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Mayweather At Last Presser: “I Feel Stronger Than Last Time”

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 10, 2014) – Fight week for “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” continued Wednesday as the main event fighters, Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, hosted their final press conference at the Hollywood Theatre at MGM Grand before their highly anticipated rematch on SHOWTIME PPV Saturday.
Here is what the fighter’s and their teams had to say Wednesday:
FLOYD MAYWEATHER, 11-Time, Five-Division World Champion
“Tunein and watch the fight because I’m going to be Floyd Mayweather and do what I do best and come out and win. I’ve been here before and I know what it takes to win at this level.
“We put it all on the line in the first fight. The fans demanded the rematch so we owe it to them to put it all on the line again. Maidana’s rugged. He’s a cool fighter and we’ll see how it plays out on Saturday.
“I have to focus on my fight. I can’t focus on anything else going on, I have a tough fighter in front me and he needs all my focus.
“We’ve had a remarkable training camp. Truly unbelievable. I feel a lot stronger than last time. It’s about hard work, dedication, prayers, belief and a good team.
“I know I’m almost 40, but I’m still going strong. I want to go out there and perform.
“The first fight was very interesting. Hopefully this time around the fight is even more exciting.
“Maidana is always in top shape. He absolutely deserves this rematch. I commend him for stepping up and making it happen again. I’m a true champion and a true champion never backs down.
“I need a knockout and I’m going for it. I need it to make a statement. First for myself, I want to do it for me.
“Robert Garcia can say what he wants to say. My dad can say what he wants to say. Both teams can go back and forth and bicker all day. In the end it comes down to skills, smarts and adjustments.
“We sparred with some guys who have similar styles to Maidana’s. Guys who threw a lot of looping, wild shots. Very strong rugged guys. We had a lot of good solid work with these guys.
“I don’t know who has the advantage in the rematch. I know I’m sharp, I know he’s sharp. I was able to make the adjustments in the first fight and we’ll see if he can make the adjustments this time.
“I don’t condone what happened. If I offended anyone, I apologize. I have this tough, rugged fighter in front of me and that’s what I have to focus on. I’m not perfect, I make mistakes and I don’t condone that at all.”
MARCOS MAIDANA, Former Welterweight World Champion
“I just know that I have to win. I’m concentrated on winning. I am going to take out any doubts in my mind about the first fight. I’ve adjusted now and I think I’ll be ready.
“I haven’t talked to Carlos Rios or Carlos Baldomir about their Mayweather fights but I have watched their fights. I noticed that being aggressive and attacking him is what makes him uncomfortable.
“I think I did get tired in the first fight. I have to pace myself a little better and this time around I will be better.
“If the knockout comes great, but I’m ready to go the distance as well. I’m ready to make history.
“I have to use my distance a little more and pick and choose my punches. I wasted too many punches last fight. I have to work my distance correctly and get leverage.
“I think Floyd got pressured by the press and I think that he knows the first fight was close so he’s giving me the rematch and I have to take full advantage.
“I actually had two full months to prepare this time. I worked very hard and that’s probably why I look a little skinnier this time.
“I think Floyd is going to run but I’m going to have to do a good job of cutting off the ring.”
LEONARD ELLERBE, CEO of Mayweather Promotions
“We’re expecting a very exciting fight in this rematch; both guys have a tremendous amount of confidence and had excellent training camps leading up to the fight.
“Marcos Maidana is coming in really believing he is going to win this fight.
“You can’t say enough about Floyd Mayweather. He’s become the face of boxing and often he is the guy who wears the target on his back. No matter what he does people tend to form an opinion, but that comes with the territory.
“Floyd has had a phenomenal career, he’s the best fighter in the world and he’s been a world champion since 1998. He’s beaten a number of world champions and in my eyes he will go down as the best to ever do it.
“Floyd has made several hundred millions of dollars, but money doesn’t motivate him. He’s able to get up in the wee hours of the morning, putting in the groundwork like he’s never earned a dime.
“He has a tremendous dedication to the sport and we will all miss him when he’s not fighting. When he goes into that ring he gives it his all and he’s dominated A-level fighters and made them look ordinary.
“The fans demanded the rematch and Floyd said no problem, lets put him in there. If the fans didn’t think I got it right the first time, I will this time. There will be no more questions left unanswered after the Mayweather-Maidana rematch.
“What other athlete in sports can you say, that has dominated everyone in front of him for so many years? We must find a way to acknowledge greatness when we see it. There will never be another fighter like him.”
ROBERT GARCIA, Maidana’s Trainer
“All games aside, we’re ready for this fight. We’ve prepared like never before. We know it’s not an easy fight but it’s not impossible either.
“We’re going to give the fans what they are waiting for. What the fans want to see, that’s what they’re going to get Saturday night.
“Our mindset is exactly the same as it was going into the first fight. We do not need a knockout to win. We can win a decision. We can win a decision by dominating every round.
“Marcos dominated for half the fight last time before he slowed down a little and sort of faded. He didn’t quite have the energy to do what he wanted for 12 rounds.
“The difference for this fight is that we had eight full weeks of training and not just five. He had more sparring, much better sparring.
“Mayweather is a great fighter, one of the greatest of all-time. I don’t think age has caught up with him. He has always taken such good care of his body. He works very hard. He’s still got that quickness.
“Mayweather’s a smart guy. I think he’s just politicking when he keeps complaining about Maidana being dirty in the first fight.
“Chino gained a lot of confidence in the first fight. That’s a big plus going into the rematch. He feels stronger, mentally and physically. He’s ready to do what he couldn’t quite do last time and that’s fight his fight for 12 rounds.’’
ERIC GOMEZ, Senior VP of Golden Boy Promotions
“Marcos gave Floyd probably the toughest fight that he has had in the last couple years. But, that’s what makes Floyd so great. He does things that people don’t expect him to do in boxing. I know that Floyd has proven everyone in this room wrong at least once.
“I know personally he has proven me wrong ever since he fought Oscar De La Hoya. Every single fight I’ve thought to myself, ‘Ok, this time we’ve got him’. That’s what makes Floyd great. Everyone has criticized him and said that he wouldn’t get past the likes of Ricky Hatton, Canelo or Victor Ortiz, but he has beaten them all.
“There is one critic that Floyd hasn’t been able to prove wrong, one critic that keeps him going, and that’s Floyd himself and that’s why he took this rematch. Floyd felt that the first fight was close and he wants to prove to everyone and to himself that he won that first fight and that he can do it again.
“I also know that Marcos is a very hungry fighter that felt that he was very, very close to beating Floyd Mayweather. He is here to prove that whatever it takes, any little inch that he needs more to beat Floyd, he will make it happen this time.’’
STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive VP and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports
“We’re thrilled to be back here at MGM Grand again, this has become SHOWTIME’s home away from home. This is our fourth event that SHOWTIME is televising from this venue this year, the most of any venue and the sixth in the past two years.
“There’s no doubt that this Saturday ‘Mayweather vs. Maidana 2’ will be most likely the biggest fight of the year.
“No matter what the result is, I guarantee that the fight will be historic. Historic because what we are watching will be unprecedented. We all know about Floyd’s success, undefeated record, fighter of the year awards. But consider this, Floyd Mayweather has been ranked in the top-10 by Ring Magazine consecutively and continuously since March of 1998. He’s been in the top10 for 16 years which is unprecedented in another sport, and that’s not to mention multiple years of being the consensus pound-for-pound king.
“But to be candid, Marcos Maidana couldn’t care less about Floyd’s accolades. Back in May, Maidana gave Floyd perhaps the toughest fight of his career, 12 grueling hard- fought rounds. Then Floyd surprised many of us by saying he wanted the rematch. Maidana is one of the most accomplished fighters that Floyd has ever fought, and personally I can’t wait.’’
RICHARD STURM, President of Sports & Entertainment for MGM Resorts International
“We’re excited for this highly anticipated rematch. Floyd Mayweather will look to push his undefeated record to 47-0. We all know this will be another hard test as Marcos Maidana looks to avenge his hard-fought loss back in May.
“Las Vegas frequently plays host to a number of large number of major sports and entertainment events. This weekend MGM Resorts will once again play a critical role in the Las Vegas experience as we celebrate Mexican Independence Day weekend.”
BOB BENNETT, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission
“We are honored and elated to regulate this great fight. I want to thank everyone involved for putting on this electric and exciting fight in the fight capital of the world.
“I would like to recognize Mr. Mayweather and Mr. Maidana and all the fighters who will be putting forth a gallant effort come this Saturday night. Without them this event would not be possible and I would like all the fighters to know that we wish them all the very best. ‘’
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“Breadman” Edwards: An Unlikely Boxing Coach with a Panoramic View of the Sport

Stephen “Breadman” Edwards’ first fighter won a world title. That may be some sort of record.
It’s true. Edwards had never trained a fighter, amateur or pro, before taking on professional novice Julian “J Rock” Williams. On May 11, 2019, Williams wrested the IBF 154-pound world title from Jarrett Hurd. The bout, a lusty skirmish, was in Fairfax, Virginia, near Hurd’s hometown in Maryland, and the previously undefeated Hurd had the crowd in his corner.
In boxing, Stephen Edwards wears two hats. He has a growing reputation as a boxing coach, a hat he will wear on Saturday, May 31, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when the two fighters that he currently trains, super middleweight Caleb Plant and middleweight Kyrone Davis, display their wares on a show that will air on Amazon Prime Video. Plant, who needs no introduction, figures to have little trouble with his foe in a match conceived as an appetizer to a showdown with Jermall Charlo. Davis, coming off his career-best win, an upset of previously undefeated Elijah Garcia, is in tough against fast-rising Cuban prospect Yoenli Hernandez, a former world amateur champion.
Edwards’ other hat is that of a journalist. His byline appears at “Boxing Scene” in a column where he answers questions from readers.
It’s an eclectic bag of questions that Breadman addresses, ranging from his thoughts on an upcoming fight to his thoughts on one of the legendary prizefighters of olden days. Boxing fans, more so than fans of any other sport, enjoy hashing over fantasy fights between great fighters of different eras. Breadman is very good at this, which isn’t to suggest that his opinions are gospel, merely that he always has something provocative to add to the discourse. Like all good historians, he recognizes that the best history is revisionist history.
“Fighters are constantly mislabled,” he says. “Everyone talks about Joe Louis’s right hand. But if you study him you see that his left hook is every bit as good as his right hand and it’s more sneaky in terms of shock value when it lands.”
Stephen “Breadman” Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. His father died when he was three. His maternal grandfather, a Korean War veteran, filled the void. The man was a big boxing fan and the two would watch the fights together on the family television.
Edwards’ nickname dates to his early teen years when he was one of the best basketball players in his neighborhood. The derivation is the 1975 movie “Cornbread, Earl and Me,” starring Laurence Fishburne in his big screen debut. Future NBA All-Star Jamaal Wilkes, fresh out of UCLA, plays Cornbread, a standout high school basketball player who is mistakenly murdered by the police.
Coming out of high school, Breadman had to choose between an academic scholarship at Temple or an athletic scholarship at nearby Lincoln University. He chose the former, intending to major in criminal justice, but didn’t stay in college long. What followed were a succession of jobs including a stint as a city bus driver. To stay fit, he took to working out at the James Shuler Memorial Gym where he sparred with some of the regulars, but he never boxed competitively.
Over the years, Philadelphia has harbored some great boxing coaches. Among those of recent vintage, the names George Benton, Bouie Fisher, Nazeem Richardson, and Bozy Ennis come quickly to mind. Breadman names Richardson and West Coast trainer Virgil Hunter as the men that have influenced him the most.
We are all a product of our times, so it’s no surprise that the best decade of boxing, in Breadman’s estimation, was the 1980s. This was the era of the “Four Kings” with Sugar Ray Leonard arguably standing tallest.
Breadman was a big fan of Leonard and of Leonard’s three-time rival Roberto Duran. “I once purchased a DVD that had all of Roberto Duran’s title defenses on it,” says Edwards. “This was a back before the days of YouTube.”
But Edwards’ interest in the sport goes back much deeper than the 1980s. He recently weighed in on the “Pittsburgh Windmill” Harry Greb whose legend has grown in recent years to the point that some have come to place him above Sugar Ray Robinson on the list of the greatest of all time.
“Greb was a great fighter with a terrific resume, of that there is no doubt,” says Breadman, “but there is no video of him and no one alive ever saw him fight, so where does this train of thought come from?”
Edwards notes that in Harry Greb’s heyday, he wasn’t talked about in the papers as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. The boxing writers were partial to Benny Leonard who drew comparisons to the venerated Joe Gans.
Among active fighters, Breadman reserves his highest praise for Terence Crawford. “Body punching is a lost art,” he once wrote. “[Crawford] is a great body puncher who starts his knockouts with body punches, but those punches are so subtle they are not fully appreciated.”
If the opening line holds up, Crawford will enter the ring as the underdog when he opposes Canelo Alvarez in September. Crawford, who will enter the ring a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday, is actually the older fighter, older than Canelo by almost three full years (it doesn’t seem that way since the Mexican redhead has been in the public eye so much longer), and will theoretically be rusty as 13 months will have elapsed since his most recent fight.
Breadman discounts those variables. “Terence is older,” he says, “but has less wear and tear and never looks rusty after a long layoff.” That Crawford will win he has no doubt, an opinion he tweaked after Canelo’s performance against William Scull: “Canelo’s legs are not the same. Bud may even stop him now.”
Edwards has been with Caleb Plant for Plant’s last three fights. Their first collaboration produced a Knockout of the Year candidate. With one ferocious left hook, Plant sent Anthony Dirrell to dreamland. What followed were a 12-round setback to David Benavidez and a ninth-round stoppage of Trevor McCumby.
Breadman keeps a hectic schedule. From Monday through Friday, he’s at the DLX Gym in Las Vegas coaching Caleb Plant and Kyrone Davis. On weekends, he’s back in Philadelphia, checking in on his investment properties and, of greater importance, watching his kids play sports. His 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son are standout all-around athletes.
On those long flights, he has plenty of time to turn on his laptop and stream old fights or perhaps work on his next article. That’s assuming he can stay awake.
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Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More
It’s old news now, but on back-to-back nights on the first weekend of May, there were three fights that finished in the top six snoozefests ever as measured by punch activity. That’s according to CompuBox which has been around for 40 years.
In Times Square, the boxing match between Devin Haney and Jose Carlos Ramirez had the fifth-fewest number of punches thrown, but the main event, Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, was even more of a snoozefest, landing in third place on this ignoble list.
Those standings would be revised the next night – knocked down a peg when Canelo Alvarez and William Scull combined to throw a historically low 445 punches in their match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 152 by the victorious Canelo who at least pressed the action, unlike Scull (pictured) whose effort reminded this reporter of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – no, not the movie starring Paul Newman, just the title.
CompuBox numbers, it says here, are best understood as approximations, but no amount of rejiggering can alter the fact that these three fights were stinkers. Making matters worse, these were pay-per-views. If one had bundled the two events, rather than buying each separately, one would have been out $90 bucks.
****
Thankfully, the Sunday card on ESPN from Las Vegas was redemptive. It was just what the sport needed at this moment – entertaining fights to expunge some of the bad odor. In the main go, Naoya Inoue showed why he trails only Shohei Ohtani as the most revered athlete in Japan.
Throughout history, the baby-faced assassin has been a boxing promoter’s dream. It’s no coincidence that down through the ages the most common nickname for a fighter – and by an overwhelming margin — is “Kid.”
And that partly explains Naoya Inoue’s charisma. The guy is 32 years old, but here in America he could pass for 17.
Joey Archer
Joey Archer, who passed away last week at age 87 in Rensselaer, New York, was one of the last links to an era of boxing identified with the nationally televised Friday Night Fights at Madison Square Garden.

Joey Archer
Archer made his debut as an MSG headliner on Feb. 4, 1961, and had 12 more fights at the iconic mid-Manhattan sock palace over the next six years. The final two were world title fights with defending middleweight champion Emile Griffith.
Archer etched his name in the history books in November of 1965 in Pittsburgh where he won a comfortable 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson, sending the greatest fighter of all time into retirement. (At age 45, Robinson was then far past his peak.)
Born and raised in the Bronx, Joey Archer was a cutie; a clever counter-puncher recognized for his defense and ultimately for his granite chin. His style was embedded in his DNA and reinforced by his mentors.
Early in his career, Archer was domiciled in Houston where he was handled by veteran trainer Bill Gore who was then working with world lightweight champion Joe Brown. Gore would ride into the Hall of Fame on the coattails of his most famous fighter, “Will-o’-the Wisp” Willie Pep. If Joey Archer had any thoughts of becoming a banger, Bill Gore would have disabused him of that notion.
In all honesty, Archer’s style would have been box office poison if he had been black. It helped immensely that he was a native New Yorker of Irish stock, albeit the Irish angle didn’t have as much pull as it had several decades earlier. But that observation may not be fair to Archer who was bypassed twice for world title fights after upsetting Hurricane Carter and Dick Tiger.
When he finally caught up with Emile Griffith, the former hat maker wasn’t quite the fighter he had been a few years earlier but Griffith, a two-time Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the BWAA and a future first ballot Hall of Famer, was still a hard nut to crack.
Archer went 30 rounds with Griffith, losing two relatively tight decisions and then, although not quite 30 years old, called it quits. He finished 45-4 with 8 KOs and was reportedly never knocked down, yet alone stopped, while answering the bell for 365 rounds. In retirement, he ran two popular taverns with his older brother Jimmy Archer, a former boxer who was Joey’s trainer and manager late in Joey’s career.
May he rest in peace.
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Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue banged it out with Mexico’s Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.
Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.
“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Inoue said.
Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.
After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.
Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.
One thing promised by Cardenas’ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter “can crack.”
Cardenas proved his trainer’s words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.
“I was very surprised,” said Inoue about getting dropped. ““In the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”
Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.
A real fight was happening.
Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.
Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.
In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.
“I dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,” said Cardenas. “So, I came to give everything.”
Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoue’s combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.
In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.
“I knew he was tough,” said Inoue. “Boxing is not that easy.”
Espinoza Wins
WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.
“I wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,” said Espinoza.
Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.
Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.
It was Espinoza’s third title defense.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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