Thought to be one of the biggest potential sticking points, both fighters have apparently agreed to a straight 50/50 split of the money in the fight. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao had argued in the past that they deserved more than half of the pie, based on their own personal conceptions of themselves as the bigger draw. Getting them to agree to 50/50 should not have been hard with the amount of money we’re dealing with in this fight, but with two egos like they have, it’s a small surprise that they both agreed to it so quickly and so easily.

The next possible sticking point was the weight for the fight. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao have avoided the 147 limit in their recent fights, instead fighting at a lower catchweight. It was thought that perhaps Pacquiao would try to get Mayweather to fight at 145 or lower as a bargaining chip, but Mayweather instead tried to apparently bring Pacquiao up to 154 instead. That play by Mayweather might have been the smartest move of this negotiation, as Pacquiao was left with little choice but to “negotiate” Mayweather down to 147, getting the fight to be signed for the actual welterweight limit.

The last point of contention was that Mayweather was reportedly trying to get 10 ounce gloves on both fighters. This was likely due more to Mayweather’s past hand problems than cushioning Pacquiao’s punches, but the fighters will in fact wear eight ounce gloves in the contest. They will both, however, be able to choose what brand of gloves they wear in the fight.

So just like that, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are going to fight on March 13, 2010, with the negotiations apparently going easier than most other marquee fights seem to go.

While a giant pat on the back goes to both fighters for agreeing so promptly to make the fight that the world wants to see, huge kudos also go to Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer, as well as both teams advisers for making this fight get done so quickly.

If only every major fight in boxing could be arranged so easily.

Originally published at BoxingInformer.com

Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, has apparently advised Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer on the Mayweather camp’s wishes, and Schaefer will negotiate on their behalf with Top Rank’s Bob Arum. Ellerbe was willing to step aside from the negotiations due to his past rocky history with Arum, allowing the terms to be worked out without personal differences getting in the way.

While the fight will more than likely land at one of the existing venues in Las Vegas, there has also been talk at staging this mega-event at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, the new Yankee Stadium or perhaps even a brand new venue built specifically for this fight by Steve Wynn in Las Vegas.

Mayweather’s camp appears confident that a deal can be made, and feel that Mayweather’s pay-per-view track record will allow him to have the upper hand in negotiations, allowing a deal to be reached more easily.

If a deal can’t be reached for their respective next fights, both fighters have some very big name “backup plans.” Ellerbe says that Mayweather has his sights set on the winner of the upcoming Shane Mosley – Andre Berto fight as his backup option, while Pacquiao is interested in making a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Originally published at BoxingInformer.com

UFC chief Dana White nixed a potential boxing match between the superstar MMA-er and the past-his-prime boxer, refusing to allow Silva to risk himself in a boxing ring while he is under contract with the UFC. According to Jones, White had said that he didn’t want Silva and the UFC embarrassed if Jones were to knock out the UFC’s star attraction.

But recently, Jones said that he is willing to turn it around and meet Silva in the Octagon, and fight him under UFC rules. How would White respond to that, and is there a chance it could happen?

White’s response: None chance.

According to CBS Sports, via BloodyElbow.com, White confirmed that the offer was presented to him and that he passed on it.

“You won’t see a Silva versus Jones fight while Silva is under contract with me,” White said Tuesday. “I don’t want to say anything bad about Roy Jones, I like Roy Jones and was a fan of his, but he mattered like fifteen years ago. He’s not anywhere near the best boxer in the world. He must’ve spent all his money.”

…..

“I could do it, make it huge, make money, but I could have done a fight like this when we were bleeding money (in the early 2000s),” White said. “The fight would make some money, but it hurts MMA in the long term. We don’t do that because we love the sport. That’s a Pride or K-1 matchup. It’s not what we do.”

In White’s defense, he’s right. It would be a novelty match that would not be good for the overall image of the UFC.

But on the other hand, it may be what the fans, his fans, want to see.

In the never-ending boxing vs. MMA debate, it always seems to be that the MMA fans are the loudest and proudest. Boxing fans tend to stick to the “boxers will win at boxing, MMA guys will win at MMA” argument, but many MMA fans (from my experience) seem to want to have a chance for the MMA world to prove its dominance over boxing.

I subscribe to the theory that the fighter fighting in his professional discipline has a nearly insurmountable advantage in any mixed action fight. But of the two, I give a boxer a better chance in the Octagon than a mixed martial artist in the ring. The simple reason being that most MMA fighters have limited boxing skills and nothing else to fall back on in the ring, while boxers are experts at at least one discipline in MMA. Roy Jones stands a better chance at landing one great punch in the Octagon then Silva does at either winning a decision or beating Jones at his own game in the ring.

To me, White’s argument hasn’t changed. A Roy Jones win over Silva in the Octagon would cripple the UFC. A Silva win does nothing but land the company some great promotion. It’s a bad fight for White to accept.

I personally would love to see it for the sport of it. But White can make whatever decisions he wants. He’s managed the UFC pretty well so far, and if he doesn’t want to risk its reputation, I can respect that.

What I don’t get, and the argument that many are ignoring in this scenario is this: The UFC was created to measure different combat disciplines against each other. To answer the age-old questions of what is better. Karate or wrestling? Jiu-jitsu or taekwondo? Why can’t boxing be a competitor in the game?

Perhaps it’s as simple as the fact that the UFC has evolved. It is no longer a battle of martial arts, but a sport of one thing: mixed martial arts. No one seems to really be one discipline anymore, but a combination of many of them. If things were how they were back in the day, there would be a legitimate complaint from a boxer being excluded.

In Dana White’s UFC, however, it is no longer a battle of several combat arts. It is a league of mixed martial artists, and apparently boxing isn’t enough of a martial art to get a seat at the table.

I would love to see it happen, but the UFC of today is not what it was years ago. Roy Jones vs. Anderson Silva would make for great debate and a great event, but right now, White clearly isn’t ready to risk his empire on one fight.

Upon his return to the ring in July, Mayweather will have been out of the ring for over 19 months, with his most recent fight being his knockout win over Ricky Hatton in December of 2007. Early in 2008, Mayweather reportedly told his advisers that they were free to listen to potential offers and to see what his boxing options would be.

Mayweather will square off with Marquez, who has been extremely impressive at lightweight, at a catchweight of 144 pounds on HBO Pay-Per-View at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather has fought his five most recent fights at welterweight or above, while Marquez has never fought above 135 pounds.

Part of the reason for Mayweather’s return is his alleged problems with the IRS. Despite making enormous amounts of money against both Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton, Mayweather had apparently found himself in some financial trouble, specifically tax trouble. His summer return against Marquez should bring a lucrative payday, but more importantly there is the potential for a mega-fight for mega-money against the Hatton-Manny Pacquiao winner if Mayweather defeats Marquez.

The camps of Mayweather and Marquez had been working on a deal for sometime and were very close before reaching a few sticking points in the final negotiations. Not only was settling the catchweight an issue that has been resolved, but the potential for Mayweather to sign with Don King has been averted, allowing this negotiation to move forward. It was reported that the final details were agreed to in a six-hour negotiating session on Friday afternoon.

Mayweather retired as the mythical pound-for-pound champion, having held that title in Ring magazine for nearly three years. At just 32-years old, Mayweather can walk right in and once again be a major player anywhere between 140 and 147 pounds. He is currently 39-0 with 25 knockouts.

De La Hoya last fought in December, when he lost a one-sided beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. De La Hoya came into the fight in terrible shape, having lost too much weight too early, and was unable to do anything against the much more fit and more active fighter. After the fight, De La Hoya told Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, that he just didn’t have it anymore, and today, he confirmed that belief.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s over inside the ring for me,” De La Hoya told a crowd from across the street from the Staples Center.

He went on to say that it was not fair for him to continue fighting when he can no longer fight at the top level.

At 36-years-old, De La Hoya finishes his career with a record of 39-6 with 30 knockouts. He also won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics.

Win or lose, De La Hoya has been in the ring with a veritable who’s who of boxing stars over the years. His wins include Julio Cesar Chavez (twice), Rafael Ruelas, Genaro Hernandez, Fernando Vargas, Ricardo Mayorga, Arturo Gatti, Pernell Whitaker and Ike Quartey. His losses were to Shane Mosely (twice), Felix Trinidad, Floyd Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins and Pacquiao.

De La Hoya has positioned himself during his boxing career to remain a major player in the sport for the rest of his life. His Golden Boy Promotions is now a major player in the sport and Oscar himself was such a financial superstar in the sport that he still yields very much power outside of the ring. He will continue to promote fights with his company in retirement.

Oscar was certainly the face of boxing for the last decade or so, and his tremendous drawing power will be missed. There is no denying his amazing ability to sell a fight — so much so that any die hard De La Hoya fan spent nearly $3,000 to watch all of his fights over the years. It may take a year or two, or more, to see who the next superstar is in terms of money, but sooner or later, one will emerge.

One way or another, there is no denying that Oscar did things right. He fought everyone, he was exciting to watch, he brought millions and millions of dollars to the sport, he’s looked out for the next generation with his Golden Boy Promotions, and now he is leaving before it is too late. Goodbye, and thanks Oscar.

Cross-published at BoxingInformer.com.

Test results that were found this week showed that the foreign materials found in Margarito’s hand wraps prior to his January fight with Shane Mosley included sulfur and calcium, two of the key elements in plaster. Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo were barred from working in California for one year at the initial hearing in February.

While there is no physical proof that Margarito attempted to use loaded gloves in any fight other than the Mosley fight, suspicion is high that it was not the first time he’d ever done it. Circumstantial evidence is strong that Margarito was fighting with loaded hands against Cotto in 2008.

Cotto was stopped late in the fight as his face turned into a bloody mess. As the fight went on, Margarito’s punches seemed to do more damage in that fight. If a glove is loaded with plaster-like materials, they harden as they moisten, so as the hands sweat in a fight, the material turns into something as hard as concrete.

Cotto had given Margarito the benefit of the doubt through his first hearing, but upon hearing the results of the testing of the materials, Cotto said that Margarito should never fight again.

“I understand that Margarito not only played with my health but he played with health of many boxers. Only God knows. I have received punishment in my career but I never had my face swell like in that fight. In the heat of the fight I didn’t feel the punches, but my face didn’t say that. I understand that one year of suspension is not much for the kind of unsportsmanlike act that Margarito presented against Mosley. He deserves the same suspension as trainer Panama Lewis. He should never step into a boxing ring again.”

Going back to the fight, watch the highlights knowing what we know now about Margarito. Does this look suspicious?

Of course, loaded gloves aren’t going to give you the ability to take everything a fighter like Miguel Cotto throws at you and keep walking forward, so there is plenty of reason to once again give Margarito the benefit of the doubt. But having said that, my guy feeling, like that of Cotto and many others, is that Margarito was cheating in this fight as well.

What Margarito attempted to do against Mosley, and probably did against Cotto is nothing short of criminal. This is a man who went into a professional prize fight, and attempted to put the equivalent of bricks into his gloves. Had Mosley been punched one time with those gloves, you could have been looking at serious criminal charges. But the gloves never made it into the ring, and there is no physical proof that Margarito did this in any other fight.

While the courts of California and Nevada may never be able to prove that Margarito did anything criminal, the court of public opinion has made their decision. Margarito will never again be respected as a professional fighter, and there is a good chance that he never fights in the United States again. If the idiots that surround him (Bob Arum) and the idiots that run boxing in Mexico (Jose Sulaiman) continue to believe that Margarito is innocent and support him based on that assumption, then they are choosing to be guilty by association. This guy is a criminal, as is his trainer, and anyone that supports his attempts to continue boxing, without at least serving his punishment, are shameful people.

I agree with Cotto — the day that Margarito steps foot into a boxing ring again will be far too soon. His career should be over.

***

*Originally posted at BoxingInformer.com*

By all accounts, the MMA side of the card is bad at best. From a boxing perspective, the card is equally bad. But overall, the card is intriguing. Nobody seems to think that there is a good matchup in either sport on the entire card, but the card is the first of its kind, and how the production goes may be far more important than the quality of the fights.

In the main event, Jones takes on Omar Sheika, a fighter with a solid, but by no means great career. The card will also feature B.J. Flores and a bunch of other boxers that most people haven’t heard of.

On the MMA side, well I’ll let Jake Rossen of Sherdog.com (via ESPN.com) fill you in:

For their part, MMA fans are being courted into purchasing the show based on two fights that defy comprehension: Jeff Monson versus Roy Nelson and WWE expatriate Bobby Lashley versus Jason (brother of Clay) Guida, a late replacement for Ken Shamrock. (Contrary to expectations, I suspect this won’t be the end of Shamrock. He refuses to take hints, cosmic or otherwise, to retire and remains “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” only to himself.)

Lashley, who might actually possess the lean muscle mass of both Guida brothers put together, is being courted as a hot prospect in the sport. Jason Guida has been around the block a few times, knows a few tricks and might be able to pull one out. As fights go, it’s all right. As main events go, it’s best paid for with Monopoly money.

So why make the event?

It’s simple enough really. If this card can show any success, either in ticket sales, pay-per-view sales, fan enthusiasm or critical review, then there is something to build upon.

For years, Jones has refused to partake in the ridiculous boxing vs. MMA argument, and has consistently offered support and respect for his colleagues in the mixed martial arts world. He is not trying to resurrect boxing and he’s not trying to defeat MMA. He’s simply taking a shot at having a business model to work off of after boxing.

Jones famously got close to sharing a ring with Anderson Silva last year in a boxing match, before UFC top-dog Dana White put the kibosh on it. Jones has always spoken highly of MMA and seems to truly want to enter a business partnership with the sport, but despite Silva’s desire, Jones will never fight him or any other UFC fighter.

If this event can please the folks down in Pensacola this weekend, or at least break even financially, expect to see this happen more.

The problem is, what boxing promoters are going to want to let their guys share a stage with MMA fighters, and what MMA league is going to allow their sport to not even have top billing at an event. For these reasons, barring some type of partnership with a major organization, Jones’ Square Ring company will only be able to put on average to below average cards.

But the bigger picture is beyond Jones. The bigger picture is the potential for a major event down the road, if this model can prove successful. Let’s face it — if this card has any success, then a card with real matches and real draws could be huge.

Don’t expect Dana White and the UFC to share a card anytime soon — why would they want to — but there is potential for some of the smaller, struggling organizations to mix shows.

Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions has a partnership with Affliction and is beginning to dabble in MMA. Count on Golden Boy’s eyes to be firmly fixed to Pensacola Saturday night, taking notes of what works and what doesn’t. With the Golden Boy stable and Affliction’s MMA name recognition, they could potentially put a massive crossover card on at some point in the future.

Jones’ respect for MMA has allowed him to make this card happen, but at the same time, he may put to rest once and for all the notion of boxing fans and MMA fans uniting. Mature and knowledgeable fans of both sports understand that they are different and only minimally in competition with each other. Getting them to coexist on the same stage is a much bigger issue.

You might not care about a single fight on this card, but I assure you — it’s one of the most important fight cards of the year.

***

Originally published at BoxingInformer.com

This is the single round of boxing that all others are compared to since it happened. It’s the fight that all others are compared to, and it’s the trilogy that all others are compared to. No matter how good a round, fight, or series of fights is, it inevitably is judged against the displays put on by Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward between May of 2002 and June of 2003.

This may be the single greatest round of boxing in the last 20 years.

The fight got off to an extremely fast pace from the opening bell, with Diaz smothering Marquez and unloading punches in large quantities. The first two rounds were old fashioned toe-to-toe brawls, with Diaz seemingly getting the better of the older fighter.

In the third round, Marquez seemed to be able to avoid getting stuck on the ropes, where Diaz was doing most of his damage, and Marquez started to control the middle of the ring.

As the rounds went on, Marquez did a better job of boxing than he was doing early in the fight, but Diaz was still controlling the bulk of the action.

With each passing round, Marquez became a little more accurate, but also was getting more and more tired.

As Marquez seemed to be slowing down in the eighth round, he landed a series of left hands that both opened a vicious gash over Diaz’s left eye, and later wobbled him. Diaz was able to land a left hand of his own to keep Marquez from trying to finish him off and survive the round.

In the ninth, Diaz came out with his legs back under him and proceeded to pick up where he was in the seventh round, but a perfect right hand to the temple from Marquez wobbled Diaz, and this time he could not help but go to the canvas after a few more Marquez punches found their target.

Diaz beat the count, but with his legs gone and no ability to clinch, Marquez peppered him with combinations, hitting the body and the head, until a perfect uppercut sent Diaz straight down to the floor. The fight was waived off at 2:40 of the ninth round with no count from the referee needed.

No doubt this is the leader in the clubhouse for Fight of the Year, and as HBO’s Jim Lampley said, “good luck to the rest of boxing topping that.”

After the fight, Marquez chose to call out the retired former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, saying that Manny Pacquiao isn’t interested in a third fight and Marquez wants to fight the best.

On the undercard, Chris John seemingly outboxed Rocky Juarez for the majority of their bout, but all three referees saw the fight as a 114-114 draw. John outclassed Juarez all night, but Juarez was more aggressive and threw far more power punches. Coupled with the Houston crowd roaring at everything Juarez did, John got the short end of the stick in a fight that he probably won.

Article reposted from BoxingInformer.com.

Tonight, Marquez will face a top-level fighter who’s not past his prime for just the fifth time in his career. In the previous four fights, he’s 0-3-1, with a loss and a draw to Pacquiao and losses to Chris John and Freddie Norwood. He has decent wins over the aged Joel Casamayor and Marco Antonio Barrera, but this will be his biggest non-Pacquiao test in years.

Marquez will step into the ring to face Houston fan favorite Juan Diaz, a 25-year old aspiring lawyer who attends college in Houston by day, and beats people up on the occassional Saturday night.

It’s a fascinating matchup between the slick, smaller counterpuncher in Marquez, and the naturally bigger, rough and physical Diaz.

This is a classic “styles make fights” kind of matchup. Does Marquez’s boxing skill prevail and frustrate the high volume puncher, or does Diaz’s non-stop pressure get to the 35-year old Marquez. Something’s got to give.

There’s a good chance this fight is one-sided — for either man. One of their styles could just dominate the other, and we won’t know which one until they’re in the ring. Or the styles could mesh perfectly and we could be treated to a fantastic boxing match.

Either way, there is a lot on the line in this fight — a handful of alphabet belts and the prestigious Ring Magazine lightweight title.

More importantly though, a showdown with the winner of Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao could be in the cards for the winner of this fight.

These are top level fighters and are sure to put on a great show. The previously mentioned Chris John is on the undercard, a fighter many in the States are not used to seeing as he fights out of Indonesia usually. He’s got a decision win over Marquez and may be boxing’s best kept secret.

I’m taking Diaz as a slight dog to beat the older Marquez, and John to box his way to a comfortable win over Rocky Juarez.