by Robert Morales
Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s 90 day sentence for domestic violence, which is slated to begin Friday in Nevada, will probably prevent him from fighting until the second half of the year. As previously reported, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is not going to wait for Mayweather. He plans to fight in the first half of the year.
As we noted earlier, Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, presented the Filipino star's trainer, Freddie Roach, with a list comprised of four possible opponents. They are current junior welterweight champions Lamont Peterson and Timothy Bradley, junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Cotto is deserving of any fight he can get. At 37-2 with 30 knockouts and a record of 17-2 in championship fights in three weight classes, he has had a Hall of Fame career. But Cotto already has been blasted by Pacquiao.
When they met in a welterweight title fight in November 2009, Pacquiao stopped Cotto in the 12th round. Pacquiao was ahead by eight, nine and 10 points at the time. There is no reason to go there again and it would be a tough pay-per-view sell.
Since Pacquiao makes some of his big bucks off pay-per-view upside, that's a big consideration.
Peterson won a split-decision to take Khan's title on Dec. 10 in Peterson's native Washington. Peterson did a fine job, but were it not for two suspect Khan point deductions for pushing Khan would have escaped with the win and title belt.
Regardless, Peterson is not well-known and since Pacquiao never makes less than $20 million for a fight, Arum has to make sure he has that covered and a fight with Peterson would not do it.
Talk about low pay-per-view buys. That would be it, Pacquiao's presence notwithstanding.
A fourth fight with Marquez? It's easy to say Marquez deserves it. According to published reports, Marquez has said he wants another shot at Pacquiao but he never would agree to have it in Las Vegas again.
Marquez believes he has won all three fights against Pacquiao, yet all he has is a draw and two losses to show for his efforts. All three fights have been in Las Vegas, which means Marquez doesn't trust he can get a victory by decision there.
Well, once a prospective Pacquiao opponent starts making demands, he usually doesn't get what he wants.
Then there is Bradley. The feeling here is of the four, he could generate the most money. Even more than Marquez because even though Marquez fans might want a fourth fight, much of the general public might not because it's already been done three times.
Bradley is a terrific personality and would be of great help in the promotion. He also is an exciting fighter. He doesn't have a monster punch, but he hits hard enough, is very fast and more than likely wouldn't have any qualms about engaging Pacquiao in some toe-to-toe moments.
Bradley, 28, is in his prime. He is 28-0 and wants the top of the line.
"I'm working my way toward a Manny Pacquiao fight or a Floyd Mayweather fight," Bradley said just days before Mayweather was sentenced Dec. 21. "That is my ultimate goal, to fight the best pound-for-pound fighters in the game."
Mayweather could get as much as 30 days reduced from his sentence for good behavior. He could be out in early March. But even then he would not be able to fight again by May 5, which was the date he set for his next fight before his jail sentence was handed down after a plea bargain.
If Mayweather does get released in early March, he possibly could be ready by June. If Pacquiao could wait until then, that fight could be made. As of now, we are being told there will be no waiting.
If that's the case, we say Bradley is the man. Roach would not say which fighter he would prefer.
"I haven't spoken to Manny yet," Roach told BoxingScene.com from his Wild Card gym in Hollywood. "He is going to be here next week and we'll talk about it. We'll see which way we're going to go."
http://www.boxingscene.com/manny-pacquiao-roach-discuss-options-next-week--48008
Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s 90 day sentence for domestic violence, which is slated to begin Friday in Nevada, will probably prevent him from fighting until the second half of the year. As previously reported, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is not going to wait for Mayweather. He plans to fight in the first half of the year.
As we noted earlier, Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, presented the Filipino star's trainer, Freddie Roach, with a list comprised of four possible opponents. They are current junior welterweight champions Lamont Peterson and Timothy Bradley, junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Cotto is deserving of any fight he can get. At 37-2 with 30 knockouts and a record of 17-2 in championship fights in three weight classes, he has had a Hall of Fame career. But Cotto already has been blasted by Pacquiao.
When they met in a welterweight title fight in November 2009, Pacquiao stopped Cotto in the 12th round. Pacquiao was ahead by eight, nine and 10 points at the time. There is no reason to go there again and it would be a tough pay-per-view sell.
Since Pacquiao makes some of his big bucks off pay-per-view upside, that's a big consideration.
Peterson won a split-decision to take Khan's title on Dec. 10 in Peterson's native Washington. Peterson did a fine job, but were it not for two suspect Khan point deductions for pushing Khan would have escaped with the win and title belt.
Regardless, Peterson is not well-known and since Pacquiao never makes less than $20 million for a fight, Arum has to make sure he has that covered and a fight with Peterson would not do it.
Talk about low pay-per-view buys. That would be it, Pacquiao's presence notwithstanding.
A fourth fight with Marquez? It's easy to say Marquez deserves it. According to published reports, Marquez has said he wants another shot at Pacquiao but he never would agree to have it in Las Vegas again.
Marquez believes he has won all three fights against Pacquiao, yet all he has is a draw and two losses to show for his efforts. All three fights have been in Las Vegas, which means Marquez doesn't trust he can get a victory by decision there.
Well, once a prospective Pacquiao opponent starts making demands, he usually doesn't get what he wants.
Then there is Bradley. The feeling here is of the four, he could generate the most money. Even more than Marquez because even though Marquez fans might want a fourth fight, much of the general public might not because it's already been done three times.
Bradley is a terrific personality and would be of great help in the promotion. He also is an exciting fighter. He doesn't have a monster punch, but he hits hard enough, is very fast and more than likely wouldn't have any qualms about engaging Pacquiao in some toe-to-toe moments.
Bradley, 28, is in his prime. He is 28-0 and wants the top of the line.
"I'm working my way toward a Manny Pacquiao fight or a Floyd Mayweather fight," Bradley said just days before Mayweather was sentenced Dec. 21. "That is my ultimate goal, to fight the best pound-for-pound fighters in the game."
Mayweather could get as much as 30 days reduced from his sentence for good behavior. He could be out in early March. But even then he would not be able to fight again by May 5, which was the date he set for his next fight before his jail sentence was handed down after a plea bargain.
If Mayweather does get released in early March, he possibly could be ready by June. If Pacquiao could wait until then, that fight could be made. As of now, we are being told there will be no waiting.
If that's the case, we say Bradley is the man. Roach would not say which fighter he would prefer.
"I haven't spoken to Manny yet," Roach told BoxingScene.com from his Wild Card gym in Hollywood. "He is going to be here next week and we'll talk about it. We'll see which way we're going to go."
http://www.boxingscene.com/manny-pacquiao-roach-discuss-options-next-week--48008
Peterson can at least sell tickets in DC.
Typical.
