A-Side Meth required: Filipino elections make Mayweather-Pacquiao look like tea party -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

MICHAEL MARLEY'S PHILIPPINE DIARY, PART 11:

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Dirty laundry is flying everywhere now.

The headlines in the Filipino newspapers, on the websites and the blaring news over the radio and TV airwaves tell the story.

Fraud, corruption, votes being bought, sold and perhaps rented. The threat of violence hangs in the steamy air around Manny Pacquiao's home city in South Cotobato.

The various political camps have gone to the mattresses like Mafia families in an internecine war.

The knives and guns, including assault weapons, are everywhere and, as I said, just the headlines alone tell you what's what as Election Day looms across the 7,000 island archipelago this Monday.

But, first, an “inside story” from Gensan as told to me Wednesday morning by a man who knows his way around Pinoy politics and its minefields.

And, no, it was not the usual suspect, Hermie Rivera.

“One of our local candidates held a meeting with his staff and was told the opposition is bringing charges that this candidate has been buying votes, handing pisos to people who will cast their ballot for him.

“The candidate was not amused at the dirty allegations and he told his staff they must deny such “black propaganda” through all available channels and do so immediately.

“Five minutes later, said candidate started receiving more visitors at his headquarters, all of whom were looking for and getting a handout and not a hand up.

“The same character who denounced vote buying charges flipped the script and went back to doing what he does best, purchasing what he hopes will be enough votes to get him elected,” this man reported.

“Meanwhile, the candidate said he will shortly call a press conference to rip into his foe for playing such dirty pool, for committing such dastardly and flagrantly illegal deeds.”

This is the backdrop, the steaming cauldron if you will, to the Pacquiao-Roy Chiongbian knockdown, dragout battle for the Congressional seat from Sarangani Province.

This is how they roll in the rough and tumble world of politics in the Pearl of the Orient.

It all makes boxing seem almost like a pristine stream, does it not?

More headlines as to Election Day as taken from the pages of hugely influential Philippine Daily, Inquirer:

**** VOTING MACHINES FAIL, WE'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE HERE

**** LOCAL RACES SPAWN MORE MURDERS, ATTACKS

**** REBEL PRIEST (CALLS FOR) ARMED REVOLT, NOT ELECTIONS

**** POSTPONE ELECTIONS (15 DAYS) PRESIDENT GMA LAWYER URGES

**** SOLDIERS GUARD METRO MANILA HOTSPOTS

**** CALLS FOR MANUAL VOTE COUNT MOUNT BUT COMELEC SAYS NO

**** NORTHERN, EASTERN POLICE ALL SET FOR MAY 10 POLLS

That's Pinoy politics and I want you “kanos” meaning Americanos to know this.

Politics ain't beanbag over here.

It is full contact and, at the same time, full karate.

You dig?

Which reminds me, I wonder how many deceased people will be pulling the levers of the automated voting machines...if they work.

You can expect the mud and the fur to keep flying, fast and furious, as Election Day draws nearer.

That goes for Manny's Congressional quest and for every other contested election in the nation.

This just in: Three knockdown rule have been waived for Pacquiao-Chiongbian, for the heated and seemingly wide open presidential campaign and, I guess, even to become dogcatcher.

Or should I say dogcooker?

The mandatory low blow rule remains in effect.

Candidates are instructed to never land a fair blow where a foul one can be landed.

Maybe one of those Mayweathers can tell where I can "connect" to score some of that fully protective "A-side meth" that makes Pacman punchproof.

I wish.

Which reminds me that, once they seal their megafight deal, I bet the Pacquiaos invited Floyd Mayweather Jr. over to their "I Love Me" spa for a free facial.

After that, Manny plans to give the "kano" a $50 million leather facial.

Mayweather is on his own for a pedicure but he can afford it.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Mayweather, Pacquiao fight likely – Roach -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

Owing to the astronomical amount of money involved, American trainer Freddie Roach is convinced that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will finally reach a compromise agreement that will pave the way for their much-awaited showdown before the year comes to a close.

Roach told an ESPN-affiliated station in the US that there's no other choice but to make the fight that is expected to shatter all existing tickets and pay-per-views records.

”Yes, it is going to happen. I just talked to (Top Rank chief) Bob Arum yesterday," said Roach, who has been Pacquiao's trainer since 2001.

Arum, according to Roach, is on his way to the Philippines not only to show his support to Pacquiao's congressional bid in Sarangani province but to discuss the Mayweather fight.

"Bob is flying to the Philippines to make Manny the offer. We are going to make this work the best we can. I think we have enough ammo to get it done quickly because there is a lot of money out there. We’re going to meet in the middle. They wanted (a) 14-day (cutoff). We wanted 24. (We'll do) 17, 18-days. They are talking October, November. Definitely before the year is out."

During the thick of the negotiations early this year, Mayweather's people had wanted a 14-day cutoff to the random blood and urine testing, while Pacquiao's insisted on a 24-day cutoff.

Eventually, both sides stood firm on their respective stances, forcing the collapse of the talks.

Mayweather is fresh from outclassing Shane Mosley, while Pacquiao's last outing was a similarly-easy points win over Joshua Clottey last March in Dallas.

Meanwhile, the deluge of US media reprsentatives on the prowl for Pacquiao stories, have started to arrive in General Santos City.

Bill Dwyre, formerly the sports editor of the Los Angeles Times, arrived in the country Tuesday evening and took a morning flight to General Santos City on Wednesday.

Dwyre, a close friend of the late Pulitzer-winning sports columnist Jim Murray, flew in via Hawaiian Airlines and stayed overnight at the Marriot Manila.

Dwyre, who now writes a column for the Times, not only one of America's biggest papers but one of the most influential as well, will write a front-page story for his paper on election day.

Source: mb.com.ph

Mayweather risks legacy by fleeing Pacquiao -- Winnipeg Free Press

By Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press

Floyd (Money) Mayweather likes to ride on his street cred. He's bad and all that, just ask anyone in his entourage he pays to spew such nonsense.

Right now, however, the street is speaking and punk is Mayweather's newest handle.

Forget the fact Manny Pacquiao and his camp refused to meet Mayweather's doping requests when their super fight fell apart last winter. The 33-year-old from Grand Rapids, Mich., is seen as the reluctant partner and not the man running for congress in the Philippines.

Late Saturday night following his lumping of Shane Mosley, Mayweather faced questions from HBO commentator Larry Merchant about setting a fight with Pacquiao and his response drew boos from a previously sedate Winnipeg pay-per-view crowd.

"If he wants to fight it's not that hard to find me," Mayweather told Merchant. "We tried to fight before and it didn't work, and we moved on. Mosley did what I asked him to do and if every athlete in the sport would do that, we know we would have a clean sport. Everyone should take the test. I am willing to take the tests. If Manny takes the test we can make the fight happen. If he doesn't we don't have a fight."

Key in that quote is the "Mosley did what I asked him to do," bit. Pacquiao, who has continually moved up in weight to find challenging fights, is the most marketable boxer on the planet and, along with promoter Bob Arum, is not interested in taking orders from another camp.

Peppered

Mayweather can stick to his convenient principles -- this is the same guy who is being chased by the IRS for back taxes and recently had his name peppered throughout an attempted murder warrant filed against an associate -- but the public consensus is he's running scared.

Mayweather has built a beautiful 41-0 record by picking his spots. A splendid fighter with both athleticism and instinct rarely seen, Mayweather has become known as a dodger and not for his ring defence. Mosley waited over five years for his chance and wasn't granted his shot until he reached the age of 38.

Mayweather has the reputation of waiting for fighters to age and then pulling them into the ring on their way down. This strategy paid off Saturday when Mosley had Mayweather in trouble in the second round but couldn't finish him. Mayweather recovered but Mosley was shot, a washed-up fighter whose body would not do what his mind asked of it.

Pacquiao is clearly not such a boxer and despite fighting at 147 pounds, well above the 106 pounds he turned pro at as a 17-year-old, continues to show power against fighters more comfortable at that weight such as Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and recently in his destruction of Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather has all the tools to beat Pacquiao and many believe he would if the fight were to happen.

The matchup is compelling and a fight between the two would be on the same level as Hagler-Hearns or Ali-Frazier.

But it's far from a sure win and that doesn't sit well with Money. He likes to know the cash is in the bank before he tries to clear the cheque.

It's Mayweather's legacy but in trying to protect it he'll have ruined it.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Source: winnipegfreepress.com

***

Donaire-Darchinyan rematch is off -- PhilBoxing

By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com

The eagerly awaited rematch between WBA super flyweight interim champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire and WBC/WBA champion Vic Darchinyan is off.

Donaire and his wife Rachael along with manager Cameron Dunkin met with Top Rank president Todd duBeof in Las Vegas Tuesday after which Donaire’s wife informed us that Top Rank claimed that Darchinyan himself “didn’t want anything to do with Nonito.”

Asked whether the negotiations with Darchinyan’s promoter Gary Shaw fell through over money, she indicated she really didn't know. Shaw told us some weeks ago he had reached an agreement with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and was waiting for a response from the Darchinyan camp later but later on turned around and told us that he was not happy with the deal covering the international television rights particularly since the fight was to be telecast in the Philippines. Under a two year deal with Top Rank, the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN would telecast the fight.

The Donaire’s were stuck for three hours at the Las Vegas airport while waiting for their return flight to San Francisco and even their mobile phones were down forcing her to communicate with us through Yahoo Messenger.

She revealed that the “plan” of Top Rank was for Nonito to have a tune-up fight in July on the undercard of a Yuriorkis Gamboa fight in Las Vegas after which they would line up a title fight against newly crowned WBC champion Fernando “Cochulito” Montiel who is also the reigning WBO champion. Montiel who won the WBC belt with a stunning 4th round, last second TKO over highly fancied Japanese Hozumi Hasegawa in Tokyo last Friday had said in a post-fight interview that after a rest he wanted to fight Donaire and Darchinyan which provides a window of opportunity for Donaire who has always wanted to fight the best, including Montiel.

Rachael Donaire said Nonito “didn’t feel well and he was just sick to the stomach to hear that the Darchinyan fight fell through.” She said that based on what they were told by Top Rank “now Darchinyan really will look like a coward.”

Donaire who is ranked No. 4 in the latest Ring Magazine pound-for-pound rankings “wants a clear belt at 115 pounds” with Rachael Donaire indicating that is what she told duBeof. The Donaires admitted they were upset when duBeof “kept talking fights with this or that person” and told him “he doesn’t apparently know Nonito.”

She pointed out that “the belts are important to Nonito. It's his dream.” In fact before his last fight against Manuel Vargas at the Las Vegas Hilton on February 13, Donaire told us that he has a blueprint for the future which is to follow the path carved out by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and to win titles all the way up to junior lightweight where the late Gabriel “Flash” Elorde reigned as world champion for almost seven-and-a-half years.

She lamented the fact that Darchinyan had the belts and that they need to find an opponent who HBO will buy to have fans watch, pointing out that WBO champion Jorge Arce “won’t fight” Donaire leaving only IBF super flyweight champion Simphiwe Nongqayi who won the title beating Arce handily in Mexico last September.

Our efforts to contact promoter Gary Shaw who is always most accommodating to find out what was going on unfortunately failed although we were able to leave a call back number.

Source: philboxing.com

Floyd Mayweather: 'If Fans Want Manny Pacquiao, I Want To Give Them That' -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

LAS VEGAS -- During Saturday night's post-fight press conference following his unanimous decision over Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand, unbeaten Floyd Mayweather discussed, among other things, his lavish ring entrance, and, the possible effects of the issue of random drug testing on negotiations for a potential bout with Manny Pacquiao.

Below are more of the responses from Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) to some of the subjects raised following his victory over Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs), which earned the winner a career-high guaranteed purse of $22.5 million compared to Mosley's $7 million.

On standing toe-to-toe with Shane Mosley.

People keep talking about how Shane Mosley was supposed to be stronger and how he was supposed to have more power. But like I said before, this is not a weight-lifting contest. It's not about who hits the hardest, because I rocked him too. I rocked him more than he rocked me. But like I said before, that comes with the territory.

On the effectiveness of his left hooks and his right hands against Mosley.

I was pressing the attack, but every time that I pressed the attack, I would see that he was holding. Of course, with him being a professional with 18 years of experience, he's got experience being in grueling fights. But I think that fighting me was totally different from anything he had done.

I'm a sharper, smarter fighter than he was used to. Like I said before, I'm not in the fight game to take no punishment. Ain't nothing cool about what happened in the second round. I'll go back home and talk with my father, talk with my uncle, Roger.

I'll evaluate some things, because, of course, we don't want to get caught like that when we do fight again. But it went like it went.

On how close he was to knocking out Shane Mosley.

How close was I to knocking out Shane Mosley? I really don't know, but we were breaking him down. At one point I said, 'He's going to cough it up.' But he kept holding, so, you know, things happen.

On the potential for a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight.

I've been dominating fighters since the 1990s. Like I always said, I'm closer to 40 than I am to 21, so I mean, if the fight happens, it happens, but I'm not out chasing no fighters. I'm happy with what my team has done, I'm happy with what HBO has done.

And, of course, I'm happy with my career. I want to give the fans a pleasing fight. I want to give the fans what they want. If the fans want to see me and Pacquiao fight, I want to give them that. But we must be on an even playing field in the sport of boxing.

Too many fighters are dying, and too many families are getting hurt in the sport of boxing. Just like Mosley, of course, he got in trouble in the past for being on performance enhancing drugs. So, I said, 'We can make the fight happen, Mosley, but both me and you have to take random blood and urine tests.'

Right now, USADA is back there. And that's what took me so long to come out here [for the press conference.] I had to give them a certain amount of urine. And then, in about 55 minutes from now, I've got to to let them draw blood just to show the world that I'm a clean athlete

I'm doing it the old fashioned way. I'm showing that I'm the best, and that I don't have to take no enhancement drugs, and I don't have to take nothing.

On why he was so comfortable against the intensity of the second round.

I just told myself that 'This comes with the sport of boxing. I said, 'This is no problem.' I already knew that I won the first round and he won the second. But then after that, everything was down hill. I went to work.

On his father's watching and reviewing tapes for him and advising him on strategy.

I come from a family of boxers. When you mention boxing, you have to mention us. Just as far as side to side movement, and the pull-counter. A pull-counter, which is the shot that -- when a guy is shooting the jab -- you rock back and come over it and you meet him at the same time.

Before his jab gets there, you're already connecting with the right hand. That's what a pull-counter is. Feinting him out of his position, breaking him with the left hook and other things. We don't approach every fight the same way.

When we fought Juan Manuel Marquez, we wanted to use the jab and be smart. With Mosley, it was that we wanted to break with the left hook and just be smart and watch him because we know that he's going to load up.

On whether or not he was more cautious against Shane Mosley.

Of course, you've got to be cautious in boxing, period. I mean, you don't want to go out there and just be a loose cannon. I do this for my family. That's who I do it for.

On the second round, yet again.

I knew that I was the stronger guy before we even got in there. Everybody was going by the fact that Mosley likes to lift weights a lot. But you know, it's different. And every fighter who faces me tells me that it's totally different.

And I don't fight every fighter the same. I approach every fight differently. So, my ultimate goal was that I was looking for the knockout. But he kept grabbing me, so, that's what we were bickering about. I kept telling him, 'You keep holding me.'

'You're talking about I'm fighting dirty, but I'm not fighting dirty, you keep holding me.' So, that's what we were arguing about in the eighth, ninth, I don't know what round it was.

On his ring entrance that included The O'Jays, money-dispensing Elvis, showgirl on stilts, gun-shot sound effects, and his red leather, black mink robe and trunks.

You know whose idea that was. I wanted to bring the people a show. I'm going to be honest. I had that trick up my sleeve. I had a game plan. I feel that he's a lot older. He's 38 years old, so I said, 'I'm going to keep him waiting.' I played my video, put my show on, let the pyrotechnics go off and let him get cold.

It was mind games. That's what we were doing. It was my idea to put on a show. I'm always trying to bring something different to the sport of boxing. And I thank all of the sponsors. I thank everybody, and, of course, HBO. Everybody did a tremendous job. The media, everybody.

Everybody that came from all over the world. The people who flew here from other countries to see the fight, I appreciate it.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Mayweather a crowd pleaser at last -- ESPN Star

ESPNStar.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr says he gave the fans what they wanted as he dismantled Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

So often criticised in the past for his safety-first style, 'Money' was the aggressor all night en route to a convincing points victory at the MGM Grand.

And after improving his perfect pro record to 41-0, he said: "I gave the fans what they wanted to see. They wanted to see me moving, and coming forward and that's what I did tonight.

"We should have pressed the attack a lot earlier and we could have got the knockout, but Shane Mosley is a tough customer and he is one hell of a fighter."

Mayweather appeared to be in trouble briefly in round two when he was tagged with two big rights by Mosley, and said: "That's all with the territory of boxing - only the strong survive. This is a contact sport, some time you are going to get hit with big shots, you must suck it up and keep fighting hard like a warrior.

"I'm happy that me and Shane had a chance to fight - it's a part of history."

Mayweather insists he is still prepared to fight reigning P4P king Manny Pacquiao in the match the whole world wants to see, but insists he and his camp will stick to their guns on the issue of blood testing. Disagreements over that issue scuppered their proposed meeting earlier this year.

"If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight, it's not hard to find me," he said.

"We were going to make the fight happen a couple of months ago, but we move on.

"If Manny Pacquiao will take the blood and urine tests, we can make the fight happen for all the fans."

When asked what would happen if Pacquiao didn't agree to his demands, Mayweather said simply: "Then we don't got no fight."

Source: espnstar.com

Pacquiao should agree to demands -- Bangkok Post

By JULIAN TURNER, Bangkok Post

Floyd Mayweather re-established himself as the best boxer on the planet at the weekend and main rival Manny Pacquiao will have to make some concessions to prove otherwise.

Mayweather looked superb beating Shane Mosley with a wide points victory in Las Vegas. He was hurt badly in the second round but reacted intelligently to ride out the storm and then took control of the fight until the final bell.

Shane looked a beaten man by the halfway mark as Mayweather went on the attack with an uncharacteristically aggressive display.

Floyd showed another dimension to his talent and must surely start favourite to beat Pacquiao should they ever get in the ring together.

There was a chance of the fight happening earlier this year but Manny refused to agree to Mayweather's demands for Olympic standard blood tests, which are designed to detect all kinds of performance-enhancing substances.

Pacquiao, who has never failed a drug test, said the random tests would disrupt his training and could affect him mentally as he does not like having blood taken.

He agreed to a 14-day cut-off point before the fight but that concession was rejected by Floyd.

But I think the time has come for Pacquiao to agree to the tests and get the fight on with Mayweather.

Although Pacquiao is correct that Floyd's demands are above what is required by boxing commissions, I doubt many people are sympathetic to what amounts to being content with tests that fail to uncover certain substances.

Clearly the boxing commissions need to bring the sport up-to-date and demand that these tests are in place for every fight, as they are for most sports these days.

Boxing suffers because it is not governed by one independent body, like Fifa in football, making it difficult to impose any kind of order.

But this fight needs to be made because everyone wants to see who is number one.

When the two camps couldn't work things out before, Pacquiao signed to box Joshua Clottey.

It turned out to be a boring fight because Clottey covered up for most of the contest and was content to try and complete 12 rounds rather than win.

Before that, Pacquiao had been the main man after brilliant victories over Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya while Mayweather had returned from a long lay-off with an easy win over too-small Juan Manuel Marquez.

Now, though, the pendulum has swung in Mayweather's favour.

His victory over Mosley was sublime and it came against an accomplished and dangerous opponent.

Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to the Olympic-style testing for their bout while Clottey didn't push the issue for his fight with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is a humble and respectful man, and a great ambassador for boxing, while Mayweather is often brash and obnoxious. Manny is much more popular than Mayweather (although I'm sure Floyd would disagree) but boxing is not a popularity contest. We need to see who can beat the other in a fight and it's time Pacquiao swallowed his pride and agreed to Mayweather's terms for the good of the sport.

Another interesting point from Mayweather v Mosley was that Shane's WBA welterweight title wasn't on the line because Floyd didn't want to pay the sanctioning fee.

The WBC, sensing an opportunity, offered to provide something called a ''Diamond'' belt for free, probably hoping for exposure on such a big show.

Thankfully, that spurious trinket wasn't anywhere to be seen on the night, although it had been presented to Pacquiao after his win over Clottey in March. There are far too many belts cheapening the sport and we don't need another one.

Julian Turner is the Bangkok Post's Deputy Sports Editor.

juliant@bangkokpost.co.th

Source: bangkokpost.com

Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao: What Will Be, or Might Have Been? -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

In the wake of Saturday's dominance by unbeaten, six-time titlist, Floyd Mayweather over WBA welterweight (147 pounds) king, Shane Mosley, whose crown was not on the line, Mayweather will likely supplant seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, on most experts' list as the sports' No. 1 fighter, pound-for-pound.

There are some, however, who will point out November's 12th-round knockout by the 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) that dethroned 29-year-old Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) as WBO welterweight champ -- this, over a man who unanimously decisioned Mosley in November of 2007 in defense of the WBA crown he held at the time.

Pacquiao is also coming off of a March 13, unanimous, 12-round decision over hard-punching, defensive specialist, Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs), during which he -- like Mayweather against Mosley -- won virtually every round on the judges' cards.

The 33-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), for his part, was equally, if not more, sensational during September's rout of WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) champion, Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), who has drawn, and, lost a split-decision to Pacquiao in May of 2004, and, March of 2008 -- two verdicts in which Marquez still insists that he was victorious.

"I watched the fight this past weekend, and I thought that Floyd did a very good job. It's clear, however, that Mosley is not the old Mosley, particularly when he had Floyd in trouble in the second round and he had nothing to follow up with," said Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, which promotes Pacquiao. "I think that Mosley should really seriously consider retiring. But that doesn't negate the fact that Floyd had an excellent performance."

Where Mayweather never has suffered defeat, Pacquiao is 12-0, with eight knockouts since losing a unanimous decision to former world champion, Erik Morales, at 130 pounds in March of 2005.

So who is truly boxing's best fighter, pound-for-pound?

Obviously, it should be decided in the ring, which at this point, could be easier said than done.

At one point, in mid-December, it appeared that Mayweather-Pacquiao was a done deal and headed for the MGM Grand, with a source close to the negotiations telling FanHouse that contracts for a March 13 bout could "definitely be finalized this week."

The fighters had agreed on a 50-50 split of the purse, eight ounce gloves, and the welterweight limit rather than a catch weight.

"We agreed to everything in principle, but there are still some finer points that need to be negotiated," Pacquiao told FanHouse on Dec. 5, during his first interview with American media from the Philippines following his win over Cotto. "[Promoter] Bob [Arum] is going to take all of this back to Floyd Mayweather and then, hopefully, it will be all worked out. We believe that the deal will get done."

The negotiations had even survived an incident on the 78th birthday of Arum, who received a call from Golden Boy Promotions' CEO, Richard Schaefer, scuttling the next morning's trip to tour The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium with owner Jerry Jones and HBO's Ross Greenburg

"As far as I'm concerned, the deal is already done. The only issue is the venue. We've countered the offer and the majority of the things just have to be accepted by Bob Arum," said Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, at the time.

"We're not in a panic mode," said Koncz. "We're used to this for every fight. It's routine. We come to an agreement down the road, then the contract is sent to us for review."

Pacquiao had even agreed to Olympic-style, random drug tests -- which include the drawing of both blood and urine -- at the request of Mayweather's camp, which had insinuated that the Filipino star may have used steroids since he's maintained his punching power from 106 to nearly 147 pounds.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, he had "no problem" with the drug testing, and Koncz, speaking for Pacquiao, said that the fighter would welcome such a procedure.

"Our reaction is, 'So what?' We know Manny doesn't take any illegal drugs or anything. And none of this is getting under Manny's skin or anything," Koncz said at the time. "I'm here with Manny, and to him, it's like a joke. It's a laughing matter. It's something foolish anyway. Why would we be concerned? We know he doesn't do any of that s**t."

By late December, however, the deal was off after Pacquiao had apparently changed his mind about the random testing. Later, Pacquiao cited his belief that he would be weakened from having his blood drawn closer than within 24 days of the fight.

Pacquiao also filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character against alleged steroid accusations, naming Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, as well as Floyd Mayweather. Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., and, the fighter's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather.

So what will it take to revisit Mayweather-Pacquiao?

"As far as I'm concerned, Mayweather is the one to dictate. Floyd Mayweather is the king of the world now. So, we all know that from watching 24/7 that the USADA drug testing and what it did for the sport. The respect that it brought to boxing," said De La Hoya, president of the promotional company that works with Mayweather Promotions.

"We know that all fighters can be clean and are clean because of what they showed on 24/7," said de La Hoya. "As long as we can keep on doing that, if fighters can agree to all of that, then we have fights, and we can make fights. But if they're not going to agree to it, then how can we make fights?"

Mayweather would likely demand a heftier side of the purse -- in other words, no more 50-50 split -- and insist that Pacquiao be randomly tested, as did Mosley, by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

"If you're a clean athlete, take your test," said Mayweather days before facing Mosley. "Show the world, you know what? I'm a natural athlete. Take the test. Let them come get you at any time and take the test."

Mayweather claims not to need Pacquiao, having earned a non-heavyweight record guaranteed purse of $22.5 million against Mosley's $7 million.

Mayweather could move into the middleweight (160 pounds) division and face Argentinian southpaw, Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 knockouts), a WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) king who dethroned Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) as WBO and WBC midddleweight titlist last month.

Pacquiao is running for congress in the Philippines right now, leading in the polls, and awaiting Arum's arrival and support, the promoter said. Arum, who departed for the Philippines on Tuesday, would not comment on a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

"I'm not going to talk about it until I see the results of the election, and that's where we're really all coming from right now," Arum said of an election whose results will be announced on May 10.

"I'm going over to the Philippines to do what I can to provide moral support for Manny Pacquiao," said Arum. "And, very frankly, nobody is going to discuss anything about any fights with anybody until after the outcome of this election."

Arum has outlined options for Pacquiao should Mayweather not materialize.

There is a fight against former champion Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs), a January, 2009, knockout victim against Mosley, who takes on 29-year-old Roberto Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) on Saturday night.

Garcia will be Margarito's first bout following a one-year suspension by the California State Athletic Commission over the discovery of a plaster-like substance in his gloves before facing Mosley.

Pacquiao-Margarito could take place at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium "if Margarito wants to come down to welterweight."

The winner of a June 5 bout between WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champ, Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) and Cotto could be could be another possibility, particularly if Cotto wins and a rematch comes to fruition, affording Pacquiao a shot at a record eighth crown in as many weight classes.

"As far as that fight [Mayweather-Pacquiao,] people can keep discussing who is better. It's good for the sport," said Arum. "It's great that they're discussing it. It's clear that this [Mayweather-Pacquiao] is the fight that the fans want to see."

The question is, will they see it?

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Floyd Mayweather may snub Pacquiao to fight Martinez -- BBC Sport

BBC Sport

Floyd Mayweather has said he could be tempted to step up to light-middleweight to fight Sergio Martinez instead of taking on Manny Pacquiao.

A proposed fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao scheduled for 13 March fell through, since when both fighters have added further wins to their records.

And after beating Shane Mosley on Saturday, Mayweather said fighting Martinez could now be an option.

"I thought about it. Right now, I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.

Martinez's manager, Lou DiBella, told the BBC he doubted that a super-fight between American Mayweather and Filipino Pacquiao would occur, with the boxers unable to agree on the drug-testing programme or financial split.

DiBella argued that it made more sense for Mayweather to fight Martinez, who recently defeated Kelly Pavlik for the WBC and WBO middleweight titles but is a career light-middleweight.

However, Mayweather, who is now unbeaten in 41 fights, said that a fight with Pacquiao could still occur if an agreement could be met on random drug-testing.

After the fight with Mosley, Mayweather said: "If Manny takes the [blood] test, we can make the fight happen."

Pacquiao is preoccupied with a different fight altogether - he is campaigning to be elected to the senate in his homeland of the Philippines.

The election is on 10 May and the 31-year-old is unlikely to make any announcement about his fighting future before that contest is over.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, said: "I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. What I'm concerned about right now is Manny winning the election. If the fight doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. We're not going to be dictated to."

One option for Pacquiao would be a fight with WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, who pulled out of a fight with Mosley in January after the earthquake which devastated his parents' homeland of Haiti.

Berto, a big puncher, stopped Carlos Quintana last month to retain his title, and he relishes a fight with Pacquiao.

Berto said recently: "He lacks defence. He's easy to hit, but he sets a pace that's a little too much for his opponents and he's incredibly strong, also, so he always tends to outwork and outpunch his opponents."

The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is the one the fans want to see and could be the most lucrative fight in history, with each fighter potentially picking up purses of $25m.

But DiBella said: "If both fighters are demanding 50% of each other then it makes more sense for both of them to take a fight with someone where you can get 80 or 85%.

"Mayweather-Pacquiao is clearly the most enormous fight out there but it wouldn't surprise me if they don't go in another direction."

DiBella said he anticipated Arum would seek to put Pacquiao in with another Arum-promoted fighter, either Antonio Margarito or Yuri Foreman, assuming they win their upcoming fights.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Dallas, Cowboys Stadium still in play for a proposed Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight -- Examiner

By Matt Stolow, Examiner.com

DALLAS, TEXAS - After emphatically taking care of "Sugar" Shane Mosley Saturday night, what does the future hold for Floyd Mayweather and for that matter Cowboys Stadium and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in the Dallas and Arlington area?

The fight everyone wants to see is still Mayweather and Filipino Manny Pacquiao.

How many more tuneup fights can these guys take?

Nobody wants to revisit why the fight talks collapsed last January but for the sake of argument, Mayweather wants Pacquiao to submit to more strenuous blood-testing than either Nevada or Texas currently require.

As far as I can tell Mayweather only wants to fight in Nevada, not Texas although that is not more financially advantageous to him on the surface, which obviously goes against his moniker of "Money" and how he claims to like to make it.

"I haven't spoken to the Cowboys or Top Rank since Mayweather beat Mosley Saturday night," said event management/marketing expert Lester Bedford, who brought Jerry Jones and Cowboys Stadium together with Bob Arum and Top Rank for the Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey fight last March. "But you have to believe they would be very interested in Mayweather vs Pacquiao, anytime. Both were impressive in their last fights, so the value of the fight between them is still intact."

With or without the Cowboys interest, it appears from all reports that Pacquiao won't be available to fight until November.

"I believe it's pretty much been determined Pacquiao wouldn't be available to fight again until November, due to his running for Congress," said Bedford. "I assume that could possibly change if he doesn't win the election.

"Whenever it is, you have to believe Cowboys Stadium will be a front runner, as long as they can matchup a TV date with stadium availability. Having it there would be in the best interest of boxing and the fans. With over 100,000 seats, Cowboy Stadium can provide so many more fans an opportunity to attend the live gate event. Whereas in Las Vegas, it only holds 16,500 and those tickets will end up in the hands of sponsors, casino VIP's and ticket brokers. The average fan won't get a smell of a ticket."

Bedford, a Fort Worth native, has now marketed the three largest attended boxing events in the United States over the past thirty years, including Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Pernell Whitaker at the Alamodome in San Antonio (1993, 62,000), Oscar De La Hoya vs Patrick Charpentier at the Sun Bowl in El Paso (1998, 47,000) and just this past March 13 -- Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas (51,000). So he knows a big fight when he sees one.

"Without question, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao would be the highest grossing boxing event in history, no matter where it is," said Bedford. "But if the event ends up in Cowboys Stadium, it will do over 80,000 and possibly up to 100,000 fans, which would break all attendance records for an indoor boxing event. So the event would be huge anywhere, but over-the-top special at Cowboys Stadium. It would be a great day for boxing and the fans if it ends up there. But some people have selfish reasons for doing things that aren't in the best interest of the sport or its fans, so we could see it in a smaller venue like the MGM. That would be a shame."

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao hangs on to P4P title after Floyd’s win -- ABS-CBN News

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s recent win over “Sugar” Shane Mosley has heated up the race for pound-for-pound ranking, with boxing observers still divided on who is the best boxer today regardless of weight classes.

Although 7-division champion Manny Pacquiao remains the top pound-for-pound pick of Ring Magazine, considered the “bible of boxing,” its editor-in-chief Nigel Collins admitted that the magazine’s ratings panel was “fairly evenly divided” between the two boxing stars.

“I can't remember a prolonged period of time in which there was more of a difference of opinion than right now,” said Collins as quoted in a blog posted on Ringtv.com by boxing writer Michael Rosenthal.

Despite Mayweather’s decisive performance against Mosley last Saturday, the Ring Magazine has decided to stick with Pacquiao as its No. 1 fighter.

“In the end, Pacquiao held on to the top spot due to his slightly better overall body of work and the difficulty involved in demoted a fighter coming off a virtual shutout performance such as Pacquiao’s victory over Joshua Clottey,” said Collins.

Pacquiao’s “overall body of work” has included defeats of quality opponents such as Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey.

Mayweather, on the other hand, defeated De la Hoya, Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, Zab Judah and Phillip Ndou. His latest victories after un-retiring were against Mosley and Marquez.

Mosley, who held the No. 3 spot before the Mayweather fight, fell to No. 5.

“Manny and Floyd could very well be considered No. 1A and No. 1B,” said Collins. “However, the tricky thing about the pound-for-pound ratings is that they are much more subjective than the divisional ratings, which are objective and based on results within the division.”

BBC has Mayweather on top

The website of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC.co.uk, sees it differently from Ring Magazine.

According to its updated pound-for-pound rankings, Mayweather is the top boxer, not Pacquiao.

“So masterful was Mayweather against Shane Mosley, we felt compelled to put him back on top of our list,” said the BBC Sport website.

Donaire climbs Ring Magazine rankings

The demotion of Mosley in Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings resulted in the promotion of Nonito Donaire Jr. to No. 4.

Donaire, currently in negotiations for a rematch with world super flyweight Vic Darchinyan, used to hold the No. 5 spot.

He, however, is not included in BBC’s pound-for-pound rankings.

The rest in Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list are Marquez (No. 3), Chad Dawson (No. 6), Paul Williams (No. 7), Sergio Martinez (No. 8), Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (No. 9) and Celestino Caballero (No. 10).

Completing BBC’s pound-for-pound list are Marquez (No. 3), Bernard Hopkins (No. 4), Mosley (No. 5), Miguel Cotto (No. 6), Israel Vasquez (No. 7), Chad Dawson (No. 8), Paul Williams (No. 9) and Juan Manuel Lopez (No. 10).

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Mayweather vs Mosley brings in 1.1-1.2 million PPV sales; Mayweather doesn’t need Pac -- Examiner

By Marci Stone, Examiner.com

Early estimates put the Mayweather vs. Mosley fight on Saturday at 1.1-1.2 million pay-per-views; Mayweather says that he doesn’t need Pacquiao to make $20-$30 million in a night. Mayweather is fourth in the all time list of pay-per-view revenue earners, according to a CNN report.

BoxingNews24.com reported that Kevin Lole of Yahoo! reported Monday that according to “good sources,” Saturday night's fight of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley did an estimated 1.1-1.2 million buys on pay-per-view (PPV), and this would put the fight at the largest fight of the year so far.

Overall that number is good, but just a little higher than Mayweather’s fight last year with Marquez. Estimates were at least 1.5 million in PPV’s. Golden Boy has predicted the PPV numbers at 1.5-2 million.

Many boxing fans want to see Pacquiao and Mayweather fight, but a disagreement over blood testing issues have prevented that fight from happening. But that fight may be the biggest fight ever in the history of boxing, according to some experts. Pacquiao’s March fight with Clottey brought in around 700,000 PPV’s.

Mayweather said this about Pac’s PPV numbers: "He needs to learn how to do numbers like I'm doing," Mayweather told Boxingscene.com.

"He needs to step his game up. I'm not worried about this [Mosley fight]. I know I'm going to do crazy numbers. I should walk away with about $40 million. With or without Pacquiao I'm going to be able to go out and make $20 million or $30 million a night."
In Salt Lake City, Utah boxing fans were able to see the Mayweather vs. Mosley fight live at several theaters around the city, while other boxing fans gathered at homes to watch the biggest fight of the year with friends.

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Source: examiner.com

Michael Fareñas to fight in Margarito-Garcia undercard -- PhilBoxing

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr., PhilBoxing.com

Michael Fareñas, the reigning World Profesional Boxing Federation (WPBF) featherweight champion, will face Marlon Aguilar in Aguascalientes, Mexico in the undercard of the Antonio Margarito – Roberto Garcia fight this Sunday May 9 (Manila Time).

The 25 year old Fareñas (27W-2L-3D, 24 KO’s) is a protégé of former two division world champ Gerry Peñalosa. He won the vacant WPBF title last October 2009 with a 9th round KO of South Korea’s Jae-Bong Jang at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Penalosa informed of his ward’s upcoming fight and is hoping Fareñas will score an impressive victory this time around. Last March, Fareñas fought in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey mega-fight in Arlington, Texas and wound up with a second round no decision against Joe Morales.

The 22 year old Aguilar, who sports the ring monicker La Rata, was born in Managua, Nicaragua but currently resides in Mexico. He has previously held the IBA superfeatherweight and WBC Fecarbox featherweight titles.

Aguilar (27W-9L-1D, 17 KO’s) has lost to world class fighters like Oscar Larios, Daniel Ponce de Leon and Jhonny Gonzales.This is the same Gonzales who Peñalosa beat for his second world title. Gonzales lost by seventh round KO in a WBO bantamweight title bout last August 2007 during the Philippines vs Mexico Boxing World Cup.

The southpaw Fareñas has scored knockouts in his last six wins. Last January, he knocked out Thai Sathian Sokham in the first round in a fight held in Mandaluyong City. His fight against Aguilar is scheduled for eight rounds and will be held at the La Feria de San Marcos in Aguascalientes. This fight card is headlined by Jorge Solis vs Mario Santiago but it will be Margarito’s performance that will interest Filipino fight fans as he is tagged as a future Pacquiao opponent.

Source: philboxing.com

Speaking out: If they can't make Mayweather-Pacquiao, why care about boxing? -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

I got a call today from someone who has dedicated his life to boxing but has a vested interest on one side of the coming Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao negotiations.

"Mayweather can do three things that would kill this: 1) Insist on dictating the drug policy, 2) demand on making more than 50% of the purse, 3) show no interest in putting the fight in Texas," said the man, who shall remain anonymous because we were talking casually and he was not authorized to speak publicly about the looming second round of talks to stage boxing's Super Bowl.

Let me take a brief break from reporting on this issue objectively and ask the question that I know so many of you are wondering: Are you kidding me?

There is so much money available in making this fight, so much positive attention to bring to a sport that has suffered through punching-bag status at times and so many debates connected to the discussion of why this would be such a wonderful matchup, how can the boxers, promoters and managers blow this?

And if they do, how can we honestly be asked to give a damn about this sport?

When a great fighter, like Pacquiao, bursts on the scene as he did early last decade, aren't we projecting how he'll do at the height of his success against the best rival possible, like the unbeaten Mayweather (41-0)? If boxing shows it's incapable of rewarding the fans' investment in the career path, why invest?

That's the question that the boxers, promoters, managers and everyone else with a hand in making this fight should consider as negotiating point No. 1.

Drug testing? OK, Pacquiao got his feelings hurt when Mayweather's push for a strict drug-testing policy implied the Filipino had used performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao responded by suing Mayweather and his team for defamation. He should have just accepted the testing. The fear of blood excuse? Concern that a small blood draw in the immediate days before the bout would weaken him? Superstition? Not buying it, as much as I buy one large ego not wanting to allow another large ego to manipulate a situation.

As much as I doubt Mayweather is a genuine advocate of installing an anti-doping plan in boxing, it must be remembered his position is defended by history. A few years ago, an anonymous source showed me the doping calendar Shane Mosley used in preparing for his 2003 super-fight against Oscar De La Hoya. The doping cycle stopped three days before the fight. And Mosley won.

Pacquiao reportedly wrote on his blog Monday that he would now be willing to take a final pre-fight blood test 14 days before a Mayweather bout and again immediately after the bout. He's almost there.

After all, Mayweather agreed early in the first negotiations, which failed to produce a March 13 bout, to agree to a $10-million penalty if he weighed in 1 pound over the welterweight limit. One pound! That could have been a deal-breaking request by Pacquiao, too. It wasn't.

This isn't about taking sides.

Mayweather's camp has been stunningly resistant to the idea of making more money by staging the bout inside Cowboys Stadium, where a crowd of 110,000, with an average ticket price of $500, would generate a live gate of $55 million.

Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions CEO, told me last week there was "just something about" placing the fight in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas that added to the excitement of an event, like "auto racing in Daytona, tennis at Wimbledon." He pointed to the fact that De La Hoya-Mayweather at MGM generated a record 2.4 million in pay-per-view buys in 2007.

Schaefer is loyal to MGM/Mirage, often placing Golden Boy fights, such as Saturday's Mayweather-Mosley bout, in the company's Las Vegas arenas. But this event trumps that arrangement, and even if you sold out MGM's 16,000 seats at an average ticket price of $1,000, Vegas could only produce a $16 million gate.

No way the added sell of a "Vegas fight" compensates for the lost live-gate riches in pay-per-view purchases.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, says he's all about "maximizing the economic revenue for everyone." That's why he wants both sides to explore the Texas offer fully. So Arum wants to work hard to make more money for Mayweather, his former fighter who shares a feeling of disdain? "Yes!" Arum shouted inside his Las Vegas office last week. "Of course!"

Mayweather is expected to ask for a purse split beyond the 50-50 split that was on the table in the first round of talks. This may be the easiest part of the negotiation. Mayweather finally showed his heart Saturday in rallying from a second-round beating to brilliantly stand in the middle of the ring and hammer Mosley while winning the last 10 rounds of the fight.

By comparison, Pacquiao's boring triumph over Joshua Clottey in March was like a non-televised undercard.

So, here's what has to happen: Pacquiao, give Mayweather the bigger cut. Schaefer/Mayweather, give Texas a tour. Respective state athletic commission, mandate the same U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing routine Mayweather and Mosley just endured.

Make the deal. Make your millions.

If not, don't waste any more of our time.

Photos: Floyd Mayweather Jr. after defeat Shane Mosley on Saturday. Manny Pacquiao after defeating Joshua Clottey in March. Credits: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press; Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Mayweather And Father Time Too Much For Mosley -- The Sweet Science

By Frank Lotierzo, The Sweet Science

This past weekend Floyd Mayweather 41-0 (25) scored the signature win of his career. After possibly losing the first round and being rocked twice in the second and almost going down, Mayweather dusted himself off and put on a boxing clinic and ran away with the fight winning the last ten rounds of it over Shane Mosley 46-6 (39). Mayweather fought brilliantly and was better than Mosley in every facet of boxing. Let it be said, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a great fighter.

The bad news is Floyd did against Mosley exactly what a young great fighter in his prime is supposed to do when matched against a declining former great who was coming off the longest period of inactivity of his career. As noted by HBO trainer and broadcaster Emanuel Steward before the fight while Mosley was in his dressing room, Shane's body looked soft. Mosley looked weak before the fight began and even after almost dropping Mayweather he looked dead tired at the end of the second round, something Mayweather had nothing to do with. After hurting Floyd more than any other fighter had in his previous forty fights, Mosley had nothing left and Mayweather did what great fighters do and came on strong after enduring a rough patch.

Mosley never looked so unsure of himself, herky jerky and lost during the early going of any fight of his career. And that wasn't because after being in the ring with Mayweather for a couple rounds he realized he was in with his superior. No - that came a few rounds later. Mosley exhibited diminished reflexes even when Mayweather wasn't punching or moving. There's no surer sign in boxing than when a former great fighter can't get off or pull the trigger during a lull when his opponent isn't doing anything or preventing him from doing so. Mosley may have said all the right things in the lead-up to the fight, but as stated before the bout, his diction wasn't clear and he exhibited signs of a fighter on the decline. There was never a doubt about who this night would belong to from the moment it was signed, Floyd Mayweather.

Mosley has always fought with a warrior's mentality, but like all fighters who succumb to father time, they start showing an aversion to getting hit. Once that happens they're less inclined to let their hands go with impunity and open themselves up, and it's not like Mayweather is a life-taking puncher. But that's exactly what happened to Mosley. Shane aged before our eyes and probably would've lost to Andre Berto or Joshua Clottey had they been in front of him this past weekend. Mosley looked like an old Joe Louis who at 36 couldn't pull the trigger on the great Ezzard Charles the night they fought for the heavyweight title back in 1950.

The fact that Mosley regressed during the past sixteen months he didn't fight is irrefutable, but Floyd Mayweather had a lot to do with that just the same. I'm not sure who'd I'd take if Mayweather and Mosley were at their best, but I know that Shane would have to be at his best to be victorious. The version of Mayweather who fought Mosley was really at the top of his game. Floyd sensed by the fourth round with Mosley standing in front of him with his mouth open and not being able to defend himself, let alone get off, that he had a dead man in front of him. And from that point on Mayweather beat Mosley in every aspect of the fight that one fighter could another. He out-sped, out-punched and out fought and thought him for the remainder of the bout. Mayweather even appeared to be the stronger man. Maybe Floyd who never looked bigger or stronger is using PEDS and circumvented the test? No - of course that wasn't the case.

The reality is Mosley entered the ring with no legs, punch, spring or speed. Couple that with Mayweather's speed, aptitude and ability to adapt and change during a fight and Mosley had no shot. It may sound like excuse making to some stating that Mayweather beat a shell of Mosley, but that's the reality of it. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't get credit for such an overwhelming showing because he should and he is in this space.

Mayweather beating any version of Mosley, even an almost 39 year old one is impressive, especially doing it in such a dominant manner. Like it is the case now when Mayweather fights, he'll get more credit than he deserves in some circles and in others his showing will be dismissed. In the main I can't say I'm more sure today of Mayweather's greatness than I was the day before the fight. However, if there was ever a question regarding whether or not he's a great fighter, that's off the table. But does his overwhelming performance against Shane Mosley in 2010, who aside from beating Antonio Margarito sixteen months ago and hadn't looked special in more than six or seven years, improve his all time standing?

Floyd Mayweather is at the point now that it may be impossible to ever get a legitimate read as to how great a fighter he is historically. The perception still exists that he hasn't stepped up and fought another outstanding/great fighter during their prime where the playing field wasn't tilted in his favor. And it's not like there weren't fighters to test himself against. Instead of facing them as welterweights he retired. During his retirement they knocked each other off and Mosley aged three years. The lightweight and welterweight divisions are two of the deepest divisions in boxing history when it comes to being stacked with great fighters. And I'm not yet willing to declare Floyd Mayweather as one of the ten greatest in either division.

As of this writing Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are without question the two best fighters in professional boxing. Pacquiao has the better resume and body of work, but don't be surprised if Mayweather is the betting favorite if and when they fight.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Source: thesweetscience.com

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao: it is time to accept destiny -- Examiner

By Eric Sloan, Examiner.com

Excuse away the performance last Saturday if you must, but Floyd Mayweather, Jr. laid wood to Sugar Shane Mosley. After the disaster that was round 2, Mayweather stood in the pocket and threw down an impressive offensive onslaught. Interestingly, Naazim Richardson called it well in advance. He knew that Shane would get to him and then the "fire balls" would come out of "little Floyd Mayweather." They did and Mayweather won every round after the second.

Yes, the excuses are out there. Mosley was sick or the extended ring absence hurt his performance. Sugar Shane is Kelly Pavlik all of the sudden. The better excuse would be that he felt drained by giving blood so close to the fight. Doh! For a guy who voluntarily took a self-imposed time out from the sport in order to beg and chest thump his way in for a shot at Manny Pacquiao or Mayweather, there should be little sympathy. Whatever the excuse, the reality is that he grew old on May 1st and was lucky to have survived the entire fight.

There must be something in the water at Golden Boy Promotions that causes hall of fame fighters to grow old in the ring. Whatever it is, Bernard Hopkins is drinking something else. All we know is that Mosley was a born again fighter in January 2009 when he destroyed Antonio Margarito and became a guy who might get seriously injured if he keeps pressing on with this boxing thing.

With regard to Mayweather, credit must be given because it is due. He finally fought a legitimate welterweight, adapted, and prevailed. While this author predicted a different outcome, the reality is that no welterweight living outside of the Philippines would have defeated Money last Saturday. In fact, it is certainly no sure thing that those welterweights living around General Santos City would have either. What is certain is that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have to get this thing done.

Such a fight will be the richest in the history of the sport. The pay-per-view buys will be off the chart. HBO's 24/7 will be modified to actually provide uninterrupted coverage 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Oscar De La Hoya will come out of retirement to fight Shane Mosley on the undercard, and Larry Merchant will come up with a new rhyming metaphor that he somehow finds a way to botch during his on air delivery. In short, it is the only necessary gig left for either fighter and it is a big one.

Blood, money, tears, or all of the above--find a way to get it done. Not next year, not when Floyd reemerges from retirement again in 2016 to fight President Pacquiao. Do it this year. There are no other opponents demanding your attention. You've been a two-man wrecking crew of Golden Boy Promotions. Miguel Cotto and Mosley are no longer on the horizon. Andre Berto needs more experience, Paul Williams is campaigning in different weight divisions, and Luis Collazo is not a money draw. It is Mayweather-Pacquiao from here on out and it is time that they both accept such destiny.

Source: examiner.com