Pacquiao 2010 Fights

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight : Pacquiao wins by unanimous decision -

2010-03-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

Just as expected. Manny Pacquiao once again win the Pacquiao-Clottey fight with a unanimous decision. But one thing is for sure. Clottey is really a tough opponent.

The best round of the fight? Round 11. That's where Clottey started to give his punches to Manny Pacquiao but it's just a round.

Hope you enjoy the fight.

Stay tune for the round by round analysis

Manny Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey Weigh In and Fight Time

2010-03-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey: Pacquiao vs Clottey Weigh-in and Fight Time – This is the moment that millions of fans have waited for. Are you ready to witness the live action and considered as the fight of the year for this 2010? The Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey Fight match entitled “The Event” is set to happen few hours from now.

About a few hours ago, the WBO Welterweight Champ and considered as the Pound for Pound King Manny Pacquiao and Ghana’s pride Joshua Clottey stepped on the scales in the Arlington and the final weigh-in be is happened before the Saturday night’s showdown.

It’s an interesting set-up for the people who are at the weigh-in in person. The challenger gets ready to step onto the scale first. Clottey weighs in at 147 pounds on the button. He is ripped as always.

Manny on the other hand, gets a lengthy introduction from Buffer and there is a throng of people around him as he makes his way out. Pacquiao weighs in at 145 3/4 pounds, and you never have to worry about him looking like he is ready to fight.

Watch Pacquiao vs Clottey Live Stream online via pay-per-view. The Pacquiao vs Clottey is set to happen tomorrow, March 13, 2010 live at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Dallas Texas. Don’t forget to watch Pacquiao vs Clottey live and witness an exciting world match between the two greatest boxing fighter in the world.

Please stay tune in Daily World Buzz for latest updates and results of the match on the next couple of hours from now.

Source : daily world buzz

Pacquiao versus Clottey Live Streaming

2010-03-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

The upcoming boxing welterweight fight for the WBO World welterweight championship is between Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey, which is set on Saturday night. The event will take place at the Dallas Cowboy’s stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A 33-year-old Joshua Clottey has a record of 35-3 with 20 KOs, while Manny Pacquiao has 50-3-2 with 38 KOs. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was disappointed he won’t be hosting a Pacquiao fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. as he had hoped.

Pacquiao VS Clottey fight will start at 9PM ET/6PM PT live on pay-per-view. It is also available via online streaming and other live streaming channels.

Diaz in Pacquiao-Clottey undercard

2010-03-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

Ever since boxing champion Manny Pacquiao stripped David Diaz of his World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight crown in 2008, the former champion never took the loss personally and formed a friendly relationship with the reigning pound-for-pound king.

When Pacquiao came to Chicago to promote his fight with Oscar de la Hoya, Diaz was among those who welcomed the Filipino boxing icon at the Windy City.

Pacquiao returned the favor by inviting Diaz during his 31st birthday celebration last year in his home in General Santos City.

And when Pacquiao stakes his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against Joshua Clottey on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium, the pound-for-pound king will be rooting for Diaz when he faces Humbero “Zorrita" (Little Fox) Soto (50-7-2).

Diaz (35-2-1) will be fighting in the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard against the reigning WBC super featherweight champion Soto, who knocked out Pacquiao’s younger brother, Bobby.

The younger Pacquiao suffered a seventh-round knock out against Soto in the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah match in 2007 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"I feel good. I am prepared to go to war and get the victory," said David during a public media workout at the Jabb Boxing Gym in Chicago.

"I will be in shape and will be alright. I don’t predict the outcome of my fight. But I will be prepared to go the distance for 12 rounds," added Diaz, who will dispute the vacant WBC lightweight title with Soto.

If Diaz makes good his pledge to beat Soto, his efforts would make Pacquiao happy since it would avenge his brother’s KO loss in 2007.

The 33-year-old Diaz is coming off a 10-round majority decision win over former WBC super featherweight and International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight world champion Jesus Chavez last September 26, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Chavez is the same boxer who lost to Humberto Soto, 29, in a 10-round unanimous decision in Mexico last December.

When asked if he will soon be back as a marquee fighter, Diaz said, “we will see what happens in this coming fight and get this belt first."

Asked about the Pacquiao-Clottey match-up, Diaz said “this fight will be tough for Manny. Clottey has a tight defense. But Manny will win this out."

Also featured in the undercard are two-time world champion Jose Luis "El Terrible" Castillo in a welterweight battle against contender Alfonso Gomez and Ireland’s John Duddy in a middleweight duel with Michael "Myckol" Medina.

Source : GMANews

The Event : Manny Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey

2010-03-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), the 7 division world champion and the reigning WBO welterweight champion will defend his title from Ghanaian Joshua Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs), the former IBF Welterweight champion.

“The Event” put forward Clottey a shot at the Pound-for-Pound king Manny Pacquiao at the World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Welterweight Title at the Cowboys Stadium.

Manny Pacquaio is ready to fight as seen from his final work out at the wild Card Gym in Los Angeles last monday before taking flight to Dallas, Texas. Together with his entourage they boarded a plane chartered by the said boxer. Freddie Roach is confident with his boxer, Manny, that they can take their opponent down.

Joshua Clottey, on the other side is calm and cool as the day approaches the big fight. The Ghanaian-born boxer did not commented when Freddie Roach predicted the fight a knockout. However, Clottey stated “I have a sharp right hand, a sharp right hand.” He added “I can throw a sharp right from far, so that’s always dangerous”.

The Event is a fight of two premiered boxers: Manny with his strong left punch while Clottey can respond with his strong right hand. Both respected boxers are already ready to battle. Who will seize the WBO World Welterweight Title?

Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight is set on March 13, 2010 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Source : SevenSidedCube

Pacquiao-Clottey : Undercards

2010-03-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Two promising Filipinos, featherweight Michael Farenas and bantamweight Eden Sonsona get a chance to prove their worthiness as future world title prospects when they see action on the undercard of “The Event” headlined by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and Ghana’s tough Joshua Clottey at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on March 13.

The 25 year old Farenas, a protégé of former two division world champion Gerry Penalosa takes on 35 year old Joe Morales. Morales who has a record of 20-13 and 4 knockouts has dropped ten round decisions to such tough opponents as Rocky Juarez and Joan Guzman and lost by a 10th round TKO to fearsome Rogers Mtagwa. However, boxrec.com records show that Morales has lost six straight bouts although he won a ten round decision over Ildefonso Martinez last November 6.

The hard-hitting southpaw Farenas who has a record of 27-2-3 with 24 knockouts has had a career in which he has faced certified Thai patsies in-between taking on tough Mexican opponents including Walter Estrada (35-9, 24 KO’s) whom he knocked out in the very first round on May 9, 2009.

Farenas won the meaningless World Professional Boxing Federation title with a 9th round knockout over Korea’s Jae Bong Jang last October 3 and then scored a 1st round knockout over unknown Thai fighter Sathian Sokham on January 8, 2010.

Sonsona, a southpaw from General Santos City, hometown of Pacquiao and a fighter discovered by the late Rod Nazario, the former business manager of Pacquiao, will be making his second appearance on a Pacquiao card. Pacquiao had promised Nazario during a visit before the boxing man passed away to give Sonsona exposure and to help steer his career alongside his manager Rommel Nazario, the son of Rod.

The 21 year old Sonsona (20-5, 6 KO’s) faces former world champion Mauricio Pastrana of Colombia who even at 37 still has a lot of fight left in him, although he lost a unanimous twelve round decision to Leon Moore of Guyana in a clash for the vacant Continental Americans and North American Boxing Association titles last September 26.

Pastrana also dropped a unanimous eight round decision to undefeated Victor Fonseca (14-0, 8 KO’s) last July 11 but won by a 3rd round knockout over Victor Peralta of Colombia on June 19, 2009.

Sonsona impressed Pacquiao as well as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum when he scored a smashing 2nd round TKO over Eilon Kedem on the Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto undercard last November 14 before scoring a sensational one-punch knockout to win the vacant Philippine bantamweight title in a battle with Monico Laurente on December 12, 2009. Sonsona staggered Laurente before unleashing a wicked left that sent Laurente crashing to the canvas where he lay for some time before being escorted by doctors and handlers to his corner.

Sonsona who is being trained by Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez, the assistant trainer of Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym has looked good and his manager Rommel Nazario has high hopes for the flashy southpaw who has developed his punching power as indicated in his last two fights.

Source : PhilBoxing

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight Prediction by Freddie Roach

2010-03-06T07:43:00.001-08:00

It may be wishful thinking, but the earlier Manny Pacquiao stops challenger Joshua Clottey in their March 13 welterweight title fight, the better.

"If he gets him in one, I’m much happier, believe me," Roach told a couple of Manila-based sportswriters shortly after seeing the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion go through eight rounds of sparring Thursday (Friday in Manila) at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood.

"But Clottey has never been knocked out before, and I don’t think that’s going to happen. But you never know."

Clottey, 32, and from Accra, Ghana, but now based in Bronx, New York, has never been knocked out in his 39 pro fights, with all three of his losses coming either by unanimous decision or disqualification.

On Wednesday during Pacquiao’s open public workout, Roach, who turns 50 on Friday, March 5, boldly declared that the challenger won’t last the distance; even singling out that Clottey will break down come the ninth round.

Roach said he did mention round nine as the possible time when Clottey will go down since "they (reporters) forced me to pick a number."

"And I pick No. 9 all the time because that’s my favorite number," the four-time Trainer of the Year stressed.

And neither will he coerce Pacquiao to go for a knockout on the ninth round just because he predicted so.

"No, no, no," he repeatedly said. "I would never do that."

"But it won’t go 12 rounds, that’s my prediction."

Roach pointed out Clottey, the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion, hasn’t fought a fighting machine like Pacquiao in his entire career.

And like the great Oscar De La Hoya, the great disciple of the great late trainer Eddie Futch believes Clottey will be forced to quit the 12-round fight.

"The thing is, he’ll be going to be overwhelmed by the punches, and he’ll get it from so many angles. He’s never fought a guy who swarms over him like Manny Pacquiao," said Roach.

"He’s not used to that. Like Oscar (De La Hoya), we’ll let him quit it, I feel."

Roach felt more confident of a Pacquiao victory after the world’s top pound-for-pound king sparred for five rounds with Abdullay Amidu and old timer David Rodela.

The popular Filipino southpaw even had to take it easy on his long-time sparring partner the moment he bloodied the nose of Rodela with a bruising straight left.

"He looked really good, really sharp today. I’m very happy where he’s at, the game plan is in place and he knows what to do," said Roach later.

Knowing that Clottey has a very dangerous uppercut, Roach has that thing taken cared of during training camp, now on its seventh week.

"He (Clottey) is very fine with it. So I want Manny to keep his distance, that’s what we’re working out in sparring. He did a beautiful job of keeping the distance today in sparring. He knows what I want," Roach said, pointing out they’ll fight more like the way they did when Pacquiao fought Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez when the champion "slides out, slides to the side and uses the counterpunch."

Six more rounds are scheduled on Saturday and four on Monday, after which, it’s off to Dallas in the final week leading up to the fight.

Source : GMANews

Manny Pacquiao - Joshua Clottey Fight : Round by round analysis

2010-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Everybody is geared up for the March 13, 2010 battle between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey. The fight is a showcase for the pound for pound best boxer in the world, Manny Pacquiao, as he continues to carve out his position not only in today's welterweight division but also in the all-time rankings as a legendary fighter.

Proboxing-Fans.com will be showcasing live Pacquiao vs. Clottey results including a Pacquiao vs. Clottey round by round blog. This way if you do not want to pay the full price for the Pay Per View event, you can still find out all of the details of what happened, and you'll be able to follow along live. That way there will be no surprises or spoilers.

The coverage will be provided live and continuously updated throughout the evening. That means as soon as anything happens during the entire Pacquiao vs. Clottey PPV event, you'll be the first to know. It's as good as watching the bout on your television, plus you won't have to shell out all of that extra cash on paying for the event. Just kick back, update your page and watch as the night unfolds.

In providing the Pacquiao vs. Clottey results and round by round blog, ProBoxing-Fans.com is sticking to their mission of helping boxing fans in every way possible. Especially in these times, not everybody can afford to buy a pay-per-view.

Therefore we are providing our live Pacquiao vs. Clottey round by round results for free to everybody who wants to look, so nobody has to miss out. Of course, this is also great if you will be headed out of town or will be occupied for part of the evening. You can check in later that night or early the next morning to see all of the results and details of the bout.

In addition to providing Pacquiao vs. Clottey results, there will also be fight analysis and updates for the main undercard bouts as well. This way you truly will not have to worry about missing anything, and fight fans can relax knowing they will find out exactly what takes place throughout the entire evening.

The bout is a chance for Manny Pacquiao to add even more big wins to his already stellar record and resume. Joshua Clottey presents a big challenge due to his status as a top welterweight and a very large, strong and durable fighter. Pacquiao will be in for a real test against Clottey and it should be an entertaining and fun evening for boxing fans across the globe.

If you are looking for live Pacquiao vs. Clottey results, then ProBoxing-Fans.com has you covered. Be sure to check in with the site on Saturday night, March 13, 2010 for full coverage of the entire Pacquiao vs. Clottey PPV, including live results and a live round by round coverage, blog and scorecard.

Source : EarthTimes

Pacquiao-Clottey Live Streaming

2010-03-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for the information on channel and coverage of Pacquiao vs Clottey live stream? This boxing spectacle will bring us the best entertainment and sports event this March. Pacquiao vs Clottey live stream is hitting your television screen on March 13, 2010 on Pay-Per-View.

Pacquiao vs Clottey live stream is all about Manny Pacquiao fighting Clottey instead of Mayweather in this highly profiled boxing event. The Pacquiao vs Clottey live stream will be seen at the venue in Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Dallas Texas. A battle in which Manny Pacquiao must win in order for him to have a shot in the future. Pacquiao vs Clottey live stream is available on Justin TV, Freedocast, and even Sopcast.

Mayweather - Mosley promoting in Nokia Theater

2010-03-02T05:34:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Floyd Mayweather 40-0 (25) and Shane Mosley 46-5 (39) will meet at the Nokia Theater at Times Square in New York City in the first of their three city press tour promoting their upcoming May 1st mega-fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Wednesday afternoon the 3rd they'll be in Washington DC and Thursday the 4th they'll be in Los Angeles to conclude the tour and promotion.

Mosley, 38, is the defending WBA welterweight champion and Mayweather, 33, is a former WBC title holder and both are considered among the top-5 pound-for-pound fighters in professional boxing. Mayweather-Mosley or Mosley-Mayweather has been talked about and debated for years. And though it's coming to fruition (and it will unless one of them is injured during training) about five to seven years late, that doesn't detract from how big it is.

Mosley fought one of the most complete fights of his career in January of 2009 when he knocked out the rugged and tough Antonio Margarito to capture his title. And Mayweather never looked more purposeful and sure of himself than when he took apart Juan Manuel Marquez in his last bout this past September.

As most boxing observers know, this fight is being realized because Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao couldn't strike an agreement to meet later this year. Mosley's title defense against Andre Berto, who is a Haitian native, fell through due to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti last month. And I don't care if Mayweather was forced to take this fight because he needed to face an opponent who was perceived to be a real threat to beat him this time. The bottom line is Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley will be two of the only three men occupying the inside of a boxing ring on the night of May 1st this year.

It's been said here that Mayweather brought up the HGH/PED's issue to get inside Pacquiao's head and to try and win the first two rounds of their fight before the bell rang for the first round. Nothing has changed and I still think that's the case. I've also said that against fighter-A, Manny is a bigger draw than Floyd at the gate, especially after the way he looked in defeating Miguel Cotto in his last fight. Not to mention Pacquiao's legacy is deeper than Mayweather's and he's fought and defeated better opposition than Floyd has.

Basically, Manny has upstaged Floyd at just about every turn since Floyd announced his comeback on the afternoon of Pacquiao-Hatton. But the truth must be told, and this time regardless of the reasons as to why, Mayweather is facing the better opponent. It's undeniable that Mosley is the bigger fish in a pond that contains he and Joshua Clottey. Mayweather is not just meeting the better opponent than Pacquiao is in their next respective fights, but his fight is going to do bigger PPV numbers.

There's just no way around it, anticipating Mayweather and Mosley in the ring is much more compelling and intriguing than the anticipation of Pacquiao-Clottey. And though both Pacquiao and Mayweather are favored to win if Clottey were to defeat Pacquiao it would turn the boxing world upside down and everyone reading this knows it. Granted, Clottey is a live underdog and he does bring some things like size and a presumed strength advantage into the fight that may trouble Manny, but how many expect him to win? On the other hand, Mosley beating Mayweather, even by stoppage, shouldn't be considered an upset by anyone who knows what they've been watching during the careers of both fighters.

This column has been critical of Mayweather over the last eight months. But it's never been personal or mean spirited and I've only stated it as I believe it to be. And that's Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter. But he's picked his spots and avoided the fighters who truly could've tested him throughout his career and perhaps even defeated him. So in many aspects I believe his undefeated record is a little hollow and manufactured. Maybe by the time he retires I'll see him in a different light? However, that's not the issue at hand today.

The bottom line is Pacquiao-Mayweather wasn't made and I could care less who's fault it was. All I know is Mayweather drew the tougher opponent as a result of it. Mayweather-Mosley is a bigger and more anticipated fight than Pacquiao-Clottey.

And it will be realized on May 1st, and the countdown to it begins this afternoon. Yes - seeing the names Mayweather and Mosley on the marquee gets the blood pumping more than seeing Pacquiao vs. Clottey. And that's in spite of Manny Pacquiao being boxing's biggest star and current pound-for-pound greatest fighter.

No one fighter, even if he's the biggest draw in the sport, is more interesting to the public than a genuinely interesting two-way fight.

Source : TheSweetScience

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight Prediction

2010-03-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

Here's another Pacquiao-Clottey Fight Prediction from www.sportsperspectives.com .

Last week, I stated the case for Joshua Clottey against Manny Pacquiao. This week, I’ll tell you why Clottey’s case will not be heard by any judge ringside in two weeks. Sure, Clottey can fight, but he ain’t never seen anything like the Pac Man.

1. Locale. Even. Pacquiao will definitely have the huge Cowboys Stadium crowd behind him because he’s the main attraction of this event. However, in Cowboys Stadium, only Tony Romo and his teammates can really call this place home.

2. Hand Speed. Advantage Pacquiao. This is perhaps the biggest advantage that Pacquiao will have in the fight. It’s often his biggest advantage in most fights. When I stated earlier that Clottey “ain’t never seen anything like the Pac Man,” hand speed is what I was referring to.

3. Ring Generalship. Advantage Pacquiao. Under the watchful eye of his excellent trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao has improved leaps and bounds since his lighter (weight) days. He can fight at various speeds, fighting off the back foot or off the front foot. Clottey on the other hand is, at best, methodical, and at worst, plodding.

4. Competition. Advantage Pacquiao. Clottey’s resume of Carlos Baldomir (loss), Diego Corrales (win), Miguel Cotto (loss), Zab Judah (win) and Antonio Margarito (loss) is nothing to sneeze at. But Pacquiao’s victim list of Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Erik Morales (twice) and Juan Manuel Marquez is the stuff legends are made of.

5. Power. Advantage Pacquiao. The biggest thing that has astounded me about Pacquiao is the fact that his power has been maintained as he’s moved up in weight. That will be put to the ultimate test against Clottey, who has never really been seriously been hurt in the ring. We know that Pacquiao hits harder but what happens when he sees that he can’t hurt Clottey?

6. Conditioning. Advantage Pacquiao. Both men are always in tip-top shape. However, Clottey has shown a tendency to punch less down the home stretch of his biggest fights. Whether it be mental or physical, he gets fatigued somewhere.

7. Chin. Advantage Clottey. Not only does Clottey have a cast-iron chin but his “ear-muff” defense makes it hard to reach. If Clottey is seriously hurt by Pacquiao, I’d honestly be pretty surprised. I’m hyped to see how this sub-plot unfolds come fight night.

8. Footwork. Advantage Pacquiao. Clottey fights big. By that, I mean that he fights very deliberate behind a heavy, albeit under-utilized jab, and strong overhand right. Pacquiao bounces in and out, throwing powerful combinations from weird angles and positions. What stays solid is his foundation.

9. Size/Strength. Advantage Clottey. When looking at Clottey’s chiseled frame, you wonder if he’s the one folks should be asking to undergo a battery of additional blood tests for performance-enhancing drugs. I’m kidding. However, Pacquiao better take the naturally bigger and stronger Clottey very seriously in two weeks.

10. Defense. Advantage Clottey. Defense wins championships, and Clottey has the edge in this all-important area. However, it can be a gift and a curse. As we have seen a few times before, Clottey often spends so much time in his shell that a turtle would be jealous. Not hitting and not being hit will not bring the title back to Ghana. You got that?

According to the Boxing Fight Predictor, all signs point towards a Manny Pacquiao rout of Joshua Clottey. I believe that Pacquiao will win but will be forced to go the distance against the always-tough Ghanaian. Clottey will have a few moments, but he simply does not punch enough to pull off the upset.

Manny Pacquiao should coast to a unanimous decision victory on March 13. Tell me what you think.

Pacquiao's Arrival in Dallas

2010-02-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

Despite the forecast of cold weather in the next two weeks, Dallas is going to be scorching hot with the arrival there of the stars of the March 13 show at Cowboys Stadium.

Expected to be there first is Ghanaian Joshua Clottey, who lands at Dallas-Fort Worth International from New York on a commercial flight this Sunday, a full day ahead of his Filipino foe Manny Pacquiao, who will be brought there by a private jet on March 9.

Top Rank, which is staging the event in partnership with Texas billionaire Jerry Jones, said Dallas is going to be buzzing with activity as soon as they get there with Clottey penciled for an open media workout at 1:30 p.m. on March 9.

Pacquiao will hold his own the following day at the same time.

A makeshift gym will be built at the basement of the Gaylord Texan so the two fighters can train there instead of driving for 30 minutes to reach the nearest gym.

The press conference for Pacquiao and Clottey will be held at the Cowboys Stadium on March 10, while the undercard fighters will have their day the following day at the Gaylord Texan, the official residence of the promotion.

The official weighin – always on the eve of the fight – will also be staged at the Cowboys Stadium at 5 p.m.

Pacquiao and Clottey will answer the opening bell at 10 p.m. (12 noon in the Philippines of March 14) before an expected sellout crowd of 40,000 and a worldwide TV audience. The first fight will be at 5 p.m. after the gates to the stadium start to receive fight fans an hour earlier.

Clottey is in the final phase of his training in Florida and is going to make a side trip to New York to fulfill some promotional obligations like the hosting of a workout for the Big Apple press at Kingsway Gym on March 4 before heading to Dallas.

Pacquiao is also hosting his own workout at the Wild Card on March 3.

Source : Manila Bulletin

Steroid Not An Issue in Pacquiao-Clottey Fight

2010-02-27T07:11:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao’s last fight fell apart over steroid testing.

For his next fight, it won’t even be an issue.

Pacquiao, whose negotiations for a projected $100-million megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. collapsed in January when he balked at Mayweather’s demands for random, Olympic-style blood testing, will not be tested at all before or after his March 13 welterweight title fight against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

According to a spokeswoman for the Texas Combative Sports Program, the state agency that regulates boxing matches, Texas does not test boxers for steroids unless there is probable cause. "As of this date," the spokeswoman said, "the executive director, William Kuntz, finds he has no good cause to order it."

Kuntz was not available for comment, but Clottey, who lost a split decision to Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden in his last fight in June, said he would not request Pacquiao be tested before this fight.

"I don’t want to do that because I respect him so much," Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) said on a conference call on Thursday. "I don’t think Manny Pacquiao would do that. But if he does, then he’s cheating the sport."

Clottey’s opinion was echoed by his manager, Vinny Scolpino, who said, "We’ll comply by the commission’s rules. If they want to implement further testing, let ’em implement it and we’ll follow it. If Manny is a super-champion, we all hope he’s doing the right thing."

After Pacquiao’s convincing 12th-round TKO of Cotto in November, Mayweather’s camp accused Pacquiao, a former 106-pounder who now fights as a welterweight, of using steroids and demanded he submit to random blood-testing the week of the fight.

Pacquiao, who has never failed a postfight steroid test, refused and for now, what might have been the most lucrative prize fight of all time was put on hold while Pacquiao faces Clottey next month and Mayweather takes on Shane Mosley on May 1.

"Is (Pacquiao-Clottey) a consolation prize? Well, in a way," promoter Bob Arum said. "The fight everyone wanted to see didn’t happen for one reason or another, but who the hell knows? Maybe Joshua beats Manny and Mosley beats Mayweather and then we’re doing a Clottey-Mosley fight. So what? Life goes on. That’s what makes boxing interesting."

Arum said he expects a near-sellout for the fight in an 80,000-seat stadium that will be configured to seat 45,000. "If you believe, as I do, that boxing is a big-time sport, that it isn’t a niche sport or a dying sport, then putting your event in a stadium like this or Yankee Stadium or the new Meadowlands Stadium is a great way to prove it," he said. "It’ll be a great night of boxing. The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders will be all over the place, there’ll be fireworks, and a terrific main event."

And no steroid testing to spoil the fun.

Source : Boston Herald

Pacquiao and Clottey Classic Fights

2010-02-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

Leading up to the welterweight title showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey – set for Saturday, March 13 and broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View® – HBO Sports will present the exclusive replay of a high profile showdown that showcases both fighters remarkable ring skills.

On Friday, March 5 at 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT) and Saturday, March 6 at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT), HBO2 will replay back-to-back Pacquiao vs. Cotto 2009 and Judah vs. Clottey 2008. Pacquiao solidified his superstar standing with his 12th round instant classic TKO triumph over Miguel Cotto on November 14, 2009. Clottey reinforced his status as one of the toughest welterweights in the division with a 9th round stoppage over Zab Judah on August 2, 2008 in a sizzling showdown..

The fights will also be available to HBO On Demand subscribers and can be seen 24 hours a day, from Monday, March 1 thru Wednesday, March 24.

On Saturday, March 13 at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT, HBO Pay-Per-View will present Pacquiao vs. Clottey live at the landmark $1.2 billion Cowboys stadium in Arlington, TX.

Source : Boxing News

Pacquiao's Campaign after Pacquiao-Clottey Fight

2010-02-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

BOXING champion Manny Pacquiao has promised to join the campaign sorties of Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Manny Villar after his fight with Joshua Clottey in March.

“Soon after my return to the Philippines, I will join my beloved president Manny Villar so I can introduce him to our countrymen,” Pacquiao said on Sunday night in Pilipino in a video-taped message shown at a concert rally in Mandaue City that capped the NP’s two-day barnstorming of vote-rich Cebu province.

In endorsing Villar, Pacquiao said: “He’s the only person who can help the poor because he defied poverty to become a successful businessman.”

The video clip was shown by noontime host Willie Revillame as a surprise for Villar, who has then just finished delivering his speech to a crowd of over 80,000 in a reclamation area in Cebu.

“Let us support our beloved president, Manny Villar. Sa dami ng taon na lumipas, wala pa rin tayong pagbabago, lalo pa pong padami nang padami ang mga taong mahihirap at walang trabaho,” said Pacquiao, who referred to Villar as his “beloved president.”

The boxing champ said he is confident that propoor Villar, who, like him, overcame poverty, will solve poverty.

“The way I see it, we need people who have experienced how it is to be poor. I myself come from that sector, and I feel the hurt when the poor cry for help from the government, Pacquiao said in Tagalog.

He added: “This is Manny Villar, the answer to our problems because I know he came from poverty, we need a leader who can relate to the sentiments of the poor…I sincerely plead that we support Manny Villar.

Source : BusinessMirror

It's not an upset, just a win says Clottey

2010-02-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

Clottey, 32, is the clear underdog heading into his clash with the pound-for-pound king on March 13.

But the Ghanaian is confident he can defy the odds at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Clottey said: "Pacquiao is a human being, like everyone else. He's just a really good fighter who is currently No1.

"If I win this fight, I will never feel like I beat the best fighter in the world.

"I will feel like I had a fight with the best fighter out there right now — and I won.

"I'll say, 'It's not an upset, just a win'."

Source : thesun

Road to Dallas : Pacquiao-Clottey HBO Special

2010-02-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

HBO Sports® will present “Road to Dallas: Pacquiao vs. Clottey,” a thirty-minute special analyzing the upcoming welterweight title showdown between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and challenger Joshua Clottey that will mark the first-ever pro boxing event at the landmark $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. The intriguing fight will take place on Saturday, March 13 and be televised on HBO Pay-Per-View ®..

The “Road to Dallas: Pacquiao vs. Clottey” special, which will feature fighter profiles, expert analysis and forecasts for the matchup, will premiere on HBO on Saturday, March 6 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT immediately following the live presentation of HBO Boxing After Dark®.

Making his first ring appearance of 2010, Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) looks to continue the enormous momentum he built up in 2009 when he scored convincing KO wins over Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas. Considered the sport’s pound-for-pound king, Pacquiao is boxing’s first seven division champ. A native of Ghana, Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs) is a formidable opponent who is determined to spring the first huge upset of 2010.

The special will also be available to HBO ON DEMAND® subscribers 24 hours a day, beginning Wednesday, March 10 through Monday, April 12.

Additional HBO replay dates:
Saturday, March 6 at 1:00 a.m.
Sunday, March 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Monday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m. & 12:05 a.m.
Tuesday, March 9 at 10:00 a.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. & 11:30 p.m.
Friday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m. & 2:00 a.m.
Saturday, March 13 at 11:30 a.m.

Additional HBO2 replay dates:
Sunday, March 7 at 11:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10 at 10:00 p.m.

All times are ET/PT.

Thanks to EastSideBoxing for sharing.

Freddie Roach Prediction : KO win for Pacquiao

2010-02-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

The more Freddie Roach watches Joshua Clottey on video, the more the celebrated trainer believes Manny Pacquiao is going to become the first fighter to knock the Ghanaian puncher out on March 13 in Dallas, Texas.

“To be honest, the more tape I watch of him, the more holes I find, the more mistakes he makes,” Roach told Michael Rosenthal of The Ring in its on-line edition Saturday.

“I am very confident for this fight… Size doesn’t win fights, talent wins fights. We can do a lot more than he can,” said Roach, downplaying Clottey’s obvious advantage in height and heft.

With three weeks before the scheduled 12-round welterweight title match, Roach has a picture of what Pacquiao would do to Clottey before an expected packed crowd at Cowboys Stadium.

“I expect him to stay on the ropes and rest a little bit. I have the perfect way to crack that defense. I believe he’ll be stopped for the first time in his life.”

Roach said it would take some time before Pacquiao gets the job done, stressing that the African is tough and dangerous.

Meanwhile, Top Rank publicist Lee Samuels revealed that Pacquiao is expected to arrive in Dallas on March 8, while Clottey is checking in the day before.

Source : Manila Bulletin

Pacquiao-Clottey : The Last Fight of Pacquiao?

2010-02-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

Freddie Roach has suggested Manny Pacquiao's clash with Joshua Clottey could be the Filipino's swansong if a deal cannot be struck with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao, the recent conqueror of Ricky Hatton, has signed to fight Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium.

The Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr camps have made positive noises about getting together in the ring, but they have failed to iron out the details of the fight. Legendary trainer Roach is still hopeful some common ground can be found, but suggests Pacquiao may turn his back on boxing if no deal is signed.

"If Mayweather doesn't come around after this fight and sign to fight us, this could be our last one," Roach told East Side Boxing's On The Ropes show.

Roach expects Clottey to be a durable opponent for Pacquiao. "We're going to have to break him down and it will be in the late, late rounds." Roach added. "I really don't have a number in mind, because I think we will get him somewhere along the way, but it's going to be a battle up until that point, though."

Mayweather is due to fight Shane Mosley on May 1 and Roach expects the former to retain his unbeaten record.

"Shane's been after that fight for a long time, but I do feel that Mayweather will win the fight," Roach said. "It's a very competitive fight, and it's great to see that fight happening and hopefully the winner of this fight will fight the winner of Pacquiao-Clottey. It would be a great match-up."

Source : ESPN.com

Pacquiao will fight the Mosley-Mayweather fight winner

2010-02-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

Filipino Manny Pacquiao is said to be among the masses that now highly anticipate the upcoming showdown between Floyd Mayweather jr. and Shane Mosley. The betting odds have Mayweather currently listed as a slight favor, and fans around the world seem to be split. With all of the people out there that can't seem to put a finger on the man that they feel will get the eventual nod, what we've recently come to learn is that Pacquiao isn't one of them. When asked about the pending showdown in a recent interview, Pacquiao was quoted as saying that he feels "Mosley will win" the fight, and while not taking anything away from Mayweather, the P4P contender made it very clear who he likes in the fight. Whomever wins between the two, Pacquiao is expected to get the winner next. Either man will make for an intriguing evening. But first things first, as Pacquiao has his own showdown to conquer...

Source : 8CountNews

Pacquiao picks Mosley over Mayweather

2010-02-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines – The world’s best pound-for-pound fighter made a prediction on the outcome of the May 1 fight between Americans Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosley.

“I think Mosley will win,” Manny Pacquiao declared on the Krystal Hart Show as quoted by FightFan.com.

Even if he thinks that Mayweather is a "boring" fighter, Pacquiao said that the fight between "Pretty Boy Floyd" and "Sugar Shane" will still be a treat for fight fans.

“I think Mayweather vs. Mosley will be a good fight,” he said.

Pacquiao then went on to give another reason why his scheduled March 13 bout with Mayweather did not push through.

“I’m not concerned about the Money (that would have come in a fight vs. Mayweather). I’m concerned about what I can give in terms of my performance to the people who love boxing. My concern isn’t only with myself, but with the people who buy tickets looking for a good fight,” he said.

“I don’t want to disappoint people with a boring fight. I feel you need to entertain the people who watch your fights.”

Pacquiao, meanwhile, assured a very good fight against Ghana’s Joshua Clottey, whom he will face on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“It’s going to be a good fight because he has a good style. It’s a different kind of style and I want to fight. He’s bigger and he’s taller than Miguel Cotto.”

Pacquiao won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title last November by beating Cotto via technical knockout in Round 12.

Clean fighter

After Pacquiao’s victory over Cotto, talks on the Mayweather-Pacquiao match-up swirled immediately. They were supposed to face off on March 13 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Talks to seal the deal collapsed when the fighters’ camps disagreed on the drug testing protocol.

Mayweather, his father Floyd Sr. and other members of his team even alleged that Pacquiao was taking performance-enhancing drugs. The Filipino boxing icon already filed a defamation complaint against them.

“I’m not against blood testing. Just not the day of the fight. I’ve had that happen in the (first) [Erik] Morales fight. I lost that fight and my body felt very weak. I don’t feel I recovered. That is why I don’t want blood testing close to the fight,” explained Pacquiao.

He also mentioned that he is a “very honest person” who prays and believes in God. He said his success in the ring only reflects the hard training he undergoes before every fight.

“I’m a clean fighter who trains very hard. People don’t know how hard I train and the sacrifices I make.”

He even hit back on Mayweather, saying that the American probably did not really want to face the 7-time world champ.

“I don’t think Mayweather wanted the fight. He had too many reasons (that lead) to cancel the fight. I’m not disappointed because I know I’m not the one who didn’t want the fight and I have to defend myself.”

Clottey’s disappointment

Pacquiao, who is training in the United States for his title defense, said he is not underestimating his opponent.

“I didn’t expect I would end up fighting Clottey but I will prepare myself and train hard,” he said.

“Clottey is a strong guy and a good fighter. He’s a former world champion. I am sure we will have a good fight and create a lot of excitement in the ring.”

The Ghanian, on the other hand, is still encountering problems in his fight preparations because his trainer, Godwin Dzanie Kotey better known as Alloway, has not yet secured a US visa.

“I am fine but tell Ghana that they’ve disappointed me by not giving my trainer visa to come here with me,” Clottey said in a GhanaWeb.com article.

“The only thing I can tell you is everything is fine with me and I’m ready to fight [even] if the government can’t help because it’s my life on the line,” added Clottey.

Source : ABS-CBN

Dallas Stadium Ready for Pacquiao-Clottey

2010-02-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

Dallas is on a roll. Racing from Mavericks town to Cowboys territory to NBA All-Star state, Dallas heads the Texas offensive like Carl Lewis on the US 4 x 100 meter relay team. The finish line, though, is far from sight. That suits Dallas just fine. It’s having too much fun turning the Lone Star State into a global sports hub.

After hosting a record-breaking NBA All-Star Week, Dallas prepares for the big fight between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey on March 13. By all indications, the Dallas area and its fans are ready to host another grand event and all-set to watch Pacquiao deliver another knockout show.

“I can’t wait to see Pacquiao in action here in Dallas," exclaimed Ronald “Popeye" Jones, former 11-year veteran for the Mavericks turned Mavericks Player Development Coach. “You see that burning fire in Pacquiao to win, to be successful. It’s the same fire that Michael Jordan had."

Perhaps that’s what drove Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones to aggressively lure Pacquiao away from the bright lights of Las Vegas and into the first-rate amenities of Cowboys Stadium. Jones really wanted to host Pacquiao versus Mayweather. Mayweather has cemented his place in boxing history. Pacquiao has done likewise while turning himself into one of the hottest commodities in professional sports.

It makes perfect sense, therefore, for Jones to unite the Michael Jordan of contemporary boxing with the Hercules of football stadiums. Jones wanted to bring boxing’s pound-for-pound king into the newest sports capital of Texas. Even former Maverick and Pacquiao fan Steve Nash was impressed with Jones’ sports cathedral. “People (who watched the NBA All-Star game) felt they were in the coolest sports bar of all-time with the biggest wide screen TV in the world."

Last week, tall buildings and posh hotels in Dallas were covered with gigantic billboards promoting the NBA All-Star game. In the coming days, however, expect Pacquiao’s intense face to replace oversized action shots of Nowitzki, Bryant, James and Garnett. And fans are eager to turn Dallas from All-Star town to Pacquiao city.

“I paid extra to make sure I’ll watch Pacquiao from a nicer seat," James Farias, 26, Texas-native and food server for a popular Tex-Mex restaurant in the Dallas area, said. “I just hope Pacquiao doesn’t beat Clottey too easily. After all, I’m paying to see Manny not Clottey."

There’s a Pacquiao-Clottey billboard on the freeway and excited fans on the streets. On this trip, we met Mavericks/Cowboys fans who have become Pacquiao believers. Tickets for Pacquiao-Clottey were reportedly sold out as early as three weeks ago. A ticket was said to cost anywhere from 50 USD to 700 USD. Fans still without tickets have no choice but to purchase them from third-parties.

It’s a problem basketball Hall-of-Famer Nancy Lieberman, a boxing fan since the glory days of her good friend Muhammad Ali, won’t have. She made sure she got her VIP tickets weeks ago. “Pacquiao will be fighting here in Dallas and I’ll be there for the fight."

Source : GMATV

NBA All-Star Choice is Pacquiao!

2010-02-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

DALLAS, Texas - The stars came out for the Lone Star State for the 59th NBA All Star Game last Sunday (Monday morning in Manila). Celtics legend Bill Russell, hip-hop mogul P. Diddy, comedian Chris Tucker, rapper Drake, Knicks die-hard Spike Lee and actress Gabrielle Union dotted the glitzy landscape. During the game, another star quietly entered Cowboys Stadium. He strolled with his entourage and looked for his VIP seat.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. made a nondescript entry into the scene. Cowboys Stadium was set aside for Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather said, “No thanks." Then, those who wanted to watch Floyd and Pacman in the ring, including many of the 2010 NBA All-Stars, retorted, “No way."

“Oh, I was very, very disappointed that the fight didn’t push through," West All-Star Chauncey Billups, a fan of Pacquiao, admitted. “I love Manny Pacquiao. He’s one of the greats. I love his heart. I love his passion out there and he fights to the end."

Many of the 2010 NBA All-Stars believe Pacquiao knocks out opponents the way LeBron James slams the ball. Successful athletes, after all, recognize skill and resolve the way Simon Cowell identifies talent. They also recognize a missed opportunity for Mayweather to test his greatness against Pacquiao.

“Pacquiao’s just tenacious," West All-Star Brandon Roy said. “I mean he goes in there and not only gives a great show but a great fight, that’s why you really want to see him in boxing. He’s just a great athlete, a great competitor and he fights at a high level every night."

“I’m very impressed with Manny Pacquiao," 1st time All-Star Deron Williams added. "He’s arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter and the way he has been beating people has been ridiculous."

Billups, Roy and Williams refused to predict a winner in a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout. They all agreed, though, that a showdown would feature two great fighters.

“I don’t know who’ll win that fight," 5-time All-Star Chris Bosh said. “That’s why it’s going to be a great fight. No one knows what’s going to happen."

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao with Joshua Clottey and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders during their press tour in Texas last month. AP

Mayweather still has loyal fans. 1st time All-Star Derrick Rose is one of them. Still, if Mayweather slid into Sunday’s game with little fanfare, Pacquiao blasted the boxing scene like a Dwight Howard two-handed slam. Pacquiao, who’ll face Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, didn’t quietly enter the consciousness of the NBA’s boxing fans, he rocked their world.

“I’m just a big fan of boxing so I would love to see both those guys get in the ring together but just because it didn’t push through now doesn’t mean it won’t push through," an optimistic Roy said. “I still have high hopes that it will push through eventually."

“I love Manny Pacquiao," West All-Star starter Amare Stoudamire asserted. “He’s a great boxer. He was totally ready to fight Mayweather. I was waiting to see that fight but it didn’t happen."

When asked who would win the bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao, Stoudamire had one, clear choice.

“Pacquiao."

Source : GMA

A Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight Deal : Take it or leave it says Mayweather

2010-02-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

Here goes Floyd Mayweather again.

The trash-talking former holder of the mythical title of pound-for-pound king went on the offensive over the weekend, expressing his wonder to his hometown paper – the Grand Rapids Press – why Manny Pacquiao would not agree to “a $25 million drug test.”

Still resentful about the collapse of the lucrative bout with Pacquiao, Mayweather said that if their camps revive talks about a matchup in the next few months, the Filipino will have to agree to get less of the money at stake especially if his May 1 fight with Shane Mosley fares better than Pacquiao’s March 13 bout with Joshua Clottey.

“Instead of 20 or 25 (million dollars), he may have to drop to 15 or 17 and you know me, they have to throw that extra 5 or ten on mine and we can rock and roll. Take it or leave it,” said Mayweather.

Pacquiao and Mayweather appeared on their way to agreeing on a deal but Mayweather demanded that Pacquiao undergo random blood testing to level the playing field even though Pacquiao has never failed a drug test ever.

While Mayweather insists that he is not accusing Pacquiao of somebody who uses performance-enhancing drugs, the American fighter sounds off that the current pound-for-pound king is guilty.

“The thing is this: I’ve never seen a guy who didn’t want to take a $25 million drug test. If you’re clean, take the drug test.”
Mayweather lamented the fact that he had agreed to an unheard-of demand by Pacquiao on the issue of penalties on excess weight.

“In my clause, he told me if you would weigh over 147 I had to pay him $10 million for each pound. I agreed but he didn’t agree to my terms and we both would have had to take tests. It wasn’t just steered toward him. It was both me and him.”

Stung by Mayweather's nasty accusation, Pacquiao has filed a defamation lawsuit against him as well as the Oscar De La Hoya-owned Golden Boy Promotions.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, is right on track in his preparation against Clottey even though he took a break when he traveled to Las Vegas to throw his support behind the Filipino fighters who fought there.

Pacquiao told a Manila-based station covering the fight at ringside that he didn’t find it hard to regain his old fiery form because he was coming off a big fight.

Over at Clottey’s training camp in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, the Ghana banger is said to be awesome as well during sparring sessions, his chief handler Vinny Scolpino told ace fight scribe Mike Marley.

“He’s on target, he’s beating the crap out of people in sparring and I would say he is definitely on his A game,” said Scolpino.

Source : Manila Bulletin

I don't think it is proper for Mayweather to demand much from Pacquiao.

Cole Out of Pacquiao-Clottey Fight

2010-02-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines - Laurence Cole, who called a slip a knockdown and a knockdown a slip when Manny Pacquiao fought Marco Antonio Barrera in San Antonio in 2003, will not be on the ring when the Filipino ring master takes on Joshua Clottey.

It was announced a few days ago that Cole, who normally gets the assignment during big fights in Texas, would officiate the coming bout, but yesterday it was reported that Rafael Ramos has been designated as the referee.

The Examiner’s Michael Marley described Ramos, who officiated the 2009 Fight of the Year between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, as “a respected referee and allows for action if there’s going to be action.”

While there were concerns when Cole’s name came up as the referee for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, there seemed to be no official protest coming from the Pacquiao camp or if there was any, such move was kept under wraps.

Cole was the third man on the ring during the first Pacquiao-Barrera showdown at the Alamodome almost seven years ago. And many believed that Cole leaned toward the Mexican assassin during the fight.

In the 2:32 mark of the first round, Pacquiao landed a lead left on Barrera’s face, and as the Pinoy icon moved to his side, the Mexican stepped on his right foot, forcing him to sway back and hit the floor.

Cole ruled it as a knockdown, and Pacquiao was just as surprised as ring analyst Larry Merchant who then said, “I’m not sure if Cole saw a punch and I’m not also sure if there was a punch” landed by Barrera.

Pacquiao knocked Barrera down in the third round, and with 10 seconds left in the sixth, he caught the Mexican with a good, short punch. Once again Barrera went down. But Cole was quick to rule it as a slip.

Again, Merchant said, “that sure looks more like a knockdown than in the first round.”

That won’t happen on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as Ramos, and not Cole, has been assigned to handle the fight where Pacquiao will put his WBO welterweight championship on the line.

It will be the first time since 2006 that a Pacquiao fight will not be officiated by Kenny Bayless, Tony Weeks or Vic Draculich who have alternated in the pound-for-pound champion’s last eight fights.

“The best news, of course, is this means that oft-derided Texas referee Laurence Cole won’t be the third man, which was feared by most the minute this fight was announced,” Marley wrote yesterday.

Source : Philstar.com

We'll update you once they announce the third man on the ring. Stay tuned.

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight Prediction

2010-02-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

Here's a Pacquiao-Clottey fight prediction from Gina Caliboso of ringsidereport.com.

Just to be clear, I am not going to begin my article with a lot of reasons on why the Manny Pacquiao – Floyd Mayweather, JR., mega fight never happened.

The ugliness of steroids overall is a horrible yet unfortunate reality about today’s modern athlete. Fingerpointing and lecturing aside, I’ll refrain from further comment that the fight negotiations were just – how can I put this?

Ugly?

I’m just saying that there’s a whole year left. I don’t count out the possibility just yet.

For now, Pacquiao definitely looks like he’s gearing up for the fight against Joshua “Grand Master” Clottey, 35-3, 20 KO’s, set for March 13th at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But given some thought about Clottey as an opponent, I’ll argue that he may give Pacquiao some competition.

Some competition meaning that the fight is going to end with a unanimous decision in favor of Pacquiao over 12 rounds. However, Clottey is not and should not be taken lightly because there is never a sure thing for a fighter – even for Pacquiao – once he steps into the ring.

I had to look back at some of Clottey’s previous bouts. And, l always feel that looking at a fighter’s losses are more telling and if whether his post loss matches were better or worse. Clottey’s fight record is a veritable list of who’s who in the current welterweight division. And, unlike Pacquiao, he’s always fought at welterweight so he’s established himself at that weight against some heavy hitters and can definitely take some punishment at the hands of his opponents.

From footage I’ve seen, Clottey fights great inside. He has a good jab-hook combination that if properly executed, rocks his opponents. He goes to the body with left uppercuts, followed by barrages of hooks.

Clottey is definitely at his best when he’s in the middle of the ring. He has a tendency to get cornered and as such, doesn’t work too hard to dominate, especially if he’s against the ropes and in the corner. Once he establishes close in-fighting exchanges, he does not back down at all.

Clottey easily loses points when he fails to be aggressive and works tentatively showing moments of strong fighting and winning by points, but then somehow takes times off in a round or two without establishing his will on his opponent. Clottey’s lackluster ring generalship allows his opponents to win rounds he could have easily won if he weren’t so reluctant to exchange.

Now, I just stated that his ring generalship is a little lackluster, but it’s not lacking too much. This is where I just love to theorize about boxing tactics because I definitely think Clottey has an awareness of the referee. Call it “dirty tactics,” but I think Clottey is very aware of the referee in the ring and what he can possibly do to his opponent depending on what the referee may or might not be seeing. Yes, fight fans, others have said it. Clottey is notorious for the timeliness of his clashing of heads. And, it’s usually his opponents that get the worst of these accidental head butts.

Back in 1999 in his fight against Argentina’s Carlos Baldomir, Clottey scored a DQ. He lost two points for his headbutting of Baldomir in the 10th round and repeated a headbutt again in the 11th resulting in the disqualification. Again, timeliness of the head clash, but in this case, he lost big because he was ahead on the judges’ scorecards at the time the fight was stopped.

Back in June 2009, Clottey faced Miguel Angel Cotto. Clottey had suffered a knockdown in the first round. But later, towards the end of round three, Cotto had suffered a cut above his left eye again by an accidental headbutt. Cotto went on to win the fight by split decision over 12 rounds, but the cut didn’t exactly take one or two stitches. According to reports, the cut took 20 total stitches (14 over and 6 below the eye – ouch!)

In this fight, Clottey definitely gave Cotto a hard time despite the knockdown in the first round, but still didn’t really looked like he could beat Cotto.

Clottey is definitely a different type of opponent for Pacquiao. He has solid talent, has shown definite ability to work and exchange on the inside. But as a slow starter, he cannot afford to be tentative. It’s a big moment and venue for the fighter from Ghana. If Clottey can step up his game and the occasion, he has nothing to lose by any means. Given his history of accidental headbutts, Pacquiao’s southpaw stance makes him even more vulnerable to the possibility of a clash of heads.

Pacquiao must show even more technical ability, combined with his speed and power, to take the fight quickly. However, it’s up to Clottey to make this his fight and not make the fight about his opponent Pacquiao. So, was Clottey the safer choice for Pacquiao? Probably, but maybe, just maybe, Clottey will make this fight about giving some competition to Pacquiao.

Will he win?

I say no, but I don’t see him exactly standing there getting beat up either.

Pacquiao-Valero Fight

2010-02-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Anyone still sulking about the collapse of Manny Pacquiao's blockbuster clash with Floyd Mayweather might just be about to perk up.

The possibility of a scrap between Pacquiao and Edwin Valero will drag even the most disillusioned fight fan out of the doldrums - a mouth-watering scrap rising from the ashes of the scuppered pound-for-pound play-off with Mayweather.

Valero, arguably the only fighter on the planet more exciting than the revered Filipino, has set his sights on what he rightly claims to be "the fight the world wants to see".

While a clash between pound-for-pound king Pacquiao and predecessor Mayweather must, for the good of boxing, happen at some point in the future, a Pacquiao-Valero tear-up would excite most boxing insiders more than any other fight in the last decade.

With a record of 27 stoppages from 27 fights, Valero is the most exciting and aggressive fighter on the planet. Pacquiao, meanwhile, is the most complete fighter of his generation having started out at light-flyweight before moving through the divisions and dishing out beatings to everyone put in his way.

While Pacquiao-Mayweather would be an intriguing and necessary clash pitting the world's top two against each other, a fight between the Filipino firebrand and Valero would be pure indulgence for the viewing public.

It promises a blur of furious violence so thrilling that nobody would complain about paying hefty pay-per-view fees for a fight likely to last barely a few rounds.

After dismantling tough challenger Antonio DeMarco to force a retirement after nine rounds last weekend, WBC lightweight champion Valero - who moved up a division last year to capture that belt - revealed his ambition to step up again and compete at light-welterweight.

To do so would be to head tantalisingly close to Pacquiao-infested waters.

And just the suggestion of a fight between the two is prompting many in the sport to get excited.

First, it seems likely Valero will jump in at the deep end by challenging WBO light-welterweight champion Tim Bradley and, should he come through, with Pacquiao meanwhile navigating his way past Joshua Clottey, a meeting between the two will move to the top of the agenda.

"That's the fight the world wants to see," Valero said after impressing against DeMarco.

"I demonstrated once again (against DeMarco) that I am a boxer, that I do side steps, and I'm technical. I've never said it, but all my team and the people around me know that I can box.

"It's just that a majority of the fights have been against boxers who have gone out early."

While it seems promoter Bob Arum - who also promotes Pacquiao - is keen to throw him in against Bradley, Venezuelan Valero is also eyeing hardman Juan Diaz.

"I hope that it can be in Texas against the 'Baby Bull' Diaz so I can prove I have power in this weight category," said Valero.

There, however, is the first of two stumbling blocks. Texas is the only place in America Valero can fight, because of an ongoing refusal to licence him elsewhere due to an old head injury suffered in a motorcycle crash early in his career.

Unless that changes - and it would be a suspicious coincidence for a change of heart to suddenly occur if such a massive fight was in the offing - the fight cannot be staged in Las Vegas or New York.

The other obstacle in Valero's way is his desire to hold onto his WBC lightweight belt, with the scrapper appealing to the governing body to allow him to move up to 140lbs while retaining his title.

Keen to keep one of their most marketable champions, they may cede to his request, while Pacquiao is fighting Clottey in Dallas anyway so why not stage a showdown there as well?

Valero's biggest challenge will be surviving such a dangerous 'tune-up' fight, however, be it against Diaz or Bradley.

Wherever their allegiance lies, fans of the sweet science will be rooting for both men to come through and remain on this most tantalizing collision course.

Source : SportingLife.com

Bob Arum Spoiling Pacquiao

2010-02-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

There was a time when Manny Pacquiao was happy to be on board a commercial flight.

But times have changed. He is famous, rich and is the apple of Bob Arum’s eye, his energetic promoter.

The best luxury hotels, 24-hour security, any food and practically anything are at Pacquiao’s beck and call.

But the one thing that truly indicates that Pacquiao has arrived is the private plane that Arum has put at the Filipino boxer’s disposal.

Like a rock star and sports megastars in the category of Tiger Woods, a private plane is the transport of choice for the once poor boy from General Santos City.

So when Pacquiao and his entourage travel the three-hour flight to Dallas, Texas, on Monday, a plane will be waiting for him.

“Manny’s going to Dallas first thing in the morning of Monday, March 8th,” Arum said yesterday from Las Vegas.

Except for flights arriving in the US from the Philippines, Pacquiao has been riding private planes to fulfill countless appointments as though he owns one.

Not only that, Arum has also asked the management of Gaylord Texan Resort and Hotel in Grapevine, Texas, to build a makeshift gym at the basement so Pacquiao could train there in the final days leading to the fight.

Source : ManilaBulletin

What do you think? Does Arum really spoiling Pacquiao?

Size Does Not Matter

2010-02-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

Being big, strong and durable do not make Joshua Clottey unbreakable.

This is the belief of trainer Freddie Roach, who tries to steer Manny Pacquiao to another victory on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Acknowledging that Clottey could pose problems with his physique, strength and his chin that is said to be made of anvil, Roach said the Ghanaian banger “makes too many fundamental mistakes,” lapses that Pacquiao is sure to take advantage of come fight night.

Speaking to fightnews.com, Roach is confident Pacquiao will become the “first” fighter to knock the African out in their 12-round welterweight match before an expected sellout crowd.

Clottey has fought 38 times and despite losing three times on points, the 32-year-old has never been stopped although he suffered a flash knockdown in the first round against Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in June last year.

Pacquiao is in the thick of training at the Wild Card in Hollywood, California, and had logged his 32nd round of sparring Saturday afternoon, racking up four rounds each with Ray Beltran and Mike Dallas Jr.

“There’s not even a small problem as far as Manny’s preparation is concerned,” said the fighter’s Canadian adviser Mike Koncz Sunday after handing the two sparmates their weekly pay.

This early, Team Pacquiao is finalizing the travel arrangements for the trip to Texas.

“Manny said he would like to travel to Dallas after he spars for the last time on the Monday before the fight,” said Koncz.

“I told him that it would be much better if we travel on Sunday, which is his day-off, but he told me it’ll be Monday.”

Pacquiao will likely be billeted at the Gaylord Texan Hotel – the official hotel of the Dallas Cowboys – in the city of Grapevine.

Source : ManilaBulletin

Tourists raid Pacquiao Stores

2010-02-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

If there's anything you can't miss on a trip to General Santos City, it's a visit to boxer Manny Pacquiao's clothing and accessories stores.

This is according to Manila-based and foreign tourists who were seen browsing a Team Pacquiao store for signature jackets and t-shirts that double as tourist souveniers.

General Santos City, located in the southern part of the Philippines, became famous as Pacquiao's hometown more than its booming tuna fishing industry.

The city, located in South Cotabato, is home to many of the Pacquiao family's businesses, including coffee house franchises and boutiques by his wife, Jinkee Pacquiao.

"Ok ang store. [Ang dami ng] pagpipilian. Sinadya talaga namin pumunta dito. (The store is okay. There are lots of things to choose from. We really went out of our way to come here)," said tourist Aida Timbreza.

Team Pacquiao stores, located in both Robinson's Place Mall and the JMP building along Osmeña street in GenSan, are stocked with complete Pacquiao merchandise.

These include new slippers printed with Pacquiao's face, clothes for men and other accessories. Pacquiao, as a brand endorser for Nike, has signature t-shirts, shoes and jackets marked with a special seal.

'Money not an issue'

Dr. Wilma Heramil, who came from a neighboring municipality in South Cotabato called Polomolok, spent more than P5,000 on t-shirts and caps alone.

Heramil told ABS-CBN News that these apparel were specially requested by her relatives in San Diego, California.

"Ipadala ko doon. Gustong gusto nila. Suotin daw nila sa gagawing party. Reason ng gathering nila si Pacman. (I will send it there. They really want it. They will wear these for as party in Pacman's honor)," she said.

Heramil added that her relatives will be wearing these merchandise in time for Pacquiao's March 13 fight against Ghanian boxer Joshua Clottey.

The Team Pacquiao's store supervisor, Rex Aniero, says tourists often flock to the shop every time Pacquiao has an impending fight.

He said items that sell the most are signature items like boxing gloves and Victorinox wristwatches that each cost P30,000--the store's most expensive item.

Aniero said money is not an issue for die-hard Pacquiao fans who come into the store, most of whom are foreigners.

The Victorinox watches have reportedly sold out.

Expecting a new surge of clients in the days leading to the Pacquiao-Clottey match in Texas, Aniero said Team Pacquiao stores will carry special Pacquiao vs. Clottey t-shirts.

He's sure that, just like with other merchandise, these shirts will click with the Filipino boxing champion's fans.

Source : ABS-CBN News
-----------

We really like the idea that aside from boxing Pacquiao is generating more income thru his business.

Pacquiao versus Mayweather-Mosley Fight Winner Says Roach

2010-02-04T05:49:00.000-08:00

Trainer Freddie Roach says Manny Pacquiao, should he beat Joshua Clottey on March 13, will be more than happy to fight the winner of May's mega-bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley. Roach sees the winner of Mayweather-Mosley as the best candidate for Pacquiao's next fight. Roach told BoxingScene.com that Mayweather should win the fight but it's going to be very tough for him.

"I like Shane. He's a good guy but I think Mayweather will outbox him. I think Mayweather will win that fight but it's a very competitive, good fight and I would like to see that fight," Roach told BoxingScene.

If Mayweather wins, Roach says a fight with Pacquiao will only happen under the rules of the governing commission. They will not agree to Mayweather's demand for unrestricted random drug testing. Pacquiao did tell BoxingScene's Robert Morales that he would consider taking random drug tests if the contract called for the random tests to stop 30-days prior to the fight. Pacquiao would also take a blood test immediately after the fight was over.

Mayweather is more concerned about the testing that takes place inside the 30-day time period. Mayweather has placed the test demands on Mosley, who accepted the terms. Mayweather and Pacquiao were unable to agree on the drug testing terms when they were negotiating for a tentative fight in March. Roach does think Mayweather fight will happen but under the right circumstances.

"When Mayweather loses a little more money gambling and he needs it, I think he'll fight us. I would like to see Pacquiao fight him under the commission rules and the counseling bodies but not under Floyd Mayweather's rules because who the f**k is he? We don't work for him," Roach said.

Mosley will be an easier fight to make because he doesn't care about random drug testing. He will fight Pacquiao with or without a clause that calls for random testing. Roach would love to have Pacquiao take that fight if Shane pulls off the upset.

"Shane would love to fight Manny. If he beats Mayweather...if he wins, we will fight him and that will be a great fight. Shane is a very good fighter and I respect him quite a bit," Roach said.

Source : BoxingScene

Fighter of the Decade Awarded to Manny Pacquiao

2010-02-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Elation written all over his face Bob Arum, by far the pre-eminent boxing promoter in the world jetted to Mexico City with the owner of the Dallas Cowboys $1.2 billion state-of-the-art stadium Jerry Jones.

And created further excitement about ‘The Event” on March 13 which pits pound-for-pound icon Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines against Ghana’s tough former champion Joshua Clottey for Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title.

The affair was given added prestige with the presence of WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman and his son and WBC secretary general Mauricio Sulaiman as well as well-known Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran and the added glamor of the gorgeous Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Arum was obviously elated over his prized possession Pacquiao not just being voted as the “Fighter of the Decade” by the prestigious Bowing Writers Association of America but that he whipped his closest rival Floyd Mayweather Jr by a bigger margin than 2-to-1.

BWAA president Jack Hirsh told us earlier that he was looking at an international figure to present the award to Pacquiao and www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports learned that Arum was keen on having former US President George Bush who is apparently a huge Pacquiao fan do the honors.

Reflecting on Pacquiao’s achievements, Boxing Writers Association of America president Jack Hirsch put it best when he said “If there was any doubt that Manny Pacquiao is the biggest star of his sport, it was put to rest by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. By an overwhelming margin, Pacquiao took home not only the BWAA's newly named "Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year" award, but went one better by also winning "Fighter of the Decade" honors. For Pacquiao, it was his third BWAA "Fighter of the Year" award, tying him with Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield for the most in the history of the organization.”

According to Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz, the Filipino boxing hero was his usual humble self thanking the boxing writers for the honor bestowed on him which he dedicated to his country and people who have supported him all these years, and promising always to uphold the integrity of the sport and serve as an example to the youth.

Koncz said “everything is going perfectly. Manny did seven rounds of sparring and looked like he never left off from the (Miguel) Cotto fight. He stayed in physical condition by playing a lot of basketball in the Philippines and that helped.”

Respected boxing writer and television reporter James Blears of boxingscene.com reported out of Mexico that Jerry Jones revealed he wants to be right up there in the fray of competition for the chance to hold the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr, should the difficult negotiations ultimately prove fruitful after he finishes with the March 13 sporting extravaganza..
Blears quoted the Dallas Cowboys owner who said “I want to earn that, and want to earn that with boxing and with the fans of boxing. I appreciate what Las Vegas has meant to boxing, and it’s been special. But fights of this stature can be shown when you have four or five times the amount of people and you can get the atmosphere too.”

Jones pointed out that the NFL “as great a game as it is on television, and it was built for television, would be nothing if it didn’t have the pageantry and crowds of the stadium. The crowds and the fan experience that comes your way through television are important to enjoy that game. You and I want to know they’re playing before thousands and thousands of people. Boxing can have that and we can have that at the cowboys stadium!”

Jones explained his pride and love for sports and spoke of his determination to put on the best show with Pacquiao and Clottey and indicated he was determined to make it a resounding success.:
Explaining the about the unsurpassed financial commitment in building the new stadium, Blears quoted Jones as saying “The bottom line- I emptied my bucket to build that stadium. Before they play, I tell the team, empty your bucket today. We have emptied our bucket to have Manny Pacquiao be the first fight in that stadium. We will do everything we can."

“We will take that huge screen that makes him seventy two feet tall, and we’ll hang it thirty feet above their heads. And when they’re in there competing and fighting, every fan in the stadium, will feel as if they’re in there with them!”

The astute Arum, banking on the support of Mexican fans who themselves have embraced Pacquiao despite the fact that he has demolished every Mexican legend, added up an exciting undercard which features Irish hope John Duddy and Salvador Sanchez - the nephew of the late, great world champion who died in a tragic car crash and a enthralling encounter between WBC Welterweight Intercontinental champion Alfonso Gomez and ring legend Jose Luis Castillo who battled Mayweather in two exciting bouts and served as one of Pacquiao’s sparring partners as he prepared for the Cotto fight last November.

Source : TeamPilipinas

Pacquiao not Angry with Mayweather

2010-02-02T05:13:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao is back in town. Boxing is like phases of the moon, and Pacquiao is in the training phase. There will be a fight, all right. But not the one the world wanted, nor Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach.

"I wanted Mayweather bad, real bad," Roach says.

"I'm not angry at Floyd," Pacquiao says. "I just feel disappointed in his allegations."

It is a Monday afternoon at Roach's Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. The air is stale, the noise often deafening and the entire place decorum-challenged, unless you are into wrinkled 1972 boxing posters. That's as it should be. They train boxers here, not ballerinas.

Pacquiao prepares for a March 13 fight that was to be between him, recently acclaimed fighter of the decade in a vote by the U.S. Boxing Writers, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., who would tell you the boxing writers got it wrong. Now, the fight will be between Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey.

Once Pacquiao and Mayweather parted ways in the well-documented drug-testing dispute, Mayweather agreed to fight Shane Mosley on May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mosley has signed the contract deal, but as of Monday night, Mayweather had not.

Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, says he expects the Mayweather signature any minute. He also says that Mosley agreed to all the Olympic-style random testing , including blood testing right up to fight time, that Pacquiao had rejected.

There are attempts from all camps to portray this fallback outcome as just fine for boxing, maybe even better.

Roach says Clottey might give fight fans a better show than the tactical, defense-minded Mayweather because "Clottey comes forward and it could become a war." Pacquiao refers to the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, where his fight will be held in front of an expected 40,000 people, as "a beautiful place" and the Top Rank camp of Bob Arum characterizes the new venue as an important step in bringing new fans to the sport. Schaefer says that, as great as the 40-0 Mayweather is, Mosley's stunning domination of Antonio Margarito 13 months ago at Staples Center proves how dangerous he is.

Still, the loss of the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega-fight, one that could have put as much as $40 million in each fighter's pocket, hangs in the Wild Card Gym like the smell of body odor.

"In the end," Roach says, "if we had given in on the blood testing, it would have been like giving Mayweather the first round. Why would we do that?

"Manny hates needles. He said that's what cost him the first [Erik] Morales fight [March 2005]. We made a mistake on that one. Nevada has every boxer give blood once a year, and Manny hadn't done that, so we had to do it the night before the fight, just like Mayweather wanted. Manny said it made him weak for three days. Even if they took blood from him 14 days before the fight, that would have meant I lose him on key sparring days 14, 13, and 12 days out."

The Mayweather camp will read that and chuckle. Those theorizing that Pacquiao must use steroids or he would have agreed to the extra drug testing will not be moved.

There is the issue of time running out on Pacquiao's boxing career. He will run for Congress in the Philippines in mid-May. Roach has said he doesn't think Pacquiao can be a marquee boxer and a politician at the same time. Asked about that Monday, Pacquiao says, "Why not?"

There is the issue of how much these next fights could mess things up. Were Clottey to win, might not Pacquiao see that as a perfect time to retreat to politics full time? Were Mosley to win, might that not do the same thing?

"Shane came to the gym twice to ask me to let him fight Manny," Roach says. "I told him no both times, and both times for the same two reasons: First, there isn't enough money there, and second, you're too good a fighter."

There is the issue of Pacquiao's current lawsuit against the Mayweathers for defamation. Pacquiao's attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, says that the case is in federal court in Nevada, is moving at full speed and can be in trial by year's end.

But the real issue remains lost money for the boxers and lost opportunity for the sport. For now, Pacquiao-Mayweather has gone away, but probably not forever.

Pacquiao is asked whether he is so angry at Mayweather that he will never be able to bring himself to step into the ring against him.

"No, I can fight him," Pacquiao says. "I'm just not sure he ever really wanted the fight."

Roach is asked whether the fight that didn't happen has now become like a burr in his saddle.

He nods.

Source : TeamPilipinas

Another Award for Manny Pacquiao

2010-02-01T06:07:00.000-08:00

The awards are added to the many that has come Pacquiao’s way in recent years, particularly in 2008 and 2009. It is a testament to the recognition accorded to his dominance of boxing spread over a record-setting seven different weight divisions. His two victories last year cemented his status as a legitimate all-time great in the sport.

In May, he met British Superstar for the IBO and Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada. His two-round annihilation of the Hitman stunned the boxing world which was expecting a grueling, competitive battle.

The Pacman followed that up with a 12th-round stoppage of Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in his last fight in November, for the latter’s WBO Welterweight title, also in Las Vegas. The victory earned him his seventh world title in his seventh weight division – an unprecedented feat.

It is the third time Pacquiao won the award as Fighter of the year, after similar recognitions in 2006 and 2008. The award is named after the consensus greatest fighter of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson. Manny will most likely receive the trophy during the BWAA’s 85th banquet in New York City in June.

Topping it all off is the organization’s naming of the current pound for pound king as the Fighter of the Decade. He bested some of the sport’s biggest names on his way to that recognition. Pacquiao is currently training for his first defense of the welterweight crown against Joshua Clottey in March.

Source : Two Minutes News

Mosley-Mayweather Fight in May

2010-01-31T03:58:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao picked a respectable replacement when negotiations for his March 13 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. ended because of a disagreement over Olympic-style blood testing.

Mayweather has accepted an even more difficult fight than Pacquiao’s battle against Joshua Clottey. He has agreed to face Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

Judd Burstein, Mosley’s attorney, told Yahoo! Sports that Mosley has signed a contract to meet Mayweather in a long-awaited 12-round fight for Mosley’s World Boxing Association welterweight title. Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s adviser, said Mayweather agreed to all contract terms and would soon sign it.

An official press conference to announce the fight is expected to occur next week in New York.

Agreeing to fight Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs, one NC), a three-division champion from Pomona, Calif., means Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) is prepared to silence skeptics by boxing one of the top welterweights in the sport. The five-division champion from Grand Rapids, Mich., has lost the top spot on many mythical pound-for-pound lists to the Philippines’ Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) for regularly facing fighters who’ve moved up from the junior welterweight and lightweight divisions just to fight him.

Mosley widely is viewed as one of the top five pound-for-pound boxers in the world, despite that he is 38. He dominated favored Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs, one NC) in his last fight, but Mosley hasn’t fought in the 53 weeks since he recorded a ninth-round technical knockout victory over Mexico’s Margarito in Los Angeles.

Mosley was supposed to box undefeated Andre Berto (25-0, 19 KOs) in a welterweight championship unification fight Saturday night in Las Vegas, but Berto withdrew from the bout two weeks ago to concentrate on relief efforts in Haiti. At least eight members of Berto’s family died in the earthquake that devastated that island nation on Jan. 12.

Source : NorthJersey

Pacquiao-Clottey : Fight Ticket Update

2010-01-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

Tickets for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title showdown between Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Joshua Clottey of Ghana are selling briskly despite the tickets’ stiff prices.

The top seat tickets cost $700 while other tickets are being peddled for $500, $400, $300, $200, $100, and $50, something Arum believes will entice fight fans to fill the reconfigured (45,000-capacity) Cowboys Stadium on fight night.

As this developed, Clottey downplayed Pacquiao perceived superiority, saying the Filipino champ is just Superman’s alter-ego Clark Kent and not The Man of Steel.

“I know it’s Pacquiao but I don’t like people thinking that Manny is super, that nobody can beat him,” Clottey told the Ghanaian media as he gears up for his March 13 showdown with the Filipino fighter at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Clottey said Pacquiao “is a human being like me,” and that he is going all-out in his ambitious quest to “dethrone him” and “win the (World Boxing Organization welterweight) title for Ghana.”

While Clottey is assured the biggest paycheck of his career, the African banger insists he is facing Pacquiao.

Source : Manila Bulletin

Bob Arum Very Impressed with Manny

2010-01-28T06:21:00.000-08:00

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum showed up at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles on Wednesday to watch his prized possession Manny Pacquiao train and said later he was “very impressed.”

The pound-for-pound icon went through his usual routine as well as nine rounds on the punch-mitts without a break.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza told us that Pacquiao started his strength training and noted “he looked a lot stronger than he has been in the past and in some of the exercises it was nice to see on my part that its like he’s not starting from the beginning.”

He said Pacquiao will begin sparring on Thursday (LA Time) but there was no word on who trainer Freddie Roach had picked to serve as sparring partners.

Ariza said Roach was “trying to put everything in order” which includes strict restrictions on who could remain inside while Pacquiao trains. He said the gym was virtually empty with only a few people from Team Pacquiao including Filipino trainer Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez present.

Ariza informed us that Gerry Penalosa who fights former two-division world champion Eric Morel on the “Pinoy Power III” card at the Las Vegas Hilton on February 13 which will be telecast in the Philippines by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN said Penalosa was “aggressive, active and comes forward and is nice to watch.”

However, Ariza was most impressed by Philippine bantamweight champion Eden Sonsona, the flashy southpaw. He said “he looks really good. He’s strong and I really like him.”

Source : Boxing Scene

Pacquiao is really good and focused in training..

Mayweather-Pacquiao : The Ultimate Fight

2010-01-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

Mayweather vs Pacquiao will be ultimate fight as clouds hover over Mayweather Mosley fight. Floyd Mayweather is certainly fearful of fighting top world class boxers. This can be summed up following rumors that he is considering calling off the proposed fight with Mosley.

The news has come in the wake of his almost refusal to fight against Manny Pacquiao on one pretext or the other. His camp has made baseless charges against Manny as well that range from drugs to some other nonsense.

In the meantime the Filipino star fighter Manny Pacquiao have nerves of steel. He is a sturdy fighter in the rings. Till now he has won seven titles. And he is still going strong. Those who have fought him hold him in high regards because of his high skills.

But outside the ring, he is a different man. His close friends say he is a bit touchy. That is why he was upset when Floyd Mayweather Sr has accused him of using drugs to enhance his performance.

Reacting to the allegation, he said: "I don't want people thinking that I cheated. I'm an honest fighter."

Besides, he was so furious after this allegation that he pulled out of the much-talked about fight with Mayweather. The later had asked him to go for Olympic-style drug testing three months before the fight. And Manny didn’t agree to it, torpedoing the fight. Not only that, he had threatened to sue Mayweather camp for unleashing a campaign to tarnish his image. Manny has always passed a drug test.

"People now think that we're trying to hide something," said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer. "It hurt him a little bit."

"I'm disappointed that (the Mayweathers) had to say those things, but all that stuff isn't true. I never took anything like he's saying. I just want to show all my fans that I'm clean and I'm not cheating," he told a reporter.

Source : Khabrein

Pacquiao-Clottey : Miguel Cotto's Advise to Pacquiao

2010-01-25T05:41:00.000-08:00

Puerto Rican fighter Miguel Cotto gave some words of advice to his former foe, pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, for his upcoming clash against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey.

“Manny will have to be very strict because Clottey has a lot of strength and has good defense,” Cotto told HBO as quoted by FightFan.com.

The Puerto Rican fought both Pacquiao and Clottey, the headliners of “The Event” which will be held at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on March 13.

Cotto relinquished his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title to Pacquiao last November when he lost via a 12th round technical knockout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to his loss, Cotto edged Clottey by split decision at the Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York City last June.

“It will be a tough fight,” the Puerto Rican added. “I believe the guy who is the best prepared and in the best shape will win the fight.”

Pacquiao has already kicked off his training at the Wildcard Gym in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

American trainer Freddie Roach told 8countnews.com that the seven-division champion is in a “pretty good shape” at the onset of his training camp.

Meanwhile, Cotto (34-2, with 27 knockouts) is slated to challenge World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman of Israel on June 12 at the Madison Square Garden.

It will be the first title defense for the undefeated Israeli who has a 28 wins (8 KOs) and 1 no contest.

Source : ABSCBN

Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight Will Happen

2010-01-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

Speaking at a press conference to promote his upcoming fight with Joshua Clottey, the Filipino said he was innocent of drug-cheating allegations leveled at him by Team Mayweather.

The pair were all set to fight in March before the Mayweather camp insisted on a stringent blood-testing regime, implying Pacquiao's rise through the ranks has not been entirely all his own doing.

Pacquiao filed a lawsuit for defamation but refused to agree to the tests, leaving discussions between the two camps to run dry.

The WBO welterweight champion will now defend the title against Clottey at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, but Pacquiao still has Mayweather on his mind.

"I believe the fight will happen some other time," he said. "It will happen.

"It's not true. He's accusing me. I want to clear my name because I'm a very honest person.

"I'm very disappointed for what he accused me of. I'm clean. I'm not cheating. I'm a very honest fighter.

"I'm still hoping the fight will be pushed through, maybe by summer time. It would be a good fight if it happened."

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach agreed with his fighter in admitted the bout was too big not to take place.

"I think it's going to happen," Roach said. "I think it's likely. Maybe Mayweather is up to doing this to get more press, I don't know.

"We're not going to sit around and wait for this guy. Manny was really excited about that fight. Hopefully it will happen some day."

Source : ESPNStar.com

Pacquiao versus Margarito is Possible says Bob Arum

2010-01-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank told BoxingScene.com that he is considering hosting a Manny Pacquiao fight at the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ in the Summer. Arum mentioned Antonio Margarito as a possible opponent. Margarito is still under suspension for attempting to use loaded handwraps in his fight against Shane Mosley a year ago.

Arum believes Margarito will be reinstated later this week at a California State Athletic Commission hearing.

Speaking at a Madison Square Garden press conference to announce the WBO welterweight title clash between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey, Arum marveled at the Filipino turnout for the initial press conference the day before at Cowboys Stadium, the site of the Pacquiao-Clottey fight on March 13.

He approximates that "1,000" Filipinos were on hand at the kick-off press event on Tuesday. "There are Filipinos are all over the country, not just the West Coast."

Arum says New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch is "a very close friend" and is "jokingly pissed that we're in Cowboys Stadium."

"There's no stadium like Cowboys Stadium but they say the new stadium in the Meadowlands is absolutely tremendous so we'd love to do it there," said Arum.

A Summer fight would be feasible as long as no complications arise from Pacquiao's upcoming political campaign. Pacquiao is running for congressman of Sarangani, a Filipino province in his native Mindinao. The election is scheduled for May.

Don't hold your breath for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight however, Arum cautions. He says he isn't very optimistic the fight can be made due to differences between the two parties.

"Mayweather is a bully. That was my message today, you don't bully a Filipino."

Pacquiao says he believes the fight will happen one day and blames Mayweather for the fallout of their proposed matchup.

"Maybe Mayweather don't really want the fight because he had too many reasons to cancel the fight. He makes his own rules that are not in the Nevada Athletic Commission. I think he thinks he's smarter than anybody.

"I think he thought that he's the champion. He has to stay humble and give back to the people that support him. He's too concerned with his record and losing."

Although Pacquiao rejected the 5'11" WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman recently, Arum doesn't believe the size difference with the equally-tall Margarito will be too dramatic given the former welterweight champion's posture.

"He doesn't feel that Margarito presents the same problems as Foreman. Margarito is a tall guy but he crunches over so he's not really that tall. Yuri fights tall."

Boxrec.com has Margarito scheduled for a fight against journeyman Carson Jones on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard. Calls to Jones' representative Bobby Dobbs were not immediately returned.

New York and New Jersey - particularly Queens and Jersey City - host some of the biggest Filipino communities in the United States. Approximately 60,000 Filipino-Americans take residence in New York City alone.

Meadowlands Stadium is scheduled to open this April and will be the home field for the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets. It has a maximum seating of 82,500, second only in size to the Washington Redskins' FedEx Field.

Source : BoxingScene.com

Pacquiao is Beatable Says Clottey

2010-01-20T07:27:00.000-08:00

The last 10 fighters who climbed the ring against Manny Pacquiao wound up on the losing end, including big guys Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto who suffered humiliating TKO losses.

But no, sir, this does not necessarily mean Pacquiao is invincible, if you ask his next rival, Joshua Clottey of Ghana. Not if you're good at defending yourself.

“Well, see he (Pacquiao) is beatable," Clottey said in an interview with BoxingScene.com.“He has beaten all those guys out there so you would think he is unbeatable. But …those guys aren’t the best defensive fighters."
Joshua Clottey flexes his muscles upon his arrival in Texas for the press conference of his bout with Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao on March 13. Top Rank photo

Clottey will be vying for the Filipino pound-for-pound king’s World Boxing Organization welterweight title on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

The two fighters attended a Super Bowl-style press conference at the $1.2 billion venue Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to formally announce the fight card billed “The Event."

The Ghanaian had previously attempted to win the same belt in June 2009, but yielded a close split decision to then champion Cotto. The Boricuan bomber later surrendered the strap to the Pacman.

The 32-year-old Clottey, however, expressed belief he won’t suffer the same fate as Cotto and other Pacquiao victims.

“It’s going to be a different story when he and I fight versus what happened to those other guys because I have my defense there. The only thing I need to work on is punching him after he punches and placing my shots," he said.

Clottey, though, admitted that Pacquiao’s reputable punching power would be a concern.

“I am not thinking that Pacquiao can’t hurt me. In boxing…a punch in the right place can send a guy down. I respect Pacquiao in the ring and I will be careful," he said.

The Clottey bout replaced the hoped-for superfight between Pacquiao and another boxing superstar, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., which fell apart due to disagreement over dope testing procedures.

Source : GMANews.tv

Will a defense fighter like Joshua Clottey will match the super speed of Manny Pacquiao?

Roach Talks About Clottey-Pacquiao

2010-01-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

DALLAS — Aboard the private plane that brought Manny Pacquiao and select members of his team here Monday night, it was the fighter’s celebrated trainer Freddie Roach who provided the juiciest quotes.

Roach told The Bulletin that while he is not underestimating Joshua Clottey, who Pacquiao faces on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in the neighboring city of Arlington, the Ghanaian will find it hard to cope with the energy level that the Filipino brings to the ring.

“Clottey is passive,” said Roach, raising his two arms to mimic Clottey’s moves in an actual fight.

“Manny fights every second of every round and Clottey doesn’t do that. He just raises his arms,” he said.

Still, Roach believes “it is still going to be a hard fight because Clottey is big and strong.”

Roach is so wary of the remaining time available that he wants Pacquiao to begin sparring by Tuesday or Thursday of next week.

Pacquiao, who slept most of the way during the three-hour trip from Las Vegas, is due for his first day or training on Thursday at the conclusion of the press tour that actually kicks off with a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Cowboys Stadium.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum swears the presentation on Tuesday will be unforgettable, noting that Texas billionaire Jerry Jones, worked hard in making sure the event will be something that is out of the ordinary.

Arum actually joined Pacquiao on the journey here, having sent a plane to pick up Pacquiao in Los Angeles before being fetched himself at Henderson Executive Airport just outside of Las Vegas.

Aboard the 13-seater jet, the travel time from Los Angeles to Henderson was a mere 35 minutes, while it took a little over two hours for the Henderson-Dallas leg to be completed.

Also on board were Arum’s stepson and Top Rank president Todd BuBoef and Carl Morreti, another Top Rank bigshot, as well as Pacquiao’s advisers Mike Koncz and Jeng Gacal, ring announcer Michael Buffer and this writer.

Pacquiao and Clottey as well as the Top Rank crew are billeted at the ultra-expensive Four Seasons Resort and Club.

From here, Pacquiao will proceed to New York for another gig at Madison Square Garden.

Source : Manila Bulletin

Do you believe in Roach?

Manny Pacquiao Helps Z. Gorres

2010-01-17T20:15:00.000-08:00

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is helping fellow Filipino boxer Z. Gorres by holding a fund-raising dinner in the US to raise funds for the fallen boxer.

Gorres, won over Luis Melendez of Colombia in their 10-round bout in November by unanimous decision, went through an emergency brain surgery in November. The Filipino fighter suffered a left straight punch to the temple from Melendez in the 10th round which caused a blood clot in his brain.

Gorres was recently discharged from a hospital in Las Vegas after undergoing second brain surgery. He was reported to be recuperating in a friend's house in the US.

Because of the surging hospital bills of the Filipino boxer, doctors at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas volunteered their services for free

Gorres’ trainer, Tony Martin, sent a call for help to the Philippines’ most famous boxer, pound-for-pound king and 7-division champion Manny Pacquiao.

“Manny, if you’re watching, take time out from what you are doing in the Philippines right now. Just take one hour of your time to visit UMC [where] a fellow countryman and a fellow boxer [is] and say ‘how are you?’ That’s all we require,” Martin pleaded.

Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz said in a press conference that all proceeds will be given to Gorres to help him rebuild his life. He added that they are aiming to raise $500,000 for Gorres.

Source : Digital Journal

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Pacquiao is helping his fellow boxer in need. This is nice!

Manny Pacquiao is Clean and Ready to Fly

2010-01-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao tested negative of illegal drugs according to the Nevada Sports Athletic Commission and will proceed with his flight to Los Angeles Sunday.

That Pacquiao has tested negative for performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids, was relayed to ABS-CBN News by Keith Kizer of the NSAC on Saturday.

American Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was supposed to be Pacquiao’s opponent on March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, also tested negative for drugs.

After talks for the Pacquiao-Mayweather duel fell through due to Mayweather’s insistence for random drug testing, Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank picked Ghanaian Joshua Clottey to be his next foe on the same date, but to be held at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, instead.

After Pacquiao’s arrival in the United States, the pound-for-pound king will be flown by private jet provided by Arum to Dallas Texas for the kickoff press conference of the Pacquiao-Clottey bout on Tuesday. It will be followed by another press conference at the Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, after which he will be whisked back to the airport and return to Los Angeles.

Pacquiao will open training camp at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood on Thursday, giving him just seven weeks to shape up for the Clottey bout set at 147 pounds.

Accompanying Pacquiao in his trip today are lawyer Jing Gacal, trainer Nonoy Neri and adviser Mike Koncz. Buboy Fernandez, another Pacquiao trainer, is already in Los Angeles, waiting for the arrival of the only boxer to win seven world titles in as many weight divisions.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao trained for eight weeks when he wrested Miguel Cotto’s World Boxing Organization welterweight crown via a 12th round stoppage and when he snared Ricky Hatton’s International Boxing Organization light welterweight title via a second-round knockout.

Meanwhile, the IBO decided to strip Pacquiao of the 140-title on Friday, noting that the Filipino is already campaigning in the 147-lb division.

After spending two months in Ghana, the 33-year-old Clottey is back in the United States and is already doing light training in the Bronx in New York, where he is now based.

Source : Inquirer.net

3-1 Odds for Manny Pacquiao

2010-01-15T04:21:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao will be plunging into his latest challenge without the benefit of a catch weight. He will face a naturally bigger fighter again.

And despite the testy challenge expected from last-minute replacement Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao has started out a 3-1 favorite for the March 13 bout in one of the biggest venues that has ever hosted a boxing match.

Pacquiao squares off with Clottey at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, after the collapse of talks to hold boxing’s so-called “Fight of the Century” pitting Pacquiao and undefeated American superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. due to a disagreement on drug-testing protocols.

Examiner.com reported that betting lines will open with Pacquiao the prohibitive favorite. Bettors need to wager $300 to win $100 on Pacquiao. Clottey will start at plus-270, meaning a $100 bet on the ex-world champion will earn $270.

Trainer Freddie Roach remains confident of a victory for Pacquiao, who captured the WBO welterweight crown via a 12-round TKO of Miguel Cotto at a 145 lb catch weight.

“Manny’s comfortable at [147 lb],” Roach declared in a report posted by Fighthype.com. “When Manny’s eating the day of the weigh-in... he’s happy and that’s when he performs at his best.”

“He’ll come into the fight 144 to 145 and he’ll go into the ring at 148 or 149 at most,” added the trainer. “And that’s his best fighting weight.”

Roach had earlier predicted that Pacquiao will become the first fighter to knock Clottey out, although Top Rank chief Bob Arum warned that Clottey will be a tough challenge.

“Well, Clottey is a dangerous opponent. Miguel Cotto was a dangerous opponent. If they’re not dangerous opponents, who the hell wants to lay out hard-earned money to buy the pay-per-view?” Arum told Examiner.com.

Source : Inquirer.net

Pacquiao Afraid of Marquez

2010-01-14T00:58:00.000-08:00

WBO/WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez claims that he was in shock when he found out from Golden Boy Promotions that Manny Pacquiao passed on their trilogy fight and instead agreed to defend his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

I'm not exactly sure why Marquez would be surprised. He was coming off a one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr., and according to a report from Sports Illustrated - the Mexican champion demanded a 50-50 split on the money. And he followed Mayweather's lead by requesting random Olympic-style drug tests. You would think Marquez was the A-side fighter with those kind of requests. Marquez seems to think that he played a big role in the Mayweather pay-per-view producing a buyrate number of 1-million plus. I agree with Mayweather's opinion that he carried that buyrate number on his back with little help from Marquez. Just because you co-headlined a pay-per-view with Mayweather, it doesn't make you Mayweather.

Marquez on the other hand simply thinks Pacquiao is afraid of him.

"When the fight between Mayweather against Pacquiao fell through, De La Hoya told me that I was the next option [for Pacquiao] and I told him that I was ready to fight once more with him. He told me that he would speak with Bob Arum, but in the end they surprised me with his decision that he preferred to sign another fight, so once again he is afraid me," Marquez told The Record .

Marquez is coming back to action on May 1 in Las Vegas. If he wins, he may return to Las Vegas in September for a major fight. He seems to think a Hatton fight will not happen by May, but leaves September as a possibility for it.

"A lot of boxers want to fight with me, Edwin Valero, Michael Katsidis, Amir Khan, but I have to take a look at all of the options and choose the best one that makes the most boxing sense, and economic sense," Marquez said.

Source : Boxing Scene

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Is Pacquiao really afraid to face Marquez again? What do you think?

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight : Presscon Set on January 19

2010-01-13T07:31:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- The contract is already signed for the pay-per-view fight of Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey, according to Top Rank Promotions.

The March 13 bout, which is called “The Event,” will be airing live worldwide.

The official kick-off for “The Event” Pacquiao vs Clottey will be a press conference on January 19 at the Dallas Stadium.

Lee Samuels of Top Rank said that it will be an epic press conference.

Two levels of the stage were made just for the kickoff. A total of 50 Cowboys cheerleaders will be present to dance for the audience. A special fireworks display is also expected to happen.

Veteran host Michael Buffer will be hosting while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will be the speaker for the event.

Pacquiao will be flying to New York on a private jet for the second press conference that will take place at the Madison Square Garden on January 20. After that, Pacquiao will head straight to train in Los Angeles, California.

Top Rank added that Pacquiao needs to work and train hard for the bout since Clottey is a fighter who has never been knocked out in any of his matches. Clottey and Pacquiao are both from Top Rank.

Pacquiao’s erstwhile opponent, Floyd Maywether, Jr., is said to be fighting on the same day as the Clottey clash. Rumors say that Mayweather will be fighting Paulie Malignaggi.

No confirmation has been made yet by anyone from Mayweather or Golden Boy Promotions.

If the Mayweather bout does take place in Las Vegas, boxing fans will be divided watching two of the world’s boxing greats. Pay-per-view would know who will be getting more buys.

Leaving on Sunday
Pacquiao will leave on Sunday for the US to attend the official kick off of his fight with Clottey.

According to a report by Philboxing.com will leave together with Michael Koncz, trainer Nonoy Neri, lawyer Jing Gacal and assistant cook Haplas Fernandez.

Before leaving the Filipino boxer will celebrate the birthday of his wife Jinkee at the Paradise Island Beach and Park in Samal Island.

Assistant Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez is now already at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles with chief trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao is expected to make 7 weeks of training at the Wild Card Gym.

Source : abscbn news

A review : What to Expect on Pacquiao-Clottey and Mayweather-Somebody Fight

2010-01-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Now that we're done with the autopsy of Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao, it's worth glancing forward to the separate ways each of them are going. These are, after all, the two top fighters in the world, and while I'm still scrunching up my nose in revulsion at both welterweights for not fighting one another, it's big news whomever they fight next instead.

Pacquiao is set to fight Joshua Clottey March 13. Mayweather is set to fight somebody March 13 -- yes, these goofballs are threatening to hold fights on the same day even though it would undercut everyone's pay-per-view buys, once again proving that pride can trump greed in boxing -- and there's a list of people under consideration. How do all these combinations match up?

Pacquiao-Clottey

This isn't a bad fight, on its own. It's a good one, even. I think it's a notch below Pacquiao's last opponent, Miguel Cotto, who I believe would have beaten Clottey more easily than he did last summer if not for a horrible cut that clearly blinded Cotto to Clottey's right hand, his best weapon. It's a good two notches below a hypothetical Shane Mosley fight, and a good three notches below a Mayweather fight, but it's a good fight, a legitimate fight.

If you don't know Clottey, here's the deal: Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. He's good enough to be the #5 ranked welterweight in what is a very top-heavy division, ranking behind Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley and Cotto, in that order. In his two most important bouts, against Antonio Margarito and Cotto, he came up just short, losing decisions that could have gone his way with slightly different circumstances. He had hand injuries against Margarito that slowed him after he was pwning Tony early, while Cotto took advantage of his stylistic deficiencies late in the fight to pull out a close decision that some believed Clottey deserved. The good-to-OK things about Clottey include his stellar defense; an iron jaw; passable speed and power; physical strength and size; and sharp, accurate punching, particularly when he counters. The problems include a low work rate; a flat-footedness; and, some might argue, a lack of urgency in the clutch. Unlike some, I don't think he threw away the Cotto fight in the late rounds. I think Cotto moved well enough to prevent Clottey from planting his feet the way he wants to, and countered just enough to force Clottey to go into that defensive shell he goes into when under attack. That's Clottey's style. Unless he changes that style, which he might because he has a new trainer, he's going to be vulnerable to movement and counters.

Clottey's proven good enough to hang with elite welterweights and good enough to beat those below that level pretty definitively, like with the whuppin' he put on Zab Judah. The bad news for Clottey is that Pacquiao just ripped through an elite welterweight, Cotto, like tissue paper. Stylistically, Pacquiao's speed and movement would appear to present the difficulties Cotto did, multiplied by a factor of five. I think Clottey can conceivably beat Pacquiao, especially if he can stick around late in the fight and wear Pacquiao down the way Clottey has shown himself capable of doing, but I don't think it likely. I'll save my fuller preview for the week of the fight itself. I'll say this: It stacks up as a fight that offers a pretty good chance of producing action. Clottey doesn't dance -- he will stand and fight -- and we know what kind of action Pacquiao produces. It'll probably be a better fight from that standpoint than Mayweather-Pacquiao would have been.

From the standpoint of an attraction, Clottey is a nonentity. He's a Ghanian with no ethnic fan base in the United States the grudging respect of many hardcore followers of the sport, but I'm not sure I personally know anyone who would consider Clottey his favorite fighter or even one of his 10 favorite fighters. Just the other week, I was saying Clottey had gotten too big an ego for considering himself an "HBO fighter," but here he is, getting the payday of a lifetime. Some of it has to do with the fact that he shares a promoter with Pacquiao, and that promoter, Bob Arum, prefers to keep things in house when he can.

Could Pacquiao have done better? Junior welterweight Paulie Malignaggi was discussed. He's probably a slightly bigger star than Clottey, but he's nowhere near as good, and also he was part of the "Pacquiao is on 'roids" crowd led by the Mayweather clan. Also, he can be a "stinker," someone who occasionally makes fights look ugly and unexciting. Advantage: Clottey. Yuri Foreman was discussed, and the junior middleweight has a decent Jewish following and an alphabet title belt in what would be an eight division for Pacquiao. But he's got his own "stinker" credentials, and while he's an Arum favorite, Pacquiao's side decided he was too tall, as if that's a good reason not to fight someone. Advantage: Clottey. There was talk of a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, but Marquez clearly shouldn't be fighting above lightweight and has aged immensely since the Pacquiao-Marquez II. Pacquiao also would have been widely mocked for fighting someone Mayweather had just throttled. Advantage: Clottey.

There are three better names than Clottey outside Mayweather. One of them, Mosley -- the consensus #3 fighter in the world behind Pacquiao and Mayweather -- wasn't an option, since Mosley's tied up Jan. 30 with another welterweight fight against Andre Berto and fighters in this era don't take fights within three months of one another. It's bad timing that put Mosley in this position; he was set to fight Clottey Dec. 5, but HBO asked to bump the fight to closer to Christmas, then changed its mind about that, too. If Mosley had fought in December, he might have been poised for a bigger fight in March, but he couldn't wait around for that possibility after waiting around a whole year for a quality paycheck, which Berto will give him. Another was Timothy Bradley, the #1 junior welterweight in the division where Pacquiao is still lineal champion; Pacquiao's a legit welter, but he could go back down to junior welter if he wanted. Bradley would have produced a great style match-up, with his speed and volume and toughness, and Bradley's gotten credit for being top-10 pound-for-pound from some people; I see no evidence he was ever considered, though, and I can't say I know why. It's arguable whether Bradley is a tougher fight for Pacquiao than Clottey, because of size, but I would say Bradley would have been a slightly better choice. Another was Paul Williams, the #4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world on my list, who would have been available by March, I bet. If Foreman is too tall, Williams is WAY too tall, given that his last fight was at middleweight. He's a bigger star than Clottey, a better fighter than Clottey and a better action fighter than Clottey, but I bet Arum and the whole Pacquiao team probably never even wrote his name down on a list of possible opponents.

Pacquiao's replacement opponent ends up with a grade of about a "B" from me. It's definitely no joke fight, but there were better options -- not that I'm looking to be overly critical given the 2008 and 2009 Pacquiao had, and his overall tendency to face the best available opponent in his division. (And just so I don't have to keep loading things up with caveats -- I'm making all of my remarks with an "given how things have played out" asterisk, since I'm deeply dissatisfied with the state of affairs.)

Of course, the repulsive idea Arum has for the undercard detracts from the overall event; Scott Kraus delved into that on this site here.

Mayweather-Somebody

We'll go one at a time here, talking about people that have been discussed and haven't for Mayweather's next fight after beating Marquez in September, excluding Pacquiao.

Saul Alvarez: Golden Boy actually raised the possibility of Mayweather fighting this very, very, very green 19-year-old welterweight prospect. Everyone had trouble believing it was a real option; many proposed Golden Boy was just trying to get Alvarez' name in the news. I think they were actually considering it. Mayweather fancies himself a globe-trotter, and had spoken of a desire to fight in Mexico. If Alvarez ever was a sincere option, Mayweather should be ashamed of himself, but I doubt he is. It would have been a mismatch, a fight between a man and a child.

Matthew Hatton: Golden Boy recently rejected the notion that Hatton -- Matthew, not Ricky, the significantly lesser talented of the brotherly duo -- ever was in the running. But his name had been reported far and wide for months, going back to the time when Mayweather was daydreaming bout fighting in the U.K., and Hatton doesn't seem like the kind that would just make up and keep repeating lies about being contacted by the Mayweather team. Anyway, this would have been nearly as shameful as Mayweather-Alvarez. At least Alvarez is thought to have potential. Hatton tries, bless his heart, but he's really about a "C" fighter if I'm being kind.

Malignaggi: See above. He and the next three men were recently mentioned by ESPN's Dan Rafael as potential Mayweather opponents, according to Rafael's sources. Malignaggi is just like Mayweather only not anywhere as good, and a fight between them would almost certainly have involved a ton of posing and feinting. Malignaggi and Mayweather can both be exciting when faced with someone who comes straight at them, but neither would do the other that favor. Also, he would be the third straight sub-welterweight for the welterweight Mayweather. But wait, it gets worse.

Nate Campbell: Yeah, that Nate Campbell. You might scoff if you didn't know Mayweather's style; last fight out, Mayweather beat an over-the-hill lightweight, which is what Campbell appears to be at this point in his career. It's hard to imagine why Campbell would even be in the running, other than that he recently signed with Golden Boy. Wait, I need to listen to myself -- that, plus Mayweather's favorite kind of opponent is apparently over-the-hill lightweights.

Bradley: Of the smaller opponents Mayweather could face, Bradley is the most legit. I gave his credentials above. He's about the only one on the list so far whom I'd give a chance to land much of anything on the defensively-gifted Mayweather; Bradley's speed and volume would offer a better chance than Malignaggi's speed alone. It's unclear if he could be stolen away from Showtime for a fight. And unlike Pacquiao, Mayweather wouldn't go down to junior welter for the fight, so Pacquiao-Bradley would have been more legit than Mayweather-Bradley might be if it's made.

Kermit Cintron: What th'! A top-10 level welterweight? Huh? Heck, Cintron even fights sometimes at junior middleweight! Cintron hits extremely hard at 147, he's faster than he looks and his skills have shown some improvement of late, but he's a notch below Clottey and I have a tough time imagining Cintron laying any leather on Mayweather. Still, of opponents discussed, he and Bradley are the top two.

Mosley: If Mayweather wants to make a major statement, he'll abandon the March 13 date and set up an April or May date with Mosley, then beat him. Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer recently said Mayweather was willing to fight Mosley, but he mentioned no time frame, so it was kind of confusing. This all assumes Mosley beats Berto in January, by the way, which is no given. There's a school of thought that Mosley is the most dangerous potential opponent for Mayweather, since Mosley is fast, is stronger than Mayweather and is technically skilled and tough. There are some who think the notion of Mayweather and Pacquiao fighting on the same day is a marketing ploy that looks forward to an eventual Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown, or a way for one side or the other to gain the upper hand by claiming better pay-per-view sales. But Mayweather-Mosley would kill Pacquiao-Clottey in PPV buys, so it's a good fight and a good business move.

Williams: Another way Mayweather could make a major statement is to fight Williams, ever. I tend to lean toward thinking Pacquiao is the fighter with the best chance of beating Mayweather, but the predominant school, at least until Williams struggled in a December win over Sergio Martinez, was that Williams' length, southpaw stance and volume would be the key to unlocking Mayweather's defense.

I have no guess whom Mayweather will end up fighting. If it's Williams or Mosley, I'll be mega-surprised, and maybe even a little excited. If it's Cintron or Bradley, it'll be close to acceptable. If it's Malignaggi or Campbell, it will be hideous. If it's Hatton or Alvarez, we should probably go ahead and lock Mayweather up right now for fraud and attempted murder.

SOURCE

Pacquiao Named as Athlete of the Decade

2010-01-11T05:36:00.000-08:00

The first time he worked the mitts with nine years ago, Freddie Roach had no doubt the Filipino has the makings of a future world champion.

What he didn’t expect was how Pacquiao would turn out to be the kind of fighter he is right now.

“I didn’t see this coming,” said Roach, recalling his first meeting with the boxing icon early in 2001 at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. “I never thought he’ll be this great.”

Perhaps, many of us were like Roach.

But in typical Pacquiao fashion, the former bread vendor and construction worker turned boxing superstar would defy the odds, stunning the boxing world with a sixth-round technical knockout of fearsome South African Lehlo Ledwaba to win the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight title.

The win began Pacquiao’s meteoric rise to the top, the man the world would later recognized as the top pound-for-pound boxer, considered one of the best—if not the best—southpaw fighters in the history of the sport, first to win seven world titles in seven different weight classes (flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight), and easily, among the few who made a lasting imprint in a sport teeming with stars and heroes.

Pacquiao indeed has come a long way from being a struggling, skinny 17-year-old teener, who first fought as a pro in the mid-’90s, to the electrifying sport icon who has become the face of boxing today.

The Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) confers to Pacquiao the honor Athlete of the Decade during its traditional annual Awards Night set on March 1 at the Manila Hotel.

Pacquiao has been named PSA Athlete of the Year five times this decade—from 2002 to 2004, then in 2006 and 2008.

Already elevated by the country’s oldest media organization to the Hall of Fame last year, Pacquiao is no longer eligible for the coveted Athlete of the Year award, but remains a major part of the year’s top sports achievers’ list on account of his Hall of Fame exploits in the first 10 years of the new century.

During that span, Philippine sports saw Jennifer Rosales and Dorothy Delasin score breakthrough wins in the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, CJ Suarez ruling bowling’s World Cup, Team Philippines winning a historic first overall championship in the Southeast Asian Games, Miguel Molina emerging as the Best Male Athlete in the SEA Games for his four gold medals in swimming and Ronnie Alcano reigning as double world champion in billiards.

But by sheer impact and consistency, none of them came close to what the “Pacman” did.

Since upsetting Ledwaba in his first fight on US soil, Pacquiao has gobbled up every opposition that came his way in the last decade—21 of them under the guidance of Roach.

In that stretch, the Filipino boxing champion won 26 of his 27 fights—21 of them coming by way of knockout, while the rest of them were by decision.

Mexican great Eric Morales was the lone warrior to survive the devastating fists of Pacquiao (50-3, 38 KOs), carving out a unanimous, but close decision in the first of their classic trilogy in 2005 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Morales happened to be just one of six Hall of Fame fighters Pacquiao has faced during the period, that also included Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

In 10 fights between all these boxing greats, the Filipino boxing icon won eight—two against Morales and Barrera—drew once (Marquez in 2004) and lost once.

More so, in less than two years, Pacquiao won all of his bouts in five different weight divisions, beginning with Marquez, Diaz, de la Hoya, Hatton and Cotto.

His recent 12th-round stoppage of Cotto, one among the long line of great fighters produced by Puerto Rico, to win the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown, catapulted him further into the annals of boxing as one of its greatest fighters ever.

SOURCE : BusinessMirror

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight : A big mistake says Atlas

2010-01-10T01:37:00.000-08:00

BoxingScene.com sat down with outspoken trainer Teddy Atlas on Saturday to get his thoughts on Manny Pacquiao's defense of the WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey on March 13. Atlas was surprised that Pacquiao passed on WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman, but agreed to fight Clottey. Atlas feels Pacquiao is making a big mistake if he and his handlers believe Clottey is the easier fight.

"I think it's a mistake for them to go with Clottey instead of Foreman. I know [Pacquiao] is looking at the size [of Foreman] but sometime it's not about size. If Clottey would have kept the pressure on Cotto, I think he would have stopped him, but he let him off the hook," Atlas told BoxingScene.com.

"They are wrong when they assume this will be an easier fight because Foreman is one weight class up and Clottey is one weight class down. It's about the physicality of the fighter. Of course it also has do with the style of the fighter but in this case they are more concerned about size and they are wrong. Foreman is a slight built kid who is not a physical kid and doesn't fight a physical fight. He's bigger but doesn't use his size in a way that is dangerous, which is how Clottey uses his size one weight class below."

"Clottey is much more physical and much more dangerous in this fight than Foreman. They need to look at someone who is bigger and look at how he uses that size to impact the fight. Foreman wouldn't use his size like a junior middleweight who is fighting a smaller man. He uses boxing first and uses his legs. He's a junior middleweight who doesn't act like a junior middleweight. Clottey fights like a bigger man and mentally he thinks of himself as a bigger fighter and proves it in the way he fights at 147."

If Atlas was handling Pacquiao, he would have went with Foreman instead of Clottey. He doesn't rule out the possibility of an upset. Atlas tells BoxingScene that Clottey has enough strength and enough ability to time, and hurt, Pacquiao during exchanges.

"Clottey punches to the body well. He's a strong guy who knows how to fight. It's a much greater risk. Their way of thinking is way out of line. They are saying they don't want Foreman because he is bigger but I would be saying that I don't want Clottey because he is bigger. When you match up their dimensions and their physicality, Clottey is the bigger fighter. Clottey has more than enough experience with good fighters that he knows how to time you and that's a very important element to catch a guy like Pacquiao, who is faster. Clottey is capable of doing this," Atlas said.

When I first heard about Pacquiao fighting Clottey, I immediately gave Pacquiao the obvious advantages, which are speed and workrate. Atlas agreed with some of my points. While I think speed will be the biggest factor in the fight, Atlas views Clottey's workrate as the biggest disadvantage for the Ghanian fighter. But both of us agreed that Clottey, based on styles, will be a tougher opponent for Pacquiao than Miguel Cotto or Ricky Hatton or Oscar De La Hoya.

"It's not that he's not a fast guy. He's not that slow but they probably think he's not busy and maybe one-dimensional to a degree and maybe not the bravest guy in the world with the way he fought Cotto by fighting in spots. He's not consistent, but Clottey has the mental and physical makeup of a bigger fighter and he fights like a fighter who has those advantages and with his experience it makes him very dangerous opponent for Pacquiao," Atlas said.

"Clottey is better defensively than Cotto and covers up better. Its hard to catch him with as many cleaner shots in a row as you can Cotto. I don't think the fight will be anything similar to the Cotto fight. Cotto was easy to fight and Clottey is not that easy to deal with."

SOURCE : BoxingScene

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Yeah. We sincerely agree that Clottey is a tough opponent for Manny Pacquiao but I'm sure Roach and the rest of the Pacquiao Team will be doing anything they can to defend the WBO Welterweight Title.

Pacquiao will Defend his WBO Welterweight Belt at Dallas Cowboy's Stadium

2010-01-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, has agreed in principle to defend his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt against Joshua Clottey of Accra Ghana, on March 13 at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium on Mar, his adviser, Michael Koncz said on Saturday morning.

Pacquiao's Top Rank Promoter, CEO Bob Arum, and Top Rank president, Todd duBoef, Arum's stepson, are flying to Arlington, Texas, on Saturday morning where they expect "to close the deal," after watching the Dallas Cowboys- Philadelphia Eagles NFL playoff game "in the box of" Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, Arum told FanHouse on Friday.

"Clottey's manager [Vinny Scolpino] and his lawyer have signed off, and it's the same with Manny," said Arum, of Clottey, who is expected to fly back and arrive on Monday or Tuesday to his residence in the Bronx from Ghana.

Pacquiao-Clottey will take place instead of what was to be a historically lucrative megabout between 31-year-old Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) and 32-year-old, five-time king, Floyd Mayweather (40-0,25 KOs), that was scheduled for March 13 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand before the negotiations failed over a drug-testing controversy.

"We're 98 percent done negotiating for Manny to fight Joshua Clottey, but there are a couple of issues we're working out on the contract before Manny Pacquiao is ready to sign it," said Koncz, reached in the Philippines, where he is with the fighter.

"When we did Miguel Cotto, we negotiated Cotto in one day, so yes, it's going to be done quickly," said Koncz, referring to Pacquiao's 12th-round TKO of the then-WBO titlist on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"It's just a matter of Manny answering one or two questions," said Koncz. "For all intense and purposes, it's a done deal."

In addition to Clottey, Koncz said that Pacquiao reviewed video of WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs), New York's junior welterweight (140 pounds) star, Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), and, WBA junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) of New York before settling on Clottey.

"To be honest with you, yesterday, the last time that we spoke, I even suggested to Manny that we even fight Humberto Soto, using the angle of revenge since Soto had knocked out Manny's brother," said Koncz, referring to the WBC super featherweight (130 pounds) champ, soto's June, 2007, seventh-round stoppage of Bobby Pacquiao.

"But Manny was fine with Clottey. He was at ringside and saw Clottey fight in person against Cotto when we were in New York," said Koncz, of Clottey's 12-round, split-decision loss to Cotto in June.

"Quite frankly, Manny and I thought that Cotto had won that fight, and not Cotto," said Koncz. "But we were looking for something in which the styles would make an entertaining fight, and I think that their two styles will make for an entertaining fight."

The three losses for Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) were all to former world champions.

Clottey lead on all three cards in November of 1999, when he was mysteriously disqualified for a low blow -- during a time when the fighters were at a distance -- on the way to an 11th-round, disqualification Carlos Baldomir.

Clottey was ahead after four rounds of his December, 2006 loss over 12 rounds to Antonio Margarito before injuring both hands.

An interesting thing to watch for is whether any of those "couple of issues" Pacquiao and Koncz are "working out on the contract" call for Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) -- known to be a big welterweight who has been troubled, at times, with making weight -- to come in at a catchweight rather than the regular, standard, 147-pound required limit for the weight class.

Mayweather and Pacquiao had agreed to face each other at 147 pounds even, while Oscar De La Hoya and Cotto each fought Pacquiao after having weighed in at 145 pounds. De La Hoya said that dropping the pounds drained him. Cotto's weight was contracted to be 145.

Pacquiao, who stopped De La Hoya in eight rounds, weighed, 142, and, 144, respectively, against De La Hoya and Cotto.

Clottey has weighed more than 147 pounds for bouts 11 times during his career, twice, at 154.

SOURCE

Pacquiao-Clottey on March 13

2010-01-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

Trainer Freddie Roach told ESPN's Brian Kenny that Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) has agreed to defend his WBO welterweight title against former champion Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) on March 13. Clottey will replace Floyd Mayweather Jr. if a deal is finalized. Top Rank had tried to offer a fight with WBA 154-pound champion Yuri Foreman but Pacquiao rejected him as an opponent citing concerns over the size difference. Pacquiao has accepted Clottey as an opponent. The fight will likely head to a Las Vegas venue and land on HBO pay-per-view.

In an earlier report on BoxingScene.com, Clottey advised Ryan Burton that a deal had not been reached and he never received a contract. Clottey is on vacation in his native Ghana but is heading back on an immediate basis to the United States to continue negotiations for the fight.

Source : BoxingScene.com

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Pacquiao has everything to lose and nothing to gain on this fight. What do you think?

Mayweather Blaming Pacquiao

2010-01-08T07:20:00.000-08:00

A day after their fight was declared dead, Floyd Mayweather Jr. said Thursday night that he still wants to fight Manny Pacquiao.

Their tentative March 13 megafight -- which many believe will be the most lucrative fight in boxing history if it happens -- was called off Wednesday night by Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, after mediation failed to resolve their issues over drug testing protocol.

Arum blamed Mayweather for the fight falling apart, but Mayweather came out swinging on Thursday.

"Throughout this whole process I have remained patient but at this point I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them," Mayweather said in a statement.

"First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass."

The final issue in the negotiation was drug testing.

They agreed to unlimited random urine testing, but Mayweather also insisted on random blood testing, even though the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which would oversee the bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, requires only urine testing.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) didn't want blood testing but later relented and agreed to three blood tests: one during the week of the kickoff news conference, which would have taken place next week, one random test to be conducted no later than 30 days before the fight and a final test in his dressing room after the fight. Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) would be subject to the same testing procedures.

When they could not come to an agreement, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather, turned to a mediator, retired judge Daniel Weinstein, who had successfully mediated a series of disputes between Top Rank and Golden Boy in 2007.

But after nine hours in mediation on Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., and further attempts to come to a resolution on Wednesday failed, the fight was pronounced dead by the Pacquiao camp.

The mediation was largely about coming up with a suitable time frame in which to cut off the testing before the fight. Pacquiao moved off his hard-line stance of no testing inside 30 days from the fight by agreeing to 24 days during mediation.

"We agreed to move the drug testing to 24 days under the supervision of the Nevada commission and Mayweather still wouldn't budge," Michael Koncz, Pacquiao's adviser, told ESPN.com from the Philippines on Wednesday night after the fight was declared dead.

The Pacquiao camp blamed Mayweather for his unwillingness to move off his desire for random testing until the fight.

Mayweather disputed that on Thursday.

"Before the mediation, my team proposed a 14-day, no blood testing window leading up to the fight. But it was rejected," Mayweather said. "I am still proposing the 14-day window but he is still unwilling to agree to it, even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30 day cutoff. The truth is he just doesn't want to take the tests.

"In my opinion it is Manny Pacquiao and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest fight ever. I know the people will see through their smoke screens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract. Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight."

The drug testing became a major issue when Floyd Mayweather Sr., the father of the fighter, made several public remarks accusing Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs without a shred of proof. Mayweather Jr. later made similar remarks about him using PEDs, even though Pacquiao denies it and has never failed a drug test.

The accusations led Pacquiao to file a defamation lawsuit last week in Nevada U.S. District Court against Mayweather Jr., Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy officials Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya.

If the welterweight title bout is to be saved, and go forward on March 13, the camps likely have until Friday or Saturday to work things out and kick off the promotion as planned early next week in New York.

Source : ESPN.com

Mayweather is a Coward says Bob Arum

2010-01-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

Talks over a bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao hit the buffers yesterday when two days of mediation failed, with the Filipino’s promoter branding Mayweather “a coward”.

The boxers, both regarded as all-time greats, had been set to meet in the richest bout in history on March 13 in Las Vegas, until Mayweather’s demands for random blood testing led to a dramatic falling-out and a lawsuit from Pacquiao to Mayweather and his team, claiming defamation.

It had been hoped that mediation with a retired federal judge would bring the sides together, but after two days of wrangling there was no deal.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, blamed Mayweather. “Floyd Mayweather walked away,” Arum said. “Our guy was agreeable, Mayweather wasn’t. The fight’s off. I always felt he wasn’t going to do the fight. He knows Manny will beat him.

“Mayweather’s never stepped into the ring with a guy he had any question but that he was going to beat. That’s why there’s never been a [Shane] Mosley, never a [Antonio] Margarito, never was a [Miguel] Cotto and there’s no Pacquiao.

“Floyd Mayweather is a coward. He will never fight anyone that will remotely give him a tough fight.”

Arum’s company, Top Rank, promoted Mayweather, 32, until 2006 and the parting was acrimonious. Likewise, Golden Boy, Mayweather’s representatives, once promoted Pacquiao. A threat to negotiations was always going to be whether such a group of huge egos could work together again.

With Pacquiao, 31, running for Congress in the Philippines in May, it seems that the window for the contest early this year is shut. It could be that the bout is merely put off until the autumn, but nothing is certain.

The Filipino is expected to press ahead with a challenge for Yuri Foreman’s WBA light-middleweight title on March 13 or 20. While Foreman, a New York-based Israeli, appears to be the softest option at light-middleweight, it would give Pacquiao the chance to claim a world title in an eighth weight division.

Mayweather’s options are less glamorous. One that has been mooted is against Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of Ricky, in Britain. But that bout lacks credibility.

Billy Graham, Hatton’s former trainer, scoffed at the possibility. “It would be an embarrassment for Floyd to have that fight,” Graham told boxingscene.com. “It is a wonderful opportunity for Matthew but it wouldn’t be good for boxing, the fans or Floyd Mayweather as it is a mismatch.”

A better option could be to wait until May, when a bout against the winner of Mosley and Andre Berto could be made. Mosley, the WBA welterweight champion, and Berto, the WBC champion, meet in Las Vegas on January 30.

SOURCE : timesonline.co.uk

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What do you think? Is Mayweather really a coward?

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Paulie Malignaggi Hoping to Fight Manny Pacquiao

2010-01-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

These past holidays were much happier for Paulie Malignaggi than last year's.

Not that Malignaggi had trouble buying gifts for anyone on his list in 2008. Quite the contrary, as he was coming off the biggest payday of his career against Ricky Hatton. The Brooklynite was full on cash but low on pride.

You just can’t put a price tag on some things.

After being thoroughly outclassed and stopped in 11 rounds by Hatton a day before his 28th birthday, Malignaggi was faced with a number of tough decisions regarding his future as a prizefighter.

"I had made a very good payday with Hatton so I knew if I made the right investments with that money I could go on without fighting," says the former IBF junior welterweight champion Malignaggi, 27-3 (5 KO).

"My mind is in a much better place this year than it was last year. Last year I was wondering if my career was gonna go on and if it was gonna go on would I be an opponent or get to where I want to be. I had a lot of question marks and decisions to make. It was really stressful.

"I have a lot of opportunities on the horizon now."

Malignaggi's poor performance against Hatton left him on the verge of becoming a high-profile gatekeeper. His first major assignment following the Hatton fight saw him head to Juan Diaz's hometown of Houston last summer, conceding a weight limit of 138.5 and a smaller ring.

A large contingency in the media and fans felt his unanimous decision loss that night was an unjust hometown decision. Perhaps galvanized by his strong showing, Malignaggi returned in a rematch last month to take a one-sided points win in Chicago.

Now Malignaggi finds himself in a position to secure big fights in a deep division at 140, with guys like Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan and Devon Alexander getting business done. None of those matchups are bigger than a potential March date with WBO welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao.

Malignaggi finds himself in this position almost by default, after recent weeks of negotiations with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and camp failed to produce the biggest fight in modern boxing history - for now.

Ironically, Pacquiao is also looking at another Brooklyn resident, IBF junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman, as a potential opponent. Most favor Foreman, with his belt (giving Pacquiao a chance to win a title in an unprecedented eighth weight class) and common promoter Top Rank, to instead get the call, though Malignaggi remains a strong next option.

Should Malignaggi secure the date, he will undoubtedly receive by far the biggest payday of his career. He will also undoubtedly be a sizable underdog with all betting parlors, considering that Pacquiao holds dominant knockout wins over Hatton and Miguel Cotto, two of Malignaggi's conquerors.

The primary breakdown in negotiations between Pacquiao and Mayweather came amidst a failure to come to agreement on the subject of performance enhancing drug tests. Mayweather's camp insisted that Pacquiao be subjected to "Olympic-style random drug testing" to be conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency a total of five times. Pacquiao's camp rejected the offer, claiming that blood tests too close to a fight would compromise his training.

Pacquiao agreed to take unlimited urine tests and three blood tests, but none within 30 days of the fight. Pacquiao has never tested positive for any banned supplements, a fact that Malignaggi acknowledges.

Regardless, Malignaggi has his suspicions and isn't shy about voicing them.

"I'm really at a loss for words. I think [Pacquiao-Mayweather] should happen and I feel that Manny Pacquiao should take the tests if he's clean. He's making up stories where he doesn't know where his next excuse is coming from next.

"I've had 30 pro fights and none of the blood tests I've taken were ever more than 30 days before. They never test for drugs or steroids because it costs too much money. This will be the first time that a blood test would also test for drugs. In my opinion he may be on something. Maybe - I'm just saying maybe.

"All of a sudden he's coming up with I'm scared of needles but he's got 100 tattoos. These are all things that are being disproven. If you have to reach for excuses and they're lies, don't you think it's a little fishy? He's done this before, why is it all a problem now? If I accomplished as much as Manny I'd want to clear the air right away. Instead he's reacting the opposite way."

Steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are not total strangers to one another. Both Francois Botha and James Toney lost portions of the heavyweight crown in the urinal. In one of the biggest fights of the last decade, Fernando Vargas tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol after his 11th round TKO loss to Oscar de la Hoya.

Most provocative however was Max Kellerman's 2007 statement on his ESPN radio show in which he condemned most of the top boxers in the heavyweight division.

"Seven out of the top ten heavyweights are on the juice. Most of the top guys are [juicing]."

This marks the first time however that such accusations have been hurled at a top pound for pound fighter without any smoking gun or suspicious urinalysis reports.

Malignaggi's suspicion stems largely from his ability to rise in weight without losing any of his speed, punching power or ability to absorb punches from larger foes.

"Certain guys go up in weight and have success. They have to make sure they don't get hit so much. No matter what, when you go up in weight the bigger man will hit you harder and the guys who don't have success have trouble taking the bigger man's shots. The ones who were successful moving up in weight were good defensive fighters that managed not to take too many shots.

"Manny Pacquiao has been the exception. He goes up in weight and he gets hit. When you're fighting monster punchers who get the respect of their own weight class and you walk right through them. When I saw that I was just like, 'something's not right with this guy.'

"This situation goes far and beyond the realm of something normal in my opinion. He gets hit, and you just can't get hit by big guys like that and be able to take those kind of shots."

Malignaggi points to the Cotto fight, where on a number of occasions Pacquiao invited the larger Cotto to come in and land his best shots and returned fire to greater effect. The punches never seemed to phase Pacquiao.

It is interesting to note though that in Pacquiao's rapid ascent in weight from 135 to 147 over the course of a year or so, Pacquiao had only been in one damaging fight - the Cotto affair. He was barely touched by David Diaz, Oscar de la Hoya or Hatton in dominant wins. Of the 19 rounds he fought in those three bouts, it's unlikely that he lost any of them.

As to what specifically Malignaggi believes Pacquiao to be using, that is another subject entirely.

"There are steroids out there that help your oxygen levels," Malignaggi says. "They make you a lot more hyper and you can fight at a higher pace. If indeed you are fighting at a faster pace, it's not going to make your chin better but it will make your pace more hyper. A guy who is more hyper is obviously tougher to knock out. Maybe you can take a better shot. All of these are my opinions; none of these are facts. The fact does remain that there are drugs that do that with oxygen levels in the blood and all that."

Malignaggi may be referring to erythropoietin, most commonly known as EPO, which is a glycoprotein hormone that stimulates red blood cell production, which in turn boosts endurance levels.

Malignaggi for his part says that he has never taken any illegal performance enhancers because, "I never felt I was out of my league and needed to do something to compete with people.” He hasn't given much thought to the subject until recently but says he wouldn't be shocked if top boxers in the sport are using something additional to get a boost in their trade.

"I would say they probably are."

Without a contract being drawn up for Pacquiao-Malignaggi nor much for the Filipino star to gain from such a contest, Malignaggi's incendiary talk is probably not doing him any favors.

A call was put in to The Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon seeking comment from Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. Roach was not taking calls from media at the time.

Of course there is always the convenience factor of making steroid accusations before facing someone. Perhaps it can be a built in excuse if things go wrong. Many look at Mayweather's accusations in that light and it's likely that a larger number of people will see that in Malignaggi's case.

"I think everybody already knows how I feel and people know I'm still going into the fight. I guess people are always going to be suspicious of that just like people were suspicious when I was getting ready to fight Diaz [the first time] and complained about everything in Houston. With Pacquiao, he'd never take these drug tests so we'd never have proof of anything of what I suspect he might be doing."

Still, Malignaggi is outwardly confident as he always is. He doesn't feel steroids, EPO, loaded gloves or any other kind of outside edge would affect the outcome of his second chance at a legacy-defining matchup.

Should it happen, that is.

"Pacquiao shines against guys that are flat-footed and come to kill him. If he fought me he wouldn't be fighting someone coming to kill him, he'd be fighting someone coming to outscore him. Miguel Cotto came to run him over, so did Hatton and the Mexican guys. He's got someone who isn't coming to run him over but who who's coming to outsmart him, outquick him, set him up off of his reckless offense. These are things he hasn't seen that make me confident about getting in the ring with him.

"I never go into a fight thinking I can't win. I'd go into a fight with Manny Pacquiao with a plan to win."

SOURCE : PhilBoxing.com

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Do you think Paulie Malignaggi is a worthy opponent?

Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr Fight has been called off

2010-01-07T06:35:00.000-08:00

Fight fans are disappointed that the super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been called off.

Pacquiao himself is disappointed, too.

"I am very disappointed that we could not make this fight for the fans,” the 7-time world champion said in statement.

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight king is also angry at the Mayweather camp and its representative Golden Boy Promotions for spreading accusations against him.

“I am angered because of the false accusations from Golden Boy and the Mayweather camp that I used some type of drugs, and that is why I have instructed our American lawyers to proceed with the lawsuit to clear my name," said Pacquiao.

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is seen by many as a single bout that could bring back the popularity of boxing as a sport.

Both fighters might have received up to $40 million each in fight revenues had the fight pushed through.

Talks collapse

The fight was called off after the mediation process collapsed due to the Mayweather camp’s refusal to accept Pacquiao’s concession.

During the mediation, Pacquiao’s camp agreed to blood tests 24 days before the fight, which addressed Mayweather's demand that Pacquiao submit himself to a blood test 30 days before the fight.

However, retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein rang Top Rank chief Bob Arum after the meeting to inform that the mega-buck fight won’t push through.

"The fight's off, Mayweather never wanted it. Manny wanted the fight. He was agreeable to terms," Arum told LATimes.com.

Pacquiao’s camp said it saw this development happening.

"When the fight was offered, Manny accepted it with no hesitation," Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz told ESPN.com. "We're not surprised. We saw this coming once they started this drug bull----. It was a way for them to get out of the fight. I don't think Mayweather expected Manny to accept the challenge so quickly."

More to lose
Arum said the biggest loser in the talk’s collapse was Golden Boy Promotions.

"The guys who should be most disappointed in the fight being off are Schaefer and De La Hoya because they went along with this guy [Mayweather] and ended up with gatz and a big lawsuit," Arum said.

Arum said Golden Boy Promotions, which is headed by boxing great and old Pacquiao foe Oscar de la Hoya, also risks losing its share in the Filipino’s contract.

"There's an arbitration which calls for them to lose any percentage of Manny's promotional contract, something we asked for and had postponed, but now it will go forward," Arum said in ESPN.com.

"We did that two weeks ago before Manny filed his lawsuit. It's binding arbitration. Our request was for Golden Boy to forfeit its interest in Pacquiao's contract based on the fact that they had demeaned Pacquiao with their remarks [alleging he used PEDs] and that it violated the [2007] agreement between Pacquiao, Top Rank and Golden Boy," Arum said.

SOURCE

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I'm really disappointed how this went through. This could be the fight of the century. What are your thoughts? Please feel free to put your comments below.

Who will Manny Pacquiao Fight Next?

2010-01-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of negotiations going on between the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight and I guess the drug test just go way beyond what's expected. So what's next for Manny Pacquiao? Will he still fight this March? 8countnews provided us some scenarios on what will happen to Manny Pacquiao's boxing career this year.

Floyd Mayweather Diet: Lots of 'Greens', More 'Beef'

Recent news hit the airwaves about a melee between Floyd Mayweather jr. and Miami-based rapper Rick Ross. Apparently, the two entourages crossed paths in a Las Vegas night club recently. With so much going on in the negotiations for his mega-fight with Pacquiao, one would think the last thing that Mayweather would have the time to do would be play in a club. We've all adapted to the often misleading ways of Floyd Mayweather, but what I think many of us find hard to swallow is the reasons behind a man this profoundly talented placing himself in the mist of such chaos? Granted, it was a chance encounter, but at the end of the day, there has to be a better way than senseless altercations. Bottom line....even though we live in an era where everybody wants to be known as the 'big cheese', few seem to realize that mixing that 'cheese' with low grade 'beef' gives you little in the end aside from a bad case of gas. And unfortunately it's not the same type (of gas) that they can expect to take them too far, either! Fellas, man up and squash that crap!

Mayweather/Pacquiao: One For The 'Money', Two For The 'Show'

Seems that the snag between Mayweather and Pacquiao won't come loose any time soon. After weeks of going back and forth, it seems the issue of randomized blood testing is in fact the one point of contention that will not change. Manny Pacquiao recently came out and spoke on the troubles that he had in the first Morales fight - as they relate to having to take the blood test. According to Pacquiao, the medical staff required him to take another blood test 2 days before the fight because his medical records were "lost". The main issue here was that Pacquiao had to make a much lower weight, so he was unable to drink the proper level of fluids and eat properly. In this case, such an issue shouldn't be the problem, as his walk around weight of 150 is very close to the weight he'll be fighting at (147lbs); wherein the last time they fought, he had to go from the mid 140's and make a weight of 130lbs. Considering that he has prior knowledge of this test and the fact that he doesn't need to cut his weight as much, such an issue shouldn't be a problem. That being said, we have one (firm commitment) for the money, but we'll need two for the show. Stay tuned.

Pacquiao/Foreman: "Race For The 8th" (World Title)

Immediately following the Pacquiao/Cotto showdown, I was able to corner Freddie Roach off in the media room, and after congratulating him on a job well done, I asked could we expect to see Pacquiao make a race for the unprecedented 8th world title against someone like Yuri Foreman if the Mayweather fight falls through. Roach appeared very open to the option at the time, and as the Mayweather clock runs out, this possibility is looking more and more likely. At this point, there's no mention of a catchweight, which means Pacquiao may go from a 145lb catchweight fight, to facing a full fledged jr. middleweight with better than average boxing skills and like Floyd, an undefeated record. Foreman has never faced anyone of Pacquiao's caliber, but his range, height, and weight advantage on top of those skills could make this an interesting night.

Roy Jones Jr. Makes A Strong Case

Many people initially took the request of Roy Jones Jr. to have his fight with Danny Green reversed as a complete joke. Turns out, maybe it was, but it now appears that he who got the first laugh won't laugh last. Pictures which have recently surfaced of Danny Green in the locker-room after the fight seem to really make you wonder. It's unclear whether a Jones representative was on hand in the locker-room when the actual hand-wrapping took place, but one thing for sure, the wraps on the photo's released are without question 'abnormal' to say the least, (in my opinion). It's hard to believe that the fight would be reversed, but it will be interesting to see what happens when the committee actually sits down to review the findings. I'm no expert, but those hand pads look more like shoulder pads - (big and beyond durable). Stay tuned.

Maidana/Khan: Little Question, Big Test

Veteran trainer Freddie Roach is arguably the best in the business at what he does. We've seen the evolution of Manny Pacquiao, among many others under his tutelage, and recently, that wingspan has sheltered the rising talent of Brit Amir Khan. Although we've seen some great advancement from Khan, what we haven't seen is a test against someone durable enough to handle his power and land with their own. Salita didn't last long enough, but his chin is not that of Maidana's. In the one fight where Khan did test solid power, he left the ring with his sole career defeat. But of course, that was the pre-Roach era. If the proposed showdown goes forward, we'll have finally learn whether or not the evolution is closer to full circle than we've been recently led to believe. Khan is a great kid and a great talent, but as it relates to this potential showdown, there's little question this will be his biggest test yet.

Berto/Mosley: Does Berto Really Have A Chance?

The January 30th showdown between veteran Shane Mosley and rising star Andre Berto has left many with varying thoughts on who will get the job done in the end. Some lean towards the old lion, Mosley. While others think the long layoff and the speedy youth of Berto will be enough to get him the nod. It's hard to fathom a clear victory for Andre Berto against the likes of Mosley, but there are two things that have to be taken into account at all times. For one....Berto will enter the ring with a huge chip on his shoulder, eager to impress the masses out there who feel for what ever reason that he isn't as good as advertised. Secondly.....less than 2 years ago, the same Mosley that ran through the very durable but very hittable Margarito barely got the job done against the chain smoking Ricardo Mayorga. Had he not scored the late KO, some had Mayorga actually defeating him in that fight. So, this could all come down to which Mosley we actually see. Richardson appears to have his attention, but 'Father-time' has been known to surface when some least expect it. Does Berto have a chance? Absolutely.

Valero/DeMarco: Let The Truth Be Known

KO artist Edwin Valero seems to be primed and ready to roll for his showdown with an always 'game' Antonio DeMarco. Most would be hardpressed to name 3 people on Valero's resume, which makes most question his knockout power - as witnessed in him KO'ing every man he's ever faced. This will be more of a test than some know, as DeMarco is a very gutsy fighter who won't come to lie down. Hit or miss, the verdict will be officially in on Valero once the final bell rings. Still a few weeks til D-Day. Stay tuned.

Mayweather/Pacquiao: Pacquiao Promised, Floyd Favored

Filipino fight fans all around the globe are promising a Pacquiao victory, but according to recent polls, the money is on 'money'. Betting lines list Floyd Mayweather jr. as the small favorite over the fightin' Filipino, which really makes you wonder what's really goin' on in the minds of those who put their money where their mouth is. For now, it's an intriguing topic, but with no fight finalized, it's all trivial. Hopefully, that all changes real soon.

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So who do you think Manny Pacquiao will fight this March?