By Norm Frauenheim
FORT McDOWELL, Ariz. – A title was at stake in a fight scheduled for only eight rounds.

Turns out, Louis Rose only needed eight. Ten or 12 weren’t necessary.

Rose (13-3-1, 5 KOs), of Lynwood, Calif., retained a junior NABF version of the middleweight title Saturday, stopping Phoenix challenger Andrew Hernandez (9-2-1, 1 KO) at 2:02 of the round, 58 seconds short of a complete eight.

Hernandez, who was bloodied above his right eye in the fourth, had no defense for a succession of right hands in the final round. They landed, one after another, like a wave hitting a beach.

The last one from Rose put Hernandez down along the ropes. Hernandez got up, but looked helpless, prompting a timely stoppage from referee Wes Melton on a card jointly promoted by Roy Jones Jr. and Iron Boy of Phoenix.

The card lost some of its star power when former junior-flyweight champion Giovani Seguro was forced to withdraw. Promoter Robert Vargas of Iron Boy said his scheduled opponent, Nicaraguan Juan Palacios, told him that he was not ready to fight.

Best of the Undercard: Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro (12-0, 6 KOs) landed a right hand early, sending a message that would land repeatedly in a decision as definitive as it was unanimous over Johnny Guillen of El Paso, Tex.

Guillen was considered the toughest test in Castro’s early career. He aced the test and nearly aced Guiillen in the process. Castro’s right dropped the once unbeaten Guillen late in the fifth. If there had been more than a few seconds left in the round, it might have been over.

But the tough Guillen (7-1-1, 3 KOs) survived, only to be handed his first defeat when the scorecards – 60-53 on all three — were announced after the sixth.

The Rest: San Antonio welterweight Benjamin Whitaker (10-1, 2 KOs) UD over John Ryan Grimaldo (9-7, 6 KOs) of
Fort Collins, Colo; Phoenix super-bantamweight Paul Romero (5-0-1, 1 KO) UD over Raymond Chacon (5-17) of Los Angeles; Phoenix featherweight Keenan Carbajal (7-3-1, 4 KOs) UD over Jose Silveira (15-16, 6 KOs) of Mexico; Phoenix super-flyweight Alexis Zazueta (6-0, 3 KO) UD over Sergio Lopez (2-3-1) of Las Ve

By Norm Frauenheim

FORT McDOWELL, Ariz. — Former junior-flyweight champion Giovani Segura withdrew from a card Saturday night at We-Ke-Po Conference Center because opponent Juan Palacios of Nicaragua said he wasn’t ready, promoter Robert Vargas said before first bell.

Vargas said he spoke to Segura’s representatives before the card.

“They just told me that he needed more time to train,,” said Vargas of Iron Boy, which promoted the card in a joint venture with Roy Jones Jr.

Vargas said other dates were discussed.

Cards scheduled for Sept. 26 and Oct. 17 in Phoenix are possibilities for Segura-Palaciaos, Vargas said.

Segura (32-4-1, 28 KOs) had been talking about a bout with Roman Gonzalez, who is is scheduled to face Brian Viloria on the Gennady Golovkin card at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct.17. Segura has tried to stay busy since losing last September to Juan Francisco Estrada.

It’s the second time that Segura was

By Norm Frauenheim-

The table is set. From late August to November, from late summer to late fall, there’s a boxing schedule worth celebrating.

The harvest starts with Abner Mares-Leo Santa Cruz on August 29 at Los Angeles’ Staples center.

It continues with Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Andre Berto on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand in a historical mismatch, yet another reason for the Mayweather haters to hope that the improbable finally happens.

Then, there’s Gennady Golovkin-David Lemieux on Oct. 17 at New York’s Madison Square Garden on a card that looms as a test of GGG’s pay-per-view marketability and includes the game’s best-kept secret, flyweight Roman Gonzalez, against Brian Viloria.

Finally, there’s the biggie, Canelo Alvarez-Miguel Cotto, on Nov. 21 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay in a bout loaded with history that does not figure to include a mismatch.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The menu’s biggest question, perhaps, is how to rate them, or perhaps price them. In announcing Cotto-Canelo for the middleweight title Thursday, Canelo promoter Oscar De La Hoya was quoted as saying the PPV price for the HBO telecast won’t be $100.

That was a crack directed at the sticker-shock tag for the high-def telecast of Mayweather’s dull decision over Manny Pacquiao May 2.
Left unsaid, however, was whether the PPV tag for Canelo-Cotto would be similar to the price ($64.95 for HD/$54.95 for the regular telecast) of Showtime’s production of Mayweather-Berto.

There was a lot of talk about a backlash after the Mayweather-Pacquiao disappointment. Big live gates and good television ratings for subsequent bouts – Canelo’s stoppage of James Kirkland in Houston, for instance – say that the fans will still watch.

This fall’s rich variety of options, however, might make the customers a lot more discerning about how they spend their Holiday dollars.

In part, the price tag fro Canelo-Cotto appears to hinge on whether Andre Ward winds up on the card. There’s talk that he might in a bout that would create further momentum for a 2016 showdown between Ward and light-heavyweight Sergey Kovalev, the most interesting man in boxing today. It’s no coincidence that Kovalev’s next fight is scheduled for Nov. 28 in Moscow.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to hear the PPV tag for the HBO telecast of GGG-Lemieux. The initial guess here was that the bout might draw 300,000 buys if priced at $50. If the live gate’s pre-sale at MSG is an indication, however, that might be a little conservative.

A record of more than 6,000 tickets was sold. GGG interest is growing. But the real test of his popularity rests in PPV sales, which in turn depends on price, price, price.

Best option of all might be the first one. Mares-Santa Cruz for a featherweight title is on ESPN. No PPV investment at all. On a couple of levels, it’s the most intriguing of the four. It looms as the best PBC bout since Al Haymon launched his series in March.

Mares and Santa Cruz have been rivals for almost as long as anybody has known them. The fight also is a test of
the thinking that goes into Mayweather’s claim, The Best Ever, which will continue two weeks after Mares-Santa Cruz in his pursuit of a 49-0 record against Berto.

For Mayweather, TBE means an unbeaten career. For others, however, TBE is defined by adversity. That means defeat. Dealing with it. Overcoming it. Muhammad Ali did. Sugar Ray Robinson did. Without it, they might not be remembered as legends.

Santa Cruz is unbeaten and mostly unchallenged, especially over the last couple of years against over matched opponents. Mares is 4-0 after a suffering a crushing first-round knock out at the hands of Jhonny Gonzalez in 2013.

Mares has often appeared tentative since the KO. Meanwhile, Santa Cruz has simply appeared unstoppable. Has Mares forged some newfound toughness in the couple of years since his lone loss? Can Santa Cruz counter adversity he hasn’t seen?
We’re about to find out over a three-month run with options and answers.

By Norm Frauenheim-

FORT McDOWELL, Ariz. –Former junior-flyweight champion Giovani Segura battles to get back into the world-title mix, this time at super-flyweight, Saturday night against Juan Palacios at We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center at Fort McDowell on the Yavapai Nation Reservation east of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Segura (32-4-1, 28 KOs), a Mexican now living and training in Southern California, is scheduled for a 10-rounder against Nicaraguan Juan Palacios (29-5-2, 22 KOs) on a seven-fight card, staged in a joint promotion by Roy Jones Jr. and Iron Boy of Phoenix.

Segura is coming off a loss last September in Mexico City to Juan Francisco Estrada for the WBA’s super-flyweight title in Mexico City. From 2008 through 2011, he held the WBO version of the 108-pound championships. Michael Carbajal, a Hall of Famer from nearby Phoenix, held that same title in the 1990s.

Louis Rose (12-2-1, 4 KOs) of Lynwood, Calif., is scheduled for the main event against Andrew Hernandez (9-1-1, 1 KO) for a minor junior-middleweight title.
First bell is scheduled for 5 p.m.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose real legacy is money, hears the anger from media and fans unhappy at his decision to fight Andre Berto.

“I’ve been getting backlash,’’ Mayweather said Thursday at a Los Angeles news conference announcing the pay-per-view bout on Sept. 12 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “He’s been getting backlash.

“No one is forced to buy the fight. I appreciate it, but no one is forced to buy the fight.’’

True enough.

The real test of Mayweather’s legacy figures to be in his ability to sell a fight that has been panned from public pillar to public post since it was first rumored a few weeks ago.

Showtime’s PPV price — $64.95 for the regular telecast and $74.95 for high-def – is cheaper than the sticker-shock shelling felt by wallets turned-inside-out from the $89.95/$99.95 cost of watching Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao.

But it’s still a long way from the free-TV that was considered by CBS executives. Showtime executive vice president Stephen Espinoza confirmed that possibility Thursday.

It didn’t happen, Espinoza said on a shosports live stream before the formal news conference, because there just wasn’t enough time to sell the advertising.

“Wasn’t practical,’’ Espinoza said.

That begs a practical question about whether there are enough PPV customers to cover even a fraction of Mayweather’s guarantee, which figures to be at least $30 million.

Early indications are that Berto, a 40-to-1 underdog in initial odds posted at the MGM Grand, has a better chance at winning.

That said, don’t ever underestimate Mayweather’s salesmanship. Berto gives him a chance to sell in the style that has made him the world’s highest-earning athlete in a sport so often deemed bankrupt.

His haters have made him rich and they figure to be there at least one more time for a chance, no matter how slim, to see him finally lose. As a business plan, perhaps it’s perverse. But it works.

“This is an intriguing match-up,’’ said Mayweather, his own promoter, matchmaker, baker and candlestick-maker. “I don’t want anyone to say, ‘Damn, I missed that fight.’ ‘’

Part of the sales pitch is history, including a chance to equal Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record. That much was evident Thursday. Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, said that Sept. 12 would be the last chance to see a fighter who has claimed to be The Best Ever. His records will never be broken, Ellerbe said.

Safe to say, his record for earning more than $200 million in a single fight – the dull decision over Pacquiao – will be very hard to break.

Mayweather has been able to generate revenue like nobody in history. Maybe, it will continue beyond Berto and into a quest for 50-0 at a new Las Vegas arena scheduled to open next spring. Maybe.

“Number 49, this is it,’’ Mayweather said after the formal news conference when asked about whether he might change his mind. “I’ve had a remarkable career. I can go out at 48-0 and be happy.’’
Rich and unpopular, too.

By Norm Fraiebheim–

Sergey Kovalev’s stoppage of Nadjib Mohammedi last Saturday in Las Vegas marked a six-year anniversary of his first fight in North America. It was a beginning then. In some ways, it still is.

As the Russian learns English, we begin to learn more about him. At times, he’s as blunt as the Russian hammer.

Ask him about Adonis Stevenson, and his response is profane. He looks as if he’s about to take off a shoe and bang it on a table the way Nikita Khrushchev did at the United Nations in 1960.

He looks at ex-trainer Abel Sanchez with a glare that reminds you of news photos of a Putin-Obama stare down. Then, he breaks into a smile that, so far, has been interpreted as either predatory, or goofy, or good-natured.

Who is this guy? Yakov Smirnoff, the Russian comedian? Ivan Drago, the arrogant character in Rocky IV? Or both?

Hard to say right now. But that’s the intriguing part of Kovalev’s ongoing introduction, a journey that started with a first-round stoppage on July 25, 2009 of somebody named Daniel Chavez in Greensboro, N.C, to a third-round knockout in a light-heavyweight title defense on July 25, 2015 at Mandalay Bay.

With apologies to Dos Equis, Kovalev has become the most interesting man in boxing.

It’s based on what we’ve seen. His unbeaten record is built around a swift right hand that is as long as it is lethal. Then, there’s what most of us didn’t see. His record includes Roman Simakov, who died three days after Kovalev stopped him within seven rounds of a December, 2011 bout in Russia.

There’s reason to fear him. There’s reason to like him.

There are reasons to watch him.

Putting together the evident pieces of stardom, however, is about finding the right business partners, all at the right time. Kovalev promoter Kathy Duva sees the potential for an era comparable to the 1980s when Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns staged a four-way middleweight rivalry as legendary as any in boxing’s star-crossed history.

George Kimball wrote about it in his terrific book, Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing.

Duva thinks she might already have three sides to a potential sequel. There’s super-middleweight Andre Ward. Duva believes Ward-Kovalev is likely, probably next year perhaps at 172-pound catch weight.

Then, there’s Gennady Golovkin. In ongoing talks with Ward’s management, Duva says she’s been told that it wants Ward to fight Golovkin before Kovalev.

There’s already been speculation about Golovkin-Kovalev, despite the weight difference. GGG is a middleweight (160 pounds), and a small one at that. Kovalev is a natural 175 pounder. If Ward and GGG can agree on a catch weight, however, it’s not a stretch to think that a deal on weight can be made for GGG-Kovalev.

But who completes the square circle? Who’s the fourth rival? Thus far, it looks as if Stevenson doesn’t want to risk his piece of light-heavyweight title. That’s why Kovalev has repeatedly calls him a piece of bleep. Earlier this week, Stevenson announced he would fight somebody named Tommy Karpency. I guess Andre Berto is busy.

The Stevenson possibility is further complicated by his professional relationship. He’s with Al Haymon’s PBC. Given their rocky history, a joint venture between Duva and Haymon is unlikely. She sued him. The case never got to court. It was dropped when Bernard Hopkins agreed to fight Kovalev, who went on to win a one-sided decision last November.

She has offered Artur Beterbiev a Nov. 28 fight against Kovalev in Moscow. It’s a natural. Beterbiev, an emerging light-heavyweight and former Olympian, beat Kovalev when they were Russian amateurs.

The problem is Haymon. He has a contract with Beterbiev. Duva sent the offer to Beterbiev promoter Yvon Michel of Montreal. Duva expects some kind of answer next week.
The search continues. A chance at boxing’s next great era depends on it.

LAS VEGAS – Sergey Kovalev is blunt and effective.

Mostly, he’s predictable.

If you want subtlety, pick another Russian game. Chess, maybe. It’s full of a lot of pawns, which is what every light-heavyweight has become when faced with Kovalev.

Nadjib Mohammedi was just the latest on a board that Kovalev continues to rule with impunity. Andre Ward looks like a challenger. Maybe, Adonis Stevenson. But those are only fights to imagine, talk about. For now, it’s Kovalev’s empire.

“I wanted to make him look like a clown,’’ Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) said. “I wanted to make him look like a fool.’’

At 2:38 of the third round Saturday night, that’s exactly what Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KOs) looked like. He was down, finished by a right-left combination that left the Frenchman with a damaged left eye.

“I wanted it to continue,’’ said Kovalev, who also put Mohammedi on all fours with a crushing right hand that is as long as it is lethal. “I wanted more rounds.’’

Kovalev didn’t say so. But he might have wanted more time to drive home a point to his ex-trainer, Abel Sanchez, who was in Mohammedi’s corner.

Sanchez and Kovalev split in 2010 for reasons that remain unclear. What is clear, however, is that Kovalev has not been happy with the circumstances. The Russian never forgets. But he did serve up some cold vengeance in taking down Mohammedi.

Sanchez, Gennady Golovkin’s trainer, tried to explain the one-sided loss.

“It was Mandalay Bay, the bright lights, the pressure,’’ Sanchez said in the middle of the ring during the bout’s immediate aftermath.

Noticed, he never mentioned Kovalev.

The bout, which took place in front of lot of empty seats at Mandalay Bay, will quickly be forgotten. Kovalev will move on, presumably to a show dwon with Ward sometime next year. His immediate plans are for a bout in Moscow on Nov. 28. His promoter, Kathy Duiva of Main Events, said she will offer the bout to Artur Beterbiev, another Russian. Trouble is, Beterbiev is advised by Al Haymon, a Duva rival.

Next pawn, please.

Maybe, Jean Pascal.
Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs) ducked repeated sledge-hammer rights and, in the end, ducked an upset in winning a narrow decision that had many in the crowd crying foul and Yunieski Gonzalez (24-3-2, 10 KOs) crying tears. It was unanimous, but only the scorecards..

ON THE UNDERCARD

The Best: Joel Diaz, a junior-welterweight from trainer Abel Sanchez’ Summit Gym in Big Bear, Calif., flashed a prospect’s credentials with double-edged power.
Diaz (19-0, 15 KOs, scored two knockdowns of Alejandro Rodriguez (24-18-1, 14 KOs, in the second round, the first with a right and the second with a left. He finished Rodriguez, of Guadalajara, with a beautiful right hand for a TKO at 39 seconds of the fourth.

The Rest: Unbeaten light-heavyweight Sullivan Barrera (16-0, 11 KOs) of Miami was bleeding, looked tired and appeared to be near defeat when he railed, fighting with urgency in the seventh and energy in the eighth for a TKO of France’s Hakim Zoulikha 21-8, 10 KOs), who was one the canvas early in the eighth and finished when he absorbed a succession of blows at 1:34 of the round.

The show opened with a KO, delivered by Connecticut heavyweight Cassius Chaney (3-0, 2 KOs), who knocked Eduardo Ramirez (1-3, 1 KO) of Yuma, Ariz., unconscious and onto the canvas with a left hand at 1:35 of the first round.

Rodney Hernandez (8-2-1, 1 KO), heavyweight from Modesto, Calif, got a six-round, split decision over Brice Ritani-Coe (4-4-1, 3 KOs). Ritani-Coe, of San Pedro, Calif., shook his head in disagreement. But it was hard to know if anybody agreed with him. The arena was empty when the scores were announced.

By Norm Frauenheim-
Phoenix lightweight Victor Castro (15-0, 7 KOs) risks his unbeaten record Saturday against Mexican Angel Martinez (14-6-1, 10 KOs) Saturday night in Phoenix at Celebrity Theatre.

The bout is scheduled for eight rounds on an Iron Boy Promotions card. As many as 12 fights are scheduled. First bell is 5 p.m.

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – It starts with a smile. It’s there because Sergey Kovalev genuinely enjoys what he does. Then again, so does a crocodile.

That smile was perhaps a hint at what many expect Saturday. Kovalev turned his head away from Nadjib Mohammadi during the ritual stare-down after a formal weigh-in Friday at Mandalay Bay.

After tipping the scales at 174.5 pounds, Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) looked at the crowd, flashing that grin with teeth that could make a Great White blink. It’s hard to know what Nadjib Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) thought during a moment when he looked a little bit like prey.

Mohammedi, who was at 173 pounds, is given no chance in a light-heavyweight bout televised by HBO (10 pm ET/PT). That’s probably not fair to a tough fighter who might have a significant advantage in his corner. Abel Sanchez, Kovalev’s ex-trainer, is Mohammedi’s current trainer. But will that, or anything else, make a difference? Few believe it will go the full 12 rounds.

Consider this: On a wagering sheet at the Mandalay Bay’s sports book, there’s a proposition that has Kovalev at minus-2200 to win by knockout. In other words, you’ve got to put up $2,200 to win $100.

“Where’s the closest ATM?’’ a wise guy in the media room said. “That sounds like an easy way to pick up a quick $100.’’

Maybe.

But all of that could change at opening bell. Above all, Mohammedi has absolutely nothing to lose. Sanchez is quick to remind everybody that Mike Tyson was a lopsided favorite to beat Buster Douglas in Tokyo. Huge upsets happen, all right

On Friday, however, all of the talk was about Kovalev and what was next for the Russian with the predatory smile. One scenario has him fighting Jean Pascal next in a rematch if Pascal gets past Yuniesky Gonzalez, a tough-looking Cuban, who escaped Cuba on small boat crowded with refugees in 2009.

Then, there’s the projected showdown that has already begun to capture the public’s imagination: Kovalev-versus-Andre Ward. It sounds as if it’s inevitable. Kovalev promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events says talks are ongoing.

“In fact, those talks have been better than most,’’ she said this week.

There’s speculation that it might happen next year, perhaps after there’s some clarity about when Floyd Mayweather Jr. will in fact retire. Kovalev-Ward could be sold as the fight that will determine Mayweather’s successor at the top of the pound-for-pound debate.

All of the talk has made Kovalev-Mohammedi look like a steppingstone for a legend in the making. That, the lopsided odds and a rival PBC promotion featuring BJ Flores-versus Beibut Shumenov in Vegas The Palms are probably having a lousy impact on ticket sales, although Duva said there has been an uptick during the last couple of days.

But ticket sales, talk about who’s next and speculation about what’s next didn’t seem to matter much to Kovalev. Only an imminent opening bell does. That’s always a reason to smile.

By Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – Imagine trying to demolish what you once designed. It sounds awkward and it probably is if you’re an architect suddenly hired to bring down a building you constructed.

But boxing isn’t architecture. It’s about changing roles and changing sides. One day, you’re drawing up the blueprint. The next day, you’re swinging the wrecking ball.

So it is for Abel Sanchez, who finds himself in the opposite corner Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in an attempt to bring down a feared fighter he helped create.

Sergey Kovalev was just another Russian in 2010 when Sanchez became his trainer.

Then, Sanchez didn’t exactly foresee himself in Nadjib Mohammedi’s corner as the mastermind in an attempted plot to derail Kovalev’s swift emergence as a potential successor to the pound-for-pound throne soon to be vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

He was only certain that Kovalev would become a star.

“I told him, I told him he would be where he is right now,’’ Sanchez said Thursday after a news conference for the light-heavyweight bout (HB0, 10 p.m. ET/PT).

For eight fights between October, 2010 and December, 2011, Sanchez trained Kovalev. Kovalev won all eight by stoppage. Only in hindsight is it evident that Kovalev was then beginning to discover an identity now summed by his nickname, Krusher. He’s been the real wrecking ball. Everybody, even Bernard Hopkins, has been crushed by lethal power complemented by unshakable poise.

Sanchez knew he had a future champion in his gym. But he also knew he had to make tough choice. Middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin was there, too.

“Sometimes, we make choices that maybe we are forced to make,’’ Sanchez said.

What happened after that decision, however, is a matter of some debate. It also appears to be at the heart of a simmering rivalry.

Stories about sparring sessions between Golovkin and Kovalev began to circulate. Sanchez told the media that GGG once knocked down Kovalev. He also was quoted as saying that he thought Golovkin had a higher ring IQ than Kovalev.

The comments had to get back to Kovalev, who is getting to know English as well as he knows his way around the ring. Translation: Very little escapes him.

When asked about Sanchez during an international conference call, Kovalev said:

“Who is this Abel? I don’t know any Abel.’’

Kovalev didn’t have to say anything more. It’s clear he intends to show that Sanchez made the wrong choice in 2011.

“I want to show in this fight just who I really am,’’ said Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs), who sounds as if he is motivated by what he believes was a sub-par performance in an eighth-round round stoppage of Jean Pascal in March.

Betting odds indicate that Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs), a Frenchman of Algerian descent, has no chance no matter what motivates Kovalev or who is in his corner

Mohammedi is a 33-to-1 underdog, according to odds posted on a sheet at the Mandalay Sports book late Thursday. The line is surprisingly lopsided, so much so that Mohammedi has nothing to lose. If it goes the distance, he probably earns another good payday.

“When I’m told we have no chance, that means we have every chance,’’ Mohammedi co-manager Vince Caruso said.

Best guess: Mohammedi’s best chance rests in what Sanchez knows about Kovalev. Sanchez was giving no hints Thursday as to what Mohammedi’s game plan might be. No surprise there. Instead, he praised Kovalev for the progress he’s made under trainer John David Jackson.

“He evolved,’’ Sanchez said. “He’s a world champion now. I think guys, when they become world champions, get better anyway. They have something to protect. They have something they don’t want to lose. They work harder.

“He’s a much better fighter because of all of those things and because he’s got a very good coach in John David.’’

A personal rivalry is an expected element, said Sanchez, who has been working corners long enough to know that emotion can turn an ordinary fight into great one.

“He has a very competitive nature,’’ Sanchez said. “He knows that one day he might fight another one of my guys. He might fight Golovkin, if it ever gets to that point.

“It’s professional competitiveness that sometimes gets mistaken for animosity. During the news conference, he looked over at me and I winked at him. He kind of acknowledged me.

“But you know what? It’s not personal. This is business, just business.’’

A business full of unexpected corners.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Sergey Kovalev is new to English. It’s a second language for the light-heavyweight who grew up speaking Russian.
Occasionally he’ll ask manager Egis Klimas to translate. Sometimes, a phrase or cliché will confuse him. But don’t let that fool you. He’s learning English grammar and some of its common slurs as thoroughly as he once learned his way around a ring. Kovalev is already more fluent in English than Vladimir Putin.

A new language is an acquired skill, mastered by work and study. By now, it is evident Kovalev isn’t afraid of either. But there’s more to this process than just diligence. Like his dangerous complement of heavy hands and unnerving poise, he possesses an instinctive ability to communicate. No matter the language or how it’s delivered, his words connect like his punches.

No translation was necessary during an hour-long conference call this week for his title defense against Nadjib Mohammedi on July 25 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay in an HBO-televised bout. There was no BS. Amend that. Subtract the bull and leave the remaining four letters for Kovalev’s ongoing description of Adonis Stevenson, who has the WBC-version of the title.

Stevenson is a piece of bleep, Kovalev — sounding very American — said of the Canadian, who he says continues to duck him.

About everything else, however, he was simple and direct in a way increasingly foreign in a business so prone to euphemistic double-speak.

“A lot of fighters are making business, but not making boxing,’’ said Kovalev, an emerging pound-for-pound contender and a prohibitive favorite over Mohammedi, Frenchman of Algerian descent. “On my left hand, I can count who are the real fighters in boxing: Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto and Keith Thurman and I don’t remember more. Maybe me.’’

During a tiresome few weeks full of guessing about what Floyd Mayweather Jr. will or won’t do on Sept. 12, Kovalev’s pointed comment stood in contrast — as stark as it was a relief.

There have been mounting reports that Mayweather might fight Andre Berto in the sixth and final bout on his Showtime contract. Speculation is that it’ll be offered on free-TV, Showtime’s CBS flagship, instead of pay-per-view. According to some of the reports, a Mayweather bout on free-TV will be sold as a remedy to public anger still there from many in a record audience who spent $100 for the dull PPV telecast of Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao.

Berto a remedy? Please. Berto is 3-3 over his last six bouts. If that’s a remedy, give me shot a hemlock, Mayweather against anybody other than Thurman or Amir Khan only threatens to further alienate fans. They already believe they were played for suckers throughout the Mayweather-Pacquiao hype.

Before Berto’s name emerged, Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe dismissed Thurman as a possibility. Ellerbe said Thurman wasn’t at Mayweather’s level. Berto isn’t at Thurman’s level. Who knows if Berto and Mayweather will fight? But if they do, it is just one more reason to suspect another shakedown is in the works, perhaps for Mayweather’s free-agent finale in a 50th bout.

In Kovalev, at least, there’s a sense he’s building his career patiently, all in a big-money attempt to fight Andre Ward. Kovalev-Ward looms as a fight that could be everything Mayweather-Pacquiao wasn’t. Early talk about it indicates real interest instead of the cynicism so prevalent in the wake of the Mayweather-Pacquiao money grab on May 2.

“We have been talking to Andrew Ward’s people all week,’’ said Kovalev promoter Kathy Duva, who expects the fight sometime next year. “We all agree the fight is going to happen.’’
In any language, that sounds good.

By Norm Frauenheim

Jose Benavidez Jr. would welcome a chance to fight emerging star Terence Crawford, who is expected to make his second appearance at junior welterweight in the fall.

“We want that fight,’’ Benavidez’ father and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr., said Thursday while planning for his son’s return to the gym next week..

Benavidez’ dad echoed comments made by his son, who talked about his hopes for a Crawford bout before a 12th-round stoppage of Jorge Paez Jr. in Phoenix on May 15.

That’s when Top Rank told 15 Rounds that Benavidez had been a possibility for Crawford’s debut at 140 pounds last spring. In the end, however, Puerto Rican Thomas Dulorme, instead of Benavidez, fought Crawford, who scored three knockdowns in winning a sixth-round TKO for the WBO’s version of the title on April 18 in his only bout this year.

Benavidez, an unbeaten 23-year-old from Phoenix, holds the WBA’s interim belt, which he won in a controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera in December and retained in a first defense against Paez Jr.

Benavidez’ chances at a bout with Crawford appear more likely now than they did April, because Top Rank wants to keep the Boxing Writers reigning Fighter of the Year busy while waiting to hear how Manny Pacquiao’s rehab from shoulder surgery is – or isn’t — progressing.

The unbeaten Crawford is a leading contender to succeed Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the game’s biggest star. He’s a nominee for 2014 Fighter of the Year Wednesday night at the ESPYs.

“Time will tell,’’ Crawford said Monday during a video chat with fans and media. “Right now, I’m just being patient with my career.’’

Against Benavidez (23-0, 16 KOs), Crawford (26-0, 18 KOs) would likely be a big favorite.

“That’s okay,’’ Benavidez Sr. said. “Herrera was a big favorite, too. Junior is going to be a big underdog for now, because he hasn’t really convinced people.’’

Herrera, his Southern California fans and many in the media remain convinced that the 116-112, 117-111, 116-112 scorecards in favor of Benavidez on Dec. 13 at Las Vegas’ Cosmopolitan were a rip-off, perhaps the biggest in 2014.

In the bout’s immediate aftermath, Herrera said he wanted a rematch. Benavidez said he’d give him one. But talk of a rematch quickly died. Instead, Herrera fights Hank Lundy Saturday in a final bell for the historic Sports Arena in Los Angeles.

Then, there was Jessie Vargas. Over the last 12 months, Benavidez has said repeatedly that he wanted Vargas. After a controversial finish to a one-sided loss to Timothy Bradley on June 27 in Carson, Calif., it’s not clear where Vargas goes next.

The bout was stopped seven seconds before the closing bell, just seconds after Vargas rocked Bradley with an overhand right. But the stoppage was a mistake. Referee Pat Russell thought he had heard the bell. The fight went to the cards.

Vargas is asking the California commission to declare the bout a no-contest. That might be one step in pursuing a rematch

“It just kind of looks like our only fight is Crawford,’’ Benavidez said. “It’s what we’re we’re hoping for. We’re excited about the chance.’’

By Norm Frauenheim–

Lawsuits against Al Haymon aren’t surprising. More like inevitable. Haymon had to know they were coming. They’re just part of doing business. The last two suits, however, are different and perhaps more dangerous to Haymon’s PBC plans because of who and what they target.

The Oscar De La Hoya anti-trust suit filed in May and Bob Arum’s follow-up this week put Haymon’s financial backing, the Waddell & Reed investment firm, in the legal crosshairs.

Haymon, an economics major at Harvard, must know that controversy makes investors nervous. Two anti-trust suits that name Waddell & Reed of Overland, Kan., as a co-defendant has to make Haymon just as nervous.

Here’s why: On June 10, the Wall Street Journal reported that investors were bailing out of Waddell & Reed mutual funds. They’re called “go anywhere” funds, according to the newspaper, which reported that they act a lot like hedge funds. Instead of insurance and other places thought to be safe, dollars go into stocks, precious metals and other volatile instruments. Over the last 12 months, many of those investors withdrew $12.5 billion from Waddell & Reed, according to the Journal.

Reports are that Haymon got $425 million from Waddell & Reed for his PBC venture, which includes buying television slots for cards on NBC, CBS, Spike, ESPN and Fox. In a Los Angeles filing for Arum’s Top Rank, Daniel Petrocelli called it a scheme.

”Al Haymon and Waddell & Reed are engaged in a sophisticated scheme to gain control of the boxing industry,” said Petrocelli, a high-profile attorney who won a wrongful death suit against O.J. Simpson in 1997. ”As the lawsuit explains in detail, they are violating federal law, defying state regulators and absorbing significant short-term losses to drive legitimate operators out of the business.”

Haymon is as publicity shy as a hedge-fund operator. He doesn’t speak to the media. Nevertheless, there was a response from his attorneys. It was prompt, a signal that the lawsuits are serious.

Kramer, Levin, Naftalis and Frankel, a New York firm, countered Top Rank’s lawsuit Wednesday with a statement:

“The lawsuit filed today (Wednesday) by Bob Arum and Top Rank is entirely without merit and is a cynical attempt by boxing’s old guard to use the courts to undermine the accessibility, credibility and exposure of boxing that the sport so desperately needs.

“The Premier Boxing Champions series makes boxing free again, by bringing championship boxing to free TV, with a fighter-first promise and a commitment to the fans to restore boxing to the luster of its heyday. The continued success of this effort will far outlast this baseless lawsuit.”

There’s plenty of hypocrisy on all sides in the looming court battle. That might just be another way of saying it’s boxing all over again. In both suits, violations of the Muhammad Ali Act are alleged. The biggest involves a prohibition of a law prohibiting managers from acting as promoters. The allegation is that Haymon, often called an advisor, has been both manager and promoter for his roster of about 200 fighters.

Let the court decide whether there is, in fact, anything to the allegation. But a jury, politicians and law enforcement might be confused as to why there’s never been a conviction – bupkus, nada – in the history of the Ali Act. Promoters, managers and sanctioning bodies have ignored it since Arizona Senator John McCain managed to get it passed in 2000.

For 15 years, it hasn’t been enforced. It’s been virtually forgotten. Mention the Ali Act in a Las Vegas media work room before a big fight these days and you’re bound to hear someone say: “Oh yeah, who’s playing The Champ?’’

When it was passed, major promoters basically told the feds to butt out. Then, they went back to business as usual. Now, they’ve dusted off the dormant legislation in an attempt to bring down a new and dangerous rival. Maybe, De La Hoya and Arum will succeed.

If they do, however, they might want to be careful about what they wish for. In their respective suits, they accuse Haymon of trying to interfere with their right to conduct business.

They allege that Lucas Matthysse’s decision over Ruslan Provodnikov on April 18 in a potential Fight of the Year was moved out of Los Angeles to Verona, N.Y., casino because PBC reserved the bigger LA venues for the same date. After PBC forced the move, it canceled the bookings.

It’s an allegation that says Haymon is capable of retaliation. If the lawsuits scare off even more Waddell & Reed investors, it might be all he has at the end of a dangerous game with few winners and a steep price to be paid by everyone.

CARSON, Calif. – Nothing is ever easy for Timothy Bradley.

Or predictable

In a career full of controversial decisions and crazy finishes, there was another wild ride for Bradley.

Bradley wound up winning a unanimous decision over Jessie Vargas Saturday. But it was in a 12-round fight that referee Pat Russell stopped about seven seconds before it was supposed to end and about five seconds after Bradley was rocked by a huge right hand.

Confusion reigned for a couple of minutes, Vargas thought Russell stopped it because Bradley was hurt and couldn’t continue. Vargas celebrated, thinking he had scored a huge upset. His corner men and friends jumped into the ring to celebrate with him. Meanwhile, Bradley appeared confused. He shook his head in disbelief at what looked to be a loss.

“I knew where I was at all times,’’ said Bradley, who stumbled backwards from an overhand right by Vargas. “I knew where I was at all times. All of sudden, the referee was waving his hands. I didn’t know what was going on.’’

Nobody did.

Turns out, Russell stopped the fight because he thought it was over.

“I thought I heard the bell,’’ Russell told HBO’s Max Kellerman in a chaotic scene at the center of the ring.
Maybe, Russell heard the 10-second warning and mistook it for the final bell. Or maybe he heard an inadvertent bell from somewhere in the StubHub crowd. Maybe, maybe, maybe. It’s only certain that he didn’t stop the fight because of what he saw in Bradley.

“I made the call based on what I heard,’’ Russell said.

That meant the fight went to the scorecards. All three favored Bradley. Judge Max DeLuca had it 116-112. Rocky Young scored it 117-111. On Kermit Bayless’ card, it was 115-112.

Finally, Bradley (32-1-1,12 KOs) could celebrate. In the sudden turn of events, however, there was only frustration for Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs).

“Those seven seconds cost me the fight,’’ he said.
He complained that he wasn’t allowed to finish Bradley. He was denied a triumphant finish, he said.

“Let me finish what I started,’’ he said to Bradley while asking for a rematch.
Okay, Bradley said.
No telling how crazy an encore might be.

Except for seven seconds, Bradley appeared to control the bout

Doubt appeared to creep into Vargas’ eyes as early as the second round. Bradley was applying pressure with muscle and authority. As the round ended, Vargas smiled at him. There was a question, perhaps a prayer, in that smile. It was as if Vargas couldn’t believe that Bradley could sustain the pace.

But he did at a punishing rate. Bradley repeatedly stepped inside Vargas’ four-inch advantage in reach, delivering blows to body and head with the thudding impact of that old jackhammer he swung around during an old-school training camp.

At the end of the fifth, Vargas found himself with his back on the ropes. He would be there again and again in a futile attempt to elude Bradley’s tireless pursuit. There was just nowhere else to go for Vargas in his first bout against a welterweight who is among the division elite.

Bradley was stronger and he knew it. By the seventh, there was a look of resignation instead of doubt on Vargas’ face. By the ninth, there was almost a look of dread. By the tenth, there was inevitability.

But, in the end, there was only chaos. Nothing for new for Bradley

Oscar Valdez down early, wins easily

If the prospect stage is about lessons, super-featherweight Oscar Valdez got one. Passed it, too. But it wasn’t the A-plus kind of grade that put Valdez at the top of the honor roll through his first 16 fights. More like a B-minus.

Ruben Tamayo, a fellow Mexican with a journeyman’s record (23-6-4, 15 KOs) surprised Valdez (17-0, 14 KOs) early with some thing of a pop quiz. Valdez, a two-time Olympian, was on the canvas in the first round.

It wasn’t exactly clear how he got there. Valdez appeared to get his feet tangled up after Tamayo knocked him off balance with a left. Maybe, he tripped. Maybe, Tamayo’s power put him there. Maybe, both.

Whatever it was, it was a momentary stunner.

Valdez looks surprised, even embarrassed. The good news is that he quickly recovered with a poised attack that included stinging jabs to the head and combos to the body. The bad news was that he couldn’t finish Tamayo, who was penalized a point in the seventh for a low blow. Still, it was enough for a 98-90, 99-90, 98-90 win on the scorecards.

Next lesson, please

On The Undercard
The Best: Providence featherweight Toka Khan Clary (16-0-0-1, 10 KOs) landed a huge hook at the end of the sixth round, dropping Colombian Jonathan Perez (33-12, 27 KOs) just as the bell sounded. It looked as if Perez never heard the bell. It also looked as if he had no clue at what hit him or even where he was. He was unconscious before he ever hit the canvas, knocked out at 2:59 of the sixth.

The Rest: Chicago welterweight Ed Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) scored a second-round knockout of Jose Maruffo (7-3-2,) of Phoenix. It was dull, but it was decisive as junior-welterweight Abraham Lopez (1-1) of Rowland Heights scored a unanimous decision over Mexican Joann Valenzuela (1-4-1, 1 KO). And Los Angeles featherweight Leonardo Chavez (4-1, 3 KOs) scored a second-round knockdown and was never threatened in winning a unanimous decision over Mexican Jair Quintero (4-5-2).

By Norm Frauenheim-

CARSON, Calif. – Light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev said he didn’t watch Andre Ward’s comeback victory over Paul Smith and instead concentrated on his July 25 title defense against Nadjib Mohammedi.

“Empty talk right now,’’ Kovalev said Saturday during an hour-long session with reporters before a card featuring Timothy Bradley-Jessie Vargas at StubHub Center.

The internet is on fire with speculation about a Ward-Kovalev fight in the wake of Ward’s ninth-round stoppage of Smith on June 20 in Oakland, Calif.

The unbeaten Ward, a ringside analyst for HBO Saturday night, is still deliberating about whether he’ll move to light-heavy or stay at super-middleweight. He fought Smith at a catch-weight, 172 pounds. The guessing game is that Ward is moving toward a big-money showdown against either Kovalev or middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

Kovalev manager Egis Klimas said he did watch Ward’s comeback, his first bout in about 19 months.

“He’s interesting,’’ Klimas said. “He’s a different kind of fighter. A very good fighter.’’

Klimas also foresees a Ward-Kovalev showdown, which he says would be “the biggest fight for Sergey.’’

Meanwhile, Kovalev, who faces Mohammedi in a mandatory defense at Las Vegas Mandalay Bay, had plenty to say about Adonis Stevenson, who holds the WBC’s version of the light-heavyweight title.

Kovalev, who is training in nearby Big Bear, continued to call Stevenson a piece of excrement.

“Because he’s running from me,’’ Kovalev said.

By Norm Frauenheim-

CARSON, Calif. – Timothy Bradley returns to a place that gave him headache. A career-defining victory, too.

This time, he plans to leave without the headache and only a victory over Jessie Vargas Saturday night (6:45 pm PST/9:45 pm EST on HBO) in a welterweight bout he hopes will hit the-re-set button for bigger things in his resilient career.

Still, Bradley can’t help but look around at the SubHub Center and wince at what he remembers of March 16, 2013 against Ruslan Provodnikov.

“Horrific,’’ Bradley said.

That was the night Bradley suffered a concussion, yet somehow survived to win a decision over Provodnikov in the 2013 Fight of the Year.

Ever since, Bradley has called the outdoor ring at StubHub “the War-Grounds.’’ Calling it a Center just doesn’t do justice to the battle that transpired more than two years ago.

Bradley isn’t seeking an encore. Who would? A solid decision over Vargas, a newcomer to the welterweight division’s elite ranks, would be enough and perhaps lead to bigger fights for bigger money at even a bigger weight. Bradley has even talked about middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.

“I was small 140-pounder,’’ said Bradley, who was 146.4 pounds Friday at the weigh-in for the 147-pound bout. “I’m a small 147-pounder. I’d be a small 154-pounder. But, like I’ve been saying all along, I’ll fight anybody.’’

For now, that somebody is Vargas, who is finally getting the big fight he’s been seeking. Vargas, who has a four-inch advantage in reach, also was 146.4 pounds Friday.

The card, HBO’s Boxing 1000th telecast, will also feature super-featherweight prospect Oscar Valdez in his first appearance on the premium network. Valdez (15-0, 14 KOs), a two-time Mexican Olympian who went to school in Tucson, was 127.4 pounds Friday. He faces fellow Mexican Ruben Tamayo (25-5-4, 17 KOs). In his first trip to the scale Tamayo was 129, a pound over the contracted weight, 128. An hour later, Tamayo weighed 128.

By Norm Frauenheim

Timothy Bradley doesn’t stay angry for too long. Maybe that’s because he’s a nice guy. Or maybe he just doesn’t have time for it. But he doesn’t let it metastasize into a career-killing grudge. That’s for a long line of angry young men in a business full of more grudges than catch-weight clauses.

So it wasn’t exactly a surprise Thursday when Bradley let his rant Tuesday at Jesse Vargas and trainer Erik Morales pass like a summer storm. The good guy in Bradley is impossible to suppress and it was there at a news conference for his Saturday bout with Vargas at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, Calif.

“I have nothing against this team,’’ Bradley (29-1-1, 11 KOs) said as he looked at Vargas and Morales a couple days before HBO Boxing reaches a milestone with its 1000th telecast. “What happened two days ago on that rant – I was just getting out of my car.

“I’m hungry. I’m tired. I gotta take a piss, and I hear someone is saying some negative things about my name. When I went on that rant, I was angry at the time.

“But there’s no disrespect. There’s no bad blood. I respect everybody on the dais – Jessie Vargas and Erik Morales, the great Hall of Fame fighter, Erik Morales.’’

Those are the kind of comments that have come to define Bradley, a promising ringside analyst. He’s a people person with common problems, including a bad day. He’s different only because he fights for a living.

Yet, he’s still approachable in a way that allows they pubic to identify with him. You almost feel as if you could knock on his door to ask if you could borrow his lawn mower. Try that with Floyd Mayweather Jr, who probably doesn’t have a mower, at least not one made by Ferrari.

Bradley went into his rant when he arrived at the fight’s hotel. It quickly exploded on the net, mostly because it was so out of character. It was also hard to figure. What precipitated it?

After promising to whip Vargas’ bleeping posterior, he threatened to do the same to Morales, the former featherweight great and Vargas new trainer. Morales, a former champion at four different weights, replaced Roy Jones Jr.

“I’ll come back and beat his behind if he comes out of retirement,’’ said Bradley, a favorite in his first bout since sustaining a debatable draw in December against Diego Chaves. “Whatever weight. We could fight at a catch-weight. It don’t matter. You want to fight at 200? It doesn’t matter. I’m going to whip your ass next. If you want to talk, you can say whatever you want to say.’’

Huh?

It was never clear what, if anything, Morales said. There was some suspicion that maybe it was just a ploy to sell a fight between two good guys. And, sure enough, Top Rank don’t waste any time sending out video of the rant, far and wide. The other suspicion was that Bradley was grasping for motivation against Vargas (26-0, (KOs), who is unbeaten yet a newcomer to the welterweight division’s elite.

Nope, nope and nope.

Turns out, Bradley only had to go to the men’s room.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Andre Ward’s return from a 19-month layoff Saturday night comes at a time when he has to come back. Everybody’s prime comes with an expiration date. It’s hard to know how close Ward is to the end of what he has done so well, perhaps better than anyone among the leaders in today’s pound-for-pound generation.

At 32, however, it’s time to find out. His comeback bout against journeyman contender Paul Smith at Oakland’s Oracle Arena in a BET-televised bout provides a look at what he still has and at what he might still accomplish.

“The game plan is to razzle, dazzle, be explosive and do it all,’’ Ward said after a workout Tuesday.

Yet, it’s clear that the bout against Smith, defeated by Arthur Abraham in his last two outings, is a test drive. It’s happening at a catch-weight, 172 pounds, four more than the super-middleweight division Ward dominated before contract problems and a shoulder injury. It’s three pounds less than light-heavyweight.

Against Smith, Ward will get an idea where his career goes next. Gennady Golovkin at 168 pounds? Or Sergey Kovalev at 175? For now, Kovalev looks more likely. Golovkin appears more interested in the winner of a projected bout between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez for a piece of the middleweight title.

There was also an internet dust-up. On a Russian website, the usually polite Golovkin ripped Ward for suggesting that he was lying when he said he’d fight Ward at 168 pounds.

“You haven’t been interesting for a long time,” Golovkin was quoted as saying in response to Ward. “Everyone already knows what you are, and, because of this, they do not go to your fights. As a man, you are dead to me.”

If the quotes are accurate – and GGG has yet to deny them, it sounds as if chances at Ward-Golovkin are dead, too. But if the Floyd-Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight proved any thing, it showed that no deal is ever dead if money and interest are there.

That brings us back to Saturday night. It all depends on how Ward looks against Smith, a UK super-middleweight known for toughness and little else.

Ward might be at an age when he can no longer make 168, which would probably end the Golovkin possibility. GGG is already a small middleweight. It would be a stretch for his to fight at 168. Anything more than 170 looks unlikely. That would mean Kovalev, a Fight of the Year in any year.

Ward (27-0, 14 KOS) has been reluctant to talk about anything beyond Smith (35-5, 20 KOs), his first bout since his career was shelved in a contract dispute with late promoter Dan Goossen. He has no idea how he’ll react to his first opening bell in nearly two years.

“We’ll make adjustments along the way, but there isn’t a specific game plan for Paul Smith,’’ Ward said. “I think you are going to see everything come Saturday night. I’m not going to force it. I’m just going to let it flow.”

Mostly, Ward sounds as if he’s relieved to move beyond a stage in his career – his life – that left him unsure about what was next. He said he even thought about retiring. Twice, he said during a conference call, he planned to announce his retirement.

But now he’s anxious and energized for a second chance to fulfill the potential that has been oh-so evident since his 2004 gold medal, the last Olympic god won by an American boxer.

In retrospect, it might have been more lesson than layoff.

“Was it uncomfortable? Yes,’’ Ward said. “Did I hate every moment of it? Yes. But did it force me? Did it teach me? Absolutely. So, no, I wouldn’t have changed anything.

“And we’ll see Saturday night about the layoff.’’

And the future.

By Norm Frauenheim-

There’s a lot of talk about TBE this spring. It started with Floyd Mayweather Jr. It continues with LeBron James. But there’s a difference, one that becomes increasingly evident as the drama unfolds in the ongoing NBA Finals.

For Mayweather, TBE is a fashion statement, an acronym he wears on caps, T-shirts and anything else for sale. For James, it’s a personal statement, a challenge he took on in his return to Cleveland.

TBE stands for The Best Ever, of course. But that can mean just about anything. It’s an acronym, after all. Define it with your own values and these days that’s money. Money, money, money. Welcome to the wealth gap. There’s the one percent and the 99 percent who wish we were.

That’s Mayweather’s world and it is re-confirmed every time he looks at Forbes. He’s the magazine’s No. 1-earning athlete all over again, the best ever, better even than Tiger Woods.

Mayweather’s $300 million in Forbes latest edition of its annual list of jockdom’s filthy rich breaks Woods record of $115 million for the 12-month period between 2007 and 2008. Woods, by the way, is still ranked No. 9 by Forbes. But that’s about the only leaderboard he makes any more. Woods is shooting in the 80s and forever shooting himself out of golf’s TBE debate.

Point is, it’s easy and misleading to equate TBE with Forbes. But, I suspect, Mayweather does. If there’s a moment when Mayweather isn’t talking about money or flaunting all it buys, I’ve missed it. He loves to show it off. I’d prefer to see him show off a knockout punch once in a while. But, as a member of the 99 percent, what do I know?

Then, there’s James, who has his own definition of TBE in the month after Mayweather and Pacquiao generated $600 million in an event that was a Gross Domestic Product in more ways than one.

James doesn’t talk about TBE. He’s never been quoted as saying he’s better than Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, unlike Mayweather, who has said he’s better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson. Yet, the NBA debate is more lively and forceful than ever with James’ powerful show of talent and will in leading the injury-ridden Cavaliers in a bid to upset the Golden State Warriors.

Increasingly, James’ performance is generating a fan-based debate about why he might be better. With Mayweather, it has been more about him saying he is and the public saying he’s not. Real proof is hard to find in Mayweather’s claim, despite a 48-0 record that is one victory short of Rocky Marciano’s mark.

But it’s there with James, whose return to Cleveland from Miami was a a huge gamble. Yet, he embraced the risk, encountered the adversity and has followed up with one great performance after another in a body of work that says legacy is more than an acronym.

Or an income.

By Norm Frauenheim-

A shuffle the top of the marquee begins to unfold, almost like a political campaign, in an inevitable transition put into motion by Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao. Despite record-setting revenue, the fight was an artistic flop, yet a sign that the business is moving on in search of new stars.

They’re there, on a list topped by Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford and Roman Gonzalez. A preliminary, yet intriguing move takes place Saturday in the Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale fight at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The HBO-televised bout sets the table.

If Cotto – a prominent face in the Mayweather-Pacquiao generation — wins, it looks as if he’ll face Alvarez for perhaps his last big payday in another chapter in the rich Puerto Rican–Mexican tradition. If Cotto loses, then maybe Golovkin bypasses Carl Froch and goes straight to an anticipated date with Canelo in a bout sure to include Fight-of-the-Year hype.

It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that Golovkin plans to be at ringside for Cotto-Geale. He knocked out Geale. He wants Cotto’s version of the middleweight belt. Of all the potential contenders for the pound-for-pound office about to be vacated by Mayweather, Golovkin looks like the front-runner, both in ring skill and popular appeal.

If there were an election among Mexican fans in Los Angeles, Golovkin, a Kazak, would get a lot of votes. In his last two bouts in LA, the crowd has been filled with people wearing T-shirts and campaign-style button that said: Mexicans for GGG.

There’s A-side leverage in that kind of popularity. At some point, it’s bound to bring GGG out the most-feared category and into a powerful bargaining position. Ducking GGG will soon become a bad business move, especially with the Mayweather-Pacquiao generation at the brink of retirement.

Andre Ward looms as another potential candidate in the race to succeed Mayweather. He’s not as likable as Golovkin. But he might be skilled enough to beat him. We’ll begin to see soon enough. In his first fight since November 16, 2013, Ward faces Paul Smith on June 20 in hometown Oakland.

Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if this race gets as crowded as the one with Republicans running for president. There’s talk that master-tactician Mikey Garcia, an unbeaten super-featherweight at 34-0, is preparing to come back. He hasn’t fought since January 25, 2014.

There’s also Deontay Wilder, the first American with a heavyweight belt since Shannon Briggs, who knocked out Sergei Liakhovich for the WBO title in 2006 and stalking Wladimir Klitschko ever since.

Wilder, likable and probably a couple fights away from seriously challenging Klitschko, has boldly declared his candidacy. Wilder likes to talk and he said a lot in a conference call Wednesday for his first title defense June 13 against unknown Eric Molina in Birmingham, Ala. Wilder said he can be a bigger star than Mayweather.

“Most definitely, and I say that with high confidence because the heavyweight division is the cream of the crop in the first place,’’ said Wilder, the WBC champion. “The things that I bring, the charisma, the excitement, the personality that I have, everything about me is all me. It’s totally me.

“Some guys, when they have cameras in their face, they presume to be a certain type of person or the persona about them changes. When the camera is off, they’re a totally different person. I don’t have split personalities. I’m not a fake person. Everything about me is real. Everything you see on (Showtime) All-Access is me. Nothing is scripted, nothing is planned up, nothing.’’

Nothing, other than being next.

By Norm Frauenheim

Amid the clutter of 17 weight classes and more acronyms than letters in the alphabet, there’s something else to hang in that chaotic closest full of belts not worth a decent sanctioning fee at the corner pawnshop.

Catch-weights are just another part of the mess. Like a lot of junk, the catch-weight clause is many things. Sometimes a loophole and always an annoyance, it it’s also part gamesmanship. It’s an opportunity for the guy with A-side power to dictate.

In the end, however, it just represents further confusion in a business screaming for a little clarity, if not order.

It further buries all titles beneath insignificance so deep that few care anymore. Another shovel full of it is about to be dumped on the middleweight title, or whatever piece of it is at stake in the Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale fight at Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre on June 6 in a HBO-televised bout.

They have agreed not to exceed 157 pounds for a 160-pound title. Does that make any sense? No, says Geale.

“”If it’s not a title fight, then a catch-weight is not a problem,’’ the Australian said Thursday during a conference call for Jay Z’s Roc Nation-promoted bout. “But if you’re fighting for a middleweight title, the weight limit is 160. I find it funny. It should be at 160, but I’m not going to complain.’’

He can’t complain. He agreed to the catch-weight, after all, simply because it was the only way he could secure a chance to challenge Cotto on HBO. Cotto, the A-side on a New York weekend that celebrates his Puerto Rican heritage, has all the leverage in a bout seen as a steppingstone to big money with Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez later this year.

That Cotto would demand it at all, however, might be a sign of some concern about Geale, who is taller and has about a five-inch advantage in reach. Austin Trout had about a four-inch edge in reach in his 2012 upset of Cotto. What’s more, Geale, knocked out in July within three rounds by Gennady Golovkin, is a natural middleweight. Cotto, Puerto Rico’s first champion at four weights, is not. He said so Thursday.

“Everybody knows I’m not a 160-pound fighter,’’ said Cotto, who will be fighting in the division for only the second time since he beat a hobbled Sergio Martinez a year ago.

Against Martinez, Cotto was able to leverage his proven drawing power into negotiating a 159-pound catch-weight. At opening bell, Cotto was at 155. Against an even lesser known Geale, Cotto was able to demand and get a couple of more pounds of flesh. It’s gamesmanship. It’s the way business is done these days, says Coto trainer Freddie Roach. To wit: Force the other guy to sweat. But that’s more of gotcha clause than catch-weight.

“They’re trying to weaken me by making me go down a few more pounds,’’ said Geale, who was born on the island of Tasmania, south of the Aussie continent.

They are, yet in the process they further weaken a title in a division with a fabled history. Mavin Hagler fought for the middleweight championship. Cotto and Geale are fighting for the 157-pound title, what ever that is.

Geale promoter Gary Shaw has an interesting idea. Any title fight at a catch-weight should come with an asterisk. But where would you put it? Between the bauble and the bangle on the belt’s brass plate? Between the interim and the emeritus in the record book? These days, it’d just be more meaningless clutter.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Nearly three weeks have passed since Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision over Manny Pacquiao in the Letdown of the Century and there’s been no backlash.

Canelo Alvarez’ knockout of James Kirkland on May 9 drew HBO’s biggest audience for non-pay-per-view bout since 2006. A week later, there was a capacity crowd at the rebuilt Forum for Gennady Golovkin’s stoppage of Willie Monroe Jr. and Roman Gonzalez’ celebrated return to the U.S. market.

Perhaps, damage from Mayweather-Pacquiao was contained. Maybe, that’s because it was a fight that boxing’s traditional demographic couldn’t afford. It was an event for the one percent, which yawned throughout 12 rounds and then piled into Bugattis, Ferraris and private jets for a holiday aboard Mediterranean yachts.

Truth is, the one percent was probably never coming back anyway. Meanwhile, the game’s loyal customers had already moved on to the leading names in an emerging generation that has supplanted Mayweather and Pacquiao, who were old news before opening bell. Just plain old, too.

Controversy will linger over the Pacquiao-Mayweather money grab, and that’s all it ever was. Conspiracy theories about the severity of Pacquiao’s shoulder injury will circulate and re-circulate.

Mayweather will continue to blame the Filipino for the lousy fight, yet there was never one second when Mayweather ever showed any inclination at taking matters into his own hands. Pacquiao wasn’t throwing punches at his usual rate. There were moments when he appeared to be wide-open for a fight-ending uppercut. But it was never attempted. Mayweather was content to remain in a defensive posture, even backing away on his heels in later rounds when it was clear Pacquiao had no chance. In a Showtime replay, his father and trainer, Floyd Sr., exhorts his son to get more aggressive.

“You fighting like you scared, man,’’ Floyd Sr. said.

In the post-fight news conference, Mayweather repeatedly demanded an apology from pundits who had said the fight didn’t happen five years ago because he was scared of Pacquao.

Did his father apologize for saying it during the fight? Just wondering.

But there’s been no immediate backlash evident at the box office or in the television ratings. Traditional fans had a pretty good idea about what would happen anyway. Mayweather fought as he always has. He took no chances, fighting for another day – or more to the point—another paycheck.

The guess in this corner is that we have seen the last of Pacquaio, at least in the U.S. He was in decline before he underwent surgery for a reported tear in his right shoulder four days after the fight. It’s expected to heal in six to nine months. Maybe he could fight in 2016. But will he be any better then than he has been the last three-to four years? Doubtful.

Then, issues at how and when he disclosed the injury linger. Why at the post-fight news conference and not in documentation before the weigh-in? The Nevada State Athletic Commission has talked about an investigation, saying Pacquiao could be fined or suspended. Meanwhile, more than 30 civil lawsuits have been filed, many listing him as a defendant. The suits appear to be frivolous. If deflated fans can sue Pacquiao, can New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady be next?

But they’re there and they’re a headache. If Pacquiao fights again, maybe it will be in a farewell bout at home in the Philippines or in tax-friendly China. Another fight in the U.S. would probably mean lawyers and legal fees.

Then, there’s Mayweather. If there’s a backlash, he might feel it. Mayweather says he intends to fight in September in what would be the final bout in his six-fight deal with Showtime. It figures to be another PPV telecast, perhaps against Amir Khan. But anecdotal evidence indicates there won’t be many return customers. At least 4.4 million bought the Pacquiao-Mayweather telecast at about $100 for high-def. Those lawsuits, no matter how frivolous, represent a groundswell of anger directed at both Pacquiao and Mayweather.

If there’s a September bout, history will be a big part of the sales pitch. It represents a chance for Mayweather to equal Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record. With a victory, Mayweather could further his claim on the TBE brand, The Best Ever. But even that is problematic. The devil is in the numbers. Mayweather’s caution, never more evident than it was against a vulnerable Pacquiao, has stopped 54.11 percent of his 48 opponents. Marciano scored KOs in 87.76 percent of his bouts. Advantage: Marciano.

Mayweather says he’ll retire after his next fight. But he also says he changes his mind. His pursuit of an unbeaten legacy is reason to think he’ll try to go 50-0 with the 50th bout as the inaugural event at a Las Vegas arena currently under construction.

Mayweather, then a free agent and ever the businessman, could sell No. 50 to the network that offers the most money. But how much would it really be worth? Sift through the remains of Mayweather-Pacquiao, and there’s evidence that it’ll only be a tiny fraction of what looks like a last chance to cash in.

PHOENIX – Iron Boy Promotions will stage a second card within eight days Saturday night at Celebrity Theatre.

Iron Boy, which helped Top Rank promote Jose Benavidez Jr.’s stoppage of Jorge Paez Jr. in a WBA 140-pound title defense on May 15 at US Airways Center, goes back to work with a card that features Phoenix welterweight Jose Marruffo (5-2-2) against Tucson rival Rashawn McCain (2-3).

Popular Phoenix super-bantamweight Emilio Garcia (9-1-1, 2 KOs) is also scheduled to appear on the card.

First bell is scheduled for 5 p.m. (PST).

By Norm Frauenheim (ringside)
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jose Benavidez Jr. celebrated a birthday and a homecoming.

It was all part of the guarantee.

In a bold promise at a news conference, Benavidez Jr. promised that his WBA interim 140-pound title would not leave his hometown.

It didn’t.

It is still interim, whatever that means. But the guarantee proved to be as good as his word.

Benavidez kept it in his first defense Friday night with a 12th-round stoppage of Jorge Paez Jr. in a truTV bout at US Airways Center.

It was a solid win for the unbeaten Benavidez on his birthday. He went 23-0 on the day he turned 23.

He did so with his 16th stoppage, a short left hand that lifted Paez up and then onto the canvas. Paez scrambled to his feet. But he was as unsteady as a kid trying to walk on a trampoline. When he stumbled into the ropes, referee Raul Caiz Jr. ended at 21 seconds of the final round.

“I knew I would beat him,’’ said Benavidez (23-0, 16 KOs), who also floored Paez (38-6-2-1, 23 KOs) with right uppercut to the body in the third round. “I mean, there was no way I was going to lose my title in my hometown. No way, no way at all.

“But I have to say that Paez was really, really tough. Man, he can take a punch. I didn’t think there was any way he’d get up after that knockdown in the third. But there he was, up on his feet and coming back at me.’’

Paez, whose dad was a flamboyant featherweight champion and a clown in the Mexican circus, never saw the final punch coming. It landed, he said, when he turned his head after sustaining an inadvertent thumb to an eye.

Benavidez often fought off the ropes, which was a tactic he used in controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera for the title last December in Las Vegas.

“I wanted to tire him out,’’ Benavidez said. “I figured that if I could do that, I’d knock him out in a later
round.’’

The 6-foot Benavidez didn’t know how much longer he would stay at 140 pounds.

“I’m kind of big to be at 140,’’ he said. “But we’ll see. I’m willing to fight anybody at 140 or 147.’’

He has talked about Jessie Vargas, who fights Timothy Bradley on June 27. Bradley had a ringside seat as as a truTV analyst.

“Jose looked great,’’ Bradley said. “Yeah, he fights off the ropes. But he’s good at it. He’s very precise at what he does, especially with his punches’’

In the first bout on a truTV doubleheader , Antonio Orozco, a junior welterweight from San Diego, lived up to the nickname written in gold across his dark trucks throughout a unanimous decision over Emmanuel Taylor. Relentless summed up the pace and style of a stubborn, often deliberate attack sustained by Orozco (22-0, 15 KOs), who won a 96-94, 98-92, 96-94 on the scorecards.

Taylor (18-4, 12 KOs), of Baltimore, was at his best when he worked his stinging jab. But he didn’t work it enough.

Blood above Orozco’s swollen right eye appeared after the eighth round. By then, however, it was too late for Taylor to overcome the well-conditioned Orozco, who stayed on his toes and protected his advantage on the cards with a fundamental execution of body blows.

On the Undercard
The Best: It was delivered by Trevor McCumby, an unbeaten light-heavyweight who lives in Phoenix. McCumby (19-0, 150 KOs) threw a knockout left at 42 seconds of the second round with deadly accuracy and impact. Fabiano Pena (11-2-1, 8 KOs), of Brazil, was out before he landed flat on his back in a concussive crash that echoed like a backboard-shattering slam-dunk throughout the NBA arena.
The Rest: Phoenix light-heavyweight David Benavidez (9-0, 8 KOs), Jose Benavidez’ 18-year-old brother, scored a first-round knock down and finished the job in the second with a left that stopped Mexican Ricardo Campillo (9-8-1-1, 7 KOs) at 1:21 of the round; Arizona City super-lightweight Abel Ramos (12-0-2, 7 KOs) got the show started with a bang, landing a crushing left for a third-round KO of Angel Martinez (12-6-1, 8 KOs) of Mexico; Phoenix super-bantamweight Carlos Castro (8-0, 3 KOs) fought at a whirlwind pace, scoring often for a unanimous decision over a busy Victor Serrano (4-9-1, 1 KO) of Mexico.

By Norm Frauenheim-

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jose Benavidez Jr. and Jorge Paez Jr. made weight Thursday for a truTV super-lightweight title fight Friday night in a bout that is critical to Benavidez’ future and represents a step in a larger battle to resurrect boxing in Arizona.

Benavidez, (22-0, 15 KOs), Arizona’s first champion with a major championship since Hall of Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal, was at 139 pounds, one under the mandatory for his first defense of the WBA’s interim version of the super-lightweight crown.

Paez (38-5-2-1, 23 KOs) was at 140, although he looked drawn and weary after what appeared to be a struggle to shed pounds.

In another intriguing bout scheduled for 10 rounds, Antonio Orozco (21-0, 15 KOs) of San Diego faces Baltimore’s Emmanuel Taylor (18-3, 12 KOs), who is coming off a loss to Adrien Broner. Both tipped the scale at 141 pounds

Benavidez, who is five inches taller and has at least an inch advantage in reach, appears to be the favorite on his birthday. He turns 23 Friday. The Phoenix native also will be fighting in front of a hometown crowd at US Airways Center. The truTV telecast of the Top Rank promotion is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST). The non-televised portion of the card, which was put together by Iron Boy Promotions of Phoenix, is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST).

There hasn’t been a major fight in the arena, home for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, since Julio Cesar Chavez’ singular career ended there on Sept. 17, 2005 in a loss to Grover Wiley, a car salesman from Omaha.

Carbajal sold out the arena twice, once in a 1992 TKO of Robinson Cuesta and again in 1993 with stoppage of Domingo Sosa. Then, the place was new, Carbajal was in his prime and the Suns were in the playoffs. Now, there’s talk of building a new arena, Carbajal is 47 and the Suns haven’t been in the playoffs for five successive years. In other words, it’s been a while.

A chance at restoring some of the boxing heritage rests in Benavidez’ accurate hands, which were precise enough to score a controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera for his first title last December in Las Vegas.

Paez, who is known for his toughness, is the son of a legendary Mexican featherweight who also has place in Arizona boxing history. Jorge Paez Sr., also a clown in the Mexican circus, fought six times in Arizona, winning five and battling to a draw with Louie Espinoza in a memorable bout for the IBF’s featherweight title at the old Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1989. Espinoza, who held the WBA’s super-bantamweight title for about two years, lost a split decision to Paez in a 1990 rematch in Las Vegas.

Today, Espinoza is a carpenter in Chandler, Ariz. Paez Sr, is living in Vegas, according to his son. Meanwhile, Arizona boxing went dormant, in large part because of immigration legislation, SB 1070, so controversial that the late Jose Sulaiman of the World Boxing Council told Mexican boxers to boycott the state.

Some did. Some didn’t. But the real impact came with Mexican-based advertisers, which decided to withdraw sponsorship of bouts scheduled in the state. One was in Phoenix, featuring Benavidez. It got canceled.

The furor over 1070 has subsided. It’s a chance for boxing to recover. But can it? For now, that’s up to Benavidez.

By Norm Frauenheim

PHOENIX, Ariz. – He turns 23 on Friday. Jose Benavidez Jr. approaches his birthday unbeaten, yet not unchallenged. His record is the product of a jab, an exclamation point that is at the cutting edge of his natural talent. He was born with it. Lots of it.

The challenges are a little different. Some are self-imposed. Some unwanted. All are collected over time. With every birthday, there always seem to be a few more. How to celebrate a birthday, perhaps, rests in how they are encountered. How they’re conquered.

Coincidental or not, Benavidez plans to celebrate with a 23rd victory to match his 23 years against Jorge Paez Jr. in the first defense of a major title, the World Boxing Association’s interim 140-pound championship, in a truTV bout at US Airways Center.

The interim suggests that some titles are forever. Nothing could be more misleading. Or foolish. Benavidez, a junior no more and probably a full-fledged welterweight before long, seems to understand as much.

The kid, a professional fighter at 17, is gone. There’s a chiseled face and intense eyes as dark as coal. If you’re looking for the wide-eyed teenager, you’ll have to find his photo in a high-school yearbook. The maturing Benavidez (22-0, 15 KOs) talks with newfound self-assurance. The title might be interim. The fighter who has it, however, doesn’t sound like a disposable champion. He said at a news conference Wednesday that the belt would not leave Phoenix, his hometown.

“I guarantee that,’’ he said.

It was a bold comment, especially against a Paez who grew up in boxing. The soft-spoken Paez (38-5-2, 23 KOs) doesn’t appear to have any of the big-top flamboyance his dad had as a clown in the Mexican circus. Yet, the 27-year-old son has shown some of the toughness that Jorge Sr. possessed as a featherweight champion.

Benavidez is fighting more than just Paez Jr. Skepticism lingers. His unanimous decision for the WBA belt over Mauricio Herrera last December in Las Vegas was controversial. HBO’s commentators and most of the writers thought he got a gift from the judges. Against Paez Jr., they’ll be watching to see if they were right. Benavidez’ challenge is to prove them wrong.

“We have to score a stoppage, win convincingly, for my son to take a significant step in his career,’’ his father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. said Wednesday during a news conference for a card that includes Antonio Orozco-versus-Emmanuel Taylor and is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. (PST).

Benavidez, Jr. and Sr., hoped for a rematch with Herrera. Only a convincing victory in a second fight could knock out every doubt. Even if he beats Paez Jr, there will still be controversy about the scorecards against Herrera, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter

“I told him I’d fight him,’’ Benavidez said. “I said so right after the fight and ever since. But he wants bigger names, I guess.’’

Benavidez is probably five years away from his prime. He figures to get better as he matures. It doesn’t always work that way, of course. But an older Benavidez sounds as if he is determined to prove that all of the promise surrounding him as a hyped prospect five years ago was more than just baby fat. He says he is willing to fight anyone.

His Top Rank promoters have confirmed he was a possibility for Terence Crawford last April in the former lightweight champion’s first bout at 140 pounds. Instead, Crawford, the Boxing Writers’ 2014 Fighter of the Year, fought and stopped Puerto Rican Thomas Dulorme on April 18 for a WBO title that was vacant and not tagged with the interim garbage.

Crawford, ticketed for stardom, would have been interpreted as step too far for Benavidez. But he and his father were prepared for it.

“We signed off on it,’’ the senior Benavidez said. “Then, Top Rank got back to us and told us they had decided to go with Dulorme. Hey, Crawford would have been very tough, no doubt. But no matter what happened, my son would have learned a lot.’’

The son says he would have done more than that.

“I’d have beat him,’’ Benavidez Jr. said. “I’m bigger than he is. But that’s OK. It’ll happen someday. There’s still plenty of time.’’
Still plenty of birthdays.

By Norm Frauenheim-

There are more tired excuses than reasonable explanations for what happened May 2 in the colossal failure to fulfill even a fraction of the expectations for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight.

Still, everybody attached to the pay-per-view affair will try. They have to. Believe it or not, there’s even more money to be made. There are still contracts to fulfill.

Hence, we’ll hear form Mayweather all over again Saturday night (9 p.m. ET/PT) in a Showtime exclusive with Jim Gray in a production titled “Inside MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue.”

After all the outrage throughout the week following the welterweight bout, it sounds more like autopsy than epilogue. Still, it should be interesting to hear Mayweather address a laundry list of issues and allegations that has emerged since his unanimous decision over Pacquiao at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

According to a Showtime release, Mayweather talks about mid-week news that he’d be willing to do a rematch. He confirms he sent a text to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, saying he would be interested in a second fight. In what sounds like good news, however, he’s changed his mind.

“Did I text Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I change my mind,” Mayweather says. “At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward… If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.’ ”

After all the ridicule and criticism of the first fight, wouldn’t a rematch be a working definition of insanity? You know the one about doing the same dumb thing over and over again. Of course, Mayweather might change his mind again. Besides, this is boxing. Oh boy, a trilogy.

According to the release, Mayweather also addresses the post-fight disclosure from Pacquaio that he fought with an injury to his right shoulder. He underwent surgery for a tear on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

“Excuses, excuses, excuses,” says Mayweather, who is 48-0 with one fight left on his Showtime contract. “I’m not going to buy into the bull—… and I don’t want the public to buy into the bull—-. He lost. He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.”

According to the release, Mayweather also says he did not know of Pacquiao’s injury, which is believed to have happened in early April while sparring at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.

In an interview with Filipino media on the Sunday after the fight, Pacquiao alleged sabotage. He said that
Mayweather knew about the shoulder. He alleged that somebody, perhaps a Mayweather plant at the Wild Card, leaked the news.

Pacquiao said Mayweather repeatedly pulled on his right arm in an attempt to aggravate the injury. Pacquiao said he re-injured the shoulder in the fourth, ironically his best round in the 12-round bout.

“Absolutely not,” Mayweather says when asked if he was aware of the injury. “He was fast. His left hand was fast. His right hand was fast and he was throwing them both fast and strong.’’

LAS VEGAS — It was supposed to be one for the books. It wasn’t. More like one for the banks.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao got a lot richer Saturday night while fans got poorer in a bout that was sold, sold and sold as the greatest in history. It wasn’t even the greatest one in the last month. Give that prize to Lucas Matthysse’s victory over Ruslan Provodnikov a couple of weeks ago.

There was no knockout. There were no knockdowns. There was only a decision, as dull as it was one-sided.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) claimed it, putting another notch in his unbeaten quest, yet doing nothing for his claim on being The Best Ever. TBE still belongs to Sugar Ray Robinson, or Muhammad Ali, or Sugar Ray Leonard, or Roberto Duran.

“When the history book is written, it was worth the weight,’’ Mayweather said.

Worth the money, yeah. Mayweather could have earned as much as $180 million, depending on the per-per-view television revenue. For Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) the payday could be as big as $100 million.

But money gets spent. The real history lives on if the action within the ropes is memorable. It wasn’t.

Yeah, Mayweather defeated Pacquiao. On the historical scorecards, however, he did nothing to improve his chances at becoming the equal of Ali or whole host of other legends.

“I was smart.’’ said Mayweather, who won 118-110 on one card and 116-112 on two. “I out-boxed him.’’

Mayweather, who booed loudly repeatedly by the capacity crowd, did exactly that with his careful, predictable precision. But he didn’t exactly out-work Pacquiao.

“He didn’t do noting,’’ said the Filipino Congressman, who was cheered by his many fans. “I thought I won the fight.’’

Mayweather’s strategy was evident, almost immediately. Pacquiao has always been vulnerable to a lead right. In the first round, Mayweather threw four of them. Landed four, too, none with any great impact. But they were accurate and they would often be for the next 11 rounds.

“My dad wanted me to do more,’’ Mayweather said his trainer, Floyd Sr., who had talked about is son wining by KO. “ But I had to take my time. Manny Pacquiao is a great competitor and very dangerous.

Pacquiao was more aggressive in the second. He moved forward, yet without any of the side-to-side movement that had made him so hard to predict earlier in his career. Instead, he lunged , landing a good body shot , but little else.

In the third, Pacquiao appeared to gain some momentum with body shots that slowed down Mayweather. It also could have allowed Pacquiao to measure the unbeaten American.

In the fourth, Mayweather, suddenly flat-footed, was there for a left hand, always the most potent weapon in Pacquiao’s arsenal. It landed, dazing Mayweather and pushing him into a hasty retreat on to the ropes.

By then, the fight had taken on a certain rhythm. It was almost routine. Pacquiao would attack and Mayweather would go into his sniper mode with sporadic, yet accurate shots, both left and right.

After it was over, Mayweather was asked about his plans. He has one more fight on his Showtime contract.

“My last fight is in September,’’ he said.

For the first time, some in the crowd actually cheered him

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – It was a carnival and a concert. It was chaotic. Demonstrators protesting domestic violence stood on one street corner. A preacher stood on another. Seek God, he told a passing crowd full of people seeking a ticket that not even God could afford. They spoke Tagalog, English, Spanish, Russian, politics and Hip-Hop. They waved flags of every stripe.

It was a weigh-in. But the scales were incidental.

Crowds, chaos and cops gathered in and around the MGM Grand Arena for an event Friday that was scripted in every way, yet off the scale for the kind of attention it has generated. Ordinary weigh-ins are about as exciting as watching somebody brush their teeth. But nothing about Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been ordinary.

Only extraordinary.

Many among the 11,500 in the Grand Garden Arena for the weigh-in formality paid from $170 to $500 for tickets initially priced at $10 apiece just for the chance to see a couple of welterweights step on and off a digital scale. For the record, Mayweather was 146 pounds; Pacquiao 145.

Most of those same fans and virtually everyone out on those sidewalks won’t be there Saturday night for an opening bell to an exclusive event. Boxing is a sport defined by The People’s Champ. But most of the people can’t get into this one. It’s for the one percent, even at prices that have begun to decline during the last 48 hours. There’s plenty of argument about who wins, Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) or Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs). But there’s no debate about the scalpers. Everybody hopes they take a beating.

Yet even inflated prices have not extinguished the enthusiasm for a bout that has been in the public imagination for at least five years. Mayweather, 38, and Pacquiao, 36, are closer to the end than they are their primes. Even they concede as much. Both talked about retirement throughout the buildup for the bout, a joint pay-per-view telecast by HBO and Showtime (6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST).

A reason, perhaps, rests in the respective personalities. Mayweather is easy to dislike. Pacquiao is thoroughly likable. That difference was evident before and after the weigh-in. On the applause meter, it was no contest. It was unanimous for Pacquiao, the Filipino Congressman who smiled and raised his hands above his head like a triumphant American politician at his party’s national convention.

For Mayweather, there were mostly boos. For the last couple of weeks, national pundits have ripped him. His record of domestic abuse was the target of those protesters Friday. Mike Tyson, who was at the weigh-in, joined the critical chorus, calling him “a scared little man.” Laila Ali said he pitied him, calling him “a little boy.’’

Mayweather, subdued and polite throughout the hypoed-filled build-up, has repeatedly said the bout is not good-versus-evil. But try telling that to the crowd that gathered in and around the weigh-in.

Their roles have been cast.

Go ahead and argue about whether that’s fair. But there’s no debate about whether it’s profitable. Record revenue is expected. According to some projections, Mayweather could earn as much as $180 million. Pacquiao purse could hit the $100 million mark. There’s talk that the pay-per-view numbers will reach 4 million, almost twice the record.

The soaring expectations will be hard to fulfill, if not impossible. Mayweather goes into the bout favored by about 2-to-1 odds. He’s the bigger man and might be much bigger after a couple of meals before Saturday night’s opening bell. He’s also a calculating fighter, who at some point might capitalize on mistake the most expected from the more instinctive Pacquiao.

Yet Pacquiao’s calm and energy have been evident throughout one interview after another during the last couple of weeks. He’s been the happy warrior. To wit: When he stepped off the scale Friday, he ate a cookie. Then, he thanked Mayweather after the, posed for the cameras in the stare-down ritual.

“I said thanks, yes,’’ Pacquiao said. “Thank you for making the fight happen.’’

Mayweather said he never heard him. But he did glance over his shoulder at the Filipino after they broke the pose. There was a foreboding look in his eyes. Maybe there was anger. Maybe, fear. Maybe both. Maybe, he knows something nobody else does.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – There’s not a day, or even a few hours, when there isn’t a volley of insults between Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Freddie Roach. They sound like natural antagonists, separated by a lifetime of irreparable slights. You could assume that they share only mutual contempt. But you’d be wrong.

Roach and the senior Mayweather are an odd couple, alike in the biggest fight of all, bigger than even Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr.

It’s an alliance they didn’t choose and didn’t want. But life is like that. Cheap shots happen. For Roach, it’s been Parkinson’s, which attacks the central nervous system. For Mayweather Sr, it’s sarcoidosis, a lung disease.

Their response has been almost identical. The fight game is in their DNA. In their blood. It’s what they’ve always done. There was always another dangerous opponent to fight when they were younger. On Saturday night, they’re in opposite corners, Roach for Pacquiao and Mayweather Sr. for his son at the MGM Grand in the biggest fight in decades.

No matter who wins, however, their own personal fights will still be there, a daily battle and similar in a way that transforms lifelong enemies into comrades no matter what they continue to say to and about each other.

Both have gone about the battle the same way everyday.

“I work my ass off,’’ Roach said Thursday.

Mayweather Sr., 62 and a former welterweight, said he has whipped his disease.

“I don’t have sarcoidosis any more,’’ he said

A furious work rate, he said, whipped sarcoidosis, which can affect organs throughout the body. He works at it, sunrise to sunset, in old gyms surrounded by weathered bags, discarded hand wraps and fighters.

For Roach, the fight continues. It always will. Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder. But Roach is stubborn. He battles in a daily fight to keep the symptoms at a standstill.

Daily workouts with fighters at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., have slowed the symptoms.

“Haven’t shaken in 10 months,’’ said Roach, 54, a featherweight and lightweight from 1978 through 1986 who believes he got Parkinson’s because he fought too long.

Roach takes 15 pills a day to relieve rigidity and control the shaking. He also undergoes epidural injections to alleviate pain from a couple of bulging discs.

“Rigidity is the key,’’ said Roach, a seven-time Trainer of the Year. “People slow down and let it take over. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and don’t feel so good. But once I get to the gym, everything is okay.’’

It’s within the gym that Roach and Mayweather Sr. feel like they can beat just about anybody. And anything.

On Saturday, each vowed that he would beat the other.

“This fight has already been won,’’ said Mayweather’s dad, who continued to call his rival Coach Roach. “We can beat Manny any day, any time, any year, any moment. “…Manny’s best performance was when he got stretched by Juan Manuel Marquez.’’

He even had one of his poems.

“I must confess, I am the best,’’ said Mayweather Sr., still fighting in a way that has kept him and his rival alive.