Staples Center offers $20 million to host Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight

Staples Center has made a guaranteed $20-million offer to host the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. mega-fight that has been verbally agreed to be fought March 13.

Fabforum "This is the biggest boxing event ever, and we're prepared to step up in a big way," said Dan Beckerman, AEG's chief financial officer. Beckerman said his pitch to Mayweather promoter Richard Schaefer and Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum is to "activate the entire L.A. Live campus" on fight week.

New J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels would serve as media headquarters, a fan-fest would be staged at Nokia Plaza, a large closed-circuit audience could watch the bout at Nokia Theatre and 20,000 would fill Staples Center, Beckerman said.

"We know there's interest in this fight across the world, but we're very interested and honored to make the most impressive offer possible," Beckerman said. "It's our biggest guarantee ever, and we hope it wins the day. We wanted to push as far and as hard as we could."

Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, which counts AEG as a partner, declined to immediately comment on any site deals. He canceled a planned trip to tour Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Wednesday, but declined to explain why, other than repeating he was busy working to finalize the fight deal.

One of the barriers to staging the bout in California, promoters say, are the state taxes required from the boxers -- payments not required in Nevada and Texas.

"That's certainly a factor in the overall economics, and one thing we'd have to overcome," Beckerman said.

Staples has at least won the right to stage another fight of interest, the fourth chapter between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez, on May 22, Beckerman said.

The classic trilogy had two fights at AEG's Home Depot Center, with both bouts won by Huntington Park's Vazquez.

"That's a great L.A. fight and the fourth installment appropriately needs to step up to the bigger venue," Beckerman said.

-- Lance Pugmire

Photo: Staples Center. Credit: Los Angeles Times.

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Pacquiao-Mayweather is almost a go

Manny Pacquiao, above, is expected to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on March 13 at a site to be determined. (Isaac Brekken/associated Press)

Manny Pacquiao is likely to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on March 13 after agreeing to a proposal from promoter Bob Arum in Manila on Friday.

Arum presented "what he thought was the best proposal he can bring" during a two-hour breakfast meeting with Pacquiao, said Michael Koncz, an adviser of the Philippine boxing idol.

"Manny has some additional requirements, requests, which Arum didn't think was a problem," Koncz said. "The requests of Manny were so realistic that Arum doesn't feel it's a problem and it's pretty much a done deal."

He said the contract still needs "fine tuning," declining to elaborate.

Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in May 2010 elections and official campaigning won't start before April.


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Pacquiao-Mayweather bout closer

The proposed super-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is getting closer.

Mayweather agreed to terms for the welterweight title bout on Tuesday, multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations told ESPN.com.

The proposed date is March 13, although there is a chance it could move to May 1, sources said. Mayweather, according to a source close to him, is OK with either date.

Pacquiao and Mayweather have fought recent bouts at catch weights. However if they complete their deal, the bout would be contested at 147 pounds, the maximum for a welterweight fight, a source said.

Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), was flying to the Philippines on Tuesday night to meet with Pacquiao and try to close his side of the deal.

Arum spent much of Tuesday getting open issues resolved in his negotiations with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who represents Mayweather, sources said. Once Arum was able to do that, he left for the Philippines and is expected back on Monday.

If the HBO PPV fight happens on March 13, it would force the tentative HBO PPV fight between light heavyweights Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins to move to another date. Hopkins and Jones both fight Wednesday and must win for their fight to go through.

The site for Pacquiao-Mayweather remains up in the air. There is interest from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to bring the fight to his new stadium. There is also interest from venues in Las Vegas, including the MGM Grand (which has hosted several Pacquiao and Mayweather fights), and the Superdome in New Orleans in hosting a fight many believe will break the all-time record for pay-per-view buys, which is the 2.44 million units sold for Mayweather's 2007 split decision victory against Oscar De La Hoya.

The fight moved front and center with heavy public demand for it following Pacquiao's dominant 12th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto to win a welterweight title on Nov. 14. The victory gave Pacquiao a title in a record-breaking seventh weight division and 1.25 million pay-per-view units.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), who has won titles in five divisions, came out of a brief retirement in September to dominate Juan Manuel Marquez in a fight that generated 1.05 million buys.

Just a few days after Pacquiao's win over Cotto, Arum and Schaefer began negotiations.

One wrench in the talks was the date. Arum, Schaefer and HBO wanted to slot the fight on May 1. However, Pacquiao announced his candidacy for a congressional seat in the Philippines on Tuesday. With the election scheduled for May 10, it rules out a May 1 fight unless Pacquiao runs unopposed. Pacquiao lost the election for a congressional seat in 2007.

If Pacquiao-Mayweather isn't finalized, Arum has talked about matching Pacquiao with junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman, which would give Pacquiao an opportunity to win a title in an eighth division. Foreman defeated Daniel Santos to win a 154-pound belt on the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard.

Schaefer has talked about bringing Mayweather to England to match him with Matthew Hatton in the event Pacquiao-Mayweather isn't made. Hatton is the brother of Ricky Hatton, the former junior welterweight and welterweight titlist whom Mayweather knocked out in 2007.

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com

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Bob Arum seeks Manny Pacquiao's OK on Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight

The promoter travels to Manila to talk with the Filipino boxer and advisors on a super-bout that would be on HBO pay-per-view.

Negotiations continue in an attempt to make a fight between Manny Pacquiao, left, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. a reality. (Bullit
Marquez / Associated Press; Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Promoter Bob Arum arrived in the Philippines and expected to start face-to-face talks Wednesday with Manny Pacquiao to try to reach terms for a mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Despite reports Tuesday that Mayweather agreed to terms and that a Pacquiao fight was virtually set, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach cautioned Wednesday that that idea was premature because the Filipino star hadn't reviewed any contract terms.

Roach, in a telephone conversation from England, said, "Manny believes he should get a 60-40 [purse] split too, because he did better in pay-per-view than Mayweather this year. Manny's the bigger draw."

Roach is referring to the 1.25 million pay-per-view buys for Pacquiao's 12th-round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14, compared to the 1 million buys for Mayweather's fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in September. Yet Mayweather's December 2007 bout against Ricky Hatton generated more pay-per-view sales than Pacquiao-Hatton in May.

"I'm obviously over here to talk to Manny," Arum said from the Philippines. "At this point, I've got to find out what my fighter wants to do."

By being there, Arum may avoid the drawn-out theatrics that occurred when Pacquiao handlers complicated the negotiations before his Hatton fight. Arum and Roach were kept at arm's length, and several Arum proposals and Hatton offers were met with delayed counterproposals that nearly led Hatton to walk.

Alone, Arum boarded a flight to Manila, where he was to meet with Pacquiao and his business advisors.

"Bob will sit there and walk everybody through it, so Manny has a full grasp of the situation," Arum's lead matchmaker, Bruce Trampler, said. "He has to respect the culture. Everybody will have eaten and had their libations, and then Bob will start talking turkey."

Roach said his agent, Nick Khan, told him "Arum had a [Mayweather] deal together" when he left the U.S.

This could be a game of leverage too. Mayweather's camp may want to appear more receptive to a deal, casting Pacquiao as the one holding up the welterweight super-bout for more money.

Arum revealed only that he has negotiated with Mayweather's designated promoter, Richard Schaefer. Schaefer declined to comment.

Arum and Roach both said they are uncertain whether a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout has to be fought by March 13 because of Pacquiao's planned run for a congressional seat in the Philippines in May. HBO, which will televise the bout on pay-per-view if it occurs, instructed promoters to make the fight on whatever date is possible.

Roach prefers a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout on May 1.

"March 13 is too fast a turnaround," Roach said. "Manny has a broken [right] eardrum" suffered in the Cotto fight. "I'd like to have more time. I hope the fight happens, yes, but I want us to be in the best possible shape."

Sports book directors in Las Vegas are already posting odds on the unsigned fight. Jay Kornegay of the Las Vegas Hilton has opened the fight as a pick-'em after two other books split by making Mayweather or Pacquiao nearly 2-1 favorites.

"I love Pacquiao, but people forget how good Mayweather is: He never gets touched and rarely looks like he breaks a sweat," Kornegay said. A Pacquiao-Mayweather fight "is obviously a huge event, and doing it right before [college basketball's] March Madness would be a great time."

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Mayweather-Pacquiao fight nearly finalized

The much-anticipated bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is all but set for March 13, a source told Yahoo! Sports.

Mayweather has agreed to terms and promoter Bob Arum is making a trip to Manila, Philippines, to finalize a deal with Pacquiao, the source said.

Las Vegas, Dallas and New Orleans are the front-runners to host the bout, which is expected to become the highest-grossing boxing match in the sport’s history.

Pacquiao is the top pound-for-pound fighter in nearly every major ranking, including Yahoo! Sports. Mayweather is No. 2 in most rankings and was No. 1 in nearly all of the polls before he briefly retired in June 2008.

Pacquiao is coming off a 12th-round stoppage of Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, a bout in which he won the World Boxing Organization welterweight championship and erased fears that he is not a legitimate welterweight.

Cotto was a legitimate welterweight in his prime and Pacquiao dominated, knocking him down twice and cruising to the one-sided victory.

Mayweather routed Juan Manuel Marquez, who had previously been ranked No. 2 in the Yahoo! Sports poll, in a Sept. 19 fight at the MGM Grand.

The public demand for the fight has been enormous, putting pressure on Arum and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who represents Mayweather, to get a deal done.

Promoters had targeted May 1 for the fight almost from the moment that Pacquiao stopped Cotto. But Pacquiao filed Tuesday to run for Congress in the Philippines and the election will be held on May 10.

Given that, the bout with Mayweather had to be moved up to March 13 or pushed back until September.

Though there were reports that Arum was considering matching Pacquiao with new WBO super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman on March 13 in Dallas, that was a diversionary move and was never serious, the source said.

A survey team from Top Rank will inspect Dallas Cowboys Stadium as a possible venue. The MGM Grand Garden Arena and the New Orleans Superdome are also in the running to host the mega-fight, the source said.


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Pacquiao-Mayweather in negotiations

Let the talks begin.

Formal negotiations in an effort to make a megafight between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the first part of 2010 will open Monday, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com.

Schaefer was on his way Monday morning from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to meet Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, for lunch at the MGM Grand, which has hosted several Pacquiao and Mayweather fights.

"Floyd and me want to see if we can get the fight done," said Schaefer, who, although he doesn't have a promotional contract with Mayweather, has represented him in his past three fights and was asked to represent him in these talks. "The fact that I am flying to Las Vegas to meet with Bob shows you how serious our side is about making the fight.

"Bob and I will approach this without egos and try to get it done under fair terms. Floyd gave me his marching orders and I will see today how it goes and report back."

A pairing of Pacquiao and Mayweather is the biggest fight boxing has to offer and could break all sorts of revenue records.

In the year's biggest fight earlier this month, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) beat Miguel Cotto on a technical knockout in the 12th round to win a welterweight title, his seventh title in a record seven weight divisions.

The fight sold 1.25 million units on pay-per-view and generated more than $70 million in domestic television revenue.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), the former welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king before a short-lived retirement, returned on Sept. 19 to dominate lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in a lopsided unanimous decision.

That fight generated 1.05 million buys on pay-per-view.

The all-time pay-per-view record is the 2.44 million buys generated by Mayweather's 2007 win against Oscar De La Hoya.

"I can confirm I am meeting with Richard, but I'm not going to talk about the specifics," Arum told ESPN.com. "It's a meeting where we will try to make the fight. Whether it can be made or not in this meeting, I don't know. We'll see what we will see."

Schaefer said he hopes he and Arum can make the fight quickly, rather than dragging the talks out for weeks.

"As part of the negotiations both Bob and I had to agree to keep all discussions confidential," Schaefer said. "No further comments will be made until such time that we either have a deal or the negotiations fall apart."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

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Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather need each other

Would anybody argue with the assertion that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather jnr are the two best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet right now?

You can add further spice to that by making Manny Pacquiao the world’s best active offensive fighter, and Mayweather the best active defensive boxer. You’ve got the irresistable force against the untouchable target (one can’t call Mayweather the unmovable object).

Fans should be relishing the prospect of a match-up between these two men. Until Mayweather retired, after hammering Ricky Hatton, he was the pound-for-pound king. In his absence, that title has been usurped by Pacquiao.

How often has boxing really seen two fighters at their prime facing off? When last did pugilism see the world’s two best fighters trading blows legitimately in the same division?

Probably not since the 1980s – when Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler fought each other in a stunning series of battles. They fought, they won, they lost … and they all became legends! The winners needed the losers.

In the 1970s it was the same in the heavyweight division, with Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton all winning and losing. That’s how they became legends.

Sure, I may have overlooked some fights along the way, but in boxing it is rare to get top performers in the same weight division at the same time. Think about it, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson were past their best when they met Lennox Lewis.

Joe Louis was an old man when he got smashed by Rocky Marciano, although if you examine the damage on Marciano’s face by the end of the fight, you have to wonder what might have happened if Louis had been at his best.

More often than not, fighters are not at their peak. Bernard Hopkins was still relatively wet behind the ears when he took on Roy Jones jnr. In the 1990s we had Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Ike Quartey, Shane Mosley and Vernon Forrest, but none of them quite reached the heights of Leonard, Hearns and Duran before them (at least in my eyes).

As a mainstream sport boxing has lost much ground in the past decades. The worst thing that can happen is if the promoters and TV bosses fail to organise the Pacquiao v Mayweather showdown. Boxing needs this fight to happen.

And both Pacquiao and Mayweather need this fight. The winner will earn bragging rights as the pound-for-pound champion, but he can only do that with the other guy in the ring.

Greatness beckons both; Pacquiao and Mayweather need each other.

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Pacquiao-Mayweather fight must wait

LAS VEGAS--Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather each made their claims as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter on Saturday but a big-money showdown to decide the issue will not happen any time soon.

Philippines southpaw Pacquiao knocked out British junior welterweight Ricky Hatton with a devastating left hand in the second round for his 10th triumph in a row and claimed a world title in a record-tying sixth weight class.

"Manny is unbelievable. He's the best fighter in the world," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. "He is in his prime right now. Anyone in the world, he could beat them all."

Former undisputed welterweight champion Mayweather put himself atop that list a few hours earlier by announcing the end of his 17-month retirement and a comeback fight July 18 in the same arena against Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather abdicated the pound-to-pound throne that Pacquiao has claimed by winning four fights in a row in as many weight classes, but the International Boxing Organization's new junior welterweight champion likes his current size.

"I'm very comfortable at 140 pounds. You could see it in my performance," Pacquiao said. "I want to stay there."

That's the weighty matter that might delay a showdown with Mayweather, who would not say what weight he will fight the smaller Marquez because talks are still ongoing between 143 and 144 pounds.

Roach said Mayweather feared facing Pacquiao at a similar catch weight so announced his fight before the Filipino star won to make himself the obvious top opponent for Mayweather to prove he is still the ring king he claims to be.

"Mayweather, he just had to wait one day and he could have fought Manny. I think he's afraid of Manny," Roach said. "He made the fight maybe not happen. We're not going to wait for him. There are other great fighters out there."

US veteran Shane Mosley and Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto, two fighters who have tried in vain to make a deal to fight Mayweather, were mentioned by Roach as possible next foes for Pacquiao.

Asked to predict how Pacquiao-Mayweather would end, Roach said he expected the fight to go the distance.

"We win on points," Roach said. "He doesn't like to engage. He's going to run from us."

Roach also made it clear they would not make the leap for a chance to fight Mayweather at his prime weight if he would not step down to face Pacquiao at 140.

"At the right weight? No problem. At 147? Forget it," Roach said. "Why? Manny doesn't need it. Manny's best weight is 140. He should take some time off and make a good decision. He needs some time off."

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said no decision about who Pacquiao faces next will be made until after Cotto's next fight in July, just one week ahead of Mayweather's return to the ring.

One person who thinks Pacquiao-Mayweather will happen sooner rather than later is Mayweather's estranged father and Hatton's trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. He doubted there would be much talk about his son fighting Pacquiao.

"They probably aren't going to be talking about it a long time," he said. "They are probably going to be doing it."


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Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao: The only fight fans want to see

HBO president of sports says actions already taking place to make fight happen

As of Saturday night, can anyone think of a single reason why Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao shouldn’t fight?

It kind of seems silly at first. Of course, there has to be some minor, highly insignificant, but ultimately negative thing about the two fighting one another.

But then really think about it. Is there?

Floyd Mayweather Sr. says there is. But he’s not telling anybody.

“Lil Floyd would whoop (him), but to tell you the truth, I don’t think he should fight him,” Mayweather Sr. said. “That would be my advice to him.”

If he’d have no problem beating him though, then why not take the fight?

“I have my own reasons,” he said. “I’ll let you think about it for a second.”

Whatever Mayweather Sr.’s reasons are, chances are they’d have a hard time stacking up against the reasons for why the two should meet in the ring in early 2010.

As Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, described it, it’s a fight the world wants to see. Moments after Pacquiao’s historic win over Miguel Cotto for his world title in a seventh weight class, fans from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena started chanting, "We want Floyd."

Roach says that he’ll take whatever fight is the best deal for Pacquiao, but his pick is Mayweather.

“We’ll fight whoever we negotiate with the best. If Floyd wants a 65/35 split, he’s not going to get that,” Roach said. “We’ll take the best deal that Bob negotiates for, but personally, I want Mayweather.”

Back in September, following Mayweather’s unanimous decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez, his manager and close friend Leonard Ellerbe said that Pacquiao was the next obvious choice from a marketing standpoint.

That much is especially obvious, as the Mayweather and Pacquiao fights — although Saturday’s numbers aren't official, it’s certainly a reasonable assumption — marked the first time since 1999 that a single calendar year sold two pay-per-view fights that reached more than 1 million viewers each.

As Vice President of HBO Sports Operations Mark Taffet will enthusiastically attest, they are obviously the two most marketable fighters in the world.

“The two fighters’ persona and performance in the ring separates them from the pack,” Taffet said. “From a media aspect, they compliment each other. Pacquiao receives a tremendous following from the West and Southwest markets, whereas in Mayweather we see a lot of Midwest and East Coast activity.

“They are two megastars but to very different target audiences, which is what makes it almost a perfect storm from a marketing perspective.”

Even their styles are tailor-made for one another.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO) is the aggressor, who has shown a willingness to take a punch to give one, as well as a constant desire to finish fights even when he’s well ahead on a scorecard.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) is the tactical defender, whose elusive ability is often referred to as poetry in motion; always the type of fighter that looks to score points and attend a post-fight press conference free of damage.

The trainer in Roach says he has the blueprint to defeat Mayweather — something the undefeated boxer is constantly asserting doesn’t exist.

“We’d break him down and beat him up,” Roach said. “Floyd can’t break an egg; he’s fragile. He hurts his hands all the time. He has speed, but if he lays on the ropes and rolls his shoulders, we’ll take everything he gives us.

“I have a great game plan for Mayweather, and I know how to beat the guy.”

Mayweather Sr., on the other hand, remains unimpressed by the Filipino and the wins he has over opponents that aren’t on the same level as his son.

“We ain’t worried about that fight. Tell me where you see a 5-foot-5 (expletive) hitting someone who’s just standing right in front of him,” said Mayweather Sr., referring to the Cotto fight. “That’s what we saw tonight.

“He hasn’t fought the greatest fighter yet. That might be his next task, but I don’t know.”

One person who doesn’t care about Mayweather Sr.’s withheld reasons for the two not to fight is HBO President of Sports Ross Greenburg, who was already in the media center arguing with Mayweather Sr. on the subject immediately following Saturday’s fight.

Before any of the fighters had arrived for questioning, Greenburg was heard saying to Mayweather Sr. that he knew the fight should happen and that it was time to make it happen.

“I don’t want to say it’s just a question of money,” Grennburg said. “When you have a situation where you’ve created two big events in the last three months, basically to set up a semifinals in the 147-pound weight class, and the American public demands to see the fight it has to happen.

“And the way it happens is to induce all sides by getting everyone to check their egos at the door, sit down at a table and hash out the terms. Each side has to look at the big picture, which is there is a boat-load of money and a fight too important for this sport not to happen.”

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promoted Mayweather until the fighter bought out his contract in 2006 because of a falling out, confessed that even he was more than willing to put their differences aside to make the fight.

“I’m not going to put up with any kind of nonsense — no trash talk, I’m not going to negotiate a fight in newspapers,” Arum said. “If Floyd Mayweather wants to fight Manny Pacquiao, he knows who to call. Period.

“There will be none of this, ‘I hate him, he hates me,’ — that doesn’t matter. If he wants to fight, let him call me.”

According to Greenburg, that was news Mayweather didn’t need to hear.

Right before Pacquiao emerged from his final medical checks in his locker room, Greenburg walked to the microphone to deliver news.

“I just got off the phone with (Golden Boys Promotions CEO) Richard Schaeffer,” Greenburg said. “He told me point-blank that Bob Arum would be getting that call on Monday and plans to come in and meet with Bob next to week to make the Mayweather fight.

“I think we can all hope and pray that a fight of that magnitude and importance to the sport of boxing can truly be made, because it is time to capitalize on all the hard work that was done over the last three months. We can look forward to one of the biggest events in boxing history. Let’s see what happens, stay tuned.”

Monday can’t come soon enough.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao – The Fight That Has To Happen

By Adam McGarry: Think about that for a second, really think about it. Sounds good , yeah? Current pound for pound Number one Manny Pacquiao against pound for pound king (Number 0?) Floyd Mayweather Jnr. The shouts of ‘That won’t happen’ can be heard already, but it’s not impossible. I believe, along with many, that Floyd Mayweather isn’t done with the sport, he’s just not interested in fighting anyone recently who he doesn’t see as any sort of threat to his throne.

All credible fighters in their own right but Floyd seems to believe he’s above any of them and hasn’t wasted any sleep over them. Oscar De La Hoya wasn’t too much of a threat in terms of athleticism and ability, definitely not post-prime, yet Mayweather took that fight over any other of the fighters around him.

It was the sheer lure of a blockbuster fight where he believed he couldn’t lose, and make millions at the same time. He wanted to beat the most popular fighter and Oscar gave it his all and on the night, he was gearing up for a rematch but Mayweather just wasn’t interested. Manny Pacquiao is different, Mayweather can’t even dream of the popularity Manny has, not many people do but when it comes down Manny being hailed as the best fighter on the planet has got to eat away at an ego like Floyd’s.

Manny did what Floyd couldn’t and stopped De La Hoya with relative ease, yes De La Hoya is slightly older but that won’t exactly have that much effect. De La Hoya was shot already. Manny drew a mere five million less for the De La Hoya fight than Mayweather did in his bout, so it’s not like Pacquiao’s not a box office mega star, whereas Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito for example, both fighters Mayweather has been accused of dodging, simply aren’t big enough draws for the boxing public.

The key to big office draws isn’t the passionate boxing fans (i hate to say), it’s the casual fan, who hears a name and thinks ‘oh that’ll be a good fight, i know those two’. After beating a legend in Oscar and near enough sending him into retirement on a stretcher, he’ll be plastered over every sports newspaper, website, magazine etc.

But here’s the beautiful part, Manny can actually fight around Floyd’s weight. Competitively. And he hadn’t lost anything of his erratic flashes of speed and tenacity, he’s probably one of, if not THE, most exciting fighter on this earth.

Again, that must hurt Floyd a little bit, pick away at that ego. The most exciting fighter on the planet vs. the best fighter on the planet, that’s just a fight that has to happen. Attack vs. Defense, Composure vs. Flair, Gung Ho vs. Pure Ability. The list goes on, and it would be a money machine, if you let Golden Boy promote it as well you’re talking record breaking.

Manny may have to get past Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton first, but if that fight is at welterweight, and Manny puts on a display like he did and Hatton can’t handle the jump up in weight again he could seriously get Floyds attention. Which no doubt he already has but a win over the another mass-popular fighter in Ricky would just have to bring him out.

Manny wouldn’t have too many options, and Mayweather can never resist a little bit more cash in the bank. The signs point to a generation defining fight for pound for pound supremacy, the calls have to start.

Surely Floyd wont sleep with everyone telling him there’s a little Filipino fighter with a nations worth of fans and possibly even more admirers and some serious talent. Give every boxing fan, casual or passionate, the fight the whole world wants to see.

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Pacquiao must challenge Mayweather to be the undisputed best at 147

Dallas Boxing Examiner | Matt Stolow

Manny Pacquiao may very well win his seventh world title in seven different weight divisions in less than two weeks. But if he wants to be known as the best welterweight today and not just a title holder, he simply has to challenge Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at 147.

Trainer Freddie Roach recently said they wouldn't go over 154 if that, so a battle at 147 seems realistic if Pacquiao gets past Cotto.

Mayweather's credentials as the No. 1 welterweight are solid. Miguel Cotto's are very good but just short of Mayweather's, and Pacquiao doesn't have enough fights there yet.

All three fighters have met common opponents. DeMarcus Corley, Zab Judah and Ricky Hatton, to name three, have met some combination of Pacquiao, Mayweather and Cotto.

Mayweather has three welterweight defenses against Ricky Hatton, Carlos Baldomir and Zab Judah, along with a non-title against Sharmba Mitchell. He even went up to 150 to fight Oscar De La Hoya for his 154 title.

Mayweather has two WBC Light Welterweight (140) Eliminators against DeMarcus "Chop Chop"Corley and Henry Bruseles. He has one WBC Light Welterweight fight against Arturo Gatti.

Mayweather has four WBC Lightweight (135) defenses. Two are against former Pacquiao sparring partner and world champion Jose Luis Castillo. Mayweather had nine WBC Super Featherweight (130) before that included wins over world champions Genaro Hernandez and Jesus Chavez.

Cotto won a vacant title over someone named Michael Jennings, that no TV network would buy, and a near life or death battle with respected Joshua Clottey in his one title defense during this current second run at the welterweights.

Cotto made four successful welterweight title defenses and claimed a vacant title before losing to Antonio Margarito under suspicious circumstances in his first run at 147.

He had beaten Alfonso Gomez, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Oktay Urkal, and the vacant title over Carlos Quintana.

Cotto made six successful title defenses and one successful vacant title win at 140.

Those wins were against: Paulie Malignaggi, Gianluca Branco, Ricardo Torres, Muhammad Abdullaev, DeMarcus Corley, Randall Bailey and Kelson Pinto, respectively.

Pacquiao has an impressive KO-2 over Ricky Hatton for the IBO Light Welterweight Title (he weighed in at 138). Pacquiao (142) also has his gigantic December 2008 8 -round TKO over Oscar De La Hoya (145).

But the question remains: What will Manny Pacquiao do next after this fight with Cotto?
An exciting, competitive fight could bring about an easy to make rematch. A Pacquiao win over Cotto could set up negotiations for a Mayweather fight.

I believe negotiations have and are going on between Pacquiao and Mayweather camps and Arum said basically no they are not and it would be a while because Mayweather is so difficult to deal with, simply to get people off his back.

Originally there were eight weight divisions and only one sanctioning body. For a while after World War II it stayed that way but in early 1950s the lighter weights went to the junior titles and more sanctioning groups, starting with the World Boxing Association came into being.

Today we have 17 weight divisions, six world sanctioning organizations, Interim titles and, Champion in Recess that serve only to dilute the boxing product because they are not accountable to anybody about anything.

Beneath that we have layers of International, national, and regional titles.

The trick is for the sanctioning bodies to protect their interests by tying up its top contenders waiting for their title shot with these interim titles so as not to see them go fight for other titles of other organizations while the current champion considers retirement or easy voluntary defenses.

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Cotto doesn’t care if Mayweather Fights Pacquiao after he Beats Manny – News

By Manuel Perez: World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto made it clear that he doesn’t care one bit if Floyd Mayweather decides to fight Manny Pacquiao instead of him after he [Cotto] gets through beating Pacquiao next month. “If Team Mayweather and Team Pacquiao want to fight, I don’t give a crap what they do after I defeat Manny,” Cotto said in an interview with El Nuevodia.

Cotto probably expects that he’ll be bypassed by Mayweather and isn’t going to lose sleep over the matter by complaining about it. Mayweather does things his own way and it’s hard to understand his reasons for choosing a certain fighter sometimes. Pacquiao no doubt will likely take the fight with Mayweather next, because it will be the best fight out there for him and his management, and trainer Freddie Roach, will want him to take the fight.

Even if Pacquiao is badly beaten by Cotto, the Mayweather fight still makes the most sense for Pacquiao. After big money fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto, Pacquiao won’t want to have to take on a lesser fighter where he would make much less money.

Although it would be a idea for Pacquiao to fight a tune-up if he loses to Cotto, the pressure on Pacquiao to maximize the money he makes will probably be too great for him to waste time on a tune-up. Pacquiao will then jump straight from a loss into a fight against Mayweather, which as many people expect, will be another big loss for Pacquiao.

It’s all good, though, because Pacquiao can cry all the way to the bank. Who cares of Pacquiao is humiliated in a one-sided defeat by Mayweather just as long as he’s well paid for it that’s all that counts. It would be sad that boxing fans would prefer to see Mayweather fight Pacquiao rather than Cotto if Pacquiao loses badly to Cotto next month on November 14th.

But that shows you how much the boxing fans really know about the sport. Probably a good deal of them won’t even realize that Pacquiao has lost to Cotto, and the other half – read: Pacquiao’s lovesick fans – won’t care one bit that Pacquiao was beaten. They’ll back him up no matter what happens in the Cotto fight. They’re fans and they would come see Pacquiao fight even if he were beaten 100 times in a row.

Cotto may end up fighting Pacquiao again immediately if the fight does extremely well. Arranging a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao won’t be an easy task because Mayweather wants more money. Cotto, depending on how badly he does against Pacquiao, could want more money than last time, but probably not nearly as much as Mayweather would be asking for.

It’s a fight that makes sense if a Mayweather bout is too difficult to put together. Mayweather will still be there after Cotto fights Pacquiao for a second time. By then, Mayweather will possibly be more agreeable to a fight with a reasonable purse split between him and Pacquiao.

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/10/cotto-doesn%E2%80%99t-care-if-mayweather-fights-pacquiao-after-he-beats-manny-news/

Mayweather to still fight Pacquiao even if He Loses to Cotto?

By Manuel Perez: Wow, I thought I had heard them all, but comments from Floyd Mayweather’s uncle Jeff Mayweather tonight from sports.inquirer, in which Mayweather explained that Floyd may still fight Manny Pacquiao next, even if Manny loses to Miguel Cotto on November 14th, just seems weird to me. “Just as long as he doesn’t lose in a devastating manner it would still be the biggest fight out there,” Jeff Mayweather said.

Man, I don’t know how to take that comment. Does this mean that Floyd Mayweather will side step around Cotto to face the smaller, lesser threat in Pacquiao in a move to avoid taking a risky fight with Cotto or is this just a money thing? I’m cool with it, I guess, if this is just a financial thing because Mayweather has to do what he has to do to get the most money for each fight.

But, if Mayweather is looking for an easier fight against Pacquiao, then that doesn’t sit right with me and I see it as some kind of timid weakness on his part. I’ve never thought of Mayweather as being a ducker of fighters, but it seems kind of unfair that he would still move ahead to fight Pacquiao if the Filipino loses to Cotto. How would the public take that message?

If they’re ignorant of it, I guess it’ll fly but some may not see it as a good move because it rewards the wrong fighter. If Pacquiao loses to Cotto, it should be Miguel who wins the Mayweather sweep stake, not a beaten Pacquiao. What this means is that if Floyd Mayweather is thinking of fighting Pacquiao no matter what happens in Manny’s fight with Cotto, then it’s up to Cotto to make sure he beats Pacquiao so badly that Mayweather couldn’t in his right mind fight Pacquiao without being looked at as a cherry picker.

If Cotto knocks Pacquiao out or beats him really badly through 12 rounds, it puts a lot of pressure on Mayweather to have to fight Cotto. Sure, he could turn around and fight Pacquiao regardless of how badly be gets beaten by Cotto, but he’ll look kind of silly by doing it.

Mayweather already has some people wondering about him for fighting Ricky Hatton, a light welterweight, and then Juan Manuel Marquez, a lightweight, in his last two fights. By skipping over Cotto if he comes out on top in his Pacquiao bout, it will send the wrong message to people and make it seem like Mayweather is afraid to fight opponents his own size.

Maybe he doesn’t care what people think. If that’s the case, more power to him, I hope he enjoys getting Cotto’s sloppy seconds. But it looks bad from my stand point. How can Mayweather turn around and fight Pacquiao if Manny takes the beating of his life against Cotto.

Then is some weird crap. I don’t even know how to even begin to understand something like that. I don’t know how a fight like that could make money if Pacquiao is coming off a knockout loss to Cotto. Who would want to see that garbage? I mean, you know who’s going to win, don’t you?

Source: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2009/09/mayweather-to-fight-pacquiao-even-if-he-loses-to-cotto/

Who's NEXT? Mayweather?

LOS ANGELES – So who’s next for Manny Pacquiao?

Well, at least for now, he’s got Ricky Hatton to his left, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to his right.

And all Pacquiao has to do is choose.

Pacquiao, fresh from his eight-round destruction of Oscar de la Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, said Sunday that the Mayweather camp had sent feelers about a possible fight with the Filipino superstar.

“They sent a message to us that if I beat De la Hoya, he will come out of retirement to face me,” said Pacquiao, referring to Mayweather who suddenly retired after beating De la Hoya and Hatton last year.

But following Pacquiao’s unbelievable win that pushed De la Hoya closer to retirement, there are calls for another big match, another dream match against Mayweather, the former pound-for-pound champion.

Pacquiao now wears that billing, and a fight with Mayweather, sometime in May or June, will be another great night of boxing.

But Hatton wants to face Pacquiao, too, and also offers a huge opportunity at 140 pounds. Pacquiao said he’s also willing to face the British superstar even if it means fighting him at the Wembley Stadium in England.

But whoever it is, Pacquiao should be in for another huge payday.

“Whoever is fine. You know me,” said Pacquiao inside his customized bus as he travelled four hours to get back to Los Angeles. He took the front seat with his pregnant wife Jinkee and was joined by relatives and friends.

“Are there any more Mexicans out there? I think Zorro is the only one left,” said the fighter who has beaten some of the great fighters from Mexico - Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Looking back at the fight against De la Hoya, Pacquiao said his speed, and good head and body movement enabled him to take away De la Hoya’s jab, and that made it easier for him in dominating his taller opponent.

“He couldn’t move anymore because I was so fast. And each time he threw his jab, I countered. That’s what we trained for - how to counter. I was a moving target and it was very difficult for him to catch me,” he added.

Pacquiao said he was only worried about his head because he knew De la Hoya’s jab and left hook are one of the best in the sport, and that he was never worried getting hit in the body.

“Imagine, I did 2,500 sit-ups a day so I didn’t have to worry about my body. De la Hoya worried about both his head and body. That’s why he looked so scared each time I hit him. I heard him moan after I hit him once in the body,” he remembered.

“Para siyang kandilang unti-unting nau-upos,” Pacquiao said.

The Filipino champion thought that it would have been over in the ninth round if De la Hoya got up his stool to answer the bell because he knew he had him, and that’s what his trainer Freddie Roach told him.

“Manny, this is it. Finish him off. Knock him out. You’ve got him,” he was told during the break.

And so he said he was surprised when he saw De la Hoya walking toward him, thinking he was charging at him until he saw his cornermen signaling the end of the fight.

Pacquiao said he felt that at 148 1⁄2, his weight when he climbed the ring against De la Hoya, he was even faster when he fought David Diaz for the WBC lightweight (135 lbs) crown only last June.

“Imagine, I’ve jumped and fought in three weight divisions this year,” he said, reminding everyone that last March he also defeated Marquez for the WBC super-featherweight (130 lbs) title.

Pacquiao said that after the fight, he received a phone call from Diaz, and he was surprised with what he said.

“Oh, man. You’re unbelievable. What kind of human (being) are you. You were so fast,” Pacquiao remembered Diaz as telling him.

Source: http://philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=422437