Pacquiao and Mayweather representatives still arguing over talks, who should we believe?

By Scott Heritage, Examiner.com, Tue, 27 Jul 2010

Although the fight talks are now long dead, for the time being at least, the controversy over what actually took place between the representatives of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather rages on.

As most fans will no doubt have read essentially one side says that the two were in negotiations to put together a fight, while the other insists nothing even remotely close to this ever took place.

Today though the final player in proceedings finally spoke up, hopefully ending speculation and settling the matter once and for all.

Fans on either side have been divided over which side should be believed, but today Ross Greenburg has given his side of things.

The one man in the middle of the two camps and who can probably be trusted more easily than anyone else is Greenburg, the president of HBO sports, and as such a neutral party. Unlike either side his interest in getting involved was purely that the fight would get made, and discrediting either side wouldn't have served him any purpose because he will still have to work with both in the future.

In a statement released today Greenburg said:

“Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010. I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”

Greenburg's statement not only confirms that talks indeed were happening, but also clarifies what kind of negotiations were happening.

Read full story...

Mayweather, Pacquiao, Margarito Thoughts

By Vitali Shaposhnikov, Diamond Boxing, Tue, 27 Jul 2010

What was supposed to be an amazing event might end up being historically epic. I am of course talking about the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. Now that Margarito is in the works for Manny, most people feel disappointed and cheated by Floyd and his team. Don’t fret, that fight will happen, and it will happen sooner rather than later. All the speculations and commotions surrounding the history of this proposed mega-fight create something known as drama theory. “In a drama, emotions trigger rationalizations that create changes in the game, and so change follows change until either all conflicts are resolved or action becomes necessary. The game as re-defined is then played.” There is also the snowball effect, where the build up is based on the ‘not’ of the discussions.

The first thing that confuses many fans is what happened a couple of weeks ago. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum informed the press that negotiation with team Mayweather has been finalized, and even though Floyd hasn’t signed anything himself, his manager Leonard Ellerbe did put his signature on the contract. Ellerbe had the following to say in response to that: “Here are the facts. Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth.”

Read full story...

Margarito's Trainer: "Antonio May Stop Pacquiao Late!"

By Lem Satterfield, BoxingScene.com, Tue, 27 Jul 2010

Robert Garcia is a rising star in the world of training. Garcia's stable of clients is growing by the month. On November 13, one of Garcia's fighters, Antonio Margarito, will face the biggest challenge of his long career when he steps in the ring with Manny Pacquiao for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title.
Margarito will begin training in the first week of September. Garcia is planning a ten week camp to get Margarito in proper form for the fight. There will be a catch-weight of 150-pounds, which Garcia says will not be a problem for Margarito. According to Garcia, the "Tijuana Tornado" was at the junior middleweight limit two weeks before his last fight with Roberto Garcia.
"I believe that the fight will be at a catch-weight of 150 pounds, and 150 is no problem for Antonio. The last time he came in to camp, he was 12 pounds over where he had to fight, which was 154. Two weeks before the fight, he was already on weight," Garcia said. "So he had no problem making that weight. So he will be a very strong fighter in there against Manny Pacquiao."

Read full story...

Margarito versus Pacquiao - Reap What You Sow

By Mark F. VillanuevaPhilBoxing.com

When I think of the word Paris I’m reminded of the finer things in life. Last night I thought of our old coffee shop back home in a city that looks more like a town to me. Paris in itself is such a fine, fine word that may singlehandedly take away the fuss just thinking of it in a stressful day at the office. It summons words akin to it such as love, good food, enchanting sights, art, and structures; Now thanks to Antonio Margarito, who is not an artist, at least not in terms related to anything delicate and decent, and who is not an architect or craftsman of art structures but uses plaster yet in a deadly way, a tainted meaning is now embedded to the Plaster of Paris.

In hindsight, it seems clearer now after all the revelations in the past days of both Pacman and Mayweather’s camps lies that the Mega fight was never intended to happen at all, at least not this year. To me, it seems like Top Rank big boss Bob Arum wants to make a milking cow out of Manny one more time via Mexico, or maybe the U.A.E. depending on how much money gets laid down on the table before Pacquiao meets his ultimate match in Mayweather, and then maybe calls it a career. He said it himself that he spends so much money on building up the careers of his fighters and it’s not hard to comprehend that he wants one more squeeze for a return in investment. So milk it, Bob, milk it good.

Read full story...