UFC champs Georges St-Pierre, Frankie Edgar fall short at 2010 ESPY Awards -- MMA Junkie

MMAjunkie.com

Well, there's always next year.

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (20-2 MMA, 14-2 UFC) and lightweight title holder Frankie Edgar (12-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) each fell short in their bids to win a 2010 ESPY Award at ESPN's annual awards ceremony.

St-Pierre was nominated in the "Best Fighter" category, while Edgar's UFC 112 win over former champion B.J. Penn was up for an award as the year's "Best Upset." The results of the awards were announced on Wednesday night during a live ESPN broadcast.

St-Pierre lost out to boxing great Floyd Mayweather, who is now a three-time winner in the category.

It was St-Pierre's second nomination for an ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards). The Canadian MMA superstar was also nominated for the "Best Fighter" award in 2008, but Mayweather walked away with the prize that year, as well.

No mixed martial artist has ever won the ESPY for "Best Fighter," a category that was created in 2007 to replace the "Best Boxer" category that had been in place since 1993.

Meanwhile, Edgar's effort was bested by Northern Iowa's NCAA basketball tournament upset of No. 1-seeded Kansas. The University of Hawaii's college softball upset of a No. 1-ranked Alabama and 110th-ranked golfer Y.E. Yang's impressive victory in the 2009 PGA Tour Championship over 54-hole leader Tiger Woods were also nominated in the category.

Edgar's nomination represented the first for a mixed martial artist outside of the "Best Fighter" category.

Previous winners of the "Best Upset" category, which was introduced in 2004, include the U.S. men's national soccer team's June 2009 victory over Spain, and the 2008 Super Bowl victory by the New York Giants over the heavily favored New England Patriots.

The ESPY Awards, founded in 1993, honor the best achievements, moments and leading athletes of the previous year. The show aired live on ESPN for the first time since 2003 with "Saturday Night Live's" Seth Meyers as host.

The 2009 ESPY Awards featured Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva in the "Best Fighter" category, which was ultimately won by boxer Manny Pacquiao. St-Pierre was the lone MMA representative in 2008, while UFC fighters Randy Couture and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson were nominated in 2007 but lost to Mayweather.

Source: mmajunkie.com

Arum's big plans start with Mayweather-Pacquiao deadline -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

If there weren't enough obstacles to making boxing's dream fight, Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Nov. 13 in Las Vegas, promoter Bob Arum has added another: a Friday night deadline for Mayweather to express interest in making the fight.

There are already questions about whether Mayweather will accept Pacquiao's slight concession to allow a blood sample to be taken from him 14 days before the fight -- he previously had said he'd give blood no closer than 24 days before the bout -- and there's rumblings the unbeaten "Pretty Boy" would rather not fight again until next year.

Mayweather's uncle-trainer, Roger Mayweather, has a pending Aug. 2 trial date in Las Vegas which could result in him being forced behind bars and indefinitely unavailable for the first fight of the century.

And Pacquiao's interest in participating is also a question mark, given Arum's current talks to stage an alternate Nov. 13 fight for the Filipino superstar against Tijuana's Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC super-welterweight title in either Monterrey, Mexico, or Abu Dhabi -- which earlier this year hosted an Ultimate Fighting Championship card.

The foreign venues are required, of course, because Margarito doesn't have a license to fight in the U.S. after nearly taking plaster-loaded gloves into a January 2009 fight against Shane Mosley.

"A lot of money," Arum said of both site offers.

Now, Arum has thrown the Friday deadline into the Mayweather-Pacquiao fray, claiming, "We've got to get moving," as if announcing the fight later next month wouldn't still result in a live-gate sellout and massive pay-per-view buys for the anticipated showdown between the man considered the world's best pound-for-pound fighter (Pacquiao) and the unbeaten Mayweather.

Team Mayweather is keeping quiet. The man the fighter has designated to promote him, Richard Schaefer, is declining comment, and Arum said he's currently not even talking to Schaefer.

Be prepared for a second round of disappointment in these talks, after they earlier crashed in January over the drug-testing disagreement.

It won't stop Arum from making a profit, however, as he announced Wednesday to The Times and others that he's constructing plans for a Dec. 4 card at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas to be headlined by a middleweight bout between former champion Kelly Pavlik and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who impressed last month while defeating John Duddy.

"Chavez will go to the Phillippines to train with [Pacquiao trainer] Freddie [Roach], and then come back here to conclude his preparations," Arum said.

The Dallas card could also include the winner of the Sept. 18 Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez fight in a featherweight battle, Arum said.

Of course, if Mayweather surprisingly triggers interest in Pacquiao, Arum said he will try to shift Margarito against Miguel Cotto in a rematch of their 2008 classic, or Cotto could face welterweight champion Andre Berto.

Big plans. And first, a big deadline.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Pacquiao suffers from black-white conflict of Mayweather, Arum -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

If Floyd Joy Mayweather ignores the so-called Friday 5pm "deadline" seemingly imposed by the Imperial Bob Arum, then there will be no Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout, at least not this year.

I've been scratching and clawing trying to think of a legitimate reason for Mayweather and his minions to just let the Pacman promoter's "drop dead time" pass without even a comment.

For the life of me, I couldn't see why Mayweather would pass up or even delay until next May a bout which he and his braintrust consider "easy work" and which would garner both he and the Pinoy Idol a purse in the vicinity of $40 million.

Now I think I've hit the reason Team Mayweather may not utter a public peep come Friday.

It's black and white and I don't mean the black and white on the offer sheet or contract. I mean black like Mayweather and white like the 78 year old Arum.

It's all the gas Arum has been passing, despite the so-called agreed to media silence between the parties.

If Mayweather flips the switch Friday, if he reaches for a pen and signs a bout contract, then some will believe despite the absence of fact, that "Marsa Bob Arum" (as former boxing muckraker Flash Gordon termed him) is just running his "Top Rank Plantation" (another Gordon term) like days of yore.

Bad, old days according to Floyd Mayweather, when Bob Arum was HIS promoter (AP Photo)

Don't ever undestimate how much Arum makes Mayweather's skin crawl. Mayweather bought his contractual "freedom" from Arum and nearly always chafed at his control and the enmity between them has not lessened since their fractious split.

Arum has many thinking he called the tune on all or nearly all the material terms of a proposed contract.

Mayweather won't want to be viewed as having rolled over for his ex-promoter especially after having charged Arum with gouging first himself and now the Filipino on division of fight revenue.

Which brings us to this legitimate inquiry, is it really Arum who demanded terms he knew Mayweather would find onerous both in substance and presentation?

Right now, public perception is that Mayweather is sitting idle with a take it or leave it deal.

After the Friday afternoon whistle blows, maybe both L'il Floyd and Big Bob will have gotten what they wanted.

For Mayweather, he'll be perceived as Fraud Duckweather by the Pacquiao Worldwide Army (PWA) as I call them and by a standup, no shuck and jive guy who did not respond to Dictator Arum.

For Arum, he can milk Manny for a November bout against either Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito and know that Floyd-Manny can be reassembled for 2011.

So who's getting the short end of the stick?

Look in the mirror, Pacman.

You're not black or white but you're getting caught in the middle of a spite fight between Floyd and his former handler.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao on the same red carpet for the ESPYs?: Fighters nominated -- Examiner

By Jodi Jill, Examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao may see each other very soon after all. The 2010 ESPYs Awards, sponsored by ESPN, were announced with both fighters are nominated for the 2010 “Fighter of the Year” along with two other fighters.

So far nobody knows if either fighter will be at the Nokia Theatre LA LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, but fans would love to see it. Of course there won't be any of the smack talk that either of them could dish up, but there would be plenty of stares complete with the celebrity photos that makes any entertainer blush.

The evening will be all about sports, but taking the tools of the entertainment business, there will be lots of red carpet, photographers and even a few interviews before the ceremony begins. Then once it starts it will be all about the awards for the best of the best. Sports has no other award show like the ESPYs and the fans just love it.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao on the same red carpet? Who wouldn't dream of that happening?

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather's refusal to acknowledge Manny Pacquiao negotiations casts doubt in fight -- Grand Rapids Press

By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press

Here's the funny thing about the recent Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao negotiations, which now are a scant 48 hours away from a decision deadline: The Mayweather side never even has acknowledged they happened.

So if the Pacquiao side's Friday deadline passes with no fight in place, as I've suspected all along, the pocket-veto tactic of the Mayweather side -- eschewing the deadline without acknowledging the offer at all -- will be an extension of its position that there never were any substantive talks.

To what degree that is true, someone might let us know some specifics soon.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, may be that someone.

He's the one who said there was a final offer on the table to Mayweather, after all.

And it was another member of Team Pacquiao, adviser Michael Koncz, who set the mid-July deadline, later specified as the end of this week.

There surely were talks between representatives of Arum's company, Top Rank Inc., and representatives from Golden Boy Promotions, which has promoted Mayweather's last three fights but has no formal contract with him and is not empowered to negotiate unilaterally on his behalf.

There might have been talks between Arum and Mayweather's business adviser, Al Haymon. Arum did not deny that possibility when asked. Haymon, who does not speak publicly to the media -- even on far less sensitive issues than back-channel negotiations for potentially the richest fight in history -- hasn't hinted anything.

What we do know, with absolute certainty, is that Mayweather has not shown the slightest inkling of interest in fighting Pacquiao without a big advantage in financial terms and Olympic-style random drug testing right up until fight night, and that there is no evidence Pacquiao's side has yielded on either point.

Arum is a public-relations genius.

In fact, he's a genius in general.

He got out in front of the story, despite both sides' self-imposed gag order.

He declared that Pacquiao had agreed to Mayweather's terms, without specifying what terms he meant -- Mayweather's mid-winter terms, which included a more equitable financial split and a 14-day pre-fight cutoff with no blood testing; or the mid-summer terms, which don't -- and put the publicity onus on the Grand Rapids native.

Meantime, when I talked to Arum last week, he was en route to Puerto Rico, where Miguel Cotto lives. One of the two fighters most mentioned as a potential Pacquiao opponent for Nov. 13, if and when the Mayweather fight doesn't materialize, happens to be Cotto, whom Pacquiao knocked out last year.

I don't believe in coincidence on that level.

Through all of this, stone silence from the Mayweather side for several weeks, after adviser Leonard Ellerbe denied there had been any talks at all.

I believe someone talked to someone.

I believe there never was an agreement in place, or anything close to an agreement that anyone really believed both sides would accept.

I believe there was plenty of posturing by the P.R. genius Arum and the media swallowed the hook, believing the fight was close.

I believe it was as close in January as it is in July.

That means not close at all.

Everyone hopes I'm wrong. That includes me. I want to see Mayweather-Pacquiao as much as anyone. I actually think it's a pretty easy fight for Mayweather because Pacquiao's wide-open, offensive style will make him his own victim. Every time he launches that whirlwind attack, Pacquiao might as well be punching himself -- and he can't win the fight without launching it.

Plenty of people hope I'm wrong on that one, too.

Maybe someday we'll see.

Next May, I suspect, could be that someday.

As for November, it's Pacquiao's dictated date. This is Pacquiao's dictated deadline. These are Pacquiao's dictated terms. And Pacquiao, against common opponents, never has sold pay-per-view television on the scale Mayweather has.

I hope I'm the one played for a fool here. But I honestly think anyone who thought that formula adds up to Mayweather-Pacquaio this year was.

E-mail David Mayo: dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo

Source: mlive.com

Margarito or Cotto, who sells better against Pacquiao in November? -- Examiner

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com

Bob Arum recently announced that if Manny Pacquiao chooses to take on Antonio Margarito as his next opponent, the fight will indeed be for a light middleweight title.

The newly vacated WBC title to be precise, which Sergio Martinez vacated to pursue fights at middleweight.

The news puts Margarito back on a more or less even footing with Miguel Cotto, the other potential opponent for Pacquiao in November should Floyd Mayweather decide not to fight.

Not long ago it looked as if Margarito was nearly out of the running following the set back he suffered in trying to become licensed to fight in the United States.

The major appeal in seeing Pacquiao take on Cotto again was the fact that it would be at junior middleweight, and that Cotto's WBA belt would be on the line. Giving the Filipino the chance to win an unprecedented 8th title in an 8th weight.

Aside from that and the fact that Cotto now has a new trainer, seeing the pair square off once more wasn't that appealing to most fans. Given that the first fight wasn't really that competitive past the early rounds.

Emmanuel Steward stepping in as Cotto's main trainer seemed to have sharpened him up when winning his title against Yuri Foreman last month, but whether he will be able to make enough of a difference to make a second fight with Pacquiao closer is debatable.

Margarito might be fairly similar to Cotto in terms of what he's achieved in his career, the tampered hand wrap scandal being a particular low point. But he does present some fresh challenges that Cotto does not.

Although he doesn't always tend to use it, Margarito would have a sizable height advantage against Pacquiao, standing 5,11 to his 5,6. The same height in fact as former WBA light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman. When a potential fight against Foreman was being discussed, Pacquiao's team mentioned his height as a concern.

The only other potential issue facing Margarito is that he still does not have a license to fight in the United States, although that will likely be resolved in the near future. Going before the NSAC, Margarito's application for a license was tabled. Meaning that the commission wouldn't rule on the issue until the CSAC (the commission that originally suspended him) had made a decision.

Also both Bob Arum and Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz have spoken at length in the press recently about the different venues bidding to host the current WBO welterweight's next bout. So it might be the case that a license in the United States isn't so much of an issue. Although as Mike Marley says in his latest piece, this could just be 'promoter talk' to put pressure on Floyd Mayweather.

Of course the best option all round is still for Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather and for Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito face each other. This of course depends on whether the Mayweather and Pacquiao fight gets put together, whcih at the moment is looking far from certain.

Source: examiner.com

UFC champ St-Pierre would consider retirement after Silva win, top-fighter ranking -- Yahoo! Sports

Steven Marrocco, MMAjunkie.com

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is ready to retire when he's considered the sport's pound-for-pound best.

Don't worry, though. On a special "Primetime" edition of MMAjunkie Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) this past Friday, St-Pierre said he's not quite there yet.

But the traditional reason for sticking around - fame and money - isn't his primary concern. Doing it his way is.

"People are going to be shocked," St-Pierre said of his tentative retirement plan.

St-Pierre (20-2 MMA, 15-2 UFC) currently is in Las Vegas wrapping up a coaching stint on "The Ultimate Fighter 12" opposite top contender Josh Koscheck (15-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC). The two are expected to meet sometime at the end of the year in a traditional season-ending fight between "TUF" coaches.

Beyond that, he's done some additional planning. In fact, St-Pierre said his potential retirement plan recently came about while he was setting goals for his remaining career.

"Growing up in my career, I always fix my goals very high," he said. "And every time I achieve one of my [goals], I fix another goal to reach. It's important as a martial artist [never to be] satisfied because otherwise there is no point to keep doing what you're doing."

As to what goals remain, there are a few. St-Pierre has achieved what he initially set out to do: become a professional fighter, become a UFC fighter, and finally, become a UFC champion.

Being considered the best overall fighter in the world? That's the one goal he thinks currently is unmet.

That doesn't mean he's complacent, of course. In his second run as welterweight champion, St-Pierre has taken on four consecutive contenders and soundly beaten them all. At the end of the year, he will attempt to tie former champion Matt Hughes' record of five consecutive title defenses when he meets Koscheck.

Still, some fans believe St-Pierre already has cleaned out his division. He's already beaten all the division's top contenders - Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves and Dan Hardy - and some point to a middleweight showdown against current champion Anderson Silva as a final hurdle to the pound-for-pound crown. Silva is still widely considered to be the holder of that unofficial title. St-Pierre knows he could snatch it away by beating him.

But St-Pierre said a move up in weight would likely come near the end of his career, and it won't come anytime soon.

"If I go up in weight, it's going to be hard to go down," he said. "If I put on lean muscle like I already did recently … it's going to be hard to come back down. So it's not like I go up and I go down. I have to be very careful with what I do."

Still, if St-Pierre takes "a couple" of welterweight fights in the next year or two, and if Silva is still the pound-for-pound king at that point, the French-Canadian then would consider moving up to fight him. And if he defeats Silva, that's a win worthy of retirement, he said.

"If one day I fight at 185 pounds for a superfight to know who is the best pound-for-pound in the world, (and) if I reach my goal, then my goal will be reached," St-Pierre said. "There will be no point for me to still compete because I'm not going to have a goal left."

St-Pierre also said he wants to secure his and his family's future before he takes the risk of moving up, though money and fame aren't the driving forces in his career.

"Of course, the money's there," he said. "The difference between me and a lot of fighters … (is that) a lot of fighters fight for the fame. They fight for the money.

"Yeah, the money is there. It's pleasant. The money is there. It's good that I have this security. I have a lot of money now. It's good. But there is a lot of things I can do outside of mixed martial arts … because of the name that I reached with MMA, that the UFC helped me to have.

"The fame is the same thing. I didn't have it in the beginning, and now I have it. But if one day I reach my goal of becoming the best pound-for-pound (fighter) of all-time, it will be time for me to retire. But I don't know right now, at 29 years old, if I want to retire. So it's better I have to stick around."

For more on "The Ultimate Fighter 12," stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Freddie Roach: “Georges St-Pierre Really Didn’t Know Much About Boxing” -- 5th Round

By Tom Ngo, 5thRound.com

After spending one intense week with Georges St-Pierre this past May, legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach confirmed what everybody had already known – that GSP is one heck of a guy. Non-violent depictions aside, Roach added the UFC welterweight king is far from being a polished boxer, but is doing everything in his power to get there.

“He’s like a sponge, he took in what I taught him and really practiced. He would come back the next day and know the move,” Roach told Fighthub.com. “I’d say ‘You went home and practiced that move all night long’ and he would just smile at me.”

The 29-year-old is currently enjoying a seven fight-winning streak and holds a dominant 20-2 mark overall. Despite his impressive resume, the haters have poured it on pretty thick because of the “conservative” fighter he’s morphed into after getting slapped silly by Matt Serra at UFC 69 in April 2007 – arguably the biggest upset in MMA history.

In an attempt to silence his critics, GSP headed West to recruit the services of Mr. Roach – who has tutored the likes of Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

“He’s a great guy. Working with one of the best guys in the sport, it’s kind of an honor for me to help guys like that out,” Roach added. “[He] really didn’t know much about boxing per se, but ability-wise, he absorbed everything I taught him.”

St-Pierre will put his title on the line against Josh Koscheck after the two complete their assignments as opposing coaches on the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Freddie, will you be making a cameo in the popular Spike TV reality show?

“He asked me about making an appearance on his show, he’s a coach I said ‘I won’t show them what I showed you,”’ Roach said with a smile.

Source: 5thround.com

8th boxing title for Pacquiao excites Arum -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

The prospects of Manny Pacquiao winning an eighth world title in as many weight classes is making Bob Arum forget about Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

As the ultimatum issued by Arum for Mayweather to make a decision nears, the Hall of Fame promoter is readying a couple of attractive alternatives for Pacquiao, who is likewise excited to win an unprecedented eighth world crown.

Pacquiao is widely recognized as a seven-division world champion and even if a fight with Mayweather does not materialize this year, the Filipino can still look forward to a historic night.

“If Manny fights Miguel Cotto, it could be in a Middle Eastern country and if it’s Antonio Margarito, it could be in a 20,000-seat arena in Monterrey,” said Arum on Wednesday from Las Vegas, where he has been keenly awaiting word from Mayweather to issue a statement regarding a proposed November 13 showdown with Pacquiao.

Cotto of Puerto Rico holds the WBO super-welterweight crown and if Pacquiao clashes with Margarito, it would be for the vacant WBC version of the 154-lb throne.

Pacquiao has won world titles at flyweight, super-bantam, feather, superrfeather, lightweight, junior-welter and welterweight, a feat not even the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard has achieved, winning just five.

“My meeting with representatives from that Middle Eastern country went very well,” said Arum.

Arum is giving Mayweather until the end of this week to make a decision.

Meanwhile, Arum said super-flyweight Nonito Donaire, the lone Filipino who won over the weekend in Puerto Rico, will be showcased in a big promotion versus world bantam king Fernando Montiel of Mexico in November.

“It won’t be in the undercard of a Pacquiao fight,” said Arum, who boasts that everything is green and go for such a matchup unless Montiel loses this weekend.

Montiel is meeting Rafael Concepcion of Panama this Saturday in Mexico City.

If Montiel survives Concepcion — which ringsiders believe he will — Donaire will be next in line.

Source: mb.com.ph

Manny Pacquiao's Adviser Michael Koncz Speaks Out -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

In one of 2010's most exciting nearly two rounds of boxing action, challenger Bernabe Concepcion of the Philippines scored a first-round knockdown, but was floored three times himself during last Saturday's Showtime-televised, second-round knockout losss to WBO featherweight (126 pounds) champion Juan Manuel Lopez.

In defeat, the 22-year-old Concepcion (28-4-1, with 15 KOs) may have done more for his career than he had in his previous bouts, including an August, seventh-round disqualification loss to then-WBO champ, Steven Luevano, when he flattened the titlist with an errant punch long after the bell ending the seventh round.

But the aftermath of Lopez-Concepcion has gotten ugly for Michael Koncz, one of the fighters' handlers as a partner with seven-divison champion, Manny Pacquiao in the WBO welterweight (147 pound) titlist's MP promotions. An adviser to Pacquiao, Koncz has taken criticism from some members of the Filipino press who perceive him to be responsible for having pushed Concepcion into a fight that was beyond his capabilities to win.

In this Q&A, FanHouse sought Koncz's reaction to that criticism as well as that he has taken for the handling of other boxers in the MP promotional stable such as light flyweight (108 pounds) Rodel Mayol (26-5-2, 20 KOs) and flyweight (112 pounds) Richie Mepranum (22-2-1, five KOs).


FanHouse: So Mike, is it your perception that there are shots being taken at you as Manny Pacquiao's adviser and his partner handling the fighters at MP Promotions?

Michael Koncz: Taking the shots as Manny Pacquiao's adviser? No problem. That's part of my job and I'm willing to do that in order to -- I don't know if this is the right term -- but to save Manny from some of the wrong doings. I'm willing to do that.

But right now, it's not the negative criticism of me being Manny's adviser, but it's the negative criticism about MP Promotions and myself. And, first of all, all of the matches that I make with our boxers, I discuss that with my partner at MP Promotions, who is Manny.

And then Manny and I discuss it with the boxer. So, it's really up to the boxer. We give our advice and our opinions, but they're never threatened like, 'you take this fight, or you will never fight again.'


What is your take on all of this outcry that has come as a result of the loss by Bernabe Concepcion?

Specific to this most recent fight involving Bernabe Concepcion, when that fight was offered to us prior to his last fight with Mario Santiago [won by Concepcion via 10-round decision] --that's when the discussion was.

Now Bernabe had a very poor showing and we were very disappointed in him against Steven Luevano. That's a fight that Bernabe should have won within four or five rounds by knockout. But forever reason, he didn't perform.


Because he was disqualified for hitting after the bell?

Well, forget even that shot. He should have taken Luevano out way before that because he was a better boxer than Steven. So the discussion was that we'll give Bernabe a shot against this individual [Santiatgo,] and if he can beat this guy, then we have the opportunity for a title shot.

So this fight with Juan Manuel Lopez was not something that we did over night. This goes back to even before his last fight. That was the idea. If Bernabe showed good against Santiago, then we would get a title shot. So it was well planned out.

And that's how we do it. First I get the opportunity at a match, which I discuss with Manny, because he's my partner at MP Promotions, and I value his opinion as a boxer. And then we both felt Bernabe would have a tough fight.

But we felt that with the right game plan, that Bernabe had a very good chance of winning this fight.


What happened?

Unfortunately, the game plan that the trainer, Buoboy Fernandez, and Bernabe decided to use was absurd. I spoke to them all week, and we said, 'What does Bernabe have to do?' We talked to him before the training camp all of that time about the fight strategy. Manny's response?

'It's the same thing, Mike, that I told you before -- he's got to extend his punches, don't throw those short punches, give him angles and lateral movement, and throw combinations and get out. He can not stand in front of Lopez, who is a fabulous counter-puncher.'

We wanted to take him into the later rounds. Lopez has a tendency to tire out in the later rounds and Bernabe seems to have more power than Lopez, Manny and I felt, in the later rounds, that was when we felt a knockout would come if it was going to come.

Now, for some reason, fighter and the trainer, even though we had talked about the strategy many times during the week, they elected to go with a different game plan, which was the wrong game plan. So, that's what happened there.


Now, Bernabe Concepcion still is a young boxer with a lot of talent and a bright future, right?

Right, but now, I'll talk to Manny again, we'll give Bernabe another fight, and then we'll discuss with Bernabe if he wants to have the winner of Lopez and Rafael Marquez.

Nothing has changed. We still believe that Bernabe has the ability and the skill and the determination to beat either of those boxers. But he has to follow the game plan. Now, how can I get angry at Bernabe?

And he spoke to me right after the fight because he sensed the frustration in me. And I was very disappointed, and I expressed my disappointment in the locker room to the whole team. It was like, 'What the hell are you guys doing?'

We were supposed to box and give him angles. 'Why did you guys go toe-to-toe?' And, Bernabe was like, 'You know, I'm sorry, but I was listening to my corner.' And I'm the one that's always telling him that you have to have faith, trust and listen to your corner.'

So, there's not much that you can scold him on. But, again, it was a decision that was made by the fighter and the corner, and it was the wrong decision and it yielded a bad result. So, next time, hopefully they will listen to Manny and I.


Don't you believe that Bernabe raised his stature in the game by his performance?

Well, you can't baby the guy. Forget his age. He's had a lot of fights. Boxing is about taking chances with opportunities provided. Thank God, even though he lost the fight, it saved the television broadcast because it was an exciting fight.

Showtime is very happy. Even though it only went two rounds, it was the most exciting two rounds they said that they had had in a long time. But, again, we want to perform well enough for the network, but that's not our primary goal.

Our primary goal is to make sure that the fighter has a chance and performs and does the best that he can to win.


So do you believe that Bernabe will be better for this fight overall?

Yes. Bernabe is good that way, and he learns from his mistakes. I'm not a trainer, and I don't profess to be the trainer. I consult with Manny.

Manny's perception is that that's what they worked on in the gym -- the head movement, the combinations, the angles, the footwork -- it was unbelievable how good Bernabe looked. They were so confident and they were so sure that they were going to win this fight.

When Lopez went back to his corner after the first round -- and I watched the tape of the fight today -- I mean, he staggered into that corner. Throughout that whole sit-down in the corner Lopez didn't even know where he was.


So where is the criticism coming from and what do you believe is the source of it?

Well, I think they're just resentful. What these guys forget is that who got Rodel Mayol five shots at a world title in a year and a half? Who gave Bernabe Concepcion two title shots within six months? I mean, we're giving opportunities to our boxers.

And like Manny asked me, 'What happened in the Mayol fight [June's unanimous decision loss to Omar Nino Romero for WBC title]? I was in Mexico. I said, 'Manny, he was winning the first five, six rounds, and then, he got tired.'

Manny's response to me was, 'Mike, that's not your problem. That's the trainer's problem and the fighter's problem. Don't worry about it.' Because Manny knows that I take things personal when it comes to the fighters.

I feel for tehm and it's hard to explain. So he said, 'it's not your problem. We did what we're supposed to. We gave them the opportunity. How they train and if they don't train properly, that's not our problem, that's the trainer's problem.'


Why do you believe that it's coming at your expense?

Because what media is going to attack Manny? They're not going to attack Manny. Unfortunately, alleged investigative reporters are not the best investigative reporters. The only regret that I have in Bernabe's fight, and it's not like I just said, 'Bernabe, go fight the guy.'

All of the fights that we make are such that Manny and I discuss the match first, and then we discuss it with the fighters, and give them our opinion, and it's ultimately the fighter's decision. I would do it all over again and I plan on doing it all over again if Bernabe wants to do it all over again.

He'll have another fight, maybe two, but probably one more fight. And if he wins that fight, we're going to go after a rematch either with Lopez or Rafael Marquez. Did Bernabe lose because he was out-matched? I don't believe so.

I believe that he lost because of a very poor choice in the game plan. Based on the comments Showtime's people are making, they're very happy with the result of the fight -- not just because of who won or who lost -- but of the dynamics and the drama in the fight.

You get certain members of the media who decide to write certain things, but not once have you had one of our boxers that is with Manny or myself complain publicly.

Now, why is that? If these things were happening that a small number of reporters are alleging, don't you believe that a boxer would come forward and complain about them?

The fighters have a good rapport with me, and they know that I'm honest with them and I spend as much time with them as I can. They know that Manny is busy and he can't do that. Again, you don't have any fighters complaining.

Just the self-serving, propaganda media members.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com