SPORTS
May 6, 2012 | By Lance Pugmire
LAS VEGAS — At the end of a tough, long night, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was left staring at a June 1 jail sentence and a boxing landscape that he seems to believe cannot deliver another quality opponent. The unbeaten 35-year-old champion late Saturday said he's leaning "80-20" toward retirement. "If it was my last fight, I gave them a bang," Mayweather (43-0) said after his unanimous-decision (118-110, 117-111, 117-111) triumph over Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto (37-3) at the MGM Grand.
SPORTS
November 15, 2009 | Lance Pugmire
It was no short story, but a long beat-down. Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach had speculated that an early Pacquiao onslaught and Cotto's recent history of first-round trouble made the bet of a first-round KO one of Saturday night's best Vegas gambles. Cotto had other plans, obviously, and the quality of the Puerto Rican's recovery from his only loss, an ugly beating by the heavy hands of since-tainted Antonio Margarito inside this same MGM Grand Garden Arena in July 2008, was about to be severely tested against the 2008 fighter of the year who needed only two rounds to smash his last foe, Ricky Hatton, in May. The showdown between the Filipino idol and the pride of Puerto Rico made for a festive prelude for the sellout crowd of 16,200, with vocal throngs saluting their favorites as promoter Top Rank unveiled an Ultimate Fighting-like video montage before the ring walks -- Pacquiao to "Eye of the Tiger," and Cotto to Kanye West's "Stronger."
SPORTS
September 18, 2011 | By Lance Pugmire
Floyd Mayweather Jr. enhanced his villainous image by the way he registered a fourth-round knockout of Victor Ortiz on Saturday night. By striking the instant he was allowed to punch after referee Joe Cortez stopped action to deduct a point from Ortiz for a head butt, Mayweather landed a left hand to Ortiz's face that stunned the welterweight champion from Ventura. With Cortez and Ortiz caught off guard, Mayweather (42-0, 26 knockouts) then finished the fight with a devastating straight right hand to Ortiz's jaw that sent the 24-year-old to la-la land.
SPORTS
April 25, 2012 | Bill Dwyre
LAS VEGAS — The two prime ribs of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, continue to create their sizzle separately. Their fight of the century, any century, seems to be going the way of the Edsel and the eight-track tape. Passage of time doesn't heal all, but it sure does dull things. It is Mayweather's time now. Boxing is nothing if not a huge attention grab, and Mayweather is in the center ring of the circus he so deeply loves. He will fight Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand here May 5, and that correctly has the current spotlight.
SPORTS
March 1, 2010 | By Lance Pugmire
Manny Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, delivered this knee-buckling assessment for boxing fans already distraught by the failed Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. negotiations. "This could be our last fight," Roach said last week, as Pacquiao heads into the final days of training for his March 13 welterweight world title bout against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. Roach's sobering speculation about boxing's biggest star is based on a chain of events that could occur.
SPORTS
November 12, 2011 | Bill Dwyre
From Las Vegas -- It was a night when boxing hero Manny Pacquiao decided to pick on somebody his own size. Bad idea. In fact, most in the sold-out crowd of 16,368, as well as quite a few on press row, thought he had lost. PHOTOS: Pacquiao vs. Marquez Pacquiao took a majority decision, but seldom in boxing history has a fight this big ended with this much doubt and controversy. The gutsy, effective opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico, who was given little chance and was sent off as anywhere from a 7-1 to 9-1 underdog, left the ring to raucous cheers, as he waved a huge sombrero.