Take a look at this controversial article rooting for Mayweather:
Bernard Hopkins isn't the most politically correct quote in the world. He says things that make people uncomfortable and he is often accused of playing the race card.
But you can't deny "B-Hop" came up with an original angle this week when he said Manny Pacquiao has never beaten a world-class black fighter.
Hopkins is right -- Pacquiao never has beaten a world-class African-American. Or even fought one. But his point may be better taken when you consider styles instead of race.
Pacquiao's resume is devoid of talented, speedy boxers -- whatever their ethnic background. He has mostly beaten heavy-handed sluggers whose natural inclination is to brawl -- Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey,
News and opinion on the sweet science.
Antonio Margarito (Oscar De La Hoya was an aged boxer-puncher who was long past his prime by the time he fought "Pac-Man").
Pacquiao, 52-3-2 (38 knockouts), destroyed them because they were slower and easy for him to hit -- ultimately falling prey to the Filipino's crunching punching power. They are styles that are made-to-order for Pacquiao's speed and southpaw stance.
Where Pacquiao has struggled is against smart, fast, talented, tough fighters, who are in their primes and who execute a more cerebral game plan -- specifically Juan Manuel Marquez in 2004 and 2008, and, to a lesser degree, Erik Morales in their first fight (Pacquiao's last loss in 2005).
Marquez nor Morales were hit with multiple punches in a row, and both were quick enough to get off with their own combinations. Marquez countered Pacquiao magnificently, and many think he beat the Filipino Congressman twice.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., 41-0 (25 KOs), is head and shoulders a better, smarter, faster, more talented boxer than either Marquez or Morales. He is brilliant in a boxing ring, and you can bet your mortgage that he would never stand and trade with Pacquiao.
Rather, he would devise a strategy that would use the Filipino's aggressiveness against him -- a strategy that worked behind a stiff jab, utilizing movement for punching angles as he tied Pacquiao up, thwarting his offensive bursts and ultimately frustrating him by limiting exchanges and picking his spots (or "potshotting," as Hopkins put it).
Think, Pernell Whitaker against Julio Cesar Chavez. It would be a very different approach from any of Pacquiao's previous opponents.
It wouldn't be pretty, and it wouldn't be half as entertaining as any of "Pac-Man's" previous fights. But it would be effective. Mayweather knows how to win boxing matches.
This is not an endorsement for a Mayweather win, when and if he ever squares off with "Pac-Man." It's simply an acknowledgement that Mayweather possesses both the intelligence and the skill set to make a fighter like Pacquiao look very ordinary.
More from here: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_16671205?source=most_viewed
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Six Myths Regarding Mayweather - Mosley: Why Shane Mosley Will Win
An interesting article about Floyd Mayweather:
"by Geoffrey Ciani - “I think the intensity and the challenge that Shane brings into this fight is going to make Floyd Mayweather show his greatness or he could totally be dominated and look very inferior. He won’t be anywhere in between, he’ll go to one extreme or the other and I think that Shane may be the dark horse so to say in this whole situation because he could easily be a big threat and possibly beat Floyd and (Manny) Pacquiao.” —Emanuel Steward (from episode 65 of On the Ropes Boxing Radio)
Going into his bout with Antonio Margarito few observers were giving Sugar Shane Mosley much of a chance and not without good reason. After all, Miguel Cotto had already beaten Mosley and yet he looked powerless against the iron-jawed Mexican. Cotto hit him with everything but a baseball bat and was never able to neutralize the relentless pressure applied by Margarito. Following the fight, an aura of invincibility surrounded Margarito, and many felt Shane would suffer a similar fate as his promoter Oscar De La Hoya had when he was bludgeoned by Manny Pacquiao a month earlier. Not only were people refusing to give Shane a chance to win, the majority doubted whether he could even make it competitive.."
Going into his bout with Antonio Margarito few observers were giving Sugar Shane Mosley much of a chance and not without good reason. After all, Miguel Cotto had already beaten Mosley and yet he looked powerless against the iron-jawed Mexican. Cotto hit him with everything but a baseball bat and was never able to neutralize the relentless pressure applied by Margarito. Following the fight, an aura of invincibility surrounded Margarito, and many felt Shane would suffer a similar fate as his promoter Oscar De La Hoya had when he was bludgeoned by Manny Pacquiao a month earlier. Not only were people refusing to give Shane a chance to win, the majority doubted whether he could even make it competitive.."
MORE from here:
Six Myths Regarding Mayweather - Mosley: Why Shane Mosley Will Win:
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Cotto vs. Foreman Yankee Stadium tickets go on sale today April 16 � Now Boxing
Got this news update for Cotto's next fight:
"The WBA 154-pound title fight between champion Yuri Foreman and challenger Miguel Cotto who’ll be making his junior middleweight debut will takes place at Yankee Stadium on June 5th. The fight is being promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank and will broadcast by HBO sports. Tickets to the Cotto vs. Foreman fight will go on sale today Friday, April 16, 2010 at Noon. The tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com and prices are listed at $400, $300, $200, $100, $75 and $50. To order tickets by phone, call 877-469-9849 or Tickemaster TTY 800-943-4327.
Miguel Cotto is a two weight division champion who is coming off a knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao, and looks to win a third title in a different weight division when he faces Foreman on June 5.
Yuri Foreman won the WBA 154-pound title (his first championship title) on against Daniel Santos on the under-card of Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto and is the only current Jewish boxing champion.
Arum is looking to accommodate at least 30,000 fight fans to Yankee Stadium to witness this event.
Watch Foreman vs. Cotto on Saturday, June 5 at New York Yankee Stadium, broadcast live on HBO, at 10:15 pm ET /7:15 pm PT."
Miguel Cotto is a two weight division champion who is coming off a knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao, and looks to win a third title in a different weight division when he faces Foreman on June 5.
Yuri Foreman won the WBA 154-pound title (his first championship title) on against Daniel Santos on the under-card of Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto and is the only current Jewish boxing champion.
Arum is looking to accommodate at least 30,000 fight fans to Yankee Stadium to witness this event.
Watch Foreman vs. Cotto on Saturday, June 5 at New York Yankee Stadium, broadcast live on HBO, at 10:15 pm ET /7:15 pm PT."
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto bout lined up for Yankee Stadium
Just came across this article for Miguel Cotto's next bout. Read on:
Officials with Top Rank Boxing have reached a preliminary agreement with the Yankees to stage the WBC 154-pound title match between champion Yuri Foreman and former welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium on June 5.
Carl Moretti, Top Rank vice president of boxing, said last night that, after weeks of negotiations, a deal had been agreed to with the Yankees and that Top Rank was working on the logistics for the fight, which will be broadcast on HBO.
"We have a preliminary agreement with them. Nothing has been signed or finalized," Yankees COO Lonn Trost told The Associated Press, calling the deal subject to approval from team higher-ups. "We do plan, if things go well, to have it on June 5."
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was the last man to stage a fight at the old Yankee Stadium, a heavyweight match between Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton in 1976.
Moretti said the stadium will be scaled for 30,000 seats, configured near the short porch in right field. There will be seats on the field, with ringside tickets priced at $400. The lowest-priced tickets will be $50.
One of the logistical problems is the construction of the ring and a canopy over it. Top Rank won't be allowed to set up the ring and the canopy until after the Yankees finish a day game to wrap up a three-game series against the Orioles on June 3. Moretti said that will present a time crunch.
"We're still looking at the logistics and the cost that are involved in the construction and setting up the ring and the canopy (in a short time frame)," Moretti said.
Arum has become enamored of big stadium fights. He is promoting a March 13 welterweight match between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey at the massive Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. More than 30,000 tickets have already been sold for that fight and Arum said last week that it could draw over 40,000 fans.
A longtime Giants season-ticket holder, Arum is also eyeing a fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Yuriokus Gamboa at the new Meadowlands stadium in 2011.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Manny Pacquiao, preparing for Joshua Clottey bout, leaves nothing to chance - latimes.com
Here's an article about Manny's prep for Clottey
The adulation for Manny Pacquiao is growing by the day. On his cellphone Wednesday, promoter Bob Arum was told 2,000 more seats were sold, meaning 38,000 tickets have been bought for Pacquiao's world welterweight title fight against Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
This is the disparity boxing creates. Future glory and perhaps a fifth straight Pacquiao knockout, televised to the world and shown to the Dallas masses in person and on the 160-foot-wide high-definition screen above the ring, await. But this also requires the grunt work that Pacquiao performs religiously, as he did Wednesday.
"There's no such thing as an easy fight," Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said about Clottey.
The resounding theme of that message — don't let up — has been long embraced by Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts), who has devoutly followed Roach's directions at the gritty Wild Card Gym in Hollywood to become the fighter considered the best in the world.
How? Two important disciplines stick out. Pacquiao's attention to rapid and balanced footwork causes opponents to repeatedly lament after their defeat that they never saw a decisive punch coming. And Pacquiao, a southpaw, has labored to perfect a right-handed punch few others can match.
"His overall movement — I've never seen a fighter develop their ‘other' hand to the extent Manny has," Arum said. "At this point, his right is as good as his left. You think he's going to jab, and he throws a hook off the jab."
Pacquiao's willingness to learn has led to his sensational run of accomplishments — the seven weight-class world titles, TKOs in three of his last four fights (against David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto) with the 2009 knockout of the year against Ricky Hatton thrown in. He works unflinchingly in and around Wild Card, wrapping his hands in a stifling hot closet, jumping rope for hours, running so long on the concrete of Hollywood that he's recently developed shin splints.
"Everyone thinks he wins because of his hand speed, but it's his foot speed," Roach said. "You have to make both feet work together. His hands and feet are in balance, and that's the difference between him and so many others. It started coming together before the Diaz fight [in June 2008]. We work on patterns, drills, and by the fight most people don't know what's up. He's at the point now where it's all just about reactions, no thinking."
"It makes a good balance," Pacquiao said Wednesday. "It's been a good strategy."
Pacquiao said he's embraced that extra work dating to 2006, when he beat Erik Morales by 10th-round TKO.
What the public gets treated to now is the fine-tuning.
"Manny and Freddie are the best [fighter-trainer] combination, better than [ Muhammad] Ali and [Angelo] Dundee," Arum said. "Ali got to a point where he knew it all, and quit listening. Manny still listens."
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Manny Pacquiao will not take Joshua Clottey lightly
See this article on Manny's prep against Clottey:
It's not the fight most wanted to see, and many casual sports fans probably don't know much about this guy who's stepped into Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s void to fight Manny Pacquiao.
Understandable. So much about why that mega-bout crashed over a drug-testing dispute, with $25-million guarantees to each fighter, is head-scratching.
Time, then, to bring some simple reasoning to the sport now as fight week arrives for Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The soundest logic says the man considered the best boxer in the world will have his way against the African challenger.
Any reason to think differently? A letdown? A visit to Pacquiao's Hollywood gym brings an onslaught of rebuttals from those asked if the Filipino superstar has shown any sign he's blowing off the threat of this lesser-known opponent.
"I wish we were fighting Mayweather this time, the way Manny has worked," Pacquiao's conditioning trainer, Alex Ariza, said.
A gym regular said he saw Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) unleash a barrage of two dozen unanswered blows to respected veteran sparring partner Steve Forbes.
"I hear Vegas has the over/under for rounds at 10," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, who has been so sharp in projecting his prodigy's latest conquests of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. "I'll take the under. We've watched a lot of tapes on Clottey. He's predictable. Manny will be the first to stop him."
Clottey, a 32-year-old native of Ghana and current resident of the Bronx, is 35-3 with 21 knockouts, and his lone losses have come to world champions: Carlos Baldomir in 1999 (controversial disqualification); Antonio Margarito in 2006 (close decision); and Miguel Cotto (close decision) in in June, his most recent bout.
Pacquiao watched Cotto-Clottey from ringside, scouting Cotto before beating him by 12th-round TKO in November. In Clottey, Pacquiao will be fighting a second consecutive true welterweight who has victories over the accomplished Zab Judah (a world title fight) and the late Diego Corrales on his resume. Clottey performed strongly against Cotto, but oddly stopped asserting himself in the final rounds.
"Clottey, he's a good defensive fighter," Pacquiao said. "He's bigger than me [by 2½ inches, with a three-inch reach advantage], so I've had to study his style and maybe he's trying to learn some new techniques. But from what I've studied so far, I think he's a good formula for me. I'm still sure he's studying different techniques he can try against me."
And how's that going?
"It is not easy. [Pacquiao's] good, but I tell people I'm going to beat him," Clottey said. "They don't believe me, but I'm a confident guy and I will keep my word. I will make him think a lot in the ring because of my defense. … I believe in my defense. He's going to throw a lot of punches. I'll block nine out of 10."
Clottey has been groomed in Ghana by impressive countrymen, including the tough Ike Quartey. Like Pacquiao, he came from a poor family and hawked goods on the street, including fish, oranges and bananas.
So is Clottey bound to frequently go into a self-made shell, stalling as he did late against Cotto? Clottey says he won't, wanting Pacquiao to stay cautious of the size advantage and punching power that is considered by some to be suspect. Clottey's last true knockout was in 2004, at a club show in Laughlin, Nev.
"What about mine?" Clottey asked of his punches.
Roach has openly said, "We don't know what Clottey has. We're concerned with his uppercut and hook, but we'll keep Manny out of that pocket."
Pacquiao, guaranteed $12 million plus a pay-per-view cut for this fight, has some bigger days ahead of him this year, including his campaign for a congressional seat in the Philippines, along with the expected resumption of talks with Mayweather.
Clottey, meanwhile, wants to keep logic thrown out the window. He never expected to get this fight and was negotiating for a bout against 154-pound champion Yuri Foreman when notified that Mayweather was out and he was in.
"I'd like to think good things come to good people," Clottey said. "We'll see. I know he's a good fighter. If he hits me, and I don't feel his punches, I'll jump on him. If I do feel them, I'll just have to hit him more."
More from here http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0308-manny-pacquiao-20100308,0,1876345.story
It's not the fight most wanted to see, and many casual sports fans probably don't know much about this guy who's stepped into Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s void to fight Manny Pacquiao.
Understandable. So much about why that mega-bout crashed over a drug-testing dispute, with $25-million guarantees to each fighter, is head-scratching.
Time, then, to bring some simple reasoning to the sport now as fight week arrives for Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The soundest logic says the man considered the best boxer in the world will have his way against the African challenger.
Any reason to think differently? A letdown? A visit to Pacquiao's Hollywood gym brings an onslaught of rebuttals from those asked if the Filipino superstar has shown any sign he's blowing off the threat of this lesser-known opponent.
"I wish we were fighting Mayweather this time, the way Manny has worked," Pacquiao's conditioning trainer, Alex Ariza, said.
A gym regular said he saw Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) unleash a barrage of two dozen unanswered blows to respected veteran sparring partner Steve Forbes.
"I hear Vegas has the over/under for rounds at 10," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, who has been so sharp in projecting his prodigy's latest conquests of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. "I'll take the under. We've watched a lot of tapes on Clottey. He's predictable. Manny will be the first to stop him."
Clottey, a 32-year-old native of Ghana and current resident of the Bronx, is 35-3 with 21 knockouts, and his lone losses have come to world champions: Carlos Baldomir in 1999 (controversial disqualification); Antonio Margarito in 2006 (close decision); and Miguel Cotto (close decision) in in June, his most recent bout.
Pacquiao watched Cotto-Clottey from ringside, scouting Cotto before beating him by 12th-round TKO in November. In Clottey, Pacquiao will be fighting a second consecutive true welterweight who has victories over the accomplished Zab Judah (a world title fight) and the late Diego Corrales on his resume. Clottey performed strongly against Cotto, but oddly stopped asserting himself in the final rounds.
"Clottey, he's a good defensive fighter," Pacquiao said. "He's bigger than me [by 2½ inches, with a three-inch reach advantage], so I've had to study his style and maybe he's trying to learn some new techniques. But from what I've studied so far, I think he's a good formula for me. I'm still sure he's studying different techniques he can try against me."
And how's that going?
"It is not easy. [Pacquiao's] good, but I tell people I'm going to beat him," Clottey said. "They don't believe me, but I'm a confident guy and I will keep my word. I will make him think a lot in the ring because of my defense. … I believe in my defense. He's going to throw a lot of punches. I'll block nine out of 10."
Clottey has been groomed in Ghana by impressive countrymen, including the tough Ike Quartey. Like Pacquiao, he came from a poor family and hawked goods on the street, including fish, oranges and bananas.
So is Clottey bound to frequently go into a self-made shell, stalling as he did late against Cotto? Clottey says he won't, wanting Pacquiao to stay cautious of the size advantage and punching power that is considered by some to be suspect. Clottey's last true knockout was in 2004, at a club show in Laughlin, Nev.
"What about mine?" Clottey asked of his punches.
Roach has openly said, "We don't know what Clottey has. We're concerned with his uppercut and hook, but we'll keep Manny out of that pocket."
Pacquiao, guaranteed $12 million plus a pay-per-view cut for this fight, has some bigger days ahead of him this year, including his campaign for a congressional seat in the Philippines, along with the expected resumption of talks with Mayweather.
Clottey, meanwhile, wants to keep logic thrown out the window. He never expected to get this fight and was negotiating for a bout against 154-pound champion Yuri Foreman when notified that Mayweather was out and he was in.
"I'd like to think good things come to good people," Clottey said. "We'll see. I know he's a good fighter. If he hits me, and I don't feel his punches, I'll jump on him. If I do feel them, I'll just have to hit him more."
More from here http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0308-manny-pacquiao-20100308,0,1876345.story
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Arum starts ball rolling on Foreman-Cotto
See this news about the Pacquiao-Clottey match....
There are two significant reasons why Top Rank's Bob Arum will be in New York next week. One will be to oversee a press conference on Wednesday to promote the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey welterweight title fight, which will take place on March 13 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The other is for the final promotional push for next Saturday's outstanding HBO "Boxing After Dark" card at the Madison Square Garden Theater.
That card, which I can't wait for, features a pair of featherweight title bouts as Steven Luevano defends against junior featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez and the electrifying Yuriorkis Gamboa defends his sliver of the title against rugged Rogers Mtagwa.
That's a lot of business for one week, but apparently not enough for Arum.
He will also start the unofficial media blitz for another fight he intends to make for June. That fight would see newly crowned junior middleweight titleholder Yuri Foreman, the New York-based, Belarus native who is studying to become a rabbi, defending against former welterweight beltholder Miguel Cotto, who lost his title via 12th-round knockout to Pacquiao in November on the same card on which Foreman beat Daniel Santos to win his title.
"You will see Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 23," Arum told me the other day. "The reason they will both be there is to start the promotion for their fight in June. Miguel wants to fight Foreman. Yuri wants a big fight. Yuri will have the Jewish fans behind him. And we already know what a big attraction Miguel is in New York and how much the Puerto Rican fans support him."
The bout would take place at the Garden on June 12, the eve of the annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. Top Rank has made that weekend a regular fight date for Cotto for the past few years.
Arum said Cotto, who is still mourning the recent death of his father, asked to come to the Jan. 23 show and is interested in moving up in weight to challenge Foreman.
Foreman, too, is interested in the fight. He had been in the running to land the March fight with Pacquiao after the fight with Floyd Mayweather (I'm still not over that) fell apart. But Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, put the kibosh on the match over concern about Pacquiao again moving up in weight and facing the much taller Foreman.
So if Foreman couldn't get Pacquiao, he'll certainly take Cotto, according to manager Murray "Shpipples" Wilson.
Arum admits he hasn't yet talked to either camp about money, but he plans to next week in New York.
Arum also said he is unsure if he would present the fight on pay-per-view or try to make a deal with HBO. But either way, he intends to make the fight.
"That's why I am going to show them together in New York, to get this thing rolling," Arum said. "They both want the fight. It would be so big in New York."
If Lopez beats Luevano, Arum said he'd like to put him on the June 12 undercard. Arum's plan has been to eventually match Lopez and Gamboa, if they are both victorious, but not right away.
"We're saving that for later in the year if they both win," Arum said.
more from here http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4828800&name=rafael_dan
There are two significant reasons why Top Rank's Bob Arum will be in New York next week. One will be to oversee a press conference on Wednesday to promote the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey welterweight title fight, which will take place on March 13 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The other is for the final promotional push for next Saturday's outstanding HBO "Boxing After Dark" card at the Madison Square Garden Theater.
That card, which I can't wait for, features a pair of featherweight title bouts as Steven Luevano defends against junior featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez and the electrifying Yuriorkis Gamboa defends his sliver of the title against rugged Rogers Mtagwa.
That's a lot of business for one week, but apparently not enough for Arum.
He will also start the unofficial media blitz for another fight he intends to make for June. That fight would see newly crowned junior middleweight titleholder Yuri Foreman, the New York-based, Belarus native who is studying to become a rabbi, defending against former welterweight beltholder Miguel Cotto, who lost his title via 12th-round knockout to Pacquiao in November on the same card on which Foreman beat Daniel Santos to win his title.
"You will see Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 23," Arum told me the other day. "The reason they will both be there is to start the promotion for their fight in June. Miguel wants to fight Foreman. Yuri wants a big fight. Yuri will have the Jewish fans behind him. And we already know what a big attraction Miguel is in New York and how much the Puerto Rican fans support him."
The bout would take place at the Garden on June 12, the eve of the annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. Top Rank has made that weekend a regular fight date for Cotto for the past few years.
Arum said Cotto, who is still mourning the recent death of his father, asked to come to the Jan. 23 show and is interested in moving up in weight to challenge Foreman.
Foreman, too, is interested in the fight. He had been in the running to land the March fight with Pacquiao after the fight with Floyd Mayweather (I'm still not over that) fell apart. But Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, put the kibosh on the match over concern about Pacquiao again moving up in weight and facing the much taller Foreman.
So if Foreman couldn't get Pacquiao, he'll certainly take Cotto, according to manager Murray "Shpipples" Wilson.
Arum admits he hasn't yet talked to either camp about money, but he plans to next week in New York.
Arum also said he is unsure if he would present the fight on pay-per-view or try to make a deal with HBO. But either way, he intends to make the fight.
"That's why I am going to show them together in New York, to get this thing rolling," Arum said. "They both want the fight. It would be so big in New York."
If Lopez beats Luevano, Arum said he'd like to put him on the June 12 undercard. Arum's plan has been to eventually match Lopez and Gamboa, if they are both victorious, but not right away.
"We're saving that for later in the year if they both win," Arum said.
more from here http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4828800&name=rafael_dan
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