The latest Northern California/Bay Area pro & Region 11 amateur boxing news from Ryan Maquiñana. Get the Maqdown on Twitter: @RMaq28.
Andre Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen, spoke to me about the neutrality agreement between Goossen Tutor and Sauerland Event that helped keep the fight with Arthur Abraham afloat.
With a little translation help from famous Armenian singer Armenchik, Arthur Abraham was nice enough to talk to me about his upcoming Super Six semifinal with Andre Ward.
By Ryan Maquiñana
PHOENIX — Local boxing prodigy Jose Benavidez, Jr, set for his hometown professional debut on June 11th, will donate a portion of his purse to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, in what he hopes will be the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the hospital.
If not Floyd Mayweather, then I was hoping it would be Tim Bradley. It would be akin to running out of Blue Label at the supermarket but the party's waiting at home, so you grab the Jack Daniel's off the shelf because it gets the job done and it saves you the indignity of drinking moonshine out of a bathtub.
I would've loved this bout as late as last year, but Marquez has since been decked by Michael Katsidis and is on the downswing now. It's not as bad as a matchup with say, Kermit Cintron, who was last seen flying out of boxing rings in a single bound and hasn't beaten anyone of note to warrant such a shot (unless we count Angulo); the same can be said for Zab Judah, who is skilled but still needs a marquee win in his latest run at junior welterweight to even enter the discussion in my opinion.
Ryan Maquiñana
| By Ryan Maquiñana, Ringside |
Ultimately, the Filipino franchise fulfilled what most had prophesized, an asymmetrical and deliberate pounding of future Hall-of-Famer Shane Mosley. However, Pacquiao was unable to defend his WBO welterweight title in style, as a reluctant Mosley refused to take the risks necessary for knocking off the pound-for-pound king from his throne.
“I was telling my corner I was having problems moving,” said Pacquiao, who reportedly had been suffering from cramps since the fourth round.
Perhaps most telling of all, however, was the sellout crowd of 16,412 and a press row so vast that many media members weren’t even allowed into the venue itself for the festivities. In addition, with over a million pay-per-view buys in tow, Pacquiao was able to prove that he needed neither HBO nor an adversary in his prime to accomplish his objective of bringing a blockbuster bout to the bottom line.
I caught up with Andre Ward at the Super Six press conference in Las Vegas to get his thoughts on his upcoming semifinal against Arthur Abraham next Saturday in Carson.
Ryan Maquiñana
For those of you fans headed to Las Vegas early, here's a look at the media schedule I was given for the week's events leading up Pacquiao vs. Mosley, courtesy Magna Media:
