Americans direct Floyd Mayweather Jr.: You must fight Manny Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

MASHANTUCKET, Connecticut—You place a world title fight between a Mexican American lad who grew up in Garden City, Kansas, and then moved to Oxnard, California, and a Haitian American boxer from smallish Winter Haven, Florida, here in the woods not far from the Rhode Island border you should expect tickets to move like coldcakes.

New England did not have to choose between Vicious Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto. Instead, those from Hartford to Boston and from Worcester to Providence did not know who they are.

They set up the Theater at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods for a mere 2,300 fans Saturday night and the empty seats were legion.

But one late arriving spectator, who did not take his ringside pew until the main event, which turned out to be a scorcher and the shocking Ortiz ring redemption/upset that I boldly predicted, had already started made it all worthwhile for many spectators.

Not only did the crowd see a serious “Fight of the Year” candidate which concluded with Berto going to a local hospital for a hand injury and to have someone look at bumps on the back of his head, they also got to jeer Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather and bosom buddy, the rapper Fifty Cent, took their first row ringside seats just in time to see a wild war as Berto foolishly slugged it out with the harder-hitting southpaw Ortiz.

Yep, the same Ortiz who so many branded a quitter after his desultory loss to Marcos Maidana.

As for Mayweather, he heard a steady but seemingly good-natured chant of “Fight Manny, Fight Manny” which began up in the rafter and came cascading down to ringside.

So what did Mayweather's cameo tell us?

I thought you would never ask.

What We Learned From Mayweather's Visit:

1.He remains the villain, the fighter people most love to hate and the visceral reaction he provokes reminds us this is why he and Pacman will eventually have to fight (I hope). As Lou DiBella aide Ron Rizzo said, “The fans care enough to boo him and how many other fighters can you say that about?

2.Mayweather has no plans to wander away from either HBO, the broadcast home abandoned for one bout anyway by Pacman/Bob Arum in favor of rival Showtime/CBS.

3. We can finally pull the plug on all the “Floyd is working with Don King” rumors and reports. Mayweather remains firmly in the clutches of his adviser Al Haymon because that is who he and Fitty sat with at ringside.

4. Mayweather got a reminder of how he can lose his prized unbeaten status as Berto fell from the privileged ranks of the unbeaten. Mayweather's 0 may have to go against the sheer force and will of Pacquiao.

5. Mayweather still causes a serious buzz when he appears in public. Some fans in the higher elevations could not see him until they flashed his smiling face on two huge TV screens but, when that happened, a real roar went up from those in attendance followed by the jeers and a few cheers.

6. Mayweather learned again that Pacquiao is omnipresent. In the ring, Victorious Victor told Larry Merchant how he got a fight day phone call with some ring advice from a sagacious acquaintance named Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao. They were connected over the phone by regular Pacman sparring partner David Rodela.

If Mayweather did not understand America's message, then he is deaf and dumb.

Source: examiner.com

Victor Ortiz thanks Manny Pacquiao for his advice in victory over Andre Berto -- PhilBoxing

By Rich Mazon, PhilBoxing.com

Mashantucket, Connecticut -- Victor Ortiz has a lot to be thankful for Saturday in the biggest night of his boxing career. There is his coach, Danny Garcia and his entire team, his manager and promoter, his fans and Manny Pacquiao.

The newly crowned W.B.C. welterweight champion thanked the pound for pound king and fellow welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao after his tough fight with Andre Berto here in the Foxwoods MGM. In the post fight interview H.B.O.’s Larry Merchant asked him “Do you want now into the Pacquiao sweepstakes?” Ortiz replied “Yes sir, definitely. I actually talked to Manny Pacquiao earlier and Manny, thank you very much for your advice man, thank you.“

Merchant asked what Pacquiao’s advice was and Ortiz replied “He (Pacquiao) said that I’m more powerful than he is, I’m as quick if not quicker than he is, so I (should) just stick to my game plan and listen to my coaches.“ He ended by thanking Pacquiao as well as his trainer Freddy Roach.

The apparent link between the two was lightweight boxer David Rodela. Rodela was a friend of Ortiz and one of Pacquiao’s main sparring partner at the Wild Card gym. “David Rodela had me talked with Manny Pacquiao today. Thank you Manny for your kind words. He is a great guy and nowadays we are in the same weight class,“ he replied when asked about it during the post fight conference where he was in great spirits after being crowned a champion Saturday night here in Connecticut.

“He just told me to stick to the game plan and that I’m a very strong fighter and (I should)just keep going for it. Don’t take anybody’s negativity, so I just did as he said and listened to my coaches and here we are with the green belt,” he added blissfully.

The advice clearly delighted and inspired the young Ortiz who comes in blazing right from the opening bell. He attacked Berto early in the first round as he landed a flurry of punches on the stunned champion. Berto tasted the canvass early with a right hook from Ortiz followed by a set of uppercuts. Ortiz also showed the character that was doubted of him by many when he himself got up from two knockdowns that Berto inflicted on him in the second and the sixth round.

“I wasn’t hurt, it was a flash knockdown,“ he remarked when asked of it. It was an exciting fight that the crowd appreciated for most of the night. It drew cheers and chants of each fighter‘s name as they exchange heatedly in the ring. “I knew that it was going to be a full blown war. As a matter of fact, I pictured my eyes both closed at the end of this fight,“ Ortiz described of the fight.

Richard Schaeffer of Golden Boy Promotions acknowledged that Ortiz was “really happy and thrilled when he got that call from Manny Pacquiao. “A simple phone call from a champion that might have added extra motivation for Victor Ortiz to be a champion himself. For in boxing as in life, words of encouragement does help everybody go the extra mile."

Source: philboxing.com

AMIR KHAN IS CUT OUT FOR TILT AT TIM BRADLEY -- UK Express

By Niall Hickman, express.co.uk

AMIR KHAN can sail serenely towards a showdown with his hero Manny Pacquiao and ignore the spurious calls for a rematch from Paul McCloskey’s camp.

Boxing’s authorities may have shot themselves in the foot for a second time only a few months after the Audley Harrison-David Haye fiasco by calling a premature halt to McCloskey’s challenge, but the Ulsterman was never in danger of taking Khan’s WBA world light- welterweight title.

After a clash of heads in the sixth round, the ring doctor ruled that McCloskey’s cut was too severe to continue. McCloskey has probably cut himself worse in the shaving mirror, so to take away his stab at stardom was wrong and cruel.

British Boxing Board of Control secretary Robert Smith said: “I have absolutely no problem with the competence of the doctor. Fraser Pinkney is very experienced, has worked with the board for many years and it was his judgment call. He felt there would be a considerable amount of blood getting into McCloskey’s eye.”

The fact that Khan had bossed each round by an increasing margin means calls for a rematch should be ignored and McCloskey’s cut, requiring just seven stitches, cannot cloud the simple truth that he would not beat the champion in a month of Sundays. McCloskey does not have the tools to beat a global talent like Khan.

It was not vintage Khan – he took two or three rounds to find his range against an elusive opponent – but it was enough to prove that under Freddie Roach’s tutelage he is now ready for the step up to Tim Bradley. They are close to securing a fight in Las Vegas on July 23.

Roach said: “I know Tim Bradley well and he is one hell of a fighter, but would I put Amir in with him in the ring tomorrow and expect my boxer to win? Yes I would.

“Their fight will determine who is the best at 140lbs and then the winner should go up to 147lbs and take on Manny Pacquiao. That is my feeling.”

Khan admits he is desperate to unify the titles as the Californian holds the WBC and WBO belts.


“Bradley and me belong in the same class, world class, whereas I have proven that McCloskey does not,” said Khan.

“Bradley is a good fighter but that’s just going to push me and motivate me.

“Bradley is quick, fast on his feet and he can punch. He is a proven world champion.

“When I go back to LA for my training camp, knowing it is Bradley I’m fighting is going to push me even more.

“I have to go over to America and take his world titles but I am very willing to do that.

“I want to be in with Tim Bradley next. What would be the point of a rematch with McCloskey? It was an easy fight for me.”

Khan showed in glimpses some of the lightning hand speed which has made him such a marketable talent and although he will be facing a far more formidable opponent in Bradley, he has the tools to win Stateside.

Khan may not have liked to beat McCloskey this way, but compared to Harrison v Haye, this was at least a contest.

Source: express.co.uk

Manny Pacquiao: Headed to the UFC? -- Ringside Report

By Sean Farrell, Ringside Report

Manny Pacquiao, considered by many to be the best pound for pound boxer in the world uttered the wrong words in an interview when he said, “I want to (fight in MMA), but they (his management) don’t want me to,” when asked about fighting in mixed martial arts.

Now, before anyone jumps to any conclusions, he isn’t coming to MMA. Just think about what it would cost to get him into the Octagon for a way below average performance. Pacquiao was guaranteed $12 million for his fight against Joshua Clottey, and at this time, there is no MMA organization who could guarantee that kind of money or be dumb enough to do so, let alone the rumored $40 million Pacquiao would earn in a fight with Floyd Mayweather, JR.

To even think he would sign with either Ultimate Fighting Championship or Strikeforce for a fight is beyond stupid, because no promotion would pay that much for one fighter to not succeed.

Pacquiao is wildly popular and it turns my stomach as he isn’t anything special just a great boxer and has no need for the UFC. Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, could easily put together an MMA card that would feature Manny against a fighter that would suit Manny’s skill set and make him look good, but even then Arum has been racist on his stance towards MMA stating:

“For me, I look at the UFC audience and the boxing audience as being two different audiences entirely. Our audience in boxing is ethnic. Hispanic, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and the hardcore boxing fan who can’t watch … like me … can’t watch UFC. UFC are a bunch of skinhead white guys watching people in the ring who also look like skinhead white guys. And you don’t have any tattoos. Ninety percent of the people in the audience wear tattoos. I don’t care. That’s up to them. But those aren’t people that would have any interest, at any time, in boxing. For me, and people like me, it is not something they ever care to see. They’ve watched it. It’s horrible. Guys rolling around like homosexuals on the ground. It is not a sport that shows great, great talent.”

That statement is everything wrong with the way boxing fans view MMA, MMA is predominantly minorities with very rich history’s just look at two countries in particular, Brazil and Japan and case closed.

An MMA match such as this would be a total sideshow, but in the end would it be any different from the recent Randy Couture-James Toney fight? Toney and his skill set yet alone physique, had no business being in the Octagon with a former UFC champ who was 47 years old by the way. Yet there he was, not even knowing how to properly tap out to a Couture arm triangle within minutes of their fight.

If Arum promoted a fight with Pacquiao and a clearly overmatched MMA fighter with limited skills would there be a significant difference? Simply put, the answer is no, not much of one anyway.

In three to five years if Mayweather still hasn’t been convinced to get into the ring with Pacquiao, or does and is beaten by him (Which IMO is ridiculous to even comprehend). I wouldn’t think MMA would be completely outside the realm of plausible for Pacquiao to have at least one MMA fight. If the UFC wanted to really break some gate records and Pay-Per-View buy records or make a big splash in the Philippines(Which is where the first international edition of Ultimate Fighter is taking place), booking a Pacquiao-MMA fight would be a sure fire ticket to do so.

If I were Manny and Arum, I’d want at least 18 months to train for MMA and a couple of buildup fights against guys with limited grappling abilities before facing anyone really relevant. But even in the best case scenario, I don’t see Manny ever being an MMA champion in any major promotion and any losses he took in the cage would damage his “brand” value and that of boxing as a whole significantly, which is why it’s not plausible and just him talking.

But if boxing can’t provide the epic matchups worthy of such a popular fighter, maybe it’s his time to seek a real challenge and not fight a bunch of over the hill or past their prime fighters, but in all honesty Manny is milking the system and doing a phenomenal job of doing so.

Source: ringsidereport.com