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WBC lightweight champion Edwin Valero and his team have left Venezuela and are heading to Monterrey, Mexico to finish training camp for the mandatory title defense against Antonio DeMarco on February 6. Valero, 26 wins with 26 knockouts, will not go head-hunting in the fight. He plans to put his punches together and win each passing round.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told Sports Illustrated that he was approached on Thursday by Top Rank for a trilogy bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. A shocking demand was made by Marquez. He requested a 50-50 split on the money with Pacquiao. For a guy chasing a Pacquiao trilogy since their 2008 rematch, Marquez found an amazing way to say "no thank you."
Manny Pacquiao's defense of the WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey may head to Dallas, Texas on March 13. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told Michael Marley that he plans to head to Dallas on Saturday, with Top Rank President Todd Todd duBoef, to close a possible deal with Jerry Jones to stage Pacquiao-Clottey in Cowboys Stadium
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.
Jamie Arthur was hoping to challenge Martin Lindsay for the British super-featherweight title on the 5th of February but now has to sit tight as the fight has been provisionally moved to the 19th of March.
Ricky Hatton continues to drop hints that he plans to return to the ring. Daily Express reports that Hatton is no longer accepting any after-dinner speaking contracts. The Manchester star had been making a lot of money with the appearances. The paper reports that Hatton's refusal to accept any side gigs is a sure sign that he plans to start training full time for a ring return.
Leonard Ellerbe, adviser to Floyd Mayweather Jr., fired some verbal shots at Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, promoter of Manny Pacquiao. Ellerbe tells the Grand Rapids Press that Arum has tried to mislead the public during the entire negotiations period by leaving out information. Mayweather-Pacquiao fell apart on Wednesday after the two camps could not agree on the cut-off date for random blood tests. After a nine-hour mediation on Tuesday in California, Pacquiao's camp proposed a cut-off period of 24-days before the fight, while Mayweather's camp wanted a cut-off of 14 days.
According to Top Rank's official facebook page, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will defend his title against former IBF champion Joshua Clottey on March 13. The venue was not discussed or the location but Top Rank's Bob Arum wanted to stage Pacquiao's next fight in Las Vegas in either the MGM Grand or the Thomas & Mack Center.
Some thought it might be a stretch to see WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao move up to 154-pounds to challenge WBA title-holder Yuri Foreman in March. Top Rank promotes both fighters and offered Foreman as a replacement for Floyd Mayweather Jr. The people who thought it would never happen said Foreman was just too big for Pacquiao, who fought Miguel Cotto last November at a catch-weight of 145-pounds.
On Wednesday, WBC lightweight champion made weight for the 30-day mandatory weigh-in. He took the scales for his February 6 defense against interim-champion Antonio DeMarco, which takes place in Mexico. It took place at the Boxing Zone Gym in Las Mercedes, Caracas in Venezuela. Valero was 143.3 pounds. He managed to stay close to his fighting weight of 135 through the holidays after stopping Hector Velazquez on December 19. He wants to arrive in Monterrey, Mexico well in advance to get used to the climate.