Floyd Mayweather was nowhere to be seen in the MGM Grand Hotel during the lead-up to this past Saturday night's Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight megafight. Nor could the undefeated, five-time champion and Las Vegas resident be found when Pacquiao made history by lifting from Cotto the WBO's 147-pound title belt.
But in the days since Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, stood in the ring before a packed MGM Grand Garden Arena and called out his name as the man he wanted to be Pacquiao's next opponent, Mayweather has gotten the message loud and clear.
Mayweather's name was even chanted by the crowd of more than 16,200, but he says that he just hasn't heard it from Pacquiao's own mouth.
Throughout the promotion leading up to Saturday night's mega-fight between challenger Manny Pacquiao and his champion fighter Miguel Cotto, trainer Joe Santiago's reputation has taken a verbal beating from his counterpart, Freddie Roach.
A Hall of Fame cornerman whose hopes to guide Pacquiao to an unprecedented, seventh world title in a different weight class, Roach has taken shots at Santiago's relative inexperience.
But during Wednesday's press conference at the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand Hotel where Saturday night's clash will be held, Santiago stepped up to the podium and carried himself the same way that he has throughout the fight's buildup.
With a confidence, a calm demeanor, a calculated speech and, ultimately, control.
LAS VEGAS -- Shane Mosley will fight Andre Berto, the 26-year-old WBC welterweight champion, on Jan. 30 at The Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, a source familiar with the negotiations informed FanHouse on Thursday.
A deal for the matchup has been in the works for months, and it will be announced here on Saturday, the same day as WBO welterweight (147-pounds) champion, Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) defends his crown against Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) at the MGM Grand Hotel.
LAS VEGAS -- It's not something Manny Pacquiao talks about much nowadays, but earlier in his career, he was knocked out. In the third round. Not once, but twice.
And during an interview on Wednesday at the MGM Grand Hotel, surrounded by reporters with their tape recorders in his face, the man who is now considered boxing's best fighter, pound-for-pound, admitted that he once considered quitting.
"After those fights, I'll admit, I was thinking, 'Oh, maybe I'm going to stop boxing,'" said Pacquiao, 30, referring to stoppages that occurred in 1996 and 1999. "I was thinking, 'Maybe boxing doesn't like me.' But then, it became a message to me to focus more on boxing."
LAS VEGAS -- Miguel Cotto is a star in Puerto Rico, just not the major attraction that Manny Pacquiao is in his native Philippines.
And among the contributing reasons is that while Cotto's nation has a long list of fighting predecessors against whom to compare him, Pacquiao's essentially has none. [See note at bottom.]
"The Puerto Ricans have a whole collection of stars and they're not wrapped up in one guy like the Filipinos are in Manny," said promoter Bob Arum, listing former Puerto Rican greats such as Felix Trinidad, Wilfredo Gomez and Wilfred Benitez, among others.
"To Filipino fans, Manny's just absolutely incredible. Manny comes from a poor, impoverished country where he is the icon of hope and he represents their country on the world stage," said Arum.
"Puerto Rican fans want Cotto to win, but it's much more rational," said Arum. "Manny's situation is a lot different from being simply the best fighter in Puerto Rico."
During the buildup of WBO welterweight champ Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao, the challenger's trainer, Freddie Roach, says he's having fun at the expense of Cotto and his chief cornermen, Joe Santiago.
Cotto "is slower," and "gets hit so much more" since his 11th-round knockout loss to Antonio Margarito, and "his defense sucks, because he's training himself," said Roach.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Several times a year, Fred Tukes leaves his wife Heather, his two-year-old son Jeremiah, and his 14-year-old daughter Alana, at home in Atlanta to go and trade punches with some of the world's best professional boxers.
TAMPA, Fla. -- With eyes fixated on perspiration-soaked, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's workout, Bob Arum surveyed his latest promotional responsibility at The Fight Factory gymnasium like an artist appreciating his most recent piece.
"Miguel is just a fighter with great, great heart," said Arum, whose 42 years in boxing began with the Muhammad Ali victory over George Chuvalo -- his first of 26 fights involving the man many call "The Greatest" -- and included the George Foreman comeback.
FanHouse caught up with Arum on Tuesday during Cotto's training in Florida for his Nov. 14 defense against Manny Pacquiao to discuss the futures of Cotto, Pacquiao, and several other fighters he promotes.
Yet when you listen to Mayweather talk about De La Hoya, it seems he is still trying to promote that fight, trashing De La Hoya, wondering why anyone would love him.
In this FanHouse exclusive hear what Floyd has to say, get Oscar's reaction and find out what Mayweather thinks of the upcoming Amir Kahn - Dmitry Salita fight.
Puncher to Promoter is an upcoming documentary about Oscar De La Hoya that chronicles the fighter's transformation from his early childhood life as the product of a poor, underprivileged Latino family living in East L.A., into that of an Olympic gold medalist, a world champion and a top promoter.
"What audiences will find is that in the process of Oscar's ups and down, and through the course of his wins and his losses, they can learn -- as Oscar did -- to take failure and use it as a foothold on success," film director Leigh Simons promises. "Through the experiences outlined in Oscar's life through this film, the audience will relate."
FanHouse recently talked to Simons for this exclusive interview below.
Floyd Mayweather was nowhere to be seen in the MGM Grand Hotel during the lead-up to this past Saturday night's Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto welterweight megafight. Nor could the undefeated, five-time champion and Las Vegas resident be found when Pacquiao made history by lifting from Cotto the WBO's 147-pound title belt. 
LAS VEGAS -- 
LAS VEGAS -- It's not something 
LAS VEGAS -- 
During the buildup of WBO welterweight champ 
TAMPA, Fla. -- With eyes fixated on perspiration-soaked, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's workout, Bob Arum surveyed his latest promotional responsibility at The Fight Factory gymnasium like an artist appreciating his most recent piece.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
