Where are the big fights in '10? -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

Your weekly random thoughts …

• This is becoming the year that will be known more for the big fights that aren't happening than the ones that are, which is depressing.

Obviously, we can start with the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. mess. It is ridiculous that the fight is not happening this year after all the water already under the bridge. Instead, it appears as though Mayweather will sit out (and hopefully use his time off to take care of his tax bills) while Pacquiao will fight Nov. 13. Unfortunately, it looks like he will be in a fight few really want to see, against Antonio Margarito or a rematch with Miguel Cotto. How can Pacquiao even get up for either of those fights? How can trainer Freddie Roach? How can fight fans? How can the media? Whichever side you blame, it's a travesty that Pacquiao-Mayweather has not been made yet.

But beyond that there are other fights fans and media want to see that aren't being made.

Where is Wladimir Klitschko-Ducker David Haye? Klitschko is ready, willing and able, but Haye, after two years of calling him out, is probably off watching his favorite movie: "The Invisible Man," of course. He is simply avoiding Klitschko and his brother, Vitali Klitschko, at all costs.

Andre Berto and Shane Mosley agreed to fight in January, but it was called off at the last minute because of Berto's family tragedy. Ultimately, Mosley fought Mayweather and lost, but a lot of folks would still like to see Berto tested against him. Yet when the fight got close again for the fall, it fell apart over greed. What do we get in its place? Berto has nothing locked in for the fall, or anything even close, and Mosley is fighting Sergio Mora, on pay-per-view no less, in a fight there is zero public demand for.

I'm still hopeful that we'll see Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez II, but the Williams side isn't making it easy, even though HBO is pressing as hard as it can. The Williams camp keeps insisting Williams will go down to welterweight for some phantom big fight that doesn't exist. From what I'm told, the only way Williams will consider Martinez is if he gets more than 50 percent of the money, which he doesn't deserve. It sounds more like his side just doesn't want the fight.

Top Rank's Bob Arum and Gary Shaw can't work out the Nonito Donaire-Vic Darchinyan rematch either.

Sure, we'll probably eventually get major fights between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander at junior welterweight and the featherweight summit meeting between Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa as long as they all continue to win, but neither of those bouts will happen this year.

At least we have Showtime's Super Six tournament to provide us with the high-quality Andre Ward-Andre Dirrell matchup on Sept. 25 and the Aug. 14 HBO fight between light heavyweight titlist Jean Pascal and Chad Dawson, which is a very underrated matchup. But there are simply too many important fights that the fans to see that are not being made.

• While we aren't getting Donaire-Darchinyan II, at least we may get Fernando Montiel against Donaire in the fall. The prelims are over. Donaire smashed Hernan Marquez two weeks ago. Last week, Montiel retained his bantamweight belts with a crushing knockout of Rafael Concepcion. Now I want to see them fight each other and I hope Top Rank isn't just playing games when it says it's trying to make the fight. It's a darn good one.

• You know what I look forward to? Sunday, May 8, 2011, say about noon PT. That hopefully is when I'll be settling into my seat for the flight home from Las Vegas (with the upgrade) after the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight the night before. And then all this madness will finally be over.

• I was sent a hilarious email that contained a post from the ESPN.com boxing message board in which the writer listed the top 5 people who didn't know about the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations. I'm still cracking up. Drum roll please •

1. Amish people
2. The Taliban forces
3. Buddhist monks
4. Nuns
5. Leonard Ellerbe

• I watched the video of cruiserweight contender Danny Green's 29-second knockout of Paul Briggs from Wednesday in Perth, Australia, and it was the worst tank job I've seen since Bruce Seldon laid down against Mike Tyson without getting hit by a legitimate punch in 1996. Briggs, who went the distance in two brutal wars with Tomasz Adamek, literally did not get hit with a punch, yet went to his knees and stayed down for 10 after being grazed by a lazy jab. It was absolutely pathetic. According to Australia media reports, Briggs checked out fine at the hospital afterward. Australian media reports said there was an unusual amount of betting action on a Green winning by first-round knockout. If you're going to throw a fight wouldn't you at least at make look decent?

• HBO has been heavily criticized in some quarters -- including by me -- for paying Golden Boy $750,000 for the Victor Ortiz-Nate Campbell fight on May 15. To me, it was akin to the Pentagon spending $5,000 for a toilet seat, especially since Golden Boy paid less than half of the total to the fighters. But HBO, which is not responsible for negotiating purses with the fighters -- that's between the fighters, their managers and promoters -- believes it was money well spent. Going into the fight, HBO expected the combination of a high-quality main event between Amir Khan and Paulie Malignaggi in New York with an undercard featuring Ortiz, who has a following on the West Coast, against a name opponent such as Campbell, to translate into a big night for the network. Based on the outcome, HBO was right, because Ortiz-Campbell delivered the third-highest rating for a bout this year (so far) on HBO. I was told that it generated a 2.9 rating, ranking it a sliver higher than the 2.8 generated by the much more expensive Martinez-Kelly Pavlik fight in April. The only fights to beat Ortiz-Campbell so far this year? The Khan-Malignaggi main event, which did a 3.0 and Cotto-Yuri Foreman from Yankee Stadium, which did slightly higher.

• Keepin' it real: As thrilled as I was when Golden Boy brought boxing back to Telefutura in April with the unyielding support of Tecate, the most important sponsor in boxing, the fights have routinely been weak so far. Week after week, it's a prospect wiping out an opponent with almost no chance to win. It's getting old and boring. Can I get some competitive fights please?

• Does Celestino Caballero have a fall date yet?

• Alfredo "Perro" Angulo might not be the most refined fighter who ever lived, but he's one of the top 5 or so most exciting fighters on the planet to watch. His destruction of Joachim Alcine was most impressive. I thought it was a dangerous fight, although I figured Angulo would stop him in the mid-rounds. I never expected a first-round devastation. I would absolutely love to see him challenge Cotto.

• Swing and a miss by HBO during Saturday's Bradley-Luis Carlos Abregu telecast, during which several of the top junior welterweights were mentioned prominently. However, Zab Judah wasn't one of them, which was stunning. Judah, the former undisputed welterweight champion and two-time junior welterweight titlist, had scored a highlight-reel knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz the previous night on ESPN2 in his return to the junior welterweight division. To not even mention Judah while discussing the division in detail was a terrible oversight.

• David Tua is done after that woeful performance in a lucky draw against Monte Barrett. I don't want to hear about any more "comebacks" from Tua. It's over.

• Chris John might as well start walking under ladders and crossing the paths of black cats. His luck can't get any worse after having a third significant medical issue -- dengue fever, shoulder injury, broken rib -- since late last year, two of which forced him to call of a fight. Maybe he should invest some of his purse money in a plastic bubble?

• Condolences to British promoter Frank Warren on the sudden death of his younger brother Mark Warren, 42, who died this week when he fell from a fourth-floor window and died from head injuries.

• Happy birthday to promoter Artie Pelullo, who celebrates the big day July 28. Undoubtedly, he'll do so with a cigar and a martini.

• DVD pick of the week:Believe it or not, I had never seen this fight in its entirety until this week, when a friend sent it along with some other goodies. So I settled in and watched the HBO replay of Sugar Ray Leonard's controversial draw with Thomas Hearns from June 12, 1989, outdoors at Las Vegas' famed Caesars Palace, the same site of their epic first welterweight unification showdown won by Leonard almost eight years earlier. This time, they were fighting for Leonard's super middleweight belt and Leonard was a 3-1 favorite against his rival. But Hearns, who was 30, dropped the 33-year-old Leonard in the third and 11th rounds and seemed to be on his way to a decision win in an excellent fight until Leonard, with a big surge in the final round, pulled out a split draw that is debatable to this day. You don't hear a lot about this fight when folks talk about the great 1980's matchups between Leonard, Hearns, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran, but it was a helluva fight.

Source: espn.go.com

Khan frustrated by enforced lay-off -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

Amir Khan has expressed his frustration at being forced into a seven-month lay-off which has seen his boxing career hit the brakes.

The WBA light-welterweight champion stopped Paulie Malignaggi on his US debut in May but the Bolton fighter had to shelve plans for a follow-up fight due to time constraints.

The 23-year-old had earmarked July for a return to the ring but the fact that his training camp would have been too short coupled with Khan's desire to fast for Ramadan meant any potential match-up was scrapped.

"It's a long break," he said. "My team thought it best for me not to fight. But I'm a born fighter and I don't want to take time off because I'm in my prime. "I could have got an opponent, but we would have been rushing it with Ramadan coming up. There were only four or five weeks of training which was too short notice.

"I don't think it will happen again. Hopefully we will learn and not stay out of the game so long."

The former Olympic silver medallist now looks likely to meet the winner of Juan Diaz's showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez. Khan is heading ringside in Las Vegas for their July 31 WBO lightweight clash and if a deal can be reached, he is hoping the bout can take place in December in Britain.

"It's nearly agreed that I will fight the winner and I would like it to be over here next time. It depends on the opponent and the broadcasters," he said.

Source: espn.co.uk

Strange turn in negotiations for Pacquiao-Mayweather bout -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

The so-called negotiations for a highly anticipated, but thus far ill-fated Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather mega-fight, took a bizarre turn this week when Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe released a statement that disputed that negotiations have taken place.

The statement came after Mayweather said at a charity event in Miami this week that he was in no hurry to fight again and was content to spend time with his family for now.

Ellerbe's statement said, "Here are the facts. Al Haymon (Mayweather manager), Richard Schaefer (Golden Boy CEO) and myself speak to each other on a regular basis, and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13. Either (HBO Sports President) Ross Greenburg or (Top Rank chairman) Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying."

The statement came in response to a Top Rank (which represents Pacquiao) deadline of midnight PT last Friday for a Mayweather agreement to fight Pacquiao on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas. Arum said recently he felt the fight was close to being completed. Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya appeared on Univision last month saying the fight was nearing a deal.

Ellerbe would only say he stands by his statement and wouldn't discuss it further.

Schaefer, whose company is promoting the blockbuster Juan Diaz-Juan Manuel Marquez rematch July 31 in Las Vegas, said he called De La Hoya and asked him about the quotes.

"His response to me was that he was taken out of context and that he didn't say that," Schaefer told USA TODAY on Wednesday. "I was surprised when I read these comments from Oscar, because they obviously were not accurate. And he told me he never made them, but supposedly he did. I don't really know."

Greenburg and HBO declined to comment but told USA TODAY a few weeks ago that, while he wouldn't discuss negotiations, he said there were very few people involved in the talks.

Arum said Wednesday that Greenburg had been an intermediary between himself and Haymon. "It's the craziest thing I've ever encountered. I was dealing with Ross (Greenburg), and Ross was dealing with (Al) Haymon," he said. "It's no secret the negotiations were going on.

"I haven't talked to anybody on their side in a long time because the agreement was I'd only talk to Ross. They felt that if the representatives talked to each other, the deal would never get done.

"To me (this whole episode) is so bizarre it defies explanation."

Nonetheless, Arum feels the fight can still be made next year.

"We'd be more than willing to have the Mayweather people work out terms for a fight next year," Arum said. "And there's really no animosity. The only thing that chagrins me is (Floyd) should've come out right away and said he wasn't going to fight this year. But, to his credit, he's never said he was going to fight, either."

Schaefer said he can't understand all the fuss over, well, nothing.

"I can appreciate the interest from the fans for what many call the biggest fight of all time between Mayweather and Pacquiao," he said, "and I would like to see the fight, and my hope is that eventually it will happen. But if there's nothing to report, there's nothing to report."

Arum said he talked to Pacquiao, now a congressman in the Philippines, just a few days ago.

"He's just laughing about this (negotiation saga)," Arum said. "He always, deep down, believed that Mayweather wouldn't fight him. I'm not saying that myself, but Manny never really counted on Mayweather."

Arum said Pacquiao would fight Nov. 13 against someone else. That opponent will probably be disgraced Mexican Antonio Margarito (a Top Rank fighter) for the vacant WBC super welterweight (154 pounds) title. He was suspended in the USA for a year for using an illegal substance in his hand wraps. It will probably take place in Monterrey, Mexico, where Pacquiao would not have to pay approximately 30% of his purse to the IRS.

There will be a meeting in Monterrey on Friday, Arum said.

The 78-year-old promoter has come under criticism for not looking at fighters outside of Top Rank's stable as possible opponents for Pacquiao. Both Margarito and Miguel Cotto, considered the most likely candidates, are Top Rank fighters.

However, asked about Tim Bradley, the undefeated junior welterweight champion who called out Pacquiao after his welterweight victory against previously unbeaten Carlos Luis Abregu last weekend, Arum was receptive to a future bout against his pound-for-pound king.

"Bradley I do see happening down the line," Arum said. "He needs just a little bit more seasoning, but he's a terrific fighter, a great young man, and we would think there's the possibility of going to his people and (offering) him the main slot on the (Pacquiao) undercard (in November). Pacquiao-Bradley would be a great fight. Right now it doesn't carry enough weight."

Asked if he'd prefer Bradley to fight undefeated Devon Alexander before getting his shot against Pacquiao, Arum said, "That would be nice, but I wouldn't necessarily make it a requirement. The more name guys he beats, the better force he is. I just think he's a wonderful fighter, makes great appearance, talks well, and he's somebody the public can embrace."

Source: usatoday.com

Mayweather Maneuver's Around Opponents -- Examiner

By Peter Czymbor, Examiner.com

Circa 2008 the welterweight fight that all boxing fans wanted to see was a battle between the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather and unbeaten Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather was boxing's resident cash cow coming off a decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya the year previously that launched him to superstardom.

Cotto, a former junior welterweight titlist like Mayweather, had moved up to welterweight by winning 5 straight, 4 of those wins coming within the distance. Among Cotto's victims were Shane Mosley and Zab Judah.

Some boxing fans were beginning to feel that Cotto could be the foil to Mayweather. However, Money May wanted no part in the fight.

He cited financial reasons telling ESPN that Cotto was not yet a star, he answered to Bob Arum at Top Rank Inc. (Cotto's promoter and Mayweather's former promoter) and that Floyd was his own boss.

Ultimately, Mayweather "retired" from boxing. Cotto took a fight with Antonio Margarito and looked good through 6 rounds before losing via 11th round TKO in a fight many suspect Margarito entered with gloves loaded with plaster of paris following a discovery before Margarito's following fight with Shane Mosley.

Mayweather was out of boxing for the time being due to "retirement" and Cotto had lost. By time Mayweather had unretired and returned, Cotto had regrouped but was stopped in a grueling fight against Manny Pacquiao last year.

The Mayweather - Cotto ship had sailed. Whether intentional or not, Mayweather has maneuvered his way around fighting Cotto.

Now, intentional or not, Mayweather may be maneuvering his way around Pacquiao.

Let's hope that Money May is just taking some time off and if Pacquiao emerges unscathed from his fight this November, which could be either a rematch with Cotto or a fight with Margarito, that Mayweather and Pacquiao get it on in the early quarter 2011.

Mayweather - Pacquiao is not just the fight boxing fans want to see. It's the fight sports fans want to see.

Source: examiner.com