(April 24, 2020) — This Saturday, April 25, will be a day of boxing blockbusters on ESPN when the network airs four consecutive hours of the sweet science immediately following the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft. Starting at 7 p.m. ET, this special presentation will showcase some of the biggest stars of boxing’s recent generation, culminating with the 2015 historic “Fight of the Century” between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

The other encore matches featured include Mayweather vs. Judah (2006), Pacquiao vs. Márquez 2 (2008) and Pacquiao vs. Cotto (2009).

The special presentation will include an interview from ESPN’s Joe Tessitore with Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.  During the interview, Arum lays out the hurdles that boxing must overcome to return, how the travel restrictions will impact the sport and Fury-Wilder 3. The interview will air approximately at 9 p.m. ET.

In addition to the linear telecast, most of these fights are also available on ESPN+. Exclusively available to subscribers, ESPN+ features a library of hundreds of the most important fights in boxing history.

The lineup:

Mayweather vs Judah (7 p.m.): This 2006 match marked the first time Mayweather would challenge for a welterweight world title. He had previously won titles at super featherweight, lightweight and super lightweight. Near the end of the 10^th round, a brawl between the corners broke out after Judah hit Mayweather with a low blow, followed by a rabbit punch.

Pacquiao vs. Márquez 2 (8 p.m.): Pacquiao’s second fight against Márquez marked the first time the Filipino fighter would challenge for a world title at super featherweight. He was attempting to become the first Asian fighter to win world titles in four different weight classes.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto (9 p.m.): In his fight against Cotto, Pacquiao attempted to become the first fighter in boxing history to win a world title in seven different weight classes, while Cotto entered the bout making the second defense of his WBO welterweight title.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao (10 p.m.): The event set records for the largest grossing live gate ($72 million) and the most pay-per-view buys (4.6 million) in combat sports history. The fight served as a unification bout, with Mayweather defending the WBA and WBC welterweight titles and Pacquiao defending the WBO title.

ESPN Boxing Schedule Saturday, April 25

ESPN+ features a library of hundreds of the most important fights in boxing history, as well as recent Top Rank on ESPN fight cards for replay, all streaming on demand. The historic fights on ESPN+ include legendary heavyweight showdowns like Ali vs. Frazier III, Ali vs. George Foreman, Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn, Tyson vs. Holmes, Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney, Max Baer vs. James J. Braddock, Ali vs. Sonny Liston I & II, Wilder vs. Fury II and many more.

(March 24, 2020) — Bring out the boxing stars.
 

Terence Crawford, Tyson Fury, Teofimo Lopez, Michael Conlan and the 2015 super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will be showcased on ESPN2 Wednesday, March 25 as part of a five-hour fistic marathon.

The action will begin at 7 p.m. ET with WBO welterweight world champion Crawford’s April 2019 tour de force over former unified super lightweight world champion Amir Khan.  

At 8 p.m. ET, there will be a special replay of the tripleheader that preceded the Heisman Trophy ceremony last December from Madison Square Garden. Conlan opened the show seeking revenge over Vladimir Nikitin, the Russian boxer who defeated him via controversial decision in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics. The co-feature saw 22-year-old Brooklyn-born prodigy Lopez challenge IBF lightweight world champion Richard Commey in a classic “changing of the guards” matchup. In the main event, pound-for-pound king Crawford went toe-to-toe with two-time Lithuanian Olympian Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas.  

The big men will take center stage at 10 p.m. ET for lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s drama-filled 12-round war against Otto Wallin, which took place last September at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.  

The action will conclude at 11 p.m. ET with the most lucrative bout in boxing history, the May 2015 welterweight world title fight between all-time greats Mayweather and Pacquiao.  

ESPN+ also features a collection of some of the greatest fights in boxing history, including dozens of legendary bouts from the Top Rank Library, available on demand. The collection includes legendary heavyweight showdowns like Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, Ali vs. George Foreman, Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn, Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes, Jack Dempsey vs. Gene Tunney, Max Baer vs. James J. Braddock, Ali vs. Sonny Liston I & II, and many more.  

Wednesday’s Top Rank on ESPN lineup adds to ESPN’s week of programming, which also includes an encore presentation of the Academy-Award winning 30 for 30 documentary “O.J.: Made in America.” The documentary airs over three nights in primetime from March 24-March 26. The film originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016, debuted on ABC/ESPN in June 2016, and won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 89^th Academy Awards in February 2017. 

ESPN Boxing Schedule, Wednesday, March 25 (All times ET)  

By Bart Barry-

Twenty months after a fight that put boxing pay-per-view in a death spiral, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao – along with their handlers and hangerson – did not reflect in their own words on the way their match ruined boxing. But here’s imagining they did.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER: Blood, sweat and tears. Hardwork and dedication. Forty-nine tried, 49 failed. You wanna see the check I got? It’s over here (motioning to a 30-foot x 45-foot hanging print of himself showing the media a check at his postfight press conference).

LEONARD ELLERBE (CEO, Mayweather Promotions): I took that pic and we got it mounted by AllPosters.com.

BOB ARUM (CEO, Top Rank): We knew what Mayweather was. We promoted him for years. An exceptional talent and just a rotten human being. We had to watch his fight with Oscar (De La Hoya) and his fight with Canelo (Alvarez), and they made all this money. And we created Oscar too. And we get nothing? Something had to be done.

MANNY PACQUIAO: I fight for the people. Especially the poor people. Seriously. Manny Pacquiao loves everyone. The fight was not happy. My shoulder hurt.

FREDDIE ROACH (Pacquiao’s trainer): After Marquez nearly killed Manny, I thought there was no way the Floyd fight would happen. I talked to Bob (Arum) and asked him if he was going to fire me. Bob said, “Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll get Manny a few heavy bags. We’ll put him in exotic places, maybe do a Bradley rematch. You just keep saying Floyd’s an easy fight. This could work.”

LA-Z THE SCRIBE (Editor in chief, FloydDaGOAT.com): Yeah, after Marquez obliterated him, I got a call from Money. He’s all, “That piss-drinker just cost me a billion!” I was the first to tweet it.

RICHARD SCHAEFER (former CEO, Golden Boy Promotions): You know, when I hear people saying Mayweather-Pacquiao ruined pay-per-view, it actually makes me kind of mad. I had a big part in ruining boxing, and a big part of that success was pay-per-view. We also got Andre Berto overpaid, over and over. It’s easy to give Ken (Hershman) and Stephen (Espinoza) all the credit today. But I’m proud of the work Ross (Greenburg) and I did to make most of that possible.

KEN HERSHMAN (former President, HBO Sports): I wish I hadn’t left Showtime. We did some really good things over there on a shoestring.

ROSS GREENBERG (former President, HBO Sports): I don’t miss anything about boxing.

STEPHEN ESPINOZA (General Manager, Showtime Sports): I miss working with Richard.

SCHAEFER: Please tell Stephen I’m back in boxing!

FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR. (Mayweather’s trainer): Listen, man, I told you I don’t know. Floyd and I allegedly wasn’t on speaking terms at that moment.

ROGER MAYWEATHER (Floyd’s former trainer): I told them motherf–kers it was a dumb idea. Shopping for a turkey? My nephew told me to do it. Them charges got dropped, OK?

PACQUIAO: They make me give the blood too much. If my shoulder happy, I win. Give me a rematch, Floyd. And half.

MAYWEATHER: VADA, ADA, USADA, DABA, DABA. All’s I know is when my dad says that power-pellet stuff all them years ago, some of you thought Manny could beat me. Then the fight happens, and it ain’t close – you tell me, ya dummies.

BRUCE TRAMPLER (Matchmaker, Top Rank): Was I surprised by the result? What do you think?

JAY Z (Founder, ROC NATION Sports): Floyd can’t read. Fifty can’t flow. Arum’s getting old. Al (Haymon) doesn’t answer calls. I’m a hustler. I told my people to find the biggest draws and sign them. Well, Dre (Andre Ward) got no charisma, and Miguel (Cotto) is ancient. I’m leaking a fortune in the fight game already. I need a word that rhymes with ‘divestiture’.

ARUM: Look, Manny’s a pragmatist. He knows there needs to be a chance of his getting killed at this point to sell his fights anywhere but the Phillipines, or he can take less money. He doesn’t want to get killed, right? The silver lining in all this is it led to our finding a continent where he hasn’t fought yet – Australia! Right now, we’re saying there’s interest on all the networks, but in a few months we’re going to decide to put it on our website again.

ELLERBE: We’re back on pay-per-view. We’re doing a three-rounder soon between two of the largest stars in the hip-hop universe. Our production company did that video of Girl Collection already. It broke the internet. Floyd’s the smartest businessman in the world.

ESPINOZA: I can’t believe we won an Emmy for a commercial either. But that’s Floyd!

AL HAYMON (Mayweather’s adviser): …

SAM WATSON (Haymon’s assistant): Be sure and thank Al Haymon for this interview opportunity.

ARUM: We knew things were going sideways when Floyd had to announce the fight with his cell phone. We covered our bases by leaking the imminent announcement to a number of journalists in case Floyd’s battery died. That kickoff press conference looked like a junior-high dance. And Machiavelli (Al Haymon) didn’t help anything by doing what he did.

ROACH: I’d never seen anything like that fight week in Vegas. I hope Manny gets the rematch (grinning widely); I think we’ll win easily next time.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA (Founder, Golden Boy Promotions): Everything I built in all my pay-per-view fights? They ruined it. We didn’t make a dime. Now K2 (Gennady Golovkin’s promoter) wants us to get Canelo knocked-out for less than I made fighting Felix Sturm. ¡Felix pinche Sturm, imagínate! We’re rebuilding right now, old school. But we need Canelo. Maybe a rematch with Floyd would sell? We’d take a fight with Manny too. Let’s stop talking about GGG.

MIGUEL COTTO (former middleweight world champion): Miguel Cotto fight next month against somebody. Pay-per-view. Miguel Cotto no promote fight because Miguel Cotto has guarantee purse.

MAYWEATHER: I killed boxing (laughing). Told ya!

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

By Bart Barry-

Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Filipino former world champion and current senator Manny Pacquiao matches himself with American welterweight Jessie Vargas in a pay-per-view fight televised by promoter Top Rank. Pacquiao retired in April after decisioning Timothy Bradley in their third match but returns seven months later because that was always the plan. Vargas lost to Bradley a month after Pacquiao lost to Mayweather in 2015 but recently stopped Sadam Ali and got chosen for Saturday’s fight because that flash of power in March is expected to prove anomalous – if Pacquiao or Top Rank thought there were any way Vargas’d stretch Pacquiao this fight would not happen.

There isn’t much to be done but write about this spectacle however undeserving. In bygone years the hungerstrike we experienced these last howsoever many months would induce an appetite coiled as a spring and ready to leap towards a million buys after a month of promotional coverage under the auspices of reportage, but no more. There are but two types of boxing coverage that survive today in the United States: the financially selfinterested and the quixotic.

They’re easily identified. Positive coverage of Pacquiao-Vargas is financially selfinterested, the line between publicist and reporter gone to the publicists, and quixotic coverage, those who cover the sport from habit or nostalgia, is not positive. No American without financial selfinterest understood Pacquiao’s retirement and even less his comeback from that faux retirement – since declaring Pacquiao’s third match with Timothy Bradley in April the last time Pacquiao would fight did little to promote the match and according to Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum did not begin to offset the damage done the fight’s marketing by Pacquiao’s strongly worded reiteration of his strongly held beliefs about others’ sexual orientations or the lasting damage done the sport by Pacquiao’s terrible 2015 match with Floyd Mayweather.

Yes, the shoulder match. No one has forgiven Pacquiao for that halfassed performance, nor should he, but most of us have forgotten it – until Pacquiao decides to promote his match with Vargas by telling us he’s healed and ready for a second serving of Money. It’s the wrong message because it makes some of what few consumers remain interested enough in our sport to purchase a match from a promoter’s website reconsider that purchase for fear their support might launch another yearslong buildup to another terrible superfight no one asks for anymore, and Richard Schaefer just began a comeback of his own, too, in case more nostalgic dissonance were craved (incredibly he says fans approached him at fights and told him the sport needs him).

*

COMMERCIAL BREAK
Boxing’s only eight-time world champion and sitting senator returns Saturday in a match you can purchase through his promoter’s website because, in a historic show of ungratefulness, HBO and Showtime and all the terrestrial networks on which Pacquiao was possibly rumored potentially to fight for the last eight years declined to pay retail prices for what worn and defective merchandise they’re now offered.

Camera-phone footage indicates the Senator is in the best shape of his life.

“Manny’s in the best shape of his life,” reported Coach Freddie from training camp. “I know I’ve said this each of his last 12 fights, or more, but this time? The best. Unbelievable.”

*

Pacquiao looked quite good against Timothy Bradley seven months ago, better than Jessie Vargas did, but just because Vargas lost the Pacquiao sweepstakes 19 months ago does not mean Vargas lost the Pacquiao sweepstakes. Vargas did after all clip Bradley at the end of their match and may very well have . . . if only the referee . . . in an unprecedented act of interference . . . the very integrity of the sport . . . and probably deserved to win by knockout, something Vargas’ promoter was not at liberty to disclose while selling Pacquiao-Bradley 3, but now after a closer look thinks all aficionados should revisit.

Talk of Pacquiao’s milling with someone who might beat him like Terence Crawford and make Pacquiao actually retire succumbed this summer to sobriety and brought us limping to Saturday’s spectacle, possibly a tuneup for Pacquiao’s future match with middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, a rich promotional subplot given how much press Golovkin’s trainer receives for threatening the world’s best light heavyweights while trashtalking a junior middleweight and actually fighting a welterweight.

Pacquiao press releases now include airlines and flight numbers in the hopes of materializing an enormous crowd at LAX, something worthy of promotional footage on SportsCenter, alas. The American fight scene to which Pacquiao returns for Saturday’s fight is worse than the one he visited in the spring but more apparently awful to Pacquiao because, one assumes, Pacquiao’s previous purse guarantees were voided by his retirement and the dearth of interest the Pacquiao brand now generates among cable-network executives – before one considers what American consumers now know of politics in the Philippines complemented by our own fatigue with domestic politics. One begins to wonder if promoting Pacquiao as a successful Filipino politician still is the sage tact it once appeared.

Or perhaps all this is superfluous because nobody is about to discover Manny Pacquiao; those of us interested in Pacquiao enough to purchase Saturday’s fight, or heaven help us travel to it, know Pacquiao well enough to know how steadily his capacities have eroded since that 2012 encounter with the Marquez spearchisel and aren’t any longer candidates for a Pacman conversion. We know with Pacquiao we are either at the beginning or the middle part of the embarrassing stage many great prizefighters end their careers with. However extraordinary Pacquiao was in ascent, his descent is all too ordinary.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Showtime has sued Top Rank over lawsuits pertaining to the Floyd Mayweather – Manny Pacquiao mega fight last May.

Showtime is seeking $682,754.07 in legal fees for having to pay lawyers to defend the network against numerous civil lawsuits filed by fans upset that they shelled out a record $100 apiece for the pay-per-view telecast of a bad fight in which Pacquiao knew he was injured ahead of time.

Showtime said in its lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.com, that Top Rank failed to meet its contractual obligation to indemnify the network in the event it was sued in relation to the fight. Showtime, which said it was named as a co-defendant in 12 of approximately 42 suits filed after the fight, is seeking legal fees it says it paid to defend the suits, plus interest.

“Showtime Networks [on Wednesday] filed suit against Top Rank in the Southern District of New York to enforce Showtime Networks’ right to be reimbursed for legal fees incurred defending the many lawsuits filed relating to the injury sustained by Manny Pacquiao before his May 2, 2015 fight against Floyd Mayweather,” a Showtime spokesperson said in a statement. “Showtime was dismissed from those litigations which continue against Top Rank. Showtime made every effort to resolve this matter short of the courthouse, but Top Rank’s persistent refusal to honor its contractual obligations forced Showtime to take this regrettable, but necessary, step.”

Showtime said it was eventually dropped from many of the suits because while it had prefight access to Mayweather’s training camp, it did not have any access to Pacquiao’s and, therefore, had no idea he had a shoulder injury.

The suit went on to say that “under an agreement among [Showtime and Top Rank], [Top Rank] was obligated to defend and indemnify [Showtime]. But at the outset of these actions, it was manifest that [Showtime] and [Top Rank], which was alleged to have known of and concealed the pre-fight injury, had starkly different interests. … At once, [Showtime] demanded that [Top Rank] honor its contractual obligations to indemnify [Showtime] and pay for [Showtime’s] own counsel to defend it in these actions because of the manifest potential conflict between them. [Top Rank] refused.”

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN.com that his lawyers do not believe there is a conflict and that the contract is open to interpretation.

“Our lawyers say that under the contract, they’re not entitled to any indemnity,” Arum said. “But when this came up, we made a proposal to Showtime and [parent network] CBS, and they said it was not adequate. I told them to come back with a counterproposal, and instead they filed suit. And then I told them that’s not fair. If you’re negotiating a settlement with me, you don’t file a suit. And then they said, ‘If you don’t pay this in full, CBS and Showtime will not do business with you.’ I said, ‘What the f— else is new? You haven’t done any business with Top Rank in years.’ They’re trying to bully me.

“I didn’t appreciate the threat. You sit down like normal people and you work it out.”

As part of the ongoing 30th Anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®, relive the two of the most memorable and meaningful events in Mayweather’s magnificent 19-year career tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.

This week’s lineup of “Throwback Thursday” kicks off with the record-shattering “Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao,” followed by “INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue,” “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana” and “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana Epilogue.”

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Round 11

YOUTUBE: http://s.sho.com/1OQazST

DOWNLOAD LINK: https://we.tl/6k58i7vmeY

Mayweather vs. Maidana I: Round 7

YOUTUBE: YOUTUBE: http://s.sho.com/1T62ZA4

DOWNLOAD LINK: https://we.tl/RMx6P9b4uH

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Mayweather vs. Maidana I, and all of the classic fights presented as part of the 30th Anniversary, are available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and via the network’s online streaming service.

By Bart Barry-

Editor’s note: For part 1, please click here.

*

The May morning of 2015’s knockout of the year, the Saturday Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez spearchiseled Texan James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland in Houston, no one was certain just yet how debasing for the sport of prizefighting 2015 would be, how mercenary, how joyless, but the previous weekend’s fare served notice to all aficionados, and the worst part, too: Mayweather-Pacquiao was what we asked for, demanded, allowed the sport to suspend itself in pursuit of, for five years that did nothing so much as hollow-out the fanbase by loitering in Las Vegas while more gymnasiums shuttered and fewer American boys explored boxing as more than a cynic’s plan-c moneymaking ruse, a trashtalking musicvideo to film after flunking football and basketball.

In March, Oscar De La Hoya promised Canelo Alvarez as a savior for the sport, and everyone applied the ironist’s filter, instantly and properly, hearing: Canelo Alvarez is the man the Golden Boy hopes will save his struggling brand. It was lost on no one how instrumental De La Hoya and “his” “promotional company” were to Money May’s ascent during the seven years De La Hoya vainly searched for someone, beginning with himself, to humble Floyd Mayweather; instrumental, in fact, is not strong enough – during the partnership years, Golden Boy Promotions was the fulcrum in Al Haymon’s lever, making De La Hoya and his former friend Richard Schaefer mechanically essential to a movement that, in 2015, changed its name from “HBO” or “Showtime” to Premier Boxing Champions, PBC, and began appearing on the same terrestrial television networks promoter Bob Arum convinced aficionados should be boxing’s rightful place (about a decade after Arum first moved boxing from terrestrial television, of course).

Very few pundits realized when Canelo fought Kirkland what an existential crisis the PBC presented, with its hostility to independent media and indifference to competitive matchmaking, and only marginally more recognize it today – choosing, symmetrically, to save such a collective revelation for the very moment their powerlessness to alter it achieves fullness and perfection (with writer David Avila a noble exception).

*

The May morning of 2015’s knockout of the year, the Saturday Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez spearchiseled Texan James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland in Houston, brought merely one concern about a tardy arrival at the ballpark: There mightn’t be time for socializing and reminiscing with writers Kelsey McCarson, a fellow Texan, and David Greisman – not a fellow Texan but doing his level best that week to be one.

My fears were misplaced. The endless and uninspired undercard offered plenty of time for chatting and sharing a photo on the grass roamed by Astros outfielders. Seated directly in front of me, too, was Welshman Anson Wainwright, once a contributor to this very site and today a regular contributor to The Ring’s always engrossing “Best I Faced” series.

The ranks have thinned since my first visit to pressrow in 2004, and in the next five years the PBC’s subversion of media access will end either the PBC or pressrow, but wherever more than a halfdozen writers are gathered at a Texas fightcard, good health and good humor shall remain the rule.

*

The May morning of 2015’s knockout of the year, the Saturday Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez spearchiseled Texan James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland in Houston, anyone who told you he was sure what to expect from Kirkland was embellishing the case a bit. Kirkland had done his preparations with San Antonio’s Rick Morones, instead of Austin’s Ann Wolfe, and while it likely made no difference to the outcome – Canelo is simply a higher level fighter than Kirkland, whatever Kirkland’s conditioning – it was not the plan in March when the Canelo-Kirkland presstour made its way to Alamo City’s historic Aztec Theatre and a pleasant and plump Kirkland confidently and ominously reported his manager was in negotiations with Ms. Wolfe.

Kirkland is a known entity in San Antonio, not quite a legend but one remembered in local gyms for having manstrength even as a boy. Kirkland was the right person to make Canelo look spectacular, a lie-detector type, rough and unrelenting, one to establish quickly the difference in caliber between a champion like Canelo and a local attraction.

Canelo had not before had a man of Kirkland’s class run across the ring at him on first bell and begin hurling punches without regard for anyone’s safety, but he managed the incident as if he had, and many times. That poise is a large reason Gennady Golovkin apologists, those who’ve amplified the Golovkin-camp line for three years, the risible assertion GGG, despite never fighting anywhere but middleweight, is ready to fight any man between 154 pounds and 168, strongly prefer 2016’s superfight happen at 160.

If that fight happens, this much will be made immediately clear: While Canelo Alvarez has fought at least one man considerably better than Golovkin, and maybe several, GGG’s reign of terror at middleweight has yet to include anyone close to Canelo’s talent.

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The May morning of 2015’s knockout of the year, the Saturday Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez spearchiseled Texan James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland in Houston, the 200-mile eastwards drive got justified by both men’s reputations and the increasingly unfortunate realization Canelo Alvarez will be the Mexican prizefighter most remembered in our current era – despite his technical inferiority to each member of our last era’s Mexican triumvirate: Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

Because of Mexican television rights and other complexities, including their standard-issue dark heads of hair, the best fighters of the last era accomplished fractionally much celebrity in their homeland as Canelo did before his 25th birthday. Canelo cannot be blamed for that. He’s squandered no opportunities, whatever his limitations of speed and power, and he remains a prompt and courteous interview even when he does not need to be. He has far surpassed his only realistic competition for Mexico’s heart, “Son of the Legend” Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and he’s done it with discipline and class.

Any aficionado seated ringside for Canelo-Kirkland and knowledgeable of Mexican prizefighting history – practically a redundancy, that – left the experience balancing a sentiment like this: An era of Mexican prizefighting could do better than having Canelo Alvarez as its standard bearer, yes, but it could also do much worse.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

By Norm Frauenheim

Bankers, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, a handful of promoters and network executives can celebrate a year about to enter the books. Money ruled, which means it was Mayweather’s year. He fulfilled his nickname. Got most of the money, too.

But good for the business?

No way.

By definition, prizefighting is a simple enough formula. To wit: Get the biggest prize for the smallest risk. In 2015, Mayweather played that one out better than anyone ever has. As the year ends, there continues to be unconfirmed reports that receipts for his revenue-record setting victory over Pacquiao on May 2 are still being counted. Numbers are all over the place.

We read that his final purse is $220 million, then $260 million, which would rank the money for his 12 rounds of work somewhere between the Los Angeles Dodgers ($291 million) and the New York Yankees ($223 million) at the top of baseball’s last list of reported payrolls.

Hard to know what to believe. But there he is, in Dubai one day, in a new Bugati the next and always ready to make it rain by stuffing his bags with disposable cash.

Mayweather has gone from the top of the pound-for-pound list to being the face of the one percent. Let somebody a lot smarter than a boxing writer be the judge of that. But give Mayweather credit, not that he needs it. He might not have been TBE in the ring. But he ranks as The Best Earner in history and that figures to be undisputed for a while.

In the wake of a winner-take-all model that enriched him, however, there are consequences that could confront the game with a steep price in 2016 and beyond. HBO’s Jim Lampley said it best in the wake of his dull decision over Pacquiao, whose role as the junior partner in the money grab earned him north of $150 million.

Lampley called it a cynical exercise.

It was. As the year ends, coffers are filled, yet there’s an empty feeling about what was really accomplished. Does anybody other than Mayweather think the game is better for the exercise? Didn’t think so.

A sign of that emptiness is in the year-end ritual of voting for the various awards. Fighter of the Year is the biggie. But it’s a tough choice this time. On this ballot, the dreaded No Award, always a contender in a lot of categories, is an option. Yeah, Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko, but I’d cast a vote for Donald Trump before I’d vote for an okay heavyweight who reserves most of the fury for his insults.

The guess here is that Nicaraguan flyweight Roman Gonzalez wins, but his likely election looks to be more of a concession to a brilliant career (44-0, 38 KOs) ignored until HBO finally decided to pair him up with middleweight Gennady Golovkin in a couple of telecasts

An astonishing and worrisome aspect to the Gonzalez phenomenon goes back to where this column starts. Follow the money. In 2015, Gonzalez became the lightest ever to ascend to No. 1 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings. He succeeded Mayweather after Mayweather’s announced retirement following a victory in September over Andre Berto.

The dollars, however, didn’t follow Gonzalez’ climb up the pound-for-pound scale. During his reign at No. 1, Mayweather earned a minimum of $32-million a fight through his six-fight deal with Showtime. In Gonzalez’ October stoppage of Brian Viloria in his second HBO appearance and in the immediate aftermath of his introduction as the pound-for-pound No. 1, he earned a career-high $250,000. Mayweather stuffs more than that into one of those carry-ons.

For Gonzalez, the pound-for-pound title represents little more than an honorarium. The Grand Canyon-like disparity on the pay scale, however, includes a more troubling aspect. It represents a lack of investment in lighter weights that have often sustained the business during periods of transition and/or trouble. HBO’s interest in Gonzalez is promising. Perhaps, it’s the beginning of an investment.

But the long-term trend is not good. Consider this: In the two-plus decades since junior-flyweights Michael Carbajal and Humberto Gonzalez earned $1-million purses for fighting each other three times in 1993 and 1994, there’s been no raise in pay for the little guys, who in some ways are to boxing what the working middle class is to an economy. There are no good undercards without them. Yet, they’re getting paid a lot less now than they did a few generations ago.

In stature and impact, they are so small that they often don’t seem to matter. But it’s the little things that often reveal a lot about a business and these days they appear to be troublesome fly in a problematic ointment.

CHICAGO — November 5, 2015 — One of Chicago’s favorite sons, Mike “Hollywood” Jimenez, returns to the Windy City on November 25th in the main event at Fight Night at the Horseshoe, the popular Hitz Boxing fight series, where he will compete for the NABA Super Middleweight and the WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight titles. Jimenez is coming off of a spectacular knockout win over Argentinian Francisco Ramon Benitez, a fight that earned Jimenez the UBF All-American Super Middleweight title. Jimenez’s fight with Benitez, which took place in Victoria, Australia, put Jimenez back in the win column after he suffered a highly-questionable stoppage versus Jesse Hart on the undercard of Mayweather-Pacquiao in May.

“It was a good opportunity for me to fight away from home, and be in a different realm,” said Jimenez of his last two fights. “It was good experience to fight around a different fan base where you don’t have the whole house going for you. You’re away from home, you don’t know anybody. It’s just you and the guy across the ring from you.”

Jimenez didn’t let the change in venue get into his head. “My mentality stays the same. I’m there to do one job – to take the guy out. At the end of the day, that’s really the only thing on my mind. Getting the win.”

Fighting away from home gave Jimenez a new appreciation for fighting in front of his friends, family and fans. “It means a great deal to me to come home to Chicago,” said Jimenez of his upcoming fight. “I have a little bounce in my step because the fights away from home are tough. Coming home, having all your friends, family, and the city behind me…it’s pretty exciting for me. More than anything I want to give them a good showing. I want to give them a big victory, and show my appreciation for everyone back home.”

Promoter Bobby Hitz expressed pride and excitement at “Hollywood’s” return. “We’re excited to have him back,” said Hitz. “I think it shows a lot of what he’s made of, how he rebounded so quickly, went halfway around the world and fought a tough fight to pick up that title. He didn’t sit and ponder what happened to him in the Jesse Hart fight. He just got back on his horse, went to a different country, a different part of the world, and won a tough fight over there. I’m excited to have him back home. Myself, the Chicago boxing community, Chicago’s boxing fans are eager to see him back in the ring at home.”

Doors to The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond open at 6:00 Wednesday, November 25th, and first bell is at 6:30. Tickets are priced $90 and 40, and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets. Boxing fans must be 21 years and older to attend events at the Horseshoe Hammond.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Reports of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s intravenous injection for possible dehydration on the day before his victory over Manny Pacquiao is clouding his potential farewell fight against Andre Berto Saturday with controversy amid questions about fairness, transparency and the procedures employed by the drug-testing bureaucracy.

In an explosive story posted by SB Nation before Wednesday’s Mayweather-Berto news conference at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, author Thomas Hauser, also a Home Box Office employee, reported that Mayweather underwent a banned IV after the weigh-in for the May 2 fight.

The reported substance, saline and vitamins, is legal, according to World Doping Agency (WADA) rules, which are followed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). USADA conducted the Mayweather-Pacquiao testing. But the method is illegal. According to WADA guidelines, an IV can mask a banned substance.

In a statement Thursday, Mayweather denied any wrongdoing, saying he “did not commit any violations of the Nevada or USADA drug testing guidelines.”

But the current controversy continues amid questions about USADA’s timing in its approval of Mayweather’s IV. According to USADA’s contract with Mayweather and Pacquiao, an exemption for IV use could be granted for therapeutic reasons. USADA discovered Mayweather had used an IV when it visited him for a test at his Las Vegas home after the May 1 weigh-in.

According to Hauser’s report, however, Mayweather did not formally apply for the exemption until May 19, 17 days after the fight. USADA granted him the exemption on the next day, May 20, 19 days after he underwent the IV.

“Although Mr. Mayweather’s application was not approved until after his fight with Mr. Pacquiao and all tests results were reported, Mr. Mayweather did disclose the infusion to USADA in advance of the IV being administered to him,’’ USADA said Thursday in a statement.

The reports about documents dated after the fact come in the wake of condemnations for the way Pacquiao disclosed an injury to his right shoulder at the news conference immediately after losing a one-sided decision to Mayweather on May 2 in a fight that generated record revenues.

According to Pacquiao, manager/adviser Michael Koncz and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, Pacquiao asked for an exemption for an injection of Toradol, a pain-killer. The Nevada State Athletic Commission denied the request, saying it was not done “in a timely manner.’’

Thus far, however, it’s not clear how – or even if – USADA and the Nevada commission communicate.

Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Commission, told the media on Thursday that only the Commission can grant exemptions. USADA did not inform the Commission of Mayweather’s IV until three days after the fight, he said.

Pacquiao’s representatives said they had told USADA that they wanted an injection of Toradol for the ailing shoulder before opening bell. When the Commission learned about the planned injection, it intervened, saying it had not been formally notified.

Pacquiao blamed the shoulder injury for his sub-par-performance. He had the shoulder in a sling when he met Filipino media in his Las Vegas hotel suite the morning after and underwent surgery about a week later.

Lawsuits across the nation were filed after Mayweather-Pacquiao. The plaintiffs allege that the bout was fraudulent. They are seeking damages and class-action status. Allegations already include a failure to disclose Pacquiao’s shoulder injury. Controversy over Mayweather’s IV might become another one.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the WBO has stripped Floyd Mayweather for not paying the $200,000 sanctioning fees for his May 2 fight with Manny Pacquiao.

“The WBO world championship committee is allowed no other alternative but to cease to recognize Mr. Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the WBO welterweight champion of the world and vacate his title for failing to comply with our WBO regulations of world championship contests,” the WBO wrote Monday in its resolution.

“The WBO has the utmost respect for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and all that he has accomplished during his storied career,” the WBO wrote in its resolution. “Mr. Mayweather has always agreed with and understood that world championships have both privileges and responsibilities and that status as WBO champion is subject to and conditioned on compliance with the WBO rules and regulations.”

The Mayweather camp was displeased by the ruling.

“It’s a complete disgrace,” Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN.com. “Floyd will decide what, or if any, actions he will take. But in the meantime he’s enjoying a couple of hundred million he made from his last outing and this has zero impact on anything he does.

“Floyd Mayweather has a great deal of respect for each and every organization, as he has always had in his 19-year career, but he will not be dictated to by any organization or person as it relates to his decision making.”

“I don’t know if it will be Monday [May 4] or maybe a couple weeks,” Mayweather said in the news conference. “I’ll talk to my team and see what we need to do. Other fighters need a chance. Give other fighters a chance. I’m not greedy. I’m a world champion in two different weight classes. It’s time to let other fighters fight for the belt.”

The WBO also reclassified the Bradley-Vargas bout as for the interim title. With the WBO withdrawing recognition of Mayweather as its welterweight titleholder, it soon will formally elevate Bradley, who won a unanimous decision against Vargas, to full titleholder.

“I’m not surprised at all because of the individuals involved we’re talking about,” said Ellerbe, believing that WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel went out of his way to help Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who promotes Bradley and Vargas and who is close to the WBO.

“We have the best attorney in the game, John Hornewer, and we are fully aware of what our rights are,” Ellerbe said. “Floyd will decide what he wants to do.”

By Norm Frauenheim-

A shuffle the top of the marquee begins to unfold, almost like a political campaign, in an inevitable transition put into motion by Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao. Despite record-setting revenue, the fight was an artistic flop, yet a sign that the business is moving on in search of new stars.

They’re there, on a list topped by Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford and Roman Gonzalez. A preliminary, yet intriguing move takes place Saturday in the Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale fight at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The HBO-televised bout sets the table.

If Cotto – a prominent face in the Mayweather-Pacquiao generation — wins, it looks as if he’ll face Alvarez for perhaps his last big payday in another chapter in the rich Puerto Rican–Mexican tradition. If Cotto loses, then maybe Golovkin bypasses Carl Froch and goes straight to an anticipated date with Canelo in a bout sure to include Fight-of-the-Year hype.

It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that Golovkin plans to be at ringside for Cotto-Geale. He knocked out Geale. He wants Cotto’s version of the middleweight belt. Of all the potential contenders for the pound-for-pound office about to be vacated by Mayweather, Golovkin looks like the front-runner, both in ring skill and popular appeal.

If there were an election among Mexican fans in Los Angeles, Golovkin, a Kazak, would get a lot of votes. In his last two bouts in LA, the crowd has been filled with people wearing T-shirts and campaign-style button that said: Mexicans for GGG.

There’s A-side leverage in that kind of popularity. At some point, it’s bound to bring GGG out the most-feared category and into a powerful bargaining position. Ducking GGG will soon become a bad business move, especially with the Mayweather-Pacquiao generation at the brink of retirement.

Andre Ward looms as another potential candidate in the race to succeed Mayweather. He’s not as likable as Golovkin. But he might be skilled enough to beat him. We’ll begin to see soon enough. In his first fight since November 16, 2013, Ward faces Paul Smith on June 20 in hometown Oakland.

Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if this race gets as crowded as the one with Republicans running for president. There’s talk that master-tactician Mikey Garcia, an unbeaten super-featherweight at 34-0, is preparing to come back. He hasn’t fought since January 25, 2014.

There’s also Deontay Wilder, the first American with a heavyweight belt since Shannon Briggs, who knocked out Sergei Liakhovich for the WBO title in 2006 and stalking Wladimir Klitschko ever since.

Wilder, likable and probably a couple fights away from seriously challenging Klitschko, has boldly declared his candidacy. Wilder likes to talk and he said a lot in a conference call Wednesday for his first title defense June 13 against unknown Eric Molina in Birmingham, Ala. Wilder said he can be a bigger star than Mayweather.

“Most definitely, and I say that with high confidence because the heavyweight division is the cream of the crop in the first place,’’ said Wilder, the WBC champion. “The things that I bring, the charisma, the excitement, the personality that I have, everything about me is all me. It’s totally me.

“Some guys, when they have cameras in their face, they presume to be a certain type of person or the persona about them changes. When the camera is off, they’re a totally different person. I don’t have split personalities. I’m not a fake person. Everything about me is real. Everything you see on (Showtime) All-Access is me. Nothing is scripted, nothing is planned up, nothing.’’

Nothing, other than being next.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Nearly three weeks have passed since Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision over Manny Pacquiao in the Letdown of the Century and there’s been no backlash.

Canelo Alvarez’ knockout of James Kirkland on May 9 drew HBO’s biggest audience for non-pay-per-view bout since 2006. A week later, there was a capacity crowd at the rebuilt Forum for Gennady Golovkin’s stoppage of Willie Monroe Jr. and Roman Gonzalez’ celebrated return to the U.S. market.

Perhaps, damage from Mayweather-Pacquiao was contained. Maybe, that’s because it was a fight that boxing’s traditional demographic couldn’t afford. It was an event for the one percent, which yawned throughout 12 rounds and then piled into Bugattis, Ferraris and private jets for a holiday aboard Mediterranean yachts.

Truth is, the one percent was probably never coming back anyway. Meanwhile, the game’s loyal customers had already moved on to the leading names in an emerging generation that has supplanted Mayweather and Pacquiao, who were old news before opening bell. Just plain old, too.

Controversy will linger over the Pacquiao-Mayweather money grab, and that’s all it ever was. Conspiracy theories about the severity of Pacquiao’s shoulder injury will circulate and re-circulate.

Mayweather will continue to blame the Filipino for the lousy fight, yet there was never one second when Mayweather ever showed any inclination at taking matters into his own hands. Pacquiao wasn’t throwing punches at his usual rate. There were moments when he appeared to be wide-open for a fight-ending uppercut. But it was never attempted. Mayweather was content to remain in a defensive posture, even backing away on his heels in later rounds when it was clear Pacquiao had no chance. In a Showtime replay, his father and trainer, Floyd Sr., exhorts his son to get more aggressive.

“You fighting like you scared, man,’’ Floyd Sr. said.

In the post-fight news conference, Mayweather repeatedly demanded an apology from pundits who had said the fight didn’t happen five years ago because he was scared of Pacquao.

Did his father apologize for saying it during the fight? Just wondering.

But there’s been no immediate backlash evident at the box office or in the television ratings. Traditional fans had a pretty good idea about what would happen anyway. Mayweather fought as he always has. He took no chances, fighting for another day – or more to the point—another paycheck.

The guess in this corner is that we have seen the last of Pacquaio, at least in the U.S. He was in decline before he underwent surgery for a reported tear in his right shoulder four days after the fight. It’s expected to heal in six to nine months. Maybe he could fight in 2016. But will he be any better then than he has been the last three-to four years? Doubtful.

Then, issues at how and when he disclosed the injury linger. Why at the post-fight news conference and not in documentation before the weigh-in? The Nevada State Athletic Commission has talked about an investigation, saying Pacquiao could be fined or suspended. Meanwhile, more than 30 civil lawsuits have been filed, many listing him as a defendant. The suits appear to be frivolous. If deflated fans can sue Pacquiao, can New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady be next?

But they’re there and they’re a headache. If Pacquiao fights again, maybe it will be in a farewell bout at home in the Philippines or in tax-friendly China. Another fight in the U.S. would probably mean lawyers and legal fees.

Then, there’s Mayweather. If there’s a backlash, he might feel it. Mayweather says he intends to fight in September in what would be the final bout in his six-fight deal with Showtime. It figures to be another PPV telecast, perhaps against Amir Khan. But anecdotal evidence indicates there won’t be many return customers. At least 4.4 million bought the Pacquiao-Mayweather telecast at about $100 for high-def. Those lawsuits, no matter how frivolous, represent a groundswell of anger directed at both Pacquiao and Mayweather.

If there’s a September bout, history will be a big part of the sales pitch. It represents a chance for Mayweather to equal Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record. With a victory, Mayweather could further his claim on the TBE brand, The Best Ever. But even that is problematic. The devil is in the numbers. Mayweather’s caution, never more evident than it was against a vulnerable Pacquiao, has stopped 54.11 percent of his 48 opponents. Marciano scored KOs in 87.76 percent of his bouts. Advantage: Marciano.

Mayweather says he’ll retire after his next fight. But he also says he changes his mind. His pursuit of an unbeaten legacy is reason to think he’ll try to go 50-0 with the 50th bout as the inaugural event at a Las Vegas arena currently under construction.

Mayweather, then a free agent and ever the businessman, could sell No. 50 to the network that offers the most money. But how much would it really be worth? Sift through the remains of Mayweather-Pacquiao, and there’s evidence that it’ll only be a tiny fraction of what looks like a last chance to cash in.

NEW YORK (May 12, 2015)—The boxing blockbuster event, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, shattered the previous record for total pay-per-view buys and now ranks as the highest-grossing pay-per-view of all time. Initial reports from distributors indicate that the event generated more than 4.4 million U.S. buys and more than $400 million in domestic pay-per-view revenue alone. With additional revenue from the live gate at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, international television distribution, sponsorships, closed circuit and merchandise sales, the event is expected to generate in excess of $500 million in gross worldwide receipts. The news was announced jointly by Showtime Networks Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, and HBO in conjunction with event promoters Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank, Inc.

The welterweight world championship unification bout nearly doubled the previous record of 2.48 million buys generated by the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing event in 2007 and nearly tripled the record $150 million in U.S. pay-per-view revenue generated by Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez in 2013.

Live gate receipts for the star-studded event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena produced more than $71 million in revenue, dramatically eclipsing the previous live gate record of $20 million (for Mayweather vs. Canelo) for both the sport of boxing and Las Vegas.

Additionally, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao set the record for closed circuit admissions and revenue both in Las Vegas and at establishments nationwide. The event sold nearly 46,000 closed circuit admissions at MGM Resorts International properties in Las Vegas alone and was available at more than 5,000 bars, restaurants and commercial establishments throughout the U.S.

Distributed in 175 countries worldwide, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was available in essentially 75 percent of the world’s territories, setting the revenue record for international distribution.

As reported last week, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao drew enormous numbers on social media. For example, Facebook reported that 37 million unique people contributed more than 115 million interactions from the start of the event to 30 minutes following its completion, a new record for a boxing event.

The May 2 promotion included unprecedented marketing and cross-promotional support from distributors as well as record revenue from the event’s major sponsors.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was a 12-round welterweight world championship unification bout promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., and co-produced and co-distributed by HBO PPV® and SHOWTIME PPV®.

By Norm Frauenheim-

There are more tired excuses than reasonable explanations for what happened May 2 in the colossal failure to fulfill even a fraction of the expectations for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight.

Still, everybody attached to the pay-per-view affair will try. They have to. Believe it or not, there’s even more money to be made. There are still contracts to fulfill.

Hence, we’ll hear form Mayweather all over again Saturday night (9 p.m. ET/PT) in a Showtime exclusive with Jim Gray in a production titled “Inside MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue.”

After all the outrage throughout the week following the welterweight bout, it sounds more like autopsy than epilogue. Still, it should be interesting to hear Mayweather address a laundry list of issues and allegations that has emerged since his unanimous decision over Pacquiao at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

According to a Showtime release, Mayweather talks about mid-week news that he’d be willing to do a rematch. He confirms he sent a text to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, saying he would be interested in a second fight. In what sounds like good news, however, he’s changed his mind.

“Did I text Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I change my mind,” Mayweather says. “At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward… If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.’ ”

After all the ridicule and criticism of the first fight, wouldn’t a rematch be a working definition of insanity? You know the one about doing the same dumb thing over and over again. Of course, Mayweather might change his mind again. Besides, this is boxing. Oh boy, a trilogy.

According to the release, Mayweather also addresses the post-fight disclosure from Pacquaio that he fought with an injury to his right shoulder. He underwent surgery for a tear on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

“Excuses, excuses, excuses,” says Mayweather, who is 48-0 with one fight left on his Showtime contract. “I’m not going to buy into the bull—… and I don’t want the public to buy into the bull—-. He lost. He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.”

According to the release, Mayweather also says he did not know of Pacquiao’s injury, which is believed to have happened in early April while sparring at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.

In an interview with Filipino media on the Sunday after the fight, Pacquiao alleged sabotage. He said that
Mayweather knew about the shoulder. He alleged that somebody, perhaps a Mayweather plant at the Wild Card, leaked the news.

Pacquiao said Mayweather repeatedly pulled on his right arm in an attempt to aggravate the injury. Pacquiao said he re-injured the shoulder in the fourth, ironically his best round in the 12-round bout.

“Absolutely not,” Mayweather says when asked if he was aware of the injury. “He was fast. His left hand was fast. His right hand was fast and he was throwing them both fast and strong.’’

NEW YORK (May 7, 2015)—Sports Emmy® Award winning reporter Jim Gray of SHOWTIME Sports® sat down with pound-for-pound champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather for an exclusive and candid interview late Tuesday night, just days after Mayweather dominated Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao en route to a 12-round unanimous decision victory last Saturday night in Las Vegas. The interview will premiere this Saturday, May 9, on SHOWTIME immediately following the network’s premiere of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao (9 p.m. ET/PT).

In the interview, Mayweather addresses the claim made by Pacquiao’s camp that the Philippine fighter sustained an injury to his right shoulder that hampered his ability during the bout. Mayweather also discusses the possibility of a rematch with Pacquiao and fighting beyond his next scheduled event in September.

“Absolutely not,” Mayweather told Gray when asked if he could detect a problem with Pacquiao’s shoulder during the bout. “He was fast. His left hand was fast. His right hand was fast and he was throwing them both fast and strong.

“Excuses, excuses, excuses,” continued Mayweather, who remains undefeated in his professional career with 48 wins, no losses and no draws.

“I’m not going to buy into the bull—… and I don’t want the public to buy into the bull—-. He lost. He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.”

Mayweather goes on to address the possibility of a rematch.

“Did I text Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I change my mind,” said Mayweather. “At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward… If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.’”

The compelling interview will air immediately following the SHOWTIME premiere of the welterweight world championship unification bout at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The interview will be immediately followed by the premiere of INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue, the acclaimed original documentary series from SHOWTIME Sports.
# # #
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, FLIX ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

In one of the most-anticipated events on the action-packed HBO Boxing calendar, the brightest, fastest-rising star in the sport meets one of his toughest challenges to date when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: CANELO ALVAREZ VS. JAMES KIRKLAND AND HUMBERTO SOTO VS. FRANKIE GOMEZ is seen SATURDAY, MAY 9 at 9:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from Minute Maid Park in Houston, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside to call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: May 10 (10:30 a.m.) and 11 (11:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: May 10 (3:00 p.m.) and 12 (11:30 p.m.)

Canelo Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) of Jalisco, Mexico and James Kirkland (32-1, 28 KOs) of Austin, Tex. will compete in a scheduled 12-round super welterweight fight. Both men are known for an aggressive, come-forward style, which should produce an all-action affair.

Following an impressive 2014 campaign that included victories over fierce brawler Alfredo Angulo and crafty southpaw Erislandy Lara, Alvarez, 24, makes his 2015 debut looking for another dominant performance in his return to Texas, where a fervent fan base will provide a hometown feel for the Mexican slugger.

With just two fights over the last three years, including a stunning knockout of Glen Tapia in 2013, Kirkland, 31, returns rested and primed for battle. The Texas native boasts remarkable knockout power, having not allowed any opponent to reach the final bell since 2007. The winner will be in line for a super welterweight title fight later this year.

A scheduled ten-round super lightweight fight opens the evening, with seasoned veteran Humberto Soto (65-8-2, 35 KOs) squaring off against undefeated Frankie Gomez (18-0, 13 KOs). Soto, 34, is a former three-division champion coming off a decisive victory last September over John Molina, Jr., while unbeaten prospect Gomez, 23, continues to rise in the ranks.

Leading off the telecast will be the replay of the May 2nd blockbuster pay-per-view event from Las Vegas in which Floyd Mayweather met Manny Pacquiao in a much anticipated welterweight unification title bout.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao will have surgery on his torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder following his loss to Floyd Mayweather this past Saturday in Las Vegas.

“We have an MRI scan that confirms he has a rotator cuff tear. He has a significant tear,” said Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who was still with Pacquiao at his Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic office in Los Angeles when he spoke to ESPN.com.

“After speaking with the doctor, it was determined that the best method and approach is for Manny to have surgery,” Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz said. “Manny is doing OK.”

“Manny did the best he could under the circumstances,” Koncz said. “We have to give Floyd credit, too. Floyd was the better man [Saturday] night. Floyd did a tremendous job, and he won the fight.”

“Once you know he has a tear that’s not going to heal on its own, then the decision for an active person is you want to try to fix this before it gets bigger,” ElAttrache said. “If all goes as expected with the surgery and the rehab is successful, Manny could be back training in about six months. At that point, he will be regaining strength and endurance, and competition is reasonable within nine months to a year. But this is a severe enough tear that it won’t heal without being repaired.”

“It’s part of the game,” Pacquiao said at the postfight news conference. “I don’t want to make alibis or complain or anything [but] it’s hard to fight one-handed.”

“I thought he fought a courageous fight under all the circumstances, and I’m very proud of what he accomplished tonight,” Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said of Pacquiao at the postfight news conference.

“The medications he was taking were disclosed on his medical questionnaire, but not the actual injury,” Aguilar said after the fight. “This isn’t our first fight. This is our business. There is a process, and when you try to screw with the process, it’s not going to work for you.”

“Athletes always fight hurt,” Arum said at the news conference. “We felt that the work that was done on the shoulder during training would give him the opportunity to use the right hand. We were disappointed when in the third round the injury kicked up again, but this is always the case with sports. You get guys injured in training. He then deals with the injury, he thinks he’s conquered it and then he gets re-injured in the game. It happens in football. It happens in any sport.”

“If [Pacquiao] would have come out victorious, the only thing I could have got up here and said was, ‘I have to show respect and say he was the better man,'” Mayweather said. “Both my arms were injured. Both my hands were injured, but as I’ve said before, I always find a way to win.”

They said that after the injury Pacquiao saw a doctor and it was decided that “with short rest, treatments, and close monitoring, Manny could train and, on May 2, step into the ring against Floyd Mayweather.

“Manny’s advisors notified the United States Anti-Doping Agency of the shoulder injury and the treatments being proposed by the doctors during training and on fight night. USADA spoke to Manny’s doctors twice, investigated, and confirmed in writing that the proposed treatments, if used, were completely allowed. The medication approved for fight night was a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory [Toradol]. Manny continued to train and his shoulder improved, though not 100 percent. This is boxing, injuries happen, and Manny is a warrior. Again, in consultation with his doctors, promoter and advisors, Manny decided to proceed with the fight anticipating that he could receive his pre-fight treatment. That specific treatment had been approved by USADA in writing at least 5 days before the fight.” Pacquiao and Arum also said they believed that because the medications he was taking were disclosed that he would be able to continue with the treatment on fight night.

“On his pre-fight medical form filled out earlier in the week, Manny’s advisors listed the medications that Manny used in training and the medications that might be used on fight night,” they said in the statement. “A few hours before he was expected to step in the ring, when Manny’s doctors began the process, the Nevada commission stopped the treatment because it said it was unaware of Manny’s shoulder injury. This was disappointing to Team Pacquiao since they had disclosed the injury and treatment to USADA, USADA approved the treatments, and Manny had listed the medication on his pre-fight medical form.

“Also, USADA had provided a copy of its contract with the fighters to the commission. An hour before the fight, Manny’s advisors asked the commission to reconsider and the director of USADA advised the commission that USADA had approved the fight-night treatment, but the commission denied the request. “With the advice of his doctors, Manny still decided to proceed with the fight. His shoulder wasn’t perfect but it had improved in training camp. However, as Manny has said multiple times, he makes no excuses. Manny gave it his best.”

During training, Manny Pacquiao suffered a right shoulder injury. Manny went to see world-class doctors, partners in the prestigious Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic, who performed tests and, in consultation with Manny, his promoter, and his advisors, concluded that with short rest, treatments, and close monitoring, Manny could train and, on May 2, step into the ring against Floyd Mayweather.

Manny’s advisors notified the United States Anti-Doping Agency (“USADA”) of the shoulder injury and the treatments being proposed by the doctors during training and on fight night. USADA spoke to Manny’s doctors twice, investigated, and confirmed in writing that the proposed treatments, if used, were completely allowed. The medication approved for fight night was a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (Toradol).

Manny continued to train and his shoulder improved, though not 100%. This is boxing, injuries happen, and Manny is a warrior. Again, in consultation with his doctors, promoter and advisors, Manny decided to proceed with the fight anticipating that he could receive his pre-fight treatment. That specific treatment had been approved by USADA in writing at least 5 days before the fight.

On his pre-fight medical form filled out earlier in the week, Manny’s advisors listed the medications that Manny used in training and the medications that might be used on fight night. A few hours before he was expected to step in the ring, when Manny’s doctors began the process, the Nevada Commission stopped the treatment because it said it was unaware of Manny’s shoulder injury.

This was disappointing to Team Pacquiao since they had disclosed the injury and treatment to USADA, USADA approved the treatments, and Manny had listed the medication on his pre-fight medical form.

Also, USADA had provided a copy of its contract with the fighters to the Commission. An hour before the fight, Manny’s advisors asked the Commission to reconsider and the director of USADA advised the Commission that USADA had approved the fight-night treatment, but the Commission denied the request.

With the advice of his doctors, Manny still decided to proceed with the fight. His shoulder wasn’t perfect but it had improved in training camp.

However, as Manny has said multiple times, he makes no excuses. Manny gave it his best.

Philadelphia, PA (May 4, 2015)– This past weekend in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fought in what was the most anticipated bout in a generation. Several big name fighters were in attendance, but the one who appealed most to the hundreds of thousands of fans who flocked Sin City for the fight was “The Siberian Rocky” Ruslan Provodnikov.

Provodnikov posed for hundreds of pictures and signed countless autographs. He also participated in “Radio Row” where he talked on a plethora radio stations from around the country.

Provodnikov was also spotted and recognized by “A-List” celebrities who actually asked to take their pictures with the Jr. Welterweight star at the HBO/Showtime pre-fight,red carpet party.

Saturday’s welterweight unification showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will premiere on SHOWTIME® next Saturday, May 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The delayed telecast of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will feature exclusive analysis from SHOWTIME boxing experts and will be immediately followed by the premiere of INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue. The Sports Emmy Award-Winning “Epilogue” shines the spotlight on fight week and takes viewers inside the ropes and into the mind of a prizefighter like no other show on television.

# # #

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, FLIX ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

New York, NY – May 4, 2015 – For the first time ever, a pay-per-view blockbuster world championship fight will be seen in space, as SHOWTIME Sports® and HBO Sports® have partnered with NASA to release the welterweight title unification bout between 11-time, five-division world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and eight-division world champion Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao to the United States astronaut crew on the International Space Station. At the request of the ISS, the fight was packaged and delivered for the crew to watch at their leisure. Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in Saturday night’s main event, and remains undefeated with a record of 48-0.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was a 12-round welterweight world championship unification bout promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., and sponsored by Tecate. The pay-per-view telecast was co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® on Saturday, May 2 live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

By Bart Barry–

Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena, in the best fight of May 2015, so far, American Floyd “Money” Mayweather easily decisioned Filipino Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, and more importantly, he made $100 million. Official scores went: 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110. Only one judge got right a match in which Pacquiao won two rounds, Mayweather possibly lost two rounds, and the rest were not close.

If there is a happy take-away from Saturday for our beloved sport, it is no better than this: Realizing, for once, the average pay-per-viewer drunkenly echolocates boxing telecasts like a bat – forming a picture in his mind as much from what he hears as what fills his eyes – the cocommentating crew from cable networks HBO and Showtime checked-and-balanced itself to an objective broadcast that presented the fight in its lopsided lack of glory, engendering no claims of scandal.

If historians return to Mayweather-Pacquiao someday, though its ultimate irrelevance is probable, it will be to mark a very talented athlete’s final vengeance on a sport he’d grown to hate deeply. There will be a montage of essential moments in this marking: Mayweather gloomily glancing down on Pacquiao’s forehead at the Friday weighin, Mayweather standing directly in front of Pacquiao with his gloves at his waist, Mayweather skipping frantically away in round 12, and Mayweather standing on a ringpost to yell at a large assemblage of people who realized they’d been had again – and this time, worst of all, by five years of their own imaginings.

Manny Pacquiao deserves no praise for his Saturday effort. He made no adjustments. He took entire rounds off. And he gracelessly claimed he won the fight afterwards and further subverted what esteem aficionados held for him, hours later, by attributing his listlessness to a shoulder injury – as if he’d not used that same shoulder to raise his arms jubilantly overhead at the Friday weighin. Coach Freddie, whose termination is likely in promoter Top Rank’s third Manny remake (since already it’s apparent the injured-shoulder gambit smells too desperate), deserves even less praise than Pacquiao does; he trained his charge for a fighter with no more dimensions than Antonio Margarito showed. Sure, Mayweather was much faster at evading counters than Roach was on the handpads, and for an injured fighter Pacquiao certainly hurled that counter right hook, didn’t he, but ultimately Mayweather used the playbook Juan Manuel Marquez wrote in 42 rounds against Pacquiao to expose exactly how little Roach actually taught Pacquiao in their vaunted educational sessions together.

Commentator Jim Lampley was right in his midfight allusion to Marquez-Pacquiao 3, the match whose second half saw Pacquiao hopelessly swim at Marquez, taking five steps where Marquez needed two, and thoughts of Marquez returned, too, in round 9 when Mayweather caught Pacquiao pure with a right cross the much larger man did not plant on, and it was a reminder why, whoever will be recalled as the greater fighter, Marquez will remain the more beloved one for showing a form of courage with which Mayweather is yet to familiarize himself.

How enormous must Mayweather have looked to Pacquiao in that opening round? Seven-feet and about 250 pounds, probably, as Mayweather’s chin was farther from Pacquiao’s anxious fists as any chin ever has been. Unsurprisingly, Paulie Malignaggi, already our generation’s best commentator, seated beside Lennox Lewis, easily its worst, was the one to distill the fight to its quintessence: Mayweather fought at his desired time and distance, and Pacquiao did not.

In round 4 Pacquiao finally caught Mayweather with a punch, countering him with a left cross the same way Marcos Maidana countered him with a right hand in September, and Mayweather put his hands up, retreated and felt what Manny had for him. Which was not much. Pacquiao fought “intelligently” and retreated himself, back to the middle of the ring, so as not to expend energy carelessly. Imagine that: Pacquiao calculated he had a better chance of outsmarting Mayweather than outworking him. It was a reminder, along with Mayweather’s considerable size advantage, of the second part that made this fight a mismatch the day it was signed: Pacquiao, since his 2010 fight with Margarito, is fractionally active as laymen think he is. Pacquiao lost a 2012 decision to Timothy Bradley because he was inactive and inaccurate. He opted for frantic activity in his fourth match with Marquez and got iced. Mismatches with punching bags got split by a rematch with Bradley in which Pacquiao, promised the benefit of every scoring doubt, fought no more than 90 seconds of each round. A kinder and wiser Pacquiao is what aficionados have been served for 4 1/2 years now.

The only chance Pacquiao had or would ever have against Mayweather is if science somehow took the wildcat demon who shredded Erik Morales nine years ago and added 20 pounds of muscle to his frame without slowing him a wink. An impossible thing, in other words, Pacquiao ever had a chance against Mayweather, and every single reader of this column knew it the night Marquez left Pacquiao in a heap, and then we chose to suspend our disbelief because a boxing promoter is good at nothing so much as legerdemain, waving crazily a Chris Algieri doll in his right hand while palming the two-headed Marquez coin in his left.

Those who surround Floyd Mayweather know he cannot imagine boxing in his absence; for Mayweather, the sport of boxing ends the day he retires. Because of Mayweather, few of us will have the presence or means to argue with him when that day comes. Against the future of boxing, then, I’ll take Mayweather: UD-49.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

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HBO Sports presents FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS. MANNY PACQUIAO, the replay of their high-stakes world welterweight unification title fight, SATURDAY, MAY 9 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on HBO. The pay-per-view broadcast team, which was ringside at the MGM Grand Garden Arena describing the blow-by-blow, calls all the action. The telecast will be available in HDTV.

The bout featured boxing’s two biggest superstars in a showdown that was six years in the making and captivated sports fans worldwide. The event took place Saturday, May 2, and was carried live on pay-per-view.

The replay will be paired with the previously announced “HBO World Championship Boxing®” live doubleheader from Minute Maid Park in Houston that will be headlined by the highly anticipated super welterweight collision between Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland. That event marks Canelo’s 2015 ring debut.

Other HBO playdates for all three bouts: May 10 (10:30 a.m.) and May 11 (11:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates for all three bouts: May 10 (3:00 p.m.) and May 12 (11:30 p.m.)

® HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Follow all the action live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as the long awaited super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Maanny Pacquiao is a finally here. All the action begins at 9 PM with a 2 fight undercard featuring world champion Vasyl Lomachenko defending his Featherweight title against Gamalier Rodriguez as well as Leo Santa Cruz battling Jose Cayetano

12 ROUNDS–WBA, WBC, WBO WELTERWEIGHT TITLE–FLOYD MAYWEATHER (47-0, 26 KO’S) VS MANNY PACQUIAO (57-5-2, 38 KO’S)

ROUND 1 Good right from Mayweather..hard right..10-9 Mayweather

Round 2 Pacquiao lands a left to the body…Mayweather lands a right…Pacquiao lands a left..19-19

Round 3 Mayweather lands a lead right..Pacquiao gets in a body shot..Lead right from Mayweather..Hard right…29-28 Mayweather

Round 4 Pacquiao landing combinations on the ropes..Big left stuns Mayweather..Pacquiao lands a flurry on the ropes..Big right hook..Mayweather lands a right..Pacquiao gets a left and a body shot..38-38

Round 5 2 hard rights from Mayweather..Jab..48-47 Mayweather

Round 6 Straight left from Pacquiao…straight left to body..Pacqui landimg combos on the ropes..57-57

Round 7 Good right from Mayweather..Left from Pacquiao..67-67

Round 8 Pacquiao lands a left..body shot..Hard right from Mayweather..and another..77-76 Mayweather

Round 9 Hard left from Pacquiao…86-86

Round 10 left to body from Pacquiao..Mayweather lands a jab..Good counter right from Mayweather..96-95 Mayweather..

Round 11right from Mayweather..Bidy shot from Pacquiao..right from Mayweather…hook..106-104 Mayweather

Round 12 Mayweather getting away from Pacquiao…116-113 Mayweather

118-110, 116-112 2 times for Floyd Mayweather

10 ROUND FEATHERWEIGHTS–LEO SANTA CRUZ (29-0-1, 17 KO’S) VS JOSE CAYETANO (17-3, 8 KO’S)

ROUND 1 Big right from Santa Cruz…2 rights..Left from cayetano,,,10-9 Santa Cruz

Round 2 2 rights from Santa Cruz…hard right…Cayetano lands a left..20-18 Santa Cruz

Round 3 Santa Cruz lands a right..Hard right to the head..2 more rights…30-27 Santa Cruz

Round 4 Santa Cruz lands a body shot…40-36 Santa Cruz

Round 5 Hard right from Santa Cruz…50-45 Santa Cruz

Round 6 Santa Cruz lands 2 lefts to the body...60-54 Santa Cruz

Round 7 2 hard shots on the ropes…70-63 Santa Cruz

Round 8 Santa Cruz has a knot on his forehead…79-73 Santa Cruz

Round 9 santa Cruz continue to dominate ...89-82 Santa Cruz

Round 10 99-91 Santa Cruz

100-90 on all cards for Leo Santa Cruz

12 ROUNDS WBO FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE–VASYL LOMACHENKO (3-1, 1 KO) VS GAMALIER RODRIGUEZ (25-2-3, 17 KO’S)

Round 1 Straight left from Lomachenko..combination..10-9 Lomachenko

Round 2 20-19 Lomachenko

Round 3 Lomachenko lands a combination…30-28 Lomacohenk

Round 4 Rodriguez is cut over his right eye..Hard left from Loamchenko..Body shots..Hard right hook…40-37 Lomachenko

Round 5 Rodriguez docked a point for a low blow..Fast combination from Lomachenko….50-45 Lomachenko

Round 6 Lomachenko landing alot more…60-54 Lomachenko

Round 7 Hard body shot from Lomachenko….COMBINATION AND DOWN GOES RODRIGUEZ..70-62 Lomachenko

Round 8 Uppercut, right and uppercut from Lomachenko..Rodriguez gets another point deducted for a low blow..3 punch combination…80-70 Lomachenko

Round 9 BIG RIGHT HOOK AND DOWN GOES RODRIGUEZ AND HE TAKES REFEREE ROBERT BYRD’S 10 COUNT AND THE FIGHT IS OVER