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[Foodie One]

PACQUIAO, LONE STAR OF BOXING, WILL FIGHT IN THE LONE STAR STATE OF TEXAS MARCH 13

PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 11 Jan 2010



ARLINGTON, TX (January 10, 2010) – The stars will fight, big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas!

Jerry Jones and Bob Arum, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and chairman of Top Rank, respectively, announced today that Cowboys Stadium would be the site of the MANNY PACQUIAO vs. JOSHUA CLOTTEY World Welterweight Championship fight taking place on Saturday, March 13 and broadcast Live on Pay-Per-View. Formal news conferences at Cowboys Stadium and in New York next week will provide details on tickets and the pay-per-view broadcast. Pacquiao vs. Clottey will be promoted by Top Rank, in association with the Dallas Cowboys and MP Promotions.

Pacquiao and Clottey boast a combine record of 85-6-2 (59 KOs) -- a winning percentage of 91% and a victory by knockout ratio of nearly 70%.

“I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?” asked Jones. “Manny Pacquiao is boxing’s No. 1 pound for pound attraction and the world champion. Manny defending his title against Joshua Clottey is not just a great fight, it’s a great event, and one we can showcase to the fullest in Cowboys Stadium. We’re going to promote this like it was the Super Bowl.”

Cowboys Stadium will be configured for 40,000 fans for the event.

“Jerry Jones knows exactly how big and important this event is which is why it was so easy to put this deal together,” said Arum. “As a lifelong Giants fan I had to receive special dispensation from Steve Tisch, the Giants’ Chairman and Executive Vice President, to bring this event to Cowboys Stadium and he blessed the deal. If Jerry could sell me on Cowboys Stadium and the North Texas market, you know he is going to have no problems selling out Cowboys Stadium on March 13. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and promote Manny’s debut as World Welterweight Champion. Manny Pacquiao is the lone star of boxing. There isn’t a more appropriate place in the world for him to fight!”

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, will be defending the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title he earned in his last fight, produced by a 12th round knockout of three-time world champion Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao’s victory made him the first man to win seven titles in as many different weight divisions, with his last three world championships coming by way of knockout. The consensus Fighter of the Year for the third time in the past four years, Pacquiao’s resume features victories over future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Lopez and Cotto. His knockout victories over Cotto and Hatton made him the 2009 pay-per-view king, exceeding two million buys combined.

Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs), a native of Accra, Ghana, now fighting out of Bronx, NY, captured the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title in 2008 by trouncing three-time world champion Zab Judah. His career has been a highlight reel of thrills featuring victories over two-division world champion Diego Corrales and undfeated contender Richard Gutierrez and a close decision losse to world champion Antonio Margarito. In his last fight Clottey lost a controversial split decision to defending WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. Clottey is currently world-rated No. 1 by the WBO and No. 4 by the World Boxing Association (WBA).

http://philboxing.com/news/story-32618.html

[Foodie One]

FREDDIE ROACH BREAKS DOWN CLOTTEY FIGHT; SAYS THE GOAL IS A KNOCKOUT

By Ben Thompson | January 10, 2010

"Manny's going to have to get a little physical in there with him of course and use his strength and speed and use it technically. The thing is when his earmuffs are on, with that passive defense like that, there's not a lot of power punches coming back on the counter end of it. There is some activity, but the thing is if he does that too much, I think we're going to get him out in 12 easily, but he's definitely a tough guy to knockout though. That's our goal, to knock him out and be one of the first ones to do that," stated world-renowned trainer Freddie Roach as he broke down Manny Pacquiao's new opponent, Joshua Clottey, and their upcoming clash on March 13th. A guest of the OnTheGrind Boxing radio show, Roach shared his final thoughts on the failed negotiations for the megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. before looking forward to the title defense against Clottey. Check out what he had to say about the change in sparring partners, the possibility of facing Mayweather or the winner of Mosley vs. Berto in the future and much more.

On his selection of Clottey as Pacquiao's next opponent...

"I talked to Bob and Bob started asking about Clottey. I said, 'Give me a day to think about it. Let me think about his style.' It's an action fight. It's a hard fight of course because he's a true welterweight and a big, strong kid, so Pacquiao is going to have to really fight smart with his speed. And it's an action fight. I thought it was better than the Yuri Foreman fight. We could have went after Foreman for the 8th world title, but Foreman's kind of a lackluster guy who can spoil and make you look bad, so I thought this was a better action fight for the fans so this is the one we chose."

"They offered us Paulie Malignaggi, but who wants to see that, you know? I mean, geez, Ricky Hatton crushed him and Manny crushed Ricky Hatton, so people don't want to see that fight. Paulie's a good action fighter, but he's not in that class. Now we're fighting a big, strong guy who a lot of people thought beat Cotto in the last fight and he deserves a shot, so it's going to be a very good fight."

On the Clottey fight itself...

"To be honest with you, it looks like a great venue and it's going to be a huge crowd. Unfortunately, it won't be the pound-for-pound kings going against each other. You know, me and Manny were both looking forward to getting ready for that fight and coming up with a gameplan to beat Mayweather; hopefully that will happen down the line some day, but right now, we'll have Clottey in front of us, so it seems, and again, he's a tough guy and a difficult opponent, strong and a true welterweight. Manny's still a small welterweight, you know, he walks around at 153; we have to put weight on when we get in training camp with protein shakes and five meals a day, but it will be very competitive and it will be all-action. You know, a fight that the fans will love."

"We have to box this guy, in-and-out, side-to-side motion, and really, really be very tactical because he's a very strong and big puncher and has a good chin of course. Again, it's not an easy fight, but it's a fight that we want to fight because it's a fight that the fans will enjoy and that's what we want. We want to put on a good shows and keep doing that and keep Manny Pacquiao's number one ranking alive."

"It will be at 147. There's no catchweight."

"Manny's comfortable at the weight [147 pounds]. Making 135 was a bit of a struggle, making 140, we can make 140 with ease, but he likes the extra strength, he likes eating the day of the weigh-in. When Manny's eating the day of the weigh-in and gets to eat twice before the weigh-in, he's happy and that's when he peforms at his best, when he's smiling and in a good mood. He's not in an angry mood because he's starving himself. Making weight is a little bit overrated I think and Manny Pacquiao is proof. He's fighting at a weight he's comfortable at. He'll come into this fight like 144-145 and he'll go into the ring at 148 or 149 at most and that's his best fighting weight."

On the gameplan for Clottey...

"He has a passive defense, by putting his earmuffs on and so forth. He opens the body up when he does that of course. There's certain ways we can break that defense and break him down of course. Manny's going to have to get a little physical in there with him of course and use his strength and speed and use it technically. The thing is when his earmuffs are on, with that passive defense like that, there's not a lot of power punches coming back on the counter end of it. There is some activity, but the thing is if he does that too much, I think we're going to get him out in 12 easily, but he's definitely a tough guy to knockout though. That's our goal, to knock him out and be one of the first ones to do that. I think if we break him down to the body, we can definitely expose the head if we go to the body early in the fight."

On sparring partners for the Clottey fight...

"Big, strong guys, you know? 154 and 160-pounders. I got a couple guys picked out already. I got Roberto Garcia on hold in the gym right now. Roberto campaigns at 54, but he's at 160 right now; a very strong guy. I also have Amir Khan coming in for speed work, which works for Mayweather, but, you know, speed work is always great for timing and so forth, so he's in with Amir also. There's a 160-pounder who came in, 160-pound world champion from the Ukraine came in yesterday and I'm going to look at him tomorrow and they want me to train him also. And of course Felix Sturm and I just struck a deal. Felix is a 160-pounder who's going to come in. He's not that Clottey type of fighter so much, but he's a very clever boxer and I think when you're sharp with guys like that, you're sharp with anybody so I got some really good guys."

[Foodie One]

Manny Pacquiao looking to recapture his Texas magic

January 10, 8:48 PMLas Vegas Boxing ExaminerChris Robinson

The news of the day has been the recent reports that the March 13th Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey WBO Welterweight title bout will be taking place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Veteran boxing scribe Michael Marley, always one to break a scoop, recently got off the phone with Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones, who did indeed confirm that he had a deal ironed out with Top Rank boss Bob Arum to stage the event.


Pacquiao vs. Clottey will be distributed as a Pay Per view event with three featured undercard bouts. While many had assumed that the fight would be taking place in Las Vegas, as have 7 of Pacquiao’s last 8 fights, holding the contest in the Cowboys Stadium will add a new element to the mix. Jones has been pushing hard and in constant talks with Arum to have an event in his playground and it looks like he now has his wish.
When thinking of the event further a few things come to mind.

Pacquiao’s breakthrough performance
Pacquiao is no stranger to delivering electrifying performances on Texas soil, as he thoroughly battered Marco Antonio Barrera in November of 2003 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, roughly 280 miles South of Cowboys Stadium. A look back at that fight shows just how shocking Manny’s victory really was.


Despite breaking out on the scene in June of 2001 with a 6th round stoppage over Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, Pacquiao was still relatively new to many observes leading into the Barrera contest. Barrera himself had rejuvenated his career with a pair of battles against rival Erik Morales as well as a thorough schooling of Prince Naseem Hamed and many figured his seasoned attack and championship experience would be too much for Pacquiao to cope with. The Filipino was also moving up in weight to the Featherweight division against a Hall of fame opponent and nobody expected him to control the contest the way he did.


From the immediate outset of the bout Pacquiao shattered those notions by applying patient aggression while landing pinpoint punches. Barrera was confused early on and after suffering a knockdown in the third round the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ was all out of answers. Pacquiao would end up seizing full control of the fight thereafter, never letting up his attack or letting go of his momentum. Helpless against the ropes in the 11th round, Barrera saw the bout waived off by referee Laurence Cole with just seconds remaining.


When looking back at Pacquiao’s career his first match with Barrera is considered by many to be his breakout performance. After taking the showdown in it became very clear just how deadly and potent Pacquiao’s blend of power and speed could be against a world class opponent. If Manny can produce even half of the performance against Clottey that he did against Barrera it will be a night worth remembering.

The place to be
Completed on May 27, 2009, Cowboys stadium is definitely a sight to see. Through the use of standing areas the stadium is capable of holding up to 110,000 people, the most in the NFL. But what has put the stadium on the map even more has been the recent turnaround of the Dallas Cowboys, who are coming off of a dominant 34-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles this past weekend in their NFC wildcard matchup.


In recent years the Cowboys had become the butt of many jokes for not producing the results that their owner Jerry Jones would have expected but a December win over the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints seemed to be the exact jumpstart that they needed. The Cowboys are seen world round on a weekly basis and the appeal of the stadium itself has been on display for everyone to see.


It was reported in a recent Boxing Scene article that Arum and Top Rank president Todd DuBoef were in attendance in the stadium this weekend during the Cowboys-Eagles game and the promoter came away with a great impression of everything the facility encompassed. Reportedly Arum is planning on setting the arena up to hold 50,000 people for the event. By the time the bell rings for Pacquiao-Clottey, things should be electric.

Margarito returns to the mix
Word has also been spread that former Welterweight champion Antonio Margarito will be making his return to the ring on the evening’s undercard proceedings, against an opponent to be named. Caught with elements of plaster of paris in his gloves before his January 2009 loss to Shane Mosley, Margarito was suspended for a year by the California State Athletic Commission on February 10th.


Following the fallout Margarito was chastised by many and went from a respected and determined champion to an athlete under extreme scrutiny. Margarito has taken a beating from the media and fans alike and its unknown if he will ever recover from this controversy. His appearance on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard will surely attract several of Dallas’ Latino fans and perhaps it’s a good start for his comeback since he will be out of the spotlight slightly due to Pacquiao’s recent impact in the sport.


http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2...is-Texas-magic

[Foodie One]

President Bush: Everybody wants Pacquiao, not Mayweather

January 10, 6:40 PMBoxing ExaminerMichael Marley

Not that Manny Pacquiao promoter and well known Democratic Party backer and liberal leaning Bob Arum is above a bit of puffery but it's interesting to note that Arum claims former President George W. Bush is a Pacman fan.


Let's pick up this tantalizing tidbit as reported by the AP minutes ago (Greg Beacham):
Arum took in the Dallas Cowboys' playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night, sitting just two seats from former President George W. Bush. Arum said Bush had the same reaction he's heard repeatedly since negotiations with Mayweather bogged down.
``Too bad you didn't get Mayweather, but what difference does it make?'' Arum said Bush told him.
``Everybody just wants see Pacquiao anyway.''

NBC TV (Emmitt Smith with Lauran and George W. Bush in Cowboy owner Jerry Jones private suite at Dallas game)


I don't see any verification or denial on that coming out of the Bush camp but there may have been some political chatter in the owner's box as the Cowboys hammered the Philadelphia Eagles to move on to another playoff game next Sunday against the tough Vikings.


Right wing windbag Rush Limbaugh was another Jerry Jones guest along with former Raiders head coach and TV analyst John Madden.
Not many people know it but Madden is a huge fight fan who had a syndicate of wealthy backs years ago who hoped to turn national amateur heavyweight champion Emory Chapman professional.


Chapman, son of a Georgia Tech college professor, had little interest in pr boxing. He and I were boxing teammates at the University of Nevada, Reno, and last I heard he became a doctor serving in the U.S. Army in Germany.


No immediate comment from President Obama on the Mayweather-Pacquiao debacle.


http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5...ot-Mayweather#

[Foodie One]

Pacquiao wraps up deal for Clottey bout at Cowboys Stadium

Posted Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer


Manny Pacquiao will fight March 13 at Cowboys Stadium, but not against Floyd Mayweather Jr.


Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said Sunday he has finalized a deal to match Pacquiao against Joshua Clottey in a welterweight bout at the new $1.2 billion stadium. Arum moved swiftly to land a lucrative fight for his Filipino star after his contentious negotiations for a megafight with Mayweather fell apart in a prolonged dispute over blood testing.


Arum was in Texas over the weekend to wrap up details for the pay-per-view fight, which will be the first boxing match in the stadium. Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said the arena will be configured to seat 50,000 fans for the fight, but the capacity could be raised or lowered.
"This stadium has blown me away," Arum told The Associated Press. "It is the most magnificent facility I've ever seen."


Arum took in the Dallas Cowboys' playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night, sitting just two seats from former President George W. Bush. Arum said Bush had the same reaction he's heard repeatedly since negotiations with Mayweather bogged down


"Too bad you didn't get Mayweather, but what difference does it make?" Arum said Bush told him. "Everybody just wants see Pacquiao anyway."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly offered a $25 million site fee for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, which fell apart over Mayweather's insistence on stringent drug testing and Pacquiao's reluctance to agree. The sides went into mediation to resolve the dispute, but a compromise couldn't be reached.


And though Arum is a longtime New York Giants season ticket-holder, he found common ground with Jones for another major event in the opulent new stadium.


"This is a competitive fight, as competitive as the Cotto fight going in," Arum said. "We got a tremendous deal at the site. It's a big event, and I think we'll do unbelievable."


Although Mayweather's representatives still were holding out hope the Pacquiao fight could be salvaged, Mayweather also is expected to fight March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, which would have been the site of his bout with Pacquiao. Paulie Malignaggi has been the most popular contender for that fight.


Although Clottey has no fraction of Mayweather's fame, he's a worthy welterweight opponent for Pacquiao, widely considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The hard-hitting Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs), a native of Ghana who lives in New York, is coming off a split-decision loss to Miguel Cotto last June, a fight that some felt Clottey won.


Cotto went on to take a thrashing from Pacquiao in November, losing when the fight was stopped in the final round.


http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1882442.html

[Foodie One]

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao: Who’s Bad?

January 10, 2010

(First of a two-part series)

By Mitsuru

Got an Opinion? Boxing Fans Submit Your Article to Nowboxing.com

The proposed mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr scheduled on March 13, 2010 is definitely off owing to disagreements in both camps on the how the contentious and controversial drug testing will be done and what agency will handle it.

Let us look back and answer some issues that contributed as to why the said mega fight went kaput.

Bad Blood
There was bad blood between both sides and they were wary of each other’s intentions and sincerity from the very beginning. It did not bode well that Floyd Mayweather, Jr has a bad history with Bob Arum and so does Manny Pacquiao with Golden Boy Promotions. Add the fact that Pacquiao gave Oscar de la Hoya, GBP’s owner, the beating of his life and turned his pretty face into a punching bag.

Also, Freddie Roach and Pacquiao terribly embarrassed the Floyd

Mayweather, Sr- trained Ricky Hatton in just two rounds that made Mayweather, Sr cop out on the Mancunian fighter by blaming him of not listening to his instructions instead of his poor fight plan and strategy.
After these two fights, rumors began to swirl around about Manny Pacquiao’s alleged steroid use without any evidence to show but mainly coming from Mayweather, Sr.’s mouth that was soon picked up by fighters with hidden agenda, some people with an axe to grind, and some media people who are skeptical of Team Pacquiao’s success.

Bad Intentions
Pacquiao shamed Oscar de la Hoya when he made him quit on his stool in the 8th round of their fight that Oscar was predicted to win handily. The Golden Boy’s image was tarnished and he still cannot get over the fact that the last image of him being remembered was of a defeated man sitting forlornly in his corner while Team Pacquiao and the boxing world were celebrating around him.

Oscar de la Hoya’s huge ego was irreversibly pricked when Freddie Roach proved to the whole world that he “can no longer pull the trigger”, and was made worse when Pacquiao made him eat his word. Who can forget what he told Pacquiao during one of the press conferences before the fight, “I will knock you out“?

And after proclaiming to anybody who cared to listen after his surrender that Pacquiao’s punches had no power at all and that he could’ve have stood there all night and Pacquiao would not be able to knock him out, he made a 180 degree turn around and wrote in his blog that, “Now I have to wonder about him. I’m saying to myself. Wow, those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same!”
Thus, we can forgive his conflicting statements since he was on the receiving end of many powerful and wicked blows to the head in his fight with Pacquiao and could have resulted into him not being his old self. Now, we have to wonder if he is the same sane old man that he believe is.

Bad Education
Manny Pacquaio’s accusers lack the necessary smarts to understand the nature of anabolic steroids and human-growth hormones and their functions and effects on the body. They don’t possess the necessary educational attainment to even understand the essence of what they are talking about.

Floyd Mayweather, Sr. who started the ball rolling never finished high school to have even an iota of understanding the basics of what he is accusing Pacquiao of doing. Obviously, Team Mayweather lacks the knowledge to separate the facts from fiction regarding the tests that they are demanding.

First, they asked for blood tests to look for steroids in Manny Pacquiao’s blood. Manny Pacquiao agreed to 3 tests that are not even part of the mandated drug testing by the NSAC, the sole authority in conducting such tests on fighters in the State of Nevada. When told that this could be done through urinalysis, they changed their tune and now added Human- Growth Hormones (hGH) to the lot. While it’s true that hGH can be detected in one’s blood, contrary to popular beliefs hGH can also be detected in the urine by using molecular ‘markers’ to detect its presence in the urine in this day and age.

I will not be surprised if they will raise the EPO- question in the future. This is an obvious witch- hunt that Team Pacquiao did not tolerate. More so, a ludicrous demand coming from a fighter who belittles Manny Pacquiao’s skills and says that he will “whip the Pacman’s punk ass“.

Bad Company
Team Pacquiao is not known to harbor people with questionable characters in their midst . Team Pacquiao has no links to companies with bad reputations. They have not been involved nor linked in any controversies in and out of the ring. Team Pacquiao has no links to laboratories/ companies like BALCO nor to any dirty and unsavory characters both at present and in the past.

Freddie Roach is as straight a shooter as you can get. He is so transparent and speaks his mind out without regard for anything. He is the “what you see is what you get” kind of guy.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza who admitted that he prepared everything that he gave to Manny Pacquiao himself. He said that if there is any person in the team that should know what goes into Pacquiao’s system, it should be him. His record is impeccable and speaks for itself.

Alex Ariza, who was obviously irritated by the issue, said in an interview -
“I didn’t really do any interviews before this because I didn’t feel it warranted it. But I’ve seen stories like Lou DiBella said that members of Team Pacquiao have a history of steroid use? Show me. Where’s his paperwork that leads to BALCO? I’ve worked with Diego Corrales, Erik Morales, Angel Manfredy. None of those guys has ever even tested for a diuretic, cold medication, antibiotics, nothing. I don’t give any of my fighters that would be considered illegal or a performance enhancing drug. I don’t know where people are coming up that I’m linked to BALCO. I’ve never been associated or questioned about anything.”

As for Team Mayweather, I’ll just give you three names and I believed no further explanations are necessary to put the message across - Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Roger Mayweather and Richard Schaefer.

Bad Reputation
Manny Pacquiao earned the mythical P4P title the hard way. He persevered against the odds and fought his way to the top against worthy and world class opponents. The list of his victims are worthy of Hall of Fame status themselves. He may have been involved in some controversies in the past with regards to his dalliances with show business but his record in and out of the ring when it comes to the sport is spotless. He quietly made his mark and fought the best there is.

On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s reputation in and out of the ring left something to be desired. His name was mentioned in relation to a shooting incident in a Las Vegas skating rink and his mansion and limo were subjected to a weapons search by authorities. The IRS is after him for several years now and also has several pending cases for foreclosures in court. Recently, he and his entourage were involved in a night club scuffle with a rapper and his crew.

Continued on Page 2

[Foodie One]

Page 2

True, Mayweather fought some good fighters like Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo (although he was gifted a win in their first fight) when he was still in the lower weight divisions but as he scaled the weights he was also accused of cherry- picking his opponents to preserve the “0” in his record. His most impressive win in the last 5 years was the 8th round knockout of Ricky Hatton who was fighting out of his natural weight for the first time.
His biggest fight was an unimpressive split decision win over Oscar de la Hoya wherein de la Hoya, learning from his mistakes in the first fight, could have whipped his ass the moment they faced again but he never gave him the rematch. So, that is subject to debate until now.

His comeback fight against a very bloated Juan Manuel Marquez (which earned him the laughable no. 1 P4P ranking over Pacquiao from Yahoo Sports for some time) is nothing spectacular either. It did not sit well to boxing fans that he came out two pounds over the catch weight limit and refused the customary weigh-in again on fight night. Although he showed his vaunted defensive skills in that fight, the fans were dissatisfied when he failed to engage and knockout the smaller Mexican.

While Manny Pacquiao continues to take on all- comers throughout his career, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fought patsies and second- tier fighters while dancing en route to victory. He conveniently ducked the people who could have challenged his skills and defined him as a fighter. Mosley, Margarito, Cotto and Williams are just some of the names that could have cemented his legacy, but rather than facing them in the ring, he opted to retire.

Bad Mouth
Manny Pacquiao is a soft- spoken person and is not known to bad mouth his opponents. He respects his opponents even if some of his opponents disrespect him. He just smiles at all the trash talk and lets his fist do the talking inside the ring.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. shoots from his mouth without regard for anything. He brags about his ‘greatness’ and trash talks anyone that he wants to or got in his way. Everyone is fair game to him and he will disrespect everyone if it will suit and further his cause.

Consider Floyd mumbo-jumbos on fighting Pacquiao-
“He has to call me out first- he knows he can’t beat me- it will be an easier fight than Marquez- 60-40- I’m the best fighter of all time- God doesn’t want me to lose- I’ll promise I’ll fight Mosley instead”

When Pacquiao called out his bluff, he proposed an unprecedented and unparalleled Olympic- style testing which no boxing commission in the United States uses despite the fact that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has the most sophisticated testing facilities and the most stringent measures in drug testing.

If he thinks Pacquiao will be of no match to him, why be adamant with his senseless demands since he once admitted that he was the bigger man, anyway? Why not just sign the contract and prove that he is the greatest fighter of all time inside the square ring?

Sadly, for all of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s pronouncemens, deep inside he is afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao and lose his cherished “0” to the Pacman. For all of his braggadocio, deep inside he is a big coward. Floyd Mayweather, Jr should remember that being a loud-mouth will not gain him respect. He should also take to heart the old saying that “Still water runs deep.”

http://www.nowboxing.com/2010/01/flo...0%99s-bad/7059

[Carpe Diem]

Are you really that obsessed with Manny Pacquiao?

[Foodie One]

Are you really that obsessed with Manny Pacquiao?

No, you can see a lot of other fighters here in my thread.

[Foodie One]

Atlas should be fired by ESPN if he fails to support his allegations

January 11, 12:03 AMIndianapolis Fight Sports ExaminerDennis "dSource" Guillermo

It's been 48-hours, and I still have not gotten any word regarding Teddy Atlas' source or anything to support his bold claim during ESPN's Friday Night Fights seen by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of viewers worldwide.


Atlas said that through an unnamed "reliable source", someone from Team Pacquiao had sent an e-mail to Mayweather's camp inquiring about the consequences of their blood testing request. Allegedly, a member of Team Pacquiao had asked Team Mayweather if they could keep things secret to save the integrity of boxing in case Pacquiao is found guilty of doping.
However, **********.com broke a story recently stating that Atlas' story is false. They quoted Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum saying that the alleged e-mail "does not exist" and that ESPN should issue an apology soon for not checking their facts.


If this is indeed true, Atlas should be accountable for such irresponsible statements. Whether his intent was to try and get in the middle of the much-debated Pacquiao-Mayweather issue and deliver a "scoop" or he is simply biased against Pacquiao is something only he knows for himself but the fact of the matter is, if Atlas can't produce his source or any proof regarding his implicating statement, then he should definitely be fired from ESPN for spreading bogus information. I'm sure Pacquiao's lawyers are already (if they haven't yet) entertaining thoughts of including him in their defamation lawsuit.


Coincidentally, Atlas' statement is already in the lawsuit and was stated on page 8 and line 21 citing Tim Smith's article in the New York Daily News published on December 25, 2009. As stated in the lawsuit, Team Pacquiao vehemently denied the rumor and wrote that it was a member of Team Mayweather that probably leaked that information.


So what was Atlas trying to do? Further create turmoil in an already murky situation? He kept mentioning the blue-collar guy and casual fans' perception of the matter yet he further indulged the same naive notions he mentioned and submerged the public under more baseless accusations. If he was so sure about his source and his story, then why not reveal all the facts instead of implying and hiding his damaging remarks behind "anonymous sources"?


This is what's wrong with boxing. The politics. The lies. The misinformation. It's just unappetizing. You'd think these old people who have gotten rich off the sport would give back to it and think about it's integrity first before blurting out baseless accusations. What happened to loving the sport and reporting facts? Atlas got some explaining to do. And for the sake of boxing, I hope he does back up his claims. Enough people have been led and misled to a certain belief. Either way, people deserve and need to see facts. Just like what you see inside a real Atlas.



http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1...is-allegations