By Geno McGahee, RingsideReport.com
It is hard to believe that the WBC Lightweight Champion, Edwin Valero, is involved in a murder-suicide, where his wife would die from multiple stab wounds, and he would later hang himself in his prison cell the very next day. The world champion was right at the verge of stardom, featured on Showtime, defeating Antonio DeMarco by impressive TKO.
Valero had the impressive record of 27-0, 27 KO’s, but more impressive was just how quickly he would beat his opposition. Out of those 27 victories, 19 of them were first round knockouts. When he stepped up in competition, he would show his versatility, and an underrated defense, slowly beating them until they collapsed. He had all the tools to be the next big thing in boxing and there was a lot of talk of a bout with Manny Pacquiao in the near future.
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome was a brain injury he received in 2001 after a motorcycle accident. He was eventually cleared to fight in 2002, but this would haunt his career. He would fail an MRI when he was set to make his American television debut on HBO’s Boxing After Dark, and could not get licensed in any state. His legend would build though, through the power of the Internet.
Boxing fans would hear the news of a lightweight with a heavyweight punch, blitzing his opponents in the first round. It brought them to Youtube where many of Valero’s examples of destruction were on display and the comparison would be automatically made to the Filipino superstar, Manny Pacquiao. A showdown between the two would be too big for any MRI to prevent and in 2008, Valero was licensed to fight in Texas, in his victory over DeMarco.
The next opponent on the agenda was to be light welterweight, Lamont Peterson, a move closer to a showdown with Manny Pacquiao, the current welterweight kingpin. Valero had been compared so much to Manny because of his southpaw stance, gutsy and powerful style, and ability to draw a crowd. A match between them would have been like two freight trains on a collision course. It is a boxing promoter’s dream and it was on the verge of becoming a reality.
Edwin Valero would state that he only wanted “big fights” and mentioned Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez. He would challenge Pacquiao through the press, stating that he would not require steroid testing and that he didn’t care how he got the bout, as long as he got it. Any challenge to Pacquiao will get the boxing world turning their heads but when the challenge came from Valero, the boxing world paused. It was another great challenge to Manny as he winds down his career, and Valero’s punching power and timing would certainly make an interesting fight.
In September 2009, Valero reportedly attacked both his mother and his wife, leading to an arrest for assault. Valero would deny the allegations and his mother would come forward and state that it did not happen.
On March 29th, Yennifer Carolina, the wife of Edwin, was admitted into the hospital with bruises and a broken rib that punctured her lung. She would claim that she fell down the stairs. In the past, she had been brought to the hospital for other similar injuries. Valero would create a ruckus at the hospital, threatening the medical staff forcing them to call the police. He would admit that he was an alcoholic and was sentenced to rehab for six months.
On April 1st, it was announced that Valero would be released from rehab and not serve the six months, with the reason being that the process of detoxification doesn’t take that long. The main purpose behind the early release was to capitalize on his boxing career and get him back into the ring where there was a lot of money to be made.
On April 10th, Valero was involved in a drunken hit and run accident. He agreed to pay for the damages and to continue fighting his problems with alcohol and drugs. Valero was self destructing.
It was on April 18th that the shocking news hit the boxing world. Edwin Valero murdered his wife, stabbing her to death. The long history of domestic abuse and the recent spree of criminal behavior should have been a signal that there was something very wrong with the champion. This case is a great example of the problem with wife beaters. Despite the ongoing domestic abuse, Yennifer never filed charges…never made him pay for the beatings. Tragically, this was the next step and what many thought to be the future of boxing disappeared and a life was lost. Valero would admit guilt in the murder.
The next day, April 19th, Valero would commit suicide, hanging himself in his cell with his clothing.
Boxing has been dealt with several blows as of late, tragic deaths that have rattled the sports world. Arturo Gatti reportedly committed suicide, and so too did Alexis Arguello, and now Edwin Valero has taken his own life as well, but the true tragedy here is the loss of his wife and the people around Edwin not reading the signs and just looking at the money to be made from his boxing career.
Edwin Valero will go down in history as a tragedy…a force in boxing that could have been one of the greats and done some fantastic things, but instead, his legacy is that of a murderer, an abuser of women, and a coward. Despite the loss for boxing fans, the human race is better without this menace.
Source: ringsidereport.com
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Valero couldn't have killed self - Pacquiao -- Philippine Star
By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao was “shocked and surprised” over the death of Venezuelan knockout artist Edwin Valero but isn’t falling for the suicide story hook, line and sinker.
Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, yesterday said the Filipino champion was out on the campaign trail when he learned that Valero had committed suicide in a jail cell in Caracas.
Valero, who knocked out all his 27 opponents, was earlier arrested for the killing of his wife, but based on reports he handed out his own death sentence by hanging himself using his own clothes.
“Manny knew about the stabbing of Valero’s wife but when I told him that Valero had committed suicide he was totally shocked and surprised,” said Koncz from General Santos City.
Pacquiao, who’s seeking a congressional seat in the province of Sarangani, feels that there could be more than the suicide story.
“He thought about the possibility of a conspiracy,” said Koncz of Pacquiao.
“And that it was possible that the family of Valero’s wife had powerful friends and so there could have been a conspiracy to get back at Valero. How can you hang yourself using your clothes?” Koncz asked.
“Someone might have gotten back at Valero. If police authorities felt that Valero could be a danger even to himself, they should have stripped him down to his briefs inside his cell or put on a straight jacket on him,” he added.
“They do that in the United States. Venezuelan authorities should have placed Valero under suicidal watch,” said Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser when asked how Pacquiao felt about the death of his potential opponent.
Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, told boxing chronicler Michael Marley he wasn’t shocked when Valero committed suicide.
“I was shocked, really shocked, when he murdered the wife. But I was not shocked to hear this morning that he killed himself. I really figured it would end this way, starting from when he came down (from drugs and/or alcohol) and he realized what he had done to the wife,” Arum said.
“So am I shocked that he then killed himself? No I am not, because I believed he then realized he could either kill himself or spend the rest of his life in a prison cell,” Arum said.
“Valero’s smartest move, the only move he had left, was to take his own life. It is a tragic thing anyway you want to look at it. He wanted to avoid spending the rest of his life in jail and this was his only way to avoid it,” said the legendary promoter.
Source: philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao was “shocked and surprised” over the death of Venezuelan knockout artist Edwin Valero but isn’t falling for the suicide story hook, line and sinker.
Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, yesterday said the Filipino champion was out on the campaign trail when he learned that Valero had committed suicide in a jail cell in Caracas.
Valero, who knocked out all his 27 opponents, was earlier arrested for the killing of his wife, but based on reports he handed out his own death sentence by hanging himself using his own clothes.
“Manny knew about the stabbing of Valero’s wife but when I told him that Valero had committed suicide he was totally shocked and surprised,” said Koncz from General Santos City.
Pacquiao, who’s seeking a congressional seat in the province of Sarangani, feels that there could be more than the suicide story.
“He thought about the possibility of a conspiracy,” said Koncz of Pacquiao.
“And that it was possible that the family of Valero’s wife had powerful friends and so there could have been a conspiracy to get back at Valero. How can you hang yourself using your clothes?” Koncz asked.
“Someone might have gotten back at Valero. If police authorities felt that Valero could be a danger even to himself, they should have stripped him down to his briefs inside his cell or put on a straight jacket on him,” he added.
“They do that in the United States. Venezuelan authorities should have placed Valero under suicidal watch,” said Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser when asked how Pacquiao felt about the death of his potential opponent.
Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, told boxing chronicler Michael Marley he wasn’t shocked when Valero committed suicide.
“I was shocked, really shocked, when he murdered the wife. But I was not shocked to hear this morning that he killed himself. I really figured it would end this way, starting from when he came down (from drugs and/or alcohol) and he realized what he had done to the wife,” Arum said.
“So am I shocked that he then killed himself? No I am not, because I believed he then realized he could either kill himself or spend the rest of his life in a prison cell,” Arum said.
“Valero’s smartest move, the only move he had left, was to take his own life. It is a tragic thing anyway you want to look at it. He wanted to avoid spending the rest of his life in jail and this was his only way to avoid it,” said the legendary promoter.
Source: philstar.com
Slimmer Minto Ready for Huck -- FightNews
By Brady Crytzer, FightNews.com
Over the last two years heavyweight prospect Brian Minto has filled a void. In a sport where “the good old days” seem farther than ever, the undersized heavyweight brawler has satisfied pundits who clamored for the time of Rocky Marciano and Jack Dempsey. After suffering a TKO loss to prospect Chris Arreola in December, the refocused Minto has dropped down in weight to make a run in the cruiserweight division. His first fight? WBO world champion Marco Huck. With his first career title shot looming in a brand new weight class, the rejuvenated Minto is ready for anything.
“I can see my stomach muscles now,” Minto joked. “I made a commitment to myself to lose this weight. Everything is faster now. My conditioning is the best it’s ever been and training just feels easier.”
Minto, who is training for this fight at Freddie Roach’s legendary Wild Card Gym, is not treading lightly in his new, trimmer frame. Joking that he hasn’t weighed under 200 pounds since his days at Butler High School, Minto is utilizing his new found gifts to their fullest extent. While he has weighed in less than 220 pounds for nearly every fight since 2005, Minto finally feels at home in the cruiserweight division.
“Speed is velocity and power,” Minto said. “I was afraid of losing some of my punching power, but Freddie (Roach) thinks that I hit harder than ever right now. This is a great weight for me. People think that I will be too drained come fight time, but the truth is that I’m on weight right now. I’m using the same program that Pacquiao trains with and I feel great.”
In his latest in ring appearance, Minto battled rising heavyweight star Chris Arreola. Nearly four inches shorter and outweighed by almost forty pounds, Minto was struck down in the fourth round by the highly-touted punching power of “The Nightmare.” Like any professional, Minto has taken the loss in stride, and considers the fight as a learning experience.
“Physics takes over,” Minto admitted. “When you are fight a world class heavyweight that can bang, being small is a disadvantage. He (Arreola) would just bump me and I would slide. Look at Jameel McCline. He laid down for his paycheck when he fought Chris. I gave him a good run.”
“When it comes down to it, I’ve got balls and heart. I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.”
Dropping down in weight has its advantages for a lifelong heavyweight. Where most would see Minto looking forward to capitalizing on his new found edge in power, the Butler, PA holds his in-ring experience as supreme in future cruiserweight match ups.
“My advantage is that I’ve been in with a world class puncher,” Minto explained. “It’s not to say that these cruiserweights can’t punch, but they aren’t heavyweights. I bring excitement and I hope to help cruiserweight get the recognition that it deserves.”
“Most Americans don’t know what the cruiserweight division is. You have great fighters like Steve Cunningham and BJ Flores fighting and they are hardly ever televised.”
Minto had envisioned himself in a world title fight from the beginning, but he never pictured it taking place in Germany. Fighting in his opponent’s backyard is an unfortunate experience that Minto has already been privy to. In 2006 Minto played the spoiler to German fans by stopping former world champion Axel Schultz. Now, on May 1st, he looks to do it again.
“I go into these situations as an underdog,” Minto admitted. “I’ve got everything to gain in the world here. I know that the judges’ will probably score close rounds in his favor, but I’m not worried. I’ve noticed that a lot of times he (Huck) will throw a lot of punches to try and steal rounds.”
“I’m bringing my own judges, and they’re my right and left hands.”
Awaiting Minto is WBO world cruiserweight champion Marco Huck. Born of Serbian descent and defending his title for a third time, Huck has established himself as one of the best in the world at 200 pounds. In his last in ring appearance just over six weeks ago, Huck wasted little time knocking out challenger Adam Richards. On May 1st, he looks to repeat his performance, this time against Minto.
“Huck is a strong guy,” Minto said. “I’m going to use my power advantage, but I’m not going to be stupid about it. From what I have been hearing he is going to try and knock me out. If he wants to, that’s great. He’ll be in for a hard night. I’m prepared for a dogfight.”
“Everything happens for a reason. God put this opportunity in front of me and I am taking it.”
Source: fightnews.com
Over the last two years heavyweight prospect Brian Minto has filled a void. In a sport where “the good old days” seem farther than ever, the undersized heavyweight brawler has satisfied pundits who clamored for the time of Rocky Marciano and Jack Dempsey. After suffering a TKO loss to prospect Chris Arreola in December, the refocused Minto has dropped down in weight to make a run in the cruiserweight division. His first fight? WBO world champion Marco Huck. With his first career title shot looming in a brand new weight class, the rejuvenated Minto is ready for anything.
“I can see my stomach muscles now,” Minto joked. “I made a commitment to myself to lose this weight. Everything is faster now. My conditioning is the best it’s ever been and training just feels easier.”
Minto, who is training for this fight at Freddie Roach’s legendary Wild Card Gym, is not treading lightly in his new, trimmer frame. Joking that he hasn’t weighed under 200 pounds since his days at Butler High School, Minto is utilizing his new found gifts to their fullest extent. While he has weighed in less than 220 pounds for nearly every fight since 2005, Minto finally feels at home in the cruiserweight division.
“Speed is velocity and power,” Minto said. “I was afraid of losing some of my punching power, but Freddie (Roach) thinks that I hit harder than ever right now. This is a great weight for me. People think that I will be too drained come fight time, but the truth is that I’m on weight right now. I’m using the same program that Pacquiao trains with and I feel great.”
In his latest in ring appearance, Minto battled rising heavyweight star Chris Arreola. Nearly four inches shorter and outweighed by almost forty pounds, Minto was struck down in the fourth round by the highly-touted punching power of “The Nightmare.” Like any professional, Minto has taken the loss in stride, and considers the fight as a learning experience.
“Physics takes over,” Minto admitted. “When you are fight a world class heavyweight that can bang, being small is a disadvantage. He (Arreola) would just bump me and I would slide. Look at Jameel McCline. He laid down for his paycheck when he fought Chris. I gave him a good run.”
“When it comes down to it, I’ve got balls and heart. I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.”
Dropping down in weight has its advantages for a lifelong heavyweight. Where most would see Minto looking forward to capitalizing on his new found edge in power, the Butler, PA holds his in-ring experience as supreme in future cruiserweight match ups.
“My advantage is that I’ve been in with a world class puncher,” Minto explained. “It’s not to say that these cruiserweights can’t punch, but they aren’t heavyweights. I bring excitement and I hope to help cruiserweight get the recognition that it deserves.”
“Most Americans don’t know what the cruiserweight division is. You have great fighters like Steve Cunningham and BJ Flores fighting and they are hardly ever televised.”
Minto had envisioned himself in a world title fight from the beginning, but he never pictured it taking place in Germany. Fighting in his opponent’s backyard is an unfortunate experience that Minto has already been privy to. In 2006 Minto played the spoiler to German fans by stopping former world champion Axel Schultz. Now, on May 1st, he looks to do it again.
“I go into these situations as an underdog,” Minto admitted. “I’ve got everything to gain in the world here. I know that the judges’ will probably score close rounds in his favor, but I’m not worried. I’ve noticed that a lot of times he (Huck) will throw a lot of punches to try and steal rounds.”
“I’m bringing my own judges, and they’re my right and left hands.”
Awaiting Minto is WBO world cruiserweight champion Marco Huck. Born of Serbian descent and defending his title for a third time, Huck has established himself as one of the best in the world at 200 pounds. In his last in ring appearance just over six weeks ago, Huck wasted little time knocking out challenger Adam Richards. On May 1st, he looks to repeat his performance, this time against Minto.
“Huck is a strong guy,” Minto said. “I’m going to use my power advantage, but I’m not going to be stupid about it. From what I have been hearing he is going to try and knock me out. If he wants to, that’s great. He’ll be in for a hard night. I’m prepared for a dogfight.”
“Everything happens for a reason. God put this opportunity in front of me and I am taking it.”
Source: fightnews.com
Pacquiao condoles with Valero family -- ABS-CBN News
abs-cbnNEWS.com
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao expressed surprise over the death of former 2-time world champ Edwin "El Dinamita" Valero, who was one of his potential future opponents in the ring.
“Nagulat ako nang malaman ko ang nangyari (I was surprised when I heard of what happened),” said Pacquiao, who is the last few weeks of his bid for the lone congressional post in Sarangani Province.
“Nakikiramay ako sa pamilya niya, ipagdasal na lang natin siya (I condole with his family, let us pray for his soul),” he added.
The heavy-hitting Venezuelan boxer, who went undefeated for 27 fights, was considered among the Filipino champion's possible opponents because of his sensational fighting style.
He committed suicide in his prison cell a day after being arrested for the murder of his young wife.
Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz also lamented Valero’s fate, saying it could have been prevented had the Venezuelan’s manager intervened.
Downward spiral
Valero’s life went on a downward spiral during the past weeks. Near the end of March, he was arrested for suspected aggression towards his wife, and had spent time subsequently at a psychiatric clinic.
He was detained on Sunday after confessing to murdering his 20-year-old wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera de Valero, in a hotel room overnight in the northern Venezuelan city of Valencia.
A day after his arrest, Valero hanged himself by making a rope out of his clothes. He was apparently still alive when guards found him, but died shortly after arriving at hospital from asphyxiation. He was 28.
Valero, together with former world champion David Diaz, were even among the VIPs (very important persons) who attended Pacquiao’s 2008 birthday bash.
“He was here 2 years ago with David Diaz during Manny's birthday,” said Koncz. “But he never disclosed anything about his problems.”
'Primed to take on Pacquiao'
Top Rank promotions chief Bob Arum said he was setting up Valero to be a future opponent of Pacquiao.
“I was grooming him as a great future opponent for Manny Pacquiao. That would have been a sensational fight,” Arum said in a Reuters report.
The WBC listed Valero as champion in recess in February to allow him to recover from his injury and give him time to decide which division he will compete next.
“He was a sensational fighter, sensational… He was just electric. A complete crowd-pleasing style,” added Arum, who co-promoted the Venezuelan’s last two fights. Arum also promotes the bouts of Pacquiao.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Venezuelan fighter was considering to fight in the welterweight division so he can clash with Pacquiao, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) titleholder.
Even Pacquiao’s coach, Freddie Roach, was setting his sights on Valero as a suitable opponent for the Filipino should negotiations with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fail again. (Click here to read).
“The number one contender in my mind right now is Valero,” Roach told BoxingScene.com in March after Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight crown by defeating Joshua Clottey via unanimous decision on March 13.
“I've been watching him a little bit. I know he's a big puncher. He's a southpaw and does pose some difficulties. He's better than just a guy who could punch but I think that's the best marketable fight out there for us,” he noted.
String of deaths
Valero's case is the latest among the string of deaths related to big name boxers in recent months.
In July 2009, Panamanian boxing legend and 3-time world champion Alexis "The Explosive Thin Man" Arguello died after reportedly shooting himself in the heart.
A week later, Canadian boxer Arturo Gatti was allegedly murdered by his wife, after a heated domestic dispute.
Two-time world champion Vernon Forrest of the US was killed after being shot at by an armed robber in Atlanta also in July. -- With a report from Jay Dayupay, ABS-CBN News SOKSARGEN and Agence France-Presse
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao expressed surprise over the death of former 2-time world champ Edwin "El Dinamita" Valero, who was one of his potential future opponents in the ring.
“Nagulat ako nang malaman ko ang nangyari (I was surprised when I heard of what happened),” said Pacquiao, who is the last few weeks of his bid for the lone congressional post in Sarangani Province.
“Nakikiramay ako sa pamilya niya, ipagdasal na lang natin siya (I condole with his family, let us pray for his soul),” he added.
The heavy-hitting Venezuelan boxer, who went undefeated for 27 fights, was considered among the Filipino champion's possible opponents because of his sensational fighting style.
He committed suicide in his prison cell a day after being arrested for the murder of his young wife.
Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz also lamented Valero’s fate, saying it could have been prevented had the Venezuelan’s manager intervened.
Downward spiral
Valero’s life went on a downward spiral during the past weeks. Near the end of March, he was arrested for suspected aggression towards his wife, and had spent time subsequently at a psychiatric clinic.
He was detained on Sunday after confessing to murdering his 20-year-old wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera de Valero, in a hotel room overnight in the northern Venezuelan city of Valencia.
A day after his arrest, Valero hanged himself by making a rope out of his clothes. He was apparently still alive when guards found him, but died shortly after arriving at hospital from asphyxiation. He was 28.
Valero, together with former world champion David Diaz, were even among the VIPs (very important persons) who attended Pacquiao’s 2008 birthday bash.
“He was here 2 years ago with David Diaz during Manny's birthday,” said Koncz. “But he never disclosed anything about his problems.”
'Primed to take on Pacquiao'
Top Rank promotions chief Bob Arum said he was setting up Valero to be a future opponent of Pacquiao.
“I was grooming him as a great future opponent for Manny Pacquiao. That would have been a sensational fight,” Arum said in a Reuters report.
The WBC listed Valero as champion in recess in February to allow him to recover from his injury and give him time to decide which division he will compete next.
“He was a sensational fighter, sensational… He was just electric. A complete crowd-pleasing style,” added Arum, who co-promoted the Venezuelan’s last two fights. Arum also promotes the bouts of Pacquiao.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Venezuelan fighter was considering to fight in the welterweight division so he can clash with Pacquiao, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) titleholder.
Even Pacquiao’s coach, Freddie Roach, was setting his sights on Valero as a suitable opponent for the Filipino should negotiations with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fail again. (Click here to read).
“The number one contender in my mind right now is Valero,” Roach told BoxingScene.com in March after Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight crown by defeating Joshua Clottey via unanimous decision on March 13.
“I've been watching him a little bit. I know he's a big puncher. He's a southpaw and does pose some difficulties. He's better than just a guy who could punch but I think that's the best marketable fight out there for us,” he noted.
String of deaths
Valero's case is the latest among the string of deaths related to big name boxers in recent months.
In July 2009, Panamanian boxing legend and 3-time world champion Alexis "The Explosive Thin Man" Arguello died after reportedly shooting himself in the heart.
A week later, Canadian boxer Arturo Gatti was allegedly murdered by his wife, after a heated domestic dispute.
Two-time world champion Vernon Forrest of the US was killed after being shot at by an armed robber in Atlanta also in July. -- With a report from Jay Dayupay, ABS-CBN News SOKSARGEN and Agence France-Presse
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
Older fighters shouldn't necessarily be dismissed -- The Ring
By William Dettloff, The Ring
It was hard to peruse any boxing coverage at all over the last couple weeks without happening on one diatribe or another about how we all should be ashamed of the back-to-back atrocities titled Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield-Frans Botha.
From the hysteria, you would have thought the Nevada State Athletic Commission had sanctioned matches pitting rabid wolverines against baskets of puppies. And that the promoters put it on pay-per-view, charged $49.99 and forced everyone to watch.
And in the days since, many otherwise reasonable journalists and fans have called for - nay, all but demanded -- that all the fighters involved retire posthaste, lest we be forced ever again to witness the awful degradation and indignities that accompany aging in professional athletes.
Well, not all of them. No one cares what Botha does -- not here in the United States, anyway. He’s South African, has always seemed rather a buffoon and the platinum goatee gives him a sinister look many of us find unsettling.
So let “The White Buffalo” fight well into his dementia years. Who cares?
But the others -- Hopkins, Jones, Holyfield -- should not only be forced into retirement, but banned from any activity that doesn’t involve complaining about Democrats and watching The Price is Right. So say the majority.
The majority have forgotten that a mere two fights ago, Hopkins, already well into his 40s, took apart then-26-year-old, undefeated Kelly Pavlik.
Conveniently dismissed too is the inconvenient reality that going into the Jones fight, Hopkins was ranked in the upper Top 10 of any credible pound-for-pound list.
He beat Jones by a wide margin and his reward has been a nearly universal call to drop him entirely from all pound-for-pound rankings (a call ignored, I’m proud to note, by THE RING editor Nigel Collins) and a suggestion by his own promoter to have a serious talk with family, which is code for “stop bothering us and retire already.”
Why? Because it was an abominably ugly fight?
Can any of you name more than one fight out of Hopkins’ last eight or nine that wasn’t ugly? Does being in an awful fight mean he’s too old to compete?
“There’s no question Bernard Hopkins is still competitive,” Greg Sirb, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission told RingTV.com. Hopkins outpointed Enrique Ornelas in Philadelphia in December.
Sirb said his commission uses a four-pronged approach when it considers granting license to older fighters: Their medicals; their boxing record, particularly their most recent record; the matchup itself; and then the age of the fighter.
“If you put all those four together, a commission should be able to make a good decision,” he said. “Is he medically fit? Does his record show that he’s still competitive? Is the matchup worthy? It may not be a match between the two best guys in the world, but is the matchup, irrespective of anything else, competitive?”
With that criteria, it’s impossible to deny Hopkins a license or not sanction Hopkins-Jones, regardless of how old they are.
“You cannot make a sweeping statement, anybody over 35, anybody over 40, is not allowed to fight. That’s ridiculous,” Sirb said.
Jones’ knockout loss to Danny Green makes his a more-complicated case even though sometimes guys that are smack in the middle of their prime get hit on the sweet spot and go to sleep.
But consider this: Three out of Jones’ four losses over the last five years were to Antonio Tarver, Joe Calzaghe and now Hopkins -- an elite group. All were decision losses.
If he were a perennial contender, say a Rocky Juarez type rather than the game’s former pound-for-pound king, and in between those losses had beaten Jeff Lacy, Omar Sheika, Felix Trinidad and Anthony Hanshaw, would you still be on your soap box?
Clearly Jones isn’t what he used to be. Who is?
Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in whose jurisdiction the subject fights took place, told RingTV.com that decline in a fighter’s skill level is not germane to the question of license renewal.
“That’s not relevant unless the reason for that is something we need to know about,” he said. “Let’s say a guy suffered a severe shoulder injury and never got back to where he needed to be and is still being bothered by that shoulder injury. Or it might be something neurologically that caused him to slow down. And you can see this guy is really messed up. That’s one thing.
“But to say a guy shouldn’t be re-licensed just because he’s not as good as he used to be? Then every fighter should lose his license after the best fight of his career.”
Kizer said that in Nevada, every fighter born in 1974 or before is subjected to a series of medical tests in addition to the tests all fighters receive. Then he reviews three criteria: how well the fighter has done in his career, how well he’s done lately, and how many times he’s been stopped.
For Hopkins and Jones, Kizer went the additional step of reviewing recent video that showed the fighters speaking and compared it with older footage of similar content.
“I was pleased to discover that they talk just as well now as they did 10 or 15 years ago,” he said.
Lastly, there is Holyfield, who at 47 years old has been viewed for probably 10 years as the poster boy for fighters over-staying their welcome. The outcry for the permanent revocation of his license is all but universal.
Here’s the problem: In December 2008, Holyfield lost a very controversial decision to Nicolay Valuev. In November 2009, Valuev lost what some saw as a controversial decision to David Haye.
It is logical, then, to say that Holyfield did about as well or almost as well against Valuev as did Haye. And if that is so, why is no one calling for Haye to retire? Where’s the outrage?
You can say Valuev has the mobility and boxing talent of a stone gargoyle, but that’s hardly Holyfield’s fault. THE RING and everyone else rated Valuev among the Top-10 heavyweights in the world.
As for sanctioning Holyfield-Botha -- which some have suggested was a desperate measure to bring some business into Las Vegas’ flagging economy -- it’s not as though Holyfield was facing Wladimir Klitschko or some other young stud. Let’s get real: It was Frans Botha.
“This was not a mismatch for either guy,” Kizer said. “Neither guy was coming in to fight the next big thing who was 20-0 with 19 knockouts and is 25 years old. This is not a situation where there was an unfair matchup.”
Kizer’s right. And though it’s never fun watching our heroes suffer a slow death, their once glowing expertise giving way to a kind of senile incompetence, it’s their right to hold on as long as they can, to fight it until their desire for battle is exhausted.
And it’s our obligation, within reason, to let them.
Some random observations from last week:/b>
The Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez fight was going pretty much the way many expected it would until Martinez opened up Pavlik’s right eye in the ninth and “The Ghost” more or less quit fighting. Bad for Pavlik, who’s a class act. Good for Martinez, who appears to be one too. …
On a related note, how many good smaller fighters have to beat good bigger fighters before people who should know better stop automatically picking the bigger guy? …
And when did Corey Hart start training Martinez?
Lucian Bute gets better all the time. He’s like Joe Calzaghe with a punch. …
Was anyone else disappointed by HBO’s “Real Sports” edition covering the deaths of Alexis Arguello, Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest? It felt a little dumbed-down for HBO, and not just because Frank DeFord has the most ridiculous hair in the long history of sports writers with ridiculous hair. …
How bad do you have to be to make Tony Thompson look like George Foreman? About as bad as Owen “What the Heck” Beck, who would be a lot more fun if his name were Owen Buck. Or Tuck. Or Shuck. You get the idea. …
The two most memorable lines from the latest edition of Mayweather-Mosley 24/7, both from Mosley’s camp: “I don’t bark; I bite,” from Mosley; and from the always entertaining Nazim Richardson: “No one wants to be the 21st person at the buffet.”
Bill Dettloff, THE RING magazine’s Senior Writer, is the co-author, along with Joe Frazier, of “Box Like the Pros.” He is currently working on a biography of Ezzard Charles. Bill can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net
Source: ringtv.com
It was hard to peruse any boxing coverage at all over the last couple weeks without happening on one diatribe or another about how we all should be ashamed of the back-to-back atrocities titled Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones and Evander Holyfield-Frans Botha.
From the hysteria, you would have thought the Nevada State Athletic Commission had sanctioned matches pitting rabid wolverines against baskets of puppies. And that the promoters put it on pay-per-view, charged $49.99 and forced everyone to watch.
And in the days since, many otherwise reasonable journalists and fans have called for - nay, all but demanded -- that all the fighters involved retire posthaste, lest we be forced ever again to witness the awful degradation and indignities that accompany aging in professional athletes.
Well, not all of them. No one cares what Botha does -- not here in the United States, anyway. He’s South African, has always seemed rather a buffoon and the platinum goatee gives him a sinister look many of us find unsettling.
So let “The White Buffalo” fight well into his dementia years. Who cares?
But the others -- Hopkins, Jones, Holyfield -- should not only be forced into retirement, but banned from any activity that doesn’t involve complaining about Democrats and watching The Price is Right. So say the majority.
The majority have forgotten that a mere two fights ago, Hopkins, already well into his 40s, took apart then-26-year-old, undefeated Kelly Pavlik.
Conveniently dismissed too is the inconvenient reality that going into the Jones fight, Hopkins was ranked in the upper Top 10 of any credible pound-for-pound list.
He beat Jones by a wide margin and his reward has been a nearly universal call to drop him entirely from all pound-for-pound rankings (a call ignored, I’m proud to note, by THE RING editor Nigel Collins) and a suggestion by his own promoter to have a serious talk with family, which is code for “stop bothering us and retire already.”
Why? Because it was an abominably ugly fight?
Can any of you name more than one fight out of Hopkins’ last eight or nine that wasn’t ugly? Does being in an awful fight mean he’s too old to compete?
“There’s no question Bernard Hopkins is still competitive,” Greg Sirb, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission told RingTV.com. Hopkins outpointed Enrique Ornelas in Philadelphia in December.
Sirb said his commission uses a four-pronged approach when it considers granting license to older fighters: Their medicals; their boxing record, particularly their most recent record; the matchup itself; and then the age of the fighter.
“If you put all those four together, a commission should be able to make a good decision,” he said. “Is he medically fit? Does his record show that he’s still competitive? Is the matchup worthy? It may not be a match between the two best guys in the world, but is the matchup, irrespective of anything else, competitive?”
With that criteria, it’s impossible to deny Hopkins a license or not sanction Hopkins-Jones, regardless of how old they are.
“You cannot make a sweeping statement, anybody over 35, anybody over 40, is not allowed to fight. That’s ridiculous,” Sirb said.
Jones’ knockout loss to Danny Green makes his a more-complicated case even though sometimes guys that are smack in the middle of their prime get hit on the sweet spot and go to sleep.
But consider this: Three out of Jones’ four losses over the last five years were to Antonio Tarver, Joe Calzaghe and now Hopkins -- an elite group. All were decision losses.
If he were a perennial contender, say a Rocky Juarez type rather than the game’s former pound-for-pound king, and in between those losses had beaten Jeff Lacy, Omar Sheika, Felix Trinidad and Anthony Hanshaw, would you still be on your soap box?
Clearly Jones isn’t what he used to be. Who is?
Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in whose jurisdiction the subject fights took place, told RingTV.com that decline in a fighter’s skill level is not germane to the question of license renewal.
“That’s not relevant unless the reason for that is something we need to know about,” he said. “Let’s say a guy suffered a severe shoulder injury and never got back to where he needed to be and is still being bothered by that shoulder injury. Or it might be something neurologically that caused him to slow down. And you can see this guy is really messed up. That’s one thing.
“But to say a guy shouldn’t be re-licensed just because he’s not as good as he used to be? Then every fighter should lose his license after the best fight of his career.”
Kizer said that in Nevada, every fighter born in 1974 or before is subjected to a series of medical tests in addition to the tests all fighters receive. Then he reviews three criteria: how well the fighter has done in his career, how well he’s done lately, and how many times he’s been stopped.
For Hopkins and Jones, Kizer went the additional step of reviewing recent video that showed the fighters speaking and compared it with older footage of similar content.
“I was pleased to discover that they talk just as well now as they did 10 or 15 years ago,” he said.
Lastly, there is Holyfield, who at 47 years old has been viewed for probably 10 years as the poster boy for fighters over-staying their welcome. The outcry for the permanent revocation of his license is all but universal.
Here’s the problem: In December 2008, Holyfield lost a very controversial decision to Nicolay Valuev. In November 2009, Valuev lost what some saw as a controversial decision to David Haye.
It is logical, then, to say that Holyfield did about as well or almost as well against Valuev as did Haye. And if that is so, why is no one calling for Haye to retire? Where’s the outrage?
You can say Valuev has the mobility and boxing talent of a stone gargoyle, but that’s hardly Holyfield’s fault. THE RING and everyone else rated Valuev among the Top-10 heavyweights in the world.
As for sanctioning Holyfield-Botha -- which some have suggested was a desperate measure to bring some business into Las Vegas’ flagging economy -- it’s not as though Holyfield was facing Wladimir Klitschko or some other young stud. Let’s get real: It was Frans Botha.
“This was not a mismatch for either guy,” Kizer said. “Neither guy was coming in to fight the next big thing who was 20-0 with 19 knockouts and is 25 years old. This is not a situation where there was an unfair matchup.”
Kizer’s right. And though it’s never fun watching our heroes suffer a slow death, their once glowing expertise giving way to a kind of senile incompetence, it’s their right to hold on as long as they can, to fight it until their desire for battle is exhausted.
And it’s our obligation, within reason, to let them.
Some random observations from last week:/b>
The Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez fight was going pretty much the way many expected it would until Martinez opened up Pavlik’s right eye in the ninth and “The Ghost” more or less quit fighting. Bad for Pavlik, who’s a class act. Good for Martinez, who appears to be one too. …
On a related note, how many good smaller fighters have to beat good bigger fighters before people who should know better stop automatically picking the bigger guy? …
And when did Corey Hart start training Martinez?
Lucian Bute gets better all the time. He’s like Joe Calzaghe with a punch. …
Was anyone else disappointed by HBO’s “Real Sports” edition covering the deaths of Alexis Arguello, Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest? It felt a little dumbed-down for HBO, and not just because Frank DeFord has the most ridiculous hair in the long history of sports writers with ridiculous hair. …
How bad do you have to be to make Tony Thompson look like George Foreman? About as bad as Owen “What the Heck” Beck, who would be a lot more fun if his name were Owen Buck. Or Tuck. Or Shuck. You get the idea. …
The two most memorable lines from the latest edition of Mayweather-Mosley 24/7, both from Mosley’s camp: “I don’t bark; I bite,” from Mosley; and from the always entertaining Nazim Richardson: “No one wants to be the 21st person at the buffet.”
Bill Dettloff, THE RING magazine’s Senior Writer, is the co-author, along with Joe Frazier, of “Box Like the Pros.” He is currently working on a biography of Ezzard Charles. Bill can be contacted at dettloff@ptd.net
Source: ringtv.com
Bute's Win Further Calls Super Six Into Question -- The Sweet Science
By Frank Lotierzo, The Sweet Science
I don’t know whether or not Lucian Bute is the best super middleweight in the world. But no serious conversation about who actually is can be conducted without his being a part of it. In his last two fights, the IBF champion has closed the show with highlight reel one punch knockouts -- both lethal left uppercuts. One was a body shot landed on Librado Andrade, someone who nobody ever hurts, the other placed just under the chin of Edison Miranda, who’d recently taken Andre Ward the distance.
While watching Bute-Miranda it was clear that Bute had been hurting Edison Miranda with hard uppercuts to the body throughout the third round of their abbreviated fight. About midway through the round, a left uppercut identical to the one that had felled Librado Andrade for the count almost did the same to Miranda, who masked his distress by pounding his own abs. A moment later, another shot hurt him. This time Miranda posed, then charged with his head down, making Bute’s perfectly timed uppercut all the more potent. Edison thudded face first to the canvas. Although his conditioning allowed him to beat the count, he was finished; referee Ernie Sharif didn’t think twice about stopping it.
Lucian Bute has proved that he is more than a hometown attraction, although he’s certainly that. He’s consistently able to draw 15,000 people into the Bell Center in Montreal. He’s an interesting fighter, who doesn’t fight much like anyone else. He moves well in either direction, but he’s not fast footed. He has somewhat quick hands, but more significantly, his punches are sudden. Bute has a very good eye: he’s able to spot openings extremely well, and he fires almost automatically into them. He operates behind a good, solid right jab that is often followed by the straight left. Although he punches in combination, I don’t think that he systematically works out these combinations as much as he senses where they should go. This might mean that he looks like a bigger puncher than he actually is. The hook that Floyd Mayweather used to knock out Ricky Hatton might cause someone watching him for the first time to assume they were seeing a big puncher. Although I’ll give Bute credit for having more power than Mayweather, I can’t see these recent one punch knockouts as suggesting another Thomas Hearns (as Max Kellerman suggested during his interview after the Miranda fight.)
What you're seeing in Lucian Bute is, a fighter with a good degree of natural talent who is dangerous because he sees what's in front of him, and he fights a little scared. I don’t mean that as a criticism. It's one of the things that has kept him undefeated so far. He doesn’t freeze because of it; it somewhat keeps him in alert mode. He looked like he had a healthy respect for Edison Miranda’s power for the first two rounds of their fight. It wasn’t until he’d decided that he could get in and out with combinations against his lead-footed opponent that he grew a little less cautious.
This isn’t to suggest that Lucien Bute won’t fight if it comes to that. But he likes to dictate the terms whenever possible. He was able to control both Miranda and Andrade (another very slow-footed guy) with a double jab, a punch he uses to both maintain distance and to direct opponents. That distance is important to him, and it’s worth noting that even his excellent uppercuts are thrown with a scythe-like motion from what is a conventional uppercut. He’s able to get away with throwing them because of his accuracy and timing.
People undoubtedly would like to see how he’d do against Super Six tournament fighters like Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, and Carl Froch.
Since that’s not going to happen for the near future, I’ve got another suggestion. He should fight Kelly Pavlik. It makes sense for everybody involved. And even though he’d be favored to beat the former middleweight champion, especially after Pavlik’s poor showing against Sergio Martinez shown on the same HBO broadcast as Bute-Miranda, it’s not a fight without risks. Pavlik can always punch, even late into his fights.
The fight would draw a huge crowd in Montreal. From a risk/reward perspective, it’s by far the best fight Kelly Pavlik could take. He doesn’t need to come back with a tune-up or a confidence builder. His career is at a standstill, and he needs to jump back into the deep end and see what happens. It’s clear that things couldn’t get worse for him than they are now, unless he loses to a fringe opponent, which could happen if Martinez took away what remained of his confidence. Better to roll the dice against a big name, and go out on his shield if necessary.
If Bute could stop Pavlik, it would continue his ascent into the upper echelon of the game. He has a style that’s well suited to doing that. Kelly cuts and, as a result, tends to walk straight into shots that he can’t see. If he walks into one like the one that kayoed Edison Miranda, it might well kayo him too. The question is what happens if Pavlik is able to land his big right. He’d be smart to find out if he can do that.
Lucian Bute is not going to do well moving up in weight -- his body is well suited to 168 and he can’t move down. Facing Pavlik would be a good place keeping fight for him to take while waiting for the Super Six dust to clear. At this point, I’m not sure that Kelly Pavlik is much more dangerous than Edison Miranda was, although the benefits from knocking him out are far greater.
For Miranda, it’s back to ESPN Friday Night Fights, possibly as no more than a prestigious opponent. We know what he can do. And, unfortunately for him, we know what he can’t.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
Source: thesweetscience.com
I don’t know whether or not Lucian Bute is the best super middleweight in the world. But no serious conversation about who actually is can be conducted without his being a part of it. In his last two fights, the IBF champion has closed the show with highlight reel one punch knockouts -- both lethal left uppercuts. One was a body shot landed on Librado Andrade, someone who nobody ever hurts, the other placed just under the chin of Edison Miranda, who’d recently taken Andre Ward the distance.
While watching Bute-Miranda it was clear that Bute had been hurting Edison Miranda with hard uppercuts to the body throughout the third round of their abbreviated fight. About midway through the round, a left uppercut identical to the one that had felled Librado Andrade for the count almost did the same to Miranda, who masked his distress by pounding his own abs. A moment later, another shot hurt him. This time Miranda posed, then charged with his head down, making Bute’s perfectly timed uppercut all the more potent. Edison thudded face first to the canvas. Although his conditioning allowed him to beat the count, he was finished; referee Ernie Sharif didn’t think twice about stopping it.
Lucian Bute has proved that he is more than a hometown attraction, although he’s certainly that. He’s consistently able to draw 15,000 people into the Bell Center in Montreal. He’s an interesting fighter, who doesn’t fight much like anyone else. He moves well in either direction, but he’s not fast footed. He has somewhat quick hands, but more significantly, his punches are sudden. Bute has a very good eye: he’s able to spot openings extremely well, and he fires almost automatically into them. He operates behind a good, solid right jab that is often followed by the straight left. Although he punches in combination, I don’t think that he systematically works out these combinations as much as he senses where they should go. This might mean that he looks like a bigger puncher than he actually is. The hook that Floyd Mayweather used to knock out Ricky Hatton might cause someone watching him for the first time to assume they were seeing a big puncher. Although I’ll give Bute credit for having more power than Mayweather, I can’t see these recent one punch knockouts as suggesting another Thomas Hearns (as Max Kellerman suggested during his interview after the Miranda fight.)
What you're seeing in Lucian Bute is, a fighter with a good degree of natural talent who is dangerous because he sees what's in front of him, and he fights a little scared. I don’t mean that as a criticism. It's one of the things that has kept him undefeated so far. He doesn’t freeze because of it; it somewhat keeps him in alert mode. He looked like he had a healthy respect for Edison Miranda’s power for the first two rounds of their fight. It wasn’t until he’d decided that he could get in and out with combinations against his lead-footed opponent that he grew a little less cautious.
This isn’t to suggest that Lucien Bute won’t fight if it comes to that. But he likes to dictate the terms whenever possible. He was able to control both Miranda and Andrade (another very slow-footed guy) with a double jab, a punch he uses to both maintain distance and to direct opponents. That distance is important to him, and it’s worth noting that even his excellent uppercuts are thrown with a scythe-like motion from what is a conventional uppercut. He’s able to get away with throwing them because of his accuracy and timing.
People undoubtedly would like to see how he’d do against Super Six tournament fighters like Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Arthur Abraham, and Carl Froch.
Since that’s not going to happen for the near future, I’ve got another suggestion. He should fight Kelly Pavlik. It makes sense for everybody involved. And even though he’d be favored to beat the former middleweight champion, especially after Pavlik’s poor showing against Sergio Martinez shown on the same HBO broadcast as Bute-Miranda, it’s not a fight without risks. Pavlik can always punch, even late into his fights.
The fight would draw a huge crowd in Montreal. From a risk/reward perspective, it’s by far the best fight Kelly Pavlik could take. He doesn’t need to come back with a tune-up or a confidence builder. His career is at a standstill, and he needs to jump back into the deep end and see what happens. It’s clear that things couldn’t get worse for him than they are now, unless he loses to a fringe opponent, which could happen if Martinez took away what remained of his confidence. Better to roll the dice against a big name, and go out on his shield if necessary.
If Bute could stop Pavlik, it would continue his ascent into the upper echelon of the game. He has a style that’s well suited to doing that. Kelly cuts and, as a result, tends to walk straight into shots that he can’t see. If he walks into one like the one that kayoed Edison Miranda, it might well kayo him too. The question is what happens if Pavlik is able to land his big right. He’d be smart to find out if he can do that.
Lucian Bute is not going to do well moving up in weight -- his body is well suited to 168 and he can’t move down. Facing Pavlik would be a good place keeping fight for him to take while waiting for the Super Six dust to clear. At this point, I’m not sure that Kelly Pavlik is much more dangerous than Edison Miranda was, although the benefits from knocking him out are far greater.
For Miranda, it’s back to ESPN Friday Night Fights, possibly as no more than a prestigious opponent. We know what he can do. And, unfortunately for him, we know what he can’t.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
Source: thesweetscience.com
Audio: Mayweather/Mosley Trainer Conference Call Transcript -- Eastside Boxing
Eastside Boxing
R. Schaefer - Welcome, everybody, to today’s call. Eighteen days, six hours, twenty-one minutes, and forty-eight seconds as shown on the www.whoareyoupicking.com web site. Check it out. The fight has its own web site, interactive, a lot of good stuff on there, and you’re going to see on there as well the poll. It’s really interesting to see how that poll is shifting. A couple of days ago we had Mayweather favored by 52 to Mosley 48. In the last two days, Mayweather pulled further as the favored. He is now 57% of people think that Mayweather’s going to win the fight to 43% of Mosley.
Mosley had a great media day yesterday here in Los Angeles. An open workout was very well attended, and in the evening he went on the George Lopez show together with Oscar where he looked straight into the camera and said that he’s going to knock Floyd Mayweather out. He feels very strong about the fight. He feels very strong about what he’s going to do to Mayweather. We’re going to release some of that George Lopez footage later on today..
I mentioned before quickly the polls. It’s really interesting how the people are starting to engage and are forming their opinions on who is going to win. We’re going to have as of Monday a never-seen-before push on all major sites, business sites such as CNBC, Wall Street Journal, entertainment sites, People, sports pages like ESPN, major other sites such as Yahoo, USA Today, Univision, L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, and so on. Pretty much wherever you’re going to look all major outlets will have polls up, and we are going to provide daily updates on those polls where we summarize these opinions. It really looks like it’s turning out as we anticipated with the Who R U Picking? campaign that we have people from the barbershops to the water coolers in the offices and so on talking about who they think is going to win this fight.
Two guys, which obviously have a lot to do with the preparation, are responsible for getting these two fighters in the best shape for the great May 1st showdown at the MGM Grand are the trainers, and it is a pleasure for me. Now, we have both trainers, Naazim Richardson for Sugar Shane Mosley, and Roger Mayweather for Floyd Mayweather, of course on the phone here.
I’m going to introduce now Naazim Richardson, a man who really doesn’t need any introduction. You guys all know who he is, and his accomplishments are many, is considered to be clearly one of the best trainers in the business today. Please, Naazim, if you want to give some comments about camp, on what you see, what you think the fight, what’s going to happen.
N. Richardson
Well, going forward, a lot of things come to pass. We see this as being an outstanding fight once again that relies on both participants, but I feel as though if you check the history you’ve never seen Shane Mosley in let alone a bad fight, you’ve never seen Shane Mosley in a boring fight. I don’t see that changing at all in this fight, especially with an outstanding athlete such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. Like I said, this will be a matter of us putting the strategy together and seeing what the outcome is. In fact, both of us have exceptional athletes, but I’m still confident that our guys can get the job done. I look forward to the contest.
R. Schaefer
Thank you, Naazim. It is a pleasure now to hand it over to the co-promoter of this event, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. Leonard Ellerbe will introduce Mr. Mayweather. Please, Leonard.
L. Ellerbe
Thank you, Richard. Like what you said, I’d like to welcome everyone to today’s call. Obviously, we are less than three weeks away from the biggest fight of the year. We’re expecting a great, great fight.
Behind every great fighter, there’s always a great trainer. In order for Floyd to be able to have reached this level, he couldn’t have done it by himself. Obviously, we all know that his dad taught him all the skills early on in his career, but in order for Floyd to be able to go to the next level, obviously, he had great direction from his uncle. Their relationship is filled with trust, and Floyd trusts in his uncle because he’s a former two-time world champion himself. Anytime Floyd steps in the ring, he not only steps up in the ring knowing that he has the ability to carry out what his uncle’s orders are, but to be able to execute anything that his uncle tells him.
As we all know, Roger is a character within himself, but what we also all know is Roger is a true boxing historian. Without further ado, none other than the two-time world champion himself, the Black Mamba. Roger, would you like to make a few words?
R. Mayweather
Thank you. My name is Roger Mayweather. Obviously, you already know I’m training Floyd Mayweather. Of course, we’re preparing now for the fight with Shane Mosley, which is not that far away. I don’t think he’s going to be— Shane Mosley’s a good fighter, and I don’t doubt that, but I truly believe that my nephew is the best fighter in the sport of boxing period hands down. I’m not saying what Shane Mosley can’t do, but whatever he can do, he can’t do it better than Floyd. That’s what I’m saying. I understand about boxing.
I understand about boxing because I’ve been around boxing all of my life. They’ve both got tremendous skill. That’s what makes a fight. They’ve both got a tremendous fan base. That’s what makes a fight, but come on May 1st, they’re going to see why they call Floyd the best in the world.
There are a whole bunch of guys that are good. Good and great are two different things, and he’s on the verge of greatness, so when it comes May 1st, when all this is said and done, I won’t even have to talk about how good Floyd is or how great he is or how, I won’t even have to say anything because all that’s going to be shared in the books and the papers. They’re going to say it all week, so I don’t have to say much of anything about that.
Q:
Will Mosley be the quickest opponent Floyd has fought?
R. Mayweather
People don’t even understand about boxing. One thing I’m going to tell them right now is to let them know that one of the fastest guys in the history of the sport of boxing was a 1976 Olympic gold medalist. It was Howard Davis Jr. He had tremendous speed, but he never won a world championship, and he fought guys that were much slower than him. It’s not about speed that wins fights. Skill wins fights, and he’s the most skilled fighter in the sport of boxing period hands down.
When you start talking about on a skill level or how, I’m not saying Shane Mosley’s not a skilled fighter, but I said Floyd is the most skilled fighter in the sport. He understands boxing. That’s what he’s been doing all his life. Shane Mosley had a great career as well, but at the same time when you start talking about skill, then you guys understand. You know what I’m saying. He did fight Cotto, didn’t he?
Q:
Yes.
R. Mayweather
Okay then. I even got asked that question. He fought Cotto, right? You saw what Pacquiao did to Cotto, didn’t you?
Q:
Yes.
R. Mayweather
All right.
Q:
Mosley likes to get in and mix it up. Floyd likes to box. Do you see the two being able to mesh in the ring? Do you Floyd standing in and trading punches with Shane?
R. Mayweather:
Floyd knows how to win. Obviously, he doesn’t know how to lose. You don’t ask me that question. You ask Shane Mosley that question.
Q:
Shane says he’ll knock out Floyd. Do you think Floyd has the power to stop Shane, or do you think this fight looks like it’ll go the distance?
R. Mayweather:
What do you mean, the power that he’s got with the steroids, or the power that he’s got just naturally? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m talking about the power with the steroids that he’s taking or the power just naturally gifted to him himself. I don’t know. Has he had a test yet? Okay then, so I don’t know. I can't answer a question that I don’t know the facts to, but I know one thing. I don’t even worry about that anyways because he hasn’t ever been stopped, so it’s not different than any other fight that Floyd has fought before.
Like I said before, Shane Mosley’s a great fighter. I’m not taking away from Shane Mosley about how good he is, but remember one thing, remember this and what I’m going to tell you. You remember this. You’ve got a whole bunch of good fighters, but there are very few that are great, and the greatest fighter who put those gloves on to this day is Sugar Ray Robinson. You’ve got a whole bunch of good ones. They didn’t beat him, though, but there’s a big difference between good and great. Floyd’s on his way to greatness. Come May 1, I guess you’ll see for yourself.
Q:
Naazim, Mosley and yourself yesterday, I wasn’t there, but in Pasadena talked about not letting Mayweather’s talk, no head games. Shane and you were going to block that out. You yourself dropped a little bit of a bombshell, and I want to just quote you. You said, “We could get through five rounds of this thing up 5-0. At that point Mayweather may just say, ‘Forget it. I’ve got a rematch guaranteed. Try again next time,’” end of quote. You’re quoted that way in the Los Angeles Times.
N. Richardson
I saw that myself. That was surprising to me today. That’s not a quote of mine. I’m not banking anything on a rematch, and I’m not concerned about a rematch. I never look past the fight that I have in front of me. Earlier this month I had Karl Dargan in front of me, and that’s what I’ve dealt with. After that I had to deal with Bernard Hopkins and Steve Cunningham, and now I have Sugar Shane Mosley performing against Floyd Mayweather. I never looked to the next fight.
Q:
In other words you’re saying you never made that quote?
N. Richardson
No, I read it on the Internet the other day, a quote about me saying something about the rematch. No, I wouldn’t make a quote like. First of all, I don’t believe in a statement like that. I don’t believe there’s any quit in Floyd Mayweather. That’s first of all, and I don’t believe any athlete at this particular level would just surrender after a couple rounds if it didn’t go their way.
Q:
A question for Roger. Roger, how would you describe Manny Pacquiao? Is he just another good fighter to you?
R. Mayweather:
I don’t know how good he is. I can’t say how good he is because every time I see him fighting he must have something in his system. Anytime a guy doesn’t want to take a test, that tells you already about the guy. How’s a guy going to talk about how good he is or how great he is and the guy won't even take a test. He won't even take a blood test, so you tell me how good Manny Pacquiao is. You tell me because you asked me the question.
Q:
Didn’t you just say you didn’t care about steroids?
L. Ellerbe:
This call is about Mayweather vs. Mosley.
Q:
All right, that’s fair enough, Leonard. What’s your evaluation then of Pacquiao, and are you interested after this fight ….
R. Schaefer:
Forget Pacquiao. Don’t even talk about Pacquiao. We are promoting a fight between two of the greatest fighters which are Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.
Q:
Naazim, have there been any differences in this training camp opposed to the Margarito training camp, anything better, anything worse?
N. Richardson:
I’ve said this before, and I’ll repeat it. As far as Shane preparing for the Margarito fight and Shane preparing for the Mayweather fight, I’m very comfortable with his mental preparation. I’m very comfortable, and I’m more comfortable in either one of those fights than I was for the Berto fight because this is the level that Shane desires. This is where Shane knows he belongs.
Now, like we said, it’s all right that I hear things of the nature, one side of the fence I hear people say undefeated, and they give you the impression because a guy hasn’t lost yet he’s great, but then they say the greatest fighter was Ray Robinson who lost fights. If Ray Robinson’s the greatest fighter in your mind, then you do recommend great fighters lose fights. Right there in that contradiction itself, it explains what can happen in this fight on May 1.
Q:
Naazim, one more question, do you feel that Shane was forced to hop through too many loops with having to agree to a rematch clause and having to do the blood test. From a trainer’s perspective, do you think that was too much to be asked? He did anyways, but do you feel that it was too much?
N. Richardson:
Well, listen, I’ve said this to Shane, and I don’t say anything behind my fighter’s back that I wouldn’t say to his face. I respect Shane. I love his approach as an athlete to his job and how he takes it on. I implore him to my heart as a friend, but I’ll tell him to his face I think he’s a poor negotiator.
Shane wants to fight so bad he doesn’t care. Shit, they could’ve convinced Shane that Roger needs to be one of the judges. But Shane would’ve agreed to it because Shane just wants to fight. You can tell Shane, look, you’re going to have to tie one arm behind your back, and Shane’s going to fight. We can hold it in Michigan in your backyard, and Shane wants to fight, so they’re really a lot of hoops because Shane comes to the table already with the impression as long as we’re fighting I don’t care about anything else, tests or anything else of that nature.
My thing is to say if you are going to take something away from an athlete, the athlete has agreed to the test, and they talk more about steroids with Shane as they do the fighter who disagreed on taking the test. They’re still talking about Shane in an environment with something that he’s all ready to take the test. He’s taken the test, and he hasn’t complained, and he never backed down from it because they see this guy wants to fight. You see how eager he is and how willing he is because, trust me, Shane wants to get in that ring. He wants to get in that ring in front of the best, so his negotiation is out the door. He walks in the room ready to fight.
Q:
Right, one last question, Richard Schaefer. How are ticket sales?
R. Schaefer:
Glad you asked. They’re going extremely well. As a matter of fact, $150-300 and the $1000s are all sold out. I think there’s like 100 or so of the $600 tickets left, and there’s some of the $1250s left, but it will definitely be a sellout. We definitely will be going up with closed-circuit seats as well. We’re going to be opening up some select 30,000 closed-circuit seats in Las Vegas as well because this really is a fight of historic proportions, and we will have those seats up and on sale within the next week.
Q:
Naazim, the problem seems that so many opponents have found with Mayweather is how to cut off the ring against him. What attributes can Shane use in conjunction with the game plan you devised to cut off Floyd Mayweather?
N. Richardson:
First of all, I haven’t read the passage that it’s necessary for us to have to cut the ring off. Nobody’s gotten that documentation to me yet, so the game plan I have is that I’m bringing Sugar Shane Mosley to the table. I’m not bringing those other 40 guys that he fought. I’m bringing Sugar Shane Mosley. I’m bringing another decorated, documented legend to the table. Some of the questions are going to have to be asked of Floyd Mayweather and what he’s going to have to do to deal with Sugar Shane Mosley because nobody said we’re going to come in and follow the cookie-cutter ideology that these other athletes approach they’ve taken when dealing with Floyd Mayweather. We’re bringing Sugar Shane to the table.
Q:
Of course, those questions will be asked of Mayweather how he deals with Shane’s speed and power and power boxing as I’m sure will happen over the next few days, but we have questions to ask of how you deal with his attributes as well, so that’s kind of the question I’m asking.
N. Richardson:
What I’m saying is you cut off the ring if that’s your purpose to engage in that manner. You cut off the ring. If you don’t choose to cut off the ring, you’re don’t have to cut off the ring. You can't document to me fights where Muhammad Ali had to cut off the ring, so cutting off the ring is a procedure you take when you’re trying to imply a certain tactic. We may not be applying that tactic, so cutting off the ring may not fall under the umbrella of what we need to do.
Q:
Obviously, the one thing that’s different about this training camp is the drug testing. How from a trainer’s standpoint can you characterize whether or not it’s been intrusive? How do they approach it? When do they come? Roger, could you address it and also Naazim, how you guys are dealing with that?
R. Mayweather:
With me it’s very easy. My nephew can take a drug test 24 hours a day. I don’t worry about if my nephew’s on steroids or any other kind of drug. I mean, he’s been boxing just as long as Shane, pretty much all his life, so he hasn’t ever been tested positive. I don’t think it’s any more different now than it was when he started.
When you start talking about taking a test, take a test on somebody who’s already had steroids in their system. You don’t take a test on somebody that hasn’t had them in their system, but if you do, then you’ll find out if the guy is the guy taking them, or you’ll find out if the guy who said he wasn’t taking them, if he’s taking them. Nobody knows that until you take the test. That’s what the test is for. People try talking about they’re so much worried about the test, about the test, about the test. If you’re not worried, take the test. That’s the simplest way to do it. That’s what you’re getting paid for, isn’t it? Guys don’t get this kind of money that doesn’t take any test at all, does he?
Okay then, so the thing of it is, he does what he’s supposed to do. I’m not saying what he’s on or if he’s got something in his system. I don’t know, but that’s what tests are for, aren’t they? Okay then, so take the test, and that’s all I’ve got to say.
Q:
Naazim, Shane had said that the testers have almost become a part of the team, that he welcomes them, so what I was kind of looking for is has the transition been easy? Is it interrupting training? Is it just something that you guys have grown accustomed to, or did it take time to do?
N. Richardson:
They haven’t been intrusive, and it hasn’t been a problem because, like I said, Shane was willing and welcome to take the test, and Shane Mosley has never been tested positive for anything himself, but like I said, the test has never been a problem.
The only thing I wanted to bring up in the situation and I’ll open this up to all the reporters and I open this up to Richard Schaefer. Anybody can contact me and give me information on this. During this drug testing thing, you’re hearing so much about drug testing. I wanted to know if, I was told that no needles were included, I mean needles of any sort. I mean, we can’t take a needle anywhere in any way, shape, or form. You can’t stick needles in your hands. You can't stick your needles anywhere. I need somebody to give me information on that because people were telling me about something about the deal with lidocaine or something being used in one of the athlete’s hands, and it’s only legal in Las Vegas. It’s not legal anywhere else. It’s only legal in Las Vegas, and you can shoot this lidocaine in your hands and whatnot.
Like I said, I come from the ‘hood, and the only caine I want to here is Big Daddy Kane. I don’t want to hear nothing else about caine in any athlete or anybody else. To me that just doesn’t seem right, so I need more information on that even from USADA so if Richard Schaefer or anybody listening can give me information on that, it would be a applauded because we keep talking about guys using this and all-natural. If you’re sticking a needle in your hand, it’s not all-natural.
L. Ellerbe:
Naazim, this is Leonard. I can clear that up right now. Just for the record, Floyd Mayweather doesn’t shoot anything in his hands, and that’s for the record. That was a nasty rumor that was spread out there just because people like to do those kinds of things. Floyd is a clean athlete, and he’s been a clean athlete from day one. Floyd Mayweather doesn’t shoot needles in his hands.
N. Richardson:
Here’s my thing. I agree with you, but this is a problem where people just keep running their mouth about things that have nothing to do with the actual boxing. When you bring up the boxer, talk about the boxer, but if every time you crack your mouth open you’re running your mouth about some nonsense from before, then everybody’s going to start asking questions about everything. If we kept it on boxing, you all never heard me step out of the line of boxing because I don’t care about none of this other nonsense about nothing else but boxing. That’s all that’s important to me. I don’t consider Floyd to be nothing but a great athlete. I don’t consider even the kid they were talking about before, Pacquiao, to be nothing but a great athlete. If I don’t have any proof on anybody about anything, I won't say anything.
Shane has never tested positive for anything. He agreed to the test, but now every time they bring his name up, you’ve still got to hear about steroids this and steroids that. Okay, the man already agreed to your test. What do you want him to do for you now? He’s not going to lay down for you. He’s not going to lay down for you. Is that just some mental, I’m going to keep trying to bruise him and beating him up, doesn’t bother him. Like I said, I haven’t addressed it at all. I haven’t said anything to anybody … other than boxing. When I keep hearing this nonsense come out, then I’m like, okay, let’s talk about everybody’s treatments and things. Let’s talk about all of it then. You know what I mean?
L. Ellerbe:
I can answer any questions when it comes to Floyd Mayweather …
Q:
I’ve got one more question, Leonard. First of all, thank you very much for doing that. I think that was important because, like you said, there have been all kinds of speculation and the way it’s been written has been written as though it’s presently happening, so I think that was critical. The other thing that leads into, though, Leonard, and you would know this, how critical, Roger, if you could weigh in, how critical has Garcia been in the wrapping of Floyd’s hands because we know he had some problems in the past, but I know Garcia has been very instrumental and if you could talk about that a little bit.
R. Mayweather:
Basically, he’s helped well with his hand, but you’ve got to understand. The first part of Floyd’s career, when guys fight with little gloves on, that’s something different compared to guys fighting with pillows on. That’s probably why a lot of times his hand was getting bruised and getting hurt, just the fact that he’s fighting with much smaller gloves on. I think as you go along and you keep fighting, then you adapt. You adapt to what situation you’re in. You fight with those little gloves on, and that’s how boxing is, and you have to learn to adapt. Raphael what he did was obviously he made some adjustments on Floyd’s hands to bring his hands up to base so that he can be comfortable when he fights. That’s pretty much what happened.
L. Ellerbe:
Of course, Raphael Garcia’s the best hand wrap specialist in the game bar none, and he’s done a tremendous job with wrapping Floyd’s hands. Obviously, that’s why we brought him aboard. For the record, Floyd hadn’t had hand problems in a number of fights, especially in the last few. What it is, like I said, what happens is that people are always out there looking for reasons to want to try to take away someone’s accomplishments.
N. Richardson:
I agree.
L. Ellerbe:
When it comes to Floyd’s hands, he’s not having any problems. He doesn’t shoot anything in his hands, and come May 1, Shane Mosley will see for himself what Floyd will be able to do with both of his hands.
N. Richardson:
I agree with you full-heartedly, Mr. Ellerbe. People always try to take away from somebody else’s accomplishments. There’s a whole lot of rap. Guys talk that way and mentally want to see what athletes with a whole lot of rap trying to take away from a guy’s accomplishments.
I’m always the guy that’s, bottom line, if the guy can fight, the guy can fight. I don’t need to stand on nobody so I can be seen. I don’t take away from anybody’s accomplishments through my mouth. I feel as though these guys are young athletes, and they’re doing their thing, and that’s why I stay on the game plan and on the boxing and what they’re doing, and it’s all I’ve ever said about Floyd. I’m known him since the amateurs. I’ve been watching him, and I’ve said I have no speculations other than he’s an outstanding athlete, but you said it perfectly. People always try to knock somebody’s accomplishments down by running their mouth about something else. It couldn’t have been more accurate than the way you just put it.
Q:
One of the major advantages I see Mayweather having is timing, and I think you’ve mentioned that as much where the other attributes are fairly equal, but how do you prepare for that when you’re training Shane?
N. Richardson:
Prepare for what?
Q:
Floyd’s timing, the way he times his counter shots is what I think is his one advantage over Shane is his ability to time shots. I wondered how you dealt with that in training.
N. Richardson:
Floyd is an exceptional athlete, but like I said before and I’ll say it again. We sit down to the chess board. I don’t see your queen moving any faster than my queen. Your rook can’t take extra moves than my rook can’t take. Bottom line, I feel as though we’re bringing athletes both that have great attributes to them to the ring, and then they’re both going to have to make adjustments throughout the fight. I don’t take anything away from this here. The timing is just one of your problems you’re going to face in dealing with Floyd Mayweather, but if you sit there and you try to depict everything you’re going to have to face with him and people start talking about sparring partners. Who’s going to spar like Floyd Mayweather? You’re lying to yourself if you say you’ve got somebody that fights like Shane Mosley. No, you don’t, or they’d be somewhere getting ready for their title. That fighter fights like Floyd Mayweather. No, you don’t, or this guy would be a legend already. He wouldn’t have time to be in your camp working with you. All you can do is train the athlete to the best of their ability and then bring him in and have him follow your game plan to the best of his ability and I feel as though Shane will be able to execute everything that we’re working on, and then Floyd will need to make adjustments as Shane will have to make adjustments throughout the fight.
Q:
Also, there has been a lot of criticism, particularly from the Mayweather camp about Shane’s jab. What do you think about that? They’ve said that he pulls with jab, and Floyd is going to counter it.
N. Richardson:
I’ll refer you back to Leonard Ellerbe’s conversation earlier. The statement Leonard Ellerbe made covers a whole lot of what you hear about Shane Mosley. The statement that Leonard Ellerbe made was flawless. There are a lot of people always running their mouth trying to take away from an athlete’s attributes.
Q:
I wondered what you thought about, Roger Mayweather has been saying that Shane has a subpar jab.
N. Richardson:
Roger’s an outstanding trainer. Roger has an opinion. Roger might like to wear leather pants. I might like to wear corduroy. That’s Roger’s opinion. He has his opinion about Shane’s jab, and it’s going to be his job to do whatever he feels he needs to do. That’s Roger’s side of the fence. He has to deal with that. If you ask me to respond to everything that I hear Mayweather say, I wouldn’t have time to go train my athlete. I can’t sit around all day and respond to everything that the Mayweather’s are saying and whatnot. When you’re going into fights like this, you’ve got to recognize the personalities, too, and if I realize I learn something from every man I’ve talked to even if I learn not to talk to that man again. Once I know what I need to learn if I hear you open your mouth and you give me a conversation, I’ve got what I need from you, and then I keep it moving. That’s what I’m doing right now. I’ve got to go be with my athlete. I’m not responding to something someone about my guy and somebody said something about my guy. I just say that I can't deal with that. I’ve got to go ahead and have my athlete do what he does.
Q:
A quick question for Roger. Roger, what do you think of Naazim as a trainer? How do you rate him as a trainer?
R. Mayweather:
I don’t know. I don’t rate trainers because, you know what, I don’t rate them because I don’t know what they’re good at. You get some guys that train. They don’t even, whether they hold a mitt, they’re good guys in the corner. They’re good corner men. They know how to make an adaption to certain things. Obviously, he must be because Shane Mosley’s one of the top five in the world. He worked for him, so there has to be something there that he brings to the table. You start talking to me about what ability that he brings, I don’t know. I don’t know the ability he brings, but obviously, he brings something.
Q:
Getting back to the question of the jab that you were quoted as saying that Shane’s jab is not good. Can you expand on that?
R. Mayweather:
I tell you what. If I said it, I’ll say it again. What I’m telling you is if I said it, I’m going to tell you what I said. I said this. Boxing, number one, is all about skill basically when you become a real boxer. I’m not talking about no Sylvester Stallone shit, that shit they show on TV. That’s bullshit. When you start talking about real boxing, real boxing takes real skill. Since you started talking about good fighters and great fighters and what makes a fighter, a fighter has to have certain things that makes him good or makes him great. The thing of it is Shane could be good as good as he is, and my nephew can be good despite being put on. It has to have some quality to it. When you start talking about his jab, this, that, and the other, yes, I said something about his jab before. I said a lot of times he just pulls his jab. Well, that’s what I said, and I’ll say it again, so what difference does that make? I understand boxing, so I’m not a guy who’s going to say I didn’t say that behind the guy’s back. What did that mean what I said. If I said you don’t jab that well, so what? He’s the one that can make the objection for that. …
Q:
This first question is for you, Roger. Now, everybody knows about Shane’s power and his skill and determination in the ring. What are you guys doing right now to prepare for that and handling that on May 1, Rog?
R. Mayweather:
Floyd and Shane are in the same situation. Shane won about five world championships. My nephew won six world championships. If the fight wasn’t being competitive, the fight wouldn’t even be made. As we talk about the ability of both guys, they’ve got tremendous ability in both guys. Both guys have tremendous ability, but the only way you’re going to find out who’s the best fighter here on that date. If you come to the fight, if you pay for the fight, then you’ll see the fight, and then you’ll see the verdict when the hand gets raised, and then that way you’ll have a greater understanding as to what I said about Floyd and what Naazim said about Shane. That’s what boxing is about. It’s how you get your guys prepared, and so it’s what the boxing world’s about. The only day we’re going to know that is May 1 when the hand gets raised.
Q:
This question is for brother Naazim. What do you guys think will be the big difference maker in this fight that would prepare your fighter Shane of course to victory on May 1?
N. Richardson:
Well, that’s a difficult question in the sense that there are several things that I could attribute to why I think my athlete would be successful, but that doesn’t necessarily make it so. He could bring out another quality that night that could have him push forward in the fight. All we can do is fight the fight. With three weeks in when everybody can just sit back and get ready to ride this whirlwind, and then we just enjoy it from all of us who enjoy boxing. Like I said, I’ve never seen Shane Mosley in a boring fight.
Q:
That’s right. You’re right about that. This is my last question. I guess I’ll ask this to Leonard as well as you, brother Naazim, and you too Roger. Watching HBO’s 24/7 this past weekend, there seems to be a serious dislike and disdain between the fighters right now. Are you guys worrying about that carrying over and maybe affecting the fight and their performance in the ring on May 1?
N. Richardson:
I can't see either one of these athletes being that unprofessional reaching the level they’ve reached. They realize whatever your personal things are you keep that to yourself and deal with your job. I went to work with supervisors I couldn’t stand. I went and did my job, got the job done because that’s what I was paid to do. All the personal stuff you have, you put that wherever you need to put it, and both of these athletes being around as long as they have and as successful as they’ve been, they’ve learned to put those things in the pocket and go ahead and do their job. 24/7 is a television show.
Q:
Is patience one of the things that you’re working with Shane on? In other words, if Floyd, we know Floyd does not like to get hit.
N. Richardson:
Do you know somebody that does?
R. Mayweather:
I don’t know anybody that likes to get hit
N. Richardson:
I know one guy that I knew that liked to get hit, and he’s in an institution where he belongs to this day.
Q:
Is patience something you’re working with him?
N. Richardson:
Patience is something that Shane has, and the thing about it is not only patience, but Shane has the professionalism that just reads through. Coming back to the show, somebody brought up 24/7. A guy stopped me at the workout the other day, and he said, “Man, I appreciate you.” He said, “I have my daughters watching that show.” He said, “And I was so proud when I saw you speaking. I saw your athlete speak.” That’s a part of Shane’s persona. He has the definite personality, so he seems professional at all times, so it’s not something that I have to work on.
You don’t have to remind him don’t listen to what they’re saying about you. Ignore what you’re reading. You don’t have to tell Shane these things. You can tell that smile Shane has is not fake. He couldn’t fake that smile if he tried.
Q:
You don’t see him getting frustrated if he has to chase Floyd around to try to hit him?
N. Richardson:
What you have to do with professionals at this level is that Shane has to do what is necessary to be done to be successful in this particular endeavor, and that’s bottom line. I explained to you all before. If Floyd Mayweather turned into a dragon in the middle of the ring, then Shane has to step on his tail and hit him with a body shot. Whatever comes to pass, he has to endure it, deal with it, make the adjustment, and then execute.
END OF CALL
Boxing superstar and six-time World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and welterweight mega-star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Tickets, priced at $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150 not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
An all new episode of HBO®’s all-access reality series “24/7 Mayweather/Mosley” debuts Saturday, Apr. 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes one and two are available on HBO ON DEMAND®. The four-part series chronicles the backstories of the two prizefighters as they prepare for their May 1 welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.
The Mayweather vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
R. Schaefer - Welcome, everybody, to today’s call. Eighteen days, six hours, twenty-one minutes, and forty-eight seconds as shown on the www.whoareyoupicking.com web site. Check it out. The fight has its own web site, interactive, a lot of good stuff on there, and you’re going to see on there as well the poll. It’s really interesting to see how that poll is shifting. A couple of days ago we had Mayweather favored by 52 to Mosley 48. In the last two days, Mayweather pulled further as the favored. He is now 57% of people think that Mayweather’s going to win the fight to 43% of Mosley.
Mosley had a great media day yesterday here in Los Angeles. An open workout was very well attended, and in the evening he went on the George Lopez show together with Oscar where he looked straight into the camera and said that he’s going to knock Floyd Mayweather out. He feels very strong about the fight. He feels very strong about what he’s going to do to Mayweather. We’re going to release some of that George Lopez footage later on today..
I mentioned before quickly the polls. It’s really interesting how the people are starting to engage and are forming their opinions on who is going to win. We’re going to have as of Monday a never-seen-before push on all major sites, business sites such as CNBC, Wall Street Journal, entertainment sites, People, sports pages like ESPN, major other sites such as Yahoo, USA Today, Univision, L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, and so on. Pretty much wherever you’re going to look all major outlets will have polls up, and we are going to provide daily updates on those polls where we summarize these opinions. It really looks like it’s turning out as we anticipated with the Who R U Picking? campaign that we have people from the barbershops to the water coolers in the offices and so on talking about who they think is going to win this fight.
Two guys, which obviously have a lot to do with the preparation, are responsible for getting these two fighters in the best shape for the great May 1st showdown at the MGM Grand are the trainers, and it is a pleasure for me. Now, we have both trainers, Naazim Richardson for Sugar Shane Mosley, and Roger Mayweather for Floyd Mayweather, of course on the phone here.
I’m going to introduce now Naazim Richardson, a man who really doesn’t need any introduction. You guys all know who he is, and his accomplishments are many, is considered to be clearly one of the best trainers in the business today. Please, Naazim, if you want to give some comments about camp, on what you see, what you think the fight, what’s going to happen.
N. Richardson
Well, going forward, a lot of things come to pass. We see this as being an outstanding fight once again that relies on both participants, but I feel as though if you check the history you’ve never seen Shane Mosley in let alone a bad fight, you’ve never seen Shane Mosley in a boring fight. I don’t see that changing at all in this fight, especially with an outstanding athlete such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. Like I said, this will be a matter of us putting the strategy together and seeing what the outcome is. In fact, both of us have exceptional athletes, but I’m still confident that our guys can get the job done. I look forward to the contest.
R. Schaefer
Thank you, Naazim. It is a pleasure now to hand it over to the co-promoter of this event, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. Leonard Ellerbe will introduce Mr. Mayweather. Please, Leonard.
L. Ellerbe
Thank you, Richard. Like what you said, I’d like to welcome everyone to today’s call. Obviously, we are less than three weeks away from the biggest fight of the year. We’re expecting a great, great fight.
Behind every great fighter, there’s always a great trainer. In order for Floyd to be able to have reached this level, he couldn’t have done it by himself. Obviously, we all know that his dad taught him all the skills early on in his career, but in order for Floyd to be able to go to the next level, obviously, he had great direction from his uncle. Their relationship is filled with trust, and Floyd trusts in his uncle because he’s a former two-time world champion himself. Anytime Floyd steps in the ring, he not only steps up in the ring knowing that he has the ability to carry out what his uncle’s orders are, but to be able to execute anything that his uncle tells him.
As we all know, Roger is a character within himself, but what we also all know is Roger is a true boxing historian. Without further ado, none other than the two-time world champion himself, the Black Mamba. Roger, would you like to make a few words?
R. Mayweather
Thank you. My name is Roger Mayweather. Obviously, you already know I’m training Floyd Mayweather. Of course, we’re preparing now for the fight with Shane Mosley, which is not that far away. I don’t think he’s going to be— Shane Mosley’s a good fighter, and I don’t doubt that, but I truly believe that my nephew is the best fighter in the sport of boxing period hands down. I’m not saying what Shane Mosley can’t do, but whatever he can do, he can’t do it better than Floyd. That’s what I’m saying. I understand about boxing.
I understand about boxing because I’ve been around boxing all of my life. They’ve both got tremendous skill. That’s what makes a fight. They’ve both got a tremendous fan base. That’s what makes a fight, but come on May 1st, they’re going to see why they call Floyd the best in the world.
There are a whole bunch of guys that are good. Good and great are two different things, and he’s on the verge of greatness, so when it comes May 1st, when all this is said and done, I won’t even have to talk about how good Floyd is or how great he is or how, I won’t even have to say anything because all that’s going to be shared in the books and the papers. They’re going to say it all week, so I don’t have to say much of anything about that.
Q:
Will Mosley be the quickest opponent Floyd has fought?
R. Mayweather
People don’t even understand about boxing. One thing I’m going to tell them right now is to let them know that one of the fastest guys in the history of the sport of boxing was a 1976 Olympic gold medalist. It was Howard Davis Jr. He had tremendous speed, but he never won a world championship, and he fought guys that were much slower than him. It’s not about speed that wins fights. Skill wins fights, and he’s the most skilled fighter in the sport of boxing period hands down.
When you start talking about on a skill level or how, I’m not saying Shane Mosley’s not a skilled fighter, but I said Floyd is the most skilled fighter in the sport. He understands boxing. That’s what he’s been doing all his life. Shane Mosley had a great career as well, but at the same time when you start talking about skill, then you guys understand. You know what I’m saying. He did fight Cotto, didn’t he?
Q:
Yes.
R. Mayweather
Okay then. I even got asked that question. He fought Cotto, right? You saw what Pacquiao did to Cotto, didn’t you?
Q:
Yes.
R. Mayweather
All right.
Q:
Mosley likes to get in and mix it up. Floyd likes to box. Do you see the two being able to mesh in the ring? Do you Floyd standing in and trading punches with Shane?
R. Mayweather:
Floyd knows how to win. Obviously, he doesn’t know how to lose. You don’t ask me that question. You ask Shane Mosley that question.
Q:
Shane says he’ll knock out Floyd. Do you think Floyd has the power to stop Shane, or do you think this fight looks like it’ll go the distance?
R. Mayweather:
What do you mean, the power that he’s got with the steroids, or the power that he’s got just naturally? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m talking about the power with the steroids that he’s taking or the power just naturally gifted to him himself. I don’t know. Has he had a test yet? Okay then, so I don’t know. I can't answer a question that I don’t know the facts to, but I know one thing. I don’t even worry about that anyways because he hasn’t ever been stopped, so it’s not different than any other fight that Floyd has fought before.
Like I said before, Shane Mosley’s a great fighter. I’m not taking away from Shane Mosley about how good he is, but remember one thing, remember this and what I’m going to tell you. You remember this. You’ve got a whole bunch of good fighters, but there are very few that are great, and the greatest fighter who put those gloves on to this day is Sugar Ray Robinson. You’ve got a whole bunch of good ones. They didn’t beat him, though, but there’s a big difference between good and great. Floyd’s on his way to greatness. Come May 1, I guess you’ll see for yourself.
Q:
Naazim, Mosley and yourself yesterday, I wasn’t there, but in Pasadena talked about not letting Mayweather’s talk, no head games. Shane and you were going to block that out. You yourself dropped a little bit of a bombshell, and I want to just quote you. You said, “We could get through five rounds of this thing up 5-0. At that point Mayweather may just say, ‘Forget it. I’ve got a rematch guaranteed. Try again next time,’” end of quote. You’re quoted that way in the Los Angeles Times.
N. Richardson
I saw that myself. That was surprising to me today. That’s not a quote of mine. I’m not banking anything on a rematch, and I’m not concerned about a rematch. I never look past the fight that I have in front of me. Earlier this month I had Karl Dargan in front of me, and that’s what I’ve dealt with. After that I had to deal with Bernard Hopkins and Steve Cunningham, and now I have Sugar Shane Mosley performing against Floyd Mayweather. I never looked to the next fight.
Q:
In other words you’re saying you never made that quote?
N. Richardson
No, I read it on the Internet the other day, a quote about me saying something about the rematch. No, I wouldn’t make a quote like. First of all, I don’t believe in a statement like that. I don’t believe there’s any quit in Floyd Mayweather. That’s first of all, and I don’t believe any athlete at this particular level would just surrender after a couple rounds if it didn’t go their way.
Q:
A question for Roger. Roger, how would you describe Manny Pacquiao? Is he just another good fighter to you?
R. Mayweather:
I don’t know how good he is. I can’t say how good he is because every time I see him fighting he must have something in his system. Anytime a guy doesn’t want to take a test, that tells you already about the guy. How’s a guy going to talk about how good he is or how great he is and the guy won't even take a test. He won't even take a blood test, so you tell me how good Manny Pacquiao is. You tell me because you asked me the question.
Q:
Didn’t you just say you didn’t care about steroids?
L. Ellerbe:
This call is about Mayweather vs. Mosley.
Q:
All right, that’s fair enough, Leonard. What’s your evaluation then of Pacquiao, and are you interested after this fight ….
R. Schaefer:
Forget Pacquiao. Don’t even talk about Pacquiao. We are promoting a fight between two of the greatest fighters which are Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.
Q:
Naazim, have there been any differences in this training camp opposed to the Margarito training camp, anything better, anything worse?
N. Richardson:
I’ve said this before, and I’ll repeat it. As far as Shane preparing for the Margarito fight and Shane preparing for the Mayweather fight, I’m very comfortable with his mental preparation. I’m very comfortable, and I’m more comfortable in either one of those fights than I was for the Berto fight because this is the level that Shane desires. This is where Shane knows he belongs.
Now, like we said, it’s all right that I hear things of the nature, one side of the fence I hear people say undefeated, and they give you the impression because a guy hasn’t lost yet he’s great, but then they say the greatest fighter was Ray Robinson who lost fights. If Ray Robinson’s the greatest fighter in your mind, then you do recommend great fighters lose fights. Right there in that contradiction itself, it explains what can happen in this fight on May 1.
Q:
Naazim, one more question, do you feel that Shane was forced to hop through too many loops with having to agree to a rematch clause and having to do the blood test. From a trainer’s perspective, do you think that was too much to be asked? He did anyways, but do you feel that it was too much?
N. Richardson:
Well, listen, I’ve said this to Shane, and I don’t say anything behind my fighter’s back that I wouldn’t say to his face. I respect Shane. I love his approach as an athlete to his job and how he takes it on. I implore him to my heart as a friend, but I’ll tell him to his face I think he’s a poor negotiator.
Shane wants to fight so bad he doesn’t care. Shit, they could’ve convinced Shane that Roger needs to be one of the judges. But Shane would’ve agreed to it because Shane just wants to fight. You can tell Shane, look, you’re going to have to tie one arm behind your back, and Shane’s going to fight. We can hold it in Michigan in your backyard, and Shane wants to fight, so they’re really a lot of hoops because Shane comes to the table already with the impression as long as we’re fighting I don’t care about anything else, tests or anything else of that nature.
My thing is to say if you are going to take something away from an athlete, the athlete has agreed to the test, and they talk more about steroids with Shane as they do the fighter who disagreed on taking the test. They’re still talking about Shane in an environment with something that he’s all ready to take the test. He’s taken the test, and he hasn’t complained, and he never backed down from it because they see this guy wants to fight. You see how eager he is and how willing he is because, trust me, Shane wants to get in that ring. He wants to get in that ring in front of the best, so his negotiation is out the door. He walks in the room ready to fight.
Q:
Right, one last question, Richard Schaefer. How are ticket sales?
R. Schaefer:
Glad you asked. They’re going extremely well. As a matter of fact, $150-300 and the $1000s are all sold out. I think there’s like 100 or so of the $600 tickets left, and there’s some of the $1250s left, but it will definitely be a sellout. We definitely will be going up with closed-circuit seats as well. We’re going to be opening up some select 30,000 closed-circuit seats in Las Vegas as well because this really is a fight of historic proportions, and we will have those seats up and on sale within the next week.
Q:
Naazim, the problem seems that so many opponents have found with Mayweather is how to cut off the ring against him. What attributes can Shane use in conjunction with the game plan you devised to cut off Floyd Mayweather?
N. Richardson:
First of all, I haven’t read the passage that it’s necessary for us to have to cut the ring off. Nobody’s gotten that documentation to me yet, so the game plan I have is that I’m bringing Sugar Shane Mosley to the table. I’m not bringing those other 40 guys that he fought. I’m bringing Sugar Shane Mosley. I’m bringing another decorated, documented legend to the table. Some of the questions are going to have to be asked of Floyd Mayweather and what he’s going to have to do to deal with Sugar Shane Mosley because nobody said we’re going to come in and follow the cookie-cutter ideology that these other athletes approach they’ve taken when dealing with Floyd Mayweather. We’re bringing Sugar Shane to the table.
Q:
Of course, those questions will be asked of Mayweather how he deals with Shane’s speed and power and power boxing as I’m sure will happen over the next few days, but we have questions to ask of how you deal with his attributes as well, so that’s kind of the question I’m asking.
N. Richardson:
What I’m saying is you cut off the ring if that’s your purpose to engage in that manner. You cut off the ring. If you don’t choose to cut off the ring, you’re don’t have to cut off the ring. You can't document to me fights where Muhammad Ali had to cut off the ring, so cutting off the ring is a procedure you take when you’re trying to imply a certain tactic. We may not be applying that tactic, so cutting off the ring may not fall under the umbrella of what we need to do.
Q:
Obviously, the one thing that’s different about this training camp is the drug testing. How from a trainer’s standpoint can you characterize whether or not it’s been intrusive? How do they approach it? When do they come? Roger, could you address it and also Naazim, how you guys are dealing with that?
R. Mayweather:
With me it’s very easy. My nephew can take a drug test 24 hours a day. I don’t worry about if my nephew’s on steroids or any other kind of drug. I mean, he’s been boxing just as long as Shane, pretty much all his life, so he hasn’t ever been tested positive. I don’t think it’s any more different now than it was when he started.
When you start talking about taking a test, take a test on somebody who’s already had steroids in their system. You don’t take a test on somebody that hasn’t had them in their system, but if you do, then you’ll find out if the guy is the guy taking them, or you’ll find out if the guy who said he wasn’t taking them, if he’s taking them. Nobody knows that until you take the test. That’s what the test is for. People try talking about they’re so much worried about the test, about the test, about the test. If you’re not worried, take the test. That’s the simplest way to do it. That’s what you’re getting paid for, isn’t it? Guys don’t get this kind of money that doesn’t take any test at all, does he?
Okay then, so the thing of it is, he does what he’s supposed to do. I’m not saying what he’s on or if he’s got something in his system. I don’t know, but that’s what tests are for, aren’t they? Okay then, so take the test, and that’s all I’ve got to say.
Q:
Naazim, Shane had said that the testers have almost become a part of the team, that he welcomes them, so what I was kind of looking for is has the transition been easy? Is it interrupting training? Is it just something that you guys have grown accustomed to, or did it take time to do?
N. Richardson:
They haven’t been intrusive, and it hasn’t been a problem because, like I said, Shane was willing and welcome to take the test, and Shane Mosley has never been tested positive for anything himself, but like I said, the test has never been a problem.
The only thing I wanted to bring up in the situation and I’ll open this up to all the reporters and I open this up to Richard Schaefer. Anybody can contact me and give me information on this. During this drug testing thing, you’re hearing so much about drug testing. I wanted to know if, I was told that no needles were included, I mean needles of any sort. I mean, we can’t take a needle anywhere in any way, shape, or form. You can’t stick needles in your hands. You can't stick your needles anywhere. I need somebody to give me information on that because people were telling me about something about the deal with lidocaine or something being used in one of the athlete’s hands, and it’s only legal in Las Vegas. It’s not legal anywhere else. It’s only legal in Las Vegas, and you can shoot this lidocaine in your hands and whatnot.
Like I said, I come from the ‘hood, and the only caine I want to here is Big Daddy Kane. I don’t want to hear nothing else about caine in any athlete or anybody else. To me that just doesn’t seem right, so I need more information on that even from USADA so if Richard Schaefer or anybody listening can give me information on that, it would be a applauded because we keep talking about guys using this and all-natural. If you’re sticking a needle in your hand, it’s not all-natural.
L. Ellerbe:
Naazim, this is Leonard. I can clear that up right now. Just for the record, Floyd Mayweather doesn’t shoot anything in his hands, and that’s for the record. That was a nasty rumor that was spread out there just because people like to do those kinds of things. Floyd is a clean athlete, and he’s been a clean athlete from day one. Floyd Mayweather doesn’t shoot needles in his hands.
N. Richardson:
Here’s my thing. I agree with you, but this is a problem where people just keep running their mouth about things that have nothing to do with the actual boxing. When you bring up the boxer, talk about the boxer, but if every time you crack your mouth open you’re running your mouth about some nonsense from before, then everybody’s going to start asking questions about everything. If we kept it on boxing, you all never heard me step out of the line of boxing because I don’t care about none of this other nonsense about nothing else but boxing. That’s all that’s important to me. I don’t consider Floyd to be nothing but a great athlete. I don’t consider even the kid they were talking about before, Pacquiao, to be nothing but a great athlete. If I don’t have any proof on anybody about anything, I won't say anything.
Shane has never tested positive for anything. He agreed to the test, but now every time they bring his name up, you’ve still got to hear about steroids this and steroids that. Okay, the man already agreed to your test. What do you want him to do for you now? He’s not going to lay down for you. He’s not going to lay down for you. Is that just some mental, I’m going to keep trying to bruise him and beating him up, doesn’t bother him. Like I said, I haven’t addressed it at all. I haven’t said anything to anybody … other than boxing. When I keep hearing this nonsense come out, then I’m like, okay, let’s talk about everybody’s treatments and things. Let’s talk about all of it then. You know what I mean?
L. Ellerbe:
I can answer any questions when it comes to Floyd Mayweather …
Q:
I’ve got one more question, Leonard. First of all, thank you very much for doing that. I think that was important because, like you said, there have been all kinds of speculation and the way it’s been written has been written as though it’s presently happening, so I think that was critical. The other thing that leads into, though, Leonard, and you would know this, how critical, Roger, if you could weigh in, how critical has Garcia been in the wrapping of Floyd’s hands because we know he had some problems in the past, but I know Garcia has been very instrumental and if you could talk about that a little bit.
R. Mayweather:
Basically, he’s helped well with his hand, but you’ve got to understand. The first part of Floyd’s career, when guys fight with little gloves on, that’s something different compared to guys fighting with pillows on. That’s probably why a lot of times his hand was getting bruised and getting hurt, just the fact that he’s fighting with much smaller gloves on. I think as you go along and you keep fighting, then you adapt. You adapt to what situation you’re in. You fight with those little gloves on, and that’s how boxing is, and you have to learn to adapt. Raphael what he did was obviously he made some adjustments on Floyd’s hands to bring his hands up to base so that he can be comfortable when he fights. That’s pretty much what happened.
L. Ellerbe:
Of course, Raphael Garcia’s the best hand wrap specialist in the game bar none, and he’s done a tremendous job with wrapping Floyd’s hands. Obviously, that’s why we brought him aboard. For the record, Floyd hadn’t had hand problems in a number of fights, especially in the last few. What it is, like I said, what happens is that people are always out there looking for reasons to want to try to take away someone’s accomplishments.
N. Richardson:
I agree.
L. Ellerbe:
When it comes to Floyd’s hands, he’s not having any problems. He doesn’t shoot anything in his hands, and come May 1, Shane Mosley will see for himself what Floyd will be able to do with both of his hands.
N. Richardson:
I agree with you full-heartedly, Mr. Ellerbe. People always try to take away from somebody else’s accomplishments. There’s a whole lot of rap. Guys talk that way and mentally want to see what athletes with a whole lot of rap trying to take away from a guy’s accomplishments.
I’m always the guy that’s, bottom line, if the guy can fight, the guy can fight. I don’t need to stand on nobody so I can be seen. I don’t take away from anybody’s accomplishments through my mouth. I feel as though these guys are young athletes, and they’re doing their thing, and that’s why I stay on the game plan and on the boxing and what they’re doing, and it’s all I’ve ever said about Floyd. I’m known him since the amateurs. I’ve been watching him, and I’ve said I have no speculations other than he’s an outstanding athlete, but you said it perfectly. People always try to knock somebody’s accomplishments down by running their mouth about something else. It couldn’t have been more accurate than the way you just put it.
Q:
One of the major advantages I see Mayweather having is timing, and I think you’ve mentioned that as much where the other attributes are fairly equal, but how do you prepare for that when you’re training Shane?
N. Richardson:
Prepare for what?
Q:
Floyd’s timing, the way he times his counter shots is what I think is his one advantage over Shane is his ability to time shots. I wondered how you dealt with that in training.
N. Richardson:
Floyd is an exceptional athlete, but like I said before and I’ll say it again. We sit down to the chess board. I don’t see your queen moving any faster than my queen. Your rook can’t take extra moves than my rook can’t take. Bottom line, I feel as though we’re bringing athletes both that have great attributes to them to the ring, and then they’re both going to have to make adjustments throughout the fight. I don’t take anything away from this here. The timing is just one of your problems you’re going to face in dealing with Floyd Mayweather, but if you sit there and you try to depict everything you’re going to have to face with him and people start talking about sparring partners. Who’s going to spar like Floyd Mayweather? You’re lying to yourself if you say you’ve got somebody that fights like Shane Mosley. No, you don’t, or they’d be somewhere getting ready for their title. That fighter fights like Floyd Mayweather. No, you don’t, or this guy would be a legend already. He wouldn’t have time to be in your camp working with you. All you can do is train the athlete to the best of their ability and then bring him in and have him follow your game plan to the best of his ability and I feel as though Shane will be able to execute everything that we’re working on, and then Floyd will need to make adjustments as Shane will have to make adjustments throughout the fight.
Q:
Also, there has been a lot of criticism, particularly from the Mayweather camp about Shane’s jab. What do you think about that? They’ve said that he pulls with jab, and Floyd is going to counter it.
N. Richardson:
I’ll refer you back to Leonard Ellerbe’s conversation earlier. The statement Leonard Ellerbe made covers a whole lot of what you hear about Shane Mosley. The statement that Leonard Ellerbe made was flawless. There are a lot of people always running their mouth trying to take away from an athlete’s attributes.
Q:
I wondered what you thought about, Roger Mayweather has been saying that Shane has a subpar jab.
N. Richardson:
Roger’s an outstanding trainer. Roger has an opinion. Roger might like to wear leather pants. I might like to wear corduroy. That’s Roger’s opinion. He has his opinion about Shane’s jab, and it’s going to be his job to do whatever he feels he needs to do. That’s Roger’s side of the fence. He has to deal with that. If you ask me to respond to everything that I hear Mayweather say, I wouldn’t have time to go train my athlete. I can’t sit around all day and respond to everything that the Mayweather’s are saying and whatnot. When you’re going into fights like this, you’ve got to recognize the personalities, too, and if I realize I learn something from every man I’ve talked to even if I learn not to talk to that man again. Once I know what I need to learn if I hear you open your mouth and you give me a conversation, I’ve got what I need from you, and then I keep it moving. That’s what I’m doing right now. I’ve got to go be with my athlete. I’m not responding to something someone about my guy and somebody said something about my guy. I just say that I can't deal with that. I’ve got to go ahead and have my athlete do what he does.
Q:
A quick question for Roger. Roger, what do you think of Naazim as a trainer? How do you rate him as a trainer?
R. Mayweather:
I don’t know. I don’t rate trainers because, you know what, I don’t rate them because I don’t know what they’re good at. You get some guys that train. They don’t even, whether they hold a mitt, they’re good guys in the corner. They’re good corner men. They know how to make an adaption to certain things. Obviously, he must be because Shane Mosley’s one of the top five in the world. He worked for him, so there has to be something there that he brings to the table. You start talking to me about what ability that he brings, I don’t know. I don’t know the ability he brings, but obviously, he brings something.
Q:
Getting back to the question of the jab that you were quoted as saying that Shane’s jab is not good. Can you expand on that?
R. Mayweather:
I tell you what. If I said it, I’ll say it again. What I’m telling you is if I said it, I’m going to tell you what I said. I said this. Boxing, number one, is all about skill basically when you become a real boxer. I’m not talking about no Sylvester Stallone shit, that shit they show on TV. That’s bullshit. When you start talking about real boxing, real boxing takes real skill. Since you started talking about good fighters and great fighters and what makes a fighter, a fighter has to have certain things that makes him good or makes him great. The thing of it is Shane could be good as good as he is, and my nephew can be good despite being put on. It has to have some quality to it. When you start talking about his jab, this, that, and the other, yes, I said something about his jab before. I said a lot of times he just pulls his jab. Well, that’s what I said, and I’ll say it again, so what difference does that make? I understand boxing, so I’m not a guy who’s going to say I didn’t say that behind the guy’s back. What did that mean what I said. If I said you don’t jab that well, so what? He’s the one that can make the objection for that. …
Q:
This first question is for you, Roger. Now, everybody knows about Shane’s power and his skill and determination in the ring. What are you guys doing right now to prepare for that and handling that on May 1, Rog?
R. Mayweather:
Floyd and Shane are in the same situation. Shane won about five world championships. My nephew won six world championships. If the fight wasn’t being competitive, the fight wouldn’t even be made. As we talk about the ability of both guys, they’ve got tremendous ability in both guys. Both guys have tremendous ability, but the only way you’re going to find out who’s the best fighter here on that date. If you come to the fight, if you pay for the fight, then you’ll see the fight, and then you’ll see the verdict when the hand gets raised, and then that way you’ll have a greater understanding as to what I said about Floyd and what Naazim said about Shane. That’s what boxing is about. It’s how you get your guys prepared, and so it’s what the boxing world’s about. The only day we’re going to know that is May 1 when the hand gets raised.
Q:
This question is for brother Naazim. What do you guys think will be the big difference maker in this fight that would prepare your fighter Shane of course to victory on May 1?
N. Richardson:
Well, that’s a difficult question in the sense that there are several things that I could attribute to why I think my athlete would be successful, but that doesn’t necessarily make it so. He could bring out another quality that night that could have him push forward in the fight. All we can do is fight the fight. With three weeks in when everybody can just sit back and get ready to ride this whirlwind, and then we just enjoy it from all of us who enjoy boxing. Like I said, I’ve never seen Shane Mosley in a boring fight.
Q:
That’s right. You’re right about that. This is my last question. I guess I’ll ask this to Leonard as well as you, brother Naazim, and you too Roger. Watching HBO’s 24/7 this past weekend, there seems to be a serious dislike and disdain between the fighters right now. Are you guys worrying about that carrying over and maybe affecting the fight and their performance in the ring on May 1?
N. Richardson:
I can't see either one of these athletes being that unprofessional reaching the level they’ve reached. They realize whatever your personal things are you keep that to yourself and deal with your job. I went to work with supervisors I couldn’t stand. I went and did my job, got the job done because that’s what I was paid to do. All the personal stuff you have, you put that wherever you need to put it, and both of these athletes being around as long as they have and as successful as they’ve been, they’ve learned to put those things in the pocket and go ahead and do their job. 24/7 is a television show.
Q:
Is patience one of the things that you’re working with Shane on? In other words, if Floyd, we know Floyd does not like to get hit.
N. Richardson:
Do you know somebody that does?
R. Mayweather:
I don’t know anybody that likes to get hit
N. Richardson:
I know one guy that I knew that liked to get hit, and he’s in an institution where he belongs to this day.
Q:
Is patience something you’re working with him?
N. Richardson:
Patience is something that Shane has, and the thing about it is not only patience, but Shane has the professionalism that just reads through. Coming back to the show, somebody brought up 24/7. A guy stopped me at the workout the other day, and he said, “Man, I appreciate you.” He said, “I have my daughters watching that show.” He said, “And I was so proud when I saw you speaking. I saw your athlete speak.” That’s a part of Shane’s persona. He has the definite personality, so he seems professional at all times, so it’s not something that I have to work on.
You don’t have to remind him don’t listen to what they’re saying about you. Ignore what you’re reading. You don’t have to tell Shane these things. You can tell that smile Shane has is not fake. He couldn’t fake that smile if he tried.
Q:
You don’t see him getting frustrated if he has to chase Floyd around to try to hit him?
N. Richardson:
What you have to do with professionals at this level is that Shane has to do what is necessary to be done to be successful in this particular endeavor, and that’s bottom line. I explained to you all before. If Floyd Mayweather turned into a dragon in the middle of the ring, then Shane has to step on his tail and hit him with a body shot. Whatever comes to pass, he has to endure it, deal with it, make the adjustment, and then execute.
END OF CALL
Boxing superstar and six-time World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and welterweight mega-star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Tickets, priced at $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150 not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
An all new episode of HBO®’s all-access reality series “24/7 Mayweather/Mosley” debuts Saturday, Apr. 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes one and two are available on HBO ON DEMAND®. The four-part series chronicles the backstories of the two prizefighters as they prepare for their May 1 welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.
The Mayweather vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Bob Arum: I knew Valero would kill himself to escape prison cage -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.com
Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum said the suicide by hanging in a Venezuelan jail cell was "the first sensible thing" that undefeated world lightweight champion boxer Edwin "El Inca" Valero had done lately.
Arum, 78 and obviously worldly wise through a career first as a United States attorney and then four decades as one of boxing's leading fightmakers, was not being insensitive in his remarks to me Monday. He was just being realistic.
"There's no need, no reason to play the blame game here. There were a lot of people, including his boxing manager (Jose Castillo) and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who tried to help this troubled guy out. I'm sure that Chavez and the government will help those two children (ages five and seven) who are left behind and now with a murdered mother and a father who killed her and then took his own life.
"I was shocked, really shocked, when he murdered the wife. But I was not shocked to hear this morning that he killed himself.
"I really figured it would end this way, starting from when he came down (from drugs and/or alchohol) and he realized what he had done to the wife.
"So am I shocked that he then killed himself? No I am not, because I believed he then realized he could either kill himself or spend the rest of his life in a prison cell," Arum said.
Arum, who took on Valero for just two bouts under the Top Rank banner, said that Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda had warned company president and Arum stepson Todd duBoef that Valero had serious issues while living in Tokyo.
"Todd was told by Honda that Valero had some real problems, drugs and alcohol problems, real substance abuse problems. The manager is a nice guy, a feeling guy, and he tried to do everything he could do for this kid.
"What can you say now but rest in peace? Valero's smartest move, the only move he had left, was to take his own life. It is a tragic thing any way you want to look at it," Arum said. "He wanted to avoid spending the rest of his life in jail and this was his only way to avoid it.
Arum said Valero's gaudy 27-0, all-by-KO record and his boxing potential is all "immaterial' now. But he did pause to reflect on what might have been in the ring had Valero's personal demons away from the ring not ended his wife's life and then his own.
It was clear that Arum fully intended to match southpaw slugger Valero against lefthanded puncher and Top Rank's chief client, Manny Pacquiao.
"I would have had him fight two more times, moving up to 140 pounds," Arum said. "He and Manny would have been a great fight, two so energetic and charismatic punchers colliding.
"I just think that this fight would have been a tremendous fight but now it does not matter.
"So be it, rest in peace."
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum said the suicide by hanging in a Venezuelan jail cell was "the first sensible thing" that undefeated world lightweight champion boxer Edwin "El Inca" Valero had done lately.
Arum, 78 and obviously worldly wise through a career first as a United States attorney and then four decades as one of boxing's leading fightmakers, was not being insensitive in his remarks to me Monday. He was just being realistic.
"There's no need, no reason to play the blame game here. There were a lot of people, including his boxing manager (Jose Castillo) and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who tried to help this troubled guy out. I'm sure that Chavez and the government will help those two children (ages five and seven) who are left behind and now with a murdered mother and a father who killed her and then took his own life.
"I was shocked, really shocked, when he murdered the wife. But I was not shocked to hear this morning that he killed himself.
"I really figured it would end this way, starting from when he came down (from drugs and/or alchohol) and he realized what he had done to the wife.
"So am I shocked that he then killed himself? No I am not, because I believed he then realized he could either kill himself or spend the rest of his life in a prison cell," Arum said.
Arum, who took on Valero for just two bouts under the Top Rank banner, said that Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda had warned company president and Arum stepson Todd duBoef that Valero had serious issues while living in Tokyo.
"Todd was told by Honda that Valero had some real problems, drugs and alcohol problems, real substance abuse problems. The manager is a nice guy, a feeling guy, and he tried to do everything he could do for this kid.
"What can you say now but rest in peace? Valero's smartest move, the only move he had left, was to take his own life. It is a tragic thing any way you want to look at it," Arum said. "He wanted to avoid spending the rest of his life in jail and this was his only way to avoid it.
Arum said Valero's gaudy 27-0, all-by-KO record and his boxing potential is all "immaterial' now. But he did pause to reflect on what might have been in the ring had Valero's personal demons away from the ring not ended his wife's life and then his own.
It was clear that Arum fully intended to match southpaw slugger Valero against lefthanded puncher and Top Rank's chief client, Manny Pacquiao.
"I would have had him fight two more times, moving up to 140 pounds," Arum said. "He and Manny would have been a great fight, two so energetic and charismatic punchers colliding.
"I just think that this fight would have been a tremendous fight but now it does not matter.
"So be it, rest in peace."
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
Roger Mayweather: Floyd Mayweather’s Key to Victory? -- AllHipHop
By Ismael AbduSalaam, AllHipHop.com
For most of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s professional career, the figure who’s manned his corner has been his uncle Roger Mayweather. Since his nephew’s emergence as a PPV and crossover star over the last several years, Roger Mayweather has become a polarizing figure due to his outspoken nature and controversial comments on other fighters. Whether it’s dismissing Shane Mosley’s boxing acumen or taunting Manny Pacquiao, Roger Mayweather is never at a loss for words. Today, the man Floyd Mayweather proclaims as “the best trainer in the world” took a short break from training to discuss Floyd’s strategy and focus going into the biggest fight of the year.
AllHipHop.com: Thanks for taking a break to conduct this interview; I know time is of the essence. We’re about 2 weeks away so training in winding down at this point. What are you focusing on with your nephew Floyd to finish up camp?
Roger Mayweather: Oh no problem we’re just training in the gym. Well, it’s the same things I’ve trained my nephew on from the beginning. So it’s not broken up [in focus] between the first few weeks or the last. It’s all about giving him things that will help him win. That’s the sport of boxing; picking a fighter like Mosley apart, and that’s what a good trainer does.
AllHipHop.com: Shane has told me that he expects the fight to be technical, which leads me to believe he may not rough up Floyd on the inside as expected. If he makes it a boxing chess match, do you think that greatly diminishes Shane’s chances at a victory?
Mayweather: Now you know he ain’t going to box nephew! He knows he isn’t going to do that. That’s bulls**t. What’s he’s going to try and do is use his physicalness to overcome my nephew’s boxing ability. That’s what his job is. You start talking about [straight] boxing; it would be a one-sided fight. He ain’t going to use his boxing skills.
AllHipHop.com: If that turns out to be true we could get a great fight since Floyd is very good on the inside like he showed in the Hatton fight.
Mayweather: Yeah, true. Mosley’s gonna fight to the best of his ability. Whatever he can do, that’s what he’s gonna do, whether that’s physical or not. But it’s going to boil down to the same thing, who can make the adaption in the ring? It’s going to be no different from any other fight. We’ve seen Shane fight a few times; he’s had some good performances. The Margarito fight was a good performance. But that ain’t Floyd Mayweather so that doesn’t make any difference.
AllHipHop.com: You predicted Mosley would win that fight by “ass-whipping,” and you were right on with that prediction. A criticism Floyd has of Mosley is that he loops his shots too wide and you can see everything coming. Do you see any improvement in that area in the Margarito fight now that he’s under Naazim Richardson?
Mayweather: He’s been like that since the beginning so he’ll be fighting the same way. A fighter just can’t say “well I’m going to stop looping my shots.” Not at this stage of the game, don’t matter who the trainer is.
AllHipHop.com: Has Floyd had any problems adjusting to the Olympic drug testing he mandated for this fight? He looked fine on HBO 24/7, but I wondering if there were any behind the scenes procedures that weren’t covered.
Mayweather: Y’know, everybody talks about the drug testing, but it wouldn’t be a problem if a motherf**ker takes it now would it? If you don’t want to take it than something got to be wrong, right? If a guy don’t want to take that test that shows something is wrong with him, anyway! His job is to take a drug test and a physical. Eye test, he’s supposed to do all that! It ain’t that nobody said he has to do that, he has to do it anyway if he wants to fight. How a guy gonna fight someone and won’t take no test?
AllHipHop.com: I think everyone knows who you are referring to and since there is a defamation suit pending I’ll be careful in my questioning. Do you think Floyd was unfairly criticized by the media and fans when the Pacquiao fight couldn’t be made?
Mayweather: Floyd ain’t got s**t to hide and don’t have a problem taking a damn test. Listen, that’s why he’s the one who said take the test! S**t, he ain’t doing nothing! Only person worried about it is the motherf**ker who won’t take it, and you know who that is. I ain’t even got to tell you who it is. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about no f**king test. The only person talking about no is doing illegal s**t anyway.
So it ain’t about so much the test. If someone is doing illegal s**t and winning on it, that’s a foul on boxing. This is supposed to be a clean sport. In track Ben Johnson took steroids, what did they do to Ben Johnson after he had won the gold medal? They took that motherf**ker because he didn’t really win it! Alright then, ain’t no different in boxing. If a guy got something is his system, how did he really win?
It’s like a guy fighting you and you beating him, and the guy knocks you out. And then they unwrap the guy’s hand and he has a motherf**king cast on it. And you look up and say “Whoa! The guy hit me with a f**king cast!”
AllHipHop.com: [Laughs]. Ok.
Mayweather: That’s the reason why he knocked your ass out! So you disqualify his ass and that’s all there is to it. It should be no different than any other sport.
AllHipHop.com: So from your example it would seem you feel steroids or performance enhancing drugs are a big problem in boxing.
Mayweather: The big thing about boxing now is steroids! Motherf**kers be illegal wrapping and s**t, but steroids is the main thing. I’m not saying all boxers, but most of them do. They use steroids and some other s**t. They may not call it steroids but it’s just like steroids and gives the same results.
AllHipHop.com: How much of the media do you hold responsible for addressing this issue?
Mayweather: Yeah the media is to blame! How you gonna talk about how good a fighter is and that fighter is using steroids? A guy uses illegal substances, and he’s fighting, and they’re pushing him in the sport of boxing, hell yeah that’s a problem. This kind of stuff isn’t supposed to happen, but obviously it is. It wasn’t no big thing when Ben Johnson won the 100 yards, but then he tested positive [for steroids]. It’s ok to win as long as you ain’t got illegal stuff in your system.
If you get caught you should be barred from boxing. If I walk to the ring with brass knuckles on my hand and fight a guy, knock him out, and destroy his career, what is supposed to happen to me?
AllHipHop.com: You should be banned from boxing and face criminal charges.
Mayweather: Ok, you a motherf**ker taking steroids or any other substance that shouldn’t be in his system; he should be banned from the sport. That’s all there is to it. If you got to win with drugs you shouldn’t be in boxing anyway. Drugs are for people not in boxing. Drugs are for drug addicts! You know a few drug addicts, don’t you?
AllHipHop.com: I’ve run across a few in my time.
Mayweather: And they asses don’t need to be in the ring!
AllHipHop.com: Let’s switch to your own career, as a lot of younger readers may not be familiar with what you did in the 80’s and early 90’s as the Black Mamba.
Mayweather: Oh yeah, that’s true.
AllHipHop.com: You won titles at junior welterweight (140 pounds). When you look at that division now with guys like Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan, do you think those young fighters could have given you a good scrap on your heyday?
Mayweather: S**t, my nephew was at 140 too! You got some good fighters there; you had [Miguel] Cotto there for awhile. I think De La Hoya fought there, too. Shane Mosley would’ve been a good fighter at ’40.
You got some good guys today. But I mean I don’t think they could compete in the era that I was in, because at 140 pounds you had Aaron Pryor, Pernell Whitaker, Raphael Pineda, Howard Davis, Julio Cesar Chavez, Vinny Pazienza, there was a lot of guys. With me it would have been a hell of a contest today with any guy, you can believe that!
I still believe the 2000’s don’t compare to the 80’s. You had too many great fighters in the 80’s. You had Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard at 147. Iran Barkley fought in the 80’s. You had so many guys that were good I don’t believe this generation right now could compete. There were too many good fighters.
AllHipHop.com: You mentioned a lot of guys just now that were successful at junior welterweight. Which fight would you consider your best performance?
Mayweather: People always say when you win the title that is your best performance, but I don’t really say that. My better performances is when I came back at 140 and I was fighting bigger guys and not really known there. That is always difficult, but when I won the world championship I won it in somebody else’s backyard. That solidified my place as a fighter. [Writer’s Note: Mayweather won the WBC junior welterweight title with a 6th round TKO over Rene Arredondo on November 12, 1987] It didn’t matter if I was on their home turf or not, I fought them. I always believed I could win.
AllHipHop.com: You fought a few Hall of Famers. Who would you consider the best fighter you fought out of Kostya Tszyu…?
Mayweather: Oh I already know who the best fighters I fought were. I fought 2 of the best ever; 1 was Pernell Whitaker, and number 2 was Julio Cesar Chavez. I fought them all, but when I look back and think about how good they were, it goes down to Julio and Pernell. They’re both Hall of Famers because of the kind of careers they had. I’m glad I had the chance to compete with them.
AllHipHop.com: Thanks for your time today Roger and good luck on May 1.
Mayweather: Alright man, thank you.
Writer’s Note: Catch more of Roger Mayweather this Saturday on part 3 of HBO’s 24/7 Mayweather-Mosley. The fighters square off May 1 on HBO PPV.
Source: allhiphop.com
For most of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s professional career, the figure who’s manned his corner has been his uncle Roger Mayweather. Since his nephew’s emergence as a PPV and crossover star over the last several years, Roger Mayweather has become a polarizing figure due to his outspoken nature and controversial comments on other fighters. Whether it’s dismissing Shane Mosley’s boxing acumen or taunting Manny Pacquiao, Roger Mayweather is never at a loss for words. Today, the man Floyd Mayweather proclaims as “the best trainer in the world” took a short break from training to discuss Floyd’s strategy and focus going into the biggest fight of the year.
AllHipHop.com: Thanks for taking a break to conduct this interview; I know time is of the essence. We’re about 2 weeks away so training in winding down at this point. What are you focusing on with your nephew Floyd to finish up camp?
Roger Mayweather: Oh no problem we’re just training in the gym. Well, it’s the same things I’ve trained my nephew on from the beginning. So it’s not broken up [in focus] between the first few weeks or the last. It’s all about giving him things that will help him win. That’s the sport of boxing; picking a fighter like Mosley apart, and that’s what a good trainer does.
AllHipHop.com: Shane has told me that he expects the fight to be technical, which leads me to believe he may not rough up Floyd on the inside as expected. If he makes it a boxing chess match, do you think that greatly diminishes Shane’s chances at a victory?
Mayweather: Now you know he ain’t going to box nephew! He knows he isn’t going to do that. That’s bulls**t. What’s he’s going to try and do is use his physicalness to overcome my nephew’s boxing ability. That’s what his job is. You start talking about [straight] boxing; it would be a one-sided fight. He ain’t going to use his boxing skills.
AllHipHop.com: If that turns out to be true we could get a great fight since Floyd is very good on the inside like he showed in the Hatton fight.
Mayweather: Yeah, true. Mosley’s gonna fight to the best of his ability. Whatever he can do, that’s what he’s gonna do, whether that’s physical or not. But it’s going to boil down to the same thing, who can make the adaption in the ring? It’s going to be no different from any other fight. We’ve seen Shane fight a few times; he’s had some good performances. The Margarito fight was a good performance. But that ain’t Floyd Mayweather so that doesn’t make any difference.
AllHipHop.com: You predicted Mosley would win that fight by “ass-whipping,” and you were right on with that prediction. A criticism Floyd has of Mosley is that he loops his shots too wide and you can see everything coming. Do you see any improvement in that area in the Margarito fight now that he’s under Naazim Richardson?
Mayweather: He’s been like that since the beginning so he’ll be fighting the same way. A fighter just can’t say “well I’m going to stop looping my shots.” Not at this stage of the game, don’t matter who the trainer is.
AllHipHop.com: Has Floyd had any problems adjusting to the Olympic drug testing he mandated for this fight? He looked fine on HBO 24/7, but I wondering if there were any behind the scenes procedures that weren’t covered.
Mayweather: Y’know, everybody talks about the drug testing, but it wouldn’t be a problem if a motherf**ker takes it now would it? If you don’t want to take it than something got to be wrong, right? If a guy don’t want to take that test that shows something is wrong with him, anyway! His job is to take a drug test and a physical. Eye test, he’s supposed to do all that! It ain’t that nobody said he has to do that, he has to do it anyway if he wants to fight. How a guy gonna fight someone and won’t take no test?
AllHipHop.com: I think everyone knows who you are referring to and since there is a defamation suit pending I’ll be careful in my questioning. Do you think Floyd was unfairly criticized by the media and fans when the Pacquiao fight couldn’t be made?
Mayweather: Floyd ain’t got s**t to hide and don’t have a problem taking a damn test. Listen, that’s why he’s the one who said take the test! S**t, he ain’t doing nothing! Only person worried about it is the motherf**ker who won’t take it, and you know who that is. I ain’t even got to tell you who it is. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about no f**king test. The only person talking about no is doing illegal s**t anyway.
So it ain’t about so much the test. If someone is doing illegal s**t and winning on it, that’s a foul on boxing. This is supposed to be a clean sport. In track Ben Johnson took steroids, what did they do to Ben Johnson after he had won the gold medal? They took that motherf**ker because he didn’t really win it! Alright then, ain’t no different in boxing. If a guy got something is his system, how did he really win?
It’s like a guy fighting you and you beating him, and the guy knocks you out. And then they unwrap the guy’s hand and he has a motherf**king cast on it. And you look up and say “Whoa! The guy hit me with a f**king cast!”
AllHipHop.com: [Laughs]. Ok.
Mayweather: That’s the reason why he knocked your ass out! So you disqualify his ass and that’s all there is to it. It should be no different than any other sport.
AllHipHop.com: So from your example it would seem you feel steroids or performance enhancing drugs are a big problem in boxing.
Mayweather: The big thing about boxing now is steroids! Motherf**kers be illegal wrapping and s**t, but steroids is the main thing. I’m not saying all boxers, but most of them do. They use steroids and some other s**t. They may not call it steroids but it’s just like steroids and gives the same results.
AllHipHop.com: How much of the media do you hold responsible for addressing this issue?
Mayweather: Yeah the media is to blame! How you gonna talk about how good a fighter is and that fighter is using steroids? A guy uses illegal substances, and he’s fighting, and they’re pushing him in the sport of boxing, hell yeah that’s a problem. This kind of stuff isn’t supposed to happen, but obviously it is. It wasn’t no big thing when Ben Johnson won the 100 yards, but then he tested positive [for steroids]. It’s ok to win as long as you ain’t got illegal stuff in your system.
If you get caught you should be barred from boxing. If I walk to the ring with brass knuckles on my hand and fight a guy, knock him out, and destroy his career, what is supposed to happen to me?
AllHipHop.com: You should be banned from boxing and face criminal charges.
Mayweather: Ok, you a motherf**ker taking steroids or any other substance that shouldn’t be in his system; he should be banned from the sport. That’s all there is to it. If you got to win with drugs you shouldn’t be in boxing anyway. Drugs are for people not in boxing. Drugs are for drug addicts! You know a few drug addicts, don’t you?
AllHipHop.com: I’ve run across a few in my time.
Mayweather: And they asses don’t need to be in the ring!
AllHipHop.com: Let’s switch to your own career, as a lot of younger readers may not be familiar with what you did in the 80’s and early 90’s as the Black Mamba.
Mayweather: Oh yeah, that’s true.
AllHipHop.com: You won titles at junior welterweight (140 pounds). When you look at that division now with guys like Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan, do you think those young fighters could have given you a good scrap on your heyday?
Mayweather: S**t, my nephew was at 140 too! You got some good fighters there; you had [Miguel] Cotto there for awhile. I think De La Hoya fought there, too. Shane Mosley would’ve been a good fighter at ’40.
You got some good guys today. But I mean I don’t think they could compete in the era that I was in, because at 140 pounds you had Aaron Pryor, Pernell Whitaker, Raphael Pineda, Howard Davis, Julio Cesar Chavez, Vinny Pazienza, there was a lot of guys. With me it would have been a hell of a contest today with any guy, you can believe that!
I still believe the 2000’s don’t compare to the 80’s. You had too many great fighters in the 80’s. You had Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard at 147. Iran Barkley fought in the 80’s. You had so many guys that were good I don’t believe this generation right now could compete. There were too many good fighters.
AllHipHop.com: You mentioned a lot of guys just now that were successful at junior welterweight. Which fight would you consider your best performance?
Mayweather: People always say when you win the title that is your best performance, but I don’t really say that. My better performances is when I came back at 140 and I was fighting bigger guys and not really known there. That is always difficult, but when I won the world championship I won it in somebody else’s backyard. That solidified my place as a fighter. [Writer’s Note: Mayweather won the WBC junior welterweight title with a 6th round TKO over Rene Arredondo on November 12, 1987] It didn’t matter if I was on their home turf or not, I fought them. I always believed I could win.
AllHipHop.com: You fought a few Hall of Famers. Who would you consider the best fighter you fought out of Kostya Tszyu…?
Mayweather: Oh I already know who the best fighters I fought were. I fought 2 of the best ever; 1 was Pernell Whitaker, and number 2 was Julio Cesar Chavez. I fought them all, but when I look back and think about how good they were, it goes down to Julio and Pernell. They’re both Hall of Famers because of the kind of careers they had. I’m glad I had the chance to compete with them.
AllHipHop.com: Thanks for your time today Roger and good luck on May 1.
Mayweather: Alright man, thank you.
Writer’s Note: Catch more of Roger Mayweather this Saturday on part 3 of HBO’s 24/7 Mayweather-Mosley. The fighters square off May 1 on HBO PPV.
Source: allhiphop.com
Edwin Valero - We'll Never Know How Great He Could Have Been -- Eastside Boxing
By James Slater, Eastside Boxing
We're all still trying to take in the stunning news of how former two-weight champion Edwin Valero chose to take his own life whilst in jail earlier today, and for most of us it's from a boxing standpoint only that we can even relate to Valero and the whole sorry saga. Of course, condolences must go out to the family of Valero himself and to the family of the woman he reportedly admitted killing, but our sport has lost a potentially great fighter. In this article, I ask how great could Valero have been.
Valero always was something of a short fuse, in and out (mainly out) of the ring; and there will likely be those fans who say they are not all that shocked at what has transpired. However, what must be agreed on is the fact that Valero lost his marbles in a alarmingly short period of time. Only a little over two months ago, the Venezuelan southpaw was beating up Antonio DeMarco whilst retaining his WBC lightweight crown. Also looking ahead to big fights against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and maybe Timothy Bradley and/or one of the two Peterson brothers, Valero was fast becoming a real attraction, and not just to hardcore fight fans, but to casual fans also..
Then, shortly after the 28-year-old announced how he was vacating his lightweight belt in order to move up in weight, all hell broke loose. Domestic violence charges led to an enforced stay in rehab, then the domestic violence led to the murder of Valero's wife, and finally, Valero, presumably wracked with guilt for having stabbed his beloved, took his own life by hanging. To look at and write about Valero purely from a boxing standpoint when all this has happened may seem callous to some, but what else is a boxing fan/writer to do right now? Not knowing any of the people involved in the whole shoddy saga, I can only write about Valero and his boxing achievements.
And now that he's gone - one of the most ferociously entertaining and destructive forces seen in the lower weight classes for quite some time - we have to evaluate the former WBA super-featherweight and WBC lightweight champion's career. Also, we have to ask ourselves, how great, could "El Inca" have been? Would he have been great at all?
No-one disputes the punching power of the man who romped to a straight 27 KO's (an amazing 19 of them coming inside a round!) and nobody denies the electricity Valero generated in the ring. But, it must be said, the 5'6" terror never faced an opponent who was close to being ranked as a great fighter. And of course now he never will. But what would have happened if Valero had lived to get that dream fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao? No doubt, if the hard case had somehow managed to win that one, his place in history would have been secured (in a far more celebratory manner than it now will be).
But was Valero ever going to be good enough to rumble with the likes of Pac-Man, Bradley and the other polished boxers fighting at or around the 140-pound mark? At 5'6" Valero, it could be argued, had the necessary height and reach to make it as a light-welter, and his withering, one-punch KO power would have always given him a chance against any fighter he met in the ring. On the minus side, though, is Valero's crudeness and his less than granite chin. Valero, if he had met a skilled boxer like a Tim Bradley, would likely have been made to miss by a mile or two with some, if not most of his punches. And when under return fire, Valero could be sent to the canvas (as Vicente Mosquera proved in August of 2006).
Would Valero have been able to take Pacquiao's best and keep coming? Of course we'll never know for sure, but I think if Valero had met Pacquiao we would have seen a wildly entertaining few rounds, before Valero took the inevitable punch too many and got stopped. Who knows, Pacquiao-Valero could have even topped the still celebrated Hagler-Hearns war for greatest short fight!
As things stand with the ring achievements he did make before his premature death - two titles at different weights - Valero certainly must be remembered as a very good, not to mention hugely exciting, world class fighter. Had he lived he may have got that fight he wanted with Pacquiao, and it's not totally crazy to say the wild man's style might, just might, have given Manny trouble and even beaten him. One thing we can all agree on is how exciting it would have been if we'd been allowed to find out who would have come out on top between the two fast and heavy-handed southpaws.
Unfortunately, and whether you feel Valero was capable of achieving greatness or not, any future fights involving him will ALL have to be of the Dream Fight variety.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
We're all still trying to take in the stunning news of how former two-weight champion Edwin Valero chose to take his own life whilst in jail earlier today, and for most of us it's from a boxing standpoint only that we can even relate to Valero and the whole sorry saga. Of course, condolences must go out to the family of Valero himself and to the family of the woman he reportedly admitted killing, but our sport has lost a potentially great fighter. In this article, I ask how great could Valero have been.
Valero always was something of a short fuse, in and out (mainly out) of the ring; and there will likely be those fans who say they are not all that shocked at what has transpired. However, what must be agreed on is the fact that Valero lost his marbles in a alarmingly short period of time. Only a little over two months ago, the Venezuelan southpaw was beating up Antonio DeMarco whilst retaining his WBC lightweight crown. Also looking ahead to big fights against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and maybe Timothy Bradley and/or one of the two Peterson brothers, Valero was fast becoming a real attraction, and not just to hardcore fight fans, but to casual fans also..
Then, shortly after the 28-year-old announced how he was vacating his lightweight belt in order to move up in weight, all hell broke loose. Domestic violence charges led to an enforced stay in rehab, then the domestic violence led to the murder of Valero's wife, and finally, Valero, presumably wracked with guilt for having stabbed his beloved, took his own life by hanging. To look at and write about Valero purely from a boxing standpoint when all this has happened may seem callous to some, but what else is a boxing fan/writer to do right now? Not knowing any of the people involved in the whole shoddy saga, I can only write about Valero and his boxing achievements.
And now that he's gone - one of the most ferociously entertaining and destructive forces seen in the lower weight classes for quite some time - we have to evaluate the former WBA super-featherweight and WBC lightweight champion's career. Also, we have to ask ourselves, how great, could "El Inca" have been? Would he have been great at all?
No-one disputes the punching power of the man who romped to a straight 27 KO's (an amazing 19 of them coming inside a round!) and nobody denies the electricity Valero generated in the ring. But, it must be said, the 5'6" terror never faced an opponent who was close to being ranked as a great fighter. And of course now he never will. But what would have happened if Valero had lived to get that dream fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao? No doubt, if the hard case had somehow managed to win that one, his place in history would have been secured (in a far more celebratory manner than it now will be).
But was Valero ever going to be good enough to rumble with the likes of Pac-Man, Bradley and the other polished boxers fighting at or around the 140-pound mark? At 5'6" Valero, it could be argued, had the necessary height and reach to make it as a light-welter, and his withering, one-punch KO power would have always given him a chance against any fighter he met in the ring. On the minus side, though, is Valero's crudeness and his less than granite chin. Valero, if he had met a skilled boxer like a Tim Bradley, would likely have been made to miss by a mile or two with some, if not most of his punches. And when under return fire, Valero could be sent to the canvas (as Vicente Mosquera proved in August of 2006).
Would Valero have been able to take Pacquiao's best and keep coming? Of course we'll never know for sure, but I think if Valero had met Pacquiao we would have seen a wildly entertaining few rounds, before Valero took the inevitable punch too many and got stopped. Who knows, Pacquiao-Valero could have even topped the still celebrated Hagler-Hearns war for greatest short fight!
As things stand with the ring achievements he did make before his premature death - two titles at different weights - Valero certainly must be remembered as a very good, not to mention hugely exciting, world class fighter. Had he lived he may have got that fight he wanted with Pacquiao, and it's not totally crazy to say the wild man's style might, just might, have given Manny trouble and even beaten him. One thing we can all agree on is how exciting it would have been if we'd been allowed to find out who would have come out on top between the two fast and heavy-handed southpaws.
Unfortunately, and whether you feel Valero was capable of achieving greatness or not, any future fights involving him will ALL have to be of the Dream Fight variety.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Arreola Hopes for a Fight to Break Out with Adamek -- SecondsOut
By Steve Kim, SecondsOut.com
On Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, the main event featured on HBO will be a heavyweight tussle between Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Based on track record, this battle looks to be among the most fan-friendly fights that can be made in the often dreary heavyweight division.
Arreola is a straight ahead banger who relies more on brawn than finesse in the ring, while Adamek, from his days as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, has a history of being involved in slugfests. But Arreola, who will hold a sizable weight advantage on the Polish star, doesn’t believe that Adamek will sit and trade with him, at least not initially.
"No, I don’t expect him to bang with me at all. If he didn’t bang with Jason Estrada, who’s not a banger, can’t pop a grape, you expect him to bang with me? Exactly," reasoned Arreola. "So I don’t forsee that at all. But you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He’s going to resort to his old stuff eventually. After a couple of rounds, four or five rounds, he’s going to have to go and bang."
While it’s true that eventually you’ll most likely revert to what you do best- which, in Adamek’s case, is stalking his prey and punching them out- it’s a whole different ballgame when you’re going up against much bigger men. Against Estrada in February, Adamek fought in a calculated manner. Arreola says he saw a boxer who cannot deal with a legitimate, 21st century heavyweight." No, not at all. Like I said, I wouldn’t be afraid of Estrada, I’d be in there banging with him. Estrada is not a puncher. Nothing about him says, ’Hey, I’m a puncher.’ It’s hit-and-go. And that’s what he was doing. You know I wouldn’t fear Estrada."
If that’s the case, then can Arreola lure Adamek into a firefight?
"I’m hoping for it, but y’ know what? Honestly, I’m going to make it that fight. Not him- I am, because he’s not that kind of fighter. He’s really going to try to run from me. I guarantee you from the bell, he’s going to jab and run, jab and run. That’s exactly what he’s going to do. And y’ know what? I’m going to come and bring the fight to him and make him fight and eventually, he’s going to have no choice but to fight me," said Arreola, who has a record of 28-1 with 25 knockouts. To prepare for the expected movement, his main sparring partner was Fres Oquendo.
His strength and conditioning coach, Daryl Hudson says, "The things that we’re focused on, is for Chris to be more agile, quicker. We really emphasized quickness and agility, to the level of effectiveness, that the level of sparring that we’re bringing in, he has to exercise those things, as well." A constant storyline with Arreola will always be his weight. It wasn’t that long ago he was fighting at 235 pounds (when he faced Malcolm Tann in 2007), to weighing in over 260, like he did for his last outing versus Brian Minto in December. But his team swears that he is a changed man after his loss to Vitali Klitschko last September. "Since then, he has mentioned to me that he finally watched the Klitschko fight,” Hudson continued. “I don’t know what prompted him to watch it; you know how fighters are after a devastating loss like that- because it was devastating to him- but the work we had been doing, was the work we just mentioned, agility, quickness, things of that nature. We were out working and warming up on the track one day, and he mentioned that he watched the fight and I think he now realizes that he can’t just run over people, plow them over and expect someone to step to him. He’s going to have to be a boxer, as well."
His often-times frustrated trainer, Henry Ramirez, insists that they have had a productive stretch out in Riverside, where they both hail from.
"Yes, very much so. An average training camp is eight weeks and so I tried to make this one a ten-week camp, with certain things in mind about Chris...let’s just leave it at that," said Ramirez, laughing. Those “certain things” are no small secret throughout boxing circles. The man likes his beer; he likes to eat large portions of food and has been known to simply disappear for a day or three during the lead-up to a fight.
Is he really a changed man after the loss to Klitschko?
"I would think so," said Ramirez, "I would certainly hope so. The Minto fight obviously wasn’t an example of that but, no matter what, people are going to judge him on what he weighs. That’s the reality. They’re going to assume that if he’s a certain weight, he’s in great shape or not in great shape. I’ll tell you this; he’s going to be under 245. So I guess in some people’s mind, they’re going to see him as being in superb shape."
But yes, there are still those…ahem…”certain things” with Arreola.
"There are moments; it’s just Chris," said Hudson, with a laugh. "It’s just his nature. Y’ know, with fighters, nothing should surprise you with them. They are who they are. They go through where they question themselves and it’s like a moment of truth. Every fighter- I don’t care who the opponent is- they tend to question themselves. But one thing about Chris is, when it’s time to step in-between the squared circle, he’s ready to fight and he’s gonna fight." Hudson believes that the indiscretions will lesson with time. "Yes, I think it will. What he’s doing now is, you see him execute the drills, the agility and the movement, the quickness, the double-jab, the triple-jab, things that we work on. Stepping, pushing off and you see him execute in sparring. That’s a beautiful thing when you see a fighter take what he learned into the ring."
For Arreola, less is more. When asked how much better his client is closer to 240 than 260, Hudson says, "On a level of one-to-ten, 260 being one, ten is 240. Even in the ’50s now, he’s moving like he’s in the ’40s. Just imagine when we get nine, ten pounds off of him within the next two weeks."
Regarding alcohol consumption, the big fella says, "I cut that off, now going on four weeks." Not even one beer? "No beer, no nothing." That had to be the most difficult vice for him to give up, right? "No," he clarified, "that’s not difficult. The most difficult thing is cutting out..." Uh, let’s just say it’s that thing that supposedly kills a fighter’s legs. "Yeah, exactly," said Arreola, chuckling.
So when it’s all said and done, will the leather fly on Saturday night?
"I would hope so, I mean, that’s what people are looking towards this fight," said Ramirez. "The fight that people want to see, and that gets this fight some of the press and people excited, is the assumption that Adamek is going to be Adamek. Chris is going to be Chris. Is Adamek going to be himself? I know that they’re going to try to box, initially. But like I told you before, I just think he’s a fighter at heart and at some point in this dog fight, he’ll resort to being the old Tomasz Adamek, exciting and a brawler, basically."
We hope so.
GHOST BUSTED
At the end of eight rounds on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it seemed that Kelly Pavlik had things where he wanted them against Sergio Martinez. After getting out-boxed and out-quicked during the early rounds, he had seemingly figured out the riddle that was Martinez, who suffered a mid-round knockdown and seem to be fading a bit. It was at this point, you figured that the naturally bigger and stronger Pavlik would come on and wear down “Maravilla.” All the momentum was with Pavlik, at this point.
But in an interesting fight that played out in three stages, the last portion of the fight was taken by Martinez, who just seemed to grit his teeth and was determined not to be the recipient of another close, questionable call in the States. He got his second wind and started darting in and out and around Pavlik, then peppered him with sharp punches that cut Pavlik around both eyes and left him with a mask of crimson, by night’s end. The only thing that could save Pavlik this night was judges from Nevada, but being that they were about 3,000 miles away, he would get no such aid. Ultimately, Martinez won a well-deserved unanimous decision and distinction as the middleweight champion of the world.
Martinez was every bit the stylistic problem most had envisioned for Pavlik. But what was really striking to me was the lack of snap and torque in Pavlik’s punches and his inability to pull the trigger with any quickness or velocity. He’s still a heavy-handed guy, but I haven’t seen his offensive arsenal that made him so dangerous since 2007. Pavlik’s never been fleet of foot or a speed merchant, but he just looks like a fighter who’s movement looks so labored and forced. I know some will, of course, blame his trainer, Jack Loew, but to me, this is really about the thoroughbred and not the jockey. Pavlik has gone backwards physically at a time in his career when you think he should be in his prime.
I’m left wondering if the Pavlik who first captured the title from Jermain Taylor was the best version of him we’ll ever see. The future is certainly murky for the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, whose support in his hometown had waned before this latest setback. He has a rematch clause, but Martinez will simply present the same problems all over again and, next time around, armed with the confidence that he can defeat Pavlik.
But this was also a loss for the business of boxing, which needs all the ticket sellers it can get. Atlantic City has been looking for the next Arturo Gatti to be its flagship fighter and it was hoped that Pavlik would fill that void. But on Saturday night, Pavlik was unable to pull out a dramatic victory under the same circumstance that Gatti did on a regular basis.
And because of that, the search is still on.
VALERO
Like everyone else that follows boxing, I was hit with the disturbing news on Sunday morning that WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero had allegedly stabbed his wife to death in his home country of Venezuela. I’m shocked but, then again, I’m not all that shocked. Valero’s life was turbulent, to say the least, and you just had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well. But I didn’t think the downfall would be to this extreme.
I remember getting introduced to a young Valero in the summer of 2004 by Joe Hernandez, who believed this young, dynamic, raw puncher had a chance to be a champion. I certainly didn’t follow him to the degree that my then-Max-colleague Doug Fischer did, but I enjoyed a friendly and cordial relationship with him, since that point. To him, I was that Asian guy who worked with the pony-tailed fellow who always interviewed him.
My last real interaction came with Valero the night before Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya on December 5th, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was with my friend Ray Alcorta of Top Rank, who had actually promoted some shows in Maywood, California, where Valero made his American debut, and was still pretty close with him. I was invited by them to have dinner at the Studio Cafe at the MGM Grand. We were with a group of about six or seven people, with Valero, Alcorta and me at the very end of the table. Valero speaks very little English, but I asked him through Alcorta, who he thought was going to win the next night. Very few pundits believed that the “Pac-Man” could topple De La Hoya going into that contest.
Valero calmly explained- to the shock of Alcorta- that this was an easy fight for Pacquiao and that he would be wagering big on him. He said during his time in camp as a sparring partner for Oscar in Big Bear, he could not miss him with his left-hand. And that, while he felt his left had more jolt than Pacquiao’s, the Filipino was much faster and quicker with his. He believed that Pacquiao would not be able to miss with that weapon. He also clarified something that was brought up in that “24/7” for that promotion, it was he, not Victor Ortiz, that blackened De La Hoya’s eyes during sparring. But because he was not a Golden Boy fighter, he wasn’t given credit for it and he was soon jettisoned from that camp. Something he had harsh feelings about.
He turned out to be a prophet, as Pacquiao- based largely on the utilization of his left hand- was able to dominate De La Hoya and stopped him after eight one-sided innings. I believe that was also the night when he was busted for a DUI on the strip.
Unfortunately for Valero, it seemed to be just the beginning of his problems.
STICKS AND STONES
I read that Shane Mosley’s attorney, Judd Burstein, isn’t too thrilled with the coverage given by the New York Daily News over the YouTube video released by Victor Conte, of his client admitting to his knowledge of EPO before his rematch with De La Hoya in 2003. He reportedly sent out this email to one of the stories co-authors, Nathaniel Vinton: "Nate, there will come a day when I have an opportunity to do serious harm to your career. You may not know it, at the time, that it was me, but when you end up with your job lost, reputation destroyed, I will call you to tell you it was me."
And this was perhaps one of the more tame things Burstein said about Vinton.
OK, but one question- just how does stuff like this aid Mosley, right about now?
SO CAL SCHEDULE
On Thursday night at the Club Nokia at L.A. Live, another edition of the “Fight Night Club” will be staged by Golden Boy Promotions. On Friday night, Thompson Boxing Promotions returns to the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, followed by the big show the next evening at the CBBA.
I plan on pulling a trifecta. Hey, it’s my job; it’s what I do.
FINAL FLURRIES
Arreola-Adamek will take place after Alfredo Angulo and Joel Julio slug it out to begin the HBO telecast. “Ring of Fire” is what they are calling this show. Tickets are priced at $250, $100, $70 and $35. They can be purchased on www.Ticketmaster.com or the Citizens Business Bank Arena box-office (for more info, log onto CBBankArena.com)...There is an incredibly sad irony to this being the 25th anniversary of the classic battle between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns and Hearns now being broke and having to auction off his belongings...Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson is the best thing to happen to this edition of “24/7”...Seriously, did HBO refer to Danny Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero as “top middleweights”? That’s a tad premature, in my opinion. But they are with Al Haymon, which it seems is their main qualification...I know Lucian Bute doesn’t have all that many options at 168, but please tell me that Bernard Hopkins isn’t one of them. Haven’t we had enough of him?...When did Kevin Garnett turn into such a phony tough guy? Geez, I used to be a big fan of KG...So Kanye West is the reason why Reggie Bush ran out on Kim Kardashian? (All the juicy details are on Mediatakeout.com). In the long run, Reg may have gotten lucky. Hey, you ain’t gonna tie him down...This week’s edition of “The Main Event” featured Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole...Any questions or comments can be directed to k9kim@yahoo.com and you can follow me at www.twitter.com.stevemaxboxing. You can also become a Facebook fan of Maxboxing at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing
Source: secondsout.com
On Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, the main event featured on HBO will be a heavyweight tussle between Chris Arreola and Tomasz Adamek. Based on track record, this battle looks to be among the most fan-friendly fights that can be made in the often dreary heavyweight division.
Arreola is a straight ahead banger who relies more on brawn than finesse in the ring, while Adamek, from his days as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, has a history of being involved in slugfests. But Arreola, who will hold a sizable weight advantage on the Polish star, doesn’t believe that Adamek will sit and trade with him, at least not initially.
"No, I don’t expect him to bang with me at all. If he didn’t bang with Jason Estrada, who’s not a banger, can’t pop a grape, you expect him to bang with me? Exactly," reasoned Arreola. "So I don’t forsee that at all. But you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He’s going to resort to his old stuff eventually. After a couple of rounds, four or five rounds, he’s going to have to go and bang."
While it’s true that eventually you’ll most likely revert to what you do best- which, in Adamek’s case, is stalking his prey and punching them out- it’s a whole different ballgame when you’re going up against much bigger men. Against Estrada in February, Adamek fought in a calculated manner. Arreola says he saw a boxer who cannot deal with a legitimate, 21st century heavyweight." No, not at all. Like I said, I wouldn’t be afraid of Estrada, I’d be in there banging with him. Estrada is not a puncher. Nothing about him says, ’Hey, I’m a puncher.’ It’s hit-and-go. And that’s what he was doing. You know I wouldn’t fear Estrada."
If that’s the case, then can Arreola lure Adamek into a firefight?
"I’m hoping for it, but y’ know what? Honestly, I’m going to make it that fight. Not him- I am, because he’s not that kind of fighter. He’s really going to try to run from me. I guarantee you from the bell, he’s going to jab and run, jab and run. That’s exactly what he’s going to do. And y’ know what? I’m going to come and bring the fight to him and make him fight and eventually, he’s going to have no choice but to fight me," said Arreola, who has a record of 28-1 with 25 knockouts. To prepare for the expected movement, his main sparring partner was Fres Oquendo.
His strength and conditioning coach, Daryl Hudson says, "The things that we’re focused on, is for Chris to be more agile, quicker. We really emphasized quickness and agility, to the level of effectiveness, that the level of sparring that we’re bringing in, he has to exercise those things, as well." A constant storyline with Arreola will always be his weight. It wasn’t that long ago he was fighting at 235 pounds (when he faced Malcolm Tann in 2007), to weighing in over 260, like he did for his last outing versus Brian Minto in December. But his team swears that he is a changed man after his loss to Vitali Klitschko last September. "Since then, he has mentioned to me that he finally watched the Klitschko fight,” Hudson continued. “I don’t know what prompted him to watch it; you know how fighters are after a devastating loss like that- because it was devastating to him- but the work we had been doing, was the work we just mentioned, agility, quickness, things of that nature. We were out working and warming up on the track one day, and he mentioned that he watched the fight and I think he now realizes that he can’t just run over people, plow them over and expect someone to step to him. He’s going to have to be a boxer, as well."
His often-times frustrated trainer, Henry Ramirez, insists that they have had a productive stretch out in Riverside, where they both hail from.
"Yes, very much so. An average training camp is eight weeks and so I tried to make this one a ten-week camp, with certain things in mind about Chris...let’s just leave it at that," said Ramirez, laughing. Those “certain things” are no small secret throughout boxing circles. The man likes his beer; he likes to eat large portions of food and has been known to simply disappear for a day or three during the lead-up to a fight.
Is he really a changed man after the loss to Klitschko?
"I would think so," said Ramirez, "I would certainly hope so. The Minto fight obviously wasn’t an example of that but, no matter what, people are going to judge him on what he weighs. That’s the reality. They’re going to assume that if he’s a certain weight, he’s in great shape or not in great shape. I’ll tell you this; he’s going to be under 245. So I guess in some people’s mind, they’re going to see him as being in superb shape."
But yes, there are still those…ahem…”certain things” with Arreola.
"There are moments; it’s just Chris," said Hudson, with a laugh. "It’s just his nature. Y’ know, with fighters, nothing should surprise you with them. They are who they are. They go through where they question themselves and it’s like a moment of truth. Every fighter- I don’t care who the opponent is- they tend to question themselves. But one thing about Chris is, when it’s time to step in-between the squared circle, he’s ready to fight and he’s gonna fight." Hudson believes that the indiscretions will lesson with time. "Yes, I think it will. What he’s doing now is, you see him execute the drills, the agility and the movement, the quickness, the double-jab, the triple-jab, things that we work on. Stepping, pushing off and you see him execute in sparring. That’s a beautiful thing when you see a fighter take what he learned into the ring."
For Arreola, less is more. When asked how much better his client is closer to 240 than 260, Hudson says, "On a level of one-to-ten, 260 being one, ten is 240. Even in the ’50s now, he’s moving like he’s in the ’40s. Just imagine when we get nine, ten pounds off of him within the next two weeks."
Regarding alcohol consumption, the big fella says, "I cut that off, now going on four weeks." Not even one beer? "No beer, no nothing." That had to be the most difficult vice for him to give up, right? "No," he clarified, "that’s not difficult. The most difficult thing is cutting out..." Uh, let’s just say it’s that thing that supposedly kills a fighter’s legs. "Yeah, exactly," said Arreola, chuckling.
So when it’s all said and done, will the leather fly on Saturday night?
"I would hope so, I mean, that’s what people are looking towards this fight," said Ramirez. "The fight that people want to see, and that gets this fight some of the press and people excited, is the assumption that Adamek is going to be Adamek. Chris is going to be Chris. Is Adamek going to be himself? I know that they’re going to try to box, initially. But like I told you before, I just think he’s a fighter at heart and at some point in this dog fight, he’ll resort to being the old Tomasz Adamek, exciting and a brawler, basically."
We hope so.
GHOST BUSTED
At the end of eight rounds on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it seemed that Kelly Pavlik had things where he wanted them against Sergio Martinez. After getting out-boxed and out-quicked during the early rounds, he had seemingly figured out the riddle that was Martinez, who suffered a mid-round knockdown and seem to be fading a bit. It was at this point, you figured that the naturally bigger and stronger Pavlik would come on and wear down “Maravilla.” All the momentum was with Pavlik, at this point.
But in an interesting fight that played out in three stages, the last portion of the fight was taken by Martinez, who just seemed to grit his teeth and was determined not to be the recipient of another close, questionable call in the States. He got his second wind and started darting in and out and around Pavlik, then peppered him with sharp punches that cut Pavlik around both eyes and left him with a mask of crimson, by night’s end. The only thing that could save Pavlik this night was judges from Nevada, but being that they were about 3,000 miles away, he would get no such aid. Ultimately, Martinez won a well-deserved unanimous decision and distinction as the middleweight champion of the world.
Martinez was every bit the stylistic problem most had envisioned for Pavlik. But what was really striking to me was the lack of snap and torque in Pavlik’s punches and his inability to pull the trigger with any quickness or velocity. He’s still a heavy-handed guy, but I haven’t seen his offensive arsenal that made him so dangerous since 2007. Pavlik’s never been fleet of foot or a speed merchant, but he just looks like a fighter who’s movement looks so labored and forced. I know some will, of course, blame his trainer, Jack Loew, but to me, this is really about the thoroughbred and not the jockey. Pavlik has gone backwards physically at a time in his career when you think he should be in his prime.
I’m left wondering if the Pavlik who first captured the title from Jermain Taylor was the best version of him we’ll ever see. The future is certainly murky for the pride of Youngstown, Ohio, whose support in his hometown had waned before this latest setback. He has a rematch clause, but Martinez will simply present the same problems all over again and, next time around, armed with the confidence that he can defeat Pavlik.
But this was also a loss for the business of boxing, which needs all the ticket sellers it can get. Atlantic City has been looking for the next Arturo Gatti to be its flagship fighter and it was hoped that Pavlik would fill that void. But on Saturday night, Pavlik was unable to pull out a dramatic victory under the same circumstance that Gatti did on a regular basis.
And because of that, the search is still on.
VALERO
Like everyone else that follows boxing, I was hit with the disturbing news on Sunday morning that WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero had allegedly stabbed his wife to death in his home country of Venezuela. I’m shocked but, then again, I’m not all that shocked. Valero’s life was turbulent, to say the least, and you just had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well. But I didn’t think the downfall would be to this extreme.
I remember getting introduced to a young Valero in the summer of 2004 by Joe Hernandez, who believed this young, dynamic, raw puncher had a chance to be a champion. I certainly didn’t follow him to the degree that my then-Max-colleague Doug Fischer did, but I enjoyed a friendly and cordial relationship with him, since that point. To him, I was that Asian guy who worked with the pony-tailed fellow who always interviewed him.
My last real interaction came with Valero the night before Manny Pacquiao faced Oscar De La Hoya on December 5th, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He was with my friend Ray Alcorta of Top Rank, who had actually promoted some shows in Maywood, California, where Valero made his American debut, and was still pretty close with him. I was invited by them to have dinner at the Studio Cafe at the MGM Grand. We were with a group of about six or seven people, with Valero, Alcorta and me at the very end of the table. Valero speaks very little English, but I asked him through Alcorta, who he thought was going to win the next night. Very few pundits believed that the “Pac-Man” could topple De La Hoya going into that contest.
Valero calmly explained- to the shock of Alcorta- that this was an easy fight for Pacquiao and that he would be wagering big on him. He said during his time in camp as a sparring partner for Oscar in Big Bear, he could not miss him with his left-hand. And that, while he felt his left had more jolt than Pacquiao’s, the Filipino was much faster and quicker with his. He believed that Pacquiao would not be able to miss with that weapon. He also clarified something that was brought up in that “24/7” for that promotion, it was he, not Victor Ortiz, that blackened De La Hoya’s eyes during sparring. But because he was not a Golden Boy fighter, he wasn’t given credit for it and he was soon jettisoned from that camp. Something he had harsh feelings about.
He turned out to be a prophet, as Pacquiao- based largely on the utilization of his left hand- was able to dominate De La Hoya and stopped him after eight one-sided innings. I believe that was also the night when he was busted for a DUI on the strip.
Unfortunately for Valero, it seemed to be just the beginning of his problems.
STICKS AND STONES
I read that Shane Mosley’s attorney, Judd Burstein, isn’t too thrilled with the coverage given by the New York Daily News over the YouTube video released by Victor Conte, of his client admitting to his knowledge of EPO before his rematch with De La Hoya in 2003. He reportedly sent out this email to one of the stories co-authors, Nathaniel Vinton: "Nate, there will come a day when I have an opportunity to do serious harm to your career. You may not know it, at the time, that it was me, but when you end up with your job lost, reputation destroyed, I will call you to tell you it was me."
And this was perhaps one of the more tame things Burstein said about Vinton.
OK, but one question- just how does stuff like this aid Mosley, right about now?
SO CAL SCHEDULE
On Thursday night at the Club Nokia at L.A. Live, another edition of the “Fight Night Club” will be staged by Golden Boy Promotions. On Friday night, Thompson Boxing Promotions returns to the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, followed by the big show the next evening at the CBBA.
I plan on pulling a trifecta. Hey, it’s my job; it’s what I do.
FINAL FLURRIES
Arreola-Adamek will take place after Alfredo Angulo and Joel Julio slug it out to begin the HBO telecast. “Ring of Fire” is what they are calling this show. Tickets are priced at $250, $100, $70 and $35. They can be purchased on www.Ticketmaster.com or the Citizens Business Bank Arena box-office (for more info, log onto CBBankArena.com)...There is an incredibly sad irony to this being the 25th anniversary of the classic battle between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns and Hearns now being broke and having to auction off his belongings...Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson is the best thing to happen to this edition of “24/7”...Seriously, did HBO refer to Danny Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero as “top middleweights”? That’s a tad premature, in my opinion. But they are with Al Haymon, which it seems is their main qualification...I know Lucian Bute doesn’t have all that many options at 168, but please tell me that Bernard Hopkins isn’t one of them. Haven’t we had enough of him?...When did Kevin Garnett turn into such a phony tough guy? Geez, I used to be a big fan of KG...So Kanye West is the reason why Reggie Bush ran out on Kim Kardashian? (All the juicy details are on Mediatakeout.com). In the long run, Reg may have gotten lucky. Hey, you ain’t gonna tie him down...This week’s edition of “The Main Event” featured Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole...Any questions or comments can be directed to k9kim@yahoo.com and you can follow me at www.twitter.com.stevemaxboxing. You can also become a Facebook fan of Maxboxing at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing
Source: secondsout.com
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