Floyd SAYS He Couldn't Care Less About Manny…REALLY?

Published

13 years ago

May 4, 2012

Ron Borges

MayweatherPrepares4Cotto Blevins27 LAS VEGAS – How long of a shadow can a man standing 5-feet-6 ½ inches cast? If that man is Manny Pacquiao and you box for a living it is apparently a long, dark and foreboding one.

Even when faced with a formidable challenge and an earnest opponent like Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao is never far from Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s mind it seems, the latest example of that coming over the past two days when Mayweather has been obsessively talking about a guy he seems to have no intention of fighting.

Tomorrow, Mayweather will challenge the WBA’s junior middleweight champion at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight is expected to do big business, pay-per-view sales already projected at well over one million and perhaps, some claim, possibly challenging the all-time record of 2.4 million buys set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya nearly five years ago.

Unlike others in his powerful position (including Pacquiao), Mayweather has not used his influence in the marketplace to demand Cotto fight at a catch weight below the 154-pound limit, thus having to weaken himself to make the $11 million he’s guaranteed to receive for facing Mayweather. Mayweather could have done that, as Pacquiao has on numerous occasions of late, but he opted instead to fight at the division’s weight limit because, he says, he doesn’t believe catch weights are a fair way to operate. In a sense, it is that view of the marriage between boxing and fair play that keeps coming up whenever Mayweather speaks of Pacquiao, whether the world is listening to what he says or not.

“I’ve never fought a guy at a catchweight,’’ Mayweather said recently. “I don’t fight guys at catchweights. I don’t put plaster in my gloves (alluding to the disgraced Antonio Margarito, who was found in just such a circumstance before facing Shane Mosley several years ago and is suspected by Cotto of having done the same thing to him when he gave him a beating so severe Cotto quit by taking a knee late in the fight). These are things I don’t do because I’m not that type of guy.

“What I do is dedicate myself when it’s time to fight and that’s what I can say I do do. To each his own.’’

Fairness and boxing are two words not often mixed, especially at the sport’s highest level where leverage and power at the box office often allow one fighter to dictate to his opponents not only the site and time of a fight but also the size gloves used, the size of the ring and, too often, the size of his opponent regardless of what the rules of the sport allow.

What brings this all up when talk should be revolving around fighting Cotto, is Mayweather’s Tuesday afternoon rant in Las Vegas when he met with a small group of boxing writers and launched into a 15-minute soliloquy about not Cotto but Pacquiao, or at least his clearly held fear that Pacquiao may have used at some time or other some form of performance enhancing drugs.

At the moment Pacquiao has a pending defamation lawsuit against Mayweather, arguing that he has never tested positive for any form of PEDs and that Mayweather’s sometimes veiled and sometimes not so veiled accusations that he is suspect amount to his being defamed.

Perhaps he has, but it was Pacquiao who long refused to agree to random blood testing for PEDs as a condition of fighting Mayweather, although to be fair of late he has said he would agree to random testing up to the day of the fight. This was a problem because the only test able to discover use of human growth hormone and certain other PEDs is random blood testing. Refusal to agree to such testing, which is not mandated by most state athletic commissions, is not an admittance of anything to be sure but Mayweather argues PEDs have infected most of professional sports, including boxing, and he and others should stand up to assure as best they can that it not continue in a blood sport where the first aim is to render your opponent unconscious.

This is not a sport like baseball, where a juiced player simply hits a ball farther or throws it faster. It’s not even like football, at least in cities outside of New Orleans, where the aim is not to hurt the other opponent but rather to score more points that he does.

Only in boxing is the first aim to hurt your opponent. That being the obvious case, a strict effort to rid boxing of PEDs seems logical and frankly far from controversial. Yet because it has stood in the way of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight it seems to have been twisted into a discussion of whether or not Mayweather is “afraid’’ to face Pacquiao.

This is ludicrous because, frankly, if he believes Pacquiao is using PEDs he damn well should be afraid of facing him. Second, Mayweather has for the past two years made it a condition of fighting him that both he and his opponent agree to random blood and urine testing right up to the fight. Mosley, an admitted former user himself, Victor Ortiz and now Cotto agreed and did so without incident. Mayweather beat the first two easily and is expected to do the same to Cotto Saturday night.

Yet the issue of Mayweather’s alleged “fear’’ of Pacquiao sent him into a rage on Tuesday when he told a small collection of writers in Las Vegas that, “Health is more important than anything because guess what? When my career is over, if I'm hurt because of something that has happened in a fight, I can't come to you and say, 'I need (money).'

“People say, 'We don't give a f— if he's taking or not; we just want to see the fight. We don't give a f— about your health and we don't give a f— about your family.' I care about my family. I love my family. They're going to be there when no one else is there. When my career is over, you're all going to move on to the next one.”

Mayweather is sadly right about that, just as he was about the way he views promoters like Bob Arum and Don King, who agree a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be the largest grossing event in boxing history.

“Don King and Bob Arum don't see out the eyes of a fighter because they're not a fighter,” Mayweather said Tuesday. “All they care about is some f—— money. I care about a fighter's well being because I am a fighter. I know how it is to have a broken rib the rest of your life. I know how it is to piss blood. You all don't know nothing about this.”

Soon after Mayweather questioned Pacquiao’s rapid rise in weight classes from the 106 pounds where he started to 154 pounds and now where he stands as the WBO’s welterweight champion and questioned not that he could do that but how he seemed to become more dominate as he moved up in weight, which is unusual. Since 2008, Pacquiao has won world titles in five different weight classes and stopped four of the nine opponents he’s faced.

Generally fighters who move up in weight may continue to be successful but they usually lose something. They lose most normally punching power and sometimes speed. To retain both is almost unprecedented and seems to have convinced Mayweather that there are reasons beyond Pacquiao’s obvious talent and work ethic for his rise.

To be fair about it that seems to be what Mayweather really fears. Not Pacquiao himself but something outside of Pacquiao that could both elevate his performance and threaten the health of an opponent.

“It took me years to get to here — years,” Mayweather raged Tuesday. “I'm going up in weight but I'm not walking through no damn fighters. (Pacquiao) is 106; now he decides to walk through (Miguel) Cotto? Cotto can't knock down (Shane) Mosley, but can he?

“This is how the world is, you get writers saying, 'Floyd is scared,' ” he said. “No, Floyd cares about his family. Floyd is smart. You all know for a fact I'm not scared. You all know that.”

Scared is an overused word in sports. Few athletes are “scared’’ of an opponent. The handlers around them might be because they don’t want to see their meal ticket punched to the point where his value in the market place is diminished but elite fighters do not know that type of fear.

What seems to be the case with Mayweather however is that he does fear the power of performance enhancing drugs because, as the name implies, they enhance unfairly an opponent’s ability to perform in the most dangerous sport in the world. That doesn’t mean Pacquiao is or ever has been a user. In fact, he can rightfully argue he’s been tested many times and never been found guilty of anything and has said he’s willing to go along now with Mayweather’s insistence on Olympic-style blood and urine testing.

What Mayweather keeps arguing for however is something different. He’s talking not only about protecting his own health but also about fighters taking a leadership role in a shadowy area of sport that has tainted baseball and the Olympic Games severely and other sports to lesser degrees as well.

“I think since I’m the face of boxing I have totally changed the sport of boxing I’m the reason why they don’t talk about heavyweights anymore,’’ Mayweather said last week. “I’m the one outside the box. I’m doing record turning numbers. So since I’m the face of the sport I should be always trying to change the sport and make the sport a lot better and the best thing is to always put every man on an even playing field.

“Everyone should be on an even playing field. That’s what I truly believe. I think that Manny Pacquiao has done a lot in the sport but he should also be standing behind me and say, ‘We should clean up the sport because I’m a clean athlete.’ I’m letting the world know Floyd Mayweather is a clean athlete and if you’re the best step up and take the test.’’

Tuesday Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ranted and raged about Pacquiao even though no one asked him about Pacquiao. For Mayweather, his nemesis seldom seems far from his thoughts even days before he will face a different man in the ring.

That may speak to fear, as some believe, but more likely it speaks to obsession and a growing weariness that he cannot seem to shake Pacquiao’s shadow nor convince the general public that he doesn’t need him to prove his own worth in boxing.

“I’m not saying nobody is, or nobody is not doing it,’’ Mayweather said Tuesday. “But my health is more important than anything.’’

Perhaps but soon after Mayweather was suggesting Pacquiao’s head size had increased even though he has no such knowledge but does understand that is one side effect of the use of human growth hormone.

In the end, Floyd Mayweather will fight and likely beat up Miguel Cotto Saturday night. He will very likely do it in one-sided fashion. Yet no matter what he does another man will be lurking in the shadows, peering over his shoulder, standing defiantly in every corner of the ring and in every corner of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s boxing life.

“I don’t worry about that at all,’’ Mayweather told me last week when asked if he was disappointed that a fight with Pacquiao had not yet been arranged. “If it really was all about Pacquiao then I didn’t have to fight all 42 (previous) opponents. All I had to do was come to the sport of boxing and fight one guy. Then I would have went down as the best.

“So I guess the 42 guys that I’ve faced didn’t count. All I had to do was come into the sport of boxing and train for just one fight. Just train for one 12-round fight, beat that guy, then I was going down in history as the best. Now all of a sudden a guy comes out of nowhere and they say, ‘Well, Floyd, you’re not the best because you haven’t beaten this guy yet.’ Like I said before, Floyd Mayweather has to live for Floyd Mayweather and I’m happy. I could care less what Manny Pacquiao is doing.’’

If that’s the case, why’d he bring him up this week in the first place?

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Ron Borges

Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More

Published

17 hours ago

January 23, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-310-Japanese-Superstar-Naoya-Inoue-and-More

Many proclaim super bantamweight world champ Naoya Inoue to be the best fighter in the world today. It’s a serious debate among boxing pundits.

Is he Japan’s best fighter ever?

Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) takes another step toward immortality when he meets Korea’s Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) on Friday Jan. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions card.

Inoue defends the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO world titles.

This is Inoue’s third defense of the undisputed super bantamweight division that he won when he defeated Philippines’ Marlon Tapales in December 2023.

Japan has always been a fighting nation, a country derived from a warrior culture like Mexico, England, Russia, Germany and a few others. Professional boxing has always thrived in Japan.

My first encounter with Japanese fighters took place in March 1968 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was my first visit to the famous boxing venue, though my father had performed there during the 1950s. I was too young to attend any of his fights and then he retired.

The main event featured featherweights Jose Pimentel of Mexico against Sho Saijo of Japan. Both had fought a month earlier with the Mexican from Jalisco winning by split decision.

Pimentel was a friend of my female cousin and gave my father tickets to the fight. My family loved boxing as most Latino families worldwide do, including those in the USA. It’s a fact that most sports editors for newspapers and magazines fail to realize. Latinos love boxing.

We arrived late at the boxing venue located on Grand Avenue and 18th street. My father was in construction and needed to pick me up in East L.A. near Garfield High School. Fights were already underway when we arrived at the Olympic Auditorium.

It was a packed arena and our seats were fairly close to the boxing ring. As the fighters were introduced and descended to the ring, respectful applause greeted Saijo. He had nearly defeated Pimentel in their first clash a month earlier in this same venue. Los Angeles fans respect warriors. Saijo was a warrior.

Both fighters fought aggressively with skill. Every round it seemed Saijo got stronger and Pimentel got weaker. After 10 strong rounds of back-and-forth action, Saijo was declared the winner this time. Some fans booed but most agreed that the Japanese fighter was stronger on this day. And he was stronger still when they met a third time in 1969 when Saijo knocked out Pimentel in the second round for the featherweight world title.

That was my first time witnessing Japan versus Mexico. Over the decades, I’ve seen many clashes between these same two countries and always expect riveting battles from Japanese fighters.

I was in the audience in Cancun, Mexico when then WBC super featherweight titlist Takashi Miura clashed with Sergio Thompson for 12 rounds in intense heat in a covered bull ring. After that fight that saw three knockdowns between them, the champion, though victorious, was taken out on a stretcher due to dehydration.

There are so many others going back to Fighting Harada in the 1960s that won championships. And what about all the other Japanese fighters who never got the opportunity to fight for a world title due to the distance from America and Europe?

Its impossible to determine if Inoue is the greatest Japanese fighter ever. But without a doubt, he is the most famous. Publications worldwide include him on lists of the top three fighters Pound for Pound.

Few experts are familiar with Korea’s Kim, but expect a battle nonetheless. These two countries are rivals in Asian boxing.

Golden Boy at Commerce Casino

Middleweights Eric Priest and Tyler Howard lead a Golden Boy Promotions fight card on Thursday, Jan. 23, at Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA. DAZN will stream the boxing card.

All ticket money will go to the Los Angele Fire Department Foundation.

Kansas-based Priest (14-0, 8 KOs) meets Tennessee’s Tyler Howard (20-2, 11 KOs) in the main event in a match set for 10 rounds.

Others on the card are super welterweights Jordan Panthen (10-0) and Grant Flores (7-0) in separate bouts and super lightweight Cayden Griffith seeking a third consecutive win. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Diego Pacheco at Las Vegas

Super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs) defends his regional titles against Steve Nelson (20-0, 16 KOs) at the Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday, Jan. 25. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

It’s not an easy fight for Pacheco.

“I’ve been fighting for six years as a professional and I’m 22-0 and I’m 23 years old. I feel I’m stepping into my prime now,” said Pacheco, who trains with Jose Benavidez.

Also on the card is Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz and Southern California’s dangerous super lightweight contender Ernesto Mercado in separate fights.

Fights to Watch (All times Pacific Time)

Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. Eric Priest (14-0) vs Tyler Howard (20-2).

Fri. ESPN+ 1:15 a.m. Naoya Inoue (28-0) vs Ye Joon Kim (21-2-2).

Sat. DAZN 9:15 a.m. Dalton Smith (16-0) vs Walid Ouizza (19-2); Ellie Scotney (9-0) vs Mea Motu (20-0).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Diego Pacheco (22-0) vs Steve Nelson (20-0).

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

4 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

6 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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