If you were one of the millions of boxing fans who just knew a proposed bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. this spring would implode, then you hit the nail on the head. The two top pound-for-pound boxers in the world were talking about getting it on this May 5 after Mayweather called Pacquiao a punk on Twitter and challenged him.

However, there were too many obstacles in the way of a showdown such as Mayweather’s upcoming jail sentence and an arena large enough in Las Vegas to hold the event. Most cynics felt Mayweather issued the challenge knowing there was no way a fight could be arranged on such short notice. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum more or less officially put the kibosh on the fight on Jan. 30 when he said the bout won’t take place until November at the earliest, if at all.

Arum said Mayweather’s chosen date of May 5 doesn’t fit into Pacquiao’s plans since he’s going to fight on June 9 and Mayweather’s camp isn’t willing to a change since their fighter’s supposed to start his 90-day jail sentence on June 1. Arum also said Mayweather isn’t willing to fight for a 50-50 revenue split, so negotiations are off and he’s out of the picture for the time being.

Mayweather has booked Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 5, but Arum said it doesn’t make sense for the fight of the century to take place in such a small venue. He wanted to build a temporary outdoor stadium in Vegas, but said it couldn’t be finished by early May. Arum said Mayweather can go ahead and fight as scheduled while Pacquiao will box on June 9 and they can meet in November if Mayweather agrees to a 50-50 split.

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions said everybody’s moving on. However, neither fighter has an opponent booked for their upcoming bouts yet. Miguel Cotto’s been named as a possible opponent for both of them and the undefeated Timothy Bradley has been mentioned as another option for Pacquiao, who already owns a 12^th-round TKO over Cotto.

It appears to most insiders that Cotto will likely end up facing Mayweather since he doesn’t want to drop below 150 lbs. and Pacquiao doesn’t want to go higher than 147 lbs., but nothing’s certain as of yet. Arum said he wants announce the opponent for Pacquiao by Feb. 7, so they can start promoting the fight.

Arum also announced that he’s working on a fight between junior-welterweight champion Lamont Peterson and Juan Manuel Marquez for Dallas’ Cowboy stadium in May or July. Peterson won the WBA and IBF titles with a controversial split decision over Amir Khan in December and the WBA has since ordered a rematch between the two. A Peterson vs Marquez fight will mean Peterson will have to give up the WBA belt.

Mayweather still has to explain to the Nevada State Athletic Commission why he should be granted a license to fight anybody other than Pacquiao since his sentence was delayed so he could engage in a major fight. If Mayweather receives a license another option could be fighting super-welterweight titleholder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

With Floyd Mayweather Jr. calling Manny Pacquiao a punk on Twitter and challenging him to a showdown on May 5 it looks like a bout between the two is as close as ever. However, there are many skeptical fans who feel Mayweather’s challenge has been issued because he knows there’s no way a fight can be arranged for that date.

The 34-year-old Mayweather (42-0, 26 Kos) conveniently waited until Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum had announced that the WBO welterweight champion’s next bout would be on June 9 or 16 against either Lamont Peterson, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley or Miguel Cotto. Mayweather, the WBC welterweight king, also knows the MGM Garden in Las Vegas, where he’s scheduled to fight in May, is too small a venue to hold a fight between the top two pound-for-pound boxers in the world. This is a fight that could easily sell 50,000 tickets or more.

However, the 33-year-old Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 Kos) called his bluff by accepting the challenge, but there are many obstacles that need to be worked out for the fight to take place. One of the major issues of course is money. Arum will guarantee Pacquiao’s purse, but Mayweather needs somebody to guarantee his. It’s expected that both men will be looking for paydays of between $50 and $60 million and will share broadcasting revenue 50-50. Also, Arum said he’d want the fight to be held in late May at a temporary venue to be built in Las Vegas.

Mayweather had his jail sentence postponed by a judge in early January though, based in the fact he was fighting on May 5. He’s now scheduled to show up to jail on June 1 to serve his 90-day sentence. Constructing a venue in Vegas will also cost millions and doesn’t make sense when you consider the fight could be held at an existing arena anywhere in the U.S. or the world for that matter.

It seems that Mayweather may have known there are too many issues to hold the fight, but he may have put his foot in his mouth if all of the logistics can be worked out. It’d be hard for him to back out in that case. There’s no need to back out though anyway as he’d probably go into a fight with Pacquiao as the slight favorite.

Arum said if the fight with Mayweather doesn’t come off then Pacquiao will go ahead with his previous plans, which would likely be a June 9 date. However, you can probably strike Lamont Peterson’s name off of the list of potential opponents since the WBA has ordered a rematch between him and Amir Khan after several irregularities during their fight in December, which Peterson won by controversial split decision.

A mega fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather could still take place in May, but don’t count on it until a few more details have been ironed out. On the bright side, this is as close as the two have ever come to an agreement on a potential bout.

With the UFC recently signing a seven-year deal with Fox TV for an estimated $100 million a season, boxing fans may see better quality cards on the horizon. It’s obvious that Fox and the UFC are taking direct aim at the squared circle with their first live event being scheduled for Nov. 12, which just happens to be the same night boxing’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao is taking on Juan Manuel Marquez.

Bob Arum, who heads up the Top Rank boxing promotion company, realizes boxing’s in for a bit of a wild ride now that it’s being challenged by network television. Arum’s the one who’s promoting the Pacquiao vs Marquez bout for HBO pay-per-view, but said he isn’t really too worried about the UFC and its new deal.

The UFC event starts at is scheduled to end at 10 pm on Nov. 12 as network TV requires the event to follow a stricter time frame. This means the show will be over by the time Pacquiao and Marquez enter the ring, enabling fight fans to check out both cards on the same night. It also gives MMA fans the opportunity to tape the UFC card and watch it after the boxing match.

Arum said he thinks boxing fans will tune into the Pacquiao fight regardless of what’s shown opposite it and feels the pay-per-view numbers might even rise due to the fact the UFC is going head to head with it. He also feels Fox will now put the pressure on cable and satellite operators to add the company’s smaller networks such as Fuel TV to their list of programming since UFC events will be shown on some of them.

When asked if he’ll put on a star-studded undercard to the Pacquiao fight, Arum said the plan was always to present a top-quality night of boxing from start to finish. However, the final details need to be worked out before the official card is announced. So far, the only fights announced for Nov. 12 are the Pacquiao vs Marquez showdown for the WBO welterweight title and Brandon Rios defending his WBA lightweight crown against an unnamed opponent.

But the pressure is on Arum to come up with a good undercard now to make sure boxing fans get their money’s worth. He said it would be announced after the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Victor Ortiz bout on Sept. 17^th. In fact, boxing fans might be the winners when it comes to the new UFC deal as promoters know if they don’t come up with some good matchups they might just lose their audience.

This means more fights may now be shown on subscription channels such as HBO and Showtime instead of pay per view. It’s going to have to be a heck of a matchup to get fans to shell out $50 or more for a fight. Mediocre matchmaking will hopefully fade away.

Arum also said most UFC fans don’t watch boxing anyway, so going head to head won’t affect boxing. He said a good movie, Manchester United soccer game, or another boxing event might take away more fans than a UFC event will. He’s also confident the cable and satellite carriers will be sure to promote the Pacquiao fight full force since they’re up against the UFC on the same night.

It’ll be interesting to see what the ratings are for Nov. 12 and how boxing will react if they see their audiences dwindling in the future.

It’s understandable why we’ll never see Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko duke it out to unify the heavyweight boxing titles, and that’s because they’re brothers. But is being buddies a good reason for boxers not to fight each other? According to trainer Freddie Roach it is and he said that’s why we’ll never see Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan trying to punch each other’s lights out in the ring, other than in sparring sessions.

This is bad news for the millions of fans who’d love to see them go toe to toe as they’re two of the most entertaining and charismatic fighters in the sport right now. Boxing fans have often missed out on some great matchups over the years to due legal and promotional issues, but is this good enough reason to pull the plug on a Pacquiao vs Khan scrap?

There have been dozens fights between friends in the past, but these two guys don’t need the money and there are other intriguing opponents out there for both of them. That’s Roach’s theory anyway. But if Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn’t agree to fight Pacquiao anytime soon the public might get a little tired of shelling out for pay-per-view fights where Pacquiao isn’t challenged. Sooner or later they’re going to want to see him take on the best, which could be Khan.

But time’s running out since Pacquiao is taking on Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time this Nov. 12 and said he only wants two more fights after that because he plans on concentrating on his political career in the Philippines. The fight would be appealing and many experts feel Khan would actually have a good chance of winning due to all of the sparring he’s been doing with his buddy Pacquiao over the past few years.

Roach recently told the press they’ll never fight each other because he trains them both and he wouldn’t let it happen. He said Pacquiao and Khan are like sons to him and a father wouldn’t let his sons fight each other, at least not in the ring in a professional fight. Roach added that he wouldn’t know whose corner he would work in. He said he’s been with Pacquiao for 10 years and Khan for three and he wouldn’t want to ruin the special bond they have.

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy agreed and said it would be a tough thing to do, especially with other good opponents out there for both of them. He said Khan could fight Erik Morales, Timothy Bradley, or the winner of the Robert Guerrero vs Marcos Maidana fight. But he also might fight the likes of Lamont Peterson, who’s a fine fighter, but not a household name. He’s also beaten Maidana already and Bradley doesn’t seem interested in taking him on.

However, Khan’s been getting on Bradley’s nerves lately by shooting off his mouth about Bradley being afraid of him, which of course is a ridiculous accusation for a pro boxer. If the bad blood between Khan and Bradley continues, it could hype the fight with the public and it might take place next year, likely at welterweight as Khan is expected to move up a division. Khan could also find himself in the ring with Mayweather as that’s an attractive matchup, especially if Mayweather refuses to fight Pacquiao and he gets by Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17.

But if none of these scenarios pan out, the public will start putting the pressure on for a Pacquiao vs Khan fight. Couldn’t Roach just do the simple thing and just not work either fighter’s corner that night?

Professional boxing will officially introduce video replay to the sport for a championship match on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, when WBO Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao takes on Juan Mañuel Marquez for the third time. The state of Nevada authorized the use of it back in 2009, but it’s never been used in a title fight.

It could prove helpful in the third instalment of the Pacquiao vs Marquez trilogy considering the first two bouts were close and controversial. The first fight in 2004 ended in a draw even though Marquez was dropped three times in the first round and Pacquiao won the second bout in 2008 by a split decision after decking Marquez in the third round.

The rule states that a referee can view a video replay of the action if a fight has been stopped due to an injury. The referee can then decide if the injury was accidental or caused by an intentional foul such as a head butt or low blow. Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) said that the use of instant replay will make sure that the right decision is made.

And while that’s true up to a point, the referee will have the power to change his decision if he feels he got it wrong, it’s not really going to solve boxing’s problem’s of controversial decisions. Most stoppages in fights due to injured fighters are called accurately to begin with, so we’re not going to notice much of a difference.

Where boxing is missing out here is the fact that the instant replay will just be used to review stoppages in fights. It won’t be used to see if the referee has made the right call when a knockdown is ruled. This is a part of boxing that needs to be rectified. Referees often make the wrong call when ruling on knockdowns. They will call a legitimate knockdown a slip or vice versa. The problem with this is that an unearned knockdown usually results in a 10-8 round.

The judges, when realizing that a called knockdown was made in error, shouldn’t be awarding 10-8 rounds. They should overrule the referee and judge the round on what they saw in the ring. If the sport’s going to be using the replays for stoppages anyway, why not make the most of the technology and make sure knockdowns are ruled correctly? Points earned or lost by fighters due to incorrect knockdown rulings can often mean the difference between a win and a loss in a multi-million dollar bout.

The NAC will also use video replay for other combat sports in Nevada, such as kickboxing and mixed martial arts (MMA). In fact, it was brought in because referees were missing illegal blows during MMA fights. Kizer said a prime example for its use was a 2008 UFC bout in which Kevin Burns was awarded a TKO over Anthony Johnson. However, video replays showed that Johnson had been poked in the eye.

Any help is better than none. Video replay has a place in boxing, but it should be utilized to its full potential.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will be entering the ring later in 2011, but it won’t be against each other. The undefeated Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) recently announced on Twitter that he’s going to be taking on  WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) on Sept. 17, which is Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) on the other hand, will be taking on Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs) for the third time when they meet Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They fought to a 12-round draw back in 2008 with Pacquiao winning the rematch by split decision.

The fight everybody wants to see of course is Mayweather vs Pacquiao, but while it’s not happening this year, Mayweather’s bout against Ortiz could be a stepping stone to a bout against the Filipino in the near future. Before Mayweather fights anybody though, he needs to get a license and make sure he stays out of trouble with the law between now and September.

Ortiz poses a threat to Mayweather because of his never-say-die attitude, which he’s shown in fights against Marcos Maidana and his recent victory over Andre Berto, when he hit the deck and got back to his feet in both battles. Ortiz is young and strong and has a good mental outlook on the fight game. Mayweather will be entering the ring after sitting out for about a year and a half.

It’s a competitive fight that features one of boxing’s veteran stars taking on a rising star. Mayweather complimented Ortiz in the press by saying he has a lot of talent, skills, and heart and that’s what he’s looking for in an opponent to challenge himself.

The last time he entered the ring, which was in May 2010; Mayweather took apart Sugar Shane Mosley in a rather one-sided affair and earned a unanimous decision. However, Mosley rocked him hard in the second round, but failed to follow up on it. Ortiz has won his last six fights, with his last one being the exciting decision over Berto back in mid-April.

There are a lot of fans getting on Mayweather’s case for taking this fight, not because it’s not a good matchup, but because they say he’s ducking Pacquiao again. That may be true, but at this stage, Ortiz may actually be more dangerous than Pacquiao due to his determination and power. Considering some of the opponents that Mayweather was recently thinking about fighting, this matchup isn’t bad at all.

Mayweather getting back into the ring should also be considered good for boxing as it means one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters hasn’t packed it in. Ortiz is young and hungry and will go in as the underdog, but if he does get beat he’ll at least go down fighting. Mayweather could also use this as a tuneup for a possible showdown with Pacquiao as there’s no way he’s going to take him on after such a long layoff.

It’s an intriguing matchup that’s for sure. However, Ortiz’s only realistic chance of beating Mayweather is by knockout or at least dropping him a couple of times to earn some points on the scorecards. While Mayweather vs Ortiz it may not be the fight everybody was hoping for, it’s probably the next best thing.

Manny Pacquiao is not just the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world today, he’s also a massive draw with fellow pros.

But he might just lose his status as No.1 in the hearts of fellow Filipinos soon, if Nonito Donaire continues his rise to fulfill his belief that “God has a plan and I have faith in God’s plan” to see him unify the belts at bantamweight.

Donaire, the newly-crowned WBO/WBC champ, arrived in Manila yesterday morning, his flight having taken the Bohol boxer all the way from Los Angeles to the Philippines to spend three weeks observing the Pac-Man in training.

Manny, who began his high-altitude training sessions last weekend in Baguio City, has also been joined, of course, by his trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, while British light-welterweight star Amir Khan came in on the same flight.

Khan has been lined up to face Northern Irishman Paul McCloskey back in England on April 14 to defend his WBA crown, but, as he is training under Roach, will join Manny some time over the next few days.

Pacquiao began light training last week as he gets in shape for his bout with American Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on May 7. He has so far put in some morning roadwork, a few games of basketball, and a few sessions in the mitts with long-time trainer and friend Buboy Fernandez.

Also there are the Pac-Man’s frequent sparring partners, undefeated welterweight Shawn Porter, from Akron in Ohio, and David Rodela, who is also Khan’s sparring mate, as well as Filipina WBO bantamweight Ana Julaton – a recent winner against Francesca Alcanter.

However, although these coaches and boxers are there to work with or watch Manny, 28-year-old Donaire – who stopped Fernando Montiel in the second round to pick up the crowns on February 19 – is fast becoming a favorite with a nation now engrossed with their potent pugilists.

Donaire deserves the adulation, too, having become only the third Asian fighter – and second Filipino after the great man – to hold titles in three different divisions, with crowns also in flyweight and super-flyweight.

When Mexican Montiel landed a right to Donaire’s head in Las Vegas as month, the Filipino Flash responded with a devastating left he believes was “the hardest punch of my career” that left his opponent crumpled on the canvas. But Montiel somehow got back to his feet, only for Donaire to rush over and land a left then a right that resulted in referee Russell Mora stopping the bout just five minutes and 25 seconds in.

Now ranked No.3 in the world’s pound-for-pound ratings behind Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr, Donaire – $350,000 the richer after his latest victory – will return to the United States at the end of the month to prepare for his next fight, which he hopes will be a unification bout with WBA holder Anselmo Moreno, of Panama, at the Oakland Coliseum on May 28.

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum is attempting to set that clash up, although no contract has yet been signed, while promoter Gary Shaw wants Moreno to face Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra ahead of Donaire.

With Donaire’s contract with Top Rank up in a few months, there has been speculation that Golden Boy Promotions will sign the in-demand Filipino. But he’s just looking to get back in the ring to face whoever manager Cameron Dunkin and Arum sign up as his next opponent.

No matter who is lined up, though, three boxing legends believe Donaire is poised to become as big a star as Manny – especially after his destruction of Montiel.

Former world champion Roy Jones Jr reckons “God had blessed this kid with wonderful talent”, while Mexican legends Julio Cesar Chavez and Marco Antonio Barrera – while commentating on the fight – said Donaire gave “an amazing performance”.

The rightly confident Donaire described himself as “a monster” after the Montiel fight. Certainly, he’s set to become a monster box office star in the world of boxing very soon.

Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said the WBC welterweight champ will be back in the ring again in November. He’s not sure who against, because he’s got a date with Shane Mosley in Vegas on May 7. As usual, Arum listed the names of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto, and Juan Manuel Marquez as possible opponents.  And of course, he said Mayweather’s the preferred choice.

It’s about time Arum gave it a rest though as we all know Mayweather’s future lies in the hands of the American judicial system. He’s facing 34 years in the slammer if convicted of various domestic matters and other things, so why not just put a sock in it and forget about Mayweather for now.

But what are Arum’s plans if the unthinkable happens and Mosley beats the Filipino sensation. Right, it may not be likely, but it’s still a distinct possibility. After watching 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas beat the hell out of Mike Tyson for 10 rounds 20 years ago, you’ve got to realize anything can happen in boxing. And Mosley’s sure not going to be anywhere near a 42-1 underdog. The guy’s a former world champ, a good fighter, and has some decent power in his fists still.

So let’s imagine for argument’s sake that Mosley dethrones Pacquiao in May and there’s no rematch clause in the contract. What would you do if you were Pacquiao’s team. Put him right back in the ring against a tough opponent or let him gain his confidence by fighting a name opponent who doesn’t appear to be a threat?

It would all depend on how Pacquiao lost. If it was by a close decision, then he shouldn’t have any doubts about his abilities and I’d put him right back on the horse against anybody. However, if he gets knocked out or takes a beating, then I think he’d need to come back more gradually. But who would you match him up against at welterweight if that’s the goal?

Would a fight against Mexicans Marco Antonio Barrera (67-7, 43Kos) or Erik Morales (51-6, 35 Kos) fit the bill? They’re both big-name fighters and former opponents of Pacquiao. Morales is only 34, but he sat out for almost three years after losing four fights in a row, including being knocked out twice by Pacquiao. He’s on the comeback trail now though and has won three in a row against mediocre opposition.

Morales is scheduled to meet hard-hitting Marcos Maidana in April though in a bout that many fear is suicide for the Mexican legend. But if Morales somehow beats Maidana, his stock will surely rise and will be considered a worthy opponent if he can make it to welterweight. And let’s not forget, Morales is the last man to beat Pacquiao when he earned a split decision over him back in 2005. His first comeback fight last March was also fought at welterweight.

As for Barrera, he just turned 37 and is also back in the ring after taking 15 months off after losing a technical decision to Amir Khan. But Barrera’s been beaten by Pacquiao already by a wide unanimous decision and late-round KO, so let’s rule him out.

The best option might be to take on 24-year-old Devon Alexander, who’s considered a top American boxer, but doesn’t seem to have the power to hurt Pacquiao. Alexander recently lost his WBO version of the Jr. welterweight title in a decision to WBC champ Timothy Bradley.

If Pacquiao loses to Mosley, other boxing opponents who could get down to welterweight could be the loser of the Miguel Cotto vs Ricardo Mayorga matchup, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Saul Alvarez, Cornelius Bundradge, and Yuri Foreman.  As for pure welterweights, we have Matthew Hatton, Mike Jones, Soulemane M’Baye, Alfonso Gomez, Randall Bailey, Carlos Quintana, and Luis Collazo.

Arum should have a backup plan in place just in case Pacquiao does lose to Mosley. And it better be a good one, because two losses in a row would do considerable damage to Pacquiao’s boxing career right now.

After months of hype and buildup we were supposed to see two of America’s top boxers go at it last night (Jan. 29) at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, when undefeated Jr. Welterweight Champions Devon Alexander (21-1, 13KOs) and Tim Bradley (27-0, 11KOs) unified their titles. Instead, we were treated to a disappointing fight with an even more disappointing ending after Alexander seemed to pack it in after he was headbutted in the 10^th round.

A stoppage was a bit of a surprise because neither of these guys has much in the way of knockout power, at least not in their fists. But Bradley does have a reputation as a banger with his head as several former opponents have also been cut up while fighting him. The two champs clashed heads on a few occasions, but the worst happened in the early going of the 10^th round.

The impact could be heard pretty clearly on television and Alexander complained his eye was stinging and couldn’t see. In a scene reminiscent of Evander Holyfield’s fight against Sherman Williams a week earlier, Alexander, like Holyfield, didn’t seem to be interested in continuing the fight. This could be seen as the easy way out, especially with a rematch clause against Bradley in his contract.

Alexander was taking more of a risk than Holyfield though, as Holyfield knew he was guaranteed a “No Contest” decision. Alexander had no such luxury and the fight went to the scorecards where he lost a pretty wide unanimous decision by scores of 98-93, 97-93, and 96-95. The technical decision means Bradley left the ring with his WBC title as well as Alexander’s WBO belt.

The fight itself was mainly forgettable and uneventful as neither fighter really showed much in the way of offense. Bradley managed to land a couple of solid shots, but that was about it. It’s understandable the HBO announcers had to heap some praise on Bradley, but I didn’t really see anything from him in the way of speed and power. Alexander was even worse.

If there is a rematch in the contract I guess the public will have to put up with another bout between these two. It’s going to be a pretty hard sell after this performance though, especially to television networks, unless HBO also agreed to a rematch. However, who’s to say another meeting between these two won’t turn into a slugfest?

I’m sure there were some viewers who were happy with what they saw and these were other junior welterweights such as Marcos Maidana and Amir Khan. Based on last night’s fight, Bradley and Alexander don’t appear to be at their skill level. Also, talk of Bradley fighting the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are way too premature, especially if he’s got to fight them at the heavier welterweight limit.

I don’t see the public buying a Pacqauio vs Bradley fight unless Bradley dominates Alexander in a rematch or beats Khan or possibly Maidana. As for the future of American boxing, it doesn’t look too promising at the moment if Bradley and Alexander are rated as the cream of the crop.

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