Manny Pacquiao drops other shoe on Floyd Mayweather, it's a combat boot -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Manny Pacquiao just dropped the other shoe...and it turned out to be a combat boot.

A combat boot which he has aimed squarely at the posterior of his next fight target, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

To put it another way, Pacquiao has given Mayweather the needle.

(Music suddenly playing in the mind of Mayweather and his legion of Flomenters across the globe can only be "You Dropped A Bomb On Me," as sung by The Gap Band.)

Now, the Congressmanny from the wretchedly poor province of Sarangani says, taking a thimble size amount of blood from one of his arms is no big deal.

Pacman, who was shooting a TV commercial in Manila (Ginebra), spoke to Manila Bulletin fight scribe Nick Giongco and what he told the G Man is reverberating throughout the boxing world.

Instead of seeking a halfway, in between 24 days before and 14 random blood testing date, Pacquiao has trumped the Mayweather camp demands by signing off on the fortnight, meaning two weeks before the bout, date.

Immediate reaction from the Golden Boys and the rest of the Mayweather team?

Well, the silence is deafening. Pacquiao has cleverly trumped his foes in a brilliant gambit which brings even those who believed or harbored suspicions of his being a drug cheater over to his side.

Anyone who felt Pacquiao was, as rapper Chamillionaire puts it, "riding dirty" just got a screaming wakeup call.

Now the Pinoy Idol comes off as shiny and antiseptic as Mister Clean and puts Team Mayweather on the defensive simultaneously.

This is from Giongco's dispatch:

“As long as they’re not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight,” Pacquiao told the Bulletin late Wednesday night during a lull in shooting a Ginebra commercial in Makati.

Pacquiao said he will not hesitate to be tested provided that the amount to be taken would be minimal, noted the 31-year-old fighter, gesturing with his pointer and index fingers a measurement equivalent to a short syringe.

Pacquiao narrated the incident during the first fight with Erik Morales in March 2005 when a large amount was taken from him on the eve of the fight that he eventually lost by unanimous decision.

“I felt very weak after they got the blood,” said Pacquiao.

On the other side of the world, meaning New York, I enjoedy a hastily arranged dinner with brothers from the Fistic Fraternity.

I dined with crackerjack journo Mike Woods (Sweetscience.com), Hall Of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward and the Double Trouble Teenaged Twins, precocious 16 year olds Jared and Jeff Bonas.

The Kronk Godfather is going to unleash the two middleweights, take them professional, as soon as they turn 17 which one does 14 minutes before the other. Don't ask me which is which as I told you they are twins and I'm still sorthing them out.

'The brothers fight in a pro style already," the newly hired trainer of former Pacman foe Miguel Cotto said. "No sense of them hanging around fighting for trophies and badges."

After dinner, strolling back to Steward's hotel, we bumped into former heavyweight contender Renaldo "Mister" Snipes.

There will be no charity dinners held for the Yonkers bruiser who nearly decapitated champ Larry Holmes. Snipes moves with and schmoozes with some business world high rollers.

Snipes thinks Mayweather is too much for Pacman, a notion I vainly tried to disabuse the thoughtful ex-fighter of.

But, then again, at the time we were unaware that willing warrior Pacquiao had dropped the other shoe...

That shoe that turns out to be a heavy-soled combat boot.

Your name doesn't have to be Ben Dover to figure that much out.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

The Ball Is Back In Mayweather's Court; Manny Says OK To 14 Day Window -- The Sweet Science

By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science

Never before has boxing had so much in common. Hurdles, here, there and everywhere...

The main hurdle to making the November 13 Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather has seemingly been traversed, as the Congressman from Sarangani province said, hard and fast, that he is open to undergoing random drug and urine testing 14 days before the fight.

This is according to the Manilla Bulletin, which quoted Pacquaio as saying, “As long as they’re not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight.”

TSS you'll notice has chosen to use the word "seemingly," since it'll be up to Team Mayweather, led by Al Haymon and Floyd Mayweather, with Richard Schaefer acting as emissary, along with Leonard Ellerbe, during negotiations with Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, to sign on the testing protocol. In the previous stage of negotiations, held in December and January, Team Mayweather was holding to the stance that they want Pacquiao to be amenable to a blood test as close to two days before any bout. Pacquiao had countered that he feels excessively weakened when blood is taken from him. He said he felt drained when a large quantity was taken for testing before his March 2005 clash with Erik Morales, a UD12 loss. Was the weakness in his head? Or is it a matter of superstition? That explanation for the 2005 loss didn't loom large five years ago, and only truly emerged as an issue during the first failed rounds of talks. Pacquiao fans embrace, by and large, his stance on blood loss, while doubters see his fear of blood loss as a masking agent for another motivation to refuse bloodwork too close to a fight. The blood matter can only be asked and answered by Manny and seems destined to be one of those unanswerable deals, where backers and doubters can find no common ground.

Right before the last negotiations dissolved, Team Mayweather said they'd be OK with a drug test 14 days before the fight. Crucially, the Mayweather crew said, the test did not have to be a blood test. Pacquiao wanted to shut the testing window at 24 days out from the tussle. Ten days difference in testing dates seemingly were THE reason why a $100 million clash wasn't going down. Those were the terms in early January; have the goalposts been moved since then? Hard to tell, since this round of dealmaking has been held outside the glare of us keyboard tappers. Top Rank reps were in New York on Wednesday, TR reps said they were not at liberty to disclose the location of Top Rank chief Bob Arum. Might he be holed up somewhere with Schaefer, finalizing terms for a Nov. 13 mega-clash? One could easily surmise that...

Source: thesweetscience.com

Pacquiao mellows, OKs drug test vs. Mayweather -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

Here’s a piece of good news to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

As part of efforts to agree on a November 13 fight, Manny Pacquiao said he is amenable to undergo random drug and urine testing 14 days before the fight.

“As long as they’re not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight,” Pacquiao told the Bulletin late Wednesday night during a lull in shooting a Ginebra commercial in Makati.

Pacquiao said he will not hesitate to be tested provided that the amount to be taken would be minimal, noted the 31-year-old fighter, gesturing with his pointer and index fingers a measurement equivalent to a short syringe.

Pacquiao and Mayweather had agreed in principle to face off but a last-minute demand by Mayweather for Olympic-style testing did not augur well with Pacquiao’s handlers, saying they would not be bullied into accepting his seemingly-outlandish terms.

Pacquiao narrated the incident during the first fight with Erik Morales in March 2005 when a large amount was taken from him on the eve of the fight that he eventually lost by unanimous decision.

“I felt very weak after they got the blood,” said Pacquiao, motioning with his fingers once again the size of the syringe that was used in extracting blood from his arm.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao, has his schedule all figured out: Congress in the daytime and gym in the afternoon.

Pacquiao said he can handle the role of being fighter and lawmaker and that “time management” is the key to getting things done.

“I will attend sessions in the morning until afternoon then I go to the gym around 4 or 5 p.m.,” said Pacquiao, who will take his oath as congressman of Sarangani on June 30.

“I will stay in the country during training camp then with two weeks before the fight, I will fly to the US,” said Pacquiao, stressing that during his absence, his staff will assume his countless responsibilities.

As in previous training camps, there would still be the usual early-morning roadwork then gym work in the afternoon, according to the reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight king.

“Nothing’s going to change as far as my training is concerned even though I am now a congressman because I will carefully map out my schedule. I will still wake up early becauseI have to run in the morning.”

The past few days, Pacquiao has been busy consulting with his political advisers so he can easily adjust to his new role by July.

Next month, Pacquiao will leave for New York to personally receive the Fighter of the Year award – his third – that will be given out by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Source: mb.com.ph

Fear of Needles or the Truth: Will Floyd Mayweather JR get his Gloves on Manny Pacquiao? -- Ringside Report

By Michael Angelo Serra, Ringside Report

Is it bad blood or just a blood feud?

Floyd Mayweather, JR., did what he doe’s best, souring Sugar Shane Mosley or should that be caning Sugar!

It was just past midnight in Essex, England, and a storm was brewing, thunder, lightning and torrential rain hit’s the road just outside my house here in Colchester, England.

Mayweather I felt, pre fight, was in for some stormy weather.

I just felt that Shane was going to win, but I couldn’t have been more wrong as Floyd outclassed Mosley and shows that there may be no real challenge left for him.

Do we need to see Floyd continue to outclass foe after foe?

Of course not, mismatches prove nothing…well there is as you all know one challenge that has to happen, and that challenge is: Manny “The PacMan” Pacquiao.

Since there proposed match fell through, I wonder why this fight is still at the stumbling block?

It’s a fight that is realistically the only challenge that Floyd has left as let’s face it “Pretty Boy” just keeps getting prettier.

Pacquiao however wouldn’t take a simple blood test, prompting the cancellation of there mega fight. Why won’t Pacman take a simple blood test?

There are many theories and rumors floating around, but hey there’s a lot of cash floating around too along with many clouds of doubt, and what do clouds supposedly have?

Silver linings.

Then again both protagonists will want to line there’s with plenty of gold as opposed to silver, there pockets that is.

Mayweather, post fight, stated that he won’t fight unless the Filipino takes a jab of another kind. Either way, you could say there’s bound to be some needle leading up to this much mooted match up!

If it ever happens.

In short, this fight has to happen.

It’s not just because of it being the biggest fight out there, but because of the state of the game. It was reported that Mayweather, when he fought Oscar De La Hoya, that it was going to be the fight to save boxing!

Did it?

Well, it did and it didn’t. Let me explain.

I had Oscar the winner by a round or two and felt the decision in favor of Floyd was a bad one, so though it was a good fight it left a bad taste in my mouth due to the scorecards.

This fight is more so the savior of boxing.

It’s the classic boxer vs. brawler match up, and in many respects a match up that reminds me very much of Sugar Ray Leonard against Roberto Duran. Both were great fights despite the third meeting a rubber match. That is best erased from the memory!

Pun intended.

So come on Manny show us you’re the man!

After all, you should take the jab for the blood test as you’ll need plenty of practice taking jabs come fight night, so come on and fight Floyd and get the fight the whole wide World wants to see happen.

Let’s hope PacMan holds true to form like his video game character and leaves that all important remaining dot…well just a dot of blood and gives boxing not only some blood, but plenty of sweat and tears in what could be the fight of the year.

It’s the biggest fight in history. It’s now up to the fighters to make it happen.
Source: ringsidereport.com

There Certainly Wasn't Any Floyd Mayweather In Muhammad Ali -- The Sweet Science

By Frank Lotierzo, The Sweet Science

One of the reasons Muhammad Ali is the real heavyweight GOAT--greatest of all time--was because he was willing to fight the biggest and the baddest heavyweights circa 1960-81. As a green fighter on the way up or an aging champ on the way down, it didn't matter, Ali constantly sought to face whoever was thought to be the fighter who represented his biggest threat. He also never ran from a tough opponent in trying to get out of a rematch. Just examine his record.

After a 43-month forced exile Ali fought top five contenders Jerry Quarry and Oscar Bonavena in a span of six weeks during 1970. On December 30th, three weeks after a tough 15-rounds with Bonavena, Ali signed to meet undefeated heavyweight champ "Smokin" Joe Frazier on March 8th 1971. Ali lost conclusively to Frazier that night and Sports Illustrated plastered the picture of Joe knocking him down in the 15th round with the caption "End Of The Ali Legend" on its cover, dated March 15th 1971. Frazier said after the fight that he doubted Ali would want a rematch after the beating he took during their bout. When that was relayed to Ali, he responded, "Oh, how wrong he is!" And those words sum up Muhammad Ali's confidence and courage.

When Ali couldn't get a rematch with Frazier immediately after their first fight, he set out to fight every top contender in the division, trying to eliminate the field so Frazier would have no one left to fight but him. Twenty-one months after winning the "Fight Of The Century," Frazier was demolished by George Foreman in two rounds and lost his undisputed title. Two months later Ali lost a split decision to Ken Norton. Later the same year (1973) Ali won a decision over Norton in a rematch and then four months later won a decision over Frazier to even their series at 1-1. Two months after Ali beat Frazier, Foreman crushed the other Ali conquerer, Ken Norton, in two rounds.

After Foreman beat Norton, the path was clear for Ali to try and reclaim the title he was stripped of seven years earlier. Only he'd have to do it against a fighter who mutilated the only two opponents that Ali had to fight twice (at that time) before he could claim a victory over either one of them. In twenty-seven rounds with Frazier, Ali was only able to hurt Joe twice, once in each fight. On the other hand, Frazier lasted just two minutes with Foreman before going down three times in the final minute of the first round, and then three more times in the first minute and a half of the second. When comparing how Ali and Foreman fared versus Norton, the gap was just as pronounced. Ali hurt Norton twice during their rematch and in twenty-four rounds forced him back three or four times but never put him down or was close to stopping him. Yet, Foreman needed just five minutes to knock Norton all over the ring enroute to stopping him in two short rounds.

No fighter in history ever looked more unbeatable and like a human wrecking machine at any weight than did former heavyweight champ George Foreman circa 1973-74. Foreman was 40-0 (37) and was just 25-years old. At the time both Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis said on The Wide World of Sports that Foreman was the most devastating and hardest puncher in boxing history. At that time Ali was months away from turning 33 and was thought to have no legs - as evidenced by him only dancing and fighting on his toes for the first four rounds of the Frazier rematch and the first five of the Norton rematch.

If ever there was a fighter who could've demanded some kind of test for HGH or steroids or anything else before a fight, it was Ali before he fought Foreman. Muhammad could've easily said how come 2-3 years ago light heavyweight Gregorio Peralta could last ten rounds with Foreman twice, but Frazier and Norton couldn't make it out of the second against him? But we never heard that kind of talk from Ali. In fact, if the thought even existed that Foreman was on some type of HGH or PEDs, Ali would've said something like - "good, I hope he's on them the night I fight him because I'm still gonna whip his behind." And then he would've demanded Foreman take or inject whatever he thought he needed to make himself feel invincible and unbeatable.

As of this writing the biggest welterweight fight since De La Hoya-Trinidad is in limbo because Floyd Mayweather can't grasp Manny Pacquiao's ascension as a fighter. Pound for pound Pacquiao doesn't look anywhere near as dangerous at 147 as did Foreman look as a heavyweight. And remember both Ali and Mayweather are virtually the same age going into the negotiations for the bout.

The only evidence that Pacquiao has ever used PEDs are Mayweather's insecurity and accusations. And that's enough to make Floyd think he needs to control the terms of the fight to once again have an edge before it starts. Mayweather is no doubt a great fighter, but his resume has too many holes in it to be compared to the greatest of the greats at 135 and 147. However, if he went on to fight and beat a prime Pacquiao in a straight up fight without trying to mickey the terms of it, we could say he did beat one great fighter who, though he was smaller, was still at the top of his game.

Mayweather has looked really muscled up in his last two bouts. Being bigger than Marquez is one thing, but he looked like Mosley's father when they were in the ring earlier this month. Luckily there was no Floyd Mayweather in Muhammad Ali - or we would've never seen Foreman-Ali in 1974, a fight that Muhammad actually fought in a small 17 foot ring (the reason the ropes were loose), which everyone reading this knows was advantage Foreman. Can anyone fathom Ali making demands (testing for PEDs or anything else) on a smaller opponent before they fought because he looked too good in his last three or four fights?

Mayweather-Pacquiao or Pacquiao-Mayweather has to happen. And if it does within the next 12-months, as of this writing I'd favor Mayweather because he looks too big and physically strong for Manny, something that was confirmed even more so after observing Mayweather's physicality during his last bout against Shane Mosley.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com

Source: thesweetscience.com

Don't beat up Yahoo on the rankings and a Don King sighting -- Examiner

By Matt Stolow, Examiner.com

It was typical classy of Yahoo boxing reporter Kevin Iole to give his take on things after being severely criticized by Manny Pacquiao followers for Pacquiao's drop from No. 1 to No. 2 after Floyd Mayweather easily beat Shane Mosley.

I don't know that Iole's column today went deep enough though, which I will explain, and the letters he received were not necessarily representative of all Pacquiao fans - again I will explain. Iole's column was a good start though.

Pacquiao became No. 1 by attrition. Mayweather retired and took off 21 months. Pacquiao absolutely was a great No. 1. He has done nothing to lose the designation of No. 1.

I'm assuming it were the same voters, or very little turnover, of voters between the time Pacquiao became No. 1 and when Mayweather overwhelmed him in the voting from his win over Mosley.

My point is while Iole fielded a lot of mail from Pacquiao fans, it wasn't representative of all his fans and general boxing fans who thought that Pacquiao shouldn't lose his top spot based upon Mayweather beating a 38-year-old Mosley.

Most of the letters or emails, were emotional fans and knee-jerk reactions.

Nobody likes change in anything and Pacquiao has come to represent an entire nation and in fact Asia itself. He is the national sports franchise while Floyd Mayweather has to fight it out in America for sloppy seconds of sports reporting with golf and tennis, well behind the mainstream sports of football, baseball, basketball and even ice hockey, not to mention this is a World Cup year in soccer.

Iole makes the point Pacquiao fans weren't complaining that the Yahoo poll wasn't representative during the time he was No. 1 and that's a difficult point to get around.

Maybe now, in the down time while a possible fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather is on the horizon, that Yahoo considers making their balloting more representative of Asian fighters by having more Asian representatives voting if necessary, but also it needs to explain better, as it has attracted an international interest, that this isn't scientific in the first place.

The voting is just a place for fans and media to congregate and hope big fights get made by making the boxing world a smaller place and a place to debate fairly and have some fun.

On a side note:

Don King gets a mention here: On Saturday afternoon, the banks closed, a judge in Florida gave 78-year-old King two hours to raise a $1 million in cash so as to force an injunction on an event later that evening. With time to spare King returns with two duffle bags packed with the money. Name one other promoter or anyone else that could do that!

Source: examiner.com

Arum finds joy in Pacquiao's congressional run -- Yahoo! Sports

By Steve Cofield, Yahoo! Sports

He's 78 years old and been a part of some of the biggest fights over the last 45 years, but for Bob Arum his time spent recently in the Philippines may have been the proudest moment of his career. Arum is a big fan of politics and said he was re-energized by Manny Pacquiao's efforts over the last few weeks.

"It's like he turned back the clock," Arum said of how Pacquaio helped him. "I was checking on these election precincts. I amazed some of these Filipinos. How I got into this. Imaybe think more than a boxing promoter my calling was probably as a politician or a political operative."

For those who have dealt with Arum over the years, make your own jokes. All kidding aside, Arum did say that he has one more thing to accomplish and it's not making the Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight.

"My great, great dream is to still be around to attend the inauguration of Manny Pacquiao as the president of the Philippines. That would be to me, the greatest achievement in mycareer."

When asked by David Mayo of the Grand Rapid Press if Pacquiao could be part of the big fight's negotiating process, Arum quickly snapped back saying no, he's too busy as a Congressman now. That political career may cut Pacman's boxing career a bit shorter than you'd expect. Arum said Pacquiao told him in confidence how much longer he'll be fighting but wouldn't elaborate.

Pacquiao will be back in the U.S. in early June to attend the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman fight at Yankee Stadium on June 5. He will not be able to throw out a pitch at a Yankee game. Obviously, The Bronx Bombers will be out of town. Arum said Pacman has a nice little curveball according to San Francisco Giant pitcher Tim Lincecum. Lincecum, who is half-Filipino, was on the receiving end of a Pacquiao first pitch back in April of 2009.

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Amir Khan on Paulie Malignaggi: The Animosity Was Real -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

NEW YORK -- Boxing may have had its share of hyped-up, promotional stunts at weigh-ins, but if you ask WBA junior welterweight (140 pounds) champion, Amir Khan, Friday night's near-brawl with challenger, Paulie Malignaggi, was not one of them.

On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater, the 23-year-old Khan battered his rival relentlessly to improve to 23-1, by scoring his 17th knockout in the 11th round over the 29-year-old Malignaggi (27-4, five KOs).

Nearly 24 hours earlier, however, the fighters nearly came to blows at the pre-fight weigh-in.

"It's part of boxing, you know. But to be honest with you, none of that was fake. It was real, everything that happened between me and Paulie Malignaggi," said Khan, during a ringside interview at the WaMu Theater after the fight.

"I'm a very calm person, and you remember at the weigh-in, when he kept pushing his head into mine," said Khan. "Overall, he was very disrespectful at the weigh-in."

While the fighters stood, nose-to-nose, words were exchanged before Khan shoved Malgnaggi, and all chaos broke loose before order was restored after about two minutes.

"You never know, he could have slipped and bopped me in the nose," said Khan, who completed his debut in the United States. "It could have cut me if someone else had pushed me from behind."

Fortunately, neither fighter was harmed during the fracas, which Khan later chalked up to what he believed was part of the American boxing culture.

"You know, this is hype in America. When I was watching the news later on in the day, I saw that a lot of people were talking about the weigh-in. It just seems like American fighters love to do that," said Khan.

"I respect Paulie, and he's a great fighter. After the fight, he apologized for everything. He told me, 'mentally, I wanted to break you down, but you're a strong fighter, mentally,'" said Khan. "And the same goes for him. I think that he's a mentally strong fighter. I'm just happy that we both didn't have a fight outside of the boxing ring in the end."

Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, echoed his assertion of Malignaggi, who "said after the fight that there were no hard feelings, and that he respected Amir Khan."

"Paulie told me, 'Freddie, I love you, and you're a great trainer. I still think that Manny Pacquiao is on steroids, but that's him, and that's not on you,'" said Roach. "He said, 'I respect you,' and I said, 'You fought a helluva a fight,' and I left the rest of it alone."

Overall, Khan said that he is has benefitted from the experience.

"It will just make me a better fighter, and at least, now, when I come to America, I know what to expect," said Khan. "This was my first fight here, and the next time I come here, Amir Khan is going to be even better."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Blueprint for Mayweather-Pacquiao: Begins, ends with dropping lawsuits -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

They need to tango. They need to fandango.

So let's get ready to rhumba.

What the heck is fandango, anyway?

I speak of Messrs. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. and Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, of course.

The public will now accept no substitutes, no Antonio Margarito for Pacman and no Sergio Martinez for Money May.

This sizzling fight, the supreme slugger against the master boxer, is like a well marbled steak with flames surrounding it.

Anecdotal Evidence #1: As I came through customs at Newark Airport, after my sojourn to the Philippines, I handed by landing card to a young, African American customs inspector. He noticed my Pacquiao tee-shirt, bought for cash money at the Gesanio Mall in Gensan.

I guessed he'd make a crack about Pac, that he would say say something about Manny's needle phobia, his reluctance to accept totally random drug testing.

I guessed wrong as is so often the case with stereotypical thinking.

Who wins the fight, this fellow asked.

I said Pacquiao and he said, "He will, if they fight...if Mayweather stops ducking him!"

Anecdotal Evidence #3: Bellying up to the bar at Hurley's Saloon, the white bartender and two white customers were talking up The Only Fight That Matters. The mixologist backed Pacman as did one customer. That guy's boozing buddy was a Flomo, a follower of Mayweather.

Like the customs guy, this trio was 30ish in age.

I checked in with in the know AOL Fan House fight scribe Lem "The Baltimore Gem" Satterfield and his reading of the public pulse is identical to mine.

"I'm personally tired of the back and forth, the blood testing and all the he said, he said," Satterfield said. "You go to the barber shops, the gorcery stores...people don't know close the deal was to getting done (in January) but they don't want to hear about Olympic style testing or anything else, they only want to know what the fight date is. Blood tests, all that other stuff, just turns people off, really."

The public appetite is stronger, the time is now, the fight date should be this fall so we really have a November To Remember.

They know that loose lips sunk this ocean liner once before.

The less we all hear from Uncle Bob, Cousin Richie Rich, Laughing Lenny...the better.

The theme song for these suits is "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show." May I remind them no is going to the MGM Grand or to Cowboys Stadium to see them or hear them pontificate and prevaricate.

The firm hand of HBO paymaster Ross Greenburg, worthy keeper of the boxing exchequer, is there to right the ship if need be.

The G Man must play the concerned but stern daddy role and he is.

My next column will detail "The Blueprint" to make this bout an almost done deal but I'll give you a teaser, a lagniappe as we say in Nawlins, to titilate you, to whet your fist appetite.

MICHAEL MARLEY'S MASTER BLUEPRINT TO PUTTING MAYWEATHER-PACQUIAO INTO SIGNABLE CONTRACT FORM:

1. The money split doesn't look as contentious or as likely a dealbreaker as you might think. Both sides know the money pool is nearly bottomless. The alpha, the omega to this deal is to call off the legal beagles, for everyone involved as either plaintiff or defendant (that means you Manny and you Coach Roach) to take your lawsuits and throw them into File 13.

How to get this mutually agreed to?

Simple, really, you make it the first discussed but last memorialized (written in legalese) point.

There should be no heavy debate on this considering that if no fight deal is made, readied for Manny and Floyd's respective John Hancocks, the lawsuits will continue at their turtle pace.

Only rocky shoals I see here is the Pacquiao side demanding an apology on the drug allegations.

How hard is that?

It's a two paragaph press release stipulated to and sent out by both sides, it's no Biggie, Smalls.

Checking your ego at the public door is not so tough when you see a $40 million purse awaiting both superstars, now is it?

When I return, the rest of the story...

READER'S REWARD: You came this far, you deserve it. Here's Wikipedia on fandango:

Fandango is a lively folk and Andalusian (flamenco) couple-dance usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping (palmas in Spanish and Portuguese). Fandango can both be sung and danced. The sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has an instrumental introduction followed by "variaciones". Sung fandango usually follows the structure of "cante" that consist of four or five octosyllabic verses (coplas) or musical phrases (tercios). Occasionally the first copla is repeated.

The metre of fandango is similar to that of the bolero and seguidilla. It was originally notated in 6/8 time, but later in 3/8 or 3/4.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Amir Khan's victory against Paulie Malignaggi has American fight fraternity in raptures -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk

The credit was nowhere more glowing, however, than from officials of Home Box Office, the all-powerful television giants who hold the clout to make or break the biggest fighting names in the US.

Khan impressed greatly. There is nothing like seeing a boxer live and Khan did not disappoint. Kerry Davis, the senior vice president of sports programming for Home Box Office was highly impressed by the 23-year-old Briton’s performance.

“That was a terrific performance by Amir. He came out there in the first round and instantly in that first round you could see his speed, and his talent and his punching power," Davis told Telegraph Sport. "For a debut, and coming off the ordeal he had with visa situation, he did very well for a debut performance.

"He has an extremely telegenic style. Speed sells; power sells. And he has both in abundance. I was surprised that he was faster than Paulie [Malignaggi]. Paulie adjusted after a few rounds but his speed even so is very impressive. He’s very fast."

Davis can see several lucrative and thrilling match-ups ahead, in a 140lb division stacked with talent, all young, and all of whom want to prove themselves as last man standing. "It portends to some very exciting match-ups down the road, whether that is [Marcus] Maidana, [Timothy] Bradley or [Devon] Alexander [with Khan, and each other]. They are fights I would pay to see as a boxing fan.

"You need dance partners for great fighters. In the welterweight division, we have Mayweather, Pacquiao, Mosley, Cotto, and at light welterweight we have these young exciting fighters coming through. There a lot of good fights out there over the next two to three years."

Even Malignaggi's promoter, Lou DiBella, was fulsome in his praise of Khan. DiBella's view is worth noting. Before he became a boxing promoter, he was an HBO employee himself, running its boxing and influencing its decision-making.

"Khan could be the best fighter in the world in five years' time. He might lose a couple of fights, because of his style, but he has all the qualities for greatness. Great speed, athleticism, hunger and ambition, charisma and looks...he has it all. He's a real talent," he said.

It may only have been the theater in the Garden, rather than the full arena, yet Khan’s performance was worthy of a greater stage. Those nights will come. HBO’s ‘Boxing After Dark’, the US equivalent of Sky Sports showing boxing on their programmed channels, will have given the US public an appetite for the former silver medallist who holds the World Boxing Association light-welterweight crown.

It may have been a late, late show in the UK, on ITV1, but Khan showed that under Freddie Roach, he is planting through his punches. He also showed he is still raw in some aspects too, leaving openings that a heavy puncher may be able to exploit as he presses forward with his jab. Khan also showed more use of punching from angles by dipping and throwing hooks to the body. He is, according to Roach, still a work in progress.

There are plans underway to have Khan back in the ring in ten weeks’ time, in either London or Manchester. Trainer Roach does not believe it is necessarily too soon to bring him back to work. "I don't think Amir will suffer burnout. He's 23, really hungry and wants to get in there and prove himself. We'll see how he is in the next few weeks."

Richard Shaefer, CEO of Golden Boy promotions, was delighted with the entire show. Schaefer told Telegraph Sport: "We have a July 31 show at the Mandalay Bay when Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz meet each other and maybe there is a possibility Amir could fight on a dual telecast from the UK.

"Amir wants to fight before Ramadan, so we could get a fight in and it could even be that the winners' of those two fighteers go on to meet each other. We will probably look at a few possible opponents for Amir for his next challenge."

At present, it is thought that Marcos Maidana and Michael Katsidis, who stopped Londoner Kevin Mitchell inside three rounds at Upton Park on Saturday night to retain the interim WBO lightweight belt, are being approached to meet Khan.

Source: telegraph.co.uk