Bob Arum joins The Telegraph for an interview in Las Vegas ahead of Manny Pacquiao – Juan Manuel Marquez III this weekend at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Arum has seen most things in boxing in the last five decades. How does he see the promotion of Pacquiao vs Marquez III as a contest ?
"Well it's certainly a lot bigger than the last two fights, but essentially what makes this fight unique is that in the two prior fights, there was very little to differentiate the two fighters. The difference now is that Manny fights with two hands. His right hand is as good as his left. But you've got to understand that Marquez and Nacho [Beristein] are brilliant guys and the style of Manny is made for Marquez because he's a counter-puncher."
"The question is – can he fight with that right hand ? Everybody sees these Hispanics like Cotto and Margarito, they don't know about quitting. When Manny fought Clottey and when he fought Moseley, what made these fighters quit is that they were trained to fight the southpaw, then when they got clocked with the right hand, they couldn't believe it."
Arum: Mayweather fears Pacquiao because of right hand development
"They were like – how are we going to defend ourselves ? That's the problem fighting Pacquiao now. That's the problem Mayweather has… that's why Mayweather doesn't do it. Because if Manny, as a one-handed fighter, goes after Mayweather he can throw that lead right and give Manny trouble, but he can't throw the lead right if Manny is attacking him at the same time with the right hand, because then he'll get knocked out."
"That's the problem. So how that plays out in this particular fight we have to see, because everyone else. Half these people don't understand, Moseley didn't understand… Nazeem Richardson didn't understand that you cannot look at Manny Pacquiao as the typical south paw. The typical south paw throws a jab with his right hand and then uses his power hand. So that's for me what's going to be very interesting against Marquez."
Trilogy fights pass into boxing folklore. The most famous of them all, involving Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, was on everyone's lips this week, with the passing of Smokin' Joe, taken too early at 67. May he Rest In Peace. A lion of a heavyweight division.
Can the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy honour that great heavyweight battle this weekend at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas ?
"Yeah, I think so because the first two were fairly equally spaced. I never expected Marquez to be as good as he was in that second fight. A lot of these writers missed the point completely. They talk about how Marquez was dead at the weight when he fought Mayweather. But he wasn't… he looked dead at the weight because he is a great counter-puncher and Mayweather isn't an attack guy, so he couldn't go after Mayweather and make the fight so it was a non-event because of the styles. [Mayweather] he's a great fighter, there isn't any question about the fact he's a great fighter but fighting a guy like Marquez is a no-contest for Mayweather. Not for Manny, but for Mayweather. That style is very tough. I think the right hand is going to make the difference though."
Arum, of course, has been involved in a few trilogies down the decades. "Ali-Frazier, yeah, that was an incredible trilogy and then Morales and Pacquiao, Morales-Barrera, Ali-Norton."
How does Arum see the buy rate on the Pacquiao-Marquez fight ?
Manny Paquiao fights you and he'll sell 500,000-600,000 pay per views. Mayweather fights you, he'll sell 400,000 pay per views. Hopkins fought Dawson and they didn't sell 50,000. Marquez is an easier sell than the Shane Moseley fight, because people said that Moseley was shot. The Mayweather fight [against Victor Ortiz], because of the way it transpired, left such a bad taste in people's mouths that they may, as a reaction, decide not to buy this fight. That's what I'm worried about. I mean I don't give a s*** about the theory that 'in boxing protect yourself at all times'. It's still entertainment. It's still sportsmanship. You don't throw those two punches you do not throw the two punches against a defenceless guy."
"In football it's like the equivalent of taking a cheap shot at the receiver unprotected. When I saw that fight, I was watching it on television, I was outraged. I never focused on whether it was illegal, I was outraged, the referee lost control of that fight, and this kid [Ortiz] is a doofus. That being said, it was not something that would please people who spent 60 dollars to watch it on pay per view."
The November 12 clash will be screened live and exclusive in the UK on Primetime (Channel 480 on Sky) for £14.95 by calling 08712004444, by visiting www.primetimelive.co.uk or Virgin Media customers can purchase using the ‘On Demand’ menu. Customers on Sky must register the first time they use Primetime and once registered can purchase using the ‘Box Office’ menu.
No comments:
Post a Comment