Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao's skyrocketing popularity created chaos that no mere mortal could be expected to balance. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) appeared more human than ever in his last fight, however. As he prepares now for his next bout June 9 against Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao and his trainer acknowledge Everyman's frailty has been his most imposing contender. "All the distractions caught up to Manny in his last fight," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said Thursday of the boxer's narrow decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

The Grove shopping center became the unlikely battleground in the debate over gay marriage after it banned boxer Manny Pacquiao from the mall in response to an interview he gave in Los Angeles. The ban led to a day of dueling statements, denunciations and backtracking. Some news organizations erroneously quoted the boxing champion as saying gay men should "be put to death. " That prompted the management of the Grove to issue a terse statement Tuesday evening that Pacquiao was persona non grata at the L.A. shopping center despite a scheduled television interview with Extra, which regularly films at the popular outdoor mall next to the Original Farmer's Market at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue.

LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. told The Times he is not among those who believe the long-awaited showdown against Manny Pacquiao is likely to happen in the fall. "No, I don't think it's going to happen," Mayweather said of a Pacquiao fight. "It's because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It's not my fault. " Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, and even Mayweather's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, have speculated recently that Mayweather and Pacquiao will fight in November, should Mayweather defeat Miguel Cotto (May 5)

Manny Pacquiao's skyrocketing popularity created chaos that no mere mortal could be expected to balance. Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) appeared more human than ever in his last fight, however. As he prepares now for his next bout June 9 against Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao and his trainer acknowledge Everyman's frailty has been his most imposing contender. "All the distractions caught up to Manny in his last fight," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said Thursday of the boxer's narrow decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

LAS VEGAS — A big mistake while pondering Floyd Mayweather Jr. is to try to make sense of him. His unpredictability is his only certainty. It is well before noon Friday at the MGM Grand. This is not so much a resort and casino as it is a massive enclosed labyrinth of contrasts. Under the same roof, yet miles apart, unemployed dads lose the rent money to slot machines while Mayweather generates a throng of worshippers that symbolizes why he will increase his already hefty bank account by about $32 million.

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.

If all goes as planned Saturday night, Juan Manuel Marquez, the veteran technician, and Brandon Rios, the young aggressor, will clear their final hurdles to a July 14 junior-welterweight showdown at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. "That's what I'd like to do," fight promoter Bob Arum said Friday. "We have to discuss terms with both, they both have to win, nothing is finalized, but it'd be a great fight. "Brandon Rios is a tremendous warrior. Marquez is a masterful boxer. " Saturday night at 6 p.m. on pay-per-view television, Rios (29-0-1, 22 knockouts)

LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. told The Times he is not among those who believe the long-awaited showdown against Manny Pacquiao is likely to happen in the fall. "No, I don't think it's going to happen," Mayweather said of a Pacquiao fight. "It's because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It's not my fault. " Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, and even Mayweather's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, have speculated recently that Mayweather and Pacquiao will fight in November, should Mayweather defeat Miguel Cotto (May 5)

Tired of being disappointed because there isn't a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight? Miguel Cotto is here to try to slug out your frustrations. "I didn't care about hearing one more thing about that," Cotto said Thursday, appearing in Hollywood to promote his May 5 bout against the unbeaten Mayweather. "My next step is Mayweather. If people want to see that [Mayweather-Pacquiao] fight, they have to wait until I beat Mayweather. " Cotto (37-2, 30 knockouts), the World Boxing Assn.

Manny Pacquiao can no longer be identified as a boxer. Lethal weapon, maybe. Or destroyer missile. Whatever the definition, he is unquestionably the sport's top gun. What he did to Ricky Hatton on Saturday night, in a boxing ring at the MGM Grand Garden, in front of a crowd of 16,262 and millions more all over the world watching on pay-per-view, was mostly mayhem. The man from Manchester was manhandled.

The theory that Manny Pacquiao is so good he can afford to back off in training camp is about to be tested. "Worst camp ever," Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said Wednesday, 18 days before the first-term Philippine congressman seeks a record eighth weight-class world title in a junior-middleweight bout against Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. Pacquiao's conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, complained his fighter routinely found excuses in the Philippines to avoid the strength training to pack on extra pounds of muscle against Margarito, who could weigh close to 160 pounds on fight night Nov. 13. "I don't believe in waiting until the last two weeks and then trying to push it," Ariza said.

Spend enough time around hard-core boxing followers, and their opinions begin taking the shape of gospel. Timothy Bradley is stronger and younger than Manny Pacquiao, the argument starts. Some say that Pacquiao was "exposed" as an older, less powerful fighter in his narrow November decision over Juan Manuel Marquez. And that Bradley, 28, can beat Pacquiao, 33, in their June 9 fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Wait, what? "It's a tough test, this is a young guy coming up to take on the established guy and being undefeated can make you highly resilient to losing," Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said about Bradley during a Beverly Hills news conference Tuesday.

They served lunch Tuesday at a Manny Pacquiao news conference. That was quickly followed by some real food for thought. The official fanfare was for the announcement of Pacquiao's next fight, a June 9 Las Vegas matchup with Tim Bradley of Palm Springs. That was not news. Everybody who cares knows everything about Pacquiao the Top Rank Promotion machine is willing to make public. Its job is to hype and sell, and seldom has a promotional firm had more to work with than the likable, recently unbeatable boxing congressman from the Philippines.