Boxing News Thread

[Coach E. No]

Like I said, I think if you have to work THAT hard to stay close to that weight so it's not so damn hard to make it for a fight, that's not really "natural." I think your walk around weight is more of your natural weight personally unless you're Ricky Hatton and you blow up between fights. I met Pavlik too and he looked healthy, but he was in the midst of a layoff and had just signed for the Martinez fight and had just recently started training again. No way he was close to 160 though. That was his best weight as a fighter but that's not his natural weight, that was just the weight he was the most effective.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

So basically no fighter really fights at their "natural" weight (defined as when they aren't training) besides a few guys like Rigondeaux and Pacquiao for example. And since Hopkins trained year round for 20 years it's not really natural he just stays in great shape forever.

 

[Coach E. No]

Honestly, I think there's only a few guys that fight at their natural weights that aren't heavyweights. That's really just the way it's become with weigh in's being a day prior. If guys were fighting at their natural weights more often, they wouldn't be putting on 10 to 17 lbs overnight.

BHOP didn't have to put on a ton of muscle to move up 15lbs for instance and doesn't look fat. Erik Morales moves up from 130 to 140 and looks really fat even though he was super tall for 122-130 where he fought most of his career.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Morales used to cut hella fucking weight back then. He just got older and couldn't do it anymore. I don't think normal men weigh 122 pounds or less in the modern era, besides a couple of truly tiny guys like Rigondeaux. Then you get to those 105/108 weight classes lol all these dudes weigh 140 pounds when they aren't fighting its crazy!

People used to cut weight back in the day too with the same say weigh in, so medically it's just not safe (fighting dehydrated).

Because of that I'm with HERESY and everyone else who believes they need to get rid of some of the weight classes it becomes pointless almost since no one is fighting at their real weight, especially the lower weights there are such small differences 115/118/122/126 its a few pounds only it's ridiculous!

And then it goes 175 light Heavyweight to cruiserweight which is 176-200. How does that make sense lol. They need to modernize everything make Heavyweight 205+ and work your way down, I'd say no more than 10 weight classes.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Isn't 205 pounds light Heavyweight in UFC? Something like that? UFC had the benefit of creating modernized weight classes whereas boxing has had these weight classes for so long it's kinda set in stone in old ways.

 

[heyzel]

Schaefer says a Mayweather-Khan fight will take place in the future
February 25th, 2014 | Post Comment - 61 Comments
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Mayweather Khan Mayweather vs. Khan floyd mayweather jr amir khan By Scott Gilfoid: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he spoke to Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a recent Los Angeles Lakers game the other night, and he said that he does plan on fighting Amir Khan in the near future but just not this time. Mayweather passed Khan up for this fight by choosing Marcos Maidana for his May 3rd fight. For Khan to get a fight with Mayweather, he’s obviously going to have to pick up a decent win or two and stop losing each time he steps up against a good opponent.

“I saw Floyd on Monday night at the Los Angeles Lakers basketball game and he was telling me, ‘tell Amir that it’s not going to happen now, but it will happen,’” Schaefer said to Sky Sports.

So there it is. Khan has been acting like it’s the end of the world just because he didn’t get the fight with Mayweather for May 3rd, but he’s still going to get a fight against him. Khan just needs to keep quiet and start fighting again. The guy wasted a year of his career sitting around waiting for Mayweather to gift him a fight, and he’s got nothing to show for the entire year. You can’t expect Khan to be as sharp as he was before with him coming off of that kind of layoff. As it is, Khan looked terrible in his last four fights against Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz. I don’t expect Khan to be a better fighter now that he’s thrown away a year of his career.

Just because Mayweather said he’ll throw Khan a bone it doesn’t mean he’ll fight him. Like I said, Khan is going to need to beat someone good and he can’t continue to fight stiffs if he wants the Mayweather fight. If Golden Boy Promotions puts Khan in with someone halfway decent, I think Khan will lose. If they put him back in with Lamont Peterson, Khan will likely get knocked out this time unless he pulls the same head-pulling and shoving tricks that he did in their fight in 2011. If Khan fights Shawn Porter, then I can see him getting beaten up on the inside by Porter and possibly stopped. Khan also said he wants to fight Adrien Broner.

Well, I don’t see Golden Boy letting that fight happen, because they probably don’t want to get in a situation where they lose no matter who comes out on top in this fight. Golden Boy obviously want Khan or Broner to lose, because that doesn’t help them out. Those are two of Golden Boy’s top fighters in terms of popularity, and they’re not going to let them fight.

Read more at Schaefer says a Mayweather-Khan fight will take place in the future

 

[heyzel]

Broner vs. Collazo possible for Mayweather-Maidana undercard on May 3rd
February 25th, 2014 | Post Comment - 104 Comments
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By Allan Fox: “Little Mayweather,” Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) vs. former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KO’s) is possible for the May 3rd undercard headlined by Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana on Showtime pay-per-view. Broner asked his fans on his twitter if he should fight on the undercard, and he obviously was looking for some kind of interest.

Broner had been hoping to face Maidana in a rematch to avenge his loss to him from last December, but Maidana chose the more lucrative fight with Mayweather. Broner and Maidana could still end up fighting later this year with or without Maidana’s WBA 147 lb title. Whether Maidana has the WBA title or not, Broner needs to face him and try to avenge his loss so that he can erase the loss and show that he’s still the future of boxing like he’d been talking about.

Collazo is the perfect opponent for Broner, because he’s coming off of a big 2nd round TKO win over former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz from last January. Collazo nailed Ortiz with a big hook that hurt him. Collazo then finished him Ortiz with a couple of shots after Ortiz turned his back on him. That was by far the biggest win for the 32-year-old Collazo since his victory over Jose Antonio Rivera in 2005 to capture the WBA welterweight title. Collazo was robbed in fights against Ricky Hatton and Andre Berto in losing fights that he appeared to win.

Broner can’t afford a loss to Collazo, and he’s going to have to look much better than he did against Maidana and in his fight against Paulie Malignaggi. Collazo can punch a little, and he might be a better inside fighter than Broner. If Broner thinks this is going to be an easy fihgt, he could be sadly mistaken because Collazo is still a dangerous fighter, as we saw in the Ortiz bout.


Adrien Broner ✔ A @adri enBroner
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Do y'all think I should fight on my big bro @FloydMayweather card or nah?
Read more at Broner vs. Collazo possible for Mayweather-Maidana undercard on May 3rd

 

[Coach E. No]

Yeah, I agree with the weight class thing. There are 18 right now from 105-200. I can see where they got the idea because percentage wise, 118-122 is as much of a jump as 130-135. In recent history, 130-135 has been a pretty big jump and so has 135-140. Look at guys like Hatton who went from being a beast at 140 and sucked at 147. I don't know where the medium would be. 5 lbs between weightclasses? 7lbs? 10 lbs? In a lot of ways, we lose a lot of great matchups. Like Segura vs. Calderon likely never would've happened or had the significance were it not for the 108 weightclass for instance, being only 3 lbs above minimum weight.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Just get rid of the 105 division what are they Jockeys? Lol I dunno I'd start with the original 8 weight classes and add two more somewhere

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I think the weight classes should be like the current amatuer divisions, there are 11 divisions total. I would just call "heavyweight" Cruiserweight" and "Super heavyweight" Heavyweight and move it to 205 pounds. You can also modify it slight so instead of 119 pounds it's 120. Instead of 141 it's 140. Instead of 152 it's 154.

Amateur Weight Divisions

*** Light Flyweight: up to 106 pounds
*** Flyweight: 112
*** Bantamweight: 119
*** Featherweight: 125
*** Lightweight: 132
*** Light Welterweight: 141
*** Welterweight: 152
*** Middleweight: 165
*** Light Heavyweight: 178
*** Heavyweight: 201
*** Super Heavyweight: over 201



Here are the Original 8 pro divisions:

*** Flyweight: 8 st (50,802 Kg / 112 lbs)
*** Bantamweight: 8 st 6 lbs (53,525 kg / 118 lbs)
*** Featherweight: 9 st (57,153 kg / 126 lbs)
*** Lightweight: 9 st 9 lbs (61,235 kg / 135 lbs)
*** Welterweight: 10½ st (66,678 kg / 147 lbs)
*** Middleweight: 11 st 6 lbs (72,574 kg / 160 lbs)
*** Light Heavyweight: 12½ st (79,378 kg / 175 lbs)
*** Heavyweight: (unlimited)

 

[heyzel]

Canelo says he’s learned from his loss to Mayweather
February 26th, 2014 | Post Comment - 5 Comments
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Canelo Angulo Canelo vs. Angulo saul alvarez alfredo angulo (Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” ALvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) is still talking about his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. as being a gift to him because of the things that he learned in the loss.

What those things are is unknown, but Canelo is telling everyone that will listen that it was a great learning experience for him to get beaten by Mayweather last September. We’ll see if that’s true when Canelo fights Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) next month on March 8th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

“I learned a lot from the Mayweather fight, not only physically, but mentally. It was a great learning experience…I’ve been applying everything I learned into this camp and trying to refine some of the things I do.”

I don’t see how Canelo can learn from the loss to Mayweather, because the things that Canelo had problems with in that fight, such as his flat-footed stance, his lack of hand speed and his poor stamina, are things that aren’t going to be changed no matter what Canelo does to try and change them. He’s never going to have great conditioning, and he’ll always have average hand speed and his flat-footed stance. Canelo is physically constrained to the fighting style that he has now and it’s not something that can be changed by Canelo mentally thinking through them.

The good news is that Canelo has a good chance of beating Angulo on March 8th, but that’s largely due to Angulo not being a talented fighter. He’s just a slow slugger with good power, but not much else going for him. Angulo can’t beat Canelo unless Canelo stands in front of him making it easy for him to land his big shots. Canelo has already said that he’s been studying Angulo’s fights, specifically his 2009 fight against Kermit Cintron, in order to figure out how to beat him.

Cintron used nonstop circling of the ring to keep out of the way of Angulo in winning a dull 12 round decision. An exciting fight, it was not. Cintron stunk it out in that fight, but he did enough to get the win by staying on the move constantly. If that’s the way that Canelo will be choosing to fight on March 8th, then I feel sad for the boxing fans who will be paying to see the fight on Showtime pay-per-view, because many of them are under the mistaken impression that Canelo will be getting in the trenches to slug with Angulo and beat him at his own game.

Canelo obviously isn’t going to do that. He’s going to likely try and imitate Mayweather with his shoulder roll defense and his way of leaning backwards to avoid shots. Canelo won’t be able to use ring movement like Mayweather used to do or how Cintron did against Angulo, but he’ll definitely be trying to move as much as possible. Canelo doesn’t stand a chance to beat Angulo if he stands in front of him, because he doesn’t have the chin to beat a fighter like Angulo by standing in the pocket.

Read more at Canelo says he’s learned from his loss to Mayweather

 

[heyzel]

Can we call Mayweather a great fighter?
February 26th, 2014 | Post Comment - 17 Comments
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floyd mayweather jr By Steve Davis: Let’s make something clear, Floyd Mayweather is a very good fighter, and is Certainly a great business man. He has blinding speed of hand and foot and is properly the best defensive fighter ever, but is he a great, does he stand with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield to name a few and if he doesn’t why is he not.

In terms of titles won, defences made and the fact that he is still undefeated, you would think he would be termed as a great, but this I feel is why is isn’t a great. he has never had to dig deep, to go into the trenches and deal with a war. He has never faced defeat. Never faced this demon, looked him straight in the eyes and then somehow manage to be victorious.

Yes, he has faced good fighters and won, and yes, he faced the great Oscar de la Hoya, but by the time they met, De la Hoya was in the twilight of his career. In fact I personally believe that de la Hoya did enough to win and Mayweather was in fact lucky to get that decision. The other thing that for me makes a fighter a great, is not only the level of opposition he has faced but also has he had a rivalry to deal with, a fighter that has tested him over a series of fights. Great fights make great fighters, Mayweather has never had a truly great fight. He wins and that’s it, no see-saw battles, no fights that make fans scream for more.

Mayweather is first and foremost a business man; he picks his opponents at the right time in terms of financial gain and in terms of risk. Prime examples are Mayweather fighting Osar De la Hoya at the end of his career, fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, when the kid still had a lot to learn. The Canelo fight was no risk for Mayweather. Austin Trout had showed the way on how to beat him. In that fight, Canelo was out-boxed and should have been out-pointed but for some terrible judging, and now Mayweather has picked Marcos Maidana for May 3rd. Maidana’s another hand-picked opponent, and the result a forgone conclusion, with Mayweather winning via 12 round decision.

As I said in a previous article, Mayweather wanted no part of fighting Amir Khan, as Khan is unpredictable. A risk to him with his speed and boxing skills. Mayweather, however, could have gained greatness several years ago by fighting a live opponent and it could have been a rivalry that could have gone down in boxing history, but he has let the Manny Pacquiao fight slip through his fingers. The main reason for this my friends is the fact that this fight or rivalry would have been too risky to the money machine. Yes, the amount of money earned would have been huge for all, but there was a genuine risk that Mayweather may lose, and that can never happen, not after protecting the 0 for so long. Hence, Mayweather and Pacquiao has never happened and it properly never will. Mayweather will handpick his opponents very carefully in seeing out his career and will leave the sport of boxing with the 0 in tact and a whole load of money but does he leave as a great, well only time will tell but frankly not in my book.

Read more at Can we call Mayweather a great fighter?

 

[heyzel]

Keith Thurman – Will He Be The Most Avoided/Feared Fighter In 2014?
February 26th, 2014 | Post Comment - 35 Comments
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keith thurman By Rocky Esposito: I have watched and studied Boxing long enough to realize and practice a simple truth… Never make the mistake of anointing a Boxer as a ”Super Star” until he himself has earned it inside of the ring. Not to pick on him, because it is largely the Sports media’s fault for helping fuel the fire, but Adrian Broner is just the latest example of this. Here, you had a very young and gifted fighter become inpatient and unwisely place himself into a weight division that he clearly was not ready for.

Yet, there is another young 147lb fighter who will not arrogantly tell you how good he is, he will not post things on the internet just to get your attention. Nope, he’d rather just earn your respect inside of the ring. The man I am talking about is Keith ”One Time” Thurman.

Keith Thurman is a young and dynamic fighter. He is only 25 years old. He has a record of 22-0 and a knockout percentage of 86.96% 2013 was Keith’s coming out party. He was 3-0 on the year. First he beat (32-2) Jan Zaveck by a 12 Round Unanimous Decision. Keith pitched a complete shut out this fight. All three judges had the same identical score of 120-108. He then faced (22-0) Argentinian Diego Gabriel Chaves, who in his own right is a very talented fighter. The fight was a competitive one early on, but Keith took it to the next level in the 9th Round and knocked down Chaves. Chaves managed to get up, but Keith would finish him off in the very next round obtaining a 10th Round KO victory.

To finish off 2013, and ironically on the Broner vs Maidana undercard, Keith would fight the experienced, hard hitting veteran Jesus Soto Karass. Soto Karass was just coming off of his 12th Round TKO upset victory of Andre Berto. In the very first Round of his fight with Thurman, Soto Karass caught Thurman with a hard, over hand right that Thurman did not see coming. The punch initially stunned Keith, but he was able to shake it off fairly quickly and actually come back to win the round. Thurman would knock Soto Karass down in the 5th Round, and stop him in the 9th Round for a TKO victory. My only knock on Keith? He needs to keep his hands up more on defensive. But, that can easily be fixed. Also, he has only fought 78 professional rounds. He needs a little more experience. LOL, then again, its his Knock Outs that have shortened the fights. That means less wear and tear on his body, an actual good thing.

This year we will all find out if Keith Thurman can take it to that next level. *If, that is, people will fight him. A fight with Shawn Porter seemed certain and sounded great to many Boxing fans. But, Shawn’s father (and trainer) Kenny Porter recently said he does not want his son fighting Keith anytime soon. The way he sees it, he wants them to stay away from each other for the time being and then, eventually let them have a Mega Fight. I kind of agreed with Mr. Porter, but then he said the only other way that the fight could happen sooner was if they got paid a lot of $. Right then and there, I knew he was ducking Keith. And don’t get me wrong, I like Shawn Porter a lot. He is a tremendous talent. But, he will have to fight Keith sooner or later if he wants to reach that next level as well.

Read more at Keith Thurman – Will He Be The Most Avoided/Feared Fighter In 2014?

 

[trips]

oscar de la hoya canelo vs mayweather was frustrating sparring session for canelo EsNews Boxing

 

[heyzel]

Oscar De La Hoya calls for end to Golden Boy vs Top Rank war: 'There's no need for it



By Scott Christ



Oscar De La Hoya has recently come back onto the scene with Golden Boy Promotions after some time away, and the Hall of Fame fighter-turned-top promoter is hoping for an end to his company's war with Bob Arum's Top Rank.
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Though his mind could change the next time he feels like taking the standard cheap shot on Twitter or whatever, Oscar De La Hoya is currently saying that he believes his company Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum's Top Rank should be able to work together, calling for an end to the "Cold War" that has prevented fight fans from seeing many of the best possible matchups.

"All the animosity, all the bad words that have been going back and forth, there's no need for it. Boxing is a sport that I dearly love and we're both adults. Bob Arum did a lot for my career and I greatly appreciate it. I can honestly say that I love the guy because he's someone who did a lot for my career and really catapulted my career and did a tremendous job in promoting my career. He's a master at what he does. ... I will meet with Bob Arum one day, and I will sit down with him, and I do hope things get worked out and patched up, because that's what the fans need. The boxing fans want to see all these great fights happen."

Doing things "For the Fans" is a staple of promoterspeak because it makes whoever is using it at that moment look like the good guy. Also, it has to be noted that Oscar has gone through these periods of positivity before, and later will take the usual shots at Arum and his company, and Richard Schaefer and Arum are constantly contentious in the media, so you probably have to take this with a grain of salt.

That said, I don't think Oscar is being phony here. Right now, this is probably really how he feels. During his fighting days, he was very careful about what he said, almost scripted, but as a promoter in recent years, he's not exactly been one for a filter. He says pretty much what he's thinking. Sure, he double-talks, like all promoters do, but he's no worse and no better than anyone else.

And really, De La Hoya does owe a lot of his stardom to Arum's master promotion of him. And he's right: there is no reason that a bunch of greedy adults who all want to make the most money can't knock this nonsense off and put on the events that will get the most fans to part with the most money. The icier relationship between HBO and Showtime is now another obstacle, but none of that is personal; that's entirely business, and it starts with the promoters, anyway. A phone call or a meeting could do away with just about all of the crap that The Fans have been putting up with for years now out of their own dear love of watching crazy people beat one another for money.

I say go get 'em, champ. Go do this. Make the first move and do it for The Fans. We want to believe.

 

[heyzel]

Gerry Cooney: My fight with George Foreman was my first one sober
Gerry Cooney reflects on a fascinating career to James Slater

Don King had all the contenders, and unless I signed myself over to him I couldn’t get a fight

THIRTY SEVEN years ago this month (February 15) the career of one of the heavyweight division’s big stars of the 1980s began with a crushing first round KO. Towering Irish-American Gerry Cooney, he of the lethal left hook, punched for pay for the first time and went on to play his part in one of the biggest, most hyped heavyweight encounters of the decade: the 1982 battle with Larry Holmes.

Cooney lost the big one, and it could certainly be argued that Cooney’s career was ultimately a letdown which did not deliver on the big promise it initially showed, yet Gerry is remembered as an exciting, big-hitting contender.

Today, Cooney reflects on a career he is by and large happy with, even though he is not without some regret.

Cooney on his pro debut, against Bill Jackson:

“Yeah, I do remember that night. It was at Sunny Side Gardens, and that fight was the last time they used that arena [for boxing]. I had a great night; I earned $100 that night! I was nervous, my first time out and all; it was a little nerve-racking! He [Jackson] was a big guy, a George Foreman look-a-like. But I caught him with some good punches and I took him out.”

On the radio show he hosts each week:

“I’m still very much a fight fan. I do my radio show every Friday, it’s on 241 F.M service radio. I think boxing had its problems and kind of fell away for a while, but it’s coming back strong now; it’s made a comeback over the last two years or so.”

On his big fight with Holmes:

“I went in with one of the greatest fighters ever, and I went 13 rounds with the man. My alcohol problems made it difficult for me and I was over-trained, even though I had 13 months between the [Ken] Norton fight and the fight with Larry - but it was a great fight. I got messed up between my fight with Norton and my fight with Holmes; I got messed up with alcohol. I needed at least a year’s more experience, with three or four more fights before I fought Holmes. But I couldn’t get any fights. Don King had all the contenders, and unless I signed myself over to him, I couldn’t get a fight.”

On the Klitschkos:

“It’s going to be difficult to beat those two - they have that long jab and Emanuel Steward really taught [Wladimir] how to fight. The way to beat them, and I’ve said it before, is to go to the body; chop that body down. No-one does that anymore. We used to love going to the body, because when that happens the head is ready to fall. The way to beat the Klitschkos is to get inside, under the jab, and bang to the body. Do that for two or three or four rounds and then the hands will come down and then you turn them over. It’s like chopping a tree down. These guys try to headhunt when they fight them and that won’t work. But you back them up, the younger brother especially, and he loses heart.”

On his fight with George Foreman:

“I was actually promoting a couple of George’s fights back then, and he asked me one day if I’d like to fight him. I thought, ‘why not? I’ve never done it sober before!’ And I was a year sober and I got myself in great condition. But I needed a little longer for my timing to come back. I wobbled him in the 1st-round. [Gil] Clancy wanted me to move around George for six or seven-rounds and then move in, but when you’re a puncher and you hurt someone, you move in for the finish. But my timing was off and I got caught myself.”

 

[Coach E. No]

I think the weight classes should be like the current amatuer divisions, there are 11 divisions total. I would just call "heavyweight" Cruiserweight" and "Super heavyweight" Heavyweight and move it to 205 pounds. You can also modify it slight so instead of 119 pounds it's 120. Instead of 141 it's 140. Instead of 152 it's 154.

Amateur Weight Divisions

*** Light Flyweight: up to 106 pounds
*** Flyweight: 112
*** Bantamweight: 119
*** Featherweight: 125
*** Lightweight: 132
*** Light Welterweight: 141
*** Welterweight: 152
*** Middleweight: 165
*** Light Heavyweight: 178
*** Heavyweight: 201
*** Super Heavyweight: over 201



Here are the Original 8 pro divisions:

*** Flyweight: 8 st (50,802 Kg / 112 lbs)
*** Bantamweight: 8 st 6 lbs (53,525 kg / 118 lbs)
*** Featherweight: 9 st (57,153 kg / 126 lbs)
*** Lightweight: 9 st 9 lbs (61,235 kg / 135 lbs)
*** Welterweight: 10½ st (66,678 kg / 147 lbs)
*** Middleweight: 11 st 6 lbs (72,574 kg / 160 lbs)
*** Light Heavyweight: 12½ st (79,378 kg / 175 lbs)
*** Heavyweight: (unlimited)

Really hard not to have a Welterweight division. There's some medium that could be made though. Maybe 135, 146, 153, 160?

 

[trips]

Manny Pacquiao Next Fight: How Much Does Pac-Man Have On The Line Against Timothy Bradley?

By Anthony Riccobono

of the most important bouts of his career.

Pacquiao will face Timothy Bradley in a rematch of their 2012 welterweight title match. Though it was a controversial decision, Bradley walked away with a split decision and the victory. In his second try, Pacquiao has a lot on the line.

Even though Pac-Man is coming off a win, his upcoming fight will determine a lot, in regards to his career. Pacquiao defeated Brandon Rios in November by unanimous decision. In his first fight after two straight losses, Pacquiao took on an opponent that had little chance of beating him. If he wants to prove that he’s still one of the best boxers around, Pacquiao will have to get the job done against Bradley.

“Manny knows this is do or die for him,” Bradley told ESPN. “If Manny doesn’t win this fight then his career will be over. So this is a must-win situation for Manny Pacquiao. I already beat him once. This fight is for redemption to get credit I didn’t get in the first fight because people felt I didn’t win. That’s what it’s about for me. For him, he has to come to prove that he can earn that title. He’s got to come earn it back, and it’s the end of the road if he doesn’t.”

Following his loss to Bradley in 2012, Pac-Man was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez and lost without controversy. His defeat of Rios helped him get a win under his belt, but a victory against Bradley could be critical for Pacquiao. After such a lengthy career, there are questions surrounding how much Pacquiao has left.

Before facing Rios, trainer Freddie Roach said he’d advise Pacquiao to retire if he didn’t win the fight. While Roach hasn’t said the same thing regarding Pacquiao vs. Bradley II, a bad loss could mean that retirement isn’t far away.

A potential mega-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is highly unlikely to happen in 2014, but the odds might become near impossible if Pacquiao can’t win his next bought. The demand to see the best boxers of their generation face off lost a lot of steam when Pacquiao suffered his losing streak. Another defeat would give Mayweather even less reason to agree to the fight.

Pacquiao has been in the professional ranks for two decades. Three losses in four tries could be a sign that it’s time to move on.

 

[trips]

Angel Garcia on Provodnikov, Herrera, Khan, Broner, Mayweather



Danny Garcia one-on-one interview, workout highlights

 

[trips]

VERA I'M PREPARED AND STRONGER FOR CHAVEZ