Check out our past articles on the topic:
April 12: "Mayweather: UFC Ain't Shit"
April 19: "Why Would He Go Home And Watch Basketball?"
May 23: "This Is Getting Out Of Hand"
Sherdog offers the following report on the possibility: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is discussing a deal with billionaire Mark Cuban that could put the best boxer on the planet in a mixed martial arts bout.
If an agreement is reached, Mayweather would join HDNet Fights, Cuban's fledgling MMA promotional arm, ESPN reported Friday.
"Floyd is considering fighting with HDNet Fights," Cuban told ESPN.com. "We are going to let him visit some gyms to talk to some folks about what it would take to learn. He knows it won't be easy. But he is getting involved with MMA and HDNet Fights one way or another. He is pumped about it. He wants to go on to the next big thing. Floyd is a brilliant marketer. He follows the money."
The undefeated Mayweather, a five-division world champion regarded as one of the purest pugilists in boxing history, stopped English challenger Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8 to retain his welterweight title.
Cuban and Mayweather, who struck up a friendship during the taping of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," met Thursday in Las Vegas to discuss a possible role for the boxer with HDNet Fights.
According to ESPN.com, Leonard Ellerbe, a close Mayweather associate, said a move from the sweet science to MMA is something that seriously interests the boxer.
"When Floyd makes his move, obviously it's going to be a mega event," Ellerbe told ESPN. "We don't have a timetable. Floyd is taking some time off, but Floyd understands what is involved. You have to take time to go out and understand what you're getting involved in, and he's ready to do that."
Mayweather, 30, was part of two events in 2007 that generated 3.25 million pay-per-view buys and $200 million in revenue. A defeat of Oscar de la Hoya in May broke PPV records with 2.4 million subscriptions. In all, Mayweather made $50 million for his bouts with de la Hoya and Hatton.
"If I said there's a guaranteed $30 million payday, Floyd would be lacing them up," Cuban told ESPN.com. "If not, I could see him working to train and develop and invest in MMA fighters, knowing the upside. He can teach them how to be a better boxer and add to their other skills."
Should he decide to compete in MMA, Mayweather would immediately become the best boxer to test himself in that arena. Others such as Francois Botha, Art Jimmerson, Melton Bowen and James Warring fared poorly in their respective MMA efforts.
Mayweather would likely compete in MMA's 145-pound featherweight division, which is currently dominated by WEC champion Urijah Faber.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Mayweather Considering A Move To MMA
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Mayweather Pounds Hatton to 10th Round TKO
There's not much to say about this one, but enjoy the video here and ESPN's story after the break.
LAS VEGAS -- The overwhelmingly British crowd was deafening as it cheered, chanted and sang for Ricky Hatton throughout the fight, but it couldn't fight for him.
He could have used the help.
Floyd Mayweather, faster, more skilled and far more accurate with his punches, dominated Hatton and knocked him out in the 10th round to retain the welterweight championship at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night.
Most of the fans in the wild sold-out crowd of 16,459 had come all the way from England to support their hero. They sang throughout the fight, even singing for Hatton as he lay dazed on the canvas after being knocked down for the second time.
Mayweather put an exclamation point on his pound-for-pound No. 1 status with a clinical destruction of the reigning junior welterweight champion, who moved up for the opportunity to face the "Pretty Boy" in one of the most anticipated fights in years.
"I took my time. I fought inside and outside," Mayweather said. "A true champion can adapt to anything. I already knew coming in it was going to be a rough night and that it was going to be tougher than most of my fights. I didn't prepare halfway. I had a great training camp."
Mayweather, who is 30, hinted that it might have been his last training camp and talked about retiring, the same way he did after winning the title from Carlos Baldomir in November 2006.
When asked about facing titleholder Miguel Cotto next, Mayweather said, "He's a hell of a champion, and there are great guys at 154 [pounds], but I have done everything I can do in the sport of boxing and I am not going to fight anybody. I accomplished a goal tonight because one of my dreams was to fight in the U.K., but I couldn't. So I had the best of the U.K. come to me."
Hatton (43-1, 31 KOs) was never really in the fight even though he tried to rough Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) up by bulling him into the ropes, wrestling with him and making it a physical fight.
Hatton took the loss with good humor.
"What a fluke that was," he said. "He is very good at making you miss. He was better inside than I thought. He caught me. It was working, but I didn't quite stick to the game plan. I was a little gung ho. He wasn't the biggest welterweight I've seen, but I felt the difference. I knew what the tactics were. I wasn't quite good enough to apply it tonight."
Mayweather was clearly in control before rocking Hatton in the 10th round. He knocked him down with a left hook, and Hatton was badly hurt. He didn't look as though he knew where he was when he got up, but referee Joe Cortez let the fight continue.
Mayweather wasted no time jumping on him again, landing a flurry of punches, including another left hook that sent Hatton staggering backward and down again. Cortez called off the fight at 1:35 without a count at the same time the white towel was thrown from Hatton's corner.
"He was definitely the toughest competitor I ever faced," Mayweather said. "I was throwing body shots, and he kept coming. I see now why they call him the 'Hitman.' But then I threw the check hook. They teach us that in northern Michigan in the amateurs, and he walked right into the shot. He never saw it coming."
Said Hatton, "He's very clever. He picked up a couple of shots, and that was that. I was forcing it, and I was doing well. I should have been a touch more careful. He knocked me out, but he wasn't the hardest puncher I've ever fought. He's very accurate. Knock me down, I keep getting up. Ricky Hatton is still going to fight."
The entire week of the fight, the Brits had poured into Las Vegas hoping Hatton could replicate other massive British upsets against American fighters, such as Randy Turpin's shocker against Sugar Ray Robinson to win the middleweight title in 1951 and Lloyd Honeyghan's shocking knockout of Donald Curry to win the undisputed welterweight title in 1987.
It wasn't to be.
It took a few rounds for Mayweather, who was fighting in his adopted hometown, to look comfortable against relentless Hatton, but when he finally did, he started to let his hands go and was able to catch Hatton with combinations.
He cut Hatton, 29, over the right eye in the third round, and in the fourth, Mayweather started to land clean, crisp shots. He stunned Hatton with a three-punch combination.
In the sixth, Hatton lost a point when he shoved Mayweather into the ropes and hit him behind the head.
Mayweather shook the blow off, then continued to pick Hatton apart. He staggered Hatton in the eighth with a straight right hand that snapped his head back as the Americans in the crowd burst into a chant of "USA! USA! USA!"
Mayweather continued the assault and was battering Hatton with combinations and body shots, which was supposed to be Hatton's forte.
By the ninth round, Mayweather's stiff left jab was snapping Hatton's head back and it looked as though it was only a matter of time until the end.
Mayweather said he wanted the knockout. His power has been questioned, and he has battled hand injuries.
"I wanted to show the fans I can punch with power," he said. "I feel like in one of my last fights, I gave the fans a dud. So I wanted to come back and give the fans a great fight."
HBO will replay the bout Dec. 15 (10:15 p.m. ET/PT).
Read More...
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Mayweather And Hatton Prepare To Do Battle
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has the bling and belts and everything else that blinks like Las Vegas neon. He even has Wayne Newton, Mr. Las Vegas, in his entourage.
But Mayweather's town will sound like an English pub tonight. There haven't been so many Union Jacks in one U.S. city since before the American Revolution.
The Ricky Hatton army has invaded with songs, chants and drink.
It will leave with all of that and several thousand hangovers. But it came for more. It is in Las Vegas to see its leader, Hatton, capture the welterweight title. Hangovers are a better bet.
Mayweather (38-0, 24 KOs) is favored to keep the bling and belts against Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs) at the MGM Grand tonight. There are several reasons to pick Mayweather, all as simple and as clear as a scale and a tape measure.
At 5 feet 8, Mayweather is two inches taller than the 5-6 Hatton. At the official weigh-in Friday, Mayweather was at the welterweight limit, 147 pounds, or two more than the 145-pound Hatton. That difference figures to multiply by tonight's opening bell. Mayweather has fought at heavier weights. He beat Oscar De La Hoya last May as a junior-middleweight (154). He is considered a natural welterweight. Hatton is trying to put big pounds onto his body and into his bank account.
"Beat the midget, beat the midget," Mayweather chants as he does his road work on Vegas streets in the final version of HBO's 24/7 portrayal of both fighters.
Mayweather looks down on Hatton in every possible way. He has worn a toy-store like crown to mock the Brits and their reverence for their royal family.
In part, perhaps, that's why there are lot more cheers than bets for Hatton. He's the likeable David, a people's champ, against the pound-for-pound Goliath. The consensus is as loud as the chanting Brits, many of whom traveled from Hatton's hometown, blue-collar Manchester.
There's hope that Hatton will upset and finally silence the trash-talking Mayweather. But there's not much belief that he can.
"This ain't Rocky VII," Mayweather's uncle and trainer Roger has said repeatedly in interviews. "The guy who is supposed to win is gonna win."
But Mayweather also has seen tapes of Hatton, whom he considers to be too slow and too small. Hatton is non-stop, throwing punches at a whirlwind rate. But nobody is more adept at ducking blows than Mayweather.
"Floyd has never seen pressure like he'll see from me," said Hatton, who laughs at Mayweather's comments that he is one-dimensional and several dimensions below world class.
But Mayweather's speed is an element that Hatton has not encountered. The guessing game has Hatton getting cut by Mayweather's jabs in a headlong pursuit to slow the fastest fighter of today's generation in a bout that ends with Mayweather winning a late-round TKO or a decision.
But if it's Hatton, Mayweather's toy crown will look like the real thing. It'll look British.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Boxing Is Back!
Just when critics claimed that boxing was all but dead, the unthinkable sees to have happened. The promoters, fighters, television executives, and seedy businessmen seemed to have come together in a valiant attempt to bring boxing back to its glory days. With the next six months stacked with great fights this could indicate a change in the trend of lackluster fights and sizzling scandal. This isn't the first time boxing has been against the ropes and like a cagey old veteran, you can never count out America's oldest sport. By Doug MacEwan
News late last week that welterweights Miguel Cotto and Sugar Shane Mosley have an agreement for a fight Nov. 10 in New York is another piece in a potential 2007 rebirth of a sport that was given last rites before and after Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s dull May 5 victory over Oscar De La Hoya. Finally, a well-worn metaphor taken from boxing by politicians during every campaign and sportswriters never seen at a ringside can be applied to the battered game itself: It's about to get off the mat. With the next six months packed with super fight after superfight its clear that the boxing community has taken notice of other combat sports, particularly MMA, that have eaten into its fan base.
With the recent announcement of the Cotto-Mosley fight boxing has put an exclamation point on its claim that its back, and better than ever. In Mosley there is some of that old quickness, familiar poise and lots of smarts. In Cotto there is a chance to finally occupy a starring role that has been vacant in Puerto Rico since Felix Trinidad's retirement. It has all the elements for a classic.
Then again, there are multiple chances for more than one fall classic, with Jermain Taylor vs. Kelly Pavlik on Sept. 29, the Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch Oct. 6, Mikkel Kessler vs. Joe Calzaghe on Nov. 3and Ricky Hatton vs. Mayweather on Dec. 8.
Reasons for the looming optimism rest in boxing's inherent nature. Like the boxers themselves, the business is at its best when threatened. That edgy resiliency has expressed itself in different ways through countless decades and repeated death notices.
This time around, it has one man to thank: Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Without the business threat from his mixed martial arts circuit, boxing still would be a mixed mess. For that, White already is boxing's promoter of the year. No matter what happens in 2007, there's no other contender.
Dana White and many others in the Mixed Martial Arts community would have you believe that boxing’s latest attempt to regain its fan base is too little too late. While that is yet to be seen I have a sneaking suspicion that there is too large of an investment from far too many powerful people to let that happen. In any case I look forward to watching what is sure to be the best boxing in recent memory.
Here is the Stacked Lineup
Sept.8: Fernando Vargas-Ricardo Mayorga (Showtime PPV)
Vargas' farewell fight should be a brawl against one of the most exciting and controversial fighters out there
Sept.15: Juan Manuel Marquez-Rocky Juarez (HBO PPV)
Marquez's first jr. lightweight defense headlines a stacked card.
Sept.22: Vitali Klitschko-Jameel McCline (Showtime)
Ex-heavyweight titlist Klitschko ends his 2½-year retirement against perennial contender
Sept.29: Jermain Taylor-Kelly Pavlik (HBO)
Middleweight champ Taylor faces legit No. 1 contender in the brutal Pavlik
Oct.6: Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera (HBO PPV)
This is the rematch many have anticipated since their first bout. Expect sparks to fly
Oct.6: Oleg Maskaev-Samuel Peter (Showtime)
Peter finally gets his long-awaited title shot against the tough Maskaev
Oct.13: Sultan Ibragimov-Evander Holyfield (TBA)
Holyfield goes for fifth heavyweight title. Rebirth or retirement at age 44?
Oct.13: Juan Diaz-Julio Diaz (HBO)
Lightweight unification bout between exciting young fighters
Nov.3: Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler (HBO)
Super middleweight unification bout and maybe the biggest fight in division history
Nov.10: Miguel Cotto-Shane Mosley (HBO PPV)
On paper, it's the best matchup of the year. Both fighters seem to be at the top of their game
Nov.17: Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto (HBO)
Hard-core fight fan's fight as Guzman defends jr. lightweight belt against grossly underrated Soto
Dec.8: Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton (HBO PPV)
Ready for the hype? Pound-for-pound king's encore to win over Oscar De La Hoya comes against undefeated British star
Thursday, August 9, 2007
IWF's Updated Pound For Pound Boxing Rankings
As we continue to bring you the most comprehensive coverage in the world of combat sports, we put together the latest pound for pound rankings for professional boxing. For those of you who have missed out on some of the great fights that have gone in the last year or so we have included recent highlights for every boxer on our list. By Doug MacEwan
Top Ten
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (38-0, 24 KOs) Welterweight Champion
Plus: After a laughable retirement Floyd decided to lace them up one more time for a megafight with Ricky Hatton. Both champions come in with undefeated records and even if most see it as a one sided boxing clinic, expect it to be another huge PPV event.
Minus: The Hatton fight is huge but if Floyd wants to cement his legacy he needs to fight someone that presents at least a minor risk. Matches against Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams or Antonio Margarito would all be more competitive.
2. Manny Pacquiao (44-3-2, 34 KOs) Junior Lightweight
Plus: Now that the contract feud between Top Ranked and Golden Boy is over expect to see Manny being Manny....which is putting opponents to sleep. With nothing but important fights for Pacquiao and boxing fans around the world for as long as we can see. Pacquiao starts Oct. 6 with his rematch against Marco Antonio Barrera. Presumably, that will be followed next year with a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez, then hopefully matches with the likes of the Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto winner, Edwin Valero and eventually Juan Diaz at lightweight. Pacquiao has more significant fights available to him than just about any fighter in the world.
Minus: Unlike most normal people, Pacquiao has a difficult time making his scheduled flights. He "missed" at least two flights and postponed two others from the Philippines to the United States, forcing Top Rank and Golden Boy to delay once again the formal news conference to announce the rematch with Barrera. He finally made it to Los Angeles on Aug. 7, but please, someone get the man an alarm clock and a driver. If they wanted an assurance that he would arrive when originally scheduled, Oscar De La Hoya would have to promise to meet him at LAX with another sack of cash.
3. Juan Manuel Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs) Junior Lightweight Champion
Plus: Although Jorge Barrios, Marquez's scheduled opponent in a Sept. 15 HBO PPV main event, fell out of the match because of torn retinas, Marquez didn't hesitate to accept tough Rocky Juarez -- who gave Barrera a life-and-death fight in May 2006 -- as the substitute opponent.
Minus: It's not Marquez's fault, but why are we getting Pacquiao-Barrera II (when Pacquiao already crushed him the first time around) in October instead of Marquez-Pacquiao II? That fight is by far the more fan-friendly match when you consider that they have much unfinished business after their incredibly action-packed draw in 2004.
4. Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) Light Heavyweight Champion
Plus: The old man can still get it done, winning a well-deserved close decision against Winky Wright at age 42 after a year out of the ring and brief retirement. It might not always be pretty with Hopkins, but he is effective, knows how to win, and has proven over and over that he is a great fighter.
Minus: Next time he wants to promote a fight by giving his opponent a purposeful shove in the face at the weigh-in, as he did to Wright the day before their fight, Hopkins might want to warn a few of us who are on the stage so we don't end up getting hurt. His own trainer, Freddie Roach, was caught up in the scuffle and fell off the stage, injuring his ribs. That is just not cool. Hopkins deserves to be fined by the Nevada commission.
5. Winky Wright (51-4-1, 25 KOs) Middleweight
Plus: Wright's loss to Hopkins was a very close, highly competitive fight. Wright must be given credit for going up to a most unnatural 170 pounds for the match. He is at his best at middleweight, so you can't hold the defeat against him too much.
Minus: The pool of potential major fights is not deep for Wright. His best bet is to hope Jermain Taylor beats Kelly Pavlik on Sept. 29 so he can try to line up a rematch of their controversial 2006 draw. A more remote possibility, but one Wright desperately wants, is that De La Hoya will call his name for a meeting at junior middleweight.
6. Joe Calzaghe (43-0, 32 KOs) Super Middleweight Champion
Plus: It took a lot of compromise on both sides, but it got done -- Calzaghe against Mikkel Kessler this fall in a showdown of undefeated champions. The winner of the fight (which ought to be highly entertaining) will be the clear, undisputed, no-questions-asked, No. 1-by-acclamation, best super middleweight in the world. It's probably the most significant fight in the 168-pound division since Roy Jones moved up from middleweight to challenge then-champion James Toney in 1994.
Minus: Can't you just see it now -- brittle Calzaghe injuring his hand in early September and the fight being called off?
7. Israel Vazquez (42-4, 32 KOs) Junior Featherweight Champion
Plus: Vazquez regained the title by showing enormous toughness to battle through two horrible cuts -- one over each eye -- to knock out Rafael Marquez in their dramatic and bloody rematch, which is the leader in the clubhouse for fight of the year honors. All credit to Vazquez, whom few gave a serious chance to win after he suffered a badly broken nose and quit on his stool in their first all-action fight in March.
Minus: He's been in so many grueling fights the past few years that you wonder just how long he can keep it up. He's only 29, but the wars he's been in have to have taken their toll.
8. Rafael Marquez (37-4, 33 KOs) Junior Featherweight
Plus: The two-division champion was stopped in the sixth round and lost his 122-pound crown in the thrilling rematch with Vazquez, but it was a sensational fight. Obviously, there figures to be a rubber match early next year.
Minus: Although we won't argue vehemently about it, we thought the stoppage of the fight was just a tad premature as Marquez not only lost his title but also saw an impressive seven-year, 16-fight winning streak (with 13 of the wins by knockout) come to an end.
9. Jermain Taylor (27-0-1, 17 KOs) Middleweight Champion
Plus: You can complain all you want about how bad Taylor has looked in recent fights. You can complain that he has fought a pair of junior middleweights in Cory Spinks and Kassim Ouma in his past two fights. You can even complain that he hasn't had a knockout since February 2005. What you can't complain about when it comes to the true middleweight world champion is that he is taking on an extremely dangerous, legitimate middleweight contender in power-punching Pavlik. It should be a terrific fight.
Minus: Complaining about his difficulties making 160 pounds before the ink on the contract with Pavlik was even dry sort of sounded like Taylor was trying to set up an excuse in case he loses. He ought to remember that Pavlik struggles to make weight just as much as he does (if not more so). The difference is you don't hear Pavlik's team complaining about it.
10. Marco Antonio Barrera (63-5, 42 KOs) Junior Lightweight
Plus: Barrera thinks he has one more big fight left in him when he faces Pacquiao in a rematch of his 2003 knockout loss. Give Barrera credit for wanting to fight the best available opponent in what he says probably will be his last fight. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, though. Barrera has spent his entire career fighting top-notch opponents.
Minus: With Erik Morales going down to David Diaz and announcing his retirement, it means there won't be a fourth chapter of boxing's greatest recent rivalry. Had Morales won, or continued to fight, there had been discussions between Top Rank and Golden Boy about a fourth fight next year.
Second 10
11. Sugar Shane Mosley
12. Ricky Hatton
13. Miguel Cotto
14. Oscar De La Hoya
15. Joel Casamayor
16. Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon
17. Chris John
18. Cory Spinks
19. Mikkel Kessler
20. Juan Diaz
Thursday, June 7, 2007
UFC fans are nothing but a bunch of ‘Neanderthals!’
...According to Vanochten.
Brian Vanochten you fat bastard. Once again, it comes as no surprise; the UFC is gaining more negative light and criticism from ill-bred assholes who don’t understand the sport of mixed martial arts. With the recent upheaval of criticism from such major names as Floyd Mayweather, Tommy Morrison and even Bernard Hopkins, the criticism is just another day in the park.
In a recent article featured on mlive.com, a news website based in Michigan, Vanochten got off his lazy ass and decided to write an article bashing the UFC and fans of the sport. He doesn’t do it in a professional fashion, why would he? When he can come off as a total douche bag! Like everyone else in the media bashing the UFC, he begins his article by referring to the UFC as “glorified street fighting.”
He goes on to state: “Here’s what UFC fans have in common:A. They’re mostly Neanderthal males hiding in caves.
B. They're not nearly sophisticated enough to appreciate the sweet science of boxing, nor the infield fly rule, the pick-and-roll, the left-wing lock, the bump draft or the pulling right guard.
C. They still think the "Flintstones" is a documentary.”
He goes on listing a bunch statistics comparing the pay-per-view revenues of UFC compared to that of boxing on HBO and for WWE pro wrestling. What gets me the most out of this article is this: “Mixed martial arts isn't a sport. Judo is a sport. Karate is a sport. Those disciplines are showcased once every four years on a legitimate stage in the Olympics.”
What’s wrong here? He already showed his liking of boxing and stated that Judo and Karate are both sports, but says that mixed martial arts isn’t. Mixed martial arts incorporate all of the above with the addition of a few more styles added to the list.
In my opinion, a beautifully set-up and executed submission is equally, if not more in some cases appealing than a knock-out. I apologize if the world doesn’t enjoy two men circling a ring for twelve rounds these days. Boxing just isn’t what it used to be, there won’t be anymore De La Hoya’s, James Toney’s or your Mayweather’s even. The ultimate downfall of boxing is inevitable.
I completely understand the bitterness of boxers and reasons for their constant bashing of the ever-growing sport of MMA. I’d probably be doing the same if I saw my sport being eaten alive before my very eyes. However, what’s Vanochten’s excuse? This man looks like he’s never picked up or held a dumb bell in his entire existence; I just can’t take the man seriously. Can you?
Stay classy fans,Wednesday, May 23, 2007
This Is Getting Out Of Hand
While I think Cintron is out of his mind for throwing his name into the proverbial hat and should have listened to his elder (who could still kick his ass), I'm absolutely delighted that he lacked the thought process necessary to prevent him from accepting the challenge. As each flamboyant, overconfident boxer enters the fray, we become one step closer to actually seeing this circus take place. Liddell vs. Rampage is all well and good, but boxing vs. MMA would end the debate that the UFC was created to answer.
Read More...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Why would he go home and watch basketball?
Mayweather was asked again about the UFC during an open workout this past Tuesday and once again, he didn’t shy away from giving his thoughts on the subject: "UFC’s champions can’t handle boxing. That’s why they are in UFC." Mayweather said. "Put one of our guys in UFC and he’d be the champion. Any good fighter, he’d straight knock them out. Take Chuck Liddell. Put him in the ring with a (boxer) who is just 10-0 and Chuck Liddell would get punished. They wouldn’t have a chance to grapple (us) because we’d knock them out."
White was given the opportunity to fire back at a press conference on Wednesday and he certainly delivered: "Boxers couldn’t become mixed martial artists. That’s why they’re boxers," said White. 'They are one trick ponies. Our guys can do everything. They can box, they can kick box, they can wrestle and do jiu-jitsu. They are much better athletes than boxers. I used to talk like Floyd Mayweather when I was involved in boxing," White said. “I talked just like him, until I educated myself about this sport. These guys are amazing athletes, Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers ever, (and) Sean Sherk will whoop his ass in under two minutes. Any day that Mayweather wants to put his money and his ass where his mouth is, I’m ready," White continued. "If he wants to step up, let’s do it."
Mayweather caught wind of White’s comments about Sherk and responded: "I’ll beat him and come home and watch basketball. Why would I go into a sport paying hundreds of thousands when I’m in a sport paying $20 million?" Mayweather said.White says however that he can offer Mayweather the type of money he would be interested in: "I’m willing to put together a fight for Sean Sherk and Floyd Mayweather with numbers that would make sense for Floyd," White said. "And I guarantee you he would not accept it. Floyd Mayweather would never fight in the UFC because he would get his head ripped off."What a bad ass thing to say. Dana White is the fucking man. Also, anyone who can explain what the hell Floyd Mayweather was talking about when he said he would come home and watch basketball will win a lifetime subscription to The Irish Whip.
Read More...
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Articulation of the year: "UFC ain't shit."
Late last month, current undefeated WBC Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather 
Jr. blasted the UFC saying "UFC ain't shit." "It ain't but a fad. Anyone can put a tattoo on their head and get in a street fight. We should put Liddell against a good heavyweight, under Mayweather Promotions, and if Chuck wins, then I'll give him a million dollars out of my own pocket." Mayweather than directed his angst towards all MMA fighters. "These are guys who couldn't make it in boxing," he said. "So they do MMA. Boxing is the best sport in the world and it's here to stay."
Dana White responded with this, his own version of Floyd's challenge: "Mayweather said he would give a million dollars if Chuck could defeat a good boxing heavyweight. What about paying one million to see if a good heavyweight can stand up to Liddell in MMA? Or even better, I will put down a milllion dollars of my own money if Mayweather can sell 10 tickets without the help of Oscar de la Hoya," said White, referring to the fight between Mayweather and De La Hoya set for May 5th.
So what would happen if a boxer and an MMA fighter m
et in their respective environments? Could the MMA fighter's striking ability hold up in the boxing ring? Could the boxer withstand the technical aspects of Mixed Martial Arts in the confines of the Octagon? I'd be willing to bet that the silent party in all this discussion, Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell, wouldn't hesitate to make some noise against Mayweather if ever given the opportunity.
