Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Pacquiao Must Demand Random Testing for Xylocaine against Mayweather

By Giancarlo Malinconico: Leonard Ellerbe has stated that Floyd “Money” Mayweather does not use Xylocaine, a drug that works to numb pain. So what? Freddie Roach and others have stated that Manny Pacquiao does not take Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). Moreover, Pacquiao has never tested positive for PEDs. But Floyd is insisting that Manny be randomly blood tested up until the day of the fight.


Mayweather has not explained why he has not had hand problems in years. And why he will not fight outside of Nevada. Ironically, the United States Anti Doping Agency does not prohibit the usage of Xylocaine. Mayweather used to wear Winning brand boxing gloves, gloves that offer the most protection to a fighter’s hand while diminishing punching power. In 2001, Floyd took a knee because he injured his hands against Carlos Hernandez.

Pacquiao should demand that Mayweather be randomly tested for Xylocaine the same period that Mayweather wants Pacquiao to be tested for PEDs. It is very interesting that a fighter who used to wear Winning gloves, and had a history of hand problems, has not had one ever since he has had a Vegas-only fighting policy. Xylocaine is banned in over 40 states in the U.S. Freddie Roach and Bob Arum must demand that if a fight is to occur between Pacquiao and Floyd that they ignore the Nevada Athletic Commission and make sure that Xylocaine is not allowed to be utilized by either fighter; therefore, the sport of boxing can be cleaned up.

The bottom line is that if the fight happens (I say a 50/50 money split and up to 14-day before fight night random blood testing), Floyd will be knocked out by Pacquiao if he fights toe-to-toe like he did against Shane Mosley. And if he tries to resort to backpeddling, he will lose in even worse fashion than he did against Jose Luis Castillo in their first encounter. Because Floyd has denied using Xylocaine, he should have no problem writing in the contract that its usage be banned in a contest with Pacquiao.

 

[heyzel]

Arum has set aside November 6th and 13th for Mayweather-Pacquiao clash

By Dave Lahr: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has set aside November 6th and November 13th for a mega fight between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a fight that will be held in either Las Vegas or at the Cowboy Stadium, in Texas.

Arum is hoping to be able to put together the mega fight in the next few months, if possible. However, he might be jumping way ahead of himself in setting dates without Mayweather’s involvement. Pacquiao recently agreed to allow for blood tests to be taken from him until 14 days before a fight against Mayweather.


Arum is now putting it on Mayweather if he doesn’t accept this date it means that it’s essentially his fault that the fight doesn’t take place. However, that’s not really negotiating by Pacquiao agreeing to what Mayweather wanted during their previous negotiations. That time is past. Pacquiao moved on to fight Joshua Clottey rather than give into the 14 day request by Mayweather. At the time, Pacquiao would only agree to 24 days, a lengthy cutoff period.

But things aren’t that simple now. You can hardly put the blame on Mayweather if he doesn’t see the 14 day cut off as good enough anymore. Mayweather defeated Shane Mosley on May 1st, and got really good pay-per-view numbers in that fight. In fact, Mayweather’s 1.4 million buys was double the number of buys that Pacquiao’s fight against Clottey received. Why then would Mayweather be willing to accept the same negations as last time when he’s riding high right now from his win over Mosley.

You can’t blame Mayweather if he’s changed his mind about what he had asked for earlier in terms of blood testing, just as you can’t blame Mayweather if he asks for a better split than the 50-50 deal last time out. In American, you’re paid better based on your accomplishment. That’s how things are. And Mayweather just accomplished something truly special by dominating Shane Mosley with ease and showing how great he is. Pacquiao, for his part, didn’t look so hot in beating Clottey.

Pacquiao threw over 1000 punches in that fight, but missed a massive amount of his shots and was hit with big shots from Clottey all night long. Pacquiao was really tagged by Clottey in that fight. I don’t care if Manny won, he was getting clobbered with some clean hooks and uppercuts from Clottey throughout the fight.

If you look at Pacquiao’s fight with Clottey and then compare it to Mayweather’s brilliant work of art against Mosley, there are really no comparisons. Mayweather was far superior. This is why the 14 day cut off, as well as the purse split, probably won’t be the same in the next round of negotiations. I think Arum would have been off speaking to Mayweather first before wasting his time booking dates or locations for the fight. That’s getting ahead of things.

 

[Johnny Truelove]

Fernando Vargas vs. Hector Camacho Jr in the works? LMAO!!

8CountNews was informed by Hector Camacho Jr that a fight between himself and Fernando Vargas is in the works. Vargas has ventured into the promotion side of the business as of late and has not looked like he's in top fight shape. Camacho Jr has not lost a fight since 2007 when he came up short against Don Futrel. Fernando Vargas' last ring appearance was back in 2007 when he came up short against Ricardo Mayorga via Majority Decision. 8CountNews will follow this and update accordingly.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

By Ryan Burton

In February BoxingScene.com reported that Mexican flyweight Manuel Vargas would have a hearing before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to see if he would be suspended for tested positive for the pain killer Hydrocodone after his knockout loss to Nonito Donaire. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Vargas failed to answer the complaint issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. For that reason the commission decided to fine Vargas $5,000 which is 50% of his purse, the maximum allowed.

this is actually kinda funny. So the guy knew he was going to take a beating by Donaire and popped a few Vicodin beforehand? lmao

 

[REdRUM]

Vargas looks like a pregnant woman.

And Camacho JR should call out his manhood.

Little faggot.

 

[Johnny Truelove]

Thankfully, manager wants Vazquez to retire

Frank Espinoza did not mince words following Israel Vazquez's third-round TKO loss to rival Rafael Marquez on Saturday night.

Espinoza, Vazquez's longtime manager, said that the fighter he considers a son would not fight again.

"That's it," Espinoza said. "His career is over. He's not going to fight again."

Vazquez, of course, had been stopped because Marquez opened a horrific gash (down to the bone) in the chronically puffy skin over his left eye in the first round. Another cut -- this one over the right eye -- split open after an accidental head-butt in the third round.

Espinoza's statement was in the heat of the moment, just after Vazquez had been vanquished and Marquez had tied their all-time classic rivalry 2-2 in the featherweight bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

I've heard folks say a lot of things inside the ring or at a news conference immediately following a fight that they regret later. So I called Espinoza on Sunday night, about 24 hours after the fight had ended, to see if he still felt the same way about Vazquez calling it a career.

"I certainly feel that way still," Espinoza said.

I can't blame him, not after all the punishment Vazquez has taken during his career -- in which, besides insanely violent fights with Marquez, he also has had wars with Oscar Larios, Jhonny Gonzalez and others.

The bottom line is that Vazquez is 32 but more like 52 in ring years, and he has been cut so many times around his eyes that he simply can't take the blows anymore without busting wide open and pouring blood. Vazquez (44-5, 32 KOs) and his team knew the eyes were tender, which is why he wore a protective mask over them during sparring sessions for Saturday's fight.

Espinoza didn't even know how many stitches Vazquez needed to close both wounds because there was commotion after the fight and because he needed so many.

But the cuts were terrible. Vazquez had Miguel Diaz, one of boxing's best cut men, in his corner, but he was helpless to the bleeding. Nobody could have stopped it.

When I saw the cut while watching the fight on Showtime -- and, boy, was it gruesome, especially in HD -- I could only think of two other cuts, off the top of my head, that I've seen that were even close: One was the gash that Lennox Lewis inflicted on Vitali Klitschko that ended their heavyweight championship fight (also at Staples Center); the other was the cut Arturo Gatti suffered in a loss to Angel Manfredy. But Vazquez's were worse. Turns out, according to Espinoza, that Dr. Pearlman Hicks -- the Long Beach, Calif., plastic surgeon who stitched up Klitschko in the Staples Center dressing room following his loss to Lewis -- was on hand to sew up Vazquez.

Espinoza, who brought Vazquez from Mexico to fight regularly in the United States in 1998, said he would give Vazquez a few days "to chill" before broaching the subject of his future with him. But Espinoza is convinced that Vazquez should not fight again.

"I think Israel right now should talk to his family and his wife and discuss it, and then I will let him know how I feel," Espinoza said. "I've known Israel for 12 years. He's been like a son to me. He knows when I tell him something I am sincere. We have a great bond. When I say something, I really feel it. He knows I am not going to tell him what he wants to hear."

Espinoza said Vazquez has meant too much to him and too much to boxing for him to continue getting fights for him, especially a fifth fight with Marquez, which was broached in the immediate aftermath of the bout.

It may have been briefly discussed, but it doesn't sound as though Showtime, which bankrolled the entire series, has any interest in another (thankfully).

"It is so fitting that the amazing series between Marquez and Vazquez ends tied at 2," Showtime boxing chief Ken Hershman said. "Both men will go down in history alongside the greatest fighters this sport has known. We are proud to have been part of this historic rivalry and to have delivered, once again, the best that boxing has to offer."

No fifth fight, or any other, if Espinoza has his way.

"I'm not going to put him in to be an opponent," Espinoza said. "[The series with Marquez] ended up 2-2 and no one got up on the other guy, and I think that's the way it should stay. I want Israel to be healthy and enjoy life with his family."

Vazquez, who earned a career-high payday of $800,000 for the fight, has dabbled in broadcasting for Spanish-language network Telemundo. Espinoza hopes he can help find him a gig doing that more regularly.

"Israel is a good speaker. He has dome some commentating on Telemundo," Espinoza said. "He could do that and still stay active in boxing. But this is a great way to end his legacy. Why put him in there with somebody younger and hungry? What's the purpose?"

There is none.

 

[heyzel]

Roach: Pacquiao Will Knock "No Legs" Mayweather Out

By Ruslan Chikov

The trainer of several past and present boxing champions is not going down the road of helping fighters involved in different combat sports. Freddie Roach spoke with Golzka about helping U F C welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre with improving his ability to box. Roach's work with fighters like Manny Pacquiao and James Toney has attracted atheletes from other sports who want to improve their shape and fighting ability.

In the same interview, Roach was asked about a possible fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. In past interviews Roach was not confident about Pacquiao beating Mayweather by knockout. He saw changes to Mayweather in the victory over Shane Mosley. The issues he saw have changed his mind. He doesn't think Mayweather will see a decision.

"He slowed down a little. He used to be a faster fighter. He doesn't move like he used to. He fights more flat-footed. He changed his style [against Mosley] because he can't use his legs anymore....his legs are not there. Mosley hurt him in the second round but he couldn't finish [him]. I expected more [from Mosley]. Pacquiao is faster than Mayweather and he's a stronger fighter. I think Pacquiao will knock Floyd out," Roach said.

 

[heyzel]

Klitschko: I Will Knock David Haye Out in Four Rounds

By Lem Satterfield, Mark Vester

WBC champ Vitali Klitschko and his younger brother, WBO/IBF/IBO champion Wladimir Klitschko, are hungry to get their hands on Britsh heavyweight David Haye, the WBA's champion. In 2009, Haye agreed to fight Wladimir, and later agreed to fight Vitali. For one reason or another, he withdrew from both fights.

Vitali wants Haye's WBA title. If Haye is knocked off, the Klitschko brothers would control every major heavyweight title. Wladimir doesn't care about the title, he wants to punish Haye for his past insults.

"I want to fight David Haye very badly. Wladimir wants to fight against him also. I want to fight David Haye because he has the WBA world title. But Wladimir wants to fight David Haye because it's personal. And Wladimir told me that the title is not of interest to him," said Vitali Klitschko.

Vitali wants to make it easy on Haye. He promises to end the fight early. Brother Wladimir wants to punish Haye for twelve rounds if possible, and then knock him out in the final minute.

"I promise David Haye that the fight with me will be much shorter than the one would be with my brother, because Wladimir will be beating him badly over 12 rounds and knock him out," said Vitali Klitschko. "I will give a proposal to David Haye. A much easier proposal. I will knock him out in two, three, maximum, four rounds."

Vitali (39-2, 37 KOs) defends the title this Saturday against Albert Sosnowski (45-2-1, 27 KOs) of Poland. Negotiations to make a fight with Wladimir Klitschko and Haye (24-1, 22 KOs) are ongoing, although Wladimir's team is also in discussions to make their mandatory defense against Alexander Povetkin (19-0, 14 KOs) of Russia.

Vitali doesn't think a fight with Haye will every happen for either brother because the British champion is running scared.

"David Haye tries to use every excuse why he doesn't want to fight. Twice, he has jumped away from opportunities to face the Klitschkos," said Vitali Klitschko.

"He had a fight lined up against Wladimir, and just two weeks before the fight he explained about some injury that nobody believes in his injuries. Before my fight, we were ready to sign the contract to fight Haye, and he jumped also and tried to come up with an excuse. Nobody believed his excuses. David Haye understands that this fight against either of the Klitschko brothers would be the end of his career."

 

[heyzel]

Frank Warren Talks Klitschko-Haye, Mitchell, Amir Khan

By Frank Warren

THERE were contrasting fortunes for British boxers two weekends back - and lessons to be learned.

Kevin Mitchell was halted in three rounds by Michael Katsidis at Upton Park.

But Amir Khan stopped Paulie Malignaggi in the States.

After Mitchell lost, it emerged he'd cut corners in training because of domestic problems. I even heard on the day of the fight, he was shopping at Lakeside. All this was news to me.

I put a lot of effort and money into the West Ham show, creating a fantastic opportunity for Mitchell to become the Ricky Hatton of the south.

I've a lot of time for Kevin - but you can't play at boxing if you want to be a world champion.

At 25, and with his first defeat, he's at a crossroads. Either he knuckles down and makes the most of his talent, or he looks back in a few years' time and wonders what might have been.

He should look to other fighters who boxed at the weekend - Katsidis shut himself away from his wife and young child in Thailand.

And Khan had disruptions in his training camp, too, being forced to spend a couple of weeks in Vancouver because of visa issues.

But the WBA light-welterweight champion is always in terrific shape and he was against Malignaggi.

Khan has looked good since he lost to Breidis Prescott, and Mitchell can take heart from the way he has bounced back.

Khan wants to fight again in July and the 31st was suggested.

Trainer Freddie Roach said: "If I was getting him ready for a major, major world title fight, July would be too soon but we can do it."

That tells you a lot if the date goes ahead.

Saturday's shows had excellent viewing figures - Sky pulled in a very big audience, while nearly 600,000 people stayed up to watch Khan on ITV at 4.30am.

Next morning, 1.5million watched a replay of the fight while the FA Cup final highlights attracted 300,000.

There's talk of Khan fighting Victor Ortiz, who beat Nate Campbell.

Khan stopped Ortiz as an amateur, and will fancy doing the same again.

Cash is King

A JUDGE told Don King he had to post a $1million bond for a court injunction against Ricardo Mayorga.

Even though the banks were closed he was given just two hours - and he returned with $1m in cash in two duffle bags.

The Kingster said he "felt like Clint Eastwood speeding down the highway with a Fistful of Dollars!"

Enough With The Stalling

DAVID HAYE'S manager Adam Booth let the deadline for negotiations with Wladimir Klitschko pass last week.

He said talks to agree a deal will take months - and that Klitschko should next fight his mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.

If both parties really want something you can do it in two hours. Just ask Don King.

Solo makes Stace sweat

THE most nervous person at Upton Park on Saturday night?

X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon, who sang the National Anthem.

The very likeable singer said "I'm s******* myself," to me before she sang

 

[heyzel]

Chad Dawson Still Willing To Drop Down To 168-Pounds

By Mark Vester

IBO light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (29-0, 17KOs) is still willing to drop down to 168-pounds to fight some of the big names in the super middleweight division. The light heavyweight division is running a little dry and most of the big names are veterans who are past their best.

At 168, the roster is loaded with talent, names and big money fights. Mikkel Kessler, Lucian Bute, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham, Kelly Pavlik and Allan Green are just some of the names at the weight.

Dawson wants to wait until Showtime's Super Six tournament is over, so he can challenge the winner to a fight. Most of the top names, other than Bute, are locked into the Super Six. The finals of the tournament is scheduled for next year. Dawson is set to return in August with WBC champion Jean Pascal as the target opponent.

"There is more competition at 168. There are more guys who are my age. There are more guys who are physically strong and match up evenly with me as opposed to the guys in the light heavyweight division, but we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens with that tournament and hopefully the winner of that tournament is willing to take a fight with me," Dawson told BoxingScene.com's Ernest Gabion.

 

[heyzel]

Is Mayweather doing Pacquiao a favor by not fighting him?

By Dave Lahr: Undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KO’s) has been turning a blind eye to WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao’s recent calls for a mega fight between the two fighters. Mayweather, who basically pursued a fight with Pacquiao until he was blue in the face several months ago, wants Pacquiao to agree to the full random blood testing that he is now asking for in his fights. However, like last time they attempted to negotiate, Pacquiao isn’t giving Mayweather want he wants in order for Mayweather to fight him.


Although Mayweather asked for a 14 day cut off for the random blood testing last time out, which by the way agreed upon by Pacquiao, he now is looking for blood testing all the way up until the fight happening. The chances of that happening are not likely in this lifetime. Pacquiao has agreed to Mayweather’s request for the last fight negotiations, but doesn’t seem interested at this time in going the whole route and agreeing to the full blood testing.

However, it’s really not bad of a deal, because by not fighting Mayweather, Pacquiao is probably saving himself from a lot of embarrassment in getting dominated by the talented Mayweather. We’ve already seen Mayweather completely dominate both Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley, two of the best fighters in all of boxing, as if they were nothing. Would it be any different if Mayweather was fighting Pacquiao? I doubt it. Pacquiao went life and death with Marquez two times in his career, whereas Mayweather beat Marquez like an old drum.

And I disagree with people who say that Marquez and Mosley were shot when Mayweather fought them. They may have looked shot, but that’s only because Mayweather made them look that way. He dominated them with his extraordinary boxing skills. So even if Mayweather never fights Pacquiao, he may actually be doing Pacquiao a huge favor by not fighting him. Pacquiao can now wrap up his career with a win over Antonio Margarito, Yuri Foreman or Miguel Cotto and sail off into a career in politics.

People will see him as a great one, because will in effect be ending his career with a handful of impressive wins over bigger fighters. No one would blame him for not fighting Mayweather, especially if he repeats over and over again that he agreed to the 14 day cut off, something that Mayweather wanted originally. Fans will never know that Mayweather changed the negotiations for the second negotiation period and hence they’ll probably blame Mayweather for the fight not happening rather than seeing it as a mix of reason.

I think Pacquiao would be hopelessly over his head if he fought Mayweather. Pacquiao is too wide open on defense and not accurate enough with his shots to compete with the ultra talented Mayweather. I think Pacquiao lose very badly, even worse than Mosley and Marquez, because he would keep going right at Mayweather all night long rather than backing off and trying to survive. I see this fight as like another Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton fight. Pacquiao would be eating a ton of leather all night long and would star suffering cuts before long over both eyes.

Pacquiao doesn’t look good when he’s cut and I could see the fight getting way out of hand early on until the referee was forced to step in and halt the fight to save Pacquiao from taking any more additional punishment. I see it as a total slaughter of epic proportions. Mayweather would be hyped because of the huge crowd and he would be coming forward, punishing the defensively wide open Pacquiao with shot after shot, while Pacquiao, with blood dripping into both eyes because of a series of cuts, just takes the punishment. Think of how Israel Vazquez looked last weekend against Rafael Marquez, and that’s how I see Pacquiao looking against Mayweather. This is why I think Mayweather is giving Pacquiao a huge gift by not fighting him

 

[heyzel]

Haye vs. Audley Harrison: Is David milking his title?

By Matt Stein: The word is that WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) isn’t looking to fight IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko or his brother WBC heavyweight title holder Vitali Klitschko next. These were the two fights that Haye has been talking about for eons, yet now that he has a chance to fight either of them depending on who he prefers, he’s not showing interest. For some boxing fans this is disappointing and surprising, but for others this isn’t unexpected.


Haye, 29, had a chance at fighting both Klitschko brothers before and backed out or came up lame with an injury to wipe out what would have been two mega fights. Now, the rumors are that Haye will be fighting 38-year-old Audley Harrison instead in a fight that will take place in the UK. If this is true, then I’m a little disappointed but not as much as I would be if Haye was fighting a lesser guy.

I think Harrison a step up from Monte Barrett, Tomasz Bonin, and John Ruiz, three of the four heavyweights that Haye has fought during his career. The fourth heavyweight, Nikolay Valuev, is a little bit better than Harrison but not that much. But my question is this: Is Haye milking his heavyweight title to keep it as long as he can by fighting guys he knows he can beat or is there a grand plan behind all this? I suppose Haye could be skipping the Klitschko fights to maybe age them a little more.

You’ve heard of aging a win. Well, it doesn’t work like that with fighters. If Haye waits long enough both of the Klitschko brothers may age enough to the point where they’re more docile and beatable compared to before. Right now, I think both of the Klitschko brothers would be lethal for the 6’3”, weak-chinned Haye. I don’t see how Haye could beat either one of them other than getting in a big shot that knocks them out. It’s possible, but not very likely. However, Haye has something working for him and that’s his age.

He’s only 29, nine years younger than Vitali and five years younger than Wladimir. If Haye can wait a couple of years before fighting the Klitschkos, they may deteriorate enough to the point where Haye could actually beat them. It would still be very hard because they would both be like a mine at that point and could explode on the glass-jawed Haye. Even two years from now, Haye will still be only 6’3”, not very flexible and not someone who can throw a jab to save his life. Haye would basically be a slightly slower version of the pot shot fighter he is today.

He’s mostly one punch at a time fighter and he tends to make the most of his opportunities in the ring. If he’s stuck on the outside eating jabs all night long, he likely won’t be able to do a whole heck of a lot when he does land an occasional pot shot unless he lands some excellent rabbit punches like he did against John Ruiz. Those were textbook rabbit punches from Haye in that fight, although I was shocked that he was able to get away them over and over again while only losing one point for it, I got to give him credit for landing the shots. It was working well for him in that fight. If he can land those shots against the Klitschkos, he could make the fight interesting but other than that, I see Haye getting blown out of the ring.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Gamboa vs Rojas The Frontrunner For 7/24, Caballero Out

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com was advised by Top Rank CEO Bob Arum that WBC featherweight champion Elio Rojas (22-1, 13KOs) is the frontrunner to face WBA "regular" featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15KOs) on July 24 in Las Vegas, with HBO televising.

The first choice for Gamboa's opponent was Celestino Caballero, but Arum tells BoxingScene that Caballero priced himself out. From what I've heard, HBO is not offering a big fee for the date, which makes it impossible to make Gamboa-Caballero based on the numbers both fighters are demanding.

"Gamboa will be fighting on July 24 at The Palms in Las Vegas. Caballero is impossible. He priced himself out. I would say that right now, Rojas is the frontrunner to fight Gamboa," Arum told BoxingScene.com.


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Juanma vs Marquez By The End of The Year, Says Arum

By Rick Reeno

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum advised BoxingScene.com that he wants to match WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez against Rafael Marquez by the end of the year. Last Saturday night in California, Lopez sat ringside at Staples Center to watch Marquez dispose of Israel Vazquez in three brutal rounds. Lopez returns on July 10 in Puerto Rico with a title defense against Bernabe Concepcion.

"Marquez is still a good fighter. If Lopez is successful in July, I would certainly like to make that fight before the end of the year," Arum told BoxingScene.com.

Marquez's promoter Gary Shaw plans to explore a possible fight with IBO bantamweight champion Vic Darchinyan. Shaw and Team Darchinyan will discuss the fight in the coming days.

 

[MOREBASS]

JuanMa vs Rafa?


YES PLEASE!

 

[heyzel]

Goodman Questions Mayweather-Mosley Drug Testing Gap

By Lem Satterfield

A former Nevada State Athletic Commission Medical Advisory Board Chairman and Chief Ringside Physician who has worked more than 400 fights, Margaret Goodman generally applauds the United States Anti-Doping Agency's inagural overseeing of a random blood and urine system for detecting steroids and other illegal drugs in boxers.

But one of the questions Goodman has is why USADA did not test either Floyd Mayweather's or Shane Mosley's blood closer than within 18 days of their May 1 fight.

USADA test results from Mayweather-Mosley were released and revealed that Mayweather had both blood and urine taken on March 22, April 1, April 13 and then on the night directly after the fight.

Mayweather reportedly provided urine only on April 3, April 6, April 21 and April 24.

Meanwhile, Mosley, who claims that he unknowingly used the steroids "the cream" and 'the clear" obtained from BALCO Founder, Victor Conte, provided both blood and urine on March 23, March 31, April 12 and directly after the bout on fight night.

Mosley provided urine on April 3, April 6, April 21 and April 24.

Goodman said that the long window between the final day of blood testing and the fight impuned the system and the good intentions of Mayweather, who has vowed to champion the inclusion of random testing.

"I, too, was concerned about the lack of blood testing of Mosley and Mayweather right up until their fight. It unnecessarily promoted conspiracy theories as to why a fighter [Mosley] who had previously admitted EPO use was not thoroughly examined," said Goodman to BoxingScene.com, adding that "the testing needs to be tailored to boxing and M M A."

"It was absurd that the fighters were not checked for numbing agents such as lidocaine or xylocaine before and after the fight, when one fighter [Mayweather] has admitted using these agents before for sore hands. No fighter should fight nor face an opponent with numb hands," said Goodman.

"Both fighters wanted to demonstrate that they fought free of PEDs that night," said Goodman. "That was not adequately accomplished, which is a shame for the participants, whom I do believe fought clean."

In another move, WBA super middlweight (168 pounds) champion, Andre Ward and challenger Allan Green are mutually pushing for the inclusion of random blood and urine testing for their June 19 title bout at The Oracle Arena in Ward's hometown of Oakland, Calif.

"More and more fighters are stepping forward and asking for extensive PED testing," said Goodman. "They want to fight a clean opponent. Yet, the powers that be continue to ignore their requests."

 

[heyzel]

Does Freddie Roach really believe Mayweather’s legs are gone or is he trying to get i

By Dave Lahr: Recently, trainer Freddie Roach has been repeating over and over again that Floyd Mayweather’s legs are gone, and that he’s become more flat footed compared to the way he used to fight. I looked at the Shane Mosley fight, which is where Roach formed his opinion about Mayweather’s lack of movement, and I think Mayweather looked as good as he always does. I noticed he wasn’t moving quite as much, but that was only because Mosley was moving so slowly. Mayweather had a perfect opponent in front of him and without any real pressure from Mosley, Mayweather didn’t have to move to stay away from him.


Besides this, Mayweather was the one attacking in that fight. I think Roach is trying to mess with Mayweather to get him doubting himself so that Roach’s fighter Manny Pacquiao can gain a small edge. It won’t work. Mayweather is too skilled for that and even if Roach did put some doubt into Mayweather’s head about his lack of movement, he would still literally dance circles around Pacquiao. Mayweather is just fighting on too high of a level and no matter what Roach says to try and psyche him out, it won’t work well enough for Pacquiao do get any benefit.

What Roach needs to be doing is trying to teach Pacquiao how to block some shots with his gloves, because he did a rotten job of picking off punches in his last fight with Joshua Clottey. I haven’t see Pacquiao take so many clean shots since he fought Juan Manuel Marquez. It was really ugly. When you look at what Clottey was able to do with Pacquiao, and then think of what Mayweather do, it’s downright scary. Roach needs to get on his J-O-B and try to teach Pacquiao how to defend himself better because he’s going to have some serious issues if he gets in the ring with Mayweather. I thought Clottey was going to lift Pacquiao’s head off his body with some of those uppercuts he was nailing Pacquiao with.

I can see Mayweather’s gloves tattooed to Pacquiao’s face all night long and Roach coming unglued in the corner between rounds, jabbering six bits to a dozen with all kinds of advice – way more than Pacquiao can take in at one time. Roach should work on his fighter’s defense and also try to make some headway with the blood testing issue. There won’t be a fight unless they come to some kind of agreement with Mayweather this time. Mayweather is looking really right now and I think he’s in a position to call the shots for whatever he wants.

 

[heyzel]

Maybe the Klitschko brothers should stop trying to intimidate David Haye if they want

By William Mackay: Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, are trying their best to intimidate WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, but maybe their doing too good of a job judging by Haye not stepping up to fight them. As you can see, neither of the Klitschkos is getting close to getting a fight with Haye. Heck, they seemed better off back when they were saying nothing and letting Haye do all the talking. Haye was like a dog chasing both of them and looking like he had them where he wanted them.


I still remember Haye confronting Wladimir at a charity event and Haye, with his back up, had Wladimir looking confused and embarrassed as Haye called him out in front of a large group of fans and reporters. However, things have changed recently with Wladimir and Vitali actively going after Haye, promising to knock him out, beat him up and send him into retirement. It seems like it’s had an adverse effect. Instead of getting Haye in the ring, Haye appears to be going in the opposite direction, looking for easy marks like Audley Harrison.

If the Klitschko brothers really want to fight Haye, they’ve got to change their tactics a little bit. First of all, they need to stay quiet about Haye completely and let him do the talking. Haye seems to like it best that way and takes their silence as a sign that they’re afraid. It wouldn’t hurt for them to cower a little around Haye. Second, they need to start talking Haye when people ask about him and talk about how dangerous he is and what not. The object here is to show fear and go overboard with showing respect. Thirdly, the Klitschkos need to show some vulnerability in the ring. They have to let their opponent stick around for awhile, land some punches and maybe score a knockdown or two but not knock them out. Anything to show that the Klitschko brothers are flawed and vulnerable to being beaten. If they meet Haye in any capacity, they should try cringing and showing some fear.

If Haye feels that he’s in command with them, he’ll be much more likely to want to fight them and actually get in the ring with them this time around. I don’t think there’s much of a chance of the Klitschko brothers fighting Haye right now because they’ve been doing their utmost in trying to scare the life out of the guy and I think it’s working a little too well. The last thing they need to be doing is talking about how they want to retire the guy. You saw that Haye didn’t want to get in the ring with them last time around, so why would they try to intimidate him after that? That’s the worst thing they could possibly do if they wanted to land a fight with him. They need to back off completely and assume some other character for Haye if they want to ever get the ring with him, because what they’re doing now isn’t working and it doesn’t like it will work.

 

[heyzel]

Vitali Klitschko complains about the lack of competition at heavyweight and Haye’s re

Photo credit – Pavel Terekhov – By Chris Williams: WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KO’s) is still holding out hope that WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) will step up to the plate and fight him or his brother IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Vitali, 38, is disappointed by Haye’s seemingly reluctance to fight him and he’s also unhappy with the lack of big named opponents for him to fight. This Saturday night, Vitali will be fighting the little known Polish heavyweight Alberto Sosnowski (45-2-1, 27 KO’s) at the Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.


Besides Haye, Vitali was hoping to fight former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, but the two were unable to come to a financial agreement for a fight. This left Vitali with the need to dig up an opponent. Sosnowski was there, so he got the call. This fight figures to be a huge mismatch, but perhaps Sosnowski might be able to fight above his level and make it interesting for awhile.

In an article at the Lasvegassun.com, Klitschko had this to say about Haye: “I want to fight David Haye very much and my brother wants to fight him also. He had a fight against Wladimir and two weeks before the fight he [Haye] explained [complained] about some injury that nobody believes in. Then we were ready to sign the contract to fight Haye and he jumped also and tried to come up with an excuse. David Haye understands that a fight against either of the Klitschko brothers would be the end of his career.”

Haye does seem reluctant to fight the Klitschko brothers, but that’s not all that surprising. Before Haye was the champion, the previous two WBA heavyweight champions Ruslan Chagaev and Nikolay Valuev, weren’t exactly eager to fight the Klitschko brothers either. So this isn’t really unexpected. Haye is more of a cruiserweight/heavyweight hybrid and not a super heavyweight like the Klitschko brothers. At 217, Haye would likely be in way over his head against the 250 pound Klitschko brothers. It would be the equivalent of a welterweight facing a light heavyweight. A welterweight might do okay for a few rounds, but sooner or later he’s got wore down by the bigger fighter.

In Haye’s case, he’d be giving up way too much height and reach to the Klitschko brothers and could end up getting knocked cold without really being able to land much of anything. I never expected Haye to fight the Klitschko brothers after he came up with the injury before the fight with Wladimir and then pulled out of a fight with Vitali. I wasn’t surprised that Haye was able to beat Valuev, because 47-year-old Evander Holyfield had already shown a year earlier that Valuev was there to be beaten, even though Holyfield lost a controversial decision to Valuev in their fight held in Switzerland.

As for the lack of competition in the heavyweight division, Vitali says “I’m ready to fight anyone. Who is left? Wladimir is knocking out the best American fighters. I just fought Kevin Johnson. Who else? Right now that’s one problem. There’s no big names. I hope that big names come up and I’m still fighting. I think this year we’ll see new names that will interest the public.” It’s difficult to guess who Vitali is talking about, because there really isn’t any “new names” unless he’s talking about the 33-year-old Tomasz Adamek.

However, Adamek, a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight, is hardly a popular fighter that is drawing much interest from the American public. He just beat Chris Arreola, but he was staggered at least twice in the fight and didn’t show much of any power. I’m afraid that’s not an opponent that will be interesting to the public, unless Vitali is talking about in Germany. They would probably be interested in seeing Vitali fight Adamek, but then again, they think Vitali’s fight against Sosnowski is exciting, so go figure.

 

[heyzel]

Why is Roach all of a sudden pushing so hard for Mayweather-Pacquiao?

By Dave Lahr: Trainer Freddie Roach seems to be totally obsessed with trying to get Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight Manny Pacquiao all of a sudden. It seems really strange when you look at how Roach is acting now and compare it to the way he acted before Pacquiao’s fight with Joshua Clottey in March. Back then, it was as if Roach could care less if the fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather was put together. Roach talked tough about the negotiations about the drug testing, you name it. My impression at the time was that I felt Roach didn’t want the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight to happen at the time.


I figured that Roach might have been afraid to see Pacquiao possibly beaten, which would put a damper on his recent string of successes. How, however, with Pacquiao talking about wanting to fight one final time before he hangs up his gloves, Roach is all of a sudden sounding desperate to get the fight between his fighter Pacquiao and Mayweather. It’s kind of unsettling to see Roach sounding so focused on wanting the fight to happen instead of turning around and looking why it isn’t. Instead of going after Mayweather, Roach should talk to his fighter Pacquiao and try to convince him the importance of agreeing to take the random blood tests that Mayweather wants.

It’s useless for Roach to be talking about how he thinks Mayweather is afraid of Pacquiao and how he thinks Pacquiao would beat Mayweather. That’s a primitive approach to trying to get Mayweather to take the fight if you ask me. A more analytical way would be for Roach to ask himself the question, ‘what does Mayweather want before he’ll fight Pacquiao?’ If he’s honest with himself, he’ll come to the quick conclusion that Pacquiao will need to agree to the random blood tests, not the 14 day garbage from the past negotiations.

Roach may come to the conclusion that Pacquiao may have to drop his lawsuit as well if he wants to fight Mayweather. After all, who want to fight someone who is suing you for millions of dollars? Mayweather could end up losing a lot of the money he makes by fighting Pacquiao. Beyond that, Roach would have to think about the purse split as well. Maybe Mayweather isn’t interested in a 50-50 deal anymore. Maybe he wants a bigger slice of the piece. If Roach wants to be part of this mega fight, he might have to talk to Pacquiao about that as well.

Mayweather is the fighter to fight and is the star of the boxing world after his win over Shane Mosley. Naturally, Mayweather should and probably will expect to get the bigger slice of the financial pie. Roach may be just a trainer but these are areas that will prevent the fight from being made unless there’s some give on one side or another. Given that Mayweather just showed how great he is by beating Mosley and getting the bigger pay per view numbers than Pacquiao did in his fight with Joshua Clottey, it’s only natural that Mayweather should want the bigger money. If Roach wants the fight to be made, this is where he needs to start speaking to Pacquiao about.

 

[heyzel]

Klitschko Will Not Accept Povetkin's Drug Test Demands

By Ruslan Chikov

The heavyweight champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko, is not interested in Alexander Povetkin's request for both fighters to take part in random drug tests under the company WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). Povetkin is Klitschko's official challenger under the International Boxing Federation (IBF).

Negotiations are taking place for the two of them to fight due to Wladimir not being able to retain an agreement with WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. Unlike the situation between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Klitschko has the full authority on the drug testing decision. The fight with Povetkin is ordered by the IBF and if he decides not to take the Klitschko fight, then Wladimir will move on to the next ranked contender in the IBF's top ten.

Older brother Vitali Klitschko believes this is a tactic by Povetkin's team to avoid the fight. He says Wladimir will not accept these drug testing terms.

"Wladimir has to fight Povetkin because of the IBF and he will take any tests under the rules of the World Boxing Federation. The tests are sent to an international sports laboratory in Cologne, which is one of the most modern in the world. If someone has any doubts, let them go send letters to [the lab] to investigate," Vitali was quoted telling Alexander Pavlov by Golzka.