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Arum was told to stop the Clottey-Cotto fight
link --> Arum was told to stop the Clottey-Cotto fight
So here we are on Monday trying to determine the biggest winner on a terrific sports weekend in New York.
Among the candidates are the Yankees, winners of two out of three over the Mets in the Subway Series; Mark Teixeira, who reminded us how major leaguers are supposed to play baseball, even with two out in the ninth inning; Luis Castillo, who reminded us how men are supposed to behave even when they are asked to explain the unexplainable; and Miguel Cotto, who spilled more guts than a week's worth of Dr. Phil shows in winning a brutal fight against Joshua Clottey at the Garden.
The answer, of course, is none of the above.
The guy who had the best weekend in New York was clearly Manny Pacquiao, who flew in Friday afternoon, accepted an award as Fighter of the Year for 2008, had a choice seat for the fight Saturday night, and by yesterday afternoon was back home in the Philippines waiting for stacks of money to pour out of his telephone.
Despite the courage of Cotto and the gallantry of Clottey, Pacquiao was the real star of the show Saturday night. As soon as the split decision in favor of Cotto was digested, all eyes, ears and thoughts turned to Pacquiao.
Who would he fight next, and when? Would it be Floyd Mayweather, who Sunday postponed his scheduled July 18 comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez because of a rib injury? Or Shane Mosley? Or Cotto, who with his victory Saturday night put himself right back into the already crowded conversation of the best fights that boxing can make right now, all of which are in the area of 147 pounds?
Nobody knows for sure, but a hint might have been dropped during the sixth round of the fight when, with blood streaming out of Cotto's left eyebrow and Clottey coming on strong, Pacquiao turned to promoter Bob Arum and said: "They better stop this fight soon. Looks like your guy is going to get beat."
Obviously, Pacquiao's concern was not for Cotto's well-being, or Arum's for that matter, but his own. As a Top Rank employee told me after the fight, "Pacquiao is licking his chops to get at this guy," meaning Cotto.
Still, Pacquiao will have no shortage of offers on his table today, starting with what is undoubtedly the most lucrative of all, a superfight with Mayweather. That, also undoubtedly, will be the most difficult to make, since Mayweather is surely to dictate terms that a fighter with an ego as healthy as Pacquiao's is likely to reject.
The least remunerative, but easiest to make, would probably be a fight with Mosley, who is said to be not only ready and able to fight Pacquiao, but even willing to accept the short end of a 60-40 purse split and Pacquiao's demand that he pare down to 144 pounds, a weight he hasn't fought at in more than 10 years.
The Cotto fight, too, should be a slam-dunk, since they share a promoter. However, since after the fight Cotto was surrounded in his dressing room by more plastic surgeons than Joan Rivers, it is questionable if he would be ready to fight again by Nov. 14, the date that has been set aside for boxing's next big pay-per-view event.
We already know who's headlining that party. All that's left to do is what Pacquiao is doing right now - sit back and learn who the other guy will be, and how much money he's bringing with him.
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Originally Posted by Violent Demise
Pacquiao words were jokingly!
Just a friendly advice, don't ever call PAC a coward, OK??
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