Mouthpiece: What now, Floyd?

The withdrawal of Andre Berto in his January 30th fight date with Shane Mosley further pushed Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s back to the wall. Earlier in the year, Manny Pacquiao boxed and fenced him in and now Shane Mosley will provide the nail on the coffin for Money May to finally man up and step up to the plate lest he will be labeled as the ‘greatest coward of all time.’

This recent development coupled with his impasse with Team Pacquiao regarding the so-called Olympic- style drug testing put Floyd Mayweather, Jr in a very tenuous position. This recent development means Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s days of shooting from the mouth are over and now he has to let his fist do the talking.

The onus is on Floyd to prove to the boxing world that he is for real, and that all his pronouncements of him being the best there is, are not just idle talk. Whereas if he was able to cherry-pick his opponents as well as fight fighters not his size in the past and get away with it, Floyd Mayweather, Jr literally and figuratively will now have to put his money where his mouth is. .

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, boxing fans will not be too keen of seeing him fight a green fighter like Saul Alvarez or a clown like Paulie Malignaggi or an old man in Nate Campbell or even a smaller Timothy Bradley when a real and ‘badder’ welterweight is just around the corner.

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, boxing fans will no longer tolerate him evading and ducking fighters that will challenge his claims of being ’the greatest fighter of all time.’

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, fans will not look at him too kindly while he continues to fleece them of their hard-earned PPV money.

After the falling out of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, his being a disciple of the roadrunner is over. Yes, he can still run but he cannot hide. Or better still, he cannot run and hide at the same time now. He is left with no other choice but to toe the line and fight Mosley, if you ask me.

After Manny Pacquiao, Mosley is the next best thing there is for Mayweather since he would never step up to fight Paul Williams anyway. You bet, he won’t and will never do a Pacquiao, that is, climb up in weight, fight and challenge bigger and meaner fighters than himself.

And despite his age, Shane Mosley is a legitimate P4P elite fighter. Despite his age, Mosley is still sugary sweet and will be a handful inside the ring for any opponent. Another thing, Mosley is a fighter who will bring the fight to his opponent which will make this one a really good fight. Most of all, Mosley called out Floyd and actually embarrassed him right after his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

But this makes us think if and when the fight actually happens, will Golden Boy Productions and Team Mayweather do an Olympic- style drug testing under the USADA aside from the customary testing being done by the Nevada State Athletic Commission since Mosley is an admitted PEDs user?

If Mayweather will not fight Pacquiao, I believe, this fight is the next best thing although I will not deal now with the hypocrisy of preferring to fight an admitted steroids and EPO user rather than fighting a fighter who has never tested for one nor has proven links to people and companies that deal with PEDs.

But this also makes me realize that if and when the fight actually happens, Mayweather can prove to all of his critics and detractors that he is really the fighter that he says he is. He can now silence them and even earn their respect because this will be his most important fight to date and a step up towards becoming a real man. This will be a very significant one if he is really keen on a ‘Battle Royale’ with the Pacman later in the year.

So, your move Floyd.


*First published in Now Boxing

In this corner: Barry Gusi decisions Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao’s luck has finally come to an end and his amazing winning streak is over.

After scintillating victories against bigger opponents in Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao now suffered his first loss since a close decision to Mexican legend Erik Morales in 2005 and his worst since little- known compatriot Rustico Torrecampo’s wicked left hook knocked him out earlier in his career.

The decisive punch was delivered by the blabbering and fuming Ambassador Barry Gusi who proclaimed the one- sided fight over with less than two minutes left due to a technicality in his speech at the Meralco Theater during the awarding ceremonies of this year’s Gusi Peace Prize.

Barry Gusi whose ambassador title was bestowed by the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Pacific Islands and the reigning, undisputed chairman of the Peace Prize named after his family wherein he claimed it to be as Asia's equivalent of the very prestigious Nobel Peace Prize declared his fight with boxing’s reigning P4P king as a no- contest in his speech in front of this year’s multi-national awardees many of whom flew into the country at their own expense for the grandiose ceremony.

Gusi was so angered by Pacquiao’s no- show in the awarding ceremony and utter show of disrespect to him even though the boxer sent his Canadian lawyer Michael Koncz to be his representative but the ambassador refused to hand the award to him and reiterated his position that the Filipino boxing icon will no longer be honored by his foundation for the rest of his life.


“They assured me several times that they would attend but they did not show up. No showing up, no award. No respect , no award. No award for the rest of his life because he did not respect the people of the country and the people of the world.”

Such fighting and ironic words coming from a man who name and distribute a Peace award named after his family, if you ask me.

My curiosity was obviously piqued when I read in the papers that a certain Ambassador Gusi was fuming over Manny Pacquiao’s deliberate snub of the affair that I instantly put my fingers to good use and use the power of the internet to find out about the man.

I run into some old articles about him and the Gusi Peace Prize that gave me nothing but just general views. Even the official website’s entries were vague and lacking in details. Heck, it seems that his people even forgot to put him and his works in Wikipedia’s database. Thus being said, I say not really impressive for a man and an award- giving body of this magnitude.

The credentials of this self- proclaimed ‘Internationalist’ are also quite suspect as well as the obscure manner of which he acquired his title as ambassador - at- large of those small groups of islands in the Pacific whose so- called leaders are notorious of giving the said title at the drop of a hat.

But I was impressed with the names of the past and present recipients of the said award that could even compete with the older and well- known Ramon Magsaysay Award. The Filipino past and present recipients alone make a veritable list of the Philippines’ Who’s Who.

Unfortunately at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for these so- called ‘Peace Laureates’ because in my mind they were just taken for a ride by this eccentric man.

Yes, we cannot deny the fact that they excelled in their respective fields but they were also gullible enough to accept this so- called award that claims to be Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel from this man without even checking his background because they succumbed to that feeling inherent in every one of us which is the need and hunger for recognition.

Although Barry Gusi does not have the credentials nor the pedigree to hand out such awards more so the authority to rank it in the same level as the Nobel Peace Prize but who can blame him when it is obviously an act of self- promotion and a private endeavor for an award that many people bought without question that includes the Office of the Philippine President.

And I salute him for having the audacity, courage and fortitude in putting up this kind of endeavor for not too many people can do this kind of things. Iba talaga ang Pinoy!

But when I found the video below while trolling YouTube the other day, I am now more convinced that Pacquiao’s recent one- sided loss against Barry Gusi should be recorded with an asterisk.

Now you wonder who the real loser and who has the last laugh in this case.

Big Apple Bite: Manny Pacquiao & Oscar De La Hoya

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/ Fightnews.com

The Dream Match: Pacman meets Golden Boy

Ring Magazine’s reigning pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in an interview with ABS- CBN’s Dyan Castillejo confirmed that the megabuck fight with the Golden Boy Oscar De la Hoya is on with both sides finally agreeing to the division of spoils, ok prize money that once hindered the negotiations between two of boxing world’s biggest draw.

The scheduled December 6th fight will be De la Hoya’s farewell fight and Pacquiao’s biggest fight. The fight is pegged at a catch weight of 147 lbs. This will be Pacman's heaviest weight and De la Hoya's lightest in years.

I have some misgivings about this fight because on paper, Manny Pacquiao is in a disadvantaged position and the consensus underdog here since except for youth, De la Hoya has the edge in everything- experience, weight, height and reach. But I guess money talks in this case and so the fight with the popular and smaller Pacquiao will indeed pursue.

Frankly, I just lost my respect for Oscar as a fighter for taking this fight because for all of Pacquiao’s vaunted power and hand speed, this fight is not the fight that should even be considered to be his farewell fight. If he is man enough and wants to cement his legacy, he should fight Antonio Margarito instead.

I just hope that Manny will emerge from this fight unscathed considering that Oscar De la Hoya can really punch the lights out of him. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a competitive fight and not a lopsided one.

Although I will be rooting for Manny to win, my head tells me to put my money on the Golden Boy. But who knows, Pacman will once again rise to the occasion and prove all the skeptics wrong.

And despite my misgivings, on fight night, I will still bet my hard-earned money on a Pacquiao victory. What the heck, I always root for the underdogs.

Good luck Manny.

Lethal Combination: Manny Pacquiao vs. David Diaz

It's Official!

Manny Pacquiao’s quest for boxing glory and history continues as he climbs in weight at 135 lbs to challenge the reigning WBC Lightweight Champion David Diaz for the latter’s belt on June 28, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, the Filipino sensation won a hard- fought controversial split- decision over Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico and will try to annex his 2nd title for the year and if he emerges victorious against the very- technical Diaz will be the first Asian to be crowned champion in 4 separate weight division.

This is a fight where Manny Pacquiao will be the overwhelming favorite but a Diaz upset is not far- fetched since this will be the Pacman’s first fight at 135 and Diaz is a natural 135 and many are questioning his ability to adjust that quickly as well as whether he can bring his vaunted punching power against heavier fighters. Also under the rules of the Nevada Athletic Commission for fighters weighing 135 lbs and above, he will need to wear 10 oz “pillow” boxing gloves rather than the usual 8 oz “puncher’s” glove that he prefers which might affect his power in the end.

But Manny Pacquiao who first fought and became champion as a Light Flyweight and added two more belts in his climb to become a three division champion have defied the odds before and I’m confident that he can overcome whatever physical disadvantages that he has against David Diaz if only he will put his mind into it.


Tickets are priced at $600, $500, $400, $300, $200 and $100 and will be on sale on Saturday, April 19 at the Mandalay Box Office (Tel. No. 702- 632- 7580) and in its website as well as Ticketmaster (Tel. No. 702- 474- 400). HBO will also televise the fight live on pay-per-view.

Be the judge as we take a look of David Diaz boxing prowess as he eked out a controversial decision against Erik Morales in what many fight experts and fans alike believed that El Terrible won the fight but lost it in the scorecards.




Click on the link for the Full Fight-
David Diaz vs Erik Morales