For Filipino Boxer, Money Opens Door to Politics -- New York Times

The New York Times

MANNY PACQUIAO’S black Hummer was nowhere in sight. The parade that he was supposed to lead had already wound down in front of the town hall here. His seat, the seat of honor, stood vacant on a stage on which singers, three beauty queens and the province’s ruling political class sat waiting.

Mr. Pacquiao, possibly the best boxer in the world and a new congressman in the Philippines, had awakened at home a little earlier, still jet-lagged from a trip to the United States, where he had been promoting his next fight. He was the main financial sponsor of the annual “foundation day” festival here in Alabel, the capital of Sarangani, the southern province that was carved out of another in 1992 and that he now represents in the House of Representatives.

Perhaps more than anywhere else in the Philippines, feudal-like dynasties dominate here on the impoverished, violence-ridden island of Mindanao. But by brandishing his vast wealth, Mr. Pacquiao — who came out of one of this area’s poorest slums, finished only elementary school and often appears uncomfortable speaking English — defeated a member of the clan that founded Sarangani and that had held the congressional seat for three decades.

Outwardly, the establishment has welcomed Mr. Pacquiao, 31, since he was sworn in as Sarangani’s only congressman less than three months ago.

“It was the public’s choice,” Steve Solon, 39, the vice governor and nephew of the man Mr. Pacquiao beat in a landslide, said at the festival here. “We need to support each other.”

A FEW DAYS earlier, Mr. Pacquiao was getting ready to attend a plenary session in Congress in Manila, the capital, having flown back from the United States the night before. Since taking office, he has given a couple of well-received speeches, including one on human trafficking, and has become a visible presence on the committee to carry out the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which is led by Imelda Marcos, the former first lady and a newly minted congresswoman.

“So far, so good,” Mr. Pacquiao said in an interview in his office in Congress. With “time management,” he said he would be able to train for his next fight, in November, and fulfill his legislative duties.

Boxing and politics, he said, had been his twin dreams growing up.

“I want to help people, especially in my province,” he said. “There are a lot of poor people. When I’m old, I want my name, Manny Pacquiao, to be known not only as a good boxer but a good public servant.”

He may have become one of the world’s wealthiest athletes — Forbes magazine said he earned $40 million in 2009 — and he may now socialize with Hollywood celebrities, but in the Philippines, his pledge to help the poor resonates because of his now familiar personal history.

He grew up in General Santos City, in a neighborhood that even today is a warren of narrow, dirt roads and ramshackle houses — though now adorned, incongruously, by two mansions belonging to Mr. Pacquiao’s mother and brother. Amateur boxing rings are fixtures of festivals in the countryside, a legacy of the United States’ colonial history in the Philippines. So, like many American boxers, Mr. Pacquiao sought his way out of his old neighborhood through boxing. At 14 years old, he ran away from home, stowing away aboard a ship bound for Manila, where he turned pro a couple of years later.

In the assembly hall, most congressmen sat waiting for the plenary to start. But Mr. Pacquiao moved relentlessly, bantering with colleagues, posing for photos, scanning, in the split seconds he found himself alone, the entire room.

“He can easily become a senator,” said Antonio Tinio, 40, another new congressman, explaining that Senate seats were nationwide offices favoring popular candidates like Mr. Pacquiao. But becoming president or even provincial governor requires the kind of political machine established by dynasties, he added.

Mr. Pacquiao, though, has proven himself a fast learner. He ran for the first time in 2007, naïvely believing that his popularity alone would win him a congressional seat in General Santos City.

“This time, I started forming my machinery two years before the election,” Mr. Pacquiao said.

Choosing to run in Sarangani, his wife’s home province, Mr. Pacquiao wooed local power brokers, showering them and their districts with money.

Reynaldo Constantino, 51, the mayor of one of Sarangani’s seven municipalities, said that since 2007 he has received more than $1.6 million from Mr. Pacquiao to deploy on projects in his district. Whenever the mayor himself needed money for his “image-building,” he turned to Mr. Pacquiao.

“Money in the Philippines is the No. 1 factor in winning elections,” Mr. Constantino, who is known as Bong, said. “Even though he is very popular, he would not have won without his money.”

Like many of Mr. Pacquiao’s constituents, Mr. Constantino said he hoped that the new congressman would now use his personal wealth to develop all of Sarangani, a province dominated by fishing and agriculture. “All of Sarangani will develop now because of Manny and because of Manny’s money,” he said.

MR. PACQUIAO’S black Hummer was finally spotted barreling down the one road from General Santos City, west of here. If there was any doubt that the Hummer was his, the absence of any license plates — a privilege often granted to the powerful here in Mindanao — confirmed it.

Dark clouds had been moving toward Alabel from the other direction and, as if on cue, rain began falling as Mr. Pacquiao took the microphone, nearly two hours late.

Speaking in Visayan, the region’s main language, he said he had been working hard to attract investors to Sarangani. He pledged to build a new hospital here and start other projects to improve people’s lives.

“I will not be an embarrassment to you,” he said.

Later, inside the mayor’s office, Mr. Pacquiao sat at a large desk behind a lechon, a roast suckling pig. People drifted in and out of the office to pick from a buffet. The governor, Miguel Rene Dominguez — the 33-year-old scion of two of the southern Philippines’ oldest and richest families — sat to his left.

The congressman and the governor spoke easily with each other. A conversation about Mr. Pacquiao’s knockout of Ricky Hatton, a British boxer, led to an exchange on the histories of England and Scotland. They talked of the importance of promoting a provincial tourist spot. The governor asked him what he was doing in Manila. Mr. Pacquiao talked about serving on the Millennium Development Goals committee.

Mr. Pacquiao said that he would dedicate all his discretionary pork-barrel budget to Sarangani. Each congressman receives almost $1.6 million a year for pet projects at home, but much of the amount is typically funneled into private accounts.

“I don’t need it anyway,” he said.

Mr. Pacquiao, who was picking at the lechon and chewing on lanzones, a tropical fruit, abruptly stopped eating when the governor stood up and Mr. Pacquiao spotted a switchblade knife in the governor’s right pants pocket. Plucking it out before the governor had noticed, Mr. Pacquiao repeatedly folded and unfolded the switchblade, testing its sharpness with his index finger.

“This is dangerous for children,” he said.

Taking back the knife, the governor showed him how to whip it out of his pocket so that the blade unfolded in a single motion.

“Even if my opponent has this,” Mr. Pacquiao said, “I can beat him as long as he’s physically close to me.”

The governor gave him the switchblade to keep.

“You can thrust it into somebody,” the governor told the new congressman, “and just leave it in there.”

Source: nytimes.com

De La Hoya saddened by Hatton, Mayweather crises -- The Ring

By Michael Rosenthal, The Ring

LOS ANGELES – Oscar De La Hoya said on Tuesday that the recent personal crises of Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayeather Jr. might be cries for help.

Hatton was caught on video snorting cocaine and has reportedly checked into a rehabilitation facility. Mayweather went on a racist rant aimed at Manny Pacquiao, after which he apologized, and was later arrested on felony larceny charges after an argument with his ex-girlfriend.

“My reaction is that I wish all the best for them,” De La Hoya said. “Maybe it’s a cry for help. They definitely, especially Ricky Hatton, needs help. … He’s going to self destruct. … I would tell him, ‘I want to help you. I’m your friend, I’m your father, I’m your brother.’ He’s in a world right now, if he continues, he’s going to self destruct. He could die. So he needs help.”

De La Hoya obviously has to be careful what he says publicly about Mayweather because they have a working relationship. Still, he seemed to have genuine compassion for his former rival.

“Maybe it’s a cry for help too,” De La Hoya said. “One never knows. Maybe he has his own problems. … Ricky Hatton is a good guy. I truly feel Floyd Mayweather is a good guy too. He can be a nice guy. I’ve seen him in action. He can be nice.

“Sometimes it’s a sign someone needs help. I can just say I wish the best for anybody in that situation because it’s sad.”

Source: ringtv.com

King: Floyd a product of his surroundings -- Yahoo! EuroSport

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sport

Don King isn’t shocked by what he’s seen of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s behavior in the last two weeks. He doesn’t like it, and he’s not about to condone it, but it didn’t come as any great surprise to him.

Nor does the loquacious boxing promoter believe, however, that Mayweather’s actions make him a despicable person.

On September 1, Mayweather was best known as arguably the world’s finest boxer, an outspoken, trash-talking character who clearly had become the sport’s biggest draw. But on September 2, he posted a bizarre, hate-filled rant on uStream.com, during which he referred to rival Manny Pacquiao as a midget and a “yellow chump,” used a derogatory slang term to describe a homosexual and said that after beating Pacquiao, he would force the Filipino congressman to “make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice.”

As bad as that was, it got far worse a week later, when Josie Harris, his ex-girlfriend and the mother of three of his four children, alleged he assaulted her, stole her mobile telephone and threatened to have her and her new boyfriend “taken care of.”

Mayweather was arrested Friday on a grand larceny charge related to Harris’ missing telephone. On Monday, Las Vegas police released the report of the incident with Harris. In it, Mayweather’s 10-year-old son, Koraun, describes watching his father hitting and kicking his mother. He also told police that a friend of his father’s who was at the scene, James McNair, prevented him from leaving the home.

King, who had several well-publicised meetings with Mayweather in the middle of the summer in an attempt to convince the fighter to hire him as his promoter, condemned Mayweather’s actions but not the man himself.

He called the rant and the domestic dispute “frustrations of the ghetto expressing themselves,” and suggested Mayweather needed to be educated, not jailed.

“He grabbed onto sport to be able to escape,” King said. “He’s a master in his sport, but that don’t make him a Rhodes Scholar. He’s not erudite in other things. No one can explain him unless they can understand him.

“When you’re in the street, the jargon, the vernacular, is altogether different. You have to understand that. In order to bring change about, you need respectability and responsibility. You have to be able to be taught, and this is what Don King would be able to do with him because I understand where he’s coming from. If you don’t know where you’re coming from, you don’t know where you are going.”

King suggested that a lot of Mayweather’s problems stem from being an African-American man in a white-dominated society. He said Mayweather hasn’t learned how to successfully work with other people and that he’s struggling to deal with his fame and notoriety.

Mayweather’s fame has only made the issue worse, King said.

“What you are seeing here are frustrations of the ghetto expressing themselves,” King said. “It’s nothing that is seriously wrong and it’s nothing that isn’t commonplace in the ghettos throughout the whole United States, throughout the ‘hood. But Floyd, being one who has achieved and accomplished such a great deal, it’s personified like he’s the second coming.”

King said young African-American men often have a difficult time understanding their responsibilities. He said those are lessons he learned long ago and would like to impart to Mayweather.

Being a man means more than just being a world-class boxer, King said.

“He takes one thing from manhood – he can throw a left hook, a right hand and a right cross – and he’s superb at that,” King said. “But manhood takes more than a left hook, a right hand and a right cross. It takes respect for your elders. It takes respect for women. Your Mama was a woman. We must respect women. There ain’t no men dropping babies, least not that I know of. But this is all about education.

“He has sharpened his skills in the talent of fighting. He has become a fighting machine, one of the best in the world. But he didn’t sharpen his skills, with no one to tell him, about morality, about being able to deal with people and being able to understand that you are your brother’s keeper and that you can do this without being a punk. In the ghetto, they say, if you can’t take care of your woman, you ain’t nothing. It’s a misconstrument of his manly obligations and responsibilities, based upon a guideline that has been here for hundreds of years.”

King promoted former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson after Tyson was released from prison after serving three years on a rape conviction. Five of Tyson’s first six bouts after his release were on pay-per-view, which averaged an astounding 1.52 million sales.

He had a rocky relationship with Tyson, though, and Tyson eventually sued him, though the two recently reconciled. King said he could help Mayweather iron out his problems and remain the dominant force in boxing because he alone among boxing promoters understands the roots of Mayweather’s problems.

“I am one of those who has mastered the situation of working with people,” King said. “I never got mad at the white man for what he did to the black man, because I got a PhD in caucasianism and I graduated summa cum laude. The only way you can understand (Mayweather) is to walk in his shoes. When you walk in his shoes, then you’re able to bring about change, because it’s direly needed. Change is in the air, but you have to pick them up and let them gradually understand that what is happening is wrong and that this is right.

“You’re right to condemn his actions, based on your perspective and your education and the life you’ve lived. … Having fame, acclaim and affluence doesn’t mean he’s gained the knowledge and understanding of peoplehood. People need each other. You have to have respect for each other. It brings along with that a responsibility to have respect, being able to contain yourself, having discipline, being able to understand that the world is not centred upon you. It is not I, I, I. It is we, us, togetherness. I can bring this knowledge to him, because I have walked in his shoes and been where is.”

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Pacquiao saddened by Hatton’s crisis -- ABS-CBN News

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has expressed hope that his erstwhile opponent Ricky Hatton will overcome the personal crisis he is going through.

The former junior welterweight champion from Britain was diagnosed with depression and was caught on video allegedly snorting cocaine. He also reportedly has a drinking problem.

“I feel sad because of what happened. Sana magbago na siya,” said Pacquiao while training at the Elorde Gym in Quezon City for his November 13 fight against Mexico’s Antonio Margarito.

Hatton reportedly got depressed and addicted to drugs and alcohol after he lost to to Pacquiao in May 2009 via a second-round knockout.

It was the worst beating for Hatton, who terrorized the junior welterweight division before his loss to the Filipino. His only other loss was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he climbed the welterweight class in December 27.

Pacquiao advised Hatton to renew his faith so he can survive his crisis.

“Don't tell God that you have a great problem but tell your problem that you have a great God,” said the Filipino.

A newspaper earlier published a video footage of the boxer allegedly snorting cocaine.

The News of the World secretly filmed Hatton supposedly using "industrial quantities" of the drug during a marathon 10-hour drinking session.

The boxer later was reportedly “distraught and devastated” after learning that his alleged drug use was publicized.

"He's very upset and very down as you'd imagine," his spokesman Max Clifford told BBC radio. "He said he feels he's let everyone down: himself, family, friends and the many fans who have been nothing but supportive.” -- With reports from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN, Agence France-Presse and Reuters

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Shamed pair Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jnr facing the biggest fights of their lives -- Daily Mail

By Jeff Powell, DailyMail.co.uk

It is less than three years since Ricky Hatton squared off against Floyd Mayweather Jnr in a Las Vegas ring for one of the most enriching fights in boxing history.

Now, although they are still comparatively young men, their lives are unravelling in trans-Atlantic tandem.

The Hitman is falling apart in a haze of booze laced with lines of cocaine

The Money Man is stumbling from a racist rant against Manny Pacquiao into a court room to face charges of assault and larceny.

If the Englishman is not warned off his self-destructive lifestyle, there is a serious risk that he will end up in an early grave.

If the American cannot convince a Nevada judge that he neither beat up the mother of his children nor stole her mobile phone then he could wind up in the state penitentiary.

Hatton is facing a long battle with himself which will be tougher, even, than his twin KO defeats by Mayweather and Pacquiao .

Mayweather has a fight in November but not the one the world wanted to see - and which may never happen now.

Instead of challenging Pacquiao for the mythical title of world's best pound-for-pound fighter, he will be answering $3,000 bail and trying to defend himself against a prison term of anything up to 10 years.
The question of drugs swirls around both of them.

Hatton, thank goodness, is not in denial, His admission that he needs help to combat the ravages of his binges on coke as well as alcohol and fast food can be a first step towards salvation.

Mayweather's insinuations that Pacquiao bulked up from featherweight with the help of performance-enhancing substances are rebounding on him in the US.

Michael Marley, a New York lawyer who is also one of the most widely read boxing columnists over there, is not alone in noting the irony that Mayweather's extreme behaviour bears some similarities to steroid rage.

Since there is no more evidence of Mayweather using drugs than there is of Pacquiao, it is more likely that the Money Man cannot deal psychologically with the Pacman's ascendancy over modern boxing.
Fewer tears will be shed for Mayweather than for Hatton.

For all that he so desperately wants to be loved, Mayweather can neither contain the foul-mouthed arrogance which offends so many nor summon up the grace expected of a people's champion.

This man's idea of a charm offensive is to tell everyone how effing wonderful he is.

By contrast, Hatton's plight will evoke as much sympathy as it will provoke condemnation.

Generosity of spirit, not uncontrolled ego, is his problem. The Hitman is a warm, funny, engaging and - albeit with warts and all - genuine character.

As such he has won the affection not only of millions in Britain but of many in America, where they also loved his warrior exploits in the ring.

A natural-born fighter, Hatton thrilled and entertained us down his fighting years. How sad that, after deferring confirmation of his retirement, his world-beating career should end in sordid revelations on the front page of the News of the World.

Perhaps it was always going to be thus for a working-class boy whose hunger for doing everything to extremes was a primal factor in his drive to the top.

Mayweather had to fight his way up, too. But how different they have been since they got there.

While Mayweather luridly flashes his cash, Hatton is as discreetly giving to those around him and to deserving causes as he is indulgent with himself.

Ultimately, once the scandal subsides, the Hitman will be remembered fondly and with pride by the British public.

One of the most amusing personalities ever to lace up the gloves, we will want to laugh with him, not at him.

Mayweather won their fight in December 2007 but not the battle for hearts and minds.

Now, as the Hitman battles with his demons and the Money Man rages against all who dispute his claim to be the greatest, the Pacman will simply get on with proving his magnificence by fighting Antonio Margarito in front of a 75,000 crowd in the glittering new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on November 13.

If only everything in boxing were that simple.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Cops release report for Mayweather arrest -- Fox Sports

Fox Sports

The son of Floyd Mayweather Jr. told police he saw the boxing champion beat his mother last week as the two argued over her new boyfriend, FOX5 reported Monday.

A Las Vegas Police arrest report on the incident says Mayweather fought with 30-year-old Josie Harris after she returned from a Thursday night out and he began questioning her about a new relationship.

“Are you having sex with CJ?” she quoted him in the report, reportedly a reference to Chicago Bulls guard CJ Watson.

After telling him "yes," Harris said Mayweather grabbed her by her hair and repeatedly punched her in the back of her head.

The report says Mayweather threatened Harris, saying, “I’m going to kill you and the man you are messing around with.”

The couple's 10-year-old son told police he saw his dad "on his mother and was hitting and kicking her," according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police say Mayweather threatened to beat the children if they left the house or called police. Harris was later treated at Southern Hills Hospital for what police said were injuries to her face and arm.

Mayweather, who owns the Las Vegas house where Harris stays with their three children, was charged with grand larceny because he is suspected of taking Harris’ iPhone following the argument. Detectives also recommended the Clark County District Attorney’s Office file a charge of battery domestic violence. A decision on the charge has not been made.

Mayweather surrendered to authorities Friday and was released a short time later on $3,000 bail pending a Nov. 9 appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Mayweather is one of the sport's most recognizable figures, with a record of 41-0 and 25 knockouts. He goes by the nickname ''Money'' and earned more than $20 million in May from his fight in Las Vegas against ''Sugar'' Shane Mosley. Last week the 33-year-old made headlines for a racially-charged video that criticized rival Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather later apologized.

Mayweather's lawyer, Richard Wright, was out of town Monday and unavailable for comment. On Friday, Wright acknowledged the criminal charge stemming from an allegation that Harris' iPhone was missing. He denied wrongdoing on Mayweather's behalf.

The value of the phone was put at about $322, meaning that Mayweather could face up to five years in state prison if he is convicted of taking items valued at less than $2,500.

Mayweather and Harris had three children together during what Harris characterized for authorities as a 15-year ''on and off'' relationship. She said they lived together for seven years before separating in May.

Police said Mayweather wanted to evict Harris from the house.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: msn.foxsports.com

Hatton checks into rehab with severe depression -- ESPN

ESPN staff

Former world champion Ricky Hatton is expected to meet with the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) to discuss allegations of cocaine misuse after checking into rehab.

Publicist Max Clifford confirmed on Monday that Hatton has been diagnosed with severe depression and a drink problem, although he insists drugs are not the major issue following newspaper allegations that he took cocaine in a Manchester hotel.

"He met with the specialist today for four, five, six hours and he was told that his depression is severe depression and that he has a drink problem," said Clifford. "The drugs are quite recent and not actually the problem when we're talking about degrees.

"They are very confident if he does what they tell him with the treatment, therapy and advice, he can sort himself out. And he will do what they tell him."

Clifford continued: "He's been relieved by what they've told him. They've said, 'This is your problem, this is what's wrong, and we can sort it out. You should have come to us a long time ago'. It's been a shaft of sunshine coming through. He's faced up to it now even though he hasn't for some time and it's been there for some time."

Hatton is reported to be 'devastated' following Sunday's allegations in the News of the World. According to the fighter's official website he has agreed to seek treatment "following an emotional meeting with his close family".

Hatton has not fought since his defeat to Manny Pacquiao in May 2009, but has not ruled out a return to the ring and renewed his fighting licence in July. He is also a licensed promoter, and could face heavy punishment, including having both his fight and promoter's licences withdrawn.

"Clearly, the Board knows nothing of the actions referred to by the News of the World," said BBBC chairman Charles Giles in a statement. "But the Board will want to see Ricky Hatton at the earliest opportunity and discuss the issues raised in the press accounts with him."

The statement continued: "The Board enforces the strictest standards with regard to the use of both recreational and performance-enhancing drugs by participants in any capacity in professional boxing: it is concerned at all times to ensure that the sport is run in the best interests both of those who take part in boxing, and the public interest, and that those involved in professional boxing, do nothing to damage the reputation of the sport."

Source: espn.co.uk

No Money In Mayweather -- CBS New York

By Jason Keidel, CBS New York

Boxing has long drowned us in the wrong form of parody. But it wasn’t always so.

For those under 30, it’s nearly impossible for you to believe that boxing was an essential sport, the paradox of artistic barbarism. But it was. It was a place of the pauper, the outcast, the convict and the converted, where a kid could go from chump to champ with one punch. Clumsy theatrics aside, “Rocky” was an authentic premise, the story of a thousand fighters burned into history books.

And it was, believe it or not, the template for sportsmanship, where two men tapped gloves, assaulted each other, then hugged with taped hands, swollen torsos, and mangled faces. Smiles were distorted by bleeding slabs of scar tissue on the brow as the fighter explained his tactics to Don Dunphy.

It was great for all the reasons Floyd Mayweather isn’t.

“As soon as we come back from vacation, we’re going to cook that little yellow chump,” Mayweather said during the infamous YouTube rant that would make John Rocker blush.

Manny Pacquiao, a native of the Philippines, was the target of the invective. “We gonna cook that mother f—– with some cats and dogs,” Mayweather continued. “Rice with a little bit of cat, rice with a little bit of barbecued dog.”

There’s more, but you get it. Every critical adjective has been attached when there’s no need. Just watch it.

Talking smack was the ancient mandate because you knew the fighters didn’t really mean it. It was a pretext for ticket sales. Muhammad Ali was the lyrical motif of boxing for nearly two decades, taking bad poetry and making good on canvas. Eventually, fight purses became guaranteed but some good, concocted hatred sparked pay-per-view sales.

Boxing, its talent now drained by other sports that pay the same money with half the danger, now presents Mayweather as its sad spokesman. “Once I stomp the midget, I’ll make that mother f—– make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice.”

He really said it.

The phone book is stuffed with advocacy groups primed to attack such conduct. They are disturbingly – but not surprisingly – silent, moonwalking from a case that has no cachet for them. I don’t have to tell you why, but I will.

Filipinos don’t count, obscure people from an obscure land. They are victims of the duplicitous thorns of political correctness. You can imagine the screeching rebukes had Pacquiao said similar things about Mayweather. Indeed, Pacquiao would likely be barred from fighting in the United States.

Then there was the expected but ineffective pseudo-apology, the abstract, “I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” refrain. Did you mean it in a good way, Floyd?

“It’s an uneducated message,” said Pacquiao, taking the high road unknown to Mayweather’s Escalade.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. – yes, he’s a junior and a coward – attacked Pacquiao with the long arm of technology. Mayweather fights from his kitchen, a safe continent away from Manny’s wheelhouse.

Mayweather has said, on record, that he’s better than Ali and Ray Robinson. If you know anything about boxing you know the treasonous tone of that assertion. Not only is Mayweather a fraction of those fighters, he’s not nearly the man.

Ali, a civil rights icon, fought Sonny Liston when no one would. Robinson fought Jake LaMotta six (six!) times when no one would. Mayweather is a pop culture creature, known more for his vacations than his vocation, uneducated and unaware of the historical heft of his predecessors. Known for voracious gambling, perhaps he’s busy dropping ten grand at the sports book.

Or perhaps he’s busy slapping women and stealing their stuff.

According to The Associated Press, Mayweather was arrested Friday on charges of beating his ex-girlfriend in front of their three children. The woman he allegedly battered was treated at a Las Vegas hospital and has filed an order of protection from “Money” Mayweather. In the complaint, she also claims he threatened to kill her and that he stole her iPhone. Mayweather wasn’t his loquacious self during his perp walk from the Clark County jail after he posted $3,000 bail.

It’s hard to say which is more disturbing – his stream-of-consciousness rap or his burgeoning rap sheet. Mayweather has been arrested many times since 2002 (according to the A.P. report), all involving violence unsanctioned by boxing.

Mayweather is a small man who makes loud noises. At 33, his dwindling followers reflect his diminishing talent. He was a gifted boxer who toed the verbal line long enough to convince us to punch the “buy” button on the remote. Floyd fights only with his mouth these days, his star fading into a sport that is long past dusk.

Feel free to email me: Jakster1@mac.com

Source: newyork.cbslocal.com

I need a Hit, Man -- The Sun

By GUY PATRICK, ALEX PEAKE and RICHARD MORIARTY, The Sun

THEY call him the Hitman because he batters opponents. But the wild eyes and wobbly legs prove it's Ricky Hatton who's taken a hit or two this time.

This pitiful picture shows the bloated, sweating boxing star struggling to stay upright as pals carry him from a bar after an all-day bender.

It was taken by a horrified fan in Marbella's Puerto Banus, Spain, a few weeks before yesterday's revelation that Hatton had been filmed snorting cocaine while on yet another marathon binge.

The fan said: "It was really sad to see. He was such a mess, sweating and hugely overweight.

"He was obviously wired on something. It might have been just booze but I doubt it.

"By the end he couldn't stand up. He was clinging to his pals as they disappeared into the night."

As the ex-welterweight and light welterweight world champion yesterday pledged to check into rehab, friends said he has been trapped in a cocaine and booze-fuelled haze for MONTHS.

One source said: "His coke problem has been getting ridiculous. This wasn't just one party night out on the town.

"The fact he's being doing cocaine was an open secret among those close to him.

"In a way we're almost relieved he's been caught out because something had to be done. He couldn't go on like that."

Hatton, 31, who was secretly filmed as he snorted cocaine through a rolled-up ฃ20 note, yesterday acknowledged he needed professional help for a problem that had spiralled out of control.

He said: "I've been in a bad place for some time. It's all down to me. I feel I have let everyone down especially all my fans in the country who have always supported me.

"I know I've got to make it better. I've now got the biggest fight of my life."

Spokesman Max Clifford said: "It's become apparent to those closest to him over recent weeks and months that Ricky had a drink problem. Clearly it was worse that that.

"His family are obviously very concerned for him and have become increasingly so.

"Ricky has given them an assurance he will go into rehab in a matter of days.

"I think it is fair to say, friends and family have been trying to warn him in recent times, for the last few months. And now they are all hoping this situation will bring him to his senses."

Mr Clifford said Hatton, who has not fought since losing his title to Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas last May, had found it hard to adjust to life outside the ring.

He added: "Since retirement he has found it very difficult. There has been something missing in his life - boxing.

"In his own words he says he's been in a bad place for some time. Probably before even his last fight. He is very upset and very subdued, very flat."

On the night of his drug shame during a bender in Manchester, Hatton snorted seven lines of cocaine and sank 11 pints of Guinness, four vodkas, two glasses of wine and several sambucas.

Hatton is known for his love of the high-life - a passion that has brought him into contact with party girls including Samii Darnley. Samii is a pal of Wayne Rooney's hooker Jenny Thompson and was herself chatted up by the footballer.

During his benders Hatton sometimes got so hammered he passed out after returning home before he could make it to the front door.

Horrified fiancee Jenny Dooley would find him the next morning lying on the drive of their luxurious home in Hyde, Gtr Manchester. She is said to have told friends: "He's out of control."

One source close to Hatton said: "Jenny has found him spark-out on the driveway several times.

"He was barely able to move and totally incoherent."

Boxing promoter Frank Warren said the binges made nonsense of rumours that Hatton was about to return to the ring.

And he warned that the boxer was setting a terrible example to the young fighters he had started to manage. Mr Warren added: "It's no secret that Ricky's being doing it for a long time.

"The idea of him fighting again is ridiculous. I think the most important thing is that Ricky obviously needs help.

"The other side of things is that the British Board of Boxing Control need to wheel him in and talk to him. Here's a guy that is promoting and managing young fighters. What kind of a message is he sending them?"

Yesterday one of Ricky's confidantes gave a graphic account of how the boxer deteriorates into a stumbling drunk on night's out.

The pal said: "He just gets completely wasted. It's just pint after pint after pint.

"Looking back I suppose he could have been on drugs too because the way he behaved was certainly erratic.

"He can't walk in a straight line. He's not a bad drunk - he's harmless. But people are always having to help him to his feet."

Hatton's dad Ray yesterday pledged his support. He said: "The family are just dealing with it, which is what he needs at the minute. That's all I want to say about it.

Hatton, who has a son of nine, was knocked out in the second round of his title bout against Filipino Manny Pacquiao.

But he has yet to confirm his retirement and even hinted at a return to the ring by recently renewing his boxer's licence with the Boxing Board of Control.

A potential "super-fight" against fellow Briton Amir Khan, the current WBA light-welterweight champion, has been suggested.

Hatton, who was awarded an MBE in 2006, was filmed snorting cocaine at a hotel two weeks ago while on a night out with friend Emma Bowe, 29.

Emma, the Irish national senior women's boxing champion, told the News of the World: "I'm only talking about this because Ricky is a danger to himself. I'm really, really worried for him."

g.patrick@the-sun.co.uk

Source: thesun.co.uk

Ricky Hatton admits cocaine addiction and will enter rehab this week -- Mirror

By Martin Fricker, Mirror.co.uk

Ricky Hatton will check into a rehab clinic this week after tearfully confessing to a year-long cocaine addiction.

The former boxing world champ was caught on camera snorting “industrial” amounts of cocaine during a sordid drink-and-drugs binge a fortnight ago.

Hatton admitted being hooked on the Class A drug in an emotional heart-to-heart with fiancée Jennifer Dooley yesterday.

He told her: “I’ve been an idiot and I’m so sorry and ashamed. I need and want to sort myself out.”

She was horrified to discover Hatton, 31, had seven lines of cocaine during a night out in Manchester.

The bloated ex-boxer then admitted he had been taking the drug for almost a year – beginning shortly after his last fight, when he was knocked out in two rounds by Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Hatton was caught on film taking out a wrap of cocaine hidden in his shoe before chopping up lines with a credit card in a hotel room.

He then expertly snorted the drug through a rolled up £20 note.

In addition to the seven lines of cocaine that night, he drank 11 pints of Guinness, four vodkas, two glasses of wine and several sambuccas.

But a source close to the retired fighter, who became a national hero as world light-welterweight king, said: “He’s now vowed to get himself clean. He’ll go into a rehab clinic very soon and he has the support of Jen and the rest of his family.”

The source revealed Hatton – ­nicknamed The Hitman during his career – had struggled to cope with life outside the ring.

“He is very down – devastated, in fact,” the friend said. “He had a tearful talk with Jennifer and held his hands up. This has been coming for some time and everyone around him is hoping it’s a wake-up call.

“Ricky is disgusted with himself. He feels he has let himself, his family, his friends and his fans down.

“He has struggled to cope since giving up the fighting. He went from world champion to a retired ex-pro and it is hard for him.

“A few people around Ricky have been concerned for a while.”

Friends were also shocked to learn “anti-drugs” Hatton, who was awarded an MBE, was on cocaine.

One said: “He was always adamant he would never touch the stuff.”

And pal Emma Bowe, who witnessed him snorting cocaine, said: “If he carries on, he’ll kill himself. I’m really, really worried for him. If he tries to make a comeback in the ring, as he’s hinted, he could have a heart attack. “To see him abusing drugs was such a let-down. He was a role model.”

Yesterday, it also emerged Hatton was floored in a pub after a row over a fruit machine queue.

A bodybuilder twice his size accused him of pushing in and sent him sprawling across tables at the Railway Inn in Hyde, Manchester.

During the tail-end of his career, Hatton was known to balloon in weight between fights and revelled in the nickname Ricky “Fatton”.

During a four-day booze binge after his defeat by American Floyd Mayweather Jnr in 2007, the first of just two career losses, he downed 57 pints, 17 vodka and Red Bulls, four vodkas, three whisky chasers and a bottle of champagne.

Earlier this year, fellow boxer Joe Calzaghe also confessed to taking cocaine after retiring from the ring.

Source: mirror.co.uk