HustleBoss.com catches up with trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to discuss the April 19 Shawn Porter vs. Paulie Malignaggi matchup for the IBF welterweight title.
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HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with junior welterweight contender Karim Mayfield about his tough loss to Thomas Dulorme, his trainer situaiton with Ben Bautista and Virgil Hunter, future camps in Las Vegas, and more.
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Manny Pacquiao working out in Los Angeles (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
Later today, inside of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will entertain the media ahead of his April 12 rematch with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley II will answer a lot of questions about each man and also hopefully put to rest any leftover controversy that came from Bradley’s hotly-disputed split-decision victory in their first match in June of 2012.
Catching up with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum recently, he seemed genuine with his enthusiasm towards his next pay per view showcase.
“I think both are extremely confident,” Arum said of Pacquiao and Bradley. “Both guys are talking about destroying the other guy. I think it’s going to be a very, very competitive, exciting fight.
“Freddie tells me how hard Manny is training and everything I hear from Palm Desert is that Bradley’s training equally as hard,” Arum added.
Asked if it is bittersweet to know that Pacquiao, 35, will likely soon be walking away from the game after so many years of excitement while collecting various accolades, Arum rolled with the punch.
“We all live in the twilight of our careers,” said Arum. “So am I in the twilight of my career. That’s part of teaching. Nothing in sports stays the same, whether you are an athlete or an owner or whatever. Time marches on.”
*** FOR A VISIT back in Pacquiao’s career in photos, check the thumbnails below…
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with Indio, Calif.-based trainer Joel Diaz about why Juan Manuel Marquez, who he led Tim Bradley into battle against this past October, is still such a dangerous fighter at age 40.
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More coverage from the Miguel Cotto vs. Sergio Martinez press conference in Los Angeles in March, as Miguel gives his thoughts on the May 3 Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana match, his take on preparing for Martinez, what his current weight is, and much more.
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HustleBoss.com’s Mohamed Ali continues to speak with former WBO junior welterweight champion Mike Alvarado, as he discusses Mauricio Herrera’s tough loss to Danny Garcia, a rematch with Ruslan Provodnikov, and trilogy with Brandon Rios.
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HustleBoss.com’s Rod Green speaks with former world champion and current day promoter Jesse James Leija about the latest on the San Antonio boxing circuit as well as his insight into the April 26 Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov matchup on Showtime Championship Boxing.
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HustleBoss.com flashes back to February 2014 for thoughts from WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KO’s) about WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, who just defeated Cedric Agnew via 7th round KO on HBO on Saturday night.
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Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado in Los Angeles (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
On May 17, one of this generation’s great technicians steps back into the ring when Juan Manuel Marquez meets up with Mike Alvarado in an HBO showcase from the revamped Forum in Los Angeles.
Having just turned 40, Marquez is coming off of a bitter split-decision loss to Tim Bradley this past October 12 in which he performed relatively well outside of being outhustled in certain rounds.
One week after that bout, Alvarado was stopped in brutal fashion by Ruslan Provodnikov in another wild encounter.
Marquez had nothing but nice things to say about Alvarado, calling the Denver native a “great fighter” and emphasizing how hard he is going to have to train for this tussle.
As for Provodnikov, Marquez again noted why he decided to pass on an opportunity to face the affable Russian slugger.
“Provodnikov is a great fighter,” Marquez explained. “He’s a champion. I was the champion in super lightweight. I don’t want to champion in the same weight. I want to be champion in welterweight. I don’t fight with Provodnikov because Provodnikov is a super lightweight champion.”
If Marquez finds a way to beat Alvarado, he could very well be in line for a crack at the winner of the April 12 Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley rematch.
Marquez knows each man very well, having faced Pacquiao four times already, yet he doesn’t want to look too far ahead at this point.
“I don’t know what [will] happen in the future,” said Marquez. “I can’t say nothing right now.”
*** FOR A VISIT back in Pacquiao’s career in photos, check the thumbnails below…
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley facing off (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
As seen with recent “Face Off” and “24/7” airings on HBO’s airwaves, the April 12 Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley rematch is starting to pick up some serious buzz.
Insider predictions on the match have produced varying results and in the coming weeks we will look to give you more thoughts from the boxing world on boxing’s latest pay per view showcase.
A recent visit though the Mayweather Boxing Club saw trainer Jeff Mayweather share his thoughts on the fight.
Check below for Jeff’s take on Bradley’s improvement since his controversial split-decision over Pacquiao in their first fight, his reason for siding with Pacquiao in the rematch, and more.
Better and better…
“I think that it’s going to be a good fight. I think that Bradley has shown himself to become a much better fighter. In all honesty I thought he lost first fight big. But since then, he’s shown that he’s gotten better and better in each fight. Pacquiao has just been knocked out as well. I expect it to be a good fight. Probably a lot closer than it was last time.”
Favoring Pacquiao slightly…
“At this point, I guess I still got to learn towards Pacquiao. He won the fight too big to not get the decision. I still think Bradley is going to give a great performance but I won’t be surprised if he pulls off the upset.”
Performing on a high level…
“I guess the one thing is that he showed me he’s got heart, he’s got will, and determination. And don’t get me wrong, I like Bradley as a fighter. Because he always seems to find a way, no matter what type of adversity he’s going through, he someone finds a way to still perform on a high level. The fight with Provodnikov, in that fight he showed tremendous heart, tremendous will. That was another fight that was very, very close. Could have went either way I thought.”
Growing as a fighter…
“But the Marquez fight, he actually showed that he has grown into a fighter that isn’t not ready for big fights. He’s ready for the big stage and he realizes that it’s no longer about Manny Pacquiao. It’s no longer about Marquez. Those guys are past their prime and he believes in his heart that he’s the guy now. Mentally I think he’s a much better fighter.”
How close Pacquiao is to the fighter who stopped Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto in successive fights five years ago…
“To be honest, he’s not even close to that fighter anymore. It shows. When was the last time he knocked out anyone? It also seems like his killer instinct is gone. He’s not the same fighter.”
*** FOR A VISIT back in Pacquiao’s career in photos, check the thumbnails below…
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
Adonis Stevenson responds to Sergey Kovalev in the wake of the Russian calling him a ‘piece of sh*t’ after his HBO showcase vs. Cedric Agnew.
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On Saturday night in Atlantic City, WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev improved his record to 24-0-1 with 22 knockouts after stopping Chicago’s Cedric Agnew in the seventh round of a spirited yet one-sided affair on HBO’s airwaves.
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HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with trainer Joel Diaz about the May 3 Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana showdown, set for May 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
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More trash talk from the Mayweather Boxing Club as super middleweights J’Leon Love (17-0, 10 KO’s) and Shujaa El Amin (12-5, 6 KO’s) get into a heated exchange.
Photo credits: Chris Robinson (http://www.HustleBoss.com)
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HustleBoss.com catches up with Detroit’s Ronnie Austion (3-0, 2 KO’s) during his last day of training inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ronnie fights in his native Detroit on April 19.
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HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum about the Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley rematch, his recent work with Miguel Cotto, and the challenge Cotto faces in Sergio Martinez on June 7.
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Bob Arum discussing the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado matchup (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com / Naoki Fukuda)
By Chris Robinson
Following his tough loss to Tim Bradley this past October, there was some uncertainty regarding the future of Mexico City’s Juan Manuel Marquez.
Having turned 40 this past August, Marquez insisted that a rematch with Bradley, and a chance to win a title in a fifth weight class, was the only interest to him.
Months went by and it seemed more and more likely that Marquez would indeed end up fighting. Earlier this month an interesting clash with former junior welterweight titlist Mike Alvarado was officially announced, as Marquez will meet up with the Denver native on HBO on May 17 from the The Forum in Los Angeles.
Catching up with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who will be staging the Marquez-Alvarado matchup, he was quick to point to the historical significance of Marquez returning to a refurbished venue that he is so familiar with.
“I think it’s an interesting fight because of the styles of the fighters,” Arum noted. “I think that Alvarado is going to give Marquez a hell of a fight and very well could beat him. I just think it’s a tough fight for Marquez and I’m thrilled that Marquez is going back to the Forum, where he made his bones, so to speak. Now he’s coming back opening up the new Forum. It’s very exciting.”
Marquez fought a spirited battle against Bradley but he was simply outworked and out slicked at key spots in the match.
And while the disappointment that followed was obvious to spot in Marquez, Arum knew his pride would carry him on.
“No,” Arum answered when asked whether he ever thought Marquez might walk away. “He was disappointed. He always thinks [he won] close fights. He’s very competitive and that’s the first thing he says is ‘I’m going to retire.’ I never thought he was serious.”
There is already another opportunity on the table for Marquez, as a victory over Alvarado could lead towards the winner of the April 12 rematch between Bradley and Manny Pacquiao.
“If he beats Alvarado he wants the winner of Pacquiao-Bradley,” Arum stated. “That will give him another chance to win the welterweight title and that’s what he’s looking for.”
*** FOR A VISIT back in Pacquiao’s career in photos, check the thumbnails below…
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
HustleBoss.com speaks with former junior welterweight prospect and longtime Floyd Mayweather sparring partner Ramon Montana about Floyd possibly meeting Amir Khan in the future
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HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with trainer Joel Diaz about his fighter Tim Bradley’s training for his April 12 match vs. Manny Pacquiao. Diaz is ready for fellow trainer Freddie Roach’s mind games and ready for the fight.
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HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum about the May 17 Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado matchup.
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