Boxing generates little buzz these days, but when one of the few “big name” fighters out there gets knocked out, it’s still big news. Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao last night in the sixth round, as Pacquiao literally walked into a straight line right hand punch.

Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in a split decision last night in Las Vegas that is already controversial. It was an action-packed fight, but given the potential payday for a fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., it’s not surprising that the decision will be questioned by many.

The reaction from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports will likely be typical from the boxing world:

When the final bell rang, 12 rounds of furious fighting complete, Juan Manuel Marquez lifted his right fist high into the air, turned to the ringside crowd and offered a knowing wink through an eye nearly swollen shut.

Standing in front of him at that very moment, his opponent, Manny Pacquiao, let his head sag as he turned to walk to his corner. Seconds later Marquez was carried around the ring on the shoulders of two of his corner men. Pacquiao was on his knees in prayer.

What Pacquiao lost was clearer – his cloak of invincibility, his reputation for destruction, even, in some ways, a measure of his credibility.

Marquez is 38 years old and was dominated in his fight with Mayweather.

Attention will now turn to that potential blockbuster fight, and this close call probably won’t dampen excitement for that fight too much.

Manny Pacquiao coasted to his 14th straight victory by unanimous decision on Saturday night, dropping rival Shane Mosley in twelve rounds.

FOX Sports has a round-by-round scorecard:

Round 3
Pacquiao starting to push the pace in an attempt to use his speed to take the fight away from Mosley. Pacquiao getting more punches in. Pacquiao floors Mosley with a big right hand after a straight jab and Mosley is on glass legs. Pacquiao has a minute to get what could be the telling blow. Pacquiao pushing for the finish but Mosley doing well to avoid taking a clean shot. A big round for Pacquiao.

Round 6
Pacquiao turns up the pace midway through the round and Mosley is clearly struggling to match fire with fire. But Pacquiao clearly can’t sustain the pace for anything more than the occassional burst. And it’s when he slows down that Mosley is able to re-establish himself and claw his way back into the fight. Mosley is doing a good job of avoiding taking too much damage and is clearly trying to fight off the back foot and counterpunch Pacquiao.

Round 10
More action in the the 10th than the previous than in the past few combined. Pacquiao tries to push the action by once again increasing the speed and his punching volume. A Pacquiao flurry is cut shut by Mosley complaining of a clash of heads. Pacquiao resumes the flurry but isn’t quite landing the telling blow. Mosley pushes him down to the canvass with his right and incredibly the referee gives it as a knockdown. A furious Pacquiao comes forward and clips Mosley with a strong left that hurts the challenger. Best action of the fight but terrible officiating.

10-9 to Mosley based on the fact that Pacquiao took almost all the round save the “knockdown.”

98-91 Pacquiao

Round 12
Pacquiao starts fastly but Mosley is the one who needs to attack in this final round. Mosley forces Pacquiao up against the ropes but the punches he gets off don’t seem to hurt the champion. Pacquiao guilty of holding and punching, goes hunting for the knockout. Setting a furious pace in the final minute with a right hook and a left hook hurting Mosley. But he can’t finish a fight that was expected to end early.
118-109 on my scorecard.

Pacquiao of course wins on all three judges scorecards in lopsided fashion, with of them going as far as to ignore the knockdown that the referee incorrectly called. The scores are 119-108, 120-108, 120-107. Despite those scores it was a disappointing performance from the pound-for-pound king.

Manny Pacquiao defeats Shane Mosley via unanimous decision to retain the WBO welterweight title

Following the loss, the talk around the web is whether or not Mosley should hang ‘em up. He talked a good game coming into the fight, but resembled a boxer who was fighting more for a $6 million paycheck than to defeat a more skilled opponent.

It was clear that Pacquiao was too fast and strong for the 39-year-old Mosley.

Boxing fans want to see it.

Manny Pacquiao wants to see it.

Promoter Bob Arum definitely wants to see it.

So what’s stopping Floyd Mayweather Jr. from putting his John Hancock down on a contract in order to sign off on the superfight between him and Pacquiao later this year?

Over the weekend, Mayweather let Arum’s deadline to sign a contract that would ensure a fight with Pacquiao pass without saying a word. One day later, Mayweather said he was in no rush to sign off on a deal.

“I’m not really thinking about boxing right now,” Mayweather said. “I’m just relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I’m just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family and enjoying my vacation.”

One would think that someone with the nickname “Money Mayweather” would sign a contract that guaranteed him over $50 million to fight. And seeing as how his current record is a perfect 41-0, I highly doubt Mayweather is scared to get in the ring against anyone.

So then what’s the snag?

Read the rest of this entry »

The superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has hit another snag. According to SI.com, the deadline set by promoter Bob Arum passed on Saturday without Mayweather agreeing to a deal to fight Pacquiao.

In the latest improbable twist in the torturous negotiations for the most tantalizing prospective fight in boxing, Arum said Mayweather’s camp simply hasn’t responded to a contract proposal with no obvious points of contention.

Pacquiao already has agreed to extensive drug testing and an equitable split of the earnings from what’s likely to be the richest fight in boxing history.

“Floyd, for whatever reason – and I’m sure he has some valid reason – didn’t want to commit,” Arum said.
Although Arum was careful not to criticize Mayweather, saying the fighter who calls himself Money could take the incredibly lucrative offer at any point in the next week or so, Arum plans to open discussions with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto for a fight with Pacquiao in November.

It’s interesting to read above that Pacquiao “already has agreed to extensive drug testing” seeing as how that was a sticking point earlier in the negotiation process. Mayweather’s camp wanted blood tests conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which does random tests, while Pacquiao’s people were only willing to allow blood to be taken if the tests were scheduled.

If Pacquiao’s camp willing to do random tests now? And if so, what’s the holdup from Mayweather? The two fighters already agreed to a fight and for a $50 million split up front, so I wonder why Mayweather’s camp has been silent as the deadline passed.

Whatever the reason, this is a prime example of what has killed boxing over the years, and why MMA has taken over as the king of fighting. Dana White can actually get his fighters in a ring (or cage, that is), while professional boxing can’t.