tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84840847722529514382024-02-19T16:42:11.367-08:00Mayweather Vs. Marquez | Pay Per View Watch It Live!user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-57170254269080256022009-09-12T02:38:00.000-07:002009-09-12T02:44:52.878-07:00Burgos: Time to have a drink with football stars and boxing champions<div style="text-align: justify;">Hydrate. That’s what athletes do when they’re training, playing and nourishing themselves. So, let’s have a drink.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">Round One</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn’t know Tequila had anything to do with football.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I knew steroids had something to with it, but I didn’t realize when you mixed the two, someone would get strangled — I should have, though.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But anyway, did you hear the one about Shawne Merriman allegedly strangling reality star Tila Tequila when she attempted to leave his house at night this past weekend? Tequila claimed the former, while Merriman said he was trying to stop his girlfriend from driving home drunk. He said he didn’t choke her, but he was still arrested — and released. She went to the hospital — and has been released.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tequila said she couldn’t have been drunk, because she’s allergic to alcohol. Ironic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She also now wants to speak out against ‘roid rage, which she’s pinning on Merriman — in the past, Merriman was suspended by the NFL for testing positive. The owner of a club where the couple was spotted earlier in the evening disputed Tequila’s apparent allergy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The owner said Tequila was visibly intoxicated at the bar and was dancing with Merriman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s a weird situation to begin with, and taking the Chargers’ linebacker out of it, it isn’t even a sports story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But who is Tequila kidding? She doesn’t drink? Right, and I can dunk, kick a 50-yard field goal and throw a baseball 95 miles per hour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not to mention these two are Twitter freaks and have expounded on the incident ad nauseam ever since it happened.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roger Goodell must have seen this one coming. After shooting yourself in the leg, fighting dogs and DUI manslaughter, domestic disturbance must seem ordinary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">Round Two</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">HBO has a sports documentary show called “24/7,” on which, leading up to high-profile boxing events, the network has cameras follow each of the two fighters throughout the training process in an omnipresent type of way. It’s dramatic, intrusive and a great show.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The current installment of the show features “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This week, Marquez did the unthinkable. After one of his training sessions, Marquez retreated to the bathroom with a small glass. He relieved himself in the glass and then drank its contents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He drinks his own urine — his pee, his tinkle. Forget Gatorade, because that’s G.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez said urine holds many essential vitamins and proteins that he does not want to waste, so he recycles them through his body. He said he’s done it for his last five or six fights and has seen good results — he’s won five of his last six bouts, the one loss coming to Manny Pacquiao in a split decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The scientific term for what Marquez does is urophagia. Some claim it’s dangerous. Some say it should only be done under dire conditions, like if marooned on a desert island. Juan Manuel says it lets him hit the gloves harder, work the speed bag faster and hopefully take down Mayweather Jr.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I’m aware of the obscurity of some athlete’s rituals. They are highly habitual creatures with bizarre superstitions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I’ve heard of former outfielder Moises Alou peeing on his hands to create calluses to hit without batting gloves. I let that one slide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But drinking it?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know Kevin Costner did it in “Water World,” but a) that movie was awful and b) he at least purified it first.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you don’t want to take my word for it, there are ample clips floating around the Internet where you can witness it firsthand. Trust me, it’s a treat.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It also begs the question: What other athletes are doing this?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No way it’s only Marquez. I would suggest Merriman, but I already know he prefers another drink for which Mexico is famous: Tequila.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, what’s it going to be? I’m ready for another, but this round’s on you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.pittnews.com/node/19850" target="_blank"><b>pittnews.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-46085373640918845732009-09-12T02:17:00.000-07:002009-09-12T02:20:49.468-07:00Mayweather vs. Marquez latest update: De La Hoya tips Marquez to upset Mayweather in Vegas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCudOfcyFSH0vtNN-4SMeFT3_6kyKBUVi5U2Njla-XKlLd5HvKK7aOFaL7tPoD5Ya6umS1knl-nPbaTv1Sr1WkUgv27qLnglijujZGn6KmIV5r-xOJRI3M06oqycjpZgCH75rG-JcF-c/s1600-h/oscar-de-la-hoya.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 138px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCudOfcyFSH0vtNN-4SMeFT3_6kyKBUVi5U2Njla-XKlLd5HvKK7aOFaL7tPoD5Ya6umS1knl-nPbaTv1Sr1WkUgv27qLnglijujZGn6KmIV5r-xOJRI3M06oqycjpZgCH75rG-JcF-c/s200/oscar-de-la-hoya.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380508372222214866" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Boxing great Oscar De La Hoya believes Floyd Mayweather Jr. will lose his unbeaten record when he takes on Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in a hotly anticipated welterweight fight in Las Vegas next week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather has won all 39 of his career bouts, including 25 by knockout, but the American will be making his first appearance in the ring for almost two years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I just have this feeling that Marquez is going to pull this one off," De La Hoya, arguably the biggest name in contemporary boxing, said in a conference call ahead of the September 19 clash over 12 rounds at the MGM Grand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I went down to Mexico and saw him train with my own eyes. I saw how much he bulked up; I saw how much strength he has gained; I saw how seriously he's taking this fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I'm convinced he will win this fight. He's looking sharp, he's looking fast and he's looking strong."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez, a Mexico City native who has a 50-4-1 record with 37 knockouts, has beefed up through a brutal training regime highlighted by lifting boulders up a mountain slope.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although most boxing pundits back Mayweather to win because of his superior strength, speed and defense, De La Hoya predicts the Mexican's jab will be a telling factor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Floyd Mayweather is an excellent boxer and he's the best fighter on the planet, no doubt about it," the 10-time world champion said. "But styles make fights and I'm sure Marquez has dissected Mayweather's style.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">SMART FIGHTER</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Marquez has an excellent jab and he is going to use triple, quadruple jabs. He's a smart fighter, and it's a matter of throwing those jabs and feigning those jabs. This is the fight of his life ... and he knows it."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">De La Hoya is well versed in Mayweather's strengths, having lost the WBC super-welterweight title to him on a split decision in May 2007, the highest-grossing fight in boxing history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, he believes the American could be troubled by Marquez in the early rounds on his belated return to the ring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather has not fought since his 10th round stoppage of Britain's Ricky Hatton in a WBC welterweight title bout in December 2007.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Being the professional that Mayweather Junior is, I'm sure it's going to be no problem for him to adjust," said De La Hoya, a world champion in six different weight classes who posted a win-loss record of 39-6 including 30 knockouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"At the same time, you know Marquez is coming at you right from the get-go, right from the start. I just feel Mayweather's going to have to be playing catch-up in the fight."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather, 32, is an undefeated five-division world champion while Marquez, 36, is a five-time world champion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSTRE58B09D20090912" target="_blank"><b>reuters.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-89967393677469120252009-09-12T02:12:00.000-07:002009-09-12T02:16:54.348-07:00Mayweather vs. Marquez latest update: Garcia puts Mayweather in good hands<div style="text-align: justify;">Rafael Garcia grins widely, a smile that seems to say, “Something good is going to happen soon,” and pats his flat belly. He runs his fingers through his full head of hair and leans in toward a visitor to the boxing gym.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“How old,” he asks, stretching the boundaries of his grin, “do you think I am?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Without waiting for an answer, he says, “I’ve been doing this longer than most of the people here were born. Or before a lot of their parents were born.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mayweather Boxing Club is a beehive of activity on this late summer afternoon. Its star attraction, unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., has yet to arrive for his workout that will help prepare him for his Sept. 19 comeback fight down the street at the MGM Grand Garden Arena against Juan Manuel Marquez.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are aspiring fighters hitting the bags, a couple of men skipping rope. Roger Mayweather, Floyd’s uncle and lead trainer, is gesturing animatedly to a woman on a treadmill, apparently trying to demonstrate the proper technique for a three-punch combination.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Assistants for Floyd Jr. scurry around, preparing the place for his imminent arrival.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garcia pulls up a chair and glances around. He’s 81 and he’s been involved in boxing in one form or another for 69 years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He first walked into a gym nearly seven decades ago in Puebla, Mexico, when he tired of going several blocks out of his way in an effort to avoid a bully while headed to school. He learned to box and hasn’t stopped since. He was 5-0 as a bantamweight until his mother begged him to quit. He acquiesced, but the lure of the gym was too strong. He assumed the name Guadalupe Limon, fought and won twice more and then gave up his fighting career for good.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That led him into the corner, though, and into a lifetime of working with some of the biggest names in the game’s history. He has made the long walk to the ring with legends like Mayweather and Hall of Famers Roberto Duran and Alexis Arguello, as well as dozens of other champions, and hasn’t lost an ounce of passion for either the sport or his job.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He has worked for Mayweather for about the last 10 years, concentrating on wrapping his hands, taking care of his cuts and offering advice culled from his vast experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather’s hands are brittle and he was having frequent problems with them for much of his career. He heard about Garcia’s wizardry as a hand wrapper and made a call.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“My hands were bothering me and when a fighter doesn’t have confidence in his hands,” Mayweather says, shaking his head and not needing to finish the sentence. “I finally had to find the best wrapper out there. And that is Rafael Garcia. I won’t let anyone else touch my hands.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garcia is recognizable for the Kangol caps he wears that are adorned with pins from places he has traveled. He has seen the world, the big cities, the small cities, the major markets and the out-of-the-way places few have heard of.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He has worked for boxers who didn’t have the talent to stay out of their own way and he has assisted generational talents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In all of those years, though, as a fighter, manager, trainer and cut man, he has never met anyone quite like Mayweather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garcia declines to name the best fighter he has ever seen because he says comparing fighters in different generations is next to impossible. He has no doubt that Mayweather is the most gifted fighter of the current generation and he’s even more sure that he’s never seen anyone who works as hard as Mayweather does.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There’s no one close to him and I’m telling you the honest truth,” Garcia said. “Every day, and I mean every single day, he works as hard as he can possibly work. I’ve never seen anything like it. People come to the gym all the time and they want to see him and talk to him and take a picture. And Floyd, he loves the fans. People don’t know how good he is to the people. He’s a good man and he has time for everyone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“But when he’s working, he is only concentrating on that. The gym is where he does his work and when he gets to the gym, he puts every bit of himself completely into what he is doing.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garcia was recommended to Mayweather by promoter Bob Arum. Arum had once sent Garcia to Southern California to work with the late noted orthopedic surgeon Tony Daly. Daly explained the structure of the hand to Garcia and inspected his wrapping technique.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garcia only had to wrap one hand and Daly was satisfied.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“He said, ‘Perfect. If you wrap all the hands like that, no one is going to have any problems,’ ” Garcia said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are few boxers who haven’t had pain in their hands. It’s an occupational hazard when you spend much of the year clubbing someone upside the head.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Garcia, though, said many problems are exacerbated by poorly wrapped hands. The most common mistake trainers make when wrapping a fighter’s hand, Garcia said, is that they wrap it too tightly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It gets purple and then there is no circulation,” he says. “That’s when there are problems.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Nevada Athletic Commission thinks so highly of Garcia’s abilities it asked him to put on a clinic to demonstrate the proper technique.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He’s far more than a man who just knows how to put tape and gauze on a fighter’s hand, but at 81, he’s thrilled just to be involved in the game and around a boxer who he believes is one of the best who has ever lived.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I just love coming out every day and being here to see this, because this is history I’m watching,” Garcia said. “People always want to know, ‘Rafael, who is the best?’ It’s so hard to say. Different times, different styles. Floyd is the best now, without a doubt. I have respect for Marquez and his trainer, [Nacho] Beristain, is one of the best.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Floyd is just different. Watching him fight is just like watching the guys like Duran and Arguello. That’s the kind of level he’s at.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AtiDU28B1Ysr5zs_9jo56sSdCIh4?slug=ki-rafaelgarcia091009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns" target="_blank"><b>sports.yahoo.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-73750804928221453552009-09-12T01:59:00.000-07:002009-09-12T02:10:13.531-07:00Mayweather vs. Marquez latest update: The hidden side of Floyd Mayweather Jr.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJrR0dSIY2x8jBU1XWqunHL7vg479LMdGb9G-1OzVW-ZOmwEL4Km0D0NzVJr0uAEkhwOOw_wnVhupG4OLtfdzC1pHcKjjqVlWNKr1fHF3s89PQ1Gh6c4jcQhIVMgPm6xQnNG71lXLGWM/s1600-h/Floyd+Mayweather+handing+out+sandwiches.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJrR0dSIY2x8jBU1XWqunHL7vg479LMdGb9G-1OzVW-ZOmwEL4Km0D0NzVJr0uAEkhwOOw_wnVhupG4OLtfdzC1pHcKjjqVlWNKr1fHF3s89PQ1Gh6c4jcQhIVMgPm6xQnNG71lXLGWM/s200/Floyd+Mayweather+handing+out+sandwiches.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380505576308772994" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The midday sun is searing. Shade is all but impossible to find. The temperature inches toward 110 degrees and the heat radiating from the concrete is visible to the naked eye.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A reed-thin man with a scraggly salt-and-pepper beard filled with burrs shuffles slowly across a busy street, not particularly concerned about the traffic. He has been sweating, and with the wind blowing, the dust sticks to his face.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He makes his way toward a large black truck parked alongside a road in one of the city’s poorest areas. It’s obvious that, even if he doesn’t have a clue who’s inside the truck, he knows what it represents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The man, who said his name is Zeke, said he is not sure if he’s hotter, hungrier or thirstier. Clearly, though, he could use a meal. He’s about 6-foot tall but doesn’t look like he weighs 150 pounds, unless you count the 20-pound sack draped over his shoulder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He is among the first of the 100 or so homeless people who seem to appear out of nowhere to reach the truck. The door on the back of the truck loudly clatters up and an athletic young man bounds effortlessly into the back.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zeke sees him and sticks his hand out. Floyd Mayweather Jr., one of the most controversial figures in boxing, bends down and hands him a bag with a sandwich, a piece of fruit and some chips as well as a bottle of water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zeke throws the fruit and the chips into the bag he drags along with him but devours the sandwich in seconds. He gulps down the water and heads to the line again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He gets back to the front, but Mayweather recognizes him, smiles and declines to offer him a second lunch at that point.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Let’s make sure we have enough for everyone, then I’ll take care of you,” Mayweather says softly. “I won’t forget you.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Disappointed, Zeke shuffles away. He asks a nearby observer to stand in line for him and at least get him another bottle of water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“That’ll kill you,” he says motioning toward the fiery orange sun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Zeke hangs around for the half hour or so it takes for Mayweather and his cohorts to hand the lunches to those who stand in line. When the line is clear, Mayweather scans the area and spots Zeke. He shouts and then tosses him another bag of food and a bottle of water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few hours earlier, standing in his office, Mayweather explained why he would risk spending so much time in the strength-sapping sun with a bout that will land him an eight-figure payday nearing rapidly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a regular routine and, fight or no fight, Mayweather is out on a weekly basis to feed the homeless. He heard from a friend about the large homeless population in Clark County and the appalling conditions the men and women live in. Mayweather was dismayed when he observed them himself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He told his manager, Leonard Ellerbe, he needed to do something immediately.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I’ve been blessed by God,” Mayweather said. “No doubt about it. God gave me this talent and I’ve been able to build a better life for myself and my family. The people out there, the ones we’re going to see, they haven’t been so lucky. They need someone to give them a break, but no one wants to bother with them. People forget about them and pretend like they don’t exist. I guess they think if they act like there is no problem it will go away. But it won’t. Someone needs to help, so I do my part.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ready for return</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The unbeaten welterweight, who was a virtual unanimous choice as the best boxer in the world prior to his sudden retirement in June 2008, will return to the ring on Sept. 19 when he meets Juan Manuel Marquez in an HBO Pay-Per-View bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather remains one of the sport’s most polarizing figures. He flaunts his money – the jewelry he wears on his wrist and around his neck costs more than many of his fans’ homes – and he’s reviled by many who dislike his outlandish spending, loose tongue and exceptionally high opinion of himself that he’s so quick to share.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He’s only recently reconciled with his father after nearly a decade of public dispute. His former promoter, Bob Arum, makes no effort to conceal his disdain for him. In an interview with Fanhouse.com, Arum blasted Mayweather’s fighting style and said “People know Mayweather now. They know the son of a gun doesn’t fight. He fights scared. … Outside the ring, yeah, he shoots up cars and he does other things like that and he entertains. But in the ring, he’s not an entertaining fighter.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Arum was referring to an incident last month in which shots were fired at a local roller-skating rink. Mayweather’s 2008 Rolls Royce was at the scene and police later searched his home. Though police say Mayweather is not a suspect, they removed two handguns (one of which was a Smith & Wesson), a holster, three magazines containing live rounds and a bulletproof vest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ellerbe said the guns were registered to two of Mayweather’s bodyguards. Despite Mayweather’s denial of having any involvement, the incident has contributed to the perception many hold of him as a hoodlum.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Ellerbe, who is also his best friend, said Mayweather is far from that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There’s the entertainer, the public figure, but the Floyd Mayweather I know is a kind and caring and thoughtful person,” Ellerbe said. “You hear all this stuff, but we all know where it’s coming from. It’s jealousy. Any time anything happens, they want to blame Floyd. It’s ridiculous.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather clearly doesn’t care for the negative perceptions of him, but he also refuses to attempt to polish his image in a bid to curry favor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He’ll tell you vehemently that he is no hoodlum, no petty criminal, no bad guy, but neither will he change who he is just for the sake of impressing middle-aged white men in suits. As a way of explanation, he makes no bones about his affinity for visits to Las Vegas’ topless clubs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There are guys at HBO [and] they tell me I shouldn’t go to the strip clubs,” Mayweather said. “Why not? I’m an adult. I’m not married. I’m not committing any crimes. And you know what? I have been in strip clubs and I’ve seen a lot of the same men in there who talk about me and who tell me not to go in there. They’re in there and they want to tell me I shouldn’t go? At least I’m honest about what I do.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>True to himself</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When Mayweather turned professional, he was viewed as the next Sugar Ray Leonard. He tried that approach for the first half of his career but didn’t feel it ever fit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He has become more successful since he invented “Money Mayweather” and projected more of a brash, anti-establishment persona. And despite all his good works, that’s the way it’s going to stay, he says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Why should I have to act differently just to please someone who doesn’t know me?” Mayweather said. “The people who know me know who I am and the person I am. If you want to know about me, ask them. I’m a guy who loves my family, who wants to do the best for my kids, and if I can do something to help someone who hasn’t been as truly blessed as I have been, I’ll do it. Ask the people who know me what I’m really like.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nate Jones, Mayweather’s teammate on the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, is one of those who knows Mayweather the man, not Mayweather the public figure. They first met, Jones said, at the Golden Gloves in Michigan in 1994. Jones instantly disliked him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I heard this kid running off at the mouth, every day at the weigh-in,” Jones said. “Every morning you weigh in and every morning, I’d go down to weigh in and here’s this kid just talking about himself. He wouldn’t shut up. I just didn’t like him because of his mouth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“But I saw him fight then and I went up to him and I shook his hand. When I first saw him, I told him to shut up because he talked so much. But when I saw him fight finally, I said, ‘Oh my God.’ All I could do was bow to him. He could really fight. Everything he was saying was true.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Each went on to make the Olympic team and became roommates and close friends. When they turned professional, Mayweather signed with Arum and Jones opted to sign with Don King.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Mayweather enjoyed nothing but success as a pro, Jones hit a road block. He was too small to make an impact as a heavyweight and began having problems. He retired in 2002 because of neurological damage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jones was lost and had nothing to do, no way of making a living, when his phone rang. “Floyd said, ‘Nate, come on out here and work for me. You know boxing. I’ll find something for you to do and you’ll always have a check,’ ” Jones said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jones said part of his problem as a professional was that he began to drink heavily. Mayweather would counsel him and urge him to stop, but Jones persisted. He drank and didn’t train as hard as he needed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I would drink in camp, up to about a week before the fight, and I shouldn’t have been doing that,” Jones said. “Floyd told me. He begged me. And I paid for it. You kill a lot of brain cells when you drink like I was and then you go and get hit in the head. It quickened up the process.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jones said when he first arrived in Mayweather’s camp he was simply a friend, a guy Mayweather paid just to be around so he’d have some money in his pocket. As time evolved, though, Jones began to have a more active role in Mayweather’s boxing career.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Floyd has a lot of respect for my boxing knowledge,” Jones said. “He always tells me, ‘Nate, yours is the only voice I hear when I’m fighting. I can’t hear anyone else’s voice but yours.’ He respects my opinion, so I can make suggestions and talk about things with him. I’m like a secondary trainer. He knows I have his back. All I want is what is 110 percent what is best for Floyd. He knows that.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jones said it stings him to his core when he hears Mayweather being attacked. Mayweather has an entourage of about 20 people he has hired because he felt sorry for them, Jones said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“He doesn’t need me,” Jones said. “He’d win without me. But he cares about people. He pays decent money so people can have good lives and have a chance to have success. And that touches a lot of people. There’s one guy here who is working for Floyd who basically can’t do a thing. He can’t even carry a bag without having some problem. Floyd just doesn’t turn his back on anyone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“He said to me, ‘Nate, I don’t need this guy. He can’t carry a bag. He serves no purpose. But how would I feel if I told him to go home and I know it would hurt him? I can’t do that.’ That’s the part of Floyd people don’t understand.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ellerbe talked about Mayweather going shopping for shoes to deliver to the students of Matt Kelly Elementary School, which is located in one of Vegas’ most blighted areas. Mayweather also paid the full tab, nearly $200,000, so the Michigan Golden Gloves could be held in Grand Rapids last year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I got a chance by fighting in that tournament and I was lucky and I made it,” Mayweather said. “There wouldn’t have been a tournament [last year] because there was no money, so me paying for it to keep it alive, that was a way for me to say thanks and give someone else the same opportunity I had.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s mentioned to him that if more people saw this side of him he would skyrocket in popularity and would make more money. He would become a beloved figure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather shook his finger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“You might be right, but that’s not what it’s about,” he said. “I don’t go talk to kids and I don’t go feed the homeless because I want someone to know about it. I want to do it because I know there’s a need and I have the chance to do right.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I don’t care who knows or who doesn’t know. As long as I help the kids and people who need help, that’s really what matters. I don’t care too much about what anyone else thinks or has to say, to be honest with you. I’m happy with who I am and that’s the important thing.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=ki-mayweather091109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns" target="_blank"><b>sports.yahoo.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-77095806483617226012009-09-12T01:38:00.000-07:002009-09-12T01:42:15.148-07:00Mayweather vs. Marquez finalize L.A. appearances<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-oTzrlsfMAeLc4koZ1EJj3FQxgXf_cLbyB8F_yrDngroM1bkUpf-SxDsl2oaXANmTULTu5Lu6-SjaS0a54ZQznnPNNAAyOL7IrhiTDC-saktXzbB5u6VpItTehCQJckMr0o-OTbdvIR4/s1600-h/Roger+with+Floyd.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-oTzrlsfMAeLc4koZ1EJj3FQxgXf_cLbyB8F_yrDngroM1bkUpf-SxDsl2oaXANmTULTu5Lu6-SjaS0a54ZQznnPNNAAyOL7IrhiTDC-saktXzbB5u6VpItTehCQJckMr0o-OTbdvIR4/s200/Roger+with+Floyd.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380498358074909106" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez won't be coming to USC after all, but both fighters will appear Monday on the Kodak Theatre Arch for public workouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather's session will begin at 11 a.m., publicists say, and Marquez will follow at 12:30 p.m., as they begin fight week activities before their HBO pay-per-view welterweight showdown Sept. 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The Kodak Theatre is at 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The event was first scheduled to be on the USC campus next to the Tommy Trojan statue, but USC officials vetoed the publicity appearance by an outside organization.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez, currently wrapping up his training in Mexico, is scheduled to arrive at LAX on Saturday at 5 p.m., and then appear alongside his promoter Oscar De La Hoya for a fan rally at 3 p.m. Sunday at Fiestas Patrias California at the Olvera Street Plaza (corner of Alameda and Los Angeles streets).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/09/floyd-mayweather-jr-juan-manuel-marquez-boxing.html" target="_blank"><b>latimesblogs.latimes.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-29594424041092041772009-09-12T01:34:00.000-07:002009-09-12T01:37:33.880-07:00Jeff Mayweather Gives an Honest Take on his Nephew Floyd<div style="text-align: justify;">The life and times of Floyd Mayweather have been well documented throughout the years. Talented and full of bravado, Mayweather has always found a way to remain relevant, whether he is scathed or praised. Throughout Floyd’s well publicized ride there haven’t been too many individuals who have gotten to know him from the inside out like his respected uncle Jeff.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A former fighter in his own right and an excellent trainer who helped guide Sultan Ibragimov to the WBO Heavyweight Championship in June of 2007, Jeff Mayweather is cut from a different clothe than the other Mayweathers. While uncle Roger, Floyd Sr. and lil’ Floyd have always been quick to preach about their skills and talents as human beings, Jeff prefers to take a much more subdued approach and his humble nature has always been like a breath of fresh air.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Floyd’s career began to blossom in the early years, Jeff was there for every step of the way and served the role of a mentor, manager, and more importantly a friend throughout everything. While their may have been some sour times down the road, Jeff still keeps and open mind and an unbiased view when assessing his nephew’s place in the sport of boxing. It is that exact mindset that has also allowed Jeff to give a personal take on the upcoming September 19th Mayweather clash again Juan Manuel Marquez without any hesitation whatsoever.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Marquez no chance,” Mayweather says bluntly. “He’s an outstanding fighter but he’s just in over his head in this contest. People are wrong when they assume that Floyd has lost a step and that he is going to be rusty. He’s ready for this fight.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As Mayweather trains diligently for this contest in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jeff has had time to swing by Floyd’s personal gym to check him out. In seeing his nephew get down to work Jeff is reminded of the fighter Floyd still is and the desire he still has to be a force in the boxing world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It’s like he never left,” Jeff says of Floyd’s nearly two year absence from the sport. “In a way I think he needed this time off. I’ve seen him in the gym and he isn’t rusty. He looks as strong as I’ve ever seen him and I can tell he’s hungry again.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While Mayweather has been away from the sport his mantel of the world’s best fighter has been replaced by Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao. In Mayweather’s absence Pacquiao has gone 4-0, with stirring victories over Juan Manuel Marquez in their rematch, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ricky Hatton. Jeff believes that Pacquiao’s stellar run has given Floyd somewhat of a chip on his shoulder and that he is determined to reclaim his stake as the best in the business.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Everybody is big on Pacquiao,” Mayweather claims. “Basically he is the man according to most and he definitely has done a lot for his career in the past few years. The thing about Floyd is that he has a huge ego and I know deep down that maybe it has gotten under his skin. If anything I know it has given him some motivation to remind people of the fighter he still is. Eventually I think they will meet in the ring and then the truth will come out.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has been heavily publicized that in camp with Floyd this time around is his father Floyd Sr. It’s no secret that the elder Mayweather was instrumental in his son’s career before being locked up for playing a part in a drug trafficking scandal in 1993. After serving five years behind bars, the elder Mayweather returned to be involved in his son’s life but their relationship has since been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least, with numerous fallouts and reconciliations having taken place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps because of the rocky past that has existed in their relationship, both men are still attempting to pick up the pieces in several regards. Jeff notes that while Floyd is in camp, he isn’t the head trainer for his son and that he is instead there to mend a bond that has taken its share of bumps and bruises.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It seems that the main reason Floyd Sr. is there is to rebuild a broken relationship,” Jeff opens up honestly. “He’s not serving as a head trainer. As a former fighter of course he is feeling that it’s beneficial to be there but lil’ Floyd is man enough to know how to get ready for a showdown like this. If anything I think they are still trying to get comfortable with one another.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">‘Money’ Mayweather has been no stranger to controversy in the past and in this camp again some possible distractions have rose to the surface. Just last month Uncle Roger was taken into custody by police because he reportedly choked a former fighter of his by the name of Melissa St. Vil. He is facing charges of felony coercion and battery strangulation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later in the month, on August 23rd, Mayweather’s name came up in relation to a shooing incident at the Crystal Palace Skating rink. Guns, ammunition, and even bullet proof vests were later seized from Mayweather’s home, but the Grand Rapids native not only denies his involvement in the incident, but also claims it won’t be a distraction come fight time. Uncle Jeff completely agrees</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I remember reading an article in the past where Oscar De La Hoya was talking about Floyd,” Jeff recalls. “Basically Oscar was trying to sell their fight by saying that Floyd had too many distractions around him to fully focus for a big fight. But the thing is that Floyd has always had distractions in his life, so why would it be different this time around? The thing about Floyd is that despite everything going on around him, he is always able to put everything together when he steps through those ropes. The ring is his sanctuary.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd’s performances in the past have reaffirmed this, as he has found a way to remain undefeated since starting his career in October of 1996. Inside the ring he has shown moments of brilliance but there is no denying that the controversy he has created coupled with his braggadocios demeanor have ultimately turned several people off. More and more Floyd has become accustomed to playing the role of the bad guy, and it’s a position that Jeff feels his is definitely comfortable with.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Really, Floyd has always been the bad guy,” Jeff claims. “Nobody likes a guy who is flashy and constantly talks about it because it’s perceived as bragging, both to the common fan and everyday person. When people don’t have certain things and you just throw it in their face of course you are going to turn people against you. To Floyd it may just be him being confident but people take it as arrogance.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite being public enemy number one in recent times, there is still no denying that Floyd brings something completely different to the sport of boxing. While his act may have gotten old with some people, he still has a legion of fans who love him for the fighter he is and the antics he is involved in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Floyd definitely still has his fans,” Jeff says with confidence. “It’s just that his fans seems to be a certain type of people these days. He seems to really attract the young, hip-hop crowd because they love someone like Floyd who is all about money and cars. True boxing fans might not care for that but just like rappers always attract a certain kind of attention, so too does Floyd.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love him or hate him, many would agree that it is a good thing Floyd is returning to the ring. His accomplishments and talents are without question and after his bout with Marquez he could be involved in some huge fights that could help to carry the sport of boxing for a good while. When closing out about his nephew, Jeff doesn’t see it as much as the start of something new, but more so a return to how things used to be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The thing about boxing these days is that the sport is still being carried by veteran fighters. Guys like Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are still the biggest names in the sport and without them there wouldn’t be nearly as much to talk about. They might try to hype up certain fighters like an Andre Berto, but while he’s a good fighter he isn’t ready to take that next step. I think it’s good that Floyd is coming back because whether people want to admit it or not he is going to help keep the sport going once he returns.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/1897/2009-09-10.html" target="_blank"><b>8countnews.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-24502671578841740102009-09-12T01:25:00.001-07:002009-09-12T01:32:08.158-07:00All the pressure is on Mayweather<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisNNFa7NJrGlAwHfLSfwa-u553GsZ5H_j4ZhY3hJFzUsd6_KLxAsigfg1RYIYoIuaHHloJzunPO25gGRFj-oj85zzh1EREAHxxUJqtI2nmzB7YRC45wBIq8w3Wq6DxruyzMQXM6tqRao/s1600-h/Floyd+Mayweather+Pose.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisNNFa7NJrGlAwHfLSfwa-u553GsZ5H_j4ZhY3hJFzUsd6_KLxAsigfg1RYIYoIuaHHloJzunPO25gGRFj-oj85zzh1EREAHxxUJqtI2nmzB7YRC45wBIq8w3Wq6DxruyzMQXM6tqRao/s200/Floyd+Mayweather+Pose.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380495591245639218" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Locker room philosopher Charles Barkley once said pressure is for tires. That wise-guy bit of wisdom is worth remembering as anticipation and speculation combine and begin to register a surprising buzz in the build-up for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s comeback on Sept. 19 against Juan Manuel Marquez at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a fight predicted to be one-sided, intrigue is there because of what it means to Mayweather, the overwhelming favorite. For him, the stakes are huge, maybe never bigger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s not if Mayweather wins. It’s how he wins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If he loses, well, his career will be a blowout for everybody who thinks he is just a bunch of hot air anyway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Within the how, there is the business meter, the pay-per-view numbers that will determine whether Mayweather can stand alone as an attraction with enough leverage to reasonably ask for the lion’s share of the profit margin in a projected moneymaker against Manny Pacquiao.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It all adds up to the kind of pressure that turns a few into legends and most into tires. Mayweather, defensive in the ring and often out of it, has shown an ability to forge it into a legacy, which he often talks about almost as if it is a birthright.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To wit: Against Ricky Hatton, he delivered terrific stoppage that silenced a crowd of rude Brits who had booed the Star-Spangled Banner. It was beautiful. A fighter I had never liked had won me over, at least for the moment. But proof always rests in the next punch and that burden has never been heavier.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A crushing loss to Pacquiao only confirmed suspicions that Hatton, although entertaining, was overrated. Mayweather beat De La Hoya in a narrow decision in 2007, but De La Hoya’s next two fights – a bruising, telling decision over Steve Forbes and eighth-round surrender to Pacquiao in December – and subsequent retirement seemed to say he was finished.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Against Marquez, Mayweather faces a seasoned, full-time fighter, whose two has a draw and loss to Pacquiao in two fights that he could have easily won. Against Mayweather, he is the underdog, a heavy one, mostly because the former featherweight and lightweight champion has never fought as a welter and presumably won’t be one on Sept. 19. The reported catch-weight is 144 pounds. Marquez predicted in a conference call nearly two weeks ago that he will be at 142 pounds. On the same call, however, Mayweather again would not confirm the reported catch weight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Not weighting no 143,’’ said Mayweather, who dismissed reports of the catch weight as rumors. “It’s a welterweight fight. I weigh whatever a welterweight weighs.’’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apparently, that means Mayweather will weigh whatever he wants. Or maybe it means the biggest weigh-in flap since Jose Luis Castillo. Whatever it leads to, it is just another example of Mayweather’s ability to keep opponents and media guessing, which – truth is – part of the intrigue in the countdown to Marquez.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But there is no guess about what the unbeaten Mayweather has to do against Marquez. To back up his boasts and his resurrected claim on the pound-for-pound perch, he has to do what nobody else has in 54 fights: Knock out Marquez.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“He has to keep fighting the best and knock out out some of the best, starting with Juan Manuel Marquez,’’ De La Hoya, Marquez’ promoter, said Thursday in a conference call. “He has to make a statement.’’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It would be a statement without saying anything at all, which for Mayweather would say everything.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NOTES, QUOTES, ODDSERVATIONS</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>After watching HBO’s 24/7, I don’t want to know what’s in that Marquez water bottle. Memo to the Nevada State Athletic Commission: If Marquez is asked to take the traditional drug test, make sure the cup gets to the lab before he drinks the contents.</li><li>De La Hoya’s side-show decision over Shaquille O’Neal on fantasy TV was actually entertaining and left me wondering if Pacquiao taught De La Hoya how a little man can beat a bigger one.</li><li>More O’Neal: With the Ali Shuffle, he showed more footwork during a few rounds in the ring than he did throughout last season with the Phoenix Suns. Maybe, the Cleveland Cavaliers should hire Freddie Roach as O’Neal’s personal bench coach. It looks as if only Roach could get O’Neal to move his feet fast enough to defend against the pick-and-roll, which knocked the Suns into mediocrity and could keep LeBron James from claiming his first NBA championship ring.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.15rounds.com/all-the-pressure-is-on-mayweather-091109/" target="_blank"><b>15rounds.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-43645928171967214492009-09-12T01:05:00.000-07:002009-09-12T01:10:14.365-07:00Dana White Disses Mayweather vs. Marquez<div style="text-align: justify;">Dana White hasn't cooled off on HBO boxing's decision to air the Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez boxing match on Sept. 19 -- the same night as UFC 103. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a new video released by the UFC on Wednesday, which contains some obscene language, White took a few more jabs at his pay-per-view counterparts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="358" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sVUWLl_AJfs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sVUWLl_AJfs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="358" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Boxing is doing it to you again," White said. "They're giving you the fight that you don't want. Nobody asked for this fight with Mayweather and ... what's his name? What's his name? Nobody even knows. Nobody in this room even knows who Floyd's fighting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"... On that same night, on that UFC card, you guys can all tune in and you can watch not one fight, you guys can watch five great fights that night for ten dollars less than what Floyd wants you to pay to see him run around in circles, and lay on the ropes, and move around and not fight."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Mark Taffet, the senior vice president of HBO pay-per-view, told FanHouse at a sports business forum in New York City on Wednesday, that they didn't try to intentionally counterprogram UFC 103. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's definitely not something that happens intentionally, and it's something that you would want to have happen as infrequently as possible because the distribution pipelines prefer to be clean and singularly focused," Taffet said. "When it does occur, we're confident from a consumer perspective of there being very little overlap and the events will all thrive. But it's clearly something that on a going forward basis that will happen as infrequently as possible."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regardless, Taffet doesn't believe either show will generate less pay-per-view buys as a result of airing on the same night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There's very little overlap in the fan bases between the sports. We believe that there's not more than 5% overlap in the fan bases. Each sport has its unique fans, it's passionate fans, and its loyal fans. We think that our fans are going to find Mayweather vs. Marquez that night -- we're very confident about that -- and it's a world in which multiple sports are thriving in the pay-per-view industry and the pay-per-view distributors the beneficiaries."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The UFC and HBO boxing will also go head-to-head on Nov. 14 when the Manny Pacquaio vs. Miguel Cotto fight will air against Spike's tape delayed telecast of UFC 105. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's clear that all parties involved on the boxing side have no interest in talking about competing against the UFC. When FanHouse asked Mayweather about White recently saying he wasn't a superstar, Mayweather quickly brushed it off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I'm not worried about what Dana White said," Mayweather said. "I mean, Dana White says what he says -- it don't matter. I'm not thinking about Dana White."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps Golden Boy and HBO don't want to give the public a reason to pay attention to UFC 103, or maybe they just don't consider the UFC competition. But White is taking a much different approach. He seems to have no issue addressing the Mayweather vs. Marquez fight in the crucial days leading up to Sept. 19. Conventional wisdom says a promoter should never address the competition, but if you thought White would do that in this case, you haven't been paying much attention. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Only time will tell if either show will suffer from going up against each other. But one thing is for certain: it looks like the war between the UFC and boxing is only getting started.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/09/10/dana-white-disses-mayweather-marquez-hbo-says-counterprogram-un/" target="_blank"><b>mma.fanhouse.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-90693248836853338892009-09-12T01:02:00.000-07:002009-09-12T01:04:40.870-07:00Juan Manuel Marquez ready for Mayweather vs. Marquez battle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xLjED4KcO6QnjfP20htz3HvPS0AiFeluV-mMsg5heT9RCSj2avSELBO-bpR1lWSEzJ86SAKvBrZrIvJjSPj0MEXvO-yyBXZLlkcGenNSaKJGpXj4dmFL6SQB6LND-xSjAuJ8YqlF898/s1600-h/Juan+Marquez+2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xLjED4KcO6QnjfP20htz3HvPS0AiFeluV-mMsg5heT9RCSj2avSELBO-bpR1lWSEzJ86SAKvBrZrIvJjSPj0MEXvO-yyBXZLlkcGenNSaKJGpXj4dmFL6SQB6LND-xSjAuJ8YqlF898/s200/Juan+Marquez+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380488635350438962" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">You can't teach your granny or Juan Manuel Marquez to suck eggs!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Mexican marvel, nicknamed Dinamita, has devised his own brand of rocket fuel for the upcoming battle of lightning reflexes, razor sharp wits and thudding fists against Floyd Mayweather Jr... but, oh boy, it ain't pretty!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez is making Rocky Balboa look tame, because he's swallowing raw eggs by the dozen, and to wash it down, he's nipping to the loo to collect and drink his own urine!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Juan Manuel ruefully concedes the pee formula is not a pale ale vintage bouquet, but insists, without taking the mickey, it's worked a treat for the last half-dozen fights, and he swears by the vitamin content. He's also been getting some lungfuls of enriched fresh air in a hyperbaric chamber.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez, who's now had almost half a year to get ready, due to Mayweather's ticklish rib injury, has been training for the fight of his life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A trained accountant, who's accomplished at crunching numbers as well as cracking chins, he's well aware of the odds, the adverse stats and clutch of clucking critics who have sagely written him off as being too old and too lightweight to stand a chance against an undefeated five division champion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He's already torn up that weighty script as part of his training regime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>High altitude</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most Mexican fighters who really mean business go training at the bleak Otomi High altitude training centre in the craggy mountains broodingly perched over Toluca. But to get into to peak condition Marquez has gone to the peak district above them, another thousand metres above three thousand five hundred metres above sea level Mexico City. He's run up to and passed by extinct volcanoes at the rarefied higher level of Nevado De Toluca.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back in the unremitting head-swimming oven like heat of the Romanza gym, in the gritty barrio of Iztacalco, Marquez takes time out to chat before a 90-minute training session. It's a workshop and sweatshop which has turned out burnished anvil-fisted fighters the likes of his hard hitting brother Rafael, the peerless and undefeated Ricardo 'Finito' Lopez, Daniel Zaragoza and Gilberto Roman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Marquez of today is no longer a svelte natural featherweight. He's a powerful 144lbs, which is the catchweight limit the bout will be fought at. He's sporting forearms, biceps and shoulders which would be the envy of Popeye, and they pack hellish wallops as protectively-padded trainers and the welted midriffs of exposed sparring partners bear witness to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, he is under no illusions about the magnitude of the test ahead. He stressed: "This is the most important fight of my career. It's against the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, who has a superb defense, is very astute and is undefeated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I've been active and busy fighting. I've also had almost five months to get ready for this fight, appropriately tempering the level of my training because of the postponement, but Floyd's spent more than a year and a half out of the ring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"That said, I know Floyd Mayweather is always in superb condition, and I'm ready for the very best Floyd there is.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There's no specific set strategy. Rather I'll tailor what I do, round by round to overcome his style. I'm going to use, speed, intelligence, savvy, counter punching and every bit of experience I've accumulated during my career to defeat him. I have to employ all of these things to open up routes of opportunity because he's a very complete boxer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's extremely important to grasp this and to have an appreciation of the task ahead in order to win. I'm also going to pressure him, but in an intelligent way. I've been working hard on my speed, which is obviously an important factor. Not a punch will be wasted."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Copy Castillo</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many boxing doyens are convinced that compatriot Jose Luis Castillo did more than enough to defeat Mayweather in the first fight they had. Castillo is an out-and-out attacking fighter, while the Marquez style is counter-punching and designed for greater ring longevity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unabashed, his wily manager Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain has been closely studying it, to see if any snippet or nugget can be gleaned from the way Castillo successfully harassed Floyd out of his comfort zone and into a telephone booth, a private corner of hell.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At 36 years old, and with almost as many accumulated KO's to his credit as Mayweather has had fights, Juan Manuel is smart enough to know that his multi-talented opponent could never be considered a stepping stone to bigger and better things.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But he is also honest enough to admit he's still hankering after a third showdown with Manny Pacquiao, who's slated to fight Miguel Cotto next.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He explained it by saying: "My mindset is on September 19, but I also know the fans want me to take on Manny Pacquiao for a third time. In my heart I also want this. I'm using it as an extra motivating factor right now."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And silver tongued Golden Boy Productions owner Oscar De La Hoya, who recently dropped in on Juan, has said when he wins this fight: "He'll be calling the shots."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While sparring against Marquez, welterweight Abraham Alejandro Barrera from Monterrey - who has KO'd all 13 of his opponents - tries to arch one shoulder and then roll both of them to mimic Floyd's intricate defensive techniques.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His reward is a hard-angled right hook into the mid section of his ribs and a thundering straight left on to the side of his battered head guard.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Imitation almost provided him with the sincerest form of flattening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Juan Manuel Marquez is under no illusions that it'll be as easy when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. His only message to Mayweather is a brief and stark: "I'm ready and I'm prepared."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12184_5546159,00.html" target="_blank"><b>skysports.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-53242751442874955422009-09-12T00:26:00.000-07:002009-09-12T00:34:46.124-07:00Mayweather vs. Marquez Odds & Picks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWRKlAXJ-UK2IU1KIxMxDWOcTM8QWG8gZDEyxoPrF_ltstkWCxnvpfjrdt5aR8HflRFUze9A1Oodes6ZrK-Uf6oCXpytDZhrYUDJh4vWFMnDFWXZ_gATzKjuyqwMipeceloaWK7xyY1g/s1600-h/Juan+Marquez.jpg"><img style="text-align: justify;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 83px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWRKlAXJ-UK2IU1KIxMxDWOcTM8QWG8gZDEyxoPrF_ltstkWCxnvpfjrdt5aR8HflRFUze9A1Oodes6ZrK-Uf6oCXpytDZhrYUDJh4vWFMnDFWXZ_gATzKjuyqwMipeceloaWK7xyY1g/s200/Juan+Marquez.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380480634591157570" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts his unbeaten boxing record on the line when he comes out of retirement to face Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, Sept. 19 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.sportsinteraction.com/sportsbook/index.cfm?section=Football09&prid=15031&hit=1"><b><i>Bet Mayweather vs. Marquez</i></b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather is the favorite heading into the catchweight-fight at 144 lbs. with a betting line of -350 while Marquez has a line of +275 according to online sports book Sports Interaction. The fight card begins at 9PM ET on Pay-Per-View. Here is a closer look at both boxers heading into this fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0, 25 KO’s)</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Strengths:</b> Mayweather is unbeaten for a reason. He is considered by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. His speed and strength combination are as great as the sports has ever seen. Mayweather has fought in multiple weight classes and succeeded at each. His smart style of fighting has allowed him to beat some of the best in the world. Mayweather has been raised on boxing since childhood and doesn’t take his responsibilities in the ring lightly.</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Weaknesses:</b> Mayweather has not fought since Dec. 8 of 2007 against Ricky Hatton, which was a 10th round KO win. Mayweather then retired, but has decided to return to the ring for a pair of big-money fights in the making. First is with Marquez, but the next could potentially be with Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather didn’t pick an easy fight to open with as Marquez has 50 professional victories. This fight was scheduled to take place in July, but a rib injury pushed the fight back to next Saturday. If the injury still exists, it could be very detrimental to Mayweather’s return.</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Five Fights:</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">10th Round TKO win over Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8, 2007</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Split decision win over Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unanimous decision win over Carlos Baldomir on Nov. 4, 2006</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unanimous decision win over Zab Judah on April 8, 2006</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">6th Round TKO win over Sharmba Mitchell on Nov. 19, 2005</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KO’s)</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Strengths:</b> Marquez has great power in his hands as well and uses very accurate punches to work his opponents before delivering the knockout blow in the later rounds. Marquez has won by TKO in his last two fights and this is his opportunity to really establish himself as one of the top fighters in the world. Marquez will be the fresher fighter and not have the rust that Mayweather may have, with Marquez’ last fight coming on Feb. 28.</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Weaknesses:</b> Marquez lost a close decision to Pacquiao in 2008 and his fight with Mayweather is as big a fight as he has had in his career. Mayweather has a lot more marquee-fight experience while Marquez is looking to emerge as a “big money” fighter. Marquez may not have fought someone with the combination of speed and power like Mayweather, unless Pacquiao really can compare to the unbeaten Mayweather.</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;">Last Five Fights:</div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">9th Round TKO win over Juan Diaz on Feb. 28, 2009</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">11th Round TKO win over Joel Casamayor on Sept. 13, 2008</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao on March 15, 2008</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unanimous decision win over Rocky Juarez on Nov. 3, 2007</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unanimous decision win over Marco Antonio Barrera on March 17, 2007</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Who will win:</b> Every time Mayweather seems to be in a difficult fight where he could suffer his first loss, he seems to put on an even more impressive performance than his previous fight. I think Mayweather knows what he is getting himself into. I don’t think he would take a fight that he felt he could lose and let his career get tarnished like Roy Jones Jr. Mayweather has had a long layoff, but his conditioning and agility doesn’t seem affected. I again think Mayweather sees the dollar signs for a fight with Pacquiao down the road and he will make sure he is in top form for this fight with Marquez.</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Additional Line:</b> Over/Under 11.5 rounds for fight length. Under (Even) Over (-140)</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Additional Fight:</b> WBA Featherweight Championship: Chris John (-325) vs. Rocky Juarez (+250)</span></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><a href="http://www.sportsinteraction.com/sportsbook/index.cfm?section=Football09&prid=15031&hit=1">Bet Mayweather vs. Marquez</a></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.thespread.com/sports-betting-top-stories-900/boxing-matchups-mayweather-vs.-marquez-odds-picks.html" target="_blank"><b>thespread.com</b></a></div></span>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-10760698118163197872009-09-09T02:57:00.000-07:002009-09-09T03:00:03.224-07:00Juan Manuel Marquez: Taking a calculated risk<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpF93QIaJWAw12MJTNcik-MDOfmz6dSieSvcLJax8A2dGN32gETdv9XeK736aYtb1nnUa5EAfu1fa298LHKRh4AGQlxhYrvGVBV55CKn6P6hpMYcSFcpPP07OSAU9aV9-6C1jw1t91UQI/s1600-h/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpF93QIaJWAw12MJTNcik-MDOfmz6dSieSvcLJax8A2dGN32gETdv9XeK736aYtb1nnUa5EAfu1fa298LHKRh4AGQlxhYrvGVBV55CKn6P6hpMYcSFcpPP07OSAU9aV9-6C1jw1t91UQI/s200/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379405253689260290" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Open mouth wide. Insert foot. I am reading the instructions on how to put myself in my place. For you see, I have had an epiphany.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have not given proper credit where credit is due. I have assumed, so to speak. Everyone knows what happens when you assume. Break the word into three parts and it is self explanatory.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The man I don't think that I've been fair to is Juan Manuel Marquez. Juan , of course, is the lightweight champion of the world. He is also one of the smartest boxers on the planet. If anyone wants to question his heart, just you try going 24 rounds and suffering four knockdowns at the hands of the baddest man on the planet, Manny Pacquiao. Marquez did this and was still in each fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Juan had been quoted in Ring magazine as saying that he didn't feel his career would be complete without a win over Pacquiao. Many still feel his ultimate goal is Pacman, but at the same time we rationalize that Juan Manuel must sit around feeling sorry for his lot in life. I firmly believe that nothing could be further from the truth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Juan wanted to be an accountant. A noble profession and one that takes brains. And as his fighting style would attest, you can be sure that he calculates the odds of things happening in the ring. He also must calculate what happens outside the ring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking all of that into account, we as fans assume that he dreams of getting Pacquiao in the ring a third time. But perhaps we are wrong. As a smart man, perhaps Juan Manuel has said to himself that when Pacquiao said no to a third fight, then he meant no.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So maybe Juan said I'll look for the best alternative to Pacquiao that will enhance my standing and career as one of the best boxers in the world. In steps Floyd Mayweather. The previous pound for pound king still officially has no loses, although Jose Luis Castillo may beg to differ.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we hear his trainer Nacho Beristain tell Juan Manuel that Floyd is bigger and faster, all we see from Juan Manuel is a look of defiance. A win over Mayweather could be one of boxing's biggest upsets. Fighters sometimes take long periods off in between fights. Although Floyd took a year and a half off, don't expect him to be too rusty. He did not let himself go during this time. If anything, reports are that he was constantly working out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So Juan Manuel will by all accounts, be stepping in the ring with a larger, quicker fighter. One that is still considered one of the best in the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why does Juan want to take this risk? He may know something that the rest of us don't. In Marquez mind it might be a risk he can't afford to pass up. If there is one thing an accountant is good at, it is adding up numbers. Maybe Juan Manuel feels the numbers are in his favor. Call it a calculated risk. Something Marquez knows quite a bit about.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-8557-Norfolk-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Juan-Manuel-Marquez-Taking-a-calculated-risk"><b>examiner.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-45282021689310589712009-09-09T02:51:00.000-07:002009-09-09T02:56:54.620-07:00'Young' Juan Manuel Marquez Will Turn Up Heat on Floyd Mayweather<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OD09OrMDVmpu7mHBG4-eSLJjT55lMTWKXWFXq5Vxt5N8prYDzZmewjgo4nEO_d-PV5geihP-1FLSFb9HAdmQysgUlNc5QfuIO7fhsF7EzZadXIOglWuT_BXSaZUt2YtJnv7I5k-ux_4/s1600-h/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+4.jpg"><img style="text-align: justify;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 198px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OD09OrMDVmpu7mHBG4-eSLJjT55lMTWKXWFXq5Vxt5N8prYDzZmewjgo4nEO_d-PV5geihP-1FLSFb9HAdmQysgUlNc5QfuIO7fhsF7EzZadXIOglWuT_BXSaZUt2YtJnv7I5k-ux_4/s200/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379404258666968754" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Can an aging veteran who will be fighting as high as 144 pounds for the first time in his professional boxing career take down a 32-year-old who is admittedly bigger, stronger and faster?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That, in essence, is what Sept. 19 boils down to for Juan Manuel Marquez. That's when he walks into the ring for his megabout opposite unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Right now, I'm 36 years old, but I feel young," said Marquez, a married father of three, during Tuesday's exclusive interview with FanHouse from his training quarters in Mexico City. "I feel like I'm 28."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A traditional counter-puncher who has not competed at higher than 135 pounds, Marquez (50-4, 37 knockouts) knows that he will need to take risks in order to beat Mayweather (39-0, 25 knockouts), whose defensive skills often involve yielding ground and fighting in retreat early while shielding himself with a "shoulder-roll" and picking his spots. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That strategy worked well for Mayweather against Ricky Hatton on the way to a 10th-round stoppage in December of 2007 -- the last time he was in the ring.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Floyd Mayweather is the best fighter, pound-for-pound," said Marquez, whose birthday was on Aug. 23. "It's going to be very important to bring the pressure against his speed."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez has spent most of his career at featherweight (125 pounds) and superfeatherweight (130), but is coming off of consecutive knockouts of Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz at 135 pounds. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Against Mayweather, who has fought at a weight as high as 150 pounds, Marquez may need to make the unbeaten man feel whatever "pop" there is in either hand quickly, in addition to maintaining an extraordinary activity level that outworks the larger man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"When they start the fight, the pressure will be very important, and it will be very important to connect on as many punches as I can," said Marquez. "It's going to be very important to work the body, and to use my intelligence."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez must try to expose any existing ring rust that may be the result of Mayweather's long layoff, also potentially winning the minds of judges, should they be convinced that Mayweather's retreat has more to do with caution than strategy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked if he thought he could hurt Mayweather, Marquez said, "I'll try."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"My confidence is in my preparation, my conditioning and my intelligence," said Marquez, adding that he weighs 143 pounds. "I will go into the ring with great confidence in my game plan."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One avenue for Marquez could be if he is able to borrow a page from Roberto Duran, who, on June 20 of 1980 -- four days after his 29th birthday -- carried the fight to 24-year-old Sugar Ray Leonard, for 15 rounds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the dust had settled, Duran had wrested from Leonard the former Olympic gold medalist's WBC welterweight championship belt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like Marquez, Duran, of Panama City, Panama, was a former 135-pound star. Duran was able to pounce early and often, his power earning Leonard's attention within the first four rounds before following up his momentum with a sustained, relentless, high-energy punch output.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leonard remained aware of Duran's potency and bothered by his aggression throughout their bout. But Duran had taken more time to acclimate himself in preparation for Leonard. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After beating rival Esteban De Jesus in 1978 -- his last time fighting as a lightweight -- Duran spent the next nearly two and a half years competing eight times at or around the welterweight limit, including twice going over 147 pounds. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Duran was 8-0 with four knockouts during that time, having twice avenged his lone defeat against De Jesus. Against Leonard, Duran's confidence soared.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez's heart is unquestionable. The old warrior rose from the canvas after being floored three times to earn a draw against Manny Pacquiao, whom he still insists he has beaten twice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez has stated that he has, yet again, prepared "to die in the ring" against Mayweather, and if so, then the little man from Mexico City must, yet again, fight as if his life depends on it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2009/09/08/young-juan-manuel-marquez-will-turn-up-heat-on-floyd-mayweathe/"><b>boxing.fanhouse.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-42488379667890943732009-09-09T02:26:00.000-07:002009-09-09T02:31:07.589-07:00Juan Manuel Marquez won't let Floyd Mayweather Jr. bore you to death<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7smOaLQeG5cBzmccEyi-4hqgEaGIDjQbK-5bpIxuMSuIjPQLvgN4nPjRnSjHeZ3TrpLdyMk2J1VIEtanf-hHwY5rrsB8XeffBpx79VUI486Y1c_LMx67d63_UdLl4t8nf44ogRkn1p0/s1600-h/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+3.jpg"><img style="text-align: justify;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7smOaLQeG5cBzmccEyi-4hqgEaGIDjQbK-5bpIxuMSuIjPQLvgN4nPjRnSjHeZ3TrpLdyMk2J1VIEtanf-hHwY5rrsB8XeffBpx79VUI486Y1c_LMx67d63_UdLl4t8nf44ogRkn1p0/s200/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379397695796496498" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a legacy, a tradition, and an honor. In Mexico, they don't make many boxers. But they make a lot of great fighters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's not to say that they are unskilled brawlers or crazy sluggers hell-bent on knockouts. Far from it, in fact. The skill level of the best Mexican fighters of this generation is outstandingly high. Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Israel Vazquez, and many more have both thrilled us with amazing guts and wowed us with their pure talent and boxing brains. For as action-crazed as all three men could get, they were/are also very good boxers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most talented of them all, however, may be the man who more inherited the throne than anything else. Juan Manuel Marquez was seen for years as a great fighter that couldn't get over the hump, couldn't win the big one. Losses to Freddie Norwood and Chris John derailed his career one step before he could perhaps start creeping further into the public's line of sight, and a draw with Manny Pacquiao -- while great for Marquez's career and notoriety -- gave the notion more weight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a March 2007 win over Mexican hero Barrera that finally put him over the top. While the fight was closer than the judges' scorecards and a bit of an underrated mini-classic, with both warriors bringing their best, it was Marquez who came out the victor, and it felt overdue. Finally, Juan Manuel Marquez could get the credit his skills so richly deserved. And it's not that he didn't get any credit; he got plenty. But he deserved even more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Barrera would retire later in 2007, and unretire the next year. Barrera's rival and fellow Mexican fighting icon Erik Morales also retired in 2007, and plans to come back this year. Barrera and Morales stepping down could have hurt Mexico's boxing reputation to some degree, but they left the country's fighting pride in good hands. Marquez and his brother Rafael along with Rafael's rival Israel Vazquez carried the torch, putting on Fight of the Year candidates and cementing themselves among the sport's best pound-for-pound.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After their third war in 2008, Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez both took a break. Top-level boxing in Mexico took a serious blow in January of this year when Antonio Margarito not only got demolished by Shane Mosley, but was also disgraced, and is now seen as a cheater by the vast majority of the boxing audience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With one hero's name in the mud and two more on the shelf, Juan Manuel Marquez stepped into the ring on February 28 with Mexican-American Juan Diaz, and the two went to war. Marquez eventually knocked Diaz out in the ninth round of an instant classic, and he immediately called out Floyd Mayweather Jr.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I thought then that it was really more of a bait tactic, trying to lure Manny Pacquiao into the third fight Marquez was so desperately chasing. There was no reason for Juan Manuel to be fighting at 135 pounds other than to chase Manny and try to force his hand. Now he was calling out the former welterweight champion?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To my surprise, Mayweather-Marquez is merely two weeks away now. I have been a fairly harsh critic of the fight, its promotion, and pretty much everything else.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But I do not believe it will be a bad fight, as some do. I don't think Juan Manuel Marquez has a bad fight in him anymore. As he's aged and slowed, he's become one of the sport's most reliable must-see men. And with his role as such an underdog and the physical disadvantages he'll face (size, speed, power, defensive acumen -- pretty much the whole nine yards), chances are good Marquez will find himself in a hole against Mayweather on the scorecards.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And will Marquez be content to just not get knocked out and rack up a points loss?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not a chance. He's just not wired that way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This fight may very well end with Juan Manuel Marquez flat on his back, knocked silly a la Ricky Hatton when he faced Floyd. But you can bet your bottom dollar that Marquez isn't going to let this turn into one of Floyd's yawn-inducing clinics. If it gets him knocked out, Juan Manuel Marquez will make this a fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And the great Mexican tradition will carry on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/9/5/1016793/juan-manuel-marquez-wont-let-floyd"><b>badlefthook.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-66892231712899677132009-09-09T02:09:00.000-07:002009-09-09T02:14:40.101-07:00Mayweather takes center stage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2QDftOygoC11JpDyknTqWHmRqzTtM1t0czlHf3RU1YlaoiIUFscV1oSz6Woq3Ek_fDLVwsoFZNC6fOfeJobWH4DtJk3ebSK8N3cOJWgij1N2EFfet0W-6Md3CZh4cVuNqkA6MuF2XrM/s1600-h/Mayweather+JR+1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 189px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2QDftOygoC11JpDyknTqWHmRqzTtM1t0czlHf3RU1YlaoiIUFscV1oSz6Woq3Ek_fDLVwsoFZNC6fOfeJobWH4DtJk3ebSK8N3cOJWgij1N2EFfet0W-6Md3CZh4cVuNqkA6MuF2XrM/s200/Mayweather+JR+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379393431946468898" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">For Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr., boxing is his business. And his major comeback to the boxing arena proves that the undefeated boxer will once again take center stage in the boxing world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After years of absence in the boxing scene, Mayweather will be back in the ring to fight Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez of Mexico on Sept. 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather made quite an entrance when he showed up with his “armored truck,” a statement for his nickname “Money,” when he opened his training session to the media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said he is looking forward to his match with Marquez and possibly, with No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Manny Pacquiao is a good fighter and the fight presents itself in the future. Absolutely, we’ll make it happen but all roads lead to Floyd Mayweather,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“But my main focus at this particular time is Marquez. The world and the people are saying that Marquez really beat Pacquiao both times so we will see how the fight plays on September 19th,” he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Fight of the century</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meantime, the presence of his father and former trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. was a surprise to many.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has been years since Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr. were in speaking terms. But now, Floyd Sr. is back in his son’s corner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Sr. believes that a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout is a mistake for “the People’s Champ.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Floyd and Manny Pacquiao—That’s ooops upside the head, believe me that’s what it all is,” said the elder Mayweather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Boxing analysts, meanwhile, said that if the “Pacman” were to fight “Money,” Mayweather would have the advantage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The fight that people want to see is Mayweather against Pacquiao, that’s the fight that would be the fight of the century,” said Yahoo Sports columnist Kevin Iole.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“But I think that’s the fight everybody wants to see. If you’re gonna say the fight of the century, it would be that one,” he commented.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The “Number One / Numero Uno” bout will be on pay-per-view while the fight will be broadcast in the Philippines by ABS-CBN.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://abs-cbnnews.com/sports/09/09/09/mayweather-takes-center-stage"><b>abs-cbnnews.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-48373094143179996212009-09-09T01:53:00.000-07:002009-09-09T02:09:21.575-07:00Team Peterson Exclusive on Mayweather Sparring Tale<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQzqESoZHgJGG8hXsSSR3aRA_5ZaDmZ9iqXqWLMyuRwXdiPx0a_U52MSKi9th70SXepXsXZ0ojhitCkZ5YD0DYL3x12SL_YRP3oKf0XdPOAYxkRXlMOXePEinNUB-qKNSHG7qiFSJ5xE/s1600-h/Pretty+Boy+Floyd.jpg"><img style="text-align: justify;float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 138px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLQzqESoZHgJGG8hXsSSR3aRA_5ZaDmZ9iqXqWLMyuRwXdiPx0a_U52MSKi9th70SXepXsXZ0ojhitCkZ5YD0DYL3x12SL_YRP3oKf0XdPOAYxkRXlMOXePEinNUB-qKNSHG7qiFSJ5xE/s200/Pretty+Boy+Floyd.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379392184548977010" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The gym rats in Las Vegas are buzzing. Not about the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. And not about the November clash between Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto. Two weeks after it happened, the local gym rats and numerous Las Vegas insiders are still chatting, without rest, about the sparring session between Mayweather and undefeated junior welterweight Lamont Peterson.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With many of these gym stories, there is a lot truth and also a lot of fabrication. The recent story going around, about Mayweather working Peterson over until he quit, was one of those stories with a lot of fabrication. A trainer for one of Mayweather's current sparring partners sent a recent gym report to Doug Fischer, the editor for RingTV.com. In that report, the trainer disclosed his fighter's account of the Mayweather-Peterson sparring session.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>“FLOYD IS MORE THAN READY FOR MARQUEZ. HIS HAND SPEED, REFLEXES, CONDITIONING, TIMING AND RHYTHM ARE ALL THERE. MY FIGHTER TOLD ME THAT LAMONT PETERSON SHOWED UP AT FLOYD’S GYM TWO WEEKS AGO TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF. AFTER VERBALLY ABUSING EACH OTHER FOR 30 MINUTES WHILE PUTTING ON THEIR HANDWRAPS, THEY WENT EIGHT 4-MINUTE ROUNDS WITH 15 SECONDS REST, WHICH WAS A SPARRING SESSION WORTH PAYING FOR ACCORDING TO MY FIGHTER. AFTER EIGHT ROUNDS, LAMONT COULDN'T GO NO MORE BECAUSE OF FATIGUE. THAT’S WHEN FLOYD REALLY STARTED TAUNTING HIM SAYING TO HIM ‘ANOTHER ROUND, ANOTHER ROUND!’ WHEN LAMONT REFUSED TO GO ANOTHER ROUND, THAT’S WHEN THE VERBAL ABUSE WENT TO RECORD LEVELS IN THE MAYWEATHER CAMP. NAME CALLING AND VERBAL ABUSE CONTINUED TO BE DIRECTED AT LAMONT FOR ANOTHER 10 MINUTES.”</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were many who were impressed after reading that bit of information. I was impressed until I spoke with a well-known insider in Las Vegas, who told me - "You heard what? That's not true. I know several guys who were there and Lamont Peterson worked Mayweather over." After making several more calls to my contacts in Vegas, it became embarrassing to even repeat the above story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I began to dig.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I got a hold of one individual who was actually there. He completely backed the version of the story where Peterson handled his business and sent shockwaves in the Mayweather gym. Due to a friendly relationship with the Mayweather team, the person asked to remain anonymous.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Lamont did his thing. If anybody got their ass kicked - it was Floyd. Lamont went to town on the boy. Make no mistake, it was competitive and exciting to watch."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then I dug some more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hunt led me to Team Peterson member Jeff Miller. He was present for the sparring and backed the story of my sources. After showing him a copy of the story floating around the net, with Mayweather making Lamont quit, he advised me to contact Peterson's trainer/manager Barry Hunter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I then made my way to Hunter. Coincidentally, Hunter had heard about the story Monday night through his wife - and I didn't blame him for being animated at times during our conversation. He couldn't believe that so many people were running with the story - without speaking to both sides.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two days of sparring took place by chance. Lamont, Hunter and their entourage were in town for Anthony Peterson's fight at the Hard Rock. They were looking to get in some sparring work. A mutual friend, former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, made a suggestion to head over to the Mayweather Gym. Rahman made the call and got them the green light.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hunter was more than ready to set the record straight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"That's bullsh*t. There were several people in the gym. If you are going to put the story out there, at least tell the truth. We weren’t even going to speak about it. I had a few people ask me about it and I said 'I plead the fifth.' The first day was real hostile. They went to war the first day. Lamont had 18-ounce gloves on and Floyd had on 14-ounce gloves. They went 8 to 10 4-minute rounds with 15 to 30 second rests. The first day was relatively easy, the second day Lamont did his thing," Hunter told BoxingScene.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Keep in mind, Lamont was out of shape with 18-ounce gloves on. I have to tell you, it was unbelievable to watch. I wish I had a tape to show you. They thought after the first day we weren't coming back but we went right back. The second day, Lamont was off the chain. It was raw, uncut and things they said to each other you certainly wouldn’t say in a church. They, meaning the uncle and father, thought that was the best work that Floyd ever got. The combinations, the skill, it was unbelievable to watch those two.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Lamont did not go there to make a name for himself. Lamont is not a stranger to sparring former and current world champions. I'll keep the names a secret but it wasn't the first time he went into someone's backyard and put it on. I can't take nothing away from Floyd, he can fight. What got him is this. The average person Floyd spars can't hold a candle to him. But Lamont is a world champion like Floyd, not some sparring partner. And I think it caught Floyd off-guard. If they ever show a tape of that, his reign of terror will be over."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I asked Hunter about one version of the story where Peterson, prior to the start of the last round of their second day of sparring, went after Mayweather with a vengeance. That incident did take place but contrary to some of the stories, it was Hunter who stopped the sparring after the situation began to intensify.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We said 'one more round,’ and they said 'one more round. ' Floyd went to go drink some water and Lamont went right to him and hit him. He didn't want no breaks. Lamont went into his bang of tricks in that round. I remember there was one punch he threw where it looked like a pitcher was winding up to throw a ball, and he threw a bodyshot. Then it was getting a bit heated,” Hunter said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Lamont is one of the toughest men I've ever known in my life. He took off his head gear and wanted to fight without head gear. They went in the middle of the ring, face to face, talking back and forth. I went in and got him and I took him out because now it was beyond fighting. I stopped it and that's the truth."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Peterson will get his big chance at the spotlight when he challenges WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley on December 5. I’ve spoken to a few on my respected colleagues about Bradley-Peterson. The predictions are literally split down the middle - an early indicator of a great fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=22079"><b>boxingscene.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-19999828485478203532009-09-09T01:42:00.000-07:002009-09-09T01:53:07.041-07:00Skeptical over Mayweather's 'bloody' sparring session<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMF1x4hrjA0XMVNU6aynuQlPlBwOJ2pH81OIXri3u7jEBKAczYK-0f0EF-8QT8WSgGYFzOCTlt6tFwWKeRAOxELBYEJK35PaghnmMTugn8tPkAwFoTbmog-yI7RdEjFDSuPwVwVWhRrw/s1600-h/Mayweather+Sparring+Partner.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMF1x4hrjA0XMVNU6aynuQlPlBwOJ2pH81OIXri3u7jEBKAczYK-0f0EF-8QT8WSgGYFzOCTlt6tFwWKeRAOxELBYEJK35PaghnmMTugn8tPkAwFoTbmog-yI7RdEjFDSuPwVwVWhRrw/s200/Mayweather+Sparring+Partner.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379387866065604322" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">"This is blood. This is real blood!", Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s sparring partner told the HBO 24/7 camera crew. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have never seen a fighter so proud and excited showing off the evidence of what Roger Mayweather himself described as an "a$$-whooping". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not that I doubt that "Money" isn't capable of busting up a sparring partner the way he did against this blood drenched fellow, it's just that it all looks too convenient. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First the door closes for cameras to film any sparring then next thing you know, Mayweather's sparring partner is bloodied up as if they waited to holler and get the camera crew back before they attempted to tend to Mayweather's bloody sparring partner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps I may be watching too much of 'Forensic Files' but the manner of how the blood was smudged all over the headgear also hinted tampering. How did the blood get all over the top and the sides of the headgear when it seemed that it came from the nose and the mouth? And the ring floor looked pretty impeccable too for it to appear it just witnessed a bloody beatdown. Not to mention, Mayweather had been hanging out with WWE people quite often in the past couple of years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I guess we will never truly know if the bloody sparring session was for real or staged unless Mayweather opens his doors to future sparring sessions and captured the real thing. But then again, it probably doesn't really matter. What I am more curious about is Mayweather's ribs. Videos of sparring sessions can definitely reveal that- whether Floyd is favoring it or it's also another one of his myths. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'll tell you this though, Marquez can drink all the urine in the world he wants but Mayweather has the advantage in terms of preparation simply because its easier to find sparring partners that can mimic Marquez's actions compared to his. Marquez's camp really needs to get better quality and more accurate, quick and slick sparring partners than the people they employ right now. Shane Mosley would be a great fit as he is another Golden Boy exec and has a great reputation of being able to copy other fighters during sparring sessions. Aside from that, he has the strength, size and speed that would prepare Marquez to face the biggest opponent and challenge in his career in Mayweather. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Either way, the bloody scene proved to have served it's purpose. It gave the fight some needed publicity and planted thoughts and doubts in his opponent's psyche. Real or not, Floyd Mayweather Jr. can really bust a sparring partner up... real bad. But Juan Manuel Marquez is no sparring partner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Skeptical-over-Mayweathers-bloody-sparring-session"><b>examiner.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-66366754144093655992009-09-09T01:17:00.000-07:002009-09-09T01:21:15.952-07:00Roger Mayweather confident layoff won't hurt Floyd's chances against Juan Manuel Marquez<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIWVqcowEBiDgRltkmFTe58fAX2XOwl6_JL_jH-GIGEIoyzRg8XomC0n2PBfxIfwSu7iqHJHhaKAL_tlDyn-khAna4WwM5tmEXs-PDk4gRGTs4MBmieQz1AdufbYcQSsAFHCKuo9ICOI/s1600-h/Roger+and+Floyd+Mayweather.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 104px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIWVqcowEBiDgRltkmFTe58fAX2XOwl6_JL_jH-GIGEIoyzRg8XomC0n2PBfxIfwSu7iqHJHhaKAL_tlDyn-khAna4WwM5tmEXs-PDk4gRGTs4MBmieQz1AdufbYcQSsAFHCKuo9ICOI/s200/Roger+and+Floyd+Mayweather.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379379679897883826" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">When the issue arose last week of his nephew's layoff, which reaches 21 months tomorrow, Roger Mayweather blanched, then correctly pointed out how some of the greatest names in boxing history, alongside which his nephew compares favorably, overcame much more substantial respites.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather's labor day looms next week in a comeback bout against Juan Manuel Marquez that falls something short of his all-important potential showdown against Manny Pacquiao, and well beyond the sort of tuneup fight most in his position would have taken.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Grand Rapids native has 12 rounds, in 12 days, to traverse the rust vs. rest canyon, while trying to shake off the former in the midst of a bout against a man renowned for his own mid-fight tweaks. As Marquez adjusts to Mayweather, Mayweather must adjust to both Marquez and himself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There isn't anything easy about it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roger Mayweather fought steadily from 1981-99, and during his two-championship career took only one break as long as a full year, and then only at the very end.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He remains a rare student of boxing, however, and can recite some of the more -- and less -- successful comebacks by rote and rationale.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Essentially, fighters who build their legends as whirlwinds, then embark on comebacks after lengthy layoffs, generally find their dynamic fury difficult to recreate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those with more fundamental foundations -- a category into which Floyd Mayweather definitively falls -- have easier times of it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's why Mayweather may not be exactly the same fighter as before but should come far closer to it than naysayers might hope.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The greatest fighters in the world have had layoffs," Roger Mayweather said. "What do you think Sugar Ray Leonard had? He had a 51/2-year layoff. He had two detached retina surgeries. And he still beat Marvin Hagler after being laid off 51/2 years. Sugar Ray Robinson was laid off three years and that's the greatest fighter on the globe. Ali was laid off three years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"So Floyd ain't the only guy that's been laid off. Most of the greatest fighters in the history of boxing have one thing in common: They've been laid off."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leonard actually had one fight in five-plus years before defeating Hagler, although the rest of the timelines essentially are accurate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so is this: Robinson spent several years losing and regaining championships after his comeback, against fighters who might not have touched him beforehand; Muhammad Ali did great things after his comeback, but undeniably was not the same after his draft-refusal layoff; and Leonard stretched his comeback too far and took some losses because of it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fury-fueled fighters have the biggest comeback problems.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Joe Louis' post-war comeback resulted in some good wins after one fight in four years, but a second comeback, induced by tax trouble, was not as successful and included two of his three losses, to Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mike Tyson's post-prison comeback began with some typical tuneups but he never was close to the same fighter after his rape conviction, was softened up in ugly losses to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, then later blown out by little-known Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather, at 32 years old, should not yet be in the position of challenging his 39-0 record via timeline.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then again, Father Time treats people differently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Once I started boxing, I had to box a few times, you know, box four or five times," Floyd Mayweather said. "I still was looking good, I really wasn't taking no punishment. But about the fifth time I started boxing, I started looking real, real sharp, looking real, real good."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rib injury that postponed the original July date was indicative of an athlete on the rebound, but if Mayweather falters against Marquez, the choice of comeback opponent will bear more responsibility than the down time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I don't think the two-year layoff is going to affect me," he said. "I feel fast, I feel strong and the timing is there."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.mlive.com/boxing/index.ssf/2009/09/roger_mayweather_confident_lay.html"><b>mlive.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-39285411768638153832009-09-09T01:10:00.000-07:002009-09-09T01:15:30.615-07:00The Quiet Strength of Juan Manuel Marquez<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSpmoJQCaeg885MgUAjV45VjzFmpjEQiwbUjyvfD-UaGFfEn0jWgx7FIIxQn13MlcExcUaKY2rD7uCAWCdIfmWwU3petZh1bK6iOsKPzQFP8CltYHEZJ3kvy85WYDW1koLfJzh44htis/s1600-h/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+Rock+Dynamite.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSpmoJQCaeg885MgUAjV45VjzFmpjEQiwbUjyvfD-UaGFfEn0jWgx7FIIxQn13MlcExcUaKY2rD7uCAWCdIfmWwU3petZh1bK6iOsKPzQFP8CltYHEZJ3kvy85WYDW1koLfJzh44htis/s200/Juan+Manuel+Marquez+Rock+Dynamite.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379378191896056082" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">As I watch HBO’s 24/7 program showcasing Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Mayweather, one thing becomes strikingly apparent: these two guys are monsters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is both frightening and exhilarating to see the mental change within these proud warriors as they steel themselves for their upcoming collision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I’ve found most interesting is the way that Juan Manuel carries himself as he prepares. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He jokes about “turkey boogers” as he gleefully downs raw quail eggs, unassumingly helps his son with math, then plays a friendly game of FIFA, and finally, and most shockingly, discusses drinking his own urine, on camera, as though he were espousing the newest super diet. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But despite these somewhat comical, and sometimes just plain gross, exploits and his quiet, courteous demeanor, there is a latent lethality to him. Just below the pleasant and inviting exterior, lurking in the netherworld of his mind, is a warrior prepared to do whatever it takes, at any cost, to earn a victory. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez may sing with his family and play with his kids, nieces, and nephews, but he also wanders around volcanoes 14,000 feet (4267 meters) above sea-level, chucking boulders through the air for fun. He pops speed bags and works his sparring partners over like they owe him money. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This dichotomy is what I can only describe as quiet strength. A level of self confidence and mental focus that is well and above that of any man. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The seemingly bi-polar nature is a by product of the psychological change. Having reached a profound level of ability, something in the fighter changes and he becomes a genuinely nice person, unless of course your fighting them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In which case one will be faced with a hurricane.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not to say that “Money” hasn’t also reached a similar level of mental calm. Mayweather certainly carries himself with the braggadocio and self-espousing rhetoric endemic to the rap sub-culture, but if he didn’t have the mental focus to execute on a high level, he wouldn’t be 39-0 right now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I said, it’s watching the mental preparations that these fighters are making that intrigues me so much about 24/7. In their own minds, they go somewhere else. A place where they are infallible and their opponents totally open. A strange nirvana of sport where for an instant that seems to last a lifetime, they are perfect. Such confidence and psychological presence is rare, and an absolute pleasure to watch. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don’t know if this mental strength will be enough for Marquez to overcome the considerable challenges in his way. I do know that when things reach their worst and the fight turns bad, it will be this same mental determination that will save him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Win, loose, or draw, one has to admit that Juan Manuel Marquez is a fighter of extra-ordinary strength, even if he carries it quietly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/250480-the-quiet-strength-of-juan-manuel-marquez"><b>bleacherreport.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-9983299161342570482009-09-08T22:12:00.000-07:002009-09-08T22:45:22.753-07:00Floyd Mayweather Insists He, Not Manny Pacquiao, Is The Man<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin7tobZ-Fd7uwXazdvsCcZp5M8FJJ33otZtrdpVYAV6btyi2_9-C3p_CmDoFwvPZ0uYZVdIo8CMaZAhng5IGpM3XebqvtgxafAjEWQ8EIV-9VtN71vgfRCQHPuVTFzBtexyXRm7zmwqQ/s1600-h/Mouth+Moneyweather.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgin7tobZ-Fd7uwXazdvsCcZp5M8FJJ33otZtrdpVYAV6btyi2_9-C3p_CmDoFwvPZ0uYZVdIo8CMaZAhng5IGpM3XebqvtgxafAjEWQ8EIV-9VtN71vgfRCQHPuVTFzBtexyXRm7zmwqQ/s200/Mouth+Moneyweather.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379338290114973650" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather Jr. debunked Manny Pacquiao's present status as boxing's best fighter, pound-for-pound, insisting, among other things, that the 2009 Fighter Of The Year's consecutive knockouts over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton were against foes he had already exposed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Once again, when I beat those guys, it wasn't nothing. But when [Pacquiao] beat them, 'Oh, it's so unbelievable,' and, 'We've never seen something so crazy,'" said Mayweather, 32, in response to questions from FanHouse during a recent conference call. "They're commentating and they've never been in the heat of battle."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather (39-0, 25 knockouts), who retired after a 10th-round stoppage of England's Hatton in December of 2007, will end a near two-year layoff when he enters the ring on Sept. 19 opposite Juan Manuel Marquez, a 36-year-old former champion with a record of 50-4 with 37 knockouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez, who will be competing at his highest weight ever when he meets Mayweather at their catchweight of 144 pounds, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, has twice faced Pacquiao (49-3, 37 KOs) of the Phillipines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They battled to a draw in May of 2004 after Marquez was knocked down three times in the first round, and Marquez lost a decision during their second meeting in March of 2008.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Marquez is coming off of consecutive stoppages of former champs, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, in 11 and nine rounds respectively, while weighing 135 and 134.5 in those bouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In an exclusive interview from Mexico City on Tuesday, Marquez told Fanhouse that he weighed 143 pounds. Pacquiao will meet World Boxing Organization welterweight king, Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Mayweather has taken heat unfairly for choosing to return to the ring against what is considered an aging, smaller man in Marquez, a Mexico City native and former featherweight (125 pounds) and superfeatherweight (130).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Long resentful at the boxing media for discounting his status as the sport's premiere player, Mayweather believes he should receive credit for facing a man Pacquiao already has beaten just as the Filipino has in defeating De La Hoya and Hatton.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather was at a career-high 150 pounds when dethroned 154-pound De La Hoya as World Boxing Council light middleweight champion in May of 2007.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That victory came seven months before becoming the first man to knock out Hatton, who lost for the first time in 44 bouts. Hatton had just come off of a fourth-round knockout of Jose Luis Castillo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mayweather, meanwhile, contended that Pacquiao's KOs -- in eight, and, two rounds, respectively -- were against one man who was physically drained from weight loss in De La Hoya, and another, in Hatton, who was in transition from a brawling style to that of a boxer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"De La Hoya was more comfortable at 154 when he fought me. When he fought Pacquiao, he was basically on a diet," Mayweather said of De La Hoya, who weighed 145 pounds against Pacquiao's 142. "De La Hoya was training to lose weight instead of training to fight."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hatton was in only his second bout under longtime De La Hoya trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. -- known for teaching boxing technique and head movement -- after having split with longtime trainer, Billy Graham.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Hatton was switching styles. I think that his head was straight up in the air. [Plus,] once you've been knocked out, there's no doubt that you can get knocked out again," said Mayweather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I sit back and ask myself questions like, 'Where was this guy Pacquiao when I was dominating in the 90s?'" Mayweather said. "But where would I be if I didn't have my critics, huh?," Mayweather asked. "Where would I be?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://boxing.fanhouse.com/2009/09/08/mayweather-says-he-not-pacquiao-is-the-man/"><b>boxing.fanhouse.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-43270919270106497182009-09-08T06:59:00.000-07:002009-09-08T07:29:59.824-07:00ROGER MAYWEATHER: "FLOYD IS AS SHARP AS EVER"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhY5a-L32OQ5VORPCf1ZXwjpGDe9rww17sZbaqOFH1ja7bTiRsd9iOWgGx8ldqVp2FssWEh0BbScuMp65Bd7Y4BZcJoPcfxxQKOKHdND5UaGtFWvgNPOfCl8aBEHkEHR3N5Fpe1n36YUI/s1600-h/Roger+Mayweather.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhY5a-L32OQ5VORPCf1ZXwjpGDe9rww17sZbaqOFH1ja7bTiRsd9iOWgGx8ldqVp2FssWEh0BbScuMp65Bd7Y4BZcJoPcfxxQKOKHdND5UaGtFWvgNPOfCl8aBEHkEHR3N5Fpe1n36YUI/s200/Roger+Mayweather.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379103733606204386" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">"No doubt about it, Floyd gonna win. If Marquez can avoid a knockout somehow, more power to him, but from what we can see, if he brings the energy like Hatton, it's gonna end up the same way... Floyd is as sharp as ever. I know that for a fact. I'll be in the corner just as I always am, but I don't expect to see anything less from Floyd than we have seen in the past," stated trainer Roger Mayweather as he spoke about Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s upcoming clash with Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19th. Check it out!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Percy Crawford</b>: How are you doing Roger?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Roger </b><b>Mayweather</b>: I'm doing good. Trying to stay focused right now and worry about nothing else until after the fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: How would you grade this training camp for the Marquez fight?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: It's good; great now that Floyd Sr. is part of the team again. No matter what Floyd says, having his father here is going to give him a stronger mindset going into the fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: I agree 100% with that. A lot of fighters let themselves go, in between fights and especially in retirement. How easy does it make your job that Lil Floyd is not one of those guys?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: Floyd has such a natural ability. We never had to worry about that, not only because of his natural ability, but his own drive. He stays in shape between fights, whether it's a 6-month break or 2 years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: When Floyd got back into the gym, you being his trainer, what were some of the things you were looking for from him?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: I wanted him to pick up right where we left off; to come back into the game just as strong as he was before.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: Do you feel you picked up where ya'll left off or was it a matter of getting his feet wet again?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: Well, it's like warming up before you hit the weights. On day 1, we weren't training as hard as we are now, not because he wasn't capable, but because we wanted to ease the body back into the process.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: Floyd has been doing this for a long time. Will you be watching him closely the first couple of rounds to make sure everything is still sharp?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: Floyd is as sharp as ever. I know that for a fact. I'll be in the corner just as I always am, but I don't expect to see anything less from Floyd than we have seen in the past.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: What threats do you think Juan Manuel Marquez presents to your nephew?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: He's a good fighter, there's no doubt about that. He wants to fight a high-energy fight, so did Ricky Hatton and Oscar. It doesn't matter, high-energy, low-energy, it's about the overall skill of the fighter. You can fight any kind of fight you want, if Floyd better than you, he gonna beat you either way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: If you had to give a prediction, how do you see this fight going?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: No doubt about it, Floyd gonna win. If Marquez can avoid a knockout somehow, more power to him, but from what we can see, if he brings the energy like Hatton, it's gonna end up the same way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: Do you still view Lil Floyd as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: Floyd will always be the greatest fighter in my opinion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: I'm sure you plan on being successful against Marquez. Would you want the Pacquiao fight next to see if you can go 2-0 against Freddie Roach?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: You know, that's something that Floyd has to decide at the end of the day. We take things one step at a time, one fight at a time. We get a lot of BS from publicists out there, whether it be Pacquiao or any of the others, Floyd gonna take things one fight at a time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PC: Good luck on the 19th. I appreciate your time Mamba. Is there anything you want to say in closing?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RM: Thank you. Just support boxing and tune in on the 19th. The sport needs all the great fighters it can get and you're gonna see a great fighter on the 19th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://fighthype.com/pages/content5625.html"><b>fighthype.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-12346203831591671722009-09-08T06:52:00.000-07:002009-09-08T06:58:57.405-07:00Mayweather knows better not to pee-off Marquez<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_rikdzjUApgkwWdoFAR9lKT6YTVnSndpdScDfHdAw7bkIfhatu72Xze8anI3rDZSNui58MVxT7OngLnFEBLNqQxxlE7qHsbBm8lJseJ0RosR5blnYwbacSAdwY6kd-X7xdO7B44z0Ec/s1600-h/Marquez'+Pee.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_rikdzjUApgkwWdoFAR9lKT6YTVnSndpdScDfHdAw7bkIfhatu72Xze8anI3rDZSNui58MVxT7OngLnFEBLNqQxxlE7qHsbBm8lJseJ0RosR5blnYwbacSAdwY6kd-X7xdO7B44z0Ec/s200/Marquez'+Pee.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379095333929825074" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I'm not a "boxer", I'm going to keep this "brief". Did you catch the wordplay? You better, because it's that type of article.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well... What more can I say? I guess the video of Mayweather vs. Marquez 24/7 episode 2 said it all. And if Floyd Mayweather Jr. knew any better, he'd best know not to "piss" Juan Manuel Marquez off. If he indeed chose to, all Marquez will do is "soak" it all up and take it all in and use it to "fuel" and motivation to push him further in his pursuit of defeating the comebacking former pound-for-pound king. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've heard stories of obsessive boxers before, but Marquez just took it to a whole new level. If he can drink his own "wee-wee" like it was a glass of lemon-flavored Gatorade after a long and tiring training, I can only wonder what else he would be willing to do. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I'm curious. Is this some kind of Mexican secret boxing regimen? I don't know, but it just seems weird to me if this was Marquez's own discovery and that he'd be willing to go on TV and just show the world how he downed a whisky glass full of his own urine like it was a glass of Jose Cuervo. Actually, the way he was smacking his gums and smiling after the scene, one has to wonder whether he doesn't drink it more often. I mean, surely this must be some kind of ancient boxing secret somewhere that found it's way to Marquez. Can any of our Mexican friends confirm or refute this? And are there any other boxers that practice this? I can already imagine "The Golden Boy" sipping his golden urine in front of some old-school trainers just trying to prove he's a true Mexican. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've read in the past that Lyoto Machida does the same thing but I just can't stomach it- Disgusting! Whatever happened to drinking traditional tablets and capsules of multi-vitamins? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that's what it really is. Every person who I have spoken to is repulsed by Marquez's pee-drinking revelation. Not to be outdone, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is set to eat his own crap on September 19. Crap not in the form of feces, but in terms of the stuff he has been saying since announcing his comeback.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And before I forget, I said I'd make this brief. I guess the story of the day here is, kids, wash your hand after you piss, and in Marquez case I guess, brush you teeth!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m9d8-Mayweather-knows-better-not-to-peeoff-Marquez"><b>examiner.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-62480397312923463972009-09-07T23:50:00.000-07:002009-09-07T23:56:25.829-07:00Ethiopian Review World News Forum Mayweather vs. Marquez Pitted Against Pacquiao vs Cotto Could Be the Fight of 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2VGGV6b5CGOiqhmCz-zSL1Xo2WQ5bw8wEA3bHLGZr1BchJ4QC4HexveWHmGZRXuH_vWv8-mIDbEq-MS2RNxehPzuPeSzjDUCI8hGDTleOUHa1vu0r2iyGZ4iHtVefGJfB7ji-K9rNM4/s1600-h/Pacquiao+vs+Cotto+Poster+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 326px; height: 65px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2VGGV6b5CGOiqhmCz-zSL1Xo2WQ5bw8wEA3bHLGZr1BchJ4QC4HexveWHmGZRXuH_vWv8-mIDbEq-MS2RNxehPzuPeSzjDUCI8hGDTleOUHa1vu0r2iyGZ4iHtVefGJfB7ji-K9rNM4/s400/Pacquiao+vs+Cotto+Poster+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378986733598988706" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_v8D8rhPzo_Yyx9MtZ3n0NjbyvDPiZ9ulm9PBmwyQ9G-FN2vCoODJR5UZrMk8dCQPvALMvHLB-b9-V0347d0AH_HlRS-XCEDjLKJynIcNnhlFOXKhF6YYXmpcZEX03DXOLMWq3iGDAc/s1600-h/Mayweather+vs+Marquez.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 80px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_v8D8rhPzo_Yyx9MtZ3n0NjbyvDPiZ9ulm9PBmwyQ9G-FN2vCoODJR5UZrMk8dCQPvALMvHLB-b9-V0347d0AH_HlRS-XCEDjLKJynIcNnhlFOXKhF6YYXmpcZEX03DXOLMWq3iGDAc/s400/Mayweather+vs+Marquez.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378986726740456338" /></a><p style="text-align: justify;">Though it’s been an interesting year in boxing to this point, by far the most important fight of the year – Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton – was a mismatch, consequential only because of the stunning way in which Pacquiao won, a savage knockout that created a crossover buzz around the mighty Filipino and solidified his stature as an international superstar.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">As far as the Fight of the Year in 2009 goes right now, my choice is the Juan Manuel Marquez/Juan Diaz lightweight title fight from back in February. That was a thrilling contest, no doubt, with the smaller Marquez dominated early before solving (and cutting) Diaz in the middle rounds and ultimately earning a hard-fought stoppage in the ninth.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Still, compared to the heroic FOY’s of recent vintage – the Israel Vazquez/Rafael Marquez fights, Pavlik/Taylor I, Corrales/Castillo I – Marquez/Diaz seems just a little thin in both content and narrative to be remembered as the definitive fight of 2009.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, there are two gigantic fights looming on the fall schedule, each with narrative out the proverbial wazoo. The oddsmakers will tell you that neither of these bouts will prove FOY material once they hit the ring, and though I’m not entirely sold on that opinion, I at least can see where it’s coming from. In any case, recent news has me thinking that the real of fight of 2009 will not be any one bout taken on its own, but rather a bout that features bout-on-bout, the epic contest that is shaping up to be the Mayweather vs. Marquez against the Pacquiao vs Cotto.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">In a telephone press conference yesterday to announce the Mayweather vs. Marquez undercard (a pretty damn good undercard as well), the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, Richard Schaefer, fired the first official shot of this upcoming battle when he said that “This is certainly, without a doubt, going to be the biggest pay-per-view event of the year.” He was adamant that Mayweather vs. Marquez would outsell the Pacquiao vs Cotto fight and even went so far as to suggest that it had the potential to outsell the 2007 De La Hoya/Mayweather fight, which right now, at 2.4 million PPV buys, is the most lucrative fight in the history of boxing.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Strong words, indeed. Across the internet yesterday, Schaefer’s comments were met with widespread derision by boxing fans along the lines of the old “dude, are you high?” variety. On the whole, the buzz generated among boxing heads by Pacquiao vs Cotto, scheduled for November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, has dwarfed that generated by Mayweather vs. Marquez, scheduled for September 19 in the same arena. Even though Floyd has been away from the ring for almost two years, most people feel like his fight with Marquez is a mismatch merely because of the size differential involved. The bout is being contested at a catch-weight of 144 pounds, and while Mayweather has fought comfortably as a welterweight (and once as a junior middleweight), Marquez has only fought above 130 pounds twice, and he looked small in his fight with Juan Diaz as a lightweight. Though no one in the boxing community disrespects Marquez’s renowned skills, the idea that he can jump two weight classes to beat a fighter as resourceful and disciplined as Mayweather seems like the longest of long shots. Throw in the fact that Marquez has never been a big box-office draw, and that both men are devoted counter-punchers, and you have the potential for not only a mismatch, but a tactical one that is less than exhilarating and that fails to capture the imagination of the public.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Compare that to Pacquiao vs Cotto. Pacquiao is a heavy favorite in that fight, but not in nearly the same way that Mayweather is over Marquez, not among boxing pundits anyway. Despite his destruction of Oscar De La Hoya last December, many questions remain about Pacquiao’s ability to fight as a welterweight (or near-welterweight – he’ll face Cotto at a 145-pound limit), especially against a big welterweight like Cotto in the prime of his career and possessing proven speed and very heavy hands. Add to that drama the fact that Cotto is a much bigger star than Marquez, along with the furor that still surrounds Pacquiao following his destruction of Hatton, and you have a fight that on paper promises to be an infinitely bigger draw than Mayweather vs. Marquez.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">For myself, however, I see at least the possibility for an upset in this contest. The question for me is not about the drawing power of Pacquiao vs Cotto. That fight will do big numbers, without a doubt. For me the question is about Mayweather vs. Marquez, and its potential between now and fight night to make up the differential in anticipation that currently exists between the two events.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">The main avenue for that will be a familiar one, I think: HBO’s 24/7 series. Mayweather vs. Marquez 24/7 premiered on August 29, and it may be the most important edition of the lot thus far, because to my mind it has the most riding on it in terms of how it can influence the relative success or failure of a fight. Mayweather has been the breakout star of the 24/7 franchise since it debuted in the spring of 2007, and one could argue that 24/7 made him the star he is today (and vice versa, actually). Floyd is unquestionably great television, as are his curmudgeonly and villainous father, Floyd Sr., and his uncle/trainer, Roger. These three have made for the most compelling 24/7 material by far, and to push the Mayweather vs. Marquez promotion out of the doldrums in which it currently dwells into the pay-per-view ether, they’re going to have to bring their A-games to this latest incarnation of the series.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, they’ve already suffered a setback on that front – Roger’s recent, grisly run-in with the law. This incident, in which he was found by police choking a woman-boxer who he formerly had trained, is far too ugly to be cast in anything but the darkest light, and it makes Roger Mayweather, who once came off on 24-7 as lovable but dangerous, seem merely dangerous, hideously so, utterly criminal and otherwise unredeemed.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">I sense, however, that both Floyd’s braintrust and HBO will be able to find a way to keep the Roger story from completely overshadowing the task at hand. And I see that potentially happening in one very definitive way. If Floyd really wants to take a sure path towards making this fight enormous, and if he wants to immediately supersede any other news that surrounds him or his camp or the fight as it is posited right now, he has it in his power to do so.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">All he has to do, with his inimitable gusto, is insult the honor of Mexican boxers, Mexican people, and Mexico itself. Then, oh man … then all hell would break loose.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">This to me is the x-factor in the Pacquiao vs Cotto against Mayweather vs. Marquez war at the box office, the puncher’s chance, the one reason why, if you gave me the opportunity right now at even money, I still wouldn’t bet on Pacquiao vs Cotto doing better PPV numbers than Mayweather vs. Marquez. No one in boxing today (and no one since Duran, I would argue) is so gifted and compelling a villain as Floyd Mayweather. I’ve written at length on this topic before. Floyd wears the black hat with effortless and contagious spirit, and he has built his current fame on the fact that people love to hate him, and watch his fights in droves in the hope of seeing him catch a beating, just as they did in the early 60’s with a Louisville loudmouth named Cassius Clay.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Highlighted by the fact that Mexico City, as the site of Marquez’s training camp, will play a starring role in this upcoming 24/7, if Floyd goes out of his way to insult Mexico and Mexicans on the show, it will do for the fight what Marquez himself probably can’t – bring the Mexican fight-fan masses into the pay-per-view equation in a big way. Marquez has never quite connected with the Mexican fight community in the way of his iconic peers, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. But if suddenly he were fighting for the honor of his country against a trash-talking dissmaster on the order of Floyd, well, Marquez would be transformed into a national icon in a heartbeat.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">And even beyond the way it would mobilize the Mexican public, should Floyd choose to hate on Mexico in the lead-up to this fight, it would immediately cast the bout as a classic contest of good versus evil on the grandest scale. As for the effects of that on the American scene, I don’t know if you’ve taken a look at a Hollywood blockbuster lately, but cartoonish struggles between the forces of light and the forces of darkness tend to rake in beaucoup bucks at the box office these days. And the more cartoonish, the better. Americans like their good guys good, and their bad guys baaaaaaaaaaad, and our man Floyd can really deliver on that front. How much badder could he get than aiming some gutter-mouthed low-blows at a noble, hard-working, dignified Mexican like Marquez?</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">I admit that such a strategy would be a bold move for Mayweather, but on the other hand, what does he have to lose? Based on the PR work he’s done to this point in his career, he’s already going to be the bad guy in this fight, and if he wins it, he’s likely going to be the even badder guy in his next fight, which most would expect to be Manny Pacquiao (should he get past Cotto). Pac Man has the good guy market cornered at the moment and for the foreseeable future. At this point, let’s face it – a Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight is pretty much Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader territory as far as the public consciousness goes.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">That’s why I would not be at all surprised to see Floyd, who always has been bold as bold can be, say “damn the torpedoes” and go for the Mexican jugular in the upcoming 24/7 series, thereby transforming what so far has been a ho-hum promotion into a barnburner. In this emerging battle between Pacquiao vs Cotto and Mayweather vs. Marquez, it would indeed be a very dirty tactic on Floyd’s end, and yet on the other hand, it may be his only shot at scoring a knockout in a fight where right now his opponent seems to hold all the advantages.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/29085"><b>ethiopianreview.com</b></a></p>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-3438962863507057652009-09-07T23:46:00.000-07:002009-09-07T23:49:00.622-07:00Floyd Mayweather: Is there a change on the horizon?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgitD2m-AoRdHkhz34Q_NNah8fONIwiyl2GUQKh1w0GGpRcNGzEcMFjdfwq_1ytOJT3B7W1VD14IyPQpfA6zFeq6N1Aq5qckIDJn0YYR6UxLm5j6Cp3ijN7fdefWmBj9pHu3vwsMMV56bk/s1600-h/Floyd+Interview.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgitD2m-AoRdHkhz34Q_NNah8fONIwiyl2GUQKh1w0GGpRcNGzEcMFjdfwq_1ytOJT3B7W1VD14IyPQpfA6zFeq6N1Aq5qckIDJn0YYR6UxLm5j6Cp3ijN7fdefWmBj9pHu3vwsMMV56bk/s200/Floyd+Interview.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378984928360242626" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Everybody wants to be loved. Even the baddest of the bad and the meanest of the mean. Make no mistake about it. You may have built up your tough guy persona, but deep inside everyone longs for that pat on the back.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is this the year that Floyd Mayweather turns the corner and actually tries to be embraced by boxing fans? He is very talented with lightning quick reflexes, but something is lacking. His style is not exactly fan friendly or given to result in fight of the year type bouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Team Mayweather have made subtle changes throughout the years It started when he appeared on Dancing With The Stars. It was a calculated risk to show Floyd's softer side. It may have worked on the casual fan, but the diehard still had their doubts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He then proceeded to praise the just defeated Ricky Hatton. This may have been done in hopes of bringing some of Ricky's fans over to his side. But Hatton fans like brawling so it was doubtful that any of his fans would have been glued to the television for Mayweather's next fight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now Floyd can be seen on HBO's 24/7. Floyd did not diss Marquez in the first installment. This may also have been calculated. As was the shot of Floyd delivering meals to the homeless. This may be good for his image, but it will not win over boxing fans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So what will win over some fans? The answer is threefold.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, stop with all of the braggadocio. Boxers fight and are expected to say how they will beat their opponent. But nobody wants to hear someone constantly say how great they are. It is like a petulant child screaming out for attention. It may have been cute once, now it is old and irritating. Nobody cares how much money you throw around. Again that only shows a lack of maturity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, if you are going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. In the De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, all anyone heard was how you were going to whip Oscar's butt. Only in more graphic and vulgar terms. But once you were in the ring you became the same old pitty pat, defensive minded Floyd. There is a reason no one wanted to see De La Hoya-Mayweather 2. It was because the first fight was such a snoozefest. If you fought every fight like you did against Gatti and Corrales then you would have a growing legion of fans. But that Floyd is never seen anymore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third, fight the best. Hatton made you work. Marquez will do the same. But you are a welterweight so fight a true welter. Names like Mosley, Cotto and even Margarito have been out there for years. Stop crying about the money and get these fights done. It would be a natural for you, if you beat Marquez, to fight the Pacquiao-Cotto winner. If it all falls into place and you say no because of money then you lose all credibility with the diehard boxing fan. Even a five year old can talk a good fight. Legends get it done.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is not like the boxing world is asking a leopard to change it's spots. We are only asking for a little more action and a little less talk. There is a reason Pacquiao, Cotto and Hatton have such large followings. It is because they are like their fans. Just an average guy doing their job. They don't make their fans feel as if they are beneath them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, this might be the year Floyd joins the party. Or he could act like the spoiled kid and bring the party to a screeching halt.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-8557-Norfolk-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Floyd-Mayweather-Is-there-a-change-on-the-horizon"><b>examiner.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-67087110570314549472009-09-07T23:39:00.000-07:002009-09-07T23:45:56.298-07:00Eight Reasons To Prefer Boxing Over MMA<div style="text-align: justify;">It's going to get pretty hard soon to avoid the dumb-as-rocks debate over boxing versus mixed martial arts, seeing as how on Sept. 19, the UFC and boxing each are putting on pay-per-view events. Maybe ignoring it is the right way to go.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the parade of morons on the MMA side -- and, really, in the mainstream media -- is too obnoxious for me to look away forever. Let me clarify by saying that not all MMA fans, or 50 percent, or any such estimate, are morons, or anything like that. It's just that the vocal ones who hate boxing are really intolerable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My stance, as always, is that there is no right or wrong answer here; MMA bouts and boxing bouts are NASCAR and Formula 1, both fights the same way their equivalents are both car races. You like what you like. Both will thrive and survive. That doesn't mean I can't make the case for why I, personally, prefer boxing to MMA. And if your choice is between UFC 103 Sept. 19 and the stacked Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez card Sept. 19, maybe this will help you make up your mind.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Best Boxing Matches Blow Away The Best MMA Matches</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have to start with the biggest reason. I've watched some of the best MMA has to offer. I've watched most of the best boxing has to offer. A lot of "best of all time" lists of MMA matches, for instance, put Forrest Griffin-Stephan Bonnar at #1 or thereabouts. And I confess -- it was an entertaining scrap. But it has a mere fraction of the sustained action, or back-and-forth drama, of what I consider the best boxing match of all time, Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo. In fact, I'm not sure it even comes close to rivaling any given "Fight of the Year" in boxing. Or, for that matter, any given fight that would make the top-5 in any given year in boxing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The reasons for that sustained action and back-and-forth drama, actually, can be found in the nature of each sport, not merely because of some aesthetic preference. I'll elaborate more on the "whys" momentarily.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>History</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Boxing has history. MMA doesn't. It's not MMA's fault. It's a relatively new sport, even if some of the fighting disciplines that comprise MMA are ancient. It's going to take time for MMA to have the richness that comes with history. When Manny Pacquiao wins real championship belts in four different divisions, the achievement is magnified by the fact that no one, not in a hundred years, has done that before, and so many amazing fighters have populated the boxing ring. It's the same reason so many of baseball's records are so hallowed, especially in comparison to, say, basketball's or football's.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Knockdown Rule</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here's one of those "whys" I just mentioned to explain how the best boxing matches are often more dramatic than the best MMA matches: because when a boxer gets knocked down and hurt, he is given 10 seconds to recover and rally to win later. There's hardly anything more amazing than that -- for a fighter to near the edge of unconsciousness, only to summon an inner spirit the average person can't comprehend and emerge victorious. Now, certainly, I've seen MMA fighters rally from being staggered. But that's a different precipice, one boxers deal with, too. If an MMA fighter is hurt badly enough to fall down, generally he'll be pounced upon while he's on his back and put to sleep before he gets a chance to come back and win.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ground Game</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A related point here. I find MMA's "ground and pound" tedious at best, unsportsmanlike at worst. I just don't enjoy seeing two people wrestle around on the floor, jockeying for position, and usually doing very little. I absolutely understand that there are subtle tactics at play that could be interesting to someone. They just aren't interesting to me. And an MMA fan can say, "What about all the holding they do in boxing?," to which I'd answer, "I hate it. I'd like to see it penalized by referees more frequently."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, I'm also aware that MMA is, thus far in its history, less likely to result in loss of life for its participants than boxing. But -- and this is an argument from tradition, a total logical fallacy, I recognize -- but our culture has viewed it as uncivilized to "hit someone while they're down." I share that value. This is a side point, and not one I'd focus on, but I'm explaining my reasons, and this is one of them. Because I find the idea of jumping on someone who's just been knocked unconscious and hitting them with an even more savage punch, as happened here, repugnant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Gracefulness Versus Street Fighting</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the arguments for MMA that I find hard to disagree with is that it more closely resembles a "real" fight than a boxing match does. (Most "real" fights are 10 times as sloppy and awful as a top MMA fight, but still.) If that's what you're into, I can't win you over, probably, although I might also recommend you to videotapes of real street fights that are easily purchased over the Internet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Me? I like to see athletic grace. I like artistry. I'd rather see a seven-punch combo -- or even a fighter dodging seven straight punches -- than somebody's teeth flying out. (Again, not that such a thing happens in MMA anymore; it's just short-hand for preferring skill to mere violence.) It's not that I don't have some kind of interest in violence. One of the things that makes boxing such a compelling act of athletic achievement is the pain one has to endure, and the risk thereof. But because so much of MMA ends in someone being tackled, the odds of someone pivoting his body, blocking or ducking to avoid a barrage of lightning-fast blows and then returning the favor -- as happens regularly in boxing -- are next to none. It's also one of the reasons boxing can have such sustained action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Punching Technique</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think there's a certain beauty in a properly-delivered punch. A good right cross is swift, straight and accurate. You won't find many such punches in MMA. There's a reason for this, of course, and it has something to do with the notion that when you have to watch out for kicks, knees and takedowns, you won't always have a chance to get your body in the right position to produce a perfect punch. But sometimes when you generalize, you lose some of the excellence inherent to doing one thing repeatedly and well. MMA forces its practitioners to generalize. I'd personally rather watch something done really, really well in this case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Conditioning</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't think that boxers are better athletes, necessarily, than mixed martial artists. I don't know if it's even possible to measure it. So when I say "conditioning," I'm not saying boxers are inherently better-conditioned, even if I suspect that may be the case. But frequently a few minutes into an MMA round, especially late in a fight, its practitioners are huffing and puffing. I'm sure the difference between three and five minute rounds has something to do with it. Or maybe there's more full-body exertion in the wrestling mixed martial artists have to do. All I know is that I tend to be unimpressed by two men, exhausted, trying to catch their breaths in the last two minutes of a five-minute round then resting instead of fighting the full three minutes then resting one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Odds And Ends</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">None of this fits into any particular category: The way MMA divisions start at higher weights means fewer chances for graceful bouts and sustained action, odd though that may seem -- every one of the Ring magazine Fights of the Year since 1996 has been fought between men who weighed 140 pounds or less... Fighting for a living is a hard path, and boxers on the whole, especially at the top end of the sport, are paid better. I know there's some dispute about how much money the people at each sport's middle class are paid and whether it's comparable, but there's a reason so many MMA fighters talk about moving over to boxing, and I think it's not entirely a myth that is seducing them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I could, and frequently have, acknowledged all the things MMA does better than boxing. The near-monopoly that allows UFC to make most of the best fights happen rather than hoping everyone will see the light, something that has happened more often in boxing in the last two years but isn't as mandatory; the commitment to making it an "event" instead of one big-name boxing match and a bunch of mismatches, something boxing is only just now seeming to fix with Mayweather-Marquez; etc. etc. And there are things MMA reputedly does better than boxing that aren't necessarily so -- if Brock doesn't fight Fedor because both men are signed with different organizations, doesn't that hurt the argument for MMA's "always delivers the best fights," especially when boxing does it so regularly these days?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But this is one man's view. I fear I danced on the edge of snobbery there at points, and I have avoided writing this column for so long out of fear of coming across that way. Just know that if you're an MMA fan and this column pisses you off, I absolutely respect your preference for MMA over boxing; there is no "truth" in which sport is better. Have at it. I'll take my sweet science, and different strokes can rule the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://queensberry-rules.com/2009/09/eight-reasons-to-prefer-boxing-over-mma.html"><b>queensberry-rules.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484084772252951438.post-89149704520053274772009-09-07T21:56:00.000-07:002009-09-07T22:04:57.478-07:00Floyd Mayweather goes to war with the UFC<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7Yz8uvQYc_f-LNV16vspgCfB4ppWSJe3PSpFUJW2sMwevjxZxDF15sETBzGRCntIAxptqknrN61alYIZR7x_K_RxxlJFnRGRXI7cgO2IRTPnFHs7AURY-KWdWoxHFKpbV5GZssIh0Zo/s1600-h/Money+Mayweather+Showboating.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7Yz8uvQYc_f-LNV16vspgCfB4ppWSJe3PSpFUJW2sMwevjxZxDF15sETBzGRCntIAxptqknrN61alYIZR7x_K_RxxlJFnRGRXI7cgO2IRTPnFHs7AURY-KWdWoxHFKpbV5GZssIh0Zo/s200/Money+Mayweather+Showboating.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378958029989548450" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">In what looks like only the first of a series of ratings battles between Boxing and MMA, Floyd Mayweather is going head to head against the UFC on September the 19th.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The undercard of UFC 103 will be airing for free on Spike TV, the UFC's carrier channel for free shows and The Ultimate Fighter. In a bizarre move by Mayweather he actually pushed the date of his fight back so that it coincided with the UFC card.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Never one to back down from anything Dana White, the bullish and often overly aggressive president of the UFC then decided to air the preliminary fights for free in an effort to both publicize the UFC card and take buys away from the Mayweather fight. Which one will come out on top in terms of total buys will probably be the boxing in this case. The UFC 103 card isn't particularly strong, and was probably seen as a soft target that Mayweather could use to claim he was bigger than the sport of MMA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That being said, he certainly isn't the biggest draw in either MMA or Boxing, Brock Lesnar and Manny Pacquiao are both capable of selling more pay per views, and the formula for MMA to use several big name fighters on each card means that they aren't just trying to sell an event on one or two names alone. Floyd may be a great fighter, but he isn't that popular without some angle or hook to sell the fight without a exciting opponent. Mayweather alone isn't the kind of guy who will drum up the kind of sales that the likes of Ricky Hatton would for example, meaning Floyd needs the easy attention that verbally sparring with MMA brings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The war of words between the pound for pound great and the legendarily outspoken UFC mouthpiece Dana White has been brewing for some time now, and doesn't appear to be showing any signs of abating:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>“I used to talk like Floyd Mayweather when I was involved in boxing. I talked just like him, until I educated myself about this sport. These guys are amazing athletes, Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers ever, (and) Sean Sherk will whoop his ass in under two minutes. Any day that Mayweather wants to put his money and his ass where his mouth is, I’m ready. If he wants to step up, let’s do it. I’m willing to put together a fight for Sean Sherk and Floyd Mayweather with numbers that would make sense for Floyd. And I guarantee you he would not accept it. Floyd Mayweather would never fight in the UFC because he would get his head ripped off.“ (Dana White)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"I'll beat him and come home and watch basketball. Why would I go into a sport paying hundreds of thousands when I'm in a sport paying $20 million?" (Mayweather).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"UFC's champions can't handle boxing. That's why they are in UFC." Mayweather then added: "Put one of our guys in UFC and he'd be the champion. Any good fighter, he'd straight knock them out. Take Chuck Liddell. Put him in the ring with a (boxer) who is just 10-0 and Chuck Liddell would get punished. They wouldn't have a chance to grapple (us) because we'd knock them out." (Mayweather).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Boxers couldn't become mixed martial artists. That's why they're boxers," White then added: "They (Boxers) are one trick ponies. Our guys can do everything. They can box, they can kick box, they can wrestle and do jiu-jitsu. They are much better athletes than boxers." (Dana White).</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>“Who? Who’s Lyoto Machida? Lyoto Machida? Oh you mean that guy who sold 200,000 PPVs now he’s a superstar? It doesn’t take much over there does it? I’ve sold 3.5 million PPVs between my last 2 fights alone. How much money did Machida make his last fight? $100,000 maybe? Tell Dana White, for $100,000, I will come show him what a 28 million dollar check looks like. (Mayweather)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"He's not a superstar," White said. "Floyd doesn't sell. Floyd plus another great fighter sells. You need two good fighters that people really want to see. It's not a fight people want to see." (Dana White)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>"How is Machida as good as Floyd Mayweather? Because he’s beaten a few unskilled bar room fighters? At the end of the day, you already know, when you watch Floyd Mayweather you see the past, present and future of the sport. Machida don’t deserve to be mentioned in he same breath as me. Kousta Tszyu would whip up on his stank ass anyway.” (Mayweather)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so it goes on for some time between the two, there are valid points on both sides to an extent. I don't imagine Mayweather would want to actually last long against the likes of Sean Sherk in MMA just the same as Chuck Liddell wouldn't last long boxing Mayweather. A particular gem shows the extent of Floyd's patter:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>“In boxing, we know who’s dominating. Black fighters and Hispanic fighters is dominating in this sport,” Mayweather continued. “And this is not a racial statement but there’s no white fighters in boxing that’s dominating, so they had to go to something else and start something new.” (Mayweather)</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not heard of the heavyweight scene over the last 10 years Floyd? I would also argue that if he was really looking to be accurate, Black fighters aren't dominating nearly as much as Hispanic and Asian fighters either these days. Also poverty levels tend to have more to do with domination of boxing than any other factors. That isn't to say that Dana White hasn't had his share of idiotic statements over the years, but nothing bordering on the racist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-20066-Pittsburgh-MMA-Examiner~y2009m9d7-The-UFC-goes-to-war-with-Floyd-Mayweather"><b>examiner.com</b></a></div>user-onehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01046700752459933181noreply@blogger.com0