Tag Archives: August

Posted on 07/12/2021

Errol Spence Jr. arrives for Sunday’s press conference poised and focused on the day’s press activities. It is the first time the Unified champion and 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will appear together to promote their August super fight.

Throughout his boxing journey, he’s succeeding where others have found difficult. Flanked by a harmonious team and strong support system, he maintains the same zen-like calm he’s known for. An inner peace that’s fueled by family, farm animals, and a desire to be an all-time great.

Now his full attention turns toward the fight he’s been pursuing since 2019. An opportunity against Manny Pacquiao, a guaranteed first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who will be remembered as an all-time great, no matter the outcome.

Once the press conference was complete, Errol Spence Jr. chatted with BoxingInsider.com beyond the usual camp and strategy questions. The WBC and IBF unified champion explain how he keeps his training harmonious, Pacquiao’s best wins, why farm life works for him and what he’s learned from his cadre of animals.

BI: Earlier, you were speaking about your father and trainers and how you navigate that. How have you been able to navigate those relationships so well during your career?

ESJ: I feel like a lot of fathers try to take the coach position, and the coach pushes back. For me, I make sure they’re separated. My father might tell me some stuff, and I take what I think is good. My coach might tell me some things I think is good, and if I don’t [think it’s good], I don’t do anything with it. It’s just two separate entities telling me two separate things.

BI: Earlier, I asked you about some of Pacquiao’s best wins. What is a great win for you? A lot of fighters when fights, but what’s a great win, in your opinion?

ESJ: I like to see the execution. I would say a great win for me is Bernard Hopkins versus Tito Trinidad. That was a great win for me.
He basically defeated a country. A lot of people would say that Trinidad was the favorite. Bernard came around and did his thing, perfected his strategy and beat him, and outpointed him.

BI: You look at Barnard, who fought into his 40’s. You’re about to fight a man in his 40’s. Is that a path that you envision for yourself? Do you want that type of trajectory where you are still a killer at 40? Or do you have a cut-off point?

ESJ: If I’m still beating young guys up, yeah, I’ll fight. I think if there comes a time if I get in the ring and somebody is beating me up, that’s not supposed to be beating me up, or I can’t get out of the way of punches, I’m going to retire.

I’m always smart with my finances and stuff like that so I can get out of the sport when I need to. So as long as I keep winning or it’s a close loss to somebody you could lose to, that’s acceptable, but if I’m losing to someone, I have no business losing to, or I get beaten up in sparring, it’s time to hang it up.

BI: This [the fight against Pacquiao] is a big fight. Lots of big fights don’t happen for whatever reason, even when fighters have the same management. Everyone thinks they know the business of boxing whether they work in it or not. What is the key to making a big fight that the outside doesn’t know?

ESJ: You have to know there’s definitely a lot of politics in boxing. A lot of tug of wars going on and things like that.

The easiest fights to get made are the fights in the same circle. That’s why Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Ugas, Pacquiao, everybody’s mixing it up because everybody’s under the same umbrella.

A lot of guys are not going out. You might get some guys like Matchroom that might be with Top Rank on the business side. It shouldn’t be like that, but there’s a lot of politics in boxing stopping big fights from happening.

BI: When fighters reach your level, some feel like they have to change their whole persona. You’ve maintained your same level-headed personality your entire career. Why has that formula worked for you?

ESJ: It is my mentality. I don’t get caught up in the hype at all. I’m the type of person that after a fight, my whole plan is to disappear. After this fight is over, I’m going unseen for two or three months.

House time, I’m with my kids, and I’m chilling, and I’m not trying to be bothered. I don’t care to be on camera, and I don’t even care to have my name mentioned. When the job calls, it’s time to do it. I’m not trying to be at the forefront of everything.

BI: With that chilling, you have children, farm life, and animals. You have horses. They seem to have brought you to a different level of peace and Zen. How do they help you? What can we learn from animals?

ESJ: One thing, it definitely gives me a lot to do. It keeps me busy, and horses give you peace of mind. I didn’t start riding horses until after my accident.

I moved outside the city lines, the outskirts and got a ranch and didn’t know anything about it. But I learned on the job, got cows and stuff like that. Horses are majestic a little bit. And you can learn a lot from them, especially patience. Something that big and that strong, you have to have patience. They can get spooked real fast and kick or anything.

BI: What was that first time riding a horse like? You are an athlete. Did you jump on the horse fearlessly?

ESJ: I was fearless, but I was still cautious. I jumped on a good, trained horse, so he didn’t do anything. He had a great temperament and stuff like that. But what yeah, I was kind of fearless because, you know, I’m an adventurous person, but it was different from what I used to because I first I was like, I wouldn’t even touch a horse or cow.

BI: Lastly, fans, in general, have a lot of respect for you. There are many factions on social media and fandom, but fans universally enjoy you, no matter who their affiliations. What do you say to those fans?

ESJ: I appreciate everybody’s support. I appreciate everybody letting me have my peace sometimes. I think a lot of people don’t understand I’m a kind of introverted person. So, I need my space.

And then now and then but, you know, I do like when it’s fight time, you know, I do, do I need to be done and do my interviews and stuff like that, but I enjoy my peace of mind. But I appreciate everybody staying with me and supporting me. It’s a great time, and I’m enjoying myself while I’m young and on top.

Manny Pacquiao vs Errol Spence Jr. takes place Saturday, August 21 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. For the full interview, please visit BoxingInsider’s YouTube Channel.

Posted on 07/18/2017

By: Kirk Jackson

The main argument Conor McGregor, UFC President Dana White, UFC’s legion of hardcore, biased followers, advocate is McGregor’s overall physical strength, youth, size and punching power.

Essentially claiming these physical tools automatically dwarf anything the older, smaller, Floyd Mayweather can muster.

Their barbaric approach and sentiments suggest either ignorance of the sport of boxing, or a clever ploy to draw other demographics of audience into the event that will hog headlines August 26.

“Conor’s got extraordinary power, he’s got extraordinary movement and he’s bigger,” saidformer UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “He’s a far bigger guy. I mean he’s a big framed guy and he’s strong and he’s young.”

“That’s what Conor McGregor is. He’s a freak athlete. There’s a guy named FirasZahabi, who’s one of the best trainers in MMA, Georges St-Pierre’s trainer — he calls it the touch of death.”

The last man to share an octagon with McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, stated similar thoughts regarding McGregor’s punching power.

“I don’t know if it was after I got hit that I kind of went into fight or flight mode,” Alvarez said of their encounter.

“To be honest with you, that first shot, I had no clue what it was. I had no clue, and my butt was on the ground, and I remember in my head going ‘what the fuck was that?’”

Comparatively, McGregor is the bigger than Mayweather regarding physical size.

The Irishman has a one-inch height advantage and a two-inch reach advantage. With longer arms working to McGregor’s favor, as he enjoys utilizing his advantage as he likes to strike opponents from the outside.
Another physical factor favoring McGregor is he is in his twenties and eleven years younger than the 40-year-old Mayweather.

This is where the physical advantages for McGregor end.

Even at the advanced age of 40, Mayweather looks faster than McGregor and if we compare professional fight history between the two, Mayweather has the edge in regards to stamina.

Aside from showing slight fatigue in his last bout against Andre Berto, it’s a rare sight to see Mayweather tired in a fight. McGregor however displayed exhaustion against Nate Diaz in both encounters, falling to submission in their first fight.

McGregor may possess explosive speed, power and athleticism by mixed martial arts standards, but the application of these traits is applied differently within the realm of boxing.

If the Irishman tires out after two, five-minute rounds in the Octagon, it’s fair to suggest he will tire out over the course of an accelerated pace of 12, three-minute rounds via boxing.

Which may have prompted McGregor to suggest he will stop Mayweather within four rounds of action.

According to UFC President Dana White regarding McGregor’s claims, “He [McGregor] gets off the flight from Ireland, looks like he was just fitted at Armani. Walks off the plane and he says, ‘I will knock this man [Mayweather] out within four rounds.’”

McGregor figures he won’t outpoint the boxer and win on the score cards and he knows his body more than anyone else; meaning he knows his gas tank is limited.

Regarding punching and power in boxing, there are two famous phrases or mantras that hold true.

“All it takes is one punch,” and the famous, “Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth,” – via Mike Tyson.

These adages provecorrect over time and they actually point towards Mayweather’s favor.

McGregor is southpaw and as a mixed martial arts stylized-fighter, his style and rhythm will probably throw Mayweather off – he is not accustomed to facing mixed martial artists.

But that goes against McGregor too. He is not used to fighting boxers with superior hand-striking ability. Eddie Alvarez is not going to cut it.

No disrespect to Nate Diaz, but Mayweather is in a different solar system skill-wise comparatively speaking.

Mayweather will not stand squared up and lunge in with his arms down like Jose Aldo. The same openings McGregor is accustomed to seeing fighting his UFC contemporaries will not be there against Mayweather.
A quick comparison to what McGregor faces regarding Mayweather and Diaz.

Diaz doesn’t make his opponents miss punches. Diaz doesn’tevade strikes or necessarily force the opponent to move all that much. Diaz stands in front of his opposition and essentially lets opponents hit him.

Mayweather is the polar opposite;the pursuit of Mayweatherrequires great footwork, feinting him out of position, cutting the ring off instead of chasing a great jab helps along with a wonderful sense of timing.

Mayweather fights utilizing different angles and stances, each with a specific purpose and as the opponent is chasing, missing punches, while consistently eating counter punches, Mayweather also attacks the body; wearing opponents down, making the chase that much more problematic.

Regarding the adage of all it takes is one punch to end anyone’s night, yes that is true.

Sure, one punch can end the fight for Mayweather. Applying a certain amount of pressure across the temple or chin can even put to sleep the most iron-chinned competitors.

The most damaging punch however, is the punch you don’t see coming. Mayweather is a master of landing those types of punches; accurate, precise, deceptive and damaging.

Regarding pure punching power, ESPN’s Sport Science did a report/experiment testing and comparing McGregor and Mayweather’s punching power.

Bringing it back to McGregor and Diaz, the man from Stockton stunned McGregor with a solid left hand; prior to submitting the Irishman later in the round.

According to Sports Science, with the very least Mayweather hits as hard as Diaz but possesses greater speed and places greater emphasis on precision, that all spells trouble for McGregor.

To echo the sentiments of mixed martial arts fighters Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisbing, boxers generally speaking punch harder than mixed martial artists. That’s a given right?

Many boxers, train from ages 4, 5 and focus on punching. Placing and shifting the weight into punches, moving hips behind punches, snapping the wrist, generating the proper torque for unleashing fistic fire power.

Sonnen stated on his podcast, “Floyd is throwing punches at guys that are great at slipping and rolling with and dealing with punches.”

“Conor is throwing punches at guys who aren’t great at –they’re very good… but they have to focus some of their time on the grappling, on the submission, on the conditioning, on the strength, on the weight cutting… they’re not great at it in comparison to what Floyd is throwing punches at,” Sonnen said.

“Floyd throws harder and punches significantly harder than Conor does. And he’s also used to throwing it at harder targets.”

While there are more nuances to boxing than what was mentioned in regards to punching, imagine the various nuances mixed martial artists have to learn – those trying to absorb multiple disciplines of fighting.

It makes sense a boxer generally possesses greater punching power and why should that be different with Mayweather?

Concerning form and technique, Mayweather is a boxing savant, considered a prodigy at a young age. While his knockouts decreased over time, we must take into consideration he moved up four weight classes and fought bigger opponents.

Emphasizing a point Sonnen touched on, the opponents he faced are trained to take punches; many of these boxers know how to roll their chins to mitigate the impact of incoming punches. Something McGregor lacks experience with.

Another thing to consider, contrary to White, Rogan and McGregor’s narrative, Mayweather is accustomed to fighter bigger guys.

Regarding opponents of the past, Marcos Maidana weighed around 175 lbs. after weigh-ins for a welterweight bout (147 lb. limit) against Mayweather.

Oscar De La Hoya weighed in the upper 160 lbs. range, same with Miguel Cotto. Canelo Alvarez weighed in the lower 170 lbs. range and these aforementioned fighters punch harder than McGregor. These are three Hall of Famers and De La Hoya is also an Olympic Gold Medalist.

Body punching is another thing McGregor has to worry about. While observing sparring and training footage, can’t help but notice McGregor keeps his cup/protector high; above the navel area.

Mayweather is an underrated body puncher. He utilizes his patented jab to the solar plexus or jab to the pit of an opponent’s stomach, essentially sapping strength from oncoming opponents.

Facing a southpaw we’ll more likely see straight right hands towards McGregor’s body, as the distance between an orthodox fighter’s right hand and a southpaw fighter’s chin and body is closer in distance.
And for a guy with questionable endurance issues, deposits to the body only makes sense for Mayweather.

McGregor is not used to defending his body from attacks like that; a subtle nuance of the boxing that is yet again underestimated.

Whether Mayweather can deal with McGregor’s punching power remains to be seen. Wonder what big punchers such as Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, De La Hoya, Cotto,Maidana, Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao think?

There are more variables at hand that determine the fate of a fight, but power looks to be Mayweather’s advantage.

Posted on 07/17/2017

Why Mayweather And McGregor Are Beloved For Engaging In Bad Behavior
By: Sean Crose

America loves the pairing, but make no mistake about it – Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather behave horribly. The past few days have set me to thinking quite a bit about these two, as I’ve watched and written on the migraine headache that was their international press tour. And while I admit there was a fascinating element to it all, I found it strange that such men, McGregor in particular, are viewed as legitimate heroes.

Perhaps it’s all a backlash to the insane political correctness that has rocked the country. When students at exclusive colleges literally shut down free speech with the possible intent to take censorship nationwide, guys like Floyd and Conor can seem downright refreshing. “Mate,” McGregor once told a reporter calling him out for some prickly comments, “shut the fuck up.” Such things can be pleasing in a world where an Orwellian nightmare appears to be morphing into real life.

Yet Conor and Floyd are far from heroes saving the planet from goose stepping social justice warriors. They’re two men enthralled with bad behavior. To support these guys, to cheer on their antics, isn’t standing up to the tyranny of political correctness, it’s allowing the pendulum to swing too far the other way. Words are not, as the snowflakes tell us, acts of violence. They can hurt like hell, though, and that’s something these guys refuse to keep in mind – or even care about.

Mayweather has made some ugly statements over the years, including some particularly nasty ones regarding Manny Pacquiao’s being Asian. He’s since expressed remorse for those actions – fair enough – but his entire ho/pimp/ stripper routine during the press conferences this week bordered on scary at times. I sensed that McGregor himself was uncomfortable with it after a point, as if the master of mind games himself had finally found that it was he who was being played.

McGregor was far from a sympathetic figure during the tour, however. The man, in my opinion, knew what he was doing when he called Mayweather “boy.” He was simply seeing how far he could go. What’s more, McGregor’s actions with Showtime honcho Stephen Espinoza were truly horrifying. That’s right, horrifying. Not funny. Horrifying. Riling up a crowd of thousands, then flashing true disdain – and perhaps even a sense of violence – towards a single person isn’t cute or funny. It’s simply wrong – end of story.

By the way, McGregor’s hold on vast crowds is worth noting. Imagine, if you will, the man being a political figure rather than a sporting one. Frightened yet? With the instant aggression McGregor can suddenly summon in his enormous cult-like fan base, maybe you should be. The guy has a strange hold on people. Perhaps there are large numbers of individuals who find bad behavior liberating, who find what the Marlon Brando character in Apocalypse Now called “petty morality” stifling. If so, McGregor might be their man.

Or perhaps people just lack an empathy button and feel that McGregor and Mayweather are simply entertainers. Sure enough, some are openly saying they will pay one hundred dollars simply to be somehow engaged in a vast spectacle when the two meet for their massive, pay per view broadcast fight on August 26th. Then again, perhaps there’s something more at play here, something more sinister that says unsettling stuff about our society as a whole.

I haven’t watched pro wrestling in years, but one of the things that used to delight me about it was the characters – those over the top, cartoon figures who’d engage in all kinds of off the wall, sophomoric dramas right before our very eyes. One of the big keys to these characters was that they consistently celebrated the self. Indeed, pro wrestling was successful because it presented the art of self worship as a joke – a joke that even kids could see through, yet still enjoy. I’m guessing that still rings true with professional wrestling today. The whole freakin’ thing is satire. Mayweather and McGregor appear to have a lot in common with pro wrestlers of yore…except neither seems to be playing a part. Rather, these two appear to be, at most, employing extensions of themselves for public consumption. Each man is taking himself and his incredible success so seriously that it’s either frightening, pathetic, comical, or some combination of the three.

Yet, whether we choose to admit it or not, we as a society are taking them seriously, too. Again, this may all be a backlash to the PC crowd, which is attempting, with some serious success, to instill itself as a harsh and fearful deity to be cowed by, groveled before, and meekly obeyed. There’s even a good argument to be made that Political Correctness and the Cult of the Self are in competition to decide what society’s unofficial religion will be. If that’s the case, Mayweather and McGregor are the Cult of the Self’s Peter and Paul…except, of course, it’s doubtful either will ever settle for the role of mere apostle.

What’s easy to forget in all of this is that these are two men we’re talking about here, individuals with good and bad qualities who it would be wrong to judge in entirety. There’s no harm in judging their pubic personas, though, and seen through the prism of the past week, those personas leave much to be desired, whether they’re adored or not. That’s mainly why I’m not big on this fight – it’s all about the person rather than the contest.

Me, I’ll take the upcoming middleweight showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin over this circus anytime.

Posted on 06/12/2017

Strike Up The Band: Mayweather-McGregor Circus May Have A Location And Date

“Something BIG is coming #BP”

These words could be found today on UFC star Conor McGregor’s Instagram page. What the hashtag #BP means, I have no idea, though an extensive search of Twitter – I got on and typed the hashtag in – revealed that it may be the brand name of the coat McGregor can be seen wearing in the post.

Still, there’s more news to give to those who are deeply intrigued by the possibility of the Irishman meeting the great Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match. No, I’m not talking about Mayweather’s own recent Instagram post, where we dons a shirt declaring him a “Strip Club Supporter.” Nope – this news is far more important to those who find such things important.

For numerous outlets are now reporting that Mayweather’s promotional outfit has, as the Daily News puts it, “booked the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a ‘boxing event’ on August 26.” That’s right, gang, a “boxing event.” At the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On August 26th. Strike up the band. The circus may well be a comin’.

The Daily News also reports that the Athletic Commission of the State of Nevada declares on its website “that the bout will be televised on ShowTime.” That bit of news is actually a bit strange, since most would assume this would be a pay per view fight. Not to be mean, but the expression “there’s a sucker born every minute” may ring true here.

Mayweather might have been out of the ring for ages, but he’s an all-time great. McGregor, good as he is plying his trade at Mixed Martial Arts, hasn’t had a single professional boxing match. Still, people want they want. And lots of people would undoubtedly be willing to cough up a lot of cash to see this all go down.

Although a Mayweather-MgGregor bout might well be boxing’s equivalent of a Harlem Globetrotters game, it DOES involve boxing. Therefore BoxingInsider will be sure to keep its readers updated. At least serious fans have plenty of other things to focus on. Andre Ward will rematch Sergey Kovalev this weekend, for instance. And Canelo Alvarez is set to face Gennady Golovkin in September. What’s more, Wladimir Klitschko may come back and, with the help of Anthony Joshua, wrap up the year in grand fashion. In other words, there’s plenty to be happy about for those who take the sport of boxing seriously, in spite of all the silliness.