50,000 People Can’t Be Wrong Can They ? Another Reason You’ve Been Hoodwinked & Conned …….. Does Anyone Not Believe That Bob Arum Is A Con Artist ?

50,000 People Can’t Be Wrong Can They ? Another Reason You’ve Been Hoodwinked & Conned ….. ….Does Anyone Not Believe That Bob Arum Is A Con Artist ?

On Saturday night Manny Pacquaio (51-3-2) defended his WBO welterweight title against journeyman , Joshua Clottey (35-4-0-1,NC) of Ghana. Now far be it for me to suggest that this was a dull fight. But I’ve found greater excitement in watching paint dry, seeing a scantly clad Rosie O’Donnell act sexually provocative. Anyone who derived pleasure from seeing Pacquiao essentially club an unwilling opponent in front of 50,000 plus people at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , Texas. Well , they either had to be completely inebriated or just had nothing better to do on the night. And for 12 utterly boring rounds the paying fans had to put up with this diatribe. Never mind the fact that the fight’s promoter Bob Arum was trying to pass the event of , as an all-out success . By whose standards ?

Manny Pacquiao, right, of the Philippines, hits Joshua Clottey, from Ghana, during their WBO boxing welterweight title fight in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, March 13, 2010. photo appears courtesy of Associated Press / David J Phillip ..............

Now we can subscribed to the fact that Pacquiao may well be one of the best fighters of his generation . Without a doubt that is undeniable and we can attest to the fact that the fighter can only fight the opponent that’s placed in front of him. But for the entire 12 rounds Clottey essentially just stood there and allowed Pacquaio to hit him at will. Now far be it for me to suggest but in all honesty Manny should’ve been able to knock Clottey out , with the barrage of punches he landed. But for some reason he was unable to do so. Either from the fact that he may well have been told by Arum to make the fight lengthy or from the fact that Manny , himself , just wasn’t into the fight and nor was he up to the wish of knocking out a less than receptive Joshua Clottey. For the fans who attended in support of the Filipino fighter , they had to have been tremendously disappointed. Through no fault of his own Manny Pacquiao was once again embarrassed by his promoter, Bob Arum. The champion successfully defended his belt with a unanimous 12 round verdict.

Arlington , Tx (R-L) Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines throws a left to the body of Joshua Clottey of Ghana during the WBO welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao defeated Clottey by unanimous decision. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Tom Pennington .............

The event itself , can’t have been helped by the very fact that the undercard itself , left a lot to be desired by the talent that was allegedly on display. Never mind the fact , that the event was screened via PPV and fans were being asked to pay on average between $39-95 to $44-95 dependent upon your cable subscriber , to view this garbage ! Both fighters did very well financially from the bout, with the champion being paid $12.5 million for the defense of his title and the challenger receiving $1.25 million . Now that figure could very well rise, dependent upon the number of paid subscribers for the fight. But who knows what that figure will be and whether or not Arum will make the figure public ? Given the fact that the event in terms of real entertainment, was nowhere near the success he made it out to be.

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines throws a right to the body of Joshua Clottey of Ghana during the WBO welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao defeated Clottey by unanimous decision. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Jed Jacobsohn ......

We know that Pacquiao and Arum feel aggrieved the proposed bout between Manny and Floyd Maywearther Jr fell through. But had calmer heads prevailed. Instead of the contrived nonsense that took place between the two rival camps. Then perhaps, the fight fans would have been witnessing history being made instead of the diabolical con job perpetrated on the public this past Saturday night. Now there may well be fans out there who’ll take the opposite view from myself , as to the evidence of the events of Saturday night. But in reality what has this really done for Manny Pacquiao ? Other than to pad out his stats and add to his bank balance ? If Arum really wanted to create a much better spectacle for the fans in attendance. Then why in hell didn’t he seek out a far more credible opponent for Manny Pacquiao to fight ? If Arum and the WBO are suggesting that Clottey as their mandatory ranked number one challenger was the best that the division had to offer . Then there must have scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with this bout. It had about as much credibility to it as Sarah Palin’s nomination as John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate in the Presidential election of 2008. And we all now know how that debacle ended up for the Republicans don’t we ?

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines throws a left to the head of Joshua Clottey of Ghana during the WBO welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. The view from the giant jumbotron as viewed by the fans in attendance. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Jed Jacobsohn ..........

The real problem within the sport of boxing is that it has now become divided not only along political lines but also demarcation lines between the sport’s two biggest promoters in Bob Arum and Don King . And the international governing bodies are forced to align themselves with who they best feel serves their needs. The scraps or morsels that are left as divided as spoils amongst the other promoters. One can well understand the reason why many now the view sport as being on its last legs and close to extinction . And both Arum and King deny that the sport is on the decline ? Many of the boxers know full well that their sport is on the decline as they’ve seen the rise in popularity of MMA (mixed martial arts) under the umbrella organization of UFC . If Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions Inc is cognitive of that fact and is now jointly cross-promoting ‘MMA bouts’ alongside boxing events as a of way of enticing more fans to many of his own promotions . Then you obviously know that there’s something acutely wrong within the sport. But the opposite view , is taken by the elderly veteran promoters Bob Arum and Don King. And when one considers the stranglehold that the two have on the sport, is it any wonder its popularity continues to wane ? The two have done more to harm the sport than they have to benefit it. But yet they’re seemingly treated as grand pubahs and potentates within the sport.

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines celebrates in the ring after defeating Joshua Clottey of Ghana during the WBO welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao defeated Clottey by unanimous decision. photo appears courtesy of Getty Images/ Tom Pennington .......

As to what the future now holds for Pacquaio remains to be seen. But the fighter has stated that he would still like to meet Mayweather in the ring to establish who is indeed the better fighter and the pound for pound champion. For the moment we’ll just have to take to the wait and see approach. Mayweather has a date himself , as he faces the challenge of Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on the 1st May, 2010. That headline as a bout alone, gives far more credence than the subterfuge that was showcased as a boxing event on Saturday night. But then again who now cares or gives a damn to begin with ?

NB: Click here to view the WBO rankings of the welterweight division.

Alan Parkins aka tophatal ………………..
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LL Cool J ………….. ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’

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Mr Cotto Meet Mr Pacquiao , Mr Pacquiao Meet Mr Cotto ……….Gentlemen Please Box

Once again the fading sport of boxing seeks to enrich our lives with another of their extravaganzas. This time around it’s a welterweight title fight being broadcast via PPV ($54.95 11:00pm ET Saturday 14th November 2009). The two combatants will be WBO welterweight champion, Miguel Cotto (34-1,27 KO’s) who faces challenger, Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2,37 KO’s). This highly anticipated fight takes place this Saturday, at the MGM Grand Casino & Resort, in Las Vegas, Nevada. And the bout itself is being promoted and staged by Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc. , in conjunction with several of Top Rank’s media partners and patrons.

Boxer Manny Pacquiao (L) smiles as he poses with WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto during the final news conference for their bout at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino November 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao and Cotto will meet in a WBO welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand on November 14. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The bout itself, will lure the real fight fans to see one of the sport’s modern day heroes in Manny Pacquiao. And though he hasn’t a welterweight title to his name. He’s viewed as the linear champion within the welterweight division. And Arum, as the promoter of both fighters is in the enviable position of making a great deal of money from the event and for both Cotto and Pacquiao. It is expected that the bout may well draw in excess 1.75 million buys,realizing in excess of $ 96 million from the anticipated buys alone. And when one adds in the gate receipts of between $10-$15 million , not including the international broadcast rights, concessions and memorabilia sales. And the bout is expected to gross in excess of $110 million. Arum, and neither of his fighters, have made it public as to what the split may well be, between the fighters. But it is expected that neither fighter will walk away with less $20 million each , once the accounting and financial details have been taken care of.

Pacquiao takes care of business with his dismantling and then devastating knockout of Ricky Hatton for the IBO light-welterweight title. Pacquiao defeated the Englishman with a second round knockout in their title fight. The venue was the MGM Grand,Las Vegas, Nevada.
And on the 2nd May 2009 , the whole world knew then , what we all continue to believe now. Manny Pacquiao is the best pound for pound boxer in the world.

Pacuquiao coming off two devastating wins over former champions, in Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KO’s) and then his sensational display in dismantling and then knocking out Ricky Hatton (45-2-32 KO’s). Well, it has led many to believe that the same fate awaits Miguel Cotto. And though the WBO champion feels that he’s the one with the far more accomplished skills as a fighter. The vast majority of us in the know, are fully aware as evidenced by the recent displays by Pacquiao. Skills may mean one thing but if you can’t back it up in the ring. In the end it all counts for nothing. Personally, I favor Pacquiao to end this fight in a knockout in the early to mid rounds of the bout. Especially, given the fact that Cotto’s skin is very much like porcelain. He’s never been known to be able to take a good shot to the chin. And when cut, his skin essentially opens up to any laceration by way of effective shots to the head. In essence , Cotto’s skin is like that of a newborn baby. He cuts all too easily and given Pacquiao’s proclivity to end his fights rather spectacularly. The only way I can see Cotto overcoming Pacquiao, is to dictate the pace of the fight and to try and use his reach advantage over the challenger. If not then this bout could finish in devastating fashion.

Fans and members of the press convene at Yankees Stadium at a press conference to publicize the upcoming WBO welterweight title bout between title holder, Miguel Cotto and the challenger , Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines. At the podium behind the dais is Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach taking questions from the press and fans alike. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Will Hart ……….

Cotto’s resume’ as a fighter ,though not littered with as many high profiled names as his opponent’s fight record. Nonetheless, he’s faced some stiff opposition over the course of his career. But in many people’s eyes the loss to Antonio Margarito gave us something of a glimpse as to the vulnerability of the fighter. And even though it came back to haunt Margarito as to his actions. Nonetheless, we saw one of the more corrupt sides to the sport. And at the same time, how ineffective the governing bodies are with regard to the sport of boxing. It’s something that essentially has curbed the appetite of the fight fan in general. The laissez-faire attitude of the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC has become an anathema to us all.

Cotto and Pacquiao pose for the press on the hallowed ground of Yankees Stadium in New York City, New York. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/Will Hart ................

Cotto’s most recent bout saw him win comfortably in defeating Joshua Clottey (35-3-0, 20KO’s,1-NC). A fighter who’s now on the downside of his career but someone who’s still respected amongst his peers. And that’s solely for the main reason he comes to bang and bang he does with the very best of them. And though it led to Cotto dethroning the then WBO champion. The bout, and the way it ended was non too impressive. Cotto did enough to win but he was nowhere dominant as he,himself had hoped to be.

Cotto stands over Joshua Clottey in the first round of their WBO welterweight title fight. Referee Arthur Mercante Sr, looks on at the events . picture appears courtesy of Top Rank Inc. - Chris Farina ................

As I alluded to earlier, if the champion is to prevail. Then, he’ll have to make use of all of the physical advantages that he can avail himself of. His opponent is a fighter ,who can either box his way through a fight , or he can indeed turn the bout into a slugfest between he and Cotto, on the night. The latter scenario, I believe wouldn’t at all bode well for the champion ! Cotto has to prove himself a worthy champion. A loss here, and in essence his career takes a backseat for the foreseeable future. A win for the challenger, further cements Pacquiao’s legacy as one of the all-time greats of the sport of boxing. And with the win would come another history making achievement. Winning the WBO welterweight title would make him the first fighter in history to win a title in seven different weight categories. And there haven’t been many boxers to have titles multiple weight divisions over the years. There’ve been but a handful , and all have had illustrious careers. If Pacquiao is to join them , which in all honesty I believe that he will. Then there’ll be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who the best fighter has been this decade.

Mr Cotto meet Mr Pacquiao, Mr Pacquiao meet Mr Cotto. Gentleman ,Please Box ! This has the makings of being an instant classic and I surely hope that the event itself lives up to the hype ! It’s something that the sport of boxing surely needs !

NB Current welterweight titlists as recognized by the various international organizations.

Boxer
Shane Mosley(46-5,39 KO’s) WBA (World Boxing Association)

Andre Berto (25-0,19 KO’s) WBC (World Boxing Council)

IBF(Int’l Boxing Federation)is at present vacant.