Arum to stick it out with Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations until the bitter end

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he’s going to stick it out with the negotiations between his fighter Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr and not nail like he did in 2009 when he attempted to negotiate a fight between the two stars for the first time. For boxing fans who may have forgotten what happened in that situation, Arum quickly pulled Pacquiao out of the negotiations when the two fighters reached a stalemate over the blood testing that Mayweather wanted.

Instead of sticking it out and finishing the negotiations, Arum moved Pacquiao into a fight with one of his stable fighters Joshua Clottey and the fight failed to do impressive numbers like some of Pacquiao’s other fights.

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Deontay Wilder: Stiverne has never fought anyone with my athletic skills

6’7” American heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) figures that his athletic skills will be too much for the 36-year-old Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) in their fight this Saturday on 1/17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wilder intends on showing an athletic side to his game that he feels that the short, and slightly pudgy looking Stiverne has never seen before in his 10-year pro career.

Deontay wants to get in quickly, nail Stiverne with a big right hand to knock him out, and then get out of there so that he can move on to bigger and better things in his career like a fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. That’s where Wilder will begin to start making the big money.

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Arum waiting for Mayweather’s signature on contract for Pacquiao fight

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says that WBA/WBC 147 pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr hasn’t come forth to sign his part of the contract for a mega-fight against Arum’s money guy Manny Pacquiao for a fight on May 2nd. According to Arum, Pacquiao has signed off on everything that Mayweather wants in the negotiations but the fight still hasn’t signed by Floyd.

Arum is starting to think that it’ll be like the first negotiations that took place between the two superstars in 2009 in which Mayweather chose not to sign for the fight after Pacquiao didn’t agree to the full random blood testing that he wanted in order to fight the Filipino fighter.

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Robert Garcia picks Mayweather Jr., but skeptical on fight happening

Despite the fact that the rumors of a Mayweather Jr. vs. Pacquiao fight being signed by the end of the month are at their highest, Robert Garcia believes that the fight is not going to come to fruition.

“I don’t see that happening. There’s too much pride between both camps, promoters, TV networks. Mayweather wants the bigger chink and I think well-deserved. I just don’t see it happening,” stated Garcia in a recent interview with Hustle Boss.

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Brandon Rios: The Alvarado fight is a do-or-die match for me

Former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (32-2-1, 23 KOs) sees his fight against Mike Alvarado (34-3, 23 KOs) this month as a do-or-die fight for him when the two meet up on HBO on January 24th at the 1stBank Center, Bloomfield, Colorado, USA. Rios has recent losses to Manny Pacquiao and Alvarado, and what should have been a loss to Diego Chaves.

It’s safe to say that Rios hasn’t fought well since his 7th round knockout win over Alvarado nearly three years ago in October of 2012. It’s unclear if the punishment that Rios took in the first fight deteriorated his physical skills or if he’s simply faced better opposition since the first fight. Whatever the case, Rios is no longer shining like he once did, and there’s major questions about how much he had left in the tank.

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Mayweather-Pacquiao fight likely to have rematch clause, Khan frozen out

Amir Khan could very well find himself frozen out completely in his dream to face either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao in 2015. The Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations, which are rumored to be going smoothly, are said to likely have a rematch clause in the contract so that the loser of the fight can get an immediate rematch in 2015.

This means that Khan’s chances of fighting one of the two huge stars are very, very poor. As it was, Khan didn’t have a good chance of fighting Mayweather in the second half of the year unless Mayweather was willing to move off the September fight date that he usually fights on.

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Groves with tough task in facing Anthony Dirrell, says Froch

IBF/WBA super middleweight champ Carl Froch sees a tough road for his recent knockout victim George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) if and when he faces WBC super middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell (27-0-1, 22 KOs) in the United States. Froch thinks that the 26-year-old Groves could have problems if he fights Dirrell in the U.S, although it’s hard to see why it would be any different than it would be if the fight were to take place elsewhere.

Groves doesn’t have to fight Dirrell in order to get a title shot. He can wait until Froch gives up his IBF title, and then face James DeGale for the vacant strap or look to fight the winner of DeGale vs. Andre Dirrell for the title.

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Deontay Wilder can beat Stiverne in 3 or 4 rounds, says Foreman

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman believes that American Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) has what it takes to unseat WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) this Saturday night in their fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Foreman thinks that the 6’7” Deontay has to fight the way that brought him this far by him being aggressive and not letting up on the shorter 36-year-old Stiverne.

Foreman thinks that Deontay needs to be smart but aggressive at all times. He can’t play it safe against Stiverne and expect to win.

“If he stays aggressive, Deontay Wilder wins but he’s got to fight downhill and stay aggressive against Bermane Stiverne. As long as Wilder remains aggressive, then I think I could have [Stiverne] out of there in three or four rounds,” Foreman said via RingTV.com.

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Anthony Joshua injured, fight with Kevin Johnson off

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua (10-0, 10 KOs) will need to take some time off to heal a back injury he sustained in his last fight against Michael Sprott. The injury to the 25-year-old Joshua’s back means that his fight against American Kevin Johnson will be canceled for January 31st.

Joshua has a stress fracture in his back from his 1st round stoppage win over the 39-year-old Sprott two months ago on November 22nd. Joshua did something during the fight that tweaked his back, and he’s been slow healing ever since then. It goes without saying that Joshua should have taken some time off from the gym rather than getting back into training recently.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Mayweather vs Pacquiao, Roc-Nation, Andre Ward, Broner, & More!

Jason H. (Brooklyn, NYC): I was very shocked to see your post last week about Mayweather and Pacquiao and the fact that the fight is nearly signed. Considering all that has happened since this fight was first discussed, can you give your thoughts on the road to get here and what you think it will be like once they actually fight?

Vivek W.: The road to get here…..all the drama between the two camps, the lies, the lawsuits, the subsequent bouts…..it’s been a hell of a ride, but truthfully, I don’t know if I’d change any of it. The buildup we’ve just experienced is unlike any we’ll ever experience again. Some say the fight is years too late. I say there’s never a bad time to see a good fight. When you examine things closely, both men have appeared to slow down a bit. That being said, they both remain head and shoulders above practically all of their contemporaries! Styles make fights, and this showdown is no different.

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