Boxing News Thread
- Thread starter heyzel
- Start date
it's kinda like when bernard hopkins and roy jones fought the first time when they were young. Both were not stars yet, both were fighting to be recognized as the best in their division, one had obviously more natural athletic abilities (jones-alexander), the other a rough and tough dude with great fundamentals that doesn't know how to lose (bradly-hopkins).
This is a treat for the hardcore fans right here
This is a treat for the hardcore fans right here
De La Hoya Vows To Continue Strong PPV Undercards
By Ryan Burton
Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, says Saturday's strong HBO pay-per-view undercard isn't an exception to the rule and a one time deal. At the undercard press conference to the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz rematch,
the Golden Boy leader said:
"Golden Boy will continue to put on strong undercards regardless of pay-per-view sales for this card or any card. The sport deserves it and the fans deserve it."
Golden Boy is planning another strong undercard for their September 18th pay-per-view show, headlined by a junior middleweight contest between former champions Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora.
By Ryan Burton
Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, says Saturday's strong HBO pay-per-view undercard isn't an exception to the rule and a one time deal. At the undercard press conference to the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz rematch,
the Golden Boy leader said:
"Golden Boy will continue to put on strong undercards regardless of pay-per-view sales for this card or any card. The sport deserves it and the fans deserve it."
Golden Boy is planning another strong undercard for their September 18th pay-per-view show, headlined by a junior middleweight contest between former champions Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora.
Emanuel Steward: “Wladimir is one of the most devastating one-punch boxers in heavywe
by Geoffrey Ciani - This week’s 83rd edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward who is currently involved in a lot of recent headlines throughout the boxing world. The top story involved a recent change in opponent for heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who was originally slated to face IBF number one contender Alexander Povetkin but will instead square off in a rematch against Samuel Peter. There are also rumors in circulation about a potential match-up between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. In other news, Steward’s young prospect Domonique Dolton is coming off of an impressive knockout victory against Jeremiah Jones last weekend, and middleweight contender Andy Lee is scheduled to face off against James Cook this Friday. Furthermore, in addition to the events surrounding some of his top fighters, Steward also completed the first in a series of new boxing clinics last Wednesday and he already has a second clinic scheduled for August 4. Emanuel has been a busy man of late and here is some of what he had to say:
On Wladimir Klitschko’s recent switch in opponent from Alexander Povetkin to Sam Peter:
“Well I was kind of prepared for that. I have never believed that Povetkin was going to fight Wladimir, just not as bad as David Haye. So we were prepared and I told Wladimir to be prepared about two weeks ago that he might have to fight Sam Peter and also that they should contact him to see if he was available, because I had a feeling that this was going to happen.”
On whether he blames Teddy Atlas for Povetkin pulling out of the fight:
“Well he’s been consistent. From day one Teddy has never said that he thought his fighter was ready. If you read between the lines in all of the interviews that he did, he was always consistently just speaking in general like how you have to train a guy this way, you have to be prepared, people have to find themselves. He never did speak with any strong conviction that he felt that his fighter was ready. He feels that he needs more time. He was put in that position because the fighter was already in the mandatory position when he became involved with him. If he hadn’t been, he probably would have never pushed for him to be in that position. So he did what he thought was best and I respect it and I respect the fact that the IBF is going along with that. After two years he has shown no real desire to step up and take advantage of his position. They have decided to move on.
So everything is sorting itself out so to say, and you can’t make a guy fight that doesn’t want to fight and it’s very difficult to promote a fight when you have one guy who’s prepared and another guy who really seems sort of reluctant to participate and promote it and everything else. We have to move on to Sam Peter and I think it’s going to be an interesting fight because Sam didn’t look that great in some of his fights after the first fight with Wladimir. But his last fight, which I think was in Texas when I was down there doing the HBO broadcast, everyone said he looked fantastic just due to the fact his weight is down. Maybe with a different trainer, I think he’s working now in Big Bear and having a whole different attitude about everything. Just the fact that his weight is down you know he’s taking it more seriously. That’s one of the complaints always was his conditioning. And he is a puncher so nevertheless, we’re not going to be relaxed. The first fight had enough drama to last me a lifetime with Wladimir down three times and then in the twelfth round Sam Peter was out on his feet. So we’re not going to take the fight lightly because he is a puncher. We figure Peter to be a much more dangerous puncher than Povetkin.”
On what he believes will be the major difference in the rematch between Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter:
“That was the breakthrough fight for Wladimir Klitschko. That was the fight after he had been stopped twice and he had a fight with DaVarryl Williamson where he looked not that impressive. He went down in that fight even though he won a technical decision because of a cut. His brother had like given up hope on him and most of the people in his camp, and it was just he and I for the most part. That was apparent for the Sam Peter fight. It was a fight where, for the first time, he actually barred his brother from coming to a training camp. They had been training together all of their careers. It was because of the lack of confidence and the negative vibes that everyone had going into that fight.
He could have chosen an easier fight, but he ask who was the best fighter out there that could give him credibility back after being stopped by Brewster and barely getting by with DaVarryl Williamson and having been stopped by Sanders. I said “Well the most dangerous guy is Sam Peter”. So that’s what he wanted. That was the make or break fight that he said would put his career back on track or he could have picked a safe bout. So going down two times in the fight early, which they weren’t really clean knockdowns, but I looked at the expression on his face and it was like psychologically he wasn’t hurt but he was just totally confused and disappointed in himself. When he came back at the end of the round he was surprised by how cool I was, because I saw he wasn’t hurt. So I spoke to him very carefully and told him he was boxing at a distance where he could get caught with those clubbing punches and that he needed to be all the way back or if he got in too close to just tie him up and never allow him at that halfway distance where he could get clubbed. He said, “Okay” and if you watch the fight, before the bell rang for the next round after he had been down twice, he was the one in the center of the ring waiting on Sam Peter.
That was psychologically a tough fight for him. The last knockdown, I think was the tenth round, which we both consider was a true knockdown but he came back and had Sam out on his feet in the twelfth round so that was like the turning point in his entire boxing career in that fight. Since then I think he’s progressed tremendously and gone to another level to become one of the probably most respected and maybe on his way to becoming one of the top fighters in heavyweight history. Meanwhile Sam has been going back and forth and probably aside from his last fight hasn’t been that impressive. So it’s going to be interesting to see what happens because we still don’t know what the psychological affect will be on Wladimir. Whether this time he wants to go out and prove that he’s the best heavyweight, and this is a good chance for him to fight a guy who just recently fought the other heavyweight that everybody considers maybe the best which is a guy named Vitali Klitschko.
This will be a very good comparison point for the public to judge between the two heavyweight champions and the two brothers. For that reason, I think Wladimir is going to try and put on a very impressive performance and I don’t know if Sam’s going to be able to hold him off if Wladimir comes in with that attitude. Wladimir is one of the most devastating one-punch boxers in heavyweight history. He’s not the type of guy who wears you down. He can turn out the lights with one single punch. Sam Peter said he’s going to pick up where he left off, that’s what Wladimir told me—where he left off the last fight by knocking him down. I said, “Well Wladimir, you have to pick up where the fight actually finished up in the twelfth round where you almost had him out with the left hook”. It will be I think an explosive fight because of the emotions with Wladimir trying to prove something and Sam realizing this is his big shot right now. It’s going to be an interesting fight between punchers for a change.”
His thoughts on Sam Peter’s comments from earlier in the show when Peter had words for Wladimir stating, “Be ready because it’s going to be a short night”:
“I think it will but I think he’ll be on the short end of it, but that really means that he has tremendous confidence in himself now and I think that’s good.”
On his first Boxing Clinic from Atlanta, Georgia on July 21:
“We had a very good jam-packed crowd and it was very interesting. Some of the questions that people had asked me in addition to the basic fundamentals about jabs and hooks and the fundamentals of balance, which everyone knows is one of my key points, but we also covered a lot of areas. People were asking questions about behind the scenes with things that went on in the camps with Chavez, and De La Hoya, and training Evander Holyfield for the rematch with Bowe. We touched on some questions such as when do you quit having sex, and tricks to hand-wrapping which is not only just for the safety but actually little tricks where you can improve the punching power. Also diets, the day before the fight, what you eat before the weigh in, and the day of the fight, and the types of food and whatnot. So it was very good. It was a lot of fun and everybody was laughing and joking and it was very interesting where we all got personal and everybody came up into the ring. After the clinic, we had everybody start doing boxing lessons. They were doing the footwork and punching and stuff. We had about three hours of a lot of good fun.”
On whether he believes he succeeded in sharing the knowledge he has acquired to people who attended the clinic:
“I definitely do. We had a tremendous feedback and a lot of the people that attended have been communicating. I gave them an open line to call and we’ve been going over a lot of things with different types of equipment. Sometimes people even have excess equipment that they don’t need. Also you could check a lot of things on the on-line boxing forum, too, which we have on www.EmanuelStewardOnline.com . It was a very good clinic and people got to be very close and personal where we had a lot of questions and we didn’t have anything too sophisticated. It was just everyone at the gym speaking to each other and there were different things everyone had that were important to different people.”
On what he considers to be his most memorable moment from his first Boxing Clinic:
“Well I would say probably when I got the people up in the ring and we started working on the basic steps and whatever. It was amazing how some people did everything perfectly and some people were so uncoordinated that we laughed and made fun of it. I think the fact that most people accepted that you have to learn the basics and then the art of balance and a jab and showing that a short person can outbox a tall person. I showed them a few basic little tricks with hand positions and different angles you could jab at. I think that was what people seemed most impressed by—the idea that shorter guys can outbox taller people, and the tricks to improving punching power, and then the different techniques that you have to use for amateur boxer and a professional. We covered everything. The equipment was an major thing, too—the different types, and people have these protective cups that come all the way around to the back, the trunks that are sometimes too baggy, between rounds how they pick up excessive weight with all the water, the proper way to set the stools this way you can get the most rest in between rounds without creating stress on the back of the fighter. So we covered all kind of basic things and the best was when we asked the crowd to ask questions and there were some very interesting questions that the people asked.”
On whether there is still time for interested parties to register for his second Boxing Clinic which will be held on August 4th in Tampa, Florida:
“Yes, we’re expecting a bigger crowd in Tampa, Florida, especially after training Miguel Cotto there for his upset victory, to some degree, over Yuri Foreman. We had so many people coming in everyday watching even though a lot of them didn’t believe Miguel would be able to do it. That whole area down there, with Winky Wright and Andre Berto, it’s really a haven of boxing there. It was just a lot of interest all over that whole area there so I think that will be our biggest turnout there. Probably out of the next two or three, it might be one of our most successful.”
Regarding the potential location for future Boxing Clinics after the next one in Tampa:
“I’m going to be going into training camp with Wladimir pretty soon for his fight that we just mentioned which is September 11. We’re doing one in September I think on the 18th in Houston, Texas. We got quite a few people there who called up asking about that. We’ll schedule our next ones I think in London, definitely one somewhere near New York, and maybe one in Germany.”
On rumors circulating that there is talks between camps about a possible fight between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Junior:
“I myself have been so confused just watching the internet, but Miguel was lined up for a fight with Pacquiao and things fell apart. Then I was getting a new cell phone and the guy was programming me, I guess the internet and email or whatever, and I saw it flash across as he was programming and it said, “It’s Final! Mayweather versus Cotto”—and I said, “What is that?” So last night I called to speak to Bryan Perez who’s the closest guy to Miguel and he said, “Emanuel, just like you we are reading stuff on the internet. There was an offer I guess made related to Pacquiao which they say was so far out of the league they said it was offered just so they could say no.” I said, “What about Mayweather?” He said, “Well there is nothing confirmed on that. We haven’t had any meetings, so I don’t know if that’s true or not”. Anyway, basically they’re just sitting and waiting like everybody else. But I definitely know that Bryan would not lie, so he said, “As soon as we get anywhere near even talking about a serious match, we will call you right away to have your input related to styles and different things”.
So at this stage, it’s just a lot of speculation and I guess the strongest move has been made by Top Rank to make the fight between Pacquiao and Margarito. So I guess that’s really the hot negotiation, but to me I’m just watching like a fan or a spectator. I’m seeing the resistance and negative reactions from the public. I think that’s going to be a very difficult fight to make. I understand the reasons and they’re trying to get Manny to maybe win a championship in another division. It’s a vacated title I guess with Sergio Martinez moving up. The reaction from the fans has been very bad. The man committed a crime and now he’s being rewarded with the biggest purse of his life. Just the idea of trying to move the fight to Mexico and all of that stuff and disrespecting the boxing commission, I don’t think that’s going to fly. At this stage I’m just as confused as everyone else is and I’m going to just wait and see what happens.”
On how surprised he was when Pacquiao’s team decided to choose Margarito over Cotto:
“I still don’t fully understand it. It’s very confusing. I mean regardless, Miguel Cotto even having lost in the two fights and having difficult fights in I think his last four fights prior to the fight with Yuri Foreman, he still has always been a major attraction. The Puerto Rican following he has is truly amazing. I didn’t realize he was that popular. Even in the fights he lost he fought exciting fights and even though they didn’t believe in him as much anymore when he went into his fight with Foreman, the support that they gave him was phenomenal and there are a lot of Puerto Ricans, much more than I realized. He has to be always considered a serious attraction for a pay per view and everything. The last fight with the victory, I think it did enhance him. I just felt there were a lot of people who may have felt that he took such a beating in his fight with Pacquiao.
You look at that and say well, he’s a much more improved fighter now. In the weight division, he’s fighting at 154 and if they’re going to fight for the 154 pound title I think it should be at 154. Henry Armstrong and all of the other great fighters when they fought moving up in weight, they fought at that weight limit. Not like the last fight where he fought at 145. The different between 147 and 145 if you barely could make 147 could be a major factor, especially after the first half of a fight. So I think fighting at a full weight and having the confidence of a new style that he’s worked on here and the fact that up until about the fourth round I thought it was a very close fight, so that’s still marketable to some degree, regardless.
I think Margarito’s just a big question mark. I just think there is a big negative cloud. It’s not me personally. The man did his time but I have to go by the reaction of the public. I don’t think he should be getting a big super fight of this caliber and the public has pretty much picked up on that fact. The fact that his name is being more referred to as “Margocheater” or whatever now than it is “Margarito” so I think it’s an awkward situation because I really wanted to see Pacquiao and Mayweather like everyone else. I would have almost bet that the fight would have been made because of the tremendous money that would have been made and the public interest. Nevertheless, I don’t really know what should happen. They’re saying that there wasn’t really a serious negotiation, Bob Arum is saying there was but it looks like the fight is in jeopardy right now and it’s going to be very interesting to see who fights who in this situation right now. Nothing would surprise me.”
His views on the rematch of a former Fight of the Year match between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz:
“I think that’s the best way you can describe. It’s a fight where both fighters have something to prove because in recent fights, first as a fan I’m thinking whoa. With Juan Diaz I’m thinking that even though he’s had some victories in between, I still can’t get that Nate Campbell fight out of my mind. I’m still looking at the terrific knockout that he suffered the last time with Marquez in addition to Paulie Malignaggi beating him. Then you look at Marquez’s very bad performance as it turned out against Mayweather. Still, nevertheless, it’s an intriguing fight because both guys have to rebuild their confidence if either one of them wants to be on that elite level as super fighters.
I think the mental make-up of the two guys, in addition to both of them wanting to prove something and their natural styles that this is going to be an explosive fight. I think Diaz is going to be still aggressive because that’s his style. When I was asked for my HBO analysis about the strong points for each guy, basically I think Marquez has to fight his regular Marquez type fight which is keeping good balance, placing punchers very accurately, being patient, and being very professional and systematic which is his great forte. I mean even in the fights with Pacquiao, take the knockdowns out which cost him on scoring system, and he won both of those fights actually in terms of rounds. It’s just the knockdowns made the scoring system go against him. He’s a good solid fighter. He has to fight the same thing.
I think Diaz is an aggressive, young, “baby bull” as they call him type fighter. I think he’s going to be aggressive still. It would be wise maybe for him to try and move and box, but I don’t think that’s in his DNA. So he’s not going to do that, but I think he will probably be a little more conservative in this fight than the first fight. He was physically just dogging Marquez early. It just seemed like he was going all out trying to get it over with in three or four rounds. Then he got exhausted and Marquez’s experience came into play. So I think in this fight he’s going to fight a little bit more intelligently. He’ll still be aggressive but maybe he’ll try and be prepared for a longer fight. Still, just the make-up of the style of Diaz is going to make him be aggressive and I imagine Marquez is just going to sit back and try and place his punches properly. I think it’s going to be a very explosive fight, still.”
His views on Domonique Dolton’s second round knockout victory against Jeremiah Jones last Friday:
“I think he’s one of the best prospects in boxing today. We have tried unsuccessfully to get him on a TV card or to get him with a promoter so we decided just to keep him busy. He was the key to the victory for Miguel Cotto in his victory over Yuri Foreman. After the second round I think, I asked Miguel, “How are you doing?” or something to him. He said, “Well, he’s not as good as Domonique. This is easy”. Domonique Dolton is like a combination of a Sugar Ray Leonard and a Donald Curry for some of the people who remember Donald Curry. He’s a very accurate pinpoint boxer with beautiful balance. He’s very beautiful to watch. He’s fighting again I think August 31 in Florida. Wladimir Klitschko used him for his fight with Eddie Chambers. During that last week that was his main sparring partner because he has such good balance. Michael Hunter and Domoniqe Dolton were both the main key sparring partners even though Dolton is only 154 pounds, though.”
On how long he thinks it will be before fans start getting excited about Dolton:
“As soon as they will give him a TV date and we have tried with Top Rank and all of the guys and they all stayed away. He would beat I think all of their top prospects. He’ll beat any of these fighters I’ve seen from today. I’d say in about four fights. He boxes ten or twelve rounds sometimes in training. I think Domonique’s twenty now, but he’s sparred with Kermit Cintron, Jermain Taylor, he’s boxed with Andy Lee, Wladimir Klitschko, and then recently with Miguel Cotto and he has more than held his own with all of those guys he’s been sparring with since he was a kid.”
His views on Andy Lee’s training camp for his upcoming fight against James Cook on July 30:
“Everything is very good. He’s never out of shape, even when he’s in New York training. He’s always in good shape. He’s back in the Kronk Gym and it’s back up to about 97 degrees again. He’s been boxing with Domonique Dolton and also with K9 Cornelius Bundrage who is preparing for his championship fight on August 7 with Cory Spinks. Some of the other young guys have gone in the gym with him. He’s been in great, great sparring. We feel very good about this fight and he’s going to stay busy fighting every month, regardless. He may even fight on the card with Wladimir Klitschko on September 11. He’s going to try and stay very busy because with the lack of marquee names in the middleweight division, and for a good example look at Daniel Jacobs fighting. It’s not like it’s a time where you got a Hagler and a bunch of great fighters. The names out there, even Sergio Martinez and that’s about it and he hasn’t been a household name. So there is a lot of inexperienced and unknown fighters. In fact we were just speaking yesterday and laughing. The division with the least recognized names is the middleweights now. I mean Pavlik and everyone has moved up to super middleweight or whatever, or even some of the junior middleweights. I think it’s a good opportunity if Andy fights regularly that by March he definitely will be fighting for the middleweight championship of the world. We’d like to have fights scheduled for him in New York, and we’re working on one in Chicago also to keep him very busy and start spreading him around a little bit. His greatest knockout was in New York and that’s where we want to go back to again.”
On rumors about a possible fight between Andy Lee and Felix Sturm and whether he would be interested in having Andy go to Germany to partake in such a fight:
“We have been contacted about the fight. I think he has a fight scheduled over there in Germany that’s coming up pretty soon in September and they asked if Andy would interested in having that fight, because the fight was in jeopardy I guess a little while back and we told them yes. In Germany or wherever, I have that much confidence in Andy. We would take that fight in a heartbeat. That’s something that they said well maybe after this fight they will be able to do that. Outside of Germany right now, Felix Sturm’s name is not even a big name right now. I think it’s unfortunate that one of the glamour divisions in the history of boxing is now one of the least known and recognized in terms of its talent. But yeah, we would fight Felix Sturm in Germany or anywhere, and if not Felix Sturm we’re going after Sergio Martinez if he’s still the champion by the first part of 2011.”
On which other young middleweights (such as Fernando Guerrero, David Lemieux, and Peter “Kid Chocolate" Quillin) he believes has the most potential become a factor in the division:
“I think all of those guys, but there is not that one standout guy that you see and say, “Wow, this guy’s breaking down doors and creating excitement with bombs going off”. I don’t see that. You’re going to have to have a lot of fights so people can get familiar with some of these guys. Andy because of some of the hype and publicity he’s had and the Carl Daniels knockout that he had in New York, which is for those who haven’t seen it probably one of the most dramatic one-punch knockouts ever in the history of the sport. Then the fight he had that we lost on ESPN was still one of their highest rated shows of the year and that was still a war. His name is one of the few marquee names, but no, I don’t see any one particular guy that’s really just standing out. All of those guys like “Kid Chocolate”, I’ve seen all of those guys and I know them. They’re all good fighters but there is nothing really that dramatic.
Korobov I had so much high hopes for him myself. That’s the fighter from Russia who Top Rank managed. He started off well and then in his recent fights after about three or four rounds he fell apart. I was just talking to his trainer Kenny Adams and Kenny said they found out he had some breathing problems and they had to have surgery on his nose or something so maybe that can explain it. He looked very good in the beginning. I was very excited about him. Now I think there has to be a lot of exposure and somebody has to do something dramatic to create some excitement in the middleweight division and it’s just not there yet. I don’t know if TV is even going to give these guys that kind of exposure. Daniel Jacobs has come along very well. I think his promotional company Top Rank and I think Al Haymon have done a phenomenal job of moving him and the timing is good for him because there is no really dramatic standout fighters and you’re not going against any legendary fighters.
So it’s just a game of young fighters going against each other now. You move a guy to a championship fight as fast as you can depending on the competition. It’s not like you got to go against a Marvelous Marvin Hagler, or a Ray Leonard, or a Tommy Hearns. It’s a fight that I think he has a good chance of winning. It’s probably reflective of the situation in boxing even though Andy tells me that Danny may have a tough fight and he knows a little bit more about the opponent than I do. But regardless, there is no dominating names or fighters with a whole string of knockouts.
We’re hoping that Andy can fill that void right now because he’s a good fighter to watch, and I’m not just saying that because I manage and train him, but he has a beautiful style and he’s explosive. He will try to knock you out if he gets an opportunity. That’s why even in the fight he lost, he could have paced himself but he went all out trying to finish off Vera and he got exhausted and had a bad cut and everything. We wanted to pace ourselves because we knew that he had a bad cold and came in under weight, but nevertheless, that’s what makes him almost the same as Tommy Hearns. He wants to go all out and be impressive for the crowd. I think given the right situation and the right platform, he could end up being the star in the middleweight division.”
On whether he believes Andy Lee needs to reverse the outcome of his only career loss and have a rematch against Brian Vera:
“We don’t need it, but we want it badly and I don’t care what he says. After the fight it got one of the highest ratings of the year. Andy was ahead on points. Andy had scored the knockdown. Andy when the fight was actually stopped, even though Andy had the hell beat out of him for almost a minute and his eye was cut, when the fight was stopped he was actually walking in and hitting Vera and the referee actually stopped Andy from punching. But it left a lot of drama. We tried to make the fight. The guy was offered $250,000 with TV included and they said no, because they were going to milk that and go directly to a big fight with Kelly Pavlik. That hasn’t happened. If Vera wants to take the fight, we would take the fight any minute. That would be one of the biggest fights that could be made right now, still. His whole career is based on that one night and every athlete has that night where he may lose a fight. In fact, the greatest ball teams lose but in other sports you lose and three days later you get to play again. With a boxer that’s it. His whole career is based off of that one fight. We would love to make that fight under any conditions. Put it back on ESPN or HBO or without any TV. If Vera wants to make the fight, that would be a great fight for him. That was just a night where everything went good for him because he fought like everybody has when they have that great night. Andy came in at 158. He has never been that light. He was very sick. I tried to cancel that fight, he said no. He said not an American TV fight, I got to fight. As a result he fought his heart out, he lost the fight. Chalk it up. I have never, and I shouldn’t be saying this, but I have never, ever, ever lost a rematch fight in my life. So I will gladly take the fight.”
by Geoffrey Ciani - This week’s 83rd edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward who is currently involved in a lot of recent headlines throughout the boxing world. The top story involved a recent change in opponent for heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who was originally slated to face IBF number one contender Alexander Povetkin but will instead square off in a rematch against Samuel Peter. There are also rumors in circulation about a potential match-up between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. In other news, Steward’s young prospect Domonique Dolton is coming off of an impressive knockout victory against Jeremiah Jones last weekend, and middleweight contender Andy Lee is scheduled to face off against James Cook this Friday. Furthermore, in addition to the events surrounding some of his top fighters, Steward also completed the first in a series of new boxing clinics last Wednesday and he already has a second clinic scheduled for August 4. Emanuel has been a busy man of late and here is some of what he had to say:
On Wladimir Klitschko’s recent switch in opponent from Alexander Povetkin to Sam Peter:
“Well I was kind of prepared for that. I have never believed that Povetkin was going to fight Wladimir, just not as bad as David Haye. So we were prepared and I told Wladimir to be prepared about two weeks ago that he might have to fight Sam Peter and also that they should contact him to see if he was available, because I had a feeling that this was going to happen.”
On whether he blames Teddy Atlas for Povetkin pulling out of the fight:
“Well he’s been consistent. From day one Teddy has never said that he thought his fighter was ready. If you read between the lines in all of the interviews that he did, he was always consistently just speaking in general like how you have to train a guy this way, you have to be prepared, people have to find themselves. He never did speak with any strong conviction that he felt that his fighter was ready. He feels that he needs more time. He was put in that position because the fighter was already in the mandatory position when he became involved with him. If he hadn’t been, he probably would have never pushed for him to be in that position. So he did what he thought was best and I respect it and I respect the fact that the IBF is going along with that. After two years he has shown no real desire to step up and take advantage of his position. They have decided to move on.
So everything is sorting itself out so to say, and you can’t make a guy fight that doesn’t want to fight and it’s very difficult to promote a fight when you have one guy who’s prepared and another guy who really seems sort of reluctant to participate and promote it and everything else. We have to move on to Sam Peter and I think it’s going to be an interesting fight because Sam didn’t look that great in some of his fights after the first fight with Wladimir. But his last fight, which I think was in Texas when I was down there doing the HBO broadcast, everyone said he looked fantastic just due to the fact his weight is down. Maybe with a different trainer, I think he’s working now in Big Bear and having a whole different attitude about everything. Just the fact that his weight is down you know he’s taking it more seriously. That’s one of the complaints always was his conditioning. And he is a puncher so nevertheless, we’re not going to be relaxed. The first fight had enough drama to last me a lifetime with Wladimir down three times and then in the twelfth round Sam Peter was out on his feet. So we’re not going to take the fight lightly because he is a puncher. We figure Peter to be a much more dangerous puncher than Povetkin.”
On what he believes will be the major difference in the rematch between Wladimir Klitschko and Sam Peter:
“That was the breakthrough fight for Wladimir Klitschko. That was the fight after he had been stopped twice and he had a fight with DaVarryl Williamson where he looked not that impressive. He went down in that fight even though he won a technical decision because of a cut. His brother had like given up hope on him and most of the people in his camp, and it was just he and I for the most part. That was apparent for the Sam Peter fight. It was a fight where, for the first time, he actually barred his brother from coming to a training camp. They had been training together all of their careers. It was because of the lack of confidence and the negative vibes that everyone had going into that fight.
He could have chosen an easier fight, but he ask who was the best fighter out there that could give him credibility back after being stopped by Brewster and barely getting by with DaVarryl Williamson and having been stopped by Sanders. I said “Well the most dangerous guy is Sam Peter”. So that’s what he wanted. That was the make or break fight that he said would put his career back on track or he could have picked a safe bout. So going down two times in the fight early, which they weren’t really clean knockdowns, but I looked at the expression on his face and it was like psychologically he wasn’t hurt but he was just totally confused and disappointed in himself. When he came back at the end of the round he was surprised by how cool I was, because I saw he wasn’t hurt. So I spoke to him very carefully and told him he was boxing at a distance where he could get caught with those clubbing punches and that he needed to be all the way back or if he got in too close to just tie him up and never allow him at that halfway distance where he could get clubbed. He said, “Okay” and if you watch the fight, before the bell rang for the next round after he had been down twice, he was the one in the center of the ring waiting on Sam Peter.
That was psychologically a tough fight for him. The last knockdown, I think was the tenth round, which we both consider was a true knockdown but he came back and had Sam out on his feet in the twelfth round so that was like the turning point in his entire boxing career in that fight. Since then I think he’s progressed tremendously and gone to another level to become one of the probably most respected and maybe on his way to becoming one of the top fighters in heavyweight history. Meanwhile Sam has been going back and forth and probably aside from his last fight hasn’t been that impressive. So it’s going to be interesting to see what happens because we still don’t know what the psychological affect will be on Wladimir. Whether this time he wants to go out and prove that he’s the best heavyweight, and this is a good chance for him to fight a guy who just recently fought the other heavyweight that everybody considers maybe the best which is a guy named Vitali Klitschko.
This will be a very good comparison point for the public to judge between the two heavyweight champions and the two brothers. For that reason, I think Wladimir is going to try and put on a very impressive performance and I don’t know if Sam’s going to be able to hold him off if Wladimir comes in with that attitude. Wladimir is one of the most devastating one-punch boxers in heavyweight history. He’s not the type of guy who wears you down. He can turn out the lights with one single punch. Sam Peter said he’s going to pick up where he left off, that’s what Wladimir told me—where he left off the last fight by knocking him down. I said, “Well Wladimir, you have to pick up where the fight actually finished up in the twelfth round where you almost had him out with the left hook”. It will be I think an explosive fight because of the emotions with Wladimir trying to prove something and Sam realizing this is his big shot right now. It’s going to be an interesting fight between punchers for a change.”
His thoughts on Sam Peter’s comments from earlier in the show when Peter had words for Wladimir stating, “Be ready because it’s going to be a short night”:
“I think it will but I think he’ll be on the short end of it, but that really means that he has tremendous confidence in himself now and I think that’s good.”
On his first Boxing Clinic from Atlanta, Georgia on July 21:
“We had a very good jam-packed crowd and it was very interesting. Some of the questions that people had asked me in addition to the basic fundamentals about jabs and hooks and the fundamentals of balance, which everyone knows is one of my key points, but we also covered a lot of areas. People were asking questions about behind the scenes with things that went on in the camps with Chavez, and De La Hoya, and training Evander Holyfield for the rematch with Bowe. We touched on some questions such as when do you quit having sex, and tricks to hand-wrapping which is not only just for the safety but actually little tricks where you can improve the punching power. Also diets, the day before the fight, what you eat before the weigh in, and the day of the fight, and the types of food and whatnot. So it was very good. It was a lot of fun and everybody was laughing and joking and it was very interesting where we all got personal and everybody came up into the ring. After the clinic, we had everybody start doing boxing lessons. They were doing the footwork and punching and stuff. We had about three hours of a lot of good fun.”
On whether he believes he succeeded in sharing the knowledge he has acquired to people who attended the clinic:
“I definitely do. We had a tremendous feedback and a lot of the people that attended have been communicating. I gave them an open line to call and we’ve been going over a lot of things with different types of equipment. Sometimes people even have excess equipment that they don’t need. Also you could check a lot of things on the on-line boxing forum, too, which we have on www.EmanuelStewardOnline.com . It was a very good clinic and people got to be very close and personal where we had a lot of questions and we didn’t have anything too sophisticated. It was just everyone at the gym speaking to each other and there were different things everyone had that were important to different people.”
On what he considers to be his most memorable moment from his first Boxing Clinic:
“Well I would say probably when I got the people up in the ring and we started working on the basic steps and whatever. It was amazing how some people did everything perfectly and some people were so uncoordinated that we laughed and made fun of it. I think the fact that most people accepted that you have to learn the basics and then the art of balance and a jab and showing that a short person can outbox a tall person. I showed them a few basic little tricks with hand positions and different angles you could jab at. I think that was what people seemed most impressed by—the idea that shorter guys can outbox taller people, and the tricks to improving punching power, and then the different techniques that you have to use for amateur boxer and a professional. We covered everything. The equipment was an major thing, too—the different types, and people have these protective cups that come all the way around to the back, the trunks that are sometimes too baggy, between rounds how they pick up excessive weight with all the water, the proper way to set the stools this way you can get the most rest in between rounds without creating stress on the back of the fighter. So we covered all kind of basic things and the best was when we asked the crowd to ask questions and there were some very interesting questions that the people asked.”
On whether there is still time for interested parties to register for his second Boxing Clinic which will be held on August 4th in Tampa, Florida:
“Yes, we’re expecting a bigger crowd in Tampa, Florida, especially after training Miguel Cotto there for his upset victory, to some degree, over Yuri Foreman. We had so many people coming in everyday watching even though a lot of them didn’t believe Miguel would be able to do it. That whole area down there, with Winky Wright and Andre Berto, it’s really a haven of boxing there. It was just a lot of interest all over that whole area there so I think that will be our biggest turnout there. Probably out of the next two or three, it might be one of our most successful.”
Regarding the potential location for future Boxing Clinics after the next one in Tampa:
“I’m going to be going into training camp with Wladimir pretty soon for his fight that we just mentioned which is September 11. We’re doing one in September I think on the 18th in Houston, Texas. We got quite a few people there who called up asking about that. We’ll schedule our next ones I think in London, definitely one somewhere near New York, and maybe one in Germany.”
On rumors circulating that there is talks between camps about a possible fight between Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Junior:
“I myself have been so confused just watching the internet, but Miguel was lined up for a fight with Pacquiao and things fell apart. Then I was getting a new cell phone and the guy was programming me, I guess the internet and email or whatever, and I saw it flash across as he was programming and it said, “It’s Final! Mayweather versus Cotto”—and I said, “What is that?” So last night I called to speak to Bryan Perez who’s the closest guy to Miguel and he said, “Emanuel, just like you we are reading stuff on the internet. There was an offer I guess made related to Pacquiao which they say was so far out of the league they said it was offered just so they could say no.” I said, “What about Mayweather?” He said, “Well there is nothing confirmed on that. We haven’t had any meetings, so I don’t know if that’s true or not”. Anyway, basically they’re just sitting and waiting like everybody else. But I definitely know that Bryan would not lie, so he said, “As soon as we get anywhere near even talking about a serious match, we will call you right away to have your input related to styles and different things”.
So at this stage, it’s just a lot of speculation and I guess the strongest move has been made by Top Rank to make the fight between Pacquiao and Margarito. So I guess that’s really the hot negotiation, but to me I’m just watching like a fan or a spectator. I’m seeing the resistance and negative reactions from the public. I think that’s going to be a very difficult fight to make. I understand the reasons and they’re trying to get Manny to maybe win a championship in another division. It’s a vacated title I guess with Sergio Martinez moving up. The reaction from the fans has been very bad. The man committed a crime and now he’s being rewarded with the biggest purse of his life. Just the idea of trying to move the fight to Mexico and all of that stuff and disrespecting the boxing commission, I don’t think that’s going to fly. At this stage I’m just as confused as everyone else is and I’m going to just wait and see what happens.”
On how surprised he was when Pacquiao’s team decided to choose Margarito over Cotto:
“I still don’t fully understand it. It’s very confusing. I mean regardless, Miguel Cotto even having lost in the two fights and having difficult fights in I think his last four fights prior to the fight with Yuri Foreman, he still has always been a major attraction. The Puerto Rican following he has is truly amazing. I didn’t realize he was that popular. Even in the fights he lost he fought exciting fights and even though they didn’t believe in him as much anymore when he went into his fight with Foreman, the support that they gave him was phenomenal and there are a lot of Puerto Ricans, much more than I realized. He has to be always considered a serious attraction for a pay per view and everything. The last fight with the victory, I think it did enhance him. I just felt there were a lot of people who may have felt that he took such a beating in his fight with Pacquiao.
You look at that and say well, he’s a much more improved fighter now. In the weight division, he’s fighting at 154 and if they’re going to fight for the 154 pound title I think it should be at 154. Henry Armstrong and all of the other great fighters when they fought moving up in weight, they fought at that weight limit. Not like the last fight where he fought at 145. The different between 147 and 145 if you barely could make 147 could be a major factor, especially after the first half of a fight. So I think fighting at a full weight and having the confidence of a new style that he’s worked on here and the fact that up until about the fourth round I thought it was a very close fight, so that’s still marketable to some degree, regardless.
I think Margarito’s just a big question mark. I just think there is a big negative cloud. It’s not me personally. The man did his time but I have to go by the reaction of the public. I don’t think he should be getting a big super fight of this caliber and the public has pretty much picked up on that fact. The fact that his name is being more referred to as “Margocheater” or whatever now than it is “Margarito” so I think it’s an awkward situation because I really wanted to see Pacquiao and Mayweather like everyone else. I would have almost bet that the fight would have been made because of the tremendous money that would have been made and the public interest. Nevertheless, I don’t really know what should happen. They’re saying that there wasn’t really a serious negotiation, Bob Arum is saying there was but it looks like the fight is in jeopardy right now and it’s going to be very interesting to see who fights who in this situation right now. Nothing would surprise me.”
His views on the rematch of a former Fight of the Year match between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz:
“I think that’s the best way you can describe. It’s a fight where both fighters have something to prove because in recent fights, first as a fan I’m thinking whoa. With Juan Diaz I’m thinking that even though he’s had some victories in between, I still can’t get that Nate Campbell fight out of my mind. I’m still looking at the terrific knockout that he suffered the last time with Marquez in addition to Paulie Malignaggi beating him. Then you look at Marquez’s very bad performance as it turned out against Mayweather. Still, nevertheless, it’s an intriguing fight because both guys have to rebuild their confidence if either one of them wants to be on that elite level as super fighters.
I think the mental make-up of the two guys, in addition to both of them wanting to prove something and their natural styles that this is going to be an explosive fight. I think Diaz is going to be still aggressive because that’s his style. When I was asked for my HBO analysis about the strong points for each guy, basically I think Marquez has to fight his regular Marquez type fight which is keeping good balance, placing punchers very accurately, being patient, and being very professional and systematic which is his great forte. I mean even in the fights with Pacquiao, take the knockdowns out which cost him on scoring system, and he won both of those fights actually in terms of rounds. It’s just the knockdowns made the scoring system go against him. He’s a good solid fighter. He has to fight the same thing.
I think Diaz is an aggressive, young, “baby bull” as they call him type fighter. I think he’s going to be aggressive still. It would be wise maybe for him to try and move and box, but I don’t think that’s in his DNA. So he’s not going to do that, but I think he will probably be a little more conservative in this fight than the first fight. He was physically just dogging Marquez early. It just seemed like he was going all out trying to get it over with in three or four rounds. Then he got exhausted and Marquez’s experience came into play. So I think in this fight he’s going to fight a little bit more intelligently. He’ll still be aggressive but maybe he’ll try and be prepared for a longer fight. Still, just the make-up of the style of Diaz is going to make him be aggressive and I imagine Marquez is just going to sit back and try and place his punches properly. I think it’s going to be a very explosive fight, still.”
His views on Domonique Dolton’s second round knockout victory against Jeremiah Jones last Friday:
“I think he’s one of the best prospects in boxing today. We have tried unsuccessfully to get him on a TV card or to get him with a promoter so we decided just to keep him busy. He was the key to the victory for Miguel Cotto in his victory over Yuri Foreman. After the second round I think, I asked Miguel, “How are you doing?” or something to him. He said, “Well, he’s not as good as Domonique. This is easy”. Domonique Dolton is like a combination of a Sugar Ray Leonard and a Donald Curry for some of the people who remember Donald Curry. He’s a very accurate pinpoint boxer with beautiful balance. He’s very beautiful to watch. He’s fighting again I think August 31 in Florida. Wladimir Klitschko used him for his fight with Eddie Chambers. During that last week that was his main sparring partner because he has such good balance. Michael Hunter and Domoniqe Dolton were both the main key sparring partners even though Dolton is only 154 pounds, though.”
On how long he thinks it will be before fans start getting excited about Dolton:
“As soon as they will give him a TV date and we have tried with Top Rank and all of the guys and they all stayed away. He would beat I think all of their top prospects. He’ll beat any of these fighters I’ve seen from today. I’d say in about four fights. He boxes ten or twelve rounds sometimes in training. I think Domonique’s twenty now, but he’s sparred with Kermit Cintron, Jermain Taylor, he’s boxed with Andy Lee, Wladimir Klitschko, and then recently with Miguel Cotto and he has more than held his own with all of those guys he’s been sparring with since he was a kid.”
His views on Andy Lee’s training camp for his upcoming fight against James Cook on July 30:
“Everything is very good. He’s never out of shape, even when he’s in New York training. He’s always in good shape. He’s back in the Kronk Gym and it’s back up to about 97 degrees again. He’s been boxing with Domonique Dolton and also with K9 Cornelius Bundrage who is preparing for his championship fight on August 7 with Cory Spinks. Some of the other young guys have gone in the gym with him. He’s been in great, great sparring. We feel very good about this fight and he’s going to stay busy fighting every month, regardless. He may even fight on the card with Wladimir Klitschko on September 11. He’s going to try and stay very busy because with the lack of marquee names in the middleweight division, and for a good example look at Daniel Jacobs fighting. It’s not like it’s a time where you got a Hagler and a bunch of great fighters. The names out there, even Sergio Martinez and that’s about it and he hasn’t been a household name. So there is a lot of inexperienced and unknown fighters. In fact we were just speaking yesterday and laughing. The division with the least recognized names is the middleweights now. I mean Pavlik and everyone has moved up to super middleweight or whatever, or even some of the junior middleweights. I think it’s a good opportunity if Andy fights regularly that by March he definitely will be fighting for the middleweight championship of the world. We’d like to have fights scheduled for him in New York, and we’re working on one in Chicago also to keep him very busy and start spreading him around a little bit. His greatest knockout was in New York and that’s where we want to go back to again.”
On rumors about a possible fight between Andy Lee and Felix Sturm and whether he would be interested in having Andy go to Germany to partake in such a fight:
“We have been contacted about the fight. I think he has a fight scheduled over there in Germany that’s coming up pretty soon in September and they asked if Andy would interested in having that fight, because the fight was in jeopardy I guess a little while back and we told them yes. In Germany or wherever, I have that much confidence in Andy. We would take that fight in a heartbeat. That’s something that they said well maybe after this fight they will be able to do that. Outside of Germany right now, Felix Sturm’s name is not even a big name right now. I think it’s unfortunate that one of the glamour divisions in the history of boxing is now one of the least known and recognized in terms of its talent. But yeah, we would fight Felix Sturm in Germany or anywhere, and if not Felix Sturm we’re going after Sergio Martinez if he’s still the champion by the first part of 2011.”
On which other young middleweights (such as Fernando Guerrero, David Lemieux, and Peter “Kid Chocolate" Quillin) he believes has the most potential become a factor in the division:
“I think all of those guys, but there is not that one standout guy that you see and say, “Wow, this guy’s breaking down doors and creating excitement with bombs going off”. I don’t see that. You’re going to have to have a lot of fights so people can get familiar with some of these guys. Andy because of some of the hype and publicity he’s had and the Carl Daniels knockout that he had in New York, which is for those who haven’t seen it probably one of the most dramatic one-punch knockouts ever in the history of the sport. Then the fight he had that we lost on ESPN was still one of their highest rated shows of the year and that was still a war. His name is one of the few marquee names, but no, I don’t see any one particular guy that’s really just standing out. All of those guys like “Kid Chocolate”, I’ve seen all of those guys and I know them. They’re all good fighters but there is nothing really that dramatic.
Korobov I had so much high hopes for him myself. That’s the fighter from Russia who Top Rank managed. He started off well and then in his recent fights after about three or four rounds he fell apart. I was just talking to his trainer Kenny Adams and Kenny said they found out he had some breathing problems and they had to have surgery on his nose or something so maybe that can explain it. He looked very good in the beginning. I was very excited about him. Now I think there has to be a lot of exposure and somebody has to do something dramatic to create some excitement in the middleweight division and it’s just not there yet. I don’t know if TV is even going to give these guys that kind of exposure. Daniel Jacobs has come along very well. I think his promotional company Top Rank and I think Al Haymon have done a phenomenal job of moving him and the timing is good for him because there is no really dramatic standout fighters and you’re not going against any legendary fighters.
So it’s just a game of young fighters going against each other now. You move a guy to a championship fight as fast as you can depending on the competition. It’s not like you got to go against a Marvelous Marvin Hagler, or a Ray Leonard, or a Tommy Hearns. It’s a fight that I think he has a good chance of winning. It’s probably reflective of the situation in boxing even though Andy tells me that Danny may have a tough fight and he knows a little bit more about the opponent than I do. But regardless, there is no dominating names or fighters with a whole string of knockouts.
We’re hoping that Andy can fill that void right now because he’s a good fighter to watch, and I’m not just saying that because I manage and train him, but he has a beautiful style and he’s explosive. He will try to knock you out if he gets an opportunity. That’s why even in the fight he lost, he could have paced himself but he went all out trying to finish off Vera and he got exhausted and had a bad cut and everything. We wanted to pace ourselves because we knew that he had a bad cold and came in under weight, but nevertheless, that’s what makes him almost the same as Tommy Hearns. He wants to go all out and be impressive for the crowd. I think given the right situation and the right platform, he could end up being the star in the middleweight division.”
On whether he believes Andy Lee needs to reverse the outcome of his only career loss and have a rematch against Brian Vera:
“We don’t need it, but we want it badly and I don’t care what he says. After the fight it got one of the highest ratings of the year. Andy was ahead on points. Andy had scored the knockdown. Andy when the fight was actually stopped, even though Andy had the hell beat out of him for almost a minute and his eye was cut, when the fight was stopped he was actually walking in and hitting Vera and the referee actually stopped Andy from punching. But it left a lot of drama. We tried to make the fight. The guy was offered $250,000 with TV included and they said no, because they were going to milk that and go directly to a big fight with Kelly Pavlik. That hasn’t happened. If Vera wants to take the fight, we would take the fight any minute. That would be one of the biggest fights that could be made right now, still. His whole career is based on that one night and every athlete has that night where he may lose a fight. In fact, the greatest ball teams lose but in other sports you lose and three days later you get to play again. With a boxer that’s it. His whole career is based off of that one fight. We would love to make that fight under any conditions. Put it back on ESPN or HBO or without any TV. If Vera wants to make the fight, that would be a great fight for him. That was just a night where everything went good for him because he fought like everybody has when they have that great night. Andy came in at 158. He has never been that light. He was very sick. I tried to cancel that fight, he said no. He said not an American TV fight, I got to fight. As a result he fought his heart out, he lost the fight. Chalk it up. I have never, and I shouldn’t be saying this, but I have never, ever, ever lost a rematch fight in my life. So I will gladly take the fight.”
This is for Tony:
Mayweather exposed as chicken
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
Jul 27, 11:38 pm EDT
You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI
HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg released a four-paragraph, five-sentence statement Monday which cast doubt upon the veracity of Floyd Mayweather Jr.; Mayweather’s best friend, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe; Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and which forever eliminated any doubt about Mayweather’s intention: He’s ducking Manny Pacquiao.
There can be no other rational explanation.
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Welcome to “Mayweather in Wonderland,” where they try to convince you that up is down, the grass is blue and the sky is green. Never mind that Mayweather has tarnished, perhaps forever, his legacy as one of the best boxers of all time. Given his disinclination to fight Pacquiao, it’s hard to regard him as the best fighter of his own time.
Mayweather was nowhere to be found on Monday, still on vacation, apparently oblivious to the millions of boxing fans desperate to hear a word about his intentions. If Mayweather cared about his legacy, if he cared about the sport that has made him rich and famous, he wouldn’t have been invisible the last few weeks while allowing Ellerbe to spew a lot of mumbo jumbo.
Mayweather and his cronies attempted to insinuate that Top Rank chairman Bob Arum was being deceitful when he said he’d been negotiating for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight with Greenburg serving as the middle man. Greenburg and Arum have not had the strongest of relationships, while Greenburg has an extraordinarily cozy relationship with Golden Boy. If Arum were lying, their frequently contentious history together suggests that Greenburg would have called him on it immediately.
Greenburg, though, clearly sided with Arum, when he said, in part, “I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd … “
That’s what Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, has steadfastly claimed for weeks. On June 30, Arum told Yahoo! Sports that “all issues were resolved” and that the only outstanding matter was whether Mayweather wanted to fight in 2010 or 2011. Arum then set a July 16, 11:59 p.m. deadline on Mayweather to accept the deal. On a conference call in the early morning hours of July 17, Arum announced the deadline had passed without word from Mayweather and that he was pursuing a fight for Pacquiao with either Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto.
Ellerbe, though, released a statement on July 19 that was the beginning of the end for Team Mayweather’s credibility. Ellerbe disputed that talks had even taken place. “Here are the facts,” the statement read. “Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”
That led many in the media to quickly assail Arum’s credibility and for Schaefer and De La Hoya to issue self-righteous comments backing Ellerbe and denying negotiations had ever taken place.
And they would have won this silly game had it ended there and had Greenburg not entered the fray. Arum insisted he was telling the truth, but few seemed to believe him. They didn’t, that is, until Greenburg released his brief, simple, but truly remarkable statement.
In it, he said, “Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010. I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”
Here’s what sports fans deserve: They deserve better than to waste their hard-earned money on “Money,” who acts as if he’s invented the sport. Mayweather’s a brilliant talent who never seems to let one forget it, who behaves as if he should be able to dictate terms and others should gratefully accept it because he said so.
Let him play in his fantasy world. Boxing doesn’t need him. And, truth be told, he’s wrong about his value.
Mayweather has sold more pay-per-views against common opponents than Pacquiao and his gates for those fights have been bigger. But Pacquiao’s Nov. 14 bout with Cotto at the MGM had a far greater economic impact upon the city of Las Vegas than either of Mayweather’s and the Nevada Gaming Control Board attributed casinos’ best performance in 22 months in November 2009 to the presence of the Pacquiao-Cotto bout and the high-rolling Asian gamblers who spent loads of money.
Despite apparently being caught red-handed when Greenburg released his statement, Ellerbe’s only response on the record was, “I hear his statement and I stand by my statement.” But he then attempted to insinuate that comments Mayweather made at a June 2 Make-a-Wish event in Las Vegas should have been taken by the media that he never planned to fight Pacquiao this year.
“At this particular time, Floyd Mayweather is taking probably a year off, a couple of years off from the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said at the charity event. “I don’t really know what the future holds for Floyd Mayweather at this particular time, but I’ll probably take a couple of years off.”
Saying one “probably” is going to take a year off is a lot different than releasing a statement or holding a media conference and announcing one’s retirement. Yet, Ellerbe attempted to intimate that Mayweather’s statement to sports director Chris Maathuis of KLAS-TV in his gym at a charity event was a definitive announcement.
What muddied the waters even more was De La Hoya apparently lying to Univision on June 11. In a televised Spanish-language interview, De La Hoya said of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, “I think right now we are very, very close in finalizing the contracts. I can’t talk right now in detail about the negotiations but I will say that we are very close.”
The comments caused quite a stir when they were made, but Schaefer dismissed them. He insisted De La Hoya had been misquoted. But when those pesky reporters actually went and had Spanish experts translate the recording, it turned out that De La Hoya wasn’t misquoted.
So the Golden Boy tried a different tactic on Monday. He told Robert Morales of BoxingScene.com, “I think I said it because I get the question so many times that, obviously, I was fed up and tired of it and I just said like, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s gonna get made.’ ”
Essentially, De La Hoya on Monday admitted to lying on June 11, though it’s uncertain how his June 11 comments would have helped end the questioning he wanted to avoid. Given that he said a deal was close, that would only seem to make the scrutiny greater, no lesser. Had he said there were no talks – which he’s now insisting is the truth – and that the fight was not going to happen, no one would have had reason to keep asking him.
No one is going to ask any more. How can anyone support someone with Mayweather’s arrogance, who cares so little about the fans who made him rich beyond his wildest dreams that he won’t even consider the fight they want more than any other?
Mayweather has run from his biggest challenge. The fans, even those who have ardently supported him through the years, will surely remember that. And the next time he dares to compare himself to one of boxing’s all-time greats, such as Sugar Ray Robinson or Sugar Ray Leonard, they’ll scoff.
He can’t hold a candle to either.
Mayweather exposed as chicken
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
Jul 27, 11:38 pm EDT
You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI
HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg released a four-paragraph, five-sentence statement Monday which cast doubt upon the veracity of Floyd Mayweather Jr.; Mayweather’s best friend, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe; Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and which forever eliminated any doubt about Mayweather’s intention: He’s ducking Manny Pacquiao.
There can be no other rational explanation.
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Welcome to “Mayweather in Wonderland,” where they try to convince you that up is down, the grass is blue and the sky is green. Never mind that Mayweather has tarnished, perhaps forever, his legacy as one of the best boxers of all time. Given his disinclination to fight Pacquiao, it’s hard to regard him as the best fighter of his own time.
Mayweather was nowhere to be found on Monday, still on vacation, apparently oblivious to the millions of boxing fans desperate to hear a word about his intentions. If Mayweather cared about his legacy, if he cared about the sport that has made him rich and famous, he wouldn’t have been invisible the last few weeks while allowing Ellerbe to spew a lot of mumbo jumbo.
Mayweather and his cronies attempted to insinuate that Top Rank chairman Bob Arum was being deceitful when he said he’d been negotiating for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight with Greenburg serving as the middle man. Greenburg and Arum have not had the strongest of relationships, while Greenburg has an extraordinarily cozy relationship with Golden Boy. If Arum were lying, their frequently contentious history together suggests that Greenburg would have called him on it immediately.
Greenburg, though, clearly sided with Arum, when he said, in part, “I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd … “
That’s what Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, has steadfastly claimed for weeks. On June 30, Arum told Yahoo! Sports that “all issues were resolved” and that the only outstanding matter was whether Mayweather wanted to fight in 2010 or 2011. Arum then set a July 16, 11:59 p.m. deadline on Mayweather to accept the deal. On a conference call in the early morning hours of July 17, Arum announced the deadline had passed without word from Mayweather and that he was pursuing a fight for Pacquiao with either Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto.
Ellerbe, though, released a statement on July 19 that was the beginning of the end for Team Mayweather’s credibility. Ellerbe disputed that talks had even taken place. “Here are the facts,” the statement read. “Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”
That led many in the media to quickly assail Arum’s credibility and for Schaefer and De La Hoya to issue self-righteous comments backing Ellerbe and denying negotiations had ever taken place.
And they would have won this silly game had it ended there and had Greenburg not entered the fray. Arum insisted he was telling the truth, but few seemed to believe him. They didn’t, that is, until Greenburg released his brief, simple, but truly remarkable statement.
In it, he said, “Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010. I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”
Here’s what sports fans deserve: They deserve better than to waste their hard-earned money on “Money,” who acts as if he’s invented the sport. Mayweather’s a brilliant talent who never seems to let one forget it, who behaves as if he should be able to dictate terms and others should gratefully accept it because he said so.
Let him play in his fantasy world. Boxing doesn’t need him. And, truth be told, he’s wrong about his value.
Mayweather has sold more pay-per-views against common opponents than Pacquiao and his gates for those fights have been bigger. But Pacquiao’s Nov. 14 bout with Cotto at the MGM had a far greater economic impact upon the city of Las Vegas than either of Mayweather’s and the Nevada Gaming Control Board attributed casinos’ best performance in 22 months in November 2009 to the presence of the Pacquiao-Cotto bout and the high-rolling Asian gamblers who spent loads of money.
Despite apparently being caught red-handed when Greenburg released his statement, Ellerbe’s only response on the record was, “I hear his statement and I stand by my statement.” But he then attempted to insinuate that comments Mayweather made at a June 2 Make-a-Wish event in Las Vegas should have been taken by the media that he never planned to fight Pacquiao this year.
“At this particular time, Floyd Mayweather is taking probably a year off, a couple of years off from the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said at the charity event. “I don’t really know what the future holds for Floyd Mayweather at this particular time, but I’ll probably take a couple of years off.”
Saying one “probably” is going to take a year off is a lot different than releasing a statement or holding a media conference and announcing one’s retirement. Yet, Ellerbe attempted to intimate that Mayweather’s statement to sports director Chris Maathuis of KLAS-TV in his gym at a charity event was a definitive announcement.
What muddied the waters even more was De La Hoya apparently lying to Univision on June 11. In a televised Spanish-language interview, De La Hoya said of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, “I think right now we are very, very close in finalizing the contracts. I can’t talk right now in detail about the negotiations but I will say that we are very close.”
The comments caused quite a stir when they were made, but Schaefer dismissed them. He insisted De La Hoya had been misquoted. But when those pesky reporters actually went and had Spanish experts translate the recording, it turned out that De La Hoya wasn’t misquoted.
So the Golden Boy tried a different tactic on Monday. He told Robert Morales of BoxingScene.com, “I think I said it because I get the question so many times that, obviously, I was fed up and tired of it and I just said like, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s gonna get made.’ ”
Essentially, De La Hoya on Monday admitted to lying on June 11, though it’s uncertain how his June 11 comments would have helped end the questioning he wanted to avoid. Given that he said a deal was close, that would only seem to make the scrutiny greater, no lesser. Had he said there were no talks – which he’s now insisting is the truth – and that the fight was not going to happen, no one would have had reason to keep asking him.
No one is going to ask any more. How can anyone support someone with Mayweather’s arrogance, who cares so little about the fans who made him rich beyond his wildest dreams that he won’t even consider the fight they want more than any other?
Mayweather has run from his biggest challenge. The fans, even those who have ardently supported him through the years, will surely remember that. And the next time he dares to compare himself to one of boxing’s all-time greats, such as Sugar Ray Robinson or Sugar Ray Leonard, they’ll scoff.
He can’t hold a candle to either.
Pavlik's Trainer: We Would Fight Dawson, Angulo, Cloud
By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently spoke to trainer Jack Loew about his pupil Kelly Pavlik's future plans. Loew says that Pavlik is willing to fight anywhere between 160 and 175 pounds. Loew also talks about what went wrong in Pavlik's last fight versus Sergio Martinez. Read about this and more in this exclusive BoxingScene.com interview.
BoxingScene.com: What is the latest with Kelly? I had reported that Top Rank was looking to match him up with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and then I heard that Top Rank didn't think that Chavez was ready for that big of a fight.
Jack Loew: Yeah that is what we heard as well. I have also talked to Carl Moretti and he said that it depends on if Chavez looks good in his next fight. He said it could still happen but I don't think it is going to. I think after they sat back and thought about it they realized that Chavez can only live off his Daddy's name for so long before he had to really fight somebody and I don't think they want that somebody to be Kelly.
BoxingScene.com: Doesn't that kind of put you guys in a tough spot having to wait another month. You don't even know what weight class Kelly will be fighting in.
Jack Loew: Absolutely. We talked to Cameron (Dunkin) and I just talked to Kelly yesterday. We are going golfing today. He told me that he wants the big fights. He wants to fight at 60, 68, 75. Chad Dawson, Glen Johnson, Tavoris Cloud are guys we would fight. We understand the 68 pound people in the tournament are tied up. We will fight any of them. Kelly wants the big fights. Bring Angulo to 60. We will fight him too. There are a lot of good fights out there but they always want Kelly move to these guys weights. So why don't some of these guys come to us? Kelly has to make the move or he is bum. Why don't some of these people come and get us. Why do we always have to go to their weight class? We are willing to do that. We will go as high as 75 for an attractive fight.
BoxingScene.com: Kelly gained 19 pounds between the weigh in and the fight when he fought Martinez. That is more than you would want him to gain obviously. Are you guys going to bring in a nutritionist? Can he still make 160 safely and be effective?
Jack Loew: If we plan on fighting at 160 we will definitely bring in a nutritionist. Right now Kelly is around 174, 75. That is where we usually start off but even towards the last couple fights we started struggling big time. Working out four or five times a day just wasn't helping. A week before the fight we were still trying to kill 8, 9 ,10 pounds. Absolutely if we stay at 160 we are definitely bringing in a nutritionist.
BoxingScene.com: Do you think that was the biggest factor in why Kelly looked a little sluggish in the fight versus Martinez?
Jack Loew: To be honest with you going back to the last three or four fights I don't think Kelly looked like the old Kelly Pavlik. When you train a fighter four or five times a day and do the majority of your training just to keep the sweat going so you can get the damn weight off isn't going to make the best fighter. Then to have to work out the way we did during the week of the fight is tough. We as a team we f*cked up. We should have went to 168 or we should have brought in a nutritionist because we weren't doing it the right way to get his weight down.
BoxingScene.com: I had the fight even between Kelly and Martinez through 8 rounds. It seemed like once Kelly was cut the fight was over. Your cutman wasn't able to control the bleeding so that was pretty much the end of the fight. Why was the cutman unable to slow down the blood flow?
Jack Loew: First of all you are right. I even thought we were up a little bit after the 8th round. I told a couple guys in our camp that I was worried that we might hit that wall and not continue. You wouldn't believe what he did to this kid (Pavlik) to make the weight. I think between the cuts and that we just hit that wall he just couldn't fight the way he wanted to. Taking nothing away from Martinez. He fought his ass off. We went into survival mode with the cut and it cost us the last four rounds.
BoxingScene.com: Is there any possibility that Kelly's next fight could be a rematch with Martinez or does he want to fight someone else before entertaining the idea of a rematch?
Jack Loew: I am sure if they offered Kelly a fight with Martinez for the right amount of money that he would fight him. I know Kelly has big guarantees in his contract so I don't know if it could be worked out. I am sure if they offered Kelly an opportunity to fight him he would.
BoxingScene.com: What is going on with your other fighters?
Jack Loew: Actually Prentice Brewer will be fighting in a couple weeks as the co-feature on ESPN. Danny Williams is fighting this week in Miami, Oklahoma. Hopefully he will get a shot to get some TV time. I have this other kid around here, Chris Hazimahalis who just turned pro. He is 3-0 with 3 knockouts. Everything is going good. We have a good group of kids coming up in the amateurs and we are moving forward.
BoxingScene.com: Do you have a message for the fans?
Jack Loew: I think once we settle in and decide what weight Kelly Pavlik is going to be in I think we will have a lot of good fight options. From Chad Dawson all the way down to Angulo in any weight class I think you are going to see a revived Kelly Pavlik. Don't count him out because he will be back.
By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently spoke to trainer Jack Loew about his pupil Kelly Pavlik's future plans. Loew says that Pavlik is willing to fight anywhere between 160 and 175 pounds. Loew also talks about what went wrong in Pavlik's last fight versus Sergio Martinez. Read about this and more in this exclusive BoxingScene.com interview.
BoxingScene.com: What is the latest with Kelly? I had reported that Top Rank was looking to match him up with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and then I heard that Top Rank didn't think that Chavez was ready for that big of a fight.
Jack Loew: Yeah that is what we heard as well. I have also talked to Carl Moretti and he said that it depends on if Chavez looks good in his next fight. He said it could still happen but I don't think it is going to. I think after they sat back and thought about it they realized that Chavez can only live off his Daddy's name for so long before he had to really fight somebody and I don't think they want that somebody to be Kelly.
BoxingScene.com: Doesn't that kind of put you guys in a tough spot having to wait another month. You don't even know what weight class Kelly will be fighting in.
Jack Loew: Absolutely. We talked to Cameron (Dunkin) and I just talked to Kelly yesterday. We are going golfing today. He told me that he wants the big fights. He wants to fight at 60, 68, 75. Chad Dawson, Glen Johnson, Tavoris Cloud are guys we would fight. We understand the 68 pound people in the tournament are tied up. We will fight any of them. Kelly wants the big fights. Bring Angulo to 60. We will fight him too. There are a lot of good fights out there but they always want Kelly move to these guys weights. So why don't some of these guys come to us? Kelly has to make the move or he is bum. Why don't some of these people come and get us. Why do we always have to go to their weight class? We are willing to do that. We will go as high as 75 for an attractive fight.
BoxingScene.com: Kelly gained 19 pounds between the weigh in and the fight when he fought Martinez. That is more than you would want him to gain obviously. Are you guys going to bring in a nutritionist? Can he still make 160 safely and be effective?
Jack Loew: If we plan on fighting at 160 we will definitely bring in a nutritionist. Right now Kelly is around 174, 75. That is where we usually start off but even towards the last couple fights we started struggling big time. Working out four or five times a day just wasn't helping. A week before the fight we were still trying to kill 8, 9 ,10 pounds. Absolutely if we stay at 160 we are definitely bringing in a nutritionist.
BoxingScene.com: Do you think that was the biggest factor in why Kelly looked a little sluggish in the fight versus Martinez?
Jack Loew: To be honest with you going back to the last three or four fights I don't think Kelly looked like the old Kelly Pavlik. When you train a fighter four or five times a day and do the majority of your training just to keep the sweat going so you can get the damn weight off isn't going to make the best fighter. Then to have to work out the way we did during the week of the fight is tough. We as a team we f*cked up. We should have went to 168 or we should have brought in a nutritionist because we weren't doing it the right way to get his weight down.
BoxingScene.com: I had the fight even between Kelly and Martinez through 8 rounds. It seemed like once Kelly was cut the fight was over. Your cutman wasn't able to control the bleeding so that was pretty much the end of the fight. Why was the cutman unable to slow down the blood flow?
Jack Loew: First of all you are right. I even thought we were up a little bit after the 8th round. I told a couple guys in our camp that I was worried that we might hit that wall and not continue. You wouldn't believe what he did to this kid (Pavlik) to make the weight. I think between the cuts and that we just hit that wall he just couldn't fight the way he wanted to. Taking nothing away from Martinez. He fought his ass off. We went into survival mode with the cut and it cost us the last four rounds.
BoxingScene.com: Is there any possibility that Kelly's next fight could be a rematch with Martinez or does he want to fight someone else before entertaining the idea of a rematch?
Jack Loew: I am sure if they offered Kelly a fight with Martinez for the right amount of money that he would fight him. I know Kelly has big guarantees in his contract so I don't know if it could be worked out. I am sure if they offered Kelly an opportunity to fight him he would.
BoxingScene.com: What is going on with your other fighters?
Jack Loew: Actually Prentice Brewer will be fighting in a couple weeks as the co-feature on ESPN. Danny Williams is fighting this week in Miami, Oklahoma. Hopefully he will get a shot to get some TV time. I have this other kid around here, Chris Hazimahalis who just turned pro. He is 3-0 with 3 knockouts. Everything is going good. We have a good group of kids coming up in the amateurs and we are moving forward.
BoxingScene.com: Do you have a message for the fans?
Jack Loew: I think once we settle in and decide what weight Kelly Pavlik is going to be in I think we will have a lot of good fight options. From Chad Dawson all the way down to Angulo in any weight class I think you are going to see a revived Kelly Pavlik. Don't count him out because he will be back.
De La Hoya: Alexander, The Biggest Threat To Amir Khan
By Mark Vester
When BoxingScene.com caught up with Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, he was asked about the "biggest junior welterweight threat" to WBA champion Amir. Among the many names in the loaded 140-pound weight class, De La Hoya was most impressed by WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander. He said Alexander could be the biggest threat not only to Khan, but to every fighter at the weight.
"The biggest threat, probably, can be maybe, and to every 140-pounder out there - is Devon Alexander. I liked what I saw from Devon Alexander," De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya would like to see more from Alexander before he considers him a "very dangerous" opponent. He wants to see him beat a fighter who is just as technical, or close to it. Once he does that, De La Hoya will be convinced.
"He's techincally sound, a strong puncher, but then I have a question. He fought this [Juan] Urango guy who just comes forward. Until he proves to me that he is an all-around great fighter like a Juan Manuel Marquez, then I will be convinced that he's a dangerous opponent for Amir," De La Hoya said
By Mark Vester
When BoxingScene.com caught up with Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, he was asked about the "biggest junior welterweight threat" to WBA champion Amir. Among the many names in the loaded 140-pound weight class, De La Hoya was most impressed by WBC/IBF champion Devon Alexander. He said Alexander could be the biggest threat not only to Khan, but to every fighter at the weight.
"The biggest threat, probably, can be maybe, and to every 140-pounder out there - is Devon Alexander. I liked what I saw from Devon Alexander," De La Hoya said.
De La Hoya would like to see more from Alexander before he considers him a "very dangerous" opponent. He wants to see him beat a fighter who is just as technical, or close to it. Once he does that, De La Hoya will be convinced.
"He's techincally sound, a strong puncher, but then I have a question. He fought this [Juan] Urango guy who just comes forward. Until he proves to me that he is an all-around great fighter like a Juan Manuel Marquez, then I will be convinced that he's a dangerous opponent for Amir," De La Hoya said
Cintron Drops Appeal: Targets Williams, Angulo, Martinez
By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com spoke to welterweight and junior middleweight contender Kermit Cintron about his recent decision to drop the appeal of his May technical decision loss to Paul Williams. Cintron believes that the California Commission would not change the outcome to a no-decision and he just wants to move forward to focus on the future. The former champion also talks about his plans and how he would love a rematch with Paul Williams or Alfredo Angulo and a lot more in this exclusive interview.
BoxingScene.com: I understand you are going to drop the appeal of your loss to Paul Williams. Why did you decide to do that?
Kermit Cintron: My team and I decided to drop it just because I don't want to go in there and fight a 'he said, she said' type of situation. I don't think it is worth paying all that money to go over there and not come out with the decision that we wanted. The decision that we wanted is to at least make it a no-contest. To go in there with a California commissioner and a doctor that works for that commissioner is like for example you getting a ticket and going to court and you are fighting the cop for it and the judge is only going to believe the cop's side and not your side. They are going to believe his side and not you. It is the same situation here.
BoxingScene.com: Do you think that because Paul William's promoter Dan Goossen has his home base in California and does a lot of shows there that the commission would look more favorably to his fighter?
Kermit Cintron: Absolutely. Again it is the doctor's word against my word. Of course they are going to go with his word. It wasn't worth going over there and wasting all that money for nothing.
BoxingScene.com: We know you have said that you wanted to continue fighting and the doctor said that you said you couldn't continue. Fans seem to be on both sides of the fence on this. Can you set the record straight?
Kermit Cintron: It really is somewhat annoying. The whole situation is. It was a horrible decision by the doctor to you know there I am hurt gasping for air and he is asking me if I want to continue right at that moment. If I am asking you that question while you are hurt and gasping for air are you going to be able to continue right at that moment? Honestly the answer is going to be no. I thought there was a five minute rule or even a little longer to recuperate and then ask me the question if I am ready to continue. Don't ask me the question when I am fucking gasping for air. It is what it is.
BoxingScene.com: What does your manager and Lou DiBella say about where you go from here?
Kermit Cintron: Right now I know there are fights out there for me. I know I am still one of the best at 154. I am not going to count that as a loss on my record. Paul Williams definitely did not deserve that decision. If anything if they were going to go to the scorecard everybody in the media knows that I won that fight. A lot of media was confused with that decision. There was no way that Paul Williams won that fight.
BoxingScene.com: 154 is a loaded division with well established fighters and up and coming prospects. Has your team thrown any names out there of who they would want you to fight?
Kermit Cintron: The fight that I would like right now is a Paul Williams fight. He is going out there saying that he is going to break my mouth open and some other junk. He is saying that he is willing to fight me. I believe him. The fact is that Dan Goossen won't put me against him again. They saw and everybody saw that I was winning fight. If anybody was hurt it was him. If you look at the fourth round he was the one that was buckled. His legs started buckling and not mine. He went onto the canvas because he was hurt (When Cintron fell through the ropes). He just got lucky and that is it. He got lucky he got the decision.
BoxingScene.com: He has talked about wanting to go back down to welterweight. Would you fight him at 147?
Kermit Cintron: He won't fight me. We tried to make the fight at 147. His promoter told us 'no.' I was willing to fight him at 147. If they can make the weight then why not make it at 147? I will fight him at 147 or 154. I just feel I deserve a rematch. I know that Paul Williams won't back down from the fight. I respect him as a fighter. It is just up to his promoter. His promoter has to call and ask us for the rematch and make the fight happen again.
BoxingScene.com: Do you have any closing thoughts?
Kermit Cintron: There are definitely some fights out there for me. I know Paul Williams is trying to stay away from Sergio Martinez. I will fight Sergio Martinez again. Angulo is over there freaking fighting these bums and he is saying that I haven't done nothing since the fight that I beat him in. I will step in there again and whip his ass again just the way I did the first time but even worse. I know there is Cotto out there as well. He is looking for an opponent and I am willing to fight him as well.
There are a couple fighters out there don't have fights. Berto doesn't have a fight. I am willing to fight Berto and even though we have the same promoter I know it is up to Al Haymon and HBO to make that fight happen. Those people are scared to fight me. There are plenty of times I have sat with Berto and we have tried to make a fight happen. I told him I was ready to fight him and he is over there making excuses saying my team this and my team that. Saying it is up to Al Haymon blah blah blah. Just make the fights happen and stop protecting your records. If you want to be the best you have to fight the best and that goes for anybody at 147 or 154.
I will fight anybody. I am tired of fighters making excuses of why they won't fight this guy or that guy. I want to be the best so I have to fight the best to be the best. I am ready to fight anyone. I am tired of watching guys make excuses. I have never backed down from any fight except Felix Sturm. That is the only one I honestly wouldn't take. First of all the money wasn't right for me to go to Germany plus I didn't have enough time for a full training camp. That is the only reason I didn't take that fight.
By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com spoke to welterweight and junior middleweight contender Kermit Cintron about his recent decision to drop the appeal of his May technical decision loss to Paul Williams. Cintron believes that the California Commission would not change the outcome to a no-decision and he just wants to move forward to focus on the future. The former champion also talks about his plans and how he would love a rematch with Paul Williams or Alfredo Angulo and a lot more in this exclusive interview.
BoxingScene.com: I understand you are going to drop the appeal of your loss to Paul Williams. Why did you decide to do that?
Kermit Cintron: My team and I decided to drop it just because I don't want to go in there and fight a 'he said, she said' type of situation. I don't think it is worth paying all that money to go over there and not come out with the decision that we wanted. The decision that we wanted is to at least make it a no-contest. To go in there with a California commissioner and a doctor that works for that commissioner is like for example you getting a ticket and going to court and you are fighting the cop for it and the judge is only going to believe the cop's side and not your side. They are going to believe his side and not you. It is the same situation here.
BoxingScene.com: Do you think that because Paul William's promoter Dan Goossen has his home base in California and does a lot of shows there that the commission would look more favorably to his fighter?
Kermit Cintron: Absolutely. Again it is the doctor's word against my word. Of course they are going to go with his word. It wasn't worth going over there and wasting all that money for nothing.
BoxingScene.com: We know you have said that you wanted to continue fighting and the doctor said that you said you couldn't continue. Fans seem to be on both sides of the fence on this. Can you set the record straight?
Kermit Cintron: It really is somewhat annoying. The whole situation is. It was a horrible decision by the doctor to you know there I am hurt gasping for air and he is asking me if I want to continue right at that moment. If I am asking you that question while you are hurt and gasping for air are you going to be able to continue right at that moment? Honestly the answer is going to be no. I thought there was a five minute rule or even a little longer to recuperate and then ask me the question if I am ready to continue. Don't ask me the question when I am fucking gasping for air. It is what it is.
BoxingScene.com: What does your manager and Lou DiBella say about where you go from here?
Kermit Cintron: Right now I know there are fights out there for me. I know I am still one of the best at 154. I am not going to count that as a loss on my record. Paul Williams definitely did not deserve that decision. If anything if they were going to go to the scorecard everybody in the media knows that I won that fight. A lot of media was confused with that decision. There was no way that Paul Williams won that fight.
BoxingScene.com: 154 is a loaded division with well established fighters and up and coming prospects. Has your team thrown any names out there of who they would want you to fight?
Kermit Cintron: The fight that I would like right now is a Paul Williams fight. He is going out there saying that he is going to break my mouth open and some other junk. He is saying that he is willing to fight me. I believe him. The fact is that Dan Goossen won't put me against him again. They saw and everybody saw that I was winning fight. If anybody was hurt it was him. If you look at the fourth round he was the one that was buckled. His legs started buckling and not mine. He went onto the canvas because he was hurt (When Cintron fell through the ropes). He just got lucky and that is it. He got lucky he got the decision.
BoxingScene.com: He has talked about wanting to go back down to welterweight. Would you fight him at 147?
Kermit Cintron: He won't fight me. We tried to make the fight at 147. His promoter told us 'no.' I was willing to fight him at 147. If they can make the weight then why not make it at 147? I will fight him at 147 or 154. I just feel I deserve a rematch. I know that Paul Williams won't back down from the fight. I respect him as a fighter. It is just up to his promoter. His promoter has to call and ask us for the rematch and make the fight happen again.
BoxingScene.com: Do you have any closing thoughts?
Kermit Cintron: There are definitely some fights out there for me. I know Paul Williams is trying to stay away from Sergio Martinez. I will fight Sergio Martinez again. Angulo is over there freaking fighting these bums and he is saying that I haven't done nothing since the fight that I beat him in. I will step in there again and whip his ass again just the way I did the first time but even worse. I know there is Cotto out there as well. He is looking for an opponent and I am willing to fight him as well.
There are a couple fighters out there don't have fights. Berto doesn't have a fight. I am willing to fight Berto and even though we have the same promoter I know it is up to Al Haymon and HBO to make that fight happen. Those people are scared to fight me. There are plenty of times I have sat with Berto and we have tried to make a fight happen. I told him I was ready to fight him and he is over there making excuses saying my team this and my team that. Saying it is up to Al Haymon blah blah blah. Just make the fights happen and stop protecting your records. If you want to be the best you have to fight the best and that goes for anybody at 147 or 154.
I will fight anybody. I am tired of fighters making excuses of why they won't fight this guy or that guy. I want to be the best so I have to fight the best to be the best. I am ready to fight anyone. I am tired of watching guys make excuses. I have never backed down from any fight except Felix Sturm. That is the only one I honestly wouldn't take. First of all the money wasn't right for me to go to Germany plus I didn't have enough time for a full training camp. That is the only reason I didn't take that fight.
Tim Bradley: "Amir Khan Can Kiss My Ass, He's a Bum!"
By Rick Reeno
WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has come out swinging after reading some of the recent stories on BoxingScene.com. Bradley thought it was time to issue a proper response after reading one story where WBA champion Amir Khan made a pre-fight prediction that he would beat Bradley down and knock him out, and then reading another story where Khan's trainer Freddie Roach called him a bum.
"I beat a dude [Miguel Vazquez] who beat the dude [Breidis Prescott] who knocked him out....so who's the bum now man? Who's the bum now? He owes a mandatory for about a year now, Marcos Maidana. He's shying away from every person in the game. Then goes after [Paulie] Malignaggi and now he goes after [Juan] Diaz, who is not a puncher, and [Juan Manuel] Marquez, who is not a puncher. He's shying away from all of the big punchers in the game.....because the chin is suspect," Bradley told BoxingScene.com.
Recently, Khan made a public challenge to Bradley on his twitter page. Following the challenge, Bradley's promoter Gary Shaw reached out to Golden Boy Promotions, who handle Khan. Shaw and Bradley are waiting to hear back from Golden Boy. Bradley would like to fight Khan on December 11, and there wouldn't be any issues with making the fight in England. At the end of the day, Bradley is not holding his breath. He doesn't see the fight happening in the near future.
As of this moment, Bradley plans to watch Devon Alexander defend his WBC/IBF titles against Andrey Kotelnik on August 7. If Alexander wins, HBO wants to match him against Bradley on January 29. If a deal with Alexander falls through, Bradley wants to fight again in November/December.
"I'm waiting to hear from back from Golden Boy to see if Amir is really going to do this fight in December. The stakes are too high for Golden Boy. I don't think they want to risk that right now. Amir Khan can pretty much, can basically kiss my ass until he steps up to fight somebody with a big name or steps up to fight me. He's a bum in my eyes. That's the way I feel about it. They have my number. If he wants to get down, then let's get it done," Bradley said.
"He's soft man. He's softer than baby sh*t. He's got a voice. He can tell them who he wants to fight. These guys are like 'oh, that fight is kind of dangerous, we have to protect our investment.' You say you the best, then come fight. Let's do it. Amir has a December date. Let's get it poppin. I have my passport. I'll even fax my passport to you, you can put on the website with my picture."
Bradley was quite amused when hearing about an "imposter Tim Bradley" getting Khan riled up on his twitter account. The imposter fooled Khan, among many other people. Bradley found out about the imposter when his good friend, Andre Berto, called him up to laugh about the "war on twitter." Bradley began to laugh and told Berto - "I don't even have a twitter account."
By Rick Reeno
WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has come out swinging after reading some of the recent stories on BoxingScene.com. Bradley thought it was time to issue a proper response after reading one story where WBA champion Amir Khan made a pre-fight prediction that he would beat Bradley down and knock him out, and then reading another story where Khan's trainer Freddie Roach called him a bum.
"I beat a dude [Miguel Vazquez] who beat the dude [Breidis Prescott] who knocked him out....so who's the bum now man? Who's the bum now? He owes a mandatory for about a year now, Marcos Maidana. He's shying away from every person in the game. Then goes after [Paulie] Malignaggi and now he goes after [Juan] Diaz, who is not a puncher, and [Juan Manuel] Marquez, who is not a puncher. He's shying away from all of the big punchers in the game.....because the chin is suspect," Bradley told BoxingScene.com.
Recently, Khan made a public challenge to Bradley on his twitter page. Following the challenge, Bradley's promoter Gary Shaw reached out to Golden Boy Promotions, who handle Khan. Shaw and Bradley are waiting to hear back from Golden Boy. Bradley would like to fight Khan on December 11, and there wouldn't be any issues with making the fight in England. At the end of the day, Bradley is not holding his breath. He doesn't see the fight happening in the near future.
As of this moment, Bradley plans to watch Devon Alexander defend his WBC/IBF titles against Andrey Kotelnik on August 7. If Alexander wins, HBO wants to match him against Bradley on January 29. If a deal with Alexander falls through, Bradley wants to fight again in November/December.
"I'm waiting to hear from back from Golden Boy to see if Amir is really going to do this fight in December. The stakes are too high for Golden Boy. I don't think they want to risk that right now. Amir Khan can pretty much, can basically kiss my ass until he steps up to fight somebody with a big name or steps up to fight me. He's a bum in my eyes. That's the way I feel about it. They have my number. If he wants to get down, then let's get it done," Bradley said.
"He's soft man. He's softer than baby sh*t. He's got a voice. He can tell them who he wants to fight. These guys are like 'oh, that fight is kind of dangerous, we have to protect our investment.' You say you the best, then come fight. Let's do it. Amir has a December date. Let's get it poppin. I have my passport. I'll even fax my passport to you, you can put on the website with my picture."
Bradley was quite amused when hearing about an "imposter Tim Bradley" getting Khan riled up on his twitter account. The imposter fooled Khan, among many other people. Bradley found out about the imposter when his good friend, Andre Berto, called him up to laugh about the "war on twitter." Bradley began to laugh and told Berto - "I don't even have a twitter account."
NCM Fathom Plan Big Things For Boxing in Movie Theaters
By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently spoke to Dan Diamond, Vice President of NCM Fathom, the company that brings pay per view boxing to movie theaters across the United States. When Floyd Mayweather fought Juan Manuel Marquez last September it was the first time boxing had been seen on the big screen in over twenty years. "We had been talking for quite some time with Golden Boy and the great thing about it is based on the wide variety of events we had been doing for quite some time we really felt very strongly about it. We are very fortunate that we have a strong partnership with Golden Boy."
Diamond elaborated further, "Our focus totally has been to bring boxing back to the local communities across the country. Boxing used to be available in movie theaters years ago and we have sat down and crafted a strategy that we feel very good about. It is working with these fights and is getting fans back in movie theaters."
When pressed about specific attendance numbers for the Mayweather-Marquez fight Diamond said, "We don't release our specific attendance numbers but I can tell you we had lots of sellouts. We were honestly surprised at how excited fans were to see fights in theaters. We know in some instances they had to turn fans away at the door because they were soldout. We were optimistic and the numbers exceeded our expectations."
NCM Fathom followed up the success of the Mayweather-Marquez fight with the Mayweather-Mosley clash that also proved to be a box office hit. Diamond is confident that Marquez-Diaz 2 will continue the pattern. "With the Mayweather fights we had a huge positive response. Fans were cheering like they were ringside watching the fight. This fight is a little bit different in that it is a Hispanic and Hispanic American fight fan market. The great thing about this fight is that it has its own unique feel to it. It is going to be quite a rematch. These are two great fighters. "
This scribe thought that the target audience to view a fight in a movie theater would be a fan or a pair of fans that didn't want to plunk down the $55 or $65 it takes to watch a pay per view these days. What I didn't think was that the traditional group of 10-20 friends who get together and pitch in towards the fight, food, beer etc. would be on their target list as well. Diamond said they are indeed looking for those large groups of fans so they can provide them with a unique experience. "What we have seen is that this works for everybody. The great thing about the theaters is that we are looking for fight fans. A lot of the fans that have attended have access to pay per view but they didn't want to take their family to a sports bar. They wanted to be around other fight fans. For example it is a way I can go and sit down with my son and talk about some of the greatest fights that I have seen and do it in front of the big screen."
Diamond went on to say that just having the fight in theatres helps brings more attention to the fight in general at the local level. He feels that it helps drive pay per view numbers up as well. "At the end of the day the awareness it brings to the fight increases the pay per view numbers and the interest in the sport. It helps increase pay per view orders and brings people into sports bar and restaurants to watch closed circuit showings. It helps the events out quite a bit in many different ways."
When asked if he had thought about showing pay per view fights that weren't promoted by Golden Boy, the Vice President had this to say, "At this point in time we are primarily focused on Golden Boy fights. Obviously the fight everyone is anticipating is Mayweather-Pacquiao at some point. We are all anxious to see that. We would love to put that on the big screen. We would talk to anybody but they (Golden Boy) have been great partners with us and we are looking to make fights with Golden Boy the best they can be."
Diamond said you really need to see a fight in theaters to understand the experience. It isn't something that a fan can really grasp until they have sat down and watched a fight on the big screen. "Once you see a fight in a theatre you really get it. The punches on a forty foot screen and the sweat flying off these guys is incredible. When the punches land it is pretty amazing. There are only so many ringside seats and not all fans can jump on a plane and go to Vegas. This really is the next best thing to being ringside. It is as close to being there as you can get."
Fans interested in finding theaters near them or learning more about NCM Fathom can visit www.ncm.com or fathomevents.com
By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently spoke to Dan Diamond, Vice President of NCM Fathom, the company that brings pay per view boxing to movie theaters across the United States. When Floyd Mayweather fought Juan Manuel Marquez last September it was the first time boxing had been seen on the big screen in over twenty years. "We had been talking for quite some time with Golden Boy and the great thing about it is based on the wide variety of events we had been doing for quite some time we really felt very strongly about it. We are very fortunate that we have a strong partnership with Golden Boy."
Diamond elaborated further, "Our focus totally has been to bring boxing back to the local communities across the country. Boxing used to be available in movie theaters years ago and we have sat down and crafted a strategy that we feel very good about. It is working with these fights and is getting fans back in movie theaters."
When pressed about specific attendance numbers for the Mayweather-Marquez fight Diamond said, "We don't release our specific attendance numbers but I can tell you we had lots of sellouts. We were honestly surprised at how excited fans were to see fights in theaters. We know in some instances they had to turn fans away at the door because they were soldout. We were optimistic and the numbers exceeded our expectations."
NCM Fathom followed up the success of the Mayweather-Marquez fight with the Mayweather-Mosley clash that also proved to be a box office hit. Diamond is confident that Marquez-Diaz 2 will continue the pattern. "With the Mayweather fights we had a huge positive response. Fans were cheering like they were ringside watching the fight. This fight is a little bit different in that it is a Hispanic and Hispanic American fight fan market. The great thing about this fight is that it has its own unique feel to it. It is going to be quite a rematch. These are two great fighters. "
This scribe thought that the target audience to view a fight in a movie theater would be a fan or a pair of fans that didn't want to plunk down the $55 or $65 it takes to watch a pay per view these days. What I didn't think was that the traditional group of 10-20 friends who get together and pitch in towards the fight, food, beer etc. would be on their target list as well. Diamond said they are indeed looking for those large groups of fans so they can provide them with a unique experience. "What we have seen is that this works for everybody. The great thing about the theaters is that we are looking for fight fans. A lot of the fans that have attended have access to pay per view but they didn't want to take their family to a sports bar. They wanted to be around other fight fans. For example it is a way I can go and sit down with my son and talk about some of the greatest fights that I have seen and do it in front of the big screen."
Diamond went on to say that just having the fight in theatres helps brings more attention to the fight in general at the local level. He feels that it helps drive pay per view numbers up as well. "At the end of the day the awareness it brings to the fight increases the pay per view numbers and the interest in the sport. It helps increase pay per view orders and brings people into sports bar and restaurants to watch closed circuit showings. It helps the events out quite a bit in many different ways."
When asked if he had thought about showing pay per view fights that weren't promoted by Golden Boy, the Vice President had this to say, "At this point in time we are primarily focused on Golden Boy fights. Obviously the fight everyone is anticipating is Mayweather-Pacquiao at some point. We are all anxious to see that. We would love to put that on the big screen. We would talk to anybody but they (Golden Boy) have been great partners with us and we are looking to make fights with Golden Boy the best they can be."
Diamond said you really need to see a fight in theaters to understand the experience. It isn't something that a fan can really grasp until they have sat down and watched a fight on the big screen. "Once you see a fight in a theatre you really get it. The punches on a forty foot screen and the sweat flying off these guys is incredible. When the punches land it is pretty amazing. There are only so many ringside seats and not all fans can jump on a plane and go to Vegas. This really is the next best thing to being ringside. It is as close to being there as you can get."
Fans interested in finding theaters near them or learning more about NCM Fathom can visit www.ncm.com or fathomevents.com
Marquez dreams of third fight with Pacman
LAS VEGAS -- If Juan Manuel Marquez retains the lightweight title by beating Juan Diaz again in their rematch of the 2009 fight of the year on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, there's a good chance Marquez will step up to junior welterweight for a Dec. 11 fight with titlist Amir Khan of England.
Khan, who, like Marquez, is promoted by Golden Boy, is in Las Vegas for the fight. While the fight appeals to Marquez because a victory would make him the first Mexican to win a title in four weight classes, Marquez has a bigger dream fight.
He wants a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. They've fought twice and Marquez came away with a draw in their featherweight championship fight and lost a split decision in the rematch for the junior lightweight title. I was ringside for both outstanding fights and scored both for Marquez, as did many ringside observers.
Since then, Pacquiao and promoter Top Rank have never shown any interest in a third bout, but Marquez is hopeful that someday he'll get another shot at the Pacman.
"Manny Pacquiao, that's my desire; I want it so bad," Marquez said. "I want that third fight with him before my career ends. And maybe another one would be to fight Erik Morales or Ricky Hatton, but Manny Pacquiao for sure."
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer is not optimistic that Marquez will ever get the third fight with Pacquiao.
"I pushed for the [third fight] and I was told [by Top Rank], 'well, it's not right, the timing is not right'," Schaefer said. "I can assure you that the timing is never going to be right. I don't think that Pacquiao is ever going to -- or maybe Bob Arum is never going to want to have another piece of Marquez because, even though I'm not a boxing expert, I have learned one thing: styles make fights and somebody might have somebody's number, and Marquez has Pacquiao's number. That's why I think that fight is never going to happen again. But that's OK, because there are so many great fights out there for the winner of Marquez and Diaz."
LAS VEGAS -- If Juan Manuel Marquez retains the lightweight title by beating Juan Diaz again in their rematch of the 2009 fight of the year on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, there's a good chance Marquez will step up to junior welterweight for a Dec. 11 fight with titlist Amir Khan of England.
Khan, who, like Marquez, is promoted by Golden Boy, is in Las Vegas for the fight. While the fight appeals to Marquez because a victory would make him the first Mexican to win a title in four weight classes, Marquez has a bigger dream fight.
He wants a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. They've fought twice and Marquez came away with a draw in their featherweight championship fight and lost a split decision in the rematch for the junior lightweight title. I was ringside for both outstanding fights and scored both for Marquez, as did many ringside observers.
Since then, Pacquiao and promoter Top Rank have never shown any interest in a third bout, but Marquez is hopeful that someday he'll get another shot at the Pacman.
"Manny Pacquiao, that's my desire; I want it so bad," Marquez said. "I want that third fight with him before my career ends. And maybe another one would be to fight Erik Morales or Ricky Hatton, but Manny Pacquiao for sure."
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer is not optimistic that Marquez will ever get the third fight with Pacquiao.
"I pushed for the [third fight] and I was told [by Top Rank], 'well, it's not right, the timing is not right'," Schaefer said. "I can assure you that the timing is never going to be right. I don't think that Pacquiao is ever going to -- or maybe Bob Arum is never going to want to have another piece of Marquez because, even though I'm not a boxing expert, I have learned one thing: styles make fights and somebody might have somebody's number, and Marquez has Pacquiao's number. That's why I think that fight is never going to happen again. But that's OK, because there are so many great fights out there for the winner of Marquez and Diaz."
I think marquez is going to have to keep dreaming.
The problem is pac is a 147 pound fighter, and he's about to step into the ring above 150 pounds against margarito.
Marquez really is a 130 pounder who's pushing his max at 135. Anything above that and I just don't like Marquez, even against pac who he matched up well with I think he'd get KO'd against at 147 pounds.
On top of that, Golden Boy is obviously planning on setting up Marquez vs Amir Khan at the end of the year at 140 pounds.
The best he can hope for is to beat Diaz, then upset Khan and hope that pac-floyd doesn't happen again and maybe, just maybe, pac would go back down to 140.
The problem is pac is a 147 pound fighter, and he's about to step into the ring above 150 pounds against margarito.
Marquez really is a 130 pounder who's pushing his max at 135. Anything above that and I just don't like Marquez, even against pac who he matched up well with I think he'd get KO'd against at 147 pounds.
On top of that, Golden Boy is obviously planning on setting up Marquez vs Amir Khan at the end of the year at 140 pounds.
The best he can hope for is to beat Diaz, then upset Khan and hope that pac-floyd doesn't happen again and maybe, just maybe, pac would go back down to 140.
and to keep things weird...
Don King is Making a Run at Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By Michael Marley, courtesy of The Examiner
Buenas dias, Oscar de la Hoya.
Good morning, Al Haymon.
For breakfast this morning, may we offer you some scintillating photos posted by Floyd Mayweather himself on his Twitter social networking page?
In the photos and the 140 characters or less message, the vacationing Money Mayweather only mentions one “character.”
“I'm chillin' with Don King,” Mayweather says.
He goes on to breathlessly report, with suitable photo, that he is about to devour a 20 pound lobster which costs $500, presumably paid for by King.
How is your day so far, Golden Boy?
And top of the morning to you, Al.
Mayweather seems to be in another South Florida flirtation with King. Please note that L'il Floyd did not say that his hanging out with Big Don was like “chillin' with a villain.”
Sure to make Al Haymon, Golden Boys super crabby is news that Floyd Mayweather was partaking of a 20 pound lobster with his good buddy, Don King.
Mayweather was hanging with DK back in 2009 and, when a rightly concerned Haymon found out about their tete a tete, he rushed by plane to SoFla to break up the clinch between the legendary promoter and Al's bigggest cash cow.
King, $500 lobsters...it's enough to make guys like Oscar, Richard Schaefer and Haymon very crabby.
It could be just another maneuver by promotional free agent Mayweather to jack up his income, to get more money paid to him by his adviser and by his chosen but contracted with promoter, Golden Boy.
Why not when it worked in Mayweather's favor once before?
As Muhammad Ali used to say 999 times each day about someone, this Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not as dumb as he looks.
As for King, you know his dream is to be the power who actually makes the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao super bout especially when his career long archrival Bob Arum and Team Mayweather have bungled the situation not once but twice.
Don King, giant crustaceans, Don and Floyd flashing cash.
It adds up to a midsummer's nightmare for Haymon and the Goldens.
Let's see now if this plot thickens or sickens.
It's not lobster claws Mayweather should beware, it's those weighty, binding for life plus 20 year contractual clauses King imposes that he needs to watch out for.
I have a feeling Mr. Haymon is catching the next thing smoking out of LA to Ft. Lauderdale, don't you?
His star client, Money May, may be falling in love with Uncle Don.
It wouldn't be the first time that Don's got down with OPP if you know what I mean.
You could ask Cedric Kushner how DK swiped Hasim Rahman right from under his nose right after Rahman shocked the world by knocking out Lennox Lewis in South Africa.
He may be 79 or thereabouts but King remains The Great Seducer.
Don King is Making a Run at Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By Michael Marley, courtesy of The Examiner
Buenas dias, Oscar de la Hoya.
Good morning, Al Haymon.
For breakfast this morning, may we offer you some scintillating photos posted by Floyd Mayweather himself on his Twitter social networking page?
In the photos and the 140 characters or less message, the vacationing Money Mayweather only mentions one “character.”
“I'm chillin' with Don King,” Mayweather says.
He goes on to breathlessly report, with suitable photo, that he is about to devour a 20 pound lobster which costs $500, presumably paid for by King.
How is your day so far, Golden Boy?
And top of the morning to you, Al.
Mayweather seems to be in another South Florida flirtation with King. Please note that L'il Floyd did not say that his hanging out with Big Don was like “chillin' with a villain.”
Sure to make Al Haymon, Golden Boys super crabby is news that Floyd Mayweather was partaking of a 20 pound lobster with his good buddy, Don King.
Mayweather was hanging with DK back in 2009 and, when a rightly concerned Haymon found out about their tete a tete, he rushed by plane to SoFla to break up the clinch between the legendary promoter and Al's bigggest cash cow.
King, $500 lobsters...it's enough to make guys like Oscar, Richard Schaefer and Haymon very crabby.
It could be just another maneuver by promotional free agent Mayweather to jack up his income, to get more money paid to him by his adviser and by his chosen but contracted with promoter, Golden Boy.
Why not when it worked in Mayweather's favor once before?
As Muhammad Ali used to say 999 times each day about someone, this Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not as dumb as he looks.
As for King, you know his dream is to be the power who actually makes the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao super bout especially when his career long archrival Bob Arum and Team Mayweather have bungled the situation not once but twice.
Don King, giant crustaceans, Don and Floyd flashing cash.
It adds up to a midsummer's nightmare for Haymon and the Goldens.
Let's see now if this plot thickens or sickens.
It's not lobster claws Mayweather should beware, it's those weighty, binding for life plus 20 year contractual clauses King imposes that he needs to watch out for.
I have a feeling Mr. Haymon is catching the next thing smoking out of LA to Ft. Lauderdale, don't you?
His star client, Money May, may be falling in love with Uncle Don.
It wouldn't be the first time that Don's got down with OPP if you know what I mean.
You could ask Cedric Kushner how DK swiped Hasim Rahman right from under his nose right after Rahman shocked the world by knocking out Lennox Lewis in South Africa.
He may be 79 or thereabouts but King remains The Great Seducer.
