By James Slater, Eastside Boxing
Ask some fighters, or fight experts, and they will tell you that as soon as a boxer starts to even talk openly about retiring, he is already halfway towards quitting the ring. Fans of Amir Khan, the reigning WBA light-welterweight champion, had better hope this is not true in the case of the 23-year-old..
Yet while Khan is only 23 and a mere 23 fights into his pro career, he has been talking already about how and when he plans to quit the ring. Speaking with popular British newspaper The News of The World yesterday, Khan said he will call it a day at the age of 28, in the year 2015. However, the former Olympian also made it clear how he wants to take on the best fighters his 140-pound weight class has to offer before he's through - and that, according to the Bolton man, means fights against Floyud Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao.
"In the next four years I will have all my big fights, so in five years time I will be gone," Khan said to the paper. "When I hit my peak I will be fighting men like Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao. They will be my last few fights. There are so many big fights in my division, but my body will tell me when to call it a day."
Khan, who faces the slick Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th, in what will be his U.S debut and second defence of his WBA 140-pound belt, may well be out of luck if he really believes he will be facing either Mayweather or Pacquiao in 2014 or 2015. Mayweather, still unbeaten at 40-0, is 33 years-old now, and will almost certainly be retired himself long before 2014. While Pacquiao, who has ambitions, as we know, of a political nature, is currently aged 31 and will also surely be retired and in The Hall of Fame long before Khan hits his peak.
It's strange that Khan is even talking about when he will call it a day, because, despite his not inconsiderable accomplishments, he has not made his mark on the world scene quite yet, nor has he convinced the critics he is the real deal. Shouldn't Khan be focused on proving how good he is instead of mapping out his retirement plan? Then again, fellow Brit and WBA heavyweight champ David Haye has also made it clear how he has made up his mind about when he will retire; so maybe modern day fighters are simply better equipped than their predecessors when it comes to planning their later years.
Still, Khan should certainly be worrying more about Malignaggi and less about his exit from the sport. For if "King Khan" is looking past "The Magic Man" and if he loses as a result, his exit from the upper echelons of the sport could come much sooner than he thinks!
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Floyd Mayweather. Tampilkan semua postingan
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Senin, 26 April 2010
Jumat, 23 April 2010
Floyd Mayweather To Manny Pacquiao: 'Take The Test' -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
To say that Floyd Mayweather is confident is an understatement.
If the 33-year-old, unbeaten, five-time champion doens't truly believe he's better than Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, he's at least saying that he does.
"Why not? I take my hat off to them. I got respect for Sugar Ray Robinson. I've got respect for Muhammad Ali. But I'm a man just like they're men, I put on my pants just like they put on their pants. What makes them any better than I am? Because they fought a thousand fights?" asked Mayweather, who is 40-0, with 25 knockouts, during Thursday's conference call with reporters.
"In my era, it's totally different [from those of Robinson and Ali]. You know? It's pay-per-view now, so things change. It's out with the old and in with the new," said Mayweather. "Like I said, Muhammad Ali is one hell of a fighter. But Floyd Mayweather is the best. Sugar Ray Robinson is one hell of a fighter, but Floyd Mayweather is the best."
Mayweather will get a chance to prove his assertions in what could be the biggest test of his career on May 1, when he takes on 38-year-old WBA welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
But even in victory, Mayweather does not believe that his critics will give him credit. He doesn't feel as if they ever do.
"I've been dominating since the 90's. That's what we talk about when you talk about what I've been doing. Like I said before, when guys like this [Manny Pacquiao or Shane Mosley] fight Oscar De la Hoya, they say, 'Oh, it's unbelievable.' But when I fight De la Hoya, they said, 'De la Hoya's washed up,'" said Mayweather.
"See? It's things like this that I don't like," said Mayweather. "So when I go out and beat Mosley, they're going to go say he's over the hill. It's always an excuse. But they don't talk about how I won a title in one year. I had the title all throughout my career, retired, came back, and beat the number two dude, pound-for-pound."
Mayweather is facing the largest opponent he ever has during the course of what is surely a Hall of Fame career in Mosley, who is coming off of January's ninth-round knockout of Antonio Margarito, stopping the hard-punching Mexican fighter for the first time in his career and dethroning him as WBA titlist.
A former IBF lightweight champion, Mosley has fought at welterweight or higher exclusively since relinquishing his lightweight belt in 1999, including seven bouts at junior middleweight (154 pounds), and one other at 148 pounds -- an April, 2005 decision over David Estrada.
At junior middleweight, Mosley has twice stopped former world champion, Fernando Vargas, knocked out former world titlist, Ricardo Mayorga, and earned his second win over former world champ, de la Hoya -- the latter for the WBC and WBA crowns in September of 2003.
Mosley also twice lost to Winky Wright at 154 pounds.
Meanwhile, Mayweather has fought at welterweight five times, and, once as a junior middleweight, weighing 150 pounds against the 154-pound de la Hoya during his May, 2007 split-decision victory.
Mayweather's welterweight victories were knockouts of Sharmba Mitchell and Ricky Hatton, and decisions over Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, and, Juan Manuel Marquez, with Marquez, and, Hatton, respectively, rising from lightweight (135 pounds), and, junior welterweight (140 pounds) to face him.
Mayweather, however, does not see Mosley's size or his power as any sort of advantage.
"Mosley's a fighter that's always worried about landing that one punch. He worries about being strong, and I worry about being smart. So we approach the fight in two, totally different ways," said Mayweather.
"I think Shane may be loading up with wide shots, and kind of not using a forward jab, and I use a forward jab," said Mayweather. "When I shoot my shots, I look at my opponents and I look where I'm punching at. When Shane punches a lot, he closes his eyes when you go back and you look at some of his fights."
Mayweather-Mosley materialized following the disintegration of talks between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao for a potential mega fight -- this as a result of the fighters' failure to agree on the role of drug testing for their bout.
Mayweather and Mosley, who has admitted past steroid use, are each being randomly tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, elected not to be randomly tested, a subject that remains a sore one with Mayweather.
"All I'm saying, if you're a clean athlete, take your test. That's all I'm saying. That's all I've got to say. If you're a clean athlete, take the test," said Mayweather. "Show the world, you know what, I'm a natural. Take the test, that's all I say. Let them come get you at any time and take the test."
Asked whether Mosley or Pacquiao should be considered among those on a list that would include himself, Robinson and Ali, Mayweather responded to the negative, questioning their credentials.
"I can't see Mosley talk about putting himself as a future Hall of Famer. This was a guy who we don't know how long he was taking enhancement drugs. So this is something that we don't know. Okay, Manny Pacquiao struggled twice -- which we really know he got beat -- but he struggled twice with Marquez, which we know he really lost, right?" said Mayweather.
"And we know he's been knocked out twice. And he's been out-boxed by Erik Morales, but they still give him boxer of the Decade. He beat a Ricky Hatton that got stretched by me," said Mayweather. "I'm trying to find out what it really is. That's not for me to choose. That's not for me to put him in the Hall of Fame."
And what bout himself?
"I don't know, I can't say how this fight matches up, but I think I'm a 15-round fighter. I think I'll show the world that I'm always in tiptop shape, and I'm in the best condition," said Mayweather.
"You know, the guys [HBO's camera crew] from 24/7, they say that they went to every other fighter's camp, and they went to some other guys' camps, some mixed martial arts guys, and they said they always ask them, "Well who works the hardest?' And they say 'Well, hands-down, Floyd Mayweather,'" said Mayweather.
"Nobody pushes to the limit like I do, so I was happy when I heard that," said Mayweather. "Like I said before, the only thing I want to do is just be the best. So I'm going to continue just to work hard, and I'm pretty sure Shane's in good condition. So we're going to put on one hell of a show on May 1."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
To say that Floyd Mayweather is confident is an understatement.
If the 33-year-old, unbeaten, five-time champion doens't truly believe he's better than Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali, he's at least saying that he does.
"Why not? I take my hat off to them. I got respect for Sugar Ray Robinson. I've got respect for Muhammad Ali. But I'm a man just like they're men, I put on my pants just like they put on their pants. What makes them any better than I am? Because they fought a thousand fights?" asked Mayweather, who is 40-0, with 25 knockouts, during Thursday's conference call with reporters.
"In my era, it's totally different [from those of Robinson and Ali]. You know? It's pay-per-view now, so things change. It's out with the old and in with the new," said Mayweather. "Like I said, Muhammad Ali is one hell of a fighter. But Floyd Mayweather is the best. Sugar Ray Robinson is one hell of a fighter, but Floyd Mayweather is the best."
Mayweather will get a chance to prove his assertions in what could be the biggest test of his career on May 1, when he takes on 38-year-old WBA welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
But even in victory, Mayweather does not believe that his critics will give him credit. He doesn't feel as if they ever do.
"I've been dominating since the 90's. That's what we talk about when you talk about what I've been doing. Like I said before, when guys like this [Manny Pacquiao or Shane Mosley] fight Oscar De la Hoya, they say, 'Oh, it's unbelievable.' But when I fight De la Hoya, they said, 'De la Hoya's washed up,'" said Mayweather.
"See? It's things like this that I don't like," said Mayweather. "So when I go out and beat Mosley, they're going to go say he's over the hill. It's always an excuse. But they don't talk about how I won a title in one year. I had the title all throughout my career, retired, came back, and beat the number two dude, pound-for-pound."
Mayweather is facing the largest opponent he ever has during the course of what is surely a Hall of Fame career in Mosley, who is coming off of January's ninth-round knockout of Antonio Margarito, stopping the hard-punching Mexican fighter for the first time in his career and dethroning him as WBA titlist.
A former IBF lightweight champion, Mosley has fought at welterweight or higher exclusively since relinquishing his lightweight belt in 1999, including seven bouts at junior middleweight (154 pounds), and one other at 148 pounds -- an April, 2005 decision over David Estrada.
At junior middleweight, Mosley has twice stopped former world champion, Fernando Vargas, knocked out former world titlist, Ricardo Mayorga, and earned his second win over former world champ, de la Hoya -- the latter for the WBC and WBA crowns in September of 2003.
Mosley also twice lost to Winky Wright at 154 pounds.
Meanwhile, Mayweather has fought at welterweight five times, and, once as a junior middleweight, weighing 150 pounds against the 154-pound de la Hoya during his May, 2007 split-decision victory.
Mayweather's welterweight victories were knockouts of Sharmba Mitchell and Ricky Hatton, and decisions over Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, and, Juan Manuel Marquez, with Marquez, and, Hatton, respectively, rising from lightweight (135 pounds), and, junior welterweight (140 pounds) to face him.
Mayweather, however, does not see Mosley's size or his power as any sort of advantage.
"Mosley's a fighter that's always worried about landing that one punch. He worries about being strong, and I worry about being smart. So we approach the fight in two, totally different ways," said Mayweather.
"I think Shane may be loading up with wide shots, and kind of not using a forward jab, and I use a forward jab," said Mayweather. "When I shoot my shots, I look at my opponents and I look where I'm punching at. When Shane punches a lot, he closes his eyes when you go back and you look at some of his fights."
Mayweather-Mosley materialized following the disintegration of talks between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao for a potential mega fight -- this as a result of the fighters' failure to agree on the role of drug testing for their bout.
Mayweather and Mosley, who has admitted past steroid use, are each being randomly tested by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, elected not to be randomly tested, a subject that remains a sore one with Mayweather.
"All I'm saying, if you're a clean athlete, take your test. That's all I'm saying. That's all I've got to say. If you're a clean athlete, take the test," said Mayweather. "Show the world, you know what, I'm a natural. Take the test, that's all I say. Let them come get you at any time and take the test."
Asked whether Mosley or Pacquiao should be considered among those on a list that would include himself, Robinson and Ali, Mayweather responded to the negative, questioning their credentials.
"I can't see Mosley talk about putting himself as a future Hall of Famer. This was a guy who we don't know how long he was taking enhancement drugs. So this is something that we don't know. Okay, Manny Pacquiao struggled twice -- which we really know he got beat -- but he struggled twice with Marquez, which we know he really lost, right?" said Mayweather.
"And we know he's been knocked out twice. And he's been out-boxed by Erik Morales, but they still give him boxer of the Decade. He beat a Ricky Hatton that got stretched by me," said Mayweather. "I'm trying to find out what it really is. That's not for me to choose. That's not for me to put him in the Hall of Fame."
And what bout himself?
"I don't know, I can't say how this fight matches up, but I think I'm a 15-round fighter. I think I'll show the world that I'm always in tiptop shape, and I'm in the best condition," said Mayweather.
"You know, the guys [HBO's camera crew] from 24/7, they say that they went to every other fighter's camp, and they went to some other guys' camps, some mixed martial arts guys, and they said they always ask them, "Well who works the hardest?' And they say 'Well, hands-down, Floyd Mayweather,'" said Mayweather.
"Nobody pushes to the limit like I do, so I was happy when I heard that," said Mayweather. "Like I said before, the only thing I want to do is just be the best. So I'm going to continue just to work hard, and I'm pretty sure Shane's in good condition. So we're going to put on one hell of a show on May 1."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Rabu, 14 April 2010
Q&A With Floyd Mayweather Sr.: 'Every Day Is A Blessing' -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
The father-son feud reportedly lasted for seven years, to the point where Floyd Mayweather Sr. once threatened to train Oscar de la Hoya to defeat his talented offspring, Floyd Mayweather Jr., in the ring.
But the 57-year-old Floyd Sr. is now a permanent part of his son's entourage, and, more importantly, says that he can play the proper role of parent, and, even, grand parent to Floyd Jr.'s four children.
Floyd Sr. will also be ringside on May 1 at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, when the 33-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0, 25 knockouts) takes on 38-year-old WBA welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) in a highly anticipated bout.
Floyd Sr. spent time with FanHouse for this Q&A.
FanHouse: So what would you like to say to the public about your son's life nowadays, given you're back with him?
Floyd Mayweather Sr.: First of all, I would like to say that me and my son are back together. That's a great thing about life. All of the stuff that he's doing for the homeless, and different people, he's definitely a caring person. Everybody has their ups and downs, ends and outs and around abouts.
He's a good kid who is making a mark for himself and a whole lot of other people. Even with the Olympic style drug testing, stopping people from doing some of the things that they're doing with the performance enhancing drugs. Me and my son are father and son again, regardless of whether I'm training him.
I think that everything has been on the straight and narrow and on the positive.
FH: Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn't drink or smoke, does he?
Mayweather Sr.: Let me say this right here: Little Floyd couldn't do what he does if he was doing if he drank or if he smoked. He can't do it. That would be impossible. He don't drink, don't smoke, and I've never seen him do either or. That's one of the biggest things that he's got.
FH: What is your relationship like with your grandchildren?
Mayweather Sr.: Right now I spend as much time as I choose to spend with them. We're still getting to know each other better, but we definitely know each other now. That's not a problem. They can come to my house and do whatever they want to do. I'm just happy to be back with them once again.
FH: I saw on the HBO 24/7 series that you and Floyd Jr.'s mother were dancing together again, has that relationship improved?
Mayweather Sr.: That's Little Floyd's mother, and we were never married. Her name used to be Debra Sinclair, but now, she's married and her name is Debra Orr. I think that everything is better. Little Floyd and my daughter, who is Floyd's half-sister, they all get along.
We mingle and that's nice right there. To be dancing with his mother, that took me back and it took her back as well. That's how we met. We danced all night, nonstop. And we did the same thing that night.
FH: What is Floyd Jr. like as a father?
Mayweather Sr.: He's great with his kids. I'm not only concerned about my kids, I'm concerned about my grand kids too. I love my family, and I'm very family-oriented. I love my family, and I'm crazy about my grand kids. I also take care of my mother and I take care of my family, whoever needs it.
FH: I know that you have Sarcoidosis, how is your health?
Mayweather Sr.: My health is not the greatest, I'll be honest with you, but I'm taking it one day at a time. Nobody knows who is going to be here today and who is going to be gone tomorrow. Every day is a blessing to me. I feel good about myself and what I'm doing.
I feel good about how everything is going with me and my son. My greatest thing is my grand kids. That's what I think about. When I think about life, I'm definitely concerned about taking care of my mother, Bernice, who is 77. I just turned 57 on March 15.
FH: At one point, when you trained Oscar de la Hoya, you said that de la Hoya could beat Floyd Jr., correct?
Mayweather Sr.: I said that de la Hoya could whup him and beat him, but he could beat him with me training him. I said that and I meant that. Trust me, I'm a technician, and I know exactly what it takes to win.
FH: Was that said out of anger, and would you say that now?
Mayweather Sr.: Would I have said that if me and Floyd were on good terms? I doubt very seriously if I would have said that. I don't think that it would have ever come up to the point of me every saying that. I had disagreements with Floyd and said things that maybe I shouldn't have said, and I have said things that I do regret that I did say.
I think that it's the same thing with my son. I don't think that I said any more than what he said, but at the end of the day, I'm the father and he's the son, and somebody has got to be bigger. And right now, I'm being the daddy that I'm supposed to be. One thing about me is I take care of my family, my grand babies.
One of them got a birthday coming up, I'm there and I'm supporting them and I'm giving them the same thing I would give to my mother or anybody else. I'm a family man, and that's what I am. And I'm glad that I'm a family man, because I could have been way out there on the wrong path.
My life has been rough. Real rough. Money is not everything, but you do need money to live, and it's made my life much, much better. And if I have money to make my life better, then it's going to make the lives of those around me and whatever family members are here, better. And I'm going to accommodate them in the best way that I can.
FH: How would you like Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s career to go from here?
Mayweather Sr.: Honestly, after Shane, I don't see no more big challenges out there right now. Not with the name, after Shane Mosley. After he takes care of Shane Mosley, I think that Little Floyd has cleaned up everything, unless he went into a higher weight class.
But size means something, and, again, smarts means something. But he's got to be smart about everything he does in life.
FH: Would Manny Pacquiao be a fight?
Mayweather Sr.: My thing is, if everything was on a straight and narrow, then it would be an ideal fight. Everything would be good. That's all that I've got to say.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
The father-son feud reportedly lasted for seven years, to the point where Floyd Mayweather Sr. once threatened to train Oscar de la Hoya to defeat his talented offspring, Floyd Mayweather Jr., in the ring.
But the 57-year-old Floyd Sr. is now a permanent part of his son's entourage, and, more importantly, says that he can play the proper role of parent, and, even, grand parent to Floyd Jr.'s four children.
Floyd Sr. will also be ringside on May 1 at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, when the 33-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0, 25 knockouts) takes on 38-year-old WBA welterweight (147 pounds) champion, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) in a highly anticipated bout.
Floyd Sr. spent time with FanHouse for this Q&A.
FanHouse: So what would you like to say to the public about your son's life nowadays, given you're back with him?
Floyd Mayweather Sr.: First of all, I would like to say that me and my son are back together. That's a great thing about life. All of the stuff that he's doing for the homeless, and different people, he's definitely a caring person. Everybody has their ups and downs, ends and outs and around abouts.
He's a good kid who is making a mark for himself and a whole lot of other people. Even with the Olympic style drug testing, stopping people from doing some of the things that they're doing with the performance enhancing drugs. Me and my son are father and son again, regardless of whether I'm training him.
I think that everything has been on the straight and narrow and on the positive.
FH: Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn't drink or smoke, does he?
Mayweather Sr.: Let me say this right here: Little Floyd couldn't do what he does if he was doing if he drank or if he smoked. He can't do it. That would be impossible. He don't drink, don't smoke, and I've never seen him do either or. That's one of the biggest things that he's got.
FH: What is your relationship like with your grandchildren?
Mayweather Sr.: Right now I spend as much time as I choose to spend with them. We're still getting to know each other better, but we definitely know each other now. That's not a problem. They can come to my house and do whatever they want to do. I'm just happy to be back with them once again.
FH: I saw on the HBO 24/7 series that you and Floyd Jr.'s mother were dancing together again, has that relationship improved?
Mayweather Sr.: That's Little Floyd's mother, and we were never married. Her name used to be Debra Sinclair, but now, she's married and her name is Debra Orr. I think that everything is better. Little Floyd and my daughter, who is Floyd's half-sister, they all get along.
We mingle and that's nice right there. To be dancing with his mother, that took me back and it took her back as well. That's how we met. We danced all night, nonstop. And we did the same thing that night.
FH: What is Floyd Jr. like as a father?
Mayweather Sr.: He's great with his kids. I'm not only concerned about my kids, I'm concerned about my grand kids too. I love my family, and I'm very family-oriented. I love my family, and I'm crazy about my grand kids. I also take care of my mother and I take care of my family, whoever needs it.
FH: I know that you have Sarcoidosis, how is your health?
Mayweather Sr.: My health is not the greatest, I'll be honest with you, but I'm taking it one day at a time. Nobody knows who is going to be here today and who is going to be gone tomorrow. Every day is a blessing to me. I feel good about myself and what I'm doing.
I feel good about how everything is going with me and my son. My greatest thing is my grand kids. That's what I think about. When I think about life, I'm definitely concerned about taking care of my mother, Bernice, who is 77. I just turned 57 on March 15.
FH: At one point, when you trained Oscar de la Hoya, you said that de la Hoya could beat Floyd Jr., correct?
Mayweather Sr.: I said that de la Hoya could whup him and beat him, but he could beat him with me training him. I said that and I meant that. Trust me, I'm a technician, and I know exactly what it takes to win.
FH: Was that said out of anger, and would you say that now?
Mayweather Sr.: Would I have said that if me and Floyd were on good terms? I doubt very seriously if I would have said that. I don't think that it would have ever come up to the point of me every saying that. I had disagreements with Floyd and said things that maybe I shouldn't have said, and I have said things that I do regret that I did say.
I think that it's the same thing with my son. I don't think that I said any more than what he said, but at the end of the day, I'm the father and he's the son, and somebody has got to be bigger. And right now, I'm being the daddy that I'm supposed to be. One thing about me is I take care of my family, my grand babies.
One of them got a birthday coming up, I'm there and I'm supporting them and I'm giving them the same thing I would give to my mother or anybody else. I'm a family man, and that's what I am. And I'm glad that I'm a family man, because I could have been way out there on the wrong path.
My life has been rough. Real rough. Money is not everything, but you do need money to live, and it's made my life much, much better. And if I have money to make my life better, then it's going to make the lives of those around me and whatever family members are here, better. And I'm going to accommodate them in the best way that I can.
FH: How would you like Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s career to go from here?
Mayweather Sr.: Honestly, after Shane, I don't see no more big challenges out there right now. Not with the name, after Shane Mosley. After he takes care of Shane Mosley, I think that Little Floyd has cleaned up everything, unless he went into a higher weight class.
But size means something, and, again, smarts means something. But he's got to be smart about everything he does in life.
FH: Would Manny Pacquiao be a fight?
Mayweather Sr.: My thing is, if everything was on a straight and narrow, then it would be an ideal fight. Everything would be good. That's all that I've got to say.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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