Luring Mayweather : 'Satisfactory' against Margarito suffices for Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Promoter Bob Arum watched Manny Pacquiao spar nine rounds on Saturday in Baguio and he was not bowled over by his cash cow's performance.

“Satisfactory” was Arum's rating of the sparring session with Glen Tapia and Michael Medina. More importantly, Coach Freddie Roach was OK with how Pacman did.

Sparring is the most overrated aspect of a fighter's training. If I replaced the word “sparring” with practice, I think you would get my point.

Pacquiao is not supposed to slugging away with his hired hands in a simulation of what will happen in the ring at Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 13.

Sure, Pacquiao could beat both Tapia and Medina like a pair of drums but for what purpose?

Pacquiao said that they are now going to concentrate on speed and that is how things should be with the fight a little less than four weeks away.

Meanwhile, every day new reports come out of Camp Margarito about how awesome, how sensational Margarito is looking.

Did you expect anything less, anything less than glowing reports?

If people knew and understood that Margarito's best chance is not of winning, but of claiming a moral victory for lasting the 12 round limit, it would not stimulate ticket sales at Jerry Jones football playpen.

There are several reasons why I think this fight won't have the same Dallas area impact as did Pacquiao's debut there March 13 against unwilling participant Joshua Clottey.

They are:

1—Margarito is no Mexican icon, not widely popular south of the border and he never was that popular in the U.S. Barrera, Morales, even Juan Manuel Marquez, those are hugely popular Mexican fighters. It's hard to appeal to the pride of Mexican fight fans when, in your last major fight, you were caught attempting to cheat in the locker room.

2—Pacman's first bout in the stadium was such a novelty that Clottey did not even matter. The second appearance by Pacman does not have the same impact, particularly when he's dragging the disgraced opponent with him.

3—Football and spring football, you know the old line about the two favorite sports in Texas. And now the Texas Rangers are facing the Yankees in the ALCS. If you're a Metroplex resident and sports fan, how do you skip Cowboys home games and the Rangers postseason games in favor of a fight between two foreigners?

But we shall see what we shall see. I expect Arum and Jones to cosmetically pack the stadium in a variety of ways, including those ever popular “Party Passes,” for which you get entry but not a seat.

I think the turnout on Nov. 13 is going to get the same grade as Arum assigned to Manny's practice session.

“Satisfactory” but not sensational.

The only thing that might be sensational is Pacquiao's peformance.

He just might dazzle the slow stepping Margarito and the rest of us.

But I wonder, if Manny looks too good, too sharp, too much like the reigning P4P king, might it just push Floyd Mayweather even farther away from ever accepting the Super Fight?

Come to think of it, Pacman looking “satsifactory” might lure Mayweather into a fight next May.

Being "sensational" might be the final straw in driving reluctant Mayweather deeper into his bunker.

Just win, Manny, just win.

Then you can save the "sensational" for Floyd.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Jeff Mayweather flips digits with Floyd, discusses Pacquiao-Margarito and more -- Examiner

By Chris Robinson, Examiner.com

While it goes without saying that the Mayweathers are an outlandish bunch, lost within the conversation is just how articulate and insightful Uncle Jeff can be when speaking about the boxing world and life in general. The former IBO junior lightweight champion can be found on a daily basis training his core group of fighters in the Las Vegas area and always has something to say when asked for his take on any developments within the sport.

Jeff began working with interim WBA super featherweight champion Celestino Caballero near the end of last year but unfortunately the two men haven’t been able to lure the ideal opponents into the ring that they would like. Caballero has been itching to fight either WBO champion Juan Manuel Lopez or WBA boss Yuriorkis Gamboa for years but he may just have to wait things out, as Top Rank seems set on matching the two champions against one another. Caballero is poised for an HBO showcase against Jason Litzau next month at the MGM Grand, a bout in which he had to move up to the junior lightweight division simply because no other available opportunities were within reach.

I recently talked to Jeff about Caballero’s return to Las Vegas and a slew of other topics. Continue below to read what the modest trainer had to say about next month’s Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito clash, his recent conversations with his nephew Floyd and his take on such fighters as Andre Berto, Paul Williams, Miguel Cotto and others…

Celestino Caballero’s return and his November 27th fight with Jason Litzau…
“I’ve been waiting for him to get back. It’s good to have him back. First of all, I take my hat off to [Litzau] because he stepped up when no one else would. It’s unfortunate that Celestino has to fight outside of his weight class because all of the guys that are there, no one wants to fight him. That in itself speaks volumes of Celestino. I think he’s probably one of the most feared fighters in boxing right now. We have to just keep hoping that something will happen. I think that once the fight with Lopez and Gamboa is over, there is only one person out there to dance with that makes and sense or any money in that division, and that’s Celestino. Even if Bob [Arum] might not want to make the fight, it’s not like Lopez or Gamboa is Manny Pacquiao. They need someone else to dance with. And Celestino would be that option. To prove you are the best in the division you have to go through him.”

Working with middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales…
“I always look forward to working with Brandon. He’s a very, very solid fighter and I think the sky is the limit for him. I think that also, I would think sometime next year, as long as he keeps busy, he will be ready to challenge for the middleweight championship. I think he’s that good.”

Keeping tabs with Floyd Jr….
“That last time we talked basically was just a matter of me passing him a number of some very powerful attorneys to help him out with his situation. That’s about the last time I’ve seen him. Basically it’s kind of hard to read but at the same time he’s still just being himself. It’s a situation where once you get involved in something like that you just have to wait it out and see what happens.”

Thoughts on Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams II…
“I think it’s going to be a very, very good fight. In my honest opinion I thought Sergio Martinez won the first fight. I don’t see Paul Williams doing anything a whole lot different. I cant’ say he can’t make any adjustments, because he did that before with [Carlos] Quintana. He made the right adjustments then. I think that if he boxes like a tall man should then he could win the fight fairly easy. Sergio Martinez is not the greatest defensive fighter, even though he likes to keep his hands down and play mind games. He’s not the greatest defense fighter. He can be hit. It’s a matter of Paul Williams fighting not fighting like a guy who is just in there throwing punches and not caring about what comes back at him. I think it’s going to be a very interesting fight and a very entertaining fight. It’s kind of a toss up but I lean towards Sergio Martinez.”

Favoring Pacquiao over Margarito…
“I don’t see that fight being that interesting. I think Margarito is very overrated and to be honest, who knows how well he really is without these hand wraps. Because that’s the biggest issue when you speak of Margarito. You got to speak of the hand wraps because he got busted. Who is to say that he hasn’t done that prior to the fight he was busted? He’s very slow, very methodical and like I said, no one knows if he is that big of a puncher anyways. I see it being a fairly easy fight. I see Pacquiao being able to get in, get out and get his punches off. Neither one of them has defense and that makes it easier for Pacquiao. He’s easier to hit for Pacquiao and Pacquiao is much faster. I think that’s it’s going to be very lopsided fight.”

Bernard Hopkins’ chances against Jean Pascal…
“I think he will make a good account of himself but I don’t see him winning. I think that Pascal is a guy who is kind of fearless. I think that is what really took the fight from Chad Dawson. He just jumped on him. Kind of like what happened with Danny Jacobs. He wasn’t ready for that guy to just come out there and say ‘You want to fight? Let’s do it.’ I think that’s what happened with Chad and he was never able to regain his composure and take over the fight. I think Bernard is a very smart fighter and he’s going to make the fight a chess match but I think the one thing about this fight that’s going to make it different than all the other fights is that this guy is willing to take chances. He’s going to try to take Bernard’s head off every time he gets. At some point in time Bernard is going to have to step up and fight as well.”

Zab Judah back at junior welterweight…
“I think that, to be honest, 140 is the only place for him to be. He’s been beaten by everybody at 147; there’s no point for him to be there anymore. He’s lost to everyone so he is in the right place, where he should be. He actually has a chance to resurrect his career.”

Not sold on Miguel Cotto…
“I think he’ll be in big fights, only because of who he is. I don’t think he has recovered from the Pacquiao fight. He fought a guy who can’t break and egg and who also had one leg. It’s not like he beat a top echelon fighter; he just beat an opponent. It’s like Meldrick Taylor. After Meldrick Taylor was devastated by Chavez in the second fight he still went on to win another world title at a higher weight division. That’s the same thing with Cotto. Cotto is pretty much damaged goods but he’s not damaged to the point where just anybody is going to walk in there and defeat him. You’re going to have to be a top fighter to beat him. Cotto is far from back from beating Yuri Foreman. When you bring up big names like Pacquiao, Floyd and other names like Martinez, guys like that he will have problems with. Then I think you will see how far he hasn’t come back. You will see that there is still a lot going on with him that needs to be dealt with mentally and I just don’t think he can pull the trigger anymore.”

Andre Berto’s missed opportunities…
“Berto is a hell of a fighter but I think that it’s up to him. If he wants these fights he needs to let it be known. Even on the night when Shane and Floyd were going to fight, they actually brought him on the stage and Michael Buffer kept asking him ‘Do you want the winner? Do you want the winner?’ First they asked him who he thought was going to win and he said Floyd. Then they asked him if he wanted the winner and he never answered it one way or the other. That was his biggest opportunity to say ‘I want the winner of this fight’, whether it was Floyd or whether it was Shane. He didn’t take that initiative. Maybe right now he’s a little content but in order to be the man he’s going to have to beat someone. At some point in time he’s going to have to open up his mouth and get a little out of character in order to make these fights happen.”

Appreciating Juan Manuel Marquez…
“I’ve always been a fan of his. I’ve always been a fan of Marquez. He’s one of the few Mexican fighters that has tremendous boxing skills to me. Don’t get me wrong, his defense can be suspect sometimes, but he’s a warrior. Every fight he is in he is going to give you a thousand percent and you can never knock a guy like that.”

Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

Source: examiner.com

WBC champ Klitschko batters Briggs to keep title -- NBC Sports

By Associated Press

HAMBURG, Germany - Vitali Klitschko punished Shannon Briggs for 12 brutal rounds Saturday to retain his WBC heavyweight title with a unanimous decision.

The Ukrainian champion dominated the action but never knocked down the American challenger.

"I am very surprised by how much he took," Klitschko said. "He's got a huge heart."

The judges scored it 120-107, 120-107 and 120-105 for Klitschko, who improved to 41-2. Briggs dropped to 51-6-1.

"I've fought George Foreman, I've fought Lennox Lewis, and Vitali's the best," Briggs said. "He hits harder than Foreman, he's got incredibly fast hands.

"This was my best fight."

Klitschko said Briggs deserved "a lot of respect."

"I could not believe he was still standing after taking so many punches," Klitschko said.

Klitschko used his left jab to set Briggs up for a big right two minutes into the opening round. Then two left hooks found Briggs' chin early in the second round and the Ukrainian landed some more rights, while Briggs unsuccessfully sought to hurt Klitschko with body blows.

Klitschko connected with several combinations in the third, but Briggs also found the target with counter-punches. The champion scored with a good right hook late in the round. He also finished the fourth strongly.

Briggs connected with a couple of good rights in the fifth, his best round, but also had to absorb several hard hits from Klitschko.

Klitschko continued to hit the American repeatedly with left-right combinations in the sixth, and Briggs took heavy punishment over the next few rounds but never went down.

The American was little more than a punching bag by the 10th, with Klitschko seemingly hitting him at will.

Briggs surprised Klitschko with a clean right in the 11th, but Klitschko replied with two big rights that snapped back Briggs' head. But the American only shook his head and stayed up.

Klitschko went for the knockout in the final round but Briggs withstood everything.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: nbcsports.msnbc.com

Vitali Pounds Away At Briggs, Wins Ultra Unanimous Decision -- The Sweet Science

By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science

He was in way over his head, a decade, at least, past his prime. But no one can say Shannon Briggs simply went to Hamburg to pick up a payday against Vitali Klitschko. No one can repeat now what was whispered by some coming into the WBC title defense on Saturday, that Briggs was there merely to lay down, and pick up some extra moolah to pad his retirement fund.

No, Briggs ate too many long rights on the chin, too many lance-like jabs on his noggin, for anyone to deride his character on this night. The ref or his corner could've stopped the one-sided slaughter on several occasions, but chose not to. So the final bell tolled, and the judges rendered a most evident conclusion: that the 39-year-old Klitschko was the better man, unanimously, by scores of 120-107, 120-107, 120-105.

We've likely seen the last of Briggs, who was working on at least his second last chance. Klitschko's right hand couldn't make the 38-year-old Briggs drop and stay down on the canvas, and as our pal Johnny Bos put forth on Thursday, it looks like his power is a notch or two less than it was before he went on hiatus in 2003.

Vitali rises to 41-2 with the win, and Briggs, who turns 39 on December 4, is 51-6.

Source: thesweetscience.com