SPORTS NEWS
SPORTS NEWS
Year 39, No. # 35 July 30 - August 6, 2010
Is Don King the key to making Pacquia/Mayweather fight?
Don King
By RYAN SONGALIA
Filipino Reporter Exclusive
Don King is as polarizing a figure as there can be in boxing. On one hand, King has been responsible for making some of the highest-grossing prize fights in the history of the sport.
The other side of the coin has him painted as a fast-talking hustler with a history of poor relationships with fighters.
Love him or hate him, the static-haired icon may be the bridge that (finally) connects Pacquiao Town to Mayweatherville.
A second round of negotiations between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has come and gone, closing the window on the mega-fight for 2010.
Bob Arum, CEO of Pacquiao's promoter Top Rank, revealed in a conference call last month that they will attempt to make the fight again next Spring.
Team Mayweather claimed that negotiations for the fight never even took place, a claim which was later refuted by HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg.
Greenburg backed Arum's account, that Mayweather's adviser Al Haymon and Arum negotiated with Greenburg acting as an intermediary.
If King has his way, he will be the man on the other side of the negotiation table next time around.
King has been courting the free agent Mayweather for the past several weeks, inviting him down to Florida to catch a comedy show and attend barbecues at the King estate, the New York Daily News reported last week.
King openly states that he is looking to promote the 41-0 (25 KO) former five-division titlist.
"Hopefully if I do, we will make certain that the fight with Pacquiao takes place," King tells the Filipino Reporter. "I don't know if I can do that but he's visiting me. We're talking and I'm very optimistic.
"This is going to be a gigantic fight because the difference of the world. Now with the new communications and the Internet, this would make it the biggest fight of all time at this stage of the game."
The 78-year-old Florida-based promoter has pursued "Money" Mayweather on several occasions in the past, only to leave empty-handed each time.
Mayweather reputation has taken a big hit in recent weeks as mainstream media outlets have placed the blame of the failed negotiations on his shoulders.
King feels that Mayweather is misunderstood - and that he's the one promoter who can understand him.
"Right now he's being labeled as an ogre, he's being labeled as a coward and he's being labeled as a guy that's very difficult to deal with; That is not true," King says.
"They just are not communicating and talking the same language. That in itself is a logjam. It's a communications and respect problem. I speak the language so I understand the ghetto ways they are talking about. Many people don't understand them, that's why you can't get a straight answer because it's incommunicado."
Arum told BoxingScene.com's Ronnie Nathanielsz that he was confident he and King could make a deal to match the two best fighters in the world quickly, adding "maybe it will take a weekend but we'll make a deal."
Mayweather will be in attendance on Saturday night for the title fight triple header at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri which is being promoted by King.
Though King has promoted such mega-fights as "The Thrilla in Manila" rubber match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier at the Araneta Coliseum in 1975, his influence has waned as the heavyweight division that he once controlled has declined in popularity in America.
Pacquiao, 51-3-2 (38 KO), will have to get by former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito before a Mayweather clash can be discussed.
Pacquiao-Margarito is scheduled for Nov. 13 with a venue yet to be settled upon.
The locations currently being discussed are Abu Dhabi, Mexico, Dallas and Las Vegas.
When asked where he felt a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight could best be promoted, King insisted on putting the egg before the chicken. Or goose.
"Allow me first to capture the goose that laid the golden egg, and then I can cherish it and treasure it. Then who knows where the wild goose will fly."
(Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America [BWAA] and a contributor to GMANews.TV. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia).
Mia Piccio kisses her trophy after the win.
MANILA - Mia Piccio enhanced her promising golf career by winning the 80th Women's Trans Amateur Championship, dominating Agostina Parmigiani of Argentina in the morning match before hanging tough in the last 18 holes to fashion out a 3&2 victory at The Country Club of Lincoln in Nebraska on Saturday.
The top-seeded Piccio fired six birdies in the first half of their grueling 36-hole duel to go 6-up.
She hiked the lead to seven holes twice, the last when she birdied the 23rd hole then displayed grace under pressure in the last 10 holes to annex the inspiring win.
"I'm very, very happy that I finally won a big amateur title here in the U.S. This means so much to me," said the 18-year-old Bacolod native, one of the U.S.-based scholars of the ICTSI golf squad under coach Bong Lopez.
But just when she thought that she had the crown under wraps, Parmigiani struck with three straight birdies from 27th hole (No. 9) to close within three with seven holes to go.
But Piccio made a superb lob shot after missing the par-3 12th, sinking a five-foot par putt that virtually clinched her the championship.
"That was the championship point for Mia," said Lopez, referring to his ward's brilliant save on No. 12. "Had she lost that hole, she would've been just two holes up and the pressure would've been on her."
But Piccio bucked the pressure and matched her rival's par game in the next four holes to wrap up the crown.
"Mia played so well and made so many shots, I just had to do my best with 18 holes to play," said the 22-year-old Parmigiani.
Piccio had just 27 putts during her first 18 holes and had no three-putt in her final 16 holes.
The win also avenged Dottie Ardina's loss to Parmigiani in the quarters and boosted Piccio's bid for a spot in the national team vying in various international competitions this year, including the Asian Games.
"I'd like to thank God for this victory," said Piccio, who also expressed her gratitude to ICTSI boss Ricky Razon for giving her, and her teammates, all the opportunities to hone their talent and skills through top-notch competitions abroad.
