WBC PRESIDENT HURT BY PACQUIAO’S DECISION TO FIGHT MOSLEY

World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman has indicated he is personally hurt by the decision of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao to defend his WBO welterweight title against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand on May 7.

The WBC president learned that the fight had been finalized on the same day that the premier world professional boxing organization named Pacquiao as its “Fighter of the Decade.”

MOSLEY PREDICTS A KNOCKOUT EITHER WAY

Shane Mosley has told Filipino fight fans that in his clash with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 7 “somebody is going to get knocked out.

Mosley, in an exclusive interview with Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN Sports told Filipino fight fans it will be a great fight because “styles make fights. He (Pacquiao) is an exciting fighter and I’m an exciting fighter. With the way we both fight
somebody’s going to get knocked out. That’s the beauty of the whole thing. People will come to see a good match.”

Pacquiao named WBC's Fighter of the Decade

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao was voted by the World Boxing Council (WBC) as its Fighter of the Decade (2001-2010), WBC’s long time chief Jose Sulaiman announced from the governing body’s headquarters in Mexico City.

No rest for Mayweather until he fights Pacquiao

As if Floyd Mayweather isn't having enough of a rough time of it lately, it now appears that even a peaceful shopping trip surrounded by his entourage and team of enormous bodyguards is beyond him.

Out and about on New Year's day Mayweather faced chants of "Pacquiao, Pacquiao!" from several fans, and even taunts about his height, something he not so long ago mocked Pacquiao for.

Keeping his composure and going about his business, Mayweather didn't outwardly seem to be that bothered, but judging from his recent outbursts, from his profanity laced racial tirade on Ustream to his recent berating of a security guard outside his mansion with little provocation, the lack of respect he gets from fans is getting to him.

Winky Wright Weighs In on Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley

Eight-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, has three opponents in common with three-division, five-time titlist, Shane Mosley, the man against whom he will defend his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown in a Top Rank Promotions event on May 7 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas in an HBO pay per view televised bout.

Pacquiao - Mosley, A Better Match-Up Than Most Believe

 

by Kevin Smith
Boxscore News - Texas
January 2, 2011

The announcement that Manny Pacquiao's next fight would be against Shane Mosley on May 7th was not a surprise to boxing insiders. Mosley, the former three division champion, was a solid choice from a field of contenders that included Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto. The surprise fact with this fight, if it is to come, will be how each of the fighters approaches it— has trained and prepared. Pacquiao is looking to extend his boxing credentials, legacy and growing worldwide fame; Mosley seeks to re-claim his, in what could likely be his swan song to boxing, following his most recent loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

LINDER'S LOOK PACQUIAO-MOSLEY

By Doveed Linder

Going into 2011, the biggest gripe in the boxing world seems to be the match-up between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley. After all, Pacquiao is at the top of his game and many consider him to be unbeatable. And Mosley is coming off of two of the worst performances of his career (against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Sergio Mora). Since Pacquiao is currently the pound-for-pound king, the boxing public wants to see him against a fresh opponent who presents a worthy challenge. But in my opinion, given the circumstances in the welterweight division where Pacquiao resides, Mosley is a logical choice for Pacquiao’s next fight.

Manny, money, Mosley and Marquez

One day, Shane Mosley is not a viable opponent for Manny Pacquiao. The next, he is the best possible challenger for the eight-time world champion. Suddenly, all the machinery is in motion, and we’re moved along with it like a heavy flood of lahar through Central Luzon. We want to see Pacquiao fight, and because he’s wiped everybody out in so many weight classes, we care increasingly less who the opponent is. We’re hungry for the next cliffhanger in the telenovela.

Manny Pacquiao THE GOAT or one of the GOAT?

He has won 8 world titles in as many weight divisions. He's beaten legends, and future hall of fame fighters. He's has put the sport of boxing on his back and he's become a boxing household name. What else does Manny Pacquiao need to do in order to get the title of "greatest of all time?"

Mosley: 'I'm not as slow as Margarito'

Shane Mosley said he also has in his arsenal what Manny Pacquiao has in his: Speed and power.

Four months before they square off in May at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Mosley told the LA Daily News that the scheduled 12-round welterweight title fight is “more of a scary fight for Pacquiao because I can hit and I do have speed.”

IF PACQUIAO-MOSLEY IS BAD, MARQUEZ-MORALES IS WORSE

As soon as the Pacquiao-Mosley fight was announced, many postings immediately started to pop-out calling it among others, a “terrible fight”. Pacquiao they said is fighting an old washed-out fighter who is well past his prime. In fact, even the guys that set the odds don’t see it as a close contest. They are calling it a 9-1 fight in favor of Pacquiao.

The year ahead for Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather

 

Manny Pacquio and Floyd Mayweather are undeniably still the biggest names in boxing today, irrespective of the fact that one has only a few fights left before retirement to a life of politics and that the other might never fight again due to his out of ring temper. But after a year that saw Mayweather fight just once, and Pacquiao begin to run out of opponents that share the Top Rank promotional banner, the year ahead looks less certain.

Contortionist Bob Arum does backflips, cartwheels on Sugar Shane Mosley

It's no coincidence that through 43 years, Bob Arum has stood on the top of the boxing promotional totem pole, much of that with his archrival Don King being the other grand poobah.

Let's face it, Arum is a greater contortionist than the Indian Rubber Man and Mary Lou Retton combined.

The 79 year old may not practice “trickeration” like DK has but Arum put the “v” in versatile and the “f” in flexibility.

Flash back to the day after Sugar Shane Mosley struggled to eke out a draw against Sergio Mora.

Here's what Arum told me on Sept. 19:

“What I've read is not very supportive to make any Mosley-Pacquiao bout. Look, he’s going to be 40 and he’s in the lighter weights where speed is so important. He’s on a show with guys (example, 20-year-old Saul Canelo Alvarez) old enough to be his son.

“I read them saying Mosley was huffing and puffing for air in the fourth or fifth round,” stated Arum. “To me, that is the real tipoff for an aging fighter. Even Big George Foreman did that in his 40s but he always had that big, big punch like in the (Michael) Moorer fight.”

“It’s like Hopkins, he still knows how to fight but who wants to pay to see him now? His fights are not very scintillating. What you see with Hopkins we’re beginning to see with Mosley.”

Anyone reading these Arum comments would not have bet on Mosley turning up as Manny Pacquiao's first opponent of 2011.

Anyone, that is, except those who know how Discount Bob operates and how he loves to get a big name opponent, and certainly Mosley remains that, for a wholsesale rather than a retail price.

In rapping Mosley, he was just kicking the tires like a prospective automobile buyer does.

Besides, it was generally thought that Mosley wore Golden (Boy) handcuffs.

But then Mosley did some gymnastics, extricating himself from Golden Boy, and the spry and nimble Arum began doing cartwheels of joy.

Arum's timing of the less than formal announcement, which was only a surprise to some cavemen in Lower Slobbovia, that Pacquiao will fight faded glory Mosley May 7 was exquisitely timed for the Christmas break when the Top Rank honcho knew most concerned citizens would not be paying attention.

Arum confirmed the done deal to the Associated Press on Dec. 21, a day on which the janitor at the wire service office probably answered the phone.

It was a variation on the old, tried and true, public relations scheme used by politicians, priests, potentates and other poobahs forever.

When you've got bad news, negative news, let it seep out on a Friday afternoon, preferably the start of a three day weekend so that the nasty reaction will be muted and, most likely, over and done with come the start of the next business day.

Now, with Pacman-Mosley a done deal, some scribes are still hot and bothered and/or surprised how “official quotes” from the lips of Manny and the clarion call of trainer Freddie Roach have become all about what a dangerous foe the doddering Mosley is.

Conditioning guru Alex Ariza, who verbally panned Mosley as unqualified, suddenly got lockjaw.

Knowing that his Golden Boy pals rarely have a civil word about Arum and vice-versa, Mosley and new adviser James Prince jumped the Golden fence quick, fast and in a hurry. Why the Goldens held no paper, no contract, on their vice president from Pomona has never been explained.

Prince must have explained to Mosley that the terms “free” and “agent” combined amounted to a high occupancy vehicle lane pass for Shane to drive himself into Arum's waiting arms.

My advice to the critics, and I feel your pugilistic pain, is to lay back and enjoy it.

Let's keep this in perspective as it is business as usual in the Toy Department, of which boxing is a savage subset.

It's not like a church being blown up by faceless cowards in Egypt or street children in Rio de Janeiro, Angeles City or parts of the United States who go to bed hungry every night.

This is a venture, this fight, designed for your amusement and for the promoter's profit.

Consider it a Pacman triple play, instead of Tinkers to Evers to Chance, we've got runaway bride Clottey, the diminished and rusty as an old gate Margaito and, in the merry month of May, Mosley in a likely swan song.

Swans don't bite, do they? Neither did Joshing Joshua or Tone Loc.

The more kicks Arum gets now, the more he will enjoy playing the Savior of Boxing role when Floyd Mayweather-Pacquiao is put together, at long last, for November.

If, as is expected, Mayweather ducks a jail stint, he will sign up for Pacman in the fall.

And then, some of those kicking Uncle Roberto's backside, will be looking to kiss it in Macy's window.

As for the Goldens, their new mission is to sprinkle fairy dust around about what a scintillating matchup Juan Manuel Marquez and another faded glory named Erik Morales.

There's been a huge public demand for that stirring matchup, at least in the Erik Morales household.

And the merry go round just keeps on spinning.

Or, to use an aquatic metaphor, what is that Arum is doing in the paranha tank?

Looks like the backstroke to me, sir.

Either that or the Mosley crawl.

-examiner.com

Mayweather never came around, Pacquiao the best fighter in the world

By: Albert Alvarez

For over 2 years now, the boxing world and even those that don’t follow the sport closely have been craving to see the #1 and #2 best pound for pound fighters in the sport go head to head against one another. To those bent on time with little patience, the over all feeling is to just drop all talks because the fight may never happen.

Wasted breath on a evaporated thought is what many are saying today. Do I want to see the fight happen? Of course I do, I mean who really doesn’t want to see the two best in the sport do battle to see who in fact really is the best in the world. But for the time being we await for May 7 and occupy our attention to Pacquiao vs. Mosley.

After Mosley fought Sergio Mora, no one in their right mind thought that Mosley would ever be in position to be in a big fight ever again. No one except Mosley of course. Mosley knew the steps he needed to take to land the biggest fight out there which forced him to think outside the box. Mosley cut a sharp corner and made a few enemies but at the end of his move, Mosley hit the powerball.

If I am in contact with Mayweather Jr., I do exactly what Mosley has done and treat this as a business move. Do not mention the fight, just step to Floyd and sell it to him as a sales pitch. It is very true that Floyd has the mighty Al Haymon as his manager, but sometimes it takes more than someone who is well connected to get the job done. All the contacts in Haymon’s army don’t have enough strength to build the bridge to get us from here to there.

One must tell Floyd that like it or not, Manny Pacquiao will remain the best fighter in the world today unless you decide to get up and do something about it. Yes, Floyd you may call yourself ”Money” but it is Pacquiao who holds the straw that stirs the drink. Manny Pacquiao is the king of the boxing world, so if you feel different go ahead and step up and knock him off. You must ask yourself this, how are you going to shine while sitting on Pacquiao’s sun?

-diamondboxing

Manny Pacquiao Better Not Pity Shane Mosley in the Ring

Manny Pacquiao is a fighter. He is ferocious and tenacious in the boxing ring, he throws thousands of punches all with bad intentions, but he seems to have gotten soft lately.

No longer is he the hungry and ferocious fighter from the mean streets who wouldn’t stop punching until his opponent was out cold or on the canvas no matter how much he hurt them, the Pacquiao you see today is a more civilized one in fact he is a politician now.

Maybe Manny has grown accustom to the finer things in life and doesn’t have the hunger he once had as a poor Filipino teen.

For those of us who witnessed the Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito fight on November 13 in Dallas Cowboy stadium what we saw was a man who showed pity and was merciful to his already beaten down opponent. Pacquiao carried the fight and kept looking at the referee to stop the fight. That type of compassion and pity Manny showed in the ring was not a good move by him.

The reason it isn’t good to ease up on an opponent like Margarito is because a bigger man will always have that punchers chance especially if he is a warrior who will die in the ring like Margarito. If a fighter doesn’t want to quit that is up to his corner, doctor or referee to stop the fight, the opponent is not the one to make that call.

Freddie Roach keeps telling Manny that he can’t be Mr. Nice Guy with his opponent and it’s his duty to put them out once the opponent is wounded. Roach knows that a fighter is dangerous up to the last round as long as he can still walk and throw punches.

I worry that Manny might show pity on Shane Mosley and could pay the price against a crafty, sneaky veteran like Mosley. Shane Mosley is almost 40 years old but he is still dangerous, actually, he is more dangerous than Andre Berto and Juan Manuel Marquez because Shane has nothing to lose and he is out to prove everyone wrong, that is the most dangerous type of opponent — the one that is counted out.

If Pacquiao shows mercy on Mosley and tries to carry him because he doesn’t want to knock him out cold, he might get caught off guard by Shane. Mosley will not show the same type of pity, he will take advantage of that gracious gesture and go in to take Manny’s head off with a sneaky power punch the same way he knocked Ricardo Mayorga out in the final part of the 12th and last round of their fight.

For Manny he must remember it is not his job to show pity in the ring, he is there to win and at all costs possible. If he doesn’t want to inflict lasting damage on Mosley then the moment he hurts him he must blast him out and not back away and show pity like he did against Margarito. Manny must not stop until Mosley is on the floor or the fight gets stopped by the corner or referee, because I guarantee Mosley will not show pity on the Pac-Man if he had him hurt.

Mosley wanted to kill Antonio Margarito when they fought he never showed an ounce of mercy on a already wounded Margarito. Mosley knows only to be a nice guy outside the ring but merciless inside the boxing ring. If you look at the two fights and compare Shane Mosley vs. Margarito and Pacquiao vs. Margarito you can see the difference. Mosley was throwing everything with bad intentions to really inflict brutal damage on a wounded Margarito not showing any pity, but Pacquiao would hurt Margarito a lot in the fight and then he would back away instead of capitalizing on it.

My advice to Manny Pacquiao would be: Keep the politics outside of the ring and fight to the finish inside the ring because Shane Mosley isn’t someone you can take lightly or show mercy on in the ring.

-bayanihantayo

The Steroid Debate: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley

During 2010, the issue of steroids became a hot topic in boxing.

For the second time, a lucrative bout between six-time titlist Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) and eight-division king, Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), holder of the WBO welterweight and WBC junior middleweight belts, reached a negotiations impasse over the issue.

To test or not to test. That was the general debate.

For the first time in the sport's history, Mayweather and five-time champion, Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) were subject to Olympic style drug testing of both blood and urine by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) prior to Mayweather's unanimous decision victory in May. Prior to that, only urine had been examined in boxing.

Reportedly a past user of the painkilling medicine, Xylocaine, to numb his hands, Mayweather was defended by his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, who insisted that the fighter no longer used the substance and that his problem had been remedied by hand-wrapping guru, Rafael Garcia.

Former Nevada State Athletic Commission doctor, Margaret Goodman (pictured below, at right), advocates that blood testing, though expensive, is feasible for boxing and included it among her15 ways to improve the sport.

If it meant enforcing stricter guidelines for boxing, USADA executive chief, Travis Tygart, told FanHouse that he would embrace the opportunity to work with BALCO founder, Victor Conte(pictured below, at left), whom Tygart once referred to as, "The Evil Chemist."

In 2003, Mosley admitted to injecting the steroids, "the cream," and, "the clear," but says that he did so unknowingly after having been supplied the drugs by Conte through a relationship with his former strength trainer, Daryl Hudson. 

Should Mosley and Pacquiao both be subjected to random blood testing?

Personally I don't think Manny Pacquiao is using any form of PED's, but why not just take the test to shut everybody up? I suggest that both Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley undergo random blood testing for their fight. Why not? Perhaps by doing so it can set a new standard in boxing. 

Floyd Mayweather Sr in just about every interview that I have conducted with him in one way or another accuses Pacquiao of using steroids. What would he have to say for himself if Manny takes random blood tests for his fight Vs. Mosley and comes back clean all the way through?

If Pacquiao tests clean throughout his camp leading up to his fight against Mosley, what would big Floyd have to say this time? If Manny would just go ahead and do blood testing right up to fight day he would pull off the ultimate knockout. He would give the Mayweathers NOTHING to harp about.

Mosley and Pacquiao should both just do the blood testing and pave the way for a more fair and cleaner sport of boxing. Again, I do not think Pacquiao ever juiced, but he in my opinion should set the standard once again as he has already done in so many other areas, and just take the tests.

We all know the Mosley story and PEDs and Falco, so he should take the test as well. Both guys could set a new standard for the sport.

Mississippians that I have talked to about the blood testing issue are mostly in favor of blood testing for boxers. Most of the fans in Mississippi that I have talked to do not believe that Pacquiao ever did anything illegal, but they do feel as if he should just go ahead and blood test randomly up until the day of the fight. This would just shut everyone up, and it would give Pacquiao's detractors less to gripe and moan about.

In a recent interview that I did with Floyd Mayweather Sr, he once again accuses Pacquiao of juicing, and even suggests in a round about way that Amir Khan may be juicing as well.

At the end of the day the boxing fans just want to know that all of the athletes in the sport are not doing anything illegal. They want to know that the fighters are not juicing, and that the fights are fair. 

Pacquiao is the greatest thing that has happened to boxing in decades. He is the face of the sport, so if he agrees to blood testing, random blood testing, he sets a new standard, and he shuts up his detractors.

-examiner.com

'Manny never complains'

MANILA, Philippines - When Manny Pacquiao nearly sank to his knees after taking two vicious left hooks to the side of the body in the sixth round of his fight against Antonio Margarito in Arlington, Texas, last November, trainer Freddie Roach wasn’t worried.

“I didn’t ask him about it, if he was hurt or what,” related Roach in a recent interview, referring to his corner conversation with Pacquiao in between the sixth and seventh rounds. “He never complains. I saw him sink a little bit after taking those shots. But he got away easily. Manny did everything we trained for in camp. Did he do anything wrong? Maybe, he should’ve gotten off the ropes a little more.”

Pacquiao enjoying family time in Japan — Koncz

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao is having the time of his life with his wife and kids while on vacation in Japan, the Filipino fighter’s Canadian adviser intimated on Saturday.

“Manny’s not even talking about boxing,” said Mike Koncz, who is with Pacquiao in Japan since Dec. 27. “He is enjoying his time with his loved ones.”

Although Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum has confirmed that Pacquiao will be facing Shane Mosley on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Koncz said “Manny hasn’t signed the contract.”

“He is on vacation so the fight contract will remain in my briefcase until after we get back to Manila,” said Koncz.

The next stop for the Pacquiaos will be Australia and Koncz said they’ll be back in the country “on the tenth (of January).”

Although Pacquiao hasn’t affixed his signature above the dotted line, he will do so soon since there are only a few minor things that will have to be ironed out.

In fact, Arum already has a timetable in place.

Arum said a short promotional tour will take place in four key US cities sometime in February and the cities that have been mentioned are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and even Washington, D.C. as the 79-year-old Top Rank chief is aiming to get Pacquiao with US President Barack Obama at the White House.

Since becoming big in boxing and assuming the new role of a politician, it has become very hard for Pacquiao to have his privacy with his family and Koncz said the trip they’re on has been the best that has happened family-wise for the 32-year-old fighting congressman from Sarangani.

-manilabulletin

Naazim Richardson: Pacquiao vs. Mosley is an all gladiator type of fight!

By: Albert Alvarez

Brother Naazim first of all let me start this off by saying that you guys beat the brakes off of Jean Pascal, so congrats on that. I realize the final tally being read wasn’t the outcome you were shooting for, but indeed was a masterpiece. Your thoughts on the Hopkins/Pascal fight?

NR- Thank you I appreciate, WE appreciate the fact that you and so many others were able to see and appreciate the work that we put on in that fight. Pascal is a strong fighter and all that but you can’t pull the same card trick on a man that has been around the block a few times.

After the 2 knockdowns especially, did you then feel that the only way out of Quebec with the straps would be for the eXecutioner to go out there and knock out Pascal?

NR- You got to understand that we were outsiders going into a very loud building. We were the visitors so knowing that he had the home court advantage we knew what we were up against from the start. After the first 3 rounds, X remained cool because X and I both knew that there were still 9 more rounds to be fought.

Exactly, I believe I gave Pascal the first 3 rounds and one other one, but from round 4-12, Hopkins put on a boxing lesson. In fact I recently saw the fight again while listening to Don’t sweat the technique, and it went perfect with the fight because Bernard’s technique was a thing of beauty.

NR- Great song by the way, good choice. There was even a time between rounds where I made it a point to tell X that we didn’t come all the way up here to come to the scorecards. X didn’t stop Pascal but X did put on a masterful performance. Pascal deep down knows what went down and I’m sure it aint sitting down with him well.

You now got Steve Cunningham next on deck in January against Licina right?

NR- Yes that fight gonna take place on the 22nd. Steve is looking good as he always does and he will take care of business. We got a little less than a month to go so everything is looking good.

Then in May you will have Mosley on deck against the beast that is Pacquiao. Your thoughts on that clash?

NR- Like I told you before, Pacquiao/Mosley is going to be a clash between 2 gladiators. People and writers out there can say oh well Mosley looked horrible in his last fight against Mora. Well Mora is no Manny Pacquiao, Mora did not want any part of Shane so Mora was out there not really fighting. Pacquiao on the other hand is a born fighter so he is gonna come to fight. Why? Because that’s what he does. Shane is also a fighter so it’s going to be a real fight.

Seems that the majority wanted Berto in there against the Pac-Man, but to me and nothing against Berto but that fight between Pacquiao and Berto is a 5 or 6 round fight. I feel Berto is not ready for a superstar like Pacquiao. Your take?

NR- Look man, Berto is a talented kid but I also agree with you that right now Pacquiao is too much for him to handle. He may not be ready to collide with one of the elites. And if Berto feels like he is ready for the elite, then Floyd is right there waiting for him. Go on and get yourself some. Berto is a good kid and you and I have talked about his fights in the amateurs against your boy Jesus Gonzalez, I was lucky enough to have seen all 4 of their entertaining fights. I even saw when Berto beat Timothy Bradley.

Berto beat Bradley? How was that fight?

NR- It was a fun lil scrap, but you see Berto is a bigger guy than Tim. Berto is a wrestler so he knows how to cut weight. But like I said, I wish Berto the very best but like I said if he wants to collide against an elite, Floyd is right there. Cotto may also be there as well.

Alright Naaz, I will let you go since I know how busy you are. But before I let you go, I want to add that Shane needs to take pointers from Hopkins because Hopkins is the king at fighting southpaws. I also want to add that I can not wait to check out the strategies that Freddie Roach and yourself will put into play for your fighters come fight camp and fight night. 2 masterminds on opposite corners. Thanks for your time.

NR- Bernard gonna definitely give Shane some wise words of advise. And I am also looking forward to challenging Roach. I’m up for the challenge. We have a lot of respect for Pacquiao and Roach, but at the end of the day we gotta do what we gotta do. Alright brother thanks for the call.

-diamondboxing

Floyd Mayweather JR Vs Manny Pacquiao: Still an Option

By Gina L. Caliboso

If you look at Floyd “Money” Mayweather, JR’s Facebook page, there’s usually one standard pic of him standing next to piles of cash after winning a bet, or perhaps showing his courtside/ringside seats, or even a vacay pic of himself on a yacht. Take away all the cash, take away all the pics of his beautiful self, and take away the picture of the yacht.

There is, however, one constant portrayal of Mayweather these days. And, it usually involves some sort of criminal activity. It’s sad really, but as my Managing Editor Geno McGahee points out, Mayweather, with the media help and hype of TMZ, has been portrayed as the consummate bad boy. His name equates with the criminal. But underneath it all and as I’ve always said, Mayweather needs to fight and he needs to fight soon.

So, let’s take a moment away from the name calling and criminal behavior. Let’s really take a close look at the options for Mayweather as the boxer and well, the retired boxer.

Yes, boxing fans, I said it. But it’s not laced with anything malicious. Mayweather has retired once before in his career. This is all a recollection for me. He’s been on Dancing with the Stars. He’s had a stint on WWE or something? In 2009, after his 2 years off, Mayweather came back and he agreed to fight against Mexican champ Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather defeated Marquez in a 12 round UD. He didn’t knock Marquez out, but did get a knockdown in the 2nd round. It’s not a bad option for Mayweather to consider retirement AGAIN – and a comeback. He’s done it before and given that fighters always seek re-invention in one form or another, it’s a possibility he can consider.

As his Facebook shows he likes to gamble, watch sports, spend time with his kids, and it seems, according to TMZ, other criminal type activities, Mayweather should maybe develop a reality television series or two. He could develop a “Meet the Mayweathers” series or even something similar to “The Contender.”

I personally wouldn’t watch the “Meet the Mayweathers” show, but would tune in to the “The Contender.” Think about it, he can have a boxing tournament similar to the “The Ultimate Fighter” where one boxer emerges to fight against “Money” Mayweather himself with the stakes being he’d give his portion of his winnings to the fighter. Both fighters of the tournament would get signed by Mayweather Promotions and have their training expenses reimbursed by Mayweather. Stranger things have happened in boxing. Look at the Curse of the Super Six Middleweight tournament. Look at the results of the Bantamweight tournament (Darchinyan loses?).

Boxing fans are getting amped by mixing up the boxing format.

Again, in all seriousness, I still find myself interested in Mayweather as a fighter. With Mayweather’s media portrayal as the bad boy of boxing, anyone fighting against him will be placed as the good boxer. It’s a contrast in personality, attitude, and boxing style. So, if Mayweather decides that retirement and reality television show development are NOT definitive options, he has some potential opponents. Yes, Pacquiao is on the list.

Hero to Haiti Andre Berto would be a competitive match for Mayweather. As the current WBC Welterweight titleholder, Berto, boxer turned humanitarian, returned to the ring on November 27 and defeated Freddy Hernandez, with a 1st round TKO. Berto connected solidly and Hernandez never found his legs. It was the fifth title defense for Berto and a rather convincing title defense that the time away from the ring didn’t affect him at all. Berto is a shorter, but stronger fighter with definite power.

As I checked rankings in the welterweight division, I actually do like the look of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez who currently ranks #4 behind Berto. In 2010, Alvarez’s started his year with a bout at welterweight against Brian Camechis and he defeated him with a 3rd round KO for NABF Welterweight title. Following this one welterweight bout, Canelo went on to fight four more times – all at light middleweight. In May, he fought against Jose Miguel Cotto and defeated him with a 9th round TKO. Two months later, he fought against Luciano Leonel Cuello and earned a 6th round win with a TKO and also became the WBC Silver Light Middleweight titleholder.

In his first defense in September, he defeated Carlos Baldomir with a 6th round KO. Finally, Canelo successfully defended his title for a second time and ended his 2010 fight year with a 12 round UD over Lovemore N’Dou. On first observation, Canelo takes his time getting started in the early rounds, but as he settles down, manages to connect with some great combinations. But he’s still a relatively young fighter at 20.

Need I even mention the final opponent possibility? Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. The two just need to fight one another. Enough said, I think. Well, a closing thought sort of. Should the fight happen? Yes. There is great appeal here – a great buildup of suspense. Good money. No losers here. Now, enough said.

However, I will give credit to Mayweather. Although having a Facebook page showing the excess of success, Money Mayweather still manages to draw us in. Mayweather is a boxer and his antics outside of the ring really amounts to just boredom. In the ring, Mayweather has shown flashes of brilliance and a boxer’s confidence. There is simply so much more he should be doing with his talent and final stage of his career. Mayweather says that he still trains and in his episodes of 24/7, he does not allow his sparring sessions to be filmed which I always found intriguing. And, a little mystery never hurt anyone.

If this is the case, Mayweather is doing exactly what he does because he can. No matter what, boxing fans and haters alike will continue to watch what he does, tune in, hate him, criticize, judge and maybe even cheer for him. But I’m hoping it won’t be because of a reality TV show, I’d just as soon see him in the ring and have people take notice for what got him notoriety in the first place – his boxing.

-ringsidereport