LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 27, 2016) — Three action-packed world championship fights will act as co-main events to the MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO – JESSIE VARGAS World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight world title fight, Saturday, November 5, at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions and Wynn Las Vegas, the Pacquiao – Vargas world welterweight championship event will be produced and distributed live by Top Rank Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, and will be available on all conventional platforms, including all major cable and satellite systems, as well as Top Rank’s digital distribution via www.TopRank.tv and mobile devices.

NONITO “The Filipino Flash” DONAIRE and ÓSCAR VALDEZ, WBO junior featherweight and featherweight champions, respectively, will be risking their crowns in mandatory title defenses against their respective No. 1 contenders JESSIE MAGDALENO and HIROSHIGE OSAWA. The pay-per-view telecast will open with Chinese Olympic icon ZOU SHIMING in a 12-round rumble with PRASITAK PAPOEM for the vacant WBO flyweight world title. This marks the first time Pacquiao and Donaire, the two biggest boxing stars to come out of the Philippines, have ever shared the same card.

The six co-main event gladiators, representing six different countries, have a combined record of 158-8-6 (104 KOs) — a winning percentage of 92% with nearly 2/3 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

Remaining tickets to the Pacquiao vs. Vargas world championship event are priced at $1,000, $700, $500, $300, $100 and $50, not including applicable service fees. They may be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, online at http://www.unlvtickets.com/, at UNLVtickets Outlet Town Square Las Vegas and La Bonita Supermarkets. To charge by phone call 702-739-FANS (3267) or 866-388-FANS (3267).

“Jessie is a great challenger, a mandatory title defense and I know he’s hungry because he has been calling me out on social media,” said Donaire. “I am working great with my new trainer Ismael Salas. We are learning about each other and he’s instructing me on a more precise, compact way of fighting while still being very explosive as everyone is going to see on November 5.”

“Nonito is one of the greatest boxers of all time,” said Donaire’s manager Cameron Dunkin. “He’s fought the best and he’s beat the best. He’s faced many tough challenges. This is a very tough challenge but this is what Nonito does.”

“As a kid I’ve dreamt of this moment and the time is finally here. On November 5th I will be victorious with my hands raised up high and a belt around my waist,” said Magdaleno.

“It’s a pleasure to work with Jessie Magdaleno. We’ve been working together since July 23, and so far training camp has been great, the weight hasn’t been an issue, sparring hasn’t been an issue as he has been working with top notch boxers and the workload has not been an issue. He has embraced the work, and is definitely up to the challenge as he faces Nonito Donaire,” said Manuel Robles, Magdaleno’s trainer.

“Jessie Magdaleno is very, very motivated for his fight against Nonito Donaire,” said Frank Espinoza, Magdaleno’s manager.. “Nonito has been a great champion and has fought in many big fights for a long time. But this is Jessie’s time. He has worked hard and he has what it takes to win and become a world champion.”

“As a world champion you have to face tough challenges and my first defense will be against a tough challenger, but I am ready to face him,” said Valdez. “I worked hard to get my belt and I intend to keep it for a long time.”

“Óscar Valdez always works very hard to get ready for his fights. He will be even more focused and work even harder defending his championship belt on November 5 than he was when he won it back in July,” said Valdez’s trainer Manuel Robles.

“Óscar Valdez won his world championship with a spectacular performance in July and on November 5, I am sure he will give us another great fight and successfully defend his belt,” said Frank Espinoza, Valdez’s manager.

“The boxing ring has always been a world stage where I have been able to fulfill my dreams. It has given me countless opportunities to challenge myself and surpass my limits which I have always found more important than defeating an opponent,” said Zou. “Though my first world title fight was not as successful as I had hoped, I have focused even more on developing and improving myself mentally and physically to meet the challenge of fighting for another world title. I have worked hard to get this second opportunity and I will work even harder in training camp to succeed. On November 5, I will enter the ring fueled by the strength of the Chinese people. Together we will make our mark on boxing history.”

“Prasitak may look like Manny Pacquiao but he sure doesn’t fight like him. He’s dirty as hell. The last time we fought him, Prasitak was head butting and landing low blows on Shiming throughout the fight. But just to play it safe, I’ll have Shiming spar with Manny when we get back from Manila so we’re extra prepared,” said Zou’s Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.

“Zou is rated No. 2 and I am rated No. 3, but that is the only thing that has remained the same from our first fight,” said Prasitak. “I am a much different fighter than the man Zou fought in China two years ago. I have knocked everyone out since that fight and I have developed elephant strength punching power. I look forward to avenging my only loss and becoming world champion on November 5.”

“Top Rank is very proud to be presenting such a special pay-per-view event,”: said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. “Las Vegas will truly be the boxing capital of the world on November 5 with a championship card featuring the best fighters from six different countries.”

Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, now living in Las Vegas, is a five-division world champion. He regained the WBO junior featherweight crown on December 11, 2015, winning a 12-round unanimous decision over No. 1 world-rated contender Cesar Juarez for the vacant title. His banner year in 2012 featured four world championship victories which included beating former world champion Israel Vazquez, Jr. to capture the vacant WBO junior featherweight title, unifying the title by defeating International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight champion Jeffrey Mathebula, followed by Donaire collecting his third belt of the year with a knockout of World Boxing Council (WBC) Diamond Belt super bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka, ending Nishioka’s eight-year, 16-bout, winning streak, and concluding his magnificent year by blasting out Mexican icon Jorge Arce in the third round and sealing his 2012 Fighter of the Year honors while extending his 12-year, 30-bout winning streak. He lost his title to undefeated Cuban sensation and WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux in a title unification bout at a sold-out Radio City Music Hall on April 13, 2013. He bounced back in 2014, dethroning World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight world champion Simpiwe Vetyeka in Macau, China. Career highlights for Donaire also include knockout victories of world champions Vic Darchinyan, Wladimir Sidorenko, and Fernando Montiel, ending Montiel’s 25-bout winning streak. That victory was named the 2011 Knockout of the Year. Donaire returns to the ring fresh from his first title defense, a third-round knockout of Hungarian Olympian Zsolt Bedak on April 23. The fight took place outdoors in Cebu and attracted 30,000 fans despite the extremely hot and humid conditions.

Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs), from Las Vegas, NV, enters this fight having won eight of his last 10 bouts by knockout. The former U.S. Amateur Champion has crafted a sterling professional ring record since making his professional debut on November 6, 2010. The younger brother of lightweight contender Diego Magdaleno, Jessie is a southpaw whose aggressive style and fierce punching power has produced a victory by knockout ratio of 73% en route to becoming the WBO’s No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger.

Valdez (21-0, 18 KOs), from Nogales, Mexico, and who represented Mexico in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, was the first Mexican fighter to qualify for two Olympic games. He is considered one of the bright lights of the featherweight division and a new face for boxing’s next generation. He will be making the first defense of the vacant world title he won on July 23 via a second-round knockout of undefeated No. 2 rated Matías Rueda. Rueda entered that fight having won his previous 10 bouts by stoppage. Valdez, 26, started the year with a fourth-round knockout victory over former IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich on the April 9 Pacquiao – Tim Bradley III pay-per-view undercard in Las Vegas. It was the first time Gradovich had ever been stopped in his 24-bout professional career. Other career highlights include knockout victories of former world title challengers Ruben Tamayo and Chris Avalos.

Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs), from Osaka, Japan, will be making his U.S. debut. He enters this fight riding a seven-year, 16-bout unbeaten streak, with 12 victories coming by way of knockout, including his last 10. He returns to the ring fresh from a first-round knockout of Yon Armed on April 2, where he captured the WBO Asia-Pacific featherweight title and solidified his position as the No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger to Valdez.

Zou (8-1, 2 KOs), from Guizhou, China, returns to the ring fresh from his U.S. pro debut, which took place on June 11 at Madison Square Garden. He defeated Jozsef Ajtai of Hungary by a lopsided unanimous decision. He started the year out with a bang, knocking out undefeated contender Natan Santana Coutinho, to regain the WBO International flyweight title, on January 30, in Shanghai. Zou’s professional career highlights include a 12-round decision loss t to International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight world champion Amnat Ruenroeng in 2015 and a 12-round unanimous decision victory over undefeated No. 3 contender Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym in a world flyweight title elimination bout. Their fight was the co-main event to the Pacquiao – Chris Algieri world welterweight championship on November 22, 2014 in Macau, China. Zou scored three knockdowns en route to a 119-106, 119-106 and 120-103 victory over his vastly more experienced opponent. He showed his mettle by fighting through numerous head butts that swelled his left eye shut as well as weathering numerous low blows. But Zou kept his composure throughout the fight showing the world he was ready for a world title shot. Zou captured his first WBO International flyweight title on July 19, 2014, stepping up to his first 10-round fight and winning a unanimous decision over Top-10 contender Luis De La Rosa, proving to the world that he had developed into a world title contender. Zou is currently world-rated No. 2 by the WBO and No. 3 by the IBF. One of the most popular Olympic athletes in China, Zou was the world’s greatest amateur light flyweight, capturing gold medals in the World Amateur Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2011, along with gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He also owns an Olympic bronze medal from the 2004 games, making him his nation’s first Olympic medallist in boxing as well as its first boxing gold medallist in the World Amateur Championships and the Olympics.

Prasitak (39-1-2, 24 KOs), of Buriram, Thailand, made his professional debut in 2010 and captured the WBO Oriental junior bantamweight title the following year knocking out Fredirex Rodriguez in the seventh round. After one successful defense he moved down one division where he captured the WBO Oriental flyweight title in 2012, which he successfully defended six time during his two-year reign. After losing a unanimous decision to Zou in 2014, he regained the WBO Oriental flyweight title on April 3, 2015 by knocking out Haji Juma in the 12th round. Since his loss to Zou, Prasitak has fashioned a two-year, 12-bout winning streak, with all of his victories coming by way of knockout, including five defenses of his WBO Oriental flyweight title. Prasitak, who will be making his U.S. debut, is currently world-rated No. 3 by the WBO.

For fight updates go to www.pacvargas.com and www.toprank.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing or facebook.com/trboxeo, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing or twitter.com/trboxeo. Use the Hashtag #PacVargas to join the conversation on Twitter.

LAS VEGAS, NV (September 26, 2016) — Sports commentating stars STEPHEN A. SMITH, BRIAN KENNY and CHARISSA THOMPSON will join former two-division and five-time world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY as the ringside broadcast team for the MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO vs.. JESSIE VARGAS world welterweight championship fight which will take place Saturday, November 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The broadcast team will also feature TopRank.com’s CRYSTINA PONCHER who will be the telecast’s roving reporter. Featuring four world title fights, the Pacquiao vs. Vargas championship event will be produced and distributed live by Top Rank Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, and will be available on all conventional platforms, including all major cable and satellite systems, as well as Top Rank’s digital distribution via www.TopRank.tv and mobile devices.

“We wanted to give the viewers a different perspective that informs and entertains and I think we have accomplished that with this fantastic team,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank. “It’s a great combination with Brian, one of television’s top TV announcers, color commentary from Stephen A. and Charissa ‘s balanced hosting style. The expert analysis from Tim will round this out perfectly as he is considered one of the best fighters in the world and has secured victories against both Pacquiao and Vargas. We will expand the reach of this event beyond the boxing fan to an audience that has watched Stephen A., Brian and Charissa as regular fixtures in covering other major sports.”

“To say I’m incredibly excited would be an understatement,” said Smith. “Anyone who knows me knows I fell in love with boxing from the time I was three-years-old, when my Dad showed me Muhammad Ali beating Jerry Quarry in October 1970. Ever since that day, Boxing has been a passion of mine. But never — ever — in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d ever get a chance to actually call a fight. November 5 can’t get here soon enough.”

“I’m thrilled to once again call a Manny Pacquaio fight,” said Kenny. “Pacquaio remains one of the most exciting athletes in not just boxing, but in all of sports. After his win over Timothy Bradley, he is also still at the top of the incredibly competitive welterweight division. Jessie Vargas, coming off a tough win over the talented Sadam Ali, will present Pacquaio with a challenge that will test his world class talent.”

“I’m so excited to be a part of the Top Rank boxing telecast for Pacquiao vs. Vargas on November 5 from Las Vegas, and getting the opportunity to reunite with friends and former colleagues Stephen A. Smith and Brian Kenny is a bonus, said Thompson.”

“It is an honor to work in collaboration with such a respected crew on a historic night for Top Rank as they host their very own pay-per-view. I hope this is the first of many to come and look forward to seeing everyone on November 5, said Bradley.”

Smith, along with Max Kellerman, is a featured commentator on ESPN2’s First Take weekdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, discussing and debating the sports topics of the day. He joined First Take on a permanent basis in 2012. In September 2014, Smith began hosting the daily Stephen A. Smith Show on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. The two-hour show is produced and broadcast from ESPN Audio’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn. From 2011 until 2014, Smith hosted a two-hour (1-3 p.m.), weekday local show on ESPN Radio 98.7FM in New York. For one year, starting in 2011, he also hosted a local show on ESPN LA 710AM in Los Angeles, covering both coasts. Smith made a variety of contributions to ESPN from 2003-08. Smith hosted The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio from 2005-08. He was also the host of ESPN2’s Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, a one-hour show featuring sports news, commentary on sports issues, and interviews, from 2005-07. Smith joined ESPN in 2003 as an analyst for the network’s NBA Shootaround (since renamed NBA Countdown) pregame show. He regularly appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, ESPN2’s First Take and as guest host of Pardon the Interruption and Jim Rome is Burning. Smith also hosted a morning show on Fox Sports Radio. Previously, Smith held several positions – most recently as a general sports columnist – during 16 years with the Philadelphia Inquirer (1994-2010).

Kenny is an MLB Network host, appearing across MLB Network’s studio programming, including MLB Now and MLB Tonight. On MLB Now, Kenny hosts a one-hour live daily panel discussion that covers breaking news and the most recent trends in the game with perspectives from baseball journalists, sabermetricians, broadcasters and current and former players and managers. Kenny joined MLB Network from ESPN, where he was anchor of the 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, host of the Brian Kenny Show on ESPN Radio and Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. He previously served as an ESPN anchor for “Baseball Tonight,” receiving a Sports Emmy Award in 2003. Kenny called play-by-play for ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball and the World Baseball Classic, and hosted ESPN’s coverage of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, New York. Kenny was named “Media Personality of the Year” by SI.com in 2004, and in 2005 he was the recipient of the Sam Taub Award, given by the Boxing Writers Association of America to the Boxing Broadcaster of the Year. Kenny appeared as himself in the 2006 film, “Rocky Balboa,” and in the 2007 film, “Resurrecting the Champ.”

Thompson is co-host of FOX NFL Kickoff on Fox Sports, co-host of the entertainment news magazine Extra with Mario Lopez and a host of Netflix’s brand new competition show, Ultimate Beastmaster. Prior to her current role on Fox Sports, Thompson was the co-host of FS1’s Fox Sports Live since its inception in 2013. Previously,she worked at ESPN where she co-hosted ESPN2’s SportsNation along with Marcellus Wiley. Thompson had joined ESPN in September 2011 as the co-host of ESPN2’s Numbers Never Lie and, after frequent guest appearances on SportsNation, she moved in the permanent co-host role in June 2012. Prior to joining ESPN, Thompson covered the NHL for Versus from 2010-11, including the 2010 All-Star Game and Stanley Cup Finals.

Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs), from Palm Springs, Calif., is a former two-division world champion who has held a world title every year since 2008. One of boxing’s top pound for pound fighters, Bradley’s resume includes world championship victories over Pacquiao and Vargas. His welterweight championship reigns also included successful title defenses against former world champions Ruslan Provodnikov, which was selected as the Fight of the Year for 2013 by the Boxing Writers Association of America, Mexican icon Juan Manuel Márquez and Brandon Rios. As a junior welterweight champion he produced sensational victories over world champions Junior Witter, Devon Alexander Kendall Holt and Lamont Peterson while twice unifying the WBO and WBC titles.

The Pacquiao vs. Vargas pay-per-view telecast will also feature NONITO “The Filipino Flash” DONAIRE and ÓSCAR VALDEZ, WBO junior featherweight and featherweight champions, respectively, risking their crowns in mandatory title defenses against their respective No. 1 contenders JESSIE MAGDALENO and HIROSHIGE OSAWA. The pay-per-view telecast will open with Chinese Olympic icon ZOU SHIMING in a 12-round rumble with PRASITAK PAPOEM for the vacant WBO flyweight world title. This marks the first time Pacquiao and Donaire, the two biggest boxing stars to come out of the Philippines, have ever shared the same card.

The eight pay-per-view gladiators, representing six different countries, have a combined record of 243-15-8 (152 KOs) — a winning percentage of 91% with nearly 2/3 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions and Wynn Las Vegas, remaining tickets to the Pacquiao vs. Vargas world championship event are priced at $1,000, $700, $500, $300, $100 and $50, not including applicable service fees. They may be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, online at http://www.unlvtickets.com/, at UNLVtickets Outlet Town Square Las Vegas and La Bonita Supermarkets. To charge by phone call 702-739-FANS (3267) or 866-388-FANS (3267).

For fight updates go to www.pacvargas.com and www.toprank.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing or facebook.com/trboxeo, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing or twitter.com/trboxeo. Use the Hashtag #PacVargas to join the conversation on Twitter.

The November 5th Manny Pacquiao – Jessie Vargas card will feature a total of 4 world title bouts, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“We were bound and determined to make this the best overall boxing card of the year, and four world title fights on it with fighters from all over the word does just that,” promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. “We think boxing is a great sport and it has global ramifications, and we will have fighters from the United States, from Mexico, from China, the Philippines and Japan. I love that. It’s like I’m promoting fights in the United Nations.”

In the co-feature, junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs), 33, the most famous active Filipino fighter other than Pacquiao, will make his second defense when he takes on mandatory challenger Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs).

“Jessie is a great challenger, a mandatory defense and I know he’s hungry because he has been calling me out on social media,” said Donaire, the 2012 fighter of the year who has won world titles in four weight classes (five if interim titles are included) from flyweight to featherweight.

“I am working great with my new trainer, Ismael Salas. We are learning about each other and he’s instructing me about a more precise, compact way of fighting, but still [how to] be very explosive as everyone is going to see on Nov. 5,” Donaire said.

Said manager Cameron Dunkin: “[Donaire has] fought the best and beat the best. He’s faced many tough challenges. This is a very tough challenge, but this is what Nonito does.”

“As a kid, I’ve dreamt of this moment, and the time is finally here,” said Magdaleno, younger brother of former lightweight world title challenger Diego Magdaleno. “Nov. 5, I will be victorious with my hands up high.”

Frank Espinoza, Magdaleno’s manager, has watched Donaire for years and respects him but believes his fighter is ready to knock off the veteran.

“Jessie Magdaleno is very, very motivated for his fight against Nonito Donaire,” Espinoza said. “Nonito has been a great champion and has fought in many big fights for a long time. But this is Jessie’s time. He has worked hard, and he has what it takes to win and become a world champion.”

Said Arum: “I think it’s a terrific fight. The managers are really confident, Cameron and Frank. Magdaleno, when he lets his hands go, is terrific, and I love Donaire as a fighter. This is going to be a good one.”

Featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez (20-0, 18 KOs), a 25-year-old, two-time Olympian from Mexico, knocked out Matias Adrian Rueda in the second round on July 23 to win a vacant belt and will make his first defense against mandatory challenger Hiroshige Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs), 31, of Japan. Hiroshige will be facing the first notable opponent of his 12-year career.

“As a world champion, you have to face tough challenges, and my first defense will be against a tough challenger, but I am ready to face him,” Valdez said. “I worked hard to get my belt, and I intend to keep it for a long time.”

“Oscar Valdez won his world championship with a spectacular performance in July, and on Nov. 5, I am sure he will give us another great fight and he will get the win to retain his belt.”

The opening bout of the pay-per-view will pit two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur champion Zou Shiming (8-1, 2 KOs) against Thailand’s Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (39-1-2, 24 KOs) for one of the flyweight world titles vacated earlier this month by Juan Francisco Estrada, who is moving up in weight.

“And I know (casino magnate) Steve Wynn is delighted he is on the card because there will be many high-rollers from China coming in for the fight and staying at (host casino) The Wynn because Zou is fighting for a world title. And if he wins, it means huge fights in 2017 in China and Macau.”

LAS VEGAS, NV. (September 8, 2016) — Boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the reigning Fighter of the Decade, MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO, will be campaigning to become the only sitting Congressman and Senator to win a world title when he collides with two-division world champion JESSIE VARGAS in a 12-round battle for Vargas’ World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown. While Pacquiao will be looking to become a three-time WBO welterweight champion, Vargas will be resolute in enforcing a term limit on the future Hall of Famer’s boxing career. Pacquiao vs. Vargas takes place Saturday, November 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Pacquiao vs. Vargas and its co-main event fights will be produced and distributed live by Top Rank® Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, and will be available on all conventional platforms, including all major cable and satellite systems, as well as Top Rank’s digital distribution via www.TopRank.tv and mobile devices.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions and Wynn Las Vegas, tickets to the Pacquiao vs. Vargas world championship event are on sale at 3:00 p.m. ET / Noon PT Today! Priced at $1,000, $700, $500, $300, $100 and $50, not including applicable service fees, tickets may be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, online at http://www.unlvtickets.com/, at UNLVtickets Outlet Town Square Las Vegas and La Bonita Supermarkets. To charge by phone call 702-739-FANS (3267) or 866-388-FANS (3267).

“Public service is my calling but boxing is my passion. I realized this summer I was not ready to retire from the ring,” said Pacquiao. “I made history when I became the first congressman to win a world title and now that the good people of the Philippines have elected me to the Senate I want to make more history by becoming the first senator to win a world title. I promised the voters I would not miss a Senate session which is why I will be training in Manila until the Senate goes into recess in late October. I dedicate this fight to my fans and to my countrymen throughout the world who have kept me in their prayers. And as always, I fight to bring glory to the Philippines.”

“Last April, Manny proved against Tim Bradley that he still has great fights left in him,” said Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer World-Famous Freddie Roach. “I’m looking forward to returning to Manila and training Manny for a very big challenge. Jessie Vargas has our respect. We saw what he did to Sadam Ali to win his second world title. Manny will be prepared to shoot the works against him to become world champion again. That’s our mandate.”

“When I was younger I watched what Manny did to my two boxing idols, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera — two great Mexican warriors. I told myself, someday I would get into the ring against Manny and avenge what he did to them. Now I will fight for them as well as myself. To me, this fight isn’t about a friendly ring rivalry between our countries. This fight is about payback,” said Vargas

“Jessie and I consider this fight the passing of the torch. We appreciate
the body of work Manny has compiled in his illustrious career. However
as we all know good things must come to an end and that will happen on November 5,” said Dewey Cooper, Vargas’ chief trainer. “This will be our moment, our time for a younger world champion to shine and earn the admiration of the fighting world. This moment is not too big for us. After this fight I will proudly hold up Jessie’s arm in victory. The torch will be passed.”

“I really believe, with all my heart, that Jessie will win this fight. All of
the people saying otherwise are sure going to be surprised. This is, at last, Jessie’s time,” said Cameron Dunkin, Vargas’ manager.

“The fight between Manny Pacquiao and Jessie Vargas will be a real shootout. Jessie is not going to play around but will go after Manny in the kind of battle that Manny Pacquaio likes to engage in,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum .

Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs), a former two-term congressman, was elected to a Philippine Senate seat in May, capturing over 16 million votes nationally. An international icon, Pacquiao is the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many different weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the reigning Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao’s resumé features victories over present and future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Márquez and Timothy Bradley. From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different weight classes, from 130 to 154 pounds. No active boxer has sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao, who is also credited with over 18 million domestic pay-per-view buys. After his disappointing unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2, 2015, a world championship fight that generated a record 4.5 million pay-per-view buys and over $400 million in television revenue alone, a healthy Pacquiao (he had suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder during the fourth round of the Mayweather) returned to the winner’s circle on April 9, winning the rubber match against five-time world champion Bradley. In a battle of Top-10 pound for pound fighters, Pacquiao sent Bradley to the canvas twice en route to a dominant 12-round unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored the fight 116-110.

Vargas (27-1 10 KOs), a native of Los Angeles who has lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for the past 22 years, captured the World Boxing Association (WBA) super lightweight title on April 19, 2014 in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision over undefeated defending champion Khabib Allakhverdiev. It was a close and competitive fight that proved Vargas’ grit as he bit down hard during the championship rounds to pull away with the victory and the world championship belt. Vargas successfully defended his title twice that same year, winning unanimous decisions over undefeated contender Anton Novikov in Las Vegas and former world champion Antonio DeMarco in Macao, China on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao – Chris Algieri world welterweight championship pay-per-view card. Vargas moved up to challenge former two-division world champion Tim Bradley for the vacant WBO welterweight world title in 2015, losing a 12-round decision that was not without controversy. During the last minute of the final round, Vargas rocked and nearly dropped Bradley with a right hand and had the two-division world champion in trouble. As Vargas was going in for the kill, referee Pat Russell mistakenly called the fight over with seven seconds remaining because he mistook the 10-second clapper for the final bell. Vargas made the most of his next shot at the welterweight title, giving a career-best performance. With new trainer Dewey Cooper, a former two-division kickboxing world champion and 2008 Martial Arts Hall of Fame inductee, Vargas came to Washington, D.C. and knocked out undefeated No. 1 contender and 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali in the ninth round to win the vacant WBO welterweight world title. Vargas’ impressive resume also includes victories over former world champions Stevie Forbes and Vivian Harris and top contenders Josesito Lopez, Lucky Boy Omotoso, Ray Narh and Lanardo Tyner.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing or facebook.com/trboxeo, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing or twitter.com/trboxeo. Use the Hashtag #PacVargas to join the conversation on Twitter.

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s hard to know what to make of Manny Pacquiao’s decision to fight Jessie Vargas on November 5, other than to say he never retired.

Please, don’t call it a comeback. Pacquiao never went away. He ran for office. He won, changing his Filipino title from Congressman to Senator. He wrote some legislation and apparently a lot of checks.

He said this week he would continue to fight, in part because his Senate salary just wasn’t enough, despite the $100-plus million he reportedly collected for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. just 15 months ago.

“Boxing is my main source of income,’’ Pacquiao said Wednesday in announcing he would fight Vargas at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Arena. “I can’t rely on my salary as a public official. I’m helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well.

“Many people also come to me to ask for help and I just couldn’t ignore them.”

If it’s possible, Pacquiao gives away money faster than Mayweather spends it. At this rate, there’s a better chance Pacquiao will still be in the ring than there is Michael Phelps will be in the Olympic pool at the 2020 Tokyo Games. If nine figures can’t cover what Pacquiao spends over less than a year-and-a-half, what can?

It’s not clear how much he’ll earn against Vargas, the WBO’s welterweight champion. But it’s safe to say it won’t be the $20-to-25 million minimum Pacquiao collected over the last few years, including his last fight – a decision in April over Timothy Bradley in a second rematch.

That kind of money isn’t there any more, mostly because of a steep decline in pay-per-view numbers in the wake of the disappointing Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

Before junior-welterweight Terence Crawford’s one-sided decision over Viktor Postol on July 23, Pacquaio promoter Bob Arum said that the Filipino understood that the business had changed. He said he could make a deal with the Senator.

“We’re not talking about those kind of crazy numbers,” Arum told the Los Angeles Times this week.

But those numbers are still a guessing game until Arum announces how and who will telecast the pay-per-view. It looks as if it won’t be HBO, the premium network that carried Pacquiao’s top-earning bouts. ESPN has been rumored. But at what price?

The decision to fight Vargas instead of the emerging Crawford appears to be a bet on a rematch with Mayweather, perhaps next May. Signs that Pacquiao would sidestep Crawford were apparent in the wake of Crawford’s blowout of Postol.

Crawford’s agile footwork and versatility surprised Postol trainer Freddie Roach, also Pacquiao’s trainer. It was evident that Crawford’s overall speed would be very hard to overcome, even at 140-pounds, perhaps Pacquiao’s ideal weight. Roach said as much.

A loss to Crawford would likely mean irrelevancy, if not a real retirement, for Pacquaio. Surely, it would badly damage any chance at a Mayweather rematch. Hence, Vargas, the safer choice, at 147 instead of 140.

But even that’s a risk. Mayweather has been mostly silent since he spent all that time talking about a big-money deal in a bout with the UFC’s Conor McGregor. There’ no indication that he is any more interested in a comeback than he was at the moment he formally announced his retirement after beating Andre Berto in September 2015.

Mayweather has said he might be interested if the money – his nickname and motivation – is right. He reportedly collected $240 million for Pacquiao. He had a $32-million guarantee for each of his bouts in a six-fight deal with Showtime.

Like Arum said, crazy numbers. But it’s also crazy to think Mayweather would ask for anything less than $32 million, even if he were interested. The guess – and that’s all it is – is that he will be. He’s still young enough. He’ll be 40 on Feb. 24. He retired at 49-0. Fifty-and-0 has to be a temptation.

The bigger question is whether there’s even an audience for an encore. The bout in May 2015 set a record for PPV buys at 4.4 million. The theory is that a rematch could do at least 1 million, meaning it would make money. But the ongoing decline only raises questions about whether anyone wants a sequel that would only remind everyone of the original.

Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight Jessie Vargas on November 5th,at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Yes, the fight is on. I have agreed to a Nov. 5 fight with reigning WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas,” Pacquiao said. “Boxing is my passion. I miss what I’d been doing inside the gym and atop the ring.”

“I miss my boxing routine of training, the things I do for my sport every day, but I assure my people my fight and training will not affect my work as a senator,” Pacquiao said. “My training — no problem. We will start early in the morning for my runs and gym training. There are no sessions or hearings in the senate at 6 or 7 a.m. They usually start earliest at 10 a.m., so I will be able to manage my schedule.

“My whole training camp with [trainer] Freddie [Roach] will be in Manila until the senate goes on break, and then we go to America.”

“Boxing is my main source of income. I can’t rely on my salary as a public official,” Pacquiao said. “I’m helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well. Many people also come to me to ask for help, and I just couldn’t ignore them.”

“I am happy to be scheduled to fight Pacquiao. He is a fighter that the fans respect and admire,” Vargas told ESPN.com. “That’s exactly what I want, and beating him will put me in that position. To prove that I am the best I have to beat the best and I plan on showing off my talent and ability inside that ring Nov. 5. It will be my coming out party. I hope that the fans really enjoy our fight.”

LAS VEGAS – The gloves were gold. Maybe, Terence Crawford’s future is, too.

Crawford at least put himself in position to collect some with a one-sided decision over Viktor Postol Saturday night in a pay-per-view junior-welterweight fight at the MGM Grand.

By the sixth round, there was little doubt about the fight or Postol’s chances and, instead, plenty of talk about how Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs) might do against Manny Pacquiao.

“Of course,’’ Crawford said when asked if would fight the Filipino Senator. “I’ll fight anybody, anywhere.’’

Crawford-versus-Pacquiao on Nov. 5 at Thomas & Mack Center, also in Las Vegas, appeared to be promoter Bob Arum’s plan all along during a week when he complained about criticism of his decision to offer the Postol bout on PPV television.

Crawford’s 118-107, 117-108, 118-107 wipeout of Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) might come to look like an investment in the future, if and when there’s an agreement with Pacquiao. The fight itself was forgettable.

Crawford’s advantage in speed baffled Postol, whose power was never a factor. In fact, Crawford’s speed appeared to the biggest reason for two knockdowns in the fifth. Postol stumbled to one knee in the opening seconds of the round. Still off-balance, he stumbled backwards later in the round, touching the canvas with a glove.

Increasingly, Postol looked baffled. Then, frustrated. In the end, Crawford mocked him. In the 12^th, Postol began swinging for the fences in the desperate attempt for a knockout.

All the while, Crawford ducked, weaved, stepped to one side then the other. He was having fun, so much so that he stuck his tongue out at Postol. He also smiled at him and talked at him before claiming ownership of three pieces – The Ring, WBO and WBC – pieces of the 140-pound title.

Postol trainer Freddie Roach, who bet $1,000 to win $9,000 on the Ukrainian to win by KO, said he was surprised by Crawford speed. In the immediate aftermath, Roach, who also trains Pacquiao, didn’t want to speculate on what might happen against the Filipino.

“We’ll see what happens,’’ said Roach, who got a good look at gloves that said Crawford is more of the real kind than the fool’s variety.

Oscar Valdez Jr. joked that promoter Bob Arum was exaggerating when he called him the featherweight division’s next legend.

Maybe. But there was no exaggerating what Valdez did within two rounds in claiming his first major title Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Valdez blew away Matias Rueda of Argentina scoring a second-round stoppage for WBO title vacated by Vasyl Lomachenko. Valdez (21-0, 18 KOs) finished Rueda (26-1, 23 KOs) with a left to the body for a TKO at 2:18 of the second round.

“A dream come true,’’ said Valdez (21-0, 18 KOs), a two time Mexican Olympian who went to school in Tucson.  “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was six years old.’’

Valdez celebrated by dancing across the canvas. He talked about family and the future. He dedicated the victory to a cousin who died on a motorcycle. He talked about waiting to fight the great champions.

Next stop: Tucson.

Arum plans for Valdez to make his first title defense in the southern Arizona city where he first began to box. Possible sites are the Tucson Community Center and Casino Del Sol, maybe on Nov. 26.

His potential opponent is the winner of Miguel Marriaga-versus-Guy Robb on Aug. 27 in Fallon, Nev.  The Marriaga-Robb fight is a WBO eliminator. The winner earns a mandatory shot at Valdez, a first-time champion and – if Arum is right – maybe a many-time champ.

Jose Benavidez Jr. was hoping for something spectacular. Maybe next time.

But the unbeaten Phoenix fighter (25-0, 16 KOs) got what he had to have, a victory in his welterweight debut with a unanimous decision over tough Francisco Santana (24-5-1, 12 KOs) Saturday on a pay-per-view card featuring Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol at the MGM Grand.

“There is only one guy I want and it’s Jessie Vargas,’’ Benavidez (25-0, 16 KOs) said. “He wants Manny Pacquiao. But he has to deal with me next.’’

Vargas was sitting at ringside, working as a television analyst. When asked about Benavidez calling him out, he said:

“Fine, come and get it,’’ Vargas said. “Let’s get it set up.’’

There were some boos when one-side scores were announced. Adelaide Byrd scored it a shutout, 100-90. Judge Kermit Bayless had it 98-92. On Glenn Feldman’s card , it was a reasonable 96-94.

“I landed the cleaner shots,’’ said Benavidez, who landed quick combinations in the ninth and 10th rounds, yet appeared to tire in the middle rounds when he leaned on the ropes, an old habit.

With the victory, Benavidez next bout appears to be on in Tucson on card that expected to feature Oscar Valdez Jr. in the first defense of his WBO featherweight title.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk was down. But not done.

Gvozdyk (11-0, 9 KOs), the latest in a string of East European imports, hit the canvas in the first round, stunned by a Tommy Karpency right that he never saw in the first fight on the pay-per-view card featuring Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol at the MGM Grand Saturday night.

Five rounds later, Gvozdyk , a Ukrainian light-heavyweight, was looking down at Karpency (26-6-1, 15 KOs), on his knees and finished.

Karpency, bleeding badly from a cut on the bridge of his nose, went down from a body shot, a right hand to the chest. He also complained about getting thumbed in the eye.

It was clear, however, that he wasn’t getting up. He stayed on one knee until the referee counted 10 for a Gvozdyk victory, a KO at 2:21 of the sixth.

The curtain went down on the non pay-per-view part of the Postol-Crawford card quickly. Definitively, too.

Japanese middleweight Ryota Murata dropped (11-0, 8 KOs) dropped George Tahdooahnippah (34-3-3, 24 KOs), Oklahoma’s Comanche Boy, with a body shot. Then, he rocked him with a succession of rights, forcing the referee to stop it at 1:52 of the first round.

Lenny Zappavigna traveled from Australia. Lianhui Yang came from China. They met at an international crossroads. No interpretation necessary. In the ring, everybody speaks the same language.

Zappavigna (35-2, 25 KOs) spoke it with more power, stopping Yang (18-2, 13 KOs) in the sixth round of a junior-welterweight fight Saturday on the Crawford-Postol card..

Zappavigna nailed Yang with two right hands, then rocked him with successive shots when the refreee stopped at 43 seconds of the round.

Edward Williams’ fraternity brothers barked. He provided the bite.

Williams (12-1-1, 3 KOs), a Detroit welterweight, had just enough of it Saturday against Houston’s Christon Edwards (6-2, 3 KOs) for a six-round unanimous decision that sparked a small frat party after the third bout on the Postol-Crawford card at the MGM Grand.

Stanyilav Skorokhod scored two knockdowns in the opening round and gestured at a fallen Hakim Bryant after the first, waving at him to get up.

Bryant obliged the Ukrainian middleweight, scrambling to his feet and giving him more work than he might have expected in the early moments Saturday. Bryant (6-1, 4 KOs), of Asbury Park, N.J., stayed on his feet for the next five rounds, stubbornly moving forward and into shots thrown by Skorokhod (11-1, 8 KOs).

But Bryant’s evident toughness wasn’t enough against Skorokhod’s 70-inch reach. The Ukrainian appeared to tire, but he had enough to win a lopsided decision in the second fight on the Crawford-Postol card.

It began with a TKO. But there was nothing technical about it.

Omaha light-heavyweight Steve Nelson (3-0, KOs) left Tim Meek (5-3-1, 2 KOs) of Canutillo, Tex., bloodied, bruised and overwhelmed with a fourth-round stoppage in the first fight on a card featuring fellow Omaha fighter Terence Crawford against Viktor Postol in a junior-welterweight bout Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Nelson warmed up the ring for his fellow Nebraskan with a counter shot that dropped Meek with a thud that echoed throughout an empty building in a non-televised bout before the pay-per-view portion of the card. Nelson then bloodied Meek’s nose and opened up a nasty gash above one eye in the third.

Meek was tougher than his name suggests. But his corner had seen enough. Thirty-two seconds into the fourth, it threw in the towel.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao wil return to the rong onNovember 5th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

“I couldn’t get a building, but we were finally able to secure Thomas & Mack Center,” said Bob Arum. “So I am doing the fight with my friend Steve Wynn [whose Wynn Resorts will serve as the host casino]. MGM really wanted to do the fight but they didn’t have a building. They did everything they could to free up a place for us but Nov. 5 didn’t work, but that is what worked for Manny.

“We are going to film Manny — if we can get into the senate — working as a senator during the day and then training at night. We’ll have a camera crew over in the Philippines. But then he will finish with the budget votes he has to work on around Oct. 15 and he will come to Los Angeles with [trainer] Freddie [Roach] and finish training.”

By Norm Frauenheim

A Viktor Postol victory over Terence Crawford could lead to a Postol-Manny Pacquiao fight and force trainer Freddie Roach to choose between Postol and Pacquiao.

It sounds awkward. But Roach, trainer for both Postol and Pacquiao, says it wouldn’t be.

“It wouldn’t be the worst position in the world,’’ Roach said Thursday during a conference call nine days before the Postol-Crawford junior-welterweight bout July 23 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “I feel like Viktor has done everything to get ready for this fight, to win this fight.’’

“If that does happen, I’ll have to deal with it.’’

The possibility emerged this week amid reports that Pacquiao would fight later this year in his first bout since he was elected to the Filipino Senate a few weeks after his rematch decision over Timothy Bradley in a welterweight bout in April.

Danny Garcia appears to be the leading possibility when — and perhaps if — Pacquiao decides to resume his career. Longtime Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who also promotes Crawford and Postol, also said the July 23rd winner could land a shot at the Senator with a spectacular performance.

Postol and Crawford will fight at 140 pounds, which many believe is Pacquiao’s ideal weight.

“If that fight will happen, we’ll then sit down with each team to see how it goes,’’ Top Rank vice-president Carl Moretti said.

Then, Moretti couldn’t resist the chance to deliver a good punch line.

“As far as Freddie goes, it would be great to see him run back-and forth, from corner-to-corner,’’ Moretti joked.

That wouldn’t happen, of course. Roach’s longtime role as Pacquiao’s friend, confidante and corner man dictates that he would be in the Filpino’s corner.

“Me and Manny have been together for 15 years,’’ Roach. “It would be very difficult to go against him, of course. But, you know, I know Viktor is a very good fighter also.’’

If the Postol-Pacquiao happens, Marvin Somodio, Roach’s longtime aide, would probably train Postol.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao will end what would be about a seven month retirement with a fight that will take place on either October 29 or November 5.

“Manny wants to come back. The problem is he can only come back if it doesn’t interfere with his senate duties,” said Top Rank’s Bob Arum. “We had penciled him in for Oct. 15 at Mandalay Bay but we were informed that is no longer possible because he has to spend that week leading up to Oct. 15 formulating the budget in the senate and doing the votes.

“So he has to be there for that week, so that knocks out that week. He can’t mess around with that. So now we’re looking at Oct. 29 or Nov. 5. The question is building availability because we want to do the fight in Las Vegas.”

Arum said he is working with MGM executive Richard Sturm on the availability of its venues — the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mandalay Bay Events Center and T-Mobile Arena — for those dates.

“Sturm is doing the research and seeing if he can move things around,” Arum said. “The MGM wants to do the fight and he’ll come back to us when he comes to a solution.”

Arum said he has been in regular touch with Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, as they work through the date issues.

“Michael said Manny definitely wants to fight again. Not even a question,” Arum said. “We just have to get an appropriate date.”

“Manny’s primary concern and obligation is to fulfill his senatorial duties,” Koncz said. “But he just misses [boxing]. He misses the training. He misses being in the gym. You can see when he trains it’s like a stress reliever for him. His mood changes. It’s like he’s in happy land. So I am working with Bob and Manny is working closely with the senate president to make sure the dates are OK. We’re doing this properly.

“When Manny was a congressman we didn’t have to clear dates. Now we have to. He is taking his job in the senate seriously. He is not going to be absent, which is why we can’t do a fight Oct. 15 because of the senate dealing with the budget.”

While many believed Pacquiao and Mayweather would both return, Pacquiao will be the first to do so. In fact, Arum refused to promote the Bradley fight as Pacquiao’s finale, even though Pacquiao said leading up to the fight that he was going to retire.

“I would have been excoriated,” Arum said. “I knew this would happen. I’m not an idiot. I wasn’t going to say [the Bradley fight] was Manny’s last fight and have people say I sold the fight under false pretenses. I didn’t represent that so am I surprised by this? No. Not at all.”

Arum and Koncz said Pacquiao would train around his senate duties.

“He can handle it,” Arum said. “There is one week in October of intensive legislation. He’ll train that week at off hours and before that week at regular hours and then probably two weeks in Los Angeles, and then the last week in Vegas. It’s doable.”

Arum said he and Broner adviser Al Haymon — Arum’s longtime adversary with whom he recently settled a $100 million lawsuit — were able to work on the fight together and that they can do other fights as well, but that Broner (32-2, 24 KOs) was not realistic with his purse demands.

“I worked very, very hard with Al to make the Broner fight but Al was never able to bring Broner around to a realistic number,” Arum said. “He wanted what we haven’t paid anybody in a long time. Just a crazy number. In effect he wanted parity with Manny and Al agreed that he couldn’t do anything with him. The kid is crazy.”

“Broner is a decent fighter and it would be entertaining for the fans,” Koncz said. “But I lost respect for him because he outrageously outpriced himself. We even offered him an upside so if the pay-per-view sold really well he would make even more money. I’ve lost all respect for him as a person.

“So we’ll get another opponent for Manny to fight. I’m not sure who but we want a meaningful fight and an entertaining fight.”

How will it feel fighting in Vegas for first time? PPV for the first time?

TERENCE CRAWFORD

“It is an honor to fight in Las Vegas, especially at the MGM Grand where so many historic fights have taken place and so many great fighters have made their mark. It’s the same way I felt when I headlined my first card at Madison Square Garden earlier this year. Many fighters dream of fighting on such a big stage but it’s something you have to earn. I have worked very hard to get to this point in my career — to earn the right to headline my first pay-per-view event. I can’t think of a better place to do it than in the Fight Capital of the World. It’s very exciting, but I need to keep my eye on the ball. There will be a lot of hard work to do in training camp to make my pay-per-view debut successful. This isn’t just opening night for a new phase of my career. I want this to be the beginning of a long run as boxing’s next pound for pound star and a worthy successor to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.”

BRIAN McINTYRE:

“Fighting in Las Vegas in the main event and headlining a pay-per-view is a tremendous honor. Years ago I never imagined we would get to this point. We are representing Omaha on the biggest stage boxing has to offer and Terence is not about to let his hometown down. He is proud to represent Omaha and he will be carrying that pride in his heart and soul when he enters the ring on July 23rd and beats Viktor Postol. We know we are in this position because of hard work and more hard work. And with hard work came success, success that produced an undefeated record against the best fighters and two world titles in two different divisions. No one has ever been able to outthink or outfight Terence and that’s a lesson Postol is going to learn the hard way — in front of a very big audience.”

The HBO Sports Special, Terence Crawford: My Fight, debuts Saturday, July 9 at 11:15 p.m. on HBO.

Crawford vs. Postol takes place Saturday, July 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Showtime has sued Top Rank over lawsuits pertaining to the Floyd Mayweather – Manny Pacquiao mega fight last May.

Showtime is seeking $682,754.07 in legal fees for having to pay lawyers to defend the network against numerous civil lawsuits filed by fans upset that they shelled out a record $100 apiece for the pay-per-view telecast of a bad fight in which Pacquiao knew he was injured ahead of time.

Showtime said in its lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.com, that Top Rank failed to meet its contractual obligation to indemnify the network in the event it was sued in relation to the fight. Showtime, which said it was named as a co-defendant in 12 of approximately 42 suits filed after the fight, is seeking legal fees it says it paid to defend the suits, plus interest.

“Showtime Networks [on Wednesday] filed suit against Top Rank in the Southern District of New York to enforce Showtime Networks’ right to be reimbursed for legal fees incurred defending the many lawsuits filed relating to the injury sustained by Manny Pacquiao before his May 2, 2015 fight against Floyd Mayweather,” a Showtime spokesperson said in a statement. “Showtime was dismissed from those litigations which continue against Top Rank. Showtime made every effort to resolve this matter short of the courthouse, but Top Rank’s persistent refusal to honor its contractual obligations forced Showtime to take this regrettable, but necessary, step.”

Showtime said it was eventually dropped from many of the suits because while it had prefight access to Mayweather’s training camp, it did not have any access to Pacquiao’s and, therefore, had no idea he had a shoulder injury.

The suit went on to say that “under an agreement among [Showtime and Top Rank], [Top Rank] was obligated to defend and indemnify [Showtime]. But at the outset of these actions, it was manifest that [Showtime] and [Top Rank], which was alleged to have known of and concealed the pre-fight injury, had starkly different interests. … At once, [Showtime] demanded that [Top Rank] honor its contractual obligations to indemnify [Showtime] and pay for [Showtime’s] own counsel to defend it in these actions because of the manifest potential conflict between them. [Top Rank] refused.”

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN.com that his lawyers do not believe there is a conflict and that the contract is open to interpretation.

“Our lawyers say that under the contract, they’re not entitled to any indemnity,” Arum said. “But when this came up, we made a proposal to Showtime and [parent network] CBS, and they said it was not adequate. I told them to come back with a counterproposal, and instead they filed suit. And then I told them that’s not fair. If you’re negotiating a settlement with me, you don’t file a suit. And then they said, ‘If you don’t pay this in full, CBS and Showtime will not do business with you.’ I said, ‘What the f— else is new? You haven’t done any business with Top Rank in years.’ They’re trying to bully me.

“I didn’t appreciate the threat. You sit down like normal people and you work it out.”

As part of the ongoing 30th Anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®, relive the two of the most memorable and meaningful events in Mayweather’s magnificent 19-year career tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.

This week’s lineup of “Throwback Thursday” kicks off with the record-shattering “Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao,” followed by “INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO Epilogue,” “THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana” and “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana Epilogue.”

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Round 11

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Mayweather vs. Maidana I: Round 7

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Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Mayweather vs. Maidana I, and all of the classic fights presented as part of the 30th Anniversary, are available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and via the network’s online streaming service.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the April 9 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley generated between 400,000 and 500,000 Pay Per View buys.

“It will be somewhere between those numbers, 400,000 and 500,000. It’s all being added up, but it will be closer to 400,000 than 500,000. Terrible,” said Top Rank’s Bob Arum.

Yes, it loses money,” Arum said. “It was not one of our big successes. It happens. We’re big boys. Do I feel good about it? No.”

“Certainly the pushback from Manny’s gay remarks killed us,” Arum said. “It hurt us a lot. But I think it was also less a reaction to the match than a reaction to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. It was a reaction like Mayweather got. Mayweather also got punished [by consumers].”

By Norm Frauenheim

Bob Arum ripped Donald Trump. Mocked him, too, from a bully pulpit on a stage for what the promoter called the No Trump Undercard. It was clever advertising and might have generated as many pay-per-view sales as Manny Pacquiao’s decision over Timothy Bradley in the main event.

Part show and part substance, part satire and part serious, it was mostly words, another political debate during a political season as silly and tiresome as any boxing news conference ever could be.

But it had a face, too.

Oscar Valdez’ face.

In one promising featherweight, Valdez personifies two cultures that Trump wants to divide with a wall. Valdez’ roots are on both sides of the border between Arizona and Mexico. He went to grade school in Tucson. He began to box there. Then, he moved to Nogales on the Mexican side of the border where he became a two-time Mexican Olympian. He speaks like an American kid. He speaks like a Mexican kid. There’s no wall big enough to separate the American from the Mexican in Valdez.

“I’m not really into political end of things in the USA,’’ Valdez said before delivering the card’s best performance, a fourth-round stoppage of Evgeny Gradovich, the self-proclaimed Mexican-Russian and the IBF’s former 126-pound champion, at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “But what I do know is that I that I wouldn’t want Trump to be president of the United States. It would affect other countries.

“Mostly, I’m just focused on this fight. But I’m also excited to be on this card. Knowing that we have Bob Arum’s support on what he’s calling the No Trump Card, it just brings a little more flavor to it.’’

More edge to it, too.

In addition to Valdez, the April 9 card included Gilberto Ramirez, who won a WBO title became the first Mexican to win a major super-middleweight belt with a decision over Arthur Abraham, a German of Armenian descent. There was also junior-welterweight Jose Ramirez, a 2012 U.S. Olympian, faces Manny Perez of Denver in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Ramirez, the son of farm workers in central California, is an activist in water conservation.

Valdez, Gilberto Ramirez and Jose Ramirez were the collective face of what Trump’s proposed wall opposes, Arum said. Trump loves to talk about winners. On Arum’s card, however, he was the loser. Mexico 3, Trump 0.

“Without a wall, they just show that, back and forth, great things happen across the border between the two countries,’’ Arum said.

There is already a wall along much of the border between Mexico and Arizona, where there was a heated immigration controversy about six years ago with the state legislature’s passage of SB 1070.

Valdez, who fought in Tucson in December, has traveled through that wall’s checkpoints often, visiting his mom and grandmother in Tucson and his family in Nogales.

“I’m blessed to have grown up on both sides,’’ said Valdez, who now lives in Hermosillo when he’s not training in Southern California. “Having grown up in Mexico means so much to me. My culture, my family, is everything. Having grown up in the United States means so much. It’s so important to know English. It’s meant so much to have gone to school in Tucson and still have friends and family there. It will always be my second home.’’

In part, Valdez’ emergence as a featherweight contender is a symbol of Arizona’s resilience as a boxing market. It’s always been a good one, yet it all but disappeared for a couple of years in the wake of SB 1070.

Mexican advertisers stayed away, forcing Arum to move a Jose Benavidez Jr.-featured card in 2010 out of the state and to Chicago early in his career. The controversy even prompted Jose Sulaiman, the late president of the World Boxing Council, to issue an edict, asking Mexican fighters to boycott the state. Some did, some didn’t. But the impact knocked Arizona out of the ring of viable markets long enough to wonder if it would ever come back.

It has, it is, because of the gyms that dot the state’s Sonoran desert like cactus. From Phoenix to Tucson, from Michael Carbajal to Oscar Valdez, there’s always another one. Good fighters are part of the landscape. Part of the culture.

At some point, Valdez, who stopped Gradovich with the best left hand from a fighter with Arizona roots since Carbajal, hopes to fight again in Tucson, although his rapid ascent might keep him in bigger markets. In the immediate aftermath of his victory over Gradovich, there was talk he would wind up on the Terence Crawford-Viktor Postol card on July 23, also in Vegas at the MGM Crawford.

“I do know people – cousins, friends, family — who have been deported, especially in the state of Arizona. There was a time there when it got really crazy. You know, it was sad. Just sad. I know my friends. They’re not terrorists. They just come to work, come to make a better life.’’

Fight for one, too.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday at MGM Grand in the first retirement match of his career and second rematch with California’s Timothy Bradley, Filipino welterweight Manny Pacquiao decisioned roundly Bradley by three fair scores of 116-110, an odd-looking tally representing both a Pacquiao pulldown in round 7 and a knuckleball knockdown in the ninth. The deserving man won. Little more can be said for the fare.

An emotional sendoff it was not. It was a luggery, a strained thing, an effort to aggrandize hoarse as Teddy Atlas’ voice. Too, there was promoter Bob Arum seated beside Jerry Jones, owner of the stadium where Pacquiao fought Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito in 2010, as if to put the lie squarely to the halfassery of promoting the match in front of them like Pacquiao’s last – or was Jones onhand to offer Arum his venue for Lomachenko-Walters?

Pacquiao fought Bradley the way he had for their 24 rounds that preceded Saturday’s belligerence: as a congressman vote-counter campaigning for a win. There was naught of the mania Pacquiao showed Erik Morales, naught of the rage he flashed at Juan Manuel Marquez. It was a politically correct effort by Pacquiao, sanitized, sportsmanlike, humane. Right down to the requisite spar-with-me-bro glove kisses at the open of each round.

Bradley wanted to win the right way more than he wanted to win, seeing chances to lead with his head as he so often did on his way to the majors and banishing the thought quickly as it arrived. Manny and Timmy are great buddies! They fought like it, too, much to the chagrin of the comparatively small number of us born-every-minute folks who purchased their fight.

Trainer Teddy Atlas convinced Bradley during their camp what the promotion somehow convinced the rest of us: Finding and blitzing a heavybag like Brandon Rios prepared a man for counterpunching Pacquiao. The only men who succeeded in counterpunching Pacquiao in his career, though, were the two master counterpunchers of the era, Marquez and Floyd Mayweather. Bradley, a volume puncher athletic enough to counterpunch b-level guys, was not going to win a match in which he was outworked anymore than Pacquiao had a chance of outsmarting Mayweather 11 months ago.

There was a spot in the first rounds of the match in which Bradley clearly knew Pacquiao was about to jab him, prepped himself to parry or slip, and got smitten anyway. When something that discouraging happens to a professional athlete his trainer can feed a third of MGM Grand with five loaves and two fish between rounds and it ain’t going to matter. Atlas spent a commentary career watching Pacquiao on video like the rest of us, no doubt thinking all the while if only he could teach someone with great reflexes to see Pacquiao’s triggers and tells the way Atlas did, historians would wear Atlas’ name on their lips for a generation. He got that guy with Bradley, and it mattered nothing at all.

Bradley’s best chance with Pacquiao was his first chance; Bradley was the wildcard in that fight, rhythmically unpredictable, flexibly awkward. It was a match in which either guy might have sprained an ankle careening past the other, and it just happened to be Bradley who did. Ever since then Pacquiao has been everything Bradley is – only much more so.

By the sixth round Saturday what became apparent was this: Only Marquez among all men who matched themselves against Pacquiao had the balls to see Pacquiao’s jabfeint-hopback-jabpounce and step directly into it, manifesting a faith in his physical genius that said, “One of us goes to sleep right now, and I don’t much care which.” Bradley saw Pacquiao’s signature move and tried to jab it or retreat from it or absorb and counter it. But not once in 108 minutes of standing across from Pacquiao did Bradley sellout the right hand Marquez-style. Wherever go one’s memories of Pacquiao, then, should follow Marquez – the two matched wonderfully and gave us so very much in their four fights.

Asked for Pacquiao’s legacy my thoughts go immediately here: 6-2-1 (3 KOs). That is Pacquiao’s record against prime versions of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez. There is nothing any prizefighter has done in the last 25 years that is so impressive as that. No handicapping, no trickeration, no legerdemain, no bullshit: Pacquiao fought three first-ballot guys nine times. And most of that happened before SportsCenter even knew the Filipino’s name.

Pacquiao leaves the game, if he does, having amortized most of that goodwill, yes – despite what those whose salaries now rely primarily on Pacquiao revenue tell us during telecasts. Some of us have enriched him for woeful garbage like his matches with Shane Mosley, Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri. So be it. Historians will not either forgive Pacquiao’s effort against Mayweather with its submissive lack of urgency, even while they concede things might have been different before Floyd orchestrated a five-year delay (we will not forget how close they came to signing contracts in December 2009).

When Pacquiao’s matches happened against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, I cared very little. I care less now. The way Pacquiao unmanned Barrera, though, 2 1/2 years after Barrera undressed Naseem Hamed and 15 months after Barrera decisioned Erik Morales, the way Pacquiao made Morales make heroic choices to beat him 11 years ago, the way Pacquiao swarmed Marquez in 2008 till both men were covered in blood – those images form Pacquiao’s legacy for me.

Before his charge’s third fight with Pacquiao, Mexican trainer Nacho Beristain – actually the sort of mentor Teddy Atlas tells everyone Atlas is – described Pacquiao as “a wildcat.” A better image of the prime Pacquiao is not yet unearthed: Beaming maniacally round his mouthguard, banging his gloves together, blood on his trunks and gloves and beard, beseeching madness and violence from other men before slashing their faces open with weirdly angled punches thrown at the wrong moments of an unknowable beat . . .

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

LAS VEGAS – If it was a farewell fight, it will be remembered for how Manny Pacquiao kept the good in bye.

Pacquiao flashed some moments of his best days as a fighter, knocking down Timothy Bradley twice and scoring a unanimous decision in a one-sided fight Saturday night that left no questions, other than perhaps why these welterweights ever had to fight three times.

Pacquiao’s speed and power began to assert their superiority in the fourth and left Bradley looking resigned and even somewhat demoralized after knockdowns in the seventh and again in the ninth. The second knockdown, the result of wicked left hand from Pacquiao, nearly set Bradley head over heels.

Above all, Pacquiao’s victory provided further evidence of just how wrong those scorecards were when Bradley won a split decision in 2012.

In the immediate aftermath of hearing the scores 116-110 on all three cards, there wasn’t much celebration from Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs), who won a clear-cut decision in a 2014 rematch. If anything, he was subdued, uncertain perhaps about what he’ll do next.

He’s a Filipino Congressman. He faces an election for his country’s Senate on May 9. It looks as if he is moving into his life after boxing.

“Yes, I am retired,’’ he said in the middle of the ring. “I want to go home and spend time with my family and serve the people.’’

If the crowd of 14,665 at the MGM Grand represented his people, they want him to serve by continuing his ring career. They cahnted “Manny, Manny”” from round to round. They stood and applauded through the final minute of the bout. Their roaring affection for him could make it very hard for him to stay retired.

Meanwhile, Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs) seemed to have as much affection for him as anyone. Pacquiao invited him to payer meeting Sunday morning and, according to a publicist, Bradley was planning to go.

They smiled and embraced like old buddies after the final bell. The loss leaves uncertainty about his career. He said he would discuss what to do next with wife and manager Monica.

“I can still fight,’’ Bradley said.

He can, but not against Pacquiao anymore.

Mexico 3, Trump 0

The No Trump Undercard was Bob Arum’s way of expressing his opposition to presidential candidate Donald Trump’s controversial comments about Mexicans and the Republican front-runner’s promise to build a wall along the United States’ southern border.

It was a message that needed a follow-up.

The follow-up was delivered, a three-punch combo, before the Pacquiao-Bradley main event.

Three bouts featured fighters of Mexican descent. All three won with power and precision that could have knocked down just about any old wall.

Gilberto Ramirez (34-0, 24 KOs) became the first Mexican to win a super-middleweight title by scoring a shutout, 120-108 on all three scorecards, over Germany’s Arthur Abraham (44-5, 29 KOs) for the WBO’s version of the 168-pound title.

Two-time Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez (19-0, 17 KOs), who began boxing in Tucson, put himself in line for a shot at a world featherweight title by throwing the best left from a fighter with Arizona roots since Michael Carbajal for a fourth-round TKO of Evgeny Gradovich, who calls himself the Mexican Russian. After Valdez dropped him, Gradovich (21-2-1, 9 KOs) looked like neither. He only looked finished

Super-lightweight Jose Ramirez (17-0, 12 KOs) , a 2012 U.S. Olympian who fights for water conservation in central California when he isn’t fighting in the ring, punished Manny Perez (25-12-1, 6 KOs) of Denver in a sustained beating throughout 10 rounds for a 97-93, 98-92, 99-1 decision.
Best of the Undercard

Oleksandr Gvozdyk calls himself The Nail. Nadjib Mohammedi knows why.

Gvozdyk (9-0, 7 KOs), a Ukrainian light-heavyweight and a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, nailed him with straight right that dropped Mohammedi (39-5, 24 KOs), face-first and unconscious, onto the canvas at 2:06 of the second round.

Mohammedi speaks French. Jay Nady gave the 10-count in English. Didn’t matter. Mohammedi never heard it.

The Rest

Welterweight Egidijus Kavaliauskas (13-0, 11 KOs), a Lithuanian training at Robert Garcia’s gym in Oxnard, Calif., was better in every way, scoring a unanimous decision over Deniz Ibay (15-1, 9 KOs) of Germany

Youth was served with German teenager Leon Bauer’s unanimous decision over Russian super-middleweight Hshat Khusnulgatin (12-2, 6 KOs) in a bout that set one record. The 17-year-old Bauer (8-0, 6 KOs) was 10 days younger than Jose Benavidez Jr. was in his in 2010 debut.

There was a second helping of youth with another 17-year-old, Las Vegas super-featherweight Devin Haney (4-0, 2 KOs) winning a unanimous decision over Puerto Rican Rafael Vazquez (2-5)

Russian welterweight Konstantin Ponomarev (30-0, 13 KOs) stayed unbeaten, but keeping that 0 intact was tough and controversial in a 10-round split decision over Brad Solomon, a Lafayette, LA fighter who left the ring once beaten.

HBO Sports serves up the exclusive replay of the highly anticipated third fight in the heated Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. rivalry when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING:® MANNY PACQUIAO VS. TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR. is seen SATURDAY, APRIL 16 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team, which was ringside at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, called the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdates: April 17 (10:30 a.m.) and 19 (11:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdates: April 18 (11:00 p.m.)
HBO Signature: April 17 (4:15 p.m.)
The two highly decorated welterweights who are among the sport’s top pound-for-pound performers came into the matchup with determination to score a convincing victory. Pacquiao and Bradley split the first two meetings with each winning by decision.

By Norm Fraueheim-

LAS VEGAS – Timothy Bradley stepped onto the scale and gestured as if to say there wouldn’t be any surprises

There weren’t.

At a weigh-in without an ounce of the unexpected, Bradley and Manny Pacquiao both came in under the welterweight limit of 147 pounds for their third fight Saturday in an HBO pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand.

Bradley, his face a serene mask of confidence and his upper body sculpted like an ancient statue, came in at 146.5 pounds. Pacquiao, a little less sculpted yet smiling as he always has, was one pound lighter at 145.5.

There was no trash talk. No threats. History stood between them and perhaps in front of them. Roberto Duran was there, holding a WBO belt specially made for the occasion.

Pacquiao was to his right, Bradley to his left. After posing for the requisite photographs, they turned and left Duran, standing alone with the belt and alone in his undisputed place among history’s all-time greats.

For Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), history isn’t the issue. Only Saturday night is. For them, it’s one last chance to settle some of the questions that have been there since Bradley’s controversial victory by split decision in their first meeting in 2012.

It’s a chance for Bradley to prove that maybe it wasn’t quite as controversial as everybody thought it was four years ago. For Pacquiao, it’s a chance to put a final punctuation point on what is perceived to be a rivalry, despite his clearcut decision in their first rematch. The Filipino can prove, once and for all, that he has always been the better fight.

“I have a lot to prove,’’ Pacquiao, a slight favorite, said Friday in what has become a refrain throughout the last few weeks.

Enough proof might be a definitive reason for him to walk away, say farewell, to a career that has already made its own share of history in the ring and for the Philippines. He’s a Congressman and candidate for his country’s Senate. There’s talk he might be president one day.

On Saturday, however, the current Congressman, would-be Senator and wanna-be President only hopes to be the winner.

Bradley, who has endorsed him as politician, is confident that the canvas-covered district between the ropes will belong to him this time around

“Got to get ready for tomorrow, baby,’’ Bradley said. “I think there are going to be a lot of disappointed fans out there.’’

Bradley was talking to Pacquiao’s constituency, a deeply loyal crowd whose faith in him as a Filipino icon remains unshaken by his controversial comments about gays in February.

Questions linger, of course. At opening bell, the biggest one will be about Pacquiao’s right shoulder.

He underwent surgery for a reported muscle tear after a disappointing loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May. How strong is the shoulder? Pacquiao’s promoters say he has fought with the tear since his 2008 victory over Oscar De La Hoya. There are questions about why he didn’t undergo surgery then.

If he had undergone surgery earlier, would he have avoided his long knockout drought? He hasn’t scored stoppage since 2009.

“I don’t know,’’ Pacquiao said.

The guess is that Bradley will test the surgically-repaired shoulder often and early. But the other guess is that Bradley could encounter twice as much power and from more angles from Pacquiao now than he did before surgery.

There are a lot of guesses now. In the end, maybe there’s a surprise.

HBO’s pay-per-view telecast is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with junior-welterweight Jose Ramirez (16-012 KOs of Avenal, Calif., against Manny Perez (25-11-1, 6 KOs) of Denver. Ramirez was 138 pounds and Perez was 137.5 Friday.

The telecast’s second bout features Mexican featherweight Oscar Valdez (19-0, 16 KOs) of Nogales against ex-IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich (21-1-1, (KOs) of Russia. Valdez was 125 ½ pounds, Gradovich 126.

The third televised bout features WBO super-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs) of Berlin against Mexican Gilberto Ramirez (33-0, 24 KOs). Both were at 168 pounds Friday.