Pacquiao tested free of steroids

Steroid claim fuel Pacman-Floyd MANILA – Seven-time world champ Manny Pacquiao has tested clean following his sensational win over Miguel Cotto, despite accusations made by Floyd Mayweather Sr. that the Filipino boxer “used performance-enhancing drugs.”
Keith Kizer, Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director, told SI.com that Pacquiao underwent urine tests before and after the fight “– before and after the fight -- and both came back negative.”
This is the 10th time Pacquiao turned in clean tests in Nevada.
Mayweather Sr., father of former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., earlier said Pacquiao’s win over the “bigger” Cotto proved his claim that the Filipino boxer was into “something else”.
In an interview with SI.com’s Chris Mannix, Mayweather Sr. said Pacquiao's ability to take Cotto's power punches proved the champion was taking performance-enhancing substances.
His son Floyd is reportedly being eyed as Pacquiao’s next opponent for a mega-buck clash sometime in 2010.
"I know Floyd is the best," Mayweather Sr. said in the interview. "But when [your opponent] uses something illegal, even the best can get hurt."
Mayweather Sr., however, could not present evidence to back his claim.
Even boxer Paulie Malignaggi, who lost to Cotto, hinted that Pacquiao may be “on to something.”
“Full blown welterweights don’t take those type of punches from Miguel Cotto the way he (Pacquiao) took them with total disregard for his power nor do they hurt him with every punch they hit him with… There is something that seriously makes me feel weird about Manny Pacquiao. I am going to leave it at that,” he said in a report by NowBoxing.com.
Pacquiao: I’m clean
Even before the Cotto fight, Pacquiao has denied accusations that he used steroids to maintain his strength despite climbing weight.
He even joked he has no idea how steroids look like.
"Maybe all of them -- they're using the steroids, and not me," Pacquiao said in a report by FanHouse.com. "You know what? I don't even know what a steroid is. I've never done that."
Pacquiao’s coach Freddie Roach, for his part, said Floyd Sr. is just bitter over his ward’s victories, especially over Ricky Hatton.
“Steroids? Where in the hell did that come from? You know, these guys, they had to come up with a reason why they lost. They lost because [Floyd Sr.] sucks as a trainer and I had the better fighter,” said Roach.
Mayweather Sr. was Hatton’s head coach when the British boxer suffered a second round knockout in the hands of Pacquiao.
Kizer backed the Filipino fighter by saying that Pacquiao has consistently passed every NSAC drug test he underwent.
“All I can tell you is that Pacquiao, every time he's fought here [in Nevada, has] been tested, as well as his opponents,” he said.
Controversy adds drama to Pacman-Floyd
Aside from the “money talk” anticipated in the negotiations, the steroids issue has further heightened the drama in the possible Pacquiao-Mayweather match up.
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather are considered as the best in the sport today. Analysts said a clash between the two fighters will definitely boost the boxing scene.
Pacquiao (50-3-2 with 38 knockouts), the reigning pound-for-pound king, holds the distinction of being the only boxer that held seven world titles in as many divisions.
Mayweather, the No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer, remains undefeated in 40 fights.

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Mayweather waiting for Pacquiao to say he wants to fight

Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he wants to hear Manny Pacquiao say he wants to fight him.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, and Freddie Roach, his trainer, have discussed the possibility of a showdown between the top two fighters in the world. And Pacquiao said he believes Mayweather doesn’t want to fight him.

However, Mayweather says Pacquiao has never said: “I want to fight Mayweather.” And he believes there might a specific reason for that.

"Manny Pacquiao is the fighter and every time someone asks him if he wants to fight me, he says it is up to his promoter, he's going to take a vacation, whatever the answer is,” Mayweather said in a prepared statement two days after Pacquiao knocked out Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas. I have yet to hear him actually say, 'Yes I want to fight Mayweather.' We are the fighters and if one fighter is talking about fighting another fighter, then they should just come out and say it. Manny Pacquiao doesn't say anything directly about fighting me because he might just know it's not a fight he can win.

"He said during an interview he did leading up to his fight that he didn't think I wanted to fight him and that boxing for me was just a business and I wasn't interested in a good fight. But again, he never said during that interview that he would fight me. Why is he talking about what I won't do instead of what he wants to do? Plain and simple, it's because he knows he can't beat me under any circumstances.”

Mayweather, never hesitant to blow his own horn, said the Pacquiao-Cotto fight amounted to a “Mayweather sweepstakes.”

"Less than an hour after his fight Saturday night the talk turns back to me,” he said. “Their whole promotion was just a Mayweather sweepstakes. They know it and anyone could figure that out. Why? Because my name kept coming up and I didn't even say anything. Even when he was interviewed on ESPN by Brian Kenny, he was asked about fighting me and what did he say? Not, 'Yes I want to fight Mayweather” or “bring it on.' But no! He said, 'Hum, ahh, well, talk to my promoter.'”

Mayweather implied that Pacquiao isn’t what he is perceived to be.

"The world is much more intrigued by the thought of someone fighting me who can beat me,” he said. “That is what everyone wants to see and the boxing world is trying to find that guy. Manny Pacquaio's people have done a good job of creating an image of him to be this unbelievable fighter and now the so-called guy to beat me. But like all the rest, he's not the one. There is boxing and then there is me. The rest are just falling in line behind me or are trying to get in line to fight me. And that includes Manny Pacquiao, too.”

"Tell Manny Pacquiao to be his own man and stop letting everyone, including his loudmouth trainer, talk for him. I am my own boss, speak for myself and tell it like it is. If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight me, all he has to do is step up to the plate and say it himself."
-By Michael Rosenthal

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All Mayweather does is run - Roach

HOLLYWOOD -- Freddie Roach’s hands shook with excitement as he talked about a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“It will be the biggest pay-per-view event of all time,” said the man who just steered Manny Pacquiao to a historic 12th round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto last Saturday at the MGM Grand.
Roach said a fight with Mayweather, which may or may not happen, will break all existing records if it does, and will be watched by more people even if it wouldn’t be as exciting as Pacquiao’s previous fights.
The three-time American trainer of the year smiled when told that Mayweather, who came out of a long retirement to beat Juan Marquez last September, said Pacquiao remains a “one-dimensional” fighter.
“One dimensional? Well let’s fight and see,” said Roach.
“If that’s the case, all he does is run. He’s one dimensional, too -- run, run, run. Then we’ll attack, attack, attack and that will make it a big fight,” said Roach who just saw Pacquiao off the door of his gym.
Pacquiao dropped by at the Wild Card Gym late in the afternoon as part of a tradition. He always visits the gym on the Monday after a fight, get a few words with his chief trainer, and greet his loyal supporters.
The pound-for-pound champion did not stay long this time as he needed to go to a nearby hospital to have x-rays on his swollen right hand. However, he said he felt better now than the day after the fight.
He heard about Mayweather’s comment that he’s a one-dimensional fighter.
“Ako? Eh, yun ang style ko eh (But that’s my style). In and out, in and out,” he said.
Roach said a fight with Mayweather would be difficult to make because of all the money involved, adding that if the flamboyant American would agree to a 60/40 split, in Pacquiao’s favor, then it could happen.
“We need to negotiate for the money and the weight, but I want the fight at 145 lb. Mayweather still doesn’t have that huge audience so I would go for 60-40 for Manny,” said Roach.
Roach added that if it’s Mayweather, March 13, being penciled by Top Rank as the date for Pacquiao’s next fight, may not be a good date.
“If it’s Mayweather, we need time to get ready for that fight. We have to come out with a real different style. It’s a whole different ballgame,” he said, adding that there wouldn’t be a need for a tune-up fight if that’s the case.
“If we get Mayweather, why risk losing that (tune-up) fight. I’d say he rest for a while, enjoy the holidays, run for elections, and the Congressman Manny Pacquiao will kick Mayweather’s ass,” said Roach.
Roach said while last Saturday’s fight looked one-sided to some, it should definitely be more exciting than a Pacquiao-Mayweather.
“Cotto came to fight and Mayweather comes to run. He makes a boring fight, but a lot of people will buy tickets to see him lose. So it would be a huge fight. I agree, but it would be less exciting than other Manny Pacquiao fights.
“It could be like when Cotto started running in the end, and Manny said, “Do you want to run or do you want to fight?’” - By Abac Cordero (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com) 

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Fight not made, but line is

LAS VEGAS (AP)—The fight hasn’t been made yet, and may not ever happen. But this city’s casinos are already taking bets on who will win if Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. ever get into the ring.
Pacquiao, coming off his dominating win over Miguel Cotto, opened as an 8-5 favorite at sports books operated by Station Casinos, and it didn’t take long for bettors to take a side. Several $20,000 bets were put down on Mayweather, forcing the line down to 7-5 in the early going, said Art Manteris, the casino operator’s vice president of sports book operations.
“It’s been pretty decisive in the early going,” Manteris said. “I think I made the line a little too high but that’s the nature of the business.”

Manteris said he made Pacquiao the favorite based largely on the public perception of his big win over Cotto. Most of the early bets, he said, came from professional handicappers, who thought the line was too high.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said he was ready to begin negotiations with Mayweather’s promoter on a fight, while Mayweather issued a statement Monday saying he wanted to hear from Pacquiao himself that he really wants the fight.
“Tell Manny Pacquiao to be his own man and stop letting everyone, including his loudmouth trainer, talk for him,” Mayweather said. “I am my own boss, speak for myself and tell it like it is. If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight me, all he has to do is step up to the plate and say it himself.”
Pacquiao told The Associated Press last month he didn’t think Mayweather wanted to fight him, and criticized the undefeated fighter for fighting too defensively and not trying to entertain fans.
His trainer, Freddie Roach, said after the Cotto fight that Pacquiao would be more than happy to fight Mayweather, but that Mayweather wasn’t going to dictate the terms of the fight. Talks will likely be difficult, especially when it comes to what percentage of the revenues each fighter would receive.
The fight, though, has the possibility of becoming the richest ever and many in boxing assume that there is far too much money to be made for the fight not to happen.
“I think that’s the fight the world wants to see,” Roach said. “But if Floyd wants a 65-35 split (of the purse) he’s not going to get it.”
Assuming the fight can be made, it would likely take place next May. Las Vegas casinos would have the inside track on landing it, but there has been speculation that it could go somewhere like the new Dallas Cowboys stadium or even Yankee Stadium.
Any bets made on the fight will be refunded if it is not held by the end of 2010.

By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Boxing Writer
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It’s inevitable: Pacquiao and Mayweather will meet

LAS VEGAS – It was a simple question that left Bob Arum struggling for an answer: In his 43 years of promoting boxing matches, has there ever been a fight that the public demanded that, eventually, was not made?
After much difficulty, Arum had to fudge a little to come up with an answer: He chose a rematch.
And he’s right. The public badly wanted a rematch between Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad after their first bout, on Sept. 18, 1999, ended in much controversy with a Trinidad victory via majority decision.
“That was a fight that clearly had a lot of public demand and that never got made, and I am sad to say I am one of the people to blame,” Arum said. “[Trinidad promoter Don] King and I wound up arguing over stupid [expletive] and it never did happen.”

But at least Trinidad and De La Hoya did fight each other. As did Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. And Tyson and Lennox Lewis. And Lewis and Holyfield. And Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. The list rolls on.
Boxing often suffers from self-immolation, but the one thing that eventually always happens is that the biggest fights get made.
And so, somehow, some way, at some point, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will fight each other. Guaranteed.
Oh, it may not happen the next time out for each man, though it should. And there will be a lot of nasty exchanges along the way toward getting it done. But it will get done. Count on it. There is too much money in it for it not to happen.
And if one or the other, or both, loses, it would severely dampen enthusiasm for the bout and would cost each millions.
The question is not if it will happen but rather how well it will do on pay-per-view when it eventually is signed. The pay-per-view results for Saturday’s bout between Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, in which Pacquiao put on a spectacular show in stopping Cotto in the 12th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, still aren’t in.
Indications are ripe that the number will be large, perhaps as high as 1.5 million, but even Arum was urging restraint.
“We’ll know the satellite (sales) numbers by the end of the day (Tuesday) and then we will at least have some kind of an idea of what the final number will be,” Arum said. “Right now, anything we say is speculation that doesn’t mean a thing.”
Most of the speculation is uninformed. What is not speculation is the public demand for this fight, which exceeds the demand for any fight since Tyson and Lewis finally fought in 2002 after years of wrangling.
De La Hoya and Mayweather fought in 2007 in a bout that sold a record 2.45 million pay-per-view units, though there wasn’t nearly the kind of demand among the public for that fight that there is for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.
Each man has a claim to be boxing’s pound-for-pound king.
Each has knocked off a series of the game’s top fighters.
Each is among the sport’s most popular fighters and bankable stars.
Each has won championships in multiple weight classes.
And each has crossed into the mainstream.
Mayweather has appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” and in the main event of “WrestleMania 25.” Pacquiao has gained such notoriety that he was on the cover of the Asian edition of Time Magazine and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton picked him to beat Cotto, referring to him by his nickname, Pacman.
Mayweather manager Leonard Ellerbe said his fighter is willing to take the fight “seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” but said “the lion’s share of the money” would have to go to Mayweather.
“This is business, not a high school popularity contest,” Ellerbe said. “Look at the three common opponents. Floyd did 2.45 million against Oscar De La Hoya; Pacquiao did 1.25 (million). Floyd did a million against (Juan Manuel) Marquez; they are lucky if their two fights combined did 800,000.
(Editor’s note: The first Pacquiao-Marquez bout, in 2004, was on HBO and not on pay-per-view).)
“We did 940,000 with Ricky Hatton and they did 810,000. Those are the numbers and the numbers don’t lie.”
The public, though, doesn’t care about the numbers, not when each man is guaranteed eight-figure paydays. The public, and not just boxing fans, badly wants to see a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight – or should it be Pacquiao-Mayweather? – and the pay-per-view figures likely will dwarf anything that either man has done so far.
Arum, who is usually among the most hyperbolic of men, wouldn’t even touch the question of whether the potential bout could do 3 million on pay-per-view. The earliest the bout would occur, if it were to be made, likely would be May 2010, putting it three years after Mayweather-De La Hoya did 2.45 million.
“We can’t go back to the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight and say, ‘Well, because that fight did so great, this fight will, too,’ ” Arum said. “Obviously, I know Pacquiao-Mayweather is a big, big fight. But we don’t know what the elements were that drove De La Hoya-Mayweather to the number it reached. That number they got was so much higher than anything imaginable. I can’t tell you why necessarily that happened, so how can I then say a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight will exceed it? We need more information still.”
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, who promoted the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight, believes that with a larger universe of pay-per-view homes, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight can outdo it.
“It’s the kind of fight that I think has the potential to break 5 million,” Schaefer said. “I really think so. It’s a fight that will have people all over the world glued to their TV screens, whether they’re boxing fans or sports fans or general public. This is clearly an event people want to see.
“I can not remember any fight where, pretty much the second that [Pacquiao-Cotto] was over, the fans started chanting ‘We want Floyd! We want Floyd!’ The whole world, internationally, here, in Europe, in Asia, they want to see Mayweather fight Pacquiao. Everyone agrees these are the two best and it seems to me this fight has become bigger than the sport of boxing.”
MGM Grand race & sports book director Jay Rood said he will make Mayweather a very slight favorite when the bout is placed on the board.
Mayweather said he’s willing to take the bout, and grudgingly gave Pacquiao credit for his performance in stopping Cotto 55 seconds into the 12th round. In what is perhaps a sign of what will come, though, Mayweather wasn’t about to shower Pacquiao with too much praise.
Arum had predicted before the fight that reporters wouldn’t give Pacquiao full credit for beating Cotto because he said they’d point to Cotto’s 2008 loss to Antonio Margarito and suggest that Cotto was damaged goods.
Margarito was subsequently discovered trying to use an illegal knuckle pad in his hand wraps, prompting speculation he had his wraps loaded when he fought Cotto.
Mayweather simply said Cotto wasn’t the same fighter he’d seen earlier.
“Miguel Cotto was a totally different fighter than he was before the Margarito fight,” Mayweather said. “He was only a shell of himself, though that’s not to take anything away from Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao did what he was supposed to do. But it’s a whole different stratosphere getting up in there with Floyd Mayweather.
“Manny Pacquiao knows what time of day it is. That’s why he’s not so quick to jump his ass up in there.”

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Pacquiao-Mayweather match must be made

LAS VEGAS – Just minutes after Manny Pacquiao had violently turned Miguel Cotto’s face into raw hamburger, the chant rose up from the stands of the MGM Grand Garden Arena:

“We want Floyd.”
Pacquiao had delivered a systematic demolition job of Cotto, winning the World Boxing Organization welterweight title via 12th round TKO with round after round of devastating shots against a bigger, stronger man.

It was the second electrifying boxing performance of the fall. The first was Floyd Mayweather Jr’s 12-round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in September. That fight broke the rare 1 million pay-per-view bar, a number that will likely be exceeded by this fight too.

So now the stage is set for a super fight that could set box office records – Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. It’s the dream bout between the two best pound-for-pound champions in the sport, hopefully sometime in 2010.

“If Floyd Mayweather wants to fight Manny Pacquiao he knows who to call,” said Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank Boxing, the promotion which handles Pacquiao.

Within minutes, Ross Greenberg, the head of HBO Sports said he had spoken to Richard Shaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather.

“Richard told me point blank, Bob Arum will be getting that call Monday,” Greenberg said. “He plans on meeting next week with Bob to make the Mayweather fight.”

There will, no doubt, be posturing and preening and negotiating over the split. There are no small egos in this battle; no small checks, either.

“Benjamin Franklin is the most important personality [in the negotiation],” said Greenberg, whose company would handle the pay-per-view. “His face, multiplied by 15 million brings people to the table. Each guy needs to look at the big picture and the big picture is a boat load of cash and a fight too important for the sport.”

Greenberg said the 2007 fight between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya resulted in an $80 million purse.

“Is this one smaller?” Greenberg said, shaking his head. “Bigger.”

For boxing fans who care little about who gets more of the final millions and just want to see two legendary fighters in the prime of their careers, this will be a tantalizing wait.

“I think that is the fight the world wants to see,” Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said.

Pacquiao’s performance here was a thing of beauty, the continuation of a run of brilliance. He chopped a big, powerful opponent down with a combination of speed, smarts and toughness to take shots of his own.

He didn’t shy away from leaning on the ropes and mixing it up with Cotto because he said he wanted to prove he can fight a physical fight and was tired of hearing about Cotto’s supposed strength.

“I yelled at him every time, why are you fighting his fight?” Roach said. “Manny says, ‘I can handle it.’ I said, ‘Well, prove it.’ And he did.”

Post-fight, Cotto was sent to a local trauma unit. Pacquiao performed an eight-song set with his band at an outdoor concert at Mandalay Bay.

The night left little doubt about his genius.
Pacquiao, 30, who has won titles in a record six or seven weight classes (depending on which version of history you believe), said his 5-foot-6 frame can’t handle a weight higher than 145, so he’s running out of challengers.

The only real one left is Mayweather, 32, the 5-foot-7 welterweight who presents his own combination of historic quickness, boxing smarts and defensive skills.

Likewise, Pac-man is about the only real threat to Mayweather, who has dominated boxing in putting together a 40-0 record. Nearly two years ago, Mayweather was so bored from the lack of challengers, he retired for a stretch.

In his absence, Pacquiao rose, defeating both De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in a much more brutal manner than Mayweather did. Now it’s Pac-man (50-3-2) who many call the pound-for-pound king, a fictional title that Mayweather insists is still his.

Now they can prove it.

Both are known for their ability to throw and land punches from unusual angles, from avoiding contact and for making each punch count. It would be speed against speed, true boxer against true boxer, two all-time greats, lined up and ready.

Each fighter’s colorful entourage had already started the debates and trash talk.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. launched into a circular rant that essentially accused Pacquiao of being on HGH. “I’ve been in boxing since I was 15 years old, I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said of Pacquiao’s new-found size and chin. Not that Senior said it would matter if Manny fought his son.

“When it’s time for us to fight, I’m going to show you all who the master is,” Mayweather Sr. said.

For good measure Mayweather Sr. claimed Roach was only a great trainer because he has a great fighter.

“Tell him to go [expletive] himself,” Roach said.

Roach said the game plan against Mayweather is obvious, catch him if you can.

“Mayweather is a very defensive fighter,” Roach said. “He doesn’t like to engage much. You have to pressure him. I think we have the hand speed to do that. We’d have to set traps for him and fight every minute of every round. I hear he [trains like] a machine too. I’d like to see who lasts longer.”

Roach also feels that with the chin Pacquiao showed against Cotto, that forcing the action against the softer hitting Mayweather won’t present a risk.

“Floyd can’t break a nail, he hurts his hands all the time,” Roach said. “He can’t knock Manny Pacquiao out.”

Pacquiao said he was taking a vacation and would fight whoever Arum set up for him. Mayweather Jr. did not attend the fight even though he lives in Las Vegas. His father said he did watch at home though and the loquacious boxer would have plenty to say in the future.

No one doubts that one.

And for once, it seems that boxing’s suicidal politics and factions won’t stand in the way of the fight everyone wants to see.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. See you in 2010.

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