Pacquiao still wants fight against Mayweather
NEW YORK (AP) — Manny Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach wanted the exact same thing that boxing fans everywhere wanted: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
They got Antonio Margarito instead.
Pacquiao and Roach said Wednesday that they agreed to every demand put forward by Mayweather for what could have been the richest fight in boxing history. But the former pound-for-pound king chose not to accept the fight, leaving Pacquiao to look elsewhere for a fall opponent.
He'll face Margarito, the former welterweight champ, on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium.
"I don't need him, he needs me," Pacquiao said of Mayweather, during a stop Wednesday in New York to promote his upcoming fight. "Compare my achievements in boxing to his achievements."
They've both achieved plenty, which is why fans have been clamoring for the high-profile matchup for the better part of two years — and why so many are upset it hasn't happened.
The fight was nearly made in January, then fell apart when Pacquiao refused Olympic-style drug testing in the weeks leading up to the fight. But the newly minted Congressman from the Philippines said he's even agreed to the strict blood testing in an effort to make the fight, but he hasn't heard from Mayweather's side why an agreement couldn't be reached.
"We agree with, you know, his demands," Pacquiao said, referring specifically to the blood testing. "I wanted to know if that's his real reason (for not fighting)."
The entire negotiation process came to resemble an unsavory soap opera, with HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg publicly stating that he had worked tirelessly as an intermediary between the two sides. Pacquiao's promoter Top Rank has a poor relationship with Mayweather, who rose to become a world champion under its banner, so it's not unreasonable to assume there was an intermediary.
Shortly after a deadline imposed by Top Rank for Mayweather to accept the fight had passed, his adviser Leonard Ellerbe issued a bizarre statement in which he said no negotiations ever took place — contradicting Greenburg and the folks at Top Rank.
Roach said that Top Rank had been calling him for advice on what gloves to wear, what ring size to use, what weight to fight at — standard details during a negotiation process.
"When people are calling me and asking me, 'Is this OK? Is this OK? Is this OK?' There's something going on," Roach said. "I know there must have been negotiations going on.
"Whatever he wanted to do, we were accepting it. Whatever he wanted. Manny said, 'I want to fight. I'll agree to anything.' I thought the fight was a shoo-in."
Roach was recently in Ukraine to watch one of his other fighters, Vyacheslav Senchenko, retain a welterweight title. But all he heard from fans were questions about Pacquiao-Mayweather — not about Senchenko, and certainly not about Margarito.
"You know, I really truly think boxing needs that fight to happen," Roach said. "All people want to know, 'When's he fighting Mayweather?' Wherever I go, that's what I'm asked. People will get pissed off if that fight didn't happen."
Most of them aren't very happy that the Margarito fight is happening.
The former welterweight champion has become boxing's biggest heel after illegal hand wraps were discovered before a January 2009 loss to Shane Mosley in Los Angeles. Margarito insists he knew nothing about plaster-like inserts and blamed his former trainer, Javier Capetillo, but he's still been refused licenses to fight in California and Nevada recently.
Even Pacquiao finds it hard to believe that Margarito didn't know what was in his wraps.
"You know what goes in your hands," Pacquiao said, adding: "He's just human. There's not a perfect person in this world. We gave him a chance to fight."
If not for all the sidelights involving Mayweather and Margarito, the fight itself would still be one among the most interesting on an otherwise barren fall boxing calendar.
After all, Pacquiao will have a chance to win a title in a record-extending eighth weight division — the fight will be for the WBC junior middleweight title, even though the catch weight is 150 pounds. And Margarito has a chance to show the world that he can beat boxing's best in a fair fight, even if he's much bigger than the pride of the Filipinos.
That the matchup will be held in Cowboys Stadium, where some are already estimating a crowd of 70,000 the night of the fight, only adds to the intrigue.
"Obviously I wanted Mayweather. I looked forward to that challenge," Roach said. "This fight is the second best. He's a good opponent, but he's very beatable."
Juan Manuel Marquez accepts deal to fight Katsidis
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez has agreed to fight Michael Katsidis at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas on Nov. 27.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said Marquez has accepted the terms of a deal to defend his WBO belt against Katsidis, the all-action Australian slugger.
Schaefer outlined a busy fall for his company's fighters during a workout in Hollywood on Wednesday by Sugar Shane Mosley, who will meet Sergio Mora at Staples Center on Sept. 18.
Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs) generally is considered Mexico's top boxer. He decisively won a rematch with Juan Diaz on July 31 in his first fight since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.
After failing to interest Manny Pacquiao in a third fight, Marquez agreed to a mandatory title defense against Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs), who has revitalized his career with four straight victories following back-to-back losses to Joel Casamayor and Diaz.
"It's just a matter of getting it papered up," Schaefer said, promising another significant fight on the Thanksgiving weekend card. "It's a great challenge for Juan, and a very interesting fight for fans."
Schaefer confirmed Bernard Hopkins has agreed to fight WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal in Quebec City on Dec. 18. The 45-year-old Hopkins will return to the ring for the first time since beating Roy Jones Jr. last spring to take on Pascal, the Haitian-born Canadian who upset Chad Dawson last month.
Schaefer also submitted an offer earlier this week to WBA 140-pound champion Amir Khan to face Marcos Maidana on Dec. 11.
Khan is a popular British fighter hoping to take over the crowded junior welterweight division, while Maidana is a dangerous Argentine fighter whose recent career has been slowed by management problems. Maidana beat DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley in Buenos Aires last weekend.
If Khan accepts the deal, Schaefer said the fighters would meet Dec. 11 in either Las Vegas or Detroit, which has a sizable Muslim population. Khan made his U.S. debut in May with an 11th-round stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi in New York, but the 2004 Olympic star has been outspoken in his desire to fight in Las Vegas.
Golden Boy also plans to stage a card Nov. 6 in Austin featuring the comeback of unbeaten 154-pounder James Kirkland, who is expected to be released from prison later this month. Kirkland (25-0, 22 KOs) has served nearly 16 months after pleading guilty to a charge of gun possession by a convicted felon.
Bay Area lightweight Robert Guerrero (27-1, 18 KOs), who outpointed Casamayor on July 31, is expected to fight on the Austin card, Schaefer said.
-- Greg Beacham
Son of boxing promoter Arum missing in Cascades
SEATTLE (AP) — Nearly two dozen mountaineers and park rangers are searching for the son of Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum, who's been missing since a weekend camping trip in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.
John Arum was expected to arrive home Sunday after climbing Storm King, a rugged mountain peak about a seven-hour drive from Seattle. Family members grew worried when the 49-year-old environmental lawyer and accomplished hiker did not return.
North Cascades National Park spokeswoman Kerry Olson said that John Arum was reported missing Monday, and is thought to be by himself in the area around the mountain. So far, two days of searching — including aerial sweeps of the region — have not brought up any clues.
"He's a very experienced climber and hiker, and familiar with the territory," Olson said, adding that Arum had already summited a peak near the one he went missing on.
John Arum has been on a quest to climb the 100 highest summits in Washington.
Family members told The Associated Press on Wednesday that rangers had found his campsite, but there were indications that John Arum had not been there since Saturday.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed," said Bob Arum's son-in-law, Todd duBoef. "The last I talked to Bob, they were sending a helicopter up, but the area where he's missing, there's so much timber that it's hard to see anything. We're just waiting to hear something."
Bob Arum learned Tuesday that his eldest son was missing while in Los Angeles, at the start of a three-city media tour to promote Manny Pacquiao's next fight against Antonio Margarito. He left for Seattle that afternoon and connected with park rangers orchestrating the search.
DuBoef took over the rest of the media tour, with stops in New York on Wednesday and Dallas on Thursday. The fight is scheduled for Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
"We miss him for this press conference and we feel bad with what happened to his son, and I pray for him," Pacquiao said Wednesday. "It's pretty quiet without Bob."
DuBoef said park rangers had been searching on foot for John Arum but had found no trace of him other than his campsite. Arum faced at least one day of adverse weather, and fog and rain had hampered efforts to cover the terrain by air.
"The terrain in the North Cascades is difficult. These mountains are steep," Olson said. "He had experience, but certainly there's a risk involved with mountaineering."
Storm King, the area in the Cascades where John Arum went missing, rises more than 8,500 feet above sea level. There are several hiking trails around the mountain, including a well-known loose rock route on the south face, and it stands in the background of Lake Chelan.
Family members said that John Arum had 18 peaks remaining to reach his goal of climbing the 100 highest in Washington State. Storm King is ranked No. 51.
-- Manuel Valdes
Pascal set to defend title vs. Hopkins
NEW YORK (AP) — Light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal is set to defend his title against Bernard Hopkins in December in Quebec City.
The fight is scheduled for Dec. 18. Pascal last fought in August when he beat Chad Dawson on points after the fight was stopped in the 11th to retain his WBC light heavyweight title.
The 45-year-old Hopkins hasn't fought since winning a unanimous decision in his long-delayed rematch with Roy Jones Jr. in April. Hopkins collapsed to his knees in his dressing room after the bout.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer says Hopkins has been cleared to fight and is ready to prove again he can be the best in that weight class.
"He's always been looking not just for fights, he's been looking for historic events, and he's been looking to make history," Schaefer said on Wednesday. "He's taking on a guy who could be his son. The guy could be his son. And he's considered the best in that particular weight class."
Hopkins wrote "I will beat Pascal" on his Facebook page.
Pascal holds the WBC light heavyweight title by virtue of his victory over Adrian Diaconu last summer.
Hopkins started boxing in a Pennsylvania state prison, where he served five years beginning at the age of 17. He turned pro in 1988 and won his first bout in 1990. He had a perfect 10-year reign as middleweight champion.
Holyfield says bring on Haye, Klitschko brothers
LONDON (AP) — Evander Holyfield wants to fight heavyweight champions David Haye and Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko.
Holyfield, a former heavyweight champ who turns 48 next month, defends his lightly regarded WBF title against Sherman Williams on Nov. 5. He won the belt in April by stopping 41-year-old Francois Botha in the eighth round.
Holyfield said Wednesday he has Haye and Klitschko in his sights. Holyfield says "my people have talked with the older Klitschko brother (Vitali) and his manager," but "right now everybody’s busy with fights."
Holyfield lost on points to Nikolay Valuev and Sultan Ibragimov in his previous two fights. Haye has since taken Valuev’s WBA belt and Wladimir Klitschko has won Ibragimov’s WBO title.
