By Geno McGahee, Ringside Report
At the age of 31, Manny Pacquiao has a lot of boxing life left in him, but when he gets beyond the Antonio Margarito fight, what will be left? When you reach a certain level in boxing and you are facing marquee opponents, it’s tough to take a backward step. The public’s demand for Manny to face perceived tough opponents may not allow him to take an “easy one” while he waits for a Floyd Mayweather, JR., showdown.
If there are no worlds left to conquer, what is Pacquiao to do?
There have been recurring comments from Team Pacquiao that retirement is in the near future, and with Floyd Mayweather, JR., apparently not interested in the fight of the decade, what else is there? Even a great fighter like Paul Williams, an incredible challenge for Pacquiao, would not generate the public’s interest. The diehard boxing fans would be sincerely intrigued by the fight, but the casual fan would say “Paul who?” Williams hasn’t had the sort fan following to make the fight worth the risk. Sergio Martinez is the same deal.
When you look at the recent string of opponents for Pacquiao, you see that he has not taken the easiest path. Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Joshua Clottey, and Juan Manuel Marquez make up his recent opposition, and he has shined. He now faces Margarito, a guy that would be considered tough with loaded gloves, but now seems to be a man walking face first into a tank. Look for Manny to win that one with ease.
So, December rolls around and Pacquiao is still the man in boxing. What happens next?
You have to figure that Mayweather, JR., will once again be on the radar, but with legal problems and a mental breakdown, it’s tough to imagine that fight coming off at all. Maybe we have all been so scorned by the two failures of it to materialize that we cannot believe that it will ever happen. If it doesn’t happen, what happens next?
The retirement of Manny Pacquiao may be eminent.
Then again, Pacquiao has shown that he is driven by money as anything else and if Bob Arum can jingle the change in front of his eyes, we may see the following two opponents on the agenda…
Kelly Pavlik
Considering that Pacquiao is seen as invincible at welterweight, with the only man possibly holding the key to beating him being Floyd Mayweather, JR., how about a move to 160? Former Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik was once a big draw but after two defeats, he is now in nowhere land. If he were to take on Pacquiao at 160 or a catch weight of 155-ish, it would be a big seller for all involved. Arum could not lose. If Pacquiao wins, the money train rolls on, but if he loses, Pavlik is reborn and he is back to a big PPV draw. I have a sneaking suspicion that this fight is going to happen if Manny doesn’t leave the sport.
Julio Cesar Chavez JR
How about an easy one that would sell incredibly well? There aren’t many fighters now creating a buzz like Julio Cesar Chavez, JR. He is fighting at middleweight and would remain there to take on Pacquiao. The idea would be to bring in the enormous following of Chavez, JR., along with the Pacquiao fans, creating a huge event. It would be an event, not a great fight, but when you examine the PPV sales of both men, you have to think that Arum has considered this bout. Chavez, JR., has been very protected and perhaps they are looking for the one big cash out. This would be it.
Where does boxing go without Pacquiao?
It’s inevitable that Manny will retire from boxing. He’s a national hero. When he wins, the entire Philippines celebrate the victory. The groupies that write about him constantly will have to find a new subject, unless they change from his boxing life to his personal life, which apparently may be part of their fantasies. Pacquiao’s removal from the sport will be a blow, but boxing has been down and out before and will return again.
Boxing has some stars on the rise that will take the place of Pacquiao. Maybe not one will fill the open slot immediately but with fighters like Yuriokis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez, Amir Khan, Tavoris Cloud, Lucian Bute, David Lemiuex, Nonito Donaire, and Alfredo Angulo make up a small sample of the group of exciting fighters making their way into the public eye.
Recently Golden Boy Promotions has stated that we need network TV for boxing once again and it’s a no brainer. We do. If these future stars get the right exposure, the future of boxing is very bright. Gamboa is on a collision course with fellow undefeated power-puncher, Juan Manuel Lopez, and British superstar Amir Khan is taking on the biggest challenge of his career in Marcos Maidana. Things are looking up in boxing and should Manny retire after his Margarito fight, it will survive.
When Pacquiao retires, there will be a regrouping in boxing. With such a lack of stars currently, most have tunnel vision and focus on Pacquiao, and when he goes, some casual boxing fans will back away from the sport again until the next big thing comes along. Boxing is a sport that gets beaten up all of the time in the press, but it has never been stopped. It will continue to fight even without Pacquiao.
Source: ringsidereport.com
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Oscar De La Hoya: In my prime, I'd have schooled Manny Pacquiao -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.com
BROOKLYN--Physically, Oscar de la Hoya looks the part.
Still trim at age 37, the Golden Boy looks like he could go 12 rounds or 18 holes, your choice.
Mentally, well in his mind he's still the Hall Of Fame fighter who set a PPV TV buy rate record of 2.4 million for his losing bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Oscar was at a sweltering Gleason's Gym on a gloomy, overcast Tuesday afternoon with billionaire Bruce Ratner to trumpet the fact that Oscar' company has an exclusive deal with the Barclays Center (which will house the NBA Nets) to promote boxing. GBP plans to build its New York base, with shows in Brooklyn and at the Prudential Center in Newark.
I sparred (verbally) with Oscar and my first question was direct.
Who wins if Oscar fought Manny Pacquiao and both were in their primes?
"Whew," de la Hoya said. "Different story."
Putting aside that purely mythical matchup, I asked what Oscar's thoughts are about the Pinoy Idol balancing Congressional duties and his superstar boxer status.
Oscar expressed approval of and high hopes for Pacquaio's political career.
"With politics, I give Manny all the credit in the world for being a Congressman. I don't know if he can balance both careers because it's got to be very difficult but hopefully he can do some good things for his people." de la Hoya said.
Wanting to test ODLH's sense of humor, I reminded him that he tried to juggle a singing career and boxing.
"Yeah, and you see how that turned out," Oscar said, smiling the smile that thrilled so many females when he was boxing's matinee idol.
De la Hoya said he thinks troubled Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs to end his boxing hiatus and get back to business pronto.
"I have not spoken to him but I think Floyd needs to get back to doing what he does best, which is boxing."
Oscar was swarmed by apsiring boxers of all ages and races and he was clearly in his element.
One young fighter peppered him with other mythical match questions. If I heard correctly, one of them was who would've won between Sugar Ray Leonard and Aaron Pryor and I think Oscar tipped Leonard to win it.
Oscar said some have misinterpreted his Broadcasting & Cable interview in which he said boxing needs to have a dominant promoter.
It's not all about Golden Boy swallowing up the minnows or wiping out Bob Arum's Top Rank, de la Hoya said.
"It's what is best for boxing, really. I'm not talking about just now, I mean what's going to be best for boxing 10-15 years from now. It's frustrating when (because of interpromotional bickering) we can get the best fighting the best. That's why I mentioned what the UFC does, their model.
"We just need a different setup than what we have now. We need something better for the fans and for the fighters."
To his credit, GBP CEO Richard Schaefer also gave Pacman props for his political achievement.
"Manny has to be congratulated on that, being a Congressman," Schaefer said. "To be such an accomplished fighter and a Congressman, well I think that brings credit to boxing and all of us can be proud of him doing that."
Rich guy Ratner, who said the total cost of the new arena will wind up at $900 million or so, said he tapped Oscar and his company for some obvious reasons.
"I used to go watch the Ali fights on closed circuit at the movie theaters when I was a kid in Cleveland," Ratner said.
"We open up in July 2012 and I felt that I don't see any downside here. Oscar is an icon of the sport and his company has other boxers as owners as well. They operate transparently and I like that.
"We want to bring boxing back to Brooklyn, maybe create more icons like (Mike) Tyson was. We just feel that Golden Boy is the right company for us to go with."
At the event, Schaefer announced what he called "breaking news," saying that Paulie Malignaggi of Brooklyn had signed with GBP and would henceforth campaign at welterweight.
Malignaggi was in attendance along with GBP boxers Danny Jacobs and Danny Garcia.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
BROOKLYN--Physically, Oscar de la Hoya looks the part.
Still trim at age 37, the Golden Boy looks like he could go 12 rounds or 18 holes, your choice.
Mentally, well in his mind he's still the Hall Of Fame fighter who set a PPV TV buy rate record of 2.4 million for his losing bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Oscar was at a sweltering Gleason's Gym on a gloomy, overcast Tuesday afternoon with billionaire Bruce Ratner to trumpet the fact that Oscar' company has an exclusive deal with the Barclays Center (which will house the NBA Nets) to promote boxing. GBP plans to build its New York base, with shows in Brooklyn and at the Prudential Center in Newark.I sparred (verbally) with Oscar and my first question was direct.
Who wins if Oscar fought Manny Pacquiao and both were in their primes?
"Whew," de la Hoya said. "Different story."
Putting aside that purely mythical matchup, I asked what Oscar's thoughts are about the Pinoy Idol balancing Congressional duties and his superstar boxer status.
Oscar expressed approval of and high hopes for Pacquaio's political career.
"With politics, I give Manny all the credit in the world for being a Congressman. I don't know if he can balance both careers because it's got to be very difficult but hopefully he can do some good things for his people." de la Hoya said.
Wanting to test ODLH's sense of humor, I reminded him that he tried to juggle a singing career and boxing.
"Yeah, and you see how that turned out," Oscar said, smiling the smile that thrilled so many females when he was boxing's matinee idol.
De la Hoya said he thinks troubled Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs to end his boxing hiatus and get back to business pronto.
"I have not spoken to him but I think Floyd needs to get back to doing what he does best, which is boxing."
Oscar was swarmed by apsiring boxers of all ages and races and he was clearly in his element.
One young fighter peppered him with other mythical match questions. If I heard correctly, one of them was who would've won between Sugar Ray Leonard and Aaron Pryor and I think Oscar tipped Leonard to win it.
Oscar said some have misinterpreted his Broadcasting & Cable interview in which he said boxing needs to have a dominant promoter.
It's not all about Golden Boy swallowing up the minnows or wiping out Bob Arum's Top Rank, de la Hoya said.
"It's what is best for boxing, really. I'm not talking about just now, I mean what's going to be best for boxing 10-15 years from now. It's frustrating when (because of interpromotional bickering) we can get the best fighting the best. That's why I mentioned what the UFC does, their model.
"We just need a different setup than what we have now. We need something better for the fans and for the fighters."
To his credit, GBP CEO Richard Schaefer also gave Pacman props for his political achievement.
"Manny has to be congratulated on that, being a Congressman," Schaefer said. "To be such an accomplished fighter and a Congressman, well I think that brings credit to boxing and all of us can be proud of him doing that."
Rich guy Ratner, who said the total cost of the new arena will wind up at $900 million or so, said he tapped Oscar and his company for some obvious reasons.
"I used to go watch the Ali fights on closed circuit at the movie theaters when I was a kid in Cleveland," Ratner said.
"We open up in July 2012 and I felt that I don't see any downside here. Oscar is an icon of the sport and his company has other boxers as owners as well. They operate transparently and I like that.
"We want to bring boxing back to Brooklyn, maybe create more icons like (Mike) Tyson was. We just feel that Golden Boy is the right company for us to go with."
At the event, Schaefer announced what he called "breaking news," saying that Paulie Malignaggi of Brooklyn had signed with GBP and would henceforth campaign at welterweight.
Malignaggi was in attendance along with GBP boxers Danny Jacobs and Danny Garcia.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
Julio Cesar Chavez, Manny Pacquiao to Spar, Train Together -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is expected to arrive next Thursday, Oct. 7, in Baguio City, Philippines, where he will train and spar with Manny Pacquiao, as the two fighters prepare for upcoming fights, according to Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.
The 24-year-old Chavez (40-0-1, 30 knockouts) will face Alfonso Gomez (22-4-2, 11 KOs) on Dec. 4 at The Pond in Anaheim, Calif., this after having been an early consideration to meet WBA junior middleweight king Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs) on that date.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), already the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champion, will pursue his eighth crown in as many different weight classes opposite former titlist Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) of Mexico when they clash in an HBO pay-per-view televised bout for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight crown on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium.
Pacquiao, who already is two weeks into his regimen, and Chavez will prepare under the guidance of four-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach, under whom Pacquiao has a 12-fight winning streak that includes eight knockouts.
"Well, we haven't done any of the sparring yet, but one of the sparring partners is going to be named Glen Tapia," said Koncz. "Then another one is going to be Michael Medina, and then, Julio Cesar Chavez is coming next week."
The 24-year-old Medina (24-2-2, 19 KOs), also a junior middleweight, is coming off of July's fifth-round knockout of Gilberto Flores Hernandez that helped him to rebound from a March, split-decision loss to New York's John Duddy (29-2, 18 KOs) on the undercard of Pacquiao's unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium.
The 20-year-old Tapia has won all seven of his fights, including five of them by knockout as a junior middleweight.
The son of the former world champion by the same name, Chavez Jr. is coming off of June's unanimous decision victory over Duddy. Chavez was initially slated to come to the Philippines in July, when he was in line to face Pawel Wolak (27-1, 17 KOs). But Chavez Jr. decided not to come to the Philippines at that time, and the fight never materialized.
"Well, I've known that all along that Chavez was coming," said Koncz. "I don't listen to the bulls**t on the Internet. I never had a doubt that Chavez was going to show up in camp to train with Manny."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is expected to arrive next Thursday, Oct. 7, in Baguio City, Philippines, where he will train and spar with Manny Pacquiao, as the two fighters prepare for upcoming fights, according to Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.
The 24-year-old Chavez (40-0-1, 30 knockouts) will face Alfonso Gomez (22-4-2, 11 KOs) on Dec. 4 at The Pond in Anaheim, Calif., this after having been an early consideration to meet WBA junior middleweight king Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs) on that date.The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), already the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champion, will pursue his eighth crown in as many different weight classes opposite former titlist Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) of Mexico when they clash in an HBO pay-per-view televised bout for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight crown on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium.
Pacquiao, who already is two weeks into his regimen, and Chavez will prepare under the guidance of four-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach, under whom Pacquiao has a 12-fight winning streak that includes eight knockouts.
"Well, we haven't done any of the sparring yet, but one of the sparring partners is going to be named Glen Tapia," said Koncz. "Then another one is going to be Michael Medina, and then, Julio Cesar Chavez is coming next week."
The 24-year-old Medina (24-2-2, 19 KOs), also a junior middleweight, is coming off of July's fifth-round knockout of Gilberto Flores Hernandez that helped him to rebound from a March, split-decision loss to New York's John Duddy (29-2, 18 KOs) on the undercard of Pacquiao's unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium.
The 20-year-old Tapia has won all seven of his fights, including five of them by knockout as a junior middleweight.
The son of the former world champion by the same name, Chavez Jr. is coming off of June's unanimous decision victory over Duddy. Chavez was initially slated to come to the Philippines in July, when he was in line to face Pawel Wolak (27-1, 17 KOs). But Chavez Jr. decided not to come to the Philippines at that time, and the fight never materialized.
"Well, I've known that all along that Chavez was coming," said Koncz. "I don't listen to the bulls**t on the Internet. I never had a doubt that Chavez was going to show up in camp to train with Manny."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Georges St-Pierre Continues to “Waste His Time and Money” Training with Freddie Roach -- 5th Round
By Tom Ngo, 5thRound.com
Although Georges St-Pierre has won the world over with his flawless fight game and charismatic personality, it appears the UFC welterweight king is the sport’s most stubborn athlete. For some reason, GSP refuses to listen to top contender Josh Koscheck by continuing to train with boxing legend Freddie Roach.
“Since GSP got knocked out by little Matt Serra, he’s become this guy who’s afraid to go out there and fight,” Koscheck recently said. “He’s hired Freddie Roach as a boxing coach, and to be honest with you Georges, I think you’re wasting your money and wasting your time because you know that you’re not going to come out there and stand up with me.”
Kos brings up a valid point, although I don’t believe “afraid” would ever be the proper term to affiliate with the planet’s baddest 170-pounder. Regardless, prior to his shocking TKO loss to Serra at UFC 69 in April 2007, St-Pierre held a 13-1 record with six of those victories coming via some sort of knockout. That’s an impressive 46 percent clip.
However, since losing his title to the overwhelming underdog, the French-Canadian morphed into the game’s best ground guru, and even though he’s currently enjoying a 7-0 run, emerging more untouchable each time he exits the Octagon against “the biggest challenge” of his career, St-Pierre has only ended two via knockout.
GSP has been adamant over increasing his KO ratio, as he believes it would enhance his aura of invincibility, as well as his legacy. That’s why for the second time since beating Dan Hardy at UFC 111, the 29-year-old hopped a plane to meet up with the boxing genius. The pair were reunited last week in the Philippines where Roach was working with another one of his superstar clients, Manny Pacquiao.
“Freddie has taught me a lot. Before I met him, I thought I knew boxing but he brought me back to school. He’s just so technical,” St-Pierre told Fighters Only. “Since I have trained with him, I’ve been more accurate, been able to hit harder. He has really made a difference with my boxing training.
“And if I just follow what he tells me, I think I can’t be beaten in terms of boxing.”
That’s a fairly scary thought considering GSP can’t seem to be defeated in the sport of MMA. The welterweights will headline UFC 124 on December 11th in the champ’s backyard of Montreal.
Source: 5thround.com
Although Georges St-Pierre has won the world over with his flawless fight game and charismatic personality, it appears the UFC welterweight king is the sport’s most stubborn athlete. For some reason, GSP refuses to listen to top contender Josh Koscheck by continuing to train with boxing legend Freddie Roach.
“Since GSP got knocked out by little Matt Serra, he’s become this guy who’s afraid to go out there and fight,” Koscheck recently said. “He’s hired Freddie Roach as a boxing coach, and to be honest with you Georges, I think you’re wasting your money and wasting your time because you know that you’re not going to come out there and stand up with me.”Kos brings up a valid point, although I don’t believe “afraid” would ever be the proper term to affiliate with the planet’s baddest 170-pounder. Regardless, prior to his shocking TKO loss to Serra at UFC 69 in April 2007, St-Pierre held a 13-1 record with six of those victories coming via some sort of knockout. That’s an impressive 46 percent clip.
However, since losing his title to the overwhelming underdog, the French-Canadian morphed into the game’s best ground guru, and even though he’s currently enjoying a 7-0 run, emerging more untouchable each time he exits the Octagon against “the biggest challenge” of his career, St-Pierre has only ended two via knockout.
GSP has been adamant over increasing his KO ratio, as he believes it would enhance his aura of invincibility, as well as his legacy. That’s why for the second time since beating Dan Hardy at UFC 111, the 29-year-old hopped a plane to meet up with the boxing genius. The pair were reunited last week in the Philippines where Roach was working with another one of his superstar clients, Manny Pacquiao.
“Freddie has taught me a lot. Before I met him, I thought I knew boxing but he brought me back to school. He’s just so technical,” St-Pierre told Fighters Only. “Since I have trained with him, I’ve been more accurate, been able to hit harder. He has really made a difference with my boxing training.
“And if I just follow what he tells me, I think I can’t be beaten in terms of boxing.”
That’s a fairly scary thought considering GSP can’t seem to be defeated in the sport of MMA. The welterweights will headline UFC 124 on December 11th in the champ’s backyard of Montreal.
Source: 5thround.com
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