Fans line up to see Manny Pacquiao on promotional tour -- Las Vegas Sun

By Ray Brewer, Las Vegas Sun

The line seemed to get longer and longer.

It was nearly two hours Saturday before the doors to the MGM Grand Garden Arena were scheduled to open and a group of nearly 100 fighting fans had already assembled for a meet-and-greet with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.

They carried bags of memorabilia and cameras, patiently waiting for a chance to get a glimpse, photo or autograph from the Filipino fighter. Pacquiao, in town to promote his May 7 welterweight championship fight at the MGM against Shane Mosley, is a celebrity whose popularity — especially in his native Philippines — has skyrocketed to mass proportion.

“He fights for his nation,” said Rhoderick Mejares, who drove from San Diego with his wife and four children for the event. “He’s a hero to the Filipino people. He’s one of us.”

An estimated 1,500 fans attended the gathering, giving a small glimpse of the cult-like following for the 10-time world champion.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, said the excitement witnessed Saturday is nothing in comparison to when Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) is home in the Philippines. In addition to his success in the ring, Pacquiao is also a congressman.

“He is bigger (in the Philippines) than Michael Jordan in America,” Roach said.

This is Pacquiao’s first fight in Las Vegas since November 2009, with his most two recent bouts at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In a testament to his popularity, roughly 16,000 tickets were sold in three hours on the first day they went on sale.

Rooms at the MGM are priced at $239 on the night he is fighting. The financial effect the fight will have on the local economy will easily be worth millions.

“Manny has a great, big fan base,” Mosley said. “I’m on Twitter. I see a lot of the fans that are African-American, Mexican or white. There are just a lot of Manny Pacquiao fans out there. I think his fan base has grown. That is why this is such a big fight.”

The 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 knockouts) is a three-division, five-time champion. He’s just no Pacquiao — in terms of celebrity or accomplishments in the ring.

Pacquiao, who has won titles in eight divisions, is riding a 13-fight winning streak dating back to 2005. He is listed as a -700 betting favorite, meaning you’d have to wager $7 on Pacquiao to win $1.

“Manny is a warrior,” Mosley said. “He wants to see what you’ve got. He wants to take your heart from you and beat you up. Those are the type of fights I want to be in.”

Pacquiao, whose black hair is growing longer and easily covering his ears, fielded questions from the media for about 10 minutes prior to meeting the fans. He was asked everything from whether he will receive a haircut before fighting Mosley to his thoughts on the legal trouble of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao and Mayweather have tried unsuccessfully the past two years to agree on conditions for a fight.

Like dodging a punch in the ring, Pacquiao side-stepped directly answering questions about Mayweather, twice saying he’ll pray for him.

As for the hair, Pacquiao isn’t sure when he’ll trim it. “I like the Beatles look,” he said jokingly.

It’s a fitting reference for someone whose celebrity is arguably comparable to the legendary rock group in many circles. Roach was even swarmed by fans Saturday, stopping to take photos and talk about his prized fighter.

“The only time they leave me alone is when he comes,” Roach said. “I’m happy to be part of this. He has changed my life.”

Source: lasvegassun.com

Trash talk muted for anticipated Pacquiao-Mosley showdown -- Las Vegas Review Journal

By Steve Carp, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The last time Manny Pacquiao fought, he and his trainer had to suffer personal insults courtesy of Antonio Margarito.

Pacquiao made Margarito pay for his big mouth, pummeling him over 12 rounds Nov. 13 and sending him to a Dallas hospital.

Shane Mosley was watching that night at Cowboys Stadium, and he came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't worth inciting Pacquiao if he were to fight him. Mosley gets his chance May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden, and if Saturday's promotional tour stop in Las Vegas was any indication, the only fireworks will be in the ring.

"I've never had any animosity toward Manny Pacquiao," said the 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 knockouts), a four-time world champion. "I've always liked Manny and respected him as a fighter and as a person. We don't need to talk trash to sell tickets."

Mosley is right. As of Saturday, fewer than 500 seats remained inside the Grand Garden, which will seat 17,200 for the fight. The MGM has put 30,000 closed-circuit seats on sale at its various properties at $50 apiece and expects those to sell out by fight night. The fight also will be shown on Showtime Pay Per View.

The 32-year-old Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), always the gentleman, appreciated being part of a promotion that didn't have to sink to the gutter to generate interest.

"That's what I love so much for this fight," Pacquiao said. "We don't need to talk trash. Shane Mosley is a gentleman and a good guy. We just have to do our jobs in the ring, and boxing will be the big winner."

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's longtime trainer who was ridiculed by the Margarito camp for his struggles with Parkinson's disease, said he also is looking forward to a professional promotion.

"I may trash talk a little bit," Roach said with a laugh. "But I do think my guy will knock (Mosley) out."

While Pacquiao and Mosley were cordial toward each other, than didn't stop others from taking a swipe at Pacquiao, a 10-time world champion with titles in eight weight divisions. Floyd Mayweather Jr. found time Saturday to rip Pacquiao on Twitter, pointing out Pacquiao's three losses and two draws.

Pacquiao's response? "I can only pray for him that one day, someday, he figures everything out."

Pacquiao and Roach have worked out their plans to ensure that this training camp goes smoother than the one for the Margarito bout, which was fraught with distractions. Roach said the plan is to begin camp in March, spending the first three weeks training in Manila, Philippines, while Pacquiao continues his duties as a congressman. Phase two will have Pacquiao in Los Angeles at Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club for the next five weeks, then in Las Vegas for fight week.

"There's always going to be distractions," Roach said. "But our mistake last time was we had to cram everything into those last five weeks. This time, we'll keep the distractions to a minimum in Manila, and when he gets to the Wild Card, we're fine. We can do what we need to do to finish our preparations.

"I can assure you we're not going to take Shane lightly. He is a great counterpuncher with power in both hands."

Mosley, who will work with trainer Nassim Richardson in Big Bear, Calif., said he wants to use his size, strength and speed to overwhelm Pacquiao, a minus-700 betting favorite at the MGM's sports books and a minus-900 favorite at Station Casinos' sports books.

"I'm a lot faster and stronger than Manny," Mosley said. "Manny's in a tough fight with me."

Margarito said the same thing, though his tone was far more derogatory. And look where that got him.

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

Source: lvrj.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr accused of 'ducking' Cotto, Margarito, Williams -- Examiner

By Rick Rockwell, Examiner.com

The accusations that Floyd Mayweather Jr ducked tougher opponents continue to pile up. According to a Wednesday article by Vivek Wallace on Fighthype.com, Boxing guru Larry Merchant made some very candid comments toward Floyd Jr's selection of opponents. Larry accused Floyd Jr of avoiding the tougher fights against Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and Paul Williams.

"I think beyond a doubt he ducked them (Cotto, Margarito and Williams). That was because he saw a path where he could avoid those fighters and make the biggest bucks possible. He didn't want to face Cotto because when he came back from his brief retirement, he knew that Marquez was an easy fight and a popular fighter among a certain segment of fans. Yes, he ducked guys, because he didn't think they were in his best interest at the time. Best interest being business wise." Larry Merchant

This comes as no surprise to Mayweather's critics. Many of us do feel that Floyd Jr has avoided the tougher fights for easier ones. Over the last year, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito have both publicly stated that Floyd Jr ducked them. Paul Williams has been calling out everyone including Floyd Jr. Unfortunately, his KO loss to Sergio Martinez takes him out of any potential fight with Mayweather Jr. However, I still think a Cotto vs. Mayweather fight would be great for the sport.

Until Floyd Jr stops choosing the "easier" fights, he will continue to receive this criticism. A fight with Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao should silence the critics especially if Floyd Jr wins both.

Source: examiner.com

Top Rank: Pacquiao-Obama meeting not confirmed -- ABS-CBN

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – Top Rank Promotions clarified on Wednesday that there’s no confirmation yet about the supposed meeting between Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and US President Barack Obama next week.

“Everything is premature. Nothing has been confirmed by the White House that a meeting is taking place between Manny and the President at this time,” Dena Duboef, daughter of Top Rank chief Bob Arum told ABS-CBN News.

Top Rank handles the global promotion of Pacquiao’s fights.

The Filipino boxing superstar, earlier, said that he’s excited to meet the US president when he makes his stop in Washington as part of his 5-city press tour promoting the Shane Mosley fight.

The press tour will begin in Beverly Hills on February 10 followed by stops in Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York and Washington.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

WBC vacates Manny Pacquiao title -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, who extended his record by winning a world title in an eighth weight class on Nov. 13, had his junior middleweight title vacated by the WBC on Tuesday.

Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) still holds the WBO version of the welterweight title, which he will defend against Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) on May 7 (Showtime PPV) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The national media tour promoting that fight begins Thursday in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao's 154-pound title was "declared vacant, following the unanimous voting of the WBC board of governors, due to the inability of the champion to defend his WBC title," according to a statement from the Mexico-based organization.

Pacquiao had no intention of defending the title, which was vacant when he won it by easily outpointing Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

According to Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, Pacquiao sent a letter to the WBC to let the organization know that he did not plan to defend the title and that he had no plans to campaign in the junior middleweight division.

Boxing organizations do not permit fighters to hold belts in multiple weight classes at the same time. The WBC usually gives a fighter two weeks after winning a title in a second weight division to make a decision. In Pacquiao's case, he was given about three months before the title was vacated.

Pacquiao has also won alphabet organization or lineal titles at flyweight, junior featherweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight. Pacquiao had previously broken the record held by Oscar De La Hoya, who won titles in six weight divisions.

In line to fight for the now-vacant junior middleweight belt are mandatory challenger Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and a contender to be appointed by the WBC.

Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Manny Pacquiao to Retire -- Ringside Report

By Geno McGahee, Ringside Report

It is the headline that boxing fans do not want to read, but it is inevitable and coming soon. With boxing being at a popularity low, Manny Pacquiao and his star appeal has kept it afloat and the boxing sites and publications are aware of this. If you go to any boxing site, you will see Manny articles. He is in demand and the people get what they want.

A site dedicated to Manny: “Pacland” brings in the masses of Filipino followers, supporting their national hero, but with 57 professional bouts under his belt, and a lack of true challengers to his pound for pound throne, and a political obligation, the writing is on the wall.

On May 7th, we will see Pacquiao step into the ring and either way, it should be his last fight. A 39 year old grizzled veteran, slow on the draw, will be across the ring with the hope of either upsetting the boxing world or cashing that last big paycheck. Sugar Shane Mosley is one of the last remaining names of the 1990s welterweights.

Mosley, at one time, shared the limelight with Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Ike Quartey, and Pernell Whitaker, but time has moved on, and all of his costars of the past have found retirement…at least for the time being. Mosley, as great as he was, still appears that he wants to prove something. He beat Oscar De La Hoya on two occasions, held his own with a prime Miguel Cotto, and had an incredible run at lightweight. He may have been one of the best lightweights ever to lace up the gloves, but he wants more. He failed miserably in his last outing against Floyd Mayweather, JR., but feels that the less elusive Pacquiao will at least give him some opportunities to land. Perhaps, but the risk is far greater.

Although the fight will sell, it is a mismatch based on where the two fighters are in their careers. Manny knows this. Shane knows this. Bob Arum knows this. The hope is that the fans don’t catch on, but even if you are just watching it to give a payday to a great fighter of the past or hope that somehow he can land that big right hand and knock Manny cold, the reality is that Pacquiao should win because he is that much better at this point in his career.

Now there are two scenarios that are going to happen on May 7th. Manny will win or Manny will lose. Should Pacquiao win, expect one last ditch effort to get Floyd Mayweather, JR., in the ring. The chances of that are slim, considering just how disinterested Money Mayweather has seemed, but should he elect to face the Filipino power-puncher, we will have that mega fight that we all wanted and then, win or lose, Pacquiao leaves the game.

The other scenario is that Mosley finds the mark with the right hand or left hook…he has decent power in both hands, and starches Pacquiao. Mosley wins, Floyd Mayweather, JR., immediately comments that he is without question the best considering the performance he had against Shane, and Manny retires and goes into politics full time, which many contend he wants to do at this point in his life.

Where does boxing go without Pacquiao? It will survive, but the impact is going to be strong. When Lennox Lewis left the heavyweight division, it was in shambles, eventually dominated by the Klitschko brothers, but there are no challengers to excite the fans.

Pacquiao leaving and with Floyd staying retired, it hurts the sport because nobody has come up, although there are plenty of exciting fighters…just not pay per view headliners, yet. When you look at this fact, you can’t blame Bob Arum for trying to protect Pacquiao by choosing softer opposition then the fans demand.

There are so many websites out there that have built their house on Pacquiao and when he retires, it will be interesting to see how they adapt and how boxing as a whole adapts. The only good thing that may be happening now, and it’s not for certain good, was the move from HBO to Showtime with Manny.

If CBS elects to step up and starts giving a network platform for up and coming fighters, the casual boxing fans and non boxing fans could warm up to the sport. Exposure is everything and the fighters today get very little of it, and the ones that do often fail to impress.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander fight. It turned into an ugly mess ending with a head butt. Just prior to that, Evander Holyfield put on what many consider to be the worst pay per view of all time, as he quit in his corner against Sherman “Tank” Williams. Of course, the Fistful of Dollars pay per view may still have a hold on the top spot, but this fiasco was a close second.

Boxing isn’t doing itself any favors. All of the wagons have been attached to Manny Pacquiao and names of the past like Bernard Hopkins. When Pacquiao retires, you will see boxing websites fall by the wayside and boxing’s audience shrink that much more. The only good point may be that it will hit rock bottom and sometimes that prompts the subject to bounce back and reclaim their old glory. Let’s hope that boxing does the same thing.

The truth of the matter is that Pacquiao will retire soon. There is no avoiding it and he has so much money that I don’t think he can be bought into anything other than a Floyd showdown in the future. Boxing will have to bounce back and it will. It’s been down before and has always come back. It will be a long road, but Pacquiao’s retirement won’t kill it.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Manny Pacquiao Will Meet President Barack Obama -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

In an event that has been arranged by United States Senator Harry Reid, D-Nevada, eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and his wife, Jinkee, will meet President Barack Obama, likely on Feb. 15 in Washington, D.C., during the final stop of a four-venue tour promoting the fighter's Showtime-televised, May 7 defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt against three-division, five-time titlist Shane Mosley.

The story was first reported by ABS-CBN, with a followup by BoxingScene.com.

A 32-year-old congressman in the Sarangani Province of his native Philippines, Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) will face the 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

Two weeks prior to earning the WBC junior middlweight (154 pounds) belt with an HBO-televised, Top Rank Promotions, Nov. 13 unanimous decision over former titlist Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao attended an October rally for Reid, whom he informed of his desire to meet Obama.

Pacquiao, who will also meet First Lady Michelle Obama, is "excited, because my dream was to face President Obama and to talk to him," according to ABS-CBN.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and organization publicist Lee Samuels told FanHouse that a press tour will begin on Thursday in Los Angeles, followed by stops in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 12, New York on Monday, Feb. 14, and, Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Although some members of the Pacquiao team already have received clearance to visit the U.S. Senate floor as Reid's guests, Pacquiao and his wife, Jinkee, are expected to be the only ones to meet Obama, according to a source with knowledge of the arrangements.

"What we're definitely planning is a meeting in Senator Reid's office, and then, Senator Reid is going to take Manny to the floor of the senate," said Arum in an earlier interview with FanHouse.

"And then we'll have the press conference in Washington, D.C.," said Arum. "We're going to have it hosted by the Nevada Congressional delegation. That's all going to happen on Feb. 15."

In December of 2009, Pacquiao was named among Time Magazine's Top 25 People Who Mattered in 2009 -- listed alphabetically right behind President Obama.

Obama and Pacquiao were each featured on 60 Minutes on Nov. 8 -- a mere five days prior to Pacquiao vanquishing Margarito.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Los Angeles in April rather than Las Vegas in May -- 15Rounds

By Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com

In March we journeyed to Arlington, Tex., to see Cowboys Stadium’s first prizefight, one featuring Manny Pacquiao. In November we returned to Arlington, Tex., to see Cowboys Stadium’s second prizefight, one featuring Manny Pacquiao. And in May we journey to Las Vegas to see a terrestrial network cover its first prizefight, one featuring Manny Pacquiao.

A cross-country trip to watch CBS cover an event, eh? That might be a bridge too far.

We’ll go to see a great prizefight filled with what drama and suspense have defined the Pacquiao Era, then! OK, maybe. But does anyone honestly doubt how the May 7 fight between Pacquiao and Shane Mosley will go at MGM Grand?

In the next three months, of course, some of us will create scenarios that see Mosley prevailing over Pacquiao in an upset. And bless us for it; such exercises keep the mind spry. But would any of us actually bet Mosley?

Not if he bet Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto or Ricky Hatton – the last four Pacquiao opponents. None of those choices drew quite the initial derision among aficionados Mosley did, either.

But that was before CBS. As part of promoter Top Rank’s new relationship with Showtime, apparently, parent network CBS will broadcast an infomercial for Pacquiao-Mosley sometime before the fight. Good for Pacquiao. Good for Mosley. Good for Showtime. Good for Top Rank. And good for boxing.

Not so fast. This fight is not for you, the serious fan. This fight is for that elusive crossover guy boxing endeavors to seduce on a triannual basis. You know him. He asks you when Mike Tyson’s coming back while asking himself who would win a match between Clubber Lang and a prime Muhammad Ali.

Right, sure, but don’t be a curmudgeon. Remember, a rising tide lifts all boats.

But is Pacquiao-Mosley a rising tide, or merely a rising boat? Last year, Pacquiao enjoyed two of his career’s handsomest paydays. And his reluctant nemesis, Floyd Mayweather Jr., enjoyed one as well. But what good, really, did these do the sport of boxing?

Websites like this one have never been in a worse financial spot. Pacquiao may be his country’s most-famous figure, but is he actually recognizable to the 113 million American households that did not buy his last pay-per-view event? And Mayweather, for all the interest in prizefighting he supposedly brought to the black community, didn’t have an enduring enough effect to bring even 1,000 members of that community to “The Super Fight” a couple Saturdays ago.

No, friends, you are not obligated to attend Pacquiao-Mosley as part of some brand-of-boxing loyalty oath. And that’s good, too, because tickets for the fight apparently sold-out days before they went on sale.

In the spirit of your new liberty, then, how about trying something different? Like, say, the finals of Showtime’s Bantamweight Tournament on April 23 in Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre. That card will feature two great fights: Ghana’s Joseph King Kong Agbeko versus Mexico’s Abner Mares, and Colombian Yonnhy Perez versus Armenian Vic Darchinyan. It will also establish a challenger for the winner of Nonito Donaire’s upcoming bantamweight title fight with Fernando Montiel.

And as Donaire-Montiel is a Top Rank promotion, and Top Rank is now allied with Showtime – and CBS! – there’s no reason to think the world’s best bantamweight prizefighter will not be crowned by the end of 2011.

Look, fans in the target demographic for Pacquiao-Mosley have no idea there’s a Ghanaian who once wore a gorilla mask and manacles during ringwalks. Fans who currently know Shane Mosley solely as “that guy with the same nickname as Leonard and Robinson” have no idea Mares went chest-to-chest and foul-for-foul with Darchinyan in December, and beat him. And there’s little possibility anyone desperately scouring online brokers for Pacquiao-Mosley tickets (if such a man exists) has any idea the consolation match of the Bantamweight Tournament could be better than its championship is.

Tickets will be a fraction as expensive for the Los Angeles card in April as they are for boxing’s big chance on CBS in May. And even with prices good and low, Bantamweight Tournament tickets will be in abundance.

Which leads us to the reason you can merrily play contrarian with a card promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank: They don’t need you. Top Rank is the infrastructural master of prizefighting promotion. Never was this clearer than after January’s trip to Silverdome – a venue that, working as a team, Don King and Gary Shaw failed to fill effectively as Top Rank filled just Cowboys Stadium’s East Side Plaza in November.

Golden Boy Promotions is the second strongest promoter out there, yes, but it’s a distant second. And their participation in the Bantamweight Tournament may not be more than tertiary. For all the praise Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer garnered four or five years ago, it has been quite a while since anyone’s appended the modifier “imaginative” to anything coming out of their shop.

And here’s something else to worry about while we get spiffed up for our big CBS debut: We aren’t ready for primetime. Underlying all our support for the recent terrestrial-network development is an assumption that if we could only get our sport force-fed to the public as, say, the NFL does, boxing would be popular as football.

Don’t be so sure. There’s a very real chance the quality of the product boxing offers – for many reasons but none so much as managers’ selecting of fighters according to television programmers’ tastes – is subpar. The fights we offer today may not be good as the ones we offered 25 years ago.

If that’s the case, four 118-pounders fighting in a 7,000-seat venue is likely the future of superfights much more than is Pacquiao-Mosley on CBS. Going to Los Angeles in May, then, is a good way to reward four deserving fighters, and maybe look like a visionary while doing it.

Bart Barry can be reached on Twitter via @bartbarry

Source: 15rounds.com

Tim Bradley has changes to make before Pacquiao fight becomes likely -- Examiner

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com

After his ten round technical decision victory over Devon Alexander last weekend, the speculation over who WBO/WBC light welterweight champion Tim Bradley's next opponent might be has become one of the most talked about subjects in the sport.

While the obvious choice might be a bout against WBA champion Amir Khan to unify three of the four major titles at the weight and with it any lingering doubt as to who the best fighter in the division is, Bradley himself seems to have other plans.

Despite the fact that the Alexander fight was neither a crowd pleaser or a particularly dominant showing from Bradley, in part due to the ending and a bad clash of styles, the one name mentioned consistently by Bradley if not his current promoter has been pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Before that fight has any realistic chance of happening though, there are several things that have to change for Bradley.

The first of which is likely his promotional status.

Top Rank boss Bob Arum said recently that Bradley was the kind of opponent he would welcome for Pacquiao in the future.

What he didn't mention is the fact that Bradley will become a free agent in the coming months and that Top Rank, along with Golden Boy and current promoter Gary Shaw are all hoping to sign him.

Bradley taking on Pacquiao then likely comes with the caveat that it will only happen if both fighters are under the Top Rank banner at the time.

Looking past a possible showdown with Pacquiao though, in the long term Golden Boy might be the better option for Bradley in terms of available opponents. Their roster currently includes Juan Manuel Marquez, Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz and Lucas Matthysse, all interesting opponents.

Top Rank on the other hand certainly has a deep roster of fighters but at light welterweight and even welterweight their ranks are a little thin these days, and Bradley likely wouldn't be able to effectively compete at junior middleweight or above where the majority of their talent has been heading to of late.

Aside from the promotional difficulties in putting a fight together with Pacquiao, there are other concerns, namely Bradley's effectiveness at welterweight and his tendency to inadvertently headbutt opponents causing fight ending cuts.

In his sole outing north of the 140lb division, Bradley looked dominant against Luis Abregu but against a higher caliber of opponent the size and strength difference might have been more telling.

Against Pacquiao this isn't a concern for Bradley as much as Pacquiao is one of the smaller welterweights and moved up in weight himself, but without a resume at the weight many would no doubt question whether Bradley had earned a fight against the best in the division.

Perhaps the biggest concern from Pacquiao's point of view though is the fact that Bradley's head has caused cuts in each of his last five fights, ending two of them prematurely.

Worse than that though, even on his best days he isn't a particularly charismatic or always entertaining fighter to watch, and Pacquiao obviously won't want to look bad even in winning due to a clash of styles. Nor will his team want him to be in against a dangerous and unbeaten fighter that won't contribute much in the pay per view department.

Lastly, the fact that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan trains with Pacquiao could also for now make the fight unlikely. Pacquiao and Khan have formed a bond since training together and it could well be the case that Pacquiao wouldn't want to rob Khan of the opportunity of becoming the lineal light welterweight champion.

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao-Mosley Press Tour -- FightNews

FightNews.com

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and “Sugar” Shane Mosley will embark on a coast-to-coast U.S. media tour, beginning Thursday in Los Angeles to announce their mega world championship rumble. Pacquiao and Mosley, who have won world titles in 11 weight divisions between them, will go toe-to-toe for Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight championship on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Pacquiao will be making his first ring appearance in The Fight Capital of the World since 2009. Joining Pacquiao and Mosley on the tour will be Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and trainer Freddie Roach.

February 10: Los Angeles

Closed to the Public. Media Only

February 12: Las Vegas
Open to the Public
MGM Grand Garden Arena
3:00 p.m. PT – News Conference

February 14: New York City
Open to the Public
Chelsea Piers at Pier 60
Barnegat/Montauk/Nave Rooms
11:00 a.m. ET – News Conference

Source: FightNews.com