Mayweather Jr. vs. Pacquiao on May 2: Bob Arum says that’s Canelo’s date

12/20/201412/15/2014 Vitali Shaposhnikov

In a recent interview with Showtime’s Steve Farhood, Floyd Mayweather Jr. made it absolutely clear that he is ready to cross the ropes and face Manny Pacquiao on May 2 of next year:

“I’d love to fight Manny Pacquiao”;”Bob Arum is stopping the fight. We have been trying to make this fight happen behind the scenes for years now, but the fans and the people have been fooled because they have been listening to people on just one side. Now it’s time for us to talk. We want to fight. We’re ready. Let’s make it happen May 2nd, Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Let’s do it!”, “Let’s make this fight happen for the people and for the fans, Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, May 2nd, ‘Cinco de Mayweather,” were some of the things that Money May stated during the interview.

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Mayweather wants Pacquiao fight for May 2nd on Cinco de Mayo

12/15/201412/13/2014 Rob Smith

Earlier tonight on Showtime, WBA/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr said he’d be interested in facing Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd if the fight can be made. Mayweather invited talks with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank to work on putting the fight together. However, Mayweather pointed out that he feels that the 36-year-old Pacquiao is begging for a fight with him by the way he’s been looking to fight him recently.

Mayweather said that the negotiation point won’t be the same as it was in the past when he attempted to fight Pacquiao in 2010 and was willing to give him a 50-50 deal. Mayweather says Pacquiao has twice lost since that fight. Just what kind of purse split Mayweather would be looking to get is anyone’s guess. It’s not likely that he’ll agree to anything in the neighborhood of 55-45. I’d be surprised if Mayweather even agrees to a 60-40 split given the way Pacquiao’s pay-per-view numbers have been reportedly tanking.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag – Pacquiao, Mayweather, Khan, Thurman, & More!

11/26/2014 Vivek Wallace

Laney G. (Oakland, CA): For the first time in a few years, I feel very strongly about Manny Pacquiao. I thought he looked strong and as good as we’ve seen since the knockout. How did you rate his performance and do you think he’s a threat to Mayweather?

Vivek W. (ESB): I like to look at the big picture when making my assessments. In this situation, like any other, I think it’s another one of those times when you have to also see the good, the bad, and the “ugly”, each for what they truly are. On the “good” side, I would agree, totally, that this is the best I’ve seen Pacquiao since prior to the Marquez stoppage. He threw nearly 700 punches, he was fast, and his power proved to be very much a threat to anyone facing him. There’s a reason why I’ve rated him as my personal favorite offensive fighter in the game for nearly a decade now.

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Pacquiao looking past Algieri fight towards Mayweather

11/14/201411/13/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) has a formidable task ahead of him in facing the taller, younger and slicker Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) this month in their HBO pay-per-view fight from Macau, China. There’s a decent chance that Pacquiao could lose this fight if Algieri doesn’t fight stupid like Tim Bradley did in his rematch against Pacquiao. But despite Pacquiao having his hands full with Algieri, Pacquiao is still looking past him towards a big money match-up against WBA/WBC 147 pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

That’s the fight that Pacquiao badly wants if he can get it. Pacquiao had an opportunity to get the Mayweather fight on several occasions, but the fights failed to take place due to questionable decisions on Pacquiao’s part.

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Pacquiao: After Algieri fight, we can talk about Mayweather

11/02/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) doesn’t want to talk about a potential mega-fight against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr right now, because he doesn’t want to give the impression that he’s name dropping in order to increase pay-per-view sales for his fight this month against Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

Some boxing fans believe that the only reason why Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum have been talking about Mayweather in the run up to the Algieri fight is because the interest in the fight has been less than huge. The fight might ultimately bring in respectable PPV results, but few hardcore boxing fans are excited about it.

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Bradley says Mayweather wouldn’t be the toughest opponent, but still wants to fight him

10/22/2014 Bill Phanco

Welterweight contender Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) says he’s going to be moving up in weight to 154 to target the top fighters in that weight class. He’s specifically interested in fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Besides those guys, Bradley says he’d like to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr, because he’s already fought Manny Pacquuiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the past.

Interestingly enough, Bradley doesn’t see Mayweather as being the toughest opponent for him. He doesn’t say who’s tougher, but you’d have to assume he means Pacquiao, Cotto or Canelo. Bradley’s coming off of a 12 round decision loss to Pacquiao in his last fight in April of this year in a one-sided loss.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag – Mayweather vs Khan, Golovkin, Donaire, & Steven A. Smith

10/15/2014 Vivek Wallace

Barry N. (Houston, TX): Floyd Mayweather has ripped several people in the news lately and it’s not only uncalled for, but also kind of hard to understand it all. What do you think is really going on with him lately?

Vivek W. (ESB): The on-going drama we’ve seen lately between these four men have somewhat reached a boiling point. While Smith and Mayweather Sr. have stepped away from the table, it seems little Floyd and Khan still have a few things to air out, which we’ve heard lately. There are so many different angles to this discussion that I don’t even know where to start, but I guess the safest statement for me to lead off with is the fact that I think there’s a hint of truth to all of their respective positions, with the exception of maybe Steven A. Smith’s.

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Khan questions whether Mayweather can outbox him

10/15/2014 T.Baker

Recently ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith said on his “First Take” program on ESPN that he felt that if WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr opted to face Amir Khan but not World Boxing Organization 147lb champion Manny Pacquiao in one of his last two remaining fights that he would come on ESPN and say Mayweather is avoiding a fight against Pacquiao.

Smith had no problems with Mayweather finishing his career with fights against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, because he felt those two fighters were worthy for Mayweather to fight instead of Pacquiao. But Smith doesn’t believe Khan is worthy of a fight against Mayweather, as he points out that Khan was destroyed by Danny Garcia in four rounds just two years ago in 2012, and that Khan doesn’t have the same box office appeal as Mayweather does.

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Mayweather: If Canelo-Cotto think they can compete [for my dates], then let’s see

10/11/2014 T.Baker

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) is welcoming World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to try and fight on the same dates as him in 2015 in May and September.

Mayweather feels that his pay-per-view numbers are better than those two fighters, and he believes he’s the guy that boxing fans will want to see if they have a choice to pick between which pay-per-view event to see if they’re competing on different networks.

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Mayweather: Khan has Danny Garcia problems & Pacquiao has Marquez problems

10/10/2014 Rob Smith

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr says the recent quotes coming from a British boxing site about him being interested in facing Amir Khan are total lies. Mayweather says he didn’t make those quotes, and he’s not sure who he plans on fighting next.

Mayweather says Khan still has unfinished business with WBA/WBC 140lb champion Danny Garcia, who knocked Khan out in the 4th round two years ago in July 2012. Khan never avenged the loss to Garcia, and he still hasn’t avenged his losses to Breidis Prescott and Lamont Peterson.

Mayweather also says that Manny Pacquiao still has unfinished business with Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was knocked out cold by Marquez in the 6th round by him two years ago, and he still hasn’t fought Marquez since then to try and avenge the defeat. Marquez reportedly priced himself out of the November fight against Pacquiao by asking for too much money.

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