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Everyone wants a shot at Manny Pacquiao but promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank told the The Philippine Star - that nobody will be in the running until after this weekend. Arum says the process of selecting Manny's next opponent will begin to heat up after June 13, the day that Miguel Cotto faces Joshua Clottey at New York's Madison Square Garden. Pacquiao will be sitting at ringside.
Heavyweight contender David Haye has spoken for the first time since the news broke a week ago of his back injury that forced him to withdraw from a June 20th clash with IBF/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko. Haye says that he will be ready and fully recovered from his injury to take a fight with WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in July, if Vitali is able to get permission for a voluntary defense from the WBC. Haye says he suffered the back injury while he was shadow boxing last Tuesday.
Several days after his failed press release campaign to lure Manny Pacquiao into a fight, WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley continues to beat the drums for a showdown with the Filipino champ. Rather than go for the fighters who are willing to fight him right now, like WBC champion Andre Berto and once-beaten Paul Williams, Mosley will continue to wait for Pacquiao to make a decision on his October 17 opponent. Most expect Pacquiao to wait until the aftermath of Mayweather-Marquez on July 18 before he makes a decision.
Now that WBO/IBF heayweight champion Wladimir Klitschko is out of the picture for the next few months, David Haye is rolling the dice on trying to land a fight with WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in September. Rather than rolling the dice on a fight that has a 50% chance of happening, why not target WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev, who is available, in shape, and ready to fight. By the time Haye would step in the ring with Vitali in September, it would be nearly a year since his last fight [with Monte Barret last November].
Last time they fought, back on February 28 in Houston, Texas, Rocky Juarez came very close to unseating undefeated WBA featherweight champion Chris John of Indonesia. The fight ended in a disputed draw with ringside observers making a strong case for each man. On June 27 he gets a second crack at John at the Staples Center in California.
Rex “Wakee” Salud, One of Manny Pacquiao’s advisers, says the Filipino fighter should not agree to meet Shane Mosley at a catch-weight of 144-pounds. At 144, Salud says Pacquiao would be at a very big disadvantage. He says the fight should take place at 142 or 143 at most.
Junior welterweight contender Mike Arnaoutis (21-3-2, 10 KOs) was once on the verge of winning a world title, now he's trying to fight his way back to being considered as a serious force at the weight. In March, he was stopped in two rounds by hot prospect Victor Ortiz. He knews it was time for some changes.
The hype continues for the biggest fight in boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. The Mayweather clan is getting a bit angry. A every turn they get asked about Pacquiao. Mayweather returns on July 18 against Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao will likely wait until then to choose his next opponent. Most insiders see a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout taking place, but others believe the fight won't happen because the two sides will never agree on the split of the money. Both are looking for at least 60-40 in their favor.
Adam Booth, manager of David Haye, says a September fight with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko is a possible move for them. After suffering a back injury, Haye withdrew from his June 20 bout with WBO/IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko. Instead, Wladimir will now face Ruslan Chagaev. Vitali has to deal with his mandatory issue with Oleg Maskaev, scheduled for arbitration in the next few days. The WBC wants him to fight Maskaev, but Vitali just made a mandatory defense in March against Juan Carlos Gomez.
Former three-time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito is not going into details but says that he plans to return to the ring in September. Margarito had his license revoked in February by the California State Athletic Commission during a hearing to rule on whether he attempted to cheat prior to the January 24 bout with Shane Mosley. Two hard inserts were found in Margarito's handwraps. An illegal hard substance was discovered on the inserts. They were later tested and found to contain elements that would make plaster of Paris. Margarito has mantained that he was innocent of the charges and the inserts were placed in his wraps withouth his knowledge - by former trainer Javier Capetillo.