(PUBLISHED ARTICLE) Mayweather's Blood Test Demands Are Nothing But a Promotional Tactic

When Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya's PPV numbers rang in, it shattered all previous records; even more than Lennox Lewis' destruction of Mike Tyson just five years earlier.

Mayweather joined in with De La Hoya's drawing power to create a blockbuster.

Not in the ring.

But in their wallets.

The two split one of the biggest purses in boxing history. The newly arrived HBO's 24/7 helped out big time. It gave the fans an inside view of the two boxing camps before the fight.

We learned so much about the fighters and we got to see first hand their lifestyles, as well as their work ethics.

Floyd took this opportunity to display himself as a money hungry villain, in an attempt to sell tickets.

And it worked.

Fans either loved him or hated him, and majority of them wanted to see the day he lost for the first time.

Mayweather threw his undefeated record around, stating that it makes him one of the greatest boxers ever.

Avid fans of boxers of the past, wanted to see him lose.

Mayweather threw his money around. Gloating about how much he could make in a thirty minute fight. Fans hated that and simply wanted to see this arrogant boxing champion dethroned.

Either the fans wanted to see him lose or win, no matter what it was, they wanted to see him.

And the more he was seen, the more he was paid.

And his popularity rose.

Hatton was next.

Finally another undefeated champion set to dethrone the No. 1 fighter in the world. The fans who had built up so much rage for Floyd finally felt that this was the time to see their most hated boxer lose.

Floyd couldn't throw his undefeated record around in this fight, because Ricky Hatton was in fact, also never beaten, and in his previous fight, he had destroyed the only fighter that has given Floyd trouble; Jose Luis Castillo.

The PPV was appropriately named "Undefeated."

Hatton's huge following in the UK was bait for Mayweather.

And he fed on that.

Mayweather disrespected the UK fans and, in turn, they all wanted to see their beloved Ricky Hatton be the first to dethrone Mayweather.

The fans eyes were so blinded to the fact that Ricky Hatton lacked defense, speed, agility and ring smarts. They wanted Mayweather to go down.

Forgetting the fact that Hatton's only real test at Welterweight came against Luis Collazo. A fight many believed he lost.

Fans were so blinded and didn't realize that Collazo was no Mayweather, and that Mayweather was clearly better than Hatton.

They just wanted to see him lose.

Mayweather took the opportunity to fight a winnable fight, though it was a fight that seemed so close to odds makers, and more importantly the fans.

Mayweather outboxed Hatton and rode his way to a TKO victory in the 10th round.

The fans got so blinded that many gave Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez a solid chance to dethrone Mayweather.

Mayweather had everyone wondering if he was rusty from the layoff, and chose a highly regarded but beatable opponent.

An opponent that has given Pacquiao hell in the ring.

Those fans that Mayweather suckered into his wallet in previous fights, followed suit once again.

The PPV did over one million buys in a one sided, tune-up match against the only person in recent fights to ever confuse Pacquiao.

Mayweather knew it was going to happen all along.

Just like he know's that Manny Pacquiao isn't doing any type of illegal substances.

And he knew it would be one of the biggest stories in sports; a fight that he has helped build up in fans' head for years, that may or may not occur.

And the fans are beginning to question if Manny is taking performance enhancers or not. And if the fight they have been waiting for will actually happen. And they are forced to choose sides.

Mayweather doesn't care which side the fans choose to be on.

Because either side puts money in his pocket.

Bryant Maxwell can be reached at maxwritings@gmail.com

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(PUBLISHED ARTICLE) Tony Romo Is The Worst QB In The League

By. Bryant Maxwell

Troy Aikman and Roger Staubauch; now those were some great quarterback's for the so called "America's Team."

Being a QB for the Dallas Cowboy's comes with more responsibility and pressure than any other team in the league. Romo is no stranger to being ridiculed by fans and the media.

Taking a vacation with tight end Jason Witten and having his women attend games and becoming a "distraction," and collapsing in the shower after a terrible 44-6 loss to the Eagles, have all been reasons why he's one of the most overrated QB's in the league.

Wait a minute; these things have nothing to do with football.

Of course the previous December fall-outs for the Dallas Cowboys are all his fault too, right?

And what about the bobbled snap? Yes, the botched snap that cost them the playoff game against the Seahawks is definitely the reason he is such a bad QB, right?

He has had an entire three years as the starting QB to win the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady won his first year as the starter, and he was a sixth round draft pick out of the University of Michigan.

Romo wasn't even drafted and came out of the little regarded Eastern Illinois. So he can't be that great, right?

He has only been selected for the Pro Bowl two times out of three years of starting.

He has only won about 70% of his games as a starter. Who cares if he has never had a losing season? The month of December is going to prohibit any Hall of Fame talks.

Okay this December is a little different, but he will be back to his old ways soon enough. Averaging well over 300 yards in this month doesn't mean anything, he's still the same Tony Romo who has been seen in the media kissing on Jessica Simpson.

That is why he is the worst QB in the league.

Who cares if he is the first Cowboy ever to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season. He only has done it twice in three full seasons.

Does it matter that no Cowboy QB has ever thrown as many touchdown passes in a season as him? No, that doesn't matter.

His QB rating has been hovering just under 100 each year. That doesn't cancel out the fact that he went to Las Vegas for a vacation mid-season with Miles Austin.

Terrell Owens is the reason his stats are so good, so that doesn't even matter.

Who cares if T.O is gone now? It doesn't matter if he has even better stats this year. And that he has only thrown one interception in December so far; an interception that really wasn't his fault. So what if he is having the best December ever.

The month isn't over.

Who cares if he is sneaking in the NFC Pro Bowl picture again? He didn't go last year.

If they beat the Eagles next week, (which I highly doubt they will) he'll probably plan a trip with Wade Phillips, or probably be seen with Jessica Simpson again.

That's why he's the worst QB in the league...right?

Wrong.

Bryant Maxwell can be reached at maxwritings@gmail.com

(PUBLISHED ARTICLE) Don't Believe the Hype: Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao Is a One-Sided Affair

The proposed March 13 mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao has been going through a whirlwind of negotiations lately, but that still doesn't diminish the anticipation for it.

Many fight fans and experts view this fight as a battle between the two greatest fighters of this decade.

It is without a doubt the most important fight for boxing, and it needs to happen—but it won't be as close as many people think.

Manny Pacquiao has simply dismantled every opponent since his second battle with Juan Manuel Marquez. His accomplishments have just been phenomenal to say the least.

Of course, he has beaten Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya in a quicker and more decisive manner than his potential March 13 dancing partner.

He also defeated Miguel Cotto convincingly over nearly 12 rounds before stopping him via TKO in the opening minute of the final round in their Nov. 14 bout—a fighter that most people believed the undefeated Mayweather avoided before his abrupt retirement.

Pacquiao has simply been great. But is it enough to simply say that his upcoming bout with Mayweather Jr. will be competitive?

Pacquiao's recent success has led many to believe that it will, and the odds are very close in betting lines. So many believe that this fight will pit two closely matched opponents together in a battle for the ages.

The fight will probably break any PPV records that stand today, but it will hardly be a hard-fought battle for Mayweather.

The fight favors Mayweather, a defensive wizard who hasn't been troubled since his first fight with Jose Luis Castillo over seven years ago, when he was supposedly nursing an injury to his shoulder. Even then he managed to pull out the victory.

Pacquiao has benefited from opponents that consistently attempted to trade blows with him—and Manny is phenomenal in all-out combat.

His fight with De La Hoya was an exhibition in which the bigger fighter went at the smaller fighter, relying on a left hook that Pacquiao never really gets hit with. Pacquiao danced around him and moved and slipped De La Hoya's best attempts at bull-rushing his smaller opponent.

It didn't work.

Hatton came into his fight with Pacquiao in a similar attempt. Feeling that he was the naturally bigger opponent and that he had never lost at his more natural weight of 140 lbs., he attempted to bull-rush and bully his smaller opponent.

He also ran into trouble.

Cotto actually had a little more success. But his lack of movement and his willingness to trade with the once thought to be smaller opponent spelled doom for the Puerto Rican.

But Mayweather will wait, and wait. Manny will have to come to him. That's where he will play into his opponent's game plan. He will stink his opponent out, but at the same time he takes away his opponent's corner. Manny's composure will be tested, and he will have to hold back a lot to avoid the counters.

Would Pacquiao be as dangerous by sitting down on his punches more as he was when he was throwing multiple blistering punches at his opponent?

Take the Juan Manuel Marquez battles with Manny into consideration. Between the two fights Marquez pulled out the most rounds but had to settle for a loss and a draw because of four recorded knockdowns early in the fight. Mayweather has never been knocked down; not to say that he won't touch the canvas in this fight, but it is highly unlikely it will be more than once, if any.

Marquez and Mayweather both are technically gifted counter-punchers, although Mayweather is faster. He's also bigger with a longer reach, and he rarely gets hit.

Later in both fights with Marquez, Pacquiao was figured out by a smart Mexican fighter. One of Pacquiao's biggest weaknesses is that he gets hit a lot. Mayweather's biggest strength is that he doesn't.

Manny never adjusted well in his second fight with Marquez and even the first fight with Erik Morales. Freddie Roach, a great trainer, seems to come in with a great game plan from the start but usually doesn't have a plan B or C. In the attempt to defeat Mayweather when he was employed by De La Hoya, Oscar cracked in the second half of the fight.

That could have just been Mayweather or a lack of adjustment by Oscar's corner.

If whatever game plan Roach employs against Mayweather goes up in smoke, will he adjust well?

Later in Mayweather's career he started to come into his fights very safely and stepped on the gas once he figured the opponent out. He did it in all his fights where he fought or felt he was fighting a truly game opponent. We saw it in the Hatton, De La Hoya, and Zab Judah fights to name a few.

Marquez is a very intelligent fighter, and he showed it with his fights with Pacquiao. But Mayweather is probably the smartest in the game today. Manny Pacquiao has about four rounds to pile up points on the judges' scorecards. If he doesn't, he will have to go to his plan B, because Mayweather will just be checking into his plan A.

It will be a lot of pressure on Roach to create scenarios when Mayweather steps on the gas, when he sees Pacquiao's vulnerability to his counter rights—a punch that Pacquiao is vulnerable to and one that Mayweather has had the most success with.

Anticipate Mayweather to jab more as he did with Marquez. He will use his five-inch reach advantage. Out of his orthodox jabbing stance he seems to throw a left hook and also a straight right, and it will be on Pacquiao to distinguish which punch will come of this stance.

I see the first half of the rounds being split, but the second half of the fight is clearly in favor of Floyd's ability to adjust.

The fight won't be as electrifying as many think, but just seeing these two guys just walking to the ring will be worth the wait.

Bryant Maxwell can be reached at maxwritings@gmail.com