Steven Seagal Visits Fellow Action Hero Pacquiao

By Press Release

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF (February 5, 2010) – STEVEN SEAGAL, one of Hollywood’s most popular box office action heroes and the star of A&E’s wildly-popular reality series Steven Seagal Lawman, was a dinner guest of seven-division world champion and three-time Fighter of the Year MANNY "Pacman" PACQUIAO earlier this week. A 7th degree black belt and Aikido master, as well as an accomplished blues musician with two albums under his belt, Seagal and Pacquiao had plenty of common interests to discuss.

“We had a great time together. The time just flew by,” said Pacquiao. “We discussed the possibility of working together in movies and making joint concert appearances. We also discovered that we share a bond in Asian philosophy and philanthropy. I invited Steven to be with me at Jerry Jones’ Cowboys Stadium on March 13 when I defend my world welterweight title against Joshua Clottey and he accepted.”

Seagal, who has made over 20 motion pictures, grossing over $2 billion in worldwide box office receipts, has also been a fully commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana for almost 20 years. In addition to going out on patrol, Seagal is an expert marksman who has worked with their SWAT team and has instructed Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat. The debut episode of Steven Seagal Lawman attracted a record. 3.5 million viewers, making it A&E’s most-watched original series premiere.

BWAA Fighter of the Decade MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO (r) presents
Hollywood action hero STEVEN SEAGAL with a hand-painted
commemorative boxing glove featuring the likeness of PacMan.
Photo Credit: Ping Nepo (jpg. also attached)
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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with the Dallas Cowboys and Tecate, THE EVENT: Pacquiao vs. Clottey, World Welterweight Championship, will take place Saturday, March 13 and will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Remaining Tickets to THE EVENT: Pacquiao vs. Clottey, priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, can be purchased in-person at the Cowboys Stadium box office in Arlington, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

THE EVENT: Pacquiao vs. Clottey pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com .

Mayweather Signs Contract, Fight With Mosley Is On

Floyd Mayweather has signed his bout agreement to fight Shane Mosley, who already had inked his name on the dotted line on Friday, Mosley's attorney, Judd Burstein told FanHouse.

Burstein said that he learned of the development concerning Mayweather (pictured right) from Mosley's promoter, Golden Boy Promotions' CEO Richard Schaefer, which should set in motion the promotional and marketing of their bout to take place on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"Richard Schaefer just called me and told me that [Mayweather's adviser] Al Haymon called him, and it's [the bout agreement] is being faxed," said Burstein, with whom Mosley signed his part of the deal on Friday in Las Vegas.

"I'm ecstatic. Shane and I have been together for seven years, and I love him as a client, and he's going to show the world how great that he is," said Burstein. "A lot of credit goes to Richard Schaefer. We work together beautifully. And Al Haymon has proven that my assessment of him as a real, straight shooter and a good guy are correct. He came through."

Mayweather May Want To Wait For Pacquiao; But He Needs Mosley Now More Than Ever

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has yet to sign his end of the contract to fight WBA welterweight champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley, and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer is outwardly frustrated. Schaefer told boxingscene.com that he would like to have both men participate in some sort of promotional events at this Sunday’s Superbowl, but the promotion can’t move forward without Mayweather’s signature.

So what is the holdup? What is keeping Mayweather from stealing back boxing’s spotlight? Some say fear. Others say ego, as he enjoys playing the heel and keeping himself on the bad side of the fans. Some might think that Floyd is pondering the possibility of returning the favor to Mosley and taking a vacation while Manny Pacquiao fights Joshua Clottey and runs for a congressional seat in his home nation.


Simply stated, passing on a proposed mega-fight with Mosley would surely mean career suicide for the talented one.

Why, whatever do you mean? I’m glad you asked.

Would a pay-per-view fight between Mayweather and the likes of Kermit Cintron, Nate Campbell, Paulie Malignaggi, Matthew Hatton, or (yikes) Saul Alvarez even log a considerable number of buys? Mayweather may rake in a couple million to hold him over until Manny and Arum come calling, but a pay-per-view bust would surely kill his claim to holding any drawing power, and thus decrease his purse split.

If Mayweather passes on Mosley and foregoes a “stay busy” fight and chooses to wait for Pacquiao, it is very possible that Arum puts disgraced boxer Antonio Margarito in the ring with Pacquiao. Arum ran Margarito’s name up the proverbial flagpole and it came back down with a slight favorable edge. While some (including yours truly) feel that Margarito shouldn’t be given the opportunity to share the ring (and a cut of the PPV revenue) with Pacquiao, Margarito’s large fan base trumps the opposed.

However, the presence of Margarito may only be used to get Mayweather to drop his demand for random Olympic-style drug testing. Even worse, he may be used to get Mayweather to agree to a smaller revenue split. Margarito may only be a tool of leverage against Mayweather, but when push comes to shove Arum will flip Mayweather the bird and pit his fighters against one another yet again.

Furthermore, passing on Mosley might surely mean the burning of the bridge between Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions. Can you imagine Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya wanting to do more business with the man that had a hand in killing two of the biggest cash-grabbing opportunities of the new decade?
So what options are left for Mayweather? Will he “nut up or shut up”, and sign on the dotted line? Or will he take a meaningless “stay busy” fight until Pacquiao’s schedule opens up? Will he gradually fade away from the conscious thought of the hardcore boxing fans, only occasionally popping up to do an interview on a Sirius satellite radio program? Only time will tell.

Amir Khan May Drop Title, Fight Marquez Next?

Amir Khan’s US debut may be against Juan Manuel Marquez, according to the Golden CEO, Richard Schaefer. The fight has not been signed, but an offer was made to Marquez, stated Schaefer. "We have made an offer to Marquez, who is thinking about it, and hopefully we will find out in the coming days.

According to Schaefer, an answer could come from Marquez within the next 72 hours.  Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO) currently holds the WBA and WBO lightweight titles. Marquez has struggled early in fights with Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz at lightweight, eventually knocking out both in the later rounds. A big part of his decision lies in whether or not he can carry more of his reflexes and punching power than he did against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In DeMarco Lies Valero's Toughest Test Yet

Edwin Valero’s record is stunning, to say the least. Valero has made 26 trips to the ring, and through the use of the explosives in both of his fists has produced 26 knockouts, starting quite a buzz in the process. This coming Saturday, February 6, Valero faces his toughest test to date, in Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KO).

Some question Valero’s resume, as his best wins have come against Antonio Pitalua and Hector Velazquez. Pitalua has a victory over Jose Armando Santa Cruz, but at 39 years old and with 52 fights on his odometer, the tread on his tires was very thin. Velazquez, on the other hand, had 67 fights on his resume, with 5 of his 13 previous losses coming by way of knockout. Before you blame Valero for handpicking easy opposition, it’s not all Valero’s fault.
(read the full story by clicking on the link below)

He Was the Last Man to Beat Pacquiao, But Morales Has Nothing Left to Give

Mexican legend Erik Morales (48-6, 34 KO) has announced he will return to the ring in Monterrey, Mexico against Jose Alfaro (23-5, 20 KO). The date of the fight has been set for March 27.

In addition to being a hero to his home country, Morales has the right to claim he was the last man to defeat Manny Pacquiao. The victory over Pacquiao was coincidentally the last victory logged by Morales, which is now five years deep in the rear view mirror. Since the victory over Pacquiao, Morales has lost four straight and spent the last two-and-a-half years in retirement.

The Return of Margarito: Too Late? Too Soon? Or Never?

Antonio Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) was considered the world’s top welterweight before he was beaten down by Shane Mosley on January 24, 2009.  Mosley dominated Margarito, scoring a ninth-round knockout victory for a major upset in front of more than 20,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Prior to the fight, California officials (upon request of inspection by Naazim Richardson) found an illegal pad that had been coated with a plaster-like substance inside it, something that had initially gone unnoticed by the commission inspector overseeing the hand-wrapping process.  Then Margarito’s other hand wrap was cut off, checked, and it too contained an identical illegal pad.