Larry Brown Sports

Robert Guerrero is getting cocky ahead of his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The two will meet in the ring May 4 on Showtime. Mayweather appeared on Showtime’s telecast of the Cornelius Bundrage-Ishe Smith card Saturday evening to promote his new deal with the network. He also was promoting his fighter, J’Leon Love, who is part of The Money Team, and who beat Derrick Findley.

Mayweather worked in Love’s corner for the fight and tweeted about it. Guerrero responded to that tweet, telling Money to get used to being in the corner — an intimation that he would end the champ’s fighting career:

@floydmayweather hope u liked working corners I’m gonna make it permanent pretty boy! The fans want it @shosports 70 days left buddy! #43-1

— Robert Guerrero (@GHOSTBOXING) February 24, 2013

Nothing like some solid trash talk to get everyone excited for the fight. You have to love Guerrero saying he’s going to hand Mayweather his first career loss.

Guerrero has been calling out Floyd since beating Andre Berto in November. It was reported a month later that the two would be fighting in May, but that wasn’t confirmed until recently. Mayweather even tweeted that he was going to face Devon Alexander, probably because he was trying to throw everyone off the scent ahead of the announcement of his big deal with Showtime.

I know Mayweather is undefeated and considered invincible, but he took plenty of shots against Miguel Cotto in his last fight, and he is getting up there at age 36. I don’t see him fighting a whole lot more in his career, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggle against the Ghost. I bet it goes the distance and that Mayweather takes plenty of shots.

Manny Pacquiao may be considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in boxing history, but there is a large collection of people who feel his accomplishments are illegitimate. Former boxing champ Jorge Arce is apparently among that group.

Earlier this week, Arce told Boxing Scene that he believes Pacquiao has been using some sort of substance that cannot be detected by the current drug testing system.

“Pacquiao is getting something, that’s for sure,” Arce said, via. “He never [comes up] positive [during drug tests], so it is logical that he is using something that is legal or not detectable in his urine. Because I remember when Pacquiao did not want to fight [Floyd] Mayweather, because [Mayweather] said that he wanted to have doping tests [involved in their fight] and Manny refused to have them.

“Pacman is coming from [the] flyweight [division] and walks around at welterweight. I am convinced that Manny is getting something, but it is not detectable. I’ve seen him overwhelm [fighters] who are much bigger than him.”

If he’s using something legal, then it’s legal. If Pac Man is using something that is illegal and not detectable, well, we’ll never know and there’s really nothing that can be done about it. Technology isn’t perfect.

This is not the first time Pacquiao has been accused of using performance-enhancing substances by another fighter. As we know, it has been an ongoing theme in his saga with Floyd Mayweather. While there is no proof that Pacquiao has ever used a banned substance, the speculation remains rampant.

Glove tap to Opposing Views

Free agent defensive end Ray Edwards has always had a thing for boxing, but I highly doubt he ever thought scoring a knockout could be as easy as it was during a recent match in North Dakota against a “fighter” named Nicholas Capes. The video you see above has gone viral, and it clearly shows Capes taking the dive of the century early in the fight when Edwards missed him with an uppercut by about a foot.

Either the fight was a fix, or Capes was so frightened at the sight of Edwards and his incredible size advantage that he needed a clean pair of shorts the second he stepped into the ring. The more likely scenario is that the latter is true, especially since Combative Sports Commissioner Al Jaeger announced this week that Capes has been suspended indefinitely for the dive.

According to the WCF Courier, Capes was a last-minute replacement for two fighters who did not show. Event promoter Cory Rapacz said Capes did not realize he would be stepping into the ring against a former NFL player, so the backlash is unfair.

Would I want to fight Ray Edwards? Absolutely not, but then again I’m not a fighter. Assuming this Capes guy wants to be a fighter, you would think he would at least be able to take a punch. If you want to stay down after taking one shot that’s fine, but at least take the shot.

H/T Pro Football Talk

Over the weekend, a report from The Sun claimed that legendary boxer Muhammad Ali could have only days to live. Muhammad’s brother Rahman Ali reportedly said that the former heavyweight champion was not only beginning to lose his battle with Parkinson’s disease, but that he was also in the middle of a bitter family feud.

Rahman said that Ali’s wife of 26 years, Lonnie, has driven a wedge between the brothers and other members of the family. He explained that Ali’s health is declining and that he cannot speak and does not recognize him. He also said Lonnie has blocked his access to a trust fund that Muhammad wanted Rahman to have after he dies.

“Before he got sick he told me, ‘Rahman, I’ve set up a trust fund for you after I die, you get the money,’” Rahman claimed. “But she’s put a stop to it. If he knew what was happening and where I’m living now, he’d be as mad as hell, so angry. He’d divorce her. If he saw what was happening with his children, he’d go crazy.”

Contrary to the report, Muhammad’s daughter Laila Ali tweeted a photo of her dad on Sunday and said that he is doing just fine and watching the Super Bowl.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Bob Arum is 81 years old and a crusty old man. Dude should be sitting on his millions in Palm Beach, Florida, just playing shuffleboard and beating the crowds to the early-bird special every night. But no, the old man is still grinding it out, raking in dough promoting his fighters while stunting the growth of the sport.

He was even asked by Nestor Gibbs recently about the possibility of having some of his Top Rank guys face Golden Boy Promotions fighters. He was so opposed to the idea, he hilariously dropped some unexpected f-bombs.

The first one comes at the :25 mark, and then another one flies when he talks about Lucas Matthysse a minute later:

So, to recap, Bob Arum is not interested in cross-promoting with Golden Boy even though it would make the sport of boxing better, and he says nobody knows who the f— Lucas Matthysse is. Awesomesauce.

So much for a lengthy layoff to recover from his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in December. According to various reports, Manny Pacquiao is planning to return to the ring in April for a tune-up fight before facing Marquez for a fifth time in September.

Boxing Scene first reported on Friday that Pacquiao’s team was strongly considering an April fight in Asia. They and others say Pacquiao’s team is looking to book a fight outside the US for two reasons.

Pacquiao was initially under a 120-day suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission following his knockout loss to Marquez on Dec. 8, and a 90-day no contact suspension from the commission (the suspensions may have been reduced to 90/60 by a doctor). In order to begin training in time to fight in April, Pacquiao would have to find a country where the suspensions would not be enforced.

The Philippine Star also reports that Pacquiao’s manager, Michael Koncz, says they are targeting an Asian venue for “tax reasons.” The taxes in other countries might not be as high as they would be for Pacquiao to fight in the US.

“We’re not interested in the US for this fight,” Koncz told the Star.

Pacquiao’s last 14 fights have either taken place in Las Vegas or Texas. His last fight outside the US was a July 2006 bout against Oscar Larios in the Philippines.

Koncz reportedly mentioned three potential locations for the April fight to the Star — Singapore, Abu Dhabi or Macau, which is the gambling center in China.

Brandon Rios, Vyacheslav Senchenko, and Jessie Vargas have been mentioned as potential opponents. Koncz says they will focus on finding a venue before looking at opponents.

Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, reportedly told the Manila Bulletin last week that he was interested in having Pacquiao and Marquez on the same April card, just not fighting against each other. The thinking is the card would build up to a September fight between Pacquiao and Marquez over Mexican Indepence Day weekend.

Having Pacquiao fight in April is a gross departure from what his team initially planned. Arum was so concerned about Pacquiao’s health following the knockout loss he had his fighter undergo extensive brain testing. There was talk that Pacquiao’s planned April fight date would be postponed and that he wouldn’t return until September. That’s what Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, initially said would be the best plan.

Roach still prefers for Pacquiao to wait until September before fighting.

Read The Rest of the Story…

According to multiple doctors in Manny Pacquiao’s home country of the Philippines, the 34-year-old fighter may be showing signs that he is developing serious health problems. Dr. Rustico Jimenez, the president of Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, recently said he believes he has seen early signs of Parkinson’s Disease in Pacquiao in the form of hand twitching and stuttering.

“Even though his reflexes are quick, I noticed the movement – it’s just another view, my personal view – but it seems like there are early signs,” Jimenez said, via a translation from Bad Left Hook. “There are some movements that you will notice with his hands. It’s in the hands, and not the head, where you can easily see this. It twitches a little bit. Although I haven’t seen it up close, I think I am seeing that there are some signs.”

Jimenez hasn’t actually examined Pacquiao up close, but he said he can see signs in interviews. Last month, Pac-Man was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez and one of his coaches said he didn’t know where he was when he finally came to. Pacquiao underwent extensive brain testing after the fight. Dr. Raquel Fortun, a renowned forensics expert from the Philippines, said she is not convinced everything is right with his head.

“When the brain gets shook like that, it’s very dangerous,” Fortun said. “Since it’s not truly fixed to your skull, when your brain gets shaken, there are connections that get cut off, and you get small hemorrhages.”

Of course, these are just the opinions of two doctors who have not worked very closely with Pacquiao. That being said, we already know his wife wants him to give up boxing before he does any serious damage to himself. Hearing that her husband is showing signs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s will not help ease Jinkee’s anxiety.

UPDATE: Pacquiao issued a statement in response.

“There is nothing to be worry about. I am 100 percent healthy and right now I’m enjoying this memorable vacation with my family in this beautiful country of Israel. I will return to the Philippines on January 14 and in early February because I want to get to the gym because I want to have a fight in April and in September I want the fifth fight with Marquez.

“The statements by the doctors show a total lack of ethics and it was irresponsible. This was just personal opinion and there were no medical tests.”

That statement clearly was not written by Pacquiao. Hopefully his staff member who crafted it will hold some serious concern for the fighter’s health and overall well-being.