Cut Mayweather some slack, Floyd's no racist - Mustafa -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Excluding the time he brought a black motorycyle gang to a weigh in for a fight which was canceled, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad is one of the most level headed guys in boxing.

(It was 1983, when a rematch with Michael Spinks was called off in Washington, DC, due to an argument over the veracity of the scales.)

Muhammad, formerly known as Eddie “The Flame” Gregory, was a world light heavyweight champion who won the crown in dramatic fashion with an 11th round knockout over Marvin Johnson in a scheduled 15 round bout. Fighting in Knoxville, he destroyed Johnson with a crippling body shot.

Now in the top tier of boxing's trainers, the Brooklyn native thinks people need to cut his friend Floyd Mayweather Jr. some slack.

Mayweather produced a viral video, filled with racist and homophobic remarks, and then followed it up with an apology which many regarded as insincere.

“Floyd is not a racist, for sure,” Muhammad said on Monday from his home in Las Vegas. “That's the furthest thing on his mind. I think the video was a spur of the moment thing.

“But then Floyd did what a man who makes a mistake does, he apologized. He apologized like a man and people should accept it, let it go.”

Muhammad, one of the busiest trainers around at age 58, said he sees the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao super bout coming off next year because of financial necessity but, he said, it's Pacman who will have the financial “shorts.”

“The way this Pacquiao spends money, the way he gives away money, he will need the fight,” Muhammad said.

“No doubt, it will happen. If, as Pacquiao said and Floyd confirmed, Manny has agreed to totally random drug testing, it will happen. That was the big sticking point for Floyd, the random testing. So, if Manny agreed on that, the now the ball is in Floyd's court.”

I thought I could stump Muhammad by asking who Mayweather could fight next if, for any reason, he eschews the Pacman bout.

“Floyd could fight Andre Berto,” Muhammad said. “It's not like fighting Pacquiao but it is still a good fight.”

Certainly, that would be a winner for Mayweather and Berto adviser Al Haymon. The media shy Haymon could only “lose” if it ended in a double knockout.

Muhammad's near term agenda includes handling former world heavyweight champions Hasim Rahman and Shannon Briggs, aspiring heavyweight Travis Kauffman and former world champion Zab Judah.

The trainer suffered rare back to back losses recently as Bad Chad Dawson got beaten by Jean Pascal in Montreal and heavyweight Michael Grant ran second to Tomasz Adamek.

Muhammad discounted Freddie Roach's assertion that he's been asked to take over training Dawson.

“Chad took my family out to breakfast the other day when I was not in town,” Muhammad said. “Chad was about to knock that guy (Pascal) out in Montreal when the guy butted him. Chad was on his way to a knockout. Chad will come back strong which, as I've told him, is the mark of a real champion.”

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather's free pass over rant about Manny Pacquiao a disturbing trend in sports -- MLive

By Bill Simonson, MLive.com

I see this mindless free pass coming to Floyd Mayweather.

Why some athletes in sports and life get to live by a different set of public decency rules defines hypocrisy today in America. The double standard is what keeps these moronic tirades alive.

Mayweather can post an emotionally charged, hate-filled, video tirade on the Internet about Manny Pacqiuao’s heritage, sexuality and body size, only to quickly backpedal the next day because he knew he had crossed the line.

It’s sad Mayweather will not be treated like you and me if we did something like this. If I posted a video like he did, I would be out of a job and borderline banished from society.

This free-pass world some people live in because they are famous and have money kills a sport and an athlete's credibility. Why are the big names in sports allowed to live by different rules when it comes to public comments?

Shaquille O’Neal making fun of Asians, or Gary Sheffield and Torii Hunter slamming Latin American baseball players publicly, or this Mayweather story can happen -- and then be an afterthought with an apology? They should be treated like every other sports figure we have seen put their foot in their mouth.

For some unexplained reason, they are protected from the wrath of the media and fans by their status, name and bank account total. Sorry shouldn’t be enough for Mayweather to get out of this and move on.

View the video online and ask yourself what if that was you making those comments and how it would affect your life.

What puzzles me is we continue to fund and support people such as Mayweather and let them say and do whatever they want with no recourse.

Why some athletes, entertainers and top-level people have a free pass to make racially insensitive comments while hard-working men and women are held to a different rulebook is a mystery to me. The unfair playing fields for how we handle these stories, publicly and privately, is showcased by the lack of heat on Mayweather for posting that video full of hate.

This must stop.

Mayweather’s video is one of the worst rants we have seen in sports. He will walk free on fallout from the video only because boxing has no sanctioning body with power to do anything and because of who he is.

What Mayweather really did was show us who this so-called man really is. He lately has tried to play the nice guy to mainstream his career and hope, one day, he could be the people’s champion.

This video sets him back light years and puts him back as one of the most-despised people in sports. We buy his pay-per-view fights because we hope he loses and pray he shuts up.

He never has been close to truly being liked by masses. The fact he has endorsed so few products in this country, despite his his undefeated boxing record, is enough proof his only value is how much money he brings in on fight day.

Mayweather is who he is and never will change. What never will go away is that video of him letting us inside the brain with pure venom in his blood.

All who cross the line should be judged the same way in the court of public opinion and in their respective sports, regardless of who they are.

Source: blog.mlive.com

Mayweather racial blast has ripple effect down to the amateur boxing level -- 8CountNews

By Brad Cooney, 8CountNews.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr fired some racial shots at Manny Pacquiao that has not only sickened the professional boxing world, but it has also sickened the amateur side of the sport. Many of the younger fighters still on the amateur level of this sport heard what Floyd had to say as well. Many of these kids still looked up to Floyd Mayweather, and that's something Floyd needs to understand.

Recently I spoke with Stan Nichols, who was just elected to the Chair of USA Boxing's Rules and Regulations Committee. Nichols has been in the sport of boxing for many years, and has given countless hours of his time and dedication to the amateur program in this country. When I asked Stan for his thoughts on what Mayweather had to say, he pulled no punches, " I was disgusted by what Floyd said. Everything that he has now, boxing, and it's fans have given him. For him to disrespect Manny Pacquiao and all of the fans out there who support Manny is disgusting."

Floyd needs to realize that he is a public figure, and believe it or not there are a lot of younger kids out there that look up to him. Floyd is losing fans now, and even those who are big Floyd fans are beginning to turn away from him. Nichols even spoke about a youth boxing tournament that Floyd once sponsored, and wishes that the old version of Floyd Mayweather would return, "Floyd took a 150,000 dollars out of his own pocket and sponsored a youth boxing tournament in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is the version of Floyd Mayweather that needs to return to boxing." Nichols has extensive experience in the amateur program, and he carries a lot of weight down there, so when he speaks people listen.

Floyd Mayweather needs to work on his level of maturity. Instead of rubbing his millions in the faces of those who do not have money, he should be more humble, and realize that money isn't everything. I have defended Floyd numerous times on 8CountNews, and tried to separate Floyd's inside the ring life from Floyd's outside of the ring life. This latest rant? There is no defending this.

Source: 8countnews.com

Mayweather's apology video rings shallow -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

By ED GRANEY, Las Vegas Review-Journal

It didn't sound any better a few days later. It didn't play any less disgusting on YouTube. It wasn't any less racist, any less hateful, any less ignorant.

As for the apology Floyd Mayweather Jr. subsequently released via another video, well, there are kiddie pools all around Summerlin that aren't as shallow.

There is a quote about racism that says it is man's greatest threat, for it includes a maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason. It would make sense in this case.

Mayweather's words rarely offer much logic, and his insatiable need for attention finally has reached the ultimate pathetic level, even for him.

Has there ever been a better fighter who is this insecure?

You can't spin the nearly 10-minute video clip Mayweather produced in demeaning Manny Pacquiao any way other than a racist attack of ridiculously callous proportions, although I am sure once all those who spend their lives enabling Mayweather resurface, they will do their best to explain away his repulsive rant.

That's what they do for him -- his advisers, those who pen his press releases, those whose main duties seem to be nothing more than hanging out at mansions and feeding the fighter's massive ego.

He pays and they pander.

They make excuses and he writes their checks.

So how to combat a video in which Mayweather, in no particular order, refers to Pacquiao as a yellow chump, as a whore, as a midget, as a homosexual, as someone who he will beat in the ring and then have him cook a sushi roll and rice, as someone he will cook with dogs and cats, as someone who uses performance-enhancing drugs, as "Poochiao."

If you're Pacquiao, it's easy.

Never, ever, not for a second, think again about fighting him.

Money. It's all Mayweather cares about. It's his nickname, for heaven's sake. It's how he parades through most interviews, bragging about how much he has and how much he spends and how much he bets.

It's not the same with Pacquiao. He gives much of his money away. The guy could one day be president of the Philippines. Money will never be an issue for him. He doesn't need to fight to have enough of it for several lifetimes.

The best response out of this entire sick episode would be for Pacquiao to not allow Mayweather to earn one cent off him, much less $40 million.

The best response from Mayweather's sponsors would be to immediately cut ties with him, for companies like Reebok and AT&T to prove they don't condone such racist rants.

If this is the kind of Mayweather brand such companies promote, it's time for millions to re-think their tastes in shoes and long-distance carriers.

The best response by the Nevada State Athletic Commission would be to call an immediate hearing and make Mayweather explain his actions or threaten to suspend his license.

I'm not holding my breath on that.

"I saw the video and to me, it was nothing that has any concern in a professional capacity," Keith Kizer, executive director of the commission, said Friday in response to a reporter's question about Mayweather's diatribe. "As a good official, I have respect for the First Amendment. You don't violate the law by expressing your constitutional rights. I'll leave it to the fans to determine whether it was appropriate trash talk."

Trash talk? Is Kizer serious?

This went so far beyond trash talk, you can't see it. It's a privilege -- or at least should be considered one -- to be licensed to fight in this state.

Would it be freedom of speech for a licensed boxer to scream "Fire!" in a crowded theater and have some poor elderly woman drop dead of a heart attack? Would the commission be OK with that?

What, because it's boxing, racial outbursts are nothing more than another way to sell tickets and promote a fight, that there is nothing that constitutes being a detriment to the good of the sport?

Sadly, that's likely the majority opinion.

It's also shameful, even for boxing.

The lack of outrage over Mayweather's rant is just so disturbing. Where are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton now? Where are those you know would be front and center posturing for every camera had it been Pacquiao racially slamming Mayweather?

Mayweather didn't even apologize directly to Pacquiao, but rather, "to everybody because everybody felt it was a racist comment that came from me. I don't have a racist bone in my body, you know."

No, we don't know. The video says otherwise, no matter how the enablers eventually spin it and look foolish doing so.

Odds suggest the fight everyone wants to see still will happen one day, because this is what boxing always has done, sold its soul and any shred of common decency for the next mega-event and pay-per-view bonanza.

Manny Pacquiao could stop that. He could tell Floyd Mayweather to take his racially disturbing video and try to make $40 million against someone else.

It's probably a pipe dream, but we can always hold out hope.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618.

Source: lvrj.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is biggest jerk in sports -- Orlando Sentinel

By George Diaz, Orlando Sentinel

It's official now.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the biggest jerk in professional sports.

I know it's a crowded field, with Ben Roethlisberger still capable of crashing a happy hour or any number of self-absorbed clowns sending out their latest Twitter updates, right King James?

But that's all minor league stuff compared to the complete body of work by Mr. Mayweather.

The recent profanity-laced, homophobic rant against Manny Pacquiao is documented proof that this guy is a clown with no class.

If he were under any legitimate jurisdiction, he would have been suspended. But alas, this is pro boxing, a sport that been's screaming "regulation" since the first hair-raising shenanigan by Don King, not to mention a cast of other characters who manipulate matchups and rankings for their protective interests.

Speaking of, Mayweather seems to want no part of Pacquiao.

I can understand why.

Pac Man would very likely beat him, destroying Mayweather's myth that he is, "pound-for-pound, the best fighter in the world.

Mayweather seems to have zero interest in fighting Pacquiao, even though it would be the most lucrative fight in the sport's history. Each fighter stands to make between $25 million and $40 million. Each.

Sure, who would be interested in that?

Instead, Mayweather has spent his time crafting a vile, insulting rap.

"As soon as we come off vacation, we're going to cook that little yellow chump," Mayweather said. "So they ain't gotta worry about me fighting the midget. Once I stomp the midget, I'll make that little (deleted) make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice."

Nice.

Mayweather has since "apologized." ]

The backlash has been vicious, since the video post also coincided with tragic circumstances involving Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter. The body of Arum's son John, an environmental lawyer, was found on a mountainside in Washington, The death is believed to be from a hiking accident.

I have no problem if an athlete wants to play mind games. Muhammad Ali became a legend at it. But this is just crass and pointless. It's also disingenuous, since it is Mayweather who has been running like Mr. Scaredy Pants avoiding Pac Man.

I truly hope they fight some day.

And that Pac Man eats his lunch, with a little sushi roll and rice on the side.

Source: mobile.orlandosentinel.com

Is Pacquiao selling out by accepting Margarito fight? -- 8CountNews

By Brad Cooney, 8CountNews.com

According to some boxing scribes out there Manny Pacquiao is selling out and is bad for boxing for accepting the fight with Antonio Margarito. I have gone on the record before and said that it was my belief that Margarito should be banned for life. I stick by that belief to this day, however the boxing commission in Texas has given the man a license to fight, so he legally is allowed. We all know that for whatever reason Floyd Mayweather Jr decided to duck out on his chance to fight Manny, so Arum and team Pacquiao moved forward.

Margarito was granted permission to fight in Texas, so Arum made the moves and the fight is set for November 13th, in Dallas. Of course Manny would have preferred to have fought Floyd, but since that's not happening he accepted Margarito. This decision has not gone over too well with a few scribes out there and even has gotten the attention of a few remote unheard of writers as well.

Pacquiao has a lot of support out there so naturally many have come to his side, especially when he is attacked by Mayweather, and anti Pacquiao boxing writers. One in particular website called out Manny and said that Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum are both sinning by going through with this fight against Margarito. I find it pretty comical that the writer uses the word "sin" and the name "Manny Pacquiao" in the same sentence when they have pictures of pornography models wearing their shirts on the front page. The same writer/site owner and editor call those writers that support Pacquiao "Groupies and Fan Boy journalists" in just about every article that they publish.

Pacquiao is not stupid, and he is a businessman. This is a sport yes, but it's also a business and if it makes sense for Pacquiao to take this fight against Margarito, then so be it. Those who sit on their fat backsides and criticize Pacquiao for taking this fight are all hypocrites in their own right. It's amazing to me that a guy like Pacquiao, a good man, a guy that's done nothing wrong to nobody has to deal with all of this anger and hate. He has been called a "midget" he has been accused of taking steroids, he has been called a "sinner" and that he is "bad for boxing for taking this fight" and the list just goes on and on.

I have said this before, but it's true. If you're going to take a shot at someone, take your shots at the Texas Athletic Commission. They are the ones that are responsible for this fight happening. Don't knock Pacquiao for taking the nice payday. Take your shots at Floyd Mayweather too, he's the other reason that this fight is happening. If Floyd would have manned up and accepted Pacquiao, nobody would be talking about Margarito.

Source: 8countnews.com

Mayweather's racist spray does sweet science no favours -- Sydney Morning Herald

By Jamie Pandaram, The Sydney Morning Herald

At best, the apology issued by Floyd Mayweather jnr for his racist tirade against rival Manny Pacquiao rings hollow.

Boxing fans understand that Mayweather relishes playing the bad guy in order to boost his pay-per-view sales but this latest, inexplicable rant goes beyond bad taste and acceptability. ''We're going to cook that little yellow chump,'' Mayweather said.

Really Floyd? A man who prides himself on verbal prowess sinks to the lowest denominator of attacking someone's race because he cannot think of any clever insults. What if Pacquiao had said of Mayweather: ''We're going to cook that little black chump?'' The Watts riots would have had nothing on the fallout. Mayweather didn't stop there, saying that after he defeats Pacquiao, he'll force him to ''make some sushi rolls and cook some rice'' and ''we're going to cook him with some cats and dogs'', an obvious reference to the fact Pacquiao started boxing as a youngster after his father ate his dog.

And he again speculated that Pacquiao is a drug cheat, despite the Filipino star agreeing to Mayweather's rigid blood-testing demands for their mooted bout, which has yet to be finalised but shapes to be the highest-grossing fight in history between the two best pugilists of the modern era.

''I'm gonna fight the Pacman when he gets off the power pellets,'' Mayweather said during an eight-minute video spray on the internet.

''We know Pacquiao made $6 million in his last fight and Floyd Mayweather made $65 million in his last fight. That mother f---ing Pacquiao, he can't speak no English.''

Pacquiao responded: ''I just heard about that, but I didn't see the video. But it's an uneducated message.''

Mayweather was back-pedalling yesterday, saying he was ''just having fun''.

''I do want to apologise for what happened the other night, everybody was saying they thought it was a racist comment that came from me. I don't have a racist bone in my body,'' Mayweather said.

''I love everybody. Some of my guys are Muslim, some of my guys are Jews, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, white, it doesn't matter, there's nothing but love in my heart.

"If anybody was affected by what I said the other day, I apologise as a man. Forgive me for what I said, I was just having fun, I didn't really mean it, nothing in a bad way.''

Source: smh.com.au

Time to let go of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao -- OC Register

By MARK WHICKER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Thanks to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s video, the one he issued from one of his more opulent caves, he has achieved the impossible.

He has cured us of Mayweather-Pacquiao fever.

Suddenly we can live without The Last Great Fight, hanging tantalizingly before us for a year now.

Certainly Manny Pacquiao can, after he has capitulated to all of Mayweather's drug-testing demands, only to be insulted on racial and sexual grounds Thursday.

"As soon as we come off vacation, we're going to cook that little yellow chump," Mayweather declared. "So they ain't gotta worry about me fighting the midget. Once I stomp the midget, I'll make that little (deleted) make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice."

Beyond that, he referred to his prospective opponent as "Poochiao," termed him a "whore," and said, "I'm gonna fight the Pacman when he gets off his power pellets," an apparent term for performance-enhancers, although Pacquiao never has tested positive.

This coincided with the Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito media tour, promoting their Nov. 13 meeting at Cowboys Stadium.

The video also injected its poison into cyberspace one day before Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter and Mayweather's original promoter, learned the body of his 49-year-old son John had been found on a mountainside in Washington. John, an environmental lawyer, was pursuing his goal of climbing the 100 tallest mountains in the state.

Incredibly, Mayweather seemed mystified that anyone would take offense and issued another video apologizing to Arum and Pacquiao.

"I do want to apologize for what happened the other night," Mayweather said. "I want to apologize to everybody because everybody thought that was a racist comment that I said. I don't have a racist bone in my body. I have nothing but love for everybody. I just was having fun. I didn't really mean it."

Then he added the famous Some Of My Best Friends Are White People defense.

You didn't mean it, Floyd? Well, we mean this:

Retire.

John Rocker apologized, too, for insulting gays, Muslims and all immigrants in 2000. The Atlanta Braves pitcher was taken to task during an angry team meeting the next spring, and baseball suspended him for the first 14 games of the 2000 season.

It had no effect on Rocker, who was out of organized baseball in 2003. But there is no controlling authority in boxing to discipline or suspend Mayweather, as in other sports.

A prominent promoter recently said there would be no Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, even though it would easily be the most lucrative in the history of the sport. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's promoter, has had his doubts, too.

That made no sense whatsoever, except by boxing's suicidal standards.
But now it does.

Pacquiao has said repeatedly he does not need Mayweather, and he is right. He has built greatness without him. Who would have ever predicted that the former 106-pounder would not only defeat but finish Oscar De La Hoya?

He also has taken boxing into a new orbit internationally and is a far more intense national obsession in the Philippines than any athlete is in the United States.

However, Pacquiao always has said he would be willing to take on The Pretty Boy and proved it by agreeing to the drug tests.

So maybe all the other boxing insiders are right. It's Mayweather who wants no part of this.

Boxing has enough terminal problems without Mike Tyson threatening to eat Lennox Lewis' children or Mayweather questioning Pacquiao's sexual orientation.

The reason boxing survives is its baseline respect. The post-fight embraces are real. The shared risks are too great.

There was ugliness before the Thrilla in Manila, the third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in which Ali called Frazier a "gorilla." Ali barely survived the gloriously primeval fight, and Frazier, in a recent HBO special, gloats indelicately about his role in causing Ali's pugilistic dementia.

Such trash was Ali's act, from Day One, usually delivered with a twinkle. And, yes, he crossed several lines.
But in this case he was already committed to fight Frazier, so he would have to expose his mouth. His woofing never was in the same bush league with Mayweather's.

Letting go of Mayweather-Pacquiao is difficult. The boxing styles are classically contradictory. The questions are there to be answered. Can Pacquiao's legendary hand quickness find Mayweather's jaw? Can Mayweather's post-graduate boxing skills pick off Pacquiao's lusty aggression?

But other questions arrive.

What depths will Mayweather plumb during Fight Week? Do we really need a Good vs. Evil subtext, or any form of hate speech, to augment a fight that should speak for itself?

It's always interesting to discover what you can live without. If Floyd Mayweather Jr. finds such energy and passion in broadcasting from underground, he should stay there.

mwhicker@ocregister.com

Source: ocregister.com

Boxing pound for pound: do we have a new number one? -- Examiner

By Eric Sloan, Examiner.com

Generally speaking, boxing blows this year and one of the reasons why is that too many of the men listed below are not doing a damn thing. The Super Six is collapsing, everybody wants a pay-per-view deal, and few are using 2010 to make a legacy mark. Regardless, this list has changed significantly over the last month. Here are the top 10 pound-for-pound (P4P) fighters in the world according to those who think they know best:

Nos. 10, 9, and 8 – Wladimir Klitschko/Timothy Bradley/Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.

Yeah, a three-way tie. As far as Klitschko goes, it is getting to the point where his residency on this list cannot be criticized. Forget the weak division. Wladimir has not lost a fight since 2004 and has been a legitimate champion of the division since 2006. He fights Samuel Peter next weekend and will not likely lose his titles or his place on this list.

Bradley put everyone to sleep when he faced Luis Carlos Abregu in July, but the guy is either going to silence his new critics or validate them when he meets undefeated Devon Alexander in January. Bradley’s willingness to keep pushing the envelope with his skill set is P4P worthy though. Now the guy just needs a fan base.

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam? Nothing against the guy, he is very good, but he’s not a top 10 fighter. Wongongkam has been a WBC staple and champion forever; however, he is still fighting 6 and 10 round fights. In 2008-09, he fought three fighters making their professional debut and was only able to shoot a majority decision over Koki Kameda in March. He’s never fought in America or Europe. The fact that he is on this list is even more pathetic than James Toney trying to shoulder roll a takedown.

No. 7 – Sergio Martinez.

Nobody can (or should) dispute Sergio’s status as a top P4P fighter. The guy is losing his momentum though. Traditionally someone who fights two to three times per year, Martinez has nothing set for the near future. Nobody remembers the Kelly Pavlik slap down, so it’s way past time to get into the ring.

No. 6 – Nonito Donaire.

Donaire has been on a consistent climb up the P4P rankings over the last several months and exploded onto the world wide scene in 2007 when he knocked out Vic Darchinyan. Since then, he has faced six opponents and stopped five of them. A permanent move to bantamweight will not only increase his stature around the globe, but will also fill his wallet.

No. 5 – Shane Mosley.

A great fighter? From a career perspective, yes. A top P4P fighter today? No. Mosley faces Sergio Mora in a couple of weeks. The good news is that Mora hits as hard as Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. Yes, of course the fight is on pay-per-view! The better move for Shane would have been a rematch with Miguel Cotto. Well, if Mosley defeats Mora, at least he can use Mayweather, Jr. logic and say something like “I beat the guy who beat Vernon Forrest; therefore, I beat Vernon Forrest.” Yawn.

No. 4 – Paul Williams.

To criticize Sergio Martinez for doing absolutely nothing since dominating Kelly Pavlik necessarily means that Williams must get it equally as bad. The “nobody wants to fight me” argument has apparently changed to “I just don’t want to fight.” He’s tall, he’s awkward, and he throws punches non-stop. The inactivity is going to haunt him though. A guy like Williams needs to be active to stay on top because the natural ability is simply not there.

No. 3 – Juan Manuel Marquez.

This guy just isn’t going anywhere. He drops a lopsided fight to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. a year ago and rebounds to dominate Juan Diaz in July. While many of the younger guys on this list can’t seem to figure out where to take their careers, Marquez isn’t wasting time. He meets Michael Katsidis in November.

No. 2 – Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Yes, you read that correctly. While not by much, the majority of P4P lists have Floyd as the number 2 fighter in the world. This breaks the long standing stalemate at number 1. Mayweather doesn’t care about any P4P list outside of his own head; however, he will need to make a move and fight someone since the number 1 fighter has moved on to bigger, not better things.

No. 1 – Manny Pacquiao.

No man has accomplished more in the sport over the last three years than Manny Pacquiao and he deserves to be ranked number 1. He also deserves to be treated better than a pawn for Top Rank. There were several options for him in November, but he will be fighting Antonio Margarito. Forget the “title” in yet another weight division. This fight is about Bob Arum trying to rekindle Margarito’s career…period.

Source: examiner.com

Time for Money Mayweather to shut up and fight -- Associated Press

By TIM DAHLBERG, The Associated Press

Give Floyd Mayweather Jr. credit for one thing. Like any great fighter, he knows when to turn and run.

A day after unleashing a racist rant against Manny Pacquiao that was insulting even by boxing standards, Mayweather was at it again. Surprisingly, this time it was to apologize.

"Forgive me for saying what I said," Mayweather said in yet another video. "I was just having fun. I didn't really mean it, nothing in a bad way."

Oh, what fun it was, for as long it lasted. Fighting words, from a man who refuses to fight.

But, hey, what did you really expect from Money May?

Not an apology, surely. With all the sycophants and yes men who surround Mayweather it's a wonder he was able to figure out that this time he had crossed the line from fun to just plain disgusting.

But cross it he had, in a 10-minute video that was racist, homophobic, and an insult to Filipinos everywhere.

If Mayweather's idea was to get people to back off criticism for him not fighting Pacquiao this fall, it didn't work. He still seems to be afraid of either the fight or the thought that he could actually lose.

But if his idea was to get Pacquiao's attention, he succeeded.

Pacquiao sat in his hotel room in Texas and watched Mayweather unleash every derogatory Asian stereotype he could come up with. Then he pressed the play button to watch it once more, his expression never changing.

The fighter in him probably wanted a shot at Mayweather right then and there. The politician in him thought better of it.

"It's an uneducated message," the congressman from the province of Sarangani said.

Pacquiao showed remarkable restraint, because it was far more than that. By proxy, Mayweather insulted an entire nation by going after the biggest sports hero the Philippines has ever known.

Of course, it could happen only in boxing, which has a long and colorful history of fighters unloading verbal abuse.

Joe Frazier still hasn't gotten over Muhammad Ali calling him an Uncle Tom nearly 40 years ago, and saying he was so ugly he should donate his face to the U.S. Department of Wildlife. Ali loved to taunt his opponents but sometimes crossed the line, like when he called Leon Spinks "Blackula" because he had no front teeth.

But Mayweather is no Ali. He's not clever, and there's nothing remotely funny about what he says.

Almost lost in Mayweather's video musings on everything from Pacquiao's height to his dining tastes was his proclamation that he is on a one-year vacation from boxing. When it's over, Mayweather says, he will gladly return to the ring and engage in fisticuffs with the distinguished congressman from the Philippines.

Actually, what he said was that he was going to "stomp the midget," then have Pacman "make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice." And that was the more vanilla part of the video.

But, hey, it's just Money May.

He was supposed to help save boxing, but all Mayweather has really done recently is help himself to your wallet. Given not one, but two, chances to give the sport the bout it desperately needs, he instead hides behind a webcam as Pacquiao traipses across the country promoting a fight with the disgraced Antonio Margarito that only Jerry Jones seems to want to see.

But while it was outrageous, it wasn't the most outlandish thing Mayweather has said recently. Not even close.

That came before his most recent fight with Shane Mosley when Mayweather proclaimed that he was the greatest fighter ever. Yes, he said, he was better than Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson or even Joe Louis.

Now that's a real laugher.

Sure, he's undefeated in 41 professional fights, a mark he's rightfully proud of. But Mayweather has carefully picked his opponents and fought so infrequently in recent years that his claim to greatness rings hollow.

Remember, too, that Mayweather never sold a ticket on his own until Oscar De La Hoya made him a star and HBO's "24/7" reality series about the wacky Mayweather clan became must-see TV.

Mayweather told me before the Mosley fight that it was all a charade, a bad-boy character built to make money — and lots of it. But if the gangsta act is an acting job, Mayweather should win an Oscar for the way he embraces the role.

For most boxing fans the real issue isn't Mayweather's ridiculous rant. Fights have been built around racial and national divides since Jack Johnson stopped Jim Jeffries a century ago and, as distasteful as they can be, will always be part of the sport.

But the Pacquiao-Mayweather matchup is so good it doesn't need any phony buildup. And what frustrates everyone in boxing these days is the strange unwillingness of Mayweather to give the sport the fight it desperately needs and deserves.

It's time Mayweather just shuts up and fights.

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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