Al Bernstein defends Pacquiao against Teddy Atlas; eyes Marquez and the future -- Examiner

By Chris Robinson, Examiner.com

On November 12th Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight crown against former foe Juan Manuel Marquez inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a bit of a weird time for Pacquiao, who has seen a huge fight with Floyd Mayweather elude him yet still shown the willingness to fight on as he reaches the twilight of his career.

Pacquiao is expected to defeat Marquez, whom he has drawn with and defeated via hotly-contested split-decision a little over three years ago, but heading into 2012 his future is unclear. While there are some respectable names floating around between 140 and 147 pounds, nobody stands out, aside from Floyd Jr., as being the top of opponent to further enhance his legacy at this point.

During a recent conversation with Showtime analyst Al Bernstein, I discussed the current dilemma facing Pacquiao and what his best options are moving forward. Always one to speak without bias, Bernstein had much to say and also spoke on a number of intertwining story lines related to the Filipino star's life.

In his own words, this is what Bernstein had to say about Pacquiao-Marquez III, the crop of young fighters hovering around Pacquiao, his rebuttal to ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas who recently questioned the recent level of competition Pacquiao has been facing, and much more...

A sense of closure with Pacquiao-Marquez III...
"Obviously their first two fights were very difficult for Pacquiao. They were a while ago and they were at different weights but they were both fights you could arguably make the case that Pacquiao lost. They were certainly close. I think this fight represents some type of closure. It's probably a little later than people would have liked to see it but I think it does represent closure and could create another, very excellent boxing trilogy."

Pacquiao's victory over Shane Mosley...
"Obviously it wasn't as exciting as we would have liked. I think that was for two reasons; one, Mosley felt Pacquiao's power early and admitted as much after the fight and fought a very defensive fight, one in which he didn't want to get knocked out. And then the second factor I think was the leg spasms that Pacquiao had, made him just a smidge less effective attacking. Obviously Pacquiao won the fight by a large margin and he had very big moments in the fight but it just didn't create the kind of two-way action that we would have liked."

Pacquiao's dilemma...
"Here's the problem. The issue is, of course Pacquiao would like to fight Mayweather and I think everyone would like to see him fight Mayweather. I lay the lack of that happening on Mayweather's doorstep, not Pacquiao's. That's my view on it. Having anything less than that is, and this becomes a business issue, if you want to have a big pay-per-view, who is out there? If you take on a Tim Bradley or a Victor Ortiz, are those fights marketable enough?"

A no-win situation...
"And secondly, I noticed that all the pound-for-pound lists, it seems like Marquez is number five or six, still, despite the loss. Obviously he doesn't translate as well to the higher weights. You can make the case, how do you justify fighting Tim Bradley or Victor Ortiz, who are certainly below him in the pound for pound? In a way, you are going backwards. But I would have had no problem with him facing Berto. I have no problem with him facing Ortiz, or even Tim Bradley. I think those are acceptable opponents. But honestly, I think at the end of the day when he wins those fights, which he probably will as he's been dominating everybody else, we'll get the idea 'These guys weren't really on his level'. The problem is that it is kind of a no-win situation."

Names in the mix...
"There are moments when I think it would be fun to see somebody else's name in the mix instead of all these names that we are used to seeing. But then, I didn't see Floyd Mayweather doing any of this either. Did he do any of this? He fought Marquez and the same people Pacquiao has faced. For instance, in the last go-round they were talking about Berto as a possible opponent instead of Mosley. That's fine but now we see Victor Ortiz beat Berto, so we wonder how effective would he have been against Pacquiao? I think he would have been an acceptable opponent but it would have made the fight much less marketable after all."

What's going on in Mayweather's head...
"I have no idea. Obviously he's got personal issues. He's got legal issues. He's dealing with other things but there is talk of him facing someone else. So if he's going to fight someone else, why not Pacquiao? I don't know why, if they are still building this fight, why they would need to build it anymore."

Is Pacquiao still in his prime?
"That's a good question. I think he's got another couple of really good fights left in him. At least two more. It's remarkable though, when you think of it, and this is what people forget. Here is this guy who started at 106 pounds, here he is fighting at 147. People kind of criticize him. I saw this interview with Teddy Atlas and he was just ripping Pacquiao for his choice of opponents, which is essentially the same choice of opponents that Mayweather fought. The same guys, except you can add to his list was Cotto, who is still a decent fighter when he fought him and still is now. Margarito, who had his history but is still a big, strong guy. And here's the thing about Clottey, while he didn't fight well against Pacquiao, certainly he was one of the top three or four welterweights when Pacquiao fought. He won a title, we knew he was a very good fighter. He was fighting all these real welterweights."

Unwarranted heat on Pacquiao...
"It's interesting to me because Atlas even says he handpicked his opponents. Well, everybody out there who is reasonable to fight, he's fought. And how do you ignore all those wars he had with Morales, Barrera, and Marquez. To suggest that Manny Pacquiao's schedule has been soft is beyond my comprehension. And to throw Mayweather up as the example. I just think it's interesting. I think that Manny Pacquiao gets some heat on this that I'm just not sure is warranted. I do realize that part of this is that Bob Arum doesn't reach out and get the fighters he can get. Whether they aren't in his own promotional company or guys he knows he can make deals with. But some of that is dispelling to the issues he's had with Golden Boy."

Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr releases the 'Take the Test' t-shirt aimed at Manny Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Rick Rockwell, Examiner.com

Two weeks ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr. stated in an interview that he was going to make a t-shirt aimed at Manny Pacquiao to take the drug tests that Floyd has claimed Manny is afraid of taking. On Sunday, Mayweather's girlfriend Shantel Jackson posted a picture of the t-shirt that will surely cause a stir in the boxing community. In addition to the picture, Miss Jackson made the following comments via her twitter page on Sunday along with the photo: "The truth and nothing but the truth...".

In late 2009, Floyd stated that the only way he would fight Manny Pacquiao is if Manny would take random drug testing which would include blood and urine under the guidelines set forth by the USADA. Additionally, Floyd and his family accused Manny of cheating which is why they wanted Manny to take the tests.

In early 2010, Floyd continued his public bashing of Pacquiao but also stated that he was going to clean up all of sports with his 'drug crusade' of getting Olympic style drug testing into American professional sports. Manny Pacquiao would file a lawsuit against Floyd Jr. and his family for defamation.

Floyd's accusations continued throughout 2010, despite his absence from Boxing. Mayweather hasn't fought since May 1, 2010 and his ring return is uncertain at best. Currently, Floyd is dealing with 5 separate legal issues including serious felony charges that could land him in jail for a few decades.

Despite a defamation suit hanging over his head, Floyd continues to claim that Manny is afraid to take the drug tests. On the t-shirt, you can clearly see who Floyd is targeting as there is a "pac man" figure down in the bottom right corner of the shirt. Manny Pacquiao's nickname is "Pac Man".

It will be interesting to see how Manny and his people respond to this shirt, especially if Floyd actually mass produces them and sells the shirts on his website like he stated he would in his interview two weeks ago.

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather Sr: “I would have to assume Victor Ortiz is playing fair even though he said he boxed with Pacquiao and said he learned something from Pacquiao” -- Eastside Boxing

By Geoffrey Ciani (Exclusive Interview by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani), Eastside Boxing

Last week’s 127th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with boxing trainer Floyd Mayweather Senior who spoke about a variety of topics including Bernard Hopkins’ historic victory against Jean Pascal, Mannny Pacquiao’s recent win against Shane Mosley, a potential fight between his son Floyd Mayweather Junior and Victor Ortiz, Pacquiao’s upcoming third contest with Juan Manuel Marquez, Chad Dawson, the fall of Roy Jones Junior, and more! Here is what Mayweather had to say:

His views on Bernard Hopkins’ historic victory against Jean Pascal when he became the oldest man to win a major championship at age 46:

“I think that’s great. I think it’s great for one thing age-wise. I know Hopkins spoke of it one time before how he keeps himself clean without smoking and drinking and stuff. All of that’s good. All of those are good signs. I think that he did great and I think that he keeps himself up skill-wise. People doubt him and he probably doesn’t look like nothing, you know what I’m talking about, like a big, strong, physical person. What he did was he whooped Pascal with knowledge. That’s what he did. He took him to school. He did what he wanted to do with him, and then I think Pascal knew he lost the first fight and I think that he was nervous from that fight from just the way Hopkins was talking to him. He was calling him things and this and that and saying he’s scared and it showed.”

On whether he was surprised that Pascal was unable to make any adjustments in the rematch with Hopkins:

“It didn’t surprise me. I just really thought myself personally I thought he was a younger guy, much younger. They don’t need a third fight. I thought he was much younger and that he should have put the pressure on Hopkins and stayed on him. I’m just saying my thing is what he should have done, and I feel he should have stayed on top of Hopkins, and forced the fight, and kept Hopkins backing up. But hey! Everything he was supposed to have been doing, Hopkins was doing. Everything he was supposed to be doing to Hopkins, backing him up and keeping the pressure on him and stuff like that, Hopkins did it to him. He put it the other way around. Hopkins showed him that he was the much better fighter. Hopkins showed that he had much more knowledge. Hopkins showed that he was much more skilled. Right now you can’t take anything from him. You got to give Hopkins his just dues. He’s still in the game and he’s still fighting good.”

His views on accusations Pascal made about Hopkins using performance enhancers in the fight build-and the similarities with accusations team Mayweather has made against Manny Pacquiao:

“Well you know, look here! Let me explain something to you. I’m going to tell you something right now. You can watch me shadowbox now. I’m really fast right now, even at my age now. I’m just saying that Hopkins didn’t show me that he was on nothing, because he hit him over and over with right hands, and hooks, and body shots, and whatever it was he hit him with. Hopkins hit him with everything and guess what? Hopkins didn’t make anybody turn around and run away from him because he was hitting them so hard and Hopkins hit him with some good punches. Hopkins didn’t show nothing about having no drugs in him. Hopkins hit him with good strong body shots. Hopkins even shook him up and he even shook Hopkins up. But these people now that you’re hitting you know they got the stuff in them. You hit them and they ain’t moving. Some of them can be smaller than you and you’re a big old man and you’ve been hitting all the big men and knocking all the big guys out, but now you can’t even budge them, or shake them up, or nothing. I mean if they hit you with some kind of crazy punch that doesn’t even look nothing then they are hurting you bad! So I’m just telling you that do I believe Bernard Hopkins has something in him? No! I believe he has nothing in him at all whatsoever.”

His views on the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley:

“That one right there is a different story! That ain’t the same story about Hopkins. Hopkins beat him with skills and other things. Hey! That other thing right here was something totally different, like I said.”

On the fact that Pacquiao struggled with Mosley at times in that Mosley was successfully able to turn him, and whether or not he believes Pacquiao is slowing down:

“Look at here, let me tell you something! I’m just telling you my opinion. I’ just telling you on the up and up if they fought, he look! Shane still wasn’t going that bad enough to be done like he was done. I heard Shane say that man hit him harder than anybody he’s ever been hit by and we know Shane’s been hit by some big men. Shane said that. I’m just telling you what he told me. He got hit by Vernon Forrest and he said he wasn’t even hit that hard by Vernon Forrest who dropped him twice. And what does that say? Vernon Forrest was a puncher.”

His views on whether Pacquiao is beginning to show some signs of weakness and decline:

“Look here. It ain’t the point of him being weak. How can somebody be weak and still be messing up guys? I’m just trying to tell you. I mean as far as things with him being weak, can he fight? Hell no he can’t fight! He don’t even know how to fight! How in the hell do you think he’s still winning? That’s all I want to know! Now hell in the hell is he winning?! That’s all I want to know! How is he winning? He can’t fight! He can’t whop no damned body! I mean with the style he’s got? He’s getting hit with everything! Why he ain’t he ever getting hurt? He’s not even being buckled! He’s not even being knocked down! He’s not even being shook or nothing! Come on! Hey! Hey! It’s so plain a blind man can see that!”

Regarding previous remarks he has made when he stated he does not want his son fighting Pacquiao:

“Oh hell no I don’t! Even more now I don’t, because hey! You know. It ain’t nothing but a bunch of sh*t behind him and a bunch of people standing behind him. If people really wanted to get down to it, they could get down to the bottom of what’s going on! The whole deal! If they want to stop this kind of sh*t they can stop it. But they are letting it go on. You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. I’m just telling you my opinion is that I ain’t never seen a man that small—look at Pacquiao! Look at Margarito. Margarito is six feet tall! What the hell? It’s a bunch of bullsh*t if I’ve ever seen it. I’m not crazy and I’m not stupid. I’ve been in this game too long. I know how this game goes and I know a small man like that who’s been knocked out a long time ago. Margarito, or Shane Mosley, or Cotto, or any of them other guys he fought, all of them would have whooped his ass! You know. It’s a bunch of bullsh*t! They know it and everybody that’s behind him knows it. They know what’s going on. They got to know!”

On whether he agrees with Andre Ward’s claim on a previous episode that they should do extensive drug testing for all major championship fights:

“I don’t think they need to do that for just world championship fights! I think they need to do it for all fights! I’m just saying just because the guy is not a champion, you know you got to remember with things like that a guy might never make it to a championship. That’s why I say all fighters should take it because those that might be champions would never make it to become champions because somebody else could beat a guy that they couldn’t normally beat. But they didn’t beat them and now! Hey! They are looking to be champion pretty soon. I’m just saying man. It’s bad. Boxing just ain’t the same. That’s all I got to say.”

His views on Chad Dawson’s decision victory against Adrian Diaconu:

“Of course you know that you’ve seen Chad when he was with me and he didn’t look like that. That’s all I can tell you. He didn’t look like that. The Chad that I knew then, with all this stuff about fighting like Tommy Hearns—forget about it! Chad ain’t no f*cking Tommy Hearns! There is no reason for him to be talking about fighting like no Tommy Hearns. First of all Tommy was a welterweight who was as tall as Chad! So I’m just saying that Tommy Hearns punches come down. With that particular guy Chad can shoot down on him because that guy was short. That guy was my height so Chad could shoot down on him. I’m just saying overall, as a light heavyweight most of the guys are going to be at least as tall as Chad and some might be taller. With all this Tommy Hearns stuff, he needs to go back to what he needs to do. He don’t need to be nobody else. He needs to be Chad Dawson! He needs to box and run his punches off his hand behind his jab. He needs lateral movement. All that stuff he was doing, with all that Tommy Hearns stuff he didn’t look good. I mean I’m just telling you. To me he looked lethargic and old. He looked like he was slow and loading up on his punches. That’s what it looked like to me and I had a million people saying the same things I’m saying. Chad didn’t look that good but he said it himself that he didn’t look that good. So I mean he was being honest. He was saying it surprised him which it did. It surprised him. So let’s see what happens in his next couple of fights.”

On whether he believes this version of Dawson has any chance against Hopkins:

“Well sometimes things can make a difference. There is something I’m not going to say about certain things because there are certain things I did with Chad that could make a difference. I don’t want nothing to be in the paper that could come across to give his next man an upper hand. But I’m going to say this right here that if he fights Bernard Hopkins like he fought the other day, Bernard’s going to do the same damn thing to him! That’s what I’m telling you. Bernard take his ass to school! That’s all it’s going to be. It’s going to be Bernard changing his diaper for him. That’s what it’s going to be.”

On whether he believes preparing Dawson to face Hopkins would be his toughest challenge as a trainer if he was still training Chad:

“Well you know at the time Adamek was the toughest guy they had around. He was undefeated. He was supposed to beat Chad. Chad was the underdog but at the end of the day Chad was the upper dog. You understand? That’s what it was. If he was fighting with me by now from the time he was fighting with me, I wouldn’t even be worried about it. With a guy that age I’d know what to do, but hey! Everybody has got their own version about what to do, and their skills, and what they believe in. But I know what would happen with me. I made Chad a champion and we had one title defense. Hey! That’s the end of the story. There ain’t nothing else to talk about.”

His views on the fall of the former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Junior and whether he believes Jones is ruining his legacy:

“I think that he is hurting his legacy so bad that he may as well just be called another, I don’t even know what to tell you man. It’s sad! A fighter of his caliber is coming down to being nothing. When I say nothing man, I mean nothing! He’s going to be known for getting knocked out! That’s what he’s going to be known for. If you want to knock somebody out and get a knockout on your record over somebody with a name, call Roy! I’m just saying that’s what it is. I heard Roy say he’s going to still fight again. That’s too bad, man. I feel sorry for him. That’s all I could tell you.”

His views on the upcoming third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez:

“I’m going to be honest with you. I think before Marquez beat him one time when they called it a draw. He fought another fight where he had a split decision with him. So he had two real, real close calls. Understand? Even though one was a draw and one was a decision in Pacquiao’s favor. But this time here, you and everybody else are going to get the chance to see what’s really going on with Pac-Man. Do you really believe that Pac-Man can do this to him? I mean it’s a man who he fought two close with and all of a sudden he’s got Shane Mosley to hit the floor, and Cotto took off and ran, and in the Margarito fight he busted his eye socket. I mean all of these guys! Oscar De La Hoya folded up and ran and quit. You can just name these guys off his record now. With all of these big guys, how he beat them, and made them run, and quit, and knocked them out. It’s crazy. Do I think that Marquez has got a chance? Hell no! No, he don’t have a chance.”

His views on how a third fight between Pacquiao and Marquez will play out at a 144 pound catch weight:

“I don’t care what weight Marquez goes up to. His ass is in trouble. That’s all I got to tell you. Pacquiao will not lose this fight. This I know. This right here is obvious that he ain’t going to win. That’s all I got to tell you. Under other circumstances I might say that he has a chance, but now with all of the stuff that I’ve seen. Oh no! He ain’t got a chance in hell, no way!”

Regarding rumors that his son Floyd Mayweather Junior will be returning to face Victor Ortiz and his thoughts on the matchup:

“I’m just going to tell you like this right here. I don’t see anything wrong with him fighting Victor Ortiz. I believe that Floyd will take Victor Ortiz to school. That’s my honest opinion. Everybody has their own opinion. That’s my opinion and my opinion has been right over the years, and I don’t think it’s wrong now. When he fights Victor Ortiz it will be a victory in Floyd’s hands. I just don’t think Victor Ortiz got it. Don’t get me wrong now because he did train with Pacquiao. I didn’t see nothing wrong with Andre Berto. That came out alright. So he beat him. He didn’t stop him or nothing like that. I would have to assume Victor Ortiz is playing fair even though he said he boxed with Pacquiao and said he learned something from Pacquiao. Now if he wants to come straight and do what he’s supposed to do, hey! It shouldn’t be no problem with him and little Floyd and little Floyd will touch his ass up. It shouldn’t be a problem at all. He said he sparred with Pacquiao and learned from Pacquiao. Let’s see what he learned from Pacquiao. If he comes clean, hey! You’ll see.”

Source: eastsideboxing.com

TEDDY ATLAS IS A PACQUIAO HATER WITH OLD SCHOOL BIAS -- Now Boxing

By Don Donatello, NowBoxing.com

Teddy Atlas will be at his PacHating best before, during, and after the Marquez/Pacquiao III fight. He will thump his chest how Manny Pacquiao’s win over Juan Manuel Marquez was empty and at the same time give Mayweather’s victory over Marquez a thumbs up, make that two thumbs up. Atlas will repeat how the old days were better in boxing than the current state.

As evident in every Olympics, records are being broken because today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, quicker, better trained, and over all better athletes. Of course Atlas has no clue that today’s athletes also include boxers. Do you guys think Atlas knows that boxing is also an Olympic event?

Of course Atlas is incapable of knowing that in the olden days boxers used tomato cans to stay in shape between big fights.

In July of 1949 Sugar Ray Robinson beat Kid Gavilan in a World Welterweight Title fight. In Robinson’s next seven fights after beating Gavilan, it consisted of the following:

8/24-1949 Steve Belloise 90-10-3

9/09-1949 Benny Evans 33-36-5

9/12- 1949 Charley Dodson 38-29-4

11/9-1949 Don Lee 46-17-9

11/13-1949 Vern Lester 25-25-12

2/30-1950 George LaRover 66-26-6

2/13-1950 Al Mobley 50-26-1950

In another stretch after Robinson loss to Joey Maxim in June 25th of 1952, his next five fights were:

1/5-1955 Joe Rindone 36-13-4

1/19-1955 Ralph Jones 32-12-3

3/29-1955 Johnny Lombardo 32-12-2

4/14-1955 Ted Olla 36-18-2

5/4-1955 Garth Panter 56-19-3

Another stretch. After Robinson loss to Gene Fulmer in March 4rth of 1961, his next four opponents were:

9/25-1961 Wilf Greaves 34-20-1

10/21-1961 Denny Moyer 30-5-0

11/20-1961 Al Hauser 7-15-2

10/21-1961 Denny Moyer 30-6-0

4/27-1962 Bobby Lee 0-1-0

As you can see, Atlas fails at his argument how the old boxers were better than today’s. He always brings up how many and how often the old time boxers were fighting. Could you imagine if Pacquiao fought someone with a 33-36-5 record after a championship fight like Robinson did.

It just shows you how bias Teddy Atlas is to the old school.

And let’s see Atlas’ failed predictions that he made on ESPN. Is ESPN actually paying this guy? I need to call ESPN.

Mosley over Cotto
De La Hoya over Mayweather
Kessler over Calzaghe
Mayorga over Oscar Dela Hoya
Thompson over Klitschko
Barrera over Pacquioa in rematch
Ibragimov over Wlad
Margarito over Mosley

Source: nowboxing.com

De La Hoya Apologizes To Arum and Pacquiao Via Twitter...WOODS -- The Sweet Science

By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science

This is a brand new age we live in, isn't it? Oscar De La Hoya is doing some 12 step work, it looks like, via Twitter.

The retired fighter, currently in rehab battling cocaine and booze issues, according to the gossip site TMZ, took to Twitter to make some amends on Thursday afternoon. (I cleaned up the Tweets for spelling and grammar and such).

"Dear Bob Arum, first I would like to humbly apologize for any pain I have caused to you and or your family. I also want to apologize to Manny Pacquiao for any wrong doing in my part. You are a great champion. I have realized that by accepting my mistakes everyone around me will hopefully forgive me. With great humility I ask we work together for the good of the sport we dearly love. It is not fair to the fans and to the fighters. So today let's move forward and put on the best fights possible and show the world what we are capable of doing. Thank you Bob. Your friend Oscar

Simply stunning, no?

Cynics out there might see this as mere posturing, or inappropriate gestures which would be better suited to a behind-closed-door meeting.

I disagree; I applaud Oscar firmly, because he is indeed humbling himself to a humongous audience.

Sure, there is a calculating nature to the plea for everyone to get along. But Oscar's right, the fans will benefit if Arum and Oscar and Schaefer and Pacquiao, and yes, Mayweather too, can move beyond sniping. We in the media don't help matters by focusing on the mud slinging, and encouraging it by serving it up the a hungry public. Let us all follow Oscar's lead, and admit our culpability, so we can move forward, and not wallow, which only enriches some lawyers who don't need enriching.

Oscar, we at TSS appreciate your public displays of humility, and encourage all parties to get over past bad blood. Keep it professional, keep it classy, and keep the sport advancing. Your friends at TSS

Source: thesweetscience.com

Juan Manuel Marquez enlists doctors for Pacquiao battle -- Examiner

By Ricardo Lois, Examiner.com

With a November 12 battle against Manny Pacquiao announced for a catchweight of 144 pounds, lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez will be adding weight to his frame with the help of doctors.

"I will come in at a higher weight than normal," said Marquez, "but I will have doctors monitoring my progress."

The highest Marquez has ever weigh-in for a fight was 142 pounds against Floyd Mayweather, a fight where he was knocked down and lost by a wide unanimous decision on the score cards.

Since that 2008 let down, Marquez weighed in at 133 1/2 and 134 pound for fights with Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis, respectively.

Though Marquez feels he needs to add weight to face Pacquiao - whose average weigh-in has been 145 pounds for his last fights, mainting speed is a focus.

"Matching Pacquiao's speed and rhythm are key," said Marquez. "The doctors I work with will help me maintain my speed."

This will be the third bout between Marquez and Pacquiao, with Pacquiao owning a win and both men sharing a draw.

Source: examiner.com

Freddie Roach gets show on HBO -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

Star boxing trainer Freddie Roach is used to having cameras follow him around when he is preparing pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao for fights.

Now, he will take center stage as the star of a new six-episode unscripted primetime series, "On Freddie Roach," which is slated to debut in early 2012 on HBO.

Pacquiao has been the subject of multiple editions of HBO's "24/7" as well as the recent "Fight Camp 360" on Showtime while getting ready to fight Shane Mosley earlier this month. Roach was a big part of those series, but still a supporting player.

This series, announced Tuesday, includes filmmaker Peter Berg and HBO blow-by-blow announcer Jim Lampley among its executive producers. It will focus on Roach and his daily life working with fighters at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., as well as his daily battle with Parkinson's disease.

"I am used to it," Roach told ESPN.com about having the cameras around him constantly. "Pretty much the same deal as '24/7' and 'Fight Camp' with cameras there at 5 a.m. and waking me up. They have the keys to my house to get in.

"It's going to be my life at home and mostly everything in the gym leading up to fights. It doesn't bother me having the cameras around. Sometimes it gets overwhelming and if it does, I tell them to go home."

The cameras will follow Roach as he works with his fighters, including Pacquiao, junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan and middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and as he manages his new role working with USA Boxing.

Roach recently accepted an unpaid role with the amateur organization to bring several young fighters to his gym who are leading contenders to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.

"They put together a really good idea of people looking into my life from the outside," Roach said. "The thing is it will give people a look at what my life is like. I have a great life and with the Olympic team thing coming up and Manny and Amir having fights, I hope people will find it interesting."

"We are truly excited about this innovative new reality series that will allow HBO to partner with Peter Berg," Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, said. "Freddie Roach is an extraordinary person and many of our subscribers are familiar with his superior work in training some of the world's premier fighters. This will be a fascinating and unique series."

The show began filming about 10 days before Pacquiao's May 7 welterweight title defense against Mosley, which Pacquiao won in a lopsided decision. His next fight is slated for Nov. 12 against rival Juan Manuel Marquez. Khan opened training camp on Monday to prepare for a July 23 title defense. His opponent is expected to be set this week.

"We start filming more of the show this week. They stopped in (Tuesday) to get a look at the gym and see the atmosphere and see who the characters are at my gym. I have some interesting friends," Roach said with a laugh. "This show will give a broader picture of my life and the people I take care of and the people that take care of me. It will be much broader than just getting one fighter ready for a fight. You're not going to catch me at home too often though. The gym will be the focal point of the show."

HBO Sports originally rejected the series and it was picked up by AMC for development. But after creative differences with AMC, HBO got another opportunity and decided to pick it up.

"HBO's enthusiasm in supporting a less-conventional, vérité style of storytelling is why they continue to create original and truly innovative programming," Berg said. "It's why they are the best and we are very excited to be working with them."

Roach, 51, a native of Dedham, Mass., who now lives in Hollywood, was a longtime professional fighter, which many believe is the cause of his Parkinson's. As a trainer, he has worked with numerous champions, and earlier this month he collected his third trainer of the year award in a row -- and fifth overall -- from the Boxing Writers Association of America.

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

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Pacquiao-Marquez III: A Six-Pac Of Signing Subplots -- The Sweet Science

By Eric Raskin, The Sweet Science

Three years ago, on the day after Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II, I wrote a column for ESPN.com entitled “The Pacquiao-Marquez Postfight Six-Pac.” After tense back and forth discussions and negotiations with myself, I have permitted myself to steal intellectual property from me, and so, now that Pacquiao-Marquez III is officially signed, I’ve put together a prefight “six-Pac” of subplots worth discussing. With Pacquiao vs. Marquez the matchup on everybody’s mind, here are six underlying matchups worth watching for in the weeks and months ahead:

1. Size vs. Style

This is what’s at the root of the debate currently taking over the blogosphere/podcast-o-sphere/message-board-o-sphere: Is this a competitive fight or a mismatch? If you’re championing it as a competitive fight (as I am, more or less), you’re basing that on the belief that Marquez has proven his style gives Pacquiao fits, and it’s a style unlike anything Pac-Man has seen since his one-point split decision over JMM in ’08. If you’re decrying it as a mismatch, you’re basing that on the belief that Pacquiao has outgrown Marquez since their last fight and, at a contract weight of 144 pounds, Pacquiao will be at his most effective and “Dinamita” will be at his least effective.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’d rather have seen the fighters agree to meet at 140, a weight I firmly believe Manny can still make (since his team has repeatedly insisted he has to trap several pounds of food in his moustache and goatee just to tip the scales at 145). But to me, it’s more about what Marquez weighs than what Pacquiao weighs. Marquez, regardless of the contract weight, should still train to be about 135 pounds or so—in shape, comfortable, no spare tire like we saw against Floyd Mayweather. The better condition Marquez is in, the quicker he’ll be, and the more he can offset whatever poundage he’s giving away.

This is an unusual situation in that almost nobody is picking Marquez to win, but many of us endorse the fight anyway. Perhaps we’ve just been beaten down by the parade of matches (Josh Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley) for which you couldn’t find anyone at all picking against Pacquiao. But what I see here is an opponent who, at any weight, knows how to time and hit Pacquiao. Yes, it’s possible the size difference will influence each man’s ability to take the other’s punch. It’s possible Pacquiao will blow Marquez out, as he nearly did in their first meeting seven years ago. But whatever the outcome, I want to see Pacquiao face someone with a style that isn’t made to order. Marquez MIGHT give Pacquiao fits again. That’s good enough to get me supporting Pacquiao-Marquez III.

2. HBO vs. Showtime

This will be a fascinating behind-the-scenes battle, and the roles are very different now: Showtime is the incumbent, and the onus is on HBO to blow Bob Arum away with a marketing package that outdoes what Showtime and CBS can do. HBO’s parent company, Time Warner, does not own any of the “big four” free networks. But it owns TNT and TBS, which are the same as a free network to any household that would ever consider ordering a pay-per-view fight. It owns CNN and might be able to promise Arum extra news coverage leading up to the Pacquiao-Marquez fight on that channel. It owns Sports Illustrated, which means HBO might be able to guarantee that Pacquiao goes on the cover the week of the fight.

There’s a lot at stake here; without Pacquiao in the fold and without Mayweather in anybody’s fold, HBO is in danger of going the entire year without a major moneymaker on pay-per-view. Ross Greenburg and company will be bending over backward to please, while Ken Hershman and company will be equally motivated to hold onto the biggest star in the sport and put their competitors in a world of hurt. Pacquiao vs. Marquez MIGHT be a two-way slugfest; HBO vs. Showtime definitely WILL be.

3. Top Rank vs. Golden Boy

Even those who weren’t excited to see Pacquiao-Marquez III consummated expressed delight over Lance Pugmire’s report in the L.A. Times that Arum met face to face with Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions (to politely pry Marquez away from him) and that the meeting ended “in a burst of goodwill, with handshakes.”

Look, Top Rank doesn’t need Golden Boy all that badly right now. But GBP could greatly benefit from matching some of its fighters against Top Rank’s and eventually getting its finger in the Pacquiao pie again. So Schaefer, intelligently, let Marquez go without kicking up much of a fuss. (Well, he kicked up a little fuss initially, but rolled over in the end.) If Top Rank and Golden Boy start working together again, as Arum said he expects they will, it’s a huge victory for both promotional companies and for the fight fans.

And, not to set everyone up for disappointment by being overly optimistic, but if that Mayweather guy ever decides he wants to risk his perfect record against Pacquiao and make $40-million or so to do it, this would be one less obstacle to stand in the way of the fight the world has been demanding for the last two years.

4. Juan Manuel Marquez vs. David Diaz

This is a tough one to wrap my head around. Why exactly would Marquez risk blowing his $5-million (at least) payday with a keep-busy fight against Diaz on July 2? If something goes wrong here, it ends the 18-year reign of Michael Bentt-Tommy Morrison as the go-to example of a tuneup-turned-tragedy. And it’s not impossible for something to go wrong here. Ninety-eight times out of 100, JMM whips Diaz with all the bones removed from his hands and his feet tied together. But one time out of 100, Marquez gets a nasty cut from a clash of heads. And one time out of 100, Diaz catches him with the perfect punch.

For fans of symmetry, perhaps it’s pleasing that the very same tuneup opponent Pacquiao butchered after the second Marquez fight will be presented to Marquez three years later. But for fans of sanity, it’s shocking that Marquez-Diaz could actually happen. There are ways to stay sharp by simulating a fight in the gym while wearing headgear and not taking any chance of suffering an official defeat. But if Marquez vs. Diaz goes forward, it’s a tuneup that the boxing world will be watching nervously and intently.

5. Urine vs. Steroids

These serve as a diversion from some of the serious subplots, and it can’t be denied that we’ll hear plenty about both of these substances entering the fighters’ bodies over the next few months. You can’t build to a Marquez fight anymore without acknowledging that the man likes to get his drinkle on. (Do I get credit for that one on UrbanDictionary.com?) And as we’ve sadly come to learn, every phony story about Pacquiao ’roiding up will create a hurricane of interest and retweeting from his detractors.

Throughout the buildup to Pacquiao-Marquez III, we will see/hear/read about what these fighters are or aren’t putting into their bodies. One will be unimportant and will serve to amuse and entertain. The other will be highly important and will serve to stir up fabricated controversy.

And it’s probably only a matter of time until an unnamed source blogs about how he watched Manny shoot up, then pee into a cup, then Marquez drank the pee and got juiced up himself. Let the reckless tweeting begin.

6. Floyd Mayweather vs. Anybody

The sixth subplot of this six-Pac was supposed to be Timothy Bradley vs. Amir Khan, a fight that, a few days ago, looked like it was poised to come together now that Bradley’s dream of fighting Pacquiao in the fall had been dashed by the Pacquiao-Marquez signing. So I wrote a few staggeringly brilliant paragraphs about this battle for undisputed junior welterweight supremacy. And then Bradley took his reputation for doing damage by using his head to a new level. Instead of relying on his fighter’s instinct and signing for the fight, he found a way to convince himself he has better options. I’m pretty sure he’s wrong, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Instead, the discussion turns to the name that lurks in the background of every Pacquiao fight. The Pacquiao vs. Mayweather talk hasn’t slowed down—at least not among the mainstream observers and general sports show talking heads—and the rumor mill will churn over the next few months as to whether and when Mayweather will fight again. Pacquiao-Marquez III is still almost six months away; will Floyd fight in the interim? In terms of a possible opponent, the name that keeps popping up is Paul Spadafora. (You know, because Pito Cardona isn’t available and Stefano Zoff wants too much money.)

Whether he takes a tuneup, a real fight, or no fight at all, Mayweather’s name will swim about the Pacquiao-Marquez proceedings. It’s a constant subplot.

Maybe the Vegas casinos will even post lines on whether “Money” will fight again this year. If they do, look for Mayweather to place bets on both sides. It seems he hasn’t made his mind up yet, and he’s going to want to be able to show us the winning ticket either way.

Eric Raskin can be contacted at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can follow him on Twitter @EricRaskin and listen to new episodes of his podcast, Ring Theory, at http://ringtheory.podbean.com.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Roach Says Juan Manuel Marquez Has Given Manny Problems Like No Other -- The Sweet Science

By Ron Borges, The Sweet Science

It has been too long in coming and so you have to wonder if it’s too late getting here, even though short of one other possibility it’s the only fight most people want to see Manny Pacquiao in.

With the stalemate between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. dragging on into its third year, promoter Bob Arum announced as expected last week that he’d reached agreement with Juan Manuel Marquez for a Nov. 12 showdown with Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that would complete boxing’s best trilogy since Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti retired.

Marquez is the one fighter who has given Pacquiao fits, his style sometimes mesmerizing him and often leading him into traps where trouble brewed. The result has been two controversial endings, the first a 2004 draw when both were featherweights and the second a 2008 split decision for Pacquiao when they fought as 130-pound junior lightweights.

In both cases many observers felt Marquez deserved the win, most especially in their remarkable first fight in which Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times in the opening round but didn’t win three minutes of the rest of the fight as the remarkably resilient and resourceful Marquez not only fought his way back into the fight but to the point where, in this corner at least, it seemed his hand should have been raised.

The second fight was nearly as debatable, although a stronger case could be made for Pacquiao that time even though it didn’t seem from this corner that he’d done enough to win. Or rather, to be fair, it seemed that once again Marquez had done more to win.

That three long years have passed between their last meeting and this one does not bode well for Marquez, however, because while he has remained a lightweight, Pacquiao has blossomed into a full-fledged welterweight who has seemingly retained all the speed and power he brought to the lighter weight divisions while losing nothing, including any fights since adding another 15 pounds.

Equally concerning is the fact Marquez will be 38 by the time they touch gloves (message of Shane Mosley: they’ll only once, and barely) and go at each other a third time. Marquez remains in good shape and still among the most skilled fighters in the world but there have been clear signs of slippage in him that have not been evident in the 32-year-old Pacquiao.

He was badly beaten by Mayweather in his only previous foray into the welterweight division – where to be honest he looked under-sized and over-matched – and has been dropped by Michael Katsidis before giving him a schooling in a TKO victory. One could excuse the Mayweather loss because he may still be the best fighter in the world and one could argue he came back strong to stop Katsidis, stopped the somewhat faded Joel Casamayor and twice beat up Juan Diaz since losing that split decision to Marquez so whatever slippage occurred has been slight.

That may be true but any slippage against a fighter as strong, quick and aggressive as Pacquiao could prove fatal for Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO), especially since he will be forced to fight at a catchweight of 144 pounds.

What that weight means is that Pacquiao is giving away nothing. Despite the fact the welterweight division has a 147-pound limit, he seldom gets much above 143 so he will not be dieting down. Meanwhile Marquez will have to come up nine pounds from the 135 he’ll fight in July when he defends the WBA and WBO lightweight titles he holds against former champion David Diaz. Coincidentally, that’s the same Diaz Roach saw as the turning point for Pacquiao.

Yet other than Mayweather is there another fighter fans would rather see Pacquiao face? Zab Judah? Timothy Bradley? Selcuk Aydin? Mike Jones? No, no, 1000 times no.

Some floated the idea of Pacquiao moving up to middleweight to challenge Sergio Martinez but trainer Freddie Roach quickly squelched that idea as, to be kind, ridiculous because of the size difference (five inches in height, eight inches in reach, true middleweight vs. junior welterweight at best). That left Mayweather, Marquez and everyone else and with Mayweather still seemingly semi-retired and everyone else of little interest to the public the logical challenge is Marquez, who has always felt he won both of their encounters and didn’t get the decisions only because of the greater power of Pacquiao’s celebrity.

Whatever the truth or not of that, even Roach concedes no one has given Pacquiao the kind of problems Marquez has in the past.

“One hundred per cent,’’ Roach said when asked if he believed Marquez had given Pacquiao more problems than anyone he’d faced since Erik Morales beat him six years ago when he was a one-armed and one dimensional fighter.

“Marquez is a difficult fighter. Very skilled. Very steady. Very resourceful. But my fighter is a better fighter now than he was then. Manny could only move in one direction and he only punched with the right hand then.

“The (David) Diaz fight (which came immediately after the second Marquez fight) was the turning point. Everything started to fit together. In the Oscar fight it all did. Marquez is a tough guy. A great fighter. But Manny is a better fighter than he was before.’’

Depending on how you look at the outcome of those fights two fights and the ravages of age and size on Juan Manuel Marquez, he may have to be.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Manny Pacquiao May Not Like Condoms, But Why Punish Filipino Women? -- UN Dispatch

By Mark Leon Goldberg, UN Dispatch

Manny Pacquiao is a championship boxer from the Philippines. “Pac Man,” as he is affectionately known, is arguably the most popular Filipino around the world. Boxing fans love the prize fighter for his agility and the ease with which he has taken down some tough, established opponents. At home, he has harnessed his fame in a political career as a member of parliament.

He’ a very exciting boxer. He also, apparently, has extremist views on contraception.

God said, ‘Go out and multiply.’ He did not say, just have two or three kids,” Pacquiao said.

“It’s sinful to use condoms and commit abortion,” he said and when questioned about overpopulation said “my parents were poor… they had four children, it was very difficult but we persevered.”

He uttered those words in the midst of a big national debate over whether or not the Philippines parliament (of which Pacquiao is a member) should adopt a national reproductive health bill. That bill, which is being championed by Prime Minister Benigno Aquino, would provide for sexual education in schools and would increase public access to contraception and other reproductive health services.

A reproductive health bill is something that the Philippines could use. The Philippines has an adolescent fertility ratio of 45 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19. For every 100,000 live births in the Philippines, 94 Filipino women die in child birth. The country ranks 47th out of 79 countries on Save The Children’s 2011 State of the World’s Mother’s Index. This makes the Philippines one of the more dangerous places in the world to be a mother.

It is a wonder that so influential a figure as Manny Pacquiao would have such anachronistic views on reproductive health? He may think it’s sinful to use condoms, but why deny others who might not feel the same way? It just goes to show that being a world champion boxer doesn’t prevent you from being a world class something else.

Source: undispatch.com