By Troy Sparks, Bleacher Report
Floyd Mayweather won't stop running his mouth against Manny Pacquiao. In a phone interview on the "Carmen, Jurko and Harry" radio show on ESPN Chicago, he was asked if a fight with Manny Pacquiao was in his future plans.
"I'm an American citizen," he said, ducking the question, "and I represent the red, white and blue. And the only thing I want is for the people in America to stand behind me."
As usual, Mayweather didn't give a straight answer. The guys on the show wanted a simple answer, which he couldn't give.
Then Mayweather said, "It's so crazy that I'm in my own country, and I have a lot of people against me. Our country is a great country, it's a clean country, and all I ask him to do is to take the test."
I think Pacquiao was ready to take the blood test. Floyd is very naive if he thinks that all professional boxers in America avoid taking some kind of performance-enhancing drugs. The stuff that was injected into Mayweather's hands was a drug, wasn't it? It eased the pain in his hands, but it was a drug.
Mayweather is jealous because Pacquiao is now the face of boxing and the No. 1 pound-for-pound king. He also accuses Pacquiao of being a copycat by fighting the same opponents that he did, and I think that's true.
"When you sit back and think about it," Mayweather said, "I beat (Oscar) De La Hoya at a weight that De La Hoya wanted to fight at. (Pacquiao) beat De La Hoya at a catchweight, where De La Hoya killed himself to make a certain weight class.
"I beat Ricky Hatton and he followed right behind me. He goes and fight Ricky Hatton a year later. The list goes on. I just beat Shane Mosley. Now he wants to fight Shane Mosley. When Shane Mosley beat Antonio Margarito, then he goes to fight Antonio Margarito. Antonio Margarito beats Miguel Cotto, then he goes to fight Miguel Cotto. I'm just saying. That's how it goes."
Boy, there's a lot of pent-up frustration in the undefeated and idle boxer's voice. Mayweather also mentioned that Pacquiao is just a creation of the media, who built him up and created this marketing image for boxing that he is now.
Mayweather said on the show that it would be abnormal for him to lose a fight but normal for Pacquiao because he lost three fights in his career and has been knocked out twice.
"Money" is just wondering why Pacquiao gets all the attention and why he's being ignored. People are getting tired of him ducking the Filipino. What is Pacquiao to do when he's ready to fight Mayweather but the Vegas chicken sits back clucking on a Chicago sports radio show?
Pacquiao is training right now and Mayweather is sitting at home flapping his gums.
Take the test, Mayweather says, and there will be a fight. Pacquiao can take the blood test and still be suckered by Mayweather.
We want Mayweather to stop talking trash and fight Pacquiao. And if he beats the Pac Man, then he can pick the Filipino up off the canvas—assuming that Floyd knocks him out—and take him out the back door with the rest of the trash.
Source: bleacherreport.com
Monday, 28 March 2011
Gamboa uses power, speed to KO Solis -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The speed is simply devastating.
And the power ain't bad either.
Yuriorkis Gamboa used both in a smashing performance as he knocked out Jorge Solis -- a bigger man with an interim title at junior lightweight coming down in weight -- in the fourth round to retain his featherweight title on Saturday night at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall.
It was a scintillating performance from Gamboa, one of the most explosive fighters in boxing. The 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist showed why yet again and, hopefully, moved a step closer to the showdown most fans really want to see in the division: Gamboa against fellow titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez.
Gamboa dismissed Mexico's Solis in nasty fashion while Lopez watched at ringside. Then they both angled for the division's super fight, one that promoter Top Rank has been reluctant to put together.
The fighters are athletically ready, but Top Rank's Bob Arum, who could not attend the show, has resisted making the match in an effort to make it bigger commercially.
It has been building for more than a year as Top Rank has twice put Gamboa on Lopez's undercards.
With a big Puerto Rican fan base, Lopez is already an attraction, but Gamboa lags behind him. The sellout crowd of 2,913 at Saturday's fight card was there mainly in support of the Teon Kennedy-Jorge Diaz and NFL player Tommy Zbikowski undercard fights.
But after his four-knockdown blitz of Solis, Gamboa figured to have made some new fans. Afterward, he called for the fight against Lopez.
"Top Rank is going to keep 'Juanma' at a distance because they know he is not ready for me," Gamboa said. "Maybe [titlist] Chris John [next]. If I have to move up to 130 pounds to get the best fights, that's what I will do.
"The package is complete. I am completely different from [last year]."
Standing next to Gamboa in the ring after the fight was Lopez, who broke camp for a look at his rival. Lopez is training for an April 16 fight with former titlist Orlando Salido -- who gave Gamboa a very tough fight and knocked him down in the eighth round of a September loss in Las Vegas.
When asked about fighting Gamboa, Lopez said bring it on.
"Yes, after I finish Salido, I'd fight him," Lopez said. "I've never said no. He's never said no. We have to negotiate it. We're the best in the division. We have to do it."
Solis is a quality fighter who once gave pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao a tough junior lightweight fight in 2007. Against Gamboa, he was merely a tall speed bump.
He simply could not deal with Gamboa's overwhelming hand and foot speed.
Gamboa dropped him with a right and a left in the second round. A flurry had Solis holding on and in trouble after the knockdown. He went down for the second time in the round when Gamboa caught him with an overhand right that appeared to be behind the head, although referee David Fields did not call a foul.
Gamboa (20-0, 16 KOs) toyed with Solis in the third round until landing a left hook just before the end of the round. Solis went down hard to his back as Gamboa turned and raised his fist in victory. But Solis (40-3-2, 29 KOs) was not done just yet. He was a round later.
In the fourth round, Gamboa, 29, landed a flush right hand in the middle of the ring and Solis, 31, went skidding on his rear end. Moments later, Gamboa ripped off a flurry of roughly a dozen unanswered blows as he pounded Solis into the canvas, causing Fields to call it off at 1 minute, 31 seconds.
Gamboa landed 78 of 194 punches (40 percent), according to CompuBox statistics while Solis was limited to landing just 29 of 107 blows (27 percent). Sixty-eight of Gamboa's landed shots were power punches.
"That's the real Gamboa," Tony Gonzalez, his manager, said. "That's the Gamboa we've been wanting to see. It all came together tonight. He wanted to make a statement and he made a statement."
Gamboa held a pair of 126-pound world titles. However, he he did not show up at the IBF's morning weight check on the day of the fight and only had his WBA belt carried into the ring, so it is unclear if he still holds the IBF's belt. Typically, if a fighter does not take part in the morning of weight check, the title is vacated.
"It's going to get into legalities," Gonzalez said. "Our bout agreement only said he was defending the WBA title."
Whatever belts Gamboa has, Solis gave him a big compliment when asked to compare him to the great Pacquiao.
"Gamboa is a great fighter," Solis said. "Pacquiao throws a lot of punches, but he doesn't hit as hard at Gamboa."
Maybe, hopefully, Lopez will be able to find out just how hard Gamboa hits, and vice versa.
"It's a business. We have promoters," Lopez said of the inevitable showdown with Gamboa. "We are the best in the division. Let's do it."
Please?
Source: sports.espn.go.com
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The speed is simply devastating.
And the power ain't bad either.
Yuriorkis Gamboa used both in a smashing performance as he knocked out Jorge Solis -- a bigger man with an interim title at junior lightweight coming down in weight -- in the fourth round to retain his featherweight title on Saturday night at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall.
It was a scintillating performance from Gamboa, one of the most explosive fighters in boxing. The 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist showed why yet again and, hopefully, moved a step closer to the showdown most fans really want to see in the division: Gamboa against fellow titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez.
Gamboa dismissed Mexico's Solis in nasty fashion while Lopez watched at ringside. Then they both angled for the division's super fight, one that promoter Top Rank has been reluctant to put together.
The fighters are athletically ready, but Top Rank's Bob Arum, who could not attend the show, has resisted making the match in an effort to make it bigger commercially.
It has been building for more than a year as Top Rank has twice put Gamboa on Lopez's undercards.
With a big Puerto Rican fan base, Lopez is already an attraction, but Gamboa lags behind him. The sellout crowd of 2,913 at Saturday's fight card was there mainly in support of the Teon Kennedy-Jorge Diaz and NFL player Tommy Zbikowski undercard fights.
But after his four-knockdown blitz of Solis, Gamboa figured to have made some new fans. Afterward, he called for the fight against Lopez.
"Top Rank is going to keep 'Juanma' at a distance because they know he is not ready for me," Gamboa said. "Maybe [titlist] Chris John [next]. If I have to move up to 130 pounds to get the best fights, that's what I will do.
"The package is complete. I am completely different from [last year]."
Standing next to Gamboa in the ring after the fight was Lopez, who broke camp for a look at his rival. Lopez is training for an April 16 fight with former titlist Orlando Salido -- who gave Gamboa a very tough fight and knocked him down in the eighth round of a September loss in Las Vegas.
When asked about fighting Gamboa, Lopez said bring it on.
"Yes, after I finish Salido, I'd fight him," Lopez said. "I've never said no. He's never said no. We have to negotiate it. We're the best in the division. We have to do it."
Solis is a quality fighter who once gave pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao a tough junior lightweight fight in 2007. Against Gamboa, he was merely a tall speed bump.
He simply could not deal with Gamboa's overwhelming hand and foot speed.
Gamboa dropped him with a right and a left in the second round. A flurry had Solis holding on and in trouble after the knockdown. He went down for the second time in the round when Gamboa caught him with an overhand right that appeared to be behind the head, although referee David Fields did not call a foul.
Gamboa (20-0, 16 KOs) toyed with Solis in the third round until landing a left hook just before the end of the round. Solis went down hard to his back as Gamboa turned and raised his fist in victory. But Solis (40-3-2, 29 KOs) was not done just yet. He was a round later.
In the fourth round, Gamboa, 29, landed a flush right hand in the middle of the ring and Solis, 31, went skidding on his rear end. Moments later, Gamboa ripped off a flurry of roughly a dozen unanswered blows as he pounded Solis into the canvas, causing Fields to call it off at 1 minute, 31 seconds.
Gamboa landed 78 of 194 punches (40 percent), according to CompuBox statistics while Solis was limited to landing just 29 of 107 blows (27 percent). Sixty-eight of Gamboa's landed shots were power punches.
"That's the real Gamboa," Tony Gonzalez, his manager, said. "That's the Gamboa we've been wanting to see. It all came together tonight. He wanted to make a statement and he made a statement."
Gamboa held a pair of 126-pound world titles. However, he he did not show up at the IBF's morning weight check on the day of the fight and only had his WBA belt carried into the ring, so it is unclear if he still holds the IBF's belt. Typically, if a fighter does not take part in the morning of weight check, the title is vacated.
"It's going to get into legalities," Gonzalez said. "Our bout agreement only said he was defending the WBA title."
Whatever belts Gamboa has, Solis gave him a big compliment when asked to compare him to the great Pacquiao.
"Gamboa is a great fighter," Solis said. "Pacquiao throws a lot of punches, but he doesn't hit as hard at Gamboa."
Maybe, hopefully, Lopez will be able to find out just how hard Gamboa hits, and vice versa.
"It's a business. We have promoters," Lopez said of the inevitable showdown with Gamboa. "We are the best in the division. Let's do it."
Please?
Source: sports.espn.go.com
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