Sunday, 7 November 2010
Juan Manuel Lopez: Tonight, I join the elite of the division -- Las Vegas Sun
By Brett Okamoto, Las Vegas Sun
It took Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto about six years to become a household name in the sport.
Juan Manuel Lopez appears to be on the same plan.
The 27-year-old Lopez (30-0, 26 KO) recorded the biggest win of his career Saturday in front of 4,818 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, stopping two-time world champion Rafael Marquez (39-6-0, 35 KO) in eight rounds of work.
The charismatic fighter will celebrate the win by returning to Puerto Rico where, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, he’ll host his next fight in early 2011.
“His next fight will take place in Puerto Rico,” Arum said. “This is the way we handled Miguel Cotto. We kept bringing him back to Puerto Rico and that made him huge later down the road on pay-per-view.
“We’ll do the same thing with Juan Manuel Lopez in the first quarter (of 2011).”
Like Lopez, Cotto began his professional career on a tear, winning his first 31 fights.
Included in those was a 2007 bout against Zab Judah in New York City at the Madison Square Garden. The fight helped Cotto break his way into the mainstream. Two years later, he’d fight Manny Pacquiao in a bout that generated 1.25 million pay-per-view buys.
Lopez still has a way to go when it comes to worldwide star power, but his dominant performance over Marquez this weekend went a long way in showing that, competitively speaking, he’s ready for the biggest stage.
Following his impressive win over a future hall of famer, Lopez may have put the win into words best.
“Today, I join the elite of the division,” he said.
Even the fact that Marquez may have been slowed by a nagging shoulder injury shouldn’t dampen Lopez’s biggest win.
Although Marquez wasn’t present at the post-fight press conference to give Lopez full credit for the win, his promoter, Gary Shaw, did it for him.
“(Marquez) is a great champion but he was beaten by a better fighter in the ring tonight,” Shaw said. “There are no other excuses. We knew we had a shoulder problem coming into the fight, but it’s not an excuse.
“Juan Manuel Lopez is an explosive fighter.”
Following in the footsteps of another Puerto Rican champion, Felix Trinidad, Lopez has developed one of the most exciting fighting styles in all of boxing — one of very little defense.
In the buildup to Saturday’s fight, Marquez and his camp made comments on the featherweight champion’s chin, stating he’s shown a vulnerability of going down often in his fights.
Whether cognitive or not, it almost seemed as if Lopez took those claims as a challenge Saturday, standing in the pocket and throwing caution to the win throughout all eight rounds.
“This was an opportunity for me to show everyone not only that I can punch, but that I can take a punch,” Lopez said. “I fought the best puncher in the division and he couldn’t knock me down.”
Marquez nearly took advantage of Lopez’s aggressiveness in the fourth round, when he landed a hard counter left hook that buckled his opponent’s knees and had him in visible trouble.
Instead of going down, however, Lopez survived and weathered every shot the hard-hitting Marquez gave him. Even with the knowledge of Marquez’s injury, Shaw admitted he couldn’t believe Lopez didn’t hit the canvas.
“(I was) shocked,” Shaw said. “Everyone said Juan Manuel didn’t have a chin — that he went down against this guy and that guy.
“I know one thing. The Juan Manuel that showed up tonight had one hell of a chin.”
Following his next bout in Puerto Rico against a yet to be determined opponent, Lopez is expected to get his shot against fellow undefeated featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0, 15 KO) in June, who holds the IBF belt.
Like Lopez, Gamboa is expected to fight once before that.
While a title fight against the Cuban Gamboa might not catapult Lopez into the spotlight quite like the victory over Judah did for Cotto, a matchup between two confident, undefeated knockout artists is an easy fight to promote.
And one Arum is clearly looking forward to.
“If we can make it, which I think we can make it, we’ll look forward to fighting Gamboa in June.”
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
Source: lasvegassun.com
It took Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto about six years to become a household name in the sport.
Juan Manuel Lopez appears to be on the same plan.
The 27-year-old Lopez (30-0, 26 KO) recorded the biggest win of his career Saturday in front of 4,818 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, stopping two-time world champion Rafael Marquez (39-6-0, 35 KO) in eight rounds of work.
The charismatic fighter will celebrate the win by returning to Puerto Rico where, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, he’ll host his next fight in early 2011.
“His next fight will take place in Puerto Rico,” Arum said. “This is the way we handled Miguel Cotto. We kept bringing him back to Puerto Rico and that made him huge later down the road on pay-per-view.
“We’ll do the same thing with Juan Manuel Lopez in the first quarter (of 2011).”
Like Lopez, Cotto began his professional career on a tear, winning his first 31 fights.
Included in those was a 2007 bout against Zab Judah in New York City at the Madison Square Garden. The fight helped Cotto break his way into the mainstream. Two years later, he’d fight Manny Pacquiao in a bout that generated 1.25 million pay-per-view buys.
Lopez still has a way to go when it comes to worldwide star power, but his dominant performance over Marquez this weekend went a long way in showing that, competitively speaking, he’s ready for the biggest stage.
Following his impressive win over a future hall of famer, Lopez may have put the win into words best.
“Today, I join the elite of the division,” he said.
Even the fact that Marquez may have been slowed by a nagging shoulder injury shouldn’t dampen Lopez’s biggest win.
Although Marquez wasn’t present at the post-fight press conference to give Lopez full credit for the win, his promoter, Gary Shaw, did it for him.
“(Marquez) is a great champion but he was beaten by a better fighter in the ring tonight,” Shaw said. “There are no other excuses. We knew we had a shoulder problem coming into the fight, but it’s not an excuse.
“Juan Manuel Lopez is an explosive fighter.”
Following in the footsteps of another Puerto Rican champion, Felix Trinidad, Lopez has developed one of the most exciting fighting styles in all of boxing — one of very little defense.
In the buildup to Saturday’s fight, Marquez and his camp made comments on the featherweight champion’s chin, stating he’s shown a vulnerability of going down often in his fights.
Whether cognitive or not, it almost seemed as if Lopez took those claims as a challenge Saturday, standing in the pocket and throwing caution to the win throughout all eight rounds.
“This was an opportunity for me to show everyone not only that I can punch, but that I can take a punch,” Lopez said. “I fought the best puncher in the division and he couldn’t knock me down.”
Marquez nearly took advantage of Lopez’s aggressiveness in the fourth round, when he landed a hard counter left hook that buckled his opponent’s knees and had him in visible trouble.
Instead of going down, however, Lopez survived and weathered every shot the hard-hitting Marquez gave him. Even with the knowledge of Marquez’s injury, Shaw admitted he couldn’t believe Lopez didn’t hit the canvas.
“(I was) shocked,” Shaw said. “Everyone said Juan Manuel didn’t have a chin — that he went down against this guy and that guy.
“I know one thing. The Juan Manuel that showed up tonight had one hell of a chin.”
Following his next bout in Puerto Rico against a yet to be determined opponent, Lopez is expected to get his shot against fellow undefeated featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (19-0, 15 KO) in June, who holds the IBF belt.
Like Lopez, Gamboa is expected to fight once before that.
While a title fight against the Cuban Gamboa might not catapult Lopez into the spotlight quite like the victory over Judah did for Cotto, a matchup between two confident, undefeated knockout artists is an easy fight to promote.
And one Arum is clearly looking forward to.
“If we can make it, which I think we can make it, we’ll look forward to fighting Gamboa in June.”
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
Source: lasvegassun.com
Pac-Man not too stellar -- Boston Herald
By George Kimball, Boston Herald
Between his legislative duties back in the Philippines and hamming it up with Will Farrell and Jimmy Kimmel, you have to wonder how much Manny Pacquiao could be focused on Antonio Margarito and Saturday’s WBC light middleweight title fight in Dallas. Normally the Pac-Man’s biggest boosters, trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum admit that Pacquaio has not had the best of training camps. Roach, in fact, told the Associated Press that this was the worst camp of Pacquiao’s career.
“He has a foot problem, and that’s because he wears dress shoes too much,” Roach told the AP, pointing to a heel injury that curbed Pacquiao’s running.
All warning signs aside, the Filipino dynamo, nevertheless, remains a solid 9-2 betting choice.
The ins and outs
Say what you will about Pacquiao’s focus, or lack of it, at least he’s fighting Saturday, which is more than you can say for Kelly Pavlik. Less than a week after affirming his new commitment to the sport over lunch with several boxing writers in New York, the former middleweight champion pulled out of his scheduled co-featured bout againt Brian Vera. The official explanation was a rib injury, but when grilled by ESPN’s Dan Rafael about the possibility of Pavlik’s long-rumored alcohol problems contributing to his withdrawal, manager Cameron Dunkin replied “I can’t say for sure. I wasn’t there.”
Pavlik had been mentioned as a possible 2011 foe for IBF super middleweight champ Lucian Bute. That clearly is not going to happen. Bute was the odd man out when Showtime initially picked its “Super Six” candidates for its super middleweight tournament, and his presence on HBO gave that network a big leg up on its rival. But instead of signing the Quebec-based Romanian to a deal that might have maintained its edge, HBO may have committed a long-range miscalculation in passing on last month’s defense against Jesse Brinkley. Bute-Brinkley might not have been an HBO-worthy matchup, but showing it might have been a small price to pay to hang onto Bute.
Given the out, Bute went ahead and signed a three-fight contract with Showtime. The arrangement would apparently place Bute’s progress and what’s left of the Super Six progress on independent tracks, with the winner eventually meeting Bute, probably in 2012.
We won’t even attempt to analyze HBO’s motives in this scenario, but it’s safe to say that were Bute a Golden Boy client, not only would his mandatory against Brinkley have been televised, the network would have had him locked up for the next five years.
Middle muddle
At the World Boxing Council convention in Cancun, Mexico, last week (ever notice these reports never begin “at the World Boxing Council convention in Pittsburgh?”), Los Bandidos convened their General Assembly to clarify the status of several championships: Sergio Martinez’ Nov. 20 middleweight rematch against Paul Williams has been designated a “voluntary title defense,” subject to several seemingly contradictory conditions, to wit: “A final eliminator was ordered to determine the mandatory challenger between David Lemieux of Canada and No. 4 ranked Marco Antonio Rubio of Mexico. WBC silver champion and No. 1-ranked Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico has the option to make a mandatory challenge against the winner of Martinez-Williams, in which case the winner of Lemiuex-Rubio would become the next mandatory challenger.”
Got that? It gets even better with regard to the super middleweights, where, you recall, the title became available when Mikkel Kessler retired on medical grounds, blowing up his scheduled September defense against Allen Green and delivering a body blow to Showtime’s tournament. We already knew that the WBC’s 168-pound belt would be on the line in the Nov. 26 Arthur Abraham-Carl Froch bout, but in Cancun, Kalle Sunderland, who promotes the WBC “emeritus” champion, informed the convention that “Kessler’s temporary retirement is due to an injury to the ligaments that control the movement of his eye that will heal only with six to nine months of rest. Sauerland also said that Kessler will be ready to challenge for the WBC title once the injury has healed.”
In addition to conferring expected title status on Pacquiao-Margarito in Texas, the WBC Board of Governors also decreed that the Dec. 18 Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins will not only be for its world championship, but for the WBC’s diamond belt as well.
Cross promotion
You may recall that promoters Leon Margules and Mike Acri had scheduled back-to-back cards Nov. 19 (in Framingham) and Nov. 20 (Uncasville, Conn.). The two have now consolidated their resources for a single show at Mohegan Sun on the latter date. The revamped card features a trio of undefeated boxers on top, with former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora (44-0-1) facing Argentinian junior welterweight Diego Jesus Ponce (19-5) in the main event and Connecticut featherweight Matt Remillard (22-0) vs. an unnamed opponent and Framingham 140-pounder Danny O’Connor (13-0) vs. Mexican Humberto Tapia (15-15) in the two principal supporting bouts.
Not that the transition was entirely voluntary. Margules had envisioned a “wall-to-wall” promotion at town-owned Nevins Hall in Framingham, where, he said, he had been assured that a one-night beer-and-wine license would not be a problem.
The posters already had been printed and the tickets on sale when the selectmen denied approval of the one-night license. Then, belatedly noting that tickets for the 1,500-seat building seemed to be moving briskly, Margules said Framingham attempted to retroactively slap a 10 percent “surcharge” on ticket sales. When Margules balked at this, the demand was revised to a “request” that he was to voluntarily make a $2,500 donation to the local Police Athletic League.
The promoter said he was prepared to comply with even that request until Framingham dropped the other shoe by turning down his request to operate concessions in any form in the town-owned building, where, they pointed out, “there are already vending machines.”
“That’s when I finally pulled the plug” said Margules. The show would have been Massachusetts’ third and final pro boxing show in all of 2010.
Margules said he then struck the deal with Acri to put O’Connor on the Mohegan Sun card. . . .
USA Boxing’s New England championships, which kicked off with last night’s quarterfinals at the Portland (Maine) Boxing Club, continue with the semifinals Saturday, with the championship finals set for Nov. 27. Former heavyweight champion James “Buster” Douglas will be a special guest at the finals. Winners move on to the regionals at Lake Placid; the next step a berth in the National Championships in Colorado Springs, where winners advance to the Olympic Trials. Tickets are on sale at Bruno’s Restaurant in Portland. For info, go to portlandboxingclub.org or phone 207-761-0975. . . .
Friday night’s show in Lincoln, R.I., marks the first New England appearance in move than two years for headliner Peter Manfredo Jr., who meets Colombian journeyman Jhon Berrio in the main event of Jimmy Burchfield’s “Homecominng King” card at the Twin River Event Center. The card will also showcase a couple of young prospects - Providence fireman Eric Estrada, a 2-0 cruiserweight, vs. Tobias Rice, and New Bedford junior welterweight Johnathan Vasquez (2-0) vs. Georgian Ernest Butts III. For more info, phone 401-724-2253. . . .
Happy birthday, Hasim Rahman.
Source: bostonherald.com
Between his legislative duties back in the Philippines and hamming it up with Will Farrell and Jimmy Kimmel, you have to wonder how much Manny Pacquiao could be focused on Antonio Margarito and Saturday’s WBC light middleweight title fight in Dallas. Normally the Pac-Man’s biggest boosters, trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Bob Arum admit that Pacquaio has not had the best of training camps. Roach, in fact, told the Associated Press that this was the worst camp of Pacquiao’s career.
Some of that can be blamed on the boxer’s May election to the Philippine congress
, and the resultant demands on his time. Roach said his new political life has even caused physical ailments.
, and the resultant demands on his time. Roach said his new political life has even caused physical ailments.“He has a foot problem, and that’s because he wears dress shoes too much,” Roach told the AP, pointing to a heel injury that curbed Pacquiao’s running.“I know his mind is off the fight. I know his mind is somewhere else, and that’s because of politics,” Roach said. “If there are no more challenges out there after this fight, this could be it. If Floyd (Mayweather Jr.) doesn’t come to the table, I don’t know what’s going to challenge him. He loves his other job, and he might be done with this one.”
All warning signs aside, the Filipino dynamo, nevertheless, remains a solid 9-2 betting choice.
The ins and outs
Say what you will about Pacquiao’s focus, or lack of it, at least he’s fighting Saturday, which is more than you can say for Kelly Pavlik. Less than a week after affirming his new commitment to the sport over lunch with several boxing writers in New York, the former middleweight champion pulled out of his scheduled co-featured bout againt Brian Vera. The official explanation was a rib injury, but when grilled by ESPN’s Dan Rafael about the possibility of Pavlik’s long-rumored alcohol problems contributing to his withdrawal, manager Cameron Dunkin replied “I can’t say for sure. I wasn’t there.”
Pavlik had been mentioned as a possible 2011 foe for IBF super middleweight champ Lucian Bute. That clearly is not going to happen. Bute was the odd man out when Showtime initially picked its “Super Six” candidates for its super middleweight tournament, and his presence on HBO gave that network a big leg up on its rival. But instead of signing the Quebec-based Romanian to a deal that might have maintained its edge, HBO may have committed a long-range miscalculation in passing on last month’s defense against Jesse Brinkley. Bute-Brinkley might not have been an HBO-worthy matchup, but showing it might have been a small price to pay to hang onto Bute.
Given the out, Bute went ahead and signed a three-fight contract with Showtime. The arrangement would apparently place Bute’s progress and what’s left of the Super Six progress on independent tracks, with the winner eventually meeting Bute, probably in 2012.
We won’t even attempt to analyze HBO’s motives in this scenario, but it’s safe to say that were Bute a Golden Boy client, not only would his mandatory against Brinkley have been televised, the network would have had him locked up for the next five years.
Middle muddle
At the World Boxing Council convention in Cancun, Mexico, last week (ever notice these reports never begin “at the World Boxing Council convention in Pittsburgh?”), Los Bandidos convened their General Assembly to clarify the status of several championships: Sergio Martinez’ Nov. 20 middleweight rematch against Paul Williams has been designated a “voluntary title defense,” subject to several seemingly contradictory conditions, to wit: “A final eliminator was ordered to determine the mandatory challenger between David Lemieux of Canada and No. 4 ranked Marco Antonio Rubio of Mexico. WBC silver champion and No. 1-ranked Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico has the option to make a mandatory challenge against the winner of Martinez-Williams, in which case the winner of Lemiuex-Rubio would become the next mandatory challenger.”
Got that? It gets even better with regard to the super middleweights, where, you recall, the title became available when Mikkel Kessler retired on medical grounds, blowing up his scheduled September defense against Allen Green and delivering a body blow to Showtime’s tournament. We already knew that the WBC’s 168-pound belt would be on the line in the Nov. 26 Arthur Abraham-Carl Froch bout, but in Cancun, Kalle Sunderland, who promotes the WBC “emeritus” champion, informed the convention that “Kessler’s temporary retirement is due to an injury to the ligaments that control the movement of his eye that will heal only with six to nine months of rest. Sauerland also said that Kessler will be ready to challenge for the WBC title once the injury has healed.”
In addition to conferring expected title status on Pacquiao-Margarito in Texas, the WBC Board of Governors also decreed that the Dec. 18 Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins will not only be for its world championship, but for the WBC’s diamond belt as well.
Cross promotion
You may recall that promoters Leon Margules and Mike Acri had scheduled back-to-back cards Nov. 19 (in Framingham) and Nov. 20 (Uncasville, Conn.). The two have now consolidated their resources for a single show at Mohegan Sun on the latter date. The revamped card features a trio of undefeated boxers on top, with former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora (44-0-1) facing Argentinian junior welterweight Diego Jesus Ponce (19-5) in the main event and Connecticut featherweight Matt Remillard (22-0) vs. an unnamed opponent and Framingham 140-pounder Danny O’Connor (13-0) vs. Mexican Humberto Tapia (15-15) in the two principal supporting bouts.
Not that the transition was entirely voluntary. Margules had envisioned a “wall-to-wall” promotion at town-owned Nevins Hall in Framingham, where, he said, he had been assured that a one-night beer-and-wine license would not be a problem.
The posters already had been printed and the tickets on sale when the selectmen denied approval of the one-night license. Then, belatedly noting that tickets for the 1,500-seat building seemed to be moving briskly, Margules said Framingham attempted to retroactively slap a 10 percent “surcharge” on ticket sales. When Margules balked at this, the demand was revised to a “request” that he was to voluntarily make a $2,500 donation to the local Police Athletic League.
The promoter said he was prepared to comply with even that request until Framingham dropped the other shoe by turning down his request to operate concessions in any form in the town-owned building, where, they pointed out, “there are already vending machines.”
“That’s when I finally pulled the plug” said Margules. The show would have been Massachusetts’ third and final pro boxing show in all of 2010.
Margules said he then struck the deal with Acri to put O’Connor on the Mohegan Sun card. . . .
USA Boxing’s New England championships, which kicked off with last night’s quarterfinals at the Portland (Maine) Boxing Club, continue with the semifinals Saturday, with the championship finals set for Nov. 27. Former heavyweight champion James “Buster” Douglas will be a special guest at the finals. Winners move on to the regionals at Lake Placid; the next step a berth in the National Championships in Colorado Springs, where winners advance to the Olympic Trials. Tickets are on sale at Bruno’s Restaurant in Portland. For info, go to portlandboxingclub.org or phone 207-761-0975. . . .
Friday night’s show in Lincoln, R.I., marks the first New England appearance in move than two years for headliner Peter Manfredo Jr., who meets Colombian journeyman Jhon Berrio in the main event of Jimmy Burchfield’s “Homecominng King” card at the Twin River Event Center. The card will also showcase a couple of young prospects - Providence fireman Eric Estrada, a 2-0 cruiserweight, vs. Tobias Rice, and New Bedford junior welterweight Johnathan Vasquez (2-0) vs. Georgian Ernest Butts III. For more info, phone 401-724-2253. . . .
Happy birthday, Hasim Rahman.
Source: bostonherald.com
'Sorry' not in boxer Margarito's story script -- Dallas Morning News
By BARRY HORN, The Dallas Morning News
The latest chapter in the annals of "Crime Does Pay" stars boxer Antonio Margarito, who in his last major fight earned $2.3 million in losing to Shane Mosley. That was after his hands were illegally wrapped to include hardened plaster of Paris designed to inflict maximum damage on Mosley's person.
Fortunately, the performance-enhancing substance was discovered by an official before Margarito stepped into Los Angeles' Staples Center ring on that January night in 2009. On an even playing field, it was Mosley, the underdog, who turned Margarito into a punching bag. The fight ended in the ninth round with Margarito bruised and battered and on his way to being suspended from the sport.
The California State Athletic Commission revoked Margarito's license for a minimum of one year, then denied him after a subsequent hearing three months ago when he reapplied for a license. Both times the California commission rejected Margarito's claim that he was unaware the wrap contained an illegal substance. It had been placed there, Margarito said at both hearings, by his since-deposed trainer.
Nevada, based on the California rulings, wouldn't even consider allowing Margarito to fight. But then up stood Texas, an apparent right-to-box state, and welcomed Margarito with open arms and without the formality of a pesky hearing. The lone decision-maker, William Kuntz, executive director of Texas' regulation and licensing department, concluded the California commission never found that Margarito knew his hands were armed with an illegal substance. "They found he should have known," Kuntz said in granting a license.
60,000-plus expected
And so on Saturday night, Margarito will meet Manny Pacquiao for the World Boxing Council's vacant 154-pound title in the second-ever main event at Cowboys Stadium. Promoter Bob Arum is expecting more than 60,000 paying customers. Arum and HBO's pay-per-view division believe it is not unreasonable to expect in the neighborhood of 1 million buys that would produce about $50 million.
That is considerably more than the 700,000 buys that generated $35.3 million when Pacquiao dismantled lesser-known Joshua Clottey at the first Cowboys Stadium boxing extravaganza in March. After all, Margarito's popularity in the Hispanic community, his boxing skills thought to be far superior to Clottey's and his notoriety are worth something.
For his participation, Margarito can earn a purse of as much as $6 million. A nice bump from $2.3 million.
To be sure, Pacquiao views Margarito as little more than a speed bump in his quest for a world title in an eighth weight class. And whatever baggage Margarito carries into the ring, he is expected to bring something to Cowboys Stadium that Clottey did not: an offense, a willingness to attack and not just survive until the final bell.
In the weeks leading to the fight, Margarito has steadfastly claimed he was not party to the loading of his gloves, which may be the most heinous crime in boxing.
"People can think what they want," he said through an interpreter while appearing on HBO's 24/7, a reality series whose goal is to build interest in the fight. "I didn't know what was in those infamous wrappings. The important thing is I am coming back."
His ex-trainer, Javier Capetillo, backed the boxer at the California athletic commission's initial hearing a month after Margarito was caught red-handed. But he has been silent since.
'Of course he knew'
Pacquiao laughed long and hard when asked at an early September news conference at Cowboys Stadium if it was remotely possible that an experienced fighter could not know there was a foreign object on his glove.
"Not possible," Pacquiao said. "Only in the movies. ... Of course he knew."
For his part, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said he was "100 percent certain a fighter would definitely know."
So why would Pacquiao, who has a squeaky-clean past and has evolved into boxing's biggest attraction, agree to fight Margarito?
Well, for one thing, Pacquiao's camp has been unable to agree to terms with Floyd Mayweather, considered the best and most lucrative possible opponent. For another, Margarito has a solid history in the ring and has the ability to attract boxing's most rabid followers, his fellow Mexicans. And most important, Pacquiao and Roach believe he is eminently beatable.
"We have to give him a chance to recover his character," Pacquiao said.
Even though the light middleweight maximum is 154 pounds, both fighters agreed that the maximum either could weigh at Friday's weigh-in will be 150 pounds. That's a concession to Pacquiao, who has never fought above 147 pounds, and then only one time, against Clottey. Margarito weighed in at 154 pounds when he fought for the WBO version of the light middleweight title in 2004. At 5-11, he is 4½ inches taller than Pacquiao and has a six-inch reach advantage.
"Size doesn't win fights," Roach said. "Skills do. I don't see this as a tough fight at all."
In addition to Pacquiao's superior speed, Roach promises meticulous attention to detail.
After he wraps Pacquiao's hands before they slide into their gloves, Roach promises to watch new trainer Robert Garcia wrap Margarito's hands.
"I don't trust anyone," Roach said. "There is no way he can get away with anything with me."
bhorn@dallasnews.com
Source: dallasnews.com
The latest chapter in the annals of "Crime Does Pay" stars boxer Antonio Margarito, who in his last major fight earned $2.3 million in losing to Shane Mosley. That was after his hands were illegally wrapped to include hardened plaster of Paris designed to inflict maximum damage on Mosley's person.
Fortunately, the performance-enhancing substance was discovered by an official before Margarito stepped into Los Angeles' Staples Center ring on that January night in 2009. On an even playing field, it was Mosley, the underdog, who turned Margarito into a punching bag. The fight ended in the ninth round with Margarito bruised and battered and on his way to being suspended from the sport.
The California State Athletic Commission revoked Margarito's license for a minimum of one year, then denied him after a subsequent hearing three months ago when he reapplied for a license. Both times the California commission rejected Margarito's claim that he was unaware the wrap contained an illegal substance. It had been placed there, Margarito said at both hearings, by his since-deposed trainer. Nevada, based on the California rulings, wouldn't even consider allowing Margarito to fight. But then up stood Texas, an apparent right-to-box state, and welcomed Margarito with open arms and without the formality of a pesky hearing. The lone decision-maker, William Kuntz, executive director of Texas' regulation and licensing department, concluded the California commission never found that Margarito knew his hands were armed with an illegal substance. "They found he should have known," Kuntz said in granting a license. 60,000-plus expected
And so on Saturday night, Margarito will meet Manny Pacquiao for the World Boxing Council's vacant 154-pound title in the second-ever main event at Cowboys Stadium. Promoter Bob Arum is expecting more than 60,000 paying customers. Arum and HBO's pay-per-view division believe it is not unreasonable to expect in the neighborhood of 1 million buys that would produce about $50 million.
That is considerably more than the 700,000 buys that generated $35.3 million when Pacquiao dismantled lesser-known Joshua Clottey at the first Cowboys Stadium boxing extravaganza in March. After all, Margarito's popularity in the Hispanic community, his boxing skills thought to be far superior to Clottey's and his notoriety are worth something.
For his participation, Margarito can earn a purse of as much as $6 million. A nice bump from $2.3 million.
To be sure, Pacquiao views Margarito as little more than a speed bump in his quest for a world title in an eighth weight class. And whatever baggage Margarito carries into the ring, he is expected to bring something to Cowboys Stadium that Clottey did not: an offense, a willingness to attack and not just survive until the final bell.
In the weeks leading to the fight, Margarito has steadfastly claimed he was not party to the loading of his gloves, which may be the most heinous crime in boxing.
"People can think what they want," he said through an interpreter while appearing on HBO's 24/7, a reality series whose goal is to build interest in the fight. "I didn't know what was in those infamous wrappings. The important thing is I am coming back."
His ex-trainer, Javier Capetillo, backed the boxer at the California athletic commission's initial hearing a month after Margarito was caught red-handed. But he has been silent since.
'Of course he knew'
Pacquiao laughed long and hard when asked at an early September news conference at Cowboys Stadium if it was remotely possible that an experienced fighter could not know there was a foreign object on his glove.
"Not possible," Pacquiao said. "Only in the movies. ... Of course he knew."
For his part, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said he was "100 percent certain a fighter would definitely know."
So why would Pacquiao, who has a squeaky-clean past and has evolved into boxing's biggest attraction, agree to fight Margarito?
Well, for one thing, Pacquiao's camp has been unable to agree to terms with Floyd Mayweather, considered the best and most lucrative possible opponent. For another, Margarito has a solid history in the ring and has the ability to attract boxing's most rabid followers, his fellow Mexicans. And most important, Pacquiao and Roach believe he is eminently beatable.
"We have to give him a chance to recover his character," Pacquiao said.
Even though the light middleweight maximum is 154 pounds, both fighters agreed that the maximum either could weigh at Friday's weigh-in will be 150 pounds. That's a concession to Pacquiao, who has never fought above 147 pounds, and then only one time, against Clottey. Margarito weighed in at 154 pounds when he fought for the WBO version of the light middleweight title in 2004. At 5-11, he is 4½ inches taller than Pacquiao and has a six-inch reach advantage.
"Size doesn't win fights," Roach said. "Skills do. I don't see this as a tough fight at all."
In addition to Pacquiao's superior speed, Roach promises meticulous attention to detail.
After he wraps Pacquiao's hands before they slide into their gloves, Roach promises to watch new trainer Robert Garcia wrap Margarito's hands.
"I don't trust anyone," Roach said. "There is no way he can get away with anything with me."
bhorn@dallasnews.com
Source: dallasnews.com
Writing on the wall for Manny Pacquiao but would more fights aid political career ? -- Telegraph
By Gareth Davies, Telegraph.co.uk
Freddie Roach has admitted to Telegraph Sport that Manny Pacquiao is distracted by politics. There’s no getting away from it. But would a series of fights, say four more, actually enhance the Filipino fighter’s long-term political career ? His popularity could further increase, especially if he were to face Floyd Mayweather, and moreover, it would put more financial clout behind his ambitions.
Pacquiao may disappear into politics after his contest in six days’ time with Antonio Margarito, but he won’t get those fighting years back….he has much, much longer durability in the political sphere. Previous to Pacquiao’s last four fights, my first question to Roach, normally on the counter of the diminutive office serving the entrance to the Wild Card Boxing Club, or on the steps, is: “Any change in Manny ?”
This time there clearly is a difference. Roach bears a heavy burden. There is the sense that a son is soon to leave home for good. Roach is proud of Pacquiao, but will lament the loss deeply. So will boxing. “I’m aways waiting for different Pacquiao to walk into the gym each time we start training camp, and yes, this time, there was a change in him., He said he misse his job. I told him, ‘This is your job’, but he said not this job, the one he has in Congress. You can’t change that.”
Roach admitted that it concerned him. “It worried me a little bit. I told him a couple of days later that he could be the President any time, but right now, we ar in training for a fight. There were way too many distractions in The Philippines. We are in good shape. His conditioning is fine, his running is good, there is no foot problem.”
The key, Roach continues to stress, as the Pacquiao camp moves to Dallas in 30 hours, is focus. “Even Mark Wahlberg wanted to come to the gym these last two weeks, and I had to say ‘no’.” Manny is very proud of himself, I am very proud of him. His country is proud of him. He talks the talk and he is prepared to walk the walk. I think he wants to better his country in such a bad way [Roach actually means in a good way !], we will lose him to politics some day soon, maybe after this fight if I’m honest. His focus has not been that great. If I can’t get him back on track, and he really loves this job, there is little I can do. But I do respect him for that…”
Pacquiao attempts his incredible run on an eighth title next week, but as he admits on CBS, having won the election to the Congress of the Philippines last May – a distraction his trainer believes could be hurting his chances in the upcoming bout. CBS’s profile of Pacquiao will be broadcast on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, November 7.
In the docu, Pacquiao lets interviewer Bob Simon know that serving his fellow Filipinos is where his priorities now lie . “I already achieved my goals in boxing, my dreams in boxing,” says the 31-yr.old fighter. “What I want to achieve more is in public service…I want to be a champion there.”
No wonder then that Roach has concerns that Pacquiao is not focused enough on beating Antonio Margarito, a taller, heavier fighter he meets at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas in front of 70,000 people. “I’m worried about it. Yes, I’m walking around at two in the morning,” he says. “Something is not right and we are not preparing the way we should for this fight.” Pacquiao has only lost three bouts in his professional career, which began when he was 16 fighting in the 105-lb. division. Roach knows that Pacquiao could lose this fight if he is not at the top of his game.
Pound for pound, Pacquiao is said to be the best fighter in the world. Promoter Bob Arum says Pacquiao is better than the greats he has promoted over the last 40 years, including Muhammad Ali. “Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter that I have ever seen,” Arum says. Better than Ali? “Yes he is, because Ali was essentially a one-handed fighter. Manny Pacquiao really shocks these fighters because he hits equally hard from the left side and the right side.”
Pacquiap now has to prove that on Saturday night in Dallas.
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Freddie Roach has admitted to Telegraph Sport that Manny Pacquiao is distracted by politics. There’s no getting away from it. But would a series of fights, say four more, actually enhance the Filipino fighter’s long-term political career ? His popularity could further increase, especially if he were to face Floyd Mayweather, and moreover, it would put more financial clout behind his ambitions.
Pacquiao may disappear into politics after his contest in six days’ time with Antonio Margarito, but he won’t get those fighting years back….he has much, much longer durability in the political sphere. Previous to Pacquiao’s last four fights, my first question to Roach, normally on the counter of the diminutive office serving the entrance to the Wild Card Boxing Club, or on the steps, is: “Any change in Manny ?”
This time there clearly is a difference. Roach bears a heavy burden. There is the sense that a son is soon to leave home for good. Roach is proud of Pacquiao, but will lament the loss deeply. So will boxing. “I’m aways waiting for different Pacquiao to walk into the gym each time we start training camp, and yes, this time, there was a change in him., He said he misse his job. I told him, ‘This is your job’, but he said not this job, the one he has in Congress. You can’t change that.”
Roach admitted that it concerned him. “It worried me a little bit. I told him a couple of days later that he could be the President any time, but right now, we ar in training for a fight. There were way too many distractions in The Philippines. We are in good shape. His conditioning is fine, his running is good, there is no foot problem.”
The key, Roach continues to stress, as the Pacquiao camp moves to Dallas in 30 hours, is focus. “Even Mark Wahlberg wanted to come to the gym these last two weeks, and I had to say ‘no’.” Manny is very proud of himself, I am very proud of him. His country is proud of him. He talks the talk and he is prepared to walk the walk. I think he wants to better his country in such a bad way [Roach actually means in a good way !], we will lose him to politics some day soon, maybe after this fight if I’m honest. His focus has not been that great. If I can’t get him back on track, and he really loves this job, there is little I can do. But I do respect him for that…”
Pacquiao attempts his incredible run on an eighth title next week, but as he admits on CBS, having won the election to the Congress of the Philippines last May – a distraction his trainer believes could be hurting his chances in the upcoming bout. CBS’s profile of Pacquiao will be broadcast on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, November 7.
In the docu, Pacquiao lets interviewer Bob Simon know that serving his fellow Filipinos is where his priorities now lie . “I already achieved my goals in boxing, my dreams in boxing,” says the 31-yr.old fighter. “What I want to achieve more is in public service…I want to be a champion there.”
No wonder then that Roach has concerns that Pacquiao is not focused enough on beating Antonio Margarito, a taller, heavier fighter he meets at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas in front of 70,000 people. “I’m worried about it. Yes, I’m walking around at two in the morning,” he says. “Something is not right and we are not preparing the way we should for this fight.” Pacquiao has only lost three bouts in his professional career, which began when he was 16 fighting in the 105-lb. division. Roach knows that Pacquiao could lose this fight if he is not at the top of his game.
Pound for pound, Pacquiao is said to be the best fighter in the world. Promoter Bob Arum says Pacquiao is better than the greats he has promoted over the last 40 years, including Muhammad Ali. “Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter that I have ever seen,” Arum says. Better than Ali? “Yes he is, because Ali was essentially a one-handed fighter. Manny Pacquiao really shocks these fighters because he hits equally hard from the left side and the right side.”
Pacquiap now has to prove that on Saturday night in Dallas.
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Mojo Masters: President Obama, Congressman Pacquiao get top billing -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.com
DENVER—The sitting president confesses that he just absorbed a brutal beating or, as Barack Obama put it, “a shellacking.”
The future president, Manny Pacquiao hopes to administer same to that suspicious character from Tijuana named Antonio Margarito.
And, as you read this, someone at the popular CBS “60 Minutes” newsweekly program is making or has just made a weighty decision as it concerns both “Bam Bam” as I like to refer to my embattled president and to the Congressmanny from Sarangani.
The promos for the program, which airs across America Sunday night, suggest that reporter Steve Kroft's exclusive sitdown Q & A, in which he asks Obama if he has “lost his mojo,” suggest that the segment leading off the program will naturally be the Kroft/Obama interview.
That would be mean that the Bob Simon reported Pacman segment, which involves footage shot in the Philippines and the United States and includes a Yankee Stadium ringside Q & A with Simon quizzing Megamanny and his promoter Robert Arum, will be either the second or third piece on the telecast.
Any way you slice it, as I finish up my whirlwind trip to the “Belly of the Beast” (meaning the world headquarters of Examiner.com en route to Dallas for the fight a week from today (Saturday), it is not exactly what the Brooklyn born and raised Arum would call chopped liver.
If this pairing of Obama and Pacquiao on the same prestigious program doesn't further sadden and drive further underground the so called (Floyd) Mayweather Mafia, nothing will.
Mayweather will be getting some prime time attention this week although not of the positive kind.
The unbeaten “Money May” will be arraigned in a Las Vegas courtroom on Tuesday, hearing the formal charges brought against him concerning his “Baby Mama Drama” with ex-lover Josie Harris.
May weather won't get put in the hoosegow. The purpose of the arraignment is simply to have a formal reading of what prosecutors have charged him with and to enter his for sure not guilty plea. The case will then get adjourned, perhaps into 2011, and Mayweather's mouthpiece and the DA's office can start talking about possible plea deals.
Somehow, I don't think the free to travel Mayweather will turn up at Cowboys Stadium come fight night, not where he knows he will only be a sideshow and not the main attraction, only the main distraction.
Having said all that, I still maintain (and for the 67th time) that Manny and Floyd will fight each other after Pacman handles his Margarito business.
I know I'm regarded as the boy who cried wolf but I won't change my tune.
It makes no sense for Manny to keep having $15 million bouts like the one with the “Margacheato Bandido” when he can have one, two or possibly even three with $50 million purses attached.
That logic applies even more so to Mayweather.
In the meantime, America, sit back on the living room couch after Sunday night dinner and enjoy, Obama and Pacquiao.
Given Pacman's political bent (didn't he just rescue both Jerry Brown and Obama lieutenant Harry Reid?) and ascent, I predict this is not the last time these two Asian superstars will be on the same bill.
What do you mean, Obama was born in Hawaii, I thought it was Indonesia.
I thought it was just two guys from different archipelagos who rocketed to worldwide fame and acclaim, both unlikely but wonderful stories.
Two quick asides: To Steve “The Whip” Harbula, Gregarious Greg Hunt and Lightning Logan Lloyd for giving me the tour around the heartbeat, the nerve center of Examiner.com. It was a pleasure to meet and greet the whole crew on 17th Street and to attach faces to those familiar names.
Speaking of heartbeats, to Andrea Dawn, for never letting me forget I once mangled the pronunciation of “archipelago” so badly that it came out sounding like “Archie Pelago.”
I got the word confused with an old junior welterweight from South Philly, I guess, lol.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
DENVER—The sitting president confesses that he just absorbed a brutal beating or, as Barack Obama put it, “a shellacking.”
The future president, Manny Pacquiao hopes to administer same to that suspicious character from Tijuana named Antonio Margarito.
And, as you read this, someone at the popular CBS “60 Minutes” newsweekly program is making or has just made a weighty decision as it concerns both “Bam Bam” as I like to refer to my embattled president and to the Congressmanny from Sarangani.
The promos for the program, which airs across America Sunday night, suggest that reporter Steve Kroft's exclusive sitdown Q & A, in which he asks Obama if he has “lost his mojo,” suggest that the segment leading off the program will naturally be the Kroft/Obama interview.
That would be mean that the Bob Simon reported Pacman segment, which involves footage shot in the Philippines and the United States and includes a Yankee Stadium ringside Q & A with Simon quizzing Megamanny and his promoter Robert Arum, will be either the second or third piece on the telecast.
Any way you slice it, as I finish up my whirlwind trip to the “Belly of the Beast” (meaning the world headquarters of Examiner.com en route to Dallas for the fight a week from today (Saturday), it is not exactly what the Brooklyn born and raised Arum would call chopped liver.
If this pairing of Obama and Pacquiao on the same prestigious program doesn't further sadden and drive further underground the so called (Floyd) Mayweather Mafia, nothing will.
Mayweather will be getting some prime time attention this week although not of the positive kind.
The unbeaten “Money May” will be arraigned in a Las Vegas courtroom on Tuesday, hearing the formal charges brought against him concerning his “Baby Mama Drama” with ex-lover Josie Harris.
May weather won't get put in the hoosegow. The purpose of the arraignment is simply to have a formal reading of what prosecutors have charged him with and to enter his for sure not guilty plea. The case will then get adjourned, perhaps into 2011, and Mayweather's mouthpiece and the DA's office can start talking about possible plea deals.
Somehow, I don't think the free to travel Mayweather will turn up at Cowboys Stadium come fight night, not where he knows he will only be a sideshow and not the main attraction, only the main distraction.
Having said all that, I still maintain (and for the 67th time) that Manny and Floyd will fight each other after Pacman handles his Margarito business.
I know I'm regarded as the boy who cried wolf but I won't change my tune.
It makes no sense for Manny to keep having $15 million bouts like the one with the “Margacheato Bandido” when he can have one, two or possibly even three with $50 million purses attached.
That logic applies even more so to Mayweather.
In the meantime, America, sit back on the living room couch after Sunday night dinner and enjoy, Obama and Pacquiao.
Given Pacman's political bent (didn't he just rescue both Jerry Brown and Obama lieutenant Harry Reid?) and ascent, I predict this is not the last time these two Asian superstars will be on the same bill.
What do you mean, Obama was born in Hawaii, I thought it was Indonesia.
I thought it was just two guys from different archipelagos who rocketed to worldwide fame and acclaim, both unlikely but wonderful stories.
Two quick asides: To Steve “The Whip” Harbula, Gregarious Greg Hunt and Lightning Logan Lloyd for giving me the tour around the heartbeat, the nerve center of Examiner.com. It was a pleasure to meet and greet the whole crew on 17th Street and to attach faces to those familiar names.
Speaking of heartbeats, to Andrea Dawn, for never letting me forget I once mangled the pronunciation of “archipelago” so badly that it came out sounding like “Archie Pelago.”
I got the word confused with an old junior welterweight from South Philly, I guess, lol.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
Manny Pacquiao to be Profiled Sunday on 60 Minutes -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Manny Pacquiao has been a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live three times, been the subject of large, covers or front pages features in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and ESPN's Body Issue -- the latter along with athletes such as Dwight Howard and Serena Williams.
Pacquiao also has been named among Time Magazine's Top 25 People Who Mattered in 2009, being listed alphabetically directly behind the United States' first African American president, Barack Obama.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) has earned seven titles in as many different weight divisions, the current WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown, been named Fighter Of The Year in 2008, 2009, and, for 2010, as well as Fighter Of The Decade, and been voted in as a congressman for the Sarangani Province in his native Philippines in May.
But on Sunday, Pacquiao will be featured on 60 Minutes, where he told reporter, Bob Simon, that his primary concern is politics.
"I already achieved my goals in boxing, my dreams in boxing," said Pacquiao. "What I want to achieve more is in public service. I want to be a champion there."
This news comes on the eve of perhaps the most difficult fight of Pacquiao's career.
For on Nov. 13, Pacquiao will make his second appearance at the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium, where he will pursue an eighth crown against 32-year-old former world champion, Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) in an HBO pay per view televised, Top Rank Promotions clash for the WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt.
Last Friday, Oct. 29, Pacquiao broke training to fly to Las Vegas, where he campaigned at a rally for democratic senator Harry Reid, who was voted in for another term.
But the political distractions in general, and that trip, in particular, concern Pacquiao's Four-Time Trainer of The Year, Freddie Roach.
"I'm worried about it. Yes, I'm walking around at two in the morning," said Roach, who believes that Pacquiao has not been 100 percent as focused as he has been for past fights. "Something is not right, and we are not preparing the way we should for this fight."
Against Margarito, who stands 5-foot-11 to his nearly 5-7, Pacquiao will be after his 13th straight victory, and his ninth knockout during that run.
Pacquiao's last loss was in March of 2005 to Mexico's Erik Morales, whom he has since twice beaten by knockout.
Could Pacquiao lose for the first time in more than five years to Margarito?
"If he keeps on the road he's going," said Roach, "yes."
Asked by Simon if he believes that he is the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound, and, perhaps, the best ever,
Pacquiao answered to the affirmative.
"Of course, it is me," said Pacquiao.
Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum, agrees, adding that Pacquiao may be better even than Muhammad Ali, for whom he promoted 26 fights.
"Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter that I have ever seen," said Arum, whose nearly 43 years in the sport include having promoted Ali, every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's career, substantial portions of those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., and also, the comeback of George Foreman.
Is Pacquiao better than Ali?
"Yes he is, because Ali was essentially a one-handed fighter," said Arum. "Manny Pacquiao really shocks these fighters because he hits equally hard from the left side and the right side."
Pacquiao will also be featured in a segment on our new Web show, "60 Minutes Overtime."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Manny Pacquiao has been a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live three times, been the subject of large, covers or front pages features in Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and ESPN's Body Issue -- the latter along with athletes such as Dwight Howard and Serena Williams.
Pacquiao also has been named among Time Magazine's Top 25 People Who Mattered in 2009, being listed alphabetically directly behind the United States' first African American president, Barack Obama.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) has earned seven titles in as many different weight divisions, the current WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown, been named Fighter Of The Year in 2008, 2009, and, for 2010, as well as Fighter Of The Decade, and been voted in as a congressman for the Sarangani Province in his native Philippines in May.
But on Sunday, Pacquiao will be featured on 60 Minutes, where he told reporter, Bob Simon, that his primary concern is politics.
"I already achieved my goals in boxing, my dreams in boxing," said Pacquiao. "What I want to achieve more is in public service. I want to be a champion there."
This news comes on the eve of perhaps the most difficult fight of Pacquiao's career.
For on Nov. 13, Pacquiao will make his second appearance at the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium, where he will pursue an eighth crown against 32-year-old former world champion, Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) in an HBO pay per view televised, Top Rank Promotions clash for the WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt.
Last Friday, Oct. 29, Pacquiao broke training to fly to Las Vegas, where he campaigned at a rally for democratic senator Harry Reid, who was voted in for another term.
But the political distractions in general, and that trip, in particular, concern Pacquiao's Four-Time Trainer of The Year, Freddie Roach.
"I'm worried about it. Yes, I'm walking around at two in the morning," said Roach, who believes that Pacquiao has not been 100 percent as focused as he has been for past fights. "Something is not right, and we are not preparing the way we should for this fight."
Against Margarito, who stands 5-foot-11 to his nearly 5-7, Pacquiao will be after his 13th straight victory, and his ninth knockout during that run.
Pacquiao's last loss was in March of 2005 to Mexico's Erik Morales, whom he has since twice beaten by knockout.
Could Pacquiao lose for the first time in more than five years to Margarito?
"If he keeps on the road he's going," said Roach, "yes."
Asked by Simon if he believes that he is the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound, and, perhaps, the best ever,
Pacquiao answered to the affirmative.
"Of course, it is me," said Pacquiao.
Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum, agrees, adding that Pacquiao may be better even than Muhammad Ali, for whom he promoted 26 fights.
"Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter that I have ever seen," said Arum, whose nearly 43 years in the sport include having promoted Ali, every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's career, substantial portions of those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., and also, the comeback of George Foreman.
Is Pacquiao better than Ali?
"Yes he is, because Ali was essentially a one-handed fighter," said Arum. "Manny Pacquiao really shocks these fighters because he hits equally hard from the left side and the right side."
Pacquiao will also be featured in a segment on our new Web show, "60 Minutes Overtime."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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