Fight to Educate: Demetrius Andrade schools and blasts Alexis Hloros in two

Middleweight boxer Alexis "Hurricane" Hloros (16-5-2, 12 KOs) of Mt. Clemens, a prime attraction at Michigan's famed Royal Oak Music Theatre wherein he made a career of plastering patsies to pad his records, was himself plastered Thursday night by undefeated contender and 2008 Olympian Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade (18-0, 13 KOs) inside two rounds at the 11th annual Fight To Educate Pro-Am card held at the Wireless Verizon Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Demetrius Andrade neutralized the Hurricane early and did not commit any boo-boos as he schooled the Michigan native in the finer aspects of the sweet science, eventually stopping him in the second round of the 10-round bout.

On paper, Alexis Hloros' record might be good, but a closer examination will reveal that most of his wins were against fighters with losing and atrocious records, and the only other time that he stepped up in opposition was against James Kirkland in 2011 wherein he also got blasted within two rounds.

Fight To Educate is a "charity event that combines a love of sports with the vision of assisting children and seniors in need, who with fundraisers like this could be 'down for the count.' During the past 10 years, Fight To Educate has raised more than $500,000 in donations benefitting local New Hampshire non-profit organizations."

The organizers revealed that "proceeds from the 11th annual Fight To Educate will benefit SEE Science Center (www.see-sciencecenter.org), The Bobby Stephens Fund for Education (www.stepheneducationfund.com), and New Horizons for New Hampshire."

ESPN First Take: Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. speaks about his future, jail time and Manny Pacquiao

Credits: David Becker/Getty Images

After his release from jail, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has so far managed to maintain a low profile when it comes to his career and personal life. Except for a few interviews here and there, Mayweather has been quiet on all fronts; no mean feat for a person who historically craves the limelight and a magnet of controversy both in his words and actions.

In one of the interviews he did for FightHype, a sober Floyd Mayweather, Jr. opened up his mind and bared some of his plans. He spoke about his personality ("It's about having personality, you know. You gotta be outspoken and have personality. It's not really the bad guy. I enjoy entertaining. That's what it's about, giving the fans excitement and entertainment. Some pay to see me win, some pay to see me lose, but they all pay."), his relationship with his rapper buddy 50 Cent ("everything that he touch turns to gold"), his promotions company, his time in a Las Vegas prison, and of course, Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. gave us a glimpse of his life in jail which included his distrust of the food that was being served, "I was surviving off commissary. I didn't eat the food at all...I don't like it and I didn't trust it" and the activities that he did to keep himself in good physical shape, like ridiculously pushing himself to do push-ups -- from a few hundreds to a thousand push-ups or more per day -- "I started doing 436 pushups a day. Then I went from 436 to 872. Then I went to 1308, so I was doing like 1300 pushups a day."

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. also divulged that he also found time to read while incarcerated, "I was doing a lot of reading from the fans, and just reading different books, different magazines." It would have been interesting to know what kind of books and magazines Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has found a liking to, except that the interviewer did not pursue the topic.

But the most telling part of the interview was the one regarding his views and positions on fighting Manny Pacquiao. His ambivalence on the topic was palpable as he tried to explain his reasons, as well as reiterating his uncompromising stand on his demands.

"I don't have any hate towards Manny Pacquiao, you know. I respect him, but I'm just saying, it's not a crime. I'm also saying I'ma do random blood and urine testing, you know, just so I can be in a clean sport. That's all I'm asking."

"Actually, we don't do the same type of numbers, so how can we split? We don't draw the same type of money."

"It's kind of hard. I mean, Arum wants money, but the thing is, it's about putting the fighters in a good position. It's about Pacquiao and Mayweather. It's about putting both fighters in a good position, and of course I'm going to put myself in a good position."

"I can't really say why he won't do the random blood and urine tests...at this particular time, I don't know if he wants to do it or not."

These pronouncements are nothing but empty rhetorics though, since we have all heard this before. These pronouncements are nothing but a sad refrain from a fighter who is showing ambivalence in fighting the one person who could test his will and limits as a prizefighter. There is no question that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is one of the greatest fighters of his era and is actually favored to beat Manny Pacquiao if ever they face each other in the ring, but until the day happens we will never really know the answer.

Obviously, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is putting the blame on Bob Arum for the failed negotiations of the megafight. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is still adamant that he will call the shots when it comes to the purse split as well as the percentage of the pay-per-view revenue. And lastly, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. makes it appear that Manny Pacquiao is still against random blood testing. (For the record, Manny Pacquiao has gone on record on numerous occasions that there is no more problem on his part with the blood testing issue -- random, Olympic or otherwise.)

And Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has this to say as a parting shot, "The only thing I can continue to do is, if I do fight again, I'll fight whoever they put in front of me."

It would have been great for boxing if only Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would be true to his pronouncements, but based on his track record, we will all need to take everything that he says with a grain of salt.

  Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

Manny Pacquiao at the crossroads

Credits: 

Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao can't seem to find his head these days. Even prior to his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao's focus regarding his boxing career was already being questioned by many observers. As if his duties and responsibilities as an elected representative in the Philippine Congress were not enough, his newly-found religious fervor now also has to compete with the time that he has to spend in the ring.

As of this writing, Top Rank and Manny Pacquiao cannot seem to agree on the timeframe of his return to the ring as well as on his preferred opponent if ever he decides to fight again this year. This uncertainty coupled with his actions and behaviors in the past is another obvious sign that shows his heart is no longer 100% into his boxing career.

But one thing is certain, whether Manny Pacquiao decides to fight on November 10 or on a later date in December, the list of familiar opponents being touted does not excite even his die-hard fans more so the casual ones.

Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto, and Juan Manuel Marquez are all good fighters in their own right, but to many fans they are not the fights that they want to see, especially at this stage of Manny Pacquiao's career. But we also cannot deny the reality that Manny Pacquiao has very little options left except against Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

But since Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is enjoying an extended sabbatical from boxing after his stint in prison and trying his darndest best to evade the Pacquiao question, the boxing powers that be have given us just three choices to pick on who will be Manny Pacquiao's next dancing partner if and when he decides to fight.

In this writer's opinion, Miguel Cotto should not even be in the equation, especially after the brutal beating that the Pacman inflicted on him. There is no drama nor the element of surprise here as the fight was conclusive and one-sided. The loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., even though the Boricua fighter gave a good account of himself, further disqualifies him in many boxing observers' minds.

Timothy Bradley, despite all his pronouncements lately, just does not cut it out. The boxing world knows who won the fight that night in Las Vegas, except the boxing judges who robbed Manny Pacquiao of his belt and gave it to Bradley, despite Bradley doing almost nothing to improve his stock in the fight. The dole-out was just inconceivable even to the eyes of the casual boxing fans who probably don't know the difference between a right hook and a bare-handed slap. No boxing fan in his right mind would want to undergo the experience of watching a snoozefest the second time around.

That leaves us with Manny Pacquiao's perennial nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. The Mexican is probably the only fighter who was able to solve the Pacquiao puzzle and was not intimidated by the Filipino's mystique in the ring. Their trilogy was very competitive albeit controversial as both camps and their supporters believed in their hearts that their own fighter was the rightful winner regardless of the result of the fight.

Juan Manuel Marquez provides danger and a challenge to Manny Pacquiao. The Mexican fighter is like a bad nightmare that never goes away. Manny Pacquiao needs to put a stop to Juan Manuel Marquez's emphatic claims regarding their past fights.

Yes, Manny Pacquiao should choose Juan Manuel Marquez from the list in order for him to put an end to the lingering doubts of the skeptics regarding his close victories over the Mexican legend. Manny Pacquiao needs to stamp his class and put Marquez away decisively and for good.

But before he puts his name on the dotted line, Manny Pacquiao should try to look inside himself and find out whether he still has the fire and desire to continue fighting. Otherwise, it is time to walk away from the fight game.

 Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

The Truth: Errol Spence Jr.'s quest for Olympic glory

Errol "The Truth" Spence Jr.'s nickname was the result of the American boxer's winning a lot of fights in and out of the ring. Errol Spence Jr. started boxing at the age of 15 after figuring in brawls in his home state of Texas. Errol Spence, Jr. has won three straight U.S. amateur welterweight championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

And Errol Spence Jr. has a dream of being an Olympic champion. He wants that gold medal around his neck when the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London, England are over. In a recent Fox News interview, Errol Spence Jr. candidly admitted that "one of my dreams is getting the gold medal."

But Errol Spence Jr. also knows that the road to the podium is not easy. If experience is the best teacher, then his painful loss to bemedalled veteran Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan in the 2011 World Championships quarterfinals in Azerbaijan is a grim reminder of the hard work and sacrifices that he has to make if he wants to realize his golden dream.

That is why Errol Spence Jr. has trained and prepared hard for his chance of a lifetime in London. That is why prior to his trip to the Olympics he underwent an unorthodox regimen in his training that includes running the hot and humid streets of Texas at night, that usually led to him staying up as late or early as 1 a.m. just to get his workout.

Surely, at this stage of his career, the 22-year old Errol Spence Jr. is still a work in progress and whether he belongs in the elite circle of world amateur welterweights remains to be seen.

Errol Spence Jr.'s 16-10 victory over Ribeiro De Carvalho of Brazil in Day 2 of Olympic competition is nothing to what awaits him as he goes deeper into the competition wherein the likes of world champion Taras Shelestyuk of Ukraine, Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania and his erstwhile tormentor Serik Sapiyev are lurking.

Yes, whether Errol Spence Jr.'s preparation and determination for the biggest stage of his life is enough will be first put to the test in the round of 16 wherein his competition will be a lot tougher and meaner. And this time around the next roadblock to an Olympic gold is 2011 World Amateur bronze medalist Krishan Vikas of India.

And if he gets by the Indian fighter, it's still a mystery who he will meet in the next round. The road may be hard but if Errol Spence Jr. wants to have a shot at achieving his dream he needs to tough it up and fight the way that he is capable of fighting -- like a fearless gladiator in the lion's den.


Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner