Brian’s Boxing Mailbag (Fans Dumbstruck by the Collapse of the Super Fight between Manny Pacquiao Vs Floyd Mayweather, JR.)

By Brian Wilbur

Welcome to the mailbag fight fans. From the collective emails I have received lately I can say that there is widespread disappointment among fans over the failure of Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather to come to fruition. Many fans are still in disbelief despite the announcement that the fight was dead about two weeks ago.

Manny Pacquiao is set to fight Joshua Clottey on March 13th. Clottey is as quality of an opponent as there was available, so kudos to Pacquiao for taking a chance, but the fact of the matter is that Clottey is not a star, therefore has zero PPV marketability. Pacman vs. Clottey, though competitive and interesting for hardcore fans, is not a super fight by any stretch of the imagination.

Floyd Mayweather has not yet named an opponent but as of right now is planning on fighting a Paulie Malignaggi level opponent, also on March 13th in a competing card. Trying to compete against Pacquiao on the same night for the right to televise on HBO might be a bad move. HBO, if they had any sense, would televise the better fight, which would be the Pacquiao fight. Regarding Mayweather vs. Malignaggi, I would be slightly more interested in that fight than say Roy Jones vs. Bernard Hopkins II, but that is not saying much. Floyd should back off and find a different date for the good of the sport.

Before depression has time to completely sink in, at least we have Shane Mosley vs. Andre Berto to look forward to in two weeks on January 30th. That should be an excellent action fight fought at a very high level of competition, perhaps enough to make us forget about Pacquiao and Mayweather, at least temporarily. I give my prediction for that fight in response to a question in this week’s mailbag, but mostly I tackle more Pacquiao/Mayweather related questions. Enjoy the mailbag and please feel free to email me your thoughts and questions.

Court of Public Opinion

As I remain to be a very big Pacfan, I’m so saddened by how Golden Boy Promotions and the Mayweather camp have influenced a lot of people’s thinking over in the United States. This “If you don’t have anything to hide, why not take the test?” BS aced it. Pac’s got the upper hand on the negotiating table, why submit to someone who is arrogant and historically ducks fights? Too late I guess, as you spoke about the court of opinion.As for my real question, what are your thoughts about Xylocaine that Mayweather has been using in the past being banned in Texas (so goodbye to Cowboys Stadium)? Well, Schaeffer knew this right? Well, I hope Floyd is happy now and sleeps better at night. I also read Geno’s article about Atlas’ email scandal. Well it seemed he now doubts Pacquiao. An email? Is he serious? How can it be proven as evidence that Pacquiao is a doper? I guess Geno took a side as a writer and as a Pacfan, I say he dropped the ball.

-Rotciv54

Rotciv54,

Teddy Atlas linking Pacquiao to steroids through an alleged email did not help Manny’s case with American sports fans. This is the steroids era of sports, with baseball players, football players, bikers, Olympic athletes, and any other sport you can think of having their athletes doping to gain an edge. In this type of environment, fans in America are on the look out and suspicious about any athlete. All it takes is one baseless accusation, the whispers begin, and you are considered guilty by the court of public opinion. Nobody would be surprised if he failed a test.

This is unfortunate and unfair for Manny. As a fan of Pacquiao, I want him to take these tests to get everyone off of his back and prove them wrong. If that was the tactic of GBP and the Mayweathers, to pressure Pacquiao into giving in, they planned their strategy well even though it did not work.

I give my thoughts about Floyd Mayweather using Xylocaine in the next email.

Mayweather’s Use of XylocaineMr. B,Is shooting Xylocaine to numb a boxer’s hands an unfair advantage when only one of them uses it in a bout?

-Tito

Tito,

I would say so. Mayweather allegedly uses it for brittle hands but that is not fair in my opinion. The use of such numbing agents should be banned just like any other performance enhancing drug. Floyd was born with weak hands and he has to deal with that handicap. It is not like a boxer who was born with a weak chin is able to wear a football helmet and facemask!

Plan to Sabotage Pacquiao

Hi!!! Great Mailbag. I’m new. In an interview I read, someone stated that blood testing has a small chance of being implemented in boxing because there is the probability of damaging a fighter (his veins) before a fight. It’s bad enough that two days before the fight fighters are dehydrating and starving, don’t tell me that sticking a needle and taking a teaspoon of blood will have no effect on them. If after the needle episode you prop yourself on the couch I don’t think it will have any effect on your performance in watching TV. But boxing?Five random blood lettings. 10-14 day cutoff you said is reasonable. Just put your feet in Pacquiao’s shoes for a moment. Five random blood lettings is equivalent to sabotaging Manny’s training camp. Every needle visit Pacquiao will be mentally handicapped to train. Now please just explain that. In this light Floyd’s demand maybe viewed by many as benign and harmless, but if you dig enough you can see their real motive. They are out to take away Pacquiao’s concentration and moral from day 1 of training camp until the night of the fight, and they don’t have to employ any propaganda machine to do that. Now that’s malicious and cowardly intent hiding in the guise of “level the playing field.”

-Sanc

Sanc,

You have made as convincing an argument for Pacquiao’s case as I have read yet in all of the emails that I have received. I probably wouldn’t want to take my fourth consecutive blood test in a row if I was in the middle of intense training. Especially if I were Pacquiao, scared of needles and superstitious about giving blood.

My hope rests in the future of PED testing, with the HGH urine test. If that test is perfected and approved it would entirely eliminate the need for blood tests.

If your theory that this blood testing campaign was all an elaborate mind game from the Mayweather camp and not real concern over testing policy, then shame on Mayweather.

Test Before vs. After Fight

Brian,

Somebody by the name of Ronald asked you the difference between taking the blood test before and after the fight. Obviously you failed to answer that. Then I will ask you again, can the cheater who takes the juice be caught if the test was done right after the fight as opposed to right before the fight? If yes, then why bother the fighters during their training days when you can do it after the fight?

You said: “Every known PED can be detected by urine except for HGH and perhaps new designer drugs that are not known to the commissions”.

Isn’t this kind of an insinuation remark? Can you tell us what kind of HGH drug you are referring to? And “Perhaps New Designer Drugs”? Again another insinuation of yours? Please don’t insinuate, you must support your claim. You sound like Mayweather Sr.

-Jun Claude

Jun,

No, there is no difference between a test taken right before a fight opposed to right after. But that is irrelevant! This is not the issue at all.

There is a HUGE difference between taking a test 30 days prior to the fight and then right after the fight. This is the issue at hand. Read my response to Ronald again:

“The problem is that Pacquiao would not agree to a blood test any less than 30 days prior to the fight. 30 days is a huge gap in time, plenty of time to take a PED and get it out of your system.”

HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is a hormone that occurs naturally in the body. Drugs companies have found out a way to make this hormone synthetically in the lab. Athletes take HGH because the effects are similar to than of anabolic steroids. There is no urine test that can detect HGH. The blood test that tests for HGH is not very effective either and can only catch dopers within 2-3 days of use.

By stating these facts I am educating boxing fans of the facts about PEDs and PED testing. I am not insinuating anything by stating facts that urine tests are not able to catch all PEDs. A blood test done 30 days prior to the fight and then once right after the fight would not catch all PEDs either. Nowhere at all do I suggest that Pacquiao is doping. Based on the facts above, I would assume that HGH is the drug that Mayweather thinks Pacquiao is on. Otherwise he would not be so adamant about blood testing.

For the record, I believe that Manny Pacquiao is innocent of using PEDs.

14 Day Cut Off

Brian,

Floyd is really tricky, when Manny agreed to a 24 day cut off for blood testing, team Mayweather didn’t reply right away. When Team Pacquiao decided to face Joshua Clottey (though not yet signed but still everything was set) they came up with 14 days. To cut the story short, they found a way to duck Pacman, just like how they avoided Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and Paul Williams.

I know you didn’t realize this, so here you go.

-Ed

Ed,

According to Floyd Mayweather, the 14 day period was offered during the mediation. Mayweather is the only source of this information so I do not know if that is accurate, nor do I know if your version of the story is accurate.

The information that we know about the mediation session was leaked by the parties separately. We heard two very biased points of view so it is hard to decipher what is true and what is false.

However we got to this point, Mayweather is yet again going to take on a less than stellar opponent.

Mayweather Taking Easy Way Out

Mayweather should fight a tough fighter like Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto. These three fighters are available I think. He needs this in order to convince his critics that he’s not the number 1 pound for pound ducker.He might not sell much in PPV if he doesn’t select one of these three guys I mentioned. And my advice is for HBO to cover Pacquiao’s fight or else they lose millions. People don’t waste their money in watching a mismatch fight. If Mayweather selects Paulie Malinaggi, Matthew Hatton or Timothy Bradley, that’s a ridiculous match up. If you’re one of the best you select the best among the best.

I predict Mayweather’s fight will sell less in PPV than Pacquiao’s fight for the reason that Pacquiao’s fight is more lively, you should not blink your eye or else you might miss the huge punching combinations. Pacquiao throws punches every millisecond. Unlike Floyd who keeps running if he gets hit. People won’t waste their money watching Floyd fight.

-Daniel Chan

Daniel,

Fair point Daniel. I am sure that Paul Williams would do ten consecutive back flips, stand on his head, and spit wooden nickels in order to get a fight against Floyd Mayweather. Unfortunately Williams’ name has never even been whispered as a potential foe.

Out of the three names that you mentioned, I like Timothy Bradley the best. He is the best boxer at 140 pounds and a very solid young champion. That would not be a bad fight for Mayweather, and among the best possible opponents he could find, albeit a step down from Williams or Miguel Cotto. Unfortunately, I don’t think Mayweather wants a piece of Bradley either, he’s too dangerous.

I don’t think that Antonio Margarito should be in the running for any major fight right now due to his cheating scandal.

Paulie Malignaggi is a B level junior welterweight, which is not the best opponent for an A+ level welterweight. With these choices of opponents I am not sure if Floyd was serious about improving his legacy when he came out of retirement. Why come out of retirement for a ho-hum fight? He might as well have stayed retired instead of wasting his time and our time with nothing fights.

Proving Innocence

Hi Brian? I think there is another way for Manny to prove his innocence for taking PED. If he could destroy Joshua Clottey in his coming bout the way he did Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton & Miguel Cotto, he could take the blood test right after the fight. If the results will be negative, then we can say he’s clean all throughout from his previous fights. What can you comment about this? Thanks.-Alex

Alex,

The only way for Pacquiao to prove his innocence without a shadow of a doubt would be to give a blood test everyday leading up to his fight with Joshua Clottey, starting now. He would have to test clean on all of his tests and then knock out Clottey to prove that he was the same fighter who KO’d Hatton and Cotto.

This is obviously unnecessary and unreasonable to ask of Pacquiao. Manny doesn’t need to go through excessive amounts of pain and trial prove his innocence. However it would have been nice if he had agreed to some kind of reasonable cut off date for the fight with Mayweather, to appease Mayweather and allow this fight to happen. What a shame the fight fell through.

Who Is To Blame?

Who do you think is really wrong here for this fight falling apart? Is it Pacquiao or is it Mayweather? No more explanations please, just tell me if its Pacquiao or Mayweather. Just that answer. After you have answered this one, I think it’s better to move on to another topic Sir.-

Benjie Tiu

Benjie,

Both! They have egos and are unwilling to compromise because they both think that they are the man. Can you imagine a young, hungry, unknown Mayweather or Pacquiao turning down a fight of this magnitude due to some petting BS like this? They are both in the wrong! And selfish for not making this fight happen for the fans.

Sorry for not giving you a one word response but this is what I think.

Obvious Who Chickened Out, Plus Mosley/Berto

ThoughtsAfter their failed attempt to make the super fight and each man blaming the other for the failure, I think all we have to do is take a look at each man’s desired replacement for an opponent.Pacman is aiming for high ranked contender Joshua Clottey, while Floyd is opting for either Matthew Hatton or Paulie Malignaggi. Geez, I think it’s quite obvious who chickened out.

I’m wondering when Floyd will stop fighting tune-up fights and start fighting real fights. Floyd always talks a good fight but when its time to deliver, well lets just say he’s not Karl Malone. He’s more like a bedtime story which puts us to sleep even before finishing it.

Regarding Shane Mosley vs. Andre Berto, I think Berto wins this because of him being younger and fresher. Mosley’s win against Margarito was overrated because of

1. Tony came straight forward with no defense allowing Mosley to fire at will.
2. Tony’s confidence (and punching power) was way down because he had no more cement in his hands.

-Vinjo

Vinjo,

Nice observations Vinjo. Pacquiao’s proposed next opponent is much stronger than Mayweather’s proposed next opponent. There is no question about that. Joshua Clottey is a top flight welterweight, and due to his flying-under-the-radar status, he the kind of guy that nobody wants to fight. Mayweather wouldn’t take on someone like Clottey because the risk/reward ratio is too high. Manny, on the other hand, just fights and takes on the best boxer who is willing to step in the ring with him. This is why Pacquiao has buzz as being one of the greatest of all time.

The only person who talks about Floyd Mayweather as being one of the greatest of all time is Floyd Mayweather. He has to start proving it in the ring if he wants anyone to believe him.

You make valid points regarding Andre Berto vs. Shane Mosley. I like Mosley here even though I agree with your two points. Mosley is getting older and that win over Margarito looked liked he was at the right place at the right time more than anything that Mosley did.

Still, Shane is and always has been crafty and consistent. He is going to take a very green and overrated Berto to school with his boxing ability. I see Berto as another Jermain Taylor. He is incredibly gifted physically but he is not on the elite level in terms of boxing skill. Andre has not proven himself against enough quality opponents for me to pick him against someone like Mosley. Berto’s only fight against a top ranked welterweight was against Luis Collazo and he was less than impressive. Berto is nowhere near a proven commodity yet.

I can’t wait to see this one though. Berto is a young bull who will be aggressive offensively and I have never seen Mosley back down from a brawl. One other reason why I like Mosley is that he tends to do well against opponents who come after him. The style that Shane struggles with is against defensive boxers with good jabs, and Berto does not fit that description.

Okay folks, that’s all I have for now. Come back next time for more mailbag fun.

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