Saturday May 26, 2012
Fans will have to continue to wait for the long-awaited rematch between
Victor Ortiz and
Andre Berto. Initially it was Berto's torn left biceps that forced a February 11 fight date to be postponed to June 23. Then Berto tested positive for the banned substance norandrosterone so he's out for the June 23 date.
Instead of continuing to wait around for Berto, Ortiz decided to keep the June 23 date ... he just needed to find an opponent. Several fighters volunteered but it's Josesito Lopez that will get the opportunity. Lopez, who will be moving up from 140 to 147 to face Ortiz, has a career record of 29-4 (17 KOs). Ortiz-Lopez is unlikely to produce a Fight of the Year candidate like Ortiz-Berto I ... but at least it's likely to actually happen.
Sunday May 20, 2012
Floyd Mayweather's win over Miguel Cotto did 1.5 million pay-per-view buys and $94 million in revenue, good for the second highest gross ever for a non-heavyweight pay-per-view event. Mayweather's 2007 win over Oscar De La Hoya still holds that record at $137 million (on 2.4 million buys). Mayweather-Cotto took in an additional $12 million - the ninth-biggest gate ever in Nevada - from 14,612 tickets sold.
Mayweather has fought on PPV nine times in his career and has generated $540 million on 9.6 million buys. Boxing's other active box office star, Manny Pacquiao, has generated $525 million on 9.9 million buys in 15 pay-per-view events. [NOTE: Several of Manny's 15 PPV events were smaller events that took place earlier in his career so it's not fair to compare the above numbers and conclude that Mayweather is a bigger draw; their PPV numbers have been similar in big events in recent years.]
Mayweather's unwillingness to agree to a 50/50 split with Pacquiao tells you all you need to know about who's to blame for that fight not happening ... and if the fight never happens, Mayweather will one day look back and regret not banking the biggest payday in boxing history.
Tuesday May 15, 2012
Lamont Peterson and
Amir Khan were scheduled to meet on May 19 in a rematch of Peterson's controversial split decision win on December 10. Scratch that. In a random test administered in March, Peterson tested positive a banned substance - synthetic testosterone - so the bout is off.
So far there has been no discussion of setting a new date for the rematch. Instead, Khan's camp is trying to have Peterson's win changed to a no contest, in which case Khan would likely get his titles back.
Tuesday May 8, 2012
Undefeated
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is so good his fights are judged not on whether he wins or loses (he always wins), but rather on whether his opponent is even competitive.
Miguel Cotto was competitive ... very competitive. Mayweather raised his record to 43-0 and took the WBA super welterweight title from Cotto, but it was never easy. Cotto, who bloodied Floyd's nose in round six and had a big round eight, matched Mayweather's heart ... he just couldn't match his skill level. Mayweather staggered Cotto in the final round and was awarded a unanimous decision: 118-110 and 117-111 twice.
Mayweather set a record with a guarantee of $32 million (pay-per-view will make his total take even higher), while Cotto earned a minimum of $8 million -- the bigger payday of his career. Next for Mayweather is an 87-day jail sentence for domestic battery which begins on June 1. Cotto, despite the loss, remains a top draw and will have multiple attractive options for his next fight, such as Sergio Martinez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Saul Alvarez.