During the last mailbag, the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout was still in negotiations. What a wild three weeks it has been. The bout is off, and they are poised to face different fighters.
Mar. 13 is the date for the bout between Pacquiao and tough Joshua Clottey. Clottey is obviously happy about the bout, because he has yet to administer any blood test demands and sacrifice maybe the biggest purse of his career.
Meanwhile, Mayweather has been stuck in the dark. Talks about potential opponents Nate Campbell, Paulie Mallignaggi, (who are junior welterweights), and Matthew Hatton are in progress. Any one can see Mayweather winning all of these easily.
Mayweather has been a more safety-first boxer than a boxer who would fight anyone for any fee. He's all business.
But then came the earthquake in Haiti, a tragedy so big that it affected the WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto and his potential unification bout with WBA titlist Shane Mosley.
Now all of a suddenly, boxing fans anticipate a Mayweather-Mosley bout, which would be a real treat, because it has the potential to actually be competitive—something that boxing fans have been yearning for in recent Mayweather fights.
Now, let's get to the mailbag. There were a lot of emailed questions and concerns in the past few weeks.
For inclusion in the B/R Mailbag, Bryant Maxwell can be reached at maxwritings@gmail.com. My responses are in italics.
Manny Pacquiao isn't on steroids
"I enjoy reading your mailbag...but I'm getting a little bit tired of some of your mailers who state..."come on, Manny's on ROIDS cuz he took Cotto's punch...he has to be..."
After re-watching PACQUIAO-COTTO, there's no doubt that Manny is getting hit...however, in the early rounds Manny's Head is "MOVING" ever so slightly...and he was even able to SLIP some of Cotto's punches where they hit his "shoulder."
As for him MOVING up in weight, Freddie Roach has stated in the past that Manny's best attribute is his SPEED. And since he didn't want to take away from his speed, the extra muscle mass was placed on his LOWER HALF of the body (his legs)...he did the same with AMIR KHAN when he moved up to 140. This would allow Manny to have a more SOLID BASE and theoretically take a punch better, while also adding to his explosiveness.
Another thing I noticed from the sixth round on is that Cotto was backing up and fighting on his BACK FOOT...so he wouldn't have the same power as he would coming forward throwing a punch...so Cotto's power had NO POP in the later rounds. Is it really hard to believe what he is doing?"
-Armand Giron
Thanks for the comment. Those were some insightful thoughts. I agree that the best way to move up in weight is to add mass below, if your biggest concern is maintaining speed.
Marquez more recently moved up in weight, but added mass heavily up top, evident from weigh-in pictures. That was a huge mistake. Floyd, clearly the faster man from the jump, was even faster.
Floyd also is a true believer of putting muscle in the lower body, but he has added more weight up top in his last few fights, most notably in the De La Hoya bout.
As for me, I hope Manny isn't doing anything illegal. I just feel that Mayweather is putting him in a lose-lose situation, to be honest, but you never know. It is definitely giving the potential fight more press.
Cotto has been criticized for being flat-footed; he'd be a lot more powerful if he had mobility. And besides that fight, he really hasn't been hit too much. Hatton, De La Hoya and Diaz haven't really gotten good enough shots on him to test his chin. Thanks.
________________________________________________________________________
Manny hasn't beaten any prime opponents
"In your p4p list, you said 'unlike Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao has beaten a prime welterweight.' Can I ask, Bryant, what prime welterweight has Pacquiao fought?"
-Toby Gibson
Cotto was a more prime welterweight than any one Floyd has fought at the weight. He's also signing for Clottey, that further proves my point of prime welters for Pac.
Don't give me that Cotto was affected by his first loss. He came back against another prime welter in Clottey and beat him, and if you feel that both Clottey and Cotto are not prime, then you aren't seeing the welterweight division as having any prime candidates, because if Berto would have fought and defeated Mosley, Mosley will then be placed as a non-prime fighter.
How can one of the best divisions be flooded with washed-up fighters? If Cotto isn't a prime fighter in the division, then who is? Remember, a lot of people gave Cotto a reasonable chance to beat Pacman. I didn't.
________________________________________________________________________
Manny is hiding something
"Come on Max, you can't ignore the present climate of steroids in sports. Everyone laughed at Canseco when he "ratted" out all his buddies, and look at baseball now. And what about Teddy Atlas' story a couple of days ago about the Pac man camp asking that "if tested" that the results be sealed, sounds real fishy.
I'm shocked too that they would walk away from 40 million. I think that they should use the Olympic style testing because it is the best plus it leaves no doubt! The reason Pac wanted 30 days is that there are different type of cycles; there are 4,6 and 8 week cycles and you can use the drug called "clear" to mask the test.
Shane Mosley was on this when he beat Oscar and those wins should be taken away but went "UNDETECTED". Floyd is not asking Pac to do anything that he wouldn't do. Lets make it an even play field. That's not to much too ask for."
-Duane Foster
You are right, and I completely agree on some parts. Mayweather would do the same test. Have you read my article about Pacquiao's legacy being ruined by Teddy Atlas' shocking details ? I'm not saying he is hiding something, but he can really damage his image if he let's a mere 10 days keep him from fighting the biggest fight in boxing.
He gives all these excuses about how he is afraid of needles when he has multiple tattoos. That isn't right. Mayweather had compromised to 14 days before, but the Pacquiao camp still wouldn't budge. Fourteen days is enough time to regain strength from blood loss. He has been said to be mentally damaged for a few days after he gets blood drawn.
I just hope that he isn't hiding the fact that the drugs he may be using won't clear out of his system for at least 24 days. It'll really be bad for boxing. He should just take the test and shut Mayweather up in the ring. It'll say wonders about him, and potentially save his image. Thanks.
________________________________________________________________________
Floyd is great and Pacquiao is a cheat
"You make no sense in your article . Cotto wouldn't of stood a chance against Mayweather. Cotto is garbage, flat footed, and has been in a lot of wars. To say that he would of been a worthy fighter for Mayweather is just ridiculous.
Think for a minute not about Mayweather picking that fight, but about Cotto trying to rebound his career. Coming off a horrible loss, do you really think Bob Arum wants Cotto to face the best in the world and get utterly destroyed and take unbearable damage.
Trust me, Cotto's good, but would have gotten utterly destroyed by Mayweather. If anything Cotto respects Mayweather's skill way too much. You can even see in the Manny Pacquiao fight, Cotto tries to mimic Floyd's 'philly shell' in a bitter attempt to defend Manny's barrage.
Oh and also, you mentioned at the end of your article "And Manny Pacquiao beats everyone including Cotto, and becomes the boxing icon that Floyd Mayweather could have been." You forgot to mention this cheater is nothing but a cheater. Manny had moved up seven weight classes in such fashion. HGH Anyone? The man turned down $40 million because of a blood test? May I say more?
You and I both know Floyd Mayweather is the true 'king of boxing.' Don't try and make up silly stories that he is replaced by Manny "Pacroid."
-Maxwell Fillatre
I agree that Mayweather would have been victorious, but you aren't giving Cotto any credit here. When the fight was presented at their peaks, Cotto had a good chance, and a potential for a bout like that would have been huge. Cotto wasn't exposed until afterward.
Floyd would have probably picked him apart with pot shots, but it's an anticipation story that has nothing to do with my boxing logic, just what was going through my head in anticipation of the fight.
One thing that Floyd lacks, other than high-end opponents, is that he hasn't been in the kind of war that has defined so many careers. Before Cotto was exposed, that fight had the potential to be one. But what if Floyd was cut, by a headbutt or something? How would he have responded?
When the bout was presented, people compared it to Duran-Leonard. And although Leonard was the better guy between the two, and Duran had been a lifelong lightweight, Leonard actually lost the first battle. Styles make fights, and it could have been a great one if it would have happened. Thanks.
________________________________________________________________________
Mayweather is in a lose-lose situation
"The Berto-Mosley fight has been called off and everyone is talking about Mosley against Mayweather. Mayweather will beat him and not get the credit he deserves. The first thing everyone will say if Mosley is lackluster, is that he be a old man. Mosley is the only logical opponent. If Mayweather beats Paul Williams, he wouldn't get the credit he deserved because Paul nearly lost to Sergio Martinez. When will he ever get his due?"
-Jesse Farmer
Hi Jesse, Mosley has been considered past his prime since his lackluster fight with Ricardo Mayorga. But the media and fans somehow revitalized his career after the destruction of Margarito. It's funny how things work in boxing.
I agree that because of Mosley's age, Mayweather won't get the credit, but he is used to it; we still watch him, and that is all he cares about.
Now for Paul Williams: he fought a quality opponent in Martinez. And if Mayweather were to beat Williams, I think he'd get the same type of credit he has been getting from his destruction of Diego Corrales. Mayweather is clearly giving up all his advantages in weight, age and size. Williams' punch output is one of the highest in boxing and reach is as long as the Klitschkos'. I think even if Paul Williams were Shane's age, a Mayweather defeat over Williams would do wonders for his legacy.
________________________________________________________________________
Best boxer other than Pacquiao and Mayweather
"Every time I see a boxing rankings, Mayweather and Pacquiao are always one and two. If you could pick a boxer who is probably underrated and may be on the level of these two who would it be? For me it is Shane Mosley. I think he deserves more spotlight and is one of the best boxers today behind Manny and Mayweather."
-Travis Barker
Chad Dawson.
Bryant Maxwell can be reached at maxwritings@gmail.com.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Boxing articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment