Showtime Sports big time boss vice president Stephen Espinosa came out of the woodwork on Friday quash the rumors about the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Robert Guerrero fight resulting in less than 1 million pay per view buys on Showtime from last Saturday night. Espinosa says the fight did no less than 1 million PPV buys, although he’s still not sure what the full tally is as of now, but it is more than 1 million.
Month: May 2013
Mayweather: 44 have tried and 44 have failed
The MGM Grand boasts in excess of 6500 guestrooms. Its sprawling casino is an endless maze of over 2500 illuminated gaming machines. No less than 19 restaurants cater for the discerning appetites of its multi-national clientele. Considering such extravagant interiors it is by no coincidence that this past week the largest advertisement conceivable was draped over its glazed exterior bearing the proud caption: The Home of the Champion.
The pound for pound king put his own spin on the famous acronym when he coined the phrase ‘Mayweather Gets Money’, referring to his guaranteed 32 million dollar jackpot. The Grand Garden Arena has become the workplace of choice for the unbeaten champion with his last 7 contests all selling out the 16,800 capacity venue.
Malignaggi vs. Broner: A bad Matchup for Paulie
With the back and forth banter between WBA 147lb champ Paulie Malignaggi and WBC 135lb champ Adrien Broner set aside, it looks like this could be one hell of a scrap. Malignaggi is the bigger man and Broner is moving up 2 weight classes to face him. But…when you look a little closer at this matchup there are red flags all around that will make it a very hard fight for Malignaggi to win, in terms of style matchup, ring generalship, punching power and skills in-general.
In boxing and amateur wrestling it is common practice to train down to your figting weight shedding pounds and water to make weight and thereafter rehydrating the body regaining some of that lost weight. With this in mind Broner has been adding weight to his 5’7″ frame so he can train down to the 147lb limit, prompting Malignaggi to say “The only training that Broner is doing is at the buffet”.
Deontay Wilder Arrested in Vegas For Strangulation
By Vitali Shaposhnikov: It appears as thought Deontay Wilder has recently joined the criminal record boxing club. Wilder was arrested for domestic assault in Las Vegas, but was later released after a very hefty jail bond fee of $15,000 was paid. He has now been scheduled to appear in court on July 3.
Thus far there are no details available. Rumor mill has it that he was strangling someone, and police were called. His trainer Jay Deas claimed that he has no information on what had happened, and only knew that Wilder was heading to Vegas for the Mayweather Jr. bout.
Brandon Rios vs. Freight Train Manny Pacquiao on November 24
By Vitali Shaposhnikov: I assume that at this point, most of you already know that Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios are slated to meet inside the ring come November 24th. This will be a very unusual fight in a sense that it will be taking place in China, far away from where both fighters are used to going to work. This may turn out to be a bad decision, taking the sport of boxing away from where both men earned their status, but Top Rank is convinced that this decision will yield much better profits by lowering the tax fees.
Brandon Rios is a well established fighter, and with a record of 31 wins and only one loss (lost his last fight to Mike Alvarado), it’s only fair to take him as a serious threat to any fighter. Of course the mystery of how he gets to be the first in line to fight Pacquiao after a loss is a mystery to many boxing fans and analysts.
Amir Khan vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2014?
After this past Saturday night, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. made his fight against Robert Guerrero look like a sparring session rather than a world championship bout, the mystery of how to beat Floyd remains in tact.
Every fighter has promised to do what Floyd’s previous opponent failed to deliver, but thus cycle has been ongoing for all of his 44 fights. Of course knowing Mayweather Jr., he is as much a businessman as he is a fighter, and he knows how to make them most of his promotional effort.
One of the main names mentioned for Mayweather Jr. as the next potential challenger is Saul Alvarez, but it seems as though Amir Khan in more on the Money Team’s radar as this point in time.
Left-Hook Lounge: Vivek Wallace touches on Mayweather/Guerrero, Canelo, Ortiz, & Rosado vs Love!
Marv G. (Charlotte, NC): Despite the layoff, time in jail, and partying, I really thought Mayweather looked incredible. Do you think Guerrero was just a joke? Or do you think Floyd is really that good?
Vivek W. (ESB): We’ve seen quite a few fighters around the sport enter the ring with far less time off and the effects the layoff is typically very much pronounced. I don’t care who you are and what your profession is, you’d be hard-pressed to see anyone take that amount of time off and still be able to execute at such a high level. I saw a few things that let me know Mayweather isn’t totally who he used to be. But in the end, what I saw most is that he doesn’t have to be. Michael Jordan at 90% was still heads above everyone across from him. In the case of Floyd Mayweather, I don’t think things are any different.
Exclusive Interview with junior welterweight contender Cleotis Pendarvis
“This dude Dierry Jean don’t even know what he got himself into, man. When they signed that contract, they signed that contract because they thought that this was going to be an easy contest. This is not a contest. This is a fight!”—Cleotis Pendarvis
This Friday night on SHOBOX: The New Generation, a clash between junior welterweight contenders Cleotis Pendarvis (17-3, 6 KOs) and Dierry Jean (24-0, 16 KOs) will take place in order to determine the new IBF mandatory challenger. Last night I was afforded the opportunity to speak with Pendarvis, and the 26 year old Los Angeles southpaw shared his views on his upcoming opportunity. He also discussed a number of other topics, which included his boxing philosophy, working with Sugar Shane Mosley as his chief sparring partner for Friday’s match, future aspirations, Floyd Mayweather’s dominant victory over Robert Guerrero, the showdown between Lucas Matthysse and Lamont Peterson, and more. Here is a complete transcript from that interview:
GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoff Ciani from East Side Boxing, and I am here today with junior welterweight contender Cleotis Pendarvis. How’s everything going today, Cleotis?
CLEOTIS PENDARVIS: Oh, it’s going on man. It’s going fine. It’s going well. You know I’m just toning it down. Camp went well. I’m basically ready.
CIANI: Great! Now your big fight coming up this weekend against Dierry Jean is an IBF eliminator bout that will be televised on Showtime. You said camp went well and that you’re basically ready. Can you tell us a little bit more about your training and preparations?
Audio:
PENDARVIS: You know just in and out on a daily basis putting the miles in, the sparring in. One of the chief sparring partners was Shane Mosley and I brought in some young talent, which is around the same age as myself, very strong and powerful guys just to prepare me for the best Dierry Jean come May 10. I put in the work and did everything that I felt like I needed to do, and now camp is toning down. I’m ready to fly out and go out there and put on a performance for the world.
Mayweather defeats Guerrero: Boring is a matter of Opinion, Winning is a matter of Fact!
(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) My pre-fight ‘just the facts’ article made reference to a quicker, sharper, Money Mayweather with the return of good legs which were rested and not overtrained. Rest and pace were the recipe of success for the 36 year old. Following the Rigondeaux and Canelo fights where both men won using ‘boxing skill’, Mayweather had to put on a show to rival or exceed both men’s performances and that he did. Floyd Sr. working ‘Lil’ Floyd’s corner as chief 2nd for the 1st time in 13 years, did his part strategizing and giving good corner instructions between rounds.
Floyd fought toe-to-toe for spells and then used his legs for better ring generalship, lateral movement and advantage when needed. He beat Guerrero to the punch throughout the fight and made the Gilroy Ca., native MISS 80% of his punches. Defense that was ‘so so’ for the Cotto fight was ‘great’ for the ‘May Day’ main event. Floyd’s offensive output was conservative but most dominant and effective in rounds 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11; especially rounds 8 and 11.
Robert Guerrero Discovered It’s Never As Easy as You Think It Will Be
Floyd warned Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero that soon he would be discoveingr the real thing and not just exchanging words and verbal threats. Guerrero nodded and like Mick Dundee expressed hi had “No worries!” The Ghost was envisioning being able to beat down this man he was exchanging stare downs with. He was convinced he would be ready to deal with Floyd’s slick movements and fast hands. He was convinced he could make Floyd pay for lead rights he knew would be coming once they stepped into the squared circle. Guerrero was dead serious nothing was going to deter him from victory.
However, the reality of the night was similiar to a story Freddie Roach tells about getting ready to fight Hector “Macho Man” Camacho. Freddie prepared by getting the fastest sparring partners around. He worked hard with these guys, against their speed, and was confident he was ready for the “Macho Man”. But the reality of his night in the ring was similiar to that of Guerrero’s on Saturday night at the MGM Grand. Robert discovered just like Freddie had their real opponent’s speed was much greater than any sparring partner could duplicate. The real thing was at another level all together.