Floyd Mayweather Jr. said this past week that he won’t bother fighting Manny Pacquiao as long as he’s still being promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank. Mayweather simply doesn’t want to work with Arum for some reason. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is coming out saying that there won’t be a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight until Pacquiao is no longer with Top Rank.
This is a pity because if you listen to some of Pacquiao’s interviews, he seems like he’s committed to stay with Top Rank. His contract with them expires next years, but many boxing fans see him saying with them until the end of his contract. However, Pacquiao surprised people earlier this year in letting his strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza go, so it’s possible that Pacquiao might do something unexpected like move on when his contract with Top Rank expires in 2014.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is going to need to look in another direction for his fighter Manny Pacquiao for his April 12th fight in Las Vegas, because Juan Manuel Marquez has his mind made up about not wanting to fight Pacquiao again.
Bob Arum of Top Rank thinks Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) isn’t the guy that many people in the boxing world thought he was before his recent loss to Marcos Maidana. Arum wasn’t surprised in the least by Broner’s loss because he had noted then kinds of opposition that he’d been fighting up until the Maidana fight, and he felt that he hadn’t shown that he was anywhere near being a great fighter. Arum saw a lot of other fighters who he felt were better than Broner.
Floyd Mayweather Sr. says he saw Adrien Broner’s fight last Saturday night against Marcos Maidana, and he doesn’t believe Broner can go anywhere in the sport with the skill-set that he currently has. Mayweather Sr. sees too many flaws in his game for Broner to get to the next level, but he thinks he can fix the problems in his game and take him to the next level.
Photo: CARLOS BAEZA – Welterweight Josesito Lopez (31-6, 18 KO’s) looked like a shell of his former self tonight in struggling badly to defeat journeyman Mike Arnaoutis (24-10-1, 11 KO’s) by an unimpressive 8th round technical decision caused by a head-butt in the 8th round at the Fantasy Springs Casino, in Indio, California, USA.
In a fight that should have never been made, WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion (13-0, 8 KO’s) easily beat a ring-rusty veteran Joseph Agbeko (29-5m 22 KO’s) in winning a ridiculously easy 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Rigondeaux was too fast for Agbeko, and was able to hit him cleanly with left hands all night long. Agbeko tried hard to land his shots, but he was too slow and way out of out of his class.
In a surprise upset, former WBA midleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18 KO’s) came out fast and knocked IBF middleweight champion Darren Barker (26-2, 16 KO’s) out in the 2nd round tonight at the Porsche Arena, in Stuttgart, Germany. Barker was knocked down twice in the 2nd round from clubbing right hands to the head from Sturm.
Carl Froch’s good friend Tony Bellew (20-2-1, 12 KO’s) was literally bludgeoned into submission in a 6th round stoppage loss last Saturday night at the hands of WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (23-1, 20 KO’s) at the Colisee de Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.