BOXING: Mayweather a polarizing figure

Love him or hate him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will go down as one of the best fighters of all time. He also will be remembered as someone who brought a magical tone, a mystique, to any event.

Mayweather was booed during Wednesday night's open-to-the-public outdoor news conference at L.A. Live to promote his Sept. 17 challenge to welterweight world champion Victor Ortiz at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view).

But when he mentioned that he must have Mexican fans because you don't get to be where he is without beating a lot of great Mexican fighters, he was enthusiastically cheered. Of the roughly 1,000 in attendance, 95 percent of the fans were for Ortiz.

Minus a catcall or two, fans hung on Mayweather's every word.

Reporters did, too, when they sat down with Mayweather following the proceedings. When Mayweather, perhaps the most beautifully polished boxer of the past 50 years, speaks, people listen. It's because he's a spectacular fighter, one who has multiple arrests and lawsuits against him. Controversy sells.

Sitting quietly at the dais and flanked by three of his children, Mayweather listened as Ortiz's manager, Rolando Arellano, loudly complained he was tired of hearing Mayweather and reporters talk about Mayweather's next fight being against Manny Pacquiao.

Arellano appeared to be angry as he spoke. Mayweather didn't care.

"We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there and Manny Pacquiao,

yes, you're next," Mayweather said after Arellano sat down.

There may or may not be a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in our future. There still is the Olympic-style drug testing Mayweather will demand.

Pacquiao agreed to a modified version of blood testing in January 2010, but not to the random regimen outlined by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and that's the biggest reason why the potentially record-breaking bout didn't materialize. Pacquiao then supposedly - according to his promoter, Bob Arum - agreed to the random testing in July 2010, but the Mayweather camp insisted there never was a second round of negotiations.

One of the current complaints against Mayweather is a defamation suit filed by Pacquiao, who alleged that Mayweather and his father (Floyd Sr.) and uncle (Roger) accused him of being on performance-enhancing drugs. That didn't stop Mayweather and his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, from bringing that up Wednesday.

"In the wildest way, I can't imagine why anybody would be against more-stringent testing when something like that is better for the sport," Ellerbe said.

Mayweather, 34, said more than that.

"I represent the red, white and blue," he said. "In this country, they say Barry Bonds is cheating because he gained so much weight, but then - and once again, I'm not saying Pacquiao's cheating; I'm not saying that - but it's OK for him to gain that much weight. And you all say, `You know what, he's not doing nothing.' I don't know. I'm not saying it's true or false. I don't know if Bob Arum is paying you guys to write certain stories. I can't say."

Mayweather also spoke of a conversation he said he had with "Sugar" Shane Mosley after Mosley lost a one-sided decision to Pacquiao in May.

"Me and Shane talked and he told me the truth," Mayweather said. "These words are what Shane told me. He said, `Floyd, if I were you, I'd make Pacquiao take the test.' "

That fight won't happen if Pacquiao doesn't agree to the USADA testing, Mayweather said. And, he wondered, just imagine if the tables were turned.

"If I didn't want to take the test, oh, man: `Floyd Mayweather's hiding something,' " Mayweather said.

Several reporters interviewing Mayweather nodded in agreement.

As for Ortiz, it was Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) who reached out to Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, about making this fight. Mayweather was on hand when Ortiz took the title from Andre Berto in April.

"It was a hell of a fight and it motivated me to want to get back in the ring," said Mayweather, who last fought in May 2010, against Mosley. "He's a young, strong fighter."

And one who was doing his best to create his own brand of controversy by cursing up a storm.

"I am the new WBC champion of the world and there is nobody that will pry that (expletive) out of my hands," Ortiz said.

Several hours earlier, during a telephone conversation, Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) bemoaned that he was strongly criticized by reporters after he was stopped in the sixth round by Marcos Maidana in June 2009. Ortiz quit, many wrote. Now, it sounds like Ortiz wants to make someone eat those words.

"I really don't care what anyone has to say about me," said Ortiz, 24, of Ventura. "The media destroyed me, so therefore, they gave me no love for anything. You guys took my heart from me and ripped it out.

"At the end of the day, I still have heart. I know what I'm here for. I know what I'm going to do to Mayweather, period."

Yes, lose, because Mayweather is just too good.

Source: pasadenastarnews.com

Los Angeles likes Mayweather - Ortiz over Pacquiao - Marquez

Even if they never step into a ring against one another, Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao's names will forever be linked together.

As of right now, fans wonder if the pair will ever get past drug testing procedures, and other procedural hurdles to produce the most anticipated boxing event of the last fifteen years.

Yet, until Mayweather and Pacquiao battle, fans will question and compare them.

So with Mayweather fighting on September 17 against Victor Ortiz, and Manny Pacquiao due to box Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12, fans have debated - "which is the better fight?"

During a public press conference for Mayweather - Ortiz last Wednesday night at the L.A. Live complex, I asked approximatley 100 fans at the event which did they perfer: Mayweather's move, or Pacquiao third fight with Marquez.

Apparently, Los Angeles is a Mayweather strong hold, with 68 of those polled gave the nod to his fight with Ortiz.

"Mayweather is fighting a live, young opponent," said Jaime Felix of Studio City. "Pacquiao is just fighting an old man, he has already knocked down a bunch of times."

Many in the crowd felt Mayweather was taking a calculated risk in squaring off with a young, dangerous puncher in Ortiz.

Pacquiao and Marquez were not without their supporters.

"This is the fight boxing has been waiting for," said Hector Ramirez of Los Angeles. "Pacquiao has been ducking Marquez, and now he is taking the toughest opponent out there."

Some fans over hearing Ramirez's comments reminded him that Mayweather easly defeated Marquez in 2009.

Ultimatley, pay per view figures and box office tallies will decide which bout was more popular.

Source: Examiner.com

PPV peddler Mayweather calls out Pacquiao, hyping Ortiz fight at the same time

An unusually reserved Floyd Mayweather took to the stage on the Los Angeles leg of his press tour ahead of his September bout with Victor Ortiz on Wednesday.

Ortiz at various points attempted to bring the Mayweather we are all used to seeing out into the open.

That being Floyd's brash showman character, insulting his opponents in one breath and complimenting them with the next, bragging about his standing in the sport and as ever referring constantly to his perfect 41-0 unbeaten record.

Floyd though for once was content to let the younger man do much of the talking.

What he did say that sparked immediate interest however was a simple sentence.

In that one sentence he made up for his lack of interest in the rest of the event, got inside Ortiz's head without having to resort to his usual antics and ensured that what was otherwise a fairly pedestrian press conference too similar to his New York appearance to generate much interest, still got attention.

That sentence was this:

"I want to tell Victor Ortiz thank you for stepping up to the plate and taking the tests. We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and, Manny Pacquiao, yes, you're next!"

Of course the latter part of that statement is something that Mayweather has said before in some form or another several times in the past. All for one reason or another to no avail.

It should now perhaps come with an asterisk stating:

*Valid only with the following stipulations, that both fighters take any and all pre-fight blood tests administered by the USADA, that the date, weight, venue, purse split and pay per view broadcaster can be agreed upon, and that neither Victor Ortiz nor Juan Manuel Marquez are able to pull off upsets in the next six months.

Source: Examiner.com

Images from L.A.: Team Ortiz lash out at Mayweather Jr. in lively presser

Moments ago at in downtown Los Angeles, the second stop to the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz press conference went down, with emotions running much higher than at yesterday’s festivities in New York. Ortiz defends his WBC welterweight crown against Mayweather on September 17th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a fight that has seen Floyd Jr. coming out of the gates as a nearly 8-1 betting favorite.

There was a bit of a wait at this press conference, as Mayweather is often fashionably late, yet things got a bit heated after Mayweather’s red carpet entrance in front of a jam-packed crowd. Ortiz had been on the dais waiting for Floyd’s arrival and the minute Mayweather came on stage they bumped heads and began jawing at one another.
To say there were tensions in the air would be an overstatement, however, as Mayweather could be seen either flashing a grin or looking rather bored while Ortiz and his team attempted to rile things up on stage. One constant irk that Ortiz and his crew have had in the lead up to the fight has been the fact that Mayweather has been looking past him a bit in his namedropping of Manny Pacquiao during his speeches.

Ortiz’s manager Rolando Arrellano addressed this issue, stating that on September 17th he was going to unleash a ‘Mexican pitbull’ on Mayweather inside of the ring.

“He’s not fighting Pacquiao next, he’s fighting me,” Ortiz stated. “If he wants to box, I’ll box, if he wants to bang I’ll bang. Either way I’m gonna be that pound for pound champ.”

Having been in this situation countless times against a myriad of opponents, this was nothing more than gamesmanship to Mayweather, who will be ending a sixteen-month layoff by the time he faces Ortiz.

“I go out there, execute the game plan,” stated Floyd. “That’s what I do. Right now Victor Ortiz is the champion. Him first, Pacquiao next. I have been in fights with big punchers, I don’t have to brag about what I do.”

Business as usual for Mayweather Jr. From here the two camps will break for a rigorous training camp and a well-publicized buildup to the pay-per-view event can be expected.

Source: Examiner.com

Victor Ortiz refuses to be overlooked by Floyd Mayweather

Once again, an event that claimed to showcase the Sept. 17 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz instead focused on an absent Manny Pacquiao.

Both Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) and Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) mentioned Pacquiao throughout their news conference Wednesday at LA Live.

Mayweather declared he wanted to face Pacquiao in his next fight. Ortiz said such statements were offensive and would come back to haunt Mayweather.

"I'm tired of hearing he's fighting Pacquiao next," said Ortiz, who will defend his World Boxing Council welterweight title in Las Vegas. "No, no, no. He's fighting me next. Victor Ortiz."

Mayweather gave Ortiz plenty of credit, insisting he would never lose sight of his next fight, but still, his comments came back to the Philippine congressman.

"I'm never going to overlook a guy like Victor Ortiz," Mayweather said. "He's young, he's strong and he's the WBC welterweight champion of the world. … To be the best, you got to beat the best in front of you.

"We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and yes, Manny Pacquiao you're next."

Mayweather last fought May 1, 2010, defeating Shane Mosley in Las Vegas. Ortiz's layoff has been drastically shorter, winning the WBC belt from Andre Berto in April.

Against Berto, Ortiz was a big underdog, but against Mayweather, he will be even more so — a prospect he relishes.

"I love it. I'm always the underdog," he said. "What is somebody like Mayweather going to give me that I haven't already faced?"

Mayweather's defeated opponents usually cite his speed, his power, and the lethal combination of the two as unexpected.

"His speed and style do not worry me," Ortiz said. "There's good. There's great. And there's outstanding. I'm outstanding. I stand out from everyone."

The crowd at LA Live certainly agreed, as a largely pro-Ortiz contingent cheered for the Ventura native throughout the news conference. Ortiz admitted having the crowd's support allowed him to loosen up compared to a similar event in New York on Monday. His more relaxed attitude led to a brief encounter with Mayweather upon his introduction.

"I was going to smack him," Ortiz said. "I was going to lay him out. He said, 'You don't get this, son,' and I said, 'No, no. I'm the world champ. You don't have a chance.'"

The two will have to wait until September to sort that out.

Source: latimes.com