[thehype]

Pacfanatics will find this hard to believe, but you guys should already know that I wouldn't lie to you...

Some inside sources have told me that apparently Freddie Roach doesn't like the idea of Manny fighting Mayweather. He's not so confident that Manny would have as much success against a style like Floyd's so he prefers to push that fight back as much as possible and would rather fight guys like Cotto or Mosley, who are more willing to come right at PacMan. That's part of the reason why he says Mayweather vs. Marquez will be a boring fight...he's basically setting up an excuse to delay the fight.

I can't say that I blame him though. After working with a great counter-puncher like James Toney for so many years, he's fully aware of the difficulties in facing that style. While I'm sure he's confident of Manny, I also think he knows that a fight with Cotto or Mosley might be easier stylistically for his fighter, so he'd rather face them first....hence the reason why they're not going to wait on Mayweather.

Anyway, not that it matters much though since I highly doubt the two sides would come to agreement on the split anyway...just thought it was interesting. That's not to say that the fight won't happen though as HBO could easily throw a ton of money at them that they just couldn't refuse. But still...Freddie Roach is a smart man. Despite what he may say to the rest of the world, he does recognize the task at hand if Manny were to indeed face Mayweather.

Speaking of Mayweather, sources also tell me that Al Haymon played a major role in Floyd's decision to return. Apparently, a lot of the money-making schemes that Floyd thought he would get (movie roles, book deals, video games, concert promotions) just didn't pan out. He was under the impression that he'd become some big concert promoter in the music industry. He was hoping Al Haymon, a major concert promoter in his own right, would bring him into the business by co-promoting events with him. Haymon essentially told Floyd that he didn't need to waste his time co-promoting with him because Floyd brought nothing to the table...basically, he reminded him that he's just a fighter and if he ain't fighting, quite frankly, he didn't have any use for him. Ouch! Damn Al! Help a brotha out!

Speaking of brothas, apparently, Zab Judah vs. Randall Bailey isn't even close to happening. Judah's is trying to pull some strings in hopes of getting a fight with Bailey sanctioned for the title. The problem is that Judah is currently ranked #7 by the IBF. Bailey's no fool. He knows he's sitting in the #1 position and he's not going to jeopardize his chance of getting a crack at the title. I guess I should probably turn that into a blurb and put it out there on the front page. LOL.

[Mean Mister Must...]

One would have assumed that at this point in Pacquiao's career he would care more about legacy. I mean, after Mayweather beats Marquez isn't that the best time to make a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight? Pacquiao would have little to lose, he's already proven he's an all time great. The only thing that a defeat might affect would be his paychecks and I said MIGHT. He sure didn't self destruct after the Morales loss. I don't get it, why be afraid of a loss?

As for Mayweather returning, I was not surprised, never believed he was retired and along with other posters still considered him an active fighter. He's one of the best known boxers in the U.S but that isn't enough to become a mianstream star. I mean he got voted off that Dancing show not because he was bad but because no one cared about him. I think that speaks volumes about how little sway boxing has on the mainstream, that when a fighter transcends boxing for just a little bit they view that as a big feat and immediatly think they are big stars.

[Lil-lightsout]

Me personally, I could care less if Mayweather and Pac fought. I pretty much see Mayweather dominating Pac anyway, unless Pac could land a big shot and hurt PBF. It is just a fight where the hype is ridiculous right now, and people want to see it. I would much rather see Pac fight Bradley, Guzman, or JMM at 140. And if Pac did move up to 147, a fight with him and Mosley, Cotto, Berto-Urango winner would be far more entertaining to watch.

As for PBF, after JMM, I would rather him in with some welterweights anyways or take a chance and call PW back down to welterweight. I would love the style match-up between PBF and PW. It would be refreshing for someone to call out PW for once.

[Box in Hand]

This was something I posted before. Roach may move slow but he isn't stupid. He knows Mayweather beats Pac. I'm surprised at anyone thinking Manny can win. They say Mayweather runs, I say he hits without getting hit. They say he's boring, I say he's methodical. They say he's scared, I say he's tactical. I know I'm gonna catch shit for that because May has so many enemies and I don't blame them. He tries to be Ali but Ali had class May doesn't. I just ask people to use logic. Mayweather is a counter puncher which kills Manny's style. He also has speed which Manny has but most of Manny's opponents have been slow (Diaz, De La Hoya, Marquez, etc.). Bottom line is, if you use logic you will see, Mayweather rocks Pac Man.

[BoxingPain]

Sorry to say but that's completely BS. Every message board always has some posters saying they have friends who have inside sources.

I'd rather believe Ariza, Pac's conditioning coach as he's clearly in the inner circle. According to him that appeared in this article, http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports1_may14_2009
Roach wants Mayweather Jr.

Roach has always been consistent that he wants the biggest money fight for Pac and Mayweather is it. Roach has never been one to throw initial volleys of trash talking but he's doing a lot of that lately about Mayweather. After the De La Hoya fight, he issued a challenge to May to come out of retirement and they'll give him his first L. Lately, he's been commenting about Mayweather-Marquez being a fight only for no. 2 and that Floyd should be called Fraud... he's not number 1. Basically, he's saying Pac is no. 1. and if May wants to be no. 1, he needs to fight Pac. If he really didn't want Mayweather, he won't be goading Mayweather's camp.

As for who is going to win the fight if Pac and May met... I also think May has the upper hand if May is still the old May. We'll see how he looks on July 18.

[Sugar Q]

It's good that it has finally come out which team is full of shit. It was clear all along that it was team Pacquiao that doesn't want this fight. The Marquez fight is nerve wrecking for them cause not only does Mayweather beat Marquez but he stops him. Also the myth of who's the bigger draw has come to surface which right now clearly is Mayweather. I honestly don't see this fight happening specially if Manny has to get past the Clottey/Cotto winner.

[salvador]

Hype,

I was shocked to see you have Pac winning by "controversial split decision" over Floyd in your article today. I just can't see it.

Roach is totally right to be concerned because Floyd's going to be the quickest fighter Manny's ever faced and Pac simply won't be coming in without eating some quick, heavy, accurate jabs from Floyd all night. Manny is too small for Floyd AND Pac's style is tailor made for Floyd. It's insane for Pac to fight Floyd before he's fought both Guzman and Valero (particularly Valero). That said, this fight seems to be the only thing anyone in the sport wants and my guess is that Pac will have one more fight before seeing Floyd sometime next spring.

Judah-Bailey: now that's a fight I'd LOVE to see. And if Judah won, I'd love to see him fight Pac at 140. Floyd can wait. Better yet, Floyd can fight a real ww while he waits.

[thehype]

Sorry to say but that's completely BS. Every message board always has some posters saying they have friends who have inside sources.

I'd rather believe Ariza, Pac's conditioning coach as he's clearly in the inner circle. According to him that appeared in this article, http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports1_may14_2009
Roach wants Mayweather Jr.

Roach has always been consistent that he wants the biggest money fight for Pac and Mayweather is it. Roach has never been one to throw initial volleys of trash talking but he's doing a lot of that lately about Mayweather. After the De La Hoya fight, he issued a challenge to May to come out of retirement and they'll give him his first L. Lately, he's been commenting about Mayweather-Marquez being a fight only for no. 2 and that Floyd should be called Fraud... he's not number 1. Basically, he's saying Pac is no. 1. and if May wants to be no. 1, he needs to fight Pac. If he really didn't want Mayweather, he won't be goading Mayweather's camp.

As for who is going to win the fight if Pac and May met... I also think May has the upper hand if May is still the old May. We'll see how he looks on July 18.

Ummmm...for one, I'm not just some poster who says he has friends who have inside sources...I think I've dropped enough scoops over the years to warrant some credibility around here and in the industry, but whatever. Believe what you want. While Ariza is telling a Philippine newspaper that Roach only wants Mayweather, Roach is actually coming on record himself and telling credible sources like Brian Kenny of ESPN that they're not going to wait for Mayweather. In fact, I believe his direct quote was:

We're not going to wait for Floyd, that's for sure. No, we won't wait for him! The thing is we're waiting to see what happens in the Cotto fight and we're going to wait and see what Shane decides on. You know, everyone wants to fight Pacquiao because that's where the money is now so Valero's been mentioned, Victor Ortiz has been mentioned, Amir Khan has been mentioned, even though I train him, but the most attractive one and the biggest fight and I think the fight that people want to see, of course, is Mayweather.

That was just last Thursday. I'm not saying Roach is an idiot...of course he realizes that the biggest and most profitable fight is one with Mayweather. I'm just saying that he also thinks that out of all the options out there, Mayweather presents the most difficult style to look good against and if he had his choice of the next multi-million dollar fight, he'd rather face a guy coming at Pacquiao than a guy who's a counter puncher. Now, that's not to say things can't change. If Manny truly is considering retirement after his next fight, then of course Freddie is going to say, "what the hell...let's take a crack at Floyd!" However, what I was told on Tuesday was that a discussion was held with Roach over the weekend and when asked by some brass at HBO for his preference of who to face next, Roach commented that he didn't think Mayweather's style was a good fit for Manny so he preferred to face someone who comes right at him in order to produce a more exciting and entertaining fight.

Take it for what it's worth. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're ducking Floyd...it just means if Manny has 3 or 4 more fights still in him, Roach would rather face a couple of other guys that he thinks are beatable before facing Floyd. Truth be told, that makes good business sense...especially if you want the upper hand at the negotiating table, which Pacquiao simply won't have if Mayweather beats Marquez (as an undefeated fighter who already beat everyone that Pacquiao has recently beaten, HBO is going to favor Mayweather since he doesn't have a promoter, hence the reason they were so anxious for him to come back and willing to give him so much damn money).

[Mean Mister Must...]

From what the front page indicates, the Pacquiao-Hatton fight did around 850 000 buys. Not bad but certainly not the 2 mil. that were being reported.

[thehype]

I also forgot to mention that HBO and Arum actually prefer the Cotto fight as they're hoping it'll be somewhat competitive and could possibly warrant a rematch depending on the outcome. They believe the Filippino and Puerto Rican clash will generate some serious PPV dollars.