Kellerman and the HBO guys don't even pretend to hide their pro-Pacquiao bias. When Oscar's star faded, they needed another meal ticket and Manny was it. Both Floyd and Manny are guilty of handpicking opponents who make them look good and pad their resume. Floyd got Marquez to come up in weight so he'd be slower and easier to pick off. Manny has picked mostly bigger and slower fighters that he can run circles around and wear down with his barrage of punches. Both fighters are also guilty to some degree for their fight not happening. It's kind of silly for one party to accuse the other of being afraid when they've been putting up roadblocks in negotiations.
If the drive and desire is still there and he still has his health then he should fight. To paraphrase the movie Rocky Balboa, it doesn't matter what anyone is saying, if it's something he feels he has to do then do it, he's a fighter and fighters fight. But having said that, he has to do it with no regrets and no finger pointing if he fails.
We can debate how good Oscar was as a fighter but it's hard to argue with the product, the Oscar brand. Oscar was the complete package. In his prime, he was a top pound for pound boxer with good looks, charm and his fights sold out arenas and solid PPV numbers. Both Floyd and Manny and others have tried to emulate that model.
Of course he wasn't liked by everyone. Mexicans often criticized his fighting style and some have still haven't forgiven him for beating up Chavez. I think he still had a couple more quality fights left in him but it was probably wise for him to retire with his face still intact.
He can but he has to get there first and right now none of the current title holders are willing to give him a shot. He is also currently tied up in a TV contract that's restricting where he can fight. If he can get out of that contract and get fights in the U.S, his chances are good. Tua still has a pretty solid fanbase too.
Cotto has never undergone or agreed to full random OST
Hatton has never undergone or agreed to full random OST.
only a few fighters in history have agreed to it. everyone else is "suspect" as long as someone spews some bullshit accusations out of their ass now?
in the words of Keyshawn, C'MON MAAAAAAAAAN!!!
Neither fighter has been been involved in a fight where those demands were made. They've never said they wouldn't do it. Hatton has even hinted that he wished they did OST when he fought Manny. Cotto would probably do it if it meant he could fight Mayweather. The fact is I don't know of any other boxer besides Pacquiao that has a problem with OST.
Foreman deserves credit for a brave Rocky Balboa-ish performance, but his corner should be reprimanded for their indecisiveness and failure to protect their fighter who was only boxing for pride at that point. If it really was them that threw in the towel then they should've owned up to it to referee and put their foot down and told Yuri, enough is enough. It's great that he showed guts and heart, but he was risking permanent injury to himself but fighting on.
Speaking of towels. You'd think the boxing commission would've come up with an idea that maybe every trainer should be given a special towel with some kind of special insignia or color that distinguishes it from any other towel so when the ref sees a towel land in the ring, he knows right away if its legit or not.
Tygart: "We chose not to blood test closer to the fight than we did because there was no need to do so"
That puts an end to all the bull now about testing up till the day of the fight. Now if the head of the USADA says its not necessary to test within 18 days of the fight, then clearly 14 days should be sufficient.
That's not what he's saying. He's saying they chose not to test blood 18 days out because they weren't seeing anything suspicious in their results to warrant further tests before the fight. However, as we saw in the 24/7 documentary they got Mosley to test for urine just as he was leaving for Vegas. If they don't see anything in Pacquiao's blood to warrant suspicion then it's likely they won't test any further but their point is they want to reserve the right to perform tests at any time if suspicion is warranted.
I agree that he could benefit from another tune-up fight under Steward but if the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations fall through again and the invitation to fight Pacman again is extended, he should take it because if he doesn't he'll just move on to someone else and the chance never come again because he's not gonna wait around for Cotto to become "ready" to fight him.
A KO wasnt necessary (Id take hattons fall than margs destruction). Pac carried him to the last bell. He was pullin his punches, and not followin through with it at 12th. He didnt want to permanently damage margs. Display of true sportsmanship.
Knockout wasn't necessary but it was what Roach and Pacquiao initially wanted but they realized that was not gonna happen. They get points for playing the sympathy card but the fact is they failed to do what Mosley did which was getting Margarito's butt on the canvas.
Not sure about the accuracy of the picture but here's a picture of him on July 16.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/westham/7891717/Mike-Tyson-makes-appearance-during-West-Ham-friendly-against-Peterborough.html
I'd never call anyone who boxes for a living, a coward. People have their reasons for fighting or not wanting to fight certain opponents but these guys are anything but cowards.
If Tua does his homework and comes to the fight prepared, Barrett should be an easy fight for him. It looks like his next fight might be rematch with Hasim Rahman which should be entertaining.
Floyd actually makes 24/7 entertaining even if his trash talking humor is hit and miss. For a guy who is on his 4th outing on the show, they never seem to run out of storylines on him to explore although the bit about the bodyguards was boring. I'd rather see a 24/7 with him on it than Pacquiao who is only slightly more interesting on TV than drying paint. I mean you know it's bad they have to rely on Freddie Roach for all the trash talking and take time to talk about the one eyed guy who sprays disinfectant on the punching bags.
Like others have said, USADA has been testing Olympic athletes like this for years and that hasn't stopped those athletes for performing at high levels.
On the issue of Floyd disrespecting Hatton by showing up late, etc. There are 2 sides to every story. I'm not defending his behavior but Hatton wasn't exactly a saint himself. For a trainer that has no history of this kind of behavior with any of his other fighters including Hatton's previous match, what would cause to suddenly start acting that way? According to Floyd himself, Hatton was secretly training with Asst Trainer Lee Beard without his knowledge and increasingly paying more attention to Beard's advice than Floyd's. I think Floyd just figured why show dedication to this guy when he's not respecting me as a trainer? Most trainers would've quit if their fighter was doing what Hatton was allegedly doing. The Hatton camp also showed a lack of class after the fight by saying Mayweather was never part of Team Hatton and he was more of "hired consultant" whose services are no longer needed and that Lee Beard was always a member of the team. Not surprisingly, Beard has since then left the Hatton fold himself.
I've never bought the notion that all you have to do is pressure Floyd to beat him. Floyd is a boxer who invites aggressiveness. He strategy to take his opponent into deep water and then drown him. The problem is the opponent has to stay on him to force the action. Pacquiao's likely strategy will be to ride his bicycle around the ring and to try to keep turning Floyd while firing different combinations to keep him guessing and eventually find an opening. The problem is that if Manny is not connecting the majority of his punches in the early rounds, Floyd will quickly adjust and start neutralizing his offense and exposing his defense which in my opinion is not that good. As much as I respect Manny, Floyd would have to fight a pretty sloppy match if he were to lose.
People seem to read too much into these corner conversations. Roger has never been the most eloquent of guys but neither is Roach. He's been training Floyd for a while now and has never lost with him so he's doing something right. I think it's to his credit that his corner remained calm after the 2nd round and told Floyd all he needed to know to take over the fight.
My question is this, if the fight was back on then why did Mayweather wait till after Ortiz had hugged him again? Why not just resume his attack as soon as Cortez said "let's go?" Yes, what he did was technically legal but it was a cheap shot no matter how you try to spin it. If Floyd is good as he says he his, he shouldn't have to win his fights like that.
Floyd's basic boxing philosophy is "I'm gonna take you out into deep water and then drown you" which is what he does with almost all his opponents. The question is how do you attack him without getting trapped in deep water?
I think early pressure is important because you don't want him setting the tempo for the fight and comfortably picking you apart. The key for Guererro in my opinion will be how he manages his energy levels. If he can keep the intensity at pace or above Floyd's then he has a good chance but the moment fatigue sets in and his energy level falls below Floyd's then he's in trouble and it's Floyd's fight from there.
Without Ruben Guerrero these shows would be really boring. His trash talking antics almost make up Floyd's eye rolling bike rides and Robert's obligatory "Did I mention I believe in God?" scenes.
Next week it looks Ruben has it out for Floyd's cut man Rafael Garcia for a throat slashing gesture he did at a picture of his son in an earlier episode. I have to admit wouldn't mind seeing that parking lot brawl with Ruben and Floyd Sr.
Ricky showed a lack of professionalism and messed up big time in the ring. Floyd however has his share of responsibility in what went wrong. They should've apologized to each other but I don't see that happening.
Having said that, I actually think Ricky should stick with Floyd if he is to fight again provided they come to an understanding and reconcile their differences. They are an odd pairing but when they're on good terms they have a great chemistry as we saw on the 24/7 series. People forget that Hatton spent his whole career with one trainer who was also his best mate and he only just had his 2nd fight with Floyd. One turned out good and the other bad. In my opinion, they should've done a couple of fights with lesser opponents before taking on someone like Pacman. This would've given them a chance to develop more trust of each other in fights. Of course hindsight is always 20/20.
That must have been some good chicken they were eating. As stated earlier in the thread, Hatton knew the combinations. I don't think the Hatton team was surprised by anything Pacquiao did on fight night. I guess boxing is a lot like taking a test. You feel like you know all the answers when you're studying and preparing for it but that doesn't always translate into a successful end result.
Both camps had a good idea of what each other's strategies were. The difference is that Roach was counting on Hatton getting a hot head and abandoning their gameplan and reverting to his old ways which is what happened.
Hatton weight drained? That's the first time I've heard that excuse. I don't believe Ricky was weight drained, more like common sense drained. Oscar was definitely not himself when he fought Manny. This is a fact acknowledged by just about everyone including Roach. Having said that, Pacquiao won those fights fair and square and both Oscar and Ricky have admitted they just lost to a better fighter. As for the "easy" aspect, the outcomes of those fights may have come easy for the Pacman but the training and preparation leading up to it was anything but.
Anytime somone loses, there will always be fans of that fighter who will try hard to explain away the reason for the defeat. If Pacquiao loses another fight, I guarantee you there will be fans coming up with excuses. It's just what sports fans do.
I think he'll end up throwing in the towel at the urging of his family and friends. He may have a farewell fight in Manchester and that'll be it. If he does make a comeback, he's gonna have to make a huge effort to change his bad habits. If he doesn't, nobody is gonna want to train him, not even Graham.
I read an article today said that Hatton and Floyd were arguing in the locker room prior to the fight. Did anyone read or hear about it and know what was going on prior to possibly the biggest fight of the year? ....Lefty
It's all unconfirmed rumor at this point. Lee Beard denies anything happened and says they were all laughing and joking prior to leaving the locker room. I guess we'll know more later.
I think some of you guys are being a little too judgmental on Santiago's decision making. The decision to stop a fight is a tough call for any trainer to make because there are so many factors involved in making that choice. You could make the argument that their friendship may have gotten in the way of rational thinking but it's not uncommon for a trainer to honor his fighter's wishes against his better judgment. Every boxer and trainer has a give and take relationship. As we saw on 24/7, Roach and Pacquiao have a give and take relationship and that goes on during fights as well. Roach let Manny get away with letting Cotto hit him on the ropes. Does that mean Freddie is now a trainer not in control? Of course not.
If we're gonna talk responsibility, I don't see anyone pointing fingers at veteran referee Bayless who was well within his rights to stop the fight earlier but waited till the 12th. What was his reasoning for allowing the fight to go on? Santiago may not have been the best trainer for Cotto but let's not rake him over the coals for something every trainer is guilty of at some point in their careers.