Sometimes, people wonder why reporters write about rumors.
The answer is always the same, because the rumor is newsworthy because of the celebrity factor and/or because of the wide circulation of the rumor.
Sometimes, a rumor’s existence can be news in and of itself.
So it is with the persistent drumbeats, heard even in faraway Baguio, Philippines, at the training camp of Manny Pacquiao by his promoter Bob Arum.
I first heard this one about 10 days ago and this week it’s been picking up steam. In fact, a Facebook friend just quizzed me about it.
I know, I know. Get to the point, Marley.
Word in boxing circles has it that undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose life has been a soap opera in recent years, will return to the ring in late June or in July to fight “Pittsburgh Kid” and fellow southpaw Paul Spadafora.
Mayweather, who last fought and outpointed Sugar Shane Mosley (now Pacman’s May 7 foe) last May 1, has a pro record of 41-0 with 25 knockouts.
Spadafora, who was shot by police before he turned pro and later went to prison for shooting his lover, owns a pro mark of 38-0-1 with 19 KOs.
“I have heard the rumor,” Arum told me when he landed in Las Vegas Thursday. “I heard it but whether it’s true or not, I have no idea. None.”
Spadafora, age 35, has lived a melodramtic life outside the ring which makes Mayweather’s almost look like a church picnic.
The heavily tattooed fighter, whose amateur record was 75-5 and is a former IBF lightweight champion,participated in a well-known Las Vegas sparring session in which he seemed to get the best of an ill-conditioned Mayweather back in 1999.
More than 102,070 people have viewed the seven-minute sparring clip on YouTube, which has to be some kind of record in its category. Keep in mind that the video was taken 10 years ago.
Spadafora, promoted by Mike Acri, was once an HBO boxing star but his ring career has been interruped by violent, criminal conduct and drug use which led to prison stints.
The most infamous Spadafora incident is this, as recorded on Wikipedia:
“On October 29, 2003, Spadafora was arrested and accused in the shooting of his pregnant girlfriend, Nadine Russo. The story was that Spadafore and Russo were driving in Paul’s new H3 Hummer on the night of October the 26th. An argument broke out between the two over the paternity of Russo’s unborn child; it ended outside a local gas station where Spadafora allegedly shot Russo in the midsection. Spadafora was released after posting a $50,000 bond.
On September 7, 2004, he was arrested again for running a car into a parked police cruiser while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. At the same time, he announced that he and Russo were planning to get married on September 29, 2004. His personal troubles continued on December 11 when he was arrested after a urine test showed traces of cocaine in his body. On December 20, he plead guilty to drug use charges and was jailed immediately.
On February 23, 2005, Spadafora was sentenced to 21 to 60 months in prison for the attempted murder of Nadine Russo.”
