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Thread: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather

  1. #1
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    Pacquiao vs. Mayweather

    May 2, 2015, Las Vegas

    Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: It’s Real, Not Talk
    The fight of the century will actually happen during this century on May 2 in Las Vegas


    Floyd Mayweather, who turns 38 on Tuesday, is 47-0 (26 KO). Photo: Getty Images
    By Jason Gay
    Updated Feb. 22, 2015 7:28 p.m. ET

    Here it is—the big fight!—at long last, after years of skepticism, haggling, goading, taunting, self-inflicted snafus and exasperating near-misses. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will pull on the gloves and box—it feels weird to type that on the page—in person, in public, for real. The fight of the century will actually happen during this century on May 2 in Las Vegas, the garish American capital of Why Not.

    Crazy, right?

    So much energy had been expended complaining about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao’s failure to launch—condemning the players and the sport, trying to will the fight into existence—that it feels strange to shift the conversation to a boxing match itself. Mayweather vs. Pacquaio lived so long below a pessimistic cloud, a no-brainer dream showdown undone by reasonable and unreasonable demands, vanity, ego, and who knows what. Crankiness that this megafight hadn’t happened became an economy unto itself—The Fight That Wasn’t was bigger than any Fight That Was—and another piece of evidence in the thick case that Boxing Is Doomed. Now—suddenly—it’s on. The dream match-up is here, at 147 pounds, just a couple of months away. Wile E. Coyote has snared the roadrunner, and it is more than mildly stunning.

    Naturally, because we are all impossible to please, the first reaction is to pooh-pooh the fight slightly, to point out that this really should have happened a half decade or so ago, when both men were in their early 30s and orbiting their physical primes. Pacquiao, 36, is coming off three straight victories, but before that, he suffered shocking back-to-back losses, including a frightening December 2012 knockout to Juan Manuel Marquez, which stripped away the Pac-Man’s merry aura of quickness and impenetrability. Mayweather turns 38 on Tuesday, and remains undefeated at 47-0, but his reputation has been eroded by troubling events like the 60 days he served of a 90-day sentence in 2012 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery.

    In boxing, the fighters remain top draws—the top two in the sport—but neither can claim to be fully the fighter he once was. In the time Mayweather and Pacquiao have danced around each other, they have stuck to a similar routine of fights with lesser known or well-travelled opponents (not Cotto again!). Even the matches with intrigue (Pacquiao-Marquez, Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez) could not compete with the fight the public desired. Mayweather and Pacquiao did their best to talk up their opponents, whoever they were, but the best competition was always going to be each other.


    Manny Pacquiao has a record of 57-5-2 (38 KO). He will meet Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2. Photo: Getty Images

    Denying the customer is no way to run a business, and as the years wore on without a Mayweather-Pacquiao collision, it was easy to be irritated with boxing. Why not do anything possible to make it happen? Mixed-martial arts is by no means a flawless operation, but the UFC has grown by serving its audience, making marquee fights happen (of course, it helps to have the UFC’s firm organizational control—and it should be pointed out that a UFC fighter can’t command anything resembling the reported $200 million plus payday Mayweather and Pacquiao are said to be splitting 60/40.)

    As these latest negotiations wore on—it sparked up again during a meeting between Mayweather and Pacquiao at a Miami Heat game in January—there was the customary round of procrastination and doubt. It seemed close…but even people near the inside weren’t totally clear if and when it could be pulled off. When it was confirmed, there was something comically boxing-like that it was announced (by Mayweather on social media) after 5 p.m. ET on Friday—a tumbleweed time of the week governments and corporations use to dump bad news they want ignored.

    And yet it doesn’t matter. It does not, not, not, not matter at all.

    Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will be a spectacular hit, the biggest for boxing in many years. It does not matter if they announced it at 5 p.m. ET on social media or at 3 a.m. in a cave under the sea. It does not matter that they are older. Though both men are good promoters, they do not need to promote it, they do not need to say a word, they don’t need literary narration from Liev Schreiber, even though I love the literary narration from Liev Schreiber. Liev Schreiber could make a trip to the supermarket to buy an avocado sound like Ali-Frazier. They could hold this fight in a country barn, Madison Square Garden, Hinkle Fieldhouse or the Russian Continental Shelf—it will fill immediately (they’re holding it at the MGM Grand, where both boxers have fought plenty). When the pay per view price is announced—reports are it could be close to $100—there will be a round of moaning and groaning followed by a record-breaking ante up. You can book it.

    They know this. They knew this. This is surely part of the reason why it took so long to get done, why HBO and Showtime were willing to collaborate and make it work. There is some cheery talk about how May 2 is going to be a sports day for the ages—that Saturday also features the Kentucky Derby, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the Red Sox and Yankees, and the final day of the NFL draft. Two things: one, I would not let my cat watch the final day of the NFL draft, and two, this fight will tower over everything that day. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is an epic for a sport that badly needs one, and we haven’t even mentioned the rematch, which you have to figure will be coming, because the cash is too cuckoo.

    The consensus at the moment is that the advantage is Mayweather’s, that Pacquiao has too many miles and exposed vulnerabilities, and Mayweather’s defensive evasiveness will make him very difficult to beat. But Pacquiao has long wanted this fight and he’s still Manny Pacquiao and...you don’t really know, do you? You really don’t know. They don’t know. That’s the whole point, why this matters, why it mattered all along, May 2, Vegas, Mayweather and Pacquiao, goodness gracious, this crazy thing is actually going to happen.

    Write to Jason Gay at Jason.Gay@wsj.com
    Predictions?
    Gene Ching
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  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Predictions?
    Pacquaio.

    KO in the 7th or 8th.

    Or Mayweather by decision.
    Psalms 144:1
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  3. #3
    Greetings,

    The fight should not happen. Both fighters do not have the sense to walk away. That is the real win.

    Gene, the guy who wrote the article writes in your style. I thought you wrote it.


    mickey

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    I'm glad the fight is happening

    It needs to happen just to bring some attention back to boxing. Boxing is a great spectator sport.

    That being said, I'm leaning more towards Pacquiao. I haven't been following the sport lately so I'm not going to venture predicting the round like s_r. I hope the fight almost goes the distance - an early K.O. would be premature.

    Quote Originally Posted by mickey View Post
    Gene, the guy who wrote the article writes in your style. I thought you wrote it.
    srsly? or is this just a sideways way of calling me 'gay' (author's name).

    at least i gotz style. thanks mickey.
    Gene Ching
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    I would love for Pacquiao to win by K.O. or any other way, but I doubt that'll happen. Unfortunately, I think Mayweather will win. But by decision.

  6. #6
    Hi Gene,

    Definitely not calling you gay.

    You do have a style, for sure. I really thought you wrote it.

    mickey

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    Floyd wins bye tko 6 rounds. Manny will try to turn it into a brawl but floyd will use foot work and pick him apart cutting his face or eyes open.
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  8. #8
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    Woah, am I the only one in Pacquiao's corner here?

    Quote Originally Posted by mickey View Post
    Hi Gene,

    Definitely not calling you gay.

    You do have a style, for sure. I really thought you wrote it.
    Yeah, I know. It just struck me as funny. What's even funnier is that someone else thought some of the text for our upcoming Tiger Claw Elite Championships was written by me today too, which it wasn't. It's been a weird day that way.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #9
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    Another pre-fight scuffle

    Does Mayweather have plans to enter the UFC?

    Mayweather, Pacquiao camps at odds
    Dan Rafael
    ESPN.com
    March 20, 2015

    Manny Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz told ESPN.com on Thursday that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has declined to agree to terms for a penalty that would cost either man $5 million in the event of a failed drug test before or after their May 2 megafight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

    "Today we were informed that Mayweather turned down the request," Koncz said. "Manny had requested that there would be a reciprocal fine of $5 million for a failed drug test."

    Koncz said that even though the agreements for the fight are signed, as is a separate agreement for the United States Anti-Doping Agency to oversee random blood and urine testing for the fight, they were still discussing terms for a substantial fine in the event of a dirty test. But Koncz said Mayweather attorney Jeremiah Reynolds sent a letter to Pacquiao attorney David Moroso on Thursday declining to enter into any agreements on a financial penalty for a failed drug test.

    Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions and Mayweather's close adviser, said Koncz should have had those terms negotiated into the main contract.

    "Michael Koncz is an idiot, and Manny Pacquiao should be ashamed to have him as his representative, in my opinion," Ellerbe told ESPN.com. "It's obvious he didn't read the contract. Why would he have his fighter sign something he was not happy with? The deal was negotiated up and down by his promoter [Bob Arum of Top Rank] on behalf of Manny with Floyd and Mayweather Promotions, and it's been well documented in the media for quite some time.

    "If this moron didn't convey his fighter's wishes when the negotiation was going on, that's their problem. This is a lame-ass attempt to generate publicity."

    Drug testing, of course, has been front and center throughout the five-year-plus saga to get boxing's most anticipated fight signed. When the sides first negotiated the bout in late 2009 and early 2010, they had agreed to all aspects of the deal except for the drug-testing protocol. Mayweather insisted on random, Olympic-style blood and urine testing, Pacquiao declined to agree to the specific form of drug testing, and the deal fell apart.

    Not long after that, Pacquiao sued Mayweather for defamation and slander for saying that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, which Pacquiao has always denied. The case was ultimately settled out of court with Mayweather paying Pacquiao an undisclosed seven-figure sum.

    "They have made derogatory statements for years about Manny [supposedly using PEDs], and now we challenged them by asking for the $5 million fine, and they refused to do it. It's disheartening," Koncz said.

    Mayweather has required himself and his opponents to be tested by USADA for all of his bouts since 2010, while Pacquiao has sometimes used the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association to randomly test him and his opponent in recent years.

    For the May 2 welterweight unification bout, expected to be the richest fight in boxing history, Pacquiao agreed to Mayweather's demand for USADA testing, and they signed contracts with the agency about three weeks ago.

    When asked why Pacquiao didn't negotiate the fine into the master fight agreement, Koncz said he was concerned with getting the fight signed and did not want to do anything to jeopardize very delicate negotiations. Besides, he said, both camps knew they would have to sign a separate agreement with USADA to outline the specific terms of the testing.

    "We were still discussing the penalty. We've been going back and forth about it for the past three or four weeks. We hoped that we could sign that agreement around the same time as the agreement with USADA," Koncz said. "[The Mayweather camp] is saying, 'Why wasn't it brought up for the main contract?' Why does it have to be brought up for the main contract? Everything in the main contract pertains to the co-promotion and the promoters. You can argue all day if [a penalty agreement] should be with the USADA contract or the main contract. What do you have to lose or gain in that argument? It's a simple thing -- if you fail, you pay the other guy $5 million. The issue is simple -- are you willing to agree to a penalty of $5 million? The drug-testing terms and any penalty, that's between the fighters not the promoters.

    "We have no recourse. We can't force Floyd into something. But we gave them an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and they wouldn't. I won't speculate why. To me there is no legitimate argument. We know we're clean. That's why Manny said he would pay $5 million if he tested dirty. Manny was surprised [Mayweather refused]. He can't figure out why they wouldn't agree to it when Floyd is always talking about cleaning up the sport of boxing."

    Added Ellerbe: "If Manny Pacquiao tested positive, it is going to cost him a whole lot more than $5 million. All parties signed a contract agreeing to every term. Where has this idiot Koncz been? It sounds like he didn't read the documents they signed. No wonder why his fighter is always confused. It sounds like that idiot is suggesting there's a $5 million price tag if Manny comes up positive. That sounds suspicious. All I know is we welcome random testing as we always have."

    Koncz said Pacquiao, who is training at trainer Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, has so far submitted to two random tests by USADA.

    Ellerbe said he was unsure how many times Mayweather has been tested but said he has seen the specimen collectors around Mayweather's Las Vegas gym "three or four times" since he began training for the fight.
    Gene Ching
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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Does Mayweather have plans to enter the UFC?
    Fights can be full of surprises. But Mayweather has far superior defense and he is bigger and stronger and smarter.

  11. #11
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    10 days to go

    The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight is turning into a debacle

    TONY MANFRED
    APR. 22, 2015, 10:40 AM

    Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are expected to split $300 million — here's where the money comes from

    With 10 days to go until the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, contracts aren't signed, tickets aren't on sale, and the fight that could save boxing is instead reflecting the flaws that continue to damage it.

    While the two camps agreed to the fight in February, they've yet to sign the contract, ESPN's Darren Rovell reports.

    As a result, tickets to both the fight at the MGM Grand and the closed-circuit viewings at MGM properties around Las Vegas haven't been released for sale.

    Ticket sales are expected to generate $72 million, but a week and a half before the fight, no one has a ticket. The two sides reportedly made progress on Tuesday, but the contract remains unsigned as of Wednesday morning.

    Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank, is blaming Mayweather Promotions, and vice versa.

    Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that Mayweather's adviser Al Haymon is responsible and that the delay is possibly a power play so Mayweather's camp can get more tickets to sell on the secondary market. This theory was seconded by Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz, who later told Iole, "This is Haymon and Haymon alone. He is trying to keep us from getting what we're due in the agreement we signed."

    Mayweather Promotions didn't respond to requests for comment.

    Arum told Rovell that the contract Mayweather Promotions sent Top Rank on April 15 was different from the term sheet they signed back in February. Top Rank wouldn't have control over how the fight is staged under the contract that's on the table, Arum said.

    "They don't want us to have any say," Arum told ESPN. "So whether they came up with the deal between Mayweather and MGM before or after our agreement, they've committed fraud either way. That's what we're enmeshed in."

    On Tuesday, Arum said his camp finally got the ticket manifest, which seems to have cooled tensions a bit.

    Mayweather Promotions is the fight's lead promoter. The two sides also agreed to a 60-40 revenue split in favor of Mayweather. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe told Rovell that Arum is trying to change the agreement at the last minute, hence the delay:

    The bottom line is that Bob isn't willing to live with the agreement signed a couple months ago, which doesn't allow him to be in control. The only conspiracy, in my opinion, exists with him trying to conspire with his lawyers to change the terms of the agreement. I assure you that nothing underhanded is going on and the reference to this back alley stuff is ridiculous.

    We've reached out to Top Rank for comment.

    Oscar De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions used to promote Mayweather's fights, blamed Floyd's camp for the delay, which he called "shocking."

    "This is mind-boggling. This is shocking, but at the same time, we understand what is going on," he told Iole. "This is the Al factor. This is what you get when you deal with Al."

    De La Hoya taunted the fighters on Twitter, offering a free ticket to the Canelo Alvarez-James Kirkland to any fan who sent him a picture of their Mayweather-Pacquiao ticket, which don't exist:

    scar De La Hoya ✔ @OscarDeLaHoya
    Follow
    Send me a pic. Of your MayPac ticket and I'll send you to the #CaneloKirkland fight for free. You have 24hrs.
    8:58 PM - 20 Apr 2015
    This is the closest anyone came:

    Oscar Donis @OhDee92
    @OscarDeLaHoya where's my ticket?! pic.twitter.com/hTbE2SEHxT
    Oscar De La Hoya ✔ @OscarDeLaHoya
    Follow
    “@OhDee92: @OscarDeLaHoya where's my ticket?! pic.twitter.com/zWpEQa4kTz” hahaha good one!
    9:06 PM - 20 Apr 2015
    Oscar De La Hoya ✔ @OscarDeLaHoya
    Follow
    Sorry but the contest is over and nobody has #MayPac tickets as of today with less than two weeks to go. #FansFirst #wheresmyticket
    The consensus in the boxing world is clear: This is a joke, even if it the ticket fiasco works itself out.

    Iole, a Hall of Fame boxing writer, called it a "farce" and an "embarrassment."

    "The biggest event in boxing history is rapidly turning into its greatest embarrassment," he wrote. "And that's saying something considering the long and mostly sordid history of professional boxing."

    Rovell asked Arum about the possibility that the fight would fall through at the last minute, but Arum said that even in a worst-case scenario, the governor of Nevada could step in to force the gaming commission to put on the fight.

    Other boxing commentators and fans are incredulous:

    Steve Carp @stevecarprj
    Follow
    Your Megafight Monday scorecard: @BobArum pulls plug on @MannyPacquiao teleconference call; still no word on public sale of tix for May 2.
    4:37 PM - 20 Apr 2015
    Scott @scottchristBLH
    Follow
    Everyone involved in this fight is exhausting at this point. Everyone looks either podunk or like a swindler with the spotlight on.
    8:59 PM - 21 Apr 2015
    Scott @scottchristBLH
    Follow
    With the tickets issue for #MayPac, no fight has ever been *less* for the public as a live event.
    8:46 AM - 20 Apr 2015

    Even when the contract is signed, only a small percentage of tickets are expected to go on sale publicly. In addition, the pay-per-view will cost fans $99, making it the most expensive PPV fight ever.

    Connor Gregiore of the secondary ticket seller Seat Geek told Business Insider that it's "very unusual" for tickets not to be available this close to an event.

    "Haven't seen it before with any fight, let alone one of this magnitude," he said.

    "People are hesitant to make a purchase on the resale market when there's all this news about the confusion and delays in the original sale and distribution of tickets," he told Business Insider. "We're starting to see activity pick up here over the past few days, but it's been a much slower trickle of purchases over the last few weeks."

    MGM hasn't commented on the ticket situation this week, and didn't respond to a request for comment.

    Ultimately, this is probably a fitting way for Pacquiao-Mayweather to unfold. This fight should have happened in 2009, when both fighters were at the peak of their powers. It didn't happen, and now we're seeing exactly why.

    May be a bust...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  12. #12
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    Just plain stupid.
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  13. #13
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    tix go on sale today....

    Just look at those prices....

    Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao ticket sales to begin Thursday
    Dan Rafael, Boxing

    Nine days before Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are scheduled to meet in boxing's richest fight, tickets for the arena and closed-circuit locations at MGM Resorts International properties along the Las Vegas Strip will finally go on sale Thursday after promoters Top Rank and Mayweather Promotions and the MGM signed the site contract.

    "It was a battle, but finally everybody came together," Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.

    The problems among Mayweather Promotions, Top Rank and the MGM over ticket distribution to the May 2 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena threatened to blow up the long-anticipated bout between boxing's two best fighters that was five-plus years in the making.

    The issues were ironed out during a Wednesday morning conference call involving Arum, Top Rank president Todd duBoef, Mayweather adviser Al Haymon and Leslie Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS Corp., which has a contract with Mayweather.

    "Then they finally sent over a draft reflecting the deal we had agreed to, and it was absolutely 100 percent what we had agreed to," Arum said. "But it didn't come over until 6 p.m. [PT], and by 7 p.m. we had reviewed everything and signed."

    Two hours later, the specifics were announced by news release.
    Mayweather-Pacquiao A Hot Ticket

    The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight is looking to generate $74 million in live gate alone, part of a total package that could surpass $400 million.

    Ticket price Number of tickets*
    $10,000 1,100**
    $7,500 2,500
    $5,000 2,500
    $3,500 4,000
    $2,500 2,500
    $1,500 2,500
    * Approximate
    ** None available for public sale
    Tickets for the MGM Grand Garden Arena are priced at $7,500, $5,000, $3,500, $2,500 and $1,500, not including applicable service charges, and will go on sale at 3 p.m. ET Thursday via Ticketmaster. They are limited to four per household. There are also $10,000 tickets, but they are not among the roughly 500 tickets being made available to the public out of the roughly 16,000 tickets.

    The rest of the tickets are controlled by Mayweather Promotions, Top Rank and the MGM Grand, which will distribute the tickets -- which everyone has to pay for -- to their customers, the fighter camps, the fight sponsors, HBO and Showtime (who are putting on the joint pay-per-view), and the brokers with which they do business. A flood of tickets can be expected on the secondary market later Thursday.

    Most fans who travel to Las Vegas to take in fight-week festivities will wind up watching at closed-circuit locations along the Strip. As many as 50,000 closed-circuit tickets will be available, but in Las Vegas, the closed-circuit viewing is exclusive to the various MGM-owned properties, which include the MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio, Aria, Monte Carlo, Mirage, New York New York and Luxor, among others.

    Closed-circuit tickets will be $150, not including handling fees, and will go on sale at 6 p.m. ET Thursday. Tickets will be available for purchase at the individual property's box office outlets, by phone or through Ticketmaster outlets. Closed-circuit tickets are limited to eight per household.

    "This has been a very complex event, and we are pleased to have resolved the outstanding issues," said Richard Sturm, president of entertainment and sports for MGM Resorts International. "We look forward to delivering an incredible event weekend, like only Las Vegas can."

    The MGM Grand Garden Arena is scaled to generate approximately $74 million in ticket sales, more than three times the gate record.

    According to Arum, the hang-up in getting the deal signed was that there were a number of issues that were agreed to in the contracts between Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank, including the distribution of tickets. However, Arum said that when Top Rank received the site agreement -- another contract between Mayweather Promotions, Top Rank and the MGM Grand -- elements of it were contradictory to what had been agreed to between the promotional companies in their previously signed agreements with each other.

    Arum said he felt Haymon and the MGM were conspiring against him and trying to take more tickets than they were entitled to under the deal that Top Rank and Mayweather Promotions signed in February.

    "We were resolute that we were going to hold on to everything we had negotiated with Mayweather Promotions and they weren't going to use the relationship with MGM to deprive us of our rights," Arum said. "Ultimately, that's how the deal was made. We protected Manny and ourselves, and we weren't asking for anything we didn't negotiate. We had a deal with Mayweather Promotions, and then they used the MGM to try to erode our rights. And we stood steadfast and we wouldn't let that happen, and finally we made a deal, a correct deal, and the fight is going ahead. It's as simple as that.

    "We weren't going to allow anyone to push us around. We didn't want more than we were entitled to or want anything extra. We wanted everyone to live up to the deal we made. I have to really commend my guys for standing firm, and I want to thank Les Moonves for being a rational person and poised through this whole thing and for not letting us be pushed around."

    Moonves also was instrumental in bringing Arum and Haymon, bitter enemies, to the bargaining table to make the fight.

    Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe did not respond to messages seeking comment.
    When MMA can command ticket prices like this, it will have truly dethroned boxing. But for now, it's just more MMA blustering.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  14. #14
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    Mayweather is a mysogonist thug! Even though he is from Grand Rapids, I hope he loses
    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

  15. #15
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    Too MANNY Things

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