Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Hopkins-Pascal: Bernard wants the rematch to be in the U.S, not Canada

By Dan Ambrose: Having failed to beat WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal the first time around last December, 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins has been given another shot at trying to beat Pascal by the WBC, who ordered the rematch, and is making Chad Dawson wait a little while longer to get his rematch with Pascal. If Hopkins can’t do it this time, he needs to move on and look for some other fights because he blew it last time out by getting knocked down twice and having to settle for a draw.


The Hopkins-Pascal II fight still doesn’t have a venue. Hopkins’s promoters from Golden Boy Promotions won the purse bid for the fight, which means that they can have the fight take place in the United States if that’s their prerogative. The last time the fight was held in Quebec, Canada, where it drew a lot of fans. Hopkins wants the fight to be held in the U.S., saying this in an interview at the Philadelphia Daily News: “I fought the last fight in Pascal’s country. Let him come here this time. We won the purse bid, so we get to call the shots.”

That may be but Hopkins isn’t a big draw in the U.S, and never really has been. So unless they’re interested in putting the Hopkins-Pascal II fight on in front of 3000 fans compared to 10,000+ for a fight between them in Canada, I’d suggest that the fight be held in Canada instead of the United States. That’s where they’ll be able to maximize the amount of money they can bring in because Pascal is a huge star in Canada, and can sell tickets. Unfortunately, Hopkins isn’t a big ticket seller in America.

 

[heyzel]

Erik Morales: People Think I'm Crazy For Facing Maidana

By Jhonny Gonzalez

Former three division champion Erik Morales (51-6, 35KOs) is aware that he's in a very dangerous fight when he steps in the ring with one of the most feared junior welterweights, Marcos Maidana (29-2, 27KOs) on April 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Those close to Morales have told him that he's crazy for taking the fight. He says the growing concern from close friends and the distant odds are fueling his desire to get the upset.

"They tell me 'you're crazy [for facing Maidana], because he hits really hard.' And I tell them 'don't worry, you're not the one who has to fight him, I'm the one who is going to fight him.' And you will see a great fight. The money presented was attractive [for the fight] but the most important thing is to win this fight," Morales said.

Morales is a somewhat surprised that so many people have him as such a big underdog in the contest.

"I'm not just another person. I'm confident in my abilities. I know what I'm capable of doing and I know what I'm fighting for. I had many years of hard work and when I got to 130-pounds, my body couldn't take it anymore. I had four very tough fights (against Jesus 'Matador' Chavez, Carlos" Famous "Hernandez, the third against Marco Antonio Barrera and the first Manny Pacquiao bout). All of this in less than a year and a half and all of them were twelve round bouts. My body was exhausted for the second [Pacquiao] fight," Morales said.

"Then I went on a break from boxing, and I took everything that I had to take, and I ate everything that I was able to eat; I did everything I wanted to do for two years and then I began to look for ways on how to return to boxing."

 

[heyzel]

Matthew Hatton says winning a world title against Saul Alvarez will get him respect

By William Mackay: EBU welterweight champion Matthew Hatton (41-4-1, 16 KO’s) figures that he’ll be able to earn a lot of respect if he can beat undefeated Saul Alvarez (35-0-1, 26 KO’s) if Hatton can beat the Mexican on March 5th and capture the vacant WBC junior middleweight title at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California.


However, Hatton might be a deluded if he thinks that beating a young fighter like 20-year-old Alvarez is going to win him world wide respect, because he’s not going to get a ton of respect for this fight because many people don’t understand how either of these guys can be fighting for the WBC title when there are clearly better contenders in the division that were skipped over for this fight.

Alvarez is totally green and unproven, despite all the fights on his resume. usually fighters with as many fights as Alvarez has are advanced far in their career. However, Alvarez has been matched quickly against little more than C level fighters during his six-year pro career. Alvarez is taking the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. approach to his career, and facing the 29-year-old Hatton instead of Alfredo Angulo, Kermit Cintron or Erislandy Lara, tells you all you need to know about Alvarez.

Speaking with the Mirror.co.uk, Hatton said “There also can be just one Matthew Hatton. Winning a world title will get me the respect.”

I doubt it. Beating Alvarez won’t give Hatton respect outside of the UK. For Hatton to get the respect that he wants, he’ll have to fight Angulo, beat him convincingly, and then beat Lara and Cintron. Once those guys are out of the way, then Hatton will get the respect that he craves so badly. The problem is Hatton would likely get knocked out by all of them, so it’s kind of silly for Hatton to be talking about getting respect. That’s a pipe dream on his part.

 

[heyzel]

Brandon Rios wants Juan Manuel Marquez

By Jim Dower: Fresh off his grueling 10th round TKO win over WBA lightweight champion Miguel Acosta last Saturday night, the new WBA champion Brandon Rios is now gunning for a fight against 37-year-old legend Juan Manuel Marquez for his next fight. Rios, 24, likes the idea of fighting Marquez and thinks he would have a good chance in beating him. However, Marquez has bigger plans and is hoping to get a third fight with Manny Pacquiao.


At the very least, Marquez will opt for a bigger named opponent than Rios if he’s unable to get a fight with Pacquiao next. There’s speculation that Marquez will be signing with Top Rank, the same promotional company that Pacquiao fights for. Marquez’s contract with Golden Boy Promotions expired on Sunday and this leaves him a free agent. Golden Boy Promotions can match whatever over that is made by another promoter. However, the chances don’t look good that Marquez will decide to stay with them, not with a potential big money fight against Pacquiao possibly available to him should he sign with Top Rank.

Rios looked good at times in the Acosta fight, but took way too much punishment in en route to getting the win. Even in the 10th, Rios was still getting hit hard with shots that were whip-lashing his head around. He showed no head movement and didn’t block many punches in the fight. Rios naturally wants to take on the biggest name available to him, but the way that he fought against Acosta, it’s difficult to foresee Rios having any success against a quality fighter like Marquez. This might be a replay of Marquez’s recent beating of Australian slugger Michael Katsidis. Rios would do well to avoid Marquez and go after a more beatable older fighter, someone like Marco Antonio Barrera, Rios could probably beat Barrera, but only after taking a great deal of punishment. Barrera won’t bow out without inflicting a lot of damage on Rios.

 

[heyzel]

Juan Manuel Marquez to leave GBP to get mega fight against Pacquiao

By Chris Williams: WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez could be on the verge of leaving his promotional company Golden Boy Promotions to get a shot against Manny Pacquiao according to speculation from the LA Times. However, Bob Arum, of Top Rank Promotions, is saying he doesn’t want to promote Marquez. But who knows? If Marquez leaves GBP, he would be a free agent like Shane Mosley, who recently went out on his own to get a big mega fight with Pacquiao on May 7th.


Having a fighter like Pacquiao in Arum’s stable is a tremendous recruitment tool, because these fighters would do anything to get a huge payday that a fight with Pacquiao would give. There’s already talk about WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley joining up with Top Rank just to get a shot against Pacquiao. However, it’s doubtufl that Arum will still want to sign up Bradley if he gets whipped by Amir Khan in Bradley’s last fight in his contract with Gary Shaw. Arum might want to hold off on signing up Bradley because he might not be the real thing.

Will Marquez leave Golden Boy just to get one last fight with Pacquiao? It isn’t like Marquez is going to be able to fight Pacquiao a 4th and a 5th time. He might want to think hard before he leaves Golden Boy. There isn’t anyone else popular enough for Marquez to fight besides Pacquiao with Top Rank. The other guys are too small. Can you picture Marquez fighting little Nonito Donaire? That would be a slaughter. As soon as Marquez tags Donaire a few times, he’d have him in full retreat and Donaire’s left hooks would be a joke against a skilled fighter like Marquez. He’d block them with ease and counter him all night long. It wouldn’t be an all night, though, because Donaire would be down fast once he starts getting hit.

 

[heyzel]

Donaire-Moreno: Arum is Waiting on a Date From HBO

By Chris Robinson

There are several reasons why Bob Arum's Top Rank promotional company is the top entity in the sport. Calculated planning, a shrewd business sense, and the ability to develop stars worldwide is a huge part of it but just like anything else, luck often comes into play.

Arum has been fortunate in recent years to have fighters who have risen to the occasion under the highest of pressure situations, the latest being newly-crowned WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire. Two weekends ago, the Fil-Am fighter produced one of the more breathtaking knockouts in recent memory when he stopped Los Mochis' Fernando Montiel inside of two rounds inside the Mandalay Bay.

When asked if he ever expected such a result, Arum still seems to be in disbelief when sharing his thoughts.

"No," Arum answered. "It was absolutely spectacular. That was one of the best punches I have ever seen in the whole time I have been in boxing. It's reminiscent of the punch with which Manny [Pacquiao] knocked out Ricky Hatton."

Donaire parted ways with promoter Gary Shaw nearly three years ago and was picked up by Arum, who saw something special in the fighter. Not just his abilities inside of the ring, but it was also Donaire's connection with his people back home that caught Arum's eye.

"Well I knew he was an excellent fighter and he had that win over Darchinyan," Arum continued. "But I had met him when I was over in the Philippines on Manny Pacquiao business. And I could see how he related to a lot of Filipinos. And I thought it would be a good move to sign him."

Coming off of the biggest win of his career, it looks as though Donaire is eager to capitalize on his momentum. Arum confirmed that he is looking at a May date for a matchup with WBA champion Anselmo Moreno in the Bay Area of California, Donaire's adopted hometown.

"That's what we are working on," noted Arum. "I'm waiting to get a date from HBO. I should get it today or tomorrow. Then we're actively looking for the proper venue in the Bay Area."

Given Donaire's tremendous talent and growing popularity in the sport, I couldn't help but ask Arum if he was positioning himself to one day take the torch from Pacquiao, who is revered within the Philippines. It may look great on the surface but Arum isn't in a rush to see it happen.

"Well I would hope that there's a good bit of time before Manny is ready to pass the torch."

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Sneak peek into David Haye vs Klitschko! LOL

 

[heyzel]

Cotto-Margarito II on July 16th

By Dan Ambrose: The long awaited rematch between Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s) and Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KO’s) will be happening on July 16th, according to Steve Kim at Maxboxing.com. This is provided that Cotto wins his fight next month against Ricardo Mayorga, and that’s a big if, because Cotto is a fighter that can be beaten on any given night if things aren’t working out for him.


The Cotto vs. Margarito II fight will also depend on Margarito’s healing from his facial injuries he sustained in his last fight against Manny Pacquiao last November. Margarito suffered a fractured right orbital bone, among the other facial injuries he suffered.

The fracture required surgery and he’s been healing all these months. He took a lot of head shot in the mostly one-sided fight and he probably would have been wise to have quit around the halfway point in the fight rather than continue to absorb a one-sided pounding from Pacquiao for 12 rounds.

Margarito stopped Cotto three years ago in an 11th round TKO in 2008. Cotto took a real beating in that fight, which left his face looking like a terrible mask of blood when the bout was halted in the 11th. Cotto was cut over both eyes and his nose was fractured.

The thing of it is Cotto really wasn’t hit all that much in the fight until the 10th, when he ran out of gas from his constant movement and was hurt while up against the ropes. Cotto then took a couple of knees to escape punishment in the 11th and the fight was stopped. A lot of boxing fans think that Cotto hasn’t been the same fighter he once was since that fight. But by the same token, Margarito hasn’t looked nearly as good either. He was beaten in his very next fight by Shane Mosley in 2009.

Margarito came back from that loss to beat the unknown Roberto Garcia, a fringe contender, at junior middleweight in May 2010. Margarito looked like a shell of himself in that fight, struggling to beat a guy that he likely would have walked through previous to the Cotto fight. And in his last fight, Margarito was easily beaten by Pacquiao last November. Margarito looked slow and very average in that fight.

 

[heyzel]

Jeff Mayweather working on putting together Floyd vs. Pacquiao

By Chris Williams: Jeff Mayweather, the uncle of undefeated boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KO’s), is working behind the scenes to try and put together a fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KO’s), according to news from fighthype.com. This would be the third negotiations attempt between the two fighters, and hopefully threes a charm because the needs to happen. Jeff says he’s working with both sides – Pacquiao and Floyd – and is looking to send off a “letter of intent” to Pacquiao if he can get Floyd on board for the fight.


Jeff says he needs to get financial numbers that Floyd is looking for before the bout can be made. In the past, Floyd talked about wanting more than a 50-50 deal to get the fight to happen, but that’s not realistic, especially now that Mayweather hasn’t fought since last May when he defeated Shane Mosley by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision. Pacquiao has been a little busier, facing Antonio Margarito, a fellow stable fighter of Bob Arum, in November and is now scheduled to fight Mayweather’s leftover’s in 39-year-old Mosley.

The Pacquiao-Mosley bout is a silly fight given how badly Mayweather beat Mosley, but it’s not all that surprising because Pacquiao has been facing struggling fighters for the most part for the past three years. Mosley is kind of the norm for the typical Pacquiao in terms of having problems going into the fight. But it doesn’t matter that Pacquiao has been facing guys that have seen better days, he’s still busier and being seen more by boxing fans. Mayweather’s time away form boxing hasn’t helped his popularity and he needs to get back in the ring for a tune-up fight before the year is over. If not a fight with Pacquiao, then definitely a tune-up fight is what Mayweather needs to keep fan interest alive.

 

[heyzel]

R. Mayweather: I'll Tell Roach To His Face About Pacquiao

By Lem Satterfield

Roger Mayweather, the uncle and trainer of six-time titlist Floyd Mayweather, continues to believe that eight-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, is taking performance enhancing drugs. Manny Pacquiao has already initiated a legal case, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character, in December 2009.

The legal case names Roger Mayweather as a direct defendant. Other defendants include Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. According to the lawsuit papers, the defendants allegedly damaged Pacquiao's image by making allegations that he was using performance enhancing drugs.

Despite the ongoing case, Roger continues to voice his beliefs and states that he's willing to confront Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, about the matter.

"My nephew will whoop his ass easy. He's already been knocked out anyway. He's already been knocked out twice at 105-pounds. How is this guy beating people down at 147, 150-pounds? Because he's on sh*t, that's how. I know. I'll say it to his trainer's face, who couldn't even fight himself," Mayweather told FanHouse

 

[Timm]

heyzel are there any interviews or press releases on the cotto/mayorga fight coming up?

 

[2-0-Sixx]

there have been quite a few go to youtube



cotto is usually a calculated robot, mayorga is the first person who I've seen get miguel heated like this before.

some of mayorga's quotes are priceless:

“Like Margarito after the Pacquiao fight, you will be thinking about retiring when I am done with you. I will make you think twice about getting in the ring again. Don’t let your mom or your family suffer anymore by watching you get in the ring. I will knock him out and prove to the people in Nicaragua and here that I am better than you in that ring.

“This is the first time I will fight someone that is as small as a kid. I think my pants are taller than you.

Buy the pay-per-view so you can watch the retirement party for Miguel. Your hands are like a woman’s. Look at my hands – they are man’s hands. You came to Nicaragua and talked smack and told everyone I was a nobody. On March 12, all the Puerto Ricans are going to be wearing black for your wake. You will pay for what you said.

“I see fear in your eyes. We have never crossed paths but I have to tell you I have never liked you as a fighter.”​

 

[Timm]

lmao @ mayorga failing to make cotto flinch

I love mayorga but I think cotto is going to beat the shit out of him on the 12th

 

[heyzel]

Klitschko's Manager: I'm Positive The Haye Fight Happens

By Mark Vester

Bernd Boente, manager of heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko is confident that a unification bout with David Haye, the WBA's champion, will happen in 2011. Haye was scheduled to make a mandatory defense of his title on May 21. BoxingScene reported last week that promoter Frank Warren has now secured Haye's date from Sky Sports. Haye is leaning in the direction of facing either of the Klitschko brothers on July 2.

Both of the brothers have upcoming defenses, with Wladimir defending the WBO/IBO/IBF titles against Dereck Chisora on April 30, and Vitali meeting WBC mandatory challenger Odlanier Solis on March 19.

"I'm very positive, I'm very, very positive that the fight of Vitali or Wladimir, against David Haye, will happen," Boente told BoxingScene.com's Misko Ceperkovic. "I'm very positive the fight between David Haye and Wladimir or Vitali will happen in Europe. I think it should happen in a stadium. This is one of the two top fights that can be done in boxing. The fight other fight can't be done right now, between Mayweather and Pacquiao, because of some personal problems that Mayweather is facing."

 

[Timm]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/01/floyd-mayweather-manny-pacquiao

Mayweather-Pacman in July?!?!

 

[2-0-Sixx]

that family is truly insane. floyd vs pac is south africa for nelson mandela's 93rd birthday party? lmao sure roger!

 

[2-0-Sixx]

well Timm, I guess bob arum confirmed that there has been an inquiry at possibly fighting in South Africa but I still think it's a long shot. Also I included boxing pictures of Nelson Mendela at the bottom just because it's cool.


Promoter Bob Arum, while saying that Jeff Mayweather is factual about somebody wanting to bring the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao Super Bout to South Africa, also remarked Tuesday that "I'm not holding my breath" waiting for a follow up.

According to the 79 year old head of Top Rank Promotions, an initial approach was made.

"I think the people who have contacted Jeff have come to us as well," Arum said. "But I don't know whether to put much stock into it because where it leads, where it goes, I am not sure.

"There has been no follow up, that's true. Whatever information you have about what Mayweather (Floyd's uncle, a trainer and a former Top Rank handled boxer) is saying is whatever you have. I have not spoken with Jeff Mayweather."

Arum also said there was some confusion about a date the South African interests would want to hold the fight, probably the richest in ring history. Former president and international icon Nelson Mandela, a boxer in his youth and still a big fan of the sport, turns age 93 on July 18.

"They mentioned November to us but Jeff is talking about the summer and saying July. Down there, November is in the summer."

Arum said the presence of Mandela's daughter at the recent Los Angeles Sugar Shane Mosley-Pacquiao May 7 bout (slated for Las Vegas) LA press conference may be related to the inquiry from South Africa.

 

[heyzel]

Steward: They are cherry picking opponents for Pacquiao

By Chris Williams: Legendary trainer and HBO analyst Emanuel Steward had some frank comments about boxing in a recent interview. Steward, who trained greats like Lennox Lewis and Naseem Hamed, believes that egos are getting in the way of the biggest fights being made. Steward is talking about the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye bouts. It’s hard to disagree with Steward about that, because these fights likely would have been made a long time ago if there weren’t so many issues holding them back.


But what was really interesting in the interview was what Steward had to say about Pacquiao in the Daily Telegraph article. Steward said “His [Pacquiao] natural weight is around 137 pounds. They [his management] are now cherry-picking his opponents. When you have eight weight classes [instead of 17 like now], those who moved up the weight divisions really were special fighters. I’m not saying that there are not great fighters around today, but it is manipulated, and the best fighters are often protected.”

I really agree with Steward on these views. Back when there was only eight divisions, it would have been impossible for Pacquiao to win the titles he has now, because he would have stopped at the point where he got to the welterweight division. There’s no way Pacquiao would moved up to middleweight and taken on someone like Sergio Martinez. We don’t even know if Martinez would be the guy. It could be Andre Ward, Carl Froch or Lucian Bute holding the middleweight title. Can you see Pacquiao fighting and beating any of those guys? I can’t.

Forget about Pacquiao fighting at light heavyweight. He would be wiped out. But I do agree about the cherry picking as well. When we see Pacquiao facing guys like Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and now 39-year-old Shane Mosley, you’re left with the conclusion that Pacquiao is being selectively matched. But more than that, Pacquiao is fighting guys like Margarito and Miguel Cotto at catch weights for titles. That’s even more strange, because what is a catch weight doing in a title fight? And who really sees Margarito, a fighter with only one fight as junior middleweight in the past six years before the Pacquiao fight, as someone that Pacquiao should have been fighting for the vacant WBC junior middleweight

 

[bigface]

Pac-Man cherry picking opponents unheard of. LOL.. Why doesn't Steward have the guts to say the same thing live on HBO. No he's to busy with Manny's nuts in his mouth. I have no respect for Steward's dick riding ass.

 

[drunkaholic707]

i find it funny that they are trying to make the fight for july 18 2 months after pac man fights mosley