By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao is back at the bully pulpit like a saint among sinners. Boxing has never been much of a congregation, at least not in traditional terms. Pass the plate here, and you’re liable to lose it and its proceeds.

But Pacquiao is here, talking about his faith and looking as if he knows something no one else does. His convictions are religious in an arena where that usually means a felony.

Pacquiao believes. So does Floyd Mayweather Jr. But the only belief they have in common is that each is convinced he’ll beat the other Saturday night at the MGM Grand. What they hope to accomplish, however, tells just you how different they really are.

Pacquiao wants converts.

Mayweather wants cash.

No wonder Mayweather is favored. Records amount of cash are expected to come out of a pay-per-view fight that could turn a hedge fund into a religious order.

The task is a little tougher for Pacquiao. But don’t disbelieve him. His faith is no feint. He has repeatedly said he hopes world-wide attention on the fight will be a vehicle for his born-again message. His missionary zeal even includes Mayweather.

“I want him to know God,’’ Pacquiao told a roomful of reporters Wednesday before the two welterweights took to the stage for a formal news conference at the ornate KA Theatre.

Mayweather doesn’t talk about his faith as much as Pacquiao. But it’s no secret that Mayweather, who again wore The Money Team acronym on his cap and shirt Wednesday, is well-acquainted with the God whose name is on the dollar bill. In that God, he trusts.

Since the fight was announced on Feb. 20, Mayweather has been strictly business.

“This fight is not good-versus-evil,’’ Mayweather said to reporters after Wednesday’s news conference. “This is about one fighter at the top against another fighter at the top.’’

According to the market place of odds, Mayweather is the best of the two. He’s narrowly favored to beat
Pacquiao. His understated manner and tone throughout the weeks of hype preceding opening bell have been the subject of speculation and interpretation. Is it a sign of confidence? Or uncertainty?

At the first news conference in Los Angeles, Roach noticed what everybody else has seen ever since. Roach sees Mayweather’s subdued manner it as a sign of somebody who really didn’t want the fight in the first place It makes him wonder what kind of Mayweather will be there.

“I wonder if he’s going to show up,’’ said Roach, who says speed will win the fight. “I really do.’’

In the opposite corner, there is no doubt. For a couple of years, there have been questions about whether Pacquiao’s born-again faith softened his aggressiveness, knocked out a so-called killer instinct.

For Roach, that question is gone. He says he has the bruises to show for it from holding the mitts while Pacquiao pounded away at them and often through them, with a powerful impact throughout training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.

For Pacquiao, it is back, perhaps like a faith he says he abandoned for a few years.

“The killer instinct, it’s back,’’ said the Filipino, who hasn’t scored a stoppage since Miguel Cotto in 2009. “It’s a good feeling.’’

Maybe an old-time feeling.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – Look into the 0 and you’re supposed to get a look into Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s soul.

But the zero on the right side of his unbeaten record, Mayweather says, is the wrong place to search for hints at what motivates him.

Only one symbol really matters. It’s in his wallet.

“Absolutely, because at the end of the day my daughter can’t eat the zero,’’ Mayweather told reporters Tuesday after his formal arrival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena where he faces Manny Pacquiao Saturday night in one of the biggest fights in years.’’

There always been a debate about whether legacy or money is the reason Mayweather fights. On Tuesday, at least, money ruled. He wore his TMT logo in black on white. At his own arrival at the Mandalay Bay earlier in the day, Pacquiao said that the acronym stood for The Manny Team.

It was a good quip. But money, piled higher than it ever has, was the only sure bet five days before opening bell. First, foremost and forever, this one is about finances and Mayweather wanted to remind everyone that there wouldn’t be record revenues if it weren’t for his keen business sense.

“If all my kids get, say, $50 million apiece, I can say I did my job,’’ he said.

Four kids equal $200 million, which would surpass even the most optimistic projections for the pay-per-view bout. Depending on the source, the number has jumped around, all the way from $80 million at the low end to $180 million at the high end.

“A lot of people criticize me for being a defensive fighter,’’ said Mayweather, who again called Pacquiao reckless, saying it was a gift and a curse. “Last night, I was sitting at home with my mother and daughter. I thought to myself:

‘You know what, I’m proud of myself that I can be in a sport for 19 years and that I’m able to get out of that sport and still be sharp. Be sharp and have all my faculties. That’s remarkable

“The money is about my children and their children.’’

Yeah, it’s also about a so-called Big Boy mansion in Vegas, homes in South Beach and Miami, a private jet and a garage that would make the Ferrari family jealous.

On Tuesday, at least, it sounded as if Mayweather wanted to make sure that he would to be remembered for all of his wealth. He repeatedly said one fight would not define him. Presumably, that meant Saturday night’s fight.

If he prevails over Pacquiao, the guessing game is that the 0 in Mayweather’s resume would drive him to fight at least two more times, once in September in the final fight of a six-bout deal with Showtime and then a 50th fight in a bid to surpass Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record.

Surely, he wants to go 50-0. Right?

“No,’’ he said.

Instead, he talked about retirement. His dad and trainer, Floyd Sr., has hinted that it’s time to quit or risk permanent injury.

“My father was right,’’ he said. “It’s about time for me to walk away.’’

But the pursuit of money could always draw him back through the ropes. He said Tuesday he had earned an $11 million dollars over the last 48 hours from an investment. He wouldn’t describe the investment, other than to again say “remarkable.’’ At 38, that’s a word he uses as much as he once used profanities.

Yes, he contradicts himself as much as anybody.

“I try to be perfect, but I might have said me and Manny Pacquiao would never fight,’’’ he said. “Now, we fight.

“I’m not perfect.’’

Only the 0 is.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – David Benavidez is not a young man in a hurry.

It just looks like it.

The 18-year-old Benavidez, the younger brother of WBA interim junior-welterweight champion Jose Benavidez Jr., wasted little time in a stunning light-heavyweight victory over Rollin Williams Saturday night at Celebrity Theatre in front of a near-capacity crowd that included Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal and retired multi-division champion Erik Morales.

Benavidez has been laboring in his brother’s shadow. He’s been the understudy, the other Benavidez, happy to learn and patient until he graduates to center stage.

That moment might be near.

David Benavidez’ fast hands made short work of Williams, who at 49 is more than three decades older than another potential star in the Benavidez family.

Benavidez (8-0, 7 KOs) stunned Williams (23-21-2, 8 KOs) with a blinding three-punch combo about 90 seconds after opening bell. He ended the round with another uninterrupted succession of blows. Williams hung on the ropes as if he were unconscious. Turns out, he was.

Seconds after the round ended, a Williams’ corner man rushed down the ring’s apron to rescue him. But Williams
had already begun to fall, taking the corner man with, over the top rope, head over heels and onto the canvas.

Officially, it was a stoppage at 2:59 of the first round. But it was over a lot earlier than that, thanks to a Benavidez who might be as hard to stop as the other one.
On the Undercard

The Best: Hometown decision? Maybe. But hometown approval? It wasn’t there for Phoenix bantamweight Alexis Zazueta (5-0, 4 KOs) in his split decision over Saul Hernandez (6-7, 4 KOs) of Tijuana.

A crowd of about 2,000 booed at the 38-37 scorecards, two for Zazueta and one for Hernandez after a back-and-forth bout that appeared to be a draw. It cheered when Hernandez was lifted onto the shoulders of a corner man. It booed when Zazueta raised his hands in triumph.

There was disagreement on the cards, but none in the crowd.

The Rest: Phoenix middleweight Joey Ruelas (9-1-1, 4 KOs) had the hometown love that Zazueta did not in overwhelming Raheem Gordon (4-5, 2 KOs) of Kileen Tex., for a first-round stoppage that filled the building with a roar of approval; Phoenix junior-lightweight Jesus Zuniga (2-3) was stubborn, tough and a surprise in a unanimous decision over Yovani Rodarte (0-1) of Downey, Calif.; California heavyweight Bernardo Marquez moved tirelessly behind a good jab for a unanimous decision over Anetelea Opetaia (0-1) of Phoenix; welterweight Saul Bustos (3-0, 2 KOs) threw a crushing right that sent Jesus Lopez (0-2) crashing off the canvas in a scary first-round knockout; junior-lightweight Julian Rodarte (1-0) of Downey, Calif., won his debut when Jorge Fontes Michel (0-1) quit after two rounds; Phoenix junior-welterweight Danny Montoya (1-0) walked forward and over John Gonzalez (0-2) for a unanimous decision in his debut; Washington DC bantamweight Daron Williams (1-0, 1 KO) did a short dance during the bout and longer one after a first-round stoppage of Christian Juneau (1-1) of Texas; Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro (8-0, 3 KO) won a decision, unanimous on the cards and unanimously dull, over Raymond Chacon (5-16) of Los Angeles.

By Norm Frauenheim

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been more CEO than TBE from the moment he took the initiative and approached Manny Pacquiao at a Miami Heat game in the move that led to the deal for their May 2 fight at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

He’s effective in the CEO role. Likable, too. His exchanges with the media are crisp, forthright and polite. The understated manner is a hint at the calculated, precise tactician he will be at opening bell for what is sure to be the richest fight ever.

He has repeatedly referred to the long-awaited showdown with Pacquiao as just another fight. A job, he calls it.

“I know it’s the biggest fight in boxing history, but I can’t approach it like that,” Mayweather said Wednesday during a conference call. “I’m never going to put any unnecessary pressure on myself.’’

Cool, that makes sense.

Simplicity is an art necessary to any successful battle plan. But here’s the question: Why TBE? Why now?

Mayweather has called himself The Best Ever for a long time, but the claim has been restricted to the TBE acronym seen so often on caps and T-shirts. But now he has decided to re-exert his claim on being history’s best, first in an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A Smith and again Wednesday in a call with reporters from across world.

His comments Wednesday weren’t quite as strong as they were to ESPN. He told Smith he was better than Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, who is No. 1 in most all-time pound-for-pound ratings. On Wednesday he was asked only about Ali and he talked only about Ali.

“He called himself The Greatest and I call myself TBE,” Mayweather said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll get criticized for what I said, but I could care less. I could care less about the backlash.”

The mystery is why Mayweather would invite the inevitable backlash within a couple of weeks of a fight that, more than any other, will define his place alongside Ali, Robinson and those he didn’t mention. With apologies to all of the legends not mentioned, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Joe Louis and Julio Cesar Chavez belong in the argument, too.

History didn’t have to be part of the job description, at least not in the way the CEO in Mayweather defined it. But the TBE in him put it there without apology. It also put him at risk of the unnecessary pressure he seeks to avoid.

Perhaps, Mayweather will prove he is as good at making history as he is at making money. Maybe, he knocks out Pacquiao. Maybe, he gets up from a knockdown to score a dramatic victory. Maybe, maybe. But maybe it goes the other way. Maybe, TBE will come to mean Pacquiao.

Most of the pressure is already on Mayweather. He’ll get 60 percent of record-setting revenue, which for him figures to be anywhere from $80 million to a $180 million. He’s also undefeated, which over the years has generated a lot of amateur psychoanalysis. The 0 in that 47-0 record has become a symbol of what motivates Mayweather. The theory is that he protects it at all costs. It’s become his identity.

A loss, former heavyweight champ George Foreman said Thursday in a conference call, “could devastate him as a boxer — not as a man, but as a boxer. He might have to go out in the country somewhere if he lost.’’

Foreman suffered his first loss to Ali in Zaire. He was 40-0 before Ali beat him in The Rumble In The Jungle in 1974. It was a loss that altered the way Foreman looked at himself. It was 15 months before he could step through the ropes again.

“I’m the one guy who knows what it’s like to be undefeated going into a fight like that and to be knocked off that pedestal,” said Foreman, who will appear Saturday night in HBO’s “Mayweather/Pacquiao: The Legends Speak.’’

Ali had already endured defeat. He understood it. Learned from it. Came back from it. In a sport defined by adversity, defeat can forge newfound strength. At 57-5, Pacquiao has experienced it. Mayweather has not.

“Pacquiao has it a little better,’’ said Foreman, who picks the Filipino to win a narrow decision. “He is already picked as the underdog. There’s not a whole lot of pressure on him.

“But when you have never lost before in a fight of this magnitude, there’s so much pressure on you, more pressure than you have ever had before, more pressure than on any other athlete right now.’’

Too much pressure? The CEO says no. But TBE? Proof of Mayweather’s bold claim is still waiting To Be Evaluated on May 2.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – David Benavidez, the younger brother of WBA interim junior-welterweight champion Jose Benavidez Jr., is scheduled for a main event Saturday night at Celebrity Theatre.

The 18-year-old David Benavidez, 7-0 with 6 knockouts as a super-middleweight and light-heavyweight, faces experienced Rollin Williams (23-20-2, 8 KOs) in a 175-pound bout on a card staged by Iron Boy Promotions.

David often trains with his brother, 22-year-old Jose (22-0, 15 KOs), who defends his title for the first time on May 15 against Jorge Paez Jr. (38-5-2, 23 KOs) on May 15 at US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. Jose won the 140-pound belt with a controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera last December in Las Vegas.

Saturday’s first bell is scheduled for 5 p.m. (PST)

By Norm Frauenheim–

The curtain has come down on media day, a big-fight ritual that like so much in boxing is an interpretative art.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and the people surrounding them said a whole lot at their respective camps in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

But it was what they didn’t say that mattered.

To wit: Mayweather continued to call Pacquiao reckless. Mayweather, of course, is not, which he says is the biggest reason for his longevity as the world’s highest-earning athlete.

What Mayweather didn’t say Tuesday in Las Vegas is that Pacquiao’s recklessness represents the biggest threat to his unbeaten legacy on May 2 at the MGM Grand.

Pacquiao has been at his best when reckless. He was a reckless whirlwind in rematches against Erik Morales and again against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Antonio Margarito.

He could pull it off then, simply because he had the energy and power to sustain a blinding rate of punches from countless angles created by feet that moved tirelessly and in concert with what his hands were doing.

But is that energy and power still there? The right hand that Juan Manuel Marquez timed so perfectly on Dec. 8, 2012 in a crushing stoppage of the Filipino is a sure sign that they are diminished, or at least not in the abundance that one made him so dangerous.

Recklessness is a powerful weapon with the right complements. Without them, it’s just a weakness bound to appear as it did in a fight Pacquiao was winning until the sixth round when the recklessness was suddenly there.

Unlike his memorable victories over De La Hoya, Pacquiao was left standing, almost flat-footed, with his hands down and chin exposed. Marquez capitalized with a perfectly placed right.

At Pacquiao’s media day in Los Angeles Wednesday, there was talk that he had learned from that one moment. The repeated promise: It would not happen again.

“He’ll attack, but not be careless,’’ Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz said during live-stream coverage from trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

Here’s what Koncz didn’t say: Can Pacquiao really attack without being careless?

The guess here is no, he can’t. The younger Pacquiao was inexhaustible and able to turn his streak of recklessness into an unstoppable force. There was simply no counter.

Mayweather never said that much during his session with media in a tent in a strip-mall parking lot outside of his gym. He would only call Pacquiao a future Hall of Famer.

But, he said, “I don’t know if he can make adjustments like I can.’’

Here’s what he didn’t say: At some point, he expects the Pacquiao attack to subside. Relentless will give way to only the reckless.

Maybe, Mayweather will drain some of Pacquiao’s energy with straight right hands. Or, maybe, the bigger Mayweather will lean on him, tie him up, tire him out.

But Mayweather’s quiet confidence throughout the build-up for the much-hyped fight seems to say he expects the moment to be there. That’s when he’ll adjust and perhaps land a perfectly- timed right that will say it all.

By Norm Frauenheim–

LAS VEGAS — On a day when powerful winds kicked up clouds of dust that obscured The Strip’s skyline like a dirty fog, only one thing was predictable:

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was late.

Everything else, especially Mayweather, was unexpectedly low-key Tuesday. Maybe, that shouldn’t qualify as a surprise. What else can possibly be said about his long-awaited fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand.

A crowd that stood in a parking lot outside of his gym in a strip mall summed it up. David Hasselhoff posed for photos. Every high-end car or stretch limo had people standing on chairs, garbage cans and scrambling up light poles for a better view of a fighter who was scheduled to appear at his media day.

There was one false alarm after another. Finally, there he was, about 90 minutes late. It didn’t matter. This crowd would have waited through the night and perhaps through a cyclone. Truth is, it has been waiting for him to fight Pacquiao for about five years now. What’s a little bit of lost sleep and dust in the wind?

“Everything in life is about timing,’’ Mayweather said in a tent that rattled around in a storm that blew across the Nevada desert. “I don’t regret anything. The timing is right. Before I wasn’t as big. But I’ve been getting bigger and bigger and not just inside the sport of boxing.’’

The potential adds up to something bigger than ever. Mayweather’s minimum is $100 million. Pacquiao is guaranteed $60 million. Since the welterweight bout was announced on Feb. 20, projections have multiplied at an astonishing rate. Now, there’s a chance that Mayweather could collect $180 million and Pacquiao $100 million.

Let the numbers do the bragging. Mayweather doesn’t have to.

He teased Pacquiao, but never said anything remotely offensive or even outrageous. When asked if he was surprised at how much bigger he was than Pacquiao when he stood next to the 5-foot-6 ½ Filipino at a news conference in Los Angeles, the 5-8 Mayweather smiled and said:

Nah,’’ he said. “He wears a lift in his shoes, so he looks a little taller than he really is.’’

He also said that this one fight would not define him or his legacy, which he believes will improve to 48-0.

“It’s just one fight for me,’’ Mayweather said. “If just this one fight defines my legacy, I wouldn’t have had to fight all of those other fights.’’

Mayweather also said he did not believe that the Pacquiao fight will be remembered mostly for his masterful defensive skill.

“When it is said and done, when the book is written, they won’t say Floyd Mayweather was a defensive wizard,’’ he said. “They’ll say he was a winner.’’

Still a winner at 38 years old, he said, because the natural counter-puncher fights with a different style than the aggressive Pacquiao.

“He’s a very, very reckless fighter,’’ Mayweather said. “I can’t say for sure, but I probably wouldn’t have lasted this long if I had been as reckless as him.’’

NOTES: There still was no official word Tuesday on how much tickets will cost before most of them wind up on the secondary market at an inflated price. But Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe promised that the news is forthcoming. “This week, this week,’’ Ellerbe said. …The Nevada State Athletic Commission is expected to announce the referee and judges at a scheduled meeting next Tuesday. …Junior-featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz worked out for the media at Mayweather’s gym Tuesday. Santa Cruz is on the PPV portion of the undercard. But his opponent has yet to be determined. Whoever it is, Santa Cruz promised to be ready for what he hopes is a steppingstone for a showdown with Abner Mares.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson are quick to say they aren’t fighting for redemption Saturday night at Barclays in Brooklyn.

Fair enough. It’s called prize fighting. Going into the ring for redemption is little bit like going to the bank to pray. There’s a pretty good chance you’ll leave broke.

“I don’t see this as redemption,’’ Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) said of the first bout after a forgettable year for both fighters. “This is a great match-up.’’

Potentially, it is in a 143-pound fight that will also provide an early, yet significant, look at whether Al Haymon’s PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) can sustain its initial success in its second appearance on NBC (8:30 pm ET/ 5:30 pm PST).

“For me, there’s no redemption, either,’’ Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) said. “No redemption for me. What’s in the past is in the past.’’

But the problem is what lurks in that immediate past. In 2014, both fought. Both won. But the buzz was gone.

Garcia, an emerging star in 2013, escaped with a split decision over Mauricio Herrera and a stopped an over-matched Rod Salka. Peterson, coming off a scary knockout loss to Lucas Matthysse in 2013, beat Dierry Jean and Edgar Santana.

Go ahead and trash the redemption angle, but the task Saturday night is to re-awaken interest in each and perhaps re-introduce them as potential players for whatever happens post-Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao on May 2.

Neither would – or even could – talk much about whether they might be fighting for a chance at the winner.

“I’m not worried about fighting Floyd Mayweather at all,’’ said Peterson, who has a full beard and some wisdom to go with it. “That’s a long shot from here. He maybe has one more fight after this. So, I won’t hold my breath on that. Not worried about it.’’

For the most part, Garcia said the same thing, although he it was clear that the Mayweather-Pacquiao possibility interested him a lot more than redemption.

“At the end of the day, it’s always a fighter’s dream to fight Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather,’’ Garcia said. “Everybody wants to fight the best fight. So maybe in the future, of course.’’

The 143-pound catch weight is a clear sign that they’re positioning themselves for a shot at the 147-pound winner between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

But catch-weights are boxing’s version of a catch-22. It’s a dilemma without an escape clause. It was done at the urging of Garcia, who at 27 is having a tougher time getting to the junior-welterweight limit of 140.

The catch-weight means neither Garcia nor Peterson will risk their titles. Garcia has the WBC and WBA belts. Peterson has the IBF version. It also means they won’t have to pay a sanctioning fee to any of the acronyms, which show up with a Mardi Gras-like belt in one hand and bill in the other.

But it also means criticism. Ruslan Provodnikov promoter Artie Pelullo took a shot at the catch-weight. In another fight with Mayweather-Pacquiao implications, Provodnikov meets Lucas Matthysse on April 18 in Verona, N.Y., on HBO in a junior-welterweight bout with no title at stake and no catch-weight in the contract.

“They don’t want to have anything at risk,’’ Pelullo said of Garcia-Peterson. “It’s a dangerous fight for both guys, but not like Provodnikov and Matthysse.

“They’re putting it all on the line, because they’re still fighting 12 rounds. It’s 140 pounds. There is no title, because we don’t have one. I’m telling you both kids would put there title out (there) if they had (to).’’

But Garcia and Peterson don’t have to. Their task is to re-build their public profile. If nobody knows them, those titles are beyond redemption anyway.

By Norm Frauenheim

It’s a fight that really doesn’t need much in the way of explanation or analysis. Strip away all of the subtlety and finesse, and you’re left with Ruslan Provodnikov-Lucas Matthysse, a collision waiting to happen. Maybe an accident, too.

But that’s the attraction. Power, the ability to deliver it and a willingness to risk it, exerts it own kind of drama.

It’s why we watch. An irresistible mix of fear, brinkmanship, inexhaustible persistence and even some foolish courage are among the intoxicating possibilities that will be there when the junior-welterweights clash on April 18 at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y., in an HBO-televised bout.

“I believe it’s going to be Corrales-Castillo I,’’ said Provodnikov promoter Artie Pelullo, who during a conference call Monday foresaw potential for a fight the equal of Diego Corrales’ wild 10th-round TKO of Jose Luis Castillo in 2005.

From this corner, Castillo-Corrales I still ranks as the best fight in this century and one of the best in any. But a price was paid.

Castillo was never quite the same, although his career continued with a loss to Ricky Hatton 2007 and even a TKO loss Provodnikov last November.

Corrales fought three more times, losing all three, including a fourth-round KO in a rematch with Castillo. Corrales died on a motorcycle on May 7, 2007, exactly two years to the day after that first Castillo fight nearly a decade ago.

I’m not convinced that either Provodnikov or Matthysse has the varied skill set that made Corrales and Castillo such dangerous lightweights.

They might surprise me. They might change my mind. If they do, however, Provodnikov-Matthysse won’t fulfill explosive expectations. The buzz isn’t there because they’re known for a defensive feint or the shoulder roll. It’s all about the power. Who has more of it? Who can land it? Who can withstand it?

Castillo was 0-2 against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but Castillo challenged the pound-for-pound king as much as anybody, especially in the first fight, a 2002 decision.

Castillo and Corrales could do many things. In the end, however, they did what Provodnikov and Matthysse are expected to. They tested each other’s will with unadulterated power that made their confrontation more about surviving than winning.

There will be some new opportunities for the Provodnikov-Matthysse winner. Don’t be surprised if there’s talk about a fight with the Manny Pacquiao-Mayweather winner on May 2. Amend that: Be very surprised if there isn’t talk about that possibility.

But this one isn’t about talk. It isn’t even about victory. Not really. It’s about survival. It’s why we’ll watch.

By Norm Frauenheim–

It’s the question Adonis Stevenson can’t shake. It’s there when he wakes up and sits down for breakfast. It’s there when he goes to the corner store. When he looks in the rear view mirror, there it is:

What about Sergey Kovalev?

It was asked again, again and ad nauseam Wednesday during a conference call that included Sakio Bika. At least, I think it included Bika.

Stevenson fights Bika in Quebec City on April 4 in Al Haymon’s first PBC card on CBS, yet Bika was little more than a mere prop during the telephone Q-and-A.

In fact, the Kovalev question ended the call. An exasperated Kevin Cunningham, Bika’s trainer, had heard enough.

“You guys have done it for me,’’ Cunningham said. “This is getting my fighter fired up. This call has been about Stevenson fighting Kovalev. I don’t even know if Sakio is on the call.

“Everyone keeps asking about Kovalev-Stevenson.

“What the bleep are we even doing here? Why are we here? This call is over for us.’’

Bika (32-6-3, 21 KOs) figures to be a lot tougher then a dial tone. Stevenson’s maturity will be tested in part by his ability to ignore the Kovalev buzz and focus on the challenge in front of him.

He promised to do exactly that. But, remember, this was a conference call.

“There’s so much talk about that,’’ Stevenson (25-1, 21 KOs) said. “But I’m very focused on Bika. He’s the one in my face now.’’

A grown-up evaluation of the Bika fight and its potential significance for Stevenson came from his trainer, Javan Hill, a student of the late Emanuel Steward.

“For the growth of Adonis, this very important,’’ Hill said. “It’s an opportunity for Adonis to go maybe 12 rounds or into the later rounds. This is a test, a chance for him to grow and become a superstar.’’

Hill’s comment is little bit surprising because of Stevenson’s age. He’s 37. But he’s late to the game because of a troubled youth. The light-heavyweight spent four years in prison. He didn’t make his pro debut until 2006. He might lack some of the instinct acquired by fighters who grow up within the ropes. Nevertheless, his power is almost scary. It’s what Steward noticed right away.

“Emanuel always used to say: ‘Knockouts sell, knockouts sell,’ ‘’ he said of Steward, who began to turn Stevenson into a star before he died in 2012. “I always go into the ring thinking knockout first.’’

That aggressiveness, a natural byproduct of his power, leads straight back to the question that – with apologies to Cunningham – has been around ever since it looked as if Kovalev and Stevenson would fight on HBO late last year.

Didn’t happen, of course. Stevenson jumped to Haymon and Showtime. But Kovalev continued on his relentless path, beating Bernard Hopkins in a victory that earned him pound-for pound-credentials.

All the while, Stevenson languished, scoring forgettable victories over Dmitry Sukhotsky and Andrzej Fonfara. But he and Kovalev remained on their collision course, mostly because Kovalev looks unstoppable and Stevenson has Haymon’s influence.

But is Stevenson a mature enough fighter to handle Kovalev, who is as poised as he is dangerous. Kovalev thinks through adversity, which was evident in his eighth-round TKO of Jean Pascal on March 14.

There are questions about what, if anything, Stevenson will do if somebody takes away his power. He’s gone 12 rounds twice and 10 rounds once, but not against anybody with Kovalev’s smarts.

In the tough, forward-charging Bika, Hill hopes to see some of those smarts in Stevenson. If he doesn’t, don’t be surprised if there’s another conference call a lot like the last one.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Boxing was never meant to be the family business. Fathers fight so their sons don’t have to. That sounds like a sensible plan, or at least a good way to avoid scars, concussions and everything else that comes from a livelihood in the ring.

But it’s never been one that could be applied to Julio Cesar Chavez and the son known simply as Junior.

It seems as if Junior just can’t escape his given name or the legend it means to Mexico. There have been times when it looked as if he might just walk away from his role as the heir-apparent.

But he hasn’t, not even amid boos for his two performances against Bryan Vera, or his country-club training camp for Sergio Martinez, or his late-night meals, or fondness for the substance that leads to the munchies.

Through it all, he always seems to follow that path up the steps, through the ropes and onto the unforgiving canvas that defined his dad. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will be back there again on April 18 at the StubHub Center in Carson Calif., at a 172-pound catch-weight against a top 10 light-heavyweight, Andzrej Fonfara.

“It feels great to get back,’’ Junior said during a conference call Wednesday.

Great, yet never more problematic than now.

There’s the dangerous Fonfara, who has enough skill and power to make him regret his return. It’s his first fight in 13 months. Since losing a piece of the middleweight title to Martrinez in a bout one-sided for 11 rounds and wild in the 12th, Junior has fought only twice, both against Vera, in 2013 and 2014. He has changed management, signing with advisor Al Haymon. Promoter Bob Arum is suing, alleging that he still owes him fight.

He’s also got a new trainer in Joe Goossen and will make his debut on Showtime after years on HBO. Changes abound. Question is: Has he?

His comeback against Fonfara is intriguing because it’s a chance to see if boxing’s Peter Pan has finally grown up. Throughout his career, enablers have surrounded him. Then, there were the fans, always there with an excuse for every misstep.

If he couldn’t make weight, a new one was negotiated. If he decided he wanted to train at his Las Vegas condo at 2 a.m. and do his road work around the couch instead of on the street, his former trainer, Freddie Roach, would be there.

But Arum and Roach are gone. So, too, are many of the Mexican fans. They have either given up on him in exasperation or moved on and into the Canelo Alvarez’ camp.

Against Fonfara, there will be none of the usual excuses or loopholes that have always been there like a silver spoon. Junior will have to behave and perhaps fight like Senior more then he ever has.

As always, dad will be there. He was even on the conference call.

“I did not want this fight for my son,’’ Julio Cesar Chavez said. “Fonfara is very strong. But Julio wants to show how good he is.”

How mature he is too.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao stood side-by-side in what was the third time they have ever been seen within a few feet of each other. They looked uncomfortable, almost awkward.

Mayweather raised his right hand and pointed his index finger toward the ceiling as if to remind anyone in the theatre and the heavens that he – and only he – is No. 1.

Pacquiao raised a left hand that was clenched into a fist that seemed to say he intends to pound some humility into Mayweather and his lofty claim.

Their fight on May 2 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand is about a lot of things, of course. There’s legacy and celebrity, business and bragging rights. All of it is attached to an unprecedented bottom line.

But there’s something else. In watching the HBO/Showtime live feed Wednesday of a news conference- turned-show biz, two very different personalities stood on that stage at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. It set ups an intriguing collision, one that promises personal drama in a fight past its physical prime.

It’s a modern version of The Prince-versus-The Pauper. They have been rehearsing their respective roles for as long as they have been answering an opening bell. For each, it’s as much of an identity as a role.

There’s The Prince, the ostentatious Mayweather, who likes to flash his money and brag about his A-side power.

“When you get to this level, making nine figures for 36 minutes of work, you have to be a winner,” Mayweather told reporters in a Q-and-A session before he lived onto the Nokia’s stage.

Then, there’s The Pauper, the born-again Pacquiao, who is known to give away his money to fellow Filipinos still trapped in the third-world squalor that was once his home.

“God,’’ Pacquiao said in an interview with HBO. “I want people to know that he can raise someone from nothing to something. That’s me.’’

Those are comments that say Mayweather and Pacquiao believe in different things.

Maybe, that difference will mean nothing in the welterweight fight.

Maybe, it’s just as simple as Mayweather’s five-inch advantage in reach, which was so apparent Wednesday when they stood warily next to each other at center stage and in front of the world’s cameras.

Still, it’s part of the pre-fight psychology. Pacquiao says he’s very comfortable as the underdog. He’s at the sort end of 2-to-1 betting odds. The underdog has been is best role since he arrived at the Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym from the Philippines. It was a key to his motivation beating Erik Morales after losing to him in their first fight.

He understands loss and how to deal with it, although Mayweather suggested Wednesday that defeat will be a weakness for Pacquaio.

“One thing I do know about in any sport is that if you lose, it’s in your mind,’’ Mayweather told Showtime. “If you lose twice, it’s in your mind. All my life, I’ve fought be winner.’’

It’s no coincidence that Mayweather is unbeaten at 47-0. Staying that way has been a key motivation and defines one of his nicknames, TBE, The Best Ever. There’s even a theory that a loss would destroy his confidence. A masterful defensive tactician, he fights not to lose.

Flip the coin and you’ve got Pacquaio, whose 64-fight record includes five defeats — two over his last five. He understands defeat, which can be a component in knowing how to win.

It depends on the personality, which in the end might be remembered long after all that money gets spent.

FORT MCDOWELL, Ariz. – Bronco Billy Wright is a late bloomer. He has to be.

Wright (46-4, 37 KOs) is a 50-year-old heavyweight who wants to be the oldest champion in the division’s long history.

His quest continues Friday night against a man who could be his son, 29-year-old Gilberto Domingos (22-2, 20 KOs) of Brazil in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds on a six-fight card at We Ke Po Casino. First bell is 6:30 pm. (PST).

Wright, of Las Vegas, returns to his home state. He was born in Morenci, an Arizona mining town. His record includes losses to Michael Moorer and Frans Botha.

The card also included unbeaten middleweight Milorad Zizic (11-0, 5 KOs) of Montenegro against Lionel Rose (11-2, 3 KOs) of Lynwood, Calif.

LAS VEGAS – Blood, guts, skill and will made for a powerful mix. It was a shot of prime time, just what NBC ordered.

Keith Thurman and Robert Guerrero delivered Saturday night at the MGM Grand with a compelling welterweight bout full of more drama than the story told by scores on one-sided cards.

Thurman was the winner. The 120-107, 118-109, 118-108 scorecards seemed to say that it was easy. It wasn’t. That was as plain as Thurman’s battered face. There was a huge welt on the left side of his forehead from an apparent head butt in the third round. Streaks of blood and bruises framed his weary eyes.

Thurman won, all right.

In the ninth round, he knocked down Guerrero and cut him above one eye with a successive right uppercuts and a glancing left hand. Guerrero was flat on his back, blood streaming across his face and onto the mat from a deep gash across his left eyelid. It looked as if he wouldn’t get up, as if he was about to get stopped for the first time in his long career. But there’s no if in his courage.

“Robert Guerrero was a tremendous warrior,’’ Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs).

Was and is.

Guerrero (32-3-1, 18 KOs) got up and took the fight to a tiring Thurman. It was if Guerrero knew he needed a knockout and Thurman was protecting the victory he knew he had on the cards. Thurman backpedaled. Guerrero moved forward.

In the 10th, there was a collision. Guerrero’s pursuit put him with range and he capitalized, landing straight right hands that seemed to stun Thurman. The crowd of 10,107 went wild. NBC had the round it wanted in its first prime-time telecast of boxing in three decades.

“I fought my heart out,’’ Guerrero said. “That’s the the kind of performance that wins over the hearts of fans, even if you don’t win.’’

Adrien Broner has a fast jab, a faster mouth and collection of nicknames. The jab was enough to a score a 120-108, 118-110, 120-108 decision over John Molina Jr., whose only real counter was an awkward lunge.

But the speed in Broner’s jab was absent in his feet. Broner (30-1, 22 KOs), who landed 141 jabs, was often as flat-footed as Molina (27-6, 22 KOs) was off-balance. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t even competitive. Molina landed only 54 punches throughout the 12 rounds.

Yet, Broner never displayed a finishing touch. He calls himself AB. But Broner’s performance put some new meaning into the acronym. About Billions? Not quite. About Boring was more like it.

It was a junior-welterweight fight that took the prime out of time. The MGM Grand crowd booed. NBC can only hope that the viewers didn’t reach for their remotes, especially after Broner repeated a version of a slur that insulted a pay-per-view audience in May, 2014.

That’s when Broner said: “I’ve beaten Afri-cans and I just beat the bleep out of a Mexi-can” after a victory over Carlos Molina on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision over Marcos Maidana.

This time, Broner tried to offend a network audience.

“Anyone can get it,’’ he said to as the crowd tried to silence him with boos. “African’cans, Mexi-cans.’’

At least, nobody in the NBC audience had to pay to hear that one.

In the wake of a knockout loss to Jhonny Gonzalez, nothing has been easy for Los Angeles featherweight Abner Mares (29-1-1, 15 KOs), who won his third straight since the defeat, yet continued to look less than spectacular in a unanimous decision over Arturo Reyes (18-5, 5 KOs) of Mexico.

Mario Barrios (8-0, 4 KOs), a 6-foot featherweight from San Antonio, employed every inch of his advantage in height and reach against overmatched and overwhelmed Justin Lopez (5-3, 5 KOs), a fellow Texan who was down late in the second round and finished at 1:53 of the third.

With Robert Guerrero’s volatile dad, Ruben, in his corner, Mexican featherweight Jorge Lara (27-0-1, 19 KOs) was a buzz saw, walking through and over fellow Mexican Mario Macias (25-15, 13 KOs) for a first-round TKO

First, there were the lights. Then, there was the music. Then, there were Ladarius Miller and Ryan Picou, who were the first fighters to walk across a new stage, down ramps and into a ring beneath the brightest high def this side of Jerry Vision at the Dallas Cowboys home stadium.

Miller and Picou must have been tempted to look at themselves on screens that cost $3.5 million apiece.

But they couldn’t. They had to keep an eye on each other in the opening bout on Al Haymon’s first card in his new circuit, Premier Boxing Champions, at the MGM Grand.

Miller, a Mayweather-promoted junior-welterweight, and Picou battled through four crisp rounds Saturday night in the first non-televised bout on a card featuring Keith-Thurman and Adrien Broner-John Molina Jr. in NBC’s first primetime telecast of boxing since a Larry Holmes’ victory over Carl “The Truth’’ Williams in 1985.

With Floyd Mayweather Sr. in his corner, Miller (6-0, 1 KO) employed his superior reach and quick hands, scoring a four-round unanimous decision over Picou (2-7), who lost every round on each of the scorecards.

On the card’s second bout, lightweight Robert Easter (13-0, 10 KOs) of Toledo didn’t leave it up the judges. He knocked down Alejandro Rodriquez (22-16-1, 13 KOs), three times in the second for a TKO victory at 1:15 of the round.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) begins Saturday on NBC in prime time amid anticipation and some skepticism. It’s risky. It’s gutsy. It’s a lot of things. Above all, it’s necessary.

It’s the first step in an attempt to re-create the game after Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2. Pacquiao has already hinted at retirement. With two fights left on his Showtime contract, Mayweather has also talked about the possibility.

It’s only a question of when. Haymon’s PBC series is a business plan, a path for beyond that imminent inevitability. Without one, boxing is left with fighters who have little, if any, name recognition among casual fans.

“There’s been a lot of buzz about this,’’ Al Michaels, the studio host for Saturday night’s telecast, said Wednesday during a conference call with analyst Sugar Ray Leonard, blow-by-blow announcer Marv Albert and executive producer Sam Flood. “…I’m as curious as anybody to see if this provides a resurrection of sorts for a sport that became a pay-per-view sport and didn’t enable a lot of guys to become particularly well known.

“It’s an opportunity for a lot of these fighters to get in the mainstream, and perhaps help to resurrect the sport.’’

Over the last year, the so-called casual fans have been exiting the pay-per-view audience faster than the PPV inflationary rate.

They know two names and two names only: Pacquaio and Mayweather. Ask them if they know Keith Thurman or Robert Guerrero, and you’ll probably get a blank look. The PBC’s introduction is an opportunity to introduce the compelling Thurman and the blue-collar Guerrero to that audience in a welterweight bout on an NBC telecast (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT) without the PPV price tag.

Thurman and Guerrero might have been buried on a PPV card or premium network if not for a Haymon plan that showcases them, along with Adrien Broner-versus-John Molina Jr. at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Put Thurman-Guerrero on the Mayweather-Pacquaio PPV card and who would really watch? All the attention — all the air in the room — will be consumed by the Mayweather-Pacquiao anticipation.

If you’ve ever been in the arena for a big PPV event, two guys could be engaged in a Fight of the Year. If the main-event stars are entering the arena at the time, however, all eyes are on them, focused on the video-screen that shows their every step from the limo, down the hallway and into the dressing room.

The ongoing drama within the ropes at that moment is overshadowed and quickly forgotten. It’s not fair, but boxing has never been confused with fairness. It’s theater, which means the undercard is little bit like the supporting cast. Nobody pays to see it.

The PBC series is about making stars, successors to Mayweather and Pacquaio. Without them, the game gets pushed even further from the mainstream. Haymon is making a huge investment on the bet that he can. In addition to NBC, he’s got deals with CBS, Spike TV and Bounce TV. There are plenty of platforms, many stages, for his fighters to test their aspirations and for Haymon to turn a profit.

“Without question these young boxers, these future champions, they are totally aware that more eyes will see them than they receive on pay-per-view,’’ said Leonard, the Hall of Famer and the defining face of the welterweight/middleweight heyday of the late 1970s and ‘80s. “The fact of the matter is that they know it’s all about showing up. This is a huge audition for these boxers. ‘’

The NBC card Saturday night has been called a debut. But it’s not. Not really. It’s more of back-to-the future, back to a business model that was a key component in the creation of Leonard. Leonard became a household name because of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, televised by ABC with Howard Cosell at ringside.

“One of the reasons Ray Leonard became an American icon, was because they could see him,’’ Michaels said. “Turn on Channel 7, Channel 4, whatever it was in those years. That’s what I think boxing was then. Obviously, it’s in a different place right now.

“But if it’s going to be resurrected this is one giant step for doing that.’’

The guess here is that Leonard would have become a major star anyway. He was at the right weight. Welter and middle have rich histories. It was also the right time. From 147 to 160 pounds, there were great rivals in Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Wilfredo Benitez.

Free TV’s power to create stars was never more evident than in some of the lightest divisions. Michael Carbajal might be the best example. The Mexican-American from Phoenix fought at a weight, 108 pounds, that had always been ignored. But NBC paid attention to him in 1988, where he was robbed of gold in the second worst theft of the infamous Seoul Olympics. For outrage, nothing rivals the gold robbed from Roy Jones, Jr.

Carbajal emerged from those Olympics with a compelling story, which was a lot more valuable to him and boxing than a silver medal. He was the first from that U.S. Olympic team to win a major title in an afternoon bout televised by NBC, which also signed him to a 3-fight deal in 1990.

Despite being lighter than a lot of jockeys, those NBC cameras made him look much bigger. Imagine what they could do with flyweight Roman Gonzalez, the Nicaraguan who has been fighting in Japan and is an American star only on YouTube.

There’s never been a bigger star at 108 pounds than Carbajal. Without NBC, would the Hall of Famer been known as a major, pound-for-pound star? Dumb question.

Then again, there’s never been a long-term commitment to boxing on traditional, free-TV networks since then. For Haymon’s PBC, NBC is a beginning, complemented by social media, state-of-the-art technology and big-name broadcasters. But it’s an old model — proven, updated and maybe back at ringside just in time.

PHOENIX – It was a heavyweight main event. But a lightweight stole the show.

Victor Castro, an emerging Phoenix prospect, displayed poise and precision, a combo that overwhelmed Ivan Zavala and offset ranked heavyweight Charles Martin’s sloppy stoppage of Raphael Zumbano Love Saturday night at Celebrity Theatre.

With junior-featherweight legend Israel Vazquez as his trainer, Castro (14-0, 7 KOs), moved forward with tactical skill and a patient awareness. Zavala never had a chance.

Castro dropped Zavala (6-9-2, 2 KO), of Tijuana, with a body shot in the second round and finished him with a right hand at 2:45 of the third.

It wasn’t exactly clear who, where or when Castro would fight next. But a main event in the next Iron Boy Promotions card might be a good bet.

The cheers from a near-capacity crowd quickly turned into boos for the heavyweights. Martin (20-0-1, 18 KOs), the World Boxing Organization’s fifth-ranked heavyweight, gained an early advantage. But he could never get any leverage on his punches until an exhausted Love (35-10-1, 28 KOs) finally collapsed in the 10th.

Martin threw a succession punches, shoved Love into the ropes and then continued punching until Love went to his knees, finished aty 1:47 of the 10th and final round. Love got up and smiled. It was as if he was relieved that it had ended. Everybody else was.

On the Undercard

The Best: Phoenix junior-featherweight Francisco C De Vaca danced and smiled. Bled a little, too. In the end, he also won, scoring a unanimous decision over Saul Hernandez (6-6, 4 KOs) in an entertaining six-round bout.

De Vaca, who had former Oscar De La Hoya trainer Robert Alcazar in his corner, suffered a bloody nose in a toe-to-toe exchange midway through the third. It seemed to wake him up.

De Vaca mocked Hernandez with a wicked smile. He waved him in for another exchange. He dropped his hands. He also landed most of the punches, displaying unique precision from a variety of angles for a 60-54 advantage on one card and 59-55 on the other two.

The Rest: Albuquerque featherweight Jesus Pacheco (2-5) overcame hometown judges and fans, using patience and precision to score a majority decision over Edgar Brito (3-1-1, 2 KOs) of Phoenix.

Welterweight Daniel Garcia (2-0) of Surprise, Ariz., was no surprise, doing what he does best in outworking Stephan McCray (0-6) for a unanimous decision.

Albuquerque welterweight Brian Mendoza (4-0, 2 KOs) got in four rounds of solid work, winning a unanimous decision while dropping Javier Rivera (0-1) of Yuma, Ariz., onto his back with a quick counter in the second round of a one-sided bout.

Featherweight Jose Herrera (1-0, 1 KO) was a knockout in his debut, overwhelming Fernando Alvarez (0-1) of New Mexico with a stinging succession of punches for a stoppage at 1:26 of the first round.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Jean Pascal is called quick for hands that can put punches together in rapid succession. He’s called quick for graceful feet that are a human version of rapid transit. But a quick thinker? Not so much.

At least, Pascal’s sudden-strike agility in hands and feet was not evident in anything he said Tuesday during a conference call with Sergey Kovalev for a HBO-televised bout on March 14 in Montreal.

Maybe Pascal didn’t get the memo. But if Kovalev is vulnerable, this might the time. He’s coming off the November 9th demolition of Bernard Hopkins in a fight significant because it represents a changing of the guard at the top of the light-heavyweight division, if not the sport itself. He is The Ring’s Fighter of the Year. He’s first-time father.

If there’s a chance at upsetting Kovalev, this is the time. Maybe, the unbeaten Russian is distracted or content. That’s doubtful, but it’s a possible hedge, and Pascal needs every one he can find if he hopes to beat Kovalev. Instead, he only managed to eliminate that possibility with cheap trash talk during a conference call last week that was mostly a disagreement about drug testing.

Pascal rattled the lion’s cage.

Pascal, Kovalev promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events said, “is clueless, quite clueless.’’

Duva was expressing her exasperation at Pascal for the reasons he said no to more stringent testing by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.

VADA has no credibility because it tests only boxers, Pascal said repeatedly during a call gone free-for-all.

“We had been approached by the Pascal camp about doing drug testing,’’ said Duva, who argued that Kovalev had the right to dictate the protocol because Kovalev is the defending 175-pound champion. “We agreed to go to the people at VADA. Jean Pascal said he did not agree to VADA. He originally offered to pay for it. He wasn’t going to pay for VADA. We decided that since he didn’t want to pay the lower fee for the much more credible organization, then he must not have been serious about that, so there will be no drug testing.”

Greg Leon, CEO of Jean Pascal Promotions, then stepped into the rhetorical scrum.

“VADA didn’t come into the game until the 11th hour,” Leon said. “I was negotiating with Main Events attorney Patrick English, and we were trying to land in a place that Pascal originally planned on with the protocol he’s had in place since 2013. Out of the two athletes fighting on March 14, only one of them has been tested randomly over 10 times, and that’s Jean Pascal. It’s unfortunate we could not land on a mutual organization, but it is what it is. Main Events shouldn’t be caring what Pascal is spending on a test if he’s willing to pay for all of it.”

According to Leon, Pascal has been tested by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) for the last two years.

It’s an argument the figures to go on – and on – until opening bell, mostly because Angel “Memo” Heredia is Pascal’s strength-and-conditioning coach. Heredia, who was involved with disgraced track-and-field Olympian Marion Jones, also works for Juan Manuel Marquez, who has never tested positive, yet has been suspected of PED use ever since he knocked out Manny Pacquiao in the fourth fight.

It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Main Events had in fact said okay to WADA. Maybe, they should have. Heredia in Pascal’s corner, however, guarantees that he’ll have to deal with the suspicions no matter what happens against Kovalev. He could have eliminated them had he said okay to VADA.

Then again, Duva was right. Pascal has been clueless. Pascal, of Montreal, said a victory would make him TBE in Canada. No world on how much rent he had to pay Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the right to use that acronym. Then, Pascal suggested that the fight against Kovalev would play out like the Rocky sequel that takes Balboa to Russia for a fight against Drago. He referred to a 2011 bout in Russia when Roman Simakov lost a seventh-round TKO to Kovalev. Simakov lapsed into a coma. Three days later, he died.

“This fight reminds me of Rocky IV and I think it’s going to be like a remake,” Pascal said. “You have the North American guy versus the Russian. You’ve got the East versus the West. You’ve got Drago, who killed Apollo Creed in the ring. Sergey Kovalev did the same thing, maybe a couple of years ago.

“I am a huge underdog like Rocky was in the movie. The odds I think are about 4-1, but in this movie I’m not going to be Apollo Creed. I’m going to be the Black Balboa.”

Yo, Jean. Wake up. Kovalev has already faced the best trash-talker in the business. Word-for-word, nobody rivals Hopkins. Kovalev never blinked. There’s a lesson there, but Pascal missed it, because he was too busy with talk that has turned him into a target.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — Unbeaten American heavyweight Charles Martin (19-0, 17 KOs) faces Raphael Zumbano Love (35-9-1, 28 KOs) of Brazil Saturday night Celebrity Theatre in the main event of a 10-fight card staged by Iron Boy Promotions.

Martin, of St. Louis, is ranked No. 5 by the World Boxing Organization. He won a national Police Athletic League title in 2012.

The Iron Boy card also will feature promising Phoenix lightweight Victor Castro (13-0, 6 KOs), who is trained by junior-featherweight legend Israel Vazquez. Castro is scheduled to fight Ivan Zavala (6-8-2, 2 KOs) of Mexico. First bell is scheduled for 5 p.m. (MST).

By Norm Frauenheim-

A week-long celebration of the 25-year anniversary of Buster Douglas’ upset of Mike Tyson is a revealing look at where boxing has been and where it is, or perhaps isn’t these days. Nostalgia is a good thing. It’s a personal attachment to dramatic moments in a rich history that the UFC will never have.

But nostalgia is also a refuge and I suspect that’s why there’s been so much of it in the days before Wednesday’s anniversary of a stunner that rivals hockey’s Miracle on Ice and New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath’s upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Douglas-Tyson comes with that inevitable question: Where were you? Anywhere is better than the ongoing uncertainty of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. talks. A trip into the past is as good an escape as any.

For the record, I was in Miami at a silly Slam Dunk Contest that precedes the NBA All-Star Game. I didn’t see a single dunk and I’m sure my newspaper story reflected that. Douglas-Tyson was a pretty good escape on the night it happened, too.

There have been other great upsets, of course. Other fights are remembered with that defining, where-were-you question. My late dad would always tell me about Joe Louis’ first-round knockout of Germany’s Max Schmeling in a 1938 rematch of Schmeling’s 1936 victory. He was in the barracks, in basic training for a much bigger fight.

Louis-Schmeling was the fight that captured the collective imagination of my dad’s generation. It represented his attachment to boxing. For my generation, it’s been Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier and increasingly, Ali-George Foreman. The 40-year anniversary of Ali’s upset of Foreman in Zaire on Oct. 30, 1974 was celebrated just a few months ago in a wave of nostalgia that, by the way, was also an early escape from a resumption of the Pacquiao-Mayweather talk.

For younger generations, it’s Douglas-Tyson. Douglas’ upset, a 10th stoppage in Tokyo, was so unscripted — so unthinkable — that has become unforgettable. There’s a great anecdote this week in an Associated Press story about Douglas. Legendary AP boxing writer Ed Schuyler landed in Tokyo and was asked at customs how long he would be working in Japan.

“About 90 seconds,’’ Schuyler said.

Schuyler summed it up as only he could. Tyson was the most feared fighter since Sonny Liston. Over time, the magnitude of Douglas’ upset has multiplied simply because Douglas never did anything else. Douglas’ triumph on the night of Feb. 11, 1990 stands alone. In his next fight, he surrendered to Evander Holyfield in a bout that was preceded by reports that Douglas had pizza delivered to him while he sat in a sauna trying to sweat off excess pounds.

Then, it began to look as if Douglas’ victory was an aberration. Tyson was as feared as ever. Even after three-and-a-half years of lousy food and no sparring during three-plus years in prison, Tyson scared the fight out of just about anyone who dared step in the ring with him. Everybody, that is, but Holyfield.

On this list of great upsets over the last 25 years, Holyfield’s 11th-round TKO of Tyson in 1996 before their Infamous Bite Fight in 1997 ranks as a close second to Douglas-Tyson. It was thought that Holyfield was shot. There was even fear for his life.

He had suffered a reported heart condition in a 1994 loss to Michael Moorer. He opened as a 25-to-1 underdog at some of the Las Vegas books. Holyfield wasn’t as big a long shot as Douglas, whose fight with Tyson was off the board at every book but The Mirage. But the opening odds added up to the same conclusion: No chance.

Holyfield did what Douglas had done before him. He didn’t let Tyson bully him. Douglas showed Holyfield that Tyson couldn’t think through adversity. The rest is history, which is a lot more interesting than anything we’ve heard – or not heard – in the here and now.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Wladimir Klitschko’s return to America coincides with talks that are holding a sport hostage all over again. The heavyweight’s April 25 bout with Bryant Jennings at New York’s Madison Square Garden arrives in time to take attention off the paralysis-by-analysis of you-know-what.

It’s impossible to know what’s happening, or who’s to blame, or if the reported talks are fact, fantasy or futility.

It’s also hard to know whether frustration will lead to further erosion in the pay-per-view numbers if Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. does not happen. Renewed speculation and anticipation are symptoms. But of what? An imminent backlash? The cancer is back? Or resiliency in a sport that outlives its obituaries?

There’s no safe answer here, but Klitschko’s appearance Wednesday at a news conference in New York offered hope and certainty to what has otherwise been an exercise in exasperation. The Pacquaio-Mayweather tease could continue for another three weeks and that’s if we’re lucky. The first Mayweather-Marcos Maidana fight last May wasn’t announced until Feb. 24.

The only thing anybody knows for sure at this point is that Mayweather-Pacquiao won’t happen in Australia, which denied Mayweather a visa on Wednesday.

In Klitschko, however, there’s reliability in an intriguing pursuit of what has become today’s most over-used word: Legacy. Mayweather advertises it with TBE, The Best Ever, on shorts and caps. If he never fights Pacquiao, will an asterisk be attached to the acronym?

Meanwhile, Klitschko is fighting for his place in history with a steady, patient career. Too patient, too steady for some. Nevertheless, he is closing in on Joe Louis’ reign of eleven successive years as the heavyweight champ. It’s a record that would allow him to be mentioned alongside others in the TBE debate. There’s more than one and there always will be.

Klitschko knows that his longevity and record (63-3, 53 KOs) are generating comparisons to Louis, Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes.

“I hear this once in awhile,’’ he said. “…I don’t want to put myself in line with those legends. I respect and love them. I cannot put myself with others. You can do it, but it’s not my job.”

It’s an ambitious job, part political and unmistakably dangerous for a fighter who will be 39 years old on March 25. It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that he’s back in the U.S. for his first fight in seven years. He’s in the country and city that has produced so many of the best moments in the heavyweight division’s fabled history.

“It’s kind of incredible to me to think that I’m coming back now as the champion and still doing this,” he said. “Fortunately, knock on wood, I don’t feel my age. I’ll be 39 by the time we fight but I don’t feel that way. I feel good and I want to show the people here in the U.S. how far I’ve come since I was last here.”

Klitschko’s return to the U.S. market makes business sense, too. There are signs that of renewed interest in American-born heavyweights. The television audience for Alabama-born Deontay Wilder’s one-sided decision over Bermane Stiverne for the WBC’s slice of the title was a hit.

The Showtime-telecast of the bout drew an average audience of 1.24 million, fourth highest in the network’s history of non-PPV bouts. It was a surprise, because half of a crowd announce at about 8,400 at Las Vegas MGM Grand had freebies. But the Nielsen numbers said fans are curious about the outspoken, entertaining Wilder, the last American to win an Olympic medal – bronze in 2008.

It’s a number that says they’ll be back, maybe in larger numbers, for a PPV showdown with Klitschko, who has employed Wilder as a sparring partner.

“We need to do it and we have to do it,” Klitschko said of the Wilder possibility. “There is certainly a reason why I’m back here and why I’m fighting on U.S. television live on U.S. soil. (Wilder) is the most valuable opponent for me to fight and the price is the title that he has.

“The demand is here.”

Klitschko, at least, is taking a real step toward fulfilling it.

By Norm Frauenheim

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao went one-on-one in an old-school way almost forgotten by all the methods offered by social media. Face-to-face. Imagine that.

What took so long? It’s a fair question, one that they probably will ask themselves if they finally sign a deal to fight. But Twitter didn’t get in the way of their chance meeting in Miami during and after a Milwaukee Bucks-Heat game Tuesday night.

They looked into each other’s eyes instead of simply engaging in an exchange of taunts through various digital platforms that have become today’s stage. It’s mostly about ego and entertainment, Hits and followers are like laughs and applause. Gain them with jokes and insults. But it’s no way to negotiate.

According to various media reports, Mayweather initiated the meeting by approaching Pacquiao at court side. Then, the real business was conducted in Pacquiao’s hotel suite, according to Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz. Koncz told the Associated Press and www.ringtv.com that Tuesday’s two meetings were the first between the two rivals. That’s astonishing. They didn’t run into each other at the Ferrari dealership?

Boxing is a small community, after all But it’s also tribal. Fighters stay with those they trust. Loyalty is their first commandment. The second, third and fourth, too. So, yeah, it’s not beyond belief that Mayweather and Pacquiao have been avoiding each other like wary rivals circling the same prey.

Cheers to Mayweather for initiating the night’s first meeting and asking for the second one. Cheers, too, to Koncz for seemingly encouraging the personal exchange.

A snowstorm in the Northeast might have put Mayweather and Pacquiao in the same place for one night.

But the coincidence provided an opportunity and Koncz knew it. It was beginning to look as if negotiations for a May 2 showdown were dead on arrival. But that was before Mayweather and Pacquiao looked at each other during an hour-long conversation that they’ve never had. Suddenly, there’s optimism instead of the same old futility.

According to Koncz and Pacquaio promoter Bob Arum, there’s an agreement between the networks, Time Warner’s HBO and CBS’ Showtime. Each would produce a special on its own fighter – HBO with Pacquiao and Showtime with Mayweather.

It still isn’t clear who will do the blow-by-blow account and ringside analysis. But it sounds as if an agreement is in the works.

Would there be renewed hope — if not a real chance — for one if Pacquiao and Mayweather had not met?

No.

It’s not the first time that the fighters themselves have broken what seems to be an impossible deadlock. Still, it’s a reminder that, in the end, there’s some real leverage in their dangerous hands.

For as long as there has been an opening bell, fighters have talked about taking the judges out of a fight. It’s one way of promising a stoppage. It’s another way of eliminating the subjectivity that has always haunted the sport. Controversial decisions are bad for business.

In effect, the Pacquiao-Mayweather summit is an attempt at exactly that: Eliminate the middlemen. Talks between CEOs, promoters, managers, advisers, trainers, broadcasters and conditioning coaches appeared to be going nowhere other than in the way.

In the end, only the talk between unlikely business partners might matter. In the end, only Pacquiao and Mayweather will throw punches at each other. Only they can agree to do so.

Phoenix junior welterweight Jose Benavidez Jr., who won the WBC’s interim junior-welterweight title in a controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera on Dec. 13, plans to resume training on Monday.

His trainer and father, Jose Benavidez Sr., said he hopes his son’s next fight is in the spring. However, Top Rank, his promoter, has yet to decide on an opponent or a date.

“We still have to meet and talk about that,’’ said his father, whose unbeaten son will train at Central Boxing near downtown Phoenix.

Unbeaten Jessie Vargas, the WBA’s 140-pound champion and also a Top Rank fighter, is at the top of Benavidez’ wish list.

“If everything works out, yes, Vargas is the guy we’d like to fight,’’ the senior Benavidez said.

A rematch was speculated after Benavidez (22-0, 15 KOs) won a controversial unanimous decision over Herrera at Las Vegas’ Cosmopolitan in an HBO-televised bout. In the immediate aftermath of the bout, a frustrated Herrera (21-5, 7 KOs) said he wanted a rematch and Benavidez said he would give him one.

However, it sounds as if Herrera has changed his mind. Instead, he says he wants a shot at Adrien Broner, who faces John Molina Jr. on March 7 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on the first card in Al Haymon’s deal with NBC.

Herrera, 34, broke into The Ring’s 140-pound ratings at No. 10, despite the loss to the 22-year-old Benavidez, who is not ranked among the top 10.

Benavidez’ father said he had no problem with the ranking.

“Mauricio is good fighter, a good guy and a good story,’’ he said. “My son learned a lot in that fight. With that experience, I think, he’d knock him out in a rematch.’’

Benavidez is the third Arizona fighter in the state’s history to win a title sanctioned by a major sanction acronym. Junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal, a Hall of Famer, held the IBF, WBC and WBO titles during the 1990s. Louie Espinoza won the WBA’s super-bantamweight title in 1987.

By Norm Frauenheim–

It’s hard to recall when there wasn’t talk about Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado are about to fight for a third time. We’re still talking.

Gas prices fall from $5-a-gallon to less than $2. Cheap talk continues. A German Pope quits the Vatican and a pope from Argentina moves in. Still talking. Maybe praying, too.

It’s almost as if the talk has always been there, embedded in the public conversation. When a time capsule buried in a corner of the Massachusetts State House was opened about a month ago, newspapers were found alongside stuff left by Paul Revere in 1795.

Nobody opened up the old newspapers, which is lot like today’s newspapers. But I would love to see the headlines, just to make sure there was no mention of Pacquiao-Mayweather. I’m pretty sure, too, Revere didn’t shout “the fight is coming, the fight is coming’’ on that midnight ride more than two centuries ago. It just seems like it.

In an era defined by 140 characters, little has a shelf life longer than yesterday’s tweet. But Mayweather-Pacquiao is inexhaustible. It’s a virtual commodity, a little bit like Kim Kardashian’s posterior. It just never goes away, which also makes it hard to know what’s fantasy and what’s not.

The talk is as loud now as it was when it started more than half a decade ago. Other than the volume, however, is any of it real? Or is it just more exasperating buzz in another rhetorical sequel to the same old futility?

I was in Las Vegas last week for Deontay Wilder’s heavyweight decision over Bermane Stiverne at the MGM Grand. It was a good fight and a better story. But all of the talk was about you-know-what. There was more speculation in the media workroom than losing wagers in the casino. It’s happening; it’s not happening.

Anticipation has created a bubble and perhaps boxing’s version of Deflate-gate. There’s a growing sense that the air has begun to go out of the talks.

That said, there’s always another rumor, or maybe a daydream. According to one, the bout could be announced in the grandest style possible, say, during the Seattle-New England Super Bowl on Feb. 1. Buy a 30-second spot of advertising for $4 million and announce the Super Bowl of boxing.

A fanciful reach? Maybe. By now, everything about Pacuiao-Mayweather appears to be a reach. In terms of timing, however, it makes some sense. Pacquiao has said his deadline is the end of January. If he doesn’t get an answer from Mayweather by then, it looks as if he’ll move on, perhaps to a bout with former stable-mate Amir Khan.

Meanwhile, Mayweather loves the big stage and nothing is bigger than the Super Bowl.

He said during a radio interview in Australia that talks were ongoing. But red flags are everywhere. In the same interview from Down Under, Mayweather blamed Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, his bitter rival, for the apparent stall in the reported negotiations.

There’s also plenty of renewed speculation about a Mayweather rematch with Miguel Cotto, whose talks with Canelo Alvarez for a May 2 bout are off the table. Alvarez promoter Oscar De La Hoya said last Saturday before Wilder-Stiverne that Canelo was looking for a different opponent after Cotto failed to accept an offer by Jan. 16. Now, talk is reportedly ongoing for Canelo-James Kirkland.

Going on, but going where? It’s been nowhere for longer than many can remember, or maybe long enough to just hope that it just goes away.

LAS VEGAS – A lot was promised. Return to Glory, the ads said. The glory will have to wait. But there was a return of sorts. An American-born fighter has regained a version of the heavyweight title.

Deontay Wilder did it Saturday night with a unanimous decision, taking the World Boxing Council’s belt from a plodding Bermane Stiverne Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

“I’m so happy to bring the belt back to America, officially,’’ said Wilder, the first American-born champ since Shannon Briggs won a belt in the bout’s final second of a 2006 walk-off knockout of Sergey Liakhovich in a ring above the pitcher’s mound at the Arizona Diamondbacks home field in downtown Phoenix.

Briggs victory didn’t exactly re-conquer an old American possession. Then, the flag went up and came down in Banana Republic time. It’s hard to know whether Wilder’s victory will result in any real permanence. For now, however, it’s a foothold by a young heavyweight still learning his trade

“I want to be around for a long, long time,’’ Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs) said over the Haitian-born Stiverne 24-2-1, 21 KOs).

Translation: He wants to make history. He talked about history after the one- sided scorecards – 120-107, 118-109 and 119-108 – were announced.

Wilder dedicated his victory to Muhammad Ali, who turned 73 Saturday. He talked about civil rights leader Martin
Luther King, whose national holiday will be celebrated Monday.

“Martin Luther King, he shocked the world,’’ Wilder said. “I shook it.’’

Truth is, he only shook only Stivrne a few times, once in the fifth round and again in the seventh. It was in the seventh that it looked as if Wilder would keep his unbeaten record perfect. But another stoppage eluded him.

Wilder threw s a straight right, a deadly fastball, which knocked Stiverne on to his heels and backpedaling across the canvas. Only the ropes kept the Haitian’s 239 pounds from crushing a customer or two in the ringside seats. Those same ropes also might have kept him upright. He was dazed. But not done.

Stiverne, blood dripping from a cut above one eye, kept moving forward, yet never throwing, much less landing, more than a punch or two at a time.

“I just wasn’t ready,’’Stiverne said. “I didn’t cut off the ring the way I wanted to.’’

The biggest surprise was Wilder’s ability to go 12 rounds. He had never been beyond four. His elusiveness throughout the bout helped explain why he was a skinny 219 pounds at the weigh-in Friday. Wilder, 6-foot- 6 ½, trained to be quick. He was able to say away from Stiverne.

“Who can’t box, who can’t box?’’ Wilder yelled at press row after the final bell.

Maybe, Wilder can. But the jury is still out on that one.

In the 10th, there were scattered boos from the crowd of 8,453. If Wladimir Klitschko was watching the Showtime telecast from his home n Germany, he probably didn’t lose any sleep at what he saw.

The pace had slowed to a deadly crawl. In the end, however, Wilder had the smarts and conditioning to reach the finish line. He won a significant fight and got a belt for his efforts. But the real test, that test of time, is just a beginning.

WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz defended his crown for the fourth time with an eighth-round TKO of Jesus Ruiz and afterword called out fellow champions Abner Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux in the co-feature of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.

The early rounds were close and competitive and Ruiz, a heavy underdog, seemed to be a tougher test than he looked on paper. But it was clear that Santa Cruz was landing the cleaner shaper punches. The former bantamweight world champion landed some meaningful shots and had Ruiz in trouble in the seventh and, for the first time, it appeared that he could finish Ruiz.

Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 KOs) came out blazing in the eighth, landed a big right cross to kick off the round and continued to tee-off on the challenger. In trouble against the ropes and not fighting back, referee Kenny Bayless jumped in and stopped the bout with Ruiz (32-6-5, 21 KOs) still on his feet at :29 of the eighth round. The champion landed 43 percent of his total punches and nearly 50 percent of his power punches, while landing an impressive 73 power shots to the body.

“Like I expected, it was a war,” Santa Cruz said. “He came prepared. We hurt him and we didn’t let the chance go away. We kept going after him and we stopped him. I hurt him with the right hand. I knew he was hurt so I went after him. I knew Kenny Bayless would stop it because he wasn’t throwing punches.

“I want the best and I want to please the fans. I want (Abner) Mares, I want (Guillermo) Rigondeaux. Hopefully our next fight is against one of the best.”

Ruiz, who only landed 22 percent of his total punches, disagreed with the stoppage.

“I want a rematch,” Ruiz said. “I don’t feel they should have stopped the fight, but I have to accept it. But I’m fine. Look at me – I’m not cut. He didn’t even drop me.”

In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, undefeated super lightweight Amir Imam floored Fidel Maldonado Jr. four times and scored a fifth-round TKO in a brawl that featured five total knockdowns.

Maldonado was the busier fighter, but Imam floored the Albuquerque resident for the fourth time in his career with a short right just a moment before the bell rang to end the second. Then, in an early candidate for Round of the Year that featured three knockdowns, Maldonado responded by knocking down Imam for the first time in his career 30 seconds into the third with a solid straight left. Imam bounced back and sent Maldonado to the canvas with a huge right with 20 seconds left in the third and then again with a straight right as part of a vicious attack with less than 10 seconds left in the round.

The action continued and Imam (16-0, 14 KOs) floored Maldonado for the fourth time in the fight with a short right followed by a left hook just seconds before the bell to close the fifth. Maldonado (19-3, 16 KOs) got up but was wobbling and referee Robert Byrd halted the contest at 2:59. Imam’s power was the difference, landing 50 percent of his power shots.

“It was a tough knockdown, but champions get up and finish the fight hard and that’s what I did,” Imam said. “I just had to stay composed and do what I had to do. “I started timing him. When I hit him with that good shot he was out. I could see it. That was the rope-a-dope. I was swinging for the fences and that was it, baby.

“I’m ready for the title shot right now. I just want to fight for the title.”

Four of the five knockdowns occurred with less than 30 seconds left in each round. After the fight, Maldonado admitted that he simply failed to protect himself when the rounds were winding down.

“I just got caught with a couple of punches,” Maldonado said. “He kept his composure and he came out with the W. I just got caught. I got lazy in there and he capitalized. He was the better man tonight. I got kind of bored at the end of the rounds and I paid for it.”

In the main event of SHOWTIME BOXING on SHO EXTREME, undefeated light heavyweight prospect Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (12-0, 10 KOs) kept his perfect record intact with a thoroughly convincing TKO victory of Garrett Wilson (13-9-1, 7 KOs).

Shabranskyy kept his distance and was very effective; landing 48 percent of his power shot and threw more than 60 punches in each round. The Ukrainian prospect scored a knockdown with a right in the closing seconds of the second and another with a clean right in the final 10 seconds of the eighth, sending Wilson face first to the canvas. Wilson beat the count but was saved by the bell as Shabranskyy unloaded more than a dozen consecutive punches.

The durable Wilson took a tremendous beating in the ninth and seemingly didn’t land a punch, forcing referee Jay Nady to stop the bout after the ninth upon suggestion of the ringside physician.

In the opening bout of the SHO EXTREME telecast, heavyweight Eric Molina (23-2, 17 KOs) defeated Raphael Zumbano (32-9-1, 25 KOs) via eighth round TKO in a one-sided affair.

Molina, who landed 76 percent of his power shots and more than 50 percent of his total punches, was connecting at will when referee Russell Mora halted the contest at 1:28 of the eighth.

In a non-televised swing bout, Cesar Quinonez (1-0, 1 KO), a Las Vegas native and the first fighter to go professional from Fernando Vargas’ gym Feroz Fight Factory, made his professional debut and scored a knockout win over Chula Vista’s Joan Valenzuela (1-2) in the second round at 2:13.

By Norm Frauenheim–

LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez still plans to fight on May 2, but it looks as if he won’t be fighting Miguel Cotto.

In a story first reported by www.boxingscene.com, Canelo promoter Oscar De La Hoya said Saturday that he is looking for alternate opponents after Cotto did not accept an offer Friday night.

“The deadline has passed,’’ De La Hoya told reporters at the MGM Grand after he and David Lemieux talked about the Montreal middleweight’s new multi-year deal with Golden Boy Promotions.

Timothy Bradley is rumored to be a Canelo option. James Kirkland is another.

Negotiations broke down over money, according to De La Hoya. Cotto, the reigning middleweight champion, didn’t get as much as he wanted.

A bout between Canelo, a popular Mexican, and Cotto, a Puerto Rican, would have been another chapter in the rich Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry. It also was seen as a good way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday and a traditional time for big fights.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has said he wants to fight Manny Pacquiao on May 2. Pacquiao representatives have said the Filipino has agreed to terms. However, there’s been no response from Mayweather and — as of Saturday – still no agreement.

Cotto-Mayweather has been speculated if Pacquiao-Mayweather breaks down. There’s also a financial motivation for a Mayweather-Canelo rematch. Mayweather’s decision over Canelo in 2013 set revenue records.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS – The heavyweights undergo more study than a species near extinction. That means everybody has a theory or maybe an autopsy.

They’re either vanishing faster than Arctic ice, or they’ve moved to Germany, or they’re NFL linebackers, or they’ve been eliminated and forgotten by Wladimir Klitschko’s consummate skill.

Take your pick.

None-of-the-above is the hope held by promoters and Showtime for the Deontay Wilder-Bermane Stiverne bout Saturday night at the MGM Grand. Picking the fight’s winner is a tough call, which is also a damning reflection of a division that has fallen from prominence.

Stiverne is said to have more experience at a higher level, but it’s really not enough to proclaim him a clear-cut favorite over Wilder, a former Klitschko sparring partner who has a record of proven power yet doubts about his opposition and chin.

It’s safe to say that neither Stiverne nor Wilder strikes much fear in the Klitschko empire. Wladimir will be happy to fight, either. In a business still consumed by talk about whether welterweights Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr will ever fight, however, there’s unmistakable hope that Stiverne and Wilder will deliver the kind of drama that gets people talking.

The heavyweights have been here before. Too many times. Promoters are calling Stiverne-Wilder a Return To Glory. From Michael Grant through Shannon Briggs, however, it’s been a deadly succession of reasons to forget the heavyweights. More like a requiem than a return.

On Muhammad Ali’s 73rd birthday, however, maybe Stiverne and Wilder can stage the beginnings of a resurrection. The records are there. Stiverne, who holds the WBC belt, is 24-1-1 with 21 KOs, including a solid stoppage last May in a rematch with Chris Arreola, pronounced Orreo-la by promoter Don King. Wilder is 32-0, all by stoppage within four rounds.

Then there’s some edgy talk. Both have played their roles, uttering insults and often in a tone that says they mean it. Just listen to Stiverne. Before Wilder, he was as quotable as a doorknob. Now he has plenty to say.

The words continued after the weigh-in Friday when he looked a little soft at 239 pounds, a half-pound lighter than he was for Arreola. Wilder was 20 pounds lighter at 219.

At Thursday’s news conference, Wilder said a prayer he had written. To Stiverne’s ears, however, it sounded blasphemous.

“An insult to God,’’ Stiverne said. “That prayer was disrespectful.’’

Perhaps that was Stiverne’s way of saying Wilder has no prayer at taking the WBC’s green strap.

“This green belt is staying right here in this green hotel,’’ Stiverne said of the shade that gives the MGM Grand its distinctive look.

Stiverne also said that he detected something less than confidence in Wilder eyes during another nose-to-nose pose for the cameras. After a few seconds, Wilder broke it off, turned and walked to the back of the stage.

“One thing you got to know,’’ Stiverne said. “Eyes don’t lie. I could see it all in his eyes. He ain’t ready for this thing.’’

Then again, Stiverne has to look up to look into Wilder’s eyes. At 6-feet 6 ½, Wilder is four-and-a-half inches taller than the 6-2 Stiverne. Wilder’s advantage in height, according to some analysts, represents a stylistic problem for Stiverne.

If Wilder employs his long jab, Stiverne will have to work his way inside. But that’s when he could run into the huge right hand that Wilder has used to stop 32 straight opponents. But Stiverne has promised he knows a way to win, a way that he says will make everybody forget about Wilder.

“We’ll have to see,’’ Wilder said. “But I’m sure the People’s Champ, soon to be the world’s champ, will be around for a long time.’’

Maybe the heavyweights will be too.

NOTES: Wilder will collect $1 million, $90,000 more than Stiverne’s $910,000 minimum, according to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Junior featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16 KOs) was at 122 pounds at Friday weigh-in. His unknown challenger, Mexican Jesus Ruiz (32-5-5, 21 KOs), was at 121.5. Santa Cruz is guaranteed $750,000. Ruiz will collect $50,000.

Emerging welterweights Amir Imam (15-0, 13 KOs) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Fidel Maldonado Jr. (19-2, 16 KOs) of Albuquerque meet in 10 rounder in Showtime’s first bout. Imam was 140 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in. Maldonado was at 139.

Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions has already begun to re-build a roster that lost several prominent fighters in the settlement with his former CEO, Richard Schaefer. Golden Boy announced Friday that it has signed middleweight David Lemieux, who was impressive on HBO in December with a stoppage of Gabe Rosado. De La Hoya and Lemieux are scheduled to meet with media Saturday.

By Norm Frauenheim

LAS VEGAS — At times, it was bizarre. At times, downright goofy. It was also long-winded, sometimes dull. Yet, it was also unpredictable, often entertaining and controversial enough to keep everybody interested.

Welcome to a boxing news conference that has begun to vanish, especially the heavyweight variety. But it was back Thursday, which is another of way saying the bully pulpit witnessed the return of Don King, malaprops and all. He’s an octogenarian, but there’s still a boom in those 83-year-old vocal chords.

For King, talking is like breathing. He exhales strange references, twisted metaphors and unexpected references the way the rest of the world exhales oxygen. Pretty much all of the time. It lasted for at least two hours at the MGM Grand.

Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne were supposed to be the featured performers. After all, they fight for the WBC’s version of the heavyweight title Saturday night in a Showtime-televised bout. Wilder, of Alabama, and Stiverne, a Haitian, played their roles in what was a performance art.

“I’m gonna put the Haitian on vacation,’’ said Wilder, who is as good at the rhyming game as King.

But most of the rest of the show belonged to King, who wore a familiar denim jacket covered in flags, sequins and who-knows-what-all. He talked about former Army General and CIA director David Patreaus, who has been accused of telling classified secrets to a woman in an alleged affair

“Send a national, American hero to jail for a mistake so many people make?’’ King said. “That don’t send out a good message. Pray for Prateaus.’’

Pray, too, King said, for Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who hurt himself on a treadmill.

“Falling off treadmills and things, that’s really disasterly,’’ said King, who also found time to wish Golden Boy Promotions vice president Bernard Hopkins a happy 50th birthday. “Pray for Harry Reid.’’

Pray, too, for those of us who were trying to figure out what King would address next. Global warming? Islamic terrorism? Obama care? At some point, however, the immediate task at hand had to move front and center. Trying to sell a heavyweight fight these days isn’t easy, especially amid talk and only talk about whether welterweights Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr will fight on May 2.

But King hasn’t lost his voice, or his salesmanship, or his ability to counter trash talk with a quip of his own. King promotes Stiverne.

During Wilder’s turn at the podium, he turned to King and said:

“I heard, Don, that if there’s a chance of your guy winning, they’re going to get rid of you,’’ said Wilder, who went on to suggest that Stiverne would sign with Mayweather Promotions.

Wilder’s source? Connect the dots: Wilder’s advisor is power broker Al Haymon, whose No. 1 client is Mayweather.

“Don’t feel bad when you lose,’’ King said to Wilder when he returned to the podium and began a long-winded intro of Stiverne. “I know you think it’s your time, but there’s going to be an interruption for refreshments.’’

The interruption, King promised, would be Stiverne. The guess is that Stiverne will also be the refreshment. We tried to ask King about that, but he was already off and running with some speech about George W. Bush. Or was that Jeb Bush? Maybe both. But you get the idea.

The unflappable Stiverne did his best to answer the rumor posed by Wilder.

Stiverne stood at the podium, turned to King, shook his hand and called him ”my promoter, who I’m staying with. Now, you’ve heard it.’’

We heard a few other things, too.

Wilder’s 32-0 record includes an astonishing 32 stoppages, all within four rounds.

“I’m going to keep your record clean, cause you ain’t getting past four rounds,’’ Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) said to Wilder. “And that’s a ridiculous suit you’re wearing.’’

The rhetoric intensified. Wilder called Stiverne “a tourist with a belt.” Stiverne promised Wilder that he’s “gonna get hurt, hurt bad.’’

After the talking was done, they posed in a news-conference ritual. They stood there, eye-to-unblinking eye, for several minutes. The stare-down ended only when both were pushed away in opposite directions. Then, the talking resumed.

“Heh-heh-heh,’’ King chuckled.

A man, who has seen it all, was happy to see it all over again.

By Norm Frauenheim–

Gennady Golovkin’s stop in Los Angeles Wednesday at the end of an international tour for his Feb. 21 bout with Martin Murray in Monaco was an anti-dote, timely relief from speculation about what’s happening or not happening in negotiations for Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Alvarez-Miguel Cotto.

Boxing is stuck in never-never land these days, but at least there’s Golovkin, who brings a clear sense of purpose and direction to what he’s doing.

Some of the best-known names continue to avoid him with a litany of tired excuses. The latest, Peter Quillin, said Golovkin just isn’t a draw. Huh? Didn’t he just sell out the Stub Hub Center in Carson, Calif., for his quick stoppage of Marco Antonio Rubio? Quillin wishes he could draw crowds like GGG.

But with that unflappable, what-me-worry grin, Golovkin moves forward, telling a news conference that he plans to fight four times in 2015. The Murray bout is intriguing and perhaps Golovkin’s toughest to date.

Murray knocked down Sergio Martinez and lost a 12-round decision to the then middleweight champ in Buenos Aires. The durable Murray promises to test GGG. But the guess here is that Golovkin wins in the late rounds for a 19th successive stoppage.

Then what? Some familiar names were mentioned Wednesday. Golovkin trainer Abel Sanchez continues to talk about Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Chavez, he says, has a style that would produce a dynamically dramatic bout with Golovkin. But Chavez’ contract problems with Top Rank could put him on the legal shelf for a while.

Here’s another idea: Go straight to Canelo Alvarez, the popular Mexican who is moving up weight for a shot at Cotto’s 160-pound title. Canelo has said he’s willing to fight Golovkin. Representatives for Canelo and Cotto are reportedly close to a deal for a May 2 bout, another potential classic in the great Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry.

There was talk that the agreement would be announced Tuesday. Tuesday came and went with no news. As of Thursday, there was still nothing. A snag? Breakdown? Maybe not. But you never know.

If talks stall, Golovkin should let Golden Boy Promotions know that he’s willing and available for the May 2 date that Canelo wants, no matter happens with Mayweather-Pacquiao and Mayyweather’s attempt to take ownership of the Cinco de Mayo celebration. Mayweather, who calls the prized date Cinco de Mayweather, showed up at a Pacer-Lakers game on Jan. 5 at Staples Center in Los Angeles decked out in Mexican colors.

It was his way of courting Mexican fans. But it could backfire. Mayweather in the green, white and red might be seen as trespassing on Mexico’s historical turf. Meanwhile, Mexican fans already have begun to embrace Golovkin. Before GGG’s victory over Rubio in October, some of those same fans arrived at the Stub Hub Center wearing T-shirts that said: “Mexicans for Golovkin.’’

If Canelo-Golovkin gets done and Canelo wins, then a Golovkin bout could be negotiated for the September date that celebrates Mexican Independence. Mayweather wants to own that date, too. Golovkin could help Canelo in his fight to re-claim it.

By Norm Frauenheim-

The New Year gets a quick start, which is another way of saying there’s an early chance to forget about an old – a very old – year summed up by declining pay-per-view numbers.

The message in the PPV trend is unmistakable. The customers want to see something different or they’ll pay to see something else altogether.

Attention on 2015 begins on Jan. 17 at an end of the scale that has been forgotten in the United States. Remember the heavyweights? Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand might re-inject some interest in the Klitschko Division.

For while, at least, Wilder-Stiverne might quiet the ceaseless noise about a welterweight fight that never seems to happen.

More on that later on a 2015 scorecard, a checklist, that includes a few other wishes:

ü Waldimir Klitschko against the Wilder-Stiverne winner in a bout that would get some media attention in the U.S. It also would be a chance for Klitschko to gain some respect and perhaps enhance his place in heavyweight history.

ü No more talk from or about Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. Just fight, please. There are better bouts out there, but a dysfunctional game needs this one just to prove to an eroding fan base that it can still do business.

ü Pacquiao versus Terence Crawford at 140 pounds. If Pacquiao-Mayweather continues to produce only rhetoric and no fight, Crawford could end the talk. Crawford, a leading contender for Fighter of Year, is in his prime and as capable of beating Pacquiao as an aging Mayweather is.

ü A quote from Al Haymon

ü A real fight, instead of a one-sided blowout, between fighters represented by Haymon, who didn’t do anything for his matchmaking/promotional reputation with the Danny Garcia-Rod Salka schlock in August.

ü After an idle 2014, Andre Ward back in the ring, in a fight against somebody, anybody.

ü Gennady Golovkin versus Andy Lee, whose dramatic stoppage of Matt Korobov for the WBO’s middleweight belt transformed him into an intriguing GGG possibility. Maybe one who won’t avoid him, too.

ü A bout in the U.S. for breakout star Roman Gonzalez, the unbeaten Nicaraguan flyweight and pound-for-pound contender who hasn’t appeared in the American market since November, 2012.

ü Roman Gonzalez versus Naoya Inoue, who made a late run at Fighter of the Year with his stunning second-round KO of Omar Narvaez for a 115-pound belt. Inoue, a former 108-pound champion and two-time titlist with only eight pro bouts, skipped 112 altogether, perhaps because that weight class belongs to Gonzalez.

ü No more references to a Mayweather sweepstakes for opponents who are at the short end of a winner-take-all business model, boxing’s wealth gap. For two fights, Marcos Maidana got about $6 million. Mayweather’s minimum for both added up to $64 million. Maidana got less than 10 percent of the total. That’s a lousy tip.

ü A re-appearance of master tactician Mikey Garcia, unbeaten and an ex-junior-lightweight champ who hasn’t fought in almost a year. It’ll be 12 months since we saw him in the ring on Jan 25 in a victory over Juan Carlos Burgos in New York.

ü An end without a bout to the sad story of former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, who suffered a brain bleed in 2009 and now faces a trial in Arkansas on charges of shooting a cousin. Every time Taylor answers another opening bell, it’s scary.

By Norm Frauenheim

It’s a year that will be remembered for what didn’t happen. There was still no Manny Pacquaio-Floyd Mayweather Jr., despite the resumption of tired talk. Andre Ward, in his prime and perhaps the sport’s greatest pure talent, didn’t fight at all.

Take 2014, put it in a hefty bag and bury it where nobody can ever find it. Please. It’s been a forgettable year.

“Fans are fed up,’’ Oscar De La Hoya said during a media round-table before Amir Khan’s victory over Devon Alexander on Dec. 13.

Declining pay-per-view numbers are proof of what De La Hoya said. Fans, who made Mayweather the highest earning athlete in the world, are headed for the exits. They’ve already forgotten 2014. The question is whether they’ve forgotten the sport, too. We’ll find out in 2015.

It was a lousy year, but it did produce resiliency that has always been there. Comebacks define boxing. Terence Crawford, Sergey Kovalev, Gennady Golovkin, Roman Gonzalez and Nicholas Walters are the leading names in what might be the beginning of another one. They displayed poise, power, skill and charisma throughout a year that ends with Pacquaio-Mayweather talk still dominating blogs and twitter.

It’s impossible to know whether Pacquiao-Mayweather will ever happen. It’s also reasonable to wonder why anybody should even care anymore. The good news is this: There’s a lengthening line of fighters who look as if they could beat either. Behind Crawford and Golovkin, there was a resurrected Khan and an emerging Keith Thurman.

A year from now, maybe we’ll wonder why we continued to even mention Mayweather-Pacquiao. Maybe, the troubled business can move beyond futile speculation that is more a symbol of what’s wrong than right.

If it happens, a look back at 2014 will include the seeds of the rebirth. Here’s a quick look back at what was right and what might make 2015 memorable:

Man of the Year: Bernard Hopkins. A fighter nearly 50-years-old did what a younger Mayweather and a younger Pacquiao have not. He took a huge risk, a chance against the feared Kovalev. He took a beating, too, in what stands as a tough lesson from a wise elder in how to do business.

Fighter of the Year: The collective (no pun intended) face of the fighter from the former Soviet Union. Without Kovalev, Golovkin, Wladimir Klitschko, Vasyl Lomachenko, Ruslan Provodnikov and others, the future would look a lot more uncertain than it does already.

Comeback of the Year: De La Hoya. He re-opened doors and renewed hopes for again doing business across promotional lines when the Golden Boy Promotions chief approached Bob Arum in a peace offering. It’s still not exactly clear how it will all shake out, especially when it comes to messy questions about who has legal contracts with which fighters. Golden Boy or Al Haymon? But De La Hoya’s initiative is a potential beginning.

Promoter of the Year: Kathy Duva. She had the courage to stand up to Haymon and then the Main Events chief staged Kovalev’s one-sided victory over Bernard Hopkins in a bout that represents a game changer, a model for a New Year and a way out of a very old one.