Khan disapproves of Haye's disrespectful conduct -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

Amir Khan has urged David Haye to stop disrespecting Wladimir Klitschko ahead of the Brit's world heavyweight title encounter later this year.

Khan is a big fan of Haye, but he admits it has been difficult to watch his compatriot in the build-up to the July 2 bout. The Hayemaker has repeatedly refused to shake Klitschko's hand, preferring instead to belittle the Ukrainian's ability as a boxer.

While Klitschko has appeared relaxed and jovial, Haye has remained serious and dismissive of his rival, insisting he bores opponents into defeat. Khan would prefer it if Haye left his talking until fight night.

"I would never do that," Khan said in the Daily Mirror. "I have always tried to be respectful to my opponents.

"David should leave that kind of stuff for the ring but I suppose he wanted to show that he was not scared of this guy who was so much bigger than him.

"Everyone's different but I never go into a ring hating my opponent. I'd make mistakes."

Khan's own situation sees him attempting to lure Timothy Bradley into a light-welterweight unification bout, although financial disagreements could see the encounter fail to materialise. One man Khan will never face, despite misquoted comments from coach Freddie Roach, is Manny Pacquiao.

"If you are going to be the best, you have to fight the best," Khan said."I want to fight at the elite level to show people how good I am and I have the tools to beat [Floyd] Mayweather.

"I'm faster than him and I have a better punch, but he is technically brilliant and very smart. Those qualities will come to me in time, especially as I have the best trainer in the world in Freddie Roach. I think Mayweather will happen in 2012.

"But there will never be a fight between Manny and me. We respect each other too much. It just wouldn't feel right."

Source: espn.co.uk

Forbes says 19 of top 100 celebrities from sports -- Mercury News

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer

Tiger Woods has not finished a tournament atop the leaderboard in 18 months. Nonetheless, Forbes says the world's former No. 1 golfer remains the biggest celebrity in the sports world.

Woods is No. 6 on Forbes' annual "Celebrity 100" compilation of the most powerful people or groups in the entertainment business, the highest rank of any of the 19 athletes who made the list.

Miami Heat star LeBron James is 10th, up 18 spots from a year ago, and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant was at No. 14 for the second straight year.

Lady Gaga tops Forbes' overall rankings, followed by Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, U2 and Elton John.

Woods will fall out of the top 10 in golf's world ranking next week, the first time he'll be 11th or lower since 1997. His last tournament win was at the 2009 Australian Masters.

His star power apparently remains nearly as bright as ever.

Woods was No. 5 on Forbes' list in 2010, when the magazine estimated his annual earnings at $105 million—$30 million less than what it figured him to make over the most recent 12-month period. Even after taking major endorsement hits following the scandal that ended his marriage, Woods still made $22 million more than Bryant in the past year, Forbes said.

Forbes listed James' earnings at $48 million, up $5 million from the previous year, and ranked him No. 2 behind only Winfrey in terms of media visibility. Forbes said its formula includes pretax income for the year ending media visibility and social media power through Facebook and Twitter.

Tennis star Roger Federer was 25th on the list, placing him fourth among athletes.

The Heat had two of the top 100, with Dwyane Wade (No. 57) joining James. And the New York Yankees also had two mentions, with Alex Rodriguez at No. 49 and Derek Jeter at No. 69, tying him with actress Julia Roberts.

Other sports figures on the list: David Beckham and Phil Mickelson (tied at No. 35), Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 43), Rafael Nadal (No. 46), Tom Brady (No. 55), Dwight Howard (No. 59), Lionel Messi (No. 62), Peyton Manning (No. 72), Maria Sharapova (No. 80), Serena Williams (No. 84), Venus Williams (No. 86) and Danica Patrick (No. 96).

Combined, Forbes said the 19 athletes on the list this year earned a combined $647 million.

Among those from the sports world who were ranked in 2010 but fell off the most recent Forbes celebrity list were Michael Jordan (20th in 2010), Floyd Mayweather (31st), Shaquille O'Neal (52nd), Manny Pacquiao (55th) and Lance Armstrong (65th).

Source: mercurynews.com

When Manny Pacquiao speaks, a nation listens -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk

Pacquiao is the only boxer in the 150-year history of boxing to hold world titles in eight weight divisions. His contests are watched at home with a level of idolatry bordering obsession by 70 per cent of the 100 million Filipino population.

However, Pacquiao insists that “the biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country.” He means business, too. The little man from South East Asia, standing 5ft 6ins in his cotton socks, and who weighs 10st 7lb, has risen from pauper to a prince of pugilism. Not since Muhammad Ali has one boxer had such a galvanising social impact worldwide.

He was elected to Congress as a politician in 2010 and, in this week, has made his first serious challenge to the reigning president over condom use.

There are two major issues in The Philippines. Interference from the Catholic church and corruption. A political mire straddles both fields.

Pacquiao’s rise into politics was phenomenal, on a wave of local word of mouth support. He ousted a family dynasty which had ruled politically in Sarangani for three generations, and won a landslide victory. His has become a great orator in his native dialect, and in tagalog.

It is enshrined in law that armed national military guards protect Pacquiao’s residence 24/7 in General Santos City, such is his standing nationally. He carried the flag for his country at the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Games in Beijing; he head is etched onto postage stamp; and his title as ‘The National Fist’ has been accepted into the vernacular.

The only comparison I can come up with of equal status in the UK would be, say, a figure who incorporates the sporting popularity of David Beckham, the quasi-feverish adoration of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, combined with the rock star status of a modern music icon who is afforded leeway and a degree of freedom.

His vices are a penchant for gambling at baccarat, and gambling at cock-fighting.

Perhaps in some crass way, encouraging a generation to go and have tribes of children could create a ‘Pacquiao generation’, which, in a couple of decades, would vote in the glorious new leader. There are those who believe Pacquiao is a nailed-down future President of that country within a decade. There is definitely the sense with some Filipinos that Pacquiao would have made the perfect revolutionary grass-roots leader in another age.

Granville Ampong, a respected Filipino writer on politics and history, based in Los Angeles, told me last year that Pacquiao for many, embodies the spirit of the ‘Maharlikan’, the original tribe which occupied the islands in the south china seas before the invasions of the Spanish, and Americans.

Ampong said: “The early life of Manny Pacquiao serves as a paradigm shift to show people what life can really be like. Manny launched himself in US as part of The American Dream, but seen in the context of The Philippines, he has become an icon for Filipinos, not just for their future dreams, but for future generations to look up to. Manny bridges the generations.”

There is the suggestion that each time Manny fights, he has a soothing affect on the ills of the nation. Muslim insurgents lay down their arms against the national army in a truce when he fights. Yet he also represents the strength of the Catholic faith.

“Other than inspiration, he has great spirituality. You can see men, women, children, beggars with tears in their eyes because they can see an icon they have been dreaming of for so long. The Philippines has lost the essence of being a true Maharlikan nation. Long before the Spanish conquered the island [and renamed it after the Spanish royal Felipe] the Maharlikans were a great nation. The spirit of the Maharlikan was imbued with a sense of royalty, and one of divinity.

"Manny has that parallel in his life. He is a genuine real national hero.”

Pacquiao has already involved himself politically, for example, in US-Filipino relations. US President Barack Obama watched Pacquiao’s latest fight in Las Vegas two weeks ago, after the world’s leading boxer and his wife Jinkee had a pow-wow in the White House with the leading man. Pacquiao called it “one of the highlights” of his life, but he also used the visit to press home a point about US-Filipino import/export relations in the textile industry. And it worked, with the law having changed with benefit to both countries. It is said that it has made an impact on 400,000 Filipinos involved in that country’s textile industry. Pacquiao’s generosity knows no bounds.

Huge queues form outside his house for handouts when he returns from his multi-million dollar earning contests in the United States. “There is a welfare state in the Philippines,” explained Bob Arum, the veteran boxing promoter who oversees the fighter’s career, and who once promoted Muhammad Ali. “It’s called Manny Pacquiao.”

When Pacquiao speaks, a nation listens.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Marquez signs deal to fight Pacquiao Nov. 12 -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez Wednesday officially signed a contract to fight Manny Pacquiao for a third time Nov. 12, most likely in Las Vegas, said Todd duBoef, the president of Pacquiao's promotional company, Top Rank.

Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a 2004 draw, then battled to a split-decision won by Pacquiao in 2008. Part three of the trilogy appears destined for MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Pacquiao's World Boxing Organization welterweight belt on the line.

Pacquiao, considered the world's top pound-for-pound boxer, has proceeded to dominate the likes of Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto since edging Marquez. His three consecutive unanimous decisions over Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley have been landslides.

Meanwhile, Marquez has lost only to the far bigger and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. since his narrow Pacquiao loss, ascending to become world lightweight champion and insisting his style will give Pacquiao fits.

A 144-pound catch weight has been agreed upon.

"I like the fight, how can you not after the first two fights?" said DuBoef, who supervised Marquez's signing at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "The thing I like best about this one is that the fans are encouraged by it.

"These guys have fought like gladiators over the course of their last 24 rounds together, and I believe we have another 12 more like that ahead of us."

Marquez will receive a guaranteed $5 million, plus an unspecified "upside" of pay-per-view sales. Pacquiao's U.S. business advisor met with Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum Tuesday, and the Filipino star boxer will likely sign his deal -- likely to be in the $20-million guaranteed neighborhood -- later this month in the Philippines.

Marquez's signing triggers what will likely be a compelling battle to televise the bout between Showtime -- which televised Pacquiao-Mosley on May 7 -- and the fighter's former home network, HBO.

Rumors abound in the industry that HBO executives were extremely displeased to lose the Pacquiao fight, ramping up pressure on HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg to land Pacquiao-Marquez.

An HBO spokesman told The Times Wednesday that Greenburg was not available to comment about the network's interest in Pacquiao-Marquez.

Showtime, which has yet to announce the number of pay-per-view buyers it drew for Pacquiao-Mosley, has proven to Arum "they can perform."

"We will evaluate whoever is providing the most assets in the publicizing and promotion of the event," Arum said Wednesday.

Arum said he won't use Pacquiao-Marquez to get other premium network fight dates, and said, "Whoever offers me dates is out. My job is to maximize the revenue for these two fighters, period."

Negotiations for Pacquiao-Marquez also included a Monday session that placed Arum and Golden Boy Chief Executive Richard Schaefer at the same table for the first time in several months, and the rivals who haven't staged a fight together in two years emerged conciliatory rather than still divisive, DuBoef said.

"It's good to have positive dialogue and not allow negative banter -- backstabbing, talking about each other to the media -- to take over," DuBoef said. "Positive interaction is encouraging. You crawl before you walk. I hope we can do business together again, we want a more healthy environment, and that brief interaction represents the first steps."

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Mayweather to Pacquiao - "Just take the test" -- 8CountNews

By Brad Cooney, 8CountNews.com

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr in a recent 8 part video interview conducted by FightHype.com showed the fans his robe and boots that he had already designed for the fight Vs. Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather says that he was under the impression that the fight was a go. Floyd tells the fans that he had agreed to his end of the bargain, but that Pacquiao never did.

The 8 part video interview does shed some light on Mayweather's side of things. 8CN gives all sides a fair shake, so we will give credit where credit is due and report what Floyd had to say during the interview.

Throughout the interview Mayweather on more than one occasion said, "Just take the test." This of course meaning that Pacquiao take random blood tests up to the day of the fight. The video interview gives boxing fans an opportunity to see Floyd away from boxing and in a more relaxed type of atmosphere. The multiple part interview gave Mayweather an opportunity to clear some things up that according to Floyd were misreported.

8CN has reported on more than one occasion that Floyd has indeed helped the homeless folks in Vegas and that he has done good charity work. This being said, we also reported on the arrests that were made on him, and his rants on Twitter and YouTube. Nobody is perfect, and Floyd is a human being just like the rest of us are.

Floyd has said some hateful things toward Filipinos in the past, so he will have quite a bit of damage control to do in order to regain some of their respect. That being said, it's not too late for Floyd to do what he has to do in order to regain a lot of support that he has lost over the past few years.

In the video interview, the fans do get to see a more relaxed and much less cocky Floyd Mayweather Jr. There is no doubt that Floyd knows how to sell tickets, and he plays the bad guy role like no other. Hopefully he can get the legal issues behind him, and we can get back to focusing on boxing again.

8CN will be reaching out to Team Pacquiao in the VERY near future for their side of things.

Source: 8countnews.com

Pacquiao stance vs RH bill is anti-poor, says workers’ party -- Philippine Daily Inquirer

By Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao may get knocked out by his opposition to the controversial reproductive health bill because he would be alienating the poor who would benefit from the measure, a labor group warned on Wednesday.

The Partido ng Manggawa, in a statement, said Pacquiao might not emerge a champ in the RH bill controversy.

The labor group also pointed out Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee’s different positions on the use of contraceptives.

“Pacquiao may not have been knocked out by questions about the contradiction between his position and his wife’s Jinkee’s use of the pill, but he will not survive a decision by the Filipino people on his fight against the RH bill. Survey after survey has shown the majority wanting access to reproductive health, among them birth control which Jinkee has the privilege of enjoying as a billionaire’s wife,” Miranda said.

PM insisted that the RH bill would benefit the poor.

“More or less 40 percent of the Philippine population are below the poverty line. These people, especially women, cannot afford having many children per the statement of the Church humans should go forth and multiple. The workers greatly admire Pacquiao for his boxing prowess, but he should keep in mind that his declaration as a Sarangani congressman has a big impact in the health and lives of women,” PM secretary-general Judy Ann Miranda said.

Reacting to Pacquiao’s support for the Catholic Church’s anti-RH position, Miranda said, “Insisting that Filipinos religiously follow the Catholic Church’s outmoded doctrine on family planning and contraception is a disregard for women’s universal right to reproductive health.”

Miranda said if the boxing champion really cared for the poor, he should help the Church combat poverty instead of giving expensive gifts.

“Why, Manny, will you and the Church shoulder the expenses and needs of the poor families if they follow this commandment? If you can afford to buy a P4-million bag for [your mother] Dionisia, these poor Filipinos, many of whom are your province mates cannot even afford to eat three meals a day, buy clothes and send their children to school,” Miranda said.

The labor leader appealed to Pacquiao to change his stand, adding, “We won’t ask balato (goodwill money) from your bout winnings and earnings from your commercials. The balato we ask is a space in your heart for the poor. We, especially the women, need your support.”

Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Lea on Pacquiao: 'I respect your beliefs, respect mine' -- ABS-CBN News

By Shiela Reyes, abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – International singer-actress Lea Salonga said boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao should take into consideration his constituents who put him to office before making a firm stand on the reproductive health (RH) bill.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News on Wednesday, Salonga said Pacquiao makes a good point on the availability of contraception. She noted, however, that the boxer must think if the Sarangani people could afford it.

“But his point, which is a valid point, is: 'We have access to contraception. Why do we still need the RH bill?' That’s fine, but you have millions of pesos. It could be coated in gold and you’ll still be able to afford it. What about a lot of your own constituents who have no access to it? He’s a congressman and the first thing that he needs to think about besides his own family and besides God are the people that voted for him,” Salonga said.

Salonga also confessed that she found it a little funny when Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, has been quoted as admitting she has taken pills while Pacquiao has made known that he is against the RH bill.

“It did cause a little controversy because on the one hand, you are saying you are using abstinence, and on the other hand, your wife is saying that she’s on the pill,” Salonga said.

“You might want to get your story straight before you come out publicly with a unified stance. I just thought it was kind of funny,” the singer said.

Salonga stressed, though, that she has nothing against either Pacquiao or Jinkee.

“If those were his absolute honest beliefs then I don’t hold them against him. But these are my beliefs. I respect his beliefs, but in turn, he also has to respect mine,” she stated.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Boxing Champ Manny Pacquiao vs. the Philippines' Reproductive Health Bill -- TIME

By Hillary Brenhouse, TIME

Pac-Man,” the eight-division world champion boxer and Filipino congressman, is throwing his weight behind the Church as it fights the Philippine government's attempt to liberalize birth control in this impoverished archipelago.

The Reproductive Health bill under debate, introduced Tuesday in the Philippine House of Representatives, would for the first time make federal funding available for reproductive health programs; require the government to provide its citizens with information on, and access to, modern birth control methods; and enforce sexual education in primary and high schools.

Unsurprisingly, it has met its greatest resistance from the conservative country's Catholic leadership. As TIME's Emily Rauhala wrote in November, “In the Philippines, the bishops and their allies in government have cast contraception as a violation of God's will, an affront to national identity and a threat to public health.” But now the bill has another, devastatingly popular, opponent: the “Fighting Pride of the Philippines” himself.

In a definitive show of support for their cause, Manny Pacquiao, who is expressly anti-“artificial” contraception, took lunch with officials from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday. He lamented that he never would have been born had his poor, unemployed parents turned to modern birth control, calling on his fans to back the Church and “follow God's command, not man's.” The Church is not complaining. CBCP President Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar praised Pacquiao's endorsement of “the culture of life,” boasting that “people listen to him.”

Strangely, Pacquiao's wife Jinkee has said that she began using birth control pills after their fourth child was born, but the boxer-politician is staunch in his stance. “God said, ‘Go forth and multiply.' He did not say, ‘Go and have just one or two children,'” he told a press conference.

In response, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago told the media that Manny's biblical interpretation “sounds very much like God is encouraging us to go out and copulate in public.”

It can't be very difficult for Pacquiao to financially support his brood of four; the champion fighter is worth an estimated $70 million. But 33% of people in the Philippines, a nation of nearly 92 million, live below the poverty line, earning less than $1.35 per day.

Pacquiao is adamant that the country's swelling population not be held responsible for the plight of the Philippines' poor. “We should blame corruption because the money that is supposed to help the poor goes to the pockets of officials who are already rich,” he said. Indeed, while feudalism and corruption do play a hand in the Philippines' widespread poverty, family planning advocates point out the nation's epidemic of unplanned pregnancies is resulting in lower educational and health standards and contributing to a population boom that has outpaced the economy. Self-induced abortions in the country also cause thousands of deaths every year. (The RH bill would not legalize abortion, which is against the Philippine Constitution.)

Last year, a survey suggested that a majority in the Philippines supported the RH bill. But officials are presently concerned that Pacquiao's influence could sway the public. If as many people side with the Pac-Man as tuned in to his WBO welterweight title fight a couple of weeks ago, they'll have serious cause to be concerned.

Source: newsfeed.time.com

Marquez, Pacquiao may have third fight -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

It looks like Juan Manuel Marquez will get his long-awaited third fight with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com that he made a deal with Marquez on Tuesday in Los Angeles for the lightweight champion to move up in weight to challenge Pacquiao for his welterweight title on Nov. 12.

Arum, however, still needs to make a deal with Pacquiao -- considered a formality -- before the fight is official.

If the fight is finalized, they would meet at a contract weight of 144 pounds, Arum said. Although the weight is three pounds below the welterweight division limit of 147, that isn't an issue.

"Manny has to eat extra meals just to weigh even 145 pounds," Arum said.

Pacquiao regularly weighs below 147 for his fights, and Marquez would be moving up from the 135-pound division. In 2009, in his only other welterweight fight, Marquez lost a lopsided decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr., who most would like to see Pacquiao face. Most believe it would be the biggest money fight in boxing history, but Mayweather has repeatedly declined the fight.

Barring a gargantuan offer elsewhere, Pacquiao-Marquez Round III will be at Las Vegas' MGM Grand, where Pacquiao-Marquez Round I took place and where Pacquiao scored an easy decision against Shane Mosley on May 7.

With the Pacquiao fight on the line, Arum said Marquez plans to take a tune-up against faded former lightweight titlist David Diaz (36-3-1, 17 KOs) on July 2 in Mexico City. Diaz lost his title to Pacquiao via a lopsided ninth-round knockout in 2008.

Marquez's own promotional company will put the card on, although Arum said Top Rank would help if needed. Arum said Marquez's deal for the Pacquiao bout permitted him an interim fight as long as it takes place by July 17.

"He's going to do that fight, and if he loses, he's out," Arum said.

Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) and Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs) have a rich history, battling twice in action-packed fights that ended in controversial decisions.

In 2004, Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the first round of their featherweight championship fight, but Marquez battled back to claim a draw that many believed he won. In 2008, they met again for the junior lightweight championship, and Pacquiao won a similarly controversial split decision.

"It's the same old story -- styles make fights, and, for some reason, I believe if we fight Marquez 10 times, we will have controversy 10 times because he's figured something out about Manny that no other fighter can do," Michael Koncz, Pacquiao's adviser, told ESPN.com. "We've had him down three times, but he's able to adapt and adjust. I think it will be a very close fight again if we decide to pick that fight. The question is, what is Manny's monetary reward?"

Mexico's Marquez, 37, has wanted a third fight with Pacquiao for years and is poised to land it because Golden Boy, his longtime promoter, declined to match Top Rank's offer. Marquez's deal with Golden Boy expired earlier this year, but it retained the right to match any offer through February 2012.

Top Rank and Golden Boy, involved in various lawsuits, are bitter rivals. Their bad blood stems from a legal fight over Pacquiao's promotional contract, which Top Rank now controls.

Arum said Golden Boy declined to match his offer to Marquez on Monday during a face-to-face meeting in Los Angeles that included Arum, Top Rank president Todd duBoef and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer.

While Arum would not go into details of the meeting, a surprise given the rancor between them, he said of Golden Boy, "They said they would cooperate and not try to interfere. They waived any connection with Marquez and said they would not interfere with us contracting the fight. They let us know that we were free to go ahead. Schaefer let us know. We were with him yesterday.

"He told us we could go ahead with Marquez."

"I can't really talk about anything right now based on the advice of my lawyers," Schaefer told ESPN.com in an email.

Golden Boy apparently was unable to come up with an opponent for Marquez that would meet the terms of Top Rank's offer: $5 million in guaranteed money, upside on the pay-per-view profits and a guaranteed $10 million plus pay-per-view upside for a rematch in the event Marquez wins.

Golden Boy had toyed with offering Marquez a fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the Mexican sensation who recently won a junior middleweight belt.

Alvarez, who defends his title in June, has fought most of his career at welterweight. However, with Top Rank's offer specifying 144 pounds, there was no way Alvarez could get down that low.

Arum's next hurdle is to close a deal with Pacquiao, which has never been a problem.

"Marquez is definitely the frontrunner we're looking at, but I have not yet sat down with Bob to discuss our financial deal," Koncz said. "Bob and I will do that this week before I leave to go see Manny in the Philippines on Sunday. I'll talk with Bob and see what his offer for Manny's purse is and all the other things involved, and then I will take that to Manny. I have the parameters from Manny, but Bob and I have not yet had a meeting of the minds.

"Bob has one component for the fight, but he needs two. We have not agreed to the fight or the terms, but we are certainly discussing it. We've always been able to come to an agreement."

Pacquiao's next fight will be on pay-per-view, but it remains to be seen if it will go to Showtime or HBO. Showtime produced and distributed Pacquiao-Mosley after Arum took Pacquiao away from HBO, which had done all of Pacquiao's previous major fights. Showtime got the fight because its sister network, CBS -- which is in roughly 115 million homes -- was heavily involved in the marketing and promotion of the event.

"We will listen to both networks and make our decision based on who is contributing the most valuable assets to the promotion," Arum said. "Who is going to give us the best platform to promote the fight will get the fight."

Arum said the fight almost assuredly will be at the MGM Grand, even though there are overseas venues interested in making offers.

"I've been spending my life with these offers from Singapore, Macau, Dubai," Arum said. "As far as I am concerned the only offer to cash in on are the ones from the MGM and Cowboys Stadium [where Pacquiao fought twice in 2010]."

Arum said the MGM Grand originally told him the Grand Garden Arena was only available on Nov. 5 because there were Eagles concerts booked there on Nov. 12 and Nov. 19.

"I told them, 'You knew we wanted Nov. 12,' " Arum said. "They said, no I didn't, whatever, we went back and forth. Anyway, I am good friends with the manager of the Eagles, Irving Azoff. I've know him for years. So I called him up and told him the issue and he called the band. An hour later, he called back and said no problem.

"He said the band wanted to send us a message -- 'Because we so admire Manny Pacquiao, we would be privileged to move our concert to Nov. 5.' We're going to invite the Eagles to the fight."

Arum said Marquez is the only legitimate option he is looking at for Pacquiao. He mentioned Zab Judah and Timothy Bradley Jr., both junior welterweight titleholders, as alternatives to Marquez immediately after Pacquiao beat Mosley, but he said neither are likely.

"Bradley I cannot talk to because he is still under contract to Gary Shaw, even if he is unhappy," Arum said. "His contract allegedly runs out at a certain point soon, but not yet. So I'm not going to go there. I could make a deal with [Main Events promoter] Kathy Duva for a Judah fight in five minutes, but that is not my plan. If [Pacquiao] wants to explore Judah, I'll explore Judah."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter @danrafaelespn.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

"Unless Pacquiao makes some changes he has problems" - Naazim Richardson -- Examiner

By Chris Robinson, Examiner.com

This weekend North Philadelphia's Naazim Richardson will again lead Bernard Hopkins into battle as the living legend looks to capture the WBC light heavyweight crown away from Jean Pascal. The fight is a rematch of their December encounter, a bout that saw Hopkins dropped in rounds one and three before storming back and appearing to do enough to win the fight despite settling for a majority draw.

During a recent media function to promote the fight, Richardson recently discussed Hopkins' chances at age 46 and analyzed what this fight means for his career during an interview with Marc Abrams of 15Rounds.com. Also on the agenda for Richardson was last weekend's Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley WBO welterweight title bout, as the respect coach was in Shane's corner in his losing effort to the Filipino star.

The Pacquiao-Mosley affair was pretty uneventful outside of a 3rd round knockdown by the General Santos City fighter, an action that saw Mosley go into retreat mode for the rest of the fight. Asked for his take on those dramatics, Richardson insists the knockdown changed the overall outlook of the fight.

"Listen, that little dude is a special cat," Richardson said of Pacquiao. "And what you see in these dudes, is when he hits these dudes, everything changes. Shane is a tough kid but Pacquiao is special."

At 39 years of age, Mosley has looked rather ordinary in his last three outings, with the Pacquiao fighting coming before a dreadful majority draw with Sergio Mora and a whitewashing at the hands of Floyd Mayweather last May. Mosley has a call from Canastota awaiting him but Richardson isn't the type of man to tell him that he should hang his gloves up.

"It's his call," Richardson retorted. "But if you are going to compete at that weight class, you've dealt with the best in that weight class and you see how you match up against them. This is a different era. If you see that's how you match up in that era, then maybe it's time for you to do something different. But the call lies on the man. We didn't tell him when to get started, how do we tell him when to finish?"

Richardson was then asked about the fight everyone has been fantasizing about for the past year and a half, a Pacquiao-Mayweather clash. Richardson is often one to prophesize and speak in riddles yet he seemed to hint that what he saw in Manny on May 7th leaves reasons for concern if a fight with Floyd ever comes off.

Pacquiao-Mosley image galleries: Massive gallery of Pacquiao's dominant victory Part 1 and Part 2 / Behind the scenes at the Pacquiao-Mosley weigh-in / Inside the Wild Card with Pacquiao, Ariza, Porter, Holloway, Concepcion and others

"I feel like, what we had in place in Shane, everybody is going to want to fight him now," Richardson continued. "After you seen the Shane Mosley fight, I exposed him. You know how to beat him now. I asked my guy after the fight, I said 'The way you got hit the first time, did you ever get hit like that again?' and he said 'No'. That why you heard me say 'Ok, the debate is over'."

Many have been forgiving to Pacquiao, putting full blame on Mosley's lack of enthusiasm for the tepid in action in last week's fight. Surely one fight does not make a fighter but Richardson seems to think some subtle changes from Pacquiao's end are needed at this point.

"Like I said, right now, I think people are going to watch that DVD and unless Pacquiao makes some changes, he has problems with certain things."

Source: examiner.com