278 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Robert Morales byline.
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Who's Got Next? Since the fight with Marcos Maidana is nowhere near a cakewalk for Amir Khan, it might seem silly to wonder about his future. But that's what reporters do, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer was asked what might be next for Khan should he emerge victorious Saturday.
By Robert Morales - Fans and experts alike may be surprised at what transpires Saturday when Amir Khan tries to successfully defend his super lightweight title against Marcos Maidana at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. It could be a war, as some are suggesting. But Khan and his trainer, Freddie Roach, intimated last week at Roach's Wild Card Gym in Hollywood that may not be the case. Going toe-to-toe against a very hard puncher like Maidana basically does not fit into their game plan, so they said. "Against Maidana, I think you have to be smart," Khan said. "You have to pick the right shots, hit and move, hit the angles. You know, a lot of people think I'm going to be running for the 12 rounds, but that's not my style. I'll be hitting him, and hitting angles. Like Manny Pacquiao did against (Antonio) Margarito. It's going to be the same outcome. Hit and move, hit angles, use the skills and just don't get involved. That's not my fight.
"This is my take on Bob Arum saying that Mosley has more of a household name," De La Hoya said. "Mosley's last pay-per-view in September, I think he drew about a thousand people and `Canelo' drew about 10,000 people. And I think `Canelo' drew probably 95 percent of the pay-per-view. "So Bob Arum is saying, `Well, Mosley's a more credible opponent because he's more marketable.' That's not true, that's not true at all. Marquez is the fighter who everybody knows and who everybody wants to see against Pacquiao."
Fellow Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez was highly critical of the way Antonio Margarito fought against Manny Pacquiao, and he made no bones about it during a recent workout.
By Robert Morales - "Sugar" Shane Mosley has made it well known that in his mind he is a free agent and can fight for the promoter of his choosing, including himself. Assuming he is correct, that would make it much easier for him to get a fight with Manny Pacquiao because Pacquiao is promoted by Bob Arum and Arum and Golden Boy Promotions are once again at odds. Mosley, who turned 39 in September, has been promoted by Golden Boy for five years. Some of the fights he has had during that time include two with Fernando Vargas, one with Luis Collazo, one with Miguel Cotto, one with Ricardo Mayorga, one with Antonio Margarito and one with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Considering Mosley had already suffered two losses to both Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest, it would seem that Golden Boy hasn't done all that badly by Mosley. Richard Schaefer - CEO of Golden Boy - was approached Monday at Trinity Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., at a workout for Juan Manuel Marquez, who Saturday will defend his lightweight championship against Michael Katsidis at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Right off, Schaefer said he would not go into any details about Mosley's status with Golden Boy, with whom Mosley said he still owns stock.
BoxingScene.com this week posted a story by Michael Marley that quoted Arum as basically saying that Mosley told him he is a free agent.
By Robert Morales - Longtime HBO broadcaster Larry Merchant on Tuesday spoke at length about Saturday's junior middleweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. Unlike many, Merchant said he doesn't have a big problem with the fight being contested at a catch-weight of 150 pounds, four below the junior middleweight limit. But for the life of him, Merchant said he can't understand why Pacquiao and his team would want to put Pacquiao at a disadvantage by agreeing to a fight at 150 when, as the man, Pacquiao could have gotten anything he wanted in the negotiations. "I think Pacquiao is giving away something by fighting at a catch-weight because this is a weight too far for him, as far as I'm concerned," Merchant said Tuesday. "He is basically a natural 140-pounder who fights at welterweight and to ask him to fight at junior middleweight is a weight too far in general.
So many boxers and trainers have given their respective opinions about whether Antonio Margarito knew his hands were loaded when he was busted with plaster inserts in his wraps prior to his fight with "Sugar" Shane Mosley in January 2009. Manny Pacquiao said during a news conference a while back announcing this fight that Margarito had to know.
By Robert Morales - Promoter Bob Arum and trainer Freddie Roach on Wednesday both said Manny Pacquiao was out of focus during his training in his native Philippines, where Pacquiao also serves as a Congressman. But whereas Arum and Roach figure politics have just about everything to do with that, Pacquiao said there is something else on his mind. All three were on hand at Roach's Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., where Pacquiao is finishing preparation for his junior middleweight title fight against Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Arum had just finished a television interview and was targeted by a couple of print reporters. After admitting that Pacquiao was not as focused as he should have been in the Philippines, Arum came with a comment that was one of resignation. "But so what, you know what I mean?" said Arum, who promotes Pacquiao. "There are other things in life other than to be completely focused on boxing. He has other interests and pursuits. That makes him the human being that he is."
It was pointed out to Oscar De La Hoya that "Sugar" Shane Mosley, 39, has had consecutive fights - a one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a draw with Sergio Mora - where he had difficulty getting off his combinations.