COTTO’S WIN PROVIDES PACQUIAO POSSIBLE CRACK AT 8TH WORLD TITLE

By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com, Sun, 06 Jun 2010

While Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” are not taking Floyd Mayweather Jr’s statement that he plans to take one or two years off from boxing thereby killing a possible mega-buck showdown between the two this November and hush-hush negotiations are still going on, Miguel Cotto’s victory in the WBA super welterweight title fight over Yuri Foreman provides another option for Pacquiao in case Mayweather continues to duck the Filipino.

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz told us on the way back to their hotel after watching the fight with Pacquiao and his lovely wife Jinkee that they “had a minor discussion” about a possible rematch with Cotto.

A rematch for the super welterweight title at 154 pounds would give Pacquiao a chance to cement his place in the record books by winning an eighth world title in eight separate weight divisions, should Pacquiao win a rematch having won the WBO welterweight title with a 12th round TKO over Cotto last November.

Koncz said the idea is “to see what happens” adding that “if the Mayweather fight is not made then we’ll go to plan B” which could mean a fight against Antonio Margarito, Cotto or even Juan Manuel Marquez who has been crying out for a third and last shot at Pacquiao with whom Marquez salvaged a draw in their first meeting after being dropped three times in the first round and lost the rematch by a split decision after being dropped once more in the fourth round.

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Miguel Cotto TKOs Yuri Foreman in 9

By Lorne Scoggins, Examiner.com, Sun, 06 Jun 2010

Before an enthusiastic crowd at the Yankees Stadium, Miguel Cotto proved that he's very much still in the game. Cotto demonstrated his superior punching power from the beginning of the first round.

Cotto, who is now trained by Emmanuel Steward, showed marked improvement in his footwork and boxing skills.

In Rnd. 7, Foreman's bandaged right knee appeared to give out and he went down. After taking a brief rest, Foreman continued. Cotto took advantage of the situation by coming on strong and attempting to get the knockout. Foreman managed to hold his own and engaged with Cotto in some powerful exchanges.

Foreman came out for Rnd. 8 and continued to hobble around the ring, obviously badly bothered by the injured knee. A white towel was thrown into the ring and the bout appeared to be over, but after some confusion, the referee determined that the towel didn't come from Foreman's corner, but from "an outside source".

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MAYWEATHER KILLS PACQUIAO FIGHT, ANNOUNCES HE’S TAKING A YEAR OR TWO OFF

By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com, Sat, 05 Jun 2010

Floyd Mayweather Jr has killed all chances of a multi-million dollar showdown with pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao by announcing that he is “taking a year or two off” from boxing.

Viva Sports/Insidesports.ph monitored the TV interview during the “Make A Wish Foundation” charity affair in which Mayweather Jr made the statement when a reporter joked about Amando wanting to see him fight Pacquiao.

Amando was the young man whose wish was to meet his favorite fighter Mayweather Jr which Floyd granted. Amando is suffering from Hodgins disease which is a type of cancer originating from a person’s white blood cells..

Mayweather provided no indication of when or if he will return to the ring after his second break and said he didn’t know what the future was like.

He last took a 21 month break after a 10 round TKO of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton on December 8, 2007 and returned to the ring on September 19, 2009 to score an easy twelve round unanimous decision over a much smaller and outclassed Juan Manuel Marquez after which he won another comfortable twelve round unanimous decision over WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley although Mosley’s title was not on the line because Mayweather refused to pay his share of the sanction fees.

At this point there has been no word from either Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer or Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who were reportedly negotiating quietly to try and make a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight happen on November 13.

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FRAZIER TO PRESENT ‘FIGHTER OF THE YEAR’ AWARD TO PACQUIAO

By Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing.com, Wed, 02 Jun 2010

Former world heavyweight champion “Smokin” Joe Frazier will present the coveted “Fighter of the Year” award of the prestigious Boxing Writers Association of America to pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao in a gala dinner at the Roosevelt Hotel on 45th Street in New York on Friday.


Pacquiao, his wife Jinkee and their entourage are already in New York for the awards dinner and BWAA president Jack Hiirsh told us that Pacquiao is reportedly “excited about the event.”

Hirsh noted that it is “extra special for him (Pacquiao) being both ‘Fighter of the Year’ and ‘Fighter of the Decade.”

The respected BWAA president informed us that it was 38 years ago , at the same hotel, the Roosevelt, that Frazier received his “Fighter of the Year” award from the BWAA for defeating Muhammad Ali.

Ali came out of forced retirement because of the draft issue and lost a unanimous decision over 15 rounds in a terrific battle at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971 in which Frazier dropped Ali with a tremendous left hook in the final round to retain his WBC and WBA heavyweight titles.

Ali won their rematch at the same venue to grab the North American Boxing Federation title over 12 rounds on January 20, 1974 and in a third fight Ali scored a sensational 14th round stoppage when over Frazier didn’t come out of the 15th round in the memorable “Thrilla in Manila” at the Araneta Coliseum, the “Mecca of Philippine sports and entertainment” on October 1, 1975.

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Manny Pacquiao: Fighter of the Decade

By Daniel Cann, Diamond Boxing, Wed, 02 Jun 2010

The Boxing Writer’s Association of America (BWAA) has named Filipino boxer and seven weight world champion, Manny Pacquiao as ‘Fighter of the Decade.’ He won the award as a result of his ‘dominating performances’ over the last few years. BWAA president Jack Hirsch explained that ‘Pacquiao’s wins were more decisive than those of his counterparts from 2000 to 2009.’ Pacquiao beat off undefeated rivals Floyd Mayweather Jr and Joe Calzaghe to win the prestigious honour.

It is a crowning achievement for the fighter after an exceptional decade in the sport where he arrived as an unknown quantity and became one of the most feared and respected boxers pound for pound in the world today. Pacquiao is the only boxer to win seven world titles in seven weight classes (from flyweight to welterweight) an achievement that looks unlikely to be bettered.

Scoring notable wins over world champions Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, the Filipino phenomenon has proved his credentials for greatness beyond a shadow of a doubt. He has recently turned his attention to politics being elected as a Sarangani congressman in his native country. He plans to retire in September this year to serve his constituents full time. With only one remaining fight and rival to face, the award comes at a nice time to remind him of the high regard fans and experts hold him in.

Pacquiao will be presented with the award at the 85th Annual BWAA Awards Dinner at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on Friday (Saturday in Manila).

Unfortunately his main rival Floyd Mayweather Jr has made some rather unpleasant and disparaging remarks towards Pacquiao and his achievements. It all sounds like sour grapes to me. Mayweather said ‘He beat a Miguel Cotto who got pummelled with a cast and he beat a Ricky Hatton that got stretchered by me…(he) struggled twice, which we really know he got beat, struggled with (Juan Manuel) Marquez, which we know he really lost. Right? And we know he been knocked out twice and he got outboxed by Erik Morales, but then they still give him Boxer of the Decade. So that’s another thing I don’t understand.’

Everyone is clamouring for a Pacquiao versus Mayweather contest later this year. It has been scuppered in the past due to blood testing and general haggling over conditions between the two rivals. Because of the money and that all important word in sports: ‘Legacy’ it has to happen.

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Veteran Miguel Diaz on Pacquiao-Mayweather: “Economics will dictate where the fight belongs”

By Chris Robinson, Examiner.com, Wed, 02 Jun 2010

Very few people in the boxing world have gotten as many rewarding experiences out in Las Vegas as veteran corner man Miguel Diaz. Born in Argentina in 1932, Diaz would eventually make his way to the United States in search of a better life and soon was able to call California his home. A relocation to Nevada would come hand in hand with Diaz’ involvement in the sport and he would soon find himself working with one of the sport’s biggest promotional companies, Top Rank.

Diaz’ work within the company saw him play many roles, from being an every day cut man, giving advice in the corner, helping the fighters in training camp with their day to day needs, and just about anything else you could imagine or ask for. Over the years Diaz has played an intricate part in the careers of such fighters as Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales, Miguel Cotto, Ricardo Torres, Joshua Clottey, and countless others.

One talent who Diaz got to know all too well was young and ambitious Floyd Mayweather Jr. who was fresh into his contract with Top Rank. Many hours were spent between the two men and Diaz’ belief in the Grand Rapids native’s ability was evident. While it was a great relationship the two men would eventually have to part ways in early 2001 as Diaz was working the corner of one of Mayweather’s opponents.

“I had a great time with him,” Diaz said of his time with Floyd. “Unfortunately at that particular time he had to fight one of my fighters, Diego Corrales. I was working the cuts on Floyd but I was training Diego so I had to separate from the team. I had too many little things at the time but I had a great relation with them and I still talk to his father and Uncle. I am actually the one responsible for Rafael Garcia being in his corner.”

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Has Floyd Mayweather Jr become Manny Pacquiao's greatest rival?

By Rick Rockwell, Examiner.com, Wed, 02 Jun 2010

No fighter has ever challenged Manny Pacquiao like Floyd Mayweather Jr has. The ironic thing to all of this, is the fact that Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao have never stepped foot in a ring to yet to fight each other.

Yet, no fight has captured the boxing world quite like the potential showdown between boxing's greatest offense and boxing's greatest defense. But, does all of the public attacks and mega-hype equate to Floyd becoming Manny's greatest rival? Let's examiner further.
Floyd Mayweather Jr
No fighter has ever been more critical of Manny Pacquiao than Floyd Jr. The public onslaught against Manny from all of the Mayweathers is unprecedented. It's been a public witch hunt based on false accusations by the Mayweathers. I believe it was Floyd Sr who initially stated that Manny was taking some kind of PED and the rest is history. Everyone from Uncle Roger to Oscar De La Hoya jumped on the express train to defamation city.
Even after the fight fell through, Floyd Jr and his family continued to attack Pacquiao through the media. Week after week, they said he's scared to take the tests; he's hiding something; he must be on something illegal. This public attack is enough to frustrate any human being. So, it's no surprise that all of this got to the humbled and mellow Manny. Freddie Roach once said that he's never seen Manny angrier than when it comes to Floyd Mayweather Jr and I can believe that.

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Pacquiao vs. Mayweather looking close, but what terms will both parties have agreed to?

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com, Wed, 02 Jun 2010

According to several sources close to the camps of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the fight everyone has been waiting for looks to be close to finalized.

The issues that stopped the fight from happening in the past appear to have been largely resolved, and from the sounds of things, and Bob Arum's inexplicably cheerful demeanor, only the finer details remain to be worked through.

The biggest issue this time around remained the drug testing regime, and the purse split has also rumored to have been another possible problem. But what are the likely terms that Arum and Schaefer have negotiated on behalf of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather respectively?

Looking back over the recent history of both fighters, Floyd Mayweather has proved himself to be the bigger box office draw. Call it opportune matchmaking, better self promotion or just more fans in the United States

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