Freddie Roach Prediction : KO win for Pacquiao

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

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Pacquiao-Clottey : The Last Fight of Pacquiao?

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

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Size Does Not Matter

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

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Pacquiao versus Mayweather-Mosley Fight Winner Says Roach

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

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Pacquiao not Angry with Mayweather

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

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Bob Arum Very Impressed with Manny

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..

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Mayweather-Pacquiao : The Ultimate Fight

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

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Roach Talks About Clottey-Pacquiao

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?

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Pacquiao-Clottey Fight : Presscon Set on January 19

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

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Pacquiao Named as Athlete of the Decade

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

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Mayweather Blaming Pacquiao

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

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Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr Fight has been called off

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.

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Who will Manny Pacquiao Fight Next?

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?

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