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By Doveed Linder
With Pacquiao-Mosley now behind us, the boxing world is eager to see what the pound-for-pound king’s next move will be. ********** spoke with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum about a possible third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, which is currently being negotiated. In this interview, Arum also discusses the possibility of a Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight, his plans for Kelly Pavlik, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., Vanes Martirosyan, and more.
DL: Are there any thoughts you would like to share about the Pacquiao-Mosley fight?
BA: Just that I think it was a great promotion. The fight left something to be desired, because we thought Mosley would go out on his shield and fight to the end. And after he felt Manny’s power, he decided not to engage. But those things happen. It has nothing to do with his age or anything like that.
DL: You don’t believe it had anything to do with his age? A lot of people agree with you on that. But in my eyes, Shane has shown a lot of guts in his career. And in his last two fights, he looked as if he had been slipping -
BA: (cutting in) All of that is correct. But it doesn’t prevent somebody from engaging. That has nothing to do with age. Maybe he’s not as good a fighter as he was before. But you make a fight of it. You try to win. He would have been much better off trying to win and making a fight of it, even if he got knocked out. Look at what he did compared to what Margarito and Cotto did when they faced him. They made a fight out of it. They tried like sons-of-guns. They went out on their shield.
DL: Well then, the ultimate question is, what’s next for Manny Pacquiao?
BA: Well, we hope that it will be Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s accepted our offer and Golden Boy has until Monday afternoon to match the offer and we’ll see what happens.
DL: Is there anything new to be said about Floyd Mayweather, Jr. or is it the same old story?
BA: Same old story, same old story… I don’t know where the kid is coming from. He’s not behaving rationally. He doesn’t seem like he’s willing to fight anybody, let alone Manny Pacquiao.
DL: Have you considered any of these young lions at junior welterweight as a future opponent for Pacquiao? Timothy Bradley, if he comes out on top against Amir Khan?
BA: Oh, absolutely. On deck is Timothy Bradley. If for some reason we can’t make the Juan Manuel fight, then we’ll see what we can do about making the Bradley fight. Bradley’s a terrific young man and a great fighter.
DL: Kelly Pavlik was also on the card last Saturday. Do you see him taking another low profile fight so he can get used to the new weight class, as well as the new life he’s creating for himself outside the ring?
BA: I think that would be wise. I think we point him to a big super middleweight fight. But I think he would have to take at least one more fight before he fights for a title.
DL: Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. has a fight coming up in June against Sebastian Zbik -
BA: (cutting in) I was just in the gym today and I must say, his weight is great, his conditioning is great, he sparred eight rounds and he looked better than I’ve ever seen him.
DL: When is he going to find himself in a really meaningful fight? What’s your plan for him?
BA: If he wins the title (against Zbik), he wants to defend it against Miguel Cotto. And I think that would provide a very meaningful and interesting fight, particularly for Hispanic fans. It’s a Mexican champion against a Puerto Rican champion.
DL: Vanes Martirosyan will be on the Chavez card. And like Chavez, he seems to be on the verge of making some real noise. What does the future hold?
BA: We expect that if he is successful on June 4th, that before the end of the year he’ll fight for a world title, either against Saul Alvarez or Sergiy Dzinziruk.
DL: You recently signed Kermit Cintron who will be fighting in July. Do you see him possibly fighting the winner of Cotto-Margarito? And incidentally, is there anything you would like to share about that particular fight?
BA: Margarito still hasn’t come around (from his injuries from the Pacquiao fight). I’m sending him next week to a famous eye clinic in Utah and the doctor will examine him and give us a prognosis on the condition of the eye. But in any event, I don’t see him fighting for the rest of the year.
DL: Okay, so then back to Kermit Cintron… What’s his plan?
BA: I think we’re going to bring Cintron along and see whether he wants to fight at welterweight or junior middleweight and get him a meaningful fight in the fall of this year.
DL: What’s the story with Joshua Clottey? It would seem that he would sort of figure into the junior middleweight picture with guys like Cotto and Margarito and Cintron.
BA: Well, we offered Clottey a fight against Cintron and he turned it down.
DL: So he’s just kind of sidelined –
BA: (cutting in) He’s sidelined because if he fights somebody competitive, he wants money that just isn’t there for him. He had a high profile fight with Pacquiao and he didn’t shine, to be kind about it.
DL: Anything in closing?
BA: Well, I think one the best fights that’s coming up other than what we’ve mentioned is the lightweight championship between Brandon Rios and Urbano Antillon, which will be at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on July 9th and will be televised by Showtime. And on that card will be a Cintron fight, probably against this really good Filipino fighter, Mark Melligen.
From Boxing talk
With Pacquiao-Mosley now behind us, the boxing world is eager to see what the pound-for-pound king’s next move will be. ********** spoke with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum about a possible third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, which is currently being negotiated. In this interview, Arum also discusses the possibility of a Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight, his plans for Kelly Pavlik, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., Vanes Martirosyan, and more.
DL: Are there any thoughts you would like to share about the Pacquiao-Mosley fight?
BA: Just that I think it was a great promotion. The fight left something to be desired, because we thought Mosley would go out on his shield and fight to the end. And after he felt Manny’s power, he decided not to engage. But those things happen. It has nothing to do with his age or anything like that.
DL: You don’t believe it had anything to do with his age? A lot of people agree with you on that. But in my eyes, Shane has shown a lot of guts in his career. And in his last two fights, he looked as if he had been slipping -
BA: (cutting in) All of that is correct. But it doesn’t prevent somebody from engaging. That has nothing to do with age. Maybe he’s not as good a fighter as he was before. But you make a fight of it. You try to win. He would have been much better off trying to win and making a fight of it, even if he got knocked out. Look at what he did compared to what Margarito and Cotto did when they faced him. They made a fight out of it. They tried like sons-of-guns. They went out on their shield.
DL: Well then, the ultimate question is, what’s next for Manny Pacquiao?
BA: Well, we hope that it will be Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s accepted our offer and Golden Boy has until Monday afternoon to match the offer and we’ll see what happens.
DL: Is there anything new to be said about Floyd Mayweather, Jr. or is it the same old story?
BA: Same old story, same old story… I don’t know where the kid is coming from. He’s not behaving rationally. He doesn’t seem like he’s willing to fight anybody, let alone Manny Pacquiao.
DL: Have you considered any of these young lions at junior welterweight as a future opponent for Pacquiao? Timothy Bradley, if he comes out on top against Amir Khan?
BA: Oh, absolutely. On deck is Timothy Bradley. If for some reason we can’t make the Juan Manuel fight, then we’ll see what we can do about making the Bradley fight. Bradley’s a terrific young man and a great fighter.
DL: Kelly Pavlik was also on the card last Saturday. Do you see him taking another low profile fight so he can get used to the new weight class, as well as the new life he’s creating for himself outside the ring?
BA: I think that would be wise. I think we point him to a big super middleweight fight. But I think he would have to take at least one more fight before he fights for a title.
DL: Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. has a fight coming up in June against Sebastian Zbik -
BA: (cutting in) I was just in the gym today and I must say, his weight is great, his conditioning is great, he sparred eight rounds and he looked better than I’ve ever seen him.
DL: When is he going to find himself in a really meaningful fight? What’s your plan for him?
BA: If he wins the title (against Zbik), he wants to defend it against Miguel Cotto. And I think that would provide a very meaningful and interesting fight, particularly for Hispanic fans. It’s a Mexican champion against a Puerto Rican champion.
DL: Vanes Martirosyan will be on the Chavez card. And like Chavez, he seems to be on the verge of making some real noise. What does the future hold?
BA: We expect that if he is successful on June 4th, that before the end of the year he’ll fight for a world title, either against Saul Alvarez or Sergiy Dzinziruk.
DL: You recently signed Kermit Cintron who will be fighting in July. Do you see him possibly fighting the winner of Cotto-Margarito? And incidentally, is there anything you would like to share about that particular fight?
BA: Margarito still hasn’t come around (from his injuries from the Pacquiao fight). I’m sending him next week to a famous eye clinic in Utah and the doctor will examine him and give us a prognosis on the condition of the eye. But in any event, I don’t see him fighting for the rest of the year.
DL: Okay, so then back to Kermit Cintron… What’s his plan?
BA: I think we’re going to bring Cintron along and see whether he wants to fight at welterweight or junior middleweight and get him a meaningful fight in the fall of this year.
DL: What’s the story with Joshua Clottey? It would seem that he would sort of figure into the junior middleweight picture with guys like Cotto and Margarito and Cintron.
BA: Well, we offered Clottey a fight against Cintron and he turned it down.
DL: So he’s just kind of sidelined –
BA: (cutting in) He’s sidelined because if he fights somebody competitive, he wants money that just isn’t there for him. He had a high profile fight with Pacquiao and he didn’t shine, to be kind about it.
DL: Anything in closing?
BA: Well, I think one the best fights that’s coming up other than what we’ve mentioned is the lightweight championship between Brandon Rios and Urbano Antillon, which will be at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on July 9th and will be televised by Showtime. And on that card will be a Cintron fight, probably against this really good Filipino fighter, Mark Melligen.
From Boxing talk
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