Sons of Peter McNeeley- Boxing Thread

[allaboutthesox]

Chad Dawson injured his hand, so Dawson-Tarver II is off. Not a big disappointment, since it was a pointless rematch to begin with.

I'm going to skip the Pavlik/Cotto PPV this weekend.

Not me as a die hard Cotto fan this fight is huge for him in more ways than one. There are so many questions I have of him [Cotto]. First, is his body full recovered from that brutal fight with Margarito? What will his physical conditioning be like? Will he still fight as hard and aggressively as he has before? Is his head on straight (mentally)?

I personally think that within a few rounds I will have my answers to my questions. I think this fight will either be one that is close or just a complete lopsided win for Cotto. I am pretty excited about seeing Cotto fight again. I can only assume he may start out rusty initially as he has been out of the ring for 7 months. I really feel that this fight will set the tone for where Cotto's career will go from here. If Cotto can put the Margarito loss out of his mind, which should have been made easier by way of Margarito's "glove gate" incident, the better off he will be. A loss could be devastating for Cotto's psyche right now.

 

[shawnrbu]

The FNF main event featured BITING of the shoulder in the 10th and final Round. This will get a lot of play on SportsCenter.

Thankfully, Glen Johnson will be fighting next week on FNF.

 

[ElUno20]

I'll be skipping this one too but still watching. Hopefully I can find a decent stream. Arum has got to be out of his mind to put this on ppv.

 

[BGrif21125]

Arum has got to be out of his mind to put this on ppv.

Ya, I thought it was a dumb move too. I believe he said that the networks showed no interest, but chances are that really meant, "the networks had no interest at the high price I was demanding."

Both Cotto and Pavlik figure to be in big PPV fights this summer. If Arum had taken a little out of his end for this card and gotten it on a network (be it premium or cable), he could've used these fights to promote the upcoming Cotto and Pavlik PPV fights later this year. Instead, it's stuck on an independent PPV, and I doubt that it gets many PPV buys.

 

[allaboutthesox]

Ya, I thought it was a dumb move too. I believe he said that the networks showed no interest, but chances are that really meant, "the networks had no interest at the high price I was demanding."

Both Cotto and Pavlik figure to be in big PPV fights this summer. If Arum had taken a little out of his end for this card and gotten it on a network (be it premium or cable), he could've used these fights to promote the upcoming Cotto and Pavlik PPV fights later this year. Instead, it's stuck on an independent PPV, and I doubt that it gets many PPV buys.

I thought initially the Cotto fight and Pavlik would both be on cable (HBO etc) and was surprised it went to PPV. None the less, I will be going to see it with my friends that I normally watch fights with. We normally split the cost of the fight and it allows us to have some fun and pretty much see every fight that we want in a given year.

However, I do agree that the buys will be a little on the low end as you have mentioned Grif.

 

[BGrif21125]

I thought initially the Cotto fight and Pavlik would both be on cable (HBO etc) and was surprised it went to PPV. None the less, I will be going to see it with my friends that I normally watch fights with. We normally split the cost of the fight and it allows us to have some fun and pretty much see every fight that we want in a given year.

However, I do agree that the buys will be a little on the low end as you have mentioned Grif.

Ya, the real reason I'm not ordering it is because I have tix to an NBA game tonight, so it provides me a convenient excuse to not order the fight. Normally I cave and order virtually every PPV, especially for someone like Cotto, who is one of my 2-3 favorite active fighters.

Hopefully Cotto is dominant and back to his old self, and hopefully Rubio can at least be competitive with Pavlik.

 

[ElUno20]

Undercard is live on Yahoo right now. Preston check your PM, I hit you back.

 

[allaboutthesox]

Just got back from watching the fights and I was impressed with Cotto's performance. I thought he started round one kind of sluggish, but maybe he was just feeling his way out or finding his range on Jennings. Cotto seemed to suffer no ill effects from his last fight with Margarito. He did win impressively and set himself up for a big fight later this year. Pavlik dominated Rubio from start to finish as it was not even a real fight at all.

 

[fletcherpost]

I watched both the big fights and was rather unimpressed by the opposition. Cotto got a half decent work out and did his job against a game but pretty toothless Jennings. But after watching the Pavlik contest i have no idea how this Rubio guy got to be a number 1 contender. Nor why he didn't try to win the fight by throwing punches, which is really the main weapon for a boxer. And with all that Pavlik still made it look more difficult than it surely must have been.

I watched for free on a decent online stream and there was about 800 people viewing the Pavlik fight when it started and less than 200 by the end of the fight. So i kind of feel sorry for folk who actually paid to watch.

 

[BGrif21125]

Links to watch last night's fights:

Cotto vs. Jennings

Pavlik vs. Rubio

 

[BGrif21125]

After watching the fights...

I think both looked very good and very similar to how they looked before their losses, but then again, they were facing opponents who were supposed to make them look good. We won't really know how the losses affected Cotto and Pavlik until they find themselves in a tough fight again. Cotto has much bigger demons to overcome than Pavlik. It's much easier to get over a loss where you're simply outsmarted and outclassed (like Pavlik vs. BHop) than a loss where you take a physical beatdown (Cotto vs. Margarito).

Abraham could give Pavlik a tough fight, but it looks like that's still a ways off. I'd LOVE to see a Pavlik-Williams fight at 160, but maybe that's unrealistic for now. It'd be a guaranteed Fight of the Year candidate though if it ever came off.

I heard Cotto will probably face either Clottey or Cintron next. Cotto-Clottey is a great matchup and one I'll try to attend in-person if it's at MSG. Cotto-Cintron doesn't interest me a whole lot.

I'm looking forward to Marquez-Diaz on Saturday.

 

[allaboutthesox]

After watching the fights...

I think both looked very good and very similar to how they looked before their losses, but then again, they were facing opponents who were supposed to make them look good. We won't really know how the losses affected Cotto and Pavlik until they find themselves in a tough fight again. Cotto has much bigger demons to overcome than Pavlik. It's much easier to get over a loss where you're simply outsmarted and outclassed (like Pavlik vs. BHop) than a loss where you take a physical beatdown (Cotto vs. Margarito).

Abraham could give Pavlik a tough fight, but it looks like that's still a ways off. I'd LOVE to see a Pavlik-Williams fight at 160, but maybe that's unrealistic for now. It'd be a guaranteed Fight of the Year candidate though if it ever came off.

I heard Cotto will probably face either Clottey or Cintron next. Cotto-Clottey is a great matchup and one I'll try to attend in-person if it's at MSG. Cotto-Cintron doesn't interest me a whole lot.

I'm looking forward to Marquez-Diaz on Saturday.

The Cotto vs Clottey match up doesn't really intrigue me at all. The last Clottey fight I saw was versus Zab Judah and I didn't come away impressed at all. But, I do agree that chances are Cotto will see Clottey or Mosley next.

 

[shawnrbu]

As an appetizer for the much anticipated Marquez-Diaz scrap tomorrow night, we have Glen Johnson on espn2 and Tomasz Adamek on Showtime tonight. Kind of a quick turnaround for Adamek following December's war with Cunningham, isn't it?

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

Framingham's own Danny O'Connor is fighting on the undercard of tonight's FNF on ESPN2 @ 730.

 

[shawnrbu]

Danny looked pretty good. The 2nd round was a beating. Landed a few real solid right hooks.

 

[BGrif21125]

Kind of a quick turnaround for Adamek following December's war with Cunningham, isn't it?

Yes, it was a quick turnaround, and for the first few rounds last night, it looked like a big mistake because Adamek wasn't doing much of anything. He knocked Banks out in the 8th though. According to Rafael at ESPN, Hopkins told him a few days ago that he was warming to the idea of challenging Adamek for his cruiserweight belt. That's an interesting fight if it comes together. If they put it in Atlantic City, they could get Adamek's fans from NY/NJ and Bhop's fans from Philly. It'd be a good crowd.

I like Marquez tonight, but a controversial decision for Diaz wouldn't shock me. Weird things seem to happen in Texas.

 

[shawnrbu]

Wow, remember when Marquez was considered a boring fighter and HBO wanted nothing to do with him?

There's no doubt JMM is a warrior in the class of Barrera and Morales.

 

[The Big Red Kahuna]

I thought that the Marquez/Diaz fight was tremendous. Maybe it's because I am not the world's "biggest" fight fan, and don't get to see all of them... but that was 9 rounds of pure fury from both fighters. Diaz carried the first 4-5 rounds, but you slowly saw him losing his swagger and starting to "break a real sweat" in rounds 7-8, and then he got pounded in round 9. Both fighters cut, bloodied faces... just going at it.

Awesome fight.

 

[BGrif21125]

That's one of the best fights of the decade.

 

[The Big Red Kahuna]

I'm glad you thought so... didn't know if it was my more "casual" following of the sport that made me feel that way.

I literally felt myself on edge the whole fight, almost ducking and weaving on my couch. It was intense.

 

[mclusky]

I'm glad you thought so... didn't know if it was my more "casual" following of the sport that made me feel that way.

I literally felt myself on edge the whole fight, almost ducking and weaving on my couch. It was intense.

The first Marquez-Pacquiao fight was what turned me into a hardcore fight fan; I'm sure this one will do the same for others.

 

[Lanternjaw]

Outstanding.

What a finish by Marquez... those combinations were brilliant.

I wish he was a 29 y/o again.

Kudos to the judges, who seemed to have it right pre-knockout even though all three had it differently. Harold Lederman has been way off as of late. In the past, he's generally been within a point or two of the final outcome but on recent cards he's been way off and tonight he bombed out in favor of Diaz and in his lopsided John decision on the undercard. Juarez didn't deserve a win but John certainly wasn't up by 4 rounds on my card.

 

[BGrif21125]

There's no doubt JMM is a warrior in the class of Barrera and Morales.

The first Marquez-Pacquiao fight was what turned me into a hardcore fight fan; I'm sure this one will do the same for others.

It's fitting that these 4 names were mentioned.

A lot of times you'll hear people refer to Duran-Leonard-Hagler-Hearns as a golden era of the sport... and IMO, Pacquiao-Marquez-Morales-Barrera is this generation's version of that. They just haven't received the attention because none of them are from the US and none are native English speakers. But in terms of all-out, edge-of-your seat, Fight-of-the-Year type fights, I think they've produced just as much this decade as that previous group did during the 80s.

I never thought Marquez would be able to keep up that type of pace against a bigger fighter who was 10 years his junior. It's amazing that he not only maintained the pace, but he took over the fight and knocked Diaz out to boot. What an incredible fight.

The John-Juarez fight was very good in its own right, but it seems like a snoozefest now compared to the main event.

2009 is off to quite a start.

 

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

Marquez-Diaz was a classic. It didn't have the spectacular twist ending that elevated Corrales-Castillo I into the pantheon of "greatest fights of all time," but it was undoubtedly the best lightweight fight since that 2005 classic, and one of the best fights of this nearly-complete decade. Diaz really surprised me. I'd always thought of him as a "B+" fighter who subsisted mainly on guts and constant pressure. But he clearly gave Marquez all that he could handle through at least the first four or five rounds. Even coming out to start the ninth, after being rocked in the eighth, Diaz looked like he was turning the fight back in his favor.

I thought Max Kellerman made a very convincing argument (which he uncharacteristically backed away from later in the broadcast) that, in fact, Marquez is the real #1 pound-for-pounder, saying that Marquez has fought tougher opposition than Pacquiao since moving up in weight and in his two showdowns with Pacquiao, he actually won more rounds and could have won both fights with even slightly different scoring.

It's clear that Pacquiao-Marquez III is the best fight that could be made in all of boxing right now. My fear is that, because Marquez still isn't the big-time gate and PPV attraction that, say, Hatton is (or Mayweather if and when he comes back) it won't be the fight that actually does get made.

 

[BGrif21125]

Looks like it's going to be Cotto vs. Clottey in June:

Although no deal is signed, Miguel Cotto's June 13 fight at Madison Square Garden on the eve of New York's annual Puerto Rican Day parade probably will be a welterweight unification bout with New York's Joshua Clottey, Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, told ESPN.com. "It'll be Clottey," he said. "It's the logical fight to do. Clottey wants the fight very badly and Miguel says fine. We still have come to terms with both fighters, but we'll get it done." Arum said. He's negotiating with HBO, and although they're apart on money, Arum said he thought it would work out. HBO, he said, was not interested in Cotto-Kermit Cintron, and titleholder Andre Berto was also out of the running. Arum said he also offered Cotto's next fight to Showtime, but it was "more concentrating on trying to do [Kelly]Pavlik's next fight."

That's a very solid test for Cotto. Clottey is a legit top 5 welter and is very physically strong for a 147 pounder.

If ticket prices are reasonable, I'm going to try to make it to the Garden for this one.

 

[ElUno20]

Looks like it's going to be Cotto vs. Clottey in June:
That's a very solid test for Cotto. Clottey is a legit top 5 welter and is very physically strong for a 147 pounder.

If ticket prices are reasonable, I'm going to try to make it to the Garden for this one.

I don't know about this move for Cotto. Clottey may be a fringe top 5 fighter but it's because of some bad timing and luck. The guy has elite skill. But I guess in today's ww division there is no safe fight.

Clottey is on my list of guys who have to make it or break it this this year. He may have just got his ticket.

 

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

I don't know about this move for Cotto. Clottey may be a fringe top 5 fighter but it's because of some bad timing and luck. The guy has elite skill. But I guess in today's ww division there is no safe fight.

Clottey is on my list of guys who have to make it or break it this this year. He may have just got his ticket.

I think Clottey gives Cotto all he can handle. he combines the pressure of a Margarito with the rock-hard defense of Winky Wright. The saving grace may be that Clottey's not quite as good a fighter as either of those two. I think this will be a very entertaining, punishing battle but ultimately, Cotto wears Clottey down and wins a 116-112 decision.

 

[shawnrbu]

Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade will be coming up soon on FNF.

 

[shawnrbu]

Was that something of a quick stoppage in the Victor Ortiz fight? Mike Arnaoutis has gone the distance with some tough fighters. I thought the ref could have given him more of a chance to hang in the fight. Those were the first two or three meaningful punches of the fight. If it were allowed, would that have been a good time for a Standing 8 count?

Ortiz looks like he is destined to be a star. I'm excited to follow his career as he takes it to the next level. Could we possibly see Cotto vs. Ortiz in 2011 or 2012?

 

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

Was that something of a quick stoppage in the Victor Ortiz fight? Mike Arnaoutis has gone the distance with some tough fighters. I thought the ref could have given him more of a chance to hang in the fight. Those were the first two or three meaningful punches of the fight. If it were allowed, would that have been a good time for a Standing 8 count?

Ortiz looks like he is destined to be a star. I'm excited to follow his career as he takes it to the next level. Could we possibly see Cotto vs. Ortiz in 2011 or 2012?

I thought it was a good stoppage, or at worst, a case of erring on the side of caution. Which is OK by me. When Arnaoutis dropped his hands and took two or three straight, uncontested head shots, stopping it was a good call.

Ortiz looks like the real deal. But he's still very young. It'll be at least a year, maybe two, before he's facing the elites at 140 -- or 147 if he moves up. I'd love to see him in there against Hatton or Pacuiao, but who knows if either of those two will even be around by the time he's ready.

 

[BGrif21125]

I agree with Gene. Maybe the stoppage was one or two punches too soon, but better that than one or two too late. Whenever there's a stoppage like that, I generally use the KO'd fighter's initial reaction as the guide to whether it was a good stoppage. If you notice, Arnaoutis didn't even realize that the fight was stopped for about 20 seconds after it happened... because he was so dazed that he didn't even know what was going on. So IMO, he was hurt badly enough to warrant the stoppage.

I guess there's a chance Ortiz will be on the Pac-Hatton undercard. I just hope they give him a decent opponent, unlike the guy he fought on the Pac-Oscar undercard.

Devon Alexander is the other big prospect at 140 that would seem to be a natural opponent down the line for Ortiz. Unfortunately, Don King seems intent on ruining that guy's career.

 

[BGrif21125]

New England is getting an interesting fight:

Jermain Taylor-Carl Froch will be at Foxwoods April 25. I assume they'll try to throw some local guys on the undercard. Maybe Andrade.

 

[letsgosox]

Dan Rafael is reporting that GBP could be putting Ortiz up against Stevie Forbes next. Not exactly the fight I was hoping for.

 

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

Dan Rafael is reporting that GBP could be putting Ortiz up against Stevie Forbes next. Not exactly the fight I was hoping for.

Not really a thrilling matchup, but a good fight for Ortiz at this stage in his career. He needs to fight an experienced, slick, tough (never been down!) boxer, without a real threat of being hurt or stopped. And that's Forbes. This will be a great developmental fight for Ortiz and as an undercard bout on a PPV (if that's what they're planning) I'm totally fine with it. It'll give us a good barometer for where Ortiz is in his career development and what he's ready for next.

I wouldn't want to see it as an HBO BAD main event or anything like that, but if they stick it on the Hatton-Pacquiao undercard, I'm happy to watch it.

 

[Deathofthebambino]

Probably not much interest in super flyweight around here, but the pride of Armenia, Vic Darchinyan is fighting Arce (sp?) on Universal HD. I don't know if it's taped, but damn, it's been a good fight through 4. Channel 846 on Comcast if you're interested.

 

[BGrif21125]

Probably not much interest in super flyweight around here, but the pride of Armenia, Vic Darchinyan is fighting Arce (sp?) on Universal HD. I don't know if it's taped, but damn, it's been a good fight through 4. Channel 846 on Comcast if you're interested.

That's from about a month ago. UHD re-airs old Showtime fights.

There was discussion of it here at the time. Super flyweight (or junior bantam) has been one of the most talented divisions over the last few years.

 

[BGrif21125]

Yesterday's UK fights on youtube:

Link

 

[letsgosox]

Dan Rafael is reporting that HBO has got a nice little tripleheader in the works involving Kirkland/Dzindziruk, Ortiz/ Kotelnik, and Juarez/John II. I think offers have been made but nothing is finalized as of yet.

 

[BGrif21125]

Dan Rafael is reporting that HBO has got a nice little tripleheader in the works involving Kirkland/Dzindziruk, Ortiz/ Kotelnik, and Juarez/John II. I think offers have been made but nothing is finalized as of yet.

That's a good card if it comes off. I believe Kirkland and Ortiz are both fighting on the Pac-Hatton undercard as well. I like Rocky Juarez, but he has to be close to breaking the record for most title shots without a win. By my count this will be his 6th (Soto, Barrera-2, Marquez, John-2). All the good fighters who have never gotten a title shot must have Juarez' picture up on their dartboard.

Hopefully Barrera will take this weekend's loss as a sign that he finally needs to hang 'em up , but I doubt he will. It's always sad to see a great champion hang around too long.

 

[BGrif21125]

Floyd Mayweather Jr., who hasn't fought since December 2007 and retired as the undefeated pound-for-pound king in June, is planning to fight again -- possibly as soon as July 11 -- two sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com.

Mayweather has been sparring and working out regularly in his Las Vegas gym and is in great shape, according to one of the sources.

Before Mayweather fights one of the big names, both sources said Mayweather's team has talked to HBO about the availability of July 11, the network's date for that month's edition of "World Championship Boxing."

Mayweather, whose last four bouts, and five of his last six, have been on HBO PPV, has expressed an interest in fighting on HBO rather than pay-per-view for a possible tune-up bout ahead of a possible fall fight with the winner of the May 2 Hatton-Pacquiao bout.

HBO, however, would have to come up with a substantial license fee to make it work, so it remains to be seen if a bout on the network could be made. A summer comeback fight for Mayweather, who has been dogged by IRS issues, could also go on pay-per-view instead.

HBO also has another dilemma. It has not committed to giving Main Events and Golden Boy Promotions the July 11 date for a fight that is being negotiated between cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek and former two-division champion Bernard Hopkins, and one of the reasons is because HBO has also been talking to Mayweather about the date, said one of the sources, who has knowledge of HBO's issue.

Rafael- ESPN

 

[letsgosox]

HBO better not waste any money on a tune up fight for Mayweather. The last time they paid big money for a tune up fight was Oscar/Forbes. That fight had average ratings and then Mayweather backed out of his rematch with Oscar. And if I was HBO I would hold that against Mayweather the next time he tries to negotiate a fight with the network.

 

[BGrif21125]

HBO better not waste any money on a tune up fight for Mayweather. The last time they paid big money for a tune up fight was Oscar/Forbes.

Ya I agree. HBO has been on a great run so far this year because their philosophy has basically been "we're not airing a fight unless the star is willing to fight someone dangerous." And that's led to some great fights. So I'd hope they wouldn't break the bank on a tune-up fight unless Floyd is willing to take on a challenging tuneup opponent.

Of course, a Mayweather tuneup fight wouldn't be as bad as Oscar-Forbes, because at least Mayweather is at worst one of the 2-3 best fighters in the world, whereas Oscar was nowhere close to that. Oscar-Forbes was a completely pointless fight.

Btw, looks like ESPN has changed their schedule. The Klitschko fight on Saturday was supposed to be live on ESPN at 5, now it's going to be live on Classic at 6 and then shown on tape-delay on ESPN2 at 7.

 

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

HBO better not waste any money on a tune up fight for Mayweather. The last time they paid big money for a tune up fight was Oscar/Forbes. That fight had average ratings and then Mayweather backed out of his rematch with Oscar. And if I was HBO I would hold that against Mayweather the next time he tries to negotiate a fight with the network.

I sure hope they stick to their guns and do that. Apparently, according to Thomas Hauser, HBO wants to put Mayweather's comeback fight on World Championship Boxing, but Mayweather is asking for Pay-Per-View-level money for a WCB fight. Their hangup is that they badly want Mayweather vs. the Hatton/Pacquiao winner (presumably Pacquiao) later in the year. That would be (again, assuming it's against Pac) a legitimate PPV fight. So they want to keep Mayweather happy and in the fold.

I think HBO would be happy with Mayweather vs. someone on the level of Juan Urango or even Paulie Malignaggi. I doubt Mayweather can really get down to 140 at this point, but a Mayweather-Kermit Cintron fight also would be acceptable, I think. But not for the chunk of their budget that Mayweather is demanding. And there's no may Mayweather gets in there with Shane Mosley, even though other than Pacquiao, that's the best fight opponent for Mayweather out there right now.

Now, I really like the Adamek-Hopkins fight that HBO was planning for that July 11 WCB date. I think that's a legitimate challenge for both fighters and at this stage, Adamek has earned a big money fight. That's a very interesting matchup. Hard to see it happening, but if HBO really wanted to restore the luster of its "World Championship" franchise, a double bill of Hopkins-Adamek and Mayweather-Cintron (for example) would be fantastic.

Hopkins-Adamek would also be the first cruiserweight fight that HBO has aired in, well, actually I don't even know how long. Maybe since James Toney was in the division. But that's a great division and if Adamek manages to beat Hopkins, maybe it'll prompt HBO to explore the cruisers in some more depth.

 

[ElUno20]

Everything I've read is that Floyd wants it to be non-ppv. And although it won't happen, I wouldn't doubt that he copuld get down to 140. He's a workout freak, his past few fights the only thing keeping his weight up around 145-147 has been all the muscle he's added.

 

[BGrif21125]

Hopkins-Adamek would also be the first cruiserweight fight that HBO has aired in, well, actually I don't even know how long. Maybe since James Toney was in the division. But that's a great division and if Adamek manages to beat Hopkins, maybe it'll prompt HBO to explore the cruisers in some more depth.

Ya, I believe you're right. I think the last one they aired was Toney-Jirov. Which makes their refusal to air more cruiserweight fights that much more confusing. I mean... that was only one of the best fights of the decade.

If HBO let a Floyd tuneup fight get in the way of Hopkins-Adamek, then that would signal that HBO is back to acting like the pre-2009 HBO. I think the key thing for HBO to remember (and this is something Hauser always hammers them about) is that they can afford to play hardball because they're basically negotiating against themselves. Showtime's budget is a fraction of HBO's. If Floyd doesn't like what HBO is offering, then HBO can say "Good luck finding it somewhere else." If Floyd really has tax problems, then he'll come around eventually and accept whatever payday HBO is offering.

 

[FelixMantilla]

Roy Jones Jr.'s boys keep it real on the farm
Nice story on Roy Jones Jr raising his children. Not a typical boxing story.

 

[Gene Conleys Plane Ticket]

Ya, I believe you're right. I think the last one they aired was Toney-Jirov. Which makes their refusal to air more cruiserweight fights that much more confusing. I mean... that was only one of the best fights of the decade.

If HBO let a Floyd tuneup fight get in the way of Hopkins-Adamek, then that would signal that HBO is back to acting like the pre-2009 HBO. I think the key thing for HBO to remember (and this is something Hauser always hammers them about) is that they can afford to play hardball because they're basically negotiating against themselves. Showtime's budget is a fraction of HBO's. If Floyd doesn't like what HBO is offering, then HBO can say "Good luck finding it somewhere else." If Floyd really has tax problems, then he'll come around eventually and accept whatever payday HBO is offering.

MaxBoxing's Steve Kim now believes that Mayweather won't come back on that July 11 WCB date due to money issues. Instead he thinks Mayweather...

...will return in mid-September on pay-per-view against Juan Manuel Marquez, which should do decent business. Marquez is currently the best Mexican fighter on the planet, it's a Mexican holiday weekend that is now always designated for pay-per-view, and for Mayweather's sake, a smaller fighter he can make some money against.

That sounds like a great fight to me. There's a good argument that Marquez (in Mayweather's absence) is at least the co-No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, and maybe even the sole No. 1. he doesn't have the huge following that Pacquiao has, but I think that's a very competitive fight that should do upward of 500K PPV buys. Maybe even more than that if the economy is showing signs of life by September. I don't think a Mayweather win is a foregone conclusion in that fight, even if Mayweather had NOT had the 21-month vacation he'll have taken at that point.

But if Mayweather beats Marquez and THEN follows up with a win over Pacquiao, I believe that entitles him to the legendary status he's so long claimed for himself, but which most boxing fans (including me) refuse to give him given his history of Sharmba Mitchells, Carlos Baldomirs and Artiro Gattis.

 

[BGrif21125]

Really good fight from this past weekend in Dublin:

Bernard Dunne vs. Ricardo Cordoba

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Perhaps a little bit of a research may be due in the Sky studios:

Sky announcer calls Pacquiao the "Mexican southpaw":

[youtube]UK4iTxuJRvU[/youtube]

 

[BGrif21125]

Floyd Sr. sounds surprisingly coherent in that Sky youtube clip when he's breaking down Hatton's gameplan against the great Mexican, Manny Pacquiao.

Looks like Sam Peter has officially left the building in terms of being a contender. He got beat by Eddie Chambers last night.

And the lab tests revealed plaster ingredients in the wraps of Margarito. That's not good. I know there's no evidence for anything other than the Mosley fight, but it's tough not to assume that Margarito cheated against Cotto too. I mean, look at it this way, if he beat Cotto without cheating, why would he all of a sudden feel the need to cheat against Mosley? That makes no sense. If he tried to cheat against Mosley, he almost certainly got away with the same thing against Cotto. And that sucks, because it puts a total dark cloud over one of the best fights of recent years.