boxlink: July 2009

Friday, 31 July 2009

I Don't Know Why I Am Not Considered The P4P Best - Floyd Mayweather Jr.

(Bossip Staff interview)

Bossip chopped it up with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. last night for thirty minutes and asked him some serious questions. “Pretty Boy” is set to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19th in Las Vegas, which will be the set up bout for Manny Pacquiao or Miguel Cotto. Floyd has never lost a fight although the others set to fight him… have:

BOSSIP: How goes the training session Pretty Boy?

Floyd: It’s cool, it’s cool…in the gym right now as a matter of fact.

BOSSIP: How is that going?

Floyd: I stay in the gym, nothing new here. Just work!

BOSSIP: Nice…we have some serious questions we would like to ask you, especially since you may go down as the best boxer “EVER.”

Floyd: Ahhh…I read BOSSIP. I hope there is nothing crazy! (hahaa!)

BOSSIP: Nah, nah! We just want to know some things about you, like how you think you stack up to Muhammad Ali?

Floyd: Look BOSSIP, we are from different eras. Muhammad was the greatest of his time, but people forget he lost to Leon Spinks in Spinks’ 8th bout, or something like that. We are two different fighters in two different eras, but I have never lost a fight and have grossed the most ever as a “boxer.”

BOSSIP: So are you saying you are better than Muhammad Ali?(In a different weight class of course)

Floyd: I am just saying that in this era we have similarities like, being flashy, speaking our mind and different things. This is a different time though, and Muhammad was more politically fueled than I am. I talk it, but I am an entertainer. I have never lost, Bossip, and that should be all I have to say.

BOSSIP: Nice. Well, we think you are maybe the greatest “boxer” ever. Why is Pacquiao the #1 Fighter pound for pound when you have never lost and beaten people he struggled with?

Floyd: Come on, you know they always trying to keep a brother down! I don’t know why either. I really don’t care about their rankings. To be honest though, I set up the spares and Pacquiao just comes along and knocks in the last pins. Hatton was undefeated when I beat him, and if you know anything about boxing then you know that after you get your ass kicked like I beat Hatton’s, you are pretty much tainted meat. (no offense to Ricky) Then everybody talks about Oscar being over the hill. Hell, Bossip, I was in my 30’s when we fought, just like him!

BOSSIP: Yeah, we felt the same way. Roger Mayweather is your trainer, but people are saying your dad should be in your corner. Do you want to explain that a little bit?

Floyd: Listen, Roger Mayweather (uncle) has been in my corner since…day one pretty much. We are like Montana and Rice. I love my dad, and he is an “aight” trainer, but I made him an excellent trainer. People think he trained me the whole way and that is why he is so saught after now. My dad has only trained me for two fights. People fail to realize that.

BOSSIP: Is it true you have never drank or smoked a day in your life?

Floyd: Never, and I suggest the same to all black people.

BOSSIP: Commentators and critics have chimed in and tried to explain the reason you are the best fighter ever. That conversation always goes back into you being born in a ring. We are going to ask you our damn selves;”how and why are you so much better than everyone else in boxing?”

Floyd: It’s not that I was born in the ring so I have an advantage over them, although that may have been the case when I was younger. What is making me the best now, Bossip, is my marbles and mentality when it comes to fighting. I stay in the gym, regardless. I don’t need a fight. I am a gym rat. I have never been knocked out and my only knockdown has been controversial. So my mind is in better shape than most boxers. I don’t take that many hits in comparison! They called me a defensive fighter when I was young, and now I have the sharpest mind you can have for a thirty something year old boxer. My folks schooled me on that!

BOSSIP: Damn, Floyd. We hear that Marquez is trying to make this a spiritual fight and God being in his corner?

Floyd: Cool, because my God is in my corner. Yeah, he is right. It is spiritual, but God is in the ring for both of us, not just him.

BOSSIP: But he is training in the mountains…and stuff.

Floyd: Yeah, I heard that, and?

BOSSIP: Well, thanks for your time.

Floyd: No problem man. Y’all my favorite anyways. Oh yeah, we can chop it up weekly while I’m in training camp… if you want. I can update you on how it’s going.

BOSSIP: OK, we will see about that. Maybe we can come to the fight as well… MAYBE do an interview right before the fight?

Floyd: I can make that happen! Now, can you get me on the categories on the right side of the site?

BOSSIP: We will see about that.

Thursday, 30 July 2009

"Fight At 147 Lbs If Pacquiao Wants Title" - Cotto

If Manny Pacquiao wants their November 14 fight to be a title fight, Miguel Cotto said the Filipino has to agree to meet him at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs.

In the event that the fight would get into trouble with the World Boxing Organization (WBO), the Puerto Rican reiterated that he is willing to vacate the throne.

“If Pacquiao wants that the fight be for the title, (it) will have to be in 147 pounds. I won the title in that, the welterweight (division) and that is 147 pounds,” Cotto told the Primera Hora newspaper yesterday during the launch of his clothing line.

Cotto, the reigning WBO welter champion, stressed that the issue of the title was not raised during the negotiations with the Pacquiao camp.

Top Rank head Bob Arum echoed Cotto’s statement.

“No,” said Arum, when asked if Pacquio’s people raised the matter of Cotto’s WBO title during the negotiations.

“The weight of 145 pounds is not a category. If the OMB (WBO) is having a problem with my decision (not to stake it), I will gladly hand over the title. I do not have problems with that,” said Cotto, who was represented during the negotiations by Gabriel Penagaricano, one of boxing’s premiere lawyers.

“The OMB (WBO) has the legal authority to dismiss me as champion and gladly I deliver them the title. (WBO president) PacoValccel, better than nobody, knows that the 145 pounds is not a division,” added Cotto, who beat Joshua Clottey in his last outing last June. ( Source: Nick Giongco/mb.com.ph )

Pacquiao Wants Cotto's WBO Title To Be On The Line For The Fight

Manny Pacquiao is hoping that Miguel Cotto’s WBO welterweight title will be on the line for their November 14th bout at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. For Pacquiao and his legion of loyal boxing fans, the title is important because it will somehow give Pacquiao more validity as a great fighter because it will – if Pacquiao wins – be his 7th world title victory. Cotto, however, doesn’t want to have to pay the sanctioning fees to, which is what he’d have to do if his title was going to be on the line.

The sanctioning fees would be in the neighborhood of $300,000, so it’s hard to blame Cotto for not wanting to dish out that kind of money for this fight. Additionally, the fight is being held at a 145 pound catch weight instead of the normal 147 pound limit for a welterweight bout, meaning that Cotto might be weaker than he normally is for a fight because of the extra water weight he’ll have to take off to get down to 145.

It seems logical that he wouldn’t want to have to put his title on the line if he’s being forced to strip off weight that’s below the normal welterweight limit. The World Boxing Organization president Franciso Valcarcel is fine with the title being on the line for the 145 pound catch weight.

However, that doesn’t solve the problem of the sanction fees. Cotto doesn’t want to fork over that kind of money, whereas Pacquiao has no problems with paying it. His, though, will be a reduced amount of only $150,000. Pacquiao is the one that wants the title. Hence he sees no problems with paying the sanction fees for it to be on the line.

But, unless Cotto or his promoter Bob Arum springs for the bigger sum, Pacquiao will have to be satisfied with just fighting Cotto without the title. It’s hard to say what the hang up is about the title being on the line, because you really can’t call it a title fight if the bout is being held at a lesser weight.

The WBO president seems to be taking an odd look at this. If Pacquiao wants to fight for the title, then he should agree to take the fight at 147 and not push for a lower weight and still want the title on the line. That’s a bit unfair and I can’t blame Cotto one bit for not wanting to pay the sanctioning fees. Let Pacquiao come up to the normal weight, and then they can talk about sanctioning fees.

Hopefully, Arum doesn’t try to push Cotto into making this a title fight. It seems unfair to the Puerto Rican star to have his title on the line if it’s not going to be at the full weight. It just seems wrong. The belt wouldn’t change anything whether Pacquiao won the title or not.

It isn’t as if the public really cares whether Pacquiao has won one title or ten. Their main focus is that he’s fought good opponents and not the weaker, weight drained variety. This is why Pacquiao blew it in the first place when negotiating for the fight.

He should have agreed to fight Cotto at the full 147 welterweight limit if he wanted the title to be on the line. You can’t make a champion agree to come in at a lower weight, a move that benefits Pacquiao, in an effort to fight for their title. That’s really a joke as far as I’m concerned and makes it seem as if Cotto is being set up to fail. ( Source: Manuel Perez/Boxingnews24.com )

Hatton Still Hasn't Watched The Video Of Fight Against Pacquiao

Almost three months after his devastating defeat, Ricky Hatton admitted to Sky Sports that he still hasn't watched the recordings of his fight against Manny Pacquiao. He also points to his training preparation as being seriously flawed in the latter stages as the main reason for the loss.
As to his future in boxing; "I'm gonna take a rest, recharge my battery, enjoy my life with my family and son, and you know, what will happen will happen." said Ricky.

It's Me, Not Pacquiao Who Ended Hatton's Career - Mayweather Jr.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR claims he is the man who effectively ended Ricky Hatton's career.
Hatton's unbeaten record bit the dust when Mayweather KO'd him in December 2007.
Mayweather says Hatton, was finished the day he stepped in the ring with him in Las Vegas.
"Ricky fought everyone. Until he came up against me, he'd reached the highest plateau in boxing — and then he failed.
But it's OK because at least Ricky tried.
In life, you need to take the big risks to know who you are." said Floyd.

Hatton's younger brother Matthew will appear on the undercard of Mayweather's comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in September 19.
And Mayweather insists there is no bad blood between him and Matthew.
He added: "I don't think he holds a grudge against me for effectively ending his brother's career."

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Bradley vs Campbell - The Timothy Bradley Story

Timothy Bradley vs Nate Campbell-August 1st, 2009.
This Saturday night boxing fans will have the privilege of watching one of the better fight cards in quite some time when former IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KO’s) steps up a weight class to challenge World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KO’s) at the Aqua Caliente Casino, in Rancho Mirage, California.

Monday, 27 July 2009

Pacquiao vs Singsurat (Manny's 2nd KO Loss)

Sunday, 26 July 2009

Bernard Hopkins Predicts Pacquiao will KO Cotto

Hopkins predicts that Manny Pacquiao will stop Miguel Cotto in the late rounds when the two champs clash on Nov. 14. "I think it will be a heated battle early on but in the end I see Cotto busted up. I don't think his face is gonna hold up through twelve rounds of the fight. Cotto is a game fighter. He's tough. But Pacquiao is a sharp shooter. He punches in angles and he's got Freddie Roach who's going to give him all of the teachings and the smarts to be able to basically give Pacquiao the edge." Hopkins stated.

Cotto's Welterweight Belt not at stake in Pacquiao bout

Miguel Cotto's WBO belt is not on the line against Manny Pacquiao according to Top Rank's Bob Arum. Cotto will face Pacquiao at a catch weight of 145 lbs on Nov. 14 and can put his 147 title at stake if he wants to. But the champion from Puerto Rico is not thinking about it. "He doesn't want to pay the sanction fee ($400,000- if it is a title fight), so, no, Cotto will not stake his Welterweight crown against Pacquiao" said Arum.