Pacquiao ready to fight Mayweather after vote win

World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao said Wednesday he was finally ready to fight Floyd Mayweather for the last professional bout of his career and potentially the richest in history.

Pacquiao made the announcement about the potential Mayweather clash, which US promoter Bob Arum said could take place on November 13 in Texas or Las Vegas, after winning a seat in the Philippine parliament.

"Many fans really want me to fight Floyd Mayweather so I asked my Mama if we can give them one more fight, she said okay," Pacquiao said in an interview with broadcaster ABS-CBN."We spoke yesterday and she said just one last fight, Mayweather."

"Pacman", 31, is one of the world's highest-paid athletes and fans are clamouring for a clash with former champion Mayweather, 33, to determine who is the greatest welterweight of their generation.

Negotiations for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight fell through earlier this year when the American insisted on Olympic-style random drug testing, which the Filipino rejected as too intrusive before a bout.

Pacquiao, the only boxer in history to have seven world titles in as many weight divisions and widely regarded to be the world's best pound-for-pound fighter, made no mention of the drugs issue in the television interview.

Pacquiao's mother, Dionisia, in her 60s, had been imploring him to retire from boxing.

And the launch of his political career -- he secured a landslide win in national elections on Monday for a seat representing the southern province of Sarangani -- appears to have pushed him towards acceding to her requests.

Arum, who flew to Sarangani to watch Pacquiao campaign for the election, told the Manila Standard newspaper he had reserved November 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"The cable television companies and satellite providers have put the date aside for us, so the table is set," said the flamboyant Top Rank boss, adding a government title would be a boost for Pacquiao.

"I think this is a real plus and the confidence that it will give him to have this lifelong dream of being identified as a congressman when he's introduced at press conferences and in the ring is something spectacular."

Pacquiao was among dozens of celebrities who ran for positions, ranging from president to town councillor, in national elections across the boxing-mad Philippines, one of Asia's most boisterous democracies.

He is regarded as a national treasure in the impoverished Philippines, where even Muslim extremists and soldiers silence their guns during his fights.

Pacquiao has said that public office would be his way of paying society back by helping poor Filipinos after his fighting career is over.

Pacquiao defeated Ghana's Joshua Clottey to retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt in the United States in March.

One of Pacquiao's most spectacular victories was over Oscar de la Hoya, who endured eight rounds of humiliation in December 2008 that sent him into retirement.

Last year, Pacquiao was listed by Forbes magazine as the world's sixth highest paid athlete, earning 40 million dollars in the 12 months to June 2009.

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Pacquiao Tested, Results In 2 Weeks

Nevada State Athletic Commission demanded urine test

The urine sample of Manny Pacquiao will be sent to Malaysia for testing and it should take as much as two weeks before a finding can be made by the laboratory there, top sports doctor Alex Pineda said Saturday.

Pacquiao was compelled to provide his urine sample on orders from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which is trying to save the Filipino’s megabuck match with Floyd Mayweather from being totally scrapped.

Pineda drew Pacquiao’s samples last Dec. 30 when he flew to General Santos City for that sole purpose and it is due for shipment tomorrow to the Pusat Kawalan Doping Center in the city of Penang, which is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Pineda, who is head of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-Philippine Center for Sports Medicine doping control unit, said he sent a “number-coded specimen” for the sake of confidentiality and the official laboratory results will first be forwarded to him.

PSC chairman Harry Angping said Pineda is one of the best in his chosen field.

Mayweather is demanding that Pacquiao undergo stricter testing for their proposed March 13 bout to take place.

Pacquiao has strongly denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs as he went to the extent of filing a defamation suit against Mayweather as well as Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer in a bid to clear his name.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao, the first fighter to win seven world titles in as many weight classes, said his huge success in the ring is a product of hardwork and strict diet.

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Pacquiao Steroid Claims By Mayweather Sr. Just Subterfuge

Ever since current WBO welterweight title holder Manny Pacquiao blitzed Ricky Hatton–who was trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. for the fight–in two rounds back in May of this year, Floyd Mayweather Sr. has contested that Pacquiao has been taking HGH and performance enhancing drugs. In fact Floyd Sr. has stirred the pot so much with his allegations of Pacquiao taking PED’s that Manny will be tested Olympic style in the weeks leading before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in March of 2010.

Last month Floyd Mayweather Sr. told Sports Illustrated that after seeing Pacquiao take Miguel Cotto’s Sunday left hook unflinchingly during their fight, he believes Manny was aided by some illegal substances and worried about his son Floyd Jr. fighting him while he was under the influence of them. Which is laughable. Even more laughable than Mayweather Sr’s accusations is the fact that he doesn’t even believe what he’s put out there.

Actually, Floyd Sr. would love for Pacquiao to be on some type of steroid or HGH when he meets his son in three months. And the reason for that is he’s fully aware that there’s no drug or supplement available to anyone which helps a fighter take a better punch than he would if his system were free of them. Such a drug or steroid that transforms a fighter into a puncher via a bottle or needle doesn’t exist, at least not in 2009. And if you’ve ever been around fighters who have experimented with them looking for an edge, you’d know they did nothing for them but mess up their body chemistry.

Some fans and writers even believe to this day that Aaron Pryor had something in the little black bottle that Panama Lewis concocted for his first fight with Alexis Arguello, and that enabled “The Hawk” to take a massive right to the chin from Arguello in the 13th round that must have been heard around the world when it landed. Then after drinking whatever was in the black bottle Pryor was able to come roaring back to stop Arguello in the 14th round. Maybe in a Rocky movie but not in the real world.

I hate to ruin the myth for those who believe Pryor won the fight with a little help, but Pryor had nothing aiding him during his first fight with Alexis Arguello that helped him come out on top. And if he did he brought it with him for the rematch which turned out to be a repeat of the first fight – only it lasted four less rounds 10 months later.

Oh, and Lewis decided to only use it for that fight and the magic energy potion is locked away forever along with the horse-hair that was removed from Luis Resto’s gloves right before he fought Billy Collins Jr. at Madison Square Garden in 1983. What’s more is if Manny Pacquiao is really ingesting some form of performance enhancing drugs or supplements (which I don’t believe he is) and it really has improved his chin and durability along with increasing his punching power, shame on the Mayweather camp for not knowing about it and getting it for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to take before fighting Pacquiao so the fight can be contested on more even terms.

Here’s the deal—pay no attention to what Floyd Mayweather Sr. has been spewing about Manny Pacquiao taking performance enhancing supplements and drugs. It’s nothing more than subterfuge and a way for Floyd Sr. to inject himself into the biggest fight of the last 10 years. Remember, if such a supplement existed that helped fighters raise their pain resistance and increase their power every trainer in boxing would know about it, not just Panama Lewis and perhaps Freddie Roach.

Manny Pacquiao takes a great punch because he is a phenomenal athlete and physical specimen. Manny can really punch with both hands and take it to the head and body because he was blessed with those physical and mental gifts at birth. If he beats Floyd Mayweather when they meet next year, it’ll be for no other reason than he’s a greater fighter. And if he loses to him it won’t be because he couldn’t get over on the Nevada Commission this time and couldn’t take supplements or other performance enhancing drugs. It’ll be because Floyd Mayweather was the greater fighter.

For the record, Pacquiao has already tested clean 10 times without any trace of PED’s found in his system by the Nevada Athletic Commission. But everyone knows that hasn’t kept Mayweather Sr. from continuing to insist that he’s using them. The unfortunate part of the accusations that he’s tossed at Pacquiao is some fans and writers will begin to buy into them if they haven’t already.

If Mayweather Sr. even had a clue as to what a steroid user looked like, he’d see Pacquiao doesn’t even look like he uses steroids or HGH. He’s still a small guy with huge legs (as opposed to the huge guy/tiny legs model of juice usage.) Pacquiao is now 30 years old and has filled out and matured physically later in life than most fighters in the lower weight divisions. The weight and size he’s put on has come as a result of that and via a natural process.

Lastly, if there was some magic drug or supplement available that really worked and gave a fighter more punch resistance and/or added power I wouldn’t put it past Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather along with any other world class fighter taking them, because all fighters are always looking for an edge to get one up on their peers.

The trouble is it can’t be gained through a bottle, needle or HGH regardless of what Floyd Mayweather Sr. implies.

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Three reasons why Mayweather vs Pacquiao won’t be at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas

Texas, specifically Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, continues to hear itself bandied about as potential host for a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. That’s because Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, single-handedly is keeping the issue alive.

Here are three reasons it almost certainly won’t happen, and why the fight will head to MGM Grand in Las Vegas on March 13.

1. Texas officiating

The state commission in Texas e-mailed both camps last week in an effort to soothe any fears about the quality of officiating and the input both sides would have in selection of officials if the fight is conducted in that state.

Oh, boy. That should fix things.

The Texas commission is the same one that earlier this year listened to Paulie Malignaggi — before the fight, mind you — accuse in-state judge Gale Van Hoy of bias for house fighters (that is, the fighter in whom the promoter-of-record has a contractual interest), and Raul Caiz Jr. of being a “go-fer” judge who Golden Boy Promotions routinely seeks to have assigned to bouts involving its fighters.

Sure enough, Malignaggi lost a unanimous decision to Houston’s Juan Diaz in a fight that could have gone either way, and Van Hoy’s ridiculous 118-110 scorecard — that is, 10-2 in rounds — virtually mandated a rematch.

When they fought again Saturday in Chicago, Malignaggi dominated and won a clean, unanimous decision, all by 116-111 scores.

Van Hoy and Caiz also were two of the three officials involved in another recent fight in Texas, in which Houston’s Rocky Juarez got the benefit of a spurious draw in a featherweight fight against undefeated Chris John. That result also forced a rematch, in Las Vegas, on the Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez undercard. John dominated and won a clear decision.

The questions about judging in big fights in Texas go way back. Does anyone remember how Julio Cesar Chavez got outboxed by Pernell Whitaker in 1993, only to get the benefit of a draw at the Alamodome in San Antonio, which preserved his undefeated record for a few more months?

Oh, and there is always the potential perception of conflict of interest whenever Laurence Cole, a well-known Texas referee, works a bout in which his insurance company also has sold the bout policy to the promoter. Cole isn’t a bad referee and I seriously doubt he ever stopped a fight prematurely to ensure he didn’t have to pay a settlement, but the perception that it could happen remains, and the state commission condones it.

There’s a lot of boxing in Texas, so there also are many opportunities to come up with strange examples of real or perceived impropriety.

Problem is, on those occasions when the state has hosted big fights, and those real or perceived improprieties have come to light — sometimes even before the fight occurs — Texas has proven incapable of dismissing them to everyone’s satisfaction.

The Mayweather camp wants some assurance of fairness in this fight. Facing the promoter’s fighter, Pacquiao, in a state notorious for giving the promoter’s fighter preferred treatment, is not exactly the Mayweather side’s idea of fair.

2. Arum wants it there

Arum has a fiduciary responsibility to his fighter, Pacquiao, to get the most money he can out of the venue. Cowboys Stadium has a $25 million offer on the table. It also offers the opportunity for an enormous crowd and record live gate receipts.

From a promotional perspective, Arum might be absolutely correct. Dallas might be the right place.

Bob Arum Top Rank Promoter during the Pacquiao vs Barrera boxing matchFrom Mayweather’s perspective, Arum isn’t going to get everything Arum wants.

That thing where Richard Schaefer pulled out of a scheduled site visit to Dallas last week?

Don’t think for one second that Schaefer did that on his own, without marching orders from Mayweather’s advisers. Schaefer is CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. Mayweather does not have a contract with Golden Boy and Schaefer is not empowered to act unilaterally on his behalf.

Schaefer is involved in this fight only to the extent that he has been retained as a representative liaison, for the specific purpose of helping Arum and Mayweather avoid talking directly.

If there were direct negotiations between Arum and Mayweather — or anyone directly associated with Mayweather’s camp — this fight would have been off the table within a matter of minutes, and everyone would have stormed out of the room, cursing each other.

So Schaefer — clearly on orders from Mayweather’s advisers — withdrew from the scheduled Dallas site study, made it clear the fight isn’t going to Texas, and within a matter of days, Arum made public declarations that Texas is still in the running and he has a responsibility to investigate it.

Arum knows more about boxing that just about anyone alive.

He also knows it takes two to make a fight.

Now, from a promotional perspective, it makes all kinds of sense to leave Cowboys Stadium on the table. With offers of $20 million from Staples Center in Los Angeles, and $25 million from Cowboys Stadium, the casino bosses must consider how many chips they have to toss into the pot in order to secure the richest fight in history for the world’s boxing capital.

Securing a substantial site fee from MGM Grand becomes a lot easier if it appears other bids are under serious consideration.

Nevertheless, Mayweather’s side has made it clear their man isn’t going to Texas. As anyone in Texas knows, you don’t try to pull a mule to do something it doesn’t want to do, because it only makes the animal more stubborn. You try to coax it.

Until and unless Mayweather’s side alters its position — which isn’t likely — Arum’s declarations that Texas is still a candidate constitutes mule-pulling.

Floyd Mayweather Jr3. Comfort in Nevada

Pacquiao’s side rejected Los Angeles’ bid because of taxation issues.

Mayweather’s side rejected Dallas’ bid for any number of reasons, although the only one anyone actually has heard is Arum’s recounting of a conversation in which Schaefer supposedly told him it doesn’t want the fight in an outdoor stadium, even though Cowboys Stadium has a retractable roof.

If anyone believes the latter, re-read issues No. 1 and No. 2 about why Mayweather really rejected Dallas.

That leaves Nevada, and the regularity with which both Mayweather and Pacquiao fight there, their familiarity with the lodging, the gyms, the personnel, the logistics, the treatment — from A to Z, the handling of fights and fighters.

Pacquiao, a superstitious sort, always stays in the same suite at Mandalay Bay. He trains at the same IBA Gym, at the same time, on the same days. He has a routine. His last six fights, and 11 overall, have been in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, who isn’t fond of traveling for fights, and who resides in Las Vegas, hasn’t left that city for a bout in more than four years. His last five fights, and 16 overall, have been there.

Both sides know how the commission works. Yes, there have been judging errors in Nevada, of course. But there still isn’t a more efficient and transparent boxing commission in the world.

When it comes down to the richest fight in history, and one for pound-for-pound supremacy, don’t underestimate how much that means.

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Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fight Belongs in Dallas, Not Las Vegas

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport of boxing, will square off on March 13, 2010, in one of the most anticipated fights in years.

Everything is signed, sealed and delivered. The fight will be contested at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, the gloves will be eight ounces, the money will be split 50-50 and I’m sure Michael Buffer will be there to get us started. The one thing that we don’t yet know is where this fight of fights will go down.

Not long ago, there were several places being mentioned: New Orleans Superdome, Cowboys Stadium, MGM Grand, Yankee Stadium, Staples Center … heck, I even volunteered my living room, and my dad said he’d be more than happy to build seating in his backyard.

The field was quickly narrowed. The Brennan households didn’t have enough room, while New York and California’s taxes were too high. Associated Press clippings have made it seem as if Jerry Jones would really like to host this megaevent, and Bob Arum is open to the idea. Golden Boy, however, seems to have a nice cozy relationship with MGM, and I’m sure Mayweather would love a little home-field advantage (he lives in Vegas).

So the fight before the fight is going to be Dallas vs. Vegas. Sure, Vegas has been known as a fight town lately, but the MGM Grand’s capacity is barely above 17,000. I’m sure the buzz in Vegas for a big fight is something special, but being a blue-collar schmuck, I kind of enjoy the idea of people like me having a chance at getting a ticket to the fight.

For the good of boxing, this fight needs to be in Dallas. I completely understand that Texas has been known to have some bad decisions in the sport, but Vegas has had bad decisions, too. What state hasn’t? Honestly, this is boxing. If we are going to stop putting on fights in states that have had bad decisions, boxing will cease to exist.

Think about it: A packed MGM Grand will have fewer than 20,000 fans, and you know that most of those tickets will go to big spenders and “mucho important” people. How does that help the sport of boxing?

A fight of this caliber is going to pique the interest of the general sports fan, which means this is a huge opportunity to not just make money, but to also garner new interest in the sport. The pay-per-view numbers are going to be what they are no matter where this fight ends up, but in Dallas, the promoters could get up to 100,000 fans to attend. Why would all those involved not want to try and sell an extra 80,000 tickets? Heaven forbid an actual fan attends one of these fights. (I’m not sure what the actual estimates are for how many people will attend the fight, but I guarantee it’s much closer to 100,000 than it is 20,000).

As much as I loved watching the Miguel Cotto-Manny Pacquiao fight, it wasn’t as electric as a Ricky Hatton fight when he fought at the Manchester Evening News Arena or Lucian Bute when he fights in Montreal. That’s because they have a decent following and have their fights in venues where actual fight fans can get tickets. If you are putting on the biggest fight in the sport, why wouldn’t you want the biggest venue, in the state that likes everything big?
At some point, someone in the sport of boxing needs to start thinking about the big picture and stop shooting the sport in the foot. 2009 was a great year for the sport of boxing, with fewer PPVs and more quality fights. It’s one of the first years in quite some time that fans haven’t felt shorted. Putting Pacquiao-Mayweather together was a step in the right direction — now having it in a place that is big enough to accommodate some true fans would be a leap in that same direction.

I have stated in past articles that a big fight like Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is like the Super Bowl to boxing fans. Imagine if Roger Goodell decided that he wanted to host the Super Bowl at Nickerson Field (capacity: 21,000). The rest of the NFL and the football-viewing public would be in an uproar. Yet somehow, it’s OK for boxing to shortchange everyone?

As boxing fans, we put up with quite a bit more aggravation than other sports fans. It’s time to give us a break. What’s the worst that could happen? MGM decides to no longer host smaller Golden Boy fights like Andre Berto-Shane Mosley?

Like I said, my dad has no problem building stands in the backyard.

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Manny Pacquiao is Overrated! An Early Look at Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather

Before Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is Signed… Is There a Chance That Manny Pacquiao is Overrated?

The legacy of Manny Pacquiao has yet to be determined. Will he be remembered as pound for pound one of the greatest fighters in boxing history or for his lavish life style? One thing is certain, the Filipino sensation covets the bright lights, whether it’s winning championships in seven different weight classes, traveling with a giant entourage, being on the cover of Time Magazine or having aspirations of becoming President of the Philippines.

The great mathematician Democritus once stated: “I would rather discover one scientific fact than become King of Persia.” I sadly, but admittedly, will never become the King of Persia or President of the Philippines, but after analyzing Pacquiao’s boxing career one fact becomes apparent – a statistically significant argument can be made that the current pound-for-pound kingpin is either slightly overrated or his opponents have been strategically selected.

One fact that cannot be argued is on average Manny Pacquiao has been fighting opponents that are considerably older, have been recently defeated or are statistically proven to be on the decline. Since his last loss, Pacquiao, 30, has gone on an eleven fight winning streak, with his opponent’s average age being 31. During the winning streak, Pacquiao’s average age at the time each respective bout took place was 28. A three year age advantage may seem minute, but boxers that have consistent success in the lower weight classes typically have tremendous speed. Pacquiao is known for, and does have world-class speed in his repertoire, but does consistently fighting opponents in their early 30’s help protect and even boost his speed advantage?

In addition to an age advantage, statistics prove that Pacquiao has been fighting opponents that have been recently defeated or are on the decline. During his present winning streak, the average winning percentage of Pacquiao’s opponents throughout their entire career is an impressive 94%. However, when further analyzing the data it becomes apparent that the average winning percentage of Pacquiao’s opponents during the five fights leading up to the their respective bout declines to 84% and the average winning percentage of his opponents after their bout took place, not including the loss to Pacquiao, drops to a measly 67%. Considering the data at hand, can the argument be made that Pacquiao is consistently fighting opponents that are older, statistically on the decline and have been recently defeated?

Attacking Pacquiao’s opponents is a logical choice to the argument that he is overrated. Why hasn’t the score been settled with a game and willing Juan Manuel Marquez? Why did Pacquiao fight a recently defeated and in some cases “over-the-hill” Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Marco Antonio Barrera?

Insiders within the sport will profoundly point out that tougher match-ups exist for Pacquiao, such as Shane Mosley or the much younger Andre Berto. Rumors are swirling that Arum and Pacquiao are even interested in moving up to the 154lb division in an attempt to become an eight division world champion. Pacquiao’s opponent of choice in this dangerous move: of course, the unheralded Yuri Foreman. If Pacquiao wants a challenge, how does a David versus Goliath match-up with the giant Paul Williams sound?

On average Manny Pacquiao’s opponents are older, on the decline or carefully selected – certainly. However, what does that really mean? Pacquiao cannot control that his competition are fighting other champions or top contenders, hence the losses, or that Bob Arum is thinking about money, his fighters legacy, and money again when deliberating on his next bout. One thing is certain, Pacquiao is a great fighter and the only outstanding item worth deliberating is where the Filipino phenom ranks versus the legends of boxing?

Presumably, on January 11th, two fighters will be in New York City to announce a mega fight that will take place on March 13 of 2010 and will not only settle the score of who is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world today, but where Pacquiao, and even Floyd Mayweather’s, rightful ranks is among the legends of the sport of boxing. Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao would be one of the biggest fights of the last 25 years, undoubtedly.

So is Manny Pacquiao overrated? You can decide for yourself.

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TEAM PACQUIAO: CONTRACT NOT SIGNED YET

Mike Koncz, Manny’s U.S. advisor stated “he and Manny are currently working on the contracts for the next fight. Nothing is done yet, so please do not believe anything else you read. They are still working on a couple of matters, but we believe that in a short amount of time everything could get agreed upon by all parties concerned.”

Right now Manny is still enjoying his victory over Miguel Cotto. Manny is fully healed and enjoying his family and friends in the Philippines. As soon as the Cotto fight was over and Manny flew back to the Philippines, Manny celebrated with family, friends, and fans, but eagerly went back to work finishing up projects and obligations over in the Philippines, such as the movie Wapakman.

Manny is going to be doing a lot of traveling soon. Mike Koncz stated that “www.mpboxing.com will be notified with all the real information as soon as possible about this fight, as well as anything else going on in the life and world of Pacman.”

“Also, Manny’s hands and ears are already fully healed, otherwise they would not even be negotiating his next fight.” Mike feels Manny would be ready and willing to fight come March, as long as there is an amicable agreement met.

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