Boxing News Thread
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Harrison Vows: I'll Break Haye's Heart on November 13
Audley Harrison has told David Haye to "man up and sign" to fight for the World Heavyweight title in a Battle of Britain bout in November.
Harrison and his Promoter, Matchroom Sport managing director Eddie Hearn have been locked in talks with Adam Booth over the past weeks, with a potential fight scheduled to take place on November 13 at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
Both parties have now agreed terms but Haye is yet to sign and Harrison has sent a message out to the World Champion, telling him to put pen to paper on the huge fight, and warning him that he can take the title off Haye to fulfil his dream of being World Heavyweight champion.
“I'm about as bored as every other fight fan about hearing why you won't accept fights, what are we in this game for?” said Harrison. “I say to try and win titles and create a legacy but if its money you want then outside of the Klitschko fight I'm the only guy that makes you money. I am accepting the terms you have offered me and now we will see what you are made of.
“So let's stop with the bullshitting, man up and get this fight signed. So bring on the Battle of Britain and I will be the Hayebreaker come November 13th.”
Harrison put the wheels in motion for the clash with Haye in June when he vacated the European belt he won in spectacular fashion with a stunning last gasp knockout of Michael Sprott in April. The 38 year-old is now gunning for a fight with former friend Haye, with Eddie Hearn revealing that tensions between the pair were high after Haye delivered a snub to Harrison by refusing to put him on the undercard of one his shows after Harrison had helped Haye at the start of his career.
“The hard work is done and now it's up to Haye and Booth," said Hearn. "We are at the end of the line now, everything is in place and now it's up to them. This is a £10 million fight and the biggest the country has ever seen, but more than that it's personal between them – there will be no love lost in the ring if we get this signed.”
Audley Harrison has told David Haye to "man up and sign" to fight for the World Heavyweight title in a Battle of Britain bout in November.
Harrison and his Promoter, Matchroom Sport managing director Eddie Hearn have been locked in talks with Adam Booth over the past weeks, with a potential fight scheduled to take place on November 13 at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
Both parties have now agreed terms but Haye is yet to sign and Harrison has sent a message out to the World Champion, telling him to put pen to paper on the huge fight, and warning him that he can take the title off Haye to fulfil his dream of being World Heavyweight champion.
“I'm about as bored as every other fight fan about hearing why you won't accept fights, what are we in this game for?” said Harrison. “I say to try and win titles and create a legacy but if its money you want then outside of the Klitschko fight I'm the only guy that makes you money. I am accepting the terms you have offered me and now we will see what you are made of.
“So let's stop with the bullshitting, man up and get this fight signed. So bring on the Battle of Britain and I will be the Hayebreaker come November 13th.”
Harrison put the wheels in motion for the clash with Haye in June when he vacated the European belt he won in spectacular fashion with a stunning last gasp knockout of Michael Sprott in April. The 38 year-old is now gunning for a fight with former friend Haye, with Eddie Hearn revealing that tensions between the pair were high after Haye delivered a snub to Harrison by refusing to put him on the undercard of one his shows after Harrison had helped Haye at the start of his career.
“The hard work is done and now it's up to Haye and Booth," said Hearn. "We are at the end of the line now, everything is in place and now it's up to them. This is a £10 million fight and the biggest the country has ever seen, but more than that it's personal between them – there will be no love lost in the ring if we get this signed.”
Goosen thinks Paul Williams should be Pacquiao’s next opponent, not Margarito
By Jason Kim: Promoter Dan Goosen bristles at what Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is doing by keeping his fights in house by matching his fighters in his stable against each other rather than looking outside of his small stable for bigger fights that are better for the sport of boxing. Goosen also doesn’t like the idea of Arum matching Manny Pacquiao against Antonio Margarito, because Margarito still doesn’t even have a boxing license after losing it a year ago when a plaster like material was found on his hand wraps before his fight with Shane Mosley.
Goosen, who promotes the lanky 6’1” former welterweight champion Paul Williams, had this to say in an article at the Los Angeles Times: “I’d be a travesty to have Manny Pacquiao fight a guy [Antonio Margarito] whose license has been taken away. That would be hurtful to Manny’s reputation. Manny’s a great man, but there’s a lot of negative sentiment about Margarito and what he did. These are the things that are not good for our sport.” Arum seems to be ignoring the negative feedback that he’s getting about him matching Pacquiao against the disgraced Margarito.
However, this isn’t new to Arum. He took a lot of heat in March when the negotiations between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao failed to result in an agreement. Instead of making the best of things by matching Pacquiao against the next available big star, Arum decided to put Pacquiao in with one of Arum’s fighters from his table Joshua Clottey. Arum still decided to put the fight on pay per view, despite Clottey not being a popular fighter with any real fan base in the United States. What resulted was a disappointing 700,000 PPV buys for the fight, which was half of the numbers that Floyd Mayweather received in his lopsided 12 round decision over Shane Mosley in May.
Mayweather-Mosley brought in 1.4 million buys for their fight. Had Arum matched Pacquiao up against a star instead of one of his least popular fighters from his stable, it would have likely sold at lead 1 million PPV buys instead of only 700,000. Now with Arum choosing the non-popular Margarito, another fighter in his table, as Pacquiao’s next opponent, we could be seeing the same identical numbers as the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.
Goosen had this to say about the chances of the Pacquiao-Margarito fight ending up outside the U.S.:
“How can he [Arum] take this fight against Margarito out of the country, like thieves in the night? Our sport needs to make the biggest and best fights possible, and without Mayweather, Paul Williams is the richest fight for Pacquiao that’s out there.” I agree with Goosen, but I also think Sergio Martinez is right up there with Paul Williams. But I also think Arum will never in this lifetime put Pacquiao in with those two fighters because he would probably lose. Williams and Martinez are better than Margarito and would be a huge problem for Pacquiao to deal with. I can see Pacquiao getting beaten up in both fights. Arum won’t take that chance to see the gravy train end like that. After Pacquiao beats Margarito, he’ll either fight a rematch with Top Rank fighter Miguel Cotto or possibly fight Mayweather. The Mayweather fight will depend on Pacquiao’s PPV numbers against Margarito.
By Jason Kim: Promoter Dan Goosen bristles at what Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is doing by keeping his fights in house by matching his fighters in his stable against each other rather than looking outside of his small stable for bigger fights that are better for the sport of boxing. Goosen also doesn’t like the idea of Arum matching Manny Pacquiao against Antonio Margarito, because Margarito still doesn’t even have a boxing license after losing it a year ago when a plaster like material was found on his hand wraps before his fight with Shane Mosley.
Goosen, who promotes the lanky 6’1” former welterweight champion Paul Williams, had this to say in an article at the Los Angeles Times: “I’d be a travesty to have Manny Pacquiao fight a guy [Antonio Margarito] whose license has been taken away. That would be hurtful to Manny’s reputation. Manny’s a great man, but there’s a lot of negative sentiment about Margarito and what he did. These are the things that are not good for our sport.” Arum seems to be ignoring the negative feedback that he’s getting about him matching Pacquiao against the disgraced Margarito.
However, this isn’t new to Arum. He took a lot of heat in March when the negotiations between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao failed to result in an agreement. Instead of making the best of things by matching Pacquiao against the next available big star, Arum decided to put Pacquiao in with one of Arum’s fighters from his table Joshua Clottey. Arum still decided to put the fight on pay per view, despite Clottey not being a popular fighter with any real fan base in the United States. What resulted was a disappointing 700,000 PPV buys for the fight, which was half of the numbers that Floyd Mayweather received in his lopsided 12 round decision over Shane Mosley in May.
Mayweather-Mosley brought in 1.4 million buys for their fight. Had Arum matched Pacquiao up against a star instead of one of his least popular fighters from his stable, it would have likely sold at lead 1 million PPV buys instead of only 700,000. Now with Arum choosing the non-popular Margarito, another fighter in his table, as Pacquiao’s next opponent, we could be seeing the same identical numbers as the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.
Goosen had this to say about the chances of the Pacquiao-Margarito fight ending up outside the U.S.:
“How can he [Arum] take this fight against Margarito out of the country, like thieves in the night? Our sport needs to make the biggest and best fights possible, and without Mayweather, Paul Williams is the richest fight for Pacquiao that’s out there.” I agree with Goosen, but I also think Sergio Martinez is right up there with Paul Williams. But I also think Arum will never in this lifetime put Pacquiao in with those two fighters because he would probably lose. Williams and Martinez are better than Margarito and would be a huge problem for Pacquiao to deal with. I can see Pacquiao getting beaten up in both fights. Arum won’t take that chance to see the gravy train end like that. After Pacquiao beats Margarito, he’ll either fight a rematch with Top Rank fighter Miguel Cotto or possibly fight Mayweather. The Mayweather fight will depend on Pacquiao’s PPV numbers against Margarito.
Khan says he wants Maidana next and then the Bradley vs. Alexander winner
By William Mackay: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) now seems to be changing his tune from wanting a fight against WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on December 11th to now talking about wanting to fight WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) next in December, according to boxing news from the 23-year-old Khan’s Twitter page. Khan said this about fighting Maidana: “Looking @ fighting Maidana. Hopefully, Golden Boy Promotions [Khan's promoter] can get the fight in the UK in December 11th, and then go for the winner of Alexander vs. Bradley in the new year.”
Wow, that would be sensational news if Khan is at all serious about wanting to fight Maidana next. Khan has talked about wanting to fight Maidana in the past, but then turned around and fought the light hitting Paulie Malignaggi. After that fight, Khan spoke about wanting to fight Maidana but instead has been linked with a possible fight against the much smaller Marquez. I think that’s a bad fight for Golden Boy to be making because Khan would have a huge advantage in size over Marquez and if he did beat the Mexican star, it would hurt Marquez’s ability to land a big money fight in the future with Pacquiao.
Golden Boy may not realize this, but they need to look at that possibility, because a loss for Marquez to Khan would be just the excuse that Bob Arum would need to continue to avoid having Pacquiao fight Marquez. It’s also much better for Khan to take the fight against Maidana now rather than continuing to put it off seemingly without end. If Khan can beat Maidana decisively, Khan all of a sudden will have won over huge portions of the diehard boxing fans from that win.
Khan will get the casual fans anyway, but the diehard fans that he would be winning over with a victory over Maidana. I’m still not sure that Khan can beat him. Maidana cut off the ring expertly in his last fight against Victor Cayo when he attempted to boxing from the outside, and once Maidana was in close, he battered Cayo and ended up taking him out with a hard body shot. Maidana would be murder if he was able to get in close to Khan and land his short punches. Khan could run for a while, but Maidana would catch up to him sooner or later and test his fragile chin over and over again.
By William Mackay: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) now seems to be changing his tune from wanting a fight against WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on December 11th to now talking about wanting to fight WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) next in December, according to boxing news from the 23-year-old Khan’s Twitter page. Khan said this about fighting Maidana: “Looking @ fighting Maidana. Hopefully, Golden Boy Promotions [Khan's promoter] can get the fight in the UK in December 11th, and then go for the winner of Alexander vs. Bradley in the new year.”
Wow, that would be sensational news if Khan is at all serious about wanting to fight Maidana next. Khan has talked about wanting to fight Maidana in the past, but then turned around and fought the light hitting Paulie Malignaggi. After that fight, Khan spoke about wanting to fight Maidana but instead has been linked with a possible fight against the much smaller Marquez. I think that’s a bad fight for Golden Boy to be making because Khan would have a huge advantage in size over Marquez and if he did beat the Mexican star, it would hurt Marquez’s ability to land a big money fight in the future with Pacquiao.
Golden Boy may not realize this, but they need to look at that possibility, because a loss for Marquez to Khan would be just the excuse that Bob Arum would need to continue to avoid having Pacquiao fight Marquez. It’s also much better for Khan to take the fight against Maidana now rather than continuing to put it off seemingly without end. If Khan can beat Maidana decisively, Khan all of a sudden will have won over huge portions of the diehard boxing fans from that win.
Khan will get the casual fans anyway, but the diehard fans that he would be winning over with a victory over Maidana. I’m still not sure that Khan can beat him. Maidana cut off the ring expertly in his last fight against Victor Cayo when he attempted to boxing from the outside, and once Maidana was in close, he battered Cayo and ended up taking him out with a hard body shot. Maidana would be murder if he was able to get in close to Khan and land his short punches. Khan could run for a while, but Maidana would catch up to him sooner or later and test his fragile chin over and over again.
Pacquiao says he’s achieved more in boxing than Mayweather: Is that true?
By Dan Ambrose: In a recent interview, Manny Pacquiao said that he’s achieved more in boxing career compared to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and doesn’t need him because of that. Is that true? It seems to me that Mayweather has taken on the bigger names for most of his career compared to Pacquiao. In the past year, Pacquiao has beaten Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey, two fighters that Mayweather never took on, but it’s hard to imagine Mayweather having any problems with either of them. Likewise, Mayweather has fought Shane Mosley, and that’s someone that Pacquiao never fought for some reason. I think Pacquiao would beat Mosley now, but I’m not sure about earlier in Mosley’s career when he was fighting at his very best. It would have been a great fight from start to finish.
Pacquiao did fight a prime Erik Morales, but he lost that fight. When he turned around and beat Morales in their two rematches after that bout, Morales was weight drained in both of them. I’m less impressed with Pacquiao’s wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, because he had already been through numerous wars by the time that Pacquiao fought him and clearly wasn’t the same fighter he once was by the time those fights took place.
Mayweather beat prime fighters like Zab Judah, Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales. Pacquiao doesn’t have similar big names unfortunately. Sadly, Pacquiao’s big fights have been tilted in the last part of his career when he fought and beat Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Cotto and Clottey. Those are all good fighters, but Id on’t see tham as being in the same class as a prime Castillo, Judah and Corrales. Mayweather put ona clinic in those fights and really shined. It’s too bad that Pacquiao never fought them because it would have been interesting to see how he would have done.
By Dan Ambrose: In a recent interview, Manny Pacquiao said that he’s achieved more in boxing career compared to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and doesn’t need him because of that. Is that true? It seems to me that Mayweather has taken on the bigger names for most of his career compared to Pacquiao. In the past year, Pacquiao has beaten Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey, two fighters that Mayweather never took on, but it’s hard to imagine Mayweather having any problems with either of them. Likewise, Mayweather has fought Shane Mosley, and that’s someone that Pacquiao never fought for some reason. I think Pacquiao would beat Mosley now, but I’m not sure about earlier in Mosley’s career when he was fighting at his very best. It would have been a great fight from start to finish.
Pacquiao did fight a prime Erik Morales, but he lost that fight. When he turned around and beat Morales in their two rematches after that bout, Morales was weight drained in both of them. I’m less impressed with Pacquiao’s wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, because he had already been through numerous wars by the time that Pacquiao fought him and clearly wasn’t the same fighter he once was by the time those fights took place.
Mayweather beat prime fighters like Zab Judah, Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales. Pacquiao doesn’t have similar big names unfortunately. Sadly, Pacquiao’s big fights have been tilted in the last part of his career when he fought and beat Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Cotto and Clottey. Those are all good fighters, but Id on’t see tham as being in the same class as a prime Castillo, Judah and Corrales. Mayweather put ona clinic in those fights and really shined. It’s too bad that Pacquiao never fought them because it would have been interesting to see how he would have done.
Roach thinks Margarito got too light of a sentence for the handwrap flap
By Jason Kim: Freddie Roach sounds conflicted when discussing Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent Antonio Margarito. Although Roach believes that fighters deserve a second chance, he feels that sometimes they don’t deserve a second chance. In an interview by Gareth Davies at the Telegraph.co.uk, Roach comments on Margarito, saying “I guess he [Margarito] did his time. I guess everyone deserves a second chance but they can’t get away with that against us. It won’t happen in this fight, I can tell you. The Commission gave him a one-year suspension but deep down, you know I’m the kind of person who thinks that if you do something like that, you should be suspended for life…I thought the sentence was light.”
If Roach truly believes that Margarito should have suffered a lifetime suspension, then it begs the question: Why is Roach having Pacquiao fight Margarito then? if Roach has any kind of persuasion with Pacquiao, why not tell him not to take the fight? If that didn’t work, why doesn’t Roach just walk out and refuse to have anything to do with the fight if Pacquiao is going to be fighting Margarito. I think a move like that by Roach might have a big effect on persuading Pacquiao not to take the fight with Margarito. of course, it could also get the opposite reaction with Pacquiao finding another trainer and leaving Roach out in the cold.
But if Roach really felt as strongly about this as he sounds judging by his comments, it would be a very powerful statement if he did walk away from this fight. Margarito’s hand wraps were discovered to have an illegal substance in them before his fight with Shane Mosley last year. Margarito quickly lost his boxing license after the fight with Mosley when the California Athletic Commission suspended Margarito for one year. However, the suspension is still ongoing because Margarito hasn’t been able to get licensed in his attempt’s at getting it back with the Nevada Athletic Commission and the California Athletic Commission.
By Jason Kim: Freddie Roach sounds conflicted when discussing Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent Antonio Margarito. Although Roach believes that fighters deserve a second chance, he feels that sometimes they don’t deserve a second chance. In an interview by Gareth Davies at the Telegraph.co.uk, Roach comments on Margarito, saying “I guess he [Margarito] did his time. I guess everyone deserves a second chance but they can’t get away with that against us. It won’t happen in this fight, I can tell you. The Commission gave him a one-year suspension but deep down, you know I’m the kind of person who thinks that if you do something like that, you should be suspended for life…I thought the sentence was light.”
If Roach truly believes that Margarito should have suffered a lifetime suspension, then it begs the question: Why is Roach having Pacquiao fight Margarito then? if Roach has any kind of persuasion with Pacquiao, why not tell him not to take the fight? If that didn’t work, why doesn’t Roach just walk out and refuse to have anything to do with the fight if Pacquiao is going to be fighting Margarito. I think a move like that by Roach might have a big effect on persuading Pacquiao not to take the fight with Margarito. of course, it could also get the opposite reaction with Pacquiao finding another trainer and leaving Roach out in the cold.
But if Roach really felt as strongly about this as he sounds judging by his comments, it would be a very powerful statement if he did walk away from this fight. Margarito’s hand wraps were discovered to have an illegal substance in them before his fight with Shane Mosley last year. Margarito quickly lost his boxing license after the fight with Mosley when the California Athletic Commission suspended Margarito for one year. However, the suspension is still ongoing because Margarito hasn’t been able to get licensed in his attempt’s at getting it back with the Nevada Athletic Commission and the California Athletic Commission.
Can the cruiserweight Super Six succeed?
By William Mackay: Promotional company Sauerland Events is interested in putting together a cruiserweight Super Six tournament with the similar idea as Showtime’s Super Six tournament for super middleweights. In this case, Sauerland is picking the cruiserweight division, one of the weakest in all of boxing to showcase six lucky fighters. The fighters that have been mentioned for the tournament are as follows: Danny Green, Steve Cunningham, Enzo Maccarinelli, Krsysztof Wlodarczyk, Marco Huck and Yoan Pablo Hernandez. I’m not sure this will work as well as the existing Super Six tournament because there’s only one American involved rather than two. I noticed that there are two German based fighters in Sauerland’s proposed cruiserweight tournament with Huck and Hernandez.
This will obviously help out those two fighters back at home in Germany, but I don’t this will be nearly as popular as the super middleweight version because of the missing American. Also, Hernandez, Wlodarczyk, and Maccarinelli are all flawed fighters who stand very little chance of winning the tournament. But more importantly, they’ll likely get dominated by the likes of Green, Cunningham and Huck. I can see some of those fighters, probably Maccarinelli and Hernandez, having to drop out of the tournament due to suffering consecutive knockout defeats. Losing one fighter can have a huge impact on a tournament, but losing two of them will cause the whole thing to become rather silly.
I think if they’re going to use Maccarinelli and Wlodarczyk, then they need some reliable backup fighters that can be called up in an instant to take their place in the tournament so that boxing fans don’t lose interest when they see one fighter after another having to drop out due to the suffering of bad concussions. I’d much rather see Denis Lebedev in the tournament in place of Maccarinelli, whom he already knocked out, and Steve Herelius in place of Hernandez. I’d use either Ola Afolabi or Victor Ramirez in place of Wlodarczyk. Those guys can punch and it would be more interesting with sluggers rather than boxers.
By William Mackay: Promotional company Sauerland Events is interested in putting together a cruiserweight Super Six tournament with the similar idea as Showtime’s Super Six tournament for super middleweights. In this case, Sauerland is picking the cruiserweight division, one of the weakest in all of boxing to showcase six lucky fighters. The fighters that have been mentioned for the tournament are as follows: Danny Green, Steve Cunningham, Enzo Maccarinelli, Krsysztof Wlodarczyk, Marco Huck and Yoan Pablo Hernandez. I’m not sure this will work as well as the existing Super Six tournament because there’s only one American involved rather than two. I noticed that there are two German based fighters in Sauerland’s proposed cruiserweight tournament with Huck and Hernandez.
This will obviously help out those two fighters back at home in Germany, but I don’t this will be nearly as popular as the super middleweight version because of the missing American. Also, Hernandez, Wlodarczyk, and Maccarinelli are all flawed fighters who stand very little chance of winning the tournament. But more importantly, they’ll likely get dominated by the likes of Green, Cunningham and Huck. I can see some of those fighters, probably Maccarinelli and Hernandez, having to drop out of the tournament due to suffering consecutive knockout defeats. Losing one fighter can have a huge impact on a tournament, but losing two of them will cause the whole thing to become rather silly.
I think if they’re going to use Maccarinelli and Wlodarczyk, then they need some reliable backup fighters that can be called up in an instant to take their place in the tournament so that boxing fans don’t lose interest when they see one fighter after another having to drop out due to the suffering of bad concussions. I’d much rather see Denis Lebedev in the tournament in place of Maccarinelli, whom he already knocked out, and Steve Herelius in place of Hernandez. I’d use either Ola Afolabi or Victor Ramirez in place of Wlodarczyk. Those guys can punch and it would be more interesting with sluggers rather than boxers.
Arum thinks Pacquiao-Margarito can draw 70,000 fans in the Cowboy Stadium
By Chris Williams: Promoter Bob Arum thinks the November 13th bout between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito can bring in 70,000 boxing fans to see this fight at the Cowboy Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. In an article at the Dallas news, Arum says “I think we could look to do 70,000 people. [Joshua] Clottey had no fan base. Margarito has a huge fan base of Mexican-Americans.” I don’t know about that. I agree with Arum about Clottey having no fan base, which makes it seem all the crazier that Arum selected Clottey as Pacquiao’s last opponent last March rather than opting to fight a much more popular fighter than him. But that’s beside the point. I think Arum has picked another Clottey-type opponent with 32-year-old Margarito, a fighter who still doesn’t even have a boxing license to fight in the United States.
That may or may not be taken care of by the Texas Athletic Commission now that Margarito has applied to them. But as far as numbers go, I really don’t see this as an attractive fight that boxing fans will be willing to travel great distances to see. Unless Arum is expecting to pull in 50,000 to 60,000 Mexican fans from the nearby area just to see Margarito fight, I think the fight may end up doing worse than the Clottey fight. At the most, I think it might bring in 50,000 but that would take a ton of marketing to make it possible.
Things aren’t helped that Margarito still doesn’t have his boxing license and Arum can’t even begin to market the fight until that happens. Margarito has been turned down by the California and Nevada Athletic Commissions already in his attempt to get a boxing license, but Arum seems to think that the Texas will grant him his license.
One advantage that Margarito has is there won’t be a meeting between him and the Commission. They won’t grill him, in other words. In Texas, the Commission doesn’t meet with the fighters and just decide on the application without any face to face meeting. That’s obviously a good thing for Margarito, because sometimes when you get a group of people together, they can gang up on a person and work him over.
But if Margarito does get his license to fight in Texas, I still have my doubts about whether Arum made the right decision in picking Margarito out as Pacquiao’s next opponent rather than a more popular fighter. Arum has the advantage in that Pacquiao is one of the most popular boxers in the world. Arum can pretty much match him against anyone and he’ll end up doing really well on the fight. But if Arum matches him against one of his own Top Rank fighters, he does even better by serving both of his fighters without having to negotiate with another promoter.
But you have to wonder whether a Pacquiao vs. Margarito bout will bring in the kind of numbers that Arum thinks it will. 70,000 fans is a lot of people to come and see what many boxing fans already see as a gross mismatch. At least when Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto last year, a lot of people thought Cotto had a chance to win. I don’t know of anyone that thinks that Margarito will win. Arum is expecting people to pay a lot of money by traveling all the way to Texas to see a fight that may not last more than five or six rounds.
I think this isn’t the fight opponent for Arum to get the kinds of numbers that he’s talking about, and the location isn’t a desirable one. Maybe it is for Margarito’s Mexican fans, but I think Arum is overestimating how popular Margarito is. He’s not as popular as Juan Manuel Marquez, that’s for sure. That’s someone that Arum could be matching against Pacquiao in this fight but chooses not to, saying that Marquez has to prove himself by beating Clottey or Andre Berto before he’ll allow Pacquiao to fight him.
By Chris Williams: Promoter Bob Arum thinks the November 13th bout between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito can bring in 70,000 boxing fans to see this fight at the Cowboy Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. In an article at the Dallas news, Arum says “I think we could look to do 70,000 people. [Joshua] Clottey had no fan base. Margarito has a huge fan base of Mexican-Americans.” I don’t know about that. I agree with Arum about Clottey having no fan base, which makes it seem all the crazier that Arum selected Clottey as Pacquiao’s last opponent last March rather than opting to fight a much more popular fighter than him. But that’s beside the point. I think Arum has picked another Clottey-type opponent with 32-year-old Margarito, a fighter who still doesn’t even have a boxing license to fight in the United States.
That may or may not be taken care of by the Texas Athletic Commission now that Margarito has applied to them. But as far as numbers go, I really don’t see this as an attractive fight that boxing fans will be willing to travel great distances to see. Unless Arum is expecting to pull in 50,000 to 60,000 Mexican fans from the nearby area just to see Margarito fight, I think the fight may end up doing worse than the Clottey fight. At the most, I think it might bring in 50,000 but that would take a ton of marketing to make it possible.
Things aren’t helped that Margarito still doesn’t have his boxing license and Arum can’t even begin to market the fight until that happens. Margarito has been turned down by the California and Nevada Athletic Commissions already in his attempt to get a boxing license, but Arum seems to think that the Texas will grant him his license.
One advantage that Margarito has is there won’t be a meeting between him and the Commission. They won’t grill him, in other words. In Texas, the Commission doesn’t meet with the fighters and just decide on the application without any face to face meeting. That’s obviously a good thing for Margarito, because sometimes when you get a group of people together, they can gang up on a person and work him over.
But if Margarito does get his license to fight in Texas, I still have my doubts about whether Arum made the right decision in picking Margarito out as Pacquiao’s next opponent rather than a more popular fighter. Arum has the advantage in that Pacquiao is one of the most popular boxers in the world. Arum can pretty much match him against anyone and he’ll end up doing really well on the fight. But if Arum matches him against one of his own Top Rank fighters, he does even better by serving both of his fighters without having to negotiate with another promoter.
But you have to wonder whether a Pacquiao vs. Margarito bout will bring in the kind of numbers that Arum thinks it will. 70,000 fans is a lot of people to come and see what many boxing fans already see as a gross mismatch. At least when Pacquiao fought Miguel Cotto last year, a lot of people thought Cotto had a chance to win. I don’t know of anyone that thinks that Margarito will win. Arum is expecting people to pay a lot of money by traveling all the way to Texas to see a fight that may not last more than five or six rounds.
I think this isn’t the fight opponent for Arum to get the kinds of numbers that he’s talking about, and the location isn’t a desirable one. Maybe it is for Margarito’s Mexican fans, but I think Arum is overestimating how popular Margarito is. He’s not as popular as Juan Manuel Marquez, that’s for sure. That’s someone that Arum could be matching against Pacquiao in this fight but chooses not to, saying that Marquez has to prove himself by beating Clottey or Andre Berto before he’ll allow Pacquiao to fight him.
Roach thinks Khan can beat Bradley, Alexander and Maidana
By William Mackay: You can usually expect a trainer to have a certain amount of loyalty and confidence about his or her particular fighters, but trainer Freddie Roach’s confidence toward his fighter World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) borders on the extreme.
Despite Khan having very little experience against truly top quality opposition at light welterweight, Roach already believes that Khan can beat all of the top three light welterweights in the boxing.
Roach seems to be forgetting Khan’s 1st round knockout loss to Colombian Breidis Prescott in 2008, a fight in which Khan was staggered with a jab in the opening seconds and taken quickly with a series of left hooks to the head that left Khan a pile of jelly on the canvas.
It’s no secret that Khan never attempted to avenge that knockout loss, and once Prescott was beaten by a couple of fighters, he was deemed an unworthy opponent for Khan. In an article by Gareth Davies at the Telegraph.co.uK, Roach says “Amir is ready to take any one of those guys – Maidana, Bradley or Alexander. I really don’t care which one it is. I’ve been watching them all recently, and it doesn’t really matter which one they put him in with. Amir is clearly the best one out there.”
I wonder if Roach is seeing Alexander, Maidana and Bradley as fighters that his best pupil Manny Pacquiao would destroy, and has things mixed up his head about which fighter he’s talking about.
Khan hasn’t beaten anyone that would leave you to believe that he could beat any of those three, let alone all three like Roach thinks. It would be nice if Khan would actually start fighting one of them so Roach can look like a genius as fast as possible.
However, Khan isn’t looking to fight any one of them, despite Roach’s talk. Khan is gunning for 37-year-old lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez, who is three inches shorter than Khan and a heck of a lot older.
A lot of boxing fans see this as a cherry picking move on Khan and Golden Boy Promotions part, because Marquez isn’t a light welterweight and has already been proven to be too small when he attempted to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a 143 pound catch weight.
Khan already fought Paulie Malignaggi, a light hitting former IBF light welterweight champion, in his last fight in May. Fans were hoping that Khan would start fighting quality fighters in his own division after that fight, and not smaller fighters that Khan has a huge size and youth advantage against.
Never the less, Khan is looking to fight Marquez next regardless of the criticism that’s been heaped on his head by fans and some writers. One can only hope that once this fight is out of the way, Khan is finally going to be matched against those three fighters – Alexander, Bradley and Maidana – that Roach seems to think Khan can beat.
By William Mackay: You can usually expect a trainer to have a certain amount of loyalty and confidence about his or her particular fighters, but trainer Freddie Roach’s confidence toward his fighter World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) borders on the extreme.
Despite Khan having very little experience against truly top quality opposition at light welterweight, Roach already believes that Khan can beat all of the top three light welterweights in the boxing.
Roach seems to be forgetting Khan’s 1st round knockout loss to Colombian Breidis Prescott in 2008, a fight in which Khan was staggered with a jab in the opening seconds and taken quickly with a series of left hooks to the head that left Khan a pile of jelly on the canvas.
It’s no secret that Khan never attempted to avenge that knockout loss, and once Prescott was beaten by a couple of fighters, he was deemed an unworthy opponent for Khan. In an article by Gareth Davies at the Telegraph.co.uK, Roach says “Amir is ready to take any one of those guys – Maidana, Bradley or Alexander. I really don’t care which one it is. I’ve been watching them all recently, and it doesn’t really matter which one they put him in with. Amir is clearly the best one out there.”
I wonder if Roach is seeing Alexander, Maidana and Bradley as fighters that his best pupil Manny Pacquiao would destroy, and has things mixed up his head about which fighter he’s talking about.
Khan hasn’t beaten anyone that would leave you to believe that he could beat any of those three, let alone all three like Roach thinks. It would be nice if Khan would actually start fighting one of them so Roach can look like a genius as fast as possible.
However, Khan isn’t looking to fight any one of them, despite Roach’s talk. Khan is gunning for 37-year-old lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez, who is three inches shorter than Khan and a heck of a lot older.
A lot of boxing fans see this as a cherry picking move on Khan and Golden Boy Promotions part, because Marquez isn’t a light welterweight and has already been proven to be too small when he attempted to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a 143 pound catch weight.
Khan already fought Paulie Malignaggi, a light hitting former IBF light welterweight champion, in his last fight in May. Fans were hoping that Khan would start fighting quality fighters in his own division after that fight, and not smaller fighters that Khan has a huge size and youth advantage against.
Never the less, Khan is looking to fight Marquez next regardless of the criticism that’s been heaped on his head by fans and some writers. One can only hope that once this fight is out of the way, Khan is finally going to be matched against those three fighters – Alexander, Bradley and Maidana – that Roach seems to think Khan can beat.
Cunningham: Alexander, Bradley Deserve More Than Khan
By Ryan Burton
WBC/IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander's manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham has yet to receive a proposal for the anticipated January 29th unification clash between Alexander and Tim Bradley. "Devon will be ready to go for January 29th. We are waiting for Don King to present us with an offer," said Cunningham.
When WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan fought Paulie Malignaggi in May it was reported tha Khan made 1.1 million for that fight. Cunningham told BoxingScene - "Devon and Tim both deserve more than what Khan received for the Malignaggi fight. This is the most highly anticipated fight besides Mayweather-Pacquiao. I think they know they need to come correct with their offer."
Cunningham said that Alexander can continue to do good attendance figures in St. Louis but that Alexander is willing to go on the road and fight Bradley at a neutral venue. "If they decide a different venue is more lucrative then let's do it."
By Ryan Burton
WBC/IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander's manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham has yet to receive a proposal for the anticipated January 29th unification clash between Alexander and Tim Bradley. "Devon will be ready to go for January 29th. We are waiting for Don King to present us with an offer," said Cunningham.
When WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan fought Paulie Malignaggi in May it was reported tha Khan made 1.1 million for that fight. Cunningham told BoxingScene - "Devon and Tim both deserve more than what Khan received for the Malignaggi fight. This is the most highly anticipated fight besides Mayweather-Pacquiao. I think they know they need to come correct with their offer."
Cunningham said that Alexander can continue to do good attendance figures in St. Louis but that Alexander is willing to go on the road and fight Bradley at a neutral venue. "If they decide a different venue is more lucrative then let's do it."
Nevada Craps Out, Texas Grabs Pacquiao-Margarito Cash
By Michael Marley
Old pal Kevin Iole, over at Yahoo.com, wrote about how financially ravaged California threw money out the window in preparing for and holding that six hour State Athletic Commission hearing on the boxing license application of Antonio Margarito.
No doubt, the state ran up a big tab, shouldered completely by taxpayers, in its more than thorough examination of the Mexican boxer's situation.
But at least the CSAC was trying to establish a standard and send a message to any other fighter or trainer tempted to alter handwraps or gloves to gain an advantage during a bout.
Led by attorney Karen Chappelle, the Attorney General's office boxed the ears off Hollywood hotshot Daniel Petrocelli.
If Petrocelli KO'd Oj Simpson in that civil case, Chappelle was the victor on this matter.
If you were scoring at home, there were a couple of knockdown rounds which you had to score 10-8 in favor of the lawyer who Arum had previously compared (to her face) to a Nazi storm trooper.
Uncle Bob likes to exaggerate.
One has to wonder whether Arum will stick with Petrocelli and his firm, O'Melveny & Myers, as Manny Pacquiao's defamation case moves towards a possible trial.
Suffice to say, the huge, powerful law firm won't be highlight Margarito's result on its website.
Maybe Petrocelli will fare better in a courtroom than he did in front of the state boxing board.
Petrocelli, who had to be paid a seven figure fee by promoter Bob Arum, should've thrown in the towel long before the day of the hearing.
It was a crucial mistake for Margarito to stick to his story that he didn't know the handwraps (knuckle inserts) were tampered with.
Instead of every saying guilty as charged, Margarito stayed with guilty, I suppose, with an explanation, that being that evil trainer Javier Capetillo was acting without his knowledge or acquiescence.
The world and five of the six commissioners wanted Margarito to impale himself, to say I knew it was wrong then and I know it's wrong now and it won't happen again.
The world and five of the six wanted to hear the Tijuana scrapper apologize to his near victim, Sugar Shane Mosley, but he never did.
In fact, much of the time Margarito spoke, it came across as the old song, "I'm sorry, so sorry, that I or we got caught."
But I disgress. I zigged when I should've zagged.
Now Arum has Texas rubber stamping Margarito's application for $20.
Such a bargain!
So California holds its boxing banner high and Texas ignores it.
But what I really want to know is when Nevada became morally superior, at least in terms of boxing, than Texas?
The four Nevada boxing board members who voted to table Margarito's application and directed him back to California must take this one on the chin.
I'm not saying Manny Pacquiao-Margarito is any wonderful event but if it's held in Arlington, Tx., and not on The Strip, then the NSAC, with the exception of Chairperson Pat Lundvall, is responsible.
Their job is to bring big fights to the state, not to send them elsewhere.
As I recall, Nevada could have easily given Margarito a one off - meaning a single bout license - more or less a probation style ticket to fight Pacman.
Then, after that bout, Nevada could have reviewed Margarito's conduct.
Nevada is in similar, if not worse, money straits than California especially with all the home foreclosures in formerly booming Las Vegas.
Texas is grabbing the money but only because the NSAC rolled snake eyes.
Those hotel maids, those bartenders, those Vegas cab drivers, I am sure they all feel great knowing that their city and their state is the moral superior of Texas, at least in terms of who is allowed to commit legally permitted and sanctioned assault with boxing gloves.
I just don't think any of those working stiffs can spend that feeling.
But the four fat cats on the NSAC don't give a hoot, do they?
By Michael Marley
Old pal Kevin Iole, over at Yahoo.com, wrote about how financially ravaged California threw money out the window in preparing for and holding that six hour State Athletic Commission hearing on the boxing license application of Antonio Margarito.
No doubt, the state ran up a big tab, shouldered completely by taxpayers, in its more than thorough examination of the Mexican boxer's situation.
But at least the CSAC was trying to establish a standard and send a message to any other fighter or trainer tempted to alter handwraps or gloves to gain an advantage during a bout.
Led by attorney Karen Chappelle, the Attorney General's office boxed the ears off Hollywood hotshot Daniel Petrocelli.
If Petrocelli KO'd Oj Simpson in that civil case, Chappelle was the victor on this matter.
If you were scoring at home, there were a couple of knockdown rounds which you had to score 10-8 in favor of the lawyer who Arum had previously compared (to her face) to a Nazi storm trooper.
Uncle Bob likes to exaggerate.
One has to wonder whether Arum will stick with Petrocelli and his firm, O'Melveny & Myers, as Manny Pacquiao's defamation case moves towards a possible trial.
Suffice to say, the huge, powerful law firm won't be highlight Margarito's result on its website.
Maybe Petrocelli will fare better in a courtroom than he did in front of the state boxing board.
Petrocelli, who had to be paid a seven figure fee by promoter Bob Arum, should've thrown in the towel long before the day of the hearing.
It was a crucial mistake for Margarito to stick to his story that he didn't know the handwraps (knuckle inserts) were tampered with.
Instead of every saying guilty as charged, Margarito stayed with guilty, I suppose, with an explanation, that being that evil trainer Javier Capetillo was acting without his knowledge or acquiescence.
The world and five of the six commissioners wanted Margarito to impale himself, to say I knew it was wrong then and I know it's wrong now and it won't happen again.
The world and five of the six wanted to hear the Tijuana scrapper apologize to his near victim, Sugar Shane Mosley, but he never did.
In fact, much of the time Margarito spoke, it came across as the old song, "I'm sorry, so sorry, that I or we got caught."
But I disgress. I zigged when I should've zagged.
Now Arum has Texas rubber stamping Margarito's application for $20.
Such a bargain!
So California holds its boxing banner high and Texas ignores it.
But what I really want to know is when Nevada became morally superior, at least in terms of boxing, than Texas?
The four Nevada boxing board members who voted to table Margarito's application and directed him back to California must take this one on the chin.
I'm not saying Manny Pacquiao-Margarito is any wonderful event but if it's held in Arlington, Tx., and not on The Strip, then the NSAC, with the exception of Chairperson Pat Lundvall, is responsible.
Their job is to bring big fights to the state, not to send them elsewhere.
As I recall, Nevada could have easily given Margarito a one off - meaning a single bout license - more or less a probation style ticket to fight Pacman.
Then, after that bout, Nevada could have reviewed Margarito's conduct.
Nevada is in similar, if not worse, money straits than California especially with all the home foreclosures in formerly booming Las Vegas.
Texas is grabbing the money but only because the NSAC rolled snake eyes.
Those hotel maids, those bartenders, those Vegas cab drivers, I am sure they all feel great knowing that their city and their state is the moral superior of Texas, at least in terms of who is allowed to commit legally permitted and sanctioned assault with boxing gloves.
I just don't think any of those working stiffs can spend that feeling.
But the four fat cats on the NSAC don't give a hoot, do they?
HBO Brush Aside Kotelnik: Eye Maidana, Jones For Berto
By Rick Reeno
According to promoter Don King, HBO is brushing aside Andriy Kotelnik as a possible opponent for WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, and instead pushing for either WBA interim 140-pound champion Marcos Maidana or unbeaten 147-pound contender Mike Jones to land the slot.
Berto was scheduled to return on October 2, but because HBO is against going head to head with the baseball playoffs, and Berto's opponent has yet to be finalized - the return will likely get pushed to a date in November.
"Kotelnik is ready to go with Berto, but I believe he got turned down by the matchmaking of HBO. I can't believe it. I really can't believe it. He just put on a tremendous performance in St. Louis. He's the man to go out there and beat Berto, and he'll beat Berto," King told BoxingScene.com.
"He will be full fledged welterweight by the time they fight. He's be stronger and because of their two styles of fighting, Kotelnik will beat Berto."
Based on Maidana's past history with HBO fights, King is very surprised with the network's enthusiasm to see him in a Berto fight. HBO's push is irrelevant because Maidana turned down the opportunity to fight Berto.
"Maidana already turned it down. Here is a guy who stood up Devon [Alexander] twice. He stood up Gary Shaw [for Tim Bradley] twice. This guy is a piece of work. He turned down four matches. Two with me and two with Shaw and [HBO] still keep trying to put him on," King said.
"Now you have a guy like Kotelnik who will fight Berto, and they question it and say they are looking for somebody else, like Mike Jones in Philadelphia. Mike Jones can't touch Kotelnik. What they are doing is like a dog with a bone. They are dangling the bone out there. They haven't completley said no, but they have because they are shuffling everywhere. In this boxing business, there ain't no secrets. No matter you do.....whatever is in the dark it's going to come to light. We know what's going on," King said.
BoxingScene spoke with a source in the Berto camp, who said the fight with Jones doesn't make any sense with the WBC ordering a mandatory defense against Selcuk Aydin. In other words, Berto's team view Jones as no bigger of a name than Aydin, and if those are the two final choices on the table, they would rather go with Aydin. But, HBO is not exactly keen on televising Berto vs. Aydin.
"Would you let your fighter get stripped for a fight with Mike Jones?," the source told BoxingScene
By Rick Reeno
According to promoter Don King, HBO is brushing aside Andriy Kotelnik as a possible opponent for WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, and instead pushing for either WBA interim 140-pound champion Marcos Maidana or unbeaten 147-pound contender Mike Jones to land the slot.
Berto was scheduled to return on October 2, but because HBO is against going head to head with the baseball playoffs, and Berto's opponent has yet to be finalized - the return will likely get pushed to a date in November.
"Kotelnik is ready to go with Berto, but I believe he got turned down by the matchmaking of HBO. I can't believe it. I really can't believe it. He just put on a tremendous performance in St. Louis. He's the man to go out there and beat Berto, and he'll beat Berto," King told BoxingScene.com.
"He will be full fledged welterweight by the time they fight. He's be stronger and because of their two styles of fighting, Kotelnik will beat Berto."
Based on Maidana's past history with HBO fights, King is very surprised with the network's enthusiasm to see him in a Berto fight. HBO's push is irrelevant because Maidana turned down the opportunity to fight Berto.
"Maidana already turned it down. Here is a guy who stood up Devon [Alexander] twice. He stood up Gary Shaw [for Tim Bradley] twice. This guy is a piece of work. He turned down four matches. Two with me and two with Shaw and [HBO] still keep trying to put him on," King said.
"Now you have a guy like Kotelnik who will fight Berto, and they question it and say they are looking for somebody else, like Mike Jones in Philadelphia. Mike Jones can't touch Kotelnik. What they are doing is like a dog with a bone. They are dangling the bone out there. They haven't completley said no, but they have because they are shuffling everywhere. In this boxing business, there ain't no secrets. No matter you do.....whatever is in the dark it's going to come to light. We know what's going on," King said.
BoxingScene spoke with a source in the Berto camp, who said the fight with Jones doesn't make any sense with the WBC ordering a mandatory defense against Selcuk Aydin. In other words, Berto's team view Jones as no bigger of a name than Aydin, and if those are the two final choices on the table, they would rather go with Aydin. But, HBO is not exactly keen on televising Berto vs. Aydin.
"Would you let your fighter get stripped for a fight with Mike Jones?," the source told BoxingScene
I've said it numerous times, I don't want to see a Pacquiao fight. If this fight happens, it'll see Marquez moving up to 140+, which is a place he has no business being. Sure, I'd love to see the fight, but Manny's moved up to a place that's too detrimental to Juan Manuel's size/skill set. He's slower and flat footed at the higher weight, as shown with the Mayweather fight.
I'd like this Katsidis fight, then with a victory, maybe Kahn?
I'd like this Katsidis fight, then with a victory, maybe Kahn?