so to speak. He has cut all ties to Capetillo. The inspectors in his dressing room also said they did not think the fighter knew what went on with the handwraps.”
Over to you, Oscar.
I don’t know about anyone else but I’m feeling glassy.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
***
Oscar De La Hoya expects Floyd Mayweather to fight Mosley, eventually meet Pacquiao -- Los Angeles Times
By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscar De La Hoya thinks his promotions company will soon wrap up a deal for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight Sugar Shane Mosley in May.
And after that, De La Hoya still believes Mayweather will meet Manny Pacquiao in the not-too-distant future.
"That fight has to happen," De La Hoya said Tuesday of Mayweather-Pacquiao, which fell apart earlier this month in a drug-testing dispute. "It's too big not to happen. We just have to cross one hurdle."
De La Hoya weighed in on the state of the welterweight division at a news conference to announce the next fight for Victor Ortiz, one of his junior welterweight proteges. Ortiz will headline the first Fight Night Club show of the new year at the downtown Club Nokia on Feb. 25.
De La Hoya, who runs Golden Boy Promotions with chief executive Richard Schaefer, says Mayweather and Mosley are in negotiations to meet May 1, likely in Las Vegas. De La Hoya is eager to match Mosley, a Golden Boy partner, with Mayweather, who has been represented by Golden Boy in his recent negotiations.
"The various camps are working extremely hard to make it happen," De La Hoya said. "That's the fight that could really take boxing to another level, because it's two great American fighters meeting each other."
No matter the outcome of that proposed bout, De La Hoya believes Mayweather's path ultimately must cross with Pacquiao, the Filipino pound-for-pound king who will fight Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Texas on March 13. Mayweather and Pacquiao were achingly close to a deal this month, but couldn't close a 10-day gap in their preferences for the last session of drug testing before their proposed March 13 bout.
"The public will hopefully make him change his mind," De La Hoya said. "Why would you not want to earn $40 million? Why would you not want to show the public that all this speculation is nonsense? Be the one to stand up and say it."
Although Mayweather dislikes De La Hoya and usually limits his Golden Boy interaction to conversations with Schaefer, De La Hoya is firmly in Mayweather's corner in his apparent quest to bring a higher level of drug testing to boxing.
De La Hoya has fought two opponents who later acknowledged using steroids, beating Fernando Vargas in 2002 and losing a close decision to Mosley in 2003.
"I know where Mayweather is coming from with this," De La Hoya said. "This was a perfect stage to show the world that, hey, us fighters have nothing to hide. ... It's not like hitting a baseball or running a sprint. These are our lives at risk up in the ring."
De La Hoya believes Pacquiao eventually will agree to Mayweather's stringent drug-testing demands. Mayweather is thought to be demanding the same testing procedures for Mosley, who has acknowledging using designer steroids — although claiming he did so unwittingly.
"I believe Mosley will raise his hand and say, 'Take me to the laboratory,'" said De La Hoya, who believes Mosley's protestations of ignorance in his dealings with BALCO. "And I'll be the first to applaud him."
De La Hoya is less forgiving of Antonio Margarito, the former welterweight champion caught using illegal hand wraps before a loss to Mosley last January in Los Angeles. Margarito was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, but Top Rank is trying to get a license for Margarito to fight in Texas on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
"I'm actually disgusted by the fact they're going over California and weaseling their way into Texas to get a license," De La Hoya said. "Whatever type of cheating you're doing, it's wrong. You should be banned for life."
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Source: latimes.com
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscar De La Hoya thinks his promotions company will soon wrap up a deal for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight Sugar Shane Mosley in May.
And after that, De La Hoya still believes Mayweather will meet Manny Pacquiao in the not-too-distant future.
"That fight has to happen," De La Hoya said Tuesday of Mayweather-Pacquiao, which fell apart earlier this month in a drug-testing dispute. "It's too big not to happen. We just have to cross one hurdle."
De La Hoya weighed in on the state of the welterweight division at a news conference to announce the next fight for Victor Ortiz, one of his junior welterweight proteges. Ortiz will headline the first Fight Night Club show of the new year at the downtown Club Nokia on Feb. 25.
De La Hoya, who runs Golden Boy Promotions with chief executive Richard Schaefer, says Mayweather and Mosley are in negotiations to meet May 1, likely in Las Vegas. De La Hoya is eager to match Mosley, a Golden Boy partner, with Mayweather, who has been represented by Golden Boy in his recent negotiations.
"The various camps are working extremely hard to make it happen," De La Hoya said. "That's the fight that could really take boxing to another level, because it's two great American fighters meeting each other."
No matter the outcome of that proposed bout, De La Hoya believes Mayweather's path ultimately must cross with Pacquiao, the Filipino pound-for-pound king who will fight Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Texas on March 13. Mayweather and Pacquiao were achingly close to a deal this month, but couldn't close a 10-day gap in their preferences for the last session of drug testing before their proposed March 13 bout.
"The public will hopefully make him change his mind," De La Hoya said. "Why would you not want to earn $40 million? Why would you not want to show the public that all this speculation is nonsense? Be the one to stand up and say it."
Although Mayweather dislikes De La Hoya and usually limits his Golden Boy interaction to conversations with Schaefer, De La Hoya is firmly in Mayweather's corner in his apparent quest to bring a higher level of drug testing to boxing.
De La Hoya has fought two opponents who later acknowledged using steroids, beating Fernando Vargas in 2002 and losing a close decision to Mosley in 2003.
"I know where Mayweather is coming from with this," De La Hoya said. "This was a perfect stage to show the world that, hey, us fighters have nothing to hide. ... It's not like hitting a baseball or running a sprint. These are our lives at risk up in the ring."
De La Hoya believes Pacquiao eventually will agree to Mayweather's stringent drug-testing demands. Mayweather is thought to be demanding the same testing procedures for Mosley, who has acknowledging using designer steroids — although claiming he did so unwittingly.
"I believe Mosley will raise his hand and say, 'Take me to the laboratory,'" said De La Hoya, who believes Mosley's protestations of ignorance in his dealings with BALCO. "And I'll be the first to applaud him."
De La Hoya is less forgiving of Antonio Margarito, the former welterweight champion caught using illegal hand wraps before a loss to Mosley last January in Los Angeles. Margarito was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, but Top Rank is trying to get a license for Margarito to fight in Texas on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
"I'm actually disgusted by the fact they're going over California and weaseling their way into Texas to get a license," De La Hoya said. "Whatever type of cheating you're doing, it's wrong. You should be banned for life."
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Source: latimes.com
Roger Mayweather a no-show in court; judge threatens warrant -- Las Vegas Sun
By Cara McCoy, Las Vegas Sun
A judge begrudgingly reset a hearing today for boxing trainer Roger Mayweather, who is accused of beating and choking a female boxer last August at her Las Vegas apartment.
Mayweather is the uncle and trainer of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. He was to be arraigned this afternoon on felony charges of coercion, battery-strangulation and battery with substantial bodily harm in connection with the alleged assault.
Roger Mayweather wasn’t in court. His attorney, Jack Buchanan, said he spoke with Mayweather this morning, but his client was unable to attend the hearing.
Clark County District Court Hearing Master Kevin Williams reluctantly continued the hearing until Thursday morning and said a bench warrant would be issued for Mayweather’s arrest if he’s not there.
“If he is not here at 10:30 Thursday you can tell him we will send the police looking for him,” Williams told Buchanan.
Buchanan said Mayweather had a stringent routine at his gym in the afternoons and requested the arraignment be set at a morning time.
Prosecutor James Miller said Mayweather was given the date and time of the arraignment at his last appearance during a Jan. 15 preliminary hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court. Miller voiced concerns about Mayweather’s history of not coming to court and cited 50 failures to appear in his record.
“That obviously concerns the state,” Miller said.
Williams agreed, promising a bench warrant if Mayweather didn’t show up Thursday.
“People miss work all the time because they have to come to court, so you know, I’m not really that convinced that just because he wants to stay at his gym for whatever he was working on, I don’t think he’s any more special than anybody else,” Williams said.
Mayweather failed to appear Oct. 2 for arraignment on the charges in justice court and a bench warrant was issued at that time, but it was quashed about a week later.
Mayweather’s alleged victim, Melissa St. Vil, testified Jan. 15 that Mayweather, 48, entered her apartment in the 700 block of Rock Springs Drive, near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, and started a physical altercation that left her bruised and in severe pain.
Mayweather was arrested after the scuffle but is no longer in custody.
Buchanan said Mayweather will plead not guilty to the charges.
Source: lasvegassun.com
A judge begrudgingly reset a hearing today for boxing trainer Roger Mayweather, who is accused of beating and choking a female boxer last August at her Las Vegas apartment.
Mayweather is the uncle and trainer of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. He was to be arraigned this afternoon on felony charges of coercion, battery-strangulation and battery with substantial bodily harm in connection with the alleged assault.
Roger Mayweather wasn’t in court. His attorney, Jack Buchanan, said he spoke with Mayweather this morning, but his client was unable to attend the hearing.
Clark County District Court Hearing Master Kevin Williams reluctantly continued the hearing until Thursday morning and said a bench warrant would be issued for Mayweather’s arrest if he’s not there.
“If he is not here at 10:30 Thursday you can tell him we will send the police looking for him,” Williams told Buchanan.
Buchanan said Mayweather had a stringent routine at his gym in the afternoons and requested the arraignment be set at a morning time.
Prosecutor James Miller said Mayweather was given the date and time of the arraignment at his last appearance during a Jan. 15 preliminary hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court. Miller voiced concerns about Mayweather’s history of not coming to court and cited 50 failures to appear in his record.
“That obviously concerns the state,” Miller said.
Williams agreed, promising a bench warrant if Mayweather didn’t show up Thursday.
“People miss work all the time because they have to come to court, so you know, I’m not really that convinced that just because he wants to stay at his gym for whatever he was working on, I don’t think he’s any more special than anybody else,” Williams said.
Mayweather failed to appear Oct. 2 for arraignment on the charges in justice court and a bench warrant was issued at that time, but it was quashed about a week later.
Mayweather’s alleged victim, Melissa St. Vil, testified Jan. 15 that Mayweather, 48, entered her apartment in the 700 block of Rock Springs Drive, near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, and started a physical altercation that left her bruised and in severe pain.
Mayweather was arrested after the scuffle but is no longer in custody.
Buchanan said Mayweather will plead not guilty to the charges.
Source: lasvegassun.com
De La Hoya: Mayweather-Mosley fight 'not too far' from getting done -- Los Angeles Times
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said today that ongoing negotiations to stage a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley welterweight fight in May were "not too far away" from being completed.
"Is that fight going to happen? I'm confident it will," De La Hoya told reporters today as he promoted his Golden Boy Promotions' next "Fight Night Club" event featuring a main event between junior welterweights Victor Ortiz of Ventura versus Hector Alatorre Feb. 25 at L.A. Live's Club Nokia.
De La Hoya said Golden Boy Chief Executive Richard Schaefer was handling the negotiations between Golden Boy fighter Mosley and Mayweather, who retained the company to handle his crumbled talks last year with Manny Pacquiao.
De La Hoya, who lost to Pomona's Mosley in a close 2003 decision in which Mosley later admitted that he had unknowingly used designer steroids and energy-boosting EPO in the days before the bout, said he didn't foresee a spat over drug testing like the one that happened between Mayweather and Pacquiao.
Mayweather's lead advisor has told the Times that any Mayweather opponent must submit to random blood and urine tests before a fight.
"I believe Mosley will raise his hand, and say, 'Take me to the lab,'" De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya, insisting that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight "has to happen" down the road, said his company would push boxing commissions to institute tougher drug-testing policies like those instituted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He said trying to strike such a deal in the failed Mayweather-Pacquiao talks was "a good start" that ended as a "missed opportunity."
"You know what's happening out there: all these athletes are taking steroids," De La Hoya said. "I fought two guys on steroids [Mosley and Fernando Vargas]. It's dangerous.
"I would love to see [mandatory, USADA-like] testing to be mandatory. It's crucial. This is not like hitting a baseball or running a sprint. It's two guys bashing their heads in."
While he was at it, De La Hoya weighed in on Antonio Margarito's push to have Texas allow him to fight on the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard March 13 in Dallas. Margarito had his license revoked by California in February 2009 after it was found that he had plaster-caked inserts atop the knuckle portion of his hand wraps before he stepped into the ring to defend his world welterweight title against Mosley last January at Staples Center. With the inserts removed, Margarito suffered a ninth-round TKO loss.
De La Hoya said Margarito was "messing with someone's life" and shouldn't be let back into boxing unless he "comes clean."
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya said today that ongoing negotiations to stage a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley welterweight fight in May were "not too far away" from being completed.
"Is that fight going to happen? I'm confident it will," De La Hoya told reporters today as he promoted his Golden Boy Promotions' next "Fight Night Club" event featuring a main event between junior welterweights Victor Ortiz of Ventura versus Hector Alatorre Feb. 25 at L.A. Live's Club Nokia.
De La Hoya said Golden Boy Chief Executive Richard Schaefer was handling the negotiations between Golden Boy fighter Mosley and Mayweather, who retained the company to handle his crumbled talks last year with Manny Pacquiao.
De La Hoya, who lost to Pomona's Mosley in a close 2003 decision in which Mosley later admitted that he had unknowingly used designer steroids and energy-boosting EPO in the days before the bout, said he didn't foresee a spat over drug testing like the one that happened between Mayweather and Pacquiao.
Mayweather's lead advisor has told the Times that any Mayweather opponent must submit to random blood and urine tests before a fight.
"I believe Mosley will raise his hand, and say, 'Take me to the lab,'" De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya, insisting that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight "has to happen" down the road, said his company would push boxing commissions to institute tougher drug-testing policies like those instituted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. He said trying to strike such a deal in the failed Mayweather-Pacquiao talks was "a good start" that ended as a "missed opportunity."
"You know what's happening out there: all these athletes are taking steroids," De La Hoya said. "I fought two guys on steroids [Mosley and Fernando Vargas]. It's dangerous.
"I would love to see [mandatory, USADA-like] testing to be mandatory. It's crucial. This is not like hitting a baseball or running a sprint. It's two guys bashing their heads in."
While he was at it, De La Hoya weighed in on Antonio Margarito's push to have Texas allow him to fight on the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard March 13 in Dallas. Margarito had his license revoked by California in February 2009 after it was found that he had plaster-caked inserts atop the knuckle portion of his hand wraps before he stepped into the ring to defend his world welterweight title against Mosley last January at Staples Center. With the inserts removed, Margarito suffered a ninth-round TKO loss.
De La Hoya said Margarito was "messing with someone's life" and shouldn't be let back into boxing unless he "comes clean."
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
Ticket sales booming for Manny Pacquiao fight -- Los Angeles Times
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for Manny Pacquiao's March 13 fight against welterweight Joshua Clottey at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and officials say there could be close to 60,000 in attendance on fight night.
"The first days of sales for boxing events can be about 25% of the total," said Texas boxing publicist Lester Bedford, who's assisting Top Rank and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight promotion. "There'll be a heavy Hispanic undercard that has yet to be announced, and that could trigger more sales.
"With the fight being in this new stadium there's no history to predict how a boxing event will do. It could go to 50,000, 60,000."
Jones originally arranged a seating plan to accommodate 40,000, and tickets went on sale Saturday through Ticketmaster.
The undercard could feature the return of former world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, who had his boxing license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission February 2009 after officials removed plaster-caked inserts inside wraps on both of his hands before being defeated by Shane Mosley last January at Staples Center.
Margarito is planning to apply to get his license restored in Texas next month, and promoter Bob Arum said if Margarito wins the super-welterweight undercard fight against Carson Jones, he'd strongly consider making a Margarito-Pacquiao bout at Dallas Cowboys Stadium later this year.
Bedford said former lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo will also appear on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
***
More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for Manny Pacquiao's March 13 fight against welterweight Joshua Clottey at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and officials say there could be close to 60,000 in attendance on fight night.
"The first days of sales for boxing events can be about 25% of the total," said Texas boxing publicist Lester Bedford, who's assisting Top Rank and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the Pacquiao-Clottey fight promotion. "There'll be a heavy Hispanic undercard that has yet to be announced, and that could trigger more sales.
"With the fight being in this new stadium there's no history to predict how a boxing event will do. It could go to 50,000, 60,000."
Jones originally arranged a seating plan to accommodate 40,000, and tickets went on sale Saturday through Ticketmaster.
The undercard could feature the return of former world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito, who had his boxing license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission February 2009 after officials removed plaster-caked inserts inside wraps on both of his hands before being defeated by Shane Mosley last January at Staples Center.
Margarito is planning to apply to get his license restored in Texas next month, and promoter Bob Arum said if Margarito wins the super-welterweight undercard fight against Carson Jones, he'd strongly consider making a Margarito-Pacquiao bout at Dallas Cowboys Stadium later this year.
Bedford said former lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo will also appear on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
***
Joshua Clottey Set to Train for Manny Pacquiao -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Former IBF world welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Joshua Clottey, should arrive in New York on Friday and then "head down to Florida on Monday or Tuesday," to begin training for his March 13 challenge for the WBO belt owned by seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquiao, his manager, Vinny Scolpino, told FanHouse on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Clottey (35-3, 20 knockouts) will meet the southpaw, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), of the
Philippines, at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. The fighters' Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum, said ticket sales are soaring for the first-ever boxing match at the $1.2 billion domed venue.
"Everything is good. Joshua is in the gym, training, and so he is with his trainer training in the gym. And everything is good for him to come back up Friday, and then we head down to Florida on Monday or Tuesday," Scolpino said of Clottey, a Bronx resident who is a native of Accra, Ghana.
"We'll be staying in Hollywood, Florida, and he'll be training at the Carter Park Contender Boxing Gym, in Fort Lauderdale," said Scolpino. "Today, he's training in Ghana, right around Accra. He just got there about a couple of days ago, and he's been in training every day."
Clottey recently returned to Ghana in order to help resolve United States visas for his new trainer, Godwin Nii Dzanie Kotey, who will be in Clottey's corner for the first time.
The trainer's visas had expired in November -- this after Kwame Asante had been in Clottey's corner for June's, 12-round split-decision loss to then-WBO king, Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), whom the 31-year-old Pacquiao dethroned by 12th-round knockout in November.
Scolpino said that the visa situation has been been taken care of. Kotey is a replacement for longtime trainer Asante.
Kotey has been "working with Joshua already for about five months," said Scolpino.
"It [replacing Asante] was Joshua's decision, and everything is good there," said Scolpino. "We should have everything on track, like I said, Monday or Tuesday, to go to Florida."
Clottey was actually the third choice for Pacquiao, who was initially supposed to face Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas before the fighters' negotiations came apart over a drug-testing impasse.
Before settling on the muscular, 5-foot-9, Clottey, Pacquiao also had considered as opponents, 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); WBA junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York; and, even WBC super featherweight (130 pounds) champ, Humberto Soto (50-7-2, 32 KOs) -- the latter of whom knocked out Pacquiao's brother, Bobby, in the seventh round in June of 2007.
By settling on the man nicknamed, "The Grand Master," Pacquiao has afforded Clottey not only the biggest opportunity of his career, but also a purse that will surpass $1 million for the first time in his career.
In addition, unlike Cotto, who was contracted to face Pacquiao at a catchweight of 145 pounds, Clottey is encouraged by the fact that he is being allowed to face Pacquiao at the 147-pound welterweight limit.
Clottey has fought at more than 147 pounds 11 times during his career, including twice at 154. By fight time, against Pacquiao, Clottey could be a fully-hydrated and well-fed 160 pounds or more.
"That's going to help me a lot, because I don't think I could have done it at 145 pounds. Pacquiao's being very nice, because he's the man now," Clottey told FanHouse during an interview on Jan. 13. Pacquiao is 11-0 with eight knockouts since losing by unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March 2005 at 130 pounds.
"That's going to make me the bigger guy in the ring," said Clottey. "So, with him choosing me to fight me at 147, I respect him for that."
But Scolpino says that Clottey has gotten over the honeymoon stage of having been chosen as Pacquiao's dance partner.
"Josh was always a hard worker, so he's never out of shape. For him, he's always ahead of the curve, you know?", said Scolpino. "As far as strategy and what we need to do to get in there and beat Pacquiao, we'll start his camp on Tuesday, like I said, and then we'll go from there."
Among Clottey's biggest victories are those over former world champions, Diego Corrales, and, Zab Judah, respectively, in April of 2007 and August of 2008.
Clottey earned a unanimous 10-round decision over Corrales, and a ninth-round technical decision over Judah, a southpaw like Pacquiao.
The victory over Judah earned Clottey the IBF title, which he gave up in order to face Cotto.
"I definitely think Clottey's the biggest fighter Pacquiao will have faced," said Scolpino. "As far as the toughest, Joshua's definitely a tough guy."
Besides Cotto, Clottey's only other losses were in November of 1999, and, December of 2006, respectively, to former world champions, Carlos Baldomir, and, Antonio Margarito.
Clottey was ahead against Baldomir when he was disqualified for an intentional head butt in the 11th round, and also led Margarito early before damaged knuckles in both hands slowed Clottey over the course of a 12-round unanimous decision loss during his bid to dethrone Margarito as WBO king.
"Joshua's defense is impeccable," said Scolpino. "I mean, everybody that we have fought since I've been managing him -- which has been almost four years now -- has not hurt Joshua."
Clottey was floored by a counter left hook in the final 10 seconds or so of the first round against Cotto, but it was considered a flash knockdown.
"Joshua has come out of the ring clean and unmarked -- no matter who he has fought," said Scolpino. "I know that Manny has huge punching power, but if Pacquiao cracks Joshua's defense, it would be something beyond belief to me."
Clottey blamed hesitation among his shortcomings against Cotto.
"During the later rounds, you think about getting tired. I thought that I might have done that in Rounds 9 and 10 against Cotto," Clottey told FanHouse on Jan. 13.
"This fight [against Pacquiao,] I'm not going to think about tiring," said Clottey. "I want Manny Pacquiao to know that he picked a guy who will give him all that he wants. I'm going to fight until the last bell."
Against Cotto, Clottey lost, 116-111, and, 115-112, on two judges card, while being awarded a 114-113 decision on the third.
The difference between winning and losing against Cotto, said Scopino, may have been Clottey's relative inactivity.
"Joshua's just got to let his hands go. If he lets his hands go with his combinations or his hook, listen, he's definitely done his job," said Scolpino.
"It all comes down to whether or not he lets his hands go a little bit more, and we have all of the plans of doing that," said Scolpino. "We have a conditioning coach that will be down in Florida with him that will take him to the next level, and he's never had that before."
Meanwhile, Arum said that tickets are going swiftly for Pacquiao-Clottey.
"We have about 20,000 tickets left to sell. We're very gratified with how the tickets have flown out," said Arum, of an arena that will be set up, at least, initially to seat 50,000.."We're sure that when we announce the undercard, the rest of the tickets will be sold."
Cowboys Stadium seats 80,000, but is expandable enough so that it can hold up to 111,000. The stadium also has a retractable ceiling.
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 from anywhere.
All, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night, Cowboys Stadium owner, Jerry Jones, told FanHouse on Jan. 10.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
***
Former IBF world welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Joshua Clottey, should arrive in New York on Friday and then "head down to Florida on Monday or Tuesday," to begin training for his March 13 challenge for the WBO belt owned by seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquiao, his manager, Vinny Scolpino, told FanHouse on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Clottey (35-3, 20 knockouts) will meet the southpaw, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), of the
Philippines, at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. The fighters' Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum, said ticket sales are soaring for the first-ever boxing match at the $1.2 billion domed venue.
"Everything is good. Joshua is in the gym, training, and so he is with his trainer training in the gym. And everything is good for him to come back up Friday, and then we head down to Florida on Monday or Tuesday," Scolpino said of Clottey, a Bronx resident who is a native of Accra, Ghana.
"We'll be staying in Hollywood, Florida, and he'll be training at the Carter Park Contender Boxing Gym, in Fort Lauderdale," said Scolpino. "Today, he's training in Ghana, right around Accra. He just got there about a couple of days ago, and he's been in training every day."
Clottey recently returned to Ghana in order to help resolve United States visas for his new trainer, Godwin Nii Dzanie Kotey, who will be in Clottey's corner for the first time.
The trainer's visas had expired in November -- this after Kwame Asante had been in Clottey's corner for June's, 12-round split-decision loss to then-WBO king, Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), whom the 31-year-old Pacquiao dethroned by 12th-round knockout in November.
Scolpino said that the visa situation has been been taken care of. Kotey is a replacement for longtime trainer Asante.
Kotey has been "working with Joshua already for about five months," said Scolpino.
"It [replacing Asante] was Joshua's decision, and everything is good there," said Scolpino. "We should have everything on track, like I said, Monday or Tuesday, to go to Florida."
Clottey was actually the third choice for Pacquiao, who was initially supposed to face Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas before the fighters' negotiations came apart over a drug-testing impasse.
Before settling on the muscular, 5-foot-9, Clottey, Pacquiao also had considered as opponents, 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); WBA junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York; and, even WBC super featherweight (130 pounds) champ, Humberto Soto (50-7-2, 32 KOs) -- the latter of whom knocked out Pacquiao's brother, Bobby, in the seventh round in June of 2007.
By settling on the man nicknamed, "The Grand Master," Pacquiao has afforded Clottey not only the biggest opportunity of his career, but also a purse that will surpass $1 million for the first time in his career.
In addition, unlike Cotto, who was contracted to face Pacquiao at a catchweight of 145 pounds, Clottey is encouraged by the fact that he is being allowed to face Pacquiao at the 147-pound welterweight limit.
Clottey has fought at more than 147 pounds 11 times during his career, including twice at 154. By fight time, against Pacquiao, Clottey could be a fully-hydrated and well-fed 160 pounds or more.
"That's going to help me a lot, because I don't think I could have done it at 145 pounds. Pacquiao's being very nice, because he's the man now," Clottey told FanHouse during an interview on Jan. 13. Pacquiao is 11-0 with eight knockouts since losing by unanimous decision to Erik Morales in March 2005 at 130 pounds.
"That's going to make me the bigger guy in the ring," said Clottey. "So, with him choosing me to fight me at 147, I respect him for that."
But Scolpino says that Clottey has gotten over the honeymoon stage of having been chosen as Pacquiao's dance partner.
"Josh was always a hard worker, so he's never out of shape. For him, he's always ahead of the curve, you know?", said Scolpino. "As far as strategy and what we need to do to get in there and beat Pacquiao, we'll start his camp on Tuesday, like I said, and then we'll go from there."
Among Clottey's biggest victories are those over former world champions, Diego Corrales, and, Zab Judah, respectively, in April of 2007 and August of 2008.
Clottey earned a unanimous 10-round decision over Corrales, and a ninth-round technical decision over Judah, a southpaw like Pacquiao.
The victory over Judah earned Clottey the IBF title, which he gave up in order to face Cotto.
"I definitely think Clottey's the biggest fighter Pacquiao will have faced," said Scolpino. "As far as the toughest, Joshua's definitely a tough guy."
Besides Cotto, Clottey's only other losses were in November of 1999, and, December of 2006, respectively, to former world champions, Carlos Baldomir, and, Antonio Margarito.
Clottey was ahead against Baldomir when he was disqualified for an intentional head butt in the 11th round, and also led Margarito early before damaged knuckles in both hands slowed Clottey over the course of a 12-round unanimous decision loss during his bid to dethrone Margarito as WBO king.
"Joshua's defense is impeccable," said Scolpino. "I mean, everybody that we have fought since I've been managing him -- which has been almost four years now -- has not hurt Joshua."
Clottey was floored by a counter left hook in the final 10 seconds or so of the first round against Cotto, but it was considered a flash knockdown.
"Joshua has come out of the ring clean and unmarked -- no matter who he has fought," said Scolpino. "I know that Manny has huge punching power, but if Pacquiao cracks Joshua's defense, it would be something beyond belief to me."
Clottey blamed hesitation among his shortcomings against Cotto.
"During the later rounds, you think about getting tired. I thought that I might have done that in Rounds 9 and 10 against Cotto," Clottey told FanHouse on Jan. 13.
"This fight [against Pacquiao,] I'm not going to think about tiring," said Clottey. "I want Manny Pacquiao to know that he picked a guy who will give him all that he wants. I'm going to fight until the last bell."
Against Cotto, Clottey lost, 116-111, and, 115-112, on two judges card, while being awarded a 114-113 decision on the third.
The difference between winning and losing against Cotto, said Scopino, may have been Clottey's relative inactivity.
"Joshua's just got to let his hands go. If he lets his hands go with his combinations or his hook, listen, he's definitely done his job," said Scolpino.
"It all comes down to whether or not he lets his hands go a little bit more, and we have all of the plans of doing that," said Scolpino. "We have a conditioning coach that will be down in Florida with him that will take him to the next level, and he's never had that before."
Meanwhile, Arum said that tickets are going swiftly for Pacquiao-Clottey.
"We have about 20,000 tickets left to sell. We're very gratified with how the tickets have flown out," said Arum, of an arena that will be set up, at least, initially to seat 50,000.."We're sure that when we announce the undercard, the rest of the tickets will be sold."
Cowboys Stadium seats 80,000, but is expandable enough so that it can hold up to 111,000. The stadium also has a retractable ceiling.
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 from anywhere.
All, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night, Cowboys Stadium owner, Jerry Jones, told FanHouse on Jan. 10.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
***
Conte Volunteers To Catch Cheaters If He Can -- The Sweet Science
By Bernard Fernandez, The Sweet Science
Victor Conte might not bear much of a resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio, but the controversial founder and president of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, better known to the public as BALCO, is eager to play the sort of reformed bad-guy role undertaken by the strikingly handsome leading man in a 2002 film, Catch Me if You Can.
If you recall, DiCaprio was cast as an actual person, Frank Abagnale Jr., who joined the FBI to aid law enforcement in its apprehension of the most clever perpetrators of bank fraud. It’s a familiar storyline; in an old television series It Takes a Thief and a new one White Collar, suave and mostly contrite confidence men are enlisted from prison by government agencies for their potential to help nail non-reformed evil-doers.
Conte fits the ex-convict part of the profile well enough, having served four months after pleading guilty in 2005 to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money-laundering. With a client list that included disgraced Olympian Marion Jones, champion boxer Shane Mosley and baseball slugger Barry Bonds, he of the literally swollen head and cartoonishly inflated biceps, Conte was and is widely viewed as the serpent who enticed world-class athletes with an apple enriched with anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, erythropoietin (EPO) and designer drugs that came to be known as “the clear” and “the cream.”
Now Conte says he wants to make his expertise available to every anti-doping organization in ridding sports of performance-enhancing drugs. If the FBI was willing to swallow its pride and take on Frank Abagnale Jr., he reasons, why wouldn’t, say, the Nevada State Athletic Association reach out to the one man whose knowledge of PEDs might exceed all others?
“I will never, ever do anything involving illegal performance-enhancing substances again,” Conte says. “I would never again subject my family members to what they went through. That is a past life for me.
“There needs to be a change in where the spotlight is, and it needs to be put upon Olympic governing body officials, the owners of the teams and the players’ union executives who have had the full knowledge of the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs for 50 years.”
But if the testing procedures for the Olympics, the NFL and Major League Baseball are flawed to the point of being “inept,” according to Conte, he saves his most scornful rebukes for boxing, which he describes as the “wild, wild West” of PEDs.
“Most fighters open training camp about eight weeks before a fight,” Conte says. “They only way to ensure they’re really clean is to have some type of random, unannounced testing, and both blood- and urine-testing.”
If that sounds like a semi-accusatory finger being pointed at Manny Pacquiao, whose March 13 megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. fell apart because of Pac-Man’s incensed refusal to participate in a higher level of drug-testing than ever has been implemented in boxing, so be it.
“Is it suspicious the way (Pacquiao) has gained so much lean muscle mass while retaining and even seemingly improving his power and speed? Yes,” Conte says. “It is highly suspicious. But it’s difficult to make any type of allegations against him because he’s never tested positive for illegal drugs. The problem is that he has been subjected, as is the case with all boxers, to the standard urine testing that, in my opinion, is worthless.
“It’s announced testing. Any time an athlete knows when he or she is going to be tested, they or someone advising them knows the clearance time of these performance-enhancing drugs. If you know urine tests are only going to be administered immediately before and after a fight, all you have to do is taper off an adequate number of days and you’re going to test negative.”
To buttress his argument that most sports’ drug-testing is as best inadequate and at worst useless, Conte points out that Marion Jones tested negative for PEDs 160 consecutive times. She only admitted to using them, he contends, to avoid more substantial jail time while testifying under oath before a grand jury.
Conte’s insistence that he has seen the light and has crossed over to the side of good and virtue have for, the most part, been viewed with skepticism by those agencies to which he has made overtures.
Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (the scuttled Pacquiao-Mayweather bout was to have taken place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand), said Conte’s very public crusade to become a latter-day Frank Abagnale Jr. is akin to the fox requesting to guard the hen house.
“I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t put a lot of stock into what Victor Conte has to say,” Kizer says. “I’m amazed at how much press he’s getting these days.
“But that said, the NSAC is known not just for drug-testing, but in being very pro-active in all aspects of regulation. We change and update our rules as need be. Almost two years ago we instituted out-of-competition drug-testing, to be even better at detecting. Keep in mind, our ultimate goal is not to catch people; it’s to keep people from using in the first place.
“We were also the first (state boxing commission) to put in testing for steroids. We did that in 2001, I believe. We also expanded around that time our testing for stimulants.”
So Conte’s claims that boxing’s testing procedures are mostly for show are groundless?
“I’m very pleased with our policy,” Kizer said. “We actually had some experts from the U.S. Olympic Committee and USADA (the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) come here eight or nine months ago to talk about our drug-testing. They didn’t have a problem with it at all. Definitely nothing about blood (testing) came up.”
Conte said the problem – well, one of them, anyway – is that many of the so-called “experts” giving their stamp of approval to agencies like the NSAC are anything but.
“Mosley has sued me two times in federal court in California, and there’s still an ongoing suit in the New York State Supreme Court where he’s suing me for defamation,” Conte notes. “Before his fight with (Miguel) Cotto in 2007, he came out and said I misled him. He said I gave him vitamins when I was instead giving him performance-enhancing drugs. That is simply not true.
“He testified before a grand jury and admitted that he knowingly used EPO. We have a videotape of his deposition in New York in October 2009 where he admits again that he knowingly used EPO, that I told him what it was and what the benefits and side effects were.
“He’s asked, `So you injected the drug before any attempt was made by anyone from the Nevada commission whether the drug was legal or not? Is that true? And he said yes.
“I read shortly thereafter an article in the New York Daily News that indicated the WBC was conducting an investigation of Shane Mosley. The WBC attorney’s name is Robert Lenhardt. I called him and said, `Look, I would be willing to assist you in this investigation.’ I sent him emails and documents. All I got back from him was an acknowledgment, `We’re in receipt of this information. Thanks.’ He didn’t seem to have any interest in following up.”
I spoke to Lenhardt and he said he was limited in what he and the WBC could do at this time because Mosley’s lawsuit against Conte was in litigation.
“The WBC believes it is one of the early leaders in all of sports in putting in anti-doping regulations,” Lenhardt said. “Now, did Mr. Conte send information to the WBC? I can confirm that he did. But the WBC recognizes that these matters (Mosley’s defamation suit against Conte) are currently being litigated in the U.S. court system, so there has been no determination (of their validity) in advance of the outcome.”
Conte has received similar rejections from other organizations and agencies whose message to him basically is “thanks, but no thanks.”
“I met with officials of USADA face-to-face,” Conte says. “I reached out and wrote an open letter to WADA. I flew to New York and met with Dick Pound, who is the founder of WADA and was then its chairman.
“On each occasion I’ve offered my advice. But the new regime at WADA, headed by Australia’s John Fahey, doesn’t want to listen to me because I’m a bad guy. Fahey said he’d rather get his information from medical doctors than from a convicted felon.”
To hear Conte’s detractors tell it, he is a slimy guy who hopes to cleanse himself by smearing others, a ploy often used by certain politicians and used-car salesmen. Conte counters that those who vilify him, while paying lip service to the concept of purifying sports of PEDs, are not willing to go the distance because they know that sports fans aren’t really as interested in having all-natural heroes as they profess to be.
As proof of the existence of a double standard, Conte points out that Mark McGwire, obliged to confess his steroid-injected past as a condition to returning to baseball as the new hitting coach of his former club, the St. Louis Cardinals, was cheered by 2,500 red-clad fans of the team in a packed hotel ballroom. Those same fans so willing to forgive one of their own presumably have less tolerance toward, say, Bonds, Manny Ramirez and Roger Clemens.
More evidence comes in the form of a poll of track and field fans in Europe, where the sport is much bigger, at least between Olympics, than it is in America. Asked whether they’d rather see a certifiably clean 100-meter sprinter clocked in 10.2 seconds, or a steroid-fueled one break the world record (the current men’s mark is 9.58 seconds), a majority of respondents gritted their teeth, ’fessed up and admitted they’d rather see the faster guy on PEDs.
Conte said Mayweather’s demand of random blood testing of himself and Pacquiao, up to five days before the fight, although unprecedented in boxing, should be instituted as the industry standard.
“Pacquiao said he had agreed initially to testing 30 days out, then he agreed to cut that to 24 days out in the final phases of the negotiations,” Conte says. “The Mayweather sided held firm at 14 days, so the big story supposedly was that they were 10 days apart.
“Well, let’s look at what could be done with a 24-day window. I don’t believe so-called `designer’ steroids are being used much anymore, like the THG (the “clear”) that was at the heart of the BALCO scandal.
“All anabolic steroids are similar to testosterone. If you test often enough over a sufficiently long period, you can see where the perks are. What athletes are doing now is using low-dose testosterone. The gels and the creams will clear in a day. Oral testosterone will clear in about four days. Water-based injectable testosterone will clean in about 10 days.
“With intense training and a two-week program of anabolic steroids or low-dose testosterone, you can get a significant advantage in terms of strength and power.”
And users need not look like Arnold Schwarzenegger during his Mr. Universe incarnation, either.
“Steroids make you tight and pumped-up. You lose speed,” Conte says. “It’s great during the training process because you’re going to build explosive strength, but thereafter you go back to a normal fluid balance so that you no longer have that tightness. Your flexibility comes back. You’re going to lose some speed. But if you taper off, you’re much faster 10 days to two weeks out than you are while you’re still on the stuff.
“Now, the drug EPO increases your percentage of red blood cells. If you start out at 40 percent, in a two-week time frame or less, you could increase that to 50 percent. That’s a 25 percent increase in the percentage of red blood cells. Oxygen molecules attach themselves to the hemoglobin, and that means 25 percent more oxygen is being delivered to the muscle tissue. It also means the metabolic waste byproducts, like carbon dioxide, ammonia and lactic acid, are transported out 25 percent faster. That gives you a huge edge in training and especially in the later rounds of a fight.”
Not that all fighters should be regarded with a raised eyebrow if they resist blood-testing. Even big, strong guys have been known to faint at the sight of needles. Others are queasy if taken to a high place. Hey, it happens.
“I think you could do blood testing up to five days of a fight with no physical detriment to a participant,” Conte says. “A compromise of 10 days would be all right. But as soon as you go 14 days or more, that’s enough time to use EPO and build up your red blood cell count. At 24 days, there’s all sorts of things that can be done with thyroid medication, fast-acting forms of insulin, EPO, testosterone.
“Now, for psychological reasons, some athletes are going to complain if blood-testing becomes mandatory. Manny Pacquiao isn’t the only one. Asafa Powell, the Jamaican Olympic sprinter, is terrified of having blood drawn. A lot of people are. But to take a very small blood sample would have an extremely minimal or no effect physically. Once someone got accustomed to it, it’d be much easier to accept.”
For now, though, the biggest fight of this century – and maybe the highest-grossing one of all time – remains on the drawing board because of an impasse neither side appears willing to take steps to resolve. And if you’re waiting for boxing officials to step forward to work out the kinks, don’t hold your breath.
“I believe there’s a rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs in boxing, and there has been for decades,” Conte says. “It’s certainly not anything new.”
Source: thesweetscience.com
Victor Conte might not bear much of a resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio, but the controversial founder and president of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, better known to the public as BALCO, is eager to play the sort of reformed bad-guy role undertaken by the strikingly handsome leading man in a 2002 film, Catch Me if You Can.
If you recall, DiCaprio was cast as an actual person, Frank Abagnale Jr., who joined the FBI to aid law enforcement in its apprehension of the most clever perpetrators of bank fraud. It’s a familiar storyline; in an old television series It Takes a Thief and a new one White Collar, suave and mostly contrite confidence men are enlisted from prison by government agencies for their potential to help nail non-reformed evil-doers.
Conte fits the ex-convict part of the profile well enough, having served four months after pleading guilty in 2005 to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money-laundering. With a client list that included disgraced Olympian Marion Jones, champion boxer Shane Mosley and baseball slugger Barry Bonds, he of the literally swollen head and cartoonishly inflated biceps, Conte was and is widely viewed as the serpent who enticed world-class athletes with an apple enriched with anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, erythropoietin (EPO) and designer drugs that came to be known as “the clear” and “the cream.”
Now Conte says he wants to make his expertise available to every anti-doping organization in ridding sports of performance-enhancing drugs. If the FBI was willing to swallow its pride and take on Frank Abagnale Jr., he reasons, why wouldn’t, say, the Nevada State Athletic Association reach out to the one man whose knowledge of PEDs might exceed all others?
“I will never, ever do anything involving illegal performance-enhancing substances again,” Conte says. “I would never again subject my family members to what they went through. That is a past life for me.
“There needs to be a change in where the spotlight is, and it needs to be put upon Olympic governing body officials, the owners of the teams and the players’ union executives who have had the full knowledge of the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs for 50 years.”
But if the testing procedures for the Olympics, the NFL and Major League Baseball are flawed to the point of being “inept,” according to Conte, he saves his most scornful rebukes for boxing, which he describes as the “wild, wild West” of PEDs.
“Most fighters open training camp about eight weeks before a fight,” Conte says. “They only way to ensure they’re really clean is to have some type of random, unannounced testing, and both blood- and urine-testing.”
If that sounds like a semi-accusatory finger being pointed at Manny Pacquiao, whose March 13 megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. fell apart because of Pac-Man’s incensed refusal to participate in a higher level of drug-testing than ever has been implemented in boxing, so be it.
“Is it suspicious the way (Pacquiao) has gained so much lean muscle mass while retaining and even seemingly improving his power and speed? Yes,” Conte says. “It is highly suspicious. But it’s difficult to make any type of allegations against him because he’s never tested positive for illegal drugs. The problem is that he has been subjected, as is the case with all boxers, to the standard urine testing that, in my opinion, is worthless.
“It’s announced testing. Any time an athlete knows when he or she is going to be tested, they or someone advising them knows the clearance time of these performance-enhancing drugs. If you know urine tests are only going to be administered immediately before and after a fight, all you have to do is taper off an adequate number of days and you’re going to test negative.”
To buttress his argument that most sports’ drug-testing is as best inadequate and at worst useless, Conte points out that Marion Jones tested negative for PEDs 160 consecutive times. She only admitted to using them, he contends, to avoid more substantial jail time while testifying under oath before a grand jury.
Conte’s insistence that he has seen the light and has crossed over to the side of good and virtue have for, the most part, been viewed with skepticism by those agencies to which he has made overtures.
Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (the scuttled Pacquiao-Mayweather bout was to have taken place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand), said Conte’s very public crusade to become a latter-day Frank Abagnale Jr. is akin to the fox requesting to guard the hen house.
“I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t put a lot of stock into what Victor Conte has to say,” Kizer says. “I’m amazed at how much press he’s getting these days.
“But that said, the NSAC is known not just for drug-testing, but in being very pro-active in all aspects of regulation. We change and update our rules as need be. Almost two years ago we instituted out-of-competition drug-testing, to be even better at detecting. Keep in mind, our ultimate goal is not to catch people; it’s to keep people from using in the first place.
“We were also the first (state boxing commission) to put in testing for steroids. We did that in 2001, I believe. We also expanded around that time our testing for stimulants.”
So Conte’s claims that boxing’s testing procedures are mostly for show are groundless?
“I’m very pleased with our policy,” Kizer said. “We actually had some experts from the U.S. Olympic Committee and USADA (the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) come here eight or nine months ago to talk about our drug-testing. They didn’t have a problem with it at all. Definitely nothing about blood (testing) came up.”
Conte said the problem – well, one of them, anyway – is that many of the so-called “experts” giving their stamp of approval to agencies like the NSAC are anything but.
“Mosley has sued me two times in federal court in California, and there’s still an ongoing suit in the New York State Supreme Court where he’s suing me for defamation,” Conte notes. “Before his fight with (Miguel) Cotto in 2007, he came out and said I misled him. He said I gave him vitamins when I was instead giving him performance-enhancing drugs. That is simply not true.
“He testified before a grand jury and admitted that he knowingly used EPO. We have a videotape of his deposition in New York in October 2009 where he admits again that he knowingly used EPO, that I told him what it was and what the benefits and side effects were.
“He’s asked, `So you injected the drug before any attempt was made by anyone from the Nevada commission whether the drug was legal or not? Is that true? And he said yes.
“I read shortly thereafter an article in the New York Daily News that indicated the WBC was conducting an investigation of Shane Mosley. The WBC attorney’s name is Robert Lenhardt. I called him and said, `Look, I would be willing to assist you in this investigation.’ I sent him emails and documents. All I got back from him was an acknowledgment, `We’re in receipt of this information. Thanks.’ He didn’t seem to have any interest in following up.”
I spoke to Lenhardt and he said he was limited in what he and the WBC could do at this time because Mosley’s lawsuit against Conte was in litigation.
“The WBC believes it is one of the early leaders in all of sports in putting in anti-doping regulations,” Lenhardt said. “Now, did Mr. Conte send information to the WBC? I can confirm that he did. But the WBC recognizes that these matters (Mosley’s defamation suit against Conte) are currently being litigated in the U.S. court system, so there has been no determination (of their validity) in advance of the outcome.”
Conte has received similar rejections from other organizations and agencies whose message to him basically is “thanks, but no thanks.”
“I met with officials of USADA face-to-face,” Conte says. “I reached out and wrote an open letter to WADA. I flew to New York and met with Dick Pound, who is the founder of WADA and was then its chairman.
“On each occasion I’ve offered my advice. But the new regime at WADA, headed by Australia’s John Fahey, doesn’t want to listen to me because I’m a bad guy. Fahey said he’d rather get his information from medical doctors than from a convicted felon.”
To hear Conte’s detractors tell it, he is a slimy guy who hopes to cleanse himself by smearing others, a ploy often used by certain politicians and used-car salesmen. Conte counters that those who vilify him, while paying lip service to the concept of purifying sports of PEDs, are not willing to go the distance because they know that sports fans aren’t really as interested in having all-natural heroes as they profess to be.
As proof of the existence of a double standard, Conte points out that Mark McGwire, obliged to confess his steroid-injected past as a condition to returning to baseball as the new hitting coach of his former club, the St. Louis Cardinals, was cheered by 2,500 red-clad fans of the team in a packed hotel ballroom. Those same fans so willing to forgive one of their own presumably have less tolerance toward, say, Bonds, Manny Ramirez and Roger Clemens.
More evidence comes in the form of a poll of track and field fans in Europe, where the sport is much bigger, at least between Olympics, than it is in America. Asked whether they’d rather see a certifiably clean 100-meter sprinter clocked in 10.2 seconds, or a steroid-fueled one break the world record (the current men’s mark is 9.58 seconds), a majority of respondents gritted their teeth, ’fessed up and admitted they’d rather see the faster guy on PEDs.
Conte said Mayweather’s demand of random blood testing of himself and Pacquiao, up to five days before the fight, although unprecedented in boxing, should be instituted as the industry standard.
“Pacquiao said he had agreed initially to testing 30 days out, then he agreed to cut that to 24 days out in the final phases of the negotiations,” Conte says. “The Mayweather sided held firm at 14 days, so the big story supposedly was that they were 10 days apart.
“Well, let’s look at what could be done with a 24-day window. I don’t believe so-called `designer’ steroids are being used much anymore, like the THG (the “clear”) that was at the heart of the BALCO scandal.
“All anabolic steroids are similar to testosterone. If you test often enough over a sufficiently long period, you can see where the perks are. What athletes are doing now is using low-dose testosterone. The gels and the creams will clear in a day. Oral testosterone will clear in about four days. Water-based injectable testosterone will clean in about 10 days.
“With intense training and a two-week program of anabolic steroids or low-dose testosterone, you can get a significant advantage in terms of strength and power.”
And users need not look like Arnold Schwarzenegger during his Mr. Universe incarnation, either.
“Steroids make you tight and pumped-up. You lose speed,” Conte says. “It’s great during the training process because you’re going to build explosive strength, but thereafter you go back to a normal fluid balance so that you no longer have that tightness. Your flexibility comes back. You’re going to lose some speed. But if you taper off, you’re much faster 10 days to two weeks out than you are while you’re still on the stuff.
“Now, the drug EPO increases your percentage of red blood cells. If you start out at 40 percent, in a two-week time frame or less, you could increase that to 50 percent. That’s a 25 percent increase in the percentage of red blood cells. Oxygen molecules attach themselves to the hemoglobin, and that means 25 percent more oxygen is being delivered to the muscle tissue. It also means the metabolic waste byproducts, like carbon dioxide, ammonia and lactic acid, are transported out 25 percent faster. That gives you a huge edge in training and especially in the later rounds of a fight.”
Not that all fighters should be regarded with a raised eyebrow if they resist blood-testing. Even big, strong guys have been known to faint at the sight of needles. Others are queasy if taken to a high place. Hey, it happens.
“I think you could do blood testing up to five days of a fight with no physical detriment to a participant,” Conte says. “A compromise of 10 days would be all right. But as soon as you go 14 days or more, that’s enough time to use EPO and build up your red blood cell count. At 24 days, there’s all sorts of things that can be done with thyroid medication, fast-acting forms of insulin, EPO, testosterone.
“Now, for psychological reasons, some athletes are going to complain if blood-testing becomes mandatory. Manny Pacquiao isn’t the only one. Asafa Powell, the Jamaican Olympic sprinter, is terrified of having blood drawn. A lot of people are. But to take a very small blood sample would have an extremely minimal or no effect physically. Once someone got accustomed to it, it’d be much easier to accept.”
For now, though, the biggest fight of this century – and maybe the highest-grossing one of all time – remains on the drawing board because of an impasse neither side appears willing to take steps to resolve. And if you’re waiting for boxing officials to step forward to work out the kinks, don’t hold your breath.
“I believe there’s a rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs in boxing, and there has been for decades,” Conte says. “It’s certainly not anything new.”
Source: thesweetscience.com
Margarito's biggest supporter? His opponent -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
There are a lot of people utterly disgusted by the likelihood of Antonio Margarito being granted a boxing license by Texas regulators, a situation I outlined in a blog last week.
Carson Jones isn't one of them.
If Margarito, who was punished last year by the California State Athletic Commission for attempting to wear loaded gloves for his fight with Shane Mosley in Los Angeles, gets his license, Top Rank will match him with Jones in a 10-rounder at 155 pounds. It will be a high-profile fight co-featured on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey HBO PPV card at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
I think that most who read my work regularly know I'm one of the people appalled by the idea of Margarito getting a Texas license without even having to go before the California commission, which rightfully revoked his license at a disciplinary hearing last February.
However, there are two sides to every story, and Jones is one of the few people who wholeheartedly endorses the idea of Margarito being allowed to fight.
Can you blame him?
It would be the biggest fight and payday of his career. Jones (24-7-1, 15 KOs) is a 23-year-old from Oklahoma City trying to make a living in a tough, tough sport. Nobody looks at Jones and sees a future world champion -- just a hard-working fighter trying to do the best he can and looking to take advantage of a big opportunity against Margarito.
In his last fight, Jones did open a few eyes. In December, he scored a third-round knockout against previously unbeaten and wholly untested Tyrone Brunson in the main event of a "ShoBox" card on Showtime.
A fight against Margarito would dwarf that bout.
"If Margarito is not allowed to fight, that takes food off of my table and robs me of a chance to show the world that I am the real deal and hurts me far more than it does Antonio Margarito. I wish people would stop trying to prevent this fight from happening. This is a dream fight for me and something I have worked all my life for to have an opportunity to do," said Jones, who is going to go through with an already scheduled rematch against Eloy Suarez on Thursday night to prepare for the Margarito fight.
"The public needs to let me handle the punishing of Antonio Margarito, because that is exactly what I will do if he is allowed to fight me on March 13. I ask all the people who want this fight stopped to just support me on March 13 when I pull off my second upset in a row."
Jones, who has already signed a contract for the fight in anticipation of Margarito being licensed, said he has no concern about him trying to cheat again. Besides, you can bet the house that the wrapping of Margarito's hands for that fight will be the most scrutinized in history.
"I think he has learned his lesson, and I am not concerned at all about him trying to do any of the things that he has been accused of doing in the past," Jones said. "This is supposed to be his comeback fight. It will be his retirement fight also. Trust me."
Source: sports.espn.go.com
There are a lot of people utterly disgusted by the likelihood of Antonio Margarito being granted a boxing license by Texas regulators, a situation I outlined in a blog last week.
Carson Jones isn't one of them.
If Margarito, who was punished last year by the California State Athletic Commission for attempting to wear loaded gloves for his fight with Shane Mosley in Los Angeles, gets his license, Top Rank will match him with Jones in a 10-rounder at 155 pounds. It will be a high-profile fight co-featured on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey HBO PPV card at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
I think that most who read my work regularly know I'm one of the people appalled by the idea of Margarito getting a Texas license without even having to go before the California commission, which rightfully revoked his license at a disciplinary hearing last February.
However, there are two sides to every story, and Jones is one of the few people who wholeheartedly endorses the idea of Margarito being allowed to fight.
Can you blame him?
It would be the biggest fight and payday of his career. Jones (24-7-1, 15 KOs) is a 23-year-old from Oklahoma City trying to make a living in a tough, tough sport. Nobody looks at Jones and sees a future world champion -- just a hard-working fighter trying to do the best he can and looking to take advantage of a big opportunity against Margarito.
In his last fight, Jones did open a few eyes. In December, he scored a third-round knockout against previously unbeaten and wholly untested Tyrone Brunson in the main event of a "ShoBox" card on Showtime.
A fight against Margarito would dwarf that bout.
"If Margarito is not allowed to fight, that takes food off of my table and robs me of a chance to show the world that I am the real deal and hurts me far more than it does Antonio Margarito. I wish people would stop trying to prevent this fight from happening. This is a dream fight for me and something I have worked all my life for to have an opportunity to do," said Jones, who is going to go through with an already scheduled rematch against Eloy Suarez on Thursday night to prepare for the Margarito fight.
"The public needs to let me handle the punishing of Antonio Margarito, because that is exactly what I will do if he is allowed to fight me on March 13. I ask all the people who want this fight stopped to just support me on March 13 when I pull off my second upset in a row."
Jones, who has already signed a contract for the fight in anticipation of Margarito being licensed, said he has no concern about him trying to cheat again. Besides, you can bet the house that the wrapping of Margarito's hands for that fight will be the most scrutinized in history.
"I think he has learned his lesson, and I am not concerned at all about him trying to do any of the things that he has been accused of doing in the past," Jones said. "This is supposed to be his comeback fight. It will be his retirement fight also. Trust me."
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Pacquiao/Clottey: Ghanaians rally behind Joshua Clottey -- Eastside Boxing
By Prince Dornu-Leiku, Eastside Boxing
WBO Welterweight title challenger Joshua Clottey has received the full backing of his countrymen ahead of March 13’s big fight against Manny Pacquiao. Clottey goes into the fight as a huge underdog against the man who has won seven world titles in seven weight categories but Ghanaian boxing chiefs led by former world champion Azumah Nelson have reposed a huge confidence in the 32 year old Joshua Clottey.
“My fear is that Manny Pacquiao is a southpaw because they are hard to fight but Joshua has given us an assurance that he knows how to fight southpaws so I am relieved. I will advise Joshua to train hard but I know him and I know that he will not rest. We will be there to support him physically and mentally,” stated Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson at the press conference organized by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) in Accra this morning to show support for Joshua Clottey..
Azumah, now Technical Director of GBA, was surrounded by the bigwigs of Ghanaian boxing as well as top government officials on the high table at the press conference as the nation formally threw support behind the boxer. Clottey who like many of the country’s top boxers have endlessly criticized the GBA for a lack of support, confessed that he goes into the fight against Pacquiao feeling like he is fighting for Ghana for the very first time. “I am encouraged by what I am seeing and hearing today and for the first time I am thinking about the nation which will make things harder for Manny Pacquiao. The nation didn’t support us much in the past but if now they are ready to get behind us, that is the best motivation I can get. And I promise to win the title for Ghana,” Clottey told the press conference at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra.
Joshua still battling US immigration officials in Accra for his trainer Godwin Dzanie Kotey and assistant Daniel Clottey to get visa clearances to travel with the boxer to the US, was very emotional on the issue pleading with the US Embassy to even issue a two-month visa for the trainers and it will be enough. He even made a plea to Ghana President Atta Mills to personally get involved to help with the visa application. “The nation is with you in spirit and we pray to God to guide you unto victory. The NSC will also take over the visa issue so that Alloway can travel with Joshua,” said Worlanyo Agrah, CEO of the National Sports Council (NSC) of Ghana before leaving the room of the press conference and returning few minutes later with the promise that the necessary contacts are being made for Clottey’s trainer to be issued with the visa.
Clottey meanwhile is scheduled to depart Accra for the US on Friday hopefully with coach Alloway to begin final preparations for the big fight on March 13. He has again assured his countrymen that nothing will stop him from beating Manny Pacquiao even if the stakes are highly placed against him. “I am taking this fight not for the money but to win the title. I know its Pacquiao but I don’t want people thinking that Manny is super, that nobody can beat him. He is a human being like me. He has lost three times and I have also lost three times. We speak, laugh and share jokes together. I promise that I will dethrone him,” Joshua Clottey said.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
***
WBO Welterweight title challenger Joshua Clottey has received the full backing of his countrymen ahead of March 13’s big fight against Manny Pacquiao. Clottey goes into the fight as a huge underdog against the man who has won seven world titles in seven weight categories but Ghanaian boxing chiefs led by former world champion Azumah Nelson have reposed a huge confidence in the 32 year old Joshua Clottey.
“My fear is that Manny Pacquiao is a southpaw because they are hard to fight but Joshua has given us an assurance that he knows how to fight southpaws so I am relieved. I will advise Joshua to train hard but I know him and I know that he will not rest. We will be there to support him physically and mentally,” stated Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson at the press conference organized by the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) in Accra this morning to show support for Joshua Clottey..
Azumah, now Technical Director of GBA, was surrounded by the bigwigs of Ghanaian boxing as well as top government officials on the high table at the press conference as the nation formally threw support behind the boxer. Clottey who like many of the country’s top boxers have endlessly criticized the GBA for a lack of support, confessed that he goes into the fight against Pacquiao feeling like he is fighting for Ghana for the very first time. “I am encouraged by what I am seeing and hearing today and for the first time I am thinking about the nation which will make things harder for Manny Pacquiao. The nation didn’t support us much in the past but if now they are ready to get behind us, that is the best motivation I can get. And I promise to win the title for Ghana,” Clottey told the press conference at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra.
Joshua still battling US immigration officials in Accra for his trainer Godwin Dzanie Kotey and assistant Daniel Clottey to get visa clearances to travel with the boxer to the US, was very emotional on the issue pleading with the US Embassy to even issue a two-month visa for the trainers and it will be enough. He even made a plea to Ghana President Atta Mills to personally get involved to help with the visa application. “The nation is with you in spirit and we pray to God to guide you unto victory. The NSC will also take over the visa issue so that Alloway can travel with Joshua,” said Worlanyo Agrah, CEO of the National Sports Council (NSC) of Ghana before leaving the room of the press conference and returning few minutes later with the promise that the necessary contacts are being made for Clottey’s trainer to be issued with the visa.
Clottey meanwhile is scheduled to depart Accra for the US on Friday hopefully with coach Alloway to begin final preparations for the big fight on March 13. He has again assured his countrymen that nothing will stop him from beating Manny Pacquiao even if the stakes are highly placed against him. “I am taking this fight not for the money but to win the title. I know its Pacquiao but I don’t want people thinking that Manny is super, that nobody can beat him. He is a human being like me. He has lost three times and I have also lost three times. We speak, laugh and share jokes together. I promise that I will dethrone him,” Joshua Clottey said.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
***
Only 39,316 tickets to go: Manny Pacquiao beats Muhammad Ali, JC Chavez -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.com
The number, according to Bob “I Never Lie” Arum, is about 24,000.
The probable maximum number, according to Arum when speaking to Steve Kim at Maxboxing, is 45,000.
I say Uncle Bob is too conservative. I say he’s showing a real lack of imagination with his red hot and smoking Manny Pacquiao product.
We’re talking about the Joshua Clottey-Pacman WBO welterweight title bout set for March 13 at Jerry’s World, Mr. Jones’ swanky football playpen in Arlington.
I say Arum is not shooting for the moon when he should be.
They are calling this “The Event,” aren’t they?
The head of Top Rank is aiming low by margins of 18,315 tickets sold and also by 13,891 ducats peddled.
The magic numbers—attention Dallas Cowbys marketing and publicity machines—are 63,315 and 58,891.
Let me explain as I was at both of these magical boxing events
The 63,315 was the paid attendance in the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, in 1978 when Muhammad Ali beat upstart Neon Leon Spinks in their rematch.
Michael Marley asks, why can't Manny Pacquiao outdo Muhammad Ali, JC Chavez on paid attendance?
The 58,891 is how many people paid to put their respective butts into seats at the then new San Antonio Alamodome for the Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez superfight on Sept. 10, 1993.
Yeah, the one with the odious majority draw decision, a blatant robbery of Whitaker but we’ll get to that. later.
Then there was the Greg Haugen-Chavez bout in Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, when 132,000 tickets were sold and 136,000 filled the massive soccer stadium but don’t get me started.
Btw, this also took place in 1993, so it's astounding to note that Chavez sold at least 190,000 fight tickets in just two bouts that year. He fought four other times in the calendar year so it's safe to say that 200,000 people paid to watch "El Gran Campeon" fight in person during 1993.
Let’s stick to venues where there is a roof, retractable otherwise.
It’s not even Feb. 1 and Pacman-Clottey has sold almost 25,000 tickets.
The addition of returning from disgrace Antonio Margarito has been leaked but not formally announced. And the Cowboys peddle many football tickets throughout Mexico, especially around Monterey where a Pacquiao-Clottey presser will drive ticket sales south of the border.
The promotion has not even moved into second or third gear so why not aim for the moon, why not try to eclipse San Antonio or even New Orleans?
Greg Marotta, former football agent and nephew of legendary boxing cutman Ace Marotta, has done business with Jones and his staff. Marotta said the Pacquiao-Clottey fight can came close to or surpass the 63,315 and 58,891 attendance figures.
"In 1992 Jerry Jones, through his revolutionary deal with APEX ONE, re-wrote the NFL licensing book.Jerry's philosophy was simple. The Dallas Cowboys were going to return to glory and re-entrench themselves as America's Team-----and the Dallas Cowboys alone deserved to reap the benefits of all that hard work,” Marotta said.
“Why should the apparel licensing pie be cut up in equal parts when not every team put the same product on the field? The Cowboys were committed to greatness and deserved to garner their just financial reward for such commitment. His maverick, risk-taking style translated to other deals also, like Pepsi and American Express. The APEX ONE deal set the tone for how Jerry was going to change the NFL marketing business------he was going to market the Dallas Cowboys to those who wanted to be in business with The Dallas Cowboys. I would not bet against him changing how the great sport of boxing is marketed. He's going to change the entire landscape, once again
"I wouldn't be surprised if Jerry surpassed the 60,000 sold for Whitaker-Chavez. I wouldn't be shocked if he sold out the building. I really wouldn't." When we started the APEX ONE deal the Cowboys were selling single digit percentages of all NFL licensed apparel. It quickly went to 25 percent. Jerry is a results-motivated guy."
(More about the San Antonio event to follow.)
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
The number, according to Bob “I Never Lie” Arum, is about 24,000.
The probable maximum number, according to Arum when speaking to Steve Kim at Maxboxing, is 45,000.
I say Uncle Bob is too conservative. I say he’s showing a real lack of imagination with his red hot and smoking Manny Pacquiao product.
We’re talking about the Joshua Clottey-Pacman WBO welterweight title bout set for March 13 at Jerry’s World, Mr. Jones’ swanky football playpen in Arlington.
I say Arum is not shooting for the moon when he should be.
They are calling this “The Event,” aren’t they?
The head of Top Rank is aiming low by margins of 18,315 tickets sold and also by 13,891 ducats peddled.
The magic numbers—attention Dallas Cowbys marketing and publicity machines—are 63,315 and 58,891.
Let me explain as I was at both of these magical boxing events
The 63,315 was the paid attendance in the Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, in 1978 when Muhammad Ali beat upstart Neon Leon Spinks in their rematch.
Michael Marley asks, why can't Manny Pacquiao outdo Muhammad Ali, JC Chavez on paid attendance?
The 58,891 is how many people paid to put their respective butts into seats at the then new San Antonio Alamodome for the Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez superfight on Sept. 10, 1993.
Yeah, the one with the odious majority draw decision, a blatant robbery of Whitaker but we’ll get to that. later.
Then there was the Greg Haugen-Chavez bout in Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, when 132,000 tickets were sold and 136,000 filled the massive soccer stadium but don’t get me started.
Btw, this also took place in 1993, so it's astounding to note that Chavez sold at least 190,000 fight tickets in just two bouts that year. He fought four other times in the calendar year so it's safe to say that 200,000 people paid to watch "El Gran Campeon" fight in person during 1993.
Let’s stick to venues where there is a roof, retractable otherwise.
It’s not even Feb. 1 and Pacman-Clottey has sold almost 25,000 tickets.
The addition of returning from disgrace Antonio Margarito has been leaked but not formally announced. And the Cowboys peddle many football tickets throughout Mexico, especially around Monterey where a Pacquiao-Clottey presser will drive ticket sales south of the border.
The promotion has not even moved into second or third gear so why not aim for the moon, why not try to eclipse San Antonio or even New Orleans?
Greg Marotta, former football agent and nephew of legendary boxing cutman Ace Marotta, has done business with Jones and his staff. Marotta said the Pacquiao-Clottey fight can came close to or surpass the 63,315 and 58,891 attendance figures.
"In 1992 Jerry Jones, through his revolutionary deal with APEX ONE, re-wrote the NFL licensing book.Jerry's philosophy was simple. The Dallas Cowboys were going to return to glory and re-entrench themselves as America's Team-----and the Dallas Cowboys alone deserved to reap the benefits of all that hard work,” Marotta said.
“Why should the apparel licensing pie be cut up in equal parts when not every team put the same product on the field? The Cowboys were committed to greatness and deserved to garner their just financial reward for such commitment. His maverick, risk-taking style translated to other deals also, like Pepsi and American Express. The APEX ONE deal set the tone for how Jerry was going to change the NFL marketing business------he was going to market the Dallas Cowboys to those who wanted to be in business with The Dallas Cowboys. I would not bet against him changing how the great sport of boxing is marketed. He's going to change the entire landscape, once again
"I wouldn't be surprised if Jerry surpassed the 60,000 sold for Whitaker-Chavez. I wouldn't be shocked if he sold out the building. I really wouldn't." When we started the APEX ONE deal the Cowboys were selling single digit percentages of all NFL licensed apparel. It quickly went to 25 percent. Jerry is a results-motivated guy."
(More about the San Antonio event to follow.)
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
Manny begins tough grind for Clottey bout -- The Philippine Star
By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao kicks off his grueling training at the gym this week, which may include a series of sparring sessions as he steps up his buildup for the Josh Clottey fight on March 13.
Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said it will mark the start of the tough plyometric and isometric exercises that should last for at least six weeks.
Depending on his condition, sparring may also begin this week, according to Ariza.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao made sure to break sweat even on his rest day by playing basketball in Burbank.
The Filipino boxing icon, after two hard days at the Wild Card Gym, went out with friends Sunday afternoon to play basketball, his only way of keeping himself and his adrenalin going when he’s out of the gym.
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles last Wednesday from a three-day press tour in Dallas and New York, and the following day put on his basketball shoes for some pick-up games with his LA buddies.
Friday and Saturday he was at the gym pounding the mitts with his chief trainer Freddie Roach, trying out his brand new pair of gold boxing gloves that match the color of his new tatoo, a scorching meteor, on his left arm.
According to insidesports.ph, Ariza was impressed with Pacquiao’s performance at the gym over the weekend, and the 31-year-old energizer looked like “he didn’t take time out.”
It was the first time Pacquiao hit the gym since posting a sensational and historic win over Miguel Cotto last Nov. 14 in Las Vegas to become the first fighter in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight classes.
The insidesport.ph report also said Pacquiao showed up at the gym just a shade under 150 lb, meaning there’s very little he would need to lose for the Clottey fight, scheduled March 13 and pegged at 147 lb.
Roach, who’s looking forward to a tough fight, is reportedly looking at Shawn Porter or Amir Khan to head Pacquiao’s sparring partners, 48 days before the fight set at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“He’ll be aggressive. He’ll try to kill us. He comes forward, he’s strong and he fights. That’s what he does. Its not a problem. I’m reviewing tapes on how Clottey handles lefties,” said Roach, as quoted by Pinoy boxing man Hermie Rivera.
Source: philstar.com
***
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao kicks off his grueling training at the gym this week, which may include a series of sparring sessions as he steps up his buildup for the Josh Clottey fight on March 13.
Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said it will mark the start of the tough plyometric and isometric exercises that should last for at least six weeks.
Depending on his condition, sparring may also begin this week, according to Ariza.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao made sure to break sweat even on his rest day by playing basketball in Burbank.
The Filipino boxing icon, after two hard days at the Wild Card Gym, went out with friends Sunday afternoon to play basketball, his only way of keeping himself and his adrenalin going when he’s out of the gym.
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles last Wednesday from a three-day press tour in Dallas and New York, and the following day put on his basketball shoes for some pick-up games with his LA buddies.
Friday and Saturday he was at the gym pounding the mitts with his chief trainer Freddie Roach, trying out his brand new pair of gold boxing gloves that match the color of his new tatoo, a scorching meteor, on his left arm.
According to insidesports.ph, Ariza was impressed with Pacquiao’s performance at the gym over the weekend, and the 31-year-old energizer looked like “he didn’t take time out.”
It was the first time Pacquiao hit the gym since posting a sensational and historic win over Miguel Cotto last Nov. 14 in Las Vegas to become the first fighter in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight classes.
The insidesport.ph report also said Pacquiao showed up at the gym just a shade under 150 lb, meaning there’s very little he would need to lose for the Clottey fight, scheduled March 13 and pegged at 147 lb.
Roach, who’s looking forward to a tough fight, is reportedly looking at Shawn Porter or Amir Khan to head Pacquiao’s sparring partners, 48 days before the fight set at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“He’ll be aggressive. He’ll try to kill us. He comes forward, he’s strong and he fights. That’s what he does. Its not a problem. I’m reviewing tapes on how Clottey handles lefties,” said Roach, as quoted by Pinoy boxing man Hermie Rivera.
Source: philstar.com
***
25,000 Pacquiao-Clottey Tickets Sold -- Modern Ghana
By Charles Nixon Yeboah, Daily Guide
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE SPORTS indicates that 25,000 tickets have been sold for the crunch boxing fight between Ghana's Joshua Clottey and Philippine Manny Pacman Pacquiao, scheduled for March 13, 2005.
According to reports, boxing fans across the United States are hoping to witness the biggest fight in Dallas, Texas, hence the scramble for tickets.
Clottey is regarded as a fearsome welterweight boxer and acclaimed American trainer Freddie Roach says the boxer is a “very dangerous” fighter; that is why Pacman must ready himself to go the distance against the Ghanaian on March 13.
He said, “We're gonna get ready for 12 hard rounds…We'll be ready. We have 6 weeks now to get ready for the fight.”
Fans of Pacquiao regard him as a superman who can make the impossible possible and who can subdue all his opponents effortlessly.
Meanwhile, Joshua Clottey would hold a press conference in Ghana today to throw more light on his intended fight with the Filipino who holds the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight crown. He is expected to brief sports journalists about his preparations for the big fight and his appeal to the government to intervene to ensure his trainer gets a visa to travel to the USA.
Source: modernghana.com
***
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE SPORTS indicates that 25,000 tickets have been sold for the crunch boxing fight between Ghana's Joshua Clottey and Philippine Manny Pacman Pacquiao, scheduled for March 13, 2005.
According to reports, boxing fans across the United States are hoping to witness the biggest fight in Dallas, Texas, hence the scramble for tickets.
Clottey is regarded as a fearsome welterweight boxer and acclaimed American trainer Freddie Roach says the boxer is a “very dangerous” fighter; that is why Pacman must ready himself to go the distance against the Ghanaian on March 13.
He said, “We're gonna get ready for 12 hard rounds…We'll be ready. We have 6 weeks now to get ready for the fight.”
Fans of Pacquiao regard him as a superman who can make the impossible possible and who can subdue all his opponents effortlessly.
Meanwhile, Joshua Clottey would hold a press conference in Ghana today to throw more light on his intended fight with the Filipino who holds the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight crown. He is expected to brief sports journalists about his preparations for the big fight and his appeal to the government to intervene to ensure his trainer gets a visa to travel to the USA.
Source: modernghana.com
***
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