Tssup Boxingtalk, Only the second time I’ve written in, will try keep it short. First up, any more news on who Marquez might be fighting next? Boxrec has him scheduled to fight on May 1st, currently slated as being against the most active boxer of all time, TBA. I cant see him fighting Hatton then, have you seen him recently? He’s gotta be about 5 stone above 140 and thats before Xmas and New Year…..maybe Khan? I would personally prefer Khan to go for maybe Malignaggi before he takes on someone like Marquez. Could Marquez v Nate Campbell be in the works? I’ve been having a read of the BTalk top ten of the decade, got to say I agree with most of it. Not entirely convinced by Calderon yet though I have to say. He’s clearly one of the most skilled out there right now but I dont think he’s done enough to warrant a place in the top 10. I’d also have Castillo in the top 15 somewhere. I decided to write my own list before reading BTalks and came up with this: 1. Mayweather 2. Pacquiao 3. Hopkins 4. JM Marquez 5. Mosley 6. Barrera 7. Morales 8. Calzaghe 9. Klitschko 10. Wright On another note, with Christmas round the corner I’ve been looking into some boxing books. Any you would recommend? The last couple I’ve read, and would recommend, are Unforgivable Blackness, The Jack Johnson Story and Flight of A Hawk (Aaron Pryor). All the best to you and yours, thanks for getting back on the website, its been unreal recently. JT, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Leon’s Response: I’m glad you kept it short lol. I plan on speaking with the Golden CEO soon and providing you guys with an informative exclusive update on all the GBP talent. Marquez-Campbell could be an option and I’m very happy for Nate that he was able to bolt from King. Every boxing list is just a matter of opinion, so there’s always room for debate, but if you can agree with most of it, that’s good enough for me. I’m sure Goldstein and Shaffer will be pleased. George Kimball wrote an excellent book Leoard, Hearns, Duran and Hagler called Four Kings. Definitely worth a read. If you’ve never read On The Waterfront, you must add the classic to your collection.
G….I have never written in before, but after reading your article on the bloodwork craziness I felt the need to. It was an excellent story and I think it sums up what EVERY boxing fan is saying and thinking. What it comes down to, is stop acting like little pussies, punch each other in the face, find out who is the baddest man on earth, and earn a shitload of money. Even a window licking moron could see what the right thing to do here is. I hope these idiots get their heads out of their asses and do what they need to do. If they fail to make this fight….Mosley is now the man in my eyes who is the best of the best. They drop in rankings for being stupid. Sean Ketcham
Leon’s Response: As you are about to read, not every boxing fan, but I’m glad you enjoyed the article. If they don’t make the fight soon, March 13 is definitely out. And if the don’t make it by the time Mosley and Berto fight the winner of that fight becomes the best opponent for either Pacquiao or Mayweather, so they’d really have a problem on their hands.
G, your lil comments toward Mayweather seems like your blaming him for the fight falling through! Are you serious after everything he’s agreed too!! Your still gonna blame him!? It’s not like he’s only asking Pacquiao to take the test, he’s gonna take it too! So when a fight of this magnitude comes forth 30-50 million from what I’ve read and one fighter says no to a simple blood test!!! Cmon man!!! I’d let them take blood from any part of my body as much as they want! If he has nothing to hide and wants to silence his critics of possibly using performance enhancing drugs then why not? Aside from him being superstitious about blood being drawn there isn’t a good enough reason for him to say no. Sounds like you have a personal vendetta against Floyd. I wanna see the fight happen just as bad as anyone else but I cannot side with Pacquiao on this one. Floyd been in the boxing game for years and seeing Pacquiao come up in weight and DESTROY true welterweights and hardly lose a round is amazing and he MAY be on some drugs. What’s it gonna hurt for him to test? Oh yeah thats right it may bring him bad luck! Get the F– outta here! Until he’s FULLY tested he has a question mark by his accomplishments like Barry Bonds!
Leon’s Response: I think a lot of you guys are misunderstanding my position. State of the art testing should be the norm for every major fight, but until it is mandated by the association of boxing commissions, it should not be arbitrarily enforced because Floyd Mayweather has taken it upon himself to make it a part of this deal. He’s accusing Pacquiao of cheating in recent fights by even making it something so vital to this deal getting done. I have no vendetta against Floyd. Whenever he’s ready to speak with Boxingtalk.com again he’ll be welcome with open arms. Until then he’ll remain the only top fighter to break off communication on his own. I would have said period, but there was that stint when Shane Mosley talking to me would have caused him more aggravation under his own roof than it was worth.
There is a lot of bs coming from Pacquiao’s side. First, he says he is afraid of needles and blood but yet he’s all tattooed up. Second, he says that he will agree to 3 blood tests total. One for the kickoff, 30 days before the fight, and after the fight. Well, the first one would be bs because then he would have the opportunity to juice up all the way till 30 days before the fight and then clean himself to pass the 2nd test and then juice up for 30 more days when he would be at full “steroid” strength for the fight. Now the last test makes the most sense but Mayweather should put in the contract that if he fails the blood test immediately after the fight, Pacquaios entire purse goes to Mayweather. And it should be done immediately after he walks into his dressing room. Do not give him an opportunity to go into the restroom and give himself an “oil change”. I mean, if Freddie Roach wants to make ridiculous demands about $10 million per pound, i think Mayweather should do the same. Pacquiao will lose a lot of fans if this fight falls through because of his unwillingness to submit simple blood tests that according to any doctor you ask, the amount of blood that would be taken would not weaken him whatsoever and he would regenerate that blood within a couple of hours. Mayweather already agreed to the tests, you should too Pacman. Come on Pacquiao, take the blood tests, stop ducking and dodging… Or you will lose fans.
Leon’s Response: If I were Pacquiao, instead of coming up with this needle crap, I would have told Floyd to go f**k himself. Pacquiao will not lost fans if the fight doesn’t happen. It goes both ways. Why should this fight have additional tests that every other major fight in Vegas never has? Can anybody answer that for me? Interjecting negative energy into the promotion before a contract was signed was pretty counterproductive if you ask me.
G whats up man I have been enjoying your return but I have to respond to your post “You Bloody Moron”. You sound nuts when talking about Mayweather wanting the additional testing. I mean comparing Mayweather move up to Manny is not even fair. #1 they have to totally different styles of fighting, we know Mayweather does not take punishment. Manny on the other hand comes in going toe to toe. Also didn’t Manny have a big drum over his ear after the fight and supposedly, didn’t he have a bust ear drum or something to that affect. Not one time did I hear him mention anything about it in the corner maybe he was so juiced he didn’t realize it during the fight. Although the statement that Money made was scripted I still have to agree a fight of this magnitude has to be held to a higher standard. If Manny has nothing to hide then what’s the problem. He has so many people talking for him that we can’t get the truth. I have heard he has a fear of needles, it would mess with him mentally ( lol it wouldn’t unless you have something to hide), it would take away from his strength and so forth and so on. If Manny and his loud mouth Bob Arum feel like Money is using this as excuses don’t let him sign the contract and get it on. I really believe if Shane has a good showing against Berto that Mayweather could make just as much fighting him. I don’t know anyone out there that Pac can get in March to bring in that type of money. Although Shane would have to do the drug testing as well and I think we all know why. I also want to talk about the Blobfather I know he is good at his job cause he is the biggest bullshiter in the world and it seems he talks his fighters out of more fights than he is putting them in, it’s a wonder how he stays in business. He needs tell Kelly to fight somebody the people know and stop ducking everyone and now it seems that they want more money for a fight with Paul come on Kelly has done absolutely nothing since he won the title from Jermaine accept get that ass tapped by Bhop. My wish list fights for 2010 Bhop-Dawson, Manny-Money, Williams-Abraham, and the Klitchsco brothers against anyone who can knock them out. Let me know who you think wins these fights and also if you get another interview with JT and his people find out if he has a strength and conditioning coach. Gully from the Rock
Leon’s Response: Other than the Cotto fight, I can’t remember a single round of Pac-De La Hoya or Hatton where Pacquiao walked through shots he shouldn’t have. Manny is in dire need of a press coach to present his side more eloquently, because not liking needles ain’t cutting it. According to Arum and Team Pavlik, Kelly will finally seek to dominate the division he belongs in, middleweight.
You know I support the site, but this and other articles reek of hate. When Floyd was your boy we never saw articles with this tone. You had to know that the Big Willie article could affect your relationship. Hell, if true, I’d be pissed too that word got out, and that someone I was cool with played a hand in said snitching. And, I see Floyd’s point of view. Shane Moseley never tested positive as did Marion Jones (I know it’s a different sport, just stay with me). With the resources and science available to them, who knows what Pac could get his hands on. Better safe than sorry with the stakes being what they are. In conclusion, why not take the high road? You’re great at what you do. Hell I visit often and look forward to your work. Why not move on with the great articles you’ve been giving us as of late? Please don’t hate me because I disagree…lol.
Leon’s Response: I’ve never considered Floyd a friend. We’ve always been cool and hopefully he’s back on Boxingtalk.com sooner rather than later. If Mayweather wants to burn bridges over 1 story he doesn’t like, in my eyes that makes him less of a man than Bernard Hopkins, ROy Jones, Shane Mosley, Nate Campbell, Don King, Bob Arum, Shelly Finkel, Zab Judah, WInky Wright, Antonio Tarver and countless others who I get along well with even though they’ve caught a reeming or two in the last 8 years. You’ll have plenty of great content to look forward to in 2010.
Just wanted to say great article on our feathered friend mcchicken mayweather and the brain trust trying to fool the public. Their running scared and are destroying the credibility of the sport we all love. Thanks for saying it as it is. Was also fascinated by hopkins comments on Golden Boy would love to hear more from you about the golden goose and what really goes down. Keep up the good work! AK London, England
Leon’s Response: Glad you enjoyed the read.
Twenty plus years ago I took performance enhancing drugs for 3 years off and on. There is no test for HGH which is the best and hottest drug for any athlete. Boxing is a business and the last thing big business wants is for there stars to fail a test. This makes me believe without a doubt that the test in the NFL, MLB and most money sports are pure B.S. Take a look at a few photos of Holyfield in the Olympics and then view photos from a few years later. I would bet the house that Manny is taking HGH or some other super drug that can’t be tested for as did Roy Jones JR, Evander, Andrew Golota, Ken Shamrock, Brock Lesnar, James Toney and countless others. The NFL does not want to catch there players and neither did MLB. They don’t want Manny to take a test because he may fail. Riddick Bowe was on the money with Holyfield and Holyfield knows it as do all the cheaters. Andy
Leon’s Response: I appreciate the insight, but I don’t understand how Holyfield pics tell you for sure that Pacquiao is juiced up.
Hi G. I ‘ve read your article on boxing talk and I find that the Olympic style testing demanded by Mayweather’s company is just a way for Floyd jr. to avoid Pacquiao of to get an uperhand. Mayweather was an olympian and have undergone the Olympic drug test. They knew that Pacquiao would not want to have his blood sample taken few days before the fight. Back in 2005, in the morning before Pacquiao’s first fight against Morales, a Philippine online news reported that Pacquiao felt sluggish after a blood sample was drawn from him a day before. Pacquiao lost that fight. I did a google search to find the link to that article but it did not came out in the search result. But I know it was reported either by Philippine star or Philippine Daiily Inquirer. It is probably something you can verify, Regards, Jeffrey
Leon’s Response: All I know is it would be a shame if they allowed something so minor to kill such an event.
G, I might be in the minority on this issue, but I feel that the test Mayweather are asking for aren’t any more unreasonable than the 10 million dollar per pound weight limit pacmans team is requesting. The amount of blood taken for those test won’t affect pacman’s performance during training at all. In my opinion $10 million per pound seems a lot more outrageous then a few blood test during training camp. If pac has nothing to hide he should just comply with mayweathers request. On a side note if pacman is suppose to be the best fighter p4p and a welterweight champion, the weight limit for this fight should be 147! What’s your opinion? E major
Leon’s Response: The $10M per pound thing is a complete joke, one that should be worked out along with this bloody mess. If everybody wants to make a fight, the fight will be made. If anybody wants to allow anything but necessities to become an issue, that’s how you break a fight. The weight limit should absolutely be 147.
Even though I always knew this I don’t wanna take credit for articulating it. I read on another site a great explanation as to why Manny is not on steroids. In the last 3 years Manny has only gained 4.5 lbs on the unofficial day of the fight weigh ins in which a fighter gets to replenish. So while everybody keeps saying he has put on 17 lbs of muscle from the Marquez fight to the Oscar fight, its just plain wrong. Just cuz he competed at the 130lb weight division and then competed at 147 doesn’t mean he put on 17lbs it means he didn’t dry himself out as much to lose weight. And for those who say he has the same amount of cuts as he did as a featheweight, look at Floyds body from 130 to 147 and tell me is he still cut. The reason why Manny is getting the steroid tab is because he’s stopping guys and Floyd moved up decisioning guys. But Manny has always been a ko artist. Lastly I have been watching fights a long time and while its rare I have seen fighters move up and destroy bigger guys. Duran v Davey Moore. Hearns v Dennis Andries. Trinida v Joppy. Leonard v. Lalonde. Oscar v. Fernando Vargas. If you notice I picked fights where the smaller man moved up on the average of over 20 lbs to stop guys brutally. Isn’t it ironic that the 1st time Floyd is facing a legitimitately great fighter in his prime since Castillo that he has built in excuse if he loses. I have never seen any great fighter go to this length to discredit a man on mere speculation. Big Floyds supernatural observations on Manny has ruined Lil Floyds confidence.
Leon’s Response: B-I-N-G-O. At least I think so, except for the ruining Floyd’s confidence. Ego waayyyyyy too big for that.
I’m gonna go on record to say ur a mans mans and one of the fairest men I have ever seen in ur position. Over the years I have wrote in regularly and we have become internet boxing homies. We have agreed and disagreed but always respected. The main thing we have disagreed about is Mayweather. While we both think he is a great fighter I have always been critical of Floyd since 2004 when he moved up to 140. I have always said and still say that since then Floyd has cherry picked and not fought the best guy in the division he was competiting in. You have been a lil more lenient on him. I just read ur article and I can feel ur irritated with his behavior and demands. Good for you and way to call it as it is. Breadman
Leons Response: Just calling it how I see it. When I think Pacquiao is full of shit, he’ll get the same treatment.
