Pacquiao looking past Algieri fight towards Mayweather

11/14/201411/13/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) has a formidable task ahead of him in facing the taller, younger and slicker Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) this month in their HBO pay-per-view fight from Macau, China. There’s a decent chance that Pacquiao could lose this fight if Algieri doesn’t fight stupid like Tim Bradley did in his rematch against Pacquiao. But despite Pacquiao having his hands full with Algieri, Pacquiao is still looking past him towards a big money match-up against WBA/WBC 147 pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

That’s the fight that Pacquiao badly wants if he can get it. Pacquiao had an opportunity to get the Mayweather fight on several occasions, but the fights failed to take place due to questionable decisions on Pacquiao’s part.

continue

Pacquiao: After Algieri fight, we can talk about Mayweather

11/02/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) doesn’t want to talk about a potential mega-fight against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr right now, because he doesn’t want to give the impression that he’s name dropping in order to increase pay-per-view sales for his fight this month against Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

Some boxing fans believe that the only reason why Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum have been talking about Mayweather in the run up to the Algieri fight is because the interest in the fight has been less than huge. The fight might ultimately bring in respectable PPV results, but few hardcore boxing fans are excited about it.

continue

Bradley says Mayweather wouldn’t be the toughest opponent, but still wants to fight him

10/22/2014 Bill Phanco

Welterweight contender Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) says he’s going to be moving up in weight to 154 to target the top fighters in that weight class. He’s specifically interested in fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Besides those guys, Bradley says he’d like to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr, because he’s already fought Manny Pacquuiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the past.

Interestingly enough, Bradley doesn’t see Mayweather as being the toughest opponent for him. He doesn’t say who’s tougher, but you’d have to assume he means Pacquiao, Cotto or Canelo. Bradley’s coming off of a 12 round decision loss to Pacquiao in his last fight in April of this year in a one-sided loss.

continue

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag – Mayweather vs Khan, Golovkin, Donaire, & Steven A. Smith

10/15/2014 Vivek Wallace

Barry N. (Houston, TX): Floyd Mayweather has ripped several people in the news lately and it’s not only uncalled for, but also kind of hard to understand it all. What do you think is really going on with him lately?

Vivek W. (ESB): The on-going drama we’ve seen lately between these four men have somewhat reached a boiling point. While Smith and Mayweather Sr. have stepped away from the table, it seems little Floyd and Khan still have a few things to air out, which we’ve heard lately. There are so many different angles to this discussion that I don’t even know where to start, but I guess the safest statement for me to lead off with is the fact that I think there’s a hint of truth to all of their respective positions, with the exception of maybe Steven A. Smith’s.

continue

Khan questions whether Mayweather can outbox him

10/15/2014 T.Baker

Recently ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith said on his “First Take” program on ESPN that he felt that if WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr opted to face Amir Khan but not World Boxing Organization 147lb champion Manny Pacquiao in one of his last two remaining fights that he would come on ESPN and say Mayweather is avoiding a fight against Pacquiao.

Smith had no problems with Mayweather finishing his career with fights against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, because he felt those two fighters were worthy for Mayweather to fight instead of Pacquiao. But Smith doesn’t believe Khan is worthy of a fight against Mayweather, as he points out that Khan was destroyed by Danny Garcia in four rounds just two years ago in 2012, and that Khan doesn’t have the same box office appeal as Mayweather does.

continue

Mayweather: If Canelo-Cotto think they can compete [for my dates], then let’s see

10/11/2014 T.Baker

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) is welcoming World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to try and fight on the same dates as him in 2015 in May and September.

Mayweather feels that his pay-per-view numbers are better than those two fighters, and he believes he’s the guy that boxing fans will want to see if they have a choice to pick between which pay-per-view event to see if they’re competing on different networks.

continue

Mayweather: Khan has Danny Garcia problems & Pacquiao has Marquez problems

10/10/2014 Rob Smith

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr says the recent quotes coming from a British boxing site about him being interested in facing Amir Khan are total lies. Mayweather says he didn’t make those quotes, and he’s not sure who he plans on fighting next.

Mayweather says Khan still has unfinished business with WBA/WBC 140lb champion Danny Garcia, who knocked Khan out in the 4th round two years ago in July 2012. Khan never avenged the loss to Garcia, and he still hasn’t avenged his losses to Breidis Prescott and Lamont Peterson.

Mayweather also says that Manny Pacquiao still has unfinished business with Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was knocked out cold by Marquez in the 6th round by him two years ago, and he still hasn’t fought Marquez since then to try and avenge the defeat. Marquez reportedly priced himself out of the November fight against Pacquiao by asking for too much money.

continue

Mayweather: I’ll punish Khan if the fight happens

10/09/2014 T.Baker

Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) is starting to show interest in facing British boxing star Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) after listening to the fighter call him out for well over a year now. Mayweather says his father Floyd Sr really wants him to fight Khan to shut him up for good and he’s thinking about doing that.

Mayweather isn’t saying he’ll absolutely face him, but he says he wants to fight him if he feels he’s earned the fight.

Khan does have wins over Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi, Luis Collazo and Marcos Maidana. But Khan failed when he stepped it up against 1st tier fighters Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia in 2011 and 2012.

continue

Khan would give Mayweather problems, says Malignaggi

10/10/201410/09/2014 T.Baker

The more and more former two division world boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi thinks Floyd Mayweather Jr could be in for a really tough time against Amir Khan if he selects him as one of his opponents in 2015. Malignggi says Khan’s hand speed, height, reach and overall fighting style would give Mayweather fits at this point in his career.

Malignaggi feels that Maywether can move around the ring like he used to, and unless he’s able to move a great deal, he’ll struggle against the younger 28-year-old Khan if that fight gets made.

continue

Kell Brook to fight in February

10/07/2014 Bill Phanco

IBF welterweight belt holder Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) has targeted February for his next fight date against an opponent still to be determined. Brook was stabbed last September while on holiday in Tenerife, and he’ll be coming back from that injury. Brook wants to fight either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Amir Khan, but those opponents will probably not be in the cards for the 28-year-old Brook.

We’ll likely see Brook facing one of the names that his promoter Eddie Hearn was previously mentioning for him to fight on December 6th before Brook was stabbed and unable to fight on that date. Hearn was talking about matching Brook against a fighter that Americans would recognize like Brandon Rios, Andre Berto or Josesito Lopez.

continue