Mikey Garcia on sparring with Marcos Maidana and checking out Floyd Mayweather in training

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HustleBoss.com’s Chris Robinson speaks with WBO junior lightweight champion Mikey Garcia about his recent sparring session with Marcos Maidana as well as being in Las Vegas to check out Floyd Mayweather in training. Mayweather faces Maidana on May 3 from the MGM Grand.
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Larry Merchant feels Manny Pacquiao was the reason Tim Bradley fought the way he did in the second half of their rematch

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Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley earlier this month in Las Vegas (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

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By Chris Robinson

While veteran analyst Larry Merchant may have given Manny Pacquiao the same amount of rounds vs. Tim Bradley in their rematch as he did in their first meeting, he feels the fight itself had a completely different feel to it.

Inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 12, Pacquiao got revenge for a controversial June 2012 split-decision loss to Bradley by out slicking him in the second half of their rematch and pulling out a unanimous decision.

Each man had endured much physically and mentally since their first clash, Pacquiao being blitzed by Juan Manuel Marquez and Bradley going to war with Ruslan Provodnikov, and Merchant could feel the intrigue.

“I scored it similarly to the original fight,” Merchant stated. “I thought that it was a very electric event because of what both fighters have been through since their original fight. I thought that Pacquiao, with his speed and boxing ability, pressured Bradley into trying to get lucky. And good is usually better than lucky.”

Bradley put up an excellent boxing effort against Marquez in capturing a split-decision victory this past October yet he was far more aggressive against Pacquiao six months later.

“I don’t know why Bradley didn’t stick to the same kind of boxing plan he had successfully against Marquez, but he didn’t,” Merchant explained. “I have to assume it’s because he found out that Pacquiao was a little too quick and a little too good. I was perplexed by how he fought in the last half of the fight; just hoping to land a big punch.”

Digging in a bit further, Merchant feels that Pacquiao deserves the credit for neutralizing Bradley down the stretch.

“I don’t know what caused that exactly,” said Merchant. “But I always think there is cause and effect in a fight and if he was reduced to just trying to get lucky there must have been a good reason for it and the good reason must have been Pacquiao.”

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

Shane Mosley Jr. works with Lanell Bellows at the Mayweather Boxing Club [Sparring highlights]

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HustleBoss.com steps inside of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, Nevada as aspiring professional Shane Mosley Jr. gets in some work with super middleweight Lanell Bellows ahead of his April 26 debut.
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Ana Julaton on her ONE FC debut in Manila, Pacquiao vs. Bradley II, and more

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Ana Julaton speaking from the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)

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By Chris Robinson

Every time I catch up with Ana Julaton, there seems to be something new with her career.

Julaton, the former WBO female super bantamweight champion of the world, is actually a few weekends removed from a venture of another kind, as she will be making her ONE Fighting Championship debut on May 2 in Manila, Philippines.

Julaton will square off with Egyptian kickboxing champion Aya Saeid Saber as part of the ONE FC: RISE OF HEROES event but insists that boxing is still a huge part of her life.

Speaking with Julaton at the Mayweather Boxing Club recently, she discussed the importance of her ONE FC debut while also breaking down her friend Manny Pacquiao’s recent rematch victory over Tim Bradley.

This is what the Fil-Am star had to share.

Signing with ONE FC…
“I just recently signed with ONE FC. It’s the biggest MMA company in the world. They have a billion viewership over in Asia. My debut will be on May 2 and I’m really excited. I got to talk to talk to [ONE FC President] Victor Cui. He’s known about my background. I got into boxing because of martial arts. So I have that background on top of the boxing background. And Victor Cui, he just saw a natural fit for it. I eventually would have liked going into the MMA scene. It ended up happening. I got signed and I’m fighting on May 2.”

Training for an MMA match compared to the regimen of boxing…
“Obviously it’s intense. It’s more comprehensive. You’re dealing with all sorts of different ranges. You have the hands and the feet. The elbows and the knees; grappling and so forth. It all comes down to flow. That’s how I always viewed boxing; flow, positioning and who gets their first. And with me, just training out here in Las Vegas, it’s nice to have all these different fighters from different backgrounds. Those who can box and wrestle; and just be able to mix it up. I treat it like any other camp. Everybody’s going to be gunning for me.”

A fighter’s mindset…
“I expect everyone to come at me. I’m able to bring in my name and everything I’ve built up the past ten years onto the stage. Whether it’s a title fight or not, I feel like it’s going to be at that intensity. I just want to fight.”

What it likes to fight in Manila…
“I think it’s a long time coming. It’s exciting to have that venue. Have that stage come into fruition. I can’t wait. It’s in the Mall of Asia and it’s huge. They have a capacity of like 20,000 people. They’re expecting that type of attendance to come out for the ONE FC show. Can’t wait.”

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Taking in Manny Pacquiao’s rematch victory over Tim Bradley…
“I thought it was a great fight. It was competitive on both ends. I just feel like Manny was able to utilize his speed and his footwork. And he was able to carry on and win more rounds that led him to victory.”

Bradley’s aggressive frame of mind early in the fight…
“I thought it made the fight really exciting. And I think in this sport, it’s all about being able to pace yourself. I’ve seen a lot of fighters go really fast right at the beginning and they kind of just slowed down towards the end of the fight. I feel like maybe Bradley just couldn’t keep up with Pacquiao’s speed for the duration of the fight.”

Seeing the differences in Pacquiao over the years…
“I see a more-refined one. He’s a lot more calculated. He’s different altogether. If you were having his fight from just recent to even ten years ago when he first fought Marquez, it’s completely different. It’s nice to see that change.”

Manny’s future…
“I think anyone who Pacquiao fights would be a great fight for the fans. It causes interest. I think since he has the name, the stage, people want to gun for him and I think that’s what makes it so exciting.”

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

Floyd Sr. and Shane Mosley break down Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana

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Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Shane Mosley in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)

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By Chris Robinson

In advance of his son’s upcoming professional debut, former three-division world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley ventured with him to Las Vegas to get some work earlier this month.

Putting in some rounds at the Mayweather Boxing Club, Shane Jr. sparred with gym regulars such as Lanell Bellows and Kevin Newman as his father intently watched on while offering up some advice.

After the work, the elder Mosley sat down with gregarious trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to discuss several aspects of the sport with HustleBoss.com.

The last of our conversations revolved around the impending clash between Mayweather Sr.’s son Floyd and Argentina’s Marcos Maidana, who clash on May 3 at the MGM Grand.

Having shared the ring with Mayweather in a losing effort in May of 2010, Mosley sees several reasons to like Floyd in this contest.

“I think his biggest advantage is his experience, his speed,” Mosley stated. “He has underrated power. And just his knowledge of the boxing game is going to be his strength.”

Reacting to Mosley’s comments, Floyd Sr. echoed the same sentiments.

“Shane just said it all,” Floyd Sr. stated. “I see the same things too. Floyd is faster, he’s smarter, he’s slicker, he’s clever.”

It also seems to be the deficiencies of Maidana that give Floyd Sr. as much confidence as anything else.

“I said, this is a straight up comer man, with no defense and aint no fighter going to win too good if they aint got no defense,” Floyd Sr. noted. “He don’t have no head movement, no swing in his legs, nothing man. I don’t give a damn how hard he hit. If you can’t hit nothing then you can’t do nothing.”

Mosley stands out more than anyone as being the one guy who seemed to genuinely have Floyd in serious trouble in their match, as he rocked him with a pair of pelting right hands in the second round that had him shook.

Still, Floyd was able to weather the storm very well before readjusting to control the rest of the action and Mosley tips his hat to him.

“Floyd, he can change up in the middle of the fight,” Shane explained. “He’s a smart fighter. He figured out a way of changing the way he ducked and I could no longer hit him with the right hand. And the fight was all Floyd from there.”

Floyd Sr. weighed in with his two cents about that memorable round and revealed why Maidana’s power isn’t too concerning to him.

“A punch can change anything,” Floyd Sr. added. “But I’m just saying that what Floyd did with Shane, not every fighter could have did that with Shane. But Floyd uses his brain and that’s the difference.”

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com

J’Leon Love: ‘I want to see what the whole world wants to see; Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather’

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Manny Pacquiao and some members from his team following his recent victory over Tim Bradley in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)

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By Chris Robinson

With his unanimous decision victory over Tim Bradley in their April 12 rematch, eight-division world titlist Manny Pacquiao showed that he still has plenty left in his tank at the age of 35.

While Pacquiao may not be the force he was five years ago during his initial run through the welterweight ranks, he is still a committed athlete with great upside in several areas.

Super middleweight prospect J’Leon Love (17-0, 10 KO’s) was able to take in the action and admits he was pulling for the former champion from Palm Springs.
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