Pacquiao Camp Update

Manny Pacquiao looks focused and right on track as he prepares for his showdown against big Joshua Clottey. Yesterday Manny sparred with former world champion Steve Forbes. Both fighters gave each other good work. Freddie Roach feels good about where Manny is thus far into his training, " So far so good, everything is looking good so far."

With each camp Manny Pacquiao's popularity grows and grows. The Wild Card has a history of celebrities walking in so that they too can have a brush with greatness. Yesterday actor Ron Perlman, who has a resume that could stack up against Pacquiao's in terms of accomplishments, walked into the gym. Perlman who currently has a role in the hit television show Sons of Anarchy, on the FX channel, summed it all up, "Anytime you can have a brush with greatness and see someone like Pacquiao, you should do it. He's one of a kind."

Manny looks very impressive as he draws closer to his March 13th clash against Joshua Clottey. The camp's atmosphere seems focused, yet relaxed at the same time. Void of any major distractions, this camp seems to be on cruise control. Pacquiao's hand-speed and power were both on display for those fortunate enough to have been in the gym. The pound for pound king got in some good sparring rounds with Steve Forbes yesterday, and looked very good.

8CountNews.com's Peter Czymbor spoke with Pacquiao yesterday and informed him that over 40,000 tickets have been sold. With hearing this, Manny smiled wide. The camp is focused and seems

Pacman tackles energy issue

World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is opposing the construction of a 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Maasim town by Conal Holdings because of potential damage to the environment.

Pacquiao, who is running for congressman in Sarangani, is executive director of Task Force Luwas Kinaiyahan (TFLK), or “save the environment” in the Cebuano dialect.

TFLK deputy director Boy Lim said the organization has the full backing of the People’s Champ.

“Manny is not backing down a bit because he has seen that there are alternative sources of sustainable energy other than coal, which has been proved to be one of the major causes of global warming and climate change we are experiencing today,” Lim said.

Lim said power can be harnessed from biomass containing biofuel for industrial use, such as the jathropa plant.

He said biomass has less toxic emissions compared to coal.

“The gas emissions by coal-fired power plants will enter the atmosphere where it will gather in the clouds and drop back to earth in the form of acid rain,” he said.

He said the proposed coal-fired power plant in Maasim, would need a carbon sink of at least 7,000 hectares of trees to absorb the toxic emissions.

“But then again, this is no guarantee because gas emissions respect no boundaries and could waft across the atmosphere as far as North Cotabato and Davao del Sur, depending on wind direction,” Lim said.

The TFLK has joined the Diocese of Marbel and people’s organizations in opposing the construction of the power plant.

“Manny is for development, but not development at all costs, or at the expense of the health and wellbeing of the people,” Lim said.

.....source

DONAIRE DESTROYS VARGAS, RP IN 2-2 STANDOFF WITH LATINOS

LAS VEGAS, FEB. 13 - Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire salvaged a 2-2 standoff between the Philippines and their Latino rivals in the “Pinoy Power III/Latin Fury 13” fight card when he destroyed Mexico’s Manuel “Chango” Vargas in the final bout of the evening at the famous Hilton Hotel and Casino here in Las Vegas, Saturday.

Together with a crucial victory by world rated featherweight Bernabe “The Real Deal” Concepcion over tough Puerto Rican Mario Santiago in a ten round bout, the Filipinos overcame the split decision loss of veteran Gerry Penalosa to another former champion Eric Morel of Puerto Rico and the first round annihilation of a terribly overmatched Ciso “Kid Terrible”Morales who was knocked out in 2:06 of the very first round by WBO bantamweight champion Fernando “Cochulito” Montiel.

In the non pay-per-view telecast of the Top Rank fight card which was carried in the Philippines by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN, welterweight Mark Jason Melligen recovered from a disappointing split decision loss in his last fight to Michel Rosales with a smashing 6th round TKO over previously undefeated Raymond Gatica of Austin, Texas.

Donaire showed too much class for Vargas, a late replacement for Gerson Guerrero who had to be pulled out after he was found to have a tear in the retina of his right eye at Wednesday’s medical examination.

Although Vargas who is known to move up from minimum weight to fight as a flyweight or a super flyweight had been in training for a fight in Mexico today, he was no match for Donaire who combined speed, power and ring savvy to demolish the little Mexican who had previously dropped a twelve round split decision in a WBO minimum weight title fight to the Philippines Donnie Nietes last September 12 in Mexico.

At the end of the second round a somewhat tense Donaire loosened up as trainer Robert Garcia told him “get him apart little by little.”

In a post fight interview Donaire told us that Vargas’s style was different from Guerrero whom he had prepared for so he was “just being cautious.” He said “I felt stiff in the first two rounds but I wanted to knock him out” and the chance came in round three. Donaire conceded that Vargas caught him a couple of times with a roundhouse bolo punch which was “strong” and that one punch which hit him on the buttocks “still hurts. He hits hard.”

With the win Donaire improves to 23-1 with 15 knockouts but gave every indication that he wants to move up in weight and possibly face WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel although Eric Morel with his win over Penalosa has priority.

Donaire said that if the camp of Vic Darchinyan continues to insult him and play games “I don’t to fight him because there’s Montiel and his showing was great.”

After an initial exchange, Montiel caught Morales with a right to the side of the head and a solid blow to the mid-section which saw Morales double-up in pain and crash to the canvas as referee Robert Byrd counted him out at 2:06 of the opening round.

The consensus was that Morales had no business being in the same ring with the veteran Montiel especially after he had to shed off some 12 pounds within the past week to make the 118 pound limit.

Even “Fighter of the Decade” and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao who flew in from Los Angeles with wife Jinkee on a specially chartered flight to provide moral support to the Filipino fighters said reducing to make weight is not good and he is the best example of being comfortable while moving up in weight.

Pacquiao who sat next to Bob Arum received an ovation when he entered the stadium and was whisked away from one TV panel to another. Also sharing the spotlight on the sidelines was Z “The Dream” Gorres who watched the fights from a special ringside seat along with his wife Datches and Dr. Ben Calderon who will accompany them on their return to Cebu on Sunday.

In a brief address to the fans prior to the main event, Pacquiao said his foundation was raising funds to help Gorres and his family recover from the tragedy that ended his promising boxing career.

Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach were both disappointed over Penalosa’s loss claiming that they figured he won seven rounds to five. When the decision was announced Penalosa stood in the ring in disbelief.

PENALOSA FINDS IT HARD TO QUIT

Former two division world champion Gerry Penalosa may be a veteran at 37 years of age but despite another painful setback on the threshold of one more title shot, the gallant southpaw appropriately nicknamed “Fearless” clearly finds it hard to quit the sport he loves with a passion.

Penalosa lost a split decision to former world champion Eric Morel of Puerto Rico in a WBO title eliminator that was to give the winner a crack at champion Fernando “Cochulito” Montiel of Mexico.

Montiel was pitted against inexperienced and patently overmatched Filipino Ciso “Kid Terrible” Morales whose 14-0, 8 KO record meant nothing when ranged against Montiel’s 39-2-2, 29 KO’s slate.

In a conversation hours after the fight and a trip to the hospital to check on his badly battered left eye which was almost totally shut due to an accidental head-butt while his right eye was less damaged also by a head-butt, Penalosa told us he thought he had won which was the view shared by trainer Freddie Roach who worked Penalosa’s corner with Manny Pacquiao’s conditioning expert Alex Ariza.

Pacquiao who watched the fights with his lovely wife Jinkee told the ABS-CBN television panel composed of Dyan Castillejo and this reporter he felt Penalosa won by at least 7 rounds to 5.

The head-butts in rounds six and seven almost closed Penalosa’s left eye even as blood kept streaming down but when the ring doctor during a break to check him out asked Gerry whether he could see he replied “I can’t see but I want to fight” underscoring the gallantry of the Filipino.

Penalosa conceded that he lost the early rounds but turned things around beginning the middle rounds and hurt Morel with some solid body shots in rounds eight and nine as he pressured the Puerto Rican who was breathing heavily.

Penalosa continued to stalk Morel who kept running as the Filipino southpaw kept hammering away. His eye almost shut Penalosa fought furiously in rounds eleven and twelve but apparently hadn’t done enough in the eyes of the judges and lost another controversial split decision which made it harder for him to decide whether or not to hang up his gloves.

Penalosa said he wants to spend more time with his charming wife Goody and their two children and will discuss his future with his wife and family before making a decision.

While he knows he can help promising young fighters Penalosa said “it will be easier to help them if I am a champion.”

Nonito Donaire Fights On

In mid-August, Nonito Donaire was scheduled to face Rafael Concepcion for the interim version of the WBA junior bantamweight title. Beyond that, he was the featured performer in the second installment of “Pinoy Power” from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. One problem, Concepcion came in much closer to the junior featherweight division than 115 pounds.

Which meant that Donaire had two options: go on with the fight and face a much heavier foe at a great disadvantage. Or walk away from the fight, but put a damper on the whole card and not get anything for the months of hard work he put in.

It may not seem like much, but in a sport where fighters dry out and starch themselves to make weight, a few pounds can make a big difference.

"I mean, he came in about five pounds (heavy). For that fight he came in at 120," Donaire said to Maxboxing, about a week-and-a-half before his bout against Gerson Guerrero this Saturday night at the Las Vegas Hilton. "That’s a big difference. You’re 115, that’s why the next weight class is 118, three pounds. That’s a big, big difference and he was trying to take advantage of whatever he had."

What made it worse was that his opponent seemingly made no real effort to drop any of the extra poundage.

"We tried to get them to do everything and he didn’t want to lose weight. What was important to him was a Filipino not beating a fighter from Panama or something like that, in his mind, anyways," said Donaire.

Who knew there was a rivalry between the Philippines and Panama in the squared ring?

"But they did try and pull a fast one on us, on me. But it was a learning experience on my part," Donaire added.

But after the weigh-in took place, a tough decision had to be made: to fight or not.

"I think I was going to get somewhat of a percentage because I did my part. (Donaire’s manager) Cameron Dunkin knows his way around boxing," said Donaire, who may not realize that in instances like this, the usual protocol is for the offending party to give up a piece of his purse to the other fighter and in title fights, the boxer who comes in heavy, is ineligible to win that title on that night. But getting even a fraction of your purse to not fight? Not happening. "It’s all or nothing," confirmed Dunkin. "But our argument would have been, we signed a contract and we trained and showed up. But he didn’t want to do that to Top Rank. He didn’t want to put them in that position and he didn’t want to do that to the people that came to watch him fight and there were a lot of people that traveled to see him and he wanted to fight."

It’s one thing to pull out of a fight when you’re a preliminary fighter. It’s a whole other set of responsibilities to do so when you’re headlining the marquee- even when you have a justifiable reason. When it was all said and done, it was Donaire’s decision.

He explained his choice to fight on by saying, "There’s so many people that showed up, who drove 20 miles, showed up from the Philippines, showed up from Hawaii, all around from Canada. So there was a lot of people there and a lot of them were my friends who connect with me through the internet. There was just a lot of support and I was appreciative of the effort and support they’ve given me. Part of me just wanted to take the fight because of that. And also, the fight was dedicated to some former president who helped the Philippines. So I felt I had no way out and I had to do what I had to do. I wanted the fight because of the fact I trained so hard for it."

Dunkin says, "It was up to the fighter and Nonito wanted to fight. He didn’t even hesitate. He said, ’I don’t care what he weighs, I wanna go.’ A lot of guys might not have fought, it was a huge weight difference and he wouldn’t even try to lose a pound or anything. So that just shows Nonito’s got a lot of balls."

He beat Concepcion rather comfortably on the scorecards, but it wasn’t a sterling performance by any means. Let’s put it this way, it won’t be on his “Greatest Hits” collection.. To a certain degree, not only did he face a significantly heavier boxer, he could be excused for being a tad distracted with the snafu that took place the day before.

"I think it did affect me. I mean, it was there, mentally, in the back of my head and all the things around me," he says. "It was like a separation in decision, from all the groups, from everyone. From no, yes, no, yes, no, yes, you had to. So it kinda affected me and took the focus out of the whole thing and I couldn’t think. I couldn’t get my game plan going. I told everyone I felt like I was floating in air and going with the flow."

It didn’t help matters that he had a bum left hand for that fight.

"I hurt it in the second round, but even before the fight. That’s why I chose to use a bigger glove, a thicker Everlast glove. Usually I fight with Reyes or the Mexican-style Everlast. I was supposed to fight with that one," Donaire explained. "That definitely affected my ability to throw a jab but I had to throw it anyway and the power in my hook wasn’t there because every time that I landed, I would pull back or I would clinch. So it was just a lot of things but I’m not going to make any excuses. I felt my skill was still above his and no matter what I did, no matter what he did, I was always better than him."

It was one of those nights where a trainer says, ’Win tonight, look good the next time.’

A win on Saturday night and Donaire could be rematching Vic Darchinyan, who he knocked out in five rounds in the summer of 2007 as a flyweight. Currently, “The Raging Bull” from Australia has been making stronger and stronger comments towards Donaire, who is more than willing to meet him again.

"Oh, definitely," he says. "It’s in the works, right now. My manager is talking to Gary Shaw. We’re definitely wanting that fight. I mean, he has two belts and we want to take those back from him. I think it’s a good fight and once and for all, I want to shut him up- if he will ever shut up. But, once and for all, all the people will know, everyone will know, I wasn’t lucky. I did what I had to do and I’m a better fighter than he can ever be."

Donaire takes umbrage to the assertion made by Darchinyan that he landed a lucky punch back in their initial encounter. Donaire, counters by referring back to an interview he did with this reporter, prior to that bout. "I had told you when you interviewed me a week before the fight when I was at Wild Card; I told you what I’m going to do and where I was going to go. I told you I’m going to hit him with the left hook and I’m going to knock him out. I said it clearly, without being cocky about it; I said it confidently that I was going to do what I had to do.. It showed in the fight and everything that I told you before I did it.

"So it was planned already, what I had to do. So it wasn’t lucky at all. He’s a bitter old man because I took everything from him."

Regarding the possibility of Donaire-Darchinyan II, Dunkin said on Thursday night.. "I talked to Gary Shaw yesterday about it. He said, ’Listen, I’d like to do it in August and it can be both of their next fights because they’re both fighting around the same time and they’re both getting work.’ He said that’s the fight to do. And, of course, we’re looking at that, but we’re also looking at Jorge Arce who just won the WBO title. I would love to make that fight for Nonito."

Darchinyan makes an appearance on Showtime on March 6th. But first things first, Donaire has to get past Gerson Guerrero. And he hopes to be much more impressive than he was the last time out.

"I trained really hard for this fight. I’m going to give it all I got. All my fights in Vegas, haven’t been 100-percent because maybe the pressure, maybe perhaps it’s Vegas. Maybe it’s all of the above; everything else and I haven’t performed the way Nonito Donaire, ‘The Filipino Flash,’ has performed in different places,” lamented Donaire. “I haven’t felt like I performed my best in Vegas. That’s what I want to bring out. To perform 100-percent going into the fight and I think that’s what they’re going to see.

"I’m really committed in just going for it and not thinking about all the other stuff."

One Last Run for Penalosa

Back in April, Gerry Penalosa was conclusively defeated by Juan Manuel Lopez in an attempt to win the Puerto Rican’s WBO super bantamweight title. After nine, mostly one-sided rounds, his trainer, Freddie Roach had seen enough. And if it were up to Roach, it would have been the last time Penalosa would have ever fought professionally, in a career that spans 63 fights and began in 1989.

But alas, Penalosa faces Eric Morel this Saturday night at the Las Vegas Hilton for the interim WBO bantamweight title as part of Top Rank’s “Latin Fury/Pinoy Power” pay-per-view card.

"I felt it was the right time for him [to retire]," Roach said this past Saturday afternoon from his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. "Gerry pleaded with me. I gave him one more chance. He said he was going back down to his weight class where he belongs. The Morel fight was put together, I said, ’OK, Gerry, you fight Morel, he’s not a big puncher. If you can beat him, get you a title fight, then that’s it. Win, lose or draw, we’re going to call it a day.’ He said OK."

But Penalosa, 54-7-2 (36), says that retiring after the loss to “JuanMa” never entered his mind. "No, no, no. I love this sport so much," he said after his workout at the Wild Card on Saturday. "I know I’m the king of 118, at bantamweight, so I had to go back. Nobody can beat me at this weight."

What was clearly evident was that he certainly wasn’t going to beat Lopez, who was simply too young, fresh, talented, and ultimately, too big and strong for the Filipino.

"Yeah, he was just too big. The thing is, he was too big for me. 122 is not my weight," he agreed. Penalosa landed some clean counter right hooks, but he simply couldn’t shake the gifted Lopez. "I hit him hard but I don’t think he felt it. So I told myself, ’Oh, he’s too big for me. 122 is not my weight.’"

Roach says, "Gerry’s really not a ’22-pounder and never was.. Size really was the difference in that fight. He just couldn’t hurt that guy and he did hit him some good shots and Gerry’s a pretty good puncher. He was just way too big for him by fight time." After the ninth frame, Roach threw in the towel. He was hopelessly behind on all three scorecards and he didn’t possess the pop to turn the tide, there really was no good reason to continue.

"Personally, I wanted to fight," said Penalosa. "I was waiting for the exact time but I trust Freddie so much. When Freddie said no in the seventh round, I said, ’Gimme one more round, coach.’ In the ninth round, he said, ’Gerry, I’m stopping the fight.’ I told him I respect whatever decision you make.’"

As you see Penalosa work mitts with Roach and hit the heavy bag, you see the consummate, skilled professional he is. Before there was a Manny Pacquiao, there was Penalosa.

"He’s very smart, very clever," Roach says of his old pro. "I asked Manny the other day, ’Who’s a better boxer, you or Gerry?’ He said Gerry is. Gerry is the best boxer from the Philippines, technique-wise. But he’s getting up there in age."

He still looks very good as he does his floor work, but then, everyone looks pretty good when facing air. "I saw him get shook in sparring, one day," said Roach, of a recent session with the Cuban phenom, Guillermo Rigondeaux. "I was a little concerned because I don’t think he’s quite taking the shots he used to. But Rigondeaux can punch, though."

The 37-year old southpaw stylist says he still has the same zeal for the sport he did as a younger practitioner of the sport.

"Yeah, I really love this sport. I love it. Being in the gym, I love it. This is my passion," said Penalosa, who unlike his older brother, will not get into the business of training fighters. "No, I don’t think I have the patience," he says, laughing.

Helping matters in this upcoming fight is that Morel, himself, is 34 years old and not exactly the most aggressive fighter you’ll ever see.

"I don’t think he comes forward. I think he just runs, he’s not that good, compared to Lopez or the one that I fought before [German Meraz]. No way, no way," is Penalosa’s assessment of Morel, 41-2 (21). Old legs are much more effective coming forward than backing up, which may occur against Morel. "I think so, I think that’s what Freddie wants me to do.. That’s what I want to do," he says of being aggressive. "I don’t know if he will run that much. I don’t think people want to see a boring fight. So I expect him to come forward so it’s a good fight."

But regardless, if the man in his corner does not like what he sees on Saturday, he will not hesitate to have a quick hook.

"100-percent," said Roach, "because I won’t let him get hurt and if I don’t see what I want to see out there happening, I will pull him out. Gerry respects me enough that he won’t go somewhere else, he will retire."

Anatomy Of A Superfight

Written by Andrew Harrison

Sunday, 31 January 2010 14:11

In a Boxing Monthly preview piece from 1999, Steve Farhood carried out an analysis of boxing "superfights" over a 20-year period. In order to determine just how many of the sport’s biggest nights were what they had been purported to be, the writer used a three-point criteria, which was as follows: Are both fighters in their primes? Are both at their best weights? Are both legitimately great fighters? The piece is worth a second look because of the recent maneuvering of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Mr. Farhood whittled down 33 bouts considered from 1979-1999 to just the following eight bonafide, classic match-ups: 1. Ray Leonard-Wilfred Benitez (1979) 2. Salvador Sanchez-Wilfredo Gomez (1981) 3. Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns (1981) 4. Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns (1985) 5. Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor (1990) 6. Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield (1992) 7. Michael Carbajal-Chiquita Gonzalez (1993) 8. Roy Jones-James Toney (1994) A quick flick through the history books would suggest that since his list was published, the following bouts have squeezed between the superfight goalposts: 9. Felix Trinidad-Oscar De la Hoya (1999) 10. Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera (2000) 11. Shane Mosley-Oscar De la Hoya (2000) 12. Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales II (2002) 13. Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera (2003) 14. Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez (2004) Selecting those that made the grade is of course tricky. It’s difficult to bestow greatness on men who are still throwing leather for money. Time and perspective help to assist in the measurement process, hence the Hall of Fame’s induction criteria (a fighter must have been retired five years before receiving consideration). The selections above along with omissions made are sure to fire debate; should any of the Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fights qualify, for example? Aside from this, what does the list tell us about what we have lost in the aftermath of the Pacquiao-Mayweather farce and what we may have gained with the announcement of Mosley-Mayweather? Firstly, are either of the two fights above eligible for superfight status? All three men are undoubtedly great fighters. There’s no real argument there, which puts a tick in the box for each. As for primes and best weights, here’s where it gets problematic. There are those who will argue that Floyd was at his best as a junior lightweight circa 2001 and Mosley as a lightweight circa 2000; that’s quite a while ago. Pacquiao is a different beast again. As a fighter, he just keeps on improving, yet thanks to the weight stipulations he’s insisted on in two of his last three bouts, he has wound up fighting at all manner of odd poundages. Indeed Manny has yet to fight at the full welterweight limit (although he’s scheduled to do just that next up against Josh Clottey). Mosley is 8-3 up at 147 lbs, with big wins over Oscar De la Hoya and Antonio Margarito offset against defeats to Vernon Forrest (twice) and Miguel Cotto. He currently rates second behind Pacquiao at welterweight. Mayweather meanwhile is 5-0 at welter, yet it can be argued that his only victory over a fully blown 147-pounder came against the limited Carlos Baldomir. He currently rates third at the weight behind Pacquiao and Mosley. Despite this, Ring magazine lists all three at the top of its pound for pound ratings, albeit it in a different order to the way they rank at welter (Mayweather is rated second above Mosley). This indicates that Mayweather’s previous exploits away from his current division weigh heavily in his favour and would seem to dispute that he’s currently fighting in his best weight class. I would contend that Mosley-Mayweather does not qualify for superfight status on two counts, these being: 1. Mosley is 38 years of age and 10 years removed from the lightweight phenom who dominated the 135lb division with a startling blend of speed and power. Only his most ardent supporters would contend that he remains in his prime years, although if he can beat Mayweather, conventional logic goes out of the window. 2. Mayweather hasn’t fought enough quality opposition at welterweight. A win over Mosley however would help to right this significantly and would help to earn any subsequent Pacquiao-Mayweather bout true superfight status as per the Farhood equation (a cause helped also if Pacquiao can score a legitimate welterweight win over Clottey). Should the pair struggle significantly in their next bouts, however, questions will arise as to whether their peak years and their best weights have been left behind. If Mosley-Mayweather is a near miss, it joins the ranks of modern era bouts such as Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez, Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran, Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield and Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao, among others. So can we still expect to see a great fight? As I explained earlier, 25 of the bouts originally examined missed the cut. Of these, only Leonard-Duran, Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello and Wilfredo Gomez-Lupe Pintor resulted in great fights (although arguments can be made for Marvin Hagler’s brace of bouts against Leonard and Duran). Leonard-Duran and Pryor-Arguello failed the three-point test due to Duran and Arguello being matched above their best weights. In each case, the smaller guy overcame this handicap in order to be competitive (and in Duran’s case, to win). Gomez-Pintor, on the other hand, fell down due to the writer not having perceived Pintor as having been a great fighter, which only serves to highlight his remarkable performance in pushing Gomez to the wire. In all other instances, as one would expect, the great fighter in their prime and at their best weight had far too much for the opponent who couldn’t hit all three markers (an example being Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks). This inevitably resulted in disappointment with punters being left to mutter, “Spinks was no heavyweight” or “Chavez was too old” (against De la Hoya) etc. For Mosley-Mayweather to be a great fight, we’ll require Mosley to demonstrate that he can still fight close to how he did in his prime, which is the unknown quantity here. Of course, not every fight from the 14 selected resulted in classic action. Roy Jones-James Toney fell short due to the problems "Lights Out" had making weight. Unable to be competitive, James was dominated by Jones in a virtuoso performance from the Floridian. Oscar De la Hoya-Felix Trinidad was perhaps the biggest disappointment of them all. With the stakes sky high, neither man seemed prepared to reach for greatness in a dissatisfying bout which left many questioning both men’s true worth. The only other encounter from the crop which failed to measure up was the 2003 battle between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera, a fight Pacquiao surprisingly dominated. Barrera mitigated his disastrous showing with claims that his mental state had been affected due to leaked medical records (detailing that he’d undergone brain surgery) and a tumultuous training camp. Whatever the reasoning, he clearly underperformed. With a true superfight being made on average once every couple of years, there are some who have poured scorn on observers lamenting the "death of the sport" after the collapse of Pacquiao-Mayweather. Whilst the regularity of classic match-ups is surprising, one would argue that there have been only three from the last 30 years which held true cross-over appeal to the masses; Leonard-Hearns, Hagler-Hearns and De la Hoya-Trinidad, with the last of those coming 11 years ago. It’s the reason fans should probably be pulling for two guys they don’t feel like showing much love for right now in upcoming bouts with Messrs Mosley and Clottey.

Delayed Signings and a Rematch Clause proves Floyd Mayweather Jr is scared of Shane Mosley

With all the delays in signing and a reported rematch clause put into the fight contract, it makes me think that Mayweather Jr doesn’t really want to fight Shane Mosley. And, in my opinion, the biggest reason he doesn’t really want to fight Mosley is because he’s scared of him. Let’s examine this further.

• "I believe this fight he got pushed into because the Pacquiao fight fell out, so he got pushed into this fight. He really didn't want it." Shane Mosley from interview with Fanhouse.com

Shane is correct in this assessment. Mayweather really didn’t want to fight Mosley. However, I’m beginning to think that Mayweather doesn’t really want to fight anyone. I think he would rather create the illusion that he’ll fight all the best fighters in his weight class, but in the end, he won’t. If Mayweather truly wanted to fight Mosley then why all the hesitations, delays in contract signing, and a rematch clause?

Delayed Signing
Jeff Lamonick of West Sacramento, CA “Mayweather has been ducking Mosley for 10 years now. Of course he will be hesitant and delay the signing.“ It’s been officially reported by ESPN that Mosley has signed the fight contract. It’s also been reported by ESPN that Mayweather Jr should be signing the contract in the next 2 days. However, with Mayweather’s history of ducking Mosley, there’s really no guarantee that he will sign the contract in 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months.

Rematch Clause

Examiner.com columnist Michael Marley has reported that Mayweather Jr. demanded and received an immediate rematch clause in the contract. Ryan Inzko Roseville, CA “If someone demands a rematch clause then they obviously have doubts.” Ryan you are absolutely correct. For a man who claims to be the best in the world, demanding a rematch clause doesn’t bolster any confidence. In fact, it says the opposite. It says that you think you might get beat.

This rematch clause also proves that the Mayweather critics, including Shane Mosley himself, were right in their assessment that Floyd has been ducking Shane for the last 10 years. Bottom line is this, Shane signed the contract and Shane jumped into the ring after Mayweather’s fight with Marquez to challenge Money Mayweather. These delays and rematch clauses prove to me that Floyd Mayweather Jr is and has always been scared of Shane Mosley.