Older, wiser Floyd Mayweather says he's still on top of game ahead of Shane Mosley fight -- Grand Rapids Press

By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press

Older may constitute wiser, though not necessarily more enthusiastic.

Floyd Mayweather turned 33 Wednesday, with a fight against Shane Mosley approaching May 1, for which time has grown short in several applications.

The negotiating period shrank because of Mayweather's failed talks for a Manny Pacquiao fight. Next week's press tour is a mere three cities -- New York, Washington, Los Angeles -- because the blockbuster came together so quickly.

And when formal training begins after that junket, the Grand Rapids native acknowledges that jump-starting motivation presents a self-examination.

Getting to the gym is a chore.

And getting on the treadmill, literally, can feel like being stuck on one figuratively.

"But once I get going, I'm fine," Mayweather said.

It's a feeling anyone a few years on the untrustworthy side of 30 can grasp, including the 38-year-old Mosley.

Mayweather said he will begin camp without any opponent-specific plan, including not hiring the speediest sparring partners for one of few rivals who can challenge his own speed.

"I don't have to bring anybody in special," he said. "Other fighters are like, 'Oh, I'm facing Floyd Mayweather,' but to me, they're just fighters. All of them are the same. They're just fighters. They're all just one-dimensional."

Mayweather said Mosley "is basing the fight on thinking that he's faster and hits harder and is stronger," and counter punches by saying he has faced opponents before who can match or exceed him in those traits.

Zab Judah was at least as fast, in addition to being left-handed, he said. Several opponents were better pure punchers.

At the top of the championship food chain, he said, it takes more.

"It comes down to two things: who's the smarter fighter and who has the best timing?" Mayweather said.

The intelligence doesn't change from 21 -- the age at which Mayweather won his first championship -- to now.

The ability to react upon it can.

Mayweather acknowledges there are subtle signs that he has slipped some, knows what they are and coyly refuses to discuss them. His father, Floyd Sr., said he has seen some tell-tale signs, too.

To date, through 40 professional fights, no one has successfully exploited any such weakness, real or perceived, even as the challenges grew more difficult and the criticisms more pointed.

"If you go back on my career, at one time, Genaro Hernandez was the best junior lightweight in the world," Mayweather said, referring to his first title-fight opponent, in 1998. "Then they said, 'Well, that wasn't the guy to beat, the guy to beat is Angel Manfredy.' Then, I beat Angel Manfredy. And you can keep going on.

"I went to lightweight and beat the best lightweight in the world, Jose Luis Castillo, twice. Then, there were the guys who were undefeated, and somebody had to dethrone them first, so I dethroned them first. Then, there was (Arturo) Gatti, they said he was reborn, and I dominated.

"They build these guys up so high, so high, once I beat them, they say, 'Oh, he really wasn't all that.' Once I beat him, he's not all that. But before I beat him, he was King Kong. So my focus never changes -- do what I do, be happy and stay positive."

All of that notwithstanding, Mosley, if he has a good night, figures to present one of the more difficult challenges of Mayweather's career.

If he doesn't, of course, it will be because the topic du jour -- age -- got him.

And Mayweather will move forward, to the next fight, the next birthday, with the same cocksure attitude, unchanged since the cradle.

"As far as Shane goes, sometimes things look different from the outside than they do once you get into that squared circle," he said. "I'm pretty sure that fighters that you've interviewed, that I've fought, have said he's totally different once you face him. Other fighters ask them, 'Is he really that good?' And they say, 'He's really that good.' "

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

Source: mlive.com

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Jeff Mayweather says Floyd is looking phenomenal in camp, expects people to be shocked on May 1st -- Examiner

By Chris Robinson, Examiner.com

On January 24th of 2009 ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley rejuvenated his hall of fame career with a brutal thrashing of then WBA Welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. The victory was dominant and destructive and despite taking place over a year ago that performance is what many of Mosley’s supporters are pointing to when backing up their beliefs that the Pomona fighter will emerge victorious against Floyd Mayweather on May 1st.

While Mosley did show that he has a lot left in his tank, one man who isn’t fully taking the bait is Las Vegas based trainer Jeff Mayweather, who still heavily favors his nephew heading into their showdown at the MGM Grand. Mayweather’s beliefs don’t stem as from his opinion of Mosley as a fighter nearly as much as they do from his first hand analysis of Floyd. Just last week Uncle Jeff was able to catch Floyd in training and came away beyond impressed.

“I had a chance to see him recently,” Jeff says looking back to last Saturday. “He looks great already. He looks phenomenal. Believe me it aint going to be nothing like nobody thinks. All of this talk about Shane beating Margarito, who cares? Margarito is a walking punching bag and Mayweather is almost impossible to hit. You are looking at two totally different situations.”

Elaborating further, Jeff points out that Floyd wasn’t working on anything specifically for the May 1st clash as far as technique is concerned and was instead simply going through his daily motions. Jeff notes that while Floyd still has a long road ahead he already appears to be on point.

“Basically he was just being himself and working out but he was looking very, very sharp and his instinct was there. He looked like he was ready to fight now. He still has a whole lot of work ahead of him but just what I watched it’s kind of like one of those situations where even though he is my nephew I am still amazed when I watch him.”

Amazement is the type of reaction that is rarely seen from Jeff, as he has been know to be honest and harsh when assessing all things concerning the sport. Still, when looking at the talent of his nephew Jeff believes he is simply looking at a special kind of athlete.

“I’ve seen all of these things before, even when he was a kid,” Jeff notes. “But now when I sit back and actually take a look and take myself out of the mode of being his relative, I’m sitting back and watching art. Basically it’s kind of like watching a Bruce Lee or tenth degree Black Belt or somebody who really knows their craft. Now I put myself in the mode of a fan instead of him being my nephew and I’ve had a chance to see what other people have seen.”

Finishing up, Jeff points out that Floyd’s Uncle Roger is in camp with him and seems to also be focusing on the task at hand despite the well documented legal issues surrounding him. All Team Mayweather can do is take things at a pace as May 1st creeps closer and closer.

“Roger is training him. They have to be doing well because they are one of the top teams in boxing. I think he is just taking it day by day. The fight will take place even before any court thing anyways. I think he is safe in that aspect but I’m sure it’s in the back of his mind. He has to deal with it.”

Source: examiner.com

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PACQUIAO EASES UP, CLOTTEY LOOKS RIPPED AND READY -- PhilBoxing

By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com

“Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao eased up in his training grind on Wednesday as he returned to the track at the LA High School.

After a hard workout in the morning trainer Freddie Roach asked him to ease up and have a light workout in the Wild Card Gym in preparation for what conditioning expert Alex Ariza said “will be a long sparring session tomorrow (Thursday in LA.)"

Ariza told us that “everything is going really well” and that Wednesday was the first day that Pacquiao “went to the track after the leg injury last weekend and he looks a hundred percent.”

Ariza said that since Pacquiao had a hard day on Tuesday when he sparred ten rounds and then a hard workout on the track, trainer Freddie Roach “talked to him to having a light workout and preparing for a tough sparring session on Thursday” although there was no definite word on who his sparring partners would be.

Last Tuesday Pacquiao went five rounds with undefeated Ghana welterweight Abdulla Amidu (18-0, 17 KO’s) and pushed Roach to allow him to follow up with five rounds against Stevie Forbes.

The conditioning expert who, working alongside Roach has turned Pacquiao into a devastating fighting machine said Pacquiao was “feeling good. Manny is the type that just when his legs feel better he wants to see how far he can push it so we are trying to keep him from doing that.”

But while there are rave reviews about Pacquiao’s preparation coming out of the Wild Card Gym, award-winning photographer Chris Farina of Top Rank who visited the training camp of challenger Joshua Clottey was quoted by Chris Robinson of Examiner.com as saying that Clottey “looked awesome” and that he is “completely ripped and toned.”

Farina said Clottey was “punching his sparring partners around the ring. He was going to knock out one of the guys with thunderous punches. It seems to me that they are almost slowing him down and backing him off because they don’t want him to peak too early.”

Farina told Robinson “this is just my impression . He (Clottey) looks like he’s ready to jump through the building.”

With problems in getting a US visa for his trainer and problems within his training camp Clottey brought in renowned cutman Lenny De Jesus, a Puerto Rican who trains fighters in New Jersey and worked the corner of Pacquiao in his early years with his last assignment being the first encounter with Erik “El Terrible” Morales.

Farina reported that Clottey appeared to be completely primed for his March 13 date on “The Event” at the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium and that the former IBF welterweight champion seemed completely at peace with the world.

He said Clottey is “totally at ease, was relaxed and calm. He is a super guy. He’s like Pacquiao. He does basically anything you eant him to do and they are very accommodating type of fighters. There are hardly any egos involved.”

Source: philboxing.com

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Clottey plan: Attack early -- Manila Bulletin

Manila Bulletin

Joshua Clottey is going to fight Manny Pacquiao on March 13 as though a cab would be waiting outside Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Speaking from his training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Thursday, Clottey said he will wage a war right away in the hope of catching the Filipino boxing icon flat-footed.

“I plan to go right at him. There’s no way he’s chasing me around,” said Clottey, the heavy underdog going into the 12-round World Boxing Organization welterweight title fight.

Guided by New York-based Puerto Rican Lenny De Jesus, who served as Pacquiao’s cutman from 2003 until 2005, the Ghanaian slugger bragged that he has the Filipino all figured out.

“I already know what he’s all about. He’s a great champion. This is a difficult fight. But I am going for the win right away as soon as the bell rings,” added Clottey.

According to Lee Samuels, the award-winning publicist for Top Rank, Clottey is breaking camp in Florida and returning to New York early next week in time for an open media workout at Kingsway Gym on March 4.

“After a couple of days, Team Clottey will depart for Dallas on March 7,” said Samuels.

Clottey has entered the fourth week of training in Florida and is said to be in tremendous shape.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao went 10 rounds during Tuesday’s sparring session at the Wild Card in Hollywood, shrugging off earlier complains of pain in his leg.

Pacquiao will wind up his preparation at the Wild Card on March 8, the day he and his team travel to Dallas on a private plane that Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum will send to Los Angeles to pick up the pound-for-pound king.

Before leaving for Texas, Pacquiao will once again appear on the popular late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 3.

Source: mb.com.ph

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Roach/Ariza: PED accusation at Manny Pacquiao taken as compliment (at first) -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk



Although Freddie Roach has a slightly different view, Alex Ariza, Manny Pacquiao’s head strength and conditioning coach, has insisted the allegations being levelled at Pacquiao, emanating from the Mayweather camp, relating to the smear campaign over PEDs, was not looked on first of all by something negative by the Pacquiao Camp.

Indeed, they saw it as a veiled compliment, at first, towards the intense work they had done to build Pacquiao’s body for his contest with Oscar de la Hoya, a fight in which they knew their man was clearly the smaller of the two. The ballistics analysis they put together created a plan. They didn’t know what they would acheive. But it worked.

“In the beginning, I just thought it [the comments from Mayweather Snr] was a compliment, in a way, because of the work we have done to develop Manny into the fighter he is, but at the end of the day, we know it [the allegations] is not true, ” Ariza told Telegraph Sport.

“It doesn’t hurt us. Fighters are still going to come to Freddie because they want to be trained by him. People are still going to be trained by us, and when they come to the gym, they will see how hard we work there. We know exactly what we put our guys there through.”

Ariza is preparimng Pacquiao for his contest against Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Texas. He explained: “We are following the same format as we did for Miguel Cotto. I sat with Freddie and we felt the training regimen and the diet regimen for Manny against Cotto was dead on correct.”

To keep weight on Pacquiao, he has a protein shake before bed, in the middle of the night, and first thing in the morning.

“The weight-speed conditioning was all there, and we feel Joshua Clottey is a similar opponent in that Manny may have to absorb some punishment. Manny said afterwards that he felt in such good condition, he could take Cotto’s punches, and so Manny changed the game plan early in the fight against Cotto, wanting to demoralise him by absorbing his punching power.”

“It might not be exactly the same against Clottey. But the fight against Cotto went so well, Manny was strong for the entire fight, so we did not see any reason for changing anything. The only real difference between this and the Cotto fight is that we started doing a bit more strength training …”

“Manny was 151 lbs at four and a half weeks out, we keep him on a 7000 calories a day diet, and once we get to Dallas, I just have to take a few things away from the diet. We have to keep his intake up. He has to have a protein shake before going to bed, he has one at 3am, and another one first thing in the morning. He has up to six meals a day and six protein shakes a day when in training for a fight. We have to keep weight on him, as he trains so hard. We can’t have his body dropping calories.”

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

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HGH testing could be adopted -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

A British rugby player's blood sample emerged this week as a landmark case, the first positive result for human growth hormone in testing by a national sporting anti-doping agency. The athlete, Terry Newton, confessed to using the banned substance and Wednesday, after being slapped with a two-year ban from the game, publicly apologized for his "grave error in judgment."

Newton's positive test is expected to be followed shortly by others, a source familiar with worldwide doping programs told The Times on Wednesday. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because authorization hasn't been given to speak publicly on the matter.

Yet, as the NFL and Major League Baseball push to institute blood-testing programs to unearth HGH users, how Newton dealt with his positive result is unlikely to be repeated any time soon in the U.S., where the test is not automatically accepted by American athletes -- and their advisors -- as indisputable proof.

"This guy [Newton] just said, 'OK, you caught me,' but a major league baseball player will never do that," said Victor Conte, founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) who was briefly imprisoned for distributing performance-enhancing drugs to world-class athletes, including sprinter Marion Jones, boxer Shane Mosley and the personal trainer of baseball slugger Barry Bonds.

"I know the anti-doping authorities are painting this as a big victory, but this doesn't prove the test is reliable and valid," Conte said. "That will only occur in a court of law, after the player, supported by a team of scientists and lawyers, takes his turn."

Nevertheless, authorities such as World Anti-Doping Agency Director General David Howman assessed Newton's positive (secured by the United Kingdom Anti-Doping agency) as a reason for the world's sporting bodies to increase blood testing -- especially out of competition -- to catch those who have "been using this substance with no impunity for a number of years."

The NFL this year told its players union of its interest in testing for HGH.

"Our position is that HGH blood testing has advanced to the point where we are taking steps to incorporate it into our program," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "Blood work is part of our players' annual physical. We do have mandatory blood testing already."

An NFL Players Assn. representative has said "there's no reason" to implement blood testing at this time, but Aiello said a request by the league to do so can be done "between now and training camp," in advance of collective-bargaining sessions, with the opportunity to have testing in place before the 2010 season.

"The argument that there's no longer a valid test no longer holds water," said Dr. Gary Wadler, chairman of WADA's prohibited list. "There's now a positive, the test is commercially produced. There's no excuses to hide from testing anymore, and the pressure is on all sports leagues to implement blood testing.

"The fact is there's a way to detect HGH now and even if lawyers try to pick apart at it, or people say they didn't take it, we can now find out. This is the wake-up call."

In an e-mail to The Times, NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis wrote, "The NFLPA along with the NFL has supported research to find a suitable test that will detect sustained HGH use. We have and will continue to work with the NFL to build a system that is fair, reliable and maintains the integrity of our game and the health and safety of our players. We believe in, and collectively bargained for, a system that supports the testing of all banned substances. We look forward to discussing the NFL's proposed blood testing program in our next CBA meeting."

A baseball authority has said Commissioner Bud Selig wants to have players blood tested for HGH, with the baseball expected to adopt a blood-testing program for minor league players this year in its effort to root out use of the substance that has been credited for building strength.

Officials with the baseball players' union have said they would consider a validated HGH test. MLB officials expressed hope at a 2008 HGH summit in Beverly Hills that a urine test for HGH had potential. Wadler argues, in the interim, the blood test should be put into effect.

Likely use of the untested substance has made for uneasy assessment of some individual performances.

"There's obviously a little gap that needs to be bridged in the drug testing, and it would go a long way toward closing it if you could find something to detect [HGH]," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Dodgers pitcher George Sherrill said there should be testing for the substance.

"It just guarantees that the playing field's even and no one's cheating," Sherrill said. "I don't know if anybody is or not, but this is a way to guarantee it and make sure the game's clean. They've gotten everything else out of the game -- why not take the last couple of steps?"

Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said he doesn't "know where this leads," after a dispute over blood testing led to the cancellation of next month's scheduled Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight in Las Vegas.

"This is a pleasant development and something we'll take great interest in," Kizer said.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Times staff writers Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Source: latimes.com

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Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey Profiled in 'Road To Dallas' -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

The leadup to the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title defense of seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, against former welterweight king, Joshua Clottey (pictured above), on March 13 will be the focus of Road To Dallas: Pacquiao vs. Clottey, which will premiere on HBO's various channels on March 6.

The 30-minute special will analyze the upcoming bout, which will take place at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium in Arlington, Tex., as Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) looks to earn his 12th straight victory, and his ninth stoppage during time.

Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), who never has been stopped, will look to end the winning streak of Pacquiao, whom he will face in the Cowboys' $1.2 billion venue, owned by Jerry Jones.

The clash, to be televised on HBO pay-per-view, represent the first boxing match to be held at the stadium, whose domed facility seats 80,000, but is expandable enough so that it can hold up to 111,000.

The venue also has a retractable ceiling that protects against rain, and boasts over 3,000 Sony LCD displays throughout the luxury suites, concourses, concession areas and more.

The setup allows fans the ability to watch the action beyond just the field, as, all, if not most, of the displays will be operating on fight night, according to Jones.

By the time the fighters enter the ring, it will have been nearly five years -- in fact, only six days short of five years -- since the the 31-year-old Pacquiao's last suffered defeat.

For since falling in a unanimous decision to Mexico's Erik Morales in March of 2005, Pacquiao is 11-0, with eight knockouts.

That run includes stoppages of David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and, Miguel Cotto, respectively, in nine, eight, two, and, 12 rounds.

Pacquaio's streak includes having twice avenged the loss to Morales, whom he stopped in 10, and, three rounds, in January and November 2006.

It also includes 12-round triumphs over Mexican legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as an eighth-round knockout of Jorge Solis, who entered their matchup unbeaten at 33-0-2, with 24 knockouts.

Clottey's three losses have been against former world champs, Cotto, Carlos Baldomir, and, Antonio Margarito, all of which he disputes.

Clottey, a native of Ghana who lives in New York's Bronx, straight up felt that he was ripped off following his split-decision loss to Cotto in June.

Clottey was ahead against Baldomir when he was disqualified for head-butting, and was also in front against Margarito before having to fight the final eight rounds with injuries to both hands.

Thus, Clottey enters his bout with Pacquiao still believing that he is all-but undefeated.

"The Road To Dallas" is available to HBO On Demand 24 hours daily, begining Wednesday, March 10, through Monday, April 12.


HBO airing dates of The Road To Dallas

Saturday, March 6 at 1:00 a.m.

Sunday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m.

Monday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m. and 12:05 a.m.

Tuesday, March 9 at 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

Friday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.

Saturday, March 13 at 11:30 a.m.


HBO2 airing dates of The Road To Dallas

Sunday, March 7 at 11:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10 at 10:00 p.m.

All times are ET/PT.


Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

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Should medical insurance of boxers be increased?

Boxing News World

The claim that every boxer understands the danger of his occupation once he enters the ring holds a valid point. However, the supposition that most poor boxer is willing to accept any risk just to put some descent food on the dining table is a point evenly worthy of consideration.

Since most of these poor boxers don’t even have a high-school certificate to brag about, they see the boxing ring not as a dangerous workplace but a welcoming gate towards a better life. The desire of holding big bills in their hands outweighs any fear they may have of getting seriously hurt. (Photo: University of Nevada Las Vegas boxing coach Frank Slaughter (L) and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (R) of the Philippines with Filipino boxer Z Gorres (C), REUTERS)

The sad fact that these boxers care less about who they will fight, but more about how much money they will get, adds more danger to the already dangerous sport. They are preyed upon by shrewd promoters and matchmakers and usually pitted against top-caliber boxers without remonstration from boxing authorities. As a result, boxing bouts become a show of cruel one-sided beating rather than what it should be - a display of boxer’s fighting skills and talent. This exhibition of unnecessary brutality in the ring often invites serious injuries, or even death.

The news about Filipino boxer Z Gorres badly hurt after his unanimous decision victory against Colombian Luiz Melendez in Las Vegas, Nevada last November was already sad. However, the news about his hospital bill amounting to more than half a million US dollars was way sadder. Only about a tenth of this massive amount ($50,000) is available to him as medical insurance under the Nevada Athletic Commission’s regulations. His family, whom he had intended to offer whatever earnings he could get from boxing to better their lives, will now carry an insurmountable load on their shoulders of paying the remaining enormous amount, on top of an equally difficult task of taking care of a partially paralyzed family member.

Although incidents such as Gorres’s are generally rare the notion of implementing a better medical insurance policy to safeguard the family members of an injured boxer from financial woes should be closely studied. In a sport in which brain injuries are bound to happen, coupled by the fact that hospital bills for such injuries are far from affordable for most people, a better insurance for boxers is not only necessary but just.

BrainAndSpinalCord.org, an internet website that provides reliable information about brain and spinal cord injuries, stated that “an average hospital stay for a moderate Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI (defined as the trauma to the brain caused by an external force impinging upon the head and brain), is over 9 days. TBI patients may need a lengthy stay in a rehabilitation center; some patients may stay for three months. When the injury is severe, the intensive rehabilitation needed may average over $1,000 a day.” Basing from this figure, the $50,000 medical, surgical, and hospital care presently provided for boxers under boxing commissions’ rules clearly needs an urgent review.

Well respected boxing scribe TP Walker of Eastside Boxing generously shared his clever opinion on this issue.

TP Walker: "Increasing insurances for the sport of boxing is an often debated touchy topic. The simple and politically correct thing would be to jump on board anything that protects fighters. They put their lives on the line in the name of sport and entertainment and deserve whatever assurances we can give them. Very few occupations carry with them the level of peril that boxing does. However, every fighter knows the risks of fighting and every fighter accepts those risks when they get into the ring. Amateur boxing gyms are notorious for weeding out those who don't have the mentality and demeanor needed to be a boxer. For every 30-40 people who venture into a boxing gym maybe 1 or 2 remain for an extended period of time. Of those who do remain only a select few have the tools to compete on a substantial level."

"Having said that we must examine it closely. Not every fight card brings with it the hype and grandiose public awareness of Mayweather/Mosely, Pacquiao/Clottey or even Jones Jr./Hopkins. Most don't. On the same night that Pacquiao fights Clottey there are at least 11 other scheduled fight cards throughout the world. None of them command even a tenth of 1% of the purse that Pacquiao/Clottey will generate. This isn't isolated. It is typical to boxing. A $40,000 gate for a local show is celebrated these days."

"So what could potentially happen if extra insurances are added to the sport? One scenario is that the added insurance would have little effect on major fight cards but would impact local fight cards to the point where the bottom line is so impinged that most local promoters would no longer be able to afford to put on boxing shows. When local guys can't afford to put on boxing shows the number of shows obviously decreases. In turn many fighters never get to craft their trade, build their name or prepare themselves for the upper levels of the sport. The sport would be overtly compromised and fall victim to the increased economics. This would set the sport back in my opinion."

"No one, me included, wants to see a fighter injured but every fighter knows the risks of the ring. That's not a comforting statement to an injured fighter but it is accurate. Having said that, my sincerest prayers go out to Gorres and his family in the wake of this unfortunate event."

- Marshall N. B., marx7204@lycos.com

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CLOTTEY CONFIDENT OF VICTORY OVER PACQUIAO, BUT DOES HE HAVE A SHOT? -- FightHype

By Sabrina Montez, FightHype.com

Welterweight Joshua Clottey exudes a confidence that few fighters have in this sport. Anyone that receives an opportunity to get in the ring with the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world might question themselves. Not Clottey. This is his fight to win, not only for himself, but for his native Ghana. If he’s victorious over the highly favored Manny Pacquaio, it would be one of the biggest upsets in recent years.

What does the former welterweight champion really think about Manny Pacquaio? “He is small, but very fast,” stated Clottey, who recently gave me a brief description of his opponent for March 13. He believes he can beat Pacquaio and is determined to prove it. Clottey conducts himself quite differently than Floyd Mayweather Jr. He prefers to refrain from trash talk, but remains optimistic regarding his chances. With an enormous amount of respect for Manny Pacquiao, Clottey is thankful for the opportunity and doesn’t take it lightly.

“I’ll fight anyone. I don’t care who it is,” says Clottey, who has never been afraid of facing top-caliber fighters. The match-up with Pacquiao will be the most challenging of his boxing career. In his opinion, size matters. Before Pacquaio’s fight with Miguel Cotto, Clottey went on record with me that he was leaning towards Pacquaio to win. However, he said, “Cotto is too big and strong for Pacquiao.” Now if Clottey couldn’t get a decision over Cotto, yet Pacquaio defeated Cotto without breaking a sweat, what makes Clottey so confident he can win against Pacquaio?

When Clottey is on point, he can become a serious threat with his tremendous amount of strength and power, while using his big body to his advantage. However, size really doesn’t matter when facing Manny Pacquaio. How many times have we heard people say that Pacquiao is too small for an opponent? Too many to count. And what happens to that opponent? Pacquaio defeats them with ease.

Clottey will hope that his tight guard will block Pacquiao’s punches from coming in. He will simply try to absorb the ones that do get through. Call me a pessimist, but how can you defend against Pacquaio’s blinding combinations? He throws from the strangest angles and it’s impossible to see his punches coming. Pacquiao will not hesitate to capitalize on some of Clottey’s weaknesses. A problem that may occur in this match-up is that Clottey has a tendency to become complacent in fights and doesn’t finish strong in later rounds.

Regardless, Clottey has been training hard in Florida and has a significant chance at winning, but the way Pacquiao has fought as of late, he seems unstoppable.

Source: vegas.fighthype.com

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Hurting power of Pacquiao puts Mayweather in fear of KO -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Joshua Clottey trainer Lenny "The Locksmith" DeJesus does not buy the notion that Floyd Mayweather put the kibosh on fighting Manny Pacquiao because of a disagreement over random blood testing.

DeJesus, 64, a veteran of 75 world championship bouts dating back to the 15 rounds or less era, told me Wednesday he is convinced Mayweather dodged fighting Pacman out of simple fear.

"It's two things with Mayweather," DeJesus said from the Clottey training camp in Fort Lauderdale. "One thing is his precious undefeated record. Floyd doesn't want to lose that. Let me be blunt, I think he rejected a Manny fight because he wants to make sure he stays undefeated and because he's worried that he could get knocked out.

"If not for those worries then, why wouldn't Floyd take the fight and, whatever happens in the fight, he goes to the bank laughing with $40 million?"

DeJesus thinks Mayweather should not worry so much about protecting his unbeaten status.

"Fans don't care about all that. Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Wilfredo Gomez, who I worked with, they all lost but they came back to win. I just think Mayweather had an eerie feeling that Manny Pacquiao could take him out. Like Joe Louis said, you can run but you can't hide and he could run against Manny all night.

"Floyd could be jumping around like a jackal but somewhere in the fight he would feel Manny's power and that's what boxing is all about, hurting power. That's the game of boxing."

DeJesus injected a little humor into the situation.

"I thank three people for Joshua getting this (March 13) bout against Manny," DeJesus said.

"First, I thank Freddie Roach for taking the fight. Second, I thank Manny for taking the fight. Third, I've got to thank Mayweather for not taking the fight."

DeJesus worked six different bouts in Megamanny's corner as a cutman when promoter Murad Muhammad was handling the fighter but then got cut adrift when Shelly Finkel and Gary Shaw moved in on Manny and Murad walked the promotional plank.

"I feel good, I feel confident about this fight," DeJesus said. "I like Freddie Roach, we go back to when he was the bucket boy for Eddie Futch. Freddie hit the jackpot with Manny in a way I never did with one fighter.

"But we'll see in Dallas, at the end of the day, who's done the better job of preparing his fighter, me or Freddie. Joshua didn't have that extra oomph he needed to beat (Miguel) Cotto but I was in a different role then.

"The (training camp) environment wasn't right for that fight but that was then and now is now."

And Fight Night at Cowboys Stadium is inching closer.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

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