THE TRUTH

i wanted to write about this whole pacquiao-mayweather BS. i think the truth is that they aren’t afraid of each other and that arum wants one more in-house fight for manny before he feeds him to the wolves. the wolves being floyd, mosley, williams, martinez, bradley and berto. and truth is floyd doesn’t want to fight this year, but he will early 2011. and truth is this fight has already lost some interest from hardcore boxing fans. I’m a huge floyd fan, but I’m tired of this BS. fight pacquiao or stay retired. i really don’t give a rats ass if they fight each other anymore. — ivan

I feel the same way you do, Ivan, and I’m totally sick of talking about and hearing about this garbage. You’re probably right about Arum wanting one more in-house fight for Manny and Floyd not wanting the fight until next year, which means the fight might happen in 2011, but you know what? The fight SHOULD have happened this year and everyone knows it.

MY TWO CENTS

Hey Dougie,
What’s happening? Not much down in Mississippi. Lookin’ forward to the fights this weekend at Fitzgeralds in Tunica, should provide some good scraps. Anyway, I just wanted to write in and say a few things.

1. I will be glad if and when Todd DuBoef takes over Top Rank. He seems to actually care about the fans and how to grow the sport.

2. Buy or Sell. Michael Katsidis moves up to 140. And if he did how do you think he would fare? I think he would do just OK, but would like to see him there because he there isn’t really anybody at the moment at lightweight.

3. If Alexander Povetkin beats Wladimir is there a clause in the contract for him to fight Vitali in his next fight?

4. Do fighters get to pick out their own ring entrance music or does the promoter or someone else choose?

5. I hope it’s not a sin against the sport but I'm still a Margarito fan, minus the wrap scandal, he seems like a cool guy. I think if he fights PacMan the fight will be competitive. Styles and styles alone make fights, in my opinion. Maybe if Margarito does win he would rematch with Martinez, I would pay top dollar to see that one.

Take it easy Bro. — Tyler B., Tupelo, MS

Thanks for writing, Tyler. I’ll comment on your comments in order:

5) I don’t think it’s a sin to still like Margarito, and if it is, so what. I’m a lifelong sinner. He is a cool guy (hand-wrap scandal aside, of course). He’s probably damaged goods at this point, but I don’t count him out against Pacquiao, especially at 154 pounds. He’s a big dude and his chief weapon, that left-uppercut slice, could cause Manny some problems. We’ll see what happens if that fight gets made. If the TJ Tornado somehow pulls the upset and he ever fights Sergio Martinez in a rematch, I think the middleweight champ will even their score – handily.

JAMES TONEY

Toney is a funny guy. Okay, you've been there, you've seen him. I know nothing at all about MMA, UFC, whatever that is. I've never seen the sport. I think maybe it was under one of RJJ's fights and it was atrocious and I didn't watch it. I don't even remember it. I remember my reaction too it was about like being asked if I wanted to watch a tape of men f***ing! I had no interest.

Anyway, having said that. I do have friends who watch that crap and have offered me to come to their houses for MMA. My house is the boxing spot, and I will not go. That is all the backdrop. All of them to a man, swear Toney is going to get f***** up!

What do you think? — JB

I think you have to make Randy Couture the favorite in this match. He’s a bona fide MMA legend and they are fighting under MMA rules. It’s as simple as that. However, strikes to the body and head are part of MMA combat and Toney punches better than anyone Couture has ever tangled with. Toney also probably takes a better shot than anyone Couture has ever fought.

The other reason I give Toney a shot is that he’s really working on the ground game. He tapped the kid out that he grappled with the day I was there, but that young man was just an amateur. Toney told me to come back and watch him roll with some seasoned pros. I’ll probably go by next week or the first week of August, but I’m hearing that he’s been making some pro MMA vets tap out. I’ll believe it when I see it. But if I do see it, I’ll let you know and I’ll probably put a little more money down on Toney.

DISAPPOINTED IN THE FANS, WRITERS

Hey Dougie,
I've been reading a lot of the fall-out of fights not getting made, and I'm disappointed in the way some writers have handled it. We live in what's (for the most part) a free market. Fighters get paid because people are willing to pay to see them either get punched, or punch someone else. It's not in any way a gift from fans. Fans don't bless fighters with wealth beyond their wildest dreams. They participate in a market, just as selfishly as anyone else in any other industry. I'd like to see Mayweather-Pacquiao, and I think it's unfortunate it hasn't yet been made (and think there's a very real chance of it going down the drain every time either fighter steps into the ring), but no one is “owed” the fight by anyone, and it's wildly unprofessional and just plain immature to try to turn it into a moral issue. It's not always someone's fault when we don't get what we want. Sometimes, when there are competing interests, interests other than our own win out. Until fans have the discipline to vote with their dollars and find a way (like boycott) to shift the cost benefit analysis for those parties interested, they're not doing too much.

As a side note, I'd never advise a fighter to do anything for the fans. I don't say that because I'm a jerk, I say it because I'd wager at least a third of your fan-base evaporates with your first loss. Fighters have rough lives as it is, there's no reason for them to wager their livelihood and future earning potential unnecessarily, just because casual sports fans would prefer things turn out a certain way. Cotto's a good example. He took a serious risk fighting Pacquiao, traded with him, and lasted several rounds longer than what most thought he should have. How have fans showed their appreciation? The very same writers complaining about Mayweather-Pac not taking risks for the fans swear it's a complete mismatch and all but call for a boycott if the fight is made. The loyalty of casual fans isn't worth a penny, much less the difference in earning potential the loser of Mayweather-Pacquiao will suffer. — Todd

I agree that the loyalty of casual fans isn’t worth much, but I think casual fan interest in a certain fight being made usually indicates that matchup would do very, very well in terms of tickets sold and PPV buys (if the bout is big enough to be presented that way), which of course means more money for the fighters.

I sincerely hope Mayweather manages his money well and remains filthy rich (excuse the pun) for the rest of his days. If he doesn’t fight Pacquiao, I sincerely doubt that he will be beloved everywhere he goes once he hangs up his gloves.

KHAN'S A JERK

Hey Doug,
I just read your piece on Amir Khan calling out Tim Bradley. Maybe now you see why he's not too well liked in the UK! He's also tweeted recently complaining about a scratch on his Lamborghini and gloating about Carl Froch being ''bitch slapped'' by Mikkel Kessler. I love fighters who talk the talk then walk the walk, guys like James Toney, but when a guy talks s__t and calls out the most dangerous fighters and biggest punchers and doesn't fight ANY of them, including his mandatory, I think fans are entitled to ask questions. People with glass chins shouldn't throw stones Dougie, and I wonder if it's coincidence that Amir decided he wanted to fight Tim after Bradley had moved up a division? Superman had kryptonite, vampires dread garlic, and Amir gets dizzy at the thought of a puncher. — Ben

LOL. For the record, Khan has been nothing but friendly, respectful, and thoughtful every time I’ve spoken to him when he’s training at the Wild Card Gym. Everyone’s got a dark side and I guess his involves the Twitter website. Go figure.

Of course, Timmy’s got the stones to take Khan’s heat, get in close and test that questionable chin everyone talks about.