Inside the Ropes 12.28.09: Mayweather-Pacquiao and Some of My Favorite Moments of 2009
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 12.28.2009
I'm getting real fed up with this Mayweather-Pacquiao stuff and I bet you are too. I take a few minutes to vent. Plus, a top-10 list of some of my favorite happenings in 2009 and 10 things I look forward to in the next year.
Photo by Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos / GBP
Hello everyone, I'm back from a short column-writing sabbatical now that I've got the wedding out of the way and I made some additional work-related moves.
Enough is enough! When it was first revealed that both Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions would begin talks for a possible 2010 mega fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, many of us were impressed with how quickly the negotiations began. It seemed right off the bat that the two sides meant business – a good thing for boxing. It appeared at one point that things were going much TOO smoothly considering the two fighters involved.
Could we get the two biggest entities in the sport to meet in 2010 without a hitch?
Turns out, as expected, the answer was no.
By now, most of you should be pretty aware of the rollercoaster ride this has turned out to be. Bottom line, this thing has turned into one of the most ridiculous negotiations that I have ever witnessed. Never have I seen such turmoil based off of nothing. That Pacquiao is being accused of being on steroids while never once giving us any reason to believe such a thing is outrageous. On top of that, why hasn't Mayweather's camp asked for anything like this in the past? Is Pacquiao that scary that these sort of tactics need to be used? What's more frustrating is the wonder if he's afraid or if he's simply trying to get inside Pacquiao's head.
Then there's the other side of the coin – the other group that wonders why Pacquiao can't just take the drug test and prove that he's clean. If there's nothing to hide then just agree to the terms and let's move on with things. But again, why have to prove such a thing when there's no obvious need to?
With 2010 about to begin and only three months to go before the potential clash, things need to get worked out real fast unless they plan on alienating the millions of fans who want to see it so bad.
Get it done or let's move on. But if we've forced to move on, be prepared for a backlash, the likes of what we haven't seen in recent years.
What I Enjoyed From 2009
No, I'm not going to break down what went on this past year but rather, here's a list of 10 of my favorite occurrences from '09 in no particular order.
1.The entire event that was Pacquiao vs. Cotto – very well done
2.That Paul Williams sucked it up, moved on from Pavlik and gave Sergio Martinez (another ducked fighter) a shot. That it turned out to be another Fight of the Year candidate was the cherry on top.
3.The Super Six World Boxing Classic came out of nowhere and then kicked off with great results
4.Lou DiBella sticking to what he feels is right and dumping Jermain Taylor on good terms.
5.The San Francisco Bay Area getting some boxing love. The HBO tripleheader in March at the HP Pavilion, and Andre Ward's two fights at Oracle Arena. Excellent response from the fans as well.
6.Mayweather's return to the ring (despite what I may think of his hand picked opponent).
7.Some of the best fights that can be made, were made
8.Getting the continued opportunity to cover this great sport
9.The Tweetup in Las Vegas this past month
10.Getting married (what's this got to do with boxing? She's our boxing photographer too)
As we look ahead to 2010, here's another top-10, in no particular order of what I'm looking forward to the most or hope gets accomplished.
1.Mayweather vs. Pacquiao
2.That this Association of Boxing Promoters actually does something important
3.A unified heavyweight champ
4.More solid action from the Super Six
5.No deaths in the ring
6.That Berto vs. Mosley turns out to be as exciting as I think it can
7.That Antonio Margarito and Javier Capetillo don't get their boxing licenses back
8. Finding out if Julio Cesar Chavez will be worth a damn by seeing how he does against a top-10 fighter.
9.Better and even more enjoyable episodes of 3 More Rounds
10.Boxing nationally televised on primetime
As for 2009, be sure to also vote for our Scrappies (End of Year Awards) if you haven't done so. This week, you'll see the official results so stay tuned for those.
Until then, see you at the fights and Happy New Year!
Posted By: chickenfloyd (Guest) on December 28, 2009 at 03:44 AM
Pacquiao has been accused of performance enhancers by Mayweather's father and other fighters. There was never an cloud (big or small) around Mayweather's other opponents nor has there been a fight of this magnitude in an era riddled with such steroid usage in sports.
The request is more than reasonable.
Win or lose, there will be no questions about fairness. Mayweather even accepted Pacquiao's terms for 10 million dollars for every pound if he comes in overweight and wasn't even interested in a cash penalty if Pacquiao tested positive because this fight is about a lot more than money to him. He wants to prove who's the best in the sports without a shadow of a doubt.
Besides, Mayweather isn't demanding a full police investigation here. It's a blood test. Extra and irrelevant information will not be dragged out and paraded in front of the public like Tiger Woods has had to suffer. They draw your blood, test it, and that's it. Also, contrary to Freddie Roach's idiotic claims (great trainer though), boxing is an Olympic sport and blood testing does catch HGH.
If Pacquiao's clean, there's for him to worry about and yet, he's acting more nervous than a hooker in a church.
Posted By: WilliamMorgan (Guest) on December 28, 2009 at 03:54 AM
"But again, why have to prove such a thing when there's no obvious need to?"
Because people doubt, and when you're at the top of the game you do what you need to in order to prove you're clean.
When Lance Armstrong was accused of using PED, despite years of testing clean, did he cry about it? No, he just took the new tests they wanted to prove he was clean.
Pacquiao could put the whole thing to rest with a simple acceptance of the tests - tests that Mayweather would ALSO be subject to.
Posted By: Rod Oracheski (Registered) on December 28, 2009 at 02:34 PM
"6.Mayweather's return to the ring (despite what I may think of his hand picked opponent)."
Ramon, and Manny's opponents weren't? DLH, Hatton and Cotto were all broken down, flat footed fighters, with nothing left in the "Tank". All of them were cherry picked for Manny by Top Rank. If you can't see that you need to open your eyes. You fell for the smoke and mirrors trick i guess, just like everyone else.
Posted By: wolf137 (Guest) on December 28, 2009 at 06:08 PM
If manny refuses to take the tests it looks like he has something to hide. Just take the damn tests to get it over with!
Posted By: Johnny (Guest) on December 28, 2009 at 09:11 PM
Copyright � 2011 411mania.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
Click here for our privacy policy. Please help us serve you better, fill out our survey.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to our terms of use.
_30759.jpg)
3.The Super Six World Boxing Classic came out of nowhere and then kicked off with great results
5.No deaths in the ring
