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Arum: Mayweather is Unreachable; Mosley Over Marquez
By Michael Marley
With his 79th birthday looming large and with 40 years on top of the boxing promotion totem pole, Bob Arum does not need to run any marketing tests or poll fight fans as to who might be the most commercial next opponent for his cash cow, Manny Pacquiao.
Arum knows, from past financial bonanzas and a few flops here and there, what sells.
And he adheres to one cardinal rule for PPV TV boxing success.
“I don't worry about who the bloggers think is the best opponent,” Arum said by telephone from Las vegas Sunday night. “I really don't care the writers say or even what the hardcore boxing followers say when it comes to this. I know we need to pick the opponent who is the most familiar to to the casual sports fan, the casual boxing fan who cannot name all the fighters.
“I did not watch the (Juan Manuel) Marquez fight as I was at a dinner party here in town. One guy there asked who was fighting on TV and somebody said, 'Juan Manuel...' So the guy says to me, 'How come you're not there at the fight, isn't he one of your fighters?' Obviously, this guy didn't know the difference between Marquez and my guy, Juan Manuel Lopez, the kid from Puerto Rico.
“It's not about Marquez's boxing ability, blah, blah, blah, it is all about the marketing of the fight.”
If you're reading between the lines here, then either Arum is already angling to knock down the Mexican counterpuncher's asking price for the trilogy bout against Megamanny or he is, indeed, more inclined to make the April or May bout with American Sugar Shane Mosley.
“The truth is, Marquez is not even a big seller in the Mexican market, certainly nothing like (Erik) Morales, (Marco Antonio) Barrera were or even anywhere near as popular as (Nov. 13 Pacman foe Antonio) Margarito. Frankly, Marquez does not compare to any of the three. I don't know it is because they were more extroverted in personality or more balls out type fighters of what.”
In what is likely to become a familiar theme, Arum bangs the drum loudly for Mosley, who turned up at Cowboys Stadium to lobby for a Pacman bout along with new adviser, the Houston-based rap music mogul James Prince.
“In the U.S., Marquez can't compare with Shane. Mosley is a crossover guy, well liked and accepted by Latinos, by white and in the African American markets. When it comes to pay per view, Marquez is only a 'B side” guy. When he fought (Juan) Diaz, that fight did absolutely no business.
“Don't forget, Mosley beat Oscar (de la Hoya) twice and had a fight with (Floyd) Mayweather. Mosley has just been on the big stage for a long, long time and people know who he is,” Arum.
What did Arum say about other Pacman foe candidates? I thought you'd never ask.
SERGIO MARTINEZ: “It was, it remains stupidity. Manny is not giving away 25 pounds to this guy. Manny weighed 144 ½ pounds the day before the Margarito fight. So let's say Manny goes into the ring and weighs about 147-148 pounds while Martinez comes in weighing 175. Manny can have those kind of fights, sure, but not if you want him to stay around a while. Margarito hurt Manny in their fight.”
ANDRE BERTO: “I envision myself being able to sell him as an opponent but, right now, nobody knows who he is.”
FLOYD MAYWEATHER: Todd (DuBoef) tried to reach out to Floyd by phone but contact could not be made. I think Floyd is having another flirtation with (Don) King which is good for me.”
By Michael Marley
With his 79th birthday looming large and with 40 years on top of the boxing promotion totem pole, Bob Arum does not need to run any marketing tests or poll fight fans as to who might be the most commercial next opponent for his cash cow, Manny Pacquiao.
Arum knows, from past financial bonanzas and a few flops here and there, what sells.
And he adheres to one cardinal rule for PPV TV boxing success.
“I don't worry about who the bloggers think is the best opponent,” Arum said by telephone from Las vegas Sunday night. “I really don't care the writers say or even what the hardcore boxing followers say when it comes to this. I know we need to pick the opponent who is the most familiar to to the casual sports fan, the casual boxing fan who cannot name all the fighters.
“I did not watch the (Juan Manuel) Marquez fight as I was at a dinner party here in town. One guy there asked who was fighting on TV and somebody said, 'Juan Manuel...' So the guy says to me, 'How come you're not there at the fight, isn't he one of your fighters?' Obviously, this guy didn't know the difference between Marquez and my guy, Juan Manuel Lopez, the kid from Puerto Rico.
“It's not about Marquez's boxing ability, blah, blah, blah, it is all about the marketing of the fight.”
If you're reading between the lines here, then either Arum is already angling to knock down the Mexican counterpuncher's asking price for the trilogy bout against Megamanny or he is, indeed, more inclined to make the April or May bout with American Sugar Shane Mosley.
“The truth is, Marquez is not even a big seller in the Mexican market, certainly nothing like (Erik) Morales, (Marco Antonio) Barrera were or even anywhere near as popular as (Nov. 13 Pacman foe Antonio) Margarito. Frankly, Marquez does not compare to any of the three. I don't know it is because they were more extroverted in personality or more balls out type fighters of what.”
In what is likely to become a familiar theme, Arum bangs the drum loudly for Mosley, who turned up at Cowboys Stadium to lobby for a Pacman bout along with new adviser, the Houston-based rap music mogul James Prince.
“In the U.S., Marquez can't compare with Shane. Mosley is a crossover guy, well liked and accepted by Latinos, by white and in the African American markets. When it comes to pay per view, Marquez is only a 'B side” guy. When he fought (Juan) Diaz, that fight did absolutely no business.
“Don't forget, Mosley beat Oscar (de la Hoya) twice and had a fight with (Floyd) Mayweather. Mosley has just been on the big stage for a long, long time and people know who he is,” Arum.
What did Arum say about other Pacman foe candidates? I thought you'd never ask.
SERGIO MARTINEZ: “It was, it remains stupidity. Manny is not giving away 25 pounds to this guy. Manny weighed 144 ½ pounds the day before the Margarito fight. So let's say Manny goes into the ring and weighs about 147-148 pounds while Martinez comes in weighing 175. Manny can have those kind of fights, sure, but not if you want him to stay around a while. Margarito hurt Manny in their fight.”
ANDRE BERTO: “I envision myself being able to sell him as an opponent but, right now, nobody knows who he is.”
FLOYD MAYWEATHER: Todd (DuBoef) tried to reach out to Floyd by phone but contact could not be made. I think Floyd is having another flirtation with (Don) King which is good for me.”
De La Hoya: We Will Step Back For Pacquiao-Marquez
By Hesiquio Balderas
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya said in an interview to Televisa Deportes, conducted after Saturday's fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis, that he is willing to step aside with his company in order for Juan Manuel to secure a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Golden Boy has a heated feud with Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank.
''As president of Golden Boy Promotions, I want to make the fight between Pacquiao and Marquez. The problem is that [Top Rank CEO Bob] Arum doesn't want to make the fight if Golden Boy is involved," said De La Hoya.
''There is no way in the world that Pacquio or Arum will want a part of Marquez after watching this, they will hide, but like I said Golden Boy will stay out of the promotions because Arum doesn't want to do business with us. I will do it for Juan, because he deserves it. I won't be part of the promotion for that fight and let Top Rank do the full promotion.''
''Marquez is the best, simple as that. Pacquiao is the fight we want, and the fight that Mexico wants, and the fight the world wants. Marquez is better, is getting stronger at the higher weights, and is faster now. He is like old wine. And Pacquiao most face Marquez in order to get respect from the boxing world because they have unfinished business."
By Hesiquio Balderas
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya said in an interview to Televisa Deportes, conducted after Saturday's fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis, that he is willing to step aside with his company in order for Juan Manuel to secure a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Golden Boy has a heated feud with Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank.
''As president of Golden Boy Promotions, I want to make the fight between Pacquiao and Marquez. The problem is that [Top Rank CEO Bob] Arum doesn't want to make the fight if Golden Boy is involved," said De La Hoya.
''There is no way in the world that Pacquio or Arum will want a part of Marquez after watching this, they will hide, but like I said Golden Boy will stay out of the promotions because Arum doesn't want to do business with us. I will do it for Juan, because he deserves it. I won't be part of the promotion for that fight and let Top Rank do the full promotion.''
''Marquez is the best, simple as that. Pacquiao is the fight we want, and the fight that Mexico wants, and the fight the world wants. Marquez is better, is getting stronger at the higher weights, and is faster now. He is like old wine. And Pacquiao most face Marquez in order to get respect from the boxing world because they have unfinished business."
Arum is full of excuses, he wants to match Pacquiao up with someone that's easy to hit. Shane is 39 and coming off of a loss and a draw. Shane is shot! Pacman don't want it with Marquez because Marquez ain't shot and is coming off of a great performance. Berto is a young champ and undefeated, Pacquiao don't want it with Berto either.
pac is kinda in a tricky spot any which way he goes he's going to get criticized unless it's floyd and we know floyd is not availible for the time being. People will say:
berto - untested, unworthy, ppv could flop.
mosley - old, coming off loss and draw
marquez - old, would be fighting pac above best weight class
pac is damned if he does damned if he doesn't. too fucking bad edwin valero had to off himself would be the perfect fight right about now.
berto - untested, unworthy, ppv could flop.
mosley - old, coming off loss and draw
marquez - old, would be fighting pac above best weight class
pac is damned if he does damned if he doesn't. too fucking bad edwin valero had to off himself would be the perfect fight right about now.
Mosely is a shot fighter bruh.....
Berto is a young, undefeated, champion coming off of a knockout win..... why not unify the titles?
Arum ain't stupid, one punch could end it all. Berto has speed, footwork, and has good reflexes.
The only reason he wants Mayweather is because he's going to get paid, he knows Manny can't beat Mayweather.
Pacquiao/Arum are continuing to duck challenges.
Berto is a young, undefeated, champion coming off of a knockout win..... why not unify the titles?
Arum ain't stupid, one punch could end it all. Berto has speed, footwork, and has good reflexes.
The only reason he wants Mayweather is because he's going to get paid, he knows Manny can't beat Mayweather.
Pacquiao/Arum are continuing to duck challenges.
I don't mind unifying titles, I've said that from the start I favor unifying titles. Look at it from Arums perspective and a fanancial perspective though - Berto has no fanbase at all. No one knows who he is. Even in his home town. Marquez and Mosley are both known and it will sell. That's what Arum is looking at.
If pacquiao want's a signficant paycut and sell about 600K ppv buys in order to unify two belts, then berto is the man for the job. But if he wants to make around the same $20-$25 million as he did against margarito and approximately 1 million PPV buys, mosley or marquez are the guys.
I think Berto fucked up his chances by fighting such weak opposition, he really needed to fight a marque name instead of a D class fighter like freddie hernandez.
If pacquiao want's a signficant paycut and sell about 600K ppv buys in order to unify two belts, then berto is the man for the job. But if he wants to make around the same $20-$25 million as he did against margarito and approximately 1 million PPV buys, mosley or marquez are the guys.
I think Berto fucked up his chances by fighting such weak opposition, he really needed to fight a marque name instead of a D class fighter like freddie hernandez.
and that sold 750K and you said it yourself a lot of that was due to the fact it was the first ever fight at the new cowboys stadium. That appeal would be gone this time around so you're looking at like I said around 650K with Berto.
Tony, knocking out freddie hernandez means nothing. He couldn't knock out 140 pounders stevie forves and Juan Urango, or Luis Collazo. Berto is not a big puncher, that' is not the issue. It's financial.
Knocking out Hernandez is like the equivalent of Pavlik stopping Rubio or Cotto stopping Michael Jennings, actually sadly those wins were more impressive as those guys fought better opposition.
Tony, knocking out freddie hernandez means nothing. He couldn't knock out 140 pounders stevie forves and Juan Urango, or Luis Collazo. Berto is not a big puncher, that' is not the issue. It's financial.
Knocking out Hernandez is like the equivalent of Pavlik stopping Rubio or Cotto stopping Michael Jennings, actually sadly those wins were more impressive as those guys fought better opposition.
I know that Marquez isn't a box office star, but I think that since fighting Floyd and his impressive wins since then, he's definitely got a bigger fan base than he did when him and Manny fought previously.
This fight needs to happen.
I think it would do fairly well, just because Manny has only gotten bigger, and they already delivered two classic fights.
I don't like that Bob Arum is only offering Marquez the fight at 147. Pac could make 140 without even trying, and it would be a more impressive win. Shit, I think Pac could make 135 and win the linear lightweight, which would be even more impressive....and both more competitive fights than 147, where I think Marquez would be too sluggish to keep up.
This fight needs to happen.
I think it would do fairly well, just because Manny has only gotten bigger, and they already delivered two classic fights.
I don't like that Bob Arum is only offering Marquez the fight at 147. Pac could make 140 without even trying, and it would be a more impressive win. Shit, I think Pac could make 135 and win the linear lightweight, which would be even more impressive....and both more competitive fights than 147, where I think Marquez would be too sluggish to keep up.
I think no matter what weight it's at (140, 144 or 147) pacquiao is always going to be the same weight on fight night (around 147-148) so it really doesn't matter. Also:
Another head scatcher about Marquez (and Berto) is that card only did about 4,500 in attendance. kinda sad. I wonder what the ratings were, hopefully much better than that.
Even more sad is that Berto got paid $950,000 to fight a bum on the undercard. And Jason Litzua, who scored the biggest win, made only $50,000 (Cab made about $75,000).
Another head scatcher about Marquez (and Berto) is that card only did about 4,500 in attendance. kinda sad. I wonder what the ratings were, hopefully much better than that.
Even more sad is that Berto got paid $950,000 to fight a bum on the undercard. And Jason Litzua, who scored the biggest win, made only $50,000 (Cab made about $75,000).
Abraham says he’s too small for super middleweight, thinking of moving back down to m
By Jim Dower: After suffering a disappointing 12 round unanimous decision defeat to Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KO’s) in his stage 3 Super Six tournament bout last Saturday night in Helsinki, Finland, former IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (31-2, 25 KO’s) admitted in an interview with the Bild.de, that he may be too small for the super middleweight division.
Abraham said “The others are simply larger. I’m always the smallest.” When asked if he’s considering moving back down to the middleweight division, Abraham said “Yes, about that I need to think.” Abraham says he’s going to stick it out in the tournament rather than quit and will fight Andre Ward next year. When asked if he’ll take that fight, Abraham said “Naturally, I’m a fair sports man.”
The loss to Froch was Abraham’s second defeat in a row. He was beaten by 6’2″ Andre Dirrell in his stage 2 Super Six tourney fight in March, and was dominated in that fight for 10 rounds until fouling Dirrell and getting disqualified in the 11th after hitting the American when he had slipped on the canvas and fallen down. Abraham had problems with the height and reach against both Forch and Dirrell. In his next fight in the tournament, Abraham will be facing 6’1″ Andre Ward, who right now is the tournament leader and the one that many boxing experts feel will be the eventual winner of the tournament.
Abraham has less to worry in that fight as far as being dominated from the outside, because Ward has shown the tendency to fight in close much of the time in his previous Super Six tournament fights, including his fight outside of the tourney last Saturday night against Sakio Bika. However, Ward is still a bigger fighter than the 5’10″ Abraham, and he’s likely to get beaten again. That will be Abraham’s third straight loss. if that’s not a signal that he doesn’t have the size for the tournament it’s hard to know what is.
Abraham started off the tournament well with a 12th round knockout win over Jermain Taylor last year in October. However, that was the perfect opponent for him because Taylor came into the fight with a bad chin and serious stamina problems.
Before moving up to super middleweight, Abraham held the IBF middleweight title from 2005 to 2009. He gave it up after successfully defending it 10 times in four years. He moved up in weight because he was having problems making the 160 weight limit. However, he might be willing to move back down in weight if it means that he’ll be able to win back one of the titles.
By Jim Dower: After suffering a disappointing 12 round unanimous decision defeat to Carl Froch (27-1, 20 KO’s) in his stage 3 Super Six tournament bout last Saturday night in Helsinki, Finland, former IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (31-2, 25 KO’s) admitted in an interview with the Bild.de, that he may be too small for the super middleweight division.
Abraham said “The others are simply larger. I’m always the smallest.” When asked if he’s considering moving back down to the middleweight division, Abraham said “Yes, about that I need to think.” Abraham says he’s going to stick it out in the tournament rather than quit and will fight Andre Ward next year. When asked if he’ll take that fight, Abraham said “Naturally, I’m a fair sports man.”
The loss to Froch was Abraham’s second defeat in a row. He was beaten by 6’2″ Andre Dirrell in his stage 2 Super Six tourney fight in March, and was dominated in that fight for 10 rounds until fouling Dirrell and getting disqualified in the 11th after hitting the American when he had slipped on the canvas and fallen down. Abraham had problems with the height and reach against both Forch and Dirrell. In his next fight in the tournament, Abraham will be facing 6’1″ Andre Ward, who right now is the tournament leader and the one that many boxing experts feel will be the eventual winner of the tournament.
Abraham has less to worry in that fight as far as being dominated from the outside, because Ward has shown the tendency to fight in close much of the time in his previous Super Six tournament fights, including his fight outside of the tourney last Saturday night against Sakio Bika. However, Ward is still a bigger fighter than the 5’10″ Abraham, and he’s likely to get beaten again. That will be Abraham’s third straight loss. if that’s not a signal that he doesn’t have the size for the tournament it’s hard to know what is.
Abraham started off the tournament well with a 12th round knockout win over Jermain Taylor last year in October. However, that was the perfect opponent for him because Taylor came into the fight with a bad chin and serious stamina problems.
Before moving up to super middleweight, Abraham held the IBF middleweight title from 2005 to 2009. He gave it up after successfully defending it 10 times in four years. He moved up in weight because he was having problems making the 160 weight limit. However, he might be willing to move back down in weight if it means that he’ll be able to win back one of the titles.