Hopkins eyes Haye while Jones vows victory in rematch -- AFP

AFP

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Bernard Hopkins is talking about fighting heavyweight world champion David Haye of Britain while Roy Jones is talking about giving Hopkins his first knockout loss in their April 3 showdown.

The boxing legends spoke Wednesday in conference calls ahead of their fight at Las Vegas, which 41-year-old Jones said could be the capper to his career and 45-year-old Hopkins said could launch him into a bout with Haye.

"Start pumping that now. You're thinking like me," Hopkins said. "That scenario sounds good to me but I have got to do my thing on April 3."

Haye, the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion who is 23-1 with 21 knockouts, fights American John Ruiz on April 3 in England but hopes to next fight a Ukranian rival champion, either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko.

Hopkins has been counted out in ring deals before, if never in the ring, but wears his age like a badge of pride as he plans for Haye and perhaps beyond.

"As I keep being reminded that I'm 45 like it's a death sentence, have I been fighting like I'm 45?" Hopkins said.

"I'm saying this fight is for my future career. I have to not only win this fight but win impressively. I'm setting up the next big thing to Bernard Hopkins."

Jones 54-6 with 40 knockouts, is a former heavyweight champion himself thanks to a victory over Ruiz. He won a unanimous decision over Hopkins, 50-5 with one drawn and 32 knockouts, in their first fight in 1993 at Washington.

"He was more of a young fighter trying to win by any means necessary," Jones said. "This time he's a little smarter. He doesn't take as many risks. He's more of an opportunist than he was back then."

Jones said no matter how the fight goes, it might be his last.

"It could be a way to end my career," Jones said. "I will have to see. If everything turns out well, then maybe. And if Bernard Hopkins can hurt me, it's time to hang it up."

Both fighters have something to prove. Jones suffered a first round knockout in his last fight last December to Danny Green and is 5-5 in the past six years while Hopkins has lost three of his past seven fights and beat Mexico's Enrique Ornelas last December in his only start for the past 18 months.

"He feels like I'm done. I'm washed up. I'm old goods. That's the only reason he's taking the fight now," Jones said.

"I'm going to give him my secret punch, guaranteed to stop him. He's going to sleep by knockout. There's nothing he can do to win."

Hopkins, naturally, disagrees.

"Roy ain't going to knock Bernard Hopkins out," Hopkins said. "He's one up on me. It's a personal vendetta. I've got something legitimate to me personally in this fight. That's how much animosity is there. That's how deep this thing is.

"Every punch is going to mean something for over 17 years so I've got to land a lot of combinations."

Hopkins called his first fight with Jones "a night that changed both of our lives. That fight there helped sculpture my psyche and character."

Jones sees no tarnishing of his legacy by continuing to fight beyond his prime.

"Ain't many of them who can do it as well as I still can so why should I not be doing it," Jones said. "I was smarter and slicker than him 17 years ago and I'm smarter and slicker than him now.

"I want to show him he's still not better than me. He has been hating me for 17 years because I beat him and he can go on hating me for another 17 years after I beat him again."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Source: google.com

MAYWEATHER RIGHT AT HOME PLAYING BOXING’S FAVORITE VILLAIN -- FightHype

By Sabrina Montez, Vegas FightHype

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has an allegiance of fans, but his persona strikes a negative cord within the boxing community. Why is a fighter with a 40-0 record continuously criticized? Perhaps it’s jealousy, his lack of humility, or his selection of opponents. Whatever it may be, Mayweather has become accustomed to playing the boxing villain. His Uncle, Jeff Mayweather, recently shed some light on Floyd’s bad guy image.

“He has picked the role of being the bad guy because he’s flashy, flamboyant and in your face with it, and speaks his mind, whether you like it or not. A lot of people don’t like that and want to see him fall, but its no different than Ali; many people hated him too. The same type of people that liked Ali back then are the same people that like Floyd now. It is just generations later repeating itself ,” stated Jeff.

He continues, “My opinion of it is this is a business and at the end of the day, you do what you do to generate capital and only two types of fighters make money, the extremely good guy that can fight or the bad guy that seems to get under everyone’s skin, but has the talent to back it up. At the end of the day, you may not like it, but when it comes to their craft, you have to respect it. It is what it is. At least when your the bad guy, you can be yourself when the cameras come on.”

Floyd is certainly no stranger to being in the spotlight, whether it is in the field of entertainment or sports. Whether people love him or hate him, Floyd wants to be recognized for who he is, one of the best fighters in the world. Ever since Floyd and Manny Pacquiao butted heads and couldn’t come to an agreement on a possible dream bout, Mayweather has received a barrage of criticism, even more than usual. His desires for Pacquiao to subject himself to strict Olympic-style drug testing, which Pacquiao declined, has sent many blasting Floyd’s motives, feeling as if he shouldn’t be allowed to make up his own rules. Also add in the fact that he is naturally vocal, and flamboyant, and it makes people really want to see the guy fail.

One thing I noticed about Floyd over the years is that he knows how to play the villain role when the time is right. Mayweather is living in his world and whether you are for him or against him, he wants to be noticed…one way or another.

Source: vegas.fighthype.com

Pacquiao's 700,000 buys are actually good when compared to De La Hoya's pay per view history -- The Examiner

By Brent Alderson, Examiner.com

After Manny Pacquiao’s and Floyd Mayweather’s fights against Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez both did a million plus pay per view buys in the fall, the first time that the magic one million buy rate was achieved with two consecutive boxing events, industry insiders as well as fans raised their expectations regarding pay per view sales. Some people theorized that cable and satellites were more prevalent in homes throughout the United States than they had been during De La Hoya’s career or even Mike Tyson’s, which would invariably lead to a consistent and dramatic increase in the numbers. That along with Pacquiao’s new found fame which included two nights with Jimmy Kimmel and a segment on 60 Minutes had industry insiders expecting the Filipino legend to shatter pay per view records every time out.

So when the news came out that Pacquiao’s fight with Clottey did 700,000 buys, it was viewed by many as a disappointing figure, but it shouldn’t be. Even though Clottey is held in high regard throughout the boxing community he doesn’t have very much commercial appeal and most casual fans viewed him as a non threatening participant, especially in lieu of how Pacquiao has completely obliterated a number of quality fighters, all of whom were well known by the general public.

In analyzing the career of boxing’s all time pay per view attraction, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao’s numbers in the Clottey bout compare favorably. During De La Hoya’s career he was on pay per view nineteen different times. Out of those nineteen events, only four of De La Hoya’s bouts ever hit the one million pay per view marker and those were his mega-bouts with Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, and FelixTrinidad. And eleven of those nineteen events never reached the seven hundred thousand buy rate that Pacquiao did with Clottey. So even though fans and insiders may have been expecting more, the numbers for the Pacquiao-Clottey are actually pretty damn good.

Below is a list of Oscar De La Hoya’s pay per view buys that was put together by Andrew Eisele at about.com

Oscar De La Hoya's Pay-Per-View History
1. Rafael Ruelas (5/95) 330,000 buys = $9.9 million
2. Genaro Hernandez (9/95) 220,000 buys = $6.6 million
3. Miguel Angel Gonzalez (1/97) 345,000 buys = $12.1 million
4. Pernell Whitaker (4/97) 720,000 buys = $28.8 million
5. Hector Camacho (9/97) 560,000 buys = $22.4 million
6. Wilfredo Rivera (12/97) 240,000 buys = $9.6 million
7. Julio Cesar Chavez II ( 9/98) 525,000 buys = $23.6 million
8. Ike Quartey ( 2/99) 570,000 buys =$25.7 million
9. Felix Trinidad (9/99) 1.4 million buys = $71.4 million
10. Shane Mosley (6/00) 590,000 buys = $29.5 million
11. Javier Castillejo (6/01) 400,000 buys = $16.0 million
12. Fernando Vargas (9/02) 935,000 buys = $47.8 million
13. Yory Boy Campas (5/03) 350,000 buys = $17.5 million
14. Shane Mosley II (9/03) 950,000 buys = $48.4 million
15. Felix Sturm (6/04) 380,000 buys = $19.0 million
16. Bernard Hopkins (9/04) 1 million buys = $56.0 million
17. Ricardo Mayorga (5/06) 935,000 buys = $46.3 million
18. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (5/07) 2.15 million buys = $120.0 million
Totals: 12.6 million buys = $610.6 million

Source: examiner.com

World's best Pac-Man devours all before him -- The Irish Times

The Irish Times

AMERICA AT LARGE: Money Boy Mayweather needs manny a lot more than Manny needs Floyd, writes GEORGE KIMBALL

ALTHOUGH HIS opponent didn’t leave him much of a canvas to work with, Manny Pacquiao’s display of artistry at Cowboys Stadium 12 days ago reaffirmed his position as the world’s top practising boxer, and as the numbers continue to roll in there is every indication he could emerge from this spring the number one box-office draw as well.

This, in the end, could be the more critical point if and when negotiations resume for a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr, because if one thing has become clear it is that, no matter what the folks at Golden Boy Promotions might try to tell you, Money Boy needs Manny a lot more than Manny needs Floyd.

The 700,000 PPV buys engendered by what must retrospectively be conceded was a mismatch against the game but unwilling Joshua Clottey on March 13th constituted the US’ largest pay-per-view audience for a fight between two non-American boxers, a claim that will remain undisturbed by whatever numbers emerge from Mayweather’s May 1st bout against Shane Mosely. Moreover, even a sellout crowd for Mayweather-Mosely at the MGM Grand Garden would represent barely a third of the 50,944 who paid their way into Jerry Jones’ space-age stadium outside Dallas.

The last 6,000 or so of these, by the way, came in the 24 hours before the bout, when Jones, assured of a sellout in the 45,000-seat boxing configuration, opened up the stadium to the “Party Pass” option. An innovation developed by the Cowboys’ owner for sold-out football games, the party pass provides patrons with access to a standing-room-only plaza inside the stadium.

For €26 (in the case of the Pacquiao fight), fans are able to commingle, with access to bars and the state-of-the-art video boards. The Cowboys’ information page says Jones developed his party pass concept “to accommodate fans who just want to be part of the atmosphere”. Since for another €10 they could have stayed home and gotten a much better view of the fight in their living rooms, we must assume the party-pass crowd was there mostly to, well, party.

Interestingly, as impressively head-turning as the live gate numbers turned out to be, the crowd was not a Texas record for either indoor or outdoor boxing events, but Pacquiao and Bob Arum can blame Jones for that. The largest crowd to see a boxing event in the Lone Star state was the 58,891 who witnessed the Julio Cesar Chavez-Pernell Whitaker draw in San Antonio’s Alamodome 18 years earlier. The record for outdoor attendance belongs to Oscar De La Hoya-Patrick Charpentier, at the Sun Bowl in El Paso in 1988.

With its retractable roof, Cowboys Stadium could have been either. It had always been Jones’ intention to roll back the roof at the conclusion of the evening to give the patrons one more thing to gasp about on their way out the door. It requires nearly 20 minutes to fully open or close the roof, and the winches weren’t even switched on until the 10th round was in progress. Had Jerry his wits about him, he could have ordered the roof opened before the main event and assured himself the outdoor record.

Mayweather and Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer had dismissed Cowboys Stadium as a site even before they essentially dismissed Pacquiao as an opponent with their insulting demand for additional blood testing as a precondition.

Pacquiao is already on record as wanting to return to Dallas for his next bout, and as the man with more options, the tune may be his to call.

How viable those options turn out to be remains to be learned. Pacquiao is standing for office back in the Philippines , and, according to trainer Freddie Roach, no negotiations will take place until after the May elections.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Pac-Man has been a congressional candidate. Three years ago, when he last fought in Texas, he came out of his April win over Jorge Solid with a 20-point lead in the polls over his incumbent opponent, Darling Antonio-Custodia, only to be trounced at the voting booths a month later.

Arum, who campaigned for Pacquiao then, ascribed the defeat not to the boxer’s ill-defined position on the issues, but to the notion that “the Filipino people were afraid if he got elected Manny would retire from boxing. This was the only way they could make sure he’d keep fighting.”

If that was true then, isn’t it equally true today

Like Mayweather, a self-styled rapper with his own label, Filthy Rich records, Pacquiao also fancies himself an entertainer. A few nights before fighting Clottey he appeared before a national television audience on Jimmy Kimmell’s late-night programme, and followed an interview with a rendition of a song. Asked to evaluate Pacquiao’s performance, Arum said “compared to Oscar (De La Hoya), he sounds like Caruso”.

But from other indications Manny shouldn’t be thinking about giving up his day job just yet. He had raised some eyebrows when he had booked a singing engagement in Hawaii just six days after the fight. Pacquiao, whose take from the Clottey fight could push the €15 million mark, had been guaranteed €100,000 for a one-night appearance at the Waikiki Shell last Sunday. Then, just a few nights after the fight in Dallas, promoters of the Hawaii concert pulled the plug and cancelled the gig on the entirely reasonable grounds that the advance sale consisted of 603 tickets for an 8,500 capacity venue.

One more interesting footnote to Pacquiao-Clottey. Pacquiao’s three previous bouts had seen him impressively stop De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, but the Ghanaian became the first opponent weighing more than 135lb to go the distance with Manny.

Roach, who had all but guaranteed a Pac-Man KO, had based his assumption on a game plan predicated on his exhaustive study of Clottey’s tapes.

“I knew our best chance of knocking Clottey out would be to catch him when he’s throwing a punch,” said Roach. “But Clottey doesn’t like to punch while you’re throwing one.

“The plan was that Manny would throw a one-two and then step backward as if he were trying to get out. We knew that would bring Clottey in, and the instant Manny saw him start to throw his jab he was supposed to catch him with a hook on top of it.”

“But when I step back out, what if he doesn’t come in?” wondered Pacquiao.

“He will,” promised Roach.

But he didn’t. At least 10 times in 12 rounds Pacquiao baited the hook, and not once did Clottey rise to it, leading Roach to speculate on the presence of a mole.

Gee. You think?

“We did have one sparring partner from Ghana (Abullai Amidu),” Roach reflected the morning after the fight. “(Clottey and his corner) sure seemed to know what we were up to.”

Not that it did them a lot of good otherwise.

“Pacquiao is already on record as wanting to return to Dallas for his next bout, and as the man with more options, the tune may be his to call. How viable those options turn out to be remains to be learned.

Source: irishtimes.com

Ricky Hatton rejects retirement claims -- BBC Sport

BBC Sport

Ricky Hatton has insisted he will decide when to quit boxing.

The 31-year-old Mancunian suffered a devastating defeat by Manny Pacquiao in a IBO light-welterweight world title clash in May last year.

In December, Hatton announced plans to return to the ring but press reports claim he has since changed his mind.

But Hatton told BBC Sport: "I have not made a decision yet. Until you hear it from the horse's mouth, then don't take it seriously."

He added: "Everyone seems to be giving their comments but I have not said anything. I will let people know in good time.

"I have worked very hard in my career to make that announcement myself, and to do it with people who have been there from day one.

"It's a shame when people hear stories in the paper that's basically gossip."

Earlier this month, Britain's Amir Khan urged Hatton to retire, saying: "He has the respect of the British fans and boxers and I think he should hang his gloves up and relax now."

Hatton, a former two-weight world champion, first retired after losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2007 but returned to the ring a year later.

He was knocked out in the second round by Filipino great Pacquiao last year and the manner of his defeat led to calls for him to quit.

But in December he said he would return, with Mexican three-weight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez touted as a possible opponent.

Last month, Hatton's trainer Lee Beard parted company with the fighter to move to the United States.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Pacquiao Potboiler: Manny didn't thrash Clottey, toxic stew did

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

COPENHAGEN—It's become a post fight ritual, with the noted exception of gracious loser and took it with humor David Diaz, for Manny Pacquiao victims.

It's been only 12 days, just short of what the Brits call a fortnight since Pacman stomped gloves glued to the side of his head Joshua Clottey in Cowboys Stadium, and now the Ghanaian's excuses are rolling off his tongue.

I think Clottey, one of the happiest losers who ever picked up $1.2 million for a barely there effort, should have just stuck with the “Manny is too wicked fast” explainer and dropped the matter. But he didn't and he won't.

You may think I'm slamming Clottey needlessly but he's the one coming up with sorry excuses now.

Herewith Clottey's Top 10 Excuses for Losing to Pacquiao:

1—His stomach was an active volcano as the 'kanwe' or salt peter 'infested' banku and okro stew he ingested culminated in a serious diarrhea.

2—His chosen trainer never got out of Ghana and he was “forced” to rely on a real veteran in Lenny DeJesus who kept telling him to let his hands go. Obviously, DeJesus may have been blinded by both ingorance and apathy. In other words, maybe he did not know or care that the gloves were glued to Joshing's face with impregnable Velcro straps.

3—Alltime national ring idol Azumah “Zoom Zoom” Nelson was not in Texas proving the emotional ballast and support which could have boosted Joshing to a great victory.

4—Did I mention the salt peter infested banku and okro stew? It's worthy of a second special mention as Clottey's whole digestive tract was roiled furiously.

5—His countrymen in general were not really on board with him. Ghanaians were on different wave lengths and not sending the psychic messages of serenity plus strength that Clottey's brain wave receptors kept searching in vain for.

6—Clottey did not know until after his subpar effort that Pinay mentalist Madam Auring had something to do with zapping his prefight meal in order to make her public prediction of a pure Pacman shutout for 36 laborious minutes come true. Madam A, baby, she's damn alluring!

7—Clottey was stunned by the fact that he attracted 51,000 people to Jerry's World. It is well known he has problems anytime he sells more than 18,000 for any of his recitals. This overcrowding has got to stop.

8—Clottey was told that Manny ould be distracted by the Sarangani Congressional campaign and would not throw 200 punches per round.

9—Not only did Clottey have to deal with the toxic brew bubbling and boiling in his innards, he was also upset over how crooner Arnel Pineda did not play it straight in rendering the Filipino anthem, which has long been a near and dear to his heart tune for the African boxer.

10—This is not a postfight excuse, really, but speaking to Joyonline.com scribe Bendict Owusu Asempa, Clottey has now exclusively revealed that malicious reports of HBO canceling some sort of contract with him as completely false, inaccurate and downright wrong. Clottey asserts that, to the contrary, HBO has renewed and extended a contract with him.

On this point, I have got, in all fairness, to give it to Joshua because this much is indeed true.

What he did not say is that “contract with HBO” is a bit indirect and has nothing to do with his boxing services.

It seems that Clottey has just been able to renew his full package calbe service with Time Warner, thus ensuring that he can watch both HBO and rival Showtime anytime at his Bronx residence as long as the monthly premiums are paid.

Clottey, if you want to put it that way, also technically has “a contract” with the Discovery Channel and many other cable networks.

He is planning to appear sometime soon on the Food Network where the topic he will discuss is “How To Prevent Poisoning Before You Fight Pacquiao.”

I would not recommend that nutritional expose for the squeamish.

Clottey will also reveal why his next prefight meal will be strictly the Pinoy treat balut but that he will, like all sensible adults, limit himself to just three of the embryonic duck eggs at one sitting.

Any consumption of balut beyond that point produces permanent erections and other maladies which can hamper any comabtant's, ahem, “performance.”

Please call Dr. Vinnie Boombatz should you have such a balut reaction.

Finally, never, ever mix your balut with banku and okro stew, particulaly any that has been infested by salt peter.

Btw, salt peter is not related to the Nigerian heavyweight Sam Peter.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Margarito to make return in Mexico -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

Former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito is coming back, presumably without trying to load his gloves this time.

Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) will make his ring return against untested Roberto Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) on May 8 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Top Rank's Bob Arum told ESPN.com on Wednesday.

The scheduled 10-round junior middleweight fight will headline Top Rank's "Latin Fury 14" on pay-per-view.

Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) hasn't fought since January 2009, when he lost his welterweight title via ninth-round knockout to Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Before the fight, Margarito was discovered to have illegal pads coated with a plaster-like substance in his hand wraps. After Margarito's hands were re-wrapped, Mosley knocked him out and he subsequently had his license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission because of the illegal wraps.

In February, Margarito became eligible to be re-licensed, although he has not returned to California seeking a license. He did attempt to get a license in Texas to fight on the March 13 Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard, but before his application was ruled on Texas regulators wanted to have a hearing on the matter. Top Rank elected to put another fight on the card instead rather than go through with a hearing.

Although Margarito's license was revoked in California, and he has yet to be re-licensed anywhere in the United States, getting a license in Mexico is a formality. Officials there are not bound by United States rules and have said publicly they would welcome Margarito there.

Margarito will be moving up to junior middleweight, but could return to welterweight.

"He'll fight at junior middleweight and then, depending on who he will fight in his next fight, he might get back down to welterweight," Arum said. "Margarito really wants to fight Manny Pacquiao and that would be at welterweight. If the Pacquiao fight isn't there, he might face the winner of the [June 5] fight between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto."

In July 2008, in the fight before he faced Mosley, Margarito stopped Cotto in the 11th round to win a welterweight title in a result that has been tainted because so many believe his gloves were loaded for that fight.

Trainer Javier Capetillo, who inserted the illegal pads into Margarito's gloves, also had his license revoked by California regulators after the fight with Mosley. Capetillo and Margarito have since parted ways and Margarito is now being trained by California's Robert Garcia, a former junior lightweight titleholder with a growing stable of fighters. (He is not related to Margarito's opponent.)

Roberto Garcia, a native of Mexico who lives in Weslaco, Texas, is 13-0 with a no contest in his last 14 fights over the past six years.

Top Rank also formally announced the May 8 pay-per-view undercard: Jorge Solis against Mario Santiago for Solis' interim junior lightweight title; Brandon Rios against Urbano Antillon in a 1-round lightweight clash and flyweight prospect Alonso Lopez, the son of Hall of Famer Ricardo Lopez, in a four-rounder against an opponent to be determined.

Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Antonio Margarito Makes Ring Return Against Roberto Garcia -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Mexico's three-time, former welterweight champion, Antonio Margarito, will be returning from a more than year-long ring absence on May 8 stemming from a suspension when competes in a 10-round, junior middleweight (154 pounds) fight against Texas toughman, Roberto "La Amenza" Garcia as the headline to Top Rank Promotion's Latin Fury 14 in Aguascalientes, Mex.

The 32-year-old Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs), of Tijuana, was suspended for at least a year by the California State Athletic Commission after being dethroned as WBA super world welterweight (147 pounds) champion following his ninth-round knockout loss to 38-year-old Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) on Jan. 24, 2009, and has been unsuccessful in attempts to regain his license with the CSAC and U.S. commissions overall.

The ring banishment of Margarito (pictured above, with Mosley) was the result of Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, discovering that the hard-punching Mexican's fist wrappings included a plaster-like substance.

Unable to return to the ring for the undercard of the March 13, Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard, Margarito was initially expected to return to the ring against Oklahoma City resident Carson Jones (26-7-1, 15 KOs).

But on Cinco de Mayo weekend, Margarito will, instead, face the 29-year-old Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs), a native of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mex. who resides in Weslaco, Tex., and who is riding a five-year, 14-bout unbeaten streak that includes 10 knockouts.

Margarito-Garcia will be broadcast live on pay per view starting at 9 p.m. East Coast Time, and, 6 p.m., West Coast Time from Aguascalientes, which will be celebrating the San Marcos Fair.

The bout's undercard will feature 30-year-old WBA interim super featherweight (130 pounds) champion, Jorge Solis (38-2-2), of Guadalajara, Mex., defending his crown against Puerto Rico's former world title challenger, Mario Santiago (21-2-1, 14 KOs), of Ponce, as well as undefeated NABF lightweight titlist, Brandon Rios (24-0-1, 17 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., defending against former interim world champ, Urbano Antillion (27-1, 20 KOs), of Maywood, Calif.

Flyweight sensation Alfonso López (3-0, two KOs), of Mexico City, Mex., who is the son of legendary world champion, Ricardo López, will be making his pay per view debut.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Pacquiao: Mom says retire, mind says retire Mayweather -- The Examiner

By Vivek Wallace, Examiner.com

Only weeks after his victory over Ghana native Joshua Clottey, talks about the future of Pacquiao have taken a turn in many different directions.

First their was talks of Margarito visiting the his homeland of the Philippines to put on what would have been a massive event. From there, talks went to a possible showdown in Texas stadium with Venezuelan power puncher Edwin Valero.

Seems the new angles come from two sources a little closer to home, as Pac-Mom Dionesia and advisor Wakee Salud recently decided to shoot a few thoughts into the ear of Pacquiao.

Pac-Mom Dionesia has expressed deep fear and worry relative to the future of Pacquiao, urging her son to leave the sport before the unprecedented streak of success falls short at the hands of time. Advisor Wakee Salud seems to support Pacquiao's quest to walk away from the game, but only after he tries to send his P4P contemporary into retirement as well.

It's difficult to truly gauge what exactly Pacquiao wants, as normally we hear the thoughts from everyone around him instead.

Let those sources around him tell it, Pacquiao wants nothing more than a shot at Mayweather, but the recent words of Pacquiao to the press was that he "doesn't need Mayweather, Mayweather needs him".

This back and forth dialogue between Team Pacquiao camp members and the media has become somewhat confusing, as there's no true indication as to what reality holds.

With a ton of money on the table and perhaps a larger pot of pride, the reality here is that some way, some how, these two men are gonna have to meet; particularly if Mayweather is successful against Shane Mosley on May 1st in Las Vegas.

There have been many things said, but a greater intelligence tells us that the true decision of Pacquiao will come somewhere after the summer. By that time, several things will be decided. Mayweather will have faced Mosley, Cotto will have faced Foreman, and Margarito's license scenario will have played itself out.

If Mayweather is successful, the obvious destination is a night with him. If Mayweather is unsuccessful, the possible destination could be the talented but light-hitting Foreman, who if victorious over Cotto would still be holding what would be an unprecedented 8th title in an 8th division; a fight that would put a lot of seats in Yankee Stadium.

If Mosley is victorious, despite the fact that his style would be the best matchup for Pacquiao, it's hard to say whether he would chance ending a dynamic streak at the hands of a man who is more than capable.

When it all boils down, none of us know which direction Pacquiao will go, but before he decides to ultimately walk down the 'Hall' (of fame), a Mayweather victory over Mosley will only mean one thing.....and it doesn't take a genius to connect those dots!

Retirement may be in the back of Pacquiao's head, but taking a shot at retiring Mayweather will remain at the front of ours.

Stay tuned.

(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747), Facebook and Myspace).

Source: examiner.com