By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
In this Q&A, legendary trainer, Manny Steward, shares his thoughts on the WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) bout between Miguel Cotto and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. that is being planned by Top Rank Promotions for Dec. 4 likely at either at New York's Madison Square Garden or the MGM Gand in Las Vegas.
Steward will be in his second fight with the 29-year-old Cotto (35-2, 28 knockouts) of Puerto Rico, who is coming off of June's ninth-round knockout that dethronedYuri Foreman. Steward said that he once trained the father of Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KOs), of Mexico, and had been considered to train the son.
The bout also matches Steward against four-time Trainer of the Year, Freddie Roach.
FanHouse: How big is the fact that Miguel Cotto and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. -- the son of the former champion -- are otentially going to fight on Dec. 4?
Manny Steward: Well, it looks like it's going to happen, first of all. It's a very intriguing ffight, and it looks like it's going to be at Madison Square Garden, too. I think that it will be at The Garden. They're getting ready for the fight.
How intriguing is it from a fan's point of view that you have Mexico against Puerto Rico in Julio Cesar Chavez going against Miguel Cotto, and then the trainers Freddie Roach against Manny Steward, and at The Garden, where Cotto is unbeaten in six fights?
Yeah, you can't forget about the fact that Freddie Roach will be in the other corner, yeah. There are a lot of story angles involved in this fight. Even more than what you mentioned is the fact that Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. had actually asked me to train his son.
When did that happen?
Well, when I was down at the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium for the [March 13] Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight, who comes over and comes over and grabs me on the shoulder, as if, like in desperation? 'Steward, Steward, you've got to help my son, he's got to help him. Big fight coming up with John Duddy,' and, 'give me your phone number please.'
I just told him to give me a call, and I think, at the time, I was working on Wladimir Klitschk's fight with Eddie Chambers [12th-round knockout on March 20.] Ithink that he was unable to get in touch with me while I was over there in Germany, so I guess they decided to take him on over to Freddie's gym.
What about the fact that you once trained Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.?
It's going to be strange for me to be going into the ring against the son of one of the former fighters that I trained. I just had to do that this past week, with Cornelius Bundrage against Leon Spinks' son, Cory Spinks [fifth-round knockout for Bunderage that dethroned Spinks as IBF junior middleweight champion.]
You know, Leon lived across the street from me in Detroit, so I took over as his manager and trainer for a while. I had him for three or four fights. The night before the fight with Bundrage, Leon was talking to me about it like, 'I never thought that you would be training someone to fight against my son.' I said, 'I bet that you never thought that you would have a son in this position either, did you?'
Which fights did you train Julio Cesar Chavez for?
After the first loss that Julio Cesar Chavez lost to Frankie Randall, that's when Don King and those guys asked me to come in and do what I'm doing with Miguel Cotto now. I came in and helped him the rematch with Frankie Randall [won by Chavez by eighth-round technical decision.]
I also trained him for the rematch with Meldrick Taylor and his fight with Tony Lopez [eighth and 10th round knockouts.] I would have stayed with him longer, but then, I decided to go with Lennox Lewis.
I remember Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and, Omar Chavez, his two sons when they were little kids, they were always with us all of the time. When we've interviewed his son for HBO's fighter meetings, I ask him all of the time, and we talk about it all of the time. I've known him since they were babies.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Monday, 16 August 2010
Cheato Bandito: Antonio Margarito knew guns were illegally loaded -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.comI'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of the Antonio Margarito saga.
It plays like a bad telenovela.
Margarito is being shoved by Grandpa Bob Arum down our throats like that awful tasting Castor Oil we had take when were kids suffering from a cold or the flu.
There's been no public outcry for Pacman-Margocheato that I've noticed.
If Margarito had “warrior-like pride” would he have knowingly gone along with ex-trainer Javier Capetillo loaded handwraps scheme for the Shane Mosley fight?We'll never know if Margarito and Capetillo, who the crafty Arum threw under the bus immediately when the boxing police showed up and caught the Mexican fighter plaster handed, schemed to defraud and brutalize Miguel Cotto when they rumbled in Las Vegas.
We'll never know if they did it in other fights on other nights but the suspicion lingers on like the smell of rotten eggs.
But I do know that Cotto will go to his grave thinking the Tijuana Tornado cheated him just like he and Capetillo attempted to do to Mosley in Los Angeles.
Can you blame Cotto for his strong suspicions? Margarito was no novice, no four round prelim kid, he was a veteran of 50 pro bouts the night of the Mosley fight.
Pacquiao said it and colleagues such as Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya agreed that Margocheato knew what was in his handwraps just like any experienced fighter would know.
Arum, who could sell swamp land during a tsunami, wants us to think that Capetillo acted alone and that Tone Loc was in the dark about the nefarious and illegal conduct.
I guess, using Bob's explainer, that Capetillo planned to surprise Margarito after they won, maybe just before the fighter paid his trainer's fee, with a big guess what, that Capetillo was going to reveal the secret ingredients of their success to the boxer then.
Yeah, that's the ticket, Capetillo was planning to reveal later ask his boxer for a cash bonus.
Really, heaping all the blame on Capetillo appears to be a scheme and is highly insulting to Margarito when you think it through.
No, Margarito did not know, could not have known. He's just the fighter, a dummy and a complete tool for his trainer.
What a bunch of hooey, Capetillo worked for Margarito and not the other way around.
Sorry, Bob, I am all for Margarito getting a license and complete clearance to fight from the California commission next week.
He did his time and he did not try to sneak in a fight in Mexico or elsewhere.
Now let the man make a living.
But all Arum will see here as to the “Capetillo acted alone” tale here is a “no sale” sign.
Margarito should be allowed to ply his trade but he should not be getting rewarded so soon with the big payday from the Pacman bout.
But, hey, he's Bob's Bobo so that's why Arum disregards public opinion and shoves him in there. He also gets the disgraced Maragrito for an old Chevy, a few salted peanuts and a few measly pesos.
Margarito appeals to Arm's inner cheapness.
But don't tell me, don't even try to sell me, that Capetillo was the lone cheater in that dressing room, that he acted alone like the Warren Commission said JFK killer Lee Harvey Oswald did.
California chose the time that they felt fit the crime.
The fighter stayed inactive. So now let him work again.
But I know that Margarito did know what went into his handwraps because a veteran carpenter knows and inspects his tools.
Personally, I had my hands wrapped for about 15 Golden Gloves and other amateur bouts and as many intercollegiate fights for the University of Nevada, Reno.
I had to quit when the referees kept stepping on my hands, sure, but I always knew what was in my handwraps and I studiously watched how they were wrapped.
What was Margarito doing that night in LA when the wrapping took place, using his other hand to check his Twitter page?
Come off it.
Or, to mix metaphors as is my wont, that Mosley bout, well that wasn't Margarito's first rodeo.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Publicist Defends Don King -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouseSaying that he takes "umbrage," for what he called, "a cheap shot," by Golden Boy Promotions' CEO, Richard Schaefer, Don King's publicist fired back at Schaefer's assertion that his promoter focused more on Floyd Mayweather than his own fighter, Devon Alexander.
In relation to developments that have resulted in a clash over the unbeaten Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts), King has been wooing the five-time titlist Mayweather with the goal of matching him against Top Rank Promotions' seven-division king and WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt-holder Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) in a mega bout, possibly in the spring.
King invited Mayweather to his Florida home last week for a lavish dinner, and brought the unbeaten fighter to ringside for last Saturday night's HBO-televised main event featuring Alexander's WBC and IBF junior welterweight (140 pounds) title- retaining unanimous decision over former WBA king Andriy Kotelnik at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.Schaefer was critical of the move.
"I think that Don King would be better served to take good care of the fighters that he actually has, such as Devon Alexander," said Schaefer. "If I were Devon, and if I had to read all week long about how Don King bought Floyd Mayweather a $500 lobster at his house, I would be insulted and upset because this was supposed to be Devon Alexander's week."
Those comments chafed Alan Hopper, King's director of public relations.
"Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy Promotions can only dream about the type of publicity that Don King garnered for an HBO Boxing After Dark event. Don was whining and dining Floyd the week before the fight week in St. Louis, where Don arrived in the Gateway City on Monday and promoted Devon Alexander all week long," said Hopper.
"That was evidenced by a Fox Sports Midwest 30-minute television special on Devon Alexander, which aired during fight week, as well as multiple stories most days in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and, features in national publications like the USA Today and The New York Times," said Hopper.
"If the Schaefer missed all of that, I'd also like to tell him that U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, from Missouri welcomed Devon home on a Sunday night event that kicked off fight week," said Hopper. "And Missouri governer, Jay Nixon, accepted Don's invitation to sit with him at ringside along with his two sons. They sat with Mr. King and 'Money' [Mayweather.]"
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Manny Pacquiao eyes Cowboys' home -- ESPN
By Calvin Watkins, ESPNDallas.comARLINGTON, Texas -- Boxing promoter Bob Arum said he's going to finalize a deal to bring a Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito fight to Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 13 for a vacant junior middleweight title.
Arum said he will meet with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in Dallas on Wednesday. Brett Daniels, vice president of corporate communication for the Cowboys, confirmed the meeting will take place.
"Jerry is a friend of mine and I think we'll make a deal," Arum said Tuesday. "Do I know for sure? Of course not, but we have a past history and there's a feeling that because Margarito is Hispanic and [Joshua] Clottey, to be honest about it, was virtually unknown to the public, that this would do better. Jerry thinks we'll do 70,000. The Hispanic fans have followed Margarito."Pacquiao drew 50,994 fans as he easily outpointed Clottey in the first boxing card at Cowboys Stadium on March 13.
There is a big sticking point regarding this fight.
Margarito is not licensed to fight in the United States after serving a one-year suspension in the state of California for a hand-wrapping scandal that engulfed him before his fight with Shane Mosley. Margarito, who returned to fight in Mexico in May after the revocation period expired, applied for a license in Nevada, but that state commission tabled a decision until California made a decision to reinstate.
Margarito has an Aug. 18 hearing before the California State Athletic Commission.
"We feel confident," Arum said. "We're going to follow the rules of the [Association of Boxing Commissions]. Whatever decision is made, the other states are free to act independently.
"I can't talk for Texas, but I'm very optimistic. I don't even think a hearing [in Texas] will be particularly necessary, but it's up to them. If they want a hearing, that's fine."
The Cowboys are in East Rutherford, N.J., to play the New York Giants the weekend of the proposed fight.
Arum said the possibility of having the fight in Abu Dhabi was dead, but left open the possibility of having a fight there in the future.
If Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) beats Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) for a vacant alphabet 154-pound belt it would give Pacquiao a world title in eight weight divisions. Pacquiao already holds the record with titles in seven divisions.
Calvin Watkins covers the Cowboys and boxing for ESPNDallas.com. You can follow him on Twitter or leave a question for his weekly mailbag. ESPN.com's Dan Rafael contributed to this report.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. disappoints -- ESPN
By Scoop Jackson, ESPN.com
Ride or die.
The phrase is the 'hood equivalent to "for better or for worse." A vow. It means if your person's ship is going down, you are going down with it and them. As the great Bernie Mac would say, it signifies "Who You Wit."
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has always been one of my ride-or-die cats. Regardless of how thick the hate got, I was ridin' with him. 'Til death do us part. Except now I've come to a part in his boxing career where faith begins to fade.
And not just my faith, but the faith of millions of others.
See, the predestined, prematurely determined "Fight of the Century" against Manny Pacquiao is off again. Not going to happen this year. If ever. And this time the reason that there will be no fight -- unlike the last time where the two sides didn't agree on a drug-testing arrangement Mayweather and his camp wanted -- seems to be Floyd.
He's refusing to fight. He's refusing to make a statement (outside of his adviser/promoter Leonard Ellerbe saying that "no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon ... to fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13.") in defense of why Pacquiao is fighting Antonio Margarito instead on that date.
He's refusing to do anything more than let live the statement he made last month claiming he's "not really thinking about boxing right now. I'm just relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I'm just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family, enjoying my vacation."
How long does a vacation last when the other world-dominating-pound-for-pound title holder puts the ball in your court, throws down the gauntlet in your corner? How long do you enjoy life when philosophically the "other side" is publicly putting your manhood out there to be questioned?
When Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, basically called Mayweather out, claiming not only that Pacquiao's camp was willing to accept the terms of the drug testing provisions but also that there was a deal and deadline in place that Mayweather never responded to, the landscape of blame shifted.
And because Floyd's chosen to stay "on vacation" and remain silent while the most important story in boxing orbits him, for the first time in his career, to me, the greatest boxer of this generation seems scared.
And that's the last thing I want to have to accept from someone I ride or die with.
The last true ride-or-die boxer whose legacy was always in question because of the fights he seemed to be avoiding was Roy Jones Jr. Regardless of who he fought, Jones was one of the greatest fighters anyone had ever seen. He made fans fall in love with him in the ring, even when there were piles of questions and contradictions that lived outside of the ring.
Then he just stopped fighting. He stopped fighting while he was in the ring.
No one in recent boxing history let his fanbase down the way Roy did. Ask Roy Jones Jr. fans; they'll tell you about the emptiness they still feel in their guts about how Roy went out. They'll tell stories of betrayal.
And this is what scares so many of the same people (including me) about Mayweather. We don't want to go through being let down by another boxer who has attained a special place in our hearts. We can't endure or afford going through that kind of pain. Not again.
In boxing we leave ourselves vulnerable. We purposely disregard anything we don't want to hear about the fighters we love. We ignore the peripheral. By Floyd Mayweather Jr. being so non-responsive, saying nothing in return to the allegations of avoidance being thrown at him, he is forcing his fans to do what we hate doing in times like this: Notice the peripheral.
Mayweather is making it seem like he is more concerned about protecting the "zero" on the right side of his record than he is proving that he is what he's said he is: Better than Sugar Ray Robinson. Better than Muhammad Ali. That he's the "best" fighter "ever."
Which, if we are being honest, is the biggest mistake he could ever make.
There are legitimate reasons not to go through with the fight this year from Mayweather's standpoint: 1. The pending trial of Roger Mayweather for battery against a female fighter he once trained. (Mayweather Jr. could say that he doesn't want to go into the biggest fight of his career without knowing whether his uncle will be in his corner during the fight.) 2. The new lawsuit by TDF Investments LLC against Mayweather Promotions LLC for breach of contract and unpaid rent. (He could say that he needs to get this legal matter straight before he commits to another fight.) 3. The seemingly ongoing battle with the federal government over income tax issues. (He could say that although the issue seems settled, he doesn't want to risk his 2010 income exceeding $100M to avoid any future tax problems.) 4. The split of the purse isn't right or fair. (He could argue that he's a bigger draw than Pacquiao and the purse shouldn't be split 50/50.) 5. All of the above ... and then some.
And all he has to do is say just one of them. But by totally avoiding the issue staring him in the face, he is making some of us believe something about him we've heard but never wanted to believe. To fans of his, fans of what he stands for in boxing, fans who care and are more concerned about him proving he is the best fighter alive than we are him staying undefeated, this silence is worse than him getting in the ring and getting carried out on his back.
(There's also apparently information coming from those close to Mayweather's camp claiming that a large part of the hold-up on the fight is because technology isn't ready to air the fight in 3D. Seriously?)
Ellerbe said prior to the Shane Mosley fight, "At this level, for Floyd, it's not about belts. It's about fighting for his legacy and it's about money."
Right now, we can't tell. No one can.
All our hero is leaving us with is the unavoidable question he's forcing us to face about him: What happens when a reason becomes an excuse?
Every morning when I enter my office I walk past an 11-inch by 14-inch framed image of a boxer. He's throwing a low jab into the midsection of another opponent he was supposed to lose to. Adjacent to the photo are the words "Better Than Ever." The fighters in the pic? Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley, circa May 2010. I'm sure you can figure out whom the words refer to.
To me, Mayweather is one of the greatest who's ever stepped in the ring. And he will still be that whether he ever fights Pacquiao or not. But much like the LeBron James saga, it's not about the decision made, it's more about how the situation was handled.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is losing people -- fans, admirers, loyalists -- because of the way he's going about not making this fight happen. To those of us (yes, I unbiasedly include myself) who hold him down, losing to Pacquiao is secondary. We couldn't care less. With the exception of Rocky Marciano, no true warrior in the history of the fight game has exited without an "L." Talk to any true Floyd fan and they will tell you: Getting in the ring and losing to Pacquiao would be more courageous than allowing the situation to play out the way he is allowing it to play out now.
We just had Jones deceive us. We'd hate to have put our faith in another incredible boxer and have almost the same thing happen. Then we'd be the fools.
From his days as a super featherweight to his addictive quasi-seasonal performances on "24/7" that have made HBO more money than his largest purse, we roll with PBF (Pretty Boy Floyd). But by not saying anything, by not publicly giving a concrete reason why he's not making this fight happen -- by not attempting to make Arum and Pacquiao's people out to be liars -- The Pretty One is making it hard, damn near impossible, to honor him the way so many of us have throughout his career. Even at times when we knew he didn't deserve it.
There's a Roots lyric that gets to the root of where fans think Floyd's mind should be right now. It goes, "I'm inspired by the challenge that I find myself standing eye-to-eye with/To move like a wise warrior, not a coward/You can't escape/the history that you (were) meant to make/that's why the highest victory is what I'm in to take/You came to celebrate, I came to cerebrate/I hate losing, I refuse to make the same mistakes."
But there's no fight scheduled. Maybe my reference above to "scared" is an over-exaggeration. Let's say apprehensive. Or worried, concerned, backed into a corner, a little shook. Whatever.
Whatever the word, Mayweather is coming off looking like he's afraid to make this fight with Pacquiao happen. Not scared that he's going to lose, but scared that he might not win. So worried about a first loss on his spotless record that he's forgetting what champions are made of.
With this strategy of silence, it seems like the excuse has been thrown into the ring as opposed to giving a solid reason why he won't fight.
Which makes it seem like for the first time ever Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- my ride-or-die dude for life -- has run out of reasons. For himself and for those of us that loved him.
Scoop Jackson is a columnist for ESPN.com.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Ride or die.
The phrase is the 'hood equivalent to "for better or for worse." A vow. It means if your person's ship is going down, you are going down with it and them. As the great Bernie Mac would say, it signifies "Who You Wit."
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has always been one of my ride-or-die cats. Regardless of how thick the hate got, I was ridin' with him. 'Til death do us part. Except now I've come to a part in his boxing career where faith begins to fade.
And not just my faith, but the faith of millions of others.
See, the predestined, prematurely determined "Fight of the Century" against Manny Pacquiao is off again. Not going to happen this year. If ever. And this time the reason that there will be no fight -- unlike the last time where the two sides didn't agree on a drug-testing arrangement Mayweather and his camp wanted -- seems to be Floyd.
He's refusing to fight. He's refusing to make a statement (outside of his adviser/promoter Leonard Ellerbe saying that "no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon ... to fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13.") in defense of why Pacquiao is fighting Antonio Margarito instead on that date.
He's refusing to do anything more than let live the statement he made last month claiming he's "not really thinking about boxing right now. I'm just relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I'm just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family, enjoying my vacation."
How long does a vacation last when the other world-dominating-pound-for-pound title holder puts the ball in your court, throws down the gauntlet in your corner? How long do you enjoy life when philosophically the "other side" is publicly putting your manhood out there to be questioned?
When Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, basically called Mayweather out, claiming not only that Pacquiao's camp was willing to accept the terms of the drug testing provisions but also that there was a deal and deadline in place that Mayweather never responded to, the landscape of blame shifted.
And because Floyd's chosen to stay "on vacation" and remain silent while the most important story in boxing orbits him, for the first time in his career, to me, the greatest boxer of this generation seems scared.
And that's the last thing I want to have to accept from someone I ride or die with.
The last true ride-or-die boxer whose legacy was always in question because of the fights he seemed to be avoiding was Roy Jones Jr. Regardless of who he fought, Jones was one of the greatest fighters anyone had ever seen. He made fans fall in love with him in the ring, even when there were piles of questions and contradictions that lived outside of the ring.
Then he just stopped fighting. He stopped fighting while he was in the ring.
No one in recent boxing history let his fanbase down the way Roy did. Ask Roy Jones Jr. fans; they'll tell you about the emptiness they still feel in their guts about how Roy went out. They'll tell stories of betrayal.
And this is what scares so many of the same people (including me) about Mayweather. We don't want to go through being let down by another boxer who has attained a special place in our hearts. We can't endure or afford going through that kind of pain. Not again.
In boxing we leave ourselves vulnerable. We purposely disregard anything we don't want to hear about the fighters we love. We ignore the peripheral. By Floyd Mayweather Jr. being so non-responsive, saying nothing in return to the allegations of avoidance being thrown at him, he is forcing his fans to do what we hate doing in times like this: Notice the peripheral.
Mayweather is making it seem like he is more concerned about protecting the "zero" on the right side of his record than he is proving that he is what he's said he is: Better than Sugar Ray Robinson. Better than Muhammad Ali. That he's the "best" fighter "ever."
Which, if we are being honest, is the biggest mistake he could ever make.
There are legitimate reasons not to go through with the fight this year from Mayweather's standpoint: 1. The pending trial of Roger Mayweather for battery against a female fighter he once trained. (Mayweather Jr. could say that he doesn't want to go into the biggest fight of his career without knowing whether his uncle will be in his corner during the fight.) 2. The new lawsuit by TDF Investments LLC against Mayweather Promotions LLC for breach of contract and unpaid rent. (He could say that he needs to get this legal matter straight before he commits to another fight.) 3. The seemingly ongoing battle with the federal government over income tax issues. (He could say that although the issue seems settled, he doesn't want to risk his 2010 income exceeding $100M to avoid any future tax problems.) 4. The split of the purse isn't right or fair. (He could argue that he's a bigger draw than Pacquiao and the purse shouldn't be split 50/50.) 5. All of the above ... and then some.
And all he has to do is say just one of them. But by totally avoiding the issue staring him in the face, he is making some of us believe something about him we've heard but never wanted to believe. To fans of his, fans of what he stands for in boxing, fans who care and are more concerned about him proving he is the best fighter alive than we are him staying undefeated, this silence is worse than him getting in the ring and getting carried out on his back.
(There's also apparently information coming from those close to Mayweather's camp claiming that a large part of the hold-up on the fight is because technology isn't ready to air the fight in 3D. Seriously?)
Ellerbe said prior to the Shane Mosley fight, "At this level, for Floyd, it's not about belts. It's about fighting for his legacy and it's about money."
Right now, we can't tell. No one can.
All our hero is leaving us with is the unavoidable question he's forcing us to face about him: What happens when a reason becomes an excuse?
Every morning when I enter my office I walk past an 11-inch by 14-inch framed image of a boxer. He's throwing a low jab into the midsection of another opponent he was supposed to lose to. Adjacent to the photo are the words "Better Than Ever." The fighters in the pic? Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley, circa May 2010. I'm sure you can figure out whom the words refer to.
To me, Mayweather is one of the greatest who's ever stepped in the ring. And he will still be that whether he ever fights Pacquiao or not. But much like the LeBron James saga, it's not about the decision made, it's more about how the situation was handled.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is losing people -- fans, admirers, loyalists -- because of the way he's going about not making this fight happen. To those of us (yes, I unbiasedly include myself) who hold him down, losing to Pacquiao is secondary. We couldn't care less. With the exception of Rocky Marciano, no true warrior in the history of the fight game has exited without an "L." Talk to any true Floyd fan and they will tell you: Getting in the ring and losing to Pacquiao would be more courageous than allowing the situation to play out the way he is allowing it to play out now.
We just had Jones deceive us. We'd hate to have put our faith in another incredible boxer and have almost the same thing happen. Then we'd be the fools.
From his days as a super featherweight to his addictive quasi-seasonal performances on "24/7" that have made HBO more money than his largest purse, we roll with PBF (Pretty Boy Floyd). But by not saying anything, by not publicly giving a concrete reason why he's not making this fight happen -- by not attempting to make Arum and Pacquiao's people out to be liars -- The Pretty One is making it hard, damn near impossible, to honor him the way so many of us have throughout his career. Even at times when we knew he didn't deserve it.
There's a Roots lyric that gets to the root of where fans think Floyd's mind should be right now. It goes, "I'm inspired by the challenge that I find myself standing eye-to-eye with/To move like a wise warrior, not a coward/You can't escape/the history that you (were) meant to make/that's why the highest victory is what I'm in to take/You came to celebrate, I came to cerebrate/I hate losing, I refuse to make the same mistakes."
But there's no fight scheduled. Maybe my reference above to "scared" is an over-exaggeration. Let's say apprehensive. Or worried, concerned, backed into a corner, a little shook. Whatever.
Whatever the word, Mayweather is coming off looking like he's afraid to make this fight with Pacquiao happen. Not scared that he's going to lose, but scared that he might not win. So worried about a first loss on his spotless record that he's forgetting what champions are made of.
With this strategy of silence, it seems like the excuse has been thrown into the ring as opposed to giving a solid reason why he won't fight.
Which makes it seem like for the first time ever Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- my ride-or-die dude for life -- has run out of reasons. For himself and for those of us that loved him.
Scoop Jackson is a columnist for ESPN.com.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Monday, 9 August 2010
Frank Warren on Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather saga says US fighter stalling -- Telegraph
By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk
However, Warren believes the match-up, estimated to be worth 200 million US dollars, will take place.
“There will be a lot of posturing, there are times I’ve felt Floyd Mayweather was doing his best not to make the fight.” That view come from Warren’s stance that Mayweather “has picked and chosen who he wants to fight over the years.”
“He never fought Shane Mosley when he should have fought him. He just didn’t do it. There have been a few times like that. Roy Jones Jnr did a similar thing. He didn’t fight the best guys at the best times, in my opinion. This one is [Mayweather-Pacquiao] is a huge fight, a huge money fight that could do 3 million pay per view buys on television. I think it will outdo [Floyd and Oscar De La Hoya at 2.25 million ppv buys].”
“It’s a huge money fight and it has to happen and in the tens we are into, it is the biggest fight out there for a long long time, a megafight.”
Does it compare, in Warren’s eyes, with other fights defining a generation, such as Sugar Ray Leonard versus Marvellous Marvin Hagler ? “It is as big as all those fights, even though it is one only American involved. But the fact of the matter is that this is what the business needs. The thing that will hold it up is, though, is Mayweather thinking he is worth more than the 50-50 split.”
Warren is preparing for his own mega-event at the LG Arena in Birmingham on September 18, with nine title fights on the card. His entire top tier stable is on show. Among the fighters is Matthew Macklin, who is now trained by Pacquiao’s overseer Freddie Roach.
Macklin fights Londoner Darren Barker for the British, European and Commonwealth middleweight titles. It is a contest bristling with bragging rights.
Warren believes Mayweather was playing mind games with the drug-testing in round one of negotiations. “I’m sure it was. But at the end of the day, Bob Arum had other places to go. And he did it – he went off and sold 50,000 tickets in Texas [for Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey]. ”
“Bob Arum is a proper promoter, and I very much admire him. The very first world title fight I ever did was Colin Jones against Don Curry, working with Bob, 25…26 years ago, and I have the utmost respect for him.”
“The fact is he is a real, quality promoter. He, in fact, is the one who will make this fight happen, but he won’t sell his fighter short. He will not sell him short. And this is a tough fight [for both men]. If you asked me to pick a winner I would favour Mayweather.”
“I think Mayweather is a natural counter puncher, although Pacquiao is a tremendous puncher, very fast, but…he can be hit. It’s an interesting fight. If I was a bookmaker, I would make Mayweather the favourite.”
Then again…”You see Mayweather clipped a couple of times in that second round by a 38-year-old Mosley, and you wonder if it was the other fella [Pacquiao] throwing the punches, could it have been different. So…it’s interesting.”
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Frank Warren
, Europe’s foremost boxing promoter for the last 30 years, has weighed in with his views on the anticipated welterweight showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr, which has become an on-off saga. It threatens to be the richest boxing fight in history, never to happen.
, Europe’s foremost boxing promoter for the last 30 years, has weighed in with his views on the anticipated welterweight showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr, which has become an on-off saga. It threatens to be the richest boxing fight in history, never to happen.However, Warren believes the match-up, estimated to be worth 200 million US dollars, will take place.
Warren, speaking exclusively to Telegraph Sport, explained: “It is the fight that must happen for boxing. As fighters, I think they are the best of their generation, I think it’s a natural match. And it will happen.”
“There will be a lot of posturing, there are times I’ve felt Floyd Mayweather was doing his best not to make the fight.” That view come from Warren’s stance that Mayweather “has picked and chosen who he wants to fight over the years.”“He never fought Shane Mosley when he should have fought him. He just didn’t do it. There have been a few times like that. Roy Jones Jnr did a similar thing. He didn’t fight the best guys at the best times, in my opinion. This one is [Mayweather-Pacquiao] is a huge fight, a huge money fight that could do 3 million pay per view buys on television. I think it will outdo [Floyd and Oscar De La Hoya at 2.25 million ppv buys].”
“It’s a huge money fight and it has to happen and in the tens we are into, it is the biggest fight out there for a long long time, a megafight.”
Does it compare, in Warren’s eyes, with other fights defining a generation, such as Sugar Ray Leonard versus Marvellous Marvin Hagler ? “It is as big as all those fights, even though it is one only American involved. But the fact of the matter is that this is what the business needs. The thing that will hold it up is, though, is Mayweather thinking he is worth more than the 50-50 split.”
Warren is preparing for his own mega-event at the LG Arena in Birmingham on September 18, with nine title fights on the card. His entire top tier stable is on show. Among the fighters is Matthew Macklin, who is now trained by Pacquiao’s overseer Freddie Roach.
Macklin fights Londoner Darren Barker for the British, European and Commonwealth middleweight titles. It is a contest bristling with bragging rights.
Warren believes Mayweather was playing mind games with the drug-testing in round one of negotiations. “I’m sure it was. But at the end of the day, Bob Arum had other places to go. And he did it – he went off and sold 50,000 tickets in Texas [for Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey]. ”
“Bob Arum is a proper promoter, and I very much admire him. The very first world title fight I ever did was Colin Jones against Don Curry, working with Bob, 25…26 years ago, and I have the utmost respect for him.”
“The fact is he is a real, quality promoter. He, in fact, is the one who will make this fight happen, but he won’t sell his fighter short. He will not sell him short. And this is a tough fight [for both men]. If you asked me to pick a winner I would favour Mayweather.”
“I think Mayweather is a natural counter puncher, although Pacquiao is a tremendous puncher, very fast, but…he can be hit. It’s an interesting fight. If I was a bookmaker, I would make Mayweather the favourite.”
Then again…”You see Mayweather clipped a couple of times in that second round by a 38-year-old Mosley, and you wonder if it was the other fella [Pacquiao] throwing the punches, could it have been different. So…it’s interesting.”
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Don King Understands, Speaks Floyd Mayweather's Language -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
The subject: King's wooing of five-time titlist Floyd Mayweather with the goal of matching him against seven-division king Manny Pacquiao, perhaps in the spring. In order to do so, King invited the unbeaten fighter to his Florida home last week, and has also brought in Mayweather to be a ringside guest for Alexander-Kotelnik.
In this Q&A, the 78-year-old King shed light on why he believes himself to be better suited toward working out a deal with longtime rival and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter than Mayweather's present handlers, Golden Boy Promotions and adviser, Al Haymon, who have twice failed to bring Mayweather-Pacquiao to fruition.
Warning: the interview below is transcribed verbatim, and includes some profane language.
FanHouse: So I understand that Floyd Mayweather is in St. Louis to be your guest at ringside for tonight's fight?
Don King: Yes he is. I just got off of the telephone with him two seconds ago. He's going to call me right back again. If he wants me, he knows that I'm there for him. Everything is everything. He can't lose if he comes to see me, because the price goes up from where he's at. If he comes with me, the price soars, because, with him, he and I can generate more capital than anyone alive.
Can you shed light on the notion that some time in the spring of 2009 that you and Floyd almost hooked up a few months before his comeback victory over Juan Manuel Marquez?
Yes, so this time, it's going to be like a family reunion. The last time that he was here I had $45 million on the table for him. That was the last time when he came to see me at my house. I made arrangements with him and his aide, Tommy Smalls. They brought him to me, and he stayed at my house.
And he said, "Help me out, man." So I went to work. He wanted $15 million, and then I found a way to supplement him with another $30 million. So we had made a deal, man. We had a handshake deal and I had already told Bob Arum that before their guys had nixed it, that we would be getting the sh** on [with Pacquiao].
This was before he fought Juan Manuel Marquez. He would have signed with me and I would have had him. He could have fought anybody he wanted to fight because Floyd Mayweather is the best in the world, man. So Manny Pacquiao would certainly be a part of the pie and would definitely be in there.
And then, the last day, after the deal was done, he stayed with something that they [his previous promoters] had him going on. And Floyd lost the opportunity of a lifetime. But I just smiled, because you know what. If Floyd wants me, then he's got me. And if he don't want me, then I still love him because it's more than about me and him and some prize fight.
Floyd is a generous guy, and a lovable guy. They don't understand that. They make him look like a piece of s**t, but he ain't no piece of s**t. So this weekend, wherever I'll be, he'll be there also.
So how much have you and Floyd spoken about a potential matchup with Manny Pacquiao?
You know what? I'm not interested in just the Manny Pacquiao fight. I'm interested in Floyd Mayweather. What I try to do is to get him. And when I get him, everything else is included. That's why they made the mistakes. They're all into the greed. I'm not in for the greed business, I'm in for the need business.
When you get the man, then you've got everything. And I've got the man with the plan. Me and Bob Arum can pull this Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao s**t off in two seconds, you know what I'm saying. I'm talking in two shakes of a lamb's tail. It would be fitting and proper for Bob and I to work on this because we're used to what it means.
Rather than think about what it seems to be. You've got to be able deal with what is real. You've got to be able to deal with the hypocrisy in a manner that you understand. If you don't understand, then you're apprehensive. They [Mayweather's promoters] don't speak ghetto-ese like Floyd Mayweather does, do you understand? I mean, that's like hieroglyphics to them. So they may talk to the man like they're talking down to the man. Talking around the man. Or looking at the man in a condescending manner, you know what I mean? They look at him like he's an indentured servant when in actuality he's the hottest thing on the planet.
That's what it is. It's a disrespect of cultures. You must be able to respect people's cultures and to be able to know what they're thinking and feeling. You've got to be able to stand in their shoes. You've got to be able to look out of their eyeballs. Other than that, if you try to convince a man against his will, then he'll be of the same opinion still.
So you're saying that you speak Floyd's language more than Golden Boy Promotions and his adviser, Al Haymon?
I happen to speak ghetto-ese because I'm one of them. Because you know what? We understand. Many people can't speak hieroglyphics, because that's what ghetto-ese is to them. They can't speak it. If you can't communicate, relate and identify, how are you going to make a deal?
You going to bombard him over the head saying you're going to make him $40 million? For that kind of money, most motherf**kers would turn a trick. But it didn't work with Floyd Mayweather. So people were like, "Floyd's got to be a goddamn fool," and, "Floyd's got to be insane."
But your manhood is worth more than $40 million. I don't talk trash, I talk cash. I understand that because I've been without. If I've learned one thing, then that's that the power of your human nature and your pride and your self-worth is worth more than money. Money is a supporter of power, and power is a creator of money.
I mean, his promoters didn't understand. They already had Bob Arum on one side with Manny Pacquiao, and they say that they're with him, but at the same time, they don't defend him. Look how he's getting beaten up in the press. Look how he's being castigated and vilified. Nobody knows how to defend him.
Everybody's looking at him with a jaundiced eye. They're saying he's a coward, and he's a this and he's a that. They're finding all kinds of ways to make him out to be like he's the most selfish individual who has ever existed on the planet Earth when in actuality he's got a blessing from God that he has the skill and the talent that he can rise above the fray with the creme de la creme.
Floyd Mayweather has the ability to self-promote to the point where they would offer him $40 million. But if he was with me, it would be $100 million. That's the difference. In addition, he would keep his dignity and his pride intact. They treat him like he's a cow or a horse, and like he's property. But you've got to get that s**t out the way.
Are you confident that you can sign Floyd Mayweather this time?
No. That's going to be his prerogative and his decision. But I'm confident of this: I'm confident that I'm available for him. All of them are pursuing what they can do with a Manny Pacquiao fight. I'm pursuing what I can do with a young African-American who has the skill and abilities to be able to help others.
My job is to help other people and not just be able to help him. I can help him to help himself, and then, he has the ability of spreading community unity by being able to say, 'Yes I can,' when everyone else says, 'No you can't.' My objective is all together different.
He has to ask me, I can not ask him. Then I'll become a mercenary and reduce myself to the same standard. I'm not the same standard. So if he came with me, then we could fight anybody in the world without fighting Manny Pacquiao and I would still make him a lot of money.
Whoever makes Mayweather-Pacquiao, it's going to be worth x amount of money. But when I make it, it's going to be triple that x amount. And remember this: Floyd called me, I didn't call him. I did not seek him out the last time, and I did not seek him out this time.
Remember that he came to me. Now, if he can do himself and the world a favor, then I would be the most honored and appreciative guy in the world to have another brother that I can promote as a free man. Nothing would please me more.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Legendary promoter Don King
spoke to FanHouse just hours before playing host to Saturday night's HBO-televised main event between WBC and IBF junior welterweight (140 pounds) champion Devon Alexander and former WBA king Andriy Kotelnik at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
spoke to FanHouse just hours before playing host to Saturday night's HBO-televised main event between WBC and IBF junior welterweight (140 pounds) champion Devon Alexander and former WBA king Andriy Kotelnik at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.The subject: King's wooing of five-time titlist Floyd Mayweather with the goal of matching him against seven-division king Manny Pacquiao, perhaps in the spring. In order to do so, King invited the unbeaten fighter to his Florida home last week, and has also brought in Mayweather to be a ringside guest for Alexander-Kotelnik.In this Q&A, the 78-year-old King shed light on why he believes himself to be better suited toward working out a deal with longtime rival and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter than Mayweather's present handlers, Golden Boy Promotions and adviser, Al Haymon, who have twice failed to bring Mayweather-Pacquiao to fruition.
Warning: the interview below is transcribed verbatim, and includes some profane language.
FanHouse: So I understand that Floyd Mayweather is in St. Louis to be your guest at ringside for tonight's fight?
Don King: Yes he is. I just got off of the telephone with him two seconds ago. He's going to call me right back again. If he wants me, he knows that I'm there for him. Everything is everything. He can't lose if he comes to see me, because the price goes up from where he's at. If he comes with me, the price soars, because, with him, he and I can generate more capital than anyone alive.
Can you shed light on the notion that some time in the spring of 2009 that you and Floyd almost hooked up a few months before his comeback victory over Juan Manuel Marquez?
Yes, so this time, it's going to be like a family reunion. The last time that he was here I had $45 million on the table for him. That was the last time when he came to see me at my house. I made arrangements with him and his aide, Tommy Smalls. They brought him to me, and he stayed at my house.
And he said, "Help me out, man." So I went to work. He wanted $15 million, and then I found a way to supplement him with another $30 million. So we had made a deal, man. We had a handshake deal and I had already told Bob Arum that before their guys had nixed it, that we would be getting the sh** on [with Pacquiao].
This was before he fought Juan Manuel Marquez. He would have signed with me and I would have had him. He could have fought anybody he wanted to fight because Floyd Mayweather is the best in the world, man. So Manny Pacquiao would certainly be a part of the pie and would definitely be in there.
And then, the last day, after the deal was done, he stayed with something that they [his previous promoters] had him going on. And Floyd lost the opportunity of a lifetime. But I just smiled, because you know what. If Floyd wants me, then he's got me. And if he don't want me, then I still love him because it's more than about me and him and some prize fight.
Floyd is a generous guy, and a lovable guy. They don't understand that. They make him look like a piece of s**t, but he ain't no piece of s**t. So this weekend, wherever I'll be, he'll be there also.
So how much have you and Floyd spoken about a potential matchup with Manny Pacquiao?
You know what? I'm not interested in just the Manny Pacquiao fight. I'm interested in Floyd Mayweather. What I try to do is to get him. And when I get him, everything else is included. That's why they made the mistakes. They're all into the greed. I'm not in for the greed business, I'm in for the need business.
When you get the man, then you've got everything. And I've got the man with the plan. Me and Bob Arum can pull this Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao s**t off in two seconds, you know what I'm saying. I'm talking in two shakes of a lamb's tail. It would be fitting and proper for Bob and I to work on this because we're used to what it means.
Rather than think about what it seems to be. You've got to be able deal with what is real. You've got to be able to deal with the hypocrisy in a manner that you understand. If you don't understand, then you're apprehensive. They [Mayweather's promoters] don't speak ghetto-ese like Floyd Mayweather does, do you understand? I mean, that's like hieroglyphics to them. So they may talk to the man like they're talking down to the man. Talking around the man. Or looking at the man in a condescending manner, you know what I mean? They look at him like he's an indentured servant when in actuality he's the hottest thing on the planet.
That's what it is. It's a disrespect of cultures. You must be able to respect people's cultures and to be able to know what they're thinking and feeling. You've got to be able to stand in their shoes. You've got to be able to look out of their eyeballs. Other than that, if you try to convince a man against his will, then he'll be of the same opinion still.
So you're saying that you speak Floyd's language more than Golden Boy Promotions and his adviser, Al Haymon?
I happen to speak ghetto-ese because I'm one of them. Because you know what? We understand. Many people can't speak hieroglyphics, because that's what ghetto-ese is to them. They can't speak it. If you can't communicate, relate and identify, how are you going to make a deal?
You going to bombard him over the head saying you're going to make him $40 million? For that kind of money, most motherf**kers would turn a trick. But it didn't work with Floyd Mayweather. So people were like, "Floyd's got to be a goddamn fool," and, "Floyd's got to be insane."
But your manhood is worth more than $40 million. I don't talk trash, I talk cash. I understand that because I've been without. If I've learned one thing, then that's that the power of your human nature and your pride and your self-worth is worth more than money. Money is a supporter of power, and power is a creator of money.
I mean, his promoters didn't understand. They already had Bob Arum on one side with Manny Pacquiao, and they say that they're with him, but at the same time, they don't defend him. Look how he's getting beaten up in the press. Look how he's being castigated and vilified. Nobody knows how to defend him.
Everybody's looking at him with a jaundiced eye. They're saying he's a coward, and he's a this and he's a that. They're finding all kinds of ways to make him out to be like he's the most selfish individual who has ever existed on the planet Earth when in actuality he's got a blessing from God that he has the skill and the talent that he can rise above the fray with the creme de la creme.
Floyd Mayweather has the ability to self-promote to the point where they would offer him $40 million. But if he was with me, it would be $100 million. That's the difference. In addition, he would keep his dignity and his pride intact. They treat him like he's a cow or a horse, and like he's property. But you've got to get that s**t out the way.
Are you confident that you can sign Floyd Mayweather this time?
No. That's going to be his prerogative and his decision. But I'm confident of this: I'm confident that I'm available for him. All of them are pursuing what they can do with a Manny Pacquiao fight. I'm pursuing what I can do with a young African-American who has the skill and abilities to be able to help others.
My job is to help other people and not just be able to help him. I can help him to help himself, and then, he has the ability of spreading community unity by being able to say, 'Yes I can,' when everyone else says, 'No you can't.' My objective is all together different.
He has to ask me, I can not ask him. Then I'll become a mercenary and reduce myself to the same standard. I'm not the same standard. So if he came with me, then we could fight anybody in the world without fighting Manny Pacquiao and I would still make him a lot of money.
Whoever makes Mayweather-Pacquiao, it's going to be worth x amount of money. But when I make it, it's going to be triple that x amount. And remember this: Floyd called me, I didn't call him. I did not seek him out the last time, and I did not seek him out this time.
Remember that he came to me. Now, if he can do himself and the world a favor, then I would be the most honored and appreciative guy in the world to have another brother that I can promote as a free man. Nothing would please me more.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Does Don King hold key to Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather? -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
ST. LOUIS -- When Floyd Mayweather was preparing to end his brief retirement last year and asked adviser Al Haymon to field offers for fights, Mayweather did a little fielding of his own.
He spent several days in South Florida hanging at promoter Don King's mansion.
King was not shy about his interest in signing Mayweather, but even though they barbecued and relaxed, nothing came of it.
Mayweather returned to Haymon and Golden Boy Promotions, which eventually put on his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez last fall, followed by his win against Shane Mosley in May.
Now the High-Haired One's courtship /pursuit/seduction of Mayweather is in high gear again. They spent several days together again last week in South Florida, feasting on lobster and making no secret about their dance.
King still hopes to sign Mayweather and believes if he does, fight fans will get what they want -- the mother of all fights between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
King expects Mayweather ringside as his guest Saturday night at the Scottrade Center to watch junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander -- the fighter with the most Mayweather-like potential in the sport -- defend against former titlist Andreas Kotelnik. If Mayweather shows up, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg told me the network will endeavor to interview him during the telecast.
While King, who turns 79 this month, has been all over St. Louis promoting his rear end off, Mayweather has also been on his mind.
With so much swirling about their positional pairing, I sat down with King at our hotel Friday to talk about it.
At one point, King's phone rang. He said it was Mayweather, spoke to him for a couple of minutes and told me he said he was in town and would be at the fight. Then King turned his attention back to our discussion.
"I love Floyd. Floyd's my man," said King, who was holding his cadre of flags and smiling ear to ear. "He'll get the soup to nuts treatment [if he signs]. He was down there with me for a week in Florida. He's buyin' him a nice place down there. And so it's no downside with me with Floyd because the people that have him, they gonna give him more money to keep him away from me if he stays with them. If he comes with me, he'll have a whole new vista, a whole new arena that he can play on. I can get more money than anyone out there. They can't stop that."
King said he when he tried wooing him last year, Mayweather ultimately went back to Haymon and Golden Boy because they gave him more money.
"He profited from me. He got more money for the Marquez fight," King said. "He wouldn't have got what he had. He can use me. I don't mind being used because I understand Golden Boy, Al Haymon."
King's point of view is that Haymon and Golden Boy do not understand Mayweather or know how to treat him.
King said he'd make Mayweather "a people's champion and be able to create and generate more money than he's ever had before with dignity, pride and stature. Like it is now, he's being degraded, vilified, accusations, you know. Some of it goes for the hype, but when it gets to the substance of the man, the substance is not there. And they don't understand because they can't communicate with him because Floyd speaks Ghetto-ese and they don't understand because it's hieroglyphics.
"They look down on him and put him in disrepute and disregard, the people who's with him. And they don't defend him. He goes out and says, 'Money, money, money,' and that don't win it. That don't give you what you need as a human being."
King said his pursuit is not a hard one as he has done with so many fighters in the past. He said he hasn't presented him with a duffel bag of money -- one of King's favorite moves -- to get him to sign. He didn't jet off to be at Mayweather's side. No, King is playing it cooler than that.
"Never made him an offer. If he wants me, he come and get me. I'm there for him all the time, either way," King said. "It doesn't matter whether he comes or he don't come. I love him, I understand him because I'm one of him. I am one of the masses, not the classes. I'm from the hood too and I also speak Ghetto-ese. I can relate, communicate and identify. And that's something [Haymon and Golden Boy] don't do."
King insisted that if he and Mayweather were together, the Pacquiao fight would be made quickly. Sure, he said he and Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum -- King's longtime adversary -- would argue and fight like crazy over deal points, but it would be made quickly because they are dealmakers.
"Me and Bob would get that fight done in two shakes of a lamb's tail," King said. "If I was there working with Bob Arum, this fight would have been history. It'd be ready now and we'd be talking about how we gonna promote. It wouldn't be nothing put a piece of cake. But even then it would be so much bigger that what it would be if he were to make with Golden Boy or Al. They cannot make the fight as big as Arum and I can make it. They are not in the class of a Bob Arum."
Indeed a co-promotion between the sport's most famous (some would say notorious) promoters would add another dimension to what is already the biggest potential fight in the sport. After years of promotional warfare, King and Arum, both in their late 70s, have mellowed toward each other. Fight they will for every dime, but they respect each other.
King once told me that he was glad to have Arum around as his competition because if he didn't have Arum, "I wouldn't know how good I really was."
King wants to see Pacquiao and Mayweather fight but said if or when they do, he wants to see it be the "biggest fight in the universe."
Naturally, that means co-promoting it with Arum, Mayweather's former promoter, who has openly said he's rooting for King to sign Mayweather so they can make the fight.
"This will be a good fight, and I think Bob Arum and I would make it the biggest fight in the universe," King said. "No matter who makes it, it will be the biggest fight in the world. Without me and without Bob [doing it together], it would be a good fight, Pacquiao and Mayweather, but it would not carry the same impetus."
King threw around the number $200 million as to what he thinks it could generate.
"You can generate that kind of revenue when you have the creative imagination that I have," he said.
So the King-Mayweather dalliance presumably will continue through this weekend, at least. I would never count King out.
"Floyd keeps telling me he's free," King said. "I keep hearing from Golden Boy and other people that he ain't free. So who knows? They may have done tricked him and he thinks he's free. They promise you everything and give you nothing and he finds himself in a quagmire. That's what happened to him last time.
"So now he's back saying he got it straightened out, and 'me and you gonna talk; me and you gonna do this and that.' I say, 'OK, OK.' I never ever disagree because he's the man. So whatever he says, that's what it is. But I would be delighted. It would be an honor and privilege for me to be with Mayweather.
"He has done a tremendous job of self-promotion. He's done a tremendous job of fighting and winning. I love Floyd."
Source: espn.go.com
ST. LOUIS -- When Floyd Mayweather was preparing to end his brief retirement last year and asked adviser Al Haymon to field offers for fights, Mayweather did a little fielding of his own.
He spent several days in South Florida hanging at promoter Don King's mansion.
King was not shy about his interest in signing Mayweather, but even though they barbecued and relaxed, nothing came of it.
Mayweather returned to Haymon and Golden Boy Promotions, which eventually put on his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez last fall, followed by his win against Shane Mosley in May.
Now the High-Haired One's courtship /pursuit/seduction of Mayweather is in high gear again. They spent several days together again last week in South Florida, feasting on lobster and making no secret about their dance.
King still hopes to sign Mayweather and believes if he does, fight fans will get what they want -- the mother of all fights between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
King expects Mayweather ringside as his guest Saturday night at the Scottrade Center to watch junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander -- the fighter with the most Mayweather-like potential in the sport -- defend against former titlist Andreas Kotelnik. If Mayweather shows up, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg told me the network will endeavor to interview him during the telecast.
While King, who turns 79 this month, has been all over St. Louis promoting his rear end off, Mayweather has also been on his mind.
With so much swirling about their positional pairing, I sat down with King at our hotel Friday to talk about it.
At one point, King's phone rang. He said it was Mayweather, spoke to him for a couple of minutes and told me he said he was in town and would be at the fight. Then King turned his attention back to our discussion.
"I love Floyd. Floyd's my man," said King, who was holding his cadre of flags and smiling ear to ear. "He'll get the soup to nuts treatment [if he signs]. He was down there with me for a week in Florida. He's buyin' him a nice place down there. And so it's no downside with me with Floyd because the people that have him, they gonna give him more money to keep him away from me if he stays with them. If he comes with me, he'll have a whole new vista, a whole new arena that he can play on. I can get more money than anyone out there. They can't stop that."
King said he when he tried wooing him last year, Mayweather ultimately went back to Haymon and Golden Boy because they gave him more money.
"He profited from me. He got more money for the Marquez fight," King said. "He wouldn't have got what he had. He can use me. I don't mind being used because I understand Golden Boy, Al Haymon."
King's point of view is that Haymon and Golden Boy do not understand Mayweather or know how to treat him.
King said he'd make Mayweather "a people's champion and be able to create and generate more money than he's ever had before with dignity, pride and stature. Like it is now, he's being degraded, vilified, accusations, you know. Some of it goes for the hype, but when it gets to the substance of the man, the substance is not there. And they don't understand because they can't communicate with him because Floyd speaks Ghetto-ese and they don't understand because it's hieroglyphics.
"They look down on him and put him in disrepute and disregard, the people who's with him. And they don't defend him. He goes out and says, 'Money, money, money,' and that don't win it. That don't give you what you need as a human being."
King said his pursuit is not a hard one as he has done with so many fighters in the past. He said he hasn't presented him with a duffel bag of money -- one of King's favorite moves -- to get him to sign. He didn't jet off to be at Mayweather's side. No, King is playing it cooler than that.
"Never made him an offer. If he wants me, he come and get me. I'm there for him all the time, either way," King said. "It doesn't matter whether he comes or he don't come. I love him, I understand him because I'm one of him. I am one of the masses, not the classes. I'm from the hood too and I also speak Ghetto-ese. I can relate, communicate and identify. And that's something [Haymon and Golden Boy] don't do."
King insisted that if he and Mayweather were together, the Pacquiao fight would be made quickly. Sure, he said he and Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum -- King's longtime adversary -- would argue and fight like crazy over deal points, but it would be made quickly because they are dealmakers.
"Me and Bob would get that fight done in two shakes of a lamb's tail," King said. "If I was there working with Bob Arum, this fight would have been history. It'd be ready now and we'd be talking about how we gonna promote. It wouldn't be nothing put a piece of cake. But even then it would be so much bigger that what it would be if he were to make with Golden Boy or Al. They cannot make the fight as big as Arum and I can make it. They are not in the class of a Bob Arum."
Indeed a co-promotion between the sport's most famous (some would say notorious) promoters would add another dimension to what is already the biggest potential fight in the sport. After years of promotional warfare, King and Arum, both in their late 70s, have mellowed toward each other. Fight they will for every dime, but they respect each other.
King once told me that he was glad to have Arum around as his competition because if he didn't have Arum, "I wouldn't know how good I really was."
King wants to see Pacquiao and Mayweather fight but said if or when they do, he wants to see it be the "biggest fight in the universe."
Naturally, that means co-promoting it with Arum, Mayweather's former promoter, who has openly said he's rooting for King to sign Mayweather so they can make the fight.
"This will be a good fight, and I think Bob Arum and I would make it the biggest fight in the universe," King said. "No matter who makes it, it will be the biggest fight in the world. Without me and without Bob [doing it together], it would be a good fight, Pacquiao and Mayweather, but it would not carry the same impetus."
King threw around the number $200 million as to what he thinks it could generate.
"You can generate that kind of revenue when you have the creative imagination that I have," he said.
So the King-Mayweather dalliance presumably will continue through this weekend, at least. I would never count King out.
"Floyd keeps telling me he's free," King said. "I keep hearing from Golden Boy and other people that he ain't free. So who knows? They may have done tricked him and he thinks he's free. They promise you everything and give you nothing and he finds himself in a quagmire. That's what happened to him last time.
"So now he's back saying he got it straightened out, and 'me and you gonna talk; me and you gonna do this and that.' I say, 'OK, OK.' I never ever disagree because he's the man. So whatever he says, that's what it is. But I would be delighted. It would be an honor and privilege for me to be with Mayweather.
"He has done a tremendous job of self-promotion. He's done a tremendous job of fighting and winning. I love Floyd."
Source: espn.go.com
Don King could hold key to Pacquiao-Mayweather fight -- Manila Bulletin
By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin
There is a new major player in the bold bid to put together what could be the richest fight of all time.
Don King
, the out-of-this-world promoter sporting an electric-shock hairdo, told the Los Angeles Times a few days ago that he has what it takes to make the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fight happen.
Of course, King said he will have to join hands with another power broker, his long-time nemesis Bob Arum, who promotes the Filipino star.
“King’s the most persuasive guy I've ever met. With enough time, he’ll get this kid [Mayweather] to come over. Don’s no fool. He knows how to make a fight,” said Arum.
“If King were ever involved, it would give a real impetus to make this fight happen. All those little details that have stopped us before, King doesn’t give [a thing] about. All he cares about is the end result, making the most money possible,” said Arum, who had teamed up with King in the 1975 epic Thrilla in Manila.
Last week in Florida, King and Mayweather spent some time together and both discussed what lies ahead.
King denied they had already discussed a particular fight but hinted of a possible tieup in the event a Pacquiao fight is made sometime in 2011.
“I’m just happy to be seeing [Mayweather], he came out last week [to Florida] because he said he wanted to talk, and I'm hoping we'll get it together,” said King.
“He’ll say it to me on his own when he wants, ‘Everybody’s talking about this Pacquiao fight,’ and I’ll tell him, ‘Yes, we can do this, that and the other.’” He can bring it up himself. I’m just waiting, being very patient. The power of understanding people is important. I believe he can make the most money with me, because we’ll show his dignity and pride, and stop people from throwing stones at him.”
"If anybody can do it, it's Don King."I know my man Don,” added Arum.
Pacquiao and Mayweather were supposed to face each other on November 13 but a deal was not reached between the two parties, prompting Arum to tap Antonio Margarito of Mexico as Pacquiao’s next foe.
Source: mb.com.ph
There is a new major player in the bold bid to put together what could be the richest fight of all time.
Don King
, the out-of-this-world promoter sporting an electric-shock hairdo, told the Los Angeles Times a few days ago that he has what it takes to make the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fight happen.Of course, King said he will have to join hands with another power broker, his long-time nemesis Bob Arum, who promotes the Filipino star.“Me and Arum can do this fight with Pacquiao in a flash,” King told Lance Pugmire of the Times.
Arum was obviously tickled pink by King’s remarks especially after the Top Rank chief had a very nasty experience with the Oscar De La Hoya-owned Golden Boy Promotions (GBP). GBP has been representing Mayweather the past couple of years.
“King’s the most persuasive guy I've ever met. With enough time, he’ll get this kid [Mayweather] to come over. Don’s no fool. He knows how to make a fight,” said Arum.
“If King were ever involved, it would give a real impetus to make this fight happen. All those little details that have stopped us before, King doesn’t give [a thing] about. All he cares about is the end result, making the most money possible,” said Arum, who had teamed up with King in the 1975 epic Thrilla in Manila.
Last week in Florida, King and Mayweather spent some time together and both discussed what lies ahead.
King denied they had already discussed a particular fight but hinted of a possible tieup in the event a Pacquiao fight is made sometime in 2011.
“I’m just happy to be seeing [Mayweather], he came out last week [to Florida] because he said he wanted to talk, and I'm hoping we'll get it together,” said King.
“He’ll say it to me on his own when he wants, ‘Everybody’s talking about this Pacquiao fight,’ and I’ll tell him, ‘Yes, we can do this, that and the other.’” He can bring it up himself. I’m just waiting, being very patient. The power of understanding people is important. I believe he can make the most money with me, because we’ll show his dignity and pride, and stop people from throwing stones at him.”
"If anybody can do it, it's Don King."I know my man Don,” added Arum.
Pacquiao and Mayweather were supposed to face each other on November 13 but a deal was not reached between the two parties, prompting Arum to tap Antonio Margarito of Mexico as Pacquiao’s next foe.
Source: mb.com.ph
King card fills Pacquiao-Mayweather void -- New York Post
By George Willis, New York Post
There was a time when Don King was mostly high hair and hot air. But after listening to the boxing promoters from Top Rank and Golden Boy fuss and feud over Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather in recent months, King has emerged as a breath of fresh air as he drums up support for tonight's world championship triple-header in St. Louis.
HBO will televise two of the title fights from the Scottrade Center. In the main event, Devon Alexander of St. Louis defends his IBF/WBC junior welterweight belts against Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnik. In the other televised bout, IBF light heavyweight champ Tavoris Cloud of Tallahassee, Fla., faces former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson of Miami. Also on the card, St. Louis native Cory Spinks defends his IBF junior middleweight title against Cornelius "K9" Bundrage.
King hasn't been involved in many high profile bouts recently, as Bob Arum's Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions have shared most of the superstar matchups. But King, who turns 79 this month, has been in rare form while promoting tonight's event, using his tried and true tactics of making everyone from the governor to the custodian feel involved.
Say what you want about King, but his fight cards almost always are loaded with competitive bouts giving boxing fans their money's worth, something that hasn't always been the case in the sport recently.
"We're going to create something provocatively beautiful, a wonderful boxing card from top to bottom," King said. "This is the Show-Me State, and in St. Louis you get the opportunity to do just that, to show it to the world. I'm a promoter of the people for the people and by the people, and my magic lies in my people ties."
It's typical King rhetoric, but welcomed after all the misinformation surrounding the inability to get Mayweather and Pacquiao to agree to a fight. King is doing the most with what he has. Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs) is one of the young stars of a loaded 140-pound division that may need to carry boxing until Mayweather and Pacquiao decide to get in the ring.
Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs), Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) and Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) also hold titles in the division and there is talk of a tournament of sorts to decide the last man standing.
"I know if I take care of [Kotelnik] there will be bigger and bigger opportunities," Alexander said.
Kotelnik (31-3, 13 KOs) is no pushover. He is a former junior welterweight champion, who handed Maidana his only loss by split decision in February 2009. He also won a silver medal for Ukraine in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"He's a great fighter and everybody is going to be shocked and amazed by his will," King said of Kotelnik. "He's not coming in to be an accommodation. He's coming into win."
Mayweather spent some time with King a few weeks ago, fueling speculation whether Money May might start doing business with King.
*
Congrats to Brooklyn's Maureen Shea for capturing the NABF female featherweight title with a third round TKO over Liliana Martinez last week in Saratoga. ... Getting knocked out in his middleweight title fight against Dmitry Pirog last week might be the best thing to happen to Brooklyn's Danny Jacobs. Being matched with inferior opponents didn't help his development and gave everyone around him a false sense of his readiness for a title shot. A little humbling all around should help Jacobs in the long run. ... UFC 117 tonight is headlined by Anderson Silva defending his middleweight championship against Chael Sonnen from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
george.willis@nypost.com
Source: nypost.com
There was a time when Don King was mostly high hair and hot air. But after listening to the boxing promoters from Top Rank and Golden Boy fuss and feud over Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather in recent months, King has emerged as a breath of fresh air as he drums up support for tonight's world championship triple-header in St. Louis.
HBO will televise two of the title fights from the Scottrade Center. In the main event, Devon Alexander of St. Louis defends his IBF/WBC junior welterweight belts against Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnik. In the other televised bout, IBF light heavyweight champ Tavoris Cloud of Tallahassee, Fla., faces former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson of Miami. Also on the card, St. Louis native Cory Spinks defends his IBF junior middleweight title against Cornelius "K9" Bundrage.
King hasn't been involved in many high profile bouts recently, as Bob Arum's Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions have shared most of the superstar matchups. But King, who turns 79 this month, has been in rare form while promoting tonight's event, using his tried and true tactics of making everyone from the governor to the custodian feel involved.
Say what you want about King, but his fight cards almost always are loaded with competitive bouts giving boxing fans their money's worth, something that hasn't always been the case in the sport recently.
"We're going to create something provocatively beautiful, a wonderful boxing card from top to bottom," King said. "This is the Show-Me State, and in St. Louis you get the opportunity to do just that, to show it to the world. I'm a promoter of the people for the people and by the people, and my magic lies in my people ties."
It's typical King rhetoric, but welcomed after all the misinformation surrounding the inability to get Mayweather and Pacquiao to agree to a fight. King is doing the most with what he has. Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs) is one of the young stars of a loaded 140-pound division that may need to carry boxing until Mayweather and Pacquiao decide to get in the ring.
Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs), Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) and Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) also hold titles in the division and there is talk of a tournament of sorts to decide the last man standing.
"I know if I take care of [Kotelnik] there will be bigger and bigger opportunities," Alexander said.
Kotelnik (31-3, 13 KOs) is no pushover. He is a former junior welterweight champion, who handed Maidana his only loss by split decision in February 2009. He also won a silver medal for Ukraine in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"He's a great fighter and everybody is going to be shocked and amazed by his will," King said of Kotelnik. "He's not coming in to be an accommodation. He's coming into win."
Mayweather spent some time with King a few weeks ago, fueling speculation whether Money May might start doing business with King.
*
Congrats to Brooklyn's Maureen Shea for capturing the NABF female featherweight title with a third round TKO over Liliana Martinez last week in Saratoga. ... Getting knocked out in his middleweight title fight against Dmitry Pirog last week might be the best thing to happen to Brooklyn's Danny Jacobs. Being matched with inferior opponents didn't help his development and gave everyone around him a false sense of his readiness for a title shot. A little humbling all around should help Jacobs in the long run. ... UFC 117 tonight is headlined by Anderson Silva defending his middleweight championship against Chael Sonnen from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
george.willis@nypost.com
Source: nypost.com
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