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

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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Lara schools Ishe Smith in one-sided fight

In an impressive performance, WBA 154 pound champion Erislandy Lara (20-2-2, 12 KOs) put on a boxing clinic in defeating grizzled veteran Ishe Smith (26-7, 12 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision tonight to retain his WBA title at the Illusions Theater at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Smith, 36, tried his best, but Lara picked him apart with left hand pot shots in the center of the ring from rounds 2 through 12. Smith had his moments in rounds 1, 7 and 11, but that was the extent of it. He simply was no match for the faster, cleaner landing Lara while the two were in the center of the ring. Smith did well when he was able to trap Lara against the ropes and land body shots.

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De la Hoya, Canelo Forced to Wait on Cotto

Within the past two weeks, it seems that talks between the Cotto and Canelo camps have gone from hot to cold. What initially appeared to be on the brink of getting done has suddenly presented a reality which boast the polar opposite. Last week, Oscar De la Hoya said that he and Canelo had signed the deal, and were simply waiting on Team Cotto.

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, one source close to Cotto made it very clear that this “process” is not quite a done deal. When asked specifically, the source stated “while Canelo is the fight we want, we’re also cognizant of the fact that we do have options; most which will listen more and dictate less”.

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“Night of Champions” card honors Dan Goossen in style

photos by Tiffany Lam: Thursday night ESPN Boxing put on a special three-hour telecast featuring four bouts. It was all part of a stacked Goossen Promotions card at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula California dedicated to the memory of the late Dan Goossen.

http://youtu.be/naCRgLDaZTk

In the main event, 46-year-old Antonio Tarver was coming in off a yearlong layoff against Detroit native Johnathon Banks, who was making his ring return after a year and half off himself. The heavyweight fight started very slowly, drawing boos from the crowd. But Tarver the former light-heavyweight champion of the world, appeared to be in control, occasionally timing his opponent and landing clean left hands that buzzed him. Banks did absolutely nothing but feint and tie up, hardly throwing a punch in the early rounds. Tarver’s game plan was obvious, to lure Banks in for a big counterpunch. But would he have the speed, and power, to pull it off?

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Khan vs. Alexander: East meets West at the crossroads

Contender crossroads is the theme heading into Saturday nights Showtime main event from the MGM Grand in the city that never sleeps Las Vegas. If Amir wins he will be in line for a huge fight. If Devon wins he saves a once promising career.

For the last two years the only thing that Amir Kahn talks about in interviews is Floyd Mayweather. That and how he’s made significant improvements to his tool belt as a boxer. If Amir Khan can be 75% as good as he thinks he is major fights will be on tap for 2015 and beyond.

Slowly but surely the tide is turning in Khan’s favor for landing Mayweather. There is a small swell of fans who think Khan is being ducked because of his skill set and speed. Meanwhile, his handlers have been carefully matching him after Danny Garcia stopped Khan in the summer of 2012.

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Trout defeats Grajeda; Tarver stops Banks

#6 WBA Austin Trout (28-2, 15 KOs) proved tonight he could beat a 2nd tier fighter in stopping Luis Grajeda (17-4-2, 13 KOs) in the 7th round at the Pechanga Resort & Casino, in Temecula, California, USA. Grajeda didn’t come out for the 8th round and the fight was halted with him on his stool. It was a boring fight from start to finish with Trout taking the fight to a reluctant looking Grajeda. Both guys were counter punchers, but Trout was clearly the better fighter of the two by far.

You have to wonder why Trout was fighting someone of this class. Trout looked horrible in his last fight against Daniel Dawson, which is perhaps why his management chose to step him down in competition rather than move him up a level. We basically learned nothing from this fight other than the fact that Trout can beat an over-matched opponent without much punching power. Trout is likely going to still have the same problems in the future once he’s stepped up a couple of levels to face someone with punching power.

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Thurman: Amir Khan is overrated

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Interim WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman says he sees #1 WBC, #2 WBA Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) as an overrated fighter. Thurman feels that Khan hasn’t beaten anyone at welterweight yet, and that he’s now fighting Devon Alexander for a possible chance to get a fight against boxing’s biggest star Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Thurman feels that Khan should at least be fighting actual welterweights without catch-weights. Thurman has made no secret to the fact that he’d be more than willing to share the ring with Khan if he would be willing to take the fight.

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Rau’shee Warren, Jordan Shimmell & Thomas Williams Jr. headline solid Holiday Boxing Bash card Friday in Chicago

Boxing returns to Chicago with a bang this Friday at the UIC Pavilion as Rau’shee Warren, Jordan Shimmell and Thomas Williams Jr. headline a card in which ten of the twelve bouts on tap feature an undefeated fighter looking to maintain an unblemished record. Barring a slight miracle – an evening of zero upsets – someone’s “0” seems bound to go.

Dubbed the “Holiday Boxing Bash” by Warriors Boxing Promotions, the card promises to deliver high-level boxing to fans in attendance given the vast amateur pedigree and professional experience of the fighters.

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Bradley: Diego Chaves ain’t no joke

Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) knows he’s in for a tough fight this Saturday night against the heavy-handed Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Bradley knows this could be potentially a very tough fight for him if Chaves brings his A-game and he’s able to connect with his power shots.

Bradley says he’s not going to take the 28-year-old Chaves lightly, because he doesn’t want this fight to be tougher than it needs to be. For Bradley to win this fight in flying colors, he’s going to need to treat Chaves much like he did Juan Manuel Marquez in using movement, a stiff jab and fast combinations to keep Chaves from landing his shots.

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Andy Lee plans on using his experience to defeat Matt Korobov

Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs) has a tough fight on his hands on Saturday night in taking on undefeated #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) for the vacant WBO 160 pound title at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. This may be the last shot for the 30-year-old Lee, because a loss to Korobov is going to knock him back to square one, and it’s going to take an awfully long time to build his way back up to where he is now.

Even at #4 WBO, you can make an argument that Lee doesn’t deserve that ranking because he hasn’t beaten a decent middleweight since his win over Brian Vera three years ago in 2011. Lee’s wins since then has come against middleweights with marginal talent, and against junior middleweights like John Jackson.

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