By Vivek Wallace
It has been reported by several sources, to include ESPN’s Dan Rafael that Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum has been given the green light from Team Mayweather to make official the now tentative date of March 13th, for the proposed showdown between himself and Filipino Manny Pacquiao. …

Dec 2, 2009 - Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has agreed to the much-anticipated fight against Manny Pacquiao, according to ESPN (via SB Nation’s Bad Left Hook). Pacquiao is yet to agree to the terms of the bout, which would be fought at the 147 pound welterweight limit. Promoter Bob Arum is …

By Elie Seckbach

Unbeaten junior middleweight Shawn Porter reveals his favorite movie, makes up an impromptu rap about Manny Pacquiao, for whom he served as a recent sparring partner, and explains why his confidence “is through the roof.”

Kenny Porter also talks about training his own son, who will soon face once-beaten, Damian Frias, in a Showtime-televised bout in February.

Check out the video after the jump. read more

By Michael Marley
We all know where Coach Freddie Roach is going to be when Manny Pacquiao begins training. But what about Floyd Mayweather’s chief trainer, troubled Roger “Black Mamba” Mayweather?
I have zero insight into the status of Roger Dodger’s pending criminal assault case in Las Vegas but it certainly throws …

By Brent Matteo Alderson
Former Editor & Chief of Ring Magazine and current Showtime analyst Steve Farhood is confident that that the super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will happen in the very near future and in an exclusive interview with FightFanNation.com, Farhood commented, “I don’t think there’s any …

The one wild card in all of this is Manny Pacquiao. He himself has stated that he is willing to fight Mosley. Since Manny has always seemed to be a man of the highest honor and integrity, it is conceivable that he really intends to fight Mosley next, but even if this is true, it is entirely plausible that Freddy Roach might be able to convince him otherwise. After all, unlike Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, Roach knows that Mosley is a major threat to Manny. Roach is very perceptive when it comes to making match-ups that are favorable to his pride and joy fighter. He knew that Oscar was past it and unable to pull the trigger and he knew that Manny would have a field day with Hatton’s defensive deficiencies.

Sugar Shane Mosley poses an entirely different type of opponent and Roach is fully aware of this. That is why Roach has refused to allow Manny to face Mosley at 147 pounds like he did Oscar. He is smart enough to realize the threat posed by Mosley, ergo, his insistence on Mosley coming down below 147. That Mosley is even willing to openly concede a 60-40 purse split and an immediate rematch clause for Manny probably makes Roach even more weary of allowing Pacquiao to square off against him . Unlike his last three opponents, Shane is still a very fast fighter, and he also posses a great deal of power and accuracy in his right hand—a punch that Manny has proven susceptible to in the past. Even still, Manny is a very special fighter and he would certainly have a good chance to beat Mosley, even if Shane does present several obstacles that were lacking in Pacquiao’s last few opponents.

Roger Mayweather is the trainer and uncle of Floyd “Money” Mayweather, one of the greatest boxers in American history. On July 18th, “Money” Mayweather will be facing Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas in what will be Floyd’s first fight in 19 months. In this video we ask Roger who he thinks is going to win, and in the tradition of the Mayweather family his response does not disappoint. We also get a lesson in boxing history and find out what he really thinks about
Manny Pacquiao.

These talks have been heating up for a while and confirmation of the reports lead many to wonder how much longer will the current pound-for-pound champ stay in the drivers seat?

A Mosley/Pacquiao fight would be the best fight to be made for the simple fact that Floyd will make it a strategical showdown, and Cotto would add an element of intrigue, but Mosley and Manny are two fighters that fight every second of every round and would be in an all out war from bell one to bell rung! Definitely a fitting way to put it because I don’t see that fight going the distance.

With many options already on the table, there seems to be yet another now that has spoken loud and clear, making it even easier considering that he’s the only of the three willing to go down to 143lbs.

A lot of names have surfaced, itching to have a date with Pacquiao inside the squared circle. Probably the matchups that are likely to happen are bouts with welterweight champions Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley. Pacquiao´s trainer Freddie Roach has already expressed their camp´s desire to fight either guy at a catch weight between 143 and 144.

There are other boxers who want a shot at Pacquiao but as for the time being, these two are the ones that make sense. The reason is that both fighters hold welterweight belts and a win over either one of them will give Pacquiao his sixth (or seventh) division championship, tying or possibly surpassing Oscar Dela Hoya´s record of six division championships. For Cotto and Mosley, a win against Pacquiao will raise their status to higher heights.

Popular Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao wants to fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. if he wins over Juan Manuel Marquez in their fight scheduled for July 18th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao thinks that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. will emerge as winner over Juan Manuel Marquez in their July 18th fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mayweather has a lot of advantages. He is faster than Marquez and should be able to win, he said.

>"In the last five years, you would look at the results and say Marquez. He has fought better fighters, Pacquiao twice, Diaz. Who in the hell is Carlos Baldomir? Zab Judah? Past his prime Oscar and only wins by one point?

"I think Mayweather’s hand speed is faster but he only throws one punch at a time. Marquez throws punches in the proverbial bunches. I think that’s going to be an interesting factor to see if Floyd can deal with it. He can’t put himself on the ropes like he did with Hatton. He knew he could just counter him in between.

"Mayweather’s gotta come down to 144, is it easier to come up or go down? Oscar drained himself against Pacquiao, Antonio Tarver couldn’t make it coming after Rocky. It gets tough and he has no body fat so where does it come from? It comes from muscle. When you have a lot of imponderables, you have a great fight."

He knows he is looking to restore the reputation of a fighting nation that has given birth to the likes of Salvador Sanchez, Ricardo Lopez, Carlos Zarate, Julio Cesar Chavez and more recently, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

“It’s a great responsibility for me, because Mexican people love boxing and they will all be watching this fight,” he told skysports.com.

“They are very excited, so it’s a great opportunity for me and for all the Mexicans - around the world - supporting me. And all the people watching me.”

It is a thought that does not faze the 35-year-old three-weight world champion in the slightest.

Mosley was dismissed as a future opponent because he has “five losses” and is “not a pay-per-view attraction,” according to Mayweather.

Mayweather’s disrespect was enough to make the normally affable and reserved Mosley fire back.

“Floyd’s delusional,” Mosley said from his home in La Verne, California on Friday. “He talks about his pay-per-view numbers but everyone knows that it was Ricky (Hatton) and Oscar (De La Hoya) who brought in the fans and sold those pay-per-view buys. Before he fought De La Hoya his numbers were so disappointing HBO didn’t want him to fight on pay-per-view anymore.

“The fights with Oscar and Ricky, and the 24/7’s he did on HBO before those fights, got his name out there but I don’t think it made him more popular with boxing fans. I don’t think he’ll ever be as popular as he thinks he is until he really fights the best.”

Early in his career, when he campaigned in the 130- and 135-pound divisions, Mayweather did fight the best. He beat the likes of Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Jesus Chavez, and Jose Luis Castillo displaying once-in-a-lifetime talent and athletic gifts that were on par with Mosley’s abilities at lightweight.

Somewhere during his transition from lightweight to junior welterweight and welterweight in the middle part of the decade, Mayweather’s focus shifted from proving his potential greatness to protecting his undefeated record and making as much money as possible.

It can be argued that it worked out for him, as he made a small fortune fighting Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in 2007, but it’s a damn shame.

Imagine the welterweight round robin that could have taken place over the last four years if Mayweather shared Mosley’s mettle.

If Shane Mosley is too tough, then how can this fight, especially considering the weight differential, be billed as anything other than a safe comeback bout? It isn’t as if Marquez is a young man moving up from weight class to weight class. Nor can the fact be ignored that in recent years, Marquez, once thought to be a defensive specialist, has been getting hit more and more and getting into war after war. Against Juan Diaz, Marquez looked to be getting blown out early before rallying in the middle rounds and knocking the younger Diaz out. It was a spectacular fight but one that showed vulnerability in Marquez. Perhaps that above all, is the reason this fight is happening. After all, beating the rival of Manny Pacquiao, who hasn’t shown vulnerability as he has moved up to the welterweight division, is a perfect way of setting up what would truly be a super fight between the current consensus number one pound for pound fighter and Mayweather.

Whatever the case, the fight is on and with it the hype train has left the station. A multi-city, international tour is already underway, tickets have gone on sale and will most likely sell out in hours, and HBO’s reality show 24/7 will be back on in full tilt to follow the fighters up to the first bell.