Pacquiao vs Margarito | Pacquiao Fight Updates

PROMOTER cum lauded Bob Arum, no doubt, has the highest respect for world boxing pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

But Arum will have to elaborate on what he honestly thinks of Pacquiao as a fighter following his latest pronouncement.

Arum made a shocking claim in New York on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) which sent many Pacquiao diehards wondering what the revered promoter was up to.

* * *

Arum was only kidding?

“He (Cotto) and Pacquiao is a dead-even fight,” Arum was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

Maybe Arum thought nobody was listening when he made that lofty assessment of Cotto, who’s also under contract with Top Rank.

Problem is the whole world heard what Arum claimed he thought of both Pacquiao and Cotto.

* * *

The unbelievable comment came on Sunday, after a bloodied Cotto eked out a contested split decision win over Josh Clottey of Ghana at the Madison Square Garden.

Arum was at ringside with Pacquiao to watch the main event.

But it’s easy to believe Pacquiao was not within hearing distance.

* * *

Anyway, knowing Pacquiao, the Filipino boxing icon would’ve humbly smiled off the Arum comment, if it ever reached his hears.

Here at home, Pacquiao fanatics have every reason to feel insulted.

Of course, Filipino fans, who Arum claims he truly adores, are not expected to raise hell.

But these same fans will not hesitate to tell Arum that Pacquiao deserves a worthier opponent.

* * *

It’s like this: In displaying faded skills, Cotto, although physically bigger, visibly disqualified himself as a decent candidate for Pacquiao’s next foe.

In fact, there followed suspicions that all Arum plans to give Pacquiao is another punching picnic, a final ring outing for the year, before the Pacman joins the 2010 political race.

There are only very few fans who believe that Cotto will not turn into another swollen statue like David Diaz, who got stunned stiff after Pacquiao exploded with blinding fistic fireworks.

* * *

Now, if Arum honestly wants to enhance Pacquiao’s chances in the political ring, he should think of a worthier foe, without insulting the intelligence of Filipino fans.

The way things appeared after Cotto’s flat-out win in New York, Arum was caught peddling silly tough steak with that cock-eyed line.

Arum had also been suspected of trying to grow a longer nose than Pinocchio’s by Sir Michael Marley, the famous ringside wit who writes for boxingconfidential.com.

Arum has no choice but to rethink his sales pitch.

Unless he means Bobby Pacquiao, the Pacman’s luckless younger brother, is pretty even with the faded Cotto.


http://sports.inquirer.net/

While Juan Manuel Marquez has come out and said that his postponed July 18 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be moved to September 19, the biggest stuff going on is the doubt being bandied about by boxing fans and writers.

While Mayweather's rib injury appears 100% legit, FightHype's Ben Thompson says that poor ticket sales may be just as much if not more to blame for the postponement of the bout. The 11 weeks of promotional time was pretty short, but it seems doable for a Mayweather return. They went on an immediate press blitz, but an anonymous source said bluntly, "Ticket sales suck."

I'm no conspiracy theorist, and I'm no Floyd basher, and I'm a huge Marquez fan, and I was looking forward to the fight even though I had reservations about how competitive it would be, and since I think it will still wind up happening, I maintain those reservations.

But ticket sales were bad and this fight was not measuring up to the level of anticipation I think Golden Boy and Mayweather expected. Part of this may even be blamed on "Mayweather Promotions," which was the lead promoter for this fight, not Golden Boy, but that is pure speculation on my part, and only relevant, I feel, because Mayweather and Leonard Ellerbe are not experienced at leading promotion for a card of this magnitude.

I have defended Floyd as a big star, and I still think he's a big star. But I'm ready to accept that he lost a lot of his post-Oscar, post-Hatton buzz with a series of blunders:

1. Dancing With the Stars: Yes, it's a popular show, and yes, it gave him some crossover appeal, but housewives and teen girls aren't about to follow his boxing career just because he has a winning smile. This is the least of the three, since I don't think it mattered much either way.
2. WrestleMania: I've said before I grew up a huge pro wrestling fan, still enjoy the older stuff I've always loved, and that I have no real beef with pro wrestling. But pro wrestling -- while hugely popular in fad periods -- is just not all that popular right now and I don't think it did him any favors. He went from talking about fighting in the UFC to pretend fighting The Big Show, you know? He could have been continuing his successful boxing career as the big dog, but instead he went to Monday Night Raw to cut rotten promos.
3. Retirement: No one bought it, it wasn't real, and all it did was cool his jets. I don't believe for one second he intended to never fight again.

Mayweather had fans, and still has them, but do I think he's really any bigger of a gate draw than Pacquiao right now? No, I don't. Probably less of one, in fact. I don't even think Mayweather could sell a Madison Square Garden fight the way Miguel Cotto can.

He's not the star he thinks he is. And I've said this before, but I think the biggest reason he "retired' was a not-even-lukewarm response from fans and press about his rematch with Oscar de la Hoya. Never forget that that fight was a go -- they had the press tour lined up. Suddenly, Mayweather retired. Why? What changed?

No one wanted that fight. And I don't think there's a whole lot of interest past Mexican fans when it comes to Mayweather-Marquez. It definitely isn't the huge fight HBO and Mayweather and Golden Boy thought it was going to be. You can talk about the economy, and it has a part in this, but people came out for Pacquiao-Hatton and bought the fight in big numbers.

Was an "ehhh" response from those in and around boxing partly to blame for Mayweather-Marquez getting pushed back? I'm not one to be sure about these things, but I think there could be something to it. If Mayweather-Pacquiao is to eventually happen, Mayweather will go out of his way to leverage the lion's share of the split. A poor financial showing with Marquez would've really hurt his position, no matter if or how he won the fight.

It's food for thought, at the very least.



http://www.badlefthook.com/

It's no secret promoter Bob Arum had Miguel Cotto firmly on his list of potential next opponents for pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao - even before Cotto's win over Joshua Clottey this past Saturday night. Now that Cotto has won and is still the holder of a world title, it seems as though Arum is keen to get the fight made a done deal. There was reportedly a short list of possible opponents for Pacquiao's next fight (originally thought to be set for October) and it sure looks like Cotto is at the top of that list now.

Pacquiao doesn't seem keen on taking on "Sugar" Shane Mosley, at least not yet. Floyd Mayweather has just pulled out of his July fight with Juan Manuel Marquez with an injured rib, meaning those two greats will have to wait a while - possibly until September - before finally getting it on.. This leaves just Edwin Valero and Cotto from the list we heard about pre-June 13th. Box-Rec already have the Pacquiao-Cotto fight up on their site as happening at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 14th, and moments after his Top Rank fighter won via a somewhat debatable split decision on Saturday, Arum spoke to some members of the press about a possible fight between the two huge names.

"Cotto-Pacquiao is the fight I want to make," said Arum. "It's the fight I really want to make."

Cotto, understandably, needs and is going to take a vacation. But if the fight takes place on November 14th, some five months away as it is, Cotto could surely be ready for "Pac-Man" by then. There will be the not too small matter of the bout's weight to be agreed on, and from what Arum reportedly said post-fight on Saturday, a catch-weight affair at somewhere around the 142 to 145-pound mark is what he'll shoot for.

If it does happen, at a weight both guys are happy with (143 sounds as fair as can be) what can we expect?

Fans are still arguing as to whether or not Cotto deserved the win he was awarded over the dangerous Clottey. Hit plenty in the 12-rounder and content to back-pedal his way to the final bell over the bout's last four-rounds, Cotto impressed some and disappointed others. Some fans have even gone as far as to suggest the Puerto Rican star may be finished. Although that's going way too far, it does certainly seem as though Pacquiao will be the fresher man in the ring on November 14th (if they meet).

"Pac-Man," too, has been in his share of tough fights, but his last two wins have been pretty easily acquired ones - De La Hoya offering next to nothing over 8 one-sided rounds, and Hatton making things easy for Manny by discarding all defence on his way to being starched in the 2nd round. Ready for another fight that will test his greatness, Pacquiao definitely has plenty in the tank for a prospective fight with Cotto.

Then again, would even a 143-pound (on the scales) Cotto be too big for the Filipino sensation? By fight time it's possible Cotto would hold something like a ten pound weight advantage over the southpaw. When it comes to speed, both guys are very fast punchers. Power? The edge has to go to Pacquiao.

Aside from Pacquiao-Mayweather and "Pac-Man"- Mosley, Cotto-Pacquiao is the most attractive fight involving the superstar from Manila that can be made right now.

Let's see if Arum - who calls the fight "Dead-Even" - gets to see the fight he is seemingly desperate to make happen.


http://www.eastsideboxing.com/

With the recent announcement that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is injured, a potential showdown between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto is the frontrunner mega-fight to take place in the fall. Mayweather injured his ribs and was forced to withdraw from his July 18 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez. The fight was scheduled to take place the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Questions are lingering over the Mayweather withdrawal.

Numerous sources within the industry have said the ticket sales for Mayweather-Marquez were not doing well. Mayweather's promotional company was the lead promoter for the event. The speculation of "event issues" grew bigger when the injury announcement was released to the media after Cotto was able to decision Joshua Clottey on Saturday night in New York's Madison Square Garden. Cotto and Mayweather were the two frontrunners to fight Pacquiao in the fall. Pacquiao sat ringside for Cotto's win over Clottey and he was expected to sit ringside for Mayweather-Marquez. Now Pacquiao's decision became a little easier to make.

Bob Arum of Top Rank, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, is already working on a deal to match the two fighters in November. Mayweather is expected to fight Marquez in the fall. According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, Mayweather will likely only fight once in 2009, which leaves a lot of time and a lot of roadblocks before Pacquiao and Mayweather could actually meet in the ring. He says Mayweather's injury is legit.

"It's a legitimate injury," said Schaefer to Sports Illustrated. "We have talked to a doctor. My understanding is that it is muscle related. It's a tough injury for Floyd because he was looking to fight twice this year. Now he is probably only going to get to fight once.


http://www.boxingscene.com/

"I am extremely disappointed that this fight has to be postponed," said Mayweather. "I was training very hard and looking forward to getting back in the ring on July 18th."

Funny, an injured rib is much harder to verify than a broken hand or torn ligament. The ambiguity of Floyd's injury timed with a recent report of Bob Arum's willingness to split the purse 50-50 for a future fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao makes me think Floyd became injured to go directly to a fight with the Filipino.

Sure Floyd was favored to beat Marquez -- a man coming up to fight as a welterweight for the first time -- but the Mexican ring technician was no walk in the park tune-up.

Look for Floyd to skip past Marquez, with no re-scheduling, and fight Manny Pacquiao during November, 2009.

Pacquiao Would Whip Cotto?

My column yesterday caused a handful of Manny-Maniacs to tell me that their idol could whip Miguel Cotto based on the Puerto Rican's performances against Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.

Don't get it twisted my Filipino friends, Manny is one for the ages, but Cotto was being challenged by legitimate welterweights, not souped up featherweights.. Manny does not have the physicality to over power Cotto in the manner that Clottey and Margarito were able to. Not to say that Manny could not when, but Cotto vs. Pacquiao would be an even ordeal -- at best!


http://www.examiner.com/

LAS VEGAS (June 14, 2009) - The highly anticipated July 18 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez has been postponed due to a rib injury sustained by Mayweather while training. The mega-fight was scheduled to take place at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

"I am extremely disappointed that this fight has to be postponed," said Mayweather. "I was training very hard and looking forward to getting back in the ring on July 18th."

"I was very disappointed to hear the news about the fight being postponed," said Marquez from his training camp in Mexico. "I will remain focused, in shape and ready to fight whenever the fight is rescheduled for."

Information about rescheduling the fight will be made available as soon as possible.



http://philboxing.com/

That is not exactly stop the presses news, a fight promoter telling a whopper.

It’s about as newsworthy as birds flying or fish swimming. It’s them doing what they do best.

“He (Cotto) and Pacman is a dead even fight,” Arum said in the wake of Miguel Cotto’s split decision victory.

Good thing the bossman of Top Rank doesn’t have a wooden nose which grows with each lie or he would have a schnozz which would make Pinocchio’s wooden one look microscopic.

So, as his star client Megamanny, wife Jinkee and their small entourage got ready to board a long Northwest Airlines flight out of New York just after noontime Sunday (returning to Manila via Detroit and then Nagoya), is must be said that the diminished Cotto is exactly what Arum wanted for a Nov. 17 Pacquiao bout.

Cotto displayed diminished capacity at Madison Square Garden Saturday night as he barely escaped the one time “Temple of Boxing” with a split decision victory over “B” level opponent Joshua Clottey.

By making a somewhat furious run from round six onward, Clottey nearly rained on the enthusiasm of the heavily majority Puerto Rican crowd (17,734) in the old arena. The Boricuas have their big annual parade down Fifth Avenue today and a Cotto loss would have been a real mood killer.
As I mentioned previously, this was a Pacman audition for the WBO welterweight champion and he passed it…just barely.

Which is fine with Arum and Team Pacquiao because they weren’t shopping for the most formidable foe for Manny’s final fight of 2009. In other words, neither the more dangerous Floyd Mayweather or Sugar Shane Mosley were ever in the running.

Am I allowed to use the word running, as adjective or noun, when discussing PBF, lol?

No matter what anyone says, Cotto is not the same, ultra confident aggressor he was before he got pounded into submission by Antonio Margarito.

Against Clottey, Cotto looked like a Mayrunner as he continually pranced about the ring.

The sight of Clottey steadily stalking Cotto and of Cotto going sidewards and backwards was informative I am sure.

Cotto, in his diminished state, is made to order for a Pacman thrashing. Cotto may be as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey come November in Vegas but it’s the Pinoy Idol who will make the feathers fly.

Pacquiao is still an elevator headed for the top floor, improving noticeably with each outing, while Cotto’s ride is going down.

I certainly can’t fault the thinking of Arum and Coach Freddie Roach, after having Pacquiao face De La Hoya and then Hatton, as to having Manny in with a marketable Latino foe who is not really scary.

Cotto is simply too slow to contend with the blizzard of punches Pacman will rain upon him.

On the business side, it would be better if he was Mexican but he is not. Cotto, as the crowd for Clottey proved, is still a draw. He won’t drag thousands of Boricuas to Vegas the way Hatton brought the Mancunians there but, more importantly, mixing the Cotto and Pacquiao aggressive styles makes for a fan friendly matchup.

So some will knock Cotto-Pacquiao as a pre-election “breather” for Manny.

Fighters are allowed such bouts. In the NBA, you don’t have to play the Lakers or the Cavaliers every night you know.

For Top Rank, using the depleted Cotto makes great sense as he has threatened to leave the company when his contract expires at the end of December.Getting Cotto hammered by Packy before the term expires leaves Arum in the nice position of being able to opt to throw money to keep Cotto or to let him leave.

While Pacquiao stock keeps rising for the foreseeable future, Cotto’s stock is sliding in the other direction.

Hiring Cotto for November also puts “Money May” exactly where his ex-promoter Arum wants him, in the Big Fight waiting room where his demands of money parity with Pacquiao may lessen as time marches on.

Cotto gets hammered, Mayweather’s motor idles and Pacquiao can go do what he didn’t do in Gensan against Dazzling Darlene, win the election.

It says here that Mayweather will fight the new Congressman from Sarrangani in 2010.

We’ve got to let the Pinoy politics and the Mayweather politics play out.


http://www.examiner.com/

A kings welcomed awaited the pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao as he entered Madison Square Garden Saturday night to take in the Miguel Cotto – Joshua Clottey main event. Pacquiao and his wife entered the Garden before the undercard fight of his country mate Rodel Mayol who was challenging Puerto Rican Ivan Calderon for the WBO Mini Flyweight championship. The overwhelming Puerto Rican crowd who started to pack in the Garden was beginning to get pumped up as they anticipated the Calderon and Cotto bouts. Before the crowd could get a chance to cheer their favorites Calderon and Cotto they were treated to the appearance of Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao hand and hand with his wife were escorted by many security guards to their front row seats next to promoter Bob Arum. With the sighting of Pacquiao the Garden crowd went into frenzy, Pacquiao responded back smiling and waving back only to receive another round of accolades meant for royalty. It goes to show you that Pacquiao’s statue not only as a boxer but as a celebrity is starting to peak as well.

Pacquiao who has never fought at Madison Square Garden had to be thinking at that moment the Mecca of Boxing has to be on my list of venues for a career ending fight. Many of the greats have fought in the Mecca of Boxing the likes of Ali, Frazier, Lewis, Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., Felix Trinidad even the Golden Boy trio of De La Hoya, Hopkins and Mosley have had bouts at the famous Madison Square Garden. Why should Pacquiao be excluded in from demonstrating his abilities on the most historical boxing stage in the world?

When the May 2nd second round smashing left knockout to the head of Hatton was shown on the large screens which surround the overhead of the ring once again the crowd at the Garden again applauded the champ Pacquiao. One can imagine a Pacquiao- Cotto or a Pacquiao- Mosley clash held not in Vegas but were boxing was born Madison Square Garden.

As Pacquiao sat ringside along with the television stars of the Sopranos, actor Liam Nelson, boxing greats named Jones, Wright and Calzaghe and NY Giant Football stars Brandon Jacobs, Justin Tuck and Antonio Pierce it was still Pacquiao who received the loudest and longest cheer, t he hometown New York Giant Football Stars could not even come close. Once again Pacquiao stood tall amongst Giants just like he did with his recent wins over Hatton and De La Hoya.

Pacquiao watched the Cotto- Clottey battle intensely as Bob Arum is contemplating a Cotto- Pacquiao matchup for later this year. Arum who afterwards was quoted as saying “A Pacquiao- Cotto match is a dead even fight”.

Now with the Mayweather- Marquez July 18th bout postponed it appears more and more likely a Pacquiao-Cotto match will happen.


http://www.diamondboxing.com/

Cotto knocked Clottey down in the first round with a short left to the delight of the predominantly Puerto Rican crowd. Clottey was quickly able to get back up on his feet as the bell sounded.

In the third round, Cotto suffered a cut on his left eye after an inadvertent head butt. Clottey took advantage of the cut somewhat as he tagged it causing blood to drip, compromising Cotto’s vision.

In the fifth round, Cotto showed that he might have a future in mixed martial arts as he seemingly tackled and threw Clottey judo-style towards the turnbuckle. Clottey was given a few minutes to get up and recover but he apparently hurt his left knee in the scuffle.
Cotto said after the fight,

“The cut made the fight more difficult but I could always see,” Cotto said. “I had to box more late in the fight with all the stuff coming out of my eye. I had to keep on fighting. Keep on fighting.”

And fought he did. You got to give the man credit for staying in a fight and putting forth a much better performance compared to the last time he was placed in a similar predicament against Antonio Margarito. Cotto picked his spots while protecting his left eye, throwing timely flurries and controlling the fight with his defense and footwork whenever Clottey decided to engage.

Clottey wasn’t a happy camper however when he heard the results. Clottey stated after the fight, “I didn’t expect this decision. I won this fight. I want a rematch!” As much as I can empathize with Clottey, I’m afraid he did not do enough either to score a victory over the once-beaten defending champion Miguel Cotto who had the crowd pulling for him all night long. The knockdown in the first round proved to be a key in setting the tone for Cotto early in the fight.

Manny Pacquiao was ringside after receiving his BWAA Fighter of the Year award the night before, enjoying the fireworks and possibly scouting his next opponent as well. Pacquiao received a nice ovation from the crowd when he was introduced through the PA system attributing to the vast popularity the Pacman now enjoys as the face of the sport.

Was Cotto’s gutsy performance enough for him to land a mega-fight with Pacquiao? My take on it is yes and no. Cotto does deserve a Pacquaio fight, but if I was a member of Team Pacquiao, I’d be concerned with the running style Cotto implemented towards the later part of his fight against Clottey. Pacquiao prefers to fight boxers who come straight forward and something tells me that if Cotto decided to counter punch with Pacquiao, that he might just have enough power and skill to frustrate the Pacman. The edge would definitely still be with Pacquiao in my book.

With that said though, as a fight fan, I’d rather Pacquiao fight Mayweather if Cotto will only choose to “run around” or “run away” when he fights Pacquiao, but Cotto would probably be a more competitive and exciting fight for Pacquiao if he does engage. Mayweather Jr. is a superb defensive fighter himself and often runs around his opponents as well but I don’t think he has the same offensive power as Miguel Cotto on top of the fact that he’s been away from the sport for quite some time. At the end of the day, the edge Pacquiao has against Mayweather and Cotto is his heart so a fight with either one of them should definitely be Pacquiao's priority.


http://www.examiner.com/

IT LOOKS like pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent will be World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, as Top Rank big boss Bob Arum has mapped out a mega match in November.

Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, wants both fighters against each other.

“We’re going to have to talk to Cotto’s people. He has a lot of options. I would like for him to fight Manny Pacquiao. That would be a tremendous fight and I hope we can get it done for November,” Arum said in a report posted at FightNews.com, after the Cotto and Clottey world championship clash yesterday.

The 30-year-old Pacquaio flew to the US to watch Cotto’s fight yesterday and to root for his fellow Filipino fighter Rodel Mayol, whom he promotes.

Awards

He also attended the Boxing Writers Association of America awards and received his second “Fighter of the Year” award along with his coach Freddie Roach.

Roach also got his third “Coach of the Year” honors.

Other fighters in the mix as a possible Pacquiao opponent—for his scheduled ring return on Oct. 17—are former pound-for-pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, World Boxing Council lightweight titlist Edwin Valero and World Boxing Association welterweight king Shane Mosley.


www.sunstar.com.ph