Last month, FightHype’s exclusive Mayweather After Dark series sparked a ton of reaction, both good and bad, from fans and media alike. From diehard fans who were eager to hear more from the undefeated pound-for-pound champion to members of the media who had their own series of questions, the email has not stopped pouring in since the first video went up. Although we don’t have all the answers, we do have some and I certainly don’t mind sharing my opinion, so check out what I had to say to inquiring minds who want to know all about Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and much more.
What do you honestly think of this fight? I think this will silence his critics, saying he fights, smaller guys, and all the rest of it. But also how do you think he will cope, with a southpaw and using his shoulder roll. Do you think this southpaw is a tune up fight in a way for the Pacman? Finally do you think he’s started to deteriorate? I mean we saw Pacman fighting Mosley a lot slower. Mayweather relies on his reflex’s and hand speed. Do you think they will affect him as a boxer when they are extinguished? – Martin
BT: I honestly think it’s a good fight. Victor Ortiz is an exciting young fighter who is getting the kind of opportunity that a lot of young fighters haven’t gotten in this day and age of pay-per-view attractions. When Floyd Mayweather was his age, 24, he begged for an opportunity to fight a pay-per-view cash cow like Oscar De La Hoya. Instead, Mayweather wouldn’t headline his first pay-per-view fight until 4 years later against Arturo Gatti. Go figure. Ortiz has the type of style that’s very pleasing to watch. He’ll take the fight to Mayweather, which will make the fight entertaining. Think of him as a young De La Hoya if you will. Considering that he’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime, his hunger could drive him to pull off a spectacular upset and make a huge name for himself. And let’s not forget, it’s been another long layoff for Mayweather. There’s a lot of variables that make this fight extremely interesting. I highly doubt this will silence any of his critics though. There’s always something to complain about. LOL. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think Floyd is using Victor Ortiz as a tune-up for Manny at all. I think Floyd was planning on fighting some time late this year regardless, so if Ortiz would have lost to Berto, obviously he wouldn’t have the opportunity right now. I don’t know if I’d say he’s deteriorating, but I do think the long layoffs aren’t good for his timing and reflexes. If Floyd wasn’t coming off the long layoff when he fought Shane Mosley, I don’t think those two right hands in the second round would have landed. I think just about every trainer or fighter that you talk to will tell you that long periods of inactivity are not good. I’m not sure how much of an effect it’s had on Floyd quite yet, but I think a young strong guy like Victor Ortiz is going to answer that for us.
Hey Ben, I’m a true Mayweather fan and by being born and raised in Detroit MI the Mayweathers along with Tommy Hearns were considered the home town heroes so quite naturally I became a huge fan of Floyd Jr. I’m a boxing coach in Augusta, GA now and we got some kids ready to go pro soon. How important is it to be able to sell yourself outside of the ring. I kind of see is as genius that Floyd markets himself as the “HEEL” instead of the good guy because controversy sells so everyone who loves Floyd will pay to see him win and everyone who hates Floyd will pay to see him lose which results in him getting everyone to pay to see him. Should this be something I teach my fighters or do you think the constant scrutiny from the public and media could be too much? Also do you think guys like Andre Ward and Chad Dawson should become “HEELS” in order to make more money since they don’t have a fan friendly style of fighting to the casual fan? What do you think? Oh and the next time you greet Floyd tell him “what up doe”?he’ll know what you mean. It’s a Michigan thing. – Orlando
BT: Orlando, much respect to you for teaching the craft to young kids coming up. There’s a ton of unknown men and women out there who don’t get the recognition they deserve for laying down the foundation of the sport’s future. For that, I definitely thank you for your efforts. It’s extremely important for all fighters to market themselves outside of the ring. Otherwise, they’ll never be a draw and will never get the type of opportunities that others are afforded. That being said, I don’t necessarily know if playing the heel is the secret to success. Everyone is different, so you have to market yourself to your strengths. What worked for Floyd isn’t going to work for everyone. My advice, I’d just tell your fighters to be the best that they can be inside the ring, becasue at the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. If the performances inside of the ring are good, then the recognition outside of the ring will eventually come. Not to mention, technology has made it a lot easier for fighters to market themselves and get more exposure. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are a great way of interacting with a growing fan base. You just have to teach your fighters how to get involved, and stay involved, in marketing themselves. It doesn’t really matter if they play the good guy or the heel. They just need to take an interest in interacting with fans. If they do that, then they are sure to build a following. Guys like Andre Ward and Chad Dawson, along with Paul Williams, Andre Berto, Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander for that matter, don’t have to become heels, but I do think they should all be doing a little more to reach out to fans. If you don’t do interviews to get your name out there, people just aren’t going to take an interest in you…especially when you participate in a sport with an already limited fan base.
Hi Ben. Just wanted to ask whether or not you have any indication of how the random drug testing leading up to a fight is actioned? For example, If Manny gets tested on Monday twice that day, does the same go for Floyd? And if blood is drawn from Manny on fight night does the same go for Floyd? If not to any of these examples then that is not being put on an even playing field as Floyd puts it. How does either fighter monitor whether or not the other fighter is being tested as randomly as the other? I hope you have the answers to these questions BT. Thanks for hearing me out. – Antonio
BT: Antonio, I’d have to speak with a representative from USADA to get the correct answers to those questions, but judging from the results of the testing they did for Mayweather vs. Mosley, it looks like the tests were conducted randomly on different days, but the same number of tests were taken for each fighter. In other words, both Mayweather and Mosley took a total of 12 tests (4 blood and 8 urine) on 8 different days. Now, except for the final day, when both Mayweather and Mosley submitted blood and urine samples immediately after the fight, the tests that each fighter took were different on different days. For example, on March 22, Mayweather submitted to blood and urine tests and on the next day, March 23, Mosley did the same. However, a week later, on March 29, Mosley only did a urine test whereas a couple of days later, on April 1, Mayweather did both blood and urine tests again. When they say random, they really mean random as neither fighter has any idea of what kind of test they may have to take or when they may have to take them. That ensures that one person won’t be tipped off if they have knowledge of what and when the other person is testing. I don’t think an even playing field has anything to do with whether or not both fighters are being tested the same number of times on the same day. It’s more about ensuring that neither fighter is stepping into the ring with an added advantage, whether that be PEDs, loaded gloves, or brass knuckles. Just because one guy takes 2 tests on one day and the other guy takes 1 test the next day, that doesn’t mean either one is going to have some kind of advantage.
I’ve really been enjoying the material you’ve put out there about Floyd! There is something I’ve sort of got stuck on tho. We all know that Manny didn’t lose to Morales bcuz he got outboxed. That was just they way it looked. It was of course bcuz of the socks, cut, clitoris gloves and finally the bloodtest. The blood testing issues that would lead to future problems with making Mayweather vs Pacquiao happen. Manny don’t wan’t to take the test within a couple of days of the fight. It’s something even I van relate to. But what was going on in Floyd head when instead of random all the way team MP said 28 days? You’d think they’d say random all the way to 3 day before the fight or something. -John Ps. You should start doing storys about the nr.5 ranked heavyweight champ Robert Helenius from Finland. He’s only 15-0 and already up there with the big names. Much love from Finland:)
BT: Glad you’re enjoying it John. It’s good to know we’ve got some fans out in Finland. We’ll definitely try to feature The Nordic Nightmare more on the site. He’s really starting to make some noise. That left hook he crushed Sam Peter with was devastating (for those that missed it, check it out on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hF1-RsxElk). I’m looking forward to his fight with Liakhovich, assuming it doesn’t get postponed again. LOL. As for Manny, I’m actually not buying the excuses about the socks, the cut, the gloves or the blood test. Fighters are always looking for something or someone to blame when things don’t go their way inside of the ring. In my opinion, he just simply got ouboxed and lost a close decision. That really shouldn’t have come as a big surprise at the time considering a year prior, he also got outboxed by Juan Manuel Marquez (yeah, the 3 knockdowns in the first round were great, but there’s no way Marquez should have worked himself back into that fight). Now, since that fight, Manny has improved tremendously in the technical skills department, so I base that particular performance more on his abilities at the time as opposed to any of those other factors. Now, what was going on in Floyd’s head when Team Pacquiao first said 30 days before coming back and offering 24 days? I have no clue, but I’m sure he probably didn’t like it, and he probably began to wonder even more why they were so reluctant to test closer to the fight.
What do you think of the Manny allegations from a supposedly ex-sparing partner of his saying that he indeed used steroids and is now on hgh(human growth hormone) which can only b detected in your blood. I know from playing football how hard it is to put on weight, muscle and strength naturally without losing speed or quickness. Tell Floyd we glad to see him back fighting and his true fans, although we want to see it, not gone be mad if he never gets to whip Manny ass cause he scared of his drug test results. TQ
BT: TQ, I thought the story was fake before I even read it. First of all, it was written by some guy who goes by the name of “The Shadow”. I mean, come on…how credible is that in the first place. On top of that, it was posted on a few websites that allow anyone to submit articles, whether they’re real or not. It’s kind of like reading something on Examiner.com, where there’s no real requirement to become a contributor and there’s no editor to determine what’s factual and what’s not. That’s not to say you can’t find good information from contributors at Examiner.com. It’s just sometimes, you have to take it for what it’s worth. Not all of it is right and not all of it is wrong, but you do have to be aware of the credentials of the people who are providing you the information. For example, if someone is telling you that they know what’s going on with Team Pacquiao or Team Mayweather, but you’ve never seen them speak to anyone from either camp in any of their work, well, then you should probably question exactly how much they really know. Like I’ve said before, in this day and age, it’s very easy for just about anyone to start a blog or write for a pay-per-click site and call themselves “media” or “journalists”. The story about Pacquiao’s ex-sparring partner is a perfect example of how people like that can make things very confusing for the casual fan. Don’t worry though…just keep it locked here at FightHype.com and we’ll be sure to set the record straight.
I like this mailbag u got going. I have a simple question. If Pac/Arum assumes Mayweather is scared of them then why not agree to the test and see what PBF does next? If he comes up with another excuse then ok, he is scared. If he signs the fight, then its on. Simple thing to do to me. – Eric
BT: Eric, I agree 100%. If Manny Pacquiao has indeed agreed to Mayweather’s request for random blood and urine tests leading all the way up until the fight, one would think that Bob Arum simply needs to fax over a contract to Al Haymon stating exactly that. If, at that time, Mayweather refuses to sign, then okay, Arum has every right to say he’s avoiding the fight. However, from what I’m told, thus far nobody from Team Mayweather has ever seen any paperwork from Team Pacquiao suggesting that he would agree to take the tests. In fact, according to Mayweather, in the last contract he received, they were still asking for a 21-day cut-off date. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know Manny has verbally said he was okay with testing so long as there was a 14-day cut-off. There’s also been a few videos floating around of Manny and Bob Arum saying that they agreed “to everything” and “all of his demands”, but saying and doing are two different things. On top of that, exactly which demands are they referring to? Is it his current demands, or are they talking about the first time they walked away from the fight when the 14-day cut-off was on the table? It’s really hard to tell when both Manny and Arum are giving such vague answers. So instead of running to the media, declaring that they’ve agreed to everything and then giving Floyd Mayweather a midnight deadline with an international conference call already lined up when time runs out, perhaps Arum should just fax over a contract, let the world see the details of the testing, and then wait for Mayweather’s next move. Or better yet, just send out a press release detailing exactly what Manny Pacquiao will agree to as far as testing is concerned. They were cetainly quick to do that when negotiations first began and fell apart, so why not do the same thing now to clear up the confusion? Then again, why even bother doing that when it’s basically his word against Floyd’s and, thus far, he’s done a great job of controlling the information that’s been given to the media.
hi there ben, just wanted to tell you how much i enjoyed your responses to some of the reader mail in your recent article. particularly regarding manny’s weight gain and addressing clearly what people’s suspicions have been, and not obsessing with weight gain. it seems to me that so many people are preoccupied with gaining 15lbs, which really hasn’t been the issue for most, it’s all about the facial re-constructive surgery manny’s been carrying out in his performances that’s really shocked most. I had a debate with a fan recently where i was explaining that manny never inflicted that type of damage on his foes at lower weights, even those his punch connect percentages had hardly changed since moving up, people seem to want to ignore what’s right in front of them and i sympathise with floyd, floyd’s always been willing to play ‘the badguy’ – somebody has to do it but in this case i’m not quite sure what he’s being vilified for. I thought you used some great examples, i would have probably added delahoya vs. felix sturm to that, sturm not a big puncher seemed to just bully delahoya in there fight… all in all a great article, shame some people will just read what they want and ignore anything they don’t want to take on board. lastly, if you talk to floyd in the near future, please tell him – he’s got millions of fans and people rooting for him – they’re not as a vocal as other boxing fans, but they’re everywhere. – herman.
BT: Thanks Herman. The De La Hoya-Sturm fight totally slipped my mind, but that’s another great example. Like I said, it’s not the weight gain that most people question, it’s the performances. I think part of that also lies on the shoulders of the opponents as well though. I mean, very few people would have ever thought they’d see Shane Mosley want to quit in a fight, or Oscar De La Hoya quit on his stool, or Erik Morales quit on his butt, or Marco Antonio Barrera quit in his head. Don’t get me wrong, that speaks volumes about Manny Pacquiao’s abilities, and I’m not saying that there’s any other reason other than his skills that have produced those results. However, I do also realize that those performances have caused some people to ask questions, so I have an understanding of why they may feel that way. I also totally understand why another group of people are insulted by those that question it. At the end of the day though, in my opinion, the easiest way to shut everybody up is to simply sign a contract stating he’ll take the tests and then kick Mayweather’s ass just like he’s been kicking everybody else’s ass. If that happens, I highly doubt there would be anyone asking questions anymore.
I thk this site is phony??..Everybody on this site is all on Floyd Dick??Im not a Floyd fan or a Pac fan but yall never have anything good to say about Pac, but at the end of the day Pac is the number 1 p4p fighter n the world? he took over 8 classes and he smash Cotto, even when Cotto was asking to fight Floyd.. I must remind you?. Cotto was on the front of Ring Magazine?N it said Floyd worst nightmare?.. – Ken
BT: Ken, if this site is phony, I must be living a dream because it sure does seem real to me. LOL. Obviously you don’t visit the site too often because your accusation that we never have anything good to say about Manny Pacquiao couldn’t be further from the truth. First of all, you’ve never seen me flat out bash Manny. I’ve said time and time again that I enjoy watching him fight. I know for a fact that I’ve personally written several positive articles about Manny. Every time he fights, I do a round-by-round that praises his performance. I’ve also conducted a number of interviews with Alex Ariza talking about Manny’s stellar training and conditioning. As a matter of fact, Percy Crawford has interviewed both Manny and Freddie Roach a few times. On top of that, I know my man Felix Strunk has written article after article after article discussing each and every positive thing that Pacquiao has achieved. Just because you may see something positive regarding Floyd Mayweather on the site, that doesn’t mean that you won’t see something postitive about Manny Pacquiao either. Perhaps you should take a look at our archive section before you jump to conclusions or speak on matters that you have very little knowledge of. Better yet, I’ll just provide you with a few links to some of our many pro-Pacquiao pieces over the past several months/years:
