Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog

Mayweather speaks

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:37:36 GMT

Floyd Mayweather Jr. just released the following statement from his publicist:

"Throughout this whole process I have remained patient, but at this point I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them.

"First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass.

"Before the mediation, my team proposed a 14-day, no blood testing window leading up to the fight. But it was rejected. I am still proposing the 14-day window but he is still unwilling to agree to it, even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cut-off. The truth is he just doesn't want to take the tests.

"In my opinion it is Manny Pacquiao and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest fight ever. I know the people will see through their smokescreens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract. Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight."

Pacquiao-Cotto Numbers

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:43:26 GMT

The Pacquiao-Cotto numbers are in, and they are big. Here are the figures, along with some relevant information from HBO.

- 1.25 million buys

- $70 million pay-per-view revenue

- 650,000 cable buys

- 600,000 satellite and telco buys

- figures include a record 110,000 buys in Puerto Rico

- along with September 19 Mayweather-Marquez fight which generated 1,050,000 buys, represents the first time HBO Pay-Per-View has ever recorded back-to-back fights exceeding 1 million buys and represents the first time since 1999 that there have been two fights over 1 million buys in same year (1999 had De La Hoya v Trinidad and Holyfield v Lewis)

Mayweather responds to Pacquiao

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:06 GMT

A few minutes ago I received this press release from Floyd Mayweather Jr.:

"Manny Pacquiao is the fighter and every time someone asks him if he wants to fight me, he says it is up to his promoter, he's going to take a vacation, whatever the answer is. I have yet to hear him actually say, 'yes I want to fight Mayweather.' We are the fighters and if one fighter is talking about fighting another fighter, then they should just come out and say it. Manny Pacquiao doesn't say anything directly about fighting me because he might just know it's not a fight he can win."

"He said during an interview he did leading up to his fight that he didn't think I wanted to fight him and that boxing for me was just a business and I wasn't interested in a good fight. But again, he never said during that interview that he would fight me. Why is he talking about what I won't do instead of what he wants to do? Plain and simple, it's because he knows he can't beat me under any circumstances."

"Less than an hour after his fight Saturday night the talk turns back to me. Their whole promotion was just a Mayweather sweepstakes. They know it and anyone could figure that out. Why, because my name kept coming up and I didn't even say anything. Even when he was interviewed on ESPN by Brian Kenny, he was asked about fighting me and what did he say? Not 'yes I want to fight Mayweather or bring it on.' But no! He said 'hum, ahh, well talk to my promoter."

"The world is much more intrigued by the thought of someone fighting me who can beat me. That is what everyone wants to see and the boxing world is trying to find that guy. Manny Pacquiao's people have done a good job of creating an image of him to be this unbelievable fighter and now the so-called guy to beat me. But like all the rest, he's not the one."

"There is boxing and then there is me. The rest are just falling in line behind me or are trying to get in line to fight me. And that includes Manny Pacquiao too."

"Tell Manny Pacquiao to be his own man and stop letting everyone, including his loudmouth trainer, talk for him. I am my own boss, speak for myself and tell it like it is. If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight me, all he has to do is step up to the plate and say it himself."

Williams opts to move on after Pavlik scraps bout

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:26:20 GMT

Kelly Pavlik's ongoing problems with a staph infection on his left hand left Paul Williams with a choice: reschedule the middleweight championship fight for a second time, or move on.

Williams has elected to move on.

Williams' promoter, Dan Goossen, told SI.com on Wednesday night that he will keep the Dec. 5 date and find another opponent for Williams. HBO Vice President Mark Taffet confirmed that -- assuming the two sides could come to an agreement on an acceptable opponent -- the fight would still be broadcast on HBO.

"I could sit here and say a lot of things that don't need to be said," Goossen told SI.com. "It doesn't help that we are facing this again. We want to keep Paul's activity going. He's on his way to becoming a star."

A source of irritation for Goossen were comments made by Pavlik's trainer, Jack Loew, to The Youngstown Vindicator. Loew told the Ohio newspaper that he had been trying to keep Pavlik's injury problems "a secret" and that, at this point, "I'm not going to fool anybody any longer."

"I think his words say everything you need to know," said Goossen. "His own words allow you not to have to speculate as to what was going on behind the scenes. We rescheduled [the October fight] knowing full well what we thought could happen. And it did."

Goossen said that he is considering several opponents and will have an announcement by the end of the week. He did not specify what weight class Williams -- a former two-time welterweight (147 pounds) champion who holds an interim title at junior middleweight (154) and was preparing for his third fight at middleweight (160) -- will compete at, just that Williams "will fight for or defend his title in December."

The cancellation also comes as a big blow to HBO, which was counting on Williams-Pavlik to be the anchor for their end of the year boxing schedule. That card also was scheduled to feature a fight between two former welterweight titlists, Joshua Clottey and Carlos Quintana. But because Clottey is promoted by Pavlik's promoter, Top Rank, that fight is reportedly off.

Report: Pavlik-Williams is off

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:02:49 GMT

Kelly Pavlik's hometown newspaper, The Youngstown Vindicator, is reporting that a staph infection in Pavlik's right hand has forced a second cancellation of his scheduled middleweight title defense against Paul Williams on Dec. 5.

"He's trying," Pavlik's trainer, Jack Loew, told the newspaper. "He's been running, he's been trying to train in the gym. He's trying to shadow box with one hand, hit the speed bag with one hand. ... I've been trying to keep it a secret, but it's not going great and I'm not going to fool anybody any longer."

The report was confirmed by Pavlik's promoter Wednesday afternoon.

"This morning we were advised that Kelly Pavlik's recovery of his left hand has not progressed as projected by Dr. Peter J. Evans, Director of the Cleveland Clinic Upper Extremity Center,"said Todd duBoef, president of Top Tank. "As a result of this Kelly is unable to close his left hand which prohibits him from being prepared for a December 5 middleweight championship defense against Paul Williams. We at Top Rank are disappointed by this unexpected development in his recovery. Once Pavlik is cleared medically by Dr. Evans we will pursue all avenues with regards to a future bout."

Those who have seen Pavlik recently know that the condition of his disfigured hand is not a secret. At a press conference announcing the fight in New Jersey earlier this month, the skin around Pavlik's hand was peeling and the scab from where the staff infection first formed on his knuckle looked fresh. As Pavlik talked with a few reporters outside the press conference, he still looked to be favoring the hand and rarely formed a fist with it during the conversation.

As disappointing as the news is for Pavlik -- who has gone from a rising star in the middleweight division in 2007, to a borderline bust in 2009 -- it has to be incredibly disheartening for Williams, who had been pointing toward a win over Pavlik as a chance to establish himself as an elite star in boxing. Though there are no Pavlik-size opponents for Williams to challenge (Shane Mosley is expected to face Andre Berto in January, and none of the junior middleweight or middleweight champions carry the same cache), there is one option for Williams that could exceed even a fight with Pavlik: Showtime's Super Six tournament.

Jermain Taylor's brutal knockout loss to Arthur Abraham last Saturday has led to speculation that Taylor, who is 1-4 in his last five fights with three savage knockout losses, will drop out of the tournament. Williams has never fought at 168 pounds before, but his rangy, 6-foot-1 frame should easily be able to carry the weight, and his name would boost a competitive tournament that's lacking big stars.

There are potential problems: Showtime reps have privately said that Allan Green, Lucian Bute and Librado Andrade are at the top of the list for potential replacements, and Williams own promoter, Dan Goossen, has lobbied for Edison Miranda to be in the mix. But with Pavlik's status up in the air, Williams should move on. And Showtime should go and get him.

Jermain Taylor Update

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:13:38 GMT

Just received this press release from Jermain Taylor's camp.

BERLIN, October, 19th - On Sunday, October 18th Jermain Taylor was released from the Hospital in Berlin, Germany, having been given clearance by a team of Doctors to continue with a planned vacation in Europe. Taylor was admitted as a precautionary measure after suffering from concussion-like symptoms following his fight with Arthur Abraham on Saturday night.

"I want thank all my fans and those concerned and let everyone know I'm doing just fine and feeling good," said Taylor. "I want to congratulate Arthur Abraham on his victory and wish him well in the tournament. Right now my plans are to relax and enjoy my vacation in Europe with my wife, Erica."

Team Taylor is equally thankful for the outpouring of support shown by fans around the globe, and promises their number one goal is making sure their charge is fit and healthy.

"All of us at DiBella Entertainment are grateful that Jermain is feeling better after fighting his heart out on Saturday night," said Lou DiBella, promoter of Taylor. "Jermain showed his warrior spirit after working tirelessly to approach the fight in the finest shape of his career. Happily, with the doctor's blessing, he has been released from the Hospital and is presently relaxing in Europe. This is the best news we could've received."

Six Questions-Glen Johnson

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:46:30 GMT

On November 7th Glen Johnson will face Chad Dawson on Showtime for the WBC light heavyweight title. It's a rematch of their 2008 fight that Dawson won by a narrow--and disputed--decision.

QUESTION: What do you expect to see from Chad Dawson the second time around?

JOHNSON: "Pretty much of the same thing I saw the first fight, him running like a chicken."

QUESTION: How do you feel fighting in his backyard?

JOHNSON: "I told my people I will fight him anywhere. I just wanted the rematch to prove once and for all who really won that fight. This fight is very, very important to me. It is an opportunity to go further than all the critics thought I could have gone. It's just for me to protect myself and my reputation and to prove to myself that I can do it and shut up all the critics that said I couldn'T

QUESTION: How have you improved since the last time you fought Dawson?

JOHNSON: "I have improved tremendously. I was off of my game for a little bit of a year or so. I am sharp now. They tried so hard and long to avoid me that it gave me enough time to get sharp and put myself together. I am getting the rematch at the right time."

QUESTION: The super middleweights are getting a lot of publicity with the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament. What do you think about the light heavyweight division right now?

JOHNSON: "The problem is the light heavyweight division doesn't want to mix up the fights. Everybody is trying to go for the major money. Everybody is trying to fight people who they think they can win against. There are very few guys in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions and that's what's killing the sport and the divisions now. These guys want to win based on the politics of boxing. They don't want to commit themselves to give fans the best fight they can put together."

QUESTION: What are you doing when you are not in the ring or training?

JOHNSON: "I am spending a lot of time with my kids and wife and relaxing. I have a few business ventures that I like to see what I can get my hands in."

QUESTION: What would winning this fight mean to you?

JOHNSON: "Winning means everything to me. That's the only reason I wanted a rematch. The first fight was stolen because of politics of boxing and crooked judges. This is my opportunity. I know they believe Dawson fights in his hometown and they will bring in the crooked judges again who will help him get any rounds that are close. I have been in situations like this before. I am confident I will go in there and do what it takes to win."

Sign of things to come?

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:14:42 GMT

I typically don't care too much about the details of a fight. Just give me the show. But in analyzing the numbers from Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s comeback win over Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19, it's hard not to be interested in the behind-the-scenes stuff.

By now, we all know the basics: One million Pay-Per-View buys (the fifth non-heavyweight fight to break a million and the first not involving Oscar De La Hoya), $52 million in domestic revenue and millions more in overseas revenue and money brought in from the 220 movie theaters across the country that showed the fight live.

The numbers are simply staggering, and they could paint a bright future for a sport that has struggled to regain its luster. I spoke to representatives from HBO, Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions on Monday night, and all agreed that this was the probably the most elaborate marketing campaign for a fight, perhaps rivaled only by the Mayweather-De La Hoya matchup in 2007.

Some of the highlights:

1. Movie theaters, which have never been used to promote a fight before, were expertly used to advertise the fight. Tens of thousands of eyeballs were exposed to Mayweather-Marquez graphic, effectively creating a whole new avenue of promotion. Not to mention that, according to Golden Boy, more than 25,000 fans saw the fight live at $15 a pop."

"We are ecstatic at how the movie theaters worked out," said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. "I talked to a number of people from theaters that didn't show the fight and they said they were kicking themselves in the butt for not doing it."

Schaefer says he hopes to expand the number of theaters for the next big fight and has been brainstorming other ideas to create more impressions. Some examples: Commemorative cups and popcorn boxes.

2. All promoters try to target ethnic demographics, but the Mayweather-Marquez team did an effective job of infiltrating as many African-American and Mexican areas as possible. Taffet singled out the promoting done on urban websites like allhiphop.com, xxl.com and bet.com as well as Latino web pages.

"In today's market you can effectively target consumers," said Taffet. "You can reach exactly who you want to reach with your message."

And they did reach them. Besides the specifically targeted consumers, this promotion reached thousands of mainstream consumers with various efforts including t-shirts that were sold at 22,000 retail stores, programs that were sold on newstands and exposure in 1,500 Home Depot's.

3. Give Mayweather himself a lot of credit. In the 21 months between his fights, Mayweather injected himself deeper into the mainstream. He wrangled his way onto Dancing With The Stars, negotiated an AT&T commercial and made multiple appearances on WWE shows. It was brilliant. For all the criticism Mayweather has received about how it was De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton who carried his last two Pay Per Views, 'Money' May proved he was a legitimate singular attraction.

"I was telling everyone this for months!" said Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe. "Floyd is a global star. He's the face of boxing. All the stuff he did just broadened his fan base. It was careful and well thought out plan that took quite some time. And it worked."

4. The old adage is that you have to spend money to make money and Golden Boy, Mayweather Promotions and HBO certainly did that. Not just with the marketing and promoting but also with the undercard, which was one of the best I had seen in years. You had Michael Katsidis slugging it out with Vincente Escobedo for a title. You had Chris John proving again that he is the dominant featherweight of this era. You even got a taste of the future in Erislandy Lara, a former Cuban champion with tremendous power who picked up a KO on the untelevised portion of the show. These guys don't come cheap and all the parties involved agreed to pony up the cash to make it a superior show.

The funny thing is that this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Taffet told me that in the next couple of weeks he will sit down and map out a marketing strategy for November's fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. One of his thoughts is that because the matchup is so popular HBO should spend more money on advertising the fight in mainstream digital media websites like SI.com, ESPN.com and Yahoo.

"This is a supreme matchup," said Taffet. "We believe it will appeal to all sports fans."

So do I.

Roger Mayweather's Future

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:23:06 GMT

The strange life of Floyd Mayweather Jr. took another turn last week when his uncle/trainer Roger Mayweather was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly assaulting Melissa St. Vil, a female boxer Mayweather had trained. While the Nevada Athletic Commission is monitoring the situation, officials with the commission say that as long as Roger Mayweather is free on bail and isn't convicted or pleads to any crime, his status as Floyd's trainer for the September 19th welterweight showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez likely won't be affected.

"Roger Mayweather is licensed to work the corner in Nevada for 2009," said Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "There is a presumption of innocence in this country and the commission probably wouldn't take any action until the criminal case is resolved."

KIzer conceded that if Roger Mayweather is found guilty of a crime in connection with this case the commission would examine his status. And if they did his checkered history in Nevada could come into play. Mayweather was suspended for one year and fined $200,000 in 2006 for his role in an in-ring brawl during the Floyd Mayweather-Zab Judah fight. During the tenth round of that fight, an irate Roger Mayweather stormed into the ring after Judah landed one of several low blows to Floyd.

It is unclear who Floyd Mayweather would turn to should Roger be unavailable to work his corner. Floyd's estranged father, Floyd Sr, has become more involved in his son's life recently and is considered one of the top trainers in boxing. Mayweather Jr. could also turn to his uncle, Jeff Mayweather, an established trainer who has worked with former heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov.

Six Questions with Devon Alexander

Chris Mannix's Boxing Blog — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:03:01 GMT

Junior welterweight contender Devon Alexander has been brought along slowly since turning pro in 2004. But Alexander (18-0) will take a big step up in competition when he faces veteran Junior Witter (37-2-2) for the vacant WBC belt Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m.). The network caught up with Alexander for six questions.

QUESTION: Were you surprised when Timothy Bradley Jr. decided to not fight you and gave up his WBC belt instead?

ALEXANDER: "Yeah, I was. I would have never done that. You know I???m going to fight. For me it's not about the money but about fighting the best and I'm going to do that. If you keep winning the money's going to be there. I just want to keep fighting all the fights I have to and someday retire on top.

"He gave up the belt and he has his own reasons for that. I can't get inside his head. But now Junior and I are fighting for it and it's going to be a good card. We'll see what happens; if there's going to be a unification after this or not."

QUESTION: What concerns you most about Junior Witter?

ALEXANDER: "Junior's a crafty, slick fighter. You have to be patient and fight smart but at the same time maintain that aggression. He's a veteran and I know people say I'm young and inexperienced but what people don't realize is that I've been around Cory (Spinks) my whole life. Junior fights like Cory and he's been getting me ready. He's not going to show me nothing I haven't seen before. I just have to show up and be smart and I will win this fight."

QUESTION: What do you say to the people who say you're too inexperienced to take this fight?

ALEXANDER: People don't know me. They don't know I've been fighting guys bigger than me and heavier than me my whole life. I've been the underdog my entire life and I've proved people wrong my entire life. So it doesn't matter who I fight."

QUESTION: How would you describe your style in the ring?

ALEXANDER: "I can go either way. I can be a boxer or a puncher. If you watch some of my older fights you see that I was fighting more like an amateur than a professional but the progression has gone more and more toward professional. I can either box with you or throw with you. Either way it doesn't matter. I'm going to be a smart fighter and do whatever it takes to get the win."

QUESTION: You've been surrounded by the same guys your entire career which is kind of a rarity in this sport. How have Kevin Cunningham (manager/trainer), Don King (promoter) and Cory Spinks (sparring) helped your career?

ALEXANDER: "It is a little unusual but I have a dynamic team in front of me so why would I ever change it? I have a lot of examples in front of me so I just try and take something that all of them have to offer."

QUESTION: What do you like to do in your spare time?

ALEXANDER: "I'm really just a homebody. I'm not an 'out'type of person. I'm at home a lot. I have a son and a daughter and I like to just be at home and play with them. I don't like the party life. People ask me all the time and say, 'You're Devon Alexander, why don't you go out all the time' and I just tell them it ain't for me."