Arum's legacy matters: Schmuck or hero on Mayweather-Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Bob Arum, as vibrant a 78 year old as I have ever seen, is not a man given to deep introspection or brooding.

Not now, nor has he ever been.

Arum, who has spent four decades atop the boxing promotional pyramid, is as crusty as the center of any active volcano.

The man has the hardened hide of an elderly armadillo.

But,whether he dies next week, next month or lives past age 100, Arum will have a professional epitaph.

It could be the famous line he uttered to Newsday fight scribe Bob Waters, "That was yesterday, yesterday I was lying and today I am telling the truth."

More likely, his obits will discuss how he came out of the Justice Department under Robert F. Kennedy, saw there was real gold to be mined in bigtime boxing and then became a promoter of Muhammad Ali, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

I know another thing and that is Arum would not want this on his tombstone: BOB ARUM, HE COULDN'T MAKE MAYWEATHER-PACQUIAO HAPPEN.

For Arum, it's always about the money.

Otherwise, he'd be a sherpa guide in Tibet or working on a kibbutz in Israel. I never could picture him working alonside Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta somehow. I could have gotten a Mother T gig had it not been for my five years in Don King's coalmine.

But legay matters to promoters just as it does to some fighters.

It says here that Arum, by hook or crook, will do whatever backflips, somersaults and other controtions he has to make the Biggest Fight of the Generation, Manny against Floyd.

If it isn't made, history will nail him. No one will blame promotional newcomers like Richie Rich Schaefer or Golden Boy Oscar.

Arum will get the glory or the blame.

Arum just scheduled a Monday press conference call for Antonio Margarito. Also on the call is Margarito and Pacquiao lawyer Daniel Petrocelli.

I guess Petrocelli, no relation of the Bosox Number 6, shortstop Rico, will be there to block and parry any questions about why Margocheato won't admit he knews his handwraps were loaded with pieces of cement before the Shane Mosley bout.

If Mayweather ducks and dodges, using random blood testing as his safety shield, Arum will stay in house and stage Margarito-Pacquiao come November.

It's not a horrible fight but is it any more stimiulating than Pacman-Clottey which at least had the novelty and buzz of Cowboys Stadium going for it?

Pacquiao's next bout should only be against Money May unless Mosley throws a wrench into the situation on May 1 which I highly doubt.

The day to start talking turkey and work out the drug test protocols is a month from today, May 2.

No less than Arum's boxing legacy is on the line.

I say Arum, huffing, puffing and gesticulating like a madman, gets it done.

The rest of his professional life is all undercard, all prelims.

For him, it's Job One.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Manny Pacquiao in politics: BBC World Service interview with Gareth A Davies -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk

BBC World Service interview interview with The Daily Telegraph Boxing Correspondent as Filipino fighting phenomenon Manny Pacquiao, the seven weight world champion, embarks on his toughest fight to date – getting elected into a regional seat as a politician. Many of his advisers and admirers believe he should stay away from the murky world of politics in The Philippines.

Recorded last week…on the day Pacquiao began his electioneering campaign:



Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Q&A: Danny Green -- FightNews

By Craig Watt, FightNews.com

IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green (28-3, 25KO’s) is in the final stages of his training camp in Sydney for his upcoming title defence on April 14th. He takes on Manny Siaca (22-6, 19KO’s) from Puerto Rico in a bout that is sold out at the Challenge Stadium in Green’s hometown of Perth, Western Australia. This is a “homecoming” fight for the popular Australian who is a three weight world champion having previously won the WBA light-heavyweight and interim WBC 168 pound titles. The 5,500 capacity crowd was sold out in just two hours in his hometown city when tickets went on sale last month.

The 37 year old “Green Machine” comes off his most impressive win to date when he stopped future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Junior in 122 seconds in December which shocked the boxing world. After possible fights against Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver fell through he turned his attention to a lucrative potential rematch with two time WBA super-middleweight champion Anthony Mundine.
Siaca holds a win over Mundine when he outpointed him for the WBA 168 pound title in May 2004 and Green is hoping an impressive win will “smoke” out the fellow Australian and ink a rematch. Their first fight in 2006 drew a live gate of over 30,000 and was the richest fight in Australian boxing history generating an estimated $8m.

In the background to Green’s preparation is the upcoming rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Junior this weekend in Las Vegas– a match up that Green feels lacks boxing credibility because of his personal 122 second destruction of Jones Jr at the Acer Arena last December. Danny spoke to Fightnews today from his camp in Sydney.

Danny, what are your thoughts on the upcoming fight between Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins this weekend?

People keep asking me who I think is going to win but it is a difficult fight to call. People were so shocked when I knocked out Roy in just 122 seconds and in boxing you never know what will happen. Roy could fight out of his skin and pull off an upset win. The form book would see Hopkins as favourite but Jones is a boxing legend and could spring a surprise. I think Bernard Hopkins will win but it may not be much of a spectacle for the fans. We will see what happens at the weekend. It is just a shame that it is not me in there with Hopkins after I destroyed Roy Jones Jr.

Why are you so upset about the way Roy Jones Jr dealt with the defeat after that fight?

I thought that Roy Jones was just a bad loser and tried to take away my moment of glory by accusing me of cheating with my hand wraps. All the investigations exonerated me and everything was in order but the Jones camp tried to dishonour my win by accusation after accusation – all of which had no facts behind them. The bottom line was I knocked him out fair and square. He first said the referee stopped it too early but if you watch the replay he took 46 unanswered punches without throwing anything back – Is that too early ? He complained about the gloves which everyone needs to know he supplied himself. Now how can that be my fault ?

What about the issue of the hand wraps?

Again – excuses. These hand wraps were the same ones I used in five previous world title fights all over the world. I used them against Marcus Beyer in Germany, Eric Lucas in Canada and also in Mississippi when I won the IBO title. All were happy then and on December 2nd they were inspected by the NSW Combat Sports Commission – 3 independent people gave them the all clear. I think when Team Jones realised the magnitude of the loss in financial terms with a Hopkins re-match pencilled in the calendar and rushed to discredit my result and try and rescue the situation from a financial perspective. It wasn’t about boxing – he lost fair and square.

How close are you to a rematch with Anthony Mundine?

Mundine gives me a good payday but won’t really cement my legacy in the support. What people must remember is that he called me out of retirement for a rematch. I came out of retirement and accepted his challenge and he then runs off to the hills. I recently called his bluff again and challenged him to the rematch but he has gone into hiding and obviously is not man enough to accept my challenge and the multi-million dollar pay day it will bring him. I don’t need Mundine and if the answer is no then we will move on and I will go in a different direction. This silence cannot go on – Mundine must either decline or accept my offer. The clock is ticking and we will soon move on to pastures new and bring more big fights to Australia.

Would you like to fight the winner of the Jones-Hopkins rematch?

I would like to fight Hopkins as he is a respected fighter all over the world and a match in Australia would be another big fight and a big payday for Hopkins. If Jones Jr was to win then we would have to see. I do have a sour taste in my mouth after the last fight and after knocking him out so dominantly I don’t really think I have anything to prove.

How is training going for the Manny Siaca fight?

I just completed an open training session today and in my camp I have been in the best shape of my life. I have broken three noses in sparring and Angelo Hyder has built me up into great shape. I cannot wait to get back in the ring and knock Siaca out. Siaca dropped Mundine to the canvas and beat him on points and my job is to send a message to Mundine – I will knock him out.

How excited are you to be back in Perth for this fight?

After my win over Roy Jones in Sydney at the Acer Arena it was so good to be able to come back to see my hometown fans. They have supported me all the way in my journey and it is great to put some back and give them a good night. Amazingly all 5,500 tickets sold out in just two hours which gives me a fantastic lift to see than the people of Perth are still 100% behind me. I will put on a top performance for all my fans on April 14th.

* * *

Danny Green’s IBO title defence against Siaca will be shown in Australia on Main Events PPV on April 14th.

Source: fightnews.com

Haye his heaviest yet -- Sky Sports

Sky Sports

David Haye will be the heaviest he's been when he takes on John Ruiz on Saturday.

The WBA heavyweight world champion tipped the scales at 15st 12lbs which is five pounds more than he weighed for his win over Nikolai Valuev in November.

Ruiz, fighting for a world title for the 11th time, came in almost a stone heavier at 16st 7lbs - six pounds shy of his own career high but nine heavier than the Briton - and kept his top on.

Haye entered the Great Hall in Manchester's Town Hall to a rousing reception and stripped to the waist as if to prove all the talk of excess weight is completely unfounded.

The pair then posed for the traditional face-off and although the crowd cheered as they stood inches apart, there was not a trace of bad blood between the two.

Many experts had voiced concerns around Haye's physique in this week's build-up but the WBA champion pointed out that he was also only five pounds heavier than when he made his heavyweight debut against Tomasz Bonin three years ago.

"I think I'm developing into a heavyweight," he told Sky Sports News. "I've never been one of those guys who comes over-muscly or too bulked up.

"I've done everything gradually and I feel fit and healthy at this weight."

Trainer Adam Booth revealed Haye's camp have not been concerned with poundage throughout the training camp and Sky Sports' Jim Watt agreed.

He also believes Haye will back to his explosive best after an unusually subdued run-up to the fight.

"There's not one ounce that shouldn't be there and look at the muscle definition and the look in his eyes - he is confident and he still has that mischievous glint that we always see from him," he said.

"I am not in the least bit troubled. He might be five pounds heavier but he looks in fantastic condition."

Source: skysports.com

Thomas Hauser interview on David Tua -- TVNZ

TVNZ.co.nz

Full transcript of Craig Stanaway's interview with boxing writer Thomas Hauser about David Tua.

Craig Stanaway: David Tua fought Friday Ahunanya this week in New Zealand. Now, I've rung you for an impartial view because of all the hype about these kind of things. Cedric Kushner was talking about it being a world title eliminator. Everyone was talking about it as how David needed to make a statement, he needed to knock out a durable guy who had never been knocked out before for America to be interested in him again but I understand as well that this figtht wasn't even shown in the States - so from your perspective, where is David Tua in America's eyes at the moment?

Thomas Hauser: David Tua was once an elite heavyweight (but) there is no reason to believe he is anymore. It has been a long time since he fought a quality heavyweight.

What he's done in recent years is either be inactive, fight guys who are ageing like himself or fight guys that just don't have a chin and not very good to begin with.

And there's no reason to believe at the present time that he would be a credible challenger to either Klitchko. There's the hope among David's partisans, Vladimir has a suspect chin, David could wack him on the chin and knock him out but David has not shown great power in recent years, in this fight this past weekend and I just don't see it.

Maybe he'll get it together, get his timing and co-ordination back, the last thing you lose is your punch. Could this be an eliminator for some phoney belt? Sure and I wish David every success but right now there's no reason to believe he's a credible challenger for the honour of being the best heavyweight in the world.

One of the problems boxing has today is that there are so few real champions. We have four sanctioning bodies, four heavyweight champions or maybe it's three heavyweight champions now depending on how you count them which is a little bit like having three kings of England or three gold medal winners in the hundred yard dash at the Olympics... it doesn't work but the general consensus is that Vladimir and Vitali Klitchko are the two best heavyweights in the world, and off his most recent performance David might get a title opportunity but he really hasn't done anything to suggest he could beat either one of them.

He certainly couldn't beat Vitali and whether he could wack Vladimir on the chin and knock him out? I don't know.

CS: So from your perspective, David really to be a credible heavyweight in America again, has to in the next six months do what?

TH: Well it's difficult because there are so few credible heavyweights out there but let's get out there but let's say David came over here and fought Chris Areola who is a solid heavyweight, not a great one by any stretch of the imagination but if David fought Chris Arreola, which would be a very good fight by the way, and beat him, then I would say then..... okay! he's got some credibility.

I suppose if he got a shot at David Haye and beat him... sure that would give him some crediblity, maybe even Thomas Adamek who's a small heavyweight who's fighting Arreola but to fight retreads... he's not even fighting hasbeens, he's fighting guys who never were and that's a far cry from the David Tua who could knock out guys like John Ruiz and Hasim Rahman and Oleg Maskaev with one punch.

There was a time when David had the great equaliser and I'm not sure that he does anymore.

I did notice that he came into this fight at what for David has become a relatively low weight... that's a good sign that he's taking his training seriously but to say that he's an elite heavyweigh now... that's just not the way people feel over here.

CS: Can Cedric Kusher set him up with a Chris Areola?

TH: There are good fights for David that can be made, the first question is does David want to fight somebody of that level?

I'm sure that he'll say that he does but whether he's willing to sign on the dotted line is another matter.

My sense is that if Chris Arreola beats Thomas Adamek, that would be a very entertaining fan friendly fight because both David and Chris are going to sit there and throw punches, there are going to be bombs.

Both guys have pretty good chins and that's a fight I'd like to see and the winner of that fight would then have some credibility

CS: He's only fought 14 rounds in the last 12 months. Has he got enough rounds under his belt yet to take on someone like that though?

TH: The issue is not just how many rounds a guy has fought in actual fights. The first question is one of lifestyle. How has David been feeding his body? Has he been in the gym regularly? Has he been working hard in the gym?

You know you can have four fights in a year and knock your guy out in four rounds, four rounds, three rounds and everyone says you're great, you've only fought 14 rounds.... the bigger question is David sharp? Does he stay in shape? Does he let himself go in between fights? What's he done? What is he capable of doing now?

We don't know the answer to that. David was once a very very exciting fighter. He could get in there with the likes of Michael Moorer for example which is a name we haven't mentioned yet in this conversation and whack him out in one round.

I haven't seen that sort of energy from him recently. I don't think Shane Cameron belongs on that level.... David could still wack me out in the first round too, very easily the first 10 seconds but that wouldn't mean he's an elite heavyweight.

CS: Friday Ahunanya's been sold in New Zealand as a credible heavyweight... a durable heavyweight.... a person who had never been knocked out and that was the drawcard particuarly because Shane Cameron was a big name in New Zealand and Friday Ahunanya knocked out Shane Cameron. Is Friday all he's made out to be in America or is he just another B class fighter?

TH: Friday's not made out to be anything in America. Friday here is regarded as an opponent. Friday is not a great American fighter. Name one world class fighter that Friday's ever beaten

CS: He's done plenty of sparring rounds with them but he actually hasn't got into the ring

TH: Its one thing to be a sparring partner for an elite fighter and its another thing to get in and fight him. And to my knowledge and I don't have Friday's record in front of me and anyone who gets in the ring is deserving of respect and I'm sure that Friday is a competent club fighter but I've never heard anyone suggest seriously and credibly that he's a world class fighter and again, if he's a world class fighter name me a world class fighter who he's beaten?

CS: You mention the Klitchkows...David still has the problem of his size compared to people like that...Isn't that still going to be a mismatch?

TH: That depends. Mike Tyson was David's size and when Mike Tyson was in his prime nobody would have said Mike Tyson against the Klitchkos was a rematch.

I asked David once, years ago, if size would be a problem for him if he fought one of the Klitchkows and he says no, it's not, it's like making love, you know, when you and a girl are in bed together, you are both really the same size.

That said, sure it would be a problem, both have pretty good jabs, both keep him away.

One of the challenges David would face would be to get inside and once he got inside be able to launch that great left hook of his and land it on the jaw. I'm not sure he could do that.

Against Lennox Lewis when David was in his prime, David had trouble getting inside with a big tall fighter who could jab

CS: Thomas, just very quickly, sorry to keep this up, David currently has a WBO ranking of three, does that entitle him (to anything)?

TH: The rankings are silly and by that I don't just mean David's ranking is silly, most of the rankings are silly.

The WBO had a very notable incident a couple of years ago, they had a fighter named Darren Morris who was ranked number 7, I think it was in the super-middle weight divison and Darren Morris died. The next month he went from 7 to 6 and the month after that he went from 6 to 5 in the rankings and I suppose if nobody had noticed and pointed it out to the WBO he would eventually have became the mandatory challenger...the rankings are silly.

The rankings indicate influence in economics and occasionally what somebody accomplishes in the ring.

You know I like David, I think David is fun to watch but to say that he's the fourth best heavyweight in the world which is what a number three ranking would mean, the champion being not ranked, isn't really credible at this point. Knowing the WBO I wouldn't be surprised that the one or two spot is vacant, I don't know that it is but it might be, the rankings are silly.

CS: So where would you rank David Tua at the moment in the heavyweight division?

TH: I have to see David Tua against a credible opponent and then I will tell you.

I haven't seen his most recent fights so it would be hard for me to tell you where I would put him exactly.

Lets face it... the heavyweights today are not very good but my sense is there are a lot of heavyweights today who could outbox David like Chris Byrd did years ago and at this point there might even be guys who can out punch him.

I would like to see David have a credible fight against a dangerous opponent and he hasn't had that in a long time so let David fight someone like Chris Arreola or Thomas Adamek or other guys out there who can bang a little.

That would be a very fan friendly entertaining fight.

Let's see what David does in those fights, now they're possibly matching him against Hasim Rahman again. Well Rahman just fought a guy who is 43 years old and has lost 16 fights every single one of them by knockout, to put two old guys who were once elite fighters against each other doesn't prove that one of them is still elite, they might have name recognition but lets put David in who's currently a world class heavyweight and then if he wins that fight then we can talk about someone who's deserving of another shot at the title.

CS: Thomas, thank you so much for talking to me, I really genuinely appreciate it. It's a privilege and a pleasure.

Source: tvnz.co.nz

Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko: Can David Tua Stop the Champion Brothers? -- Ringside Report

By Geno McGahee, Ringside Report

On March 15th, 1996, HBO featured a triple header with six heavyweight hopefuls colliding. The opening bout was a match between John Ruiz, a Massachusetts heavyweight that had won 25 of his 27 outings, and the slugger, short and compact, winner of all 22 of his bouts, David Tua. A left hook sent Ruiz reeling early, and a barrage of punches would end it just 19 seconds into the round. It sent a message to the division. There was a champion coming out of this fight, but amazingly, it wouldn’t be Tua. Ruiz would go on to hold the title on two occasions.

The career of David Tua is a curious one. He is a fighter that has demolished men that would go on to be champion, but never came close to winning a title himself. Tua, 51-3-1, 43 KO’s, has beaten former WBC Champ Oleg Maskaev (KO -11), former 2-Time Champion Hasim Rahman (KO-10), former Undisputed Champion, Michael Moorer (KO-1), and Ruiz (KO-1).

Part of the reason has been his weight, and it may have been the biggest factor. He started his career at 201 pounds. He beat Ruiz at what many see his best weight, 225 pounds. When he finally landed his title shot in 2000 against Lennox Lewis, he came in at 245 pounds and didn’t have the speed or mobility to have a chance to win. Lewis boxed and stayed away, winning a wide decision. Tua’s career after that fight had been up and down.

He lost to Chris Byrd in 2001, had a stretch of inactivity, including a recent one from 2007 to 2009, but he is back. In late 2009, he took on fringe contender Shane Cameron, starching him inside of two rounds. In his last fight, he went twelve rounds, taking the decision easily over Friday Ahunanya, and occupies the #3 ranking in the WBO. So, what can a 37 year old David Tua do against the WBO Heavyweight Champion, Wladimir Klitschko? A lot.

Tua seems to have his focus back. He has a huge punch and takes a great punch, which is a formula that Wlad doesn’t always deal well with. Sam Peter, a much more raw version of Tua, gave Wlad hell over twelve rounds. An inspired Lamon Brewster stopped him. Tua, if motivated, could finally realize what many contended was his destiny…to win the heavyweight title.

A Tua – Wlad match up would generate a lot of public interest…maybe HBO would even broadcast it! David Tua is a notable heavyweight from a much more memorable time than we have going now. His punching power and the perceived weaknesses in the chin and heart of the champion would get the boxing fans excited, especially if a 230 pound Tua showed up to fight.

The Klitschko brothers have eliminated most of the contenders that were of any threat. Calvin Brock, Ruslan Chagaev, Sultan Ibragimov, Eddie Chambers, Kirk Johnson, Tony Thompson, Lamon Brewster, Ray Austin, Sam Peter, Juan Carlos Gomez, Chris Byrd, and Chris Arreola have all been defeated. There isn’t much left. Tua could shake up the division.

Unfortunately for boxing and unfortunately for the Klitschko brothers, the current heavyweight division is in a lull. The talent pool is very small, leaving the brothers atop of the mountain and the rest much farther down and without much chance to survive the fight, let alone win it. The size, Lennox Lewis style of fighting, and lack of true competition cements them in as long reigning champions. This is why boxing has died on the heavyweight level.

On May 29th, Vitali, who has hinted at retirement…again, will take on the challenge of Polish heavyweight, Albert Sosnowski in a WBC Title bout that most consider to be a mismatch of epic proportions. You pile that on top of Eddie Chambers’ non effort against Wlad, and Kevin Johnson’s equally horrible performance against Vitali, then there is no reason for people to get excited about the heavyweight title anymore.

In the 1990s, we had it good with guys like Ray Mercer, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Razor Ruddock, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Michael Moorer, Tommy Morrison, and many more good contenders to keep it fresh and create great fights. We had warriors that would go to battle and now we are seeing beatings or bouts of survival.

The Klitschko brothers want to go down in history as memorable champions, but you are only as good as your competition. Fighters like Odlanier Solis, Alexander Povetkin, Tomasz Adamek, and David Haye have the potential to shake up the control of the division, but they don’t have the following that a David Tua does. Tua is in a great position right now to lay down a challenge to either Klitschko brothers.

What the “Tuaman” may need to make the public demand the fight is a showdown with one of the top guns in the division today. If he were to take on the winner of Adamek-Arreola and come out victorious, especially if it were by stoppage, he would be right in there for a title shot. If he were to take on Nikolay Valuev, the gigantic former champion and give him his first KO defeat, it would generate more support for the big fight.

David Tua needs to fight one of the Klitschko brothers and Wlad is the much more winnable fight. It would be tough for the smaller Tua to get into punching range without being smothered or tied up, but his short arms and vicious hooks should provide us with some entertainment and Wlad some scares.

At one time, David Tua was nearly a sure thing to wear the heavyweight title, but it didn’t happen. Many lesser fighters went on to hold the crown, but at 37 years of age with nine straight wins, he may finally have his focus back and finally realize his dream to be the heavyweight champion.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Ex-champ Jones says he's not finished yet -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

By STEVE CARP, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Bernard Hopkins talks about Saturday's light heavyweight fight against Roy Jones Jr. at Mandalay Bay -- a rematch 17 years in the making -- in terms of unfinished business.

But for Jones, it's more about being finished.

"This is about proving people wrong that I'm through," said Jones, who beat Hopkins by unanimous decision in a 1993 middleweight bout. "My beating him again ain't going to prove anything."

The reality is the 41-year-old Jones has a lot to prove.

He's coming off a first-round knockout loss to Danny Green in Australia on Dec. 2. Jones has lost five of his past 10 fights dating to 2004, when Antonio Tarver stopped him in the second round of their world light heavyweight title unification fight at Mandalay Bay.

Yet Jones (54-6, 40 knockouts), who has captured five world titles in four weight divisions (middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight), insists he's not through.

"After the (Green) fight, I asked (trainer Alton Merkerson), 'Do you think we should call it, or do you think we should keep going?' " Jones said. "And he said, 'I think you should keep going. You still got it. I don't see a problem with you right now. You have to tighten a few things, but you should continue to go.'

"People forget I got up in the Danny Green fight, and I was OK. I didn't have a problem with the punch he hit me with. My problem was his hand wraps were illegal and it should have been a no contest."

Despite Jones' insistence that he's fine, many fight fans don't appear to share his opinion. Only 5,000 tickets for the fight have been sold, but Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, said with walk-up sales Saturday he is expecting 7,500 tickets to be sold.

Jones weighed 174½ pounds Wednesday and said his training camp in Pensacola, Fla., went well.

"I feel the best I have felt in a long time," he said. "In past fights, I felt like I overtrained. I have a little more motivation. I worked on different parts of my game, and whatever he does, I'll be ready."

Jones and the 45-year-old Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs), who has won four of his past five fights, were supposed to meet in 2006 but couldn't agree on how to divvy up the money. This time, each fighter will earn an undisclosed percentage of the net revenues.

"The only reason he's fighting me now is because he feels like I'm done," Jones said. "He feels like I'm washed up. He feels like I'm old goods. He feels there's no way I can survive 12 rounds with him now. But he's wrong."

Jones, who took a year off in 2005 to work for HBO before returning to the ring, said he won't take any more impromptu breaks from boxing. He said he'll know when it's time to leave the ring for good, whether it's after Saturday's bout or five years from now.

"I want to do it until I can't anymore," Jones said. "Boxing is something I don't have to do; it's something I want to do. When I stopped, I had nothing to do. As long as I can still do it, why should I stop?"

■ NOTES -- Today's weigh-in is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Mandalay Bay and is open to the public. ... Hopkins is a minus-500 betting favorite at MGM Mirage's sports books with Jones at plus-350.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.

Source: lvrj.com

Hopkins - Jones is desperate -- Sky Sports

Sky Sports

Bernard Hopkins says Roy Jones Jr is a 'desperate man' as the two ageing veterans try and settle an old score in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Jones defeated Hopkins to win the IBF middleweight title way back in 1993, and despite the bad blood between the two the rematch has taken 17 years to put together.

Many now say the time has passed and the two should not be fighting, especially Jones after he lost five of his last ten fights including a shock first-round stoppage by little-known Australian Danny Green.

41-year-old Jones looks like he is in a rapid decline, whereas Hopkins, despite being 45, has won his last two fights on points against Enrique Ornelas and Kelly Pavlik.

'The Executioner' is still desperate to avenge his 1993 defeat in Washington at all costs, and he has labelled his opponent as a desperate man after his recent defeats.

Desperate

"Roy Jones is a desperate man. A desperate man is a dangerous man," said Hopkins. "It's personal. It's definitely personal. I helped start his legacy and I'm going to end it.

"He's one up on me. It's a personal vendetta. I've got something legitimate to me personally in this fight."

Both men have blamed each other for the numerous failed attempts at a rematch, and Jones says that Hopkins has only now agreed to the fight as he thinks he is way past his best after recent defeats.

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

"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."

Rivalry

Hopkins, who believes he can challenge David Haye for the world heavyweight title, countered: "He didn't want to fight me again because after 1993 I got better and he didn't."

Jones has said he won their first fight with a unanimous points decisions despite having a hand injury, so is confident of the same result.

"I remember I beat him with one hand," said Jones. "My right hand was injured and I had to overcome that. I didn't have a right hand in that fight against him. So why should it be so hard now that I got two hands?

"He don't like me, and I'm glad he don't like me. He hates he couldn't beat Roy Jones in his prime, in his heyday, and he hates Roy Jones for that, he hates that I overshadowed him in his prime, and he has not liked me from that day forward. But that's too bad.

"After Saturday, he's gonna hate me twice as much as he does now."

Source: skysports.com

David Haye vows to go into hiding if John Ruiz takes his title -- Mirror

By David Anderson, Mirror.co.uk

David Haye claims he will hide away for a year if he loses his WBA heavyweight title to John Ruiz. Haye is desperate not to suffer the same fate as Frank Bruno did in 1996 when he lost his crown to Mike Tyson in his first defence.

The two-weight world champ says he was gutted for Bruno back then as a teenage fan.

The South Londoner admits losing to Ruiz tomorrow at Manchester's MEN Arena after claiming the title from Nikolai Valuev would be even worse than when he suffered his only pro defeat to Carl Thompson in 2004.

"Winning the title and then losing it to John Ruiz would be devastating," said Haye at yesterday's head-to-head at Manchester Town Hall.

"I'd be devastated by that. It would feel a lot worse than I did when I lost to Carl Thompson.

"Then I had the excuse of being a novice. This time I have no excuse. After the Carl Thompson defeat, I went away for a couple of weeks. This one would be so much worse, I'd probably want to duck out for a year. Just get away from everything.

"Every champion knows the high of winning can quickly turn to the opposite feeling if things go wrong in the first defence.

"I remember Frank Bruno winning the title then losing it.

"He went from such a high when he won to getting blasted by Mike Tyson. I remember being on a real downer afterwards - and that was just me as a fan.

"That fear of losing is my main motivation. I've got to believe I'm a true winner and that's all I'm thinking about. I just want people to know I'm the best.

"People talk about fighters being two-time or three-time, I want to be the one-time undisputed champion. That's the plan."

Haye, 29, knows his dreams of beating the Klitschko brothers to unify the heavyweight titles rest on this first defence against twotime champ Ruiz and his mentor Adam Booth claims the American is dangerous.

Haye's manager and trainer rubbished talk that at 38, Ruiz is past it, claiming he has been rejuvenated under new trainer Miguel Diaz.

"John Ruiz is the hardest fight out there for David and there's only Vitali Klitschko who can compare," said Booth. "John Ruiz is a seasoned and successful heavyweight, who has been at the top for a long time.

"I've watched a lot of his tapes and I'm seeing a lot of the little signs, the signs that make you recognise that he has been renewed.

"People say that at 38, his best days are behind him, but I don't agree with that. I believe John Ruiz's worst days are behind him and that his best days are now. We have prepared accordingly."

Ruiz, who is bidding to join Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield in the exclusive club of three-time world heavyweight champs, has been in training in Las Vegas for three months and Diaz doubts Haye's stamina.

He feels the Hayemaker's struggles against Giacobbe Fragomeni in 2006 when they fought for the European cruiserweight title before he won in the ninth suggests he may not be able to handle the pressure.

"Haye was winning up to the fifth round and he was then in trouble and was cut," said Diaz.

"I know he eventually won, but that tells me that I don't know if he can take the heat in the kitchen."

Haye laughed off Diaz's claims and feels Ruiz's camp are getting desperate if they have picked out that fight as a sign that he is vulnerable.

"I knocked him out in the ninth round, so I don't know what confidence they can take from that," he said.

"If Ruiz is expecting that David Haye to turn up, he's going to be disappointed. I'm bigger, faster, stronger than then."

Source: mirror.co.uk

Hopkins is Jonesing for execution -- Philadelphia Daily News

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ, Philadelphia Daily News

LAS VEGAS - It's easy to imagine someone as patient and precise as Bernard Hopkins putting those traits to good use in a profession outside of boxing.

The same steady hands that have been so effective when balled into fists might have made Hopkins the maker of fine Swiss time pieces, or maybe a cutter of diamonds and other precious stones. In his leisure time, the man known as "The Executioner" probably would be a whiz at painstakingly assembling miniature sailing ships inside a bottle or piecing together giant, 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzles.

In the ring, Hopkins long has been a proponent of the adage that haste makes waste. And why not? At 45, he never has been stopped, cut or even taken a serious beating. His impenetrable defense is on a par with that of the 1985 Chicago Bears, and his attention to detail has allowed him to systematically break down opponents bit by bit instead of going for the big hit, which really isn't his game in any case.

"You have to know your craft in this sport," Hopkins' trainer, Brother Naazim Richardson, said of his fighter's death-by-a-thousand-cuts approach. "Bernard is a wrecking machine. Bernard is not a knockout puncher who gets you in one shot. Bernard ruins guys, but he takes his time doing it."

It is that Bernard Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs), the one who dispassionately goes about his business with laser-beam focus, who is a 4-1 favorite over the faded Roy Jones Jr. (54-6, 40 KOs) tomorrow night in their pay-per-view rematch here at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. But that might not be the Hopkins who answers the opening bell.

Seventeen years after he lost a unanimous decision to Jones, on May 22, 1993, Hopkins is older, wiser and maybe even better than he was that night in RFK Stadium. He was the ex-convict from North Philadelphia, who was a 28-year-old ring neophyte and possibly intimidated by Jones, the 1988 Olympic hero, and the fact he was appearing in his first title bout and on the sort of big stage he never had been afforded.

Hopkins-Jones II had since been proposed more often than marriage offers to Elizabeth Taylor and always, until now, the more ardent suitor, Hopkins, was left with a bouquet of wilted roses and broken promises. By and by, Jones became an object of Hopkins' frustration and, eventually, hatred.

It is that seething desire to pummel and destroy Jones, as the young Mike Tyson used to pummel and destroy a succession of terrified victims, that perhaps offers Jones his best chance for avoiding such a thrashing, and maybe even to pull off an upset.

"I want Roy to be able to remember this beating I am about to give him for making me wait so long," Hopkins said, the contempt in his voice palpable and, this time, not just a gimmick to boost PPV sales. "It's all about healing a 17-year wound.

"Now that the wait is over, I am going old school and back to the days of 'The Executioner.' The governor has spoken and April 3 will be Roy's last day. I want to punish and destroy Roy Jones Jr. for good."

The fact that there is a 10 percent bonus kicker in the contract - the purse split purportedly is 50-50, although a knockout or stoppage would increase the winner's take-home - also might have Hopkins fighting out of character. The last time B-Hop won a bout inside the distance was on Sept. 18, 2004, when he put Oscar De La Hoya down and out with a left hook to the liver. That makes it eight fights spread over 5 1/2 years for Hopkins since there was no need to go to the scorecards.

Jones is steadfast in his pronouncements that he was a better fighter than Hopkins in 1993, he's better now and will always be.

"He tried everything and none of it worked," Jones said in recalling his first go-round with Hopkins. "He couldn't get away from my jab. This time, he'll be a little different, a little smarter. He's not the risk-taker he used to be. He wants to lay it all on the line now."

In a psychological battle of guys who are used to getting under an opponent's skin, Jones has taken a double-dare-you tact and asserted that it was Hopkins, not he, who prevented the rematch from happening for so long.

"I can't blame that man for not wanting to fight me until he thought my career was over," Jones said. "The only reason he's fighting me now is because he thinks I'm done, washed up. He feels there's no way I can survive 12 rounds with him. But he's wrong.

"I know how he fights. He is going to try to rough me up. But he has no idea what I am going to do or how I am going to fight. I know what he does. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. And he is old. He looks like he is 52."

With every smarmy putdown, Jones infuriates Hopkins just a bit more, tearing a page from the B-Hop playbook that holds that anger can make a fighter careless and more vulnerable. Remember when Hopkins twice threw down the Puerto Rican flag before his Sept. 29, 2001, showdown with Felix Trinidad? That was strategy, and it paid off huge.

Hopkins contends that his first fight with Jones "helped sculpture my character and my psyche." If it did, it made him more of an icy assassin than a hot-blooded reactionary.

It might be best if Hopkins were to remember what he has become rather than to go back to what he once was.

Pay-per-view deal

Ever hear a millionaire fighter say, "I want to beat this guy so bad, I'd fight him for free?"

Well, unless there is a greater demand than anticipated by the public to fork over the $49.95 pay-per-view fee to watch the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones II telecast here tomorrow night at the Mandalay Bay, Jones might actually end up fighting for nothing, or close to it.

Although the agreement is for a 50-50 purse split, with a 10 percent kicker to the winner should the scheduled 12-round light-heavyweight bout end in a knockout or technical knockout, terms of the contract the fighters signed is heavily slanted toward Hopkins.

Hopkins and his promotional company, Golden Boy, are to receive the first $3.5 million in PPV revenues. Jones and his company, Square Ring, get the next $3.5 million. Anything over and above $7 million, the fighters split down the middle.

It's a pretty safe bet that, even with relatively weak PPV sales, Hopkins will get paid every cent for which he was contracted. Jones, who once had a sweetheart of a contract with HBO that guaranteed him at least $5 million for his every ring appearance on the pay-cable giant, could be left holding a mostly empty bag. And if Hopkins stops the Pensacola, Fla., native, much of what Jones, 41, would receive might have to be handed over via the stoppage bonus clause.

fernanb@phillynews.com

Source: philly.com