Floyd Mayweather is going to be easy pickings for Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino fighter’s trainer Freddie Roach said Saturday from Los Angeles.
“Easy (fight),” Roach said when asked about what he sees in his crystal ball once Pacquiao and Mayweather finally get it on. “Manny’s going to knock him out.”
Roach kept on saying “easy” during the course of the long-distance interview, sounding supremely confident that Pacquiao would hardly encounter any problem cracking Mayweather, a puzzle that has remained unsolved after over 40 fights the last 14 years.
“He couldn’t move, he’s got no more legs,” Roach observed, citing that Mayweather was no longer as nimble as he used to be.
But to a lot of ringsiders, Mayweather was magnificent in his latest outing – a masterful 12-round unanimous decision victory over Shane Mosley – a win that propelled the trash-talking Detroit native back on top of the pound-for-pound rankings.
Even oddsmakers have installed Mayweather as the favorite against Pacquiao in the event the two premier punchers face off before the year comes to a close.
Sportsbook lists Mayweather as -150, while Pacquiao is +120.
Under this scheme, a $150 bet on Mayweather wins $100, while a $100 bet on Pacquiao wins $120. Still, Roach is convinced there’s no way Mayweather – based on his latest performance –would pose problems for somebody like Pacquiao.
“Manny’s going to hit him from every angle,” said Roach.
Once again, Roach couldn’t help but utter the word that kept on hovering during the conversation.
Don't hold your breath about anything developing soon regarding a bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Despite reports of Pacquiao softening his objection to blood testing, or his trainer Freddie Roach saying the fight is all but set for this fall, or that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is heading to the Philippines with a contract — nothing, I repeat, nothing is imminent.
“We’re not thinking about nobody or nothing,” Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, told the Post. “We’re just looking forward to taking a vacation.”
Mayweather captured a unanimous decision over “Sugar” Shane Mosley last Saturday in Las Vegas to remain unbeaten and renew talks of a showdown with Pacquiao. An attempt to make the fight earlier this year fell through when the two sides couldn’t agree on blood-testing procedures.
Though the public continues to clamor for Mayweather-Pacquiao, the fighters have other priorities. Mayweather’s mind is on his vacation, and Pacquiao is a candidate in Monday’s election for a congressional seat in the Philippines.
“Mayweather is the furthest thing on our mind,” Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, said on Pacquiao’s website. “After the May 10 election, I have arranged for Manny and his family to take a well deserved two-week secluded vacation. ... After the vacation that we will sit down and discuss and plan Manny Pacquiao’s next fight.”
Sorry, but my guess is Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn’t happen until 2011. The blood-testing issue remains at an impasse.
“We will not be bullied into or entertain any additional rules or regulations to be imposed by our opponent,” Koncz said.
Also, don’t be surprised if Mayweather fights in the United Kingdom or Dubai next to enhance his appeal as a global superstar. Why not make some quick cash in an easier fight?
“I get phone calls every day about a number of different opportunities for Floyd,” Ellerbe said. “That’s what happens when you’re the biggest star in the sport.”
A replay of Mayweather’s victory over Mosley will be shown on HBO tonight. It will precede a live 12-round junior middleweight bout between Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) is a two-time welterweight champion, but has had to move up in weight. Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs) is a former welterweight champ, looking to position himself for a mega-fight.
GRAND RAPIDS -- Ray Leonard sat ringside last week and watched the second round of appetizers while boxing awaits its richest main course ever: Grand Rapids' Floyd Mayweather against Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
The Hall of Famer fought in the biggest fights of the 1980s and, more than a quarter-century after most of those, finds himself just as eager to see a resolution to the pound-for-pound debate as any workaday fan.
"The fight has to happen," Leonard said. "They both are letting people call them pound-for-pound. They both are considered pound-for-pound right now. They've got to fight each other to prove who's the best, pound-for-pound -- fact.
"It's about the money, because boxing's a business. But also, if you want to be considered one of those guys, you've got to put up. That's a fight that appears to be inevitable at some point in time, hopefully sooner than later."
Leonard, who was here Friday night to serve as keynote speaker for Davenport University's Excellence in Business Gala, accurately predicted that Mayweather would feel out Shane Mosley early in their bout last Saturday, then turn it up as the rounds progressed.
That's exactly what happened after Mayweather got rocked in the second round before sweeping the remainder of the fight for a 12-round unanimous decision, less than two months after Pacquiao won similarly against Joshua Clottey, with both fights occurring because boxing's premier stars failed to reach agreement on drug testing last winter.
Now, with those two fights behind them, the sport's focus again turns to Mayweather-Pacquiao, with absolutely no certainty they can get any closer to an agreement this time.
"Shane had Mayweather out -- I mean big trouble," Leonard said. "And I was more impressed with Mayweather for rebounding in that second round, poising himself and coming back with a vengeance. That's what champions do.
"Both guys, Pacquiao and Mayweather, were quite impressive in their fights, and the anticipation is even greater now, I feel."
Leonard, who was part of one of boxing's most honorable rivalry quartets -- along with Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran -- declined to pick a winner if boxing's biggest megafight materializes.
"It's a toss-up, a pick-'em fight," he said. "Back in my day, maybe I'm a little biased, but it was a pick-'em fight when I fought Hearns -- probably a majority were picking Hearns over me -- or with Hagler, when nobody picked me.
"Those were the type of fights that were highly anticipated. Then, we met, and most of them lived up to the expectations. They were good fights. They were pick-'em fights. That's what boxing needs."
E-mail David Mayo: dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo
Perhaps there is no match in Boxing right now which is needed more, or more widely anticipated by boxing purists and casual fans alike. Everywhere you read about Boxing the only question is when will these two greats arguably the best of their generation get it on, and who will win? So many people are split down the middle questioning the respective records of both gladiators, De La Hoya was washed up, weight drained, Hatton was nothing etc... All just adding to the spice of these two needing to fight, there was the well publicised drama over the drug tests which is a separate article in its own right, but has this very key issue made us want the fight more, has it made us ask more questions about who is ducking who, who is the better man?
Perhaps it has added to the spectacle people debating the two respective fighters even more, excuses being made for both fighters, there has not been this much debate about a prospective fight in recent memory but for the sake of Boxing the fight must happen this year or early 2011 at the latest. The promoters and fighters seem to realise this, with Arum even stating the fight must happen, Pacquiao himself has been quoted as saying he will take blood tests up to 14 days, this was later denied but if this is indeed true the stumbling blocks are out of the way. If Mayweather is true to his word on genuinely wanting to fight Pacquiao then around November 2010 the fight the whole world is waiting to see can happen.
The fight would be a true classic in terms of style, Pacquiao the aggressive southpaw versus Mayweather the defensive genius the fight does not necessarily need building up apart from telling the people when it is. So many people have theorised how the fight would go down, judging from previous fights Mayweather and Pacquiao have had against mutual opponents such as Marquez, Hatton and De La Hoya. The fights can be compared and contrasted in so many ways, Mayweather outclassed Marquez who gave Pacquiao his toughest nights, but had no business at Welterweight. Pacquiao destroyed Hatton inside two rounds, who pushed Mayweather hard at Welterweight for a few rounds before being figured out and knocked out but at the time had that air of invincibility around him. Mayweather won a split decision over De La Hoya at Light Middleweight giving into every demand of De La Hoya’s to make the fight, whilst De La Hoya was made to quit against Pacquiao after eight rounds at Welterweight where De La Hoya looked drained. We have all read the analysis such as above and this has led on to many people saying Pacquiao will spark Mayweather out, especially if he gets Mayweather into trouble such as Mosely did in the second round of their contest. The other popular theory is Mayweather will school Pacquiao over 12 rounds counter punching his way to a simple point’s victory. Whichever way the fight goes it will be met with awe and anticipation, the skill level of the two is simply put a level above anyone else in and around them and for once they have beat pretty much all around them, Williams and Martinez would be good fights but they are not the fight(s) we need to see. Williams and Martinez are great fighters, and maybe an option for the winner to further cement their legacy.
The winner of the fight is not necessarily important, but the fight itself is a necessity for the sport, MMA has risen in popularity over the last few years and one of the drawing points of MMA is the big fights do happen. Boxing was saved from a massive hiccup by Mayweather fighting Mosely as despite him not fighting Pacquiao, Mosely was a more then acceptable substitute if only to whet the appetite even more. A basic rule of any business and Boxing is a business is you must give the people what they want, it doesn’t matter if you are a supermarket, a software company or even a sport like Boxing and the world is waiting for the powers that run Boxing, Top Rank and Golden Boy to give us the fight we want, the fight we need. The fight makes so much sense financially, for all parties involved, it would without a doubt be the highest grossing fight in the history of PPV Boxing, it brings in the American audience be it if they are backing their man in Mayweather or want to see him get beat, the foreign audience comes from all over the world, as these two are icons of the sport.
The world is waiting for this fight, it is waiting for the debate to be settled who the best is? Regardless of the outcome it is guaranteed that excuses will be made by supporters of either fighter, if Mayweather pulls of the win people will say he was too big for Pacquiao. If Pacquiao wins then there will be accusations of Performance Enhancers regardless of how many test’s he passed to make the fight. The main is though that these two do need to fight, the Boxing world needs it, like it needed Hagler v Leonard, like it need Ali v Frazier these are the fights that define a generation, the fights that transcend the sport, the fights that are talked about for years to come by both purists and casual fans. After the fight both fighters still have options, if the fight is a close fought classic then a rematch could be on the cards, for Pacquiao a win could lead to another belt in another weight class, a rematch with Cotto at Light Middleweight, or Yuri Foreman, or even Margarito. For Mayweather a move to even Middleweight to fight Martinez or Paul Williams the latter less likely but intriguing and exciting pure Boxing match ups.
The world is waiting for the elections to be over, so that Pacquiao can get back to his true business of fighting, the world is waiting for it to be seen if Mayweather is as good as he thinks or just a fighter who carefully picks his opponents at the right time. The world is waiting for the answer to the question on every Boxing fans lips, who would win Mayweather of Pacquiao?
Purposely my own theory and prediction has been left out of this article as I would love to hear peoples thoughts on how it would go down, and who would come out the victor. If you would like to contact me regarding this article my email is Jamie_savin@hotmail.com
Disgraced former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito isn't doing much talking about doctored hand wraps, license revocations or anything else to do with the scandal that engulfed him and former trainer Javier Capetillo last year.
Margarito would rather move on and get back in the ring, which he will do in a scheduled 10-round junior middleweight bout against Roberto Garcia of Texas in the main event of Top Rank's "Latin Fury 14" on Saturday night (9 ET, Top Rank PPV, $39.95) at Aguascalientes, Mexico. Besides the bouts on the pay-per-view card, Top Rank is offering the untelevised undercard for free beginning at 7 p.m. ET on its website at www.TopRank.com/TRLiveStream.
"I have been working in the gym for over one year but it is not the same as getting into the ring and fighting before a crowd and without headgear," said Margarito, who has steadfastly denied knowledge of what was in his wraps, blaming Capetillo. "Saturday night can't come soon enough for me."
Of course, Margarito and his team would like to distance themselves from the unseemly incident that occurred just before he entered the ring to defend his welterweight title against Shane Mosley on Jan. 24, 2009, before more than 20,000 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, objected to the way one of Margarito's hands had been wrapped. When the gloves was cut off to be examined by the California commission inspector, an illegal pad coated in a plaster-like substance was discovered. Then another one was found in the other hand wrap.
Margarito's hands were re-wrapped and the fight went ahead. Mosley dominated Margarito and knocked him out in the ninth round for the upset. A few weeks later, Margarito and Capetillo had their licenses revoked by California regulators, meaning neither could participate in boxing in the United States for at least a year.
Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) could have fought outside the United States during his revocation, but decided to wait and honor the punishment. After the year was up in February, Margarito was free to apply for a license in any state. Top Rank attempted to get Margarito licensed in order for him to fight on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard in Texas on March 13, but didn't follow though because of the red tape involved and short time frame.
Instead, Margarito's comeback will take place he will welcomed with open arms, Mexico.
"I am anxious to fight in Mexico, the first time in 11 years," said Margarito, who cut ties with Capetillo and is now being trained by former world titleholder Robert Garcia, who is not related to his opponent. "I want to thank the fans who have always supported me. I feel good and I am ready to get back to work. It's been a long time away from the ring and I am very happy to be back."
Margarito may still face hurdles getting licensed in the United States, but his lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, said last month in a teleconference with reporters that Margarito had served his punishment and wanted to move on.
"He sat on the sidelines, and now he wants to move forward," Petrocelli said. "And most importantly, he wants to remove this cloud over what has been a completely unblemished reputation throughout his career. He has been a model citizen in the boxing community. He has been a role model, and this has been a horrendous experience for him, and he wants to clear his reputation and move forward."
Margarito, who has never taken responsibility for what was in his hand wraps or apologized for the incident, said he is focusing on the fight and not the past.
"I am really looking forward to this fight like it was my first," he said. "I am still very hungry and still have a lot to accomplish in my career. This fight Saturday against Garcia is very important because I want to come back and give the fans a great fight."
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he is supporting Margarito because he's served his punishment and he doesn't believe Margarito knew what was in his wraps.
"I'm supporting him because I believe he's gotten a really bad shake from everybody from people who haven't followed this as closely as I have," Arum said. "I truly believe he didn't know anything about what was in the gloves, absolutely zero. The inspector supported that [at the hearing].
"The punishment he got was based on him being the captain of the ship, not that he had any knowledge of what was in the gloves. He served his time of the one-year period. He didn't go to Mexico and fighting during it. Now it's time to allow this guy back into the ring to fight."
Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) hasn't let the scandal go to waste, using it to taunt Margarito.
"The difference between Margarito and me is simple. I can fight in the U.S. and he can't," said Garcia, who trained for the fight with Freddie Roach, although co-trainer Eric Brown will be in the corner with him Saturday. "This is my championship fight. I have worked very hard to get to this point and will not let this great opportunity pass by. I have come to win this fight and that is what I will do on."
Said Brown, "I promise Margarito is going to get his ass kicked. I promise you that."
The confidence of Garcia and his team comes from Margarito's long layoff. They don't believe he will be sharp.
"Margarito has been off too long and is not going to win this one," said Julio Marines, Garcia's manager. "Look at what happened to Mosley (against Floyd Mayweather last week) -- off way too long. He paid the price. Sorry, but that's what will happen to Margarito too. Ring rust, that kind of stuff. I know in my heart Roberto Garcia will win on Saturday night."
Arum said he is not sure what to expect from Margarito.
"Do I know whether he has anything left or not? I have no idea," Arum said. "Garcia [the trainer] says he looks terrific in the gym. I have not seen him train. But Garcia is a no nonsense guy. He would have told me, 'Hey, he looks rusty.' But he has been very bullish.
"I would like to see the old Margarito, a free-punching tornado. That's what endeared him to people. Whether that returns or not, who the hell knows?"
Southpaw Paul Williams is nicknamed, "The Punisher," and Saturday night's opponent, Kermit Cintron, calls himself, "The Killer."
They will bring a combined record of 70-3-1, with 55 knockouts into the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles for their HBO-televised bout.
"This is one not to miss, because there are two guys in this fight who fight crowd-pleasing styles. They both have knockout power. They are both boxers. They're warriors," said Lou DiBella, who promotes Cintron, to Elie Seckbach of FanHouse. "They'll fight anybody. And when they get in there, they let it all out and they leave it in the ring."
Although each is capable of getting on his bicycle and punching in volume, Williams' manager and trainer, George Peterson, does not expect that sort of a display.
"It's going to be an exciting fight. You're going to see some blood in this fight," said Peterson. "Some of the big fights that you've witnessed in the last, two, three months or so, there was not a nose bleed, not an eye swollen. But in this one, you're going to see some blood."
There will be no title on the line for the 28-year-old Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) or the 30-year-old Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), who will fight at the 154-pound, junior middleweight limit.
But what is on the line for each of the former world champions is a potential lucrative payday, perhaps against a Manny Pacquiao, a Floyd Mayweather, a Sergio Martinez or an Alfredo Angulo.
"Paul Williams and I are not here for the money. We're trying to fight the best and be the best. I believe Paul Williams is the best, and he believes I'm the best, and that's why we're fighting," said Cintron.
"A lot of fighters are avoiding us, but my attitude is to fight the best. To be the best, you have to fight the best," said Cintron. "That's why I'm here -- to fight the best and win, and be closer to the bigger fights."
The nearly 6-foot-3 Williams has fought in the welterweight (147), junior middleweight and middleweight (160 pounds) divisions and still maintains his versatility to do so.
"It isn't killing us so far. Everything's good. So if it's not broke don't fix it. To me it's kind of fun. People can't really categorize me," said Williams.
"It's hard, because you can't get anybody to fight you," said Williams. "It takes discipline because once you finally pick a weight, you've got to get up or down in weight. I kind of like it."
Cintron has competed mostly at 147 pounds but has fought above that weight close to 15 times, including his past three matchups, which have been as a junior middleweight.
"All of them are comfortable for me. The weight doesn't matter to me," said Cintron. "I'm more comfortable with getting a fight and then working on what we've got to work on."
Williams is coming off of December's 160-pound, majority decision victory over Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), a clash of southpaws that ended Martinez's run of 28-0-1, with 18 knockouts since being stopped by Antonio Margarito in February of 2000.
Already the WBC junior middleweight champion, Martinez dethroned Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) last month for the WBC and WBO middleweight titles by unanimous decision.
Although Williams was cut badly around both eyes and required post-fight surgery following his bout with Martinez, he enjoyed virtually every minute of their fight.
"When we fought, I had looked into the crowd, and I got caught, and I didn't see the punch and I went down. So I was like, 'We've got to get it, now.' But it was a good thing for the fans, because they got to see a good, drag out fight," said Williams of a battle during which both competitors were floored in the first round.
"Mr. Peterson, he was kind of mad at me, because he was telling me to go to the body and all of that, but I was so pumped up because I had got dropped. And I was in the mind frame like, 'Okay, this a war, this is a fight, this is what everybody comes out to see -- two guys, going back and forth,'" said Williams.
"And I was in my rhythm, so I was like, 'I'm just going to go get it the way that I can get it.' I could have done a lot better, with head movement and stuff like that, but I just wanted to fight," said Williams. "I wanted to make him fight, tire him out in the later rounds. I knew that if I could have gone to the body and maybe stopped him, but I was looking for a head shot. I wanted to spank him."
Williams is riding a five-bout winning streak that includes three knockouts since being dethroned as WBO welterweight champ via unanimous decision against Puerto Rican southpaw Carlos Quintana (27-2, 21 KOs) in February of 2008.
Williams regained the crown from Quintana with a first-round knockout in their return bout in June 2008, his first of three consecutive first-round stoppages.
Prior to facing Martinez, Williams dominated a one-sided, unanimous decision over former world champion Winky Wright in April at 160 pounds.
"Kermit's a big puncher and can box, too. I've shown that I'm a big puncher and I'm a boxer too. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. I don't care what people think about me as a fighter,"
"I just have to go out and do my thing," said Williams. "I just have to go out and execute my game plan and my strategy, because you could be looking for one thing then get another thing."
Cintron is 3-0-1 with one knockout since losing his IBF title by sixth-round knockout in April 2008 to Margarito, whom Williams dethroned by decision to become WBO king in July 2007.
Cintron, who lost by knockout to Margarito for the second time, is coming off October's junior middleweight stoppage of Juliano Ramos (15-3, 12 KOs).
Prior to Ramos, Cintron earned a May 2009, 12-round unanimous decision over Alfredo Angulo in a WBC title eliminator matchup before battling Martinez to a disputed draw in February 2009.
"I think that it's going to be a great, great fight, no matter who wins. I think that you're going to see great entertainment and great boxing," said DiBella.
"I agree with Mr. Peterson that you're going to see some blood in this fight," said DiBella. "I just believe that it's going to be his guy that's going to do most of the bleeding."
"A 6-foot-3 guy who can fight at 147 pounds, a guy who can travel three weight divisions who's never in a bad fight, left-handed, throws 100 punches a round and doesn't take a step backward," HBO's vice president of sports programming and boxing coordinator Kery Davis says, reeling off Williams' attributes without speaking falsely. "There's real potential for superstardom."
So why hasn't it arrived?
Williams, 28, will fight former world welterweight champion Kermit Cintron on Saturday night in a super-welterweight bout at Home Depot Center in Carson. Somewhere around 8,000 people -- maybe less -- will come to watch, and the bout will be televised by regular HBO, not pay-per-view.
If he wins by stoppage, Williams will be 39-1 with 28 knockouts, and his promoter, Dan Goossen, has taken to calling this bout "The Weight is Over," pressing the suggestion that Williams is willing to move back down to welterweight (where he hasn't fought since June 2008) to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao if their possible super-fight fails to get made again.
"We just want to make the statement that we're a welterweight, and we're here," Goossen said. "We did that to enlarge the pool of opponents. To me, there's only three great welterweights still standing.
"If Floyd takes this fight, it'd do more at the gate and on pay-per-view than Mayweather-[Shane]Mosley did. Paul's fresher than Mosley, he's established himself, he'd make a real fight. The days of Pacquiao against the recyclables like [Joshua] Clottey, [Miguel] Cotto or [Antonio] Margarito are over too. You make a fight with the recyclables and it hurts the sport. If Pacquiao-Mayweather is not made, the focus has to go to Paul Williams."
That's Goossen's idea, but he's alone in his thoughts.
Mayweather's locked in on Pacquiao, and HBO officials have made it known that "Plan A is Plan B, C, D, E and F too. ... It's too important for the sport," Davis says. When he was pressed about anyone else to consider last week, Mayweather discussed only newly crowned middleweight champ Sergio Martinez.
Why even mention Williams? He's fresh off a December majority decision over Martinez, and since his name recognition is a work in progress, one boxing authority who knows the business well but requested anonymity said, "Paul's probably the last in line in Floyd's mind. Paul's just too good."
Pacquiao's Plan B at times seems like it's his fight of choice: a fall date against Mexico's popular anti-hero Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. Williams has already beaten Margarito too, by decision in 2007.
The purer reality is perhaps a rematch with Martinez, or a shot at the winner of next month's Yuri Foreman-Cotto super-welterweight title fight.
"We're kind of used to this, we don't get bent out of shape," Williams' trainer George Peterson said. "If I was another manager, I wouldn't want my guy to fight this kid. You ever see him fight? You ever see anyone call him out?"
Williams too expresses a saint's patience and says he trusts that Goossen and Wizard of Oz-like manager Al Haymon care for him as best they can.
"I'm just a boxer. The people who got me here, that's who I roll with," Williams said. "That's my loyalty. I'm going to stand my ground. I'm not hurting for nothing. I got some real estate. I don't have to go digging in my pocket for a sandwich.
"I'd love to get a $30-million fight. That's what I was doing at 147 before, but I went seven months without a fight and had bills coming. Good things come to those who wait. The fans will realize, 'This guy puts on good fights,' and my time will come."
For now, the challenge is Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs), whose lone losses are to Margarito and who last year fought Martinez to a disputed draw and beat the tough Alfredo Angulo.
"This is a great opportunity for me," Cintron, 30, said. "Supposedly, he's one of the best pound-for-pound fighters; this is a great opportunity to showcase my skills. I think what people say about him is a bit overblown. I'm pretty much just going to bring it to him."
The Saturday mission, Goossen says, is "setting the stage for where we want to be, so we can let Paul do whatever he wants. We know the fight everyone wants to see is Mayweather-Pacquiao, but the next name is Paul Williams and with a win Saturday, he's the most exciting guy out there."
The plan to drive that point home? "I'm going to try and hurt him," Williams said.
"It's possible," Floyd "Money" Mayweather said at the Shane Mosley post-fight press conference when asked if he would fight middleweight king Sergio Martinez.
"Absolutely I would fight [Kelly] Pavlik first, and then, Mayweather second," Martinez said to FanHouse this week..
The fight we all want to see remains the same as it has been for the last year or so now; Mayweather-Pacquiao. However, if the fight that couldn't be made in March of this year once again succumbs to severe problems in getting itself signed, the two men will have to go, once again, in separate directions (at least until late this year or early next, when maybe, just maybe, they will have reached a compromise). And Mayweather stepping into the direct path of 35-year-old middleweight champion of the world Sergio Gabriel Martinez sure would force fans to sit up and take notice - maybe even forget all about Manny Pacquiao; for a while at least.
Martinez, who must first honour his commitment to give Kelly Pavlik a rematch (as stipulated in the contract that was signed before the fight that saw the tough Argentine take "The Ghost's" title in a great battle), but after that he is free to fight who he wants - and the southpaw has made it clear he'd fancy some "Money."
Floyd received much credit for "stepping out of his comfort zone" and accepting a fight with the dangerous and physically strong Shane Mosley, and he would receive an absolute ton of credit if he took a fight with Martinez - either at 154-pounds in a non-title affair (Floyd has won enough belts already, and as he said, any new titles would only "gather dust") or, even more so, up at a full 160-pounds. But as calculating and as smart as he remains despite having shown some serious cojones both in accepting to fight and then in the actual fighting of "Sugar," Mayweather would perhaps see a fight with even as small a middleweight as Martinez as too big a risk.
Also, though Martinez may be more of a 154-pounder than a fully-fledged middleweight (although as he showed against Pavlik, Martinez is more than capable of cutting it at 160), he is also a southpaw. Would the 33-year-old great want to get it on with a lefty? There really would be a lot for Mayweather to think about with regards to the taking or the not taking of this fight. The hitting power of Martinez, for a big example. Would Mayweather, if he were cracked by Martinez the way Shane Mosley cracked him, be able to survive? Of course, it's more than possible that "Money" would bulk up to around 155 or so, and put on yet another master class - one that would leave Martinez looking and feeling foolish. After all, it's unlikely Mayweather would lose too much, if any speed up at 155.
There is a lot for both men to like about this fight. Martinez would likely get the biggest payday of his whole career, and Mayweather would get the chance to make even more history ( at the very least, even if the middleweight title were not on the line, a win would earn Floyd some serious respect). Sure, we still want to see Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao a lot more than we do Mayweather Vs. Martinez, but, as was the case last Saturday, we would get a damn fine consolation prize if Mayweather took this big risk of a fight in the meantime.
This week’s edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi who is scheduled to challenge reigning WBA champion Amir Khan on May 15. Here are some excerpts from that interview:
On preparations for his May 15 fight against Amir Khan:
“Everything is good. I’m excited, I’ve been working very hard, I feel very prepared, and I can’t wait until next Saturday, I really can’t.”
Regarding Freddie Roach’s claim that Khan will knock Malignaggi out inside of three rounds:
“Amir Khan is going to get knocked out next Saturday night—I promise. You have my word on that. Amir Khan is going to get stopped next Saturday night. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dislike for an opponent more than I have for this guy. There’s always trash-talking and there’s always stuff that gets said back and forth with camps. It’s just a part of boxing, but this guy, the arrogance this kid has coming into this fight is a little bit too much now. I think he’s been misinformed. I think he thinks he’s been fighting at a world class level. I think he’s been reading too much of his press. He has no idea what it is to step up to this level and next Saturday night he’ll find out..”
On what he sees in Amir Khan as a boxer:
“I don’t know. I guess he’s a decent boxer, but again, he’s been misinformed. He thinks he’s a world class fighter. He’s decent, you know. He does things okay. He’s not the strongest guy. He thinks he’s fast; he’s really not that fast. He just tries too hard. He tries so hard to be fast that gives up on a lot of other things trying to be fast. If you’re fast, you should just come out fluid—you shouldn’t have to get so stiff to throw fast punches and if you notice that’s what Amir Khan does. There’s just a lot of things. You’ll find out next Saturday night just how limited he is after what I do to him.”
Regarding Khan’s first round knockout loss against Breidis Prescott:
“It’s funny you mention the Breidis Prescott loss because you can’t really name a name fighter on Amir’s resume. He hasn’t fought one name fighter but he’s got a knockout loss. This guy is totally misinformed. I don’t know who he thinks he is, I don’t know how they treat him in England, but they got him thinking he’s somebody he’s not and man, he needs a real reality check and next Saturday night I can’t wait to give it to him. I really can’t wait to give it to him.”
On his claim that he will stop Khan inside the distance:
“I’m not going to come in here telling you I have a lot of punching power. I’m coming in here telling you I’m knocking out Amir Khan. I’m not coming in here saying I punch like Mike Tyson, I punch like Prince Hamed used to punch in the day, I’m not saying any of that. What I’m saying is Amir Khan better bring his pillow next Saturday night because we’re going to find a soft spot on the canvas for him and then we’ll put him right to sleep.”
On whether he thinks he will partake in any “clowning around” with Khan or whether he is focused on sticking with a game plan:
“Yeah, that’s a good question. That’s a very good question, it’s funny you bring that up. Yeah, sometimes I do get bored just because the pace of the action is always going the same way. In the Diaz fights sometimes that was the case. I didn’t have a personal beef with Juan Diaz. I’m not going to say I didn’t try to win because obviously I was trying to win both fights. I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t trying to win, but you get kind of sidetracked and distracted. I don’t see a way I can get sidetracked or distracted fighting Amir Khan just because I dislike him to the point where I want to stop him so I don’t see myself getting sidetracked at all. Like if I’m beating him up, instead of getting bored like the second Diaz fight I was beating him up so I was getting bored so it was the same thing every round, if I got bored I started showboating. If I’m beating up Amir Khan like that, my mind is going to be on taking him out so I’m not going to be sidetracked with trying to showboat or trying to have a good time. The goal is to take out Amir Khan. The goal is to make him understand that this is a world class level here and buddy, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. I’m not saying, oh, we’re going to fight a careless fight. The game plan is always the game plan for Pauli Malignaggi, but we’re going to up this tempo up and we’re going to knock his ass out next week.”
His thoughts on Amir Khan’s punching power:
“Who did Amir Khan knock out that we should be worried about oh, this guy’s a strong guy he’s got punching power. Who has he knocked out? I don’t worry about that. I feel like that if I just train and get in shape, work on my game plan, and execute that and then from there we’ll take it. I don’t have to worry about Amir Khan as this monster puncher and all of this, because I’ve faced bigger punchers than him.”
On Floyd Mayweather Junior’s dominant victory against Sugar Shane Mosley:
“I thought it was a real masterful performance by Floyd Mayweather. Everybody knows I’m really big on Mayweather but he even surprised me as to the way he handled Mosley and not just the way he handled Mosley, but he was rocked pretty badly in round two. To make an adjustment that fast, to really come back from being hurt like that—how many people give the man enough credit? People always say, oh he fights like that because he’s scared. He doesn’t want to get hit. We saw Mayweather not only get hit but get hurt, and his instant reaction was to take the fight to Mosley. His instant reaction was to go get it together and go win this fight. I think people need to stop questioning a guy who doesn’t get hit. See, if a guy doesn’t go to war that doesn’t mean he’s scared to go to war. If he has to, he will. Why would a guy who has the ability to not go to war go to war? Sugar Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao, if they had fought Saturday night they would have went at it because Pacquiao doesn’t have the ability to control somebody. Pacquiao just has to walk right through them. Mayweather had the ability to control somebody. He had Sugar Shane Mosley second guessing himself on getting punches off and when have you ever seen Sugar Shane Mosley doing that. Sugar Shane Mosley lets go of punches all over the place, but Floyd varied his attack to the point where it was such a variation, such a good mix, and his defense and offense were so well balanced that it was really a natural performance.”
His views on a potential match-up between Mayweather and Pacquiao:
“You do that test on the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and you make Manny Pacquiao take that test, Mayweather not only beats him, Mayweather stops him because you will not see the same Manny Pacquiao you’ve seen the last couple of years. He would be a totally different guy, and Mayweather is a legitimate welterweight with welterweight strength. I mean you seen him pushing Shane Mosley around? I didn’t even realize Mayweather had that kind of strength on the inside. He is a legitimate welterweight who would walk through Manny Pacquiao if they take those tests, but not having the tests, you do a 180 because now you have a Manny Pacquiao who is just an amazing physical specimen who will throw 100 punches a round at a 100 miles per hour and not even breathe heavy so something’s up, obviously.”
On his criticisms aimed towards Manny Pacquiao:His final round prediction for his upcoming fight against Amir Khan in which he predicted a knockout:
“No, I don’t have a round. I’m not Muahammad Ali. I’m just looking to stop Amir Khan next Saturday.”
Floyd Mayweather is going to be easy pickings for Manny Pacquiao
, the Filipino fighter’s trainer Freddie Roach said Saturday from Los Angeles.
