Floyd Mayweather

Robert Guerrero's promoter initiated conversations with Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s representatives Monday with hopes of staging a fight between the pair in the spring. "Interest is there," said Golden Boy Promotions Chief Executive Richard Schaefer. Guerrero (31-1) produced a stirring unanimous-decision victory over former world welterweight champion Andre Berto on Saturday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. Guerrero knocked down Berto in each of the first two rounds, then pressed the action against the bigger man, withstanding heavy right-handed uppercuts, out-punching Berto and winning the final two rounds.

Robert Guerrero's commitment to the toughest of challenges was well regarded outside the ring in how he helped his wife, Casey, recover from cancer. Saturday night in Ontario, the Northern California boxer stuck his head into another brave battle for 12 rounds and beat Andre Berto in a gritty display that could land him his dream fight. Guerrero (31-1-1) was awarded 116-110 scores by judges Julie Lederman, Alejandro Rochin and Max DeLuca after knocking down Berto in each of the first two rounds, then pounding the body, pressing Berto to the ropes and standing up to the heavier man's best power punches to seal the triumph.

Boxing is a haven for fluid situations. Injuries, upsets and personal vendettas can change the course of an anticipated matchup. With that disclaimer, the sport's current landscape bodes well for Robert Guerrero and Andre Berto, welterweight opponents Saturday in Ontario, to position themselves for a spring date against Floyd Mayweather Jr. "Absolutely a possibility," said Oscar De La Hoya, who is promoting the HBO-televised Guerrero-Berto fight...

The only hint of nearby legendary greatness is a handwritten sign on an orange parking cone on the fourth step of a concrete staircase in the back of a strip mall in Hollywood. The sign says that the Wild Card Gym will be closed at 1 p.m. It doesn't get more specific, but anybody who knows anything about boxing knows the reason. Manny Pacquiao will be training on this day. This is as organized as it gets at the Wild Card Gym. Before 1 p.m., as well as every day when Pacquiao is not in town to train for another fight, the Wild Card is wonderful chaos.

Is the World Boxing Council's cozy connection to Mexican star fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fraying? The sanctioning body released a statement Wednesday directing its super-welterweight champion to next fight the winner of Saturday's WBC title-elimination bout between Glendale's unbeaten Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20 knockouts) and Erislandy Lara (17-1-1, 11 KOs). That's problematic, given Alvarez's obvious preference for seeking a May fight against either Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto (if he defeats Austin Trout on Dec. 1)

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has told his promoter he doesn't want to fight until Cinco de Mayo weekend, and wants his opponent to be either unbeaten world welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., former super-welterweight champion Miguel Cotto or middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Alvarez's promoter, Richard Schaefer, told The Times on Tuesday that "Canelo" rejected attempts to have him fight in January on the heels of his dominant fifth-round technical knockout of Josesito Lopez on Sept.

Manny Pacquiao fans can circle April 20 on their calendar for his next fight after his fourth bout against Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8. However, speculating that an April opponent will be Floyd Mayweather Jr. is extremely premature, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said Thursday. "Nobody's even talked to Mayweather," Arum said. "If Mayweather wants to fight, great. Manny will fight anybody. " The Manila Bulletin, a leading newspaper in the Philippines, where Pacquiao is a congressman, reported the April 20 date.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. settled some of their differences Tuesday when the world's top two pound-for-pound boxers struck a deal for Pacquiao to drop the defamation lawsuit he filed against Mayweather. Pacquiao slapped Mayweather with the lawsuit in December 2009 when Mayweather accused the Filpino star of using performance-enhancing drugs. A statement obtained by The Times and released by Mayweather Jr., his father and uncle/trainer Roger Mayweather, said the men “wish to make it clear that they never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance-enhancing drugs.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't exactly moved by Manny Pacquiao going on the record in his acceptance of taking 10% less of the purse for a potential super-fight between the world's top two boxers. “Manny Pacquiao can't tell Floyd Mayweather [expletive],” Mayweather Jr. advisor Leonard Ellerbe told The Times on Friday. “If and when the fight takes place, Floyd will dictate the terms.” Ellerbe assessed Pacquiao's mention of Mayweather Jr. this week on a promotional tour to Los Angeles, New York, ESPN studios and Mexico City as an “amateurish, transparent” way to promote the Filipino superstar's fourth bout against Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Manny Pacquiao is now saying he will accept just 45% of the total purse in an anticipated super-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year. “Win or lose, I'll take 45%,” Pacquiao told his publicist Friday in Mexico City. “Floyd can have top billing, he can be introduced in the ring first or last. “He can wear my trunks. I don't care. I just want to get him in the ring and make the fight.” Pacquiao first said during an ESPN appearance Thursday that he was willing to take the 45% cut. Pacquiao's advisor, Michael Koncz, tried to clarify to The Times on Friday that the boxer was willing to accept a deal in which the winner would receive 55% and the loser gets 45%. That's the same deal Koncz was extending to Mayweather in the spring.