The Boxing Thread -yes Boxing

[sonnylarue]

Some folks around here know that I covered the sport in print and broadcasting for almost 20 years . I wrote for RING and Boxing Illustrated in the 1990's, and broadcast for Fox Sports, Sportsvision, and The Sporting News Radio Network, covering dozens of chapionship fights, and the 1992 and 1996 olympics (from chicago, never been to an olympiad).

I also made a 2002 audio documentary on the Jqack Dempsey Gene Tunney 1927 fight. That nearly landed me a historic advisor gig for the Ron Howard film Cinderella Man.

I've interviewed Ali, Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Larry Holmes, Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Chavez, Archie Moore, among others, and a ton of the TV and print guys who cover the sport.

I don't dislike UFC/MMA, but can't say I've been interested enough to turn my Boxing interest into a writing or broadcasting gig for that type of fighting sport.

So I ask that this doesn't become a MMA thread (we can make another one if those fans truly want that)

Boxing is on the decline , but there are still good fights and fans here who've wanted my 2 cents on certain match-ups and fighters, so feel free to ask or discuss any bouts here.

[JimmyF1982]

pretty sweet you got a chance to interview Ali.

i've probably know less than nothing about anything in boxing, but what are your feelings about de la hoya coming back to fight this other guy? IIRC he "retired" so he didn't have to fight mayweather again? again i'm not in the know but that's some shady shit you ask me.

[sonnylarue]

oscar never retired officially. he knows he's still a ppv draw, and fighting manny paquiao at 147 is a safe big name match-up for him.

[D. George]

John, what do you think of Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor?

I saw their two fights against each other, and came away impressed by both, even though Pavlik won both.

[NeverWanderer]

Hey, John!

You ever get a chance to interview/speak to a boxer by the name of Abe Simon?

Fought Joe Lewis in the 60s (62, I think?) and appeared in On The Water Front and Requiem For A Heavyweight?

Probly before your time, but you dropped a few older names, so I figure it's worth a shot. :)

[Josh V]

John, what do you think of Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor?

I saw their two fights against each other, and came away impressed by both, even though Pavlik won both.

Pavlik's fight after the Taylor rematch was incredibly impressive. He just beat his opponent into submission. It really is a shame that boxing means very little in this country right now because I think that guy would be a huge star.

[sonnylarue]

John, what do you think of Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor?

I saw their two fights against each other, and came away impressed by both, even though Pavlik won both.

jermaine taylor is sadly the typical name attraction these days.

he was rushed to the title, and frankly i've never been impressed with him.

he's among the best between 160-175, but he doesn't have much talent imo

it speaks more to the lack of good fighters over 147 lbs in this erA.

[sonnylarue]

Hey, John!

You ever get a chance to interview/speak to a boxer by the name of Abe Simon?

Fought Joe Lewis in the 60s (62, I think?) and appeared in On The Water Front and Requiem For A Heavyweight?

Probly before your time, but you dropped a few older names, so I figure it's worth a shot. :)

are you trying to be silly? joe louis fought simon twice in the 40's

the oldest guys in the game that i have met/interviewed were trainers eddie futch and angelo dundee, the greatest lt hvy of all time archie moore, 160 champ gene fullmer, and former hvyweight champ floyd patterson.
fullmer

[NeverWanderer]

are you trying to be silly? joe louis fought simon twice in the 40's

the oldest guys in the game that i have met/interviewed were trainers eddie futch and angelo dundee, the greatest lt hvy of all time archie moore, 160 champ gene fullmer, and former hvyweight champ floyd patterson.
fullmer

Oh! WOW... okay, yeah. No sillyness... I just had a case of the dumb.

In fact... considering what I'm about to tell you, I'm a complete moron. :)

So, yeah, the reason I ask is, Abe Simon is my wife's grandfather. :p

Which would have put him somewhere in his 40s or 50s fighting Lewis in 1962.

This is why I failed math.

[sonnylarue]

Oh! WOW... okay, yeah. No sillyness... I just had a case of the dumb.

In fact... considering what I'm about to tell you, I'm a complete moron. :)

So, yeah, the reason I ask is, Abe Simon is my wife's grandfather. :p

Which would have put him somewhere in his 40s or 50s fighting Lewis in 1962.

This is why I failed math.

OH! WOW! COOL!

Sorry, sometimes i miss attemps at board humor...

like when some boarder was trying to be funny, saying the beatles ripped david bowie off from Young americans when it was obviously their day in the life coming first...

I still don't think that's funny

but abe simon? hell the guy went 19 total rounds with Louis, he was a giant of a man.

is he the fighter who claimed to have a cosmic punch?

[NeverWanderer]

OH! WOW! COOL!

Sorry, sometimes i miss attemps at board humor...

like when some boarder was trying to be funny, saying the beatles ripped david bowie off from Young americans when it was obviously their day in the life coming first...

I still don't think that's funny

but abe simon? hell the guy went 19 total rounds with Louis, he was a giant of a man.

is he the fighter who claimed to have a cosmic punch?

Y'know... I dunno! I was actually hoping you'd have some fun facts like that to throw out about him. :) My wife didn't even know he fought Lewis until she found a few You Tube videos of it.

He was huge.

[sonnylarue]

Lou Nova had the Cosmic Punch ,

but i believe the abe simon rematch was scheduled to go 20 rounds (which was 5 more than the championship limit back then of 15) , but Louis Knocked him out in 6 .

[D. George]

Hey John, any recent fights that you'd recommend seeking out and watching? And any upcoming fights that you're anticipating?

[sonnylarue]

tonight's lightweight bout juan diaz vs michael katsidis on hbo is a good crossroads contender match.

actually there's a few good fights this month

September 13

At Las Vegas (HBO PPV)

Sergio Mora vs. Vernon Forrest, rematch, 12 rounds

WBC junior middleweight title

Nate Campbell vs. Joan Guzman, 12 rounds

WBO/IBF/WBA lightweight title

then these
Junior Middleweight (154 pounds): Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KOs) vs. Ricardo Mayorgo (29-6-1, 23 KOs) on Sept. 27, 2008 in Carson, Calif. -- HBO

Light Heavyweight (175 pounds): Antonio Tarver (26-4, 19 KOs) vs. Chad Dawson (26-0, 17 KOs) on Oct. 10 in Las Vegas, Nev. -- SHOWTIME

Heavyweight: Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) vs. Vitali Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs) on Oct. 11 in Berlin, Germany

Middleweight (160 pounds): Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) vs. Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs) on Oct. 18 in Atlantic City, N.J. -- PPV

Light Heavyweight (175 pounds): Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs), vs. Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs) on Nov. 8 in New York City. -- PPV

Junior Welterweight (140 pounds): Paulie Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) vs. Ricky Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) on Nov. 22 in Las Vegas, Nev. -- HBO

Possible Welterweight (147 pounds): Oscar De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs) vs. Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, Nev.

[GMatias]

I ran across a special or something on the Julio Caesar Chavez/Meldrick Taylor fight on one of the ESPNs (sadly, not the Ocho) and wondered what your take on it was. Awesome fight, but do you think Steele was in the right calling it like he did?

[sonnylarue]

I ran across a special or something on the Julio Caesar Chavez/Meldrick Taylor fight on one of the ESPNs (sadly, not the Ocho) and wondered what your take on it was. Awesome fight, but do you think Steele was in the right calling it like he did?

one of my all time favs...and yes i do think steele made the right call

taylor was out on his feet, steele asked him twice ARE YOU OK? right in his face and taylor could barley nod.

when he went to the hospital after the fight it turned out he was ingesting blood for a few rounds before the stoppage. plus his orbital bone near his eye socket was fractured. chavez was quietly busting him up of the 12 rounds.

taylor was winning the fight on points but chavez made an amazing comeback in that last minute with over a dozen unanswered punches resulting in the knockdown.

it's sad how punchy taylor is today, he was an amazing fighter who got hit way too much.

[sonnylarue]

Roy Jones and Joe Calzaghe had their press conference today annoucing their fight.

I sure hope Calzaghe wins.

Roy was a talented untouchable middleweight, but frankly the man squandered his prime, when he could've run the board fighting everyone (including a younger Calzaghe)

instead, the guy was content to fight bs "1 contenders and let hopkins,fmr undefeated 175 lb king Dariusz Michalczewski, tommy hearns, slip by.

meanwhile calzaghe just beat bernared hopkins in their amazing lt hvy match , and has never ducked a worthy opponent.

roy never uses his jab and thinks he's still as fast as he was in his prime, which is why his hands are always held low, making him wide open fo knockdowns.

[maverick-99]

How do you feel about Wii boxing, John? :]

[sonnylarue]

How do you feel about Wii boxing, John? :]

it's a blast! wish i owned a wii

[dimeshop]

John -

Did you see John McCain's recent sports center interview where he talks about boxing and ppv's effects on the popularity of the sport?

I was thinking about this recently. I was never super into boxing, but I'd always watch fights on tv with my dad. Now I have basic cable and I can pretty much never see boxing, but there's no less than 4 mma leagues I can see on a regular basis.

[sonnylarue]

John -

Did you see John McCain's recent sports center interview where he talks about boxing and ppv's effects on the popularity of the sport?

I was thinking about this recently. I was never super into boxing, but I'd always watch fights on tv with my dad. Now I have basic cable and I can pretty much never see boxing, but there's no less than 4 mma leagues I can see on a regular basis.

no, but i'll look for it.

mccain has always been a people's advocate for reforming the sport

he's 100% right about ppv , but i'm still not voting for him

[sonnylarue]

settling in to watch mosley vs mayorga

it's shane fight to lose. mayorga is a one dimensional slugger, but he can hit hard

[sonnylarue]

wow! mosley ko's mayorga in the closing secs of the 12th rnd. great finish! mayorga was very tough and awkward until the last :30 secs of the fight

[Wigner's Friend]

Who should Margarito fight now? A unification rematch against either Clottey or Paul Williams seems logical. Maybe he could go up to 154 and fight Vernon Forrest or Daniel Santos?

[Arion]

no, but i'll look for it.

mccain has always been a people's advocate for reforming the sport

he's 100% right about ppv , but i'm still not voting for him

A thread about McCain and boxing?

[sonnylarue]

A thread about McCain and boxing?

as i said, mccain has been a longtime advocate for better rules and regulations in us boxing. i prepped james brown for a couple of interviews on the subject for sporting news radio.

Blog Post

Posted at 9:00 AM on 5/7/2007 by christian_ferry
Boxing his Way to the Nomination

Senator and Mrs. McCain attended Saturday night's Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather boxing match in Las Vegas over the weekend. I'm sure for him it was a nice change of pace from a hectic campaign schedule over the last few weeks; but don't worry, we didn't give him too much time away from the trail – the campaign made sure to surround the match with a town hall meeting in Reno, political meetings, media interviews, and a fundraiser in Las Vegas before he headed out to Iowa on Sunday.

Senator McCain has long been an avid boxing fan and spent some time in the ring himself as a Midshipman at the Naval Academy. Newsweek has an interesting article this week about McCain's boxing background, his love of the sport, and how boxing might be a good metaphor for his life in general. He never gives up; and, this campaign is no different. When asked by Newsweek if there are similarities between boxing and politics, his response was - "There are probably more strict rules in boxing than in politics."


a good 2004 espn story laying out the details of mccain's boxing efforts

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=1950993

[sonnylarue]

Who should Margarito fight now? A unification rematch against either Clottey or Paul Williams seems logical. Maybe he could go up to 154 and fight Vernon Forrest or Daniel Santos?

he's proven himself at welter , time to move up to 154

[Wigner's Friend]

One of the great sports memories of my childhood was listening to my Grandpa and Dad argue over a theoretical Ali/Louis bout. My Grandpa says Louis would work the jab, left hook, and body to wear Ali down before Louis' combos knock Ali out. My Dad, however, thinks Ali's combination of Jersey Joe Walcott's feet, Billy Conn's hand quickness, and Ezzard Charles' subtle skills to fustigate Louis in an relatively easy decision.

So to repeat the most asked question in boxing history; Joe Louis vs. Muhammad Ali, who wins and how?

[sonnylarue]

i'm with your dad, but if louis could cut off the ring and trap ali, he had the power to knock him out.

instead of just one fight have them fight 10 times and both would have a few spectacular wins.

[Hodge]

Hey John big fan of your work.

Interesting to see your view on Calzaghe as there is a many with the view over here in UK that Joe did the same as Roy in only fighting WBO No.1s rather than fighting in the US.

Would prime Jones Jr have swept all at supermidd if he had fought all the names that were out there?

[sonnylarue]

Would prime Jones Jr have swept all at supermidd if he had fought all the names that were out there?

sure. he had the hand and defensive speed back then, but he;s almost 10 yrs past his prime.

[Hodge]

How do people see the Pavlik / Hopkins catch weight fight?

Lot of people thikg Hopkin's heart is not in it but he's surprised us before and 170 is a nice weight for him.

That said if Pavlik can translate his power up (and that's the big question if he wants to have shot at more titles) it could over around round 8/9

[sonnylarue]

kudos to joe calzghe for busting up roy jones jr

[BronxRonin]

As i mentioned in that other thread... I went to see this awesome fight live...Awesome being a fight i never would of imagined and i've been to a few fights.My wife Shirley works for HBO in the sports/boxing dept. And occasionally we get to go see a fight and i'm happy we got to go to this one. Two future hall of famers? Possible. For on we sat three seats behind Danny Devito and Michael Douglas. And a few seats from Ricky Gervais who btw is a super cool dude he took pictures with who ever asked and smiled and joked with all celebrity and non celebrity. Most got a cool round of applause but when Ricky's name was announced a huge roar came over the crowded arena, maybe because of the european visitors. I won't go round for round because my writing will bore ya to death. But i have to say after the first round knock down of Calzaghe by Jones , Calzaghe did not stop punching and dancing around almost imitating Jones' Swagger in the ring. Heck, i might even say he was mocking the man in his face and taking punches from jones. Non stop punching and joking around throughout the fight , that made my wife a fan of Supa Joe C.! I hope you guys can see the fight on saturday on ready for the plug? HBO! Keep my wife working and watch the fight...lol! Fro those that have my facebook friendship i posted some pics that i took before my camera conked out. Forgot to re-charge. :(

[BronxRonin]

p://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=891290&id=646329279&ref=mf

[Wigner's Friend]

God I hope Ricky Hatton can just fustigate Paulie Malignaggi.

[Arion]

sure. he had the hand and defensive speed back then, but he;s almost 10 yrs past his prime.

Oh, the age.

[nightwing1982]

I hope that the Golden Boy gets knocked out this Saturday

[Wigner's Friend]

I hope that the Golden Boy gets knocked out this Saturday

I'm just amazed he got down to 145 and Pac Man got up to 142. However, I don't know how an in shape De La Hoya can lose given his powerful left hook and Nacho Beristain in his corner.

[Gib Ikswobel]

Glad I didnt pay for that. Not too much competition on that card, but I want to see more of Juanma.

[Wigner's Friend]

Wow. Manny Pacquiao was incredible tonight. Lets see if it's enough to get Mayweather out of "retirement".

[leafinsectman]

Yikes, speed kills. I'm happy since my boy Manny won but damn, I was expecting a bit more from De La Hoya. I still love him though.

[nightwing1982]

Yikes, speed kills. I'm happy since my boy Manny won but damn, I was expecting a bit more from De La Hoya. I still love him though.

I wonder if those people that placed the Statue in his honor are having second thoughts...

...And way De La Hoya is now not going to live this one down. Golden Boy...more like rusty man.

Manny brought his A-Game.

[Arion]

I hope that the Golden Boy gets knocked out this Saturday

Very important questions. I would hate to see all comics at 3.99.

[Hodge]

Haven't have the chance to see Manny's win yet. Him vs Hatton could be an interesting bout - but yes would love to see him fight Floyd.

Did see a cracker of a title fight for WBC Super-Mid with Froch coming out with the win. Real toe to toe action for much of it.

[Ultimate Dead Cap]

I'm going to watch the replay just to look for George Lopez in the crowd and see his depressed face when the Golden Boy is pounded into fool's gold.

[sonnylarue]

how sad is the hvy division?
pretty sad.
klitchko should beat rahman, but an upset isn't out of the question.

[sonnylarue]

oscar never retired officially. he knows he's still a ppv draw, and fighting manny paquiao at 147 is a safe big name match-up for him.

i was sick and didn't have the chance to expand on this fight .

i figured it was manny's fight to lose, because like roy jones, oscar has been living on his past rep, and trying to avoid hard matches since his loss to hopkins.

i think he took this fight for the same reason he chose floyd mayweather, thiking these smaller guys wouldn't hurt him.

i respect all delahoya accomplished but he's been too selective match-up wise for most of this decade, as opposed to his rise through the 90's.

[sonnylarue]

damn!

didn't realize tonights klitchko-rahman fight was tape delay.
avoid the net if you want to watch the fight fresh.

man rahman totally phoned in his performance. he was sleepwalking, waiting to get ko'd

[sonnylarue]

sounds like holyfield got robbed against the giant Nikolay Valuev in their wba title fight.
http://sports.yahoo.com/box/blog/box_experts/post/Holyfield-is-robbed?urn=box,130517

i wasn't going to buy this ppv.

to quote rocky lV, "holyfield is over the hill, and the russian hasn't fought anybody."

yet more proof how fucked up the current state of boxing is

[Ultimate Dead Cap]

Boxing is out on its feet. There's just too much crap to sift through. Buying a ppv literally feels like I'm gambling now...terrible. I hope it recovers.

[Hodge]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7871918.stm

Joe Calzaghe retires. Modern great who arguably could have been even greater.

[niceguyeddie]

so... that young Chavez kid is supposed to fight tomorrow night.
i think he's fighting a nobody or something. i'm just hoping that he continues on up the ladder.
i need a mexican fighter i can believe in.
i also hear the younger Chavez looks like he's going to be even better than this Chavez.
they might not end up holding a candle to their dear old pops but I hope they bring back some boxing pride to us mexicans.

ps.

hey Sonny

didn't you say that you interviewed JC Chavez?
you wouldn't happen to have a copy or something of that interview??
did you ever interview Marco Antonio Barrera or Erik Morales, or Macho Camacho (i'd like to hear/read that one).
or i don't know if you remember this guy but my pops loves Salvador Sanchez.

[sonnylarue]

hbo's thrilla in manilla docu was outstanding. lots of perspective rarely covered in past attempts

[Arion]

Boxing is out on its feet. There's just too much crap to sift through. Buying a ppv literally feels like I'm gambling now...terrible. I hope it recovers.

I know what you mean.

[sonnylarue]

hey Sonny

didn't you say that you interviewed JC Chavez?
you wouldn't happen to have a copy or something of that interview??
did you ever interview Marco Antonio Barrera or Erik Morales, or Macho Camacho (i'd like to hear/read that one).
or i don't know if you remember this guy but my pops loves Salvador Sanchez.

chavez-i covered 2 of his fights one against frankie randal, when he lost his title, one against a nobody here in chgo. i didn't keep the i8nterviews,cause they were short and he didn't speak english, so we had the interpretor.

i never interviewed morales or barera, but did cover their first fight and talked to foreman about the match-uo .

never interviewed camacho

[leafinsectman]

The Paquiao/Hatton fight was too quick, I thought he'd last longer than De La Hoya. Some guy walked in front of me for a second just before that last punch and by the time he got out of the way Hatton was already on the ground. I had to wait for the replays to see what happened. Oh well, at least me and my brother weren't standing around at the pub for too long.

What did you think John?

[sonnylarue]

The Paquiao/Hatton fight was too quick, I thought he'd last longer than De La Hoya. Some guy walked in front of me for a second just before that last punch and by the time he got out of the way Hatton was already on the ground. I had to wait for the replays to see what happened. Oh well, at least me and my brother weren't standing around at the pub for too long.

What did you think John?

i was expecting more of a fight, but also knew this was the likely outcome.

this was a money fight. hatton is a great brawler, but paquiao is as much if a slugger, but a better technician.

now that floyd is coming back, we'll see a classic match for manny.

[WillieLee]

Arturo Gatti was murdered in Brazil (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/090711/canada/canada_gatt_dead). He had some of the greatest fights in history. Just a real shame.

[Arion]

Arturo Gatti was murdered in Brazil (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/090711/canada/canada_gatt_dead). He had some of the greatest fights in history. Just a real shame.

Sad news.

[sonnylarue]

i hear from a few in the sports community that hbo's new boxing docu assault in the ring has a revisionist slant? i will judge for myself.

[GMatias]

i hear from a few in the sports community that hbo's new boxing docu assault in the ring has a revisionist slant? i will judge for myself.

I just caught a section of this on HBO late the other night, and came on here to see if you mentioned it. Am very interested in your take on it.

[sonnylarue]

I just caught a section of this on HBO late the other night, and came on here to see if you mentioned it. Am very interested in your take on it.

I liked it, but did feel like the filmmaker forced some awkward moments into it.

The story itself is pretty powerful and didn't need the reality TV push I felt the guy gave this movie.

[BronxRonin]

i give up on boxing...what a rip off and fixed fight...Juan diaz did not beat malignaggi.

[nightwing1982]

Did any body see the HBO Boxing after Dark on Saturday night?

The mean fight Diaz/Malingaggi was good, but the judges' scoring was WAY off.

[sonnylarue]

guess i gotta check it out.

[nightwing1982]

The scoring was way off.

I thought at best the fight might be a draw or a two point difference.

I don't know when HBO is going to have the replay.

[Balthazar]

For the record, Azarello and I still think you are nuts about Tyson! :)

[sonnylarue]

For the record, Azarello and I still think you are nuts about Tyson! :)

then you guys would think my boxing expert pals like (fmr usa today fight writer) jon sarceno , (my fmr boss and ring magazine publisher ) bert sugar, and others were nuts too.

are you guys forgetting the distance fights tyson had in his prime against bonecrusher smith, and tony tucker?

if those guys could last against tyson, larry holmes and ali would've beaten him.

tyson is a top 10 all time hvy,

but holmes, ali, and yes george foreman, would've beaten him. so would joe louis. marciano & fraizer vs mike? it's a toss up.

[BronxRonin]

i hear from a few in the sports community that hbo's new boxing docu assault in the ring has a revisionist slant? i will judge for myself.

That gym is a few blocks from my house...i see Resto all the time sweeping the front of the Morris park gym. Sad story.The guy is still in shape for his age.

[leafinsectman]

Heya John, what did you think of the Pacquiao/Cotto fight? I don't know much about boxing so when I heard that Manny has an upcoming concert I thought that was it but he's still got it! I thought he seemed like the weaker of the two in the first few rounds but he got a few key punches in there. He really makes you pay for your mistakes.

I thought it was funny how he already had tickets to a concert in Mandalay Bay after the match :p

[Hodge]

Cotto troubled him in the first round. Manny made a adjustment in the second, caught him with a punch out of nowhere and from there on in went through the gears.

A stellar performance.

Still have a bad feeling Mayweather spoiling tactics could negate Manny to a degree but hopefully we find out.

[Adrian B AWESOME]

I thought it was a pretty great fight. Cotto's no pushover, and with Manny coming in a bit underweight, it made for an interesting story.

I can't recall if John's a Pacquiao fan or not (I think he is) but I absolutely think this fight moves him into "all-time" conversation, if he hadn't been already. Then again, I've only been a fan of the sport for about 6 years or so, so John's perspective is always interesting to me.

[Arion]

Heya John, what did you think of the Pacquiao/Cotto fight? I don't know much about boxing so when I heard that Manny has an upcoming concert I thought that was it but he's still got it! I thought he seemed like the weaker of the two in the first few rounds but he got a few key punches in there. He really makes you pay for your mistakes.

I thought it was funny how he already had tickets to a concert in Mandalay Bay after the match :p

Was that fight yesterday ?

[sonnylarue]

cotto was tougher than i expected, but i knew pacman would win, and i'm still confident he has the speed and power to beat floyd

[Hodge]

cotto was tougher than i expected, but i knew pacman would win, and i'm still confident he has the speed and power to beat floyd

Hope your right - admired Pacman since he beat one of favs Barrera (1st time) but never suspected he could do it at this weight.

If he beats Floyd we talking dead cert top 10 pfp all-time.

[Adrian B AWESOME]

I rarely buy PPVs, but I can guarantee you, no matter the cost, if and when it happens, I'm buying Pacquiao/Mayweather Jr.

I absolutely think Pac-Man's faster, I just don't think he's got the power that Mayweather has.

[leafinsectman]

Was that fight yesterday ?

Yeah, sorry if I spoiled it for you :(

I absolutely think Pac-Man's faster, I just don't think he's got the power that Mayweather has.

I don't know much about boxing but yeah, I feel the same way. But Cotto seemed like he had the power advantage but Manny took that away from him so I don't know... I'll leave the debate to the rest of you who know more than me about boxing.

At one point in the middle rounds Manny was getting hit quite a bit and maybe he was a little worried, he started getting a bit more aggressive as opposed to just fighting smart like how he's been doing it over his last few matches. I kinda wanna see that, Manny in a bit of trouble. Its been a while since the last time I saw that.

[leafinsectman]

Ooooh I just read this.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jksGYkWJOEjcmY--WuDbb56yaLBg

Pacquiao said earlier in the week he doesn't think Mayweather will step up to the plate and called him a boring boxer.

"Boxing for him is like a business. He doesn't care about people around him watching. He doesn't care if the fight is boring as long as the fight is finished and he gets his money," Pacquiao said.

Roach said even if Mayweather agrees to a deal, the fight won't take place at any cost.

"If Floyd wants a 65-35 (purse) split then he is not going to get it," Roach said.

Just doing a bit more reading...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/boxing/article6917588.ece

Filipino soldiers stop shooting to watch Manny Pacquiao beat Miguel Cotto

The Philippines was brought to a standstill as the country celebrated Manny Pacquiao's victory over Miguel Cotto.

After winning the WBO welterweight title in the early hours of this morning, Pacquiao was hailed as "an inspiration to Filipino youth" by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who also sent her congratulations.

"I hope we can all learn from his example so that, together, we can also move forward as a nation," Arroyo said in a statement read by her spokesman, Cerge Remonde.

In the strife-torn southern part of the country, troops fighting Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants silenced their guns to watch from the trenches.

Filipinos erupted in wild cheers and thunderous applause in cinemas, bars, restaurants and crowded neighbourhoods across the Philippines as Pacquiao collected the title with a 12th-round stoppage of the Puerto Rican champion.

The victory enhanced Pacquiao's reputation as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and earned him a seventh title in an unprecedented seventh weight class.

"He's the greatest fighter in boxing history," engineer Hermogenes Gutierrez, who watched the bout at a restaurant with his family, said. "He has made all Filipinos proud. He's our national hero."

Officials at the country's main power company said electricity consumption rose nearly 13 per cent over normal weekend demand during the bout.

Traffic in the capital Manila's streets was light as traders, taxi drivers and even petty criminals took time to watch Pacquiao fight against Cotto, who was the underdog.

"I flew home from Bangkok last night just to watch this fight," Ricardo Reyes, an electronics engineer, said, before the start of the fight while dining at a sports bar in Manila's business district. "I don't want to miss this historic bout. I'll fly back to Bangkok tonight because I have to report to work tomorrow."

At many Sunday masses across the Roman Catholic country, Filipinos prayed for Pacquiao's victory. "I went to church early today for Manny's victory," said Angelo delos Santos, a 51-year-old taxi driver.

Security forces were on alert in Manila and police officers made the rounds in shopping malls and crowded neighbourhoods. "Historically, we register near zero crime during Pacquiao's actual match but we sent out patrols to make sure no criminals will take advantage of the situation," Leonardo Espina, national police spokesman, said.

Giant screens were put up in gymnasiums and parks across the country by local politicians to win support from poor voters while lawmakers hurriedly approved the government's budget bill last week as many planned to fly to Las Vegas for the fight.

Days before his fight, Pacquiao had dedicated the bout to his countrymen battered by successive storms since September which left 1,128 people dead, with large areas outside Manila still struggling with floods.

The new champion hosted a party after the fight, during which he donned a trilby, despite having a large bandage on his head, and sang to the guests.

I wonder if those politicians used taxpayer money for their tickets to Vegas...

[sonnylarue]

floyd mayweather is not a big puncher, and certanly not at 147.

[Arion]

Yeah, sorry if I spoiled it for you :(


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No, not at all .