Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: The anti-climatic, never ending soap opera

A fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. over the years has become a fairy tale that has yet to see its happily ever after ending.

Fight fans have grown tired of the two most popular fighters in the world exchange verbal tirades against each other over the past six years. Over the years, Mayweather has insulted Pacquiao in interviews and on social media. While Pacquiao has kept his squeaky-clean image and taken the higher road.

Until recently.

Mayweather recently insulted Pacquiao after he questioned his desire to finally step foot in the ring against him. Mayweather posted a photo of an unconscious Pacquiao on the canvas, after his 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, and said, “Miss Pac Man is broke and desperate for a pay day. Your pay-per-view numbers are a joke.”

After the pound-for-pound king’s antics, Pacquaio said he was unaffected by his taunts.

“I’m not affected by it,” Pacquiao told a TV station in his native Philippines. “I pity him and I pray that someday he would change his ways. (Mayweather) should fear God.”

Pacquiao then quoted the Bible, “for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Pacquiao went on to claim the fight between the two could finally take place around spring or fall next year.

Yawn! Fight fans have heard those words over, and over again.

Then things got interesting Thursday when news broke that Floyd Mayweather Sr. told FightHype.com that the fight would “definatley” happen. Mayweather Sr. added it’s a fight the entire world wants to see.

But Mayweather Jr. was quick to disspell the allegations.

“Well my father is totally wrong,” he told FightHype.com “Like I said before, we have people constantly being removed from the Mayweather Promotions team, Team Mayweather, and we also have people being removed from The Money Team. I want my dad to be with my team, but if he continues to go out there and speak on things that he has no knowledge about without communicating with me, then I must get a new trainer.”

Although he did not say the fight would ever happen, Mayweather went on to share his desire to fight Amir Khan next. He dismissed the notion he would like to fight Pacquiao, despite his post-fight remarks to Jim Gray following his Sept. 13 rematch against Marcos Maidana.

“I’m gonna go and talk to my team and see what the future holds,” Mayweather told Gray. “I don’t know who I’m fighting in May but I expect to fight in May. Manny Pacquiao needs to focus on the guy in front of him. Once he gets past him, he can look to the future. If the Pacquiao fight presents itself, let’s make it happen.”

Pacquiao knows and said he must focus on Chris Algieri, but after years of build up, his periphial vision must be locked on his rival. But if Pacquiao takes Algieri lightly, fight fans could see another upset and a deep pothole on the road to Mayweather/Pacquiao.

Many expect Pacquiao to emerge victorious in China Nov. 22, often over looking the slick boxing style that gave Ruslan Provodnikov problems in June. Algeiri upset Pacquiao’s stable mate and earned the decision en route to claiming the WBO junior welterweight championship.

All eyes should be tuned into the fight in November because the outcome will play a huge factor in who Mayweather opts to fight in May.

Early indications point towards Khan.

Mayweather recently said his father is “desperate” for him to take the Khan fight. Mayweather said his father wants him to “shut the kid up and put him down.”

“My Dad doesn’t like fighters trash talking his son, but he knows as well as I do that if the fight happen, then I am going to punish him,” Mayweather said. “If he thinks he can trash talk me and get away with it he needs to think again. … My Dad wants the fight, I want to put him on his backside. So hopefully we can make it happen.

“I have always said that nobody has any right just to get a fight with me. I am nobody’s pay day, I am nobody’s meal ticket. I take fights that I believe will test me, and will put on a good show for the fans. I ain’t ever taken a fight just because somebody has been running off their mouth. If Khan gets his fight, it will be because I think he deserves a shot.”

– Jose Quintero @Jose Swift8755

US Editor for BehindTheGloves.com

Floyd Mayweather is past the Marcos Maidana rematch and his record is now an impeccable 47-0.

With all the Mayhem aside, it’s now time for “TBE” to decide who’s next, to fulfill his six-fight Showtime contract and ultimately, secure his spot in boxing history.

Two fights are left to take Mayweather to the 49-0 mark. The choices must be wise, popular and above all, lucrative. Saul Alvarez made the announcement he’s leaving Showtime for an exclusive deal with rival HBO, and he will be fighting in May, regardless of who else is fighting or where. With such promotional shots fired, that’s added pressure for Mayweather.

Who is waiting in the wings that could deliver those kinds of fights Mayweather, fight fans fans and the boxing business need?

Fight No. 48, Amir Khan – Khan possesses enough speed and movement to challenge Mayweather for about three rounds. He won’t be a total target and will attempt to use movement to avoid much of Mayweather’s offense. Where Khan fails will be returning fire to Mayweather’s precise counter punches. This is a fight where he can’t afford to grow careless, even for a second. During his fight with Danny Garcia, Khan was dropped three times, growing overconfident when Garcia fell short with his left hook. Unlike Garcia, Mayweather won’t miss. Khan got caught for his lack of paying attention. Mayweather’s speed and accuracy is greater than Garcia’s and one lapse in attention or straying from whatever game plan Virgil Hunter devises will mean an early end to the evening for Khan.

If Mayweather were to get a stoppage over Khan, it would be his first knockout since Victor Ortiz in 2011. This is something the fans are demanding. Give him the knockout win and the invasion of Khan’s loyal army of supporters. These fans will travel, money in hand, to Las Vegas in hordes and those who don’t visit from the UK, will buy, buy, buy the PPV, making Mayweather/Khan a financial hit.

Fight No. 49, Manny Pacquiao – Regardless of the time, promotional and personal issues that have passed trying to to make this match, Pacquiao must be Mayweather’s last fight. He has always been the one fighter considered most likely to beat him.

Pacquiao’s strengths have been that his defense is his offense. He simply overwhelmed opponents with speed, angles and non stop aggression. Opponents dropped like flies when they got caught in his crossfire. Juan Manuel Marquez finally solved the Pacquiao puzzle, scoring one of the most famous knockouts in boxing history. That defeat was followed up by Pacquiao avenging his loss to Timothy Bradley, and beating Brandon Rios, both in distance matches. These performances earned wins, but with none of his trademark fire and daring. Pacquiao faces Chris Algieri on Nov. 22. Algieri will prove to be an interesting match, but still not the challenge Mayweather represents.

Mayweather is the master counter puncher and has the ring acumen to win against Pacquiao, but in this still mythical match, you can expect fireworks early. Pacquiao will swarm Mayweather in an effort to rattle and force him out of his composure. Mayweather will weather the storm, begin to find his rhythm and see the holes created by Pacquiao’s offense, and outbox him to a unanimous decision. Floyd resisting the temptation to battle will make Pacquiao appear wild and desperate, forcing him expend a lot of energy on missed punches. Mayweather being faster and more accurate than Marquez also leaves room for a knockout ending, if Pacquiao plays into his hands.

Boxing PM; Post Mayweather

Some of the buzz will leave the boxing world the day Mayweather opts to retires, again.

This time, for good.

He is a fighter as revered as he is reviled for his achievements in the ring and his life outside.

If 50 Cent challenged Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to read a page from Harry Potter, and he stumbled through it, would social media and all sorts of news and entertainment outlets explode? Doubtful.

Up and coming fighters that are calling out Mayweather, will they breed the same kind of following? Will Warren Buffet or even Justin Bieber accompany them to the ring and will they have a host of glamorous women on call, working hard at looking good? Probably not.

Will any fighters following Mayweather’s retirement, have his innate skill? Something he was born with and honed to perfection over decades of “hard work and dedication?” Maybe not, but only time will tell.

Whether you love him or hate him, Mayweather has brought skill, entertainment and a little drama to boxing. His act will be a hard one to follow.

– Amy Green /@amygreenpr

– Contributor to www.BehindtheGloves.com

Two weeks have passed since ‘Mayhem” Floyd Mayweather versus Marcos Maidana in a rematch from their May encounter.

The smoke is starting to clear, the dust is starting to settle and it’s time to head back to reality for Maidana, who is now able to get off the roller coaster that has become his life for most of 2014.

While Mayweather stays in the spotlight by making some major adjustments to The Money Team, Maidana decides to head home and take a much deserved long break. In the past 10 months, Maidana has been in three great fights; Adrien Broner last December, and Mayweather in May and September.

But what’s next for the Argentine superstar? How do you come down from the Mayweather cloud and adjust to living at a normal pace?

When asked what he bought with his first six-figure paycheck from the first Mayweather fight, Maidana bought his family a home, a truck, a horse and a cow. In the rematch, he made the biggest payday of his career, $3 Million just from his purse alone. Maidana and his family are living well.

Unless Maidana pulls off some amazing world title fights with big opposition in front of him, he won’t be seeing those kind of figures again for a while. With over a rumored 925,000 pay-per-view buys rematch, Maidana won’t be pulling in numbers like that anymore. But there are some great fights that can draw in high ratings.

Amir Khan – When these two met in 2010, we saw a very different Maidana than the man we know now. Khan danced circles around him, using his lightning speed to pick apart Maidana for the entire 12 rounds and taking home the WBA World light welterweight title. Nowadays, with help from trainer Robert Garcia, Maidana has evolved into a better fighter. A fighter with more aggression, higher punch count and now the experience of fighting a runner. This rematch could be great. Khan, who is looking to also hit the “Mayweather Lotto” should take one tough fight first, because of a year between fights before beating Luis Collazo in May.

Broner – Maidana won this fight with clear conviction. Using not only his power, but his brain. Maidana was the better man that night in every way possible. The only reason people want to see this rematch is for the sheer entertainment. If Maidana wants to be taken seriously he will continue to face tough opposition and move on, rather than give Broner and his ego another opportunity. After Broner’s recent victory over Emmanuel Taylor, he called out Lucas Matthysse, which is a fight that should headline a Showtime card before the year’s end.

Matthysse – Who wouldn’t want to see these two brawlers and countrymen go at it? Having fought a few times before in the amateurs, Mattyhse and Maidana could be an action packed, bloody “FOTY” candidate. With their come-forward styles, neither man would back out or run, just stand in the ring and exchange while creating back and forth action that would sell out any arena. Matthysse, coming off a controversial win against Roberto Ortiz, needs a big name in front of him soon. “The Machine” had one hell of a fight against John Molina Jr. in April, but before that suffered a unanimous decision beating by Danny Garcia. However, Matthysse has never mentioned moving up to welterweight, making this more of a “fantasy pick.” But if he has to chase Garcia to get the rematch, the jump could set the stage for a bout with Maidana.

Garcia - While the options for Maidana are wide open, this is also a match up that many wouldn’t mind seeing before Garcia chooses to enter the Mayweather sweepstakes. Again, the two styles would bring huge crowds, and has all the characteristics for non-stop action. Garcia is still taking a tough hit from fight fans who were disappointed with his last opponent, Rod Salka. Garcia needs to make a statement and he needs to do it fast, especially if he wants to take serious consideration into fighting Mayweather. Garcia has stated many times that the welterweight division is in his near future. If you’re going to step up a weight class, do it in style like Miguel Cotto did with his middleweight debut win over Sergio Martinez. What better way to make a statement for Mayweather by fighting his leftovers?

While these fights likely won’t take place for Maidana until 2015, the former champ deserves a rest. If Bob Arum and Oscar De la Hoya can start working together, as they both seem to be making more of an effort, then the options are endless for the 147 pound division. All that is known for sure, fighting Mayweather leaves a certain taste in your mouth afterwards. The hunger to bounce back and get back on a winning streak should motivate Maidana to go after the big names next year. There is no doubt that there will be big things to come from Chino, who has now proven that not only does he belong, but he is a top tier fighter.

– Leann Perez / @LeannPerez_

– Contributor to www.BehindtheGloves.com

Mayweather: “All Access’ is staged”

Floyd Mayweather Jr. said Tuesday the “All Access” reality series is staged as a way to sell more pay-per-views to a broader audience.

Mayweather was ordered to appear before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to answer questions about controversial scenes during the second episode of the series leading up the rematch with Marcos Maidana on Sept. 13. Mayweather, who is a licensed fighter and promoter in Nevada, is the executive producer of the series.

At the end of the day, Mayweather has control over what makes the final cut of an episode.

The second episode of the rematch series contained scenes that showed a group of women smoking marijuana being smoked at his Las Vegas home, in his presence. Mayweather was laughing and making jokes of the marijuana, but insisted he was not smoking.

When questioned about the marijuana scene, Mayweather said that it was fake marijuana and it was a mere prop. Mayweather told the commission he is against drug use and that he was “trying to think outside of the box,” while promoting the fight.

“I’m trying to sell more than a fight, it’s a lifestyle,” Mayweather said.

There was also a 31-minute round of sparring, where the fighters allegedly did not take a break, at the Mayweather Boxing Club. Raising many questions about the unsafe training methods Mayweather uses in his gym.

In the scene, one of former undisputed heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman’s sons is beat by a Mayweather protege, while he looks on. Hasim Rahman Jr. becomes upset that his younger brother suffered a beating and challenges the Mayweather protege to step in the ring with him. Mayweather was also watching the supposed 31-minute round in the “dog house.”

The pound-for-pound champion claims that both scenes were staged for the show.

“We’re able to edit and chop footage the way we want,” he told the commission.

During the scene, Mayweather says “guys fight to the death.”

“It’s not right, but it’s dog house rules,” Mayweather said on the show.

Mayweather said every traning session is monitored at his gym and other fighters are allowed to take breaks during 15-minute of “dog house” fights. He added that all fighters must wear protective headgear and use 16 and 18 ounce gloves.

The commission asked Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to advise the commission about any future “fake” elements of the show.

Yes, Ellerbe is still apart of The Money Team.

– Jose Quintero – @JoseSwift8755
US Managing Editor for BehindTheGloves.com

Alex Ariza signs with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Alex Ariza has signed a two year contract with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Alex Ariza has served as the strength and conditioning coach for many fighters, including Manny Pacquaio, Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana, and is now a fixture the Mayweather camp.

When an image was released by Mayweather weeks before the Maidana rematch of Ariza assisting him with stretches before a 3 a.m. run, it became one of the most talked about topics as Ariza had his most “famous” years under Mayweather’s arch-rival Pacquiao.

The two-year deal could indicate that Mayweather will fight past his deal with Showtime in which he has two fights left.

“I signed an official contract for two years to serve as Floyd’s strength and conditioning coach,” Ariza told BoxingScene.com.

According to Ariza, Mayweather said he needs him at this point in his career, as the pound-for-pound champion is hitting the latter years of his career.

This could be a wise decision by Mayweather, who told FightHype.com earlier this week that he would be reshuffling his team. Ariza has knowledge with elite fighters and has a good success rate.

– Oun Abbas Hussain / @ouney86

– UK Correspondent for Behind the Gloves.

When you watch Clearwater, Florida’s Keith Thurman you can see the fluidness of Ronald “Winky” Wright and the savageness of a young Jeff Lacy all packaged into the fighter they call “One Time”.

It’s not by mistake as both Wright and Lacy were trained by Thurman’s trainer, Dan Birmingham, and won titles under his tutelage. Something Birmingham hopes to continue with Thurman (23-0, 21 KOs).

Known for his defensive mentoring, Birmingham has reined in Thurman’s explosive power just enough to creatively add the sweetness of the sport to Thurman’s arsenal.
While Birmingham can be credited with the development of this rising star, it was the late Ben Getty who masterminded the blueprint of this dangerous boxer-puncher. Their bond, which evokes memories of D’Amato/ Tyson will never be broken. Thurman fights in memory of Getty.

“As you see me, you will see Ben Getty on my trunks,” Thurman stated. “I wear it in honor of him and all the years he spent teaching me to be the fighter I am today.”

In his last three fights, Thurman stopped Julio Diaz, Jesus Soto Karass and Diego Chaves. Shortly after his last fight in April against Diaz, Thurman injured his left shoulder in training which prevented plans to find an opponent for the Sept. 13 Mayhem undercard. He has been rehabbing the injury in physical therapy for about six weeks.

Thurman, 25, has about three week left and hopes to be back in the ring in November. Due to the injury, we may not see Thurman in against one of the top guys in the division as his camp may want to ease him back in.

Thurman has been, for lack of a better term, collateral damage with regards to matchups in the welterweight division. There is so much talent in the division that the top fighters can avoid him because they have so many options. Why fight a guy who has power in both hands, works the body, has underrated speed, is technically sound, is getting better defensively with each fight and has a good chin?

Pretty soon the top guys in the division will have no choice but to face Thurman, so let’s take a look at some possible style matchups to gauge the readiness of One Time.

If facing puncher/brawlers like Marcos Maidana and Robert Guerrero, Thurman will be pressured all fight long and it would be interesting to see how he adapts. While his defense is getting better every fight, he has shown a tendency to get hit with big shots but has shown an equally good beard. In his fight against Chaves, he took some good power shots which forced him to adjust his game plan from puncher to boxer. Thurman then relied on his speed and movement which ultimately allowed him to switch back to puncher when the time was right to land the power shot that ended the fight. Thurman seems ready for the punchers as he can give as good or better than he gets but can also adjust and make a puncher look even more one dimensional. As Thurman remembered Getty’s influence, “I just go back to the fundamentals. The way Ben showed me how to throw the jab, how to sit down with the right.”
Verdict- Thurman is ready for the punchers/brawlers of the welterweight division.

While looking at opponents, more boxer than puncher, we stumble upon possible opponents such as Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley. It’s evident Thurman can box with a boxer being able to utilize speed while exhibiting elusiveness and landing economical and accurate punches albeit unloading bad intentions at any moment. Against the top boxers in the division, it would exciting to see how they would hold up to the punching power of Thurman. Getty’s wise words again a reminder, “And I just always listen to him: ‘Don’t ever lighten up on your power boy, because that’s what they’re afraid of.”
Verdict- Thurman is ready for the boxers of the welterweight division.

While looking in the mirror, Thurman may see one opponent that brings similar skills to the table, Adrien Broner. A boxer/puncher in his own right has now gone south of the division so a possible matchup with Broner has some challenges. To see Thurman against a fighter with a similar skill set as his own would bring out the best in him and we may just see another element to his game.
Verdict- Thurman is ready for the boxer/punchers of the welterweight division.

So it’s not a question of if Thurman is ready to face the top guys in the division, but more so are they ready to face him? While Thurman is Floyd Mayweather’s WBA mandatory challenger, he still is relatively unknown to the casual fan which would most likely hurt possible matchups against pay-per-view fighters. It’s doubtful that Thurman gets in with Mayweather in one of his last remaining fights unless the coveted matchup that has eluded Thurman arrives and he makes a statement. Maybe a fight with Danny Garcia who is rumored to be moving to the division would be an option? A move to the next division down the road could see future fights against the likes of Saul Alvarez or Erislandy Lara.

The future is bright for Thurman who gets better with every fight and has a style that is pleasing to both fans of the sweet science and those that long for the violence of the game. 2015 could very well be the year of “One Time.”

Whenever it arrives, Getty’s words may ring true.

“Ben told me, ‘you have what it takes to be a champion,” Thurman recalls. “And not to be any champion, I wanna be a legendary champion. That’s one thing that truly keeps me motivated. I just want to prove him right.”

– Rick Guerrero / @lapittrick

– Contributor for www.BehindtheGloves.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. sent shock waves around the world Wednesday after making vague statements to FightHype.com regarding the future of his staff, most notably a potential separation from Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe.

Mayweather is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Marcos Maidana Sept. 13 and questions surrounding his training and promotional company’s staff have surfaced.

“It’s just I’m growing in a different direction from everybody else,” Mayweather told FightHype. “I’m at a new place in my life and I’m trying to get better. Even though I’m 37, I’m trying to get better and I want to become better and I want my team to become better, and if you’re not on the same page as me, then there’s nothing I can really say or do but say it’s time for you to do your own thing since people may not want to do things the way I want to do things or communicate or compromise.”

Mayweather said he feels he and Ellerbe are “getting to a point” where they are “outgrowing each other,” citing he did not approve defending his welterweight and junior middleweight WBC and WBA championships against Maidana. During the pre-fight interviews, Mayweather failed to answer questions about defending four titles against Maidana, but Ellerbe answered questions regarding the issue.

“Once people start making power moves without communicating with me, then I think it’s time for us to move our separate ways,” Mayweather stated. “I mean, I’m glad the fight is over with, but I think when May comes around and you guys see All Access in May, I’ll have a totally new team and probably a totally new staff. We may make a lot of changes in my team, but Al Haymon ain’t going nowhere.”

The key word in the potential Mayweather/Ellerbe separation is Haymon is not going anywhere. If Mayweather decides to fire Ellerbe, or Ellerbe resigns from the helm at Mayweather Promotions, will former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer step in? Have Mayweather, Haymon and Schaefer been in cahoots?

What impact will this potential break-up have on the boxing world? Has Haymon been signing fighters in anticipation of building Mayweather Promotions into a premier promotional company?

Many questions surround this fiasco, but nothing has been made official.

“I like to keep my fans and everybody updated on what’s really going on in the Mayweather camp and in the Mayweather world, but as of right now, I can’t really say who’s in or who’s out,” Mayweather stated. “I can’t really say at this particular time.

“There’s just a lot of other things within our team that’s just not right. Leonard wasn’t in my corner, so, you know, it’s not any hard feelings. It’s just people outgrow one another. I’m not mad at him. There’s no hard feeling like I hate the guy; not at all. No hard feelings whatsoever. People just outgrow one another, just like when people get a divorce. They’re no longer on the same page mentally.”

– Jose Quintero – @JoseSwift8755
US Managing Editor for BehindTheGloves.com.

For the highly anticipated rematch, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0) remained unbeaten by winning a unanimous decision over Marcos Maidana (35-5). Maidana was quicker to the draw the previous fight, applying better pressure and keeping Mayweather against the ropes. For Saturday night’s match up at the MGM Grand, the rounds belonged to Floyd.

Mayweather started the fight in defensive mode, using a lot of lateral movement to keep the distance between him and Chino. Mayweather clearly setting the tempo and keeping the fight at the center of the ring, made it hard for Maidana to connect or create any exchanges. Maidana rocked Mayweather with a right hand in round three, with the bell to end the round only seconds later.

When Maidana was allowed to fight on the inside, Mayweather did more holding than we usually see from the 37 year old fighter. Numerous times throughout the fight referee Kenny Bayless stepped in to separate, with Mayweather to put his jab right back to work. Mayweather getting comfortable with holding his opponent and pushing him down, forced his glove into the face of Maidana, and immediately sprung up, yelling out “He bit me”! With round eight getting put into a halt for the bite controversy, Mayweather’s corner examine the glove and Mayweather trying to plead that his hand is hurt. Slow motion cam shows Maidana’s face clearly smothered by Mayweather’s glove, coming in close contact with Maidana’s mouthpiece. It isn’t until after the fight, even with no obvious damage, Mayweather stated that his fingers went numb. Maidana never really admitting that he bit Mayweather, just answers, “maybe he forced his thumb into my mouthpiece.”

Mayweather continued to control the tempo of the fight remaining. His counter punches were precise, and his right hand landed almost every time he threw it over Maidana’s lazy jab. Round twelve, forced Maidana to pull out everything he could, although it was hard for him to catch the running Mayweather. For those who feel Mayweather never runs, just incredibly defensive, ShoStats confirmed Mayweather only landed one punch in the twelfth round. With his power punches landing at 58%, Mayweather clearly had more precision, although Chino did a good job being more the aggressor. Maidana’s punch output was significantly lower as compared to the first fight.

Mayweather moves on to 47-0, and says his team will take close consideration of who his next opponent will be. With Mayweather allegedly only fighting two more times before he finishes his career, many wonder if Amir Khan will ever get the chance to hit the “Mayweather Lotto”.

Other possible match ups could be Danny Garcia and of course the mega match up with Manny Pacquiao. When asked about a possible match up with Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather stated “Pacquiao needs to get through what’s in front of him first, then maybe we can look at something”. Pacquiao is to face Chris Algieri in November. Mayweather always wants to give his fans what they want, and while the rematch with Maidana wasn’t the most entertaining, hopefully Mayweather will close out his career with a bang.

– Leann Perez / @LeannPerez_

– Contributor for www.BehindtheGloves.com

Nevada State Senator Ruben Kihuen and Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly have proclaimed Saturday as “Oscar De La Hoya Day.”

The proclamation is the county’s and state’s appreciation for nearly $1 billion in tourism revenue Oscar De La Hoya has generated in Las Vegas during his 16-year professional career.

A podium presentation to De La Hoya on Saturday will kick-start Nevada’s celebration of Mexican Independence Day. The event is free to the public and will commence at 1 p.m. at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign, located at 5100 Las Vegas Blvd.

De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, is scheduled to attend the event, hours before the Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana rematch taking place at the MGM Grand. De La Hoya is a gold medalist in the 1992 Olympic, a 10-time world champion is six weight divisions and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Ortiz (22-0, 19 KOs) dropped Kayode approximately a minute into the first round. Kayode (20-1, 16 KOs) beat the count and was later stunned with an Ortiz left hook followed by a flurry of unanswered punches. Referee Robert Byrd stepped in and stopped the contest with seconds left in the round.

Although few punches landed cleanly, Byrd felt Kayode had taken enough damage. Kayode voiced his displeasure with Byrd after the stoppage.

With the stoppage, Ortiz becomes a mandatory challenger to WBA regular heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev.

The co-main event saw Juan Manuel Lopez (34-5, 31 KOs) versus Jesus Marcelo Andres Cuellar (25-1, 19 KOs).

Lopez, 31, entered the ring with hopes for one more big-payday and another shot at a world championship. The former two division champion contemplating retirement after being knocked out by Fernando Vargas July 12.

Cuellar retained his WBA interim featherweight championship.

Lopez was knocked out in the second round after Cuellar forced him against the ropes and landed a three-punch combination. Referee Kenny Bayless immediately stopped the bout as Lopez dropped to the canvas.

Lopez’ devastating loss to Cuellar derails his hopes and may likely force him into retirement.

Also in action on the card, Jermall Charlo stopped Norberto Gonzalez in the seventh round in his quest to landing a world championship bout.

Charlo (19-0, 15 KOs) had a point deducted in the fourth round after landing a lowblow on Gonzalez. Charlo dropped Gonzalez (20-5, 13 KOs) in the fifth round with a straight right hand. Charlo inched closer to a world championship opportunity with the win after having his hopes delayed when Carlos Molina was arrested days before their IBF junior middleweight championship bout March 8.

Josesito Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs) was also victorious in a lackluster performance against Rafael Cobos. Lopez dictated the action by effectively landing body shots on Cobos (15-5-5, 3 KOs) en route to a unanimous decision, winning 80-72 on each scorecard.

Lopez, 30, earned his third consecutive win after suffering consecutive loses to Saul Alvarez and Marcos Maidana. The Riverside native’s name has been in the running for possible opponents for Amir Khan in December.

Thursday’s performance could possibly tamper hopes of a December showdown with Kahn.

Errol Spence Jr. and Julian Williams were also victorious Thursday night.

-Jose Quintero/ @JoseSwift8755

US Managing Editor for www.BehindTheGloves.com