Boxing News 2011: Mayweather-Ortiz prelude to Mayweather-Pacquiao

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Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, sees the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz fight as more than just Mayweather’s return to the ring and a compelling matchup.

He sees it as a potential prelude to the biggest-possible matchup in boxing sometime soon: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, which could everyone involved untold millions.

 “It might mean that he’s getting ready for Manny because he’s fighting a southpaw,” Roach said Wednesday at a news conference to promote the July 23 fight between Amir Khan, his fight, and Zab Judah. “That’s interesting. I think Victor is a big, strong guy who is gonna come to fight.

“I hope Victor wins the fight. If he doesn’t, it will give me a lot better blueprint of how to fight his guy [Mayweather].”

He continued: “Right now the best fight to watch for how to fight Mayweather is Zab [in 2006]. Zab had success for four rounds. Once Mayweather decided to go offensive in that fight, though, he ate him up. And that gave me a good look at Zab for this fight [Khan-Judah].”

Roach is a big fan of Ortiz. The trainer predicted he would upset Andre Berto to win the WBC welterweight title in April, which became reality.

And he believes Ortiz has a shot against Mayweather.

“I think he does,” Roach said. “He’s a big, strong kid. He’s fighting a guy who hasn’t fought in a year and a half. I think he has a real shot. The southpaw stance could give [Mayweather] trouble.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/box;_ylt=Au0RCYMf7DJxjVVsGwcgShyaxLYF

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• Amir Khan to fight Zab Judah in Las Vegas (mirror.co.uk)
• Mayweather to Return Against Ortiz in September (nytimes.com)
• Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez: Trilogy Should Be Fought (bleacherreport.com)
• Mayweather announces next opponent (dynaspisports.com)
• Floyd Mayweather Jr to fight Victor Ortiz for WBC welterweight title (guardian.co.uk)

Boxing News 2010: Who is next for Pacquiao?

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The front runners for Pacquiao’s next opponent are Mosley and Berto. There’s no way they’ll fight each other. Mosley is near the end. If he’s going to get wiped out he wants it to be against a great fighter in the biggest fight of the year, not against a young, still-largely unproven beltholder such as Berto.

My guess is that Mosley will get the Pacquiao fight. He’s the best known of Pac’s potential opponents for next year (and no, I’m not including the troubled Mr. Mayweather) and the perception is that he presents the least amount of risk at this stage of his career. Arum believes he can sell a Pacquiao-Mosley fight to the general public and Sugar Shane has endeared himself to the old promoter now that he’s distanced himself from Golden Boy Promotions.

Marquez was always a long shot to get a third bout with Pacquiao, and I’m kind of glad. I don’t care that he weighed 145 pounds on fight night vs. Katsidis. The fact that he made 134 pounds the day before tells me that extra poundage he put on was just water weight -- not muscle. Marquez is not a welterweight. Period. Marquez is an old, small lightweight. Don’t even call him a junior welterweight. There isn’t a world-class junior welterweight alive who can make 134 pounds without killing himself. Pacquiao would kill himself making 134 pounds. Pacquiao would have to seriously dry out to make 140 pounds. We should all forget about Pacquiao-Marquez III unless Manny decides he wants to go against Freddie Roach and Arum and agree to weigh-in between 140 and 142 pounds. Even then, he’ll have a distinct size and strength advantage over Marquez. I think JMM has given fans enough thrills in hard, grueling fights. I don’t want to see him take any more serious punishment. That’s what a Pacquiao fight equals, in my not-so-humble opinion, punishment.

http://www.ringtv.com/blog/2572/dougies_friday_mailbag/

Related articles

• Marquez ready for Round 3 with Pacquiao (nypost.com)
• Pacquiao to choose from three opponents for next fight (reuters.com)

Boxing News 2010: Storylines surround Pacquiao-Margarito

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito square off at Cowboys Stadium in a huge fight on Saturday night (HBO PPV, 9 ET, $54.95) and there are a litany of stories surrounding it. Here's what some of those involved in the promotion have to say about some of the storylines:

• If Pacquiao wins and a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. still can't be made, whom will he fight?

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum outlined three possibilities: Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez for a third fight or a rematch with Miguel Cotto.

• The 150-pound catch weight

There's consternation in some quarters because Pacquiao and Margarito are fighting for a vacant junior middleweight title (division limit 154 pounds) but the contract weight is at a catch weight of 150 pounds at the request of the smaller Pacquiao. So while it's still a junior middleweight title bout there are some who believe that Margarito should be allowed to weigh up to 154.

• Prediction?

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach is not shy about making predictions when it comes to fights. On this fight he said, "I think we will overwhelm him with the punches he will land on him with the fast hands and combinations. In eight or nine rounds I think we will break him down. Margarito throws a lot of punches and he makes too many mistakes to beat us. He has bad habits and we are going to take advantage of all of them."

Roach later added, "We'll make him quit. I saw the way Mosley beat him and how he fought Roberto Garcia [in May] and he doesn't impress me. He has terrible footwork. He has too many flaws to beat Manny. Technique-wise he's terrible."

• Watching the hands wrapped

Margarito, of course, is notorious because of the hand-wrapping scandal stemming from the fight with Mosley in January 2009, when he tried to enter the ring with wraps loaded with illegal pads coated in a plaster-like substance. Roach will be watching the wrapping procedure very carefully.

• Who will be the crowd favorite?

North Texas is heavily Hispanic, so Margarito will undoubtedly have strong fan support from Mexican-American fans, but so will Pacquiao, who is popular wherever he fights.

• The toll of the scandal on Margarito and his feelings toward former trainer Javier Capetillo, who was responsible for wrapping his hands:

"Tony has gone to therapy, him and his wife," said Sergio Diaz, Margarito's co-manager. "It was affecting his personal life as well. He's aware it's something that will follow him. He felt just by being in the gym and hoping he would fight again, and this is before he was licensed, it's what kept his mind at peace.

http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/blog/_/name/rafael_dan/id/5792388/storylines-surround-pacquiao-margarito

Related articles

• Pacquiao vs Margarito Frequently Asked Questions (arkhilario.com)
• Manny Pacquiao eyes further glory (reuters.com)
• Manny Pacquaio's team questions legality of Antonio Margarito's gloves (guardian.co.uk)
• "Antonio Margarito Mocks Freddie Roach's Parkinson's Disease (VIDEO)" and related posts (huffingtonpost.com)