If Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao don’t wind up fighting each other their next opponents could be determined by the outcomes of separate fights Saturday night in Las Vegas.
On Showtime, Amir Khan of England challenges St. Louis native Devon Alexander in a welterweight meeting of former champions at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Meanwhile, from the Chelsea inside the Cosmopolitan, HBO offers former welterweight champ Timothy Bradley of Palm Springs, Calif., against Diego “La Joya” Chaves of Argentina in another 12-round bout.
The respective winners would be in line to fight either Mayweather or Pacquiao should the two continue their aversion to fighting one another. If Mayweather-Pacquiao can’t be signed soon, Mayweather must begin looking for an opponent if he plans to fight again in May.
Pacquiao turned up the rhetoric after defeating Long Island longshot Chris Algieri on Nov. 22 in Macau, China, saying his long-anticipated fight with Mayweather “must happen.”
Mayweather responded during an interview on Showtime on Friday night, saying he “absolutely” wants to fight Pacquiao on May 2.
“I’ve been wanting that fight a long time ago. I’m just waiting on them,” Mayweather said, adding, “We want the fight. We’re ready. Let’s make it happen, May 2. Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. Let’s do it.”
Mayweather insisted Pacquiao “is not on my level,” and that “I want to go out with a bang.”
It’s the first time Mayweather has spoken publicly since being called out by Pacquiao. He has been embroiled in more controversy out of the ring than in it lately. TMZ reported this week that Mayweather was on the telephone with friend Earl Hayes as the rapper fired multiple shots into his wife, Stephanie Moseley, and then killed himself. Mayweather was reportedly questioned by the LAPD about the incident, which remains under investigation.
The tragedy comes a few weeks after Josie Harris, mother of three of Mayweather’s four children, offered an exclusive interview to USA TODAY saying she was physically abused by Mayweather on “six occasions,” the worst coming in September 2010, for which Mayweather served 90 days in prison.
Mayweather is also being sued by his ex-fiancé, Shantel Jackson, who is alleging assault, battery and defamation.
Reaching an agreement to fight Pacquiao would create the kind of diversion Mayweather needs. He has two fights left on his deal with Showtime.
He said Mayweather-Pacquiao would have to take place on Showtime PPV and Pacquiao won’t get the $40 million previously offered. Bottom line: They are still a long way from an agreement. That’s where the winners of Saturday’s bouts come in.
PREDICTION: Alexander by decision. Bradley by late stoppage.
It’s hard to figure out if “Tapia,” HBO’s latest documentary, is about triumph or tragedy. Produced by Lou DiBella and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, the documentary premieres on Dec. 16 and chronicles the tormented life of the late boxer Johnny Tapia as told by Tapia.
A five-time world champion from Albuquerque, N.M., Tapia died at age 45, a month after filming his last interview. His first-person narration becomes a haunting tale of the fighter’s battle with drug addiction and other demons that led to him being suspended from boxing, imprisoned and at death’s door on several occasions.
It’s also an enduring love story centered on Tapia’s devotion to his wife, Teresa, and her loyalty to her husband tortured by the brutal murder of his mother. She was stabbed 22 times with an ice pick when Tapia was 8 years old.
“There was a lot of depression and a lot of anger I couldn’t control,” Tapia says in the film.
An autopsy report showed Tapia’s death was caused by heart disease and high blood pressure and not from a drug overdose, as many feared when news of his death spread in May 2012. Teresa, meanwhile, is working as a special ambassador with the WBC Cares Program. Johnny Tapia will be recognized during the WBC convention with a WBC Championship belt, the only belt he did not win during his career as a three-division champion.
Roc Nation Sports officially enters the boxing business on Jan. 9, when it stages a boxing card at the Garden Theater. Tickets are on sale.
Unbeaten welterweight Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (24-0, 13 KOs) of Washington, D.C., will face Tommy Rainone (22-5-1, 4 KOs) of New York in the main event scheduled for 10 rounds. The bout will be televised on Fox Sports 1 as part of a three-fight series.