Yes, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was impressive, both in not getting knocked out in the first two minutes of the second round, and in winning literally every one of the other 34 minutes he fought against Shane Mosley last Saturday in Las Vegas. On the other hand, we?re not sure exactly what it proved other than that Mosley?s reflexes appear, at 38, to be so hopelessly diminished that, even on his one-fight-a-year pace, ?Money Boy? is still capable of taking advantage of an elderly opponent?s perceived shortcomings.
There will, in any case, be renewed calls for a fight between Money Boy and Manny Pacquiao, and while the man who must at this point still be regarded as the world?s best boxer seems willing to accommodate him, the timing of such a bout may initially be dependent on the results of this week?s elections in the Philippines. Should Pacquiao be elected to the Filipino congress, his boxing schedule could assume a Mayweather-like pace, and it would be at least November (and more likely next year) before he, not to mention Cowboys Stadium, would be available.
While there is no legal imperative for the bout to take place at Jerry Jones? palace, it seems likely that Bob Arum might feel a moral obligation, one that the NFL owner will almost certainly reinforce with a site-fee offer that would not only improve on the $25 million he was prepared to pony up in March, but might well be beyond the means of suitors representing Las Vegas casinos. This is purely speculative, but given the vagaries of the NFL playoffs and Jones? eternal optimism, as well as the competition for the nation?s sporting viewers, doesn?t it stand to reason that the scheduling of any Pacquiao-Mayweath-er fight in Dallas would make more sense after next February?s Super Bowl – maybe even in March?
Cuban misled crisis
You may recall that undefeated Cuban featherweight Guillermo Rigondeaux was scheduled to fight on last month?s Andre Berto-Carlos Quintana card in Florida, but withdrew on such short notice that not only did his name remain on the poster, but his picture was included on the fight-night credentials. The widely circulated explanation was that the highly touted Rigondeaux had been injured while boxing with a much larger opponent in one of those free-for-all sparring sessions at trainer Freddie Roach?s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., and that the boxer?s connections in Miami?s Cuban immigrant community had severed the relationship with Roach as a consequence.
Roach said if that?s what had actually occurred he?d have fired himself, too, but that the fanciful cover story has little basis in reality.
?What happened is that when Rigondeaux arrived, it was obvious that he hadn?t been in a gym since his last fight,? said the Dedham native who will pick up his annual Trainer of the Year Award at the June 4 Boxing Writers Dinner in New York. ?He showed up out of shape 10 days before what was supposed to be a 12-round fight.?
Rigondeaux was accompanied by his Irish manager Gary Hyde, who witnessed the sparring session in question.
?The kid he was in with was a 15-year-old amateur, a 130-pounder who?s only had two fights,? Roach said. ?Rigondeaux kicked his butt in the first round, but after that his conditioning began to show and the kid absolutely embarrassed him for the next three. When they came down out of the ring Hyde said to me, ?I want to sign the other kid!?
?There was no way (Rigondeaux) could have gone 12, so I pulled him out of the fight,? Roach said. ?Rigondeaux and Hyde thanked me and said I was doing them a favor, but I guess (promoter) Luis de Cubas didn?t like it, and the next thing I heard was that he was telling people I was out as trainer.
?Frankly, I?m almost relieved, because this constant tug-of-war between Hyde and the Cubans is going to be an ongoing thing, and the fighter?s career is bound to suffer.?
Rigondeaux is now slated to fight Reynaldo Lopez in a 10-rounder on an ESPN2-televised card in Miami – the same night Roach will be honored as Trainer of the Year at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. . . .
Khan on MSG stage
Roach will fly to New York today in the company of Amir Khan, who wrapped up sparring in Los Angeles yesterday, in preparation for Saturday night?s HBO fight against Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden. The British 140-pound champ has spent the past several weeks at the Wild Card Gym, with Detroit welterweight Vernon Paris his principal sparring partner. Paris, who beat Mexico?s Oscar Leon on the March 27 Andre Dirrell-Arthur Abraham card to go 20-0, ?fights just like Paulie,? according to Roach. . . .
Another recent presence in the Wild Card has been Matthew Macklin, the English-born Irish middleweight who until a few weeks ago owned the European middleweight title. Scheduled to defend it April 16 in Birmingham, England, Macklin had seen a succession of challengers pull out, citing injuries both real and imagined, but then a month ago he himself was sidelined when one of Roach?s Russian prospects broke his nose in a sparring session.
Macklin, who has since relinquished the European title, has also severed his promotional arrangement with Hatton Promotions. He and his manager of record, Brian Peters, now hope to align him with either Golden Boy or Top Rank promotions with an eye toward fast-tracking him for a world championship bout – although, if invoked, the rematch clause in the Sergio Martinez-Kelly Pavlik contract could keep the whole division waiting for a while. . . .
They are old friends going back to their days on the New England circuit, but if Roach and Maine?s Joey Gamache run into one another today, it will be at a New York airport. Just as Roach flies into town with Khan, Gamache will be flying out – to Ireland, where he will join Emanuel Steward and another Irish middleweight, Andy Lee, who has been training at Miguel Cotto?s Florida base for the past 10 days. . . .
Lee (20-1) returns to his Limerick hometown to face Senegal-born, Paris-based Mamadou Thiam Saturday. It will be the second consecutive French opponent for Lee, who hasn?t fought since he outpointed Affif Belghecham at the same venue. The 38-year-old Thiam (46-8) came up short in two world title bids earlier in his career (stopped by Felix Trinidad in Miami in 2000 and TKO?d two years later by Panamanian Santiago Samaniego in an interim title bout in France), but has won European titles on multiple occasions. Thought to be all done when he lost four on the trot between 2005-08, he has since bounced back and will bring a four-fight win streak to the University of Limerick Arena. . . .
?Contender? alum Peter Manfredo Jr. meets Angel Hernandez in the main event of TKO Promotions? card at the Mohegan Sun on May 22. . . .
John Ruiz may have retired, but his former sparring partner, Kali Meehan, has picked up the cudgel and will face former Ruiz tormentor Ruslan Chagaev in a WBA heavyweight eliminator in Rostock, Germany, on May 22. . . .
You may recall that several weeks ago the WBC threatened to punish Providence?s Matt Godfrey for withdrawing from a scheduled cruiserweight title bout against Steve Cunningham. Well, the organization?s latest ratings place neither Godfrey nor Cunningham among the world?s top 40 cruiserweights. Last week it was confirmed that Cunningham, having signed with German promoter Wilfried Sauerland, will fight Troy Ross for the vacant IBF title in Germany June 5. Which makes it doubly curious that the WBC justified its omission of Godfrey?s name with a footnote listing him as committed to fight for the IBF title.
Huh? . . .
Happy birthday, Renan St.-Juste.
