COULD Floyd Mayweather Jr. be the next major boxer to sign under the Golden Boy banner? I wouldn’t rule that out. Mayweather is a marquee fighter, looking to retire in the near future and go into the promotional business. Sound familiar? Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright have the same ambition. Both have partnered with Golden Boy Promotions headed by Oscar de la Hoya.
Hopkins fought de la Hoya in a huge money-making show in 2004. So will Mayweather when he faces de la Hoya on May 5. Shane Mosley had two fights with de la Hoya before becoming a Golden Boy partner. Furthermore, Golden Boy seems intent on corralling the best talent in the sport. In addition to Hopkins, Wright, Mosley, and Antonio Marco Barrera, it recently signed Diego Corrales and Manny Pacquiao though both of those signings are being contested in court.
The unbeaten Mayweather is basically a free agent, having recently worked on a fight-to-fight basis with Goossen-Tutor Promotions. After facing de la Hoya in what could be the highest grossing non-heavyweight fight in history, Mayweather could make big money fighting Mosley, then retire and become President of Golden Boy Ring Entrances.
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Tomorrow night HBO will show the replay of Pacquiao’s third fight with Erik Morales staged last week in Las Vegas. Don’t worry. It doesn’t last long as Pacquiao scored an emphatic third-round knockout. Still, it’s worth viewing if for no other reason than it is uncertain when Pacquiao will return to the ring.
His future is now in legal limbo. Golden Boy and Bob Arum Top Rank, Inc., are both laying claim to Pacquiao who signed a contract with both companies while preparing for the Morales fight. The Filipino sensation first signed a seven-bout deal with Golden Boy, collecting $500,000 for his signature. Later, he signed a four-year deal with Top Rank and tried to return the $500,000 Golden Boy gave him.
Now a judge will decide which contract is valid. Following the replay of Pacquiao-Morales III, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico defends his WBO featherweight title against Jimrex Jaca of the Philippines from the Dodge Arena in Hildalgo, Texas. The two were scheduled to meet last October in El Paso but Jaca had visa problems and the fight had to be postponed.
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Arum said he’d like to see Morales retire. “I love Erik like a son,” Arum said. “It seems to me Erik realizes that he cannot fight at this top level anymore. He’s been in too many wars. To fight at a lower level would hurt his image. He’s got plenty money and he’s well respected in Mexico, and he has started to promote fights. My recommendation to him would be that he retire as an active fighter.”
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Joe Calzaghe will make the 20th defense of his super middleweight title when he faces Peter Manfredo Jr. on March 3 in Cardiff, Wales. Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs) will be on his home turf. Manfredo (26-3, 12 KOs) of Providence was the runner-up in the first season of the Contender series . . . Mosley is still looking for an opponent for his Feb. 10 date. He tried to call Felix Trinidad out of retirement, but has gotten no response. Vernon Forrest, Corey Spinks and Kermit Cintron are other possibilities.