TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Who wants to be the NFL's MVP? Peyton Manning may hold edge over Drew Brees now With two weeks left in the NFL season, there's still a lot of time left before decisions are made on the league's MVP. USA TODAY's Sean Leahy ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Kevin Mitchell on the Pacquiao-Mayweather latest Keep your diary open for May or late autumn for the bout promoter Bob Arum says Floyd Mayweather never wantedThe fight boxing craves to the point of obsession, between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr, "is off". Again. For now. Maybe.Bob Arum, not for the first time in recent weeks, and possibly not the last, has declared it so, this time after Mayweather rejected a compromise his negotiators put to him after talks in Santa Monica, California, before an independent mediator, the retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein."Mayweather never wanted it," Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, said. "Manny wanted the fight. He was agreeable to terms. The fight's off."Now the odds are Mayweather will fight the New York light-welterweight Paulie Malignaggi – stopped by Ricky Hatton in November 2008, since when he has won twice and lost – on the original date of 13 March, either at the same venue, the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, or in his home town, New York, at Madison Square Garden.Pacquiao, the WBO welterweight champion, prepares to challenge for a world title at his eighth weight, meanwhile, against the new light-middleweight title-holder Yuri Foreman at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas on 20 March.Arum promotes Foreman. Crocodiles have shed more convincing tears.If it is "off", there is one certainty: it will not be long before it is very much "on" again, given there is $200m (£125m) riding on the promotion. Keep your diary open for May or late autumn.Pacquiao said in a statement: "I am very disappointed that we could not make this fight for the fans." He said on his official website he was still angry over suggestions he was taking performance-enhancing drugs and would proceed with the writ for defamation he issued against Mayweather, his father, Floyd Sr, uncle Roger, as well as Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya, of Golden Boy Promotions.There could be more legal complications in store for Golden Boy Promotions, who retain a share of Pacquiao's revenues because of a disputed contract with the fighter, who also signed with Arum's Top Rank company.Arum told ESPN.com: "There's an arbitration which calls for them to lose any percentage of Manny's promotional contract, something we asked for and had postponed, but now will go forward."Mayweather and his negotiators were not immediately available for comment. However, sources told the Los Angeles Times: "The fighters still have time to strike a deal before a 'business deadline'."See that straw: clutch it – which has been the mantra of this tiresome saga since three days before Christmas, when Mayweather demanded Pacquiao submit to random blood tests in the 30 days before their bout.It is understood Pacquiao agreed to take a blood test 24 days beforehand – as he did in the lead-up to knocking out Hatton spectacularly in May – as well as immediately after the fight. But Mayweather's negotiators, Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, and the fighter's representative, Al Hayman, said Mayweather would not accept the compromise."I always knew Mayweather would kill it," Arum said, "because he didn't want it. He didn't want to lose. The fight's off not because of us, not even because of Golden Boy. It's because of him personally."Mayweather's never stepped into the ring with a guy unless he knew he could beat him. That's why there's never been a fight with Shane Mosley, there's never been a [fight with] Antonio Margarito, there never was a Miguel Cotto."Mayweather is a coward. He will never fight anyone who will remotely give him a tough fight."The voluble Malignaggi told Boxingscene.com: "I agree with Floyd Mayweather's decision. Pacquiao just left a $40m fight on the table because of a random drug test. Do you know how stupid that sounds?"You can flip it any way you want, and in as many languages as you want, but it still comes down to Pacquiao allowed a $40m fight to go down the tubes because he wouldn't take a random drug test to prove he's clean."They can place the blame on whoever, but the fight hinged on this kind of test. If Pacquiao is allowed to juice, he beats Floyd. If Pacquiao is not allowed to juice, then Floyd beats the shit out of him and shows him what a real welterweight is like."Although Malignaggi fights at 140lb, he does not lack ambition and his rant against Pacquiao sounded like a sales pitch for a fight against the much bigger Mayweather."Floyd is the best today," he continued, "and I'm ready and available, and I'll take any kind of drug test because I'm clean and I don't have anything to hide."If he fights Mayweather, as now seems likely, it leaves Hatton's brother, Matthew, out in the cold after being named as an alternative for the unbeaten American in the event of the Pacquiao fight falling through.And looking on in Manchester is Ricky Hatton, who once was in the mix, stopped by the two best fighters in the world and now contemplating a return to the ring. He must want to scratch that comeback itch very badly.Manny PacquiaoFloyd MayweatherBoxingKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Togo Prime Minister rules out return to Africa cup Togo's Prime Minister has denied that his government asked for the national football team to be reinstated in the Africa Cup of Nations. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Sol Campbell sues Portsmouth for £1.7m in unpaid bonuses Sol Campbell is suing Portsmouth for £1.7 million of unpaid image-rights fees and bonuses he claims he is owed. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Tar Heel football faithful flopping down big bucks for Kenan remake CHAPEL HILL – While the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has long been known as a basketball school, Tar Heel fans are showing that they’re also willing to pony up big money to see the football team play in a renovated Kenan Stadium that features luxury suites and premium seats. feeds.bizjournals.com |