Pound for Pound King Manny Pacquiao discusses his November 12th trilogy fight with Juan Manuel Marquez plus alot of talk on Floyd Mayweather

Marquez hits NY” — Three-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez arrives in New York Monday afternoon for a press conference on Tuesday to kick off the first stop of his North American world tour to announce the third world Welterweight title mega-fight of the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy with superstar Manny Pacquiao. The public-invited news conference will be held in The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers – Pier 61 at 10am. Opening the press conference will be recording star Dan Hill who will join Pacquiao in a live rendition of their Top-10 hit single “Sometimes When We Touch”. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions,Marquez Boxing,Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs Marquez III will take place, Saturday, Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and be produced and distributed by HBO Pay Per View.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Photo by Chris farina / Top Rank

— Photo Credit : –
Denmark Dolores/Top Rank

A friend visited me from Mexico last week. Between trips to Austin and strolls along the San Antonio River, we had occasion to watch a number of old Marco Antonio Barrera fights – the Junior Jones debacles and the classic trilogy with Erik Morales. But it was the first Manny Pacquiao fight that filled me with a dull sense of foreboding about November.

What does Barrera have to do with November? Probably not much unless Top Rank needs undercard filler. What Barrera tells us about Pacquiao’s waning interest in combat, though, might be plenty instructive as we begin to look forward to Pacquiao’s third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

First, a note or two about what it was like to be an average boxing fan in Mexico for the last decade. My friend lives in Tampico, Tamaulipas, a city located about 300 miles south of the U.S. border. In the 1940s, he boxed in amateur events as a boy in the Mexican state of Veracruz. He loves boxing at least as much as you do.

But until last week, he had never seen Barrera-Morales I, II or III. Those fights, you see, were on pay channels, and a municipal employee in Tamaulipas’ fifth-largest city didn’t earn a salary large enough to justify such an expense. That meant, in some way, boxing stopped commanding his interest. There were the old days, nostalgia for such scrappers as Rodolfo “Chango” Casanova, sure, but with its accessibility issues, boxing moved to a distant second behind soccer.

That is now changed. Boxing is everywhere on Mexican public airwaves again. But the lost decade of Mexican prizefighting, and its consequences for the quality of product coming out of Mexico today – read: Canelo and Junior – is worth an annual reconsideration or two by American fight fans looking at bandwagons to jump.

The Barrera that fought Morales in February of 2000 has never been seen again. He would go on to teach Naseem Hamed how to box in 2001 and decision Morales in their 2002 rematch, but he would never fight with the abandon he showed in his first match with “El Terrible.”

Seventeen months after winning a first decision over Morales, Barrera would come to San Antonio and get fully undone by a young Filipino prodigy nicknamed Pac Man. With trainer Freddie Roach whispering in his ear about Texas judges – with the ghost of Chavez-Whitaker still haunting the Alamodome scorer’s table (and yes, trivia buffs, Gale Van Hoy was an official judge for Barrera-Pacquiao I) – Pacquiao would make no mistakes in his championship rounds with Barrera.

Fresh as an insolent child after 30 minutes of combat, Pacquiao would hunt and raze Barrera. Beginning in the ninth round, Barrera would glide, retreat and engage only when imperiled. And Pacquiao’s ferocious fighting spirit would not stop imperiling the champion till Barrera’s corner stopped the match.

Four years later, in a fight that marked a temporary rapprochement between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, Barrera challenged Pacquiao to a rematch Barrera had no thought of winning. Barrera cashed himself out, gliding and retreating for 36 minutes, engaging only when imperiled and announcing a retirement immediately afterwards.

And Pacquiao let him. Fighting as the favorite in Las Vegas, Pacquiao had no fears of crooked Lone Star scorecards. He did enough to win each round. Drained from making 130 pounds for the last time, Pacquiao did a 12-round dance with Barrera that looked like nothing so much as a business transaction.

What happens, then, if that Manny Pacquiao meets the wrong Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 at MGM Grand?

To this point, worries about Pacquiao-Marquez III have all treated Marquez’s health. Marquez, great as he is, does not belong in a fight one ounce above the lightweight limit of 135 pounds. Pacquiao is an established, if ever-light, welterweight. Their rubber match will happen at 144, where Pacquiao seems most comfortable.

Marquez has shown us that he, too, is capable of a business transaction. Told by his trainer and longtime manager Nacho Beristain not to fight Floyd Mayweather at welterweight in 2009, Marquez did it anyway to gain a career payday. Dropped early in the match, Marquez fought hard enough to frighten the ever-cautious Mayweather from pursuing a knockout in the half hour that followed. Mayweather could not knock out Marquez, in other words, because he hated the thought of a hellacious exchange.

After losing most every round to Mayweather, though, Marquez showed no regret. On the contrary, he stated plainly that he had nothing about which to feel shame. He’d challenged a much larger man, remained on his feet and cashed a much larger check.

Since then, Manny Pacquiao has shown, in fights with Joshua Clottey and Shane Mosley, that if an opponent is hellbent on not-fighting, Pacquiao won’t force him to do it. The likely beneficiary of every close round, Pacquiao now stays busy, picks his moments, flurries and leaps out, and collects decision victories and immense paydays.

What happens, then, if that Pacquiao squares off with that Marquez? Two words, actually: Uh oh.

We’re readying the boxing rally caps, I know – the now-annual rite of Pacquiao-Mayweather-fight promises will soon spill forth as if on a timer – but it might be helpful to remember this. Whatever happens from here, however easily Mayweather decisions Victor Ortiz in a few weeks, however easily Pacquiao decisions Marquez two months after that, Pacquiao-Mayweather will never again hold the promise it held at the end of 2009.

The Fight to Save Boxing, 2012 vintage, is an event already corrupted by greed and shortsightedness. Let us hope nothing happens in November to cause further erosion of interest.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that that Manny Pacquiao’s November 12th Welterweight title defense against Juan Manuel Marquez will be distributed bu HBO Pay Per View.

Pacquiao who had been a staple of HBO Boxing, had his May 7 showdown with Shane Mosley carried by Showtime after his promoter Top Rank got a better deal.

Just a few weeks after HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg resigned, HBO came to Top Rank with a better offer to reacquire the right to televise the world’s best Pound for Pound fighter.

“In boxing we talk about great fighters coming back after a loss. Well, HBO came back just like a great fighter,” said Top Rank President Todd duBoef, a key architect of the deal, told ESPN.com. “They came back from being on the canvas. They made their adjustments and came back and won the fight. You have to give them a lot of credit.”

“The Pacquiao-Mosley fight re-established Showtime as a major player in the pay-per-view arena and we look forward to future opportunities with Top Rank and the other promoters in boxing,” Showtime spokesman Chris DeBlasio told ESPN.com. “Right now we remain focused on a huge slate of sports programming we have lined for the fall.”

“I’m absolutely sick. This has been a physically and mentally very grueling process,” duBoef said. “But it’s invigorating to see how two major media companies have used incredible resources and assets to show how much they want to be involved in a boxing match.

“Showtime was disappointed and I’m disappointed. You’re disappointed when someone puts in a terrific proposal and then you have to tell them they’re not good enough because someone came across with a better one, a more appealing map for this fight. It was a tough call to make, especially when you’ve built relationships. I felt it was appropriate to be truthful and up front with Ken. I couldn’t sleep last night. I’m disappointed I had to leave somebody that I have a lot of respect for. The proposals (both networks) put together were fantastic. They were unprecedented. I’ve never seen anything like it. When you have that it is very difficult to make your decision. I wish both could have distributed the fight.”

“One of the things that motivated me personally (to make the HBO deal) is the attitude of Plepler and Lombardo,” Arum told ESPN.com. “I think they are extremely bright guys and have the same vision that we have to make boxing big-time again and a desire to elevate it on a world stage. With this deal, they brought to bear all the resources of the Time Warner empire.

“HBO can do only so much because of the limited audience it has. I can tell when people are extremely motivated and will put the time and effort in and to have them behind it and working with us on a day-to-day basis, along with the HBO staff, like (HBO PPV chief) Mark Taffet, it will be a home run.”

“We’re not tying ourselves to anyone,” he said. “Let’s see how this goes. But I have very high hopes that it will be a blockbuster.”

Arum said the goal is not only to do big pay-per-view numbers, but to bring boxing more into the mainstream. With Showtime and CBS marketing Pacquiao-Mosley, it generated about 1.3 million buys, according to Arum — the most ever for a Pacquiao fight.

Besides the usual promotional tools HBO would typically use for a fight — including the “24/7? reality series following the buildup, “Face Off With Max Kellerman” and replays of classic Pacquiao and Marquez fights — Arum said the fight would be promoted across Time Warner’s numerous platforms, which includes television networks (such as HBO, TNT, TBS and CNN), magazines (Sports Illustrated and People) and the websites for those outlets. They will be heavily utilized, Arum said. Among the plans, according to Arum and duBoef:

• CNN will show replays of “24/7? episodes.
• Arum and Pacquiao will appear for a joint interview on Piers Morgan’s primetime CNN show as well as be interviewed on CNN international programming.
• The fight will be promoted during TBS’ coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs.
• If the NBA lockout is lifted, the fight would also be promoted during TNT’s basketball coverage.
• There will be daily coverage of fight-week activities on HBO, including the final news conference and weigh-in.

“Being on shows on CNN, to me, is elevating the sport to new levels,” Arum said. “To have the fight discussed on programs that intellectual elites watch is good for the brand. Time Warner is also going to pull out all the stops on their sports programs on TNT and TBS.”

Said duBoef: “The currency of these deals isn’t about the dollars. It was the currency of who could get my product out to the most eyeballs. It was an analysis. I didn’t just do it on a gut feeling. I went through this very strategically and we had it analyzed. At the end of the day, it was HBO, Time Warner who had a better deal across the board.”

Initially, Arum said whichever company got the rights to Pacquiao-Marquez III would also get the Dec. 3 Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito rematch, another major fight. HBO PPV did their initial fight in 2008 while Showtime PPV did Cotto’s win against Ricardo Mayorga in March.

Arum said he eventually changed his mind about making the two fights a package deal.

“Showtime still has a position on the Cotto fight because they did the last one, so Monday we’ll start talking to them,” Arum said. “When Todd and I had further discussions and we realized that it wasn’t the most advantageous thing to do, to make a package deal. Showtime did such a great job for us on the last Pacquiao fight and it would be important and good for the sport for Showtime to stay involved in these major pay-per-view fights. So if Showtime meets certain proposals that we’re going to make, and we get the support we need from them, then it behooves everybody to go with them. That way we keep more people and entities involved and it’s great for the sport.

“I don’t want to go back to the situation where there is one entity doing all the major pay-per-views and that entity does the same thing over and over and gets into this narrow box, which I felt the pay-per-views were in because they had been successful and we kept repeating the same thing over and over again. That is not a way to grow a sport. You grow it by being innovative and having competition and new ideas.”

Undefeated Welterweight contender Mike Jones talks to 15rounds.com and gfl.tv after his 2nd round stoppage over Raul Munoz and talks about future plans which may include Manny Pacquiao

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (June 17, 2011) – This morning, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. refused to appear for a court-ordered deposition in the defamation lawsuit filed by pound-for-pound champion and Congressman Manny Pacquiao in a Las Vegas federal court. Mayweather tried to postpone the deposition last minute, but Federal Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston denied his request and ordered Mayweather to appear for deposition today. Mayweather did not appear.

Pacquiao’s attorney, Daniel Petrocelli of O’Melveny & Myers, said, “Mr. Mayweather maliciously leveled false accusations about Mr. Pacquiao. We are anxious to examine him under oath about those statements. He is just dodging his deposition because he is afraid to testify, but he has no right to defy a Court Order.”

Floyd Mayweather Jr.-versus-Victor Ortiz: Tune-up or tease?

The tune-up, of course, is a widely-held interpretation of Mayweather’s Twitter-delivered announcement that he’ll fight Ortiz on Sept. 17. Mayweather can’t go to the corner convenience store without speculation about whether he’s closer to fighting Manny Pacquiao.

The Ortiz bout is full of reasons to guess Mayweather is once again moving in that direction. Top among them is that Ortiz is a left-hander, making him the perfect vehicle for a test flight before a showdown with the left-handed Filipino Congressman.

I’d like to believe it. I really would. But the guess here is that Mayweather is more interested in a payday than Pacquiao.

Anybody who calls himself Money needs a lot of it to live up to the nickname. By the time Mayweather answers an opening bell against Ortiz, 17 months will have come and gone since he collected a guaranteed $22.5 million for a decision over Shane Mosley.

His bills over that time are only a guesstimate, but if a reported $3.4 million debt to the Internal Revenue Service and betting slips are the fire, lots of cash has been going up in smoke. Mayweather proudly displayed a winning wager for $37,725.75 on a NBA bet in the last tweet that got him any attention. I didn’t see any losing slips in his tweet Tuesday about Ortiz. But I’m betting they are there.

Add to that, there are undisclosed legal bills. He faces four felonies and four misdemeanor charges for an alleged domestic abuse incident with his former girlfriend and mother of his kids. A preliminary hearing in Las Vegas is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Then, there are two misdemeanor assault charges for alleged incidents with security guards. One case is scheduled for trial on Sept.1, also in Las Vegas.

In Ortiz, the shrewd Mayweather has again calculated that he can earn the most money for the least risk. Ortiz won over a lot of fans with his gritty victory Andre Berto. Ortiz is an emerging star, which means he’ll generate pay-for-view business. But he looks to be a fight or two away from being able to contend with the accomplished Mayweather. If Berto could find openings to knock down Ortiz twice, the precise Mayweather figures to find many.

Ortiz will have some apparent advantages, including Mayweather’s long layoff and potential distractions that will force him to divide time and energy between court and gym.

Then, there’s age. At 24, Ortiz is 10 years younger than the 34-year-old Mayweather. Ortiz also won’t surrender any of the size that left Juan Manuel Marquez with no chance in a loss to Mayweather, who looked as if he was at least 160 pounds when he entered the ring after refusing to step on the scales for HBO. Ortiz was reported to be at 165 pounds on the night he beat Berto in a welterweight bout.

Yeah, Ortiz has a few chances. But his skills have yet to mature into the kind of threat that can upset the clever and careful Mayweather.

There’s speculation that Mayweather won’t fight Pacquiao until, or if, the Filipino gets old. Turn that theory upside down, and you might have a reason for facing Ortiz now: Mayweather is fighting Ortiz before he gets better.

If talk about Pacquiao helps sell the fight and thereby generate a bigger cut of the pay-per-view revenue, Mayweather won’t stop it. He’ll play along in another tease that will keep him out of debt and undefeated.
Remembering Genaro Hernandez

Genaro Hernandez lost his fight to cancer Tuesday with the quiet dignity and unshakeable courage that characterized him in and out of the ring.

“He was so damn brave,’’ said longtime publicist Bill Caplan, who accompanied Hernandez, nicknamed Chicanito, on eight trips to and from Houston for treatment during the last few years. “The cancer was in submission, but on the fifth or sixth trip to Houston it was back. Gernaro never complained. Never.
“Through it all, he was as gutsy as he ever was in the ring.’’

Caplan remembered Hernandez’ fight with Azumah Nelson in 1997 in Corpus Christi, Tex. Hernandez was leading on the scorecards when he was hit in the throat after the bell ending the seventh round. Referee Laurence Cole threatened to disqualify Nelson, who held the World Boxing Council’s super-featherweight title.

“If Genaro had stayed on the canvas, he would have won the fight,’’ Caplan recalled. “But he told Cole that he didn’t want Nelson to lose that way. He asked that the fight continue. Cole said OK. Genaro won a split decision.

“I’ve seen a lot of things, but never anything that noble.’’

Caplan started sobbing. He couldn’t say anything more. He didn’t have to.

Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, 11 a.m. (PST), at Resurrection Church, 3324 Opal Street in East Los Angeles. Hernandez was 45.

NOTES ON A SCORECARD
· Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez and Kostya Tszyu will be formally inducted to the Boxing Hall of Fame Sunday in Canastota, N.Y. Here’s hoping the ceremonies will include a Genaro Hernandez memorial.

· Instead of Jobing.com, an NHL Arena, in Glendale, Ariz., super-middleweight Jesus Gonzales’ next fight, scheduled for July 8 against Henry Buchanan (20-2, 13 KOs) of Maryland, has been moved to U.S. Airways Center, the Suns home, in downtown Phoenix. That means Gonzales (26-1, 14 KOs) returns to the scene of his only defeat, a loss by eighth-round stoppage to Jose Luis Zertuche in 2005. Gonzales has long wanted to avenge the loss to Zertuche. It doesn’t look as if he’ll get that chance, but he can alter a record in the only place he’s never been a winner.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the May 7 bout that saw Manny Pacquiao score a lackluster unanimous decision over Shane Mosley was a box office success as the bout drew an estimated 1.3 million Pay Per View buys.

This was Pacquiao’s best showing on Pay Per View

“We know we have a little over 1.3 million,” said promoter Bob Arum said. “What we don’t have are some of the smaller cable systems. What I’m saying is I know we go to the bank counting a little over a 1.3 million. I know we’ll go up from there. How much up, I have no experience in this. This was all done for us in the past by HBO, which had experience, charts and all kinds of data from past fights to compare the fight to. Showtime can’t do it because they haven’t done this in so long. They don’t have the database that you need, but I’m feeling very, very happy because I know I’ve done at least 1.3 million.

“How far over we are remains to be seen, and I have no way to make a prediction. Obviously, on the outstanding systems we did something. So that will determine how much above 1.3 million. But I don’t think we have enough outstanding numbers to say we will be over 1.4 million, so I think we will wind up somewhere between 1.3 and 1.4 million.”

Which network will be awarded the rights to Pacquiao-Marquez III has not been determined, Arum said.

“We’re on the clock and we’re discussing it with of them now, how we’re going to do it and which network we’re going to do it with,” he said.

“We worked out how we would do that first negotiation and everybody is happy with the procedure,” Arum said. “But we are also discussing it with HBO.”

“I’ve got more than a whole month to get that done, so we’re not going to agonize,” Arum said.

LOS ANGELES (May 31, 2011) — Manny Pacquiao has settled his defamation lawsuit against Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya on confidential terms. In connection with the dismissal, Mr. Schaefer and Mr. De la Hoya made the following statement:

“Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya, on behalf of themselves and Golden Boy Promotions, wish to make it crystal clear that we never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance enhancing drugs, and further state that we do not have any evidence whatsoever of such use.

“Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest fighters of all time, and we apologize if anyone construed our prior remarks as in any way claiming or even suggesting that Manny uses or has used performance enhancing drugs.”

Photo By Chris Farina / Top Rank

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Pound for Pound king Manny Pacquiao looks like he could be meeting currant Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez for a third time after Marquez agreed to terms for a possible fight November 12 in Las Vegas.

The bout would be at a contract weight of 144 pounds.

“Manny has to eat extra meals just to weigh even 145 pounds,” Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said.

The report indicated that Marquez would face former Lightweight champion David Diaz on July 2nd in a tuneup bout before the fight with Pacquiao.

“He’s going to do that fight, and if he loses, he’s out,” Arum said.

“It’s the same old story — styles make fights, and, for some reason, I believe if we fight Marquez 10 times, we will have controversy 10 times because he’s figured something out about Manny that no other fighter can do,” Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, told ESPN.com. “We’ve had him down three times, but he’s able to adapt and adjust. I think it will be a very close fight again if we decide to pick that fight. The question is, what is Manny’s monetary reward?”

Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer had the right to match any terms of a Marquez fight but chose not to and that paved the way for the fight.

“He told us we could go ahead with Marquez.” Arum referring to Schaefer’s response.

“I can’t really talk about anything right now based on the advice of my lawyers,” Schaefer told ESPN.com in an email.

“Marquez is definitely the frontrunner we’re looking at, but I have not yet sat down with Bob to discuss our financial deal,” Koncz said. “Bob and I will do that this week before I leave to go see Manny in the Philippines on Sunday. I’ll talk with Bob and see what his offer for Manny’s purse is and all the other things involved, and then I will take that to Manny. I have the parameters from Manny, but Bob and I have not yet had a meeting of the minds.

“Bob has one component for the fight, but he needs two. We have not agreed to the fight or the terms, but we are certainly discussing it. We’ve always been able to come to an agreement.”

“We will listen to both networks and make our decision based on who is contributing the most valuable assets to the promotion,” Arum said. “Who is going to give us the best platform to promote the fight will get the fight.”

Arum said the fight almost assuredly will be at the MGM Grand, even though there are overseas venues interested in making offers.

“I’ve been spending my life with these offers from Singapore, Macau, Dubai,” Arum said. “As far as I am concerned the only offer to cash in on are the ones from the MGM and Cowboys Stadium [where Pacquiao fought twice in 2010].”

Arum said Marquez is the only legitimate option he is looking at for Pacquiao. He mentioned Zab Judah and Timothy Bradley Jr., both junior welterweight titleholders, as alternatives to Marquez immediately after Pacquiao beat Mosley, but he said neither are likely.

“Bradley I cannot talk to because he is still under contract to Gary Shaw, even if he is unhappy,” Arum said. “His contract allegedly runs out at a certain point soon, but not yet. So I’m not going to go there. I could make a deal with [Main Events promoter] Kathy Duva for a Judah fight in five minutes, but that is not my plan. If [Pacquiao] wants to explore Judah, I’ll explore Judah.”

Fight fans, an endangered species, will applaud if Golden Boy Promotions does not match Top Rank’s offer to Juan Manuel Marquez, thereby ensuring a Marquez-Manny Pacquiao trilogy. For Pacquiao, it makes sense, which is another way of saying that Floyd Mayweather Jr. never does. It’s also fair to Marquez, whose draw and controversial loss by split decision in two bouts with Pacquiao provide him claiming rights on a third shot at the Filipino Congressman

But this is boxing, which is to say that common sense and fair play are about as endangered as those fans. CBS/Showtime is interested only in the potential numbers. Before Paquiao’s one-sided decision over Shane Mosley, they looked promising. In the aftermath, not so much.

The fine print in sportscaster James Brown’s apology for pre-fight hype about a rejuvenated Mosley has to include a warning that the network won’t be so quick to buy into any Pacquiao opponent other than Mayweather.

That pretty much leaves the business exactly where it was before Bob Arum dumped HBO and pay-per-view’s gilded cage for what Arum calls terrestrial television. Whatever it is, it’s still subterranean for boxing.

Marquez, a consummate pro, is well-known in Mexico. Yet his popularity lags behind emerging star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr, the crown prince of Mexican boxing. Marquez has neither Alvarez’ red hair nor Chavez’ legendary name. He only fights with a style that has given Pacquiao fits. But ask the so-called casual U.S. fan about him and they’re likely to answer with a question: Juan Manuel Who?

During the week before Mosley failed to deliver on the promised drama at Las Vegas MGM Grand, there were sources close to Pacquiao who said Marquez worried the Filipino more than any fighter. For Pacquiao, Marquez might be what Ken Norton was to Muhammad Ali. There’s always somebody out there who can beat you. In Marquez, Pacquiao has an opponent who specializes in counter-punching and has figured out how to time his counters with uncanny precision.

A couple of days before opening bell last Saturday, Mosley trainer Naazim Richardson said he had detected a vulnerability in a Pacquiao assault that includes a high volume of punches from unusual angles. The secret might be in the geometry. If there is form or function or repetition to any one of Pacquiao’s angles, there might be an opportunity to time a counter. Richardson could have seen it, but Mosley couldn’t capitalize because he lacked either the will or had lost the ability or a combination of both.

Perhaps, Marquez and trainer Nacho Beristain saw the flaw before Richardson or anyone else. They were able to implement an effective counter when Marquez was younger and fighting Pacquiao at a lighter weight, first at 126 pounds in 2004 and again at 130 in 2008. But youth and weight are the issues.

If Golden Boy passes on the right to match Top Rank’s offer, Marquez-Pacquiao III is projected for Nov. 12, or more than three months after Marquez turns 38. If a bigger Mosley at 39 had no chance against Pacquiao, it’s fair to wonder whether a smaller Marquez at 38 would fare much better.

Then there’s the weight, potentially a bigger issue. The agreement calls for a fight at 144 pounds. It’s called a catch weight, but it could be a gotcha clause.

Pacquiao, who has the legs of a middleweight, has become more and more comfortable at 140-plus pounds since he moved up the scale for his stunning stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. He was at 142 for De La Hoya, 144 ½ for Antonio Margarito, 145 ¾ for Joshua Clottey, 144 for Miguel Cotto and 145 for Mosley.

Compare that to Marquez, whose experience at more than 140 pounds is limited to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2009. That’s when the Mexican was 142 pounds and looked about as mobile as a 1965 Chevy, stripped of its tires and left to rust on cinder blocks. Marquez’ one-sided loss by decision to Mayweather was as devoid of drama as Mosley’s weary walkabout against Pacquiao.

A fight? Maybe.

Yeah, Marquez could make it a good one.

But the toughest fight figures to be the sales pitch.

Back at home
Jose Benavidez Jr. was the featured attraction Wednesday at a news conference for his pro debut in his hometown, Phoenix, on June 11 at Wild Horse Casino in suburban Chandler. Arizona’s immigration controversy has kept Benavidez on the road since Top Rank signed him as a 17 year-old.

“It’s been like three years since I fought in front of family and friends,’’ said Benavidez, who is 12-0 as a junior-welterweight after a fifth-round stoppage of James Hope on the Pacquiao-Mosley undercard.

Benavidez’ long-awaited homecoming represents a second stage in his development. It’s a chance for him to create a hometown identity. For the last couple of years, he’s been a fighter without one, although he has been wearing Phoenix on his waistband of his trunk since he turned pro.

Benavidez, who will be 19 when he makes his homecoming, says he still has a lot to learn. On the Pacquiao-Mosley undercard, he sometimes stood too upright, although his jab continued to work with punishing proficiency. The lanky, athletic Benavidez often looks as if he has some of the same physical components of the late Diego Corrales.

“He was my favorite fighter,’’ said Benavidez, who was kid when he saw Corrales for the first time in a loss to Mayweather. “It’s just an honor to even hear my name mentioned in any comparison to Corrales.’’
Notes, Quotes

• Bernard Hopkins has never been afraid to throw race into the argument. But a slur directed at former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, now of the Redskins, is offensive. Hopkins attacked McNabb’s upbringing in suburban Chicago. “He’s got a suntan, that’s all,’’ Hopkins told reporters at his Philadelphia gym while selling his May 21 rematch with Jean Pascal in Montreal. I guess that means Hopkins must not think much of Barack Obama either. President Obama grew up privileged in Honolulu where he went to Punahou, an expensive, predominantly-white prep school. Hopkins’ slur reminds me of Fernando Vargas, who insulted De La Hoya’s roots by saying he failed to fight with the courage of a true Mexican. Ridiculous.

• Andre Ward, who might become a potential Hopkins opponent if he wins the Super Six tournament, figures to beat Arthur Abraham in the 168-pound semifinal in Carson, Calif., in a Showtime-televised bout. Ward likes to say he stays motivated by slights, real or imagined. There might some unspoken motivation for him against Abraham, who hurt his friend and 2004 Olympic teammate, Andrew Dirrell, in March 2010. That’s when Abraham hit and hurt Dirrell when Dirrell was down. Dirrell, who won the bout via disqualification, hasn’t fought since.

• And here’s another fight I guess we’ll never see because of the Top Rank-Golden Boy feud: Heavyweight and former Michigan State linebacker Seth Mitchell against Baltimore Ravens safety and former North Dame star Tommy Zbikowski. Zbikowski is a Top Rank fighter. Mitchell, scheduled for a bout Friday night against Evans Quinn in Primm, Nev., is with Golden Boy. Zbikowski-Mitchell would be a natural on the night before a Michigan State-Notre Dame game.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

There’s not much to write that hasn’t already been penned with regards to the thirty-six minutes Manny Pacquiao spent in the ring with an unworthy Shane Mosley last Saturday night.

To paraphrase ex-NFL head coach Denny Green, ‘Manny is who we thought he was. And Shane is who we thought he was.’ It’s as simple as that, no need to over analyze it.

Predictably, Pacquiao looked as sharp as he looked his last time out, and the time before that, and the time before that…etc.

Also predictable was Mosley’s performance. He looked as sharp — or dull — as his last time out, and the time before that, but unfortunately, not the time before that — his last victory.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the fight, other than the fact that hard-working people had to shell out $60 bucks to watch it, was that for the last half hour of “action”, Mosley hardly took any risks.

As Bart Barry wrote on Monday, “The opening bell rang, and Shane Mosley played himself, too….His career has been a model of what risk-taking makes athletes immortals….And yet, if Saturday was the first time you watched boxing or Shane Mosley, on Sunday morning you woke up hating them both.”

In many ways Mosley was like an old Skipper, whose beloved vessel was on the verge of succumbing to the powers of the sea. His call of distress was never answered — well, because his fists never sent out the SOS. By the fifth round, it was clear the SS Mosley was taking on too much water, and the veteran Captain had already decided he would go down with his ship, he was spent.

While the parallels aren’t perfect, Mosley’s performance reminded me a lot of Arthur Abraham’s dismal display against Carl Froch last year.

While Abraham is certainly no Shane Mosley, he is — or was — a risk taker. He who proved his heart in his first fight with Colombian banger, Edison Miranda, when Abraham fought eight rounds with a broken jaw and blood-filled mouth. When he takes risks, there aren’t many more exciting athletes in the sport. But for what whatever reason, in his last fight, he didn’t.

Abraham doesn’t have much of a jab, and when he uses it, it’s largely ineffective, so he has to take risks to land his infamous wide power punches.

At middleweight, Abraham relied on a strategy that saw his opponents wear themselves out punching his defensive shell for the first half of the fight only to have Abraham flip the script in the second half and finish the fight strong, often times flooring his opponents in the process.

At 168, however, King Arthur is almost always the smaller fighter, with a reach disadvantage. He hasn’t figured out how to get inside his opponent’s reach to land his power punches.

Against Andre Ward, whose Super Six fight’s have almost exclusively featured inside fighting, Abraham might not have to figure out how to get inside, Ward might bring that fight to Abraham.

My guess is he won’t, though. The blueprint on how to beat Abraham couldn’t be clearer. Jab and move. Don’t stop throwing punches because Abraham can’t counter. As long as you are punching, Abraham won’t let his hands go.

So if Ward adopts the Dirrell-Froch blueprint, the only way Abraham will win is if he takes risks. He risked his career and livelihood when he fought eight rounds with a disgusting, dangling jaw against Miranda. He’s done it before, he can do it again.

So similar to the SS Mosley, Captain Abraham’s ship is taking on water. Having lost his previous two Super Six bouts, this is King Arthur’s last chance to assert his status as an “A-side” fighter. He won’t be able to give away the first three rounds like usual; he’s not knocking opponents out with regularity at 168.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If the Armenian-born, German immigrant’s career is to stay afloat, he needs to advance in the Super Six. Expect fireworks from Abraham Saturday, flares for that matter, as his wailing punches send out the SOS.

If King Arthur acts like Mosley did on Saturday night and refuses to take any risks, expect his ship and career to head straight to Davy Jones’ locker and the gutter, respectively.

Kyle Kinder can be found on Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

IBF Cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham talks to 15rounds.com about Pacquiao – Mosley ; Pascal – Hopkins 2 and his own future prospects

Top trainer Nazim Richardson breaks down Pacquiao – Mosley as well as a preview of Pascal – Hopkins 2

Superstar Manny Pacquiao(R) wins a 12 round unanimous decision against “Sugar” Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LAS VEGAS – For Manny Pacquiao, there is only more waiting and more speculating about Floyd Mayweather, Jr. For Shane Mosley, there are boos.

Other than hype and some good rock-and-roll in the fighter’s parade to the ring before opening bell, not much else happened Saturday night at the MGM Grand. Then again, it was exactly what many had expected when the welterweight fight was announced four months ago.

It was a mismatch. Pacquiao was too good. Mosley was shot. The decision was more than unanimous. It was Pacquiao in a rout on scorecards that couldn’t add up the potential damage to Mosley’s reputation. On Glenn Trowbridges’ card, it was 119-108. Dave Moretti scored it 120-108. On Duane Ford’s card, it was 120-107. Mosley must have got points for tripping while he backpedaled, hopefully into retirement.

Mosley came into the ring with his knockout promise put into pounding lyrics by LL Cool J. But the rapper might have had a better chance at a stoppage. Pacquiao followed with Eye of The Tiger. He didn’t need the eye. He need some Tiger balm for cramps in his left leg that trainer Freddie Roach said limited his ability to land a knockout punch.

There were a lot of misses Saturday, other than perhaps the driver who rear-ended Pacquiao’s vehicle in a reported minor mishap while he was returning from a mid-day church service. As it turned out, Pacquiao’s vehicle wound up with more damage than he did.

“I wasn’t going to take risks,’’ said Mosley, whose only chance at an upset seemed to be in taking a least a few.

The first round was hard to judge. Perhaps, it was even, because both Pacquiao and Mosley were equally cautious. Pacquiao landed a couple shots to the body. Mosley scored with a right hand and an uppercut. If there was a surprise, it was Pacquiao’s immediate aggressiveness.

Conventional wisdom seemed to dictate that the Filipino Congressman would wait for a few rounds, first to avoid Mosley’s power and then to test his 39-year old legs. But nothing about Pacquaio has ever been conventional. If the opening round was a scouting mission, it was successful. Pacquiao quickly detected an opportunity, a Mosley vulnerability.

Pacquaio almost seemed to leap off his stool to begin the second round. The Pac-man pace, an exhausting race for fallen challengers, was underway. It quickly produced a left-right combination from Pacquiao and there was a sting-of-things-to-come in a foreboding look from Mosley.

In the third, the sting turned deadly. A Pacquiao left dropped Mosley and left those same eyes spinning like errant dice on the nearby tables in the MGM casino. In the face of Pacquiao’s relentless pursuit, Mosley had thrown it into reverse in an attempt to survive. He did so, but there will be price to pay in terms of reputation from a public that expected a desperate last stand.

Wary and weary, Mosley pulled himself up and off the canvas like a man a lot closer to retirement than his prime. He wasn’t the younger fighter he had promised to be. Instead, he was the shell of the Hall of Famer many had suspected he was. Broken promises mean consequences and for Mosley that meant the booing had begun. It continued through the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, when Mosley said he suffered a blister on one foot.

In the eighth, there were finally some cheers. A couple of Mosley rights rocked Pacquiao, who said he began to suffer leg cramps in the fourth. In the 10th, Mosley was credited with a knockdown by referee Kenny Bayless. But on a night when Mosley didn’t deserve much, he didn’t deserve that either. He stepped on Pacquiao’s right foot while pushing the Filipino down with his left hand.

“He is fast and strong,” said Pacquiao, a politician and diplomat who was expected to collect more than $20 million for a forgettable bout that included a $6 million guarantee for Mosley.

But Mosley isn’t Mayweather, who is the only fighter on this planet that anybody other than Juan Manuel Marquez wants to see in the ring against Pacquiao.

“I leave it up to my promoters,’’ Pacquiao said. “But I’m satisfied with my career, with what I’ve done, no matter what happens with Mayweather.’’

Pacquiao has said that before and might again. On this night, however, there was not much else he could say.

Jorge Arce’s nickname is Trevieso. It means Mischievious

. The mischief continues.

Arce (57-6-2, 44 KOs) stunned a younger Wilfredo Vazquez (20-1-1, 17KOs), forcing him to surrender his WBO super-bantamweight title in the 12th and final round Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

The 31-year-old Arce looked as if he was in trouble after suffering a knockdown from a Vazquez left in the final second of the fourth round. Both Arce’s energy and mischief looked as if they had been exhausted. But plenty of both was left in an Arce career that found new life.

Early in the 11th, Arce knocked Vazquez into the ropes, hurting him with a lunging right hand. At the end of the round, Vazquez’ corner men helped the stumbling and dazed Puerto Rican to his corner. But they couldn’t save him. After 55 seconds of a sustained fury in undefended blows from Arce, Vazquez’ corner stepped onto the ring’s apron, stopping a fight, that was a majority draw on the scorecards after the 11th.

<img src="http://www.15rounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Pavlik_Lopez_110507_001a-300x210.jpg" alt="" title="Pavlik_Lopez_110507_001a" width="300" height="210" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20195" Kelly Pavlik (37-2, 32 KOs) of Youngstown won a majority decision, but a knockout eluded him against still unknown and formerly unbeaten Alfonso Lopez (21-1, 16 KOs) of Cut & Shoot, Tex., in Pavlik’s first fight since his stint in rehab for alcohol abuse. For nine rounds, Pavlik, fighting as a super-middleweight, had little of the speed and crisp power in a right hand that was so feared a couple of years ago. It wasn’t until the 10th and final round that Pavlik began to shake off some apparent rust with three to four shots that rocked Lopez, who was busy enough to earn a 95-95 draw on one judge’s scorecard. On other two cards, it was 99-91 and 98-92, both for Pavlik.
Mike Alvarado (30-0, 22 KOs) continued to put himself back into the middle of the junior-welterweight debate. At least, there won’t be much debate from Ray Narh (25-2, 21 KOs). In the first fight on Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast, Narh quit after three rounds of punishment from Alvarado, a Denver fighter who has the city’s 303 area code tattooed across his chest.

The Showtime telecast was about to begin, but the network first had to wait for Filipino flyweight Rodel Model to finish. He almost didn’t. Model (28-5-2, 21 KOs) held on for a majority decision over Javier Gallo (17-4-1, 9 KOs) of Tijuana. It looked as if Model would win by a stoppage in the fifth. But he began to tire over the next five rounds. Judge C.J. Ross scored it a draw, 95-95. But it was one-sided on the other two cards. Both Lisa Giampa and Jerry Roth scored it, 98-92, for Mayol.

It was Jose Benavidez Jr.’s turn in the third fight on the non-televised portion of the Showtime card. Benavidez (11-0, 10 KOs), an 18-year-old junior-welterweight from Phoenix, scored a fifth-round TKO of James Hope (6-8-1, 4 KOs) of Rock Hill, S.C. Benavidez, scheduled for his hometown debut on June 11, landed head-rocking combos throughout the first four rounds, yet was not able to knock down Hope, whose nickname could have been “No.” In the fifth, a couple of undefended body shots were enough for referee Russell Mora to end it at 1:43 of the round.

In the second fight, Canadian junior-welterweight Pier Oliver Cote (16-0, 11 KOs) got in some target practice en route to a fourth-round technical knockout of Aristeo Ambriz (15-2-1,8 KOs of Azusa, Calif. Ambriz was virtually finished in the third when a right hand from Cote dropped him, leaving stretched across the canvas like a blanket. In the fourth, referee Tony Weeks stepped in for a predictable, merciful stoppage.

The biggest crowd at MGM’s Grand Garden Arena was in the ring several hours before Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley were supposed to take center stage Saturday.

Karl Dargan, Randy Arrellin and referee Vic Drakulich were there, surrounded by ropes and rows of empty seats.

In the end, the place belonged to only Dargan.

The unbeaten Philadelphia lightweight (9-0, 4 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Arrellin (8-5, 4 KOs) in the opening bout on the Pacquiao-Mosley card. With Mosley trainer Naazim Richardson in his corner, Dargan employed his superior reach and power to win all of the rounds on two scorecards and five of six on the third.

Richardson’s work day started early. It began before even the arrival of Mosley or Pacquiao, who reportedly was involved in an auto mishap after leaving church service in Vegas hours before the card.
Arce dethrones Vazquez Jr in a war

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Follow all the action as it happens from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as WBO Welterweight champion and Pound for Pound king, Manny Pacquiao takes on future Hall of Famer “Sugar” Shane Mosley. The action begins at 9pm est/6pm pac with a three fight undercard that will feature a 122 lb world championship between Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and former three division champ Jorge Arce. Also the return of former Middleweight king Kelly Pavlik taking on undefeated Alfonso Lopez. The night will begin with Jr. Welterweight clash between Mike Alvarado and Ray Nahr.

12 ROUNDS–WBO WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–MANNY PACQUIAO (52-3-2, 38 KO’S) VS SHANE MOSLEY (46-6-1, 39 KO’S)

12 ROUNDS–WBO SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR. (20-0-1, 17 KO’S) VS JORGE ARCE (56-6-2, 43 KO’S)

Round 1 Pacquiao lands a left…Pacquiao lands a left to the body…Mosley lands a right to the body..Pacquiao a left to the body…Pacquiao 10-9

Round 2 Mosley lands a 1-2; Pacquiao lands a left…Pacquiao lands a left…right hook…left…manny starting to get a rhythm…20-18 Pac

Round 3: Mosley gets in a right…STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES MOSLEY...30-26 Pac

Round 4: Mosley lands a body shot and right…Pacquiao a right hook..Body shot…Mosley lands a combination..39-36 Pac

Round 5:Pacquiao lands a right hook…Pacquiao lands a body shot…head clash…Pacquiao lands a straight left…Mosley lands 2 rights to the body…Left hook…..49-46 Pac

Round 6 Pacquiao lands straight left to the body…Uppercut…combination…Mosley lands a right..59-55 Pac

Round 7: Pacquiao coming forward and Mosley doing nothing…69-64 Pac

Round 8 Mosley lands a right…Pacquiao lands a left to the head…Nice right by Mosley…78-74 Pac

Round 9 Pacquiao landing combinations…striaght left …right hooks…right hook..Mosley lands a right..88-83 Pac

Round 10 Combinations by knockdown…The feet get tangled BUT PACQUIAO IS DOWN AND RULED A KNOCKDOWN…Pacquiao drills Mosley with a right and left..Mosley holding on…97-93 Pac

Round 11 Pacquiao landing hard combinations throughout the round.,..Has Mosley in trouble a couple times. Mosley lands once nice counter right for Which lights yet another fire under Pacquiao who comes in with combinations…107-102 Pac

Round 12: Pacquiao lands a straight left..Straight left to the chin..2 right hooks..117-111 Pacquiao

119-108; 120-108; 120-107 FOR MANNY PACQUIAO

Round 1: Arce lands a good left hook…Good left to the body..Vazquez lands a looping right..Arce lands a left that has Vazquez holding on…big right…Vazquez lands a right…Arce lands to the body... Arce 10-9

Round 2:Nice combo from Vazquez…Arce lands a jab…left…right..20-18 Arce

Round 3: Blood from bridge of Arce’s nose..Double left from Arce…29-28 Arce

Round 4: Vazquez lands a counter left…Arce lands a right……BIG LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES ARCE….38-37 Vazquez

Round 5 Vazquez lands a right…Arce lands a left..Good body…trading body shots…Vazquez lands a left hook…another one..Arce lands a 3 punch combination..47-47

Round 6: Vazquez lands a right..Arce body..straight right…Vazquez lands 2 left hooks…57-56 Vazquez

Round 7: Going toe to toe on the ropes…Vazquez lands a right…67-65 Vazquez

Round 8: Aece just throwin and throwin…lands a left at the bell…76-75 Vazquez

Round 9: Arce lands a body...85-85

Round 10: Vazquez lands a good right…Hook and uppercut..Arce flurries…95-94 Vazquez

Round 11: Arce lands a left hook..They trade hooks…Arce lands a jumping left backs up Vazquez…Arce all over Vazquez…..104-104 Vazquez wobbles back to his corner

Round 12: Arce all over Vazquez…just unloading..VazQUEZ IN SERIOUS TROUBLE…THEY THROW IN THE TOWEL AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

10 ROUNDS–SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS–KELLY PAVLIK (36-2, 32 KO’S) VS ALFONSO LOPEZ (21-0, 16 KO’S)

ROUND 1: Pavlik lands a right…Good left hook…10-9 Pavlik

Round 2: Pavlik lands a left hook..Lopez comes back with a combination…19-19

Round 3: Pavlik works the body…Good right hand…Jab…29-28 Pavlik

Round 4: Pavlik lands a good combination…39-37 Pavlik

Round 5 Good combination from Lopez…Pavlik lands a short hook…48-47 Pavlik

Round 6: Good right from Pavlik..body shots has Lopez holding on..Big right…right to the body..58-56 Pavlik

Round 7: Pavlik gets in a left hook..Lopez working the combinations…Right from Pavlik…Pavlik warned for a low blow…Lopez lands a flurry..67-66 Pavlik

Round 8: Lopez lands a nice combination as Pavlik lands a left hook at the bell…76-76

Round 9: Pavlik lands a good right…Lopez lands a solid right and a short left hook…Left hook..86-85 Lopez

Round 10: Lopez lands a combination…Good body work…Big left by Pavlik buckles Lopez…another left hook..yet another…straight right…Lopping right..hard jab…Blood from right eye of Lopez…Right from Pavlik..95-95

95-95; 98-92; 99-91 PAVLIK BY MAJ DEC

12 Rounds–Jr. Welterweights–Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KO’s) vs Ray Narh (25-1, 21 KO’s)

Round 1: Nahr lands an uppercut…Jabbing…Alvarado lands an uppercut..10-0 Nahr

Round 2: Alvarado lands big jabs that shake Narh..19-19

Round 3: Alvarado jabbing…Right hand..another right…29-28 Alvarado

Round 4: NARH QUITS ON THE STOOL AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED ALVARADO WINS BY TKO

LAS VEGAS – The scales tipped in favor of Shane Mosley by three pounds. The noise meter favored Manny Pacquiao by untold decibels, all deafening. The odds grow, but never really change. They always add up to Pacquiao.

From news conferences to introductions to the official weigh-in, all of the preliminary rituals have gone as expected, almost as if they have been rehearsed and the roles pre-determined. But Pacquiao-Mosley Saturday night in Showtime-televised fight at the MGM Grand isn’t a movie script or a Broadway play.

It’s a fistfight, which means the real chance at drama lurks in the unforeseen. Maybe, it’s there in Mosley’s power or Pacquaio’s aggressiveness, or a twisted knee, or twist of fate.

But if there’s a buzz for this welterweight clash, there also are things that make you stop and wonder at a betting line that has grown faster than the national debt. It was 6 ½-to-1 on Wednesday, 8-to-1 on Thursday and 9-1 on Friday, all for Pacquiao. If you believe the line, Congressman Pacquiao (53-3-2. 38 KOs) is about to win in a landslide, or at least bury Mosley (46-6-1-1, 39 KOs) in one.

It’s been abundantly clear for weeks that Mosley (46-6-1-1, 39 KOs) doesn’t believe in any of it. If anything, he’s bemused by it when the media asks and perhaps motivated by it when the camera crews aren’t around.

“I’m confident I’m going to win,’’ Mosley told broadcaster James Brown and a crowd of about 6,000 after he was at 147 pounds, the welterweight limit, three more than Pacquiao, who was at 144 after he stripped off a bright yellow shirt emblazoned by a red heart.

A reason for his confidence is rooted in what Pacquiao himself has done. For at least the last couple of fights, distractions have followed Pacquiao the way an entourage used to collect around Mike Tyson. But those distractions have been pushed into the background in training for Mosley. Pacquiao put them aside, almost as if he knew he knew he couldn’t let them get in the way of a fighter who looms as a much bigger challenge than Antonio Margarito or Joshua Clottey ever did.

A refocused Pacquiao can be interpreted in a number of ways. Call it concern. Call it worry. Call it the look of an athlete who is happy to be away from the daily grind of duties in the Filipino Congress. Whatever the interpretation, it is surely the look of a fighter who knows he can’t take his eye off the threat about to face him at the MGM Grand.

In the end, the 39-year-old Mosley might prove to be too old or too shopworn to do any more than just stand. He might not have enough left in his legs to move out of harm’s way, which is sure to be there early, or late, or throughout the scheduled 12 rounds against Pacquiao.

In his last two fights, there was precious little of the Mosley remembered by fans. He couldn’t follow up on a right hand that rocked Floyd Mayweather, Jr., in the second round a year ago. He looked tired and sloppy in winning a decision over Sergio Mora in September.

But the Mora fight was misleading, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. It was a bad match for Mosley.

“A bad choice,’’ Roach said. “Shane looks bad against runners and that’s what Sergio Mora did. It made Shane look like he’s shot and I don’t think he is.’’

But the one-sided odds are a sure indication that the betting public thinks otherwise. Mosley’s hair is growing as gray as Barack Obama’s. It’s a good look for a president or an AARP member, but not a fighter.
Meanwhile, the crowd’s cheers at the weigh-in said something else. Overwhelmingly, they were for Pacquiao, who is expected to collect between $20 and $25 million. Mosley stands to earn about a quarter of that. Pacquiao is riding a cresting wave of popularity. A pop icon, he also aspires to be the Filipino president one day, or at least his promoter, Bob Arum, thinks so.

But Pacquiao won’t be playing politics Saturday night. He’ll be more than a politician. Arum, who promoted Muhammad Ali, calls him the best fighter he has ever seen. With punching power and accuracy in both hands, Arum compares Pacquiao to major-league pitcher who can throw with both his right and left.

“He’d be pretty damn good,’’ Arum said.

He also doesn’t exist.

Not yet, anyway.

Notes, Quotes
Roach trained rock-and-roller John Mellencamp’s son to an Indiana Golden Gloves title. Roach’s compensation for about a month of work probably didn’t include all of those interest-bearing zeroes he gets from a Pacquiao fight. Still, it was valuable. “A Fender guitar with Mellencamp’s autograph on it,’’ Roach said. “Got it in the mail. It’s on my wall.’’

Pacquiao’s gambling isn’t a secret, especially in the Philippines. Pacquiao likes to bet and bet big. Roach recalls a fight in 2000 against Nadel Hussein in The Philippines. Pacquiao, then a junior-featherweight, bet his entire purse that he’d win a first-round stoppage. He won the fight, but lost the bet in scoring a 10th-round TKO.

Rest of the weights for Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast: Former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) was at 170 pounds for his super-middleweight bout against Texan Alfonso Lopez (21-0, 16 KOs), who was at 169; Super-bantamweight champ Wilfredo Vazquez (20-0-1, 17 KOs) was at 122 for his WBO title fight against Jorge Arce (55-6-2, 43 KOs) also 122 pounds; and unbeaten Denver super-lightweight Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KOs) was at 139 pound for his bout against New Yorker Ray Narh (25-1, 21 KOs), who was at 140.

Photo by Chris Farina/ Top Rank

(L-R) Superstar Manny Pacquiao an “Sugar” Shane Mosley weigh in (Pacquiao145 lb,Mosley 147 lb) for their upcoming World Welterweight mega fight on Saturday, May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Pacquiao vs Mosley is promoted by Top Rank in association with MP Promotions,Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions,Tecate and MGM Grand. The Pacquiao vs Mosley telecast will be available live on SHOWTIME Pay Per View.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Manny Pacquiao 145 – Shane Mosley 147
(WBO Welterweight Championship)
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. 122 – Jorge Arce 122
(WBO Super Bantamweight Title)
Kelly Pavlik 170 – Alfonso Lopez 169
Mike Alvarado 139 – Ray Nahr 140

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao has angles. Naazim Richardson has analogies.

Those analogies might not be enough to counter the endless geometry of power and accuracy in Pacquiao’s array of punches. But they are endlessly entertaining and powerful in their own right. Listen to Richardson long enough, and those one-sided odds against Shane Mosley begin to sound like funny money, a counterfeit come-on.

Of course, trainers are supposed to say that their fighters can win. It’s in their job description. It is their job. But Richardson makes you believe that maybe, just maybe, Mosley really will win Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Richardson speaks with the unblinking conviction of a preacher and the common-sense perception of a street-corner philosopher. Fools beware. Richardson doesn’t suffer them lightly, if at all. He only asks for a chance, which might be his way of demanding respect for his fighter. There was a moment Thursday when it appeared that the requisite respect wasn’t there during a media roundtable that Brother Naazim turned into his pulpit at the busy MGM Grand’s Media Center.

Somebody wanted to know how surprised Richardson would be at a Pacquiao victory. The suggestion was that Mosley had no chance, not one at all. For a moment filled with potential for a spontaneous burst of angry frustration, Richardson paused. It came and went, like flash.

“Had to stop for a second there,’’ Richardson said as he exhaled. “The street was about to come rolling out of me.’’

For a man in the business of exerting control over a violent game with tactics designed to give his fighter every possible advantage, a fit of temper would have been uncharacteristic. Anger won’t beat Pacquiao. Poise and a patient, calculated delivery of Mosley’s proven power might.

Richardson has seen, studied and felt the impact of Mosley’s power.

“I keep asking everybody if they’ve ever been hit by Shane Mosley,’’ Richardson said. “I have. I’ve worn the pads. I’ve felt those punches.’’

Richardson is convinced that Mosley’s power can dictate a change in Pacquiao’s style. Richardson has a theory that Pacquiao’s inexhaustible energy has a way of scoring points because it is such an eye-catcher. The judges, like the crowd and the television audience, can’t take their eyes off of him. It was a style, Richardson said, that Sugar Ray Leonard used to his advantage in his 1987 decision over Marvin Hagler.

“I’ve always said that Leonard was masterful in the way he got everybody, including the judges, to just watch him,’’ Richardson said. “Nobody, including the judges, paid any attention to Hagler.

“That’s what Pacquiao does. With his energy and that head bouncing up and down, everybody just watches him. That’s what Shane is going to have to do: He’s have to take away some of that energy.’’

The suggestion is that a Mosley punch or combination in the early rounds will do exactly that, although a cracking right in the second round a year ago wobbled Floyd Mayweather Jr., yet still was not enough for a Mosley victory.

But the Pacquiao and Mayweather styles are as different as the Marines and Coast Guard. Pacquiao attacks; Mayweather defends. Pacquiao’s offensive style and mindset mean he is open to a counter. Richardson says he has studied Pacquiao throughout his career and detected a flaw that he believes could result in a Mosley victory

“I’ve seen something pop up in the tapes,’’ said Richardson, who wouldn’t be more specific. “It’s like one of those things you see when you’re in school. You know, you’re sitting there, the teacher asks a question and you’re still sitting there without an answer. Then, somebody gives you the answer and you think: ‘Damn, why didn’t already think of that?’

“It’s that simple.’’

Simple is not synonymous with easy, however. If it were easy, Richardson probably wouldn’t be in any fighter’s corner. His relationship with Mosley first had to be tested before he knew it would be effective. It was before Molsey upset of Antonio Margarito in January, 2009

“I felt like me and Shane could work together when we had that first dispute,’’ Richardson said. “You know, it’s like that girlfriend. Everything is great until you leave the toilet seat up for the first time.

“The first dispute with Shane was when I started wrapping his hands. Shane wants to fight like it was back in the bare-knuckle days. I’d wrap with the stuff and he’d say: ‘Too much, I like to feel it.’

“I had to tell him: You’re fighting a monster, a guy who is hard to knock out. You got to protect those hands.

“We talked. We worked it out.’’

About two-and-a-half years later, Mosley is confronted by a bigger challenge in Pacquiao, yet still daunting. Few gave Mosley a chance against Margarito, who was coming off a huge upset of Miguel Cotto.
“Right now, Shane looks just like he did before Margarito. The same confidence, he’s doing the same things.’’

If he same things include a Mosley victory Saturday night, it won’t be just another Richardson analogy. It’ll be amazing.

NOTES, QUOTES
• A Top Rank-promoted card featuring Las Vegas featherweight Jesse Magdaleno (3-0) against Jonathan Alcantara (4-3-2) of Novato, Calif., will begin at 5 p.m. (PST) at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay. ESPN’s telecast of the card, scheduled for seven fights, will begin at 7 p.m. Chicago light-heavyweight Mike Lee (4-0, 3 KOs), a Notre Dame grad, faces Gilbert Gastelum (0-1) of Tucson.

• Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik appeared Thursday at a news conference for the Pacquiao-Mosley undercard Saturday night. Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) faces super-middleweight Alfonso Lopez (21-0, 16 KOs) in his first bout since undergoing rehab for alcohol problems. “The story has already been; everything has been told,’’ said Pavlik, who only wanted talk about Lopez

• Lopez wore a black cowboy hat. He must have bought in his hometown, Cut & Shoot, Tex.

• Phoenix prospect Jose Benavidez, Jr. (10-0, 9 KOs) appears on the Pacquiao-Mosley undercard in a junior-welterweight bout against James Hope (6-7-1, 4 KOs) of Rock Hill, S.C. It is Benavidez’ last fight before he is scheduled for hometown pro debut on June 11 at Wild Horse Pass Casino in suburban Phoenix. A card featuring Benavidez in Phoenix last summer was cancelled because of controversy over Arizona’s proposed immigration legislation.

• And Top Rank’s Bob Arum couldn’t resist a shot Thursday during the undercard news conference at rival Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and its banker-turned CEO Richard Schaefer. In introducing Felix “Tutu” Zabala, promoter for junior-featherweight champion Wilfredo Vazquez, Arum said Zabala was an example of old-school promoters who “don’t steal other fighters.’’ Arum and Zabala have a deal to co-promote Vazquez, who faces Jorge Arce. Both Zabala and Arum have been in court against Golden Boy, Zabala over the contract rights to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Arum over rights to Nonito Donaire.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

May 5, 2011,Las Vegas,Nevada — (L-R) Former world champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, Youngstown,Ohio and Alfonso Lopez,Cut & Shoot,Texas pose during the press conference at the MGM Grand for their upcoming feature fight on the undercard of Pacquiao vs Mosley on Saturday, May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Pacquiao vs Mosley is promoted by Top Rank in association with MP Promotions,Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions,Tecate and MGM Grand. The Pacquiao vs Mosley telecast will be available live on SHOWTIME Pay Per View.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LAS VEGAS – Filipino Congressman Manny Pacquiao will never jump up the boxing scale to heavyweight, but he is beginning to sound as if he might try to make a run at that title in the political ring.

A boxing news conference sounded a little bit like a presidential campaign Wednesday when Pacquiao talked about plans to fight poverty with more evident passion than he did about a welterweight fight Saturday night against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand.

“All of my life, I’ve had to fight,’’ said Pacquiao, who has eight titles, all in different weight classes. “As a child, I had to fight for food. But the biggest fight of my life is the end of poverty in my country.’’

Pacquiao, still in campaign mode, said he will wear yellow gloves Saturday night and urged a sellout crowd to also wear yellow. For him and his countrymen, it’s the color of unity. Former Filipino President Corazon Aquino wore yellow. It was the color that identified the opposition that chased ex-Filipino strongman Ferdinand Marcos out of office in 1986.

Now, it’s a look at what Pacquiao might be planning for a whirlwind of a life that is always moving forward and at a furious, fearless pace with more angles than punches. On Wednesday, he even sang the title of his recent release, Sometimes When We Touch, at Dan Hill, who is other half of the duet in the recorded melody. There were no babies to kiss. But give him time. Someday, there may even be some broken campaign promises.

Thus far, there have been none, although Mosley hopes to change that with an upset that would send The Philippines into dark mourning. On the betting board up and down the Strip, that doesn’t look likely.

Late Thursday, Mosley was about a 6 1/2-to-1 underdog. If this were politics, Mosley would be Donald Trump. Comedian Seth Meyers said he was surprised to hear that Trump might runs for President as a Republican. Meyers thought Trump was running as joke. Despite odds that are hard to figure, however, this isn’t politics. Mosley is no joke, not even at late comedian Jack Benny’s forever age, 39

“We’re not talking about an ordinary guy,’’ Mosley trainer Naazim Richardson said in the wise voice that is always accented with common sense.

Richardson argues that Pacquiao hasn’t been hit with the mix of power and experience possessed by Mosley, whose 32-0 record, including 30 knockouts, at 135 pounds makes him one of the great lightweights of all time.

“Put a Shetland Pony in there and when Shane hits it, he’s going to wobble it,’’ Richardson said.

The secret to Pacquiao are the thick legs of a bigger man, if not a Shetland Pony. But that’s another story for another day. What is increasingly evident is some newfound focus in Pacquiao on the immediate challenge. He will always multi-task, as he did Wednesday at the news conference/political campaign that included Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and his wife, Carolyn, who is running for the office her husband is about to vacate.

Unlike some of his recent training camps, this one is not about how or if a distracted Pacquiao might lose. Last November, there were more stories about Pacquiao’s distractions than there were about Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao left Margarito battered and badly injured in taking a one-sided-decision.

The reported distractions never mattered and perhaps Pacquiao knew that they wouldn’t. Margarito just wasn’t fast enough to be a threat. If Pacquiao’s reported attention to training over the last two months is any indication, Mosley is.

“From Day One, he told me this is not an easy fight,’’ said Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, who already has said he wants the Filipino idol to be the first to knock out Mosley. “I think this is the best training camp we’ve ever had. Manny is in the best shape he’s ever been in. He has to be. He’s fighting an experienced, crafty guy.’’

Pacquiao said he is as concerned about Mosley as he was about Oscar De La Hoya in 2008.De La Hoya quit after eight rounds against Pacquiao, who exhausted him with relentless energy and a nonstop barrage of punches. De La Hoya never had a chance. Pacquiao’s newfound dedication might mean Mosley won’t have one either. Then again, Mosley beat De La Hoya twice. Unlike Pacquiao, Mosley stopped Margarito.

“Mosley knocked him out …he has that advantage,’’ said Pacquiao, who is smart enough to know that timing dictates that Saturday night’s fight is next and dangerous enough to may be the biggest one he’ll face before he tries to knock out poverty.