Time to let go of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao -- OC Register

By MARK WHICKER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Thanks to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s video, the one he issued from one of his more opulent caves, he has achieved the impossible.

He has cured us of Mayweather-Pacquiao fever.

Suddenly we can live without The Last Great Fight, hanging tantalizingly before us for a year now.

Certainly Manny Pacquiao can, after he has capitulated to all of Mayweather's drug-testing demands, only to be insulted on racial and sexual grounds Thursday.

"As soon as we come off vacation, we're going to cook that little yellow chump," Mayweather declared. "So they ain't gotta worry about me fighting the midget. Once I stomp the midget, I'll make that little (deleted) make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice."

Beyond that, he referred to his prospective opponent as "Poochiao," termed him a "whore," and said, "I'm gonna fight the Pacman when he gets off his power pellets," an apparent term for performance-enhancers, although Pacquiao never has tested positive.

This coincided with the Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito media tour, promoting their Nov. 13 meeting at Cowboys Stadium.

The video also injected its poison into cyberspace one day before Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter and Mayweather's original promoter, learned the body of his 49-year-old son John had been found on a mountainside in Washington. John, an environmental lawyer, was pursuing his goal of climbing the 100 tallest mountains in the state.

Incredibly, Mayweather seemed mystified that anyone would take offense and issued another video apologizing to Arum and Pacquiao.

"I do want to apologize for what happened the other night," Mayweather said. "I want to apologize to everybody because everybody thought that was a racist comment that I said. I don't have a racist bone in my body. I have nothing but love for everybody. I just was having fun. I didn't really mean it."

Then he added the famous Some Of My Best Friends Are White People defense.

You didn't mean it, Floyd? Well, we mean this:

Retire.

John Rocker apologized, too, for insulting gays, Muslims and all immigrants in 2000. The Atlanta Braves pitcher was taken to task during an angry team meeting the next spring, and baseball suspended him for the first 14 games of the 2000 season.

It had no effect on Rocker, who was out of organized baseball in 2003. But there is no controlling authority in boxing to discipline or suspend Mayweather, as in other sports.

A prominent promoter recently said there would be no Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, even though it would easily be the most lucrative in the history of the sport. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's promoter, has had his doubts, too.

That made no sense whatsoever, except by boxing's suicidal standards.
But now it does.

Pacquiao has said repeatedly he does not need Mayweather, and he is right. He has built greatness without him. Who would have ever predicted that the former 106-pounder would not only defeat but finish Oscar De La Hoya?

He also has taken boxing into a new orbit internationally and is a far more intense national obsession in the Philippines than any athlete is in the United States.

However, Pacquiao always has said he would be willing to take on The Pretty Boy and proved it by agreeing to the drug tests.

So maybe all the other boxing insiders are right. It's Mayweather who wants no part of this.

Boxing has enough terminal problems without Mike Tyson threatening to eat Lennox Lewis' children or Mayweather questioning Pacquiao's sexual orientation.

The reason boxing survives is its baseline respect. The post-fight embraces are real. The shared risks are too great.

There was ugliness before the Thrilla in Manila, the third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in which Ali called Frazier a "gorilla." Ali barely survived the gloriously primeval fight, and Frazier, in a recent HBO special, gloats indelicately about his role in causing Ali's pugilistic dementia.

Such trash was Ali's act, from Day One, usually delivered with a twinkle. And, yes, he crossed several lines.
But in this case he was already committed to fight Frazier, so he would have to expose his mouth. His woofing never was in the same bush league with Mayweather's.

Letting go of Mayweather-Pacquiao is difficult. The boxing styles are classically contradictory. The questions are there to be answered. Can Pacquiao's legendary hand quickness find Mayweather's jaw? Can Mayweather's post-graduate boxing skills pick off Pacquiao's lusty aggression?

But other questions arrive.

What depths will Mayweather plumb during Fight Week? Do we really need a Good vs. Evil subtext, or any form of hate speech, to augment a fight that should speak for itself?

It's always interesting to discover what you can live without. If Floyd Mayweather Jr. finds such energy and passion in broadcasting from underground, he should stay there.

mwhicker@ocregister.com

Source: ocregister.com

Boxing pound for pound: do we have a new number one? -- Examiner

By Eric Sloan, Examiner.com

Generally speaking, boxing blows this year and one of the reasons why is that too many of the men listed below are not doing a damn thing. The Super Six is collapsing, everybody wants a pay-per-view deal, and few are using 2010 to make a legacy mark. Regardless, this list has changed significantly over the last month. Here are the top 10 pound-for-pound (P4P) fighters in the world according to those who think they know best:

Nos. 10, 9, and 8 – Wladimir Klitschko/Timothy Bradley/Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.

Yeah, a three-way tie. As far as Klitschko goes, it is getting to the point where his residency on this list cannot be criticized. Forget the weak division. Wladimir has not lost a fight since 2004 and has been a legitimate champion of the division since 2006. He fights Samuel Peter next weekend and will not likely lose his titles or his place on this list.

Bradley put everyone to sleep when he faced Luis Carlos Abregu in July, but the guy is either going to silence his new critics or validate them when he meets undefeated Devon Alexander in January. Bradley’s willingness to keep pushing the envelope with his skill set is P4P worthy though. Now the guy just needs a fan base.

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam? Nothing against the guy, he is very good, but he’s not a top 10 fighter. Wongongkam has been a WBC staple and champion forever; however, he is still fighting 6 and 10 round fights. In 2008-09, he fought three fighters making their professional debut and was only able to shoot a majority decision over Koki Kameda in March. He’s never fought in America or Europe. The fact that he is on this list is even more pathetic than James Toney trying to shoulder roll a takedown.

No. 7 – Sergio Martinez.

Nobody can (or should) dispute Sergio’s status as a top P4P fighter. The guy is losing his momentum though. Traditionally someone who fights two to three times per year, Martinez has nothing set for the near future. Nobody remembers the Kelly Pavlik slap down, so it’s way past time to get into the ring.

No. 6 – Nonito Donaire.

Donaire has been on a consistent climb up the P4P rankings over the last several months and exploded onto the world wide scene in 2007 when he knocked out Vic Darchinyan. Since then, he has faced six opponents and stopped five of them. A permanent move to bantamweight will not only increase his stature around the globe, but will also fill his wallet.

No. 5 – Shane Mosley.

A great fighter? From a career perspective, yes. A top P4P fighter today? No. Mosley faces Sergio Mora in a couple of weeks. The good news is that Mora hits as hard as Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. Yes, of course the fight is on pay-per-view! The better move for Shane would have been a rematch with Miguel Cotto. Well, if Mosley defeats Mora, at least he can use Mayweather, Jr. logic and say something like “I beat the guy who beat Vernon Forrest; therefore, I beat Vernon Forrest.” Yawn.

No. 4 – Paul Williams.

To criticize Sergio Martinez for doing absolutely nothing since dominating Kelly Pavlik necessarily means that Williams must get it equally as bad. The “nobody wants to fight me” argument has apparently changed to “I just don’t want to fight.” He’s tall, he’s awkward, and he throws punches non-stop. The inactivity is going to haunt him though. A guy like Williams needs to be active to stay on top because the natural ability is simply not there.

No. 3 – Juan Manuel Marquez.

This guy just isn’t going anywhere. He drops a lopsided fight to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. a year ago and rebounds to dominate Juan Diaz in July. While many of the younger guys on this list can’t seem to figure out where to take their careers, Marquez isn’t wasting time. He meets Michael Katsidis in November.

No. 2 – Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Yes, you read that correctly. While not by much, the majority of P4P lists have Floyd as the number 2 fighter in the world. This breaks the long standing stalemate at number 1. Mayweather doesn’t care about any P4P list outside of his own head; however, he will need to make a move and fight someone since the number 1 fighter has moved on to bigger, not better things.

No. 1 – Manny Pacquiao.

No man has accomplished more in the sport over the last three years than Manny Pacquiao and he deserves to be ranked number 1. He also deserves to be treated better than a pawn for Top Rank. There were several options for him in November, but he will be fighting Antonio Margarito. Forget the “title” in yet another weight division. This fight is about Bob Arum trying to rekindle Margarito’s career…period.

Source: examiner.com

Time for Money Mayweather to shut up and fight -- Associated Press

By TIM DAHLBERG, The Associated Press

Give Floyd Mayweather Jr. credit for one thing. Like any great fighter, he knows when to turn and run.

A day after unleashing a racist rant against Manny Pacquiao that was insulting even by boxing standards, Mayweather was at it again. Surprisingly, this time it was to apologize.

"Forgive me for saying what I said," Mayweather said in yet another video. "I was just having fun. I didn't really mean it, nothing in a bad way."

Oh, what fun it was, for as long it lasted. Fighting words, from a man who refuses to fight.

But, hey, what did you really expect from Money May?

Not an apology, surely. With all the sycophants and yes men who surround Mayweather it's a wonder he was able to figure out that this time he had crossed the line from fun to just plain disgusting.

But cross it he had, in a 10-minute video that was racist, homophobic, and an insult to Filipinos everywhere.

If Mayweather's idea was to get people to back off criticism for him not fighting Pacquiao this fall, it didn't work. He still seems to be afraid of either the fight or the thought that he could actually lose.

But if his idea was to get Pacquiao's attention, he succeeded.

Pacquiao sat in his hotel room in Texas and watched Mayweather unleash every derogatory Asian stereotype he could come up with. Then he pressed the play button to watch it once more, his expression never changing.

The fighter in him probably wanted a shot at Mayweather right then and there. The politician in him thought better of it.

"It's an uneducated message," the congressman from the province of Sarangani said.

Pacquiao showed remarkable restraint, because it was far more than that. By proxy, Mayweather insulted an entire nation by going after the biggest sports hero the Philippines has ever known.

Of course, it could happen only in boxing, which has a long and colorful history of fighters unloading verbal abuse.

Joe Frazier still hasn't gotten over Muhammad Ali calling him an Uncle Tom nearly 40 years ago, and saying he was so ugly he should donate his face to the U.S. Department of Wildlife. Ali loved to taunt his opponents but sometimes crossed the line, like when he called Leon Spinks "Blackula" because he had no front teeth.

But Mayweather is no Ali. He's not clever, and there's nothing remotely funny about what he says.

Almost lost in Mayweather's video musings on everything from Pacquiao's height to his dining tastes was his proclamation that he is on a one-year vacation from boxing. When it's over, Mayweather says, he will gladly return to the ring and engage in fisticuffs with the distinguished congressman from the Philippines.

Actually, what he said was that he was going to "stomp the midget," then have Pacman "make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice." And that was the more vanilla part of the video.

But, hey, it's just Money May.

He was supposed to help save boxing, but all Mayweather has really done recently is help himself to your wallet. Given not one, but two, chances to give the sport the bout it desperately needs, he instead hides behind a webcam as Pacquiao traipses across the country promoting a fight with the disgraced Antonio Margarito that only Jerry Jones seems to want to see.

But while it was outrageous, it wasn't the most outlandish thing Mayweather has said recently. Not even close.

That came before his most recent fight with Shane Mosley when Mayweather proclaimed that he was the greatest fighter ever. Yes, he said, he was better than Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson or even Joe Louis.

Now that's a real laugher.

Sure, he's undefeated in 41 professional fights, a mark he's rightfully proud of. But Mayweather has carefully picked his opponents and fought so infrequently in recent years that his claim to greatness rings hollow.

Remember, too, that Mayweather never sold a ticket on his own until Oscar De La Hoya made him a star and HBO's "24/7" reality series about the wacky Mayweather clan became must-see TV.

Mayweather told me before the Mosley fight that it was all a charade, a bad-boy character built to make money — and lots of it. But if the gangsta act is an acting job, Mayweather should win an Oscar for the way he embraces the role.

For most boxing fans the real issue isn't Mayweather's ridiculous rant. Fights have been built around racial and national divides since Jack Johnson stopped Jim Jeffries a century ago and, as distasteful as they can be, will always be part of the sport.

But the Pacquiao-Mayweather matchup is so good it doesn't need any phony buildup. And what frustrates everyone in boxing these days is the strange unwillingness of Mayweather to give the sport the fight it desperately needs and deserves.

It's time Mayweather just shuts up and fights.

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: google.com