Against Mosley, it's easily $15M for Pacman -- Philippine Star

By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - No easy fight. No easy money.

Yes, Manny Pacquiao stands to earn no less than $15 million for his next fight, but like the previous ones, nothing comes on a silver platter.

His chief-of-staff, Atty. Franklin Gacal, yesterday said Pacquiao will get no less than $15 million (P660 million) for his May 7 showdown with Shane Mosley.

“But it’s not going to be easy,” said Gacal, who also expects the pay-per-view sales for the welterweight clash to easily exceed the one million mark.

If it does, then Pacquiao’s earnings, aside from the guaranteed purse, would break $20 million, just like in his November bout with Antonio Margarito in Dallas.

“No lower than $15 million,” said Gacal when asked how much Pacquiao could make for this one.

In his last five fights, Pacquiao has made $68 million on paper. For the Oscar dela Hoya fight it was $15 million guaranteed, Ricky Hatton ($13 million), Miguel Cotto ($13 million), Joshua Clottey ($12 million) and Margarito ($15 million).

He has averaged a million PPV buys in these fights as well, doing 1.25 million for Dela Hoya, 850,000 for Hatton, 1.25 million for Cotto, 700,000 for Clottey and 1.15 million for Margarito.

Pacquiao is fresh from a long family vacation that took them to Boracay, Japan and Australia over the last two weeks.Pacquiao has held on to his final decision on the Mosley fight, but Gacal said “everything’s okay now” even if the fight contract hasn’t been signed yet.

Pacquiao said while experts insist there are better fights out there than Mosley, this one won’t be easy.

There’s even been a call to boycott the May 7 fight.

“There is never an easy fight. Every time I step into the ring, I risk my life and my future. I had to find ways to negate the advantages in size of Diaz, Dela Hoya, Hatton, Cotto, Clottey and Margarito,” he wrote in his philboxing.com column yesterday.

“I have stepped up to face men easily bigger and taller than me. To say that every fighter I face in the ring does not deserve attention talks about ignorance. How can a fight be easy when I have been working my hardest efforts every single time?

“I am no Superman. When I get hit, I pretend I did not get hurt so as to frustrate my opponent. That’s part of the sacrifice! Funny, these same writers who ask for a boycott almost always cover my fights, anyway,” Pacquiao wrote.

Source: philstar.com

Pacquiao’s weight gain is hardly unique in boxing history -- Eastside Boxing

By Mike Burnell, Eastside Boxing

Much debate has been stirred through Manny Pacquiao’s humble genesis from a small neighborhood kid in the impoverished city of Kibawe Bukidon Philippines to his improbable rise to World Champion in 8 weight classes. In 1995 Manny weighed 106lbs for his first professional fight vs. Edmund Enting Ignacio and 15 years later tipped the scales at 145 lbs vs. Joshua Clottey, a difference of 39 lbs.

From a little boy struggling for a scrap of food to the supreme pound for pound champion of the entire world; it’s a story of struggle and success that some believe simply transcends all logic. One that has created a fiery debate between those who insist it is impossible to attain such results naturally vs those who believe his success came from vastly improved diet and a superior conditioning regimen that would make a Spartan take a knee. This dispute will not ultimately be settled without a full submission by Manny to Floyd Mayweather’s demand for random blood testing up to the day before the fight. Debate between rather Pacquiao, who has never failed a mandatory pre/post fight drug test in his career, should comply Olympic Style Drug Testing as mandated by the Mayweather camp rages as fiercely as ever.

Championships in 8 weight classes is impressive to say the least but is also a sign of the times with four “major” alphabet soup titles in a bloated 17 weight classes. While certainly worthy of robust discussion Manny Pacquiao’s weight gain is hardly unique in boxing history.

Henry Armstrong turned professional in 1931 weighing a paltry 120lbs. As “Homicide” Hank’s weight grew, however, so did his stature in boxing history. Armstrong, in the golden era of 8 weight classes and 1 champion per class proudly reigned supreme over the Featherweight, Lightweight and Welterweight divisions, a fluctuation in weight limits of 21lbs……at the same time. Armstrong’s heaviest weight was 145lbs.

Billy Conn was another Golden Age Gladiator. Conn weighed in at 135lbs for his debut vs Johnny Lewis. Few would imagine that 11 years and 47lbs later the undersized, upset minded Irishman would one day challenge the great Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis in an epic battle. As fate would have it Conn, now 182lbs was stopped in the 13th round while leading handily on points. While losing the fight Billy won a moral victory that has gone into the annals of boxing history.

“The Cincinnati Cobra” Ezzard Charles is another example of a boxer from the 8 division era who decided that bigger is better. He is a fighter who grew into his potential, literally. Charles threw his first professional punch in 1940 at 157lbs, 3lbs under the Middleweight limit. He went on to win the Light Heavyweight Championship then the Heavyweight Championship vacated by Joe Louis but may be best remembered for his pair of bouts in 1954 vs undefeated Rocky Marciano. Their first bout was a titanic battle that saw both fighters give and take the best their opponent had to give with Charles, 192lbs, losing a 15 round decision. So dramatic was the fight that it was voted 1954 Fight of the Year. Not too shabby for a fighter who began his journey 35lbs lighter.
“The Ol’ Mongoose” Archie Moore met and defeated fighters of many shapes and sizes. In 1936 Moore, a svelte 148lbs, defeated Kid Pocahuntas. Moore continued his career over a number of years and weight classes finally winning the Light Heavyweight Championship in 1952, 4 days after his 39th birthday. Having been defeated by Floyd Patterson in 1956 the ever ambitious Moore dipped his toe back into the Heavyweight division four years later. The 58lbs he had gained since his early days apparently didn’t hinder him and at 206lbs he TKO’d veteran journeyman Willie Besmanoff.

“Ancient” Archie enjoyed a string of success against the Heavyweights until being defeated by his former pupil, a young Muhammad Ali.

A more modern example of “growing excellence” is the legendary Roberto Duran. Duran, rising from the absolute poverty in the city of El Chorrillo, Panama turned professional in 1968 weighing 119lbs. Widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time Duran won titles in four weight divisions and is the only boxer in history to have notched wins in 5 separate decades, from the 60’s to 2000’s. Though weighing as much as 176lbs (57lbs north of debut) in a losing effort v Omar Eduardo Gonzalez in one of his last fights he also enjoyed great success far above his original weight. In 1983 Duran found himself a considerably underdog against young Light Middleweight champion Davey Moore. “Manos de Piedra” recorded a stunning 8th round TKO, once again becoming King. In one of his most exciting performances Duran took on two time Thomas Hearns conqueror Iran Barkley. Duran weighed 156, 37lbs heavier than his debut 21 years earlier. In an unforgettable12 round battle the split decision went to Roberto who wrested the WBC Middleweight Championship in the process.

Manny Pacquiao has unquestionably accomplished what few in this modern era have scarcely even dared to imagine attempting. He has unquestionably become the matinee idol of the decade and become the man to beat. What is questionable is rather he was able to attain his lofty position naturally as his legions of fans fervently believe or through crafty use of Performance Enhancing Drugs as argued with the same passion by his detractors. Is his career nothing more than a cleverly designed money making farce or are modern boxing fans truly witnessing a great fighter repeating history before our eyes?

This debate may or may not one day be resolved, time will tell…

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Arum confident of Pacquiao-Obama meeting -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — By the time the five-city promotional tour for the May 7 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley hit Washington, D.C., in the second week of February, the Filipino might end up rubbing elbows with US President Barack Obama.

From Las Vegas, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum told the Bulletin on Friday as he was waiting for a flight to Los Angeles that he will try to arrange such a meeting.

“It would all depend on the availability of the President,” said Arum, who nevertheless, revealed that Pacquiao, a congressman from Sarangani, will be presented to the US Senate.

Pacquiao is no stranger to US politics, having endorsed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada last year, and in 2009, just a few days before facing British Ricky Hatton, the Filipino pound-for-pound king met with ex-US President Bill Clinton at the Four Seasons Hotel inside Mandalay Bay.

Arum, whose promotional outfit Top Rank is based in Las Vegas, is a dear friend of Reid, who used to box as an amateur.

Arum said the press tour will kick off on Feb. 9 when a news conference is held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles

followed by stops in Las Vegas, New York, Washington and San Francisco.

“It’s going to be absolutely huge (if the meeting between Obama and Pacquiao takes place),” Arum said.

Both Obama and Reid are members of the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, tickets for the Pacquiao-Mosley welterweight war at the MGM Grand will go on sale on January 31, said Arum.

Tickets are priced at $1,000, $700, $500, $350 and $150.

Source: mb.com.ph

Homeowners association seeking injunction against Floyd Mayweather -- Examiner

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com

Another day, another legal incident for the increasingly troubled former pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather. After numerous incidents involving staff members and infractions of community rules it appears Mayweather is now facing a legal injunction from the Southern Highlands Estates, the gated community he moved to in 2009 and which more recently has been the scene of several of his infamous outbursts.

This latest suit alleges that Mayweather refuses to show identification to security guards, (which incidentally was one of the incidents captured on tape by TMZ recently), refuses to put identification decals on his vehicles, and refused to carry a gate opening transponder.

As per the Las Vegas Sun:

“repeatedly engaged in hostile, harassing and threatening behavior toward and against certain employees and security personnel employees...including but not limited to, threatening the life of a patrol officer, physically accosting a security officer, refusing to provide identity to gate officers”

The suit, filed to the Clark County Court, is also seeking $10,000 in damages and wants Mayweather to: "refrain from threatening, yelling or harassing security," and to "otherwise comport himself at all times in a reasonable manner."-Courthouse news.

The law suit comes after several very public incidents involving Mayweather including allegedly assaulting a security guard, harassing and threatening another and only days ago refusing to provide his identification on the grounds that the security guard should recognize him and that he didn't ask everyone who lived there.

The suit is only the latest in a long line of problems for Mayweather of late however. Since winning his last bout in May against Shane Mosley, Floyd has made the headlines on numerous occasions and nearly always for the wrong reasons.

First there was the racially offensive late night broadcast aimed at rival Manny Pacquiao, perhaps more misguided than anything else. Then the ongoing alleged assault of his former girlfriend in front of his children, which carries with it the possibility of jail time should he be found guilty on even some of the charges he faces.

Later there was the run in with the security guard who claims that Mayweather poked him in the face, and the former friend who claimed that Mayweather tried to run him off the road.

The fact that the community group is taking action is hardly surprising after the volume of complaints it has been receiving over Mayweather of late, who appears to want all the benefits of living in a place like Southern Highlands Estates without having to play by the rules.

Whether anything much will come of the suit is difficult to say a this juncture, but it probably won't do much to improve Floyd's mood, reputation or to assuage his aggressive tendencies recently, particularly if the staff have now been instructed to take a hard line approach to his behaviour.

Several other residents of the estate are also unhappy about the entire mess due to the fact that they claim money paid by them to the homeowners association is being wasted on the suit while other problems are being ignored.

So in this respect Floyd really can't win whatever the outcome of the suit. If he wins then the other residents are still going to be angry about their money being wasted, perhaps equally with the association as with Mayweather. If he loses then he's down 10k plus attorney fees and he has to moderate his behaviour and play by the rules.

Bill Short, Philly: "I get the feeling Floyd might be moving again in the near future"

Agi Santiago, Pitt: "If he hates everything the homeowners people do, and they are usually a rip off, why did he move there in the first place? Isn't that the reason he moved from his last place?"

Source: examiner.com

B.J. Penn learning how to box correctly, according to Floyd Mayweather Sr. -- Yahoo! Sports

By Steve Cofield, Yahoo! Sports

B.J. Penn is on a mission. After two straight losses to current UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar, Penn scrapped most of his old trainers and began seeking out new voices and experts. The latest he worked with was Floyd Mayweather Sr.

Big Floyd has a solid reputation as a boxing trainer and a very high opinion of his work outside the ring.

Mayweather Sr. told FightHype he wasn't impressed when he first began to work with "The Prodigy."

"I’ll be honest, at first, it didn’t seem like he could fight that good. I mean, I don’t know about his ground game and all of that stuff, but he’s got some pop and in just the three days I’ve been working with him, he has improved, man."

Penn is a quick learner. Mayweather continued:

"In his words, man, he told me, ‘I ain’t never seen some of this stuff you’re showing me, man.’ And that’s only after three days. BJ is learning fast, man. He's a good guy."

Mayweather looks forward to helping more MMA fighters, and thinks he's given Penn an edge for his fight against the taller Jon Fitch in February at UFC 127.

"I work with a couple now and I'm all for it. I don't know [expletive] about that ground stuff, but I can get their defense tight and get them throwing their shots right. I got B.J. working something just for a taller opponent. I don't know what B.J.'s ground game is like at all, but if he uses what I'm showing, he won't need it."

This isn't the first time Penn reached out to a top boxing trainer. In the past, he worked with Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. Roach once told me that Penn was the best MMA fighter he'd worked with as far as straight boxing. Said Mayweather:

"I bet he ain't going back to [Freddie Roach] either. He worked with Freddie 'The Joke Coach' Roach, and he telling me he has never see the stuff I'm showing him. So what does that tell you? Man, the only thing Freddie Roach can do better than me is wash my car."

Expect more of this crossover work in the future. MMA fighters like Penn are smart to seek out the experts from the world of boxing.

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Floyd "Maynever", Jr. was easily the Fighter of the Decade -- Examiner

By Stephen Johnson, Examiner.com

There should be no doubt as to who the most dominant fighter in the last ten years was in the sport of boxing as Floyd "Maynever", Jr. (41-0, 25 KO's) was, and still is, the "brass ring" for all competitiors from 147 pounds and under.

Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KO's) was recently given an award from WBC President Jose Sulaiman as it's Fighter of the Decade, which would have to span from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2010 to be accurate, that just doesn't pass the "smell test".

One should not cloud the achievements of "Maynever", Jr. inside the ring, with his weird and dangerous antics outside of it as his displayed abilities over the last ten years are second-to-none.

If there a new award given for Fighter of the Last Several Years, Pacquiao would face stiff resistance for even that from "Maynever", Jr., as the two are the best at what they do.

When Manny Pacquiao stopped Marco Antonio Barrera on November 15, 2003, he effectively made his presence known on the feather/super featherweight scene where he followed that victory with his first win over Juan Manuel Marquez on May 8, 2004, and suffered his third career defeat at the hands of Erik Morales on March 19, 2005.

Pacquiao avenged the Morales loss on January 21, 2006 with a brilliant tenth round TKO win and to end the trilogy, on November 18, 2006, Morales was destroyed in a brilliant third round KO performance by Pacquiao.

If you really want to get into specifics, Manny Pacquiao has had an outstanding last two years where he defeated the likes of David Diaz (June of '08), Oscar de la Hoya (December of '08), Ricky Hatton (May '09), Miguel Angel Cotto (November of '09), Joshua Clottey (March of '10), and Antonio Margarito (November of '10).

In the years from 2003-2010 Manny Pacquiao has fought Erik Morales three times, Marco Antonio Barrera twice, and Juan Manuel Marquez twice, (totalling seven) which were the biggest fights out there at the time.

Prior to the Barrera bout in November of 2003, Manny Pacquiao fought the bulk of his career in the Phillipines against fighters you would know the names of, only if you followed the bantamweight and flyweight divisions in that country.

This is taking nothing from the Congressman from the Phillipines, just stating fact.

During the ten year stretch associated with what is termed a "decade", Floyd "Maynever", Jr. was mixing it up with the likes of Emanuel Augustus (October of 2000), Diego Corrales (January of '01), Jesus Chavez (November of '01), Jose Luis Castillo twice (April and December of '02), Phillip N'dou (November of '03), DeMarcus Corley (May of '04), Arturo Gatti (June of '05), Sharmba Mitchell (November of '05). Zab Judah (April of '06), Oscar de la Hoya (May of '07), Ricky Hatton (December of '07), Juan Manuel Marquez (September of '09), and Shane Mosley (May of 2010).

"Maynever", Jr.'s decision to take a brief retirement allowed the name of Manny Pacquiao to take the spotlight when, at the time of his departure, there were no real opponents that could motivate either "Maynever, Jr., or the boxing public.

Manny Pacquiao is a tremendous talent and his respect shown for opponents in and outside of the ring is what the sporting world desperately needs more of, but when you compare the opponents of the two pound-for-pound recognized best fighters in the world, over the last ten years (what comprises a decade), it's really not even close.

Sportsman of the Decade, Ambassador of Boxing in the last decade, and almost any other award you would like to see given to Manny Pacquiao, he would be a most deserving recipient for what he has brought to the sport.

But the title of Fighter of the Decade clearly belongs to Floyd "Maynever", Jr.

This coming from someone who clearly sees the vast, and now seemingly dangerous, number of character flaws exhibited by "Maynever", Jr. that should take away from his marketability, not his talent in the ring.

This is taking nothing from the pride of Grand Rapids, Michigan, just stating fact.

Sheila Frazier (Denver): "Pacquiao is great for the sport and my personal favorite, but the record you just showed me would question whether he has been the best in the last decade".

Don Fullbright (Denver): "Floyd has to clean up his act for me to give him any award. Domestic issues, roughing up security guards and the like make him ineligible for awards outside of the ring".

Eric Dowell (Aurora): "Pacquiao had seven total fights with Morales, Barrera, and Marquez during the last seven years. That was the best information I've seen as a direct reflection on the undefeated resume of Mayweather".

Source: examiner.com

WBC PRESIDENT HURT BY PACQUIAO’S DECISION TO FIGHT MOSLEY -- PhilBoxing

By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com

World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman has indicated he is personally hurt by the decision of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand on May 7.

The WBC president learned that the fight had been finalized on the same day that the premier world professional boxing organization named Pacquiao as its “Fighter of the Decade.”

Sulaiman told the Inquirer in an overseas telephone conversation from his home in Mexico that Pacquiao and his people “were fooling around with the WBC and the others. ”

While Sulaiman stressed “He (Pacquiao) is a hero and I like him very much he is not paying any respect to the WBC and myself at all. He has never mentioned anything favorable to the WBC.”

Sulaiman said that “at this time of his life he doesn’t care about anything, he only cares about making money I guess.”

The WBC president said that if Pacquiao doesn’t “respect the WBC rules then we have to do something about it” although he admitted “it would make us very unpopular.”

Sulaiman blasted the choice of Mosley saying “he is completely over the hill. He looked very, very bad and very slow in his last fight against a bum (Sergio Mora)” even as he joined a chorus of growing numbers who have condemned the fight and claimed that Pacquiao is only in it for the money.

WBC founding secretary general Rudy Salud earlier said that while Pacquiao had a right to make money after all he has given the country, he “cannot claim that he is fighting Mosley for the country and people. He is fighting for the money.”

Source: philboxing.com

Manny Pacquiao: Is He Still Good for Boxing? -- Ringside Report

By “Bad” Brad Berkwitt, Ringside Report

On May 7th, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand P4P Best Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, 52-3-2, 38 KO’s is taking on another no hoper in Sugar Shane Mosley, 46-6-1, 39 KO’s for Pacquiao’s WBO Welterweight Title. This will mark the second fight in just six months that promoter Bob Arum has matched Pacquiao extremely soft. As we all know, back in November of last year, he matched his other Top Rank fighter Antonio “Hands of Plaster” Margarito, 38-7, 27 KO’s against Manny. The fight was a complete mismatch that saw Margarito sent to the hospital at the conclusion of the match.

With that said, a great like Shane Mosley once was, will be carried out on a stretcher before the end of this match. In fact, how did Shane even get this title shot? In May of 2010, he lost a wide unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather, JR., 41-0, 25 KO’s and then in September of 2010, he fought a boring draw against feather fisted Sergio Mora, 22-1-1, 6 KO’s. So now six months after the Mora snooze fest, Mosley hit the Golden Ticket to fight Pacquiao. This is what is wrong with boxing today!

Here are the top 15 rankings by the WBO for the Welterweight Division. RSR readers, do you see Shane Mosley anywhere? In fact, I have only seen in action or at least heard of numbers 2, 3, 5, 10, 11, and 15.

Manny Pacquiao (Champion)


1. Kell Brook
2. Mike Jones
3. Saul Alvarez
4.Vitaliy Demyanenko
5. Joshua Clottey
6. Diego G. Chaves
7. Ed Paredes
8. Samuel Columban
9. Bethuel Ushona
10. Shawn Porter
11. Paul Malignaggi
12. Rafal Jackiewicz
13. Valeriy Brazhnyk
14. Gumersindo L. Carrasco
15. Jesus Soto Karass

So why is the title of this article Manny Pacquiao: Is He Still Good for Boxing? Manny is the face of boxing today. His name generates more press than any other fighter or three fighters combined who are still active in the sport. Manny is a warrior. A man that from all accounts, who wants to see his people of the PI through his work as a Congressman flourish. But his role as the face of boxing is questionable. RSR called for Pacquiao to turn the Margarito fight down because he was a convicted cheater no matter if a very small contingent wanted to claim they thought towards fight time, he was innocent. It didn’t matter because the masses of boxing pundits squashed any type of ridiculous notions that Margarito was not in fact, a cheater!

Now Bob Arum puts Shane Mosley in front of Manny a fighter who is not only completely shot, but is not even ranked in the top 15 of the WBO. Shane is a sure pick for induction into the IBHOF once he retires and meets the five year rule, but for certain, he is going to be retired after this fight and it’s going to be sad to see.

Manny Pacquiao needs to stand up and tell his Promoter Bob Arum enough is enough. Either get me a live body to fight, or I am going to call it a career. Sadly, we know that is not going to happen – and I for one, will take the $60.00 dollar price tag as I did for Manny’s last fight we boycotted and buy some more Frank Sinatra CD’s.

On May 7th, tune out and keep your $60.00 bones and use it on something better than a one sided mismatch.

Source: ringsidereport.com

No rest for Mayweather until he fights Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com

As if Floyd Mayweather isn't having enough of a rough time of it lately, it now appears that even a peaceful shopping trip surrounded by his entourage and team of enormous bodyguards is beyond him.

Out and about on New Year's day Mayweather faced chants of "Pacquiao, Pacquiao!" from several fans, and even taunts about his height, something he not so long ago mocked Pacquiao for.

Keeping his composure and going about his business, Mayweather didn't outwardly seem to be that bothered, but judging from his recent outbursts, from his profanity laced racial tirade on Ustream to his recent berating of a security guard outside his mansion with little provocation, the lack of respect he gets from fans is getting to him.

Mayweather likes to think himself an untouchable figure to both opponents in the ring and the growing number of fans opposed to either his antics or lack of activity. Indeed one of his favorite comebacks to interviewers who ask about the people who want to see him lose is usually something along the lines of not caring what people say so long as they are all talking about him.

But paradoxically often he seems to crave the adulation heaped upon his rivals and seems to believe rightly or wrongly that he should be celebrated for his past achievements instead of being harangued for his recent underachieving.

The chanting might only have been down to a few Pacquiao fans on this occasion, but in all honesty, there aren't many places Floyd could go even in the United States without at least one or two these days, and until he addresses his future plans this is probably what Mayweather can look forward to whenever he goes out in public.

Should he announce either his next fight, retirement, or intention to fight Pacquiao after the Filipino takes on Shane Mosley, the fans would probably give him a break. If not at the very least he would have a riposte, something to counteract the accusations of him ducking the best competition and protecting his perfect 41-0 record.

The fact that Pacquiao is once again taking on a former opponent of his that he beat easily should be all the motivation he needs to start firing off quotes to the media and laying the groundwork for a fight later this year, and would have been just a few years ago.

Equally, if he were to take on and beat Pacquiao as the bookmakers still favor he would, even those repulsed by his mercurial personality would respect his skills and never question his mettle again. Likewise few would begrudge him a few easy paydays to end his career should he take on Pacquiao win or lose.

Of course, even if he does want to fight Pacquiao at some point, for the time being Mayweather can't really fight anyone. With a court case pending over alleged domestic abuse and ludicrous incidents happening almost by the week, Mayweather might eventually find himself unable to ever fight again.

Until he addresses some of the questions surrounding him though, fans chanting the name of his biggest rival to him is to be expected, as are the regular appearances in TMZ reports and brushes with the Las Vegas police department.

Tim George, Pitt: "Not surprising he does all this stupid stuff when he gets abuse from fans whenever he leaves the house. if he just took the fight it would stop, and most experts think he would win anyway"

Franz Peterson, Las Vegas: "Floyd only bullies people if they're alone, he's known for it around here. He wouldn't do anything in public because he can't outnumber people"

Source: examiner.com

Minus Manny Paquiao III, Juan Manuel Marquez Considers Options -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titlist Juan Manuel Marquez may have lost out on a third bout with eight-division king, Manny Pacquiao, but the 37-year-old, three-division champion still has plenty of options, according to Golden Boy Promotions head matchmaker, Eric Gomez.

"We'll be getting together some time this month with Marquez. We'll go over numbers and go over the opponents," said Gomez on Monday.

"Marquez has expressed some interest in going up to 140 and perhaps maybe fighting Amir Khan," said Gomez. "Amir Khan is of interest, and we have tried making that fight before. So there is some interest."

In facing the 24-year-old Khan (24-1, 17 knockouts), Marquez (51-5-1, 38 knockouts) would be pursuing the WBA junior welterweight (140 pounds) king and an opportunity to become the first Mexican fighter to earn a fourth crown over as many weight classes.

But Khan already is being considered for an HBO televised, April 16 date in his native England, potentially against Lamont Peterson (28-1-1, 14 KOs), of Washington, D.C., who is coming off of a Dec. 11 draw with southpaw Victor Ortiz (28-2-2, 22 KOs) that was on the under card of Khan's unanimous decision win over Marcos Rene Maidana (29-2, 27 KOs).

"We are looking at that [Khan] and working on that as well, and the date is set on his return for April 16. We are going to be working on the financial situation and the opponent and so on," said Golden Boy Promotions' CEO, Richard Schaefer.

"But the Khan fight will definitely be in the United Kingdom," said Schaefer. "There are different names that are being discussed, and one of the names which has been discussed is Lamont Peterson."

So in what is the most likely of scenarios, Gomez and Schaefer said that Marquez could be matched against 34-year-old Erik Morales (51-6, 35 KOs) in a clash of Mexican, three-division titlists likely on April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"We are going to see if we can get that fight done," said Schaefer of Marquez-Morales. "That's one of the fights that we will be working on in the next couple of days and weeks."

In November, Marquez rose from a third-round knockdown to stop WBO interim king, Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KOs), in the ninth.

Marquez has twice battled a disputed draw, and, a disputed, split-decision loss, respectively, against Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), despite rising from a combined total of four knockdowns.

Marquez had been considered as an opponent for Pacquiao until last month, when FanHouse first reported that Pacquiao had chosen to make a defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt against three-division, five-time champion Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is coming off of a Nov. 13 unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito that earned him the WBC's vacant junior middleweight (154 pounds) title.

"We're going to present to Marquez different opportunities and different fights and different ideas. It's very preliminary right now, but, yes, Morales is being considered," said Gomez.

"But Morales is a consideration along with one of three or four guys who are being considered," said Gomez. "So we would have to sit down with Juan Manuel Marquez because he's the champ and he's our guy and we'll let him decide for himself what he wants to do."

In March of 2005, Morales scored a unanimous decision over Pacquiao, who has since gone 13-0, with eight knockouts -- including stoppages of Morales in the 10th, and, third rounds, respectively.

A winner of three straight fights, Morales is coming off of December's unanimous decision victory over Dominican-born Francisco Lorenzo , of Irvington, N.J., for the WBC's silver light welterweight title at Caliente Racetrack, in Tijuana, Baja, California, Mex.

Prior to Lorenzo, Morales earned September's welterweight, sixth-round knockout of Scottland's Willie Limond that was fought at a catch weight of 143 pounds.

Limond was the second straight win for Morales, who, in March, earned a 12-round, unanimous decision over Jose "Jicaras" Alfaro (23-6, 20 KOs) in Monterrey, Nuevo, Leon, Mex.

Alfaro ended a 31-month absence from the ring for Morales and a four-match losing streak that was part of five losses in his previous six fights. Morales-Alfaro was the Mexican's for fight since 2007, when he lost a decision to David Diaz for the WBC lightweight crown.

Morales is most known for losing two of three bouts in his trilogy with Mexico City's 36-year-old, five-time, three-division champion, Marco Antonio Barrera (66-7, 43 KOs). Barrera-Morales was the Mexican equivalent of Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier.

Marquez owns a July of 2007, unanimous decision victory over Barrera, but never has faced Morales.

"We feel that Marquez-Morales would be a big seller in the Mexican community, and it's a fight that the Mexican community has always wanted but it was never done," said Gomez. "Marquez wants to fight in Las Vegas, so there is a good possibility that it will be in Las Vegas either in March or April around there."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com