Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather: Who Has the Best Chance of Winning?

According to Bookmakers inc., the fight of next year, pending negotiations, between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, is too close to call.

The Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz first fight last year was named by some boxing observers as the fight of the year.

Next year's fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao will easily top that.

Keep your emotions in check. I'm confident that the deal will get done.

Fans of either fighter will be on one side or the other.

Unfortunately, even though I'm a huge Mayweather supporter, I have a higher calling as a featured columnist to be as neutral as possible and try to keep my own emotions in check.

Wait, I am pro-Mayweather.

Bookmakers inc. think that Mayweather won't settle for a split purse.

I can go along with that.

Since Floyd's undefeated and free to negotiate his own deals, he should set the conditions of his fight against Pacquiao.

Once we know that he's on board with Don King, Mayweather may likely hand over negotiating control to King.

His earlier demands required the split at 60-40 in his favor.We know that Mayweather can demand over 50 percent of the purse.

Think about how much in gate receipts alone that would be if you paid about $500 to watch the fight in 110,000 seat Cowboys Stadium, not counting the TV and pay-per-view revenue.

Bookmakers inc. preliminary figures for a person paying $500 for a ticket with a full capacity adds up to $55 million.

King will take that kind of money and so will HBO.

Don doesn't care if it's dirty or clean, because to him, it's all good money.

Bookmakers inc. also believed that the deal would've been done already if Pacquiao agreed to the blood testing.

There was a good reason for Mayweather to demand a test for Shane Mosley, especially after he admitted in court that he used drugs.

Pacquiao had a right to sue Mayweather for defamation of character for being accused of using drugs.

I don't think a drug test will weaken Pacquiao.

Either he has the skills to battle, or he doesn't.

Remember sometime last year when Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said his man will knock Mayweather out?

I wonder what he's saying now.

If Pacquiao would've agreed to the testing, we would look forward to the real fight of the year this November.

That stubborn Pacquiao wouldn't have it any other way.

That stubborn Mayweather is holding back.

I think the odds of the fight taking place are 2:1.

There's a 10:1 chance that Mayweather will retire the current pound-for-pound champ.

Yeah, I said it. What do you think the odds of the fight occurring and who will win?

e-mail me atsparkstroy@hotmail.com

credits: bleacherreport.com

Frank Warren says Floyd Mayweather stalling on Manny Pacquiao fight

Frank Warren, Europe’s foremost boxing promoter for the last 30 years, has weighed in with his views on the anticipated welterweight showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr, which has become an on-off saga. It threatens to be the richest boxing fight in history, never to happen.
However, Warren believes the match-up, estimated to be worth 200 million US dollars, will take place.
Warren, speaking exclusively to Telegraph Sport, explained: “It is the fight that must happen for boxing. As fighters, I think they are the best of their generation, I think it’s a natural match. And it will happen.”
“There will be a lot of posturing, there are times I’ve felt Floyd Mayweather was doing his best not to make the fight.” That view comes from Warren’s stance that Mayweather “has picked and chosen who he wants to fight over the years.”
“He never fought Shane Mosley when he should have fought him. He just didn’t do it. There have been a few times like that. Roy Jones Jnr did a similar thing. He didn’t fight the best guys at the best times, in my opinion. This one is [Mayweather-Pacquiao] is a huge fight, a huge money fight that could do 3 million pay per view buys on television. I think it will outdo [Floyd and Oscar De La Hoya at 2.25 million ppv buys].”
“It’s a huge money fight and it has to happen and in the tens we are into, it is the biggest fight out there for a long long time, a megafight.”
Does it compare, in Warren’s eyes, with other fights defining a generation, such as Sugar Ray Leonard versus Marvellous Marvin Hagler ? “It is as big as all those fights, even though it is one only American involved. But the fact of the matter is that this is what the business needs. The thing that will hold it up is, though, is Mayweather thinking he is worth more than the 50-50 split.”
Warren is preparing for his own mega-event at the LG Arena in Birmingham on September 18, with nine title fights on the card. His entire top tier stable is on show. Among the fighters is Matthew Macklin, who is now trained by Pacquiao’s overseer Freddie Roach.
Macklin fights Londoner Darren Barker for the British, European and Commonwealth middleweight titles. It is a contest bristling with bragging rights.
Warren believes Mayweather was playing mind games with the drug-testing in round one of negotiations. “I’m sure it was. But at the end of the day, Bob Arum had other places to go. And he did it – he went off and sold 50,000 tickets in Texas [for Pacquiao versus Joshua Clottey]. ”
“Bob Arum is a proper promoter, and I very much admire him. The very first world title fight I ever did was Colin Jones against Don Curry, working with Bob, 25…26 years ago, and I have the utmost respect for him.”
“The fact is he is a real, quality promoter. He, in fact, is the one who will make this fight happen, but he won’t sell his fighter short. He will not sell him short. And this is a tough fight [for both men]. If you asked me to pick a winner I would favour Mayweather.”
“I think Mayweather is a natural counter puncher, although Pacquiao is a tremendous puncher, very fast, but…he can be hit. It’s an interesting fight. If I was a bookmaker, I would make Mayweather the favourite.”
Then again…”You see Mayweather clipped a couple of times in that second round by a 38-year-old Mosley, and you wonder if it was the other fella [Pacquiao] throwing the punches, could it have been different. So…it’s interesting.”

credits: telegraph.co.uk

Don King: Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight could be done 'in a flash' with Bob Arum

The first round of negotiations between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiaofailed in January, and the second round may not have actually even existed. So what's it going to take for Mayweather-Pacquiao to happen? Legendary promoter Don King has a few ideas and Top Rank rival Bob Arum believes the two could come to terms "over a weekend." Golden Boy Promotions and CEO Richard Schaefer have represented Mayweather in talks with Arum and Top Rank over a possible Pacquiao fight. But Arum reportedly has grown tired of working with Golden Boy. "If King were ever involved, it would give a real impetus to make this fight happen," Arum told The Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire. "All those little details that have stopped us before, King doesn't give (a thing) about. All he cares about is the end result, making the most money possible." "King's the most persuasive guy I've ever met," Arum said. "With enough time, he'll get this kid (Mayweather) to come over. Don's no fool. He knows how to make a fight." King is expecting Mayweather to be his ringside guest in front of HBO cameras for Saturday's fight between Devon Alexander and Andriv Kotelink in St. Louis. The two also had dinner last week in Boca Raton, Fla. "Whatever Floyd wants, he gets," King told the L.A. Times, noting he doesn't have anything signed from Mayweather to negotiate on his behalf. "I'm just telling Floyd what he is, a bad sucker. "I'm just happy to be seeing (Mayweather), he came out last week (to Florida) because he said he wanted to talk, and I'm hoping we'll get it together," King said. "Me and Arum can do this fight with Pacquiao in a flash." Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) now is slated to face Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) at an undetermined site Nov. 13. Arum has said he's holding out hope Mayweather-Pacquiao can be made for 2011, potentially in May.

credits: mlive.com

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Would be an Alluring Trilogy

WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazinelightweight champion "Dinamita" Juan Manuel Marquez earned a unanimous decision victory over "The Baby Bull" Juan Diaz Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs), a Mexican icon rated by Ring Magazine as the number three pound-for-pound fighter in the world, managed to defeat Diaz (35-4, 17 KOs) for a second time despite his right eye being swollen nearly shut.

"The first one was difficult, and so was this one," said Marquez, 36, who trumped Diaz by a ninth round TKO in February 2009. "Like every true Mexican warrior, we both fought with all of our hearts and left it all in the ring."

Diaz, a native of Texas who is the former unified WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO world lightweight champion, has now been defeated in four of his last six bouts.

Nevertheless, "The Baby Bull" is not your typical prizefighter with zero prospects outside of the ring.

Diaz, a graduate of the University of Houston, is preparing to pursue a career in law or politics.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," said Diaz, 26, who made his professional debut in June 2000 at age 16 with a first round TKO victory. "I'm going to consider all the facts. I'm going to take the LSAT, and that's another fact. I've been fighting for 10 years, longer than a lot of fighters, so I'm just going to figure it out."

Conversely, Marquez entirely knows what he wants and that is a third contest with Filipino pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs).

The two previous bouts pitting Marquez against Pacquiao ended in a 2004 draw and a narrow, split-decision loss for Marquez in 2008.

"It's good for all fight fans," said Marquez, a past IBF, WBA, and WBO featherweight titlist. "The Mexicans, the Filipinos, everyone wants to see it. That's the most important fight to me now. I'll be ready for November, and hopefully Pacquiao will take the fight."

Unfortunately for Marquez, his trilogy versus Pacquiao will likely have to wait because the "Pac-Man" is tentatively slated to provide notorious scumbag Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) with a bloody version of ring justice November 13 at a venue to be determined.

"I want to see Pacquiao destroy Margarito," said Brad Sherwood, 30, a resident of South Boston is works as a personal trainer at Gold's Gym in Medford. "I'll actually pay to see it."

Marquez will be 37 later this month and Diaz will be turn 27 on September 17.

Obviously, Marquez is 10 years Diaz's senior.

Nevertheless, Diaz should retire in the next three hours and seek other opportunities while his marbles are still intact.

Contrarily, Marquez should continue to fight until he receives a third battle with Pacquiao.

Marquez and Diaz are two different fighters who clearly lead two separate lives.

Boxing is still currently beneficial for Marquez, and it has become a hindrance for Diaz.

It's time for the young man to retire and the old warrior to persevere in "The Sweet Science."

credits: bleacherreport.com

Floyd Mayweather Sr. Said His Son Doesn't Fear Manny Pacquiao

For those who think that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is scared of Manny Pacquiao, think again.

Or better yet, let Floyd Sr. tell you that his son is not a coward. He said recently on fighthype.com that Pacquiao is the last person that his son is afraid of.

That statement by Floyd Sr. would be accurate.And if you never paid attention or ignored anything that Floyd Sr. said that was valid before, take him for his word now. Floyd Sr. knows his son better than anyone else.

He also thinks that Pacquiao controlled the terms of his fight against Antonio Margarita.

In a way, the Pac Man does have the upper hand in the November fight.

Margarita, who's used to fighting at a heavier weight, may have to drop to 150 pounds to meet Pacquiao about halfway.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum doesn't care about the lost appeal this matchup will generate. He has no problem pitting both fighters against each other because he promotes Pacquiao and Margarita.

Floyd Sr. said the Pacquiao vs. Margarita fight is B.S. "This ain't nothing but scrutiny," he told fighthype.com. According to him, Pacquiao dictates the situation by fighting Margarita at 150, which could take away some of Margarita's strength.

In fact, the weight advantage favors Pacquiao, which irritated Floyd Sr. "Anytime you got a little (expletive) short Filipino come in and call shots like this, you (expletive) right this (expletive) can be the mayor, president, or whoever the (expletive) he supposed to be over there," Floyd Sr. said in the interview.

Floyd Sr. doesn't agree that Pacquiao isn't the pound-for-pound king. "He ain't nowhere near the pound-for-pound king," Floyd Sr. said, "but he's the catchweight king. He's got that title."

Right now, Floyd Sr. has Pacquiao beating Margarita. Pac Man can still whoop Margarita, whether he's light or heavy.

No one has to remind Floyd Sr. that his son was over the weight limit in his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, which he had to pay a $600,000 fine.

I will agree with Floyd Sr. on one thing: Pacquiao should've challenged the best Jr. middleweight in Timothy Bradley. However, Floyd Sr., who wasn't impressed in Bradley's last fight, thinks Pacquiao is taking the easy road.

One example of Pacquiao taking the easy road was in his fight against Ricky Hatton, whose skills were on the decline.

I also agree with Floyd Sr. on Pacquiao not being the Fighter of the Decade or a role model. On the other hand, I'm not saying that Floyd Jr. is a complete role model.

Floyd Jr. can look no further than his own father, who served prison time and wasn't around in the early year's of his adult life. There were some accusations of Shane Mosley throwing the fight against Floyd Jr., which hasn't been proven. Mosley went the distance, and he lost fair and square.

The best chance for Floyd Jr. to take accept the deal for a superfight is now. He stands to make more money next year, minus the 39 percent in taxes. If Floyd waits too late, the tax rate after 2011 will go up, and he loses more.

Anyway, Floyd Jr. can take the 60-40 split, if that's true, and challenge Pacquiao to take the drug test. Take Pac Man off the juice and see how much guts he has.

"Money" must act fast because he will be 34-years-old next year. He knows that another year away from boxing will rob him of some of his skills and commercial appeal.

Since Floyd Sr. plans on retiring as a trainer due to health reasons, his son can give the ultimate gift a dad would want.

Sign the papers, make about $60 million and ride off in the sunset undefeated like Rocky Marciano.

credits: bleacherreport.com

MANNY PACQUIAO SHOULD BE BLAMED NOT FLOYD MAYWEATHER

Let’s get the facts straight…Floyd “Money” Mayweather isn’t ducking Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

The truth of the matter is Manny Pacquiao and Bob Arum never agreed to “random drug testing without a cutoff date,” instead, they agreed to a 14 day cutoff for the Olympic style drug testing, so, that is why the fight didn’t get made.

Manny still doesn’t want to take the random blood tests that will catch a fighter if he is taking EPO, Steroids, or other Illegal Performance Enhancement Drugs.

Manny’s excuse for not taking the Olympic style random blood tests is because he is scared of needles and giving blood too soon will weaken him before a fight.

This shows that Pacquiao is mentally weak compared to Floyd because he is superstitious that the blood will weaken him in the fight when it’s been medically proven that the small amount of blood won’t make you weak before a fight. But, he could be hiding something and doesn’t want to be found out. Whatever the reason, it’s the main problem for the fight not happening.

People are so quick to blame Floyd Mayweather for everything but be careful what you wish for because a pissed off Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not someone you wanna be in the boxing ring with. Floyd Mayweather, when he is mad can toy with you in the worst way, he will take you into deep waters and drown your ass. Watch what he did to Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti, he demolished those guys with amazingly brilliant technical boxing and counter punch combination’s.

Before those fights people were building up Diego “Chico” Corrales and Arturo “Thunder” Gatti as the ones to defeat Floyd Mayweather and that pissed Floyd off, so, he had to prove a point and he unleashed hell on them.

Diego Corrales was the baddest man at superfeatherweight he was a knockout artist who was destroying guys left and right and just like Floyd Mayweather he was undefeated at the time. When Floyd fought Corrales he toyed with him, it was hit and not get hit, it was so beautiful and unreal, you would have thought you were watching the Flash in there because Mayweather was so quick he was able to land punches and didn’t get hit. People were saying that Corrales would destroy Floyd but it was Floyd who destroyed the fearsome KO artist that night and handed him his first loss. They said Gatti would bully Floyd but Gatti couldn’t even close the distance or land a single punch on Floyd.

Floyd Mayweather never ducked anyone. He fought the best in his division and he beat prime and undefeated fighters. Manny Pacquiao has never beaten a prime fighter or undefeated top guy ever! All of Manny’s opponents were hand fed to him by Freddie Roach and Bob Arum.

Manny fought hand picked, drained and shot fighters like, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Paper Champion David Diaz, war torn Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya, all these guys were damaged goods before Pacquiao fought them and now Manny is gonna fight Antonio Margarito, who was stopped by Sugar Shane Mosley, at a catchweight. Margarito is another fighter tailor made for Pacquiao and the fight proves nothing.

The only top prime fighter that Manny Pacquiao fought in his life was Juan Manuel Marquez and both times Manny Pacquiao was given gift decisions when he really lost those fights. Look what Mayweather did to Marquez, he schooled him, Mayweather had no trouble with Marquez while Pacquiao went through hell and back with Juan Manuel Marquez and Marquez put on boxing lesson against Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd doesn’t have to talk to the media about the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao negotiations failing again because this time there were no negotiations, so, there is nothing for Floyd to talk about.

The truth is Floyd is not scared of Manny Pacquiao. Floyd just wants a clean an even playing field, and if Manny takes the random drug tests without a cutoff date, then, Floyd Mayweather will tax that ass.

credits: nowboxing.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. admits he is ducking Manny Pacquiao

From the appearance of it, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is okay with being termed as a coward by the media.

UFC president, Dana White, endorses the biggest mixed martial arts organization globally and happens to be a big boxing fan, who wants to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao get it on in the boxing ring.

However, Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn’t wish to fight Manny Pacquiao. He is okay with being termed as coward and ducker. Based on a Fox Sports article, when asked by Dana White when he was gonna fight Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather answered “Well, I’m not desperate,” what did Floyd mean when he said that?

Well, from my interpretation, Mayweather meant “Why would I risk fighting a ferocious fighter like Manny Pacquiao and lose my undefeated record, I don’t need money that bad?” Mayweather was implying that only those people who are desperate and hurting for money will take on this type of risky and hazardous task for an incredible number of dollars.

It’s like if someone else asks you, would you jump in shark tank for $ 5,000? A desperate person would do it but a cautious logical person would realize the risk isn’t worth the incentive. For Mayweather the risk of fighting Manny Pacquiao isn’t worth the reward of over $60 million in prize money win or lose.

I would think Floyd would take the fight because he brags about how he is the best and Manny Pacquiao is easy to beat and how he doesn’t fight for bragging rights he only fights for checks. But all the money in the world cannot buy Floyd Mayweather a pair of you know whats.

Mayweather has enough money, he isn’t dumb and he knows that Manny Pacquiao is in his prime and is so relentless that it would force Floyd to mix it up with the Filipino slugger from Gen San.

Floyd Mayweather doesn’t care about the fans, even though, they are the ones who fattened his pockets and pay his bills by ordering his pay per view fights. Floyd would never be able to live the lavish lifestyle he lives today if it wasn’t for the fans paying for his fights. If he cared about the sport of boxing and the boxing fans he would make the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight happen.

Floyd is self centered and ungrateful. It shows by the way he denies the boxing fans the fight they want to see. He is all about himself and no one else.

Remember, America is the HOME OF THE BRAVE and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is acting very un-American right now, this is why more American fight fans are rooting for Manny Pacquiao because they respect his bravery in the ring.

credits: bayanihantayo.com