Mayweather/Pacquiao fight could finally happen says Arum ahead of Pacquiao/Rios clash

11/21/201311/21/2013 BoxNation

mayweather22206 BoxNation to donate £2 from every new subscription this week to help Philippines disaster victims

Boxing’s biggest-ever money fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao could finally take place according to a key player behind the negotiations.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promotes the Filipino superstar, admitted to BoxNation that there is genuine will on his part to make the fight happen should Pacquiao overcome the relentless Brandon Rios in Macau, China this weekend.

The matchup between boxing’s two superstar names has long been mooted, ever since both men became household pay-per-view draws.

Bob Arum: “It’s Going To Be Like Hagler-Hearns”

09/14/201611/20/2013 Vitali Shaposhnikov

arum45 This is OK in an event in the United States. But we’re going to throw huge security around this, because this is not something that is appreciated by the Chinese. I think, that with all this undercurrent that’s going on, it’s going to be like Hagler-Hearns,” Arum recently stated in response to the scuffle between Freddie Roach and camp Rios.

The animosity between the camps has been there since the day the fight was signed. Freddie Roach and Alex Ariza working against each other is an ingredient that is bound to create heat. Not only that, but Brandon Rios himself has been on the defense/offense, showing his strong dislike of the fact that many boxing fans as well as media members have already written him off as nothing more but a sleep chosen for slaughter.

Roach: Rios won’t last past the 4th against Pacquiao on Saturday

11/19/2013 Rob Smith

Based on trainer Freddie Roach’s recent mitt workout with his fighter Manny Pacquiao, he’s moved his original prediction of Pacquiao stopping Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) by the 6th round to Pacquiao stopping him by the 4th round. Roach brags that Pacquiao was hitting the mitts so well that he had to stop the mitt work after just four rounds.

It sounds good but Roach was also bragging about how Pacquiao had his best camps in his last two training camps, and we saw what happened with Pacquiao with him losing to Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. It just gives you the impression that Roach is like a promoter with the way he builds up Pacquiao, and he ends up with egg on his face when Pacquiao fails to look like the fighter that he once was 4 years ago.

Timothy Bradley Warns Rios About Pacquaio: “He Is Very Difficult To Hit”

11/18/201311/18/2013 Vitali Shaposhnikov

rios777 The most difficult part for Brandon Rios in facing Manny Pacquiao, is not the physical or even psychological portion of it all, but the significant difference in Pacquiao versus any other opponent that Rios has ever faced. The unexpected surprise that Rios might encounter during the fight, the revelation that Pacquiao is significantly faster and stronger than team Rios had anticipated, may force Rios to abandon any fight plan, and try to swing hard in hopes of landing a “Marquez” punch.

Timothy Bradley, the first man in a long time to claim a victory over Pacquiao, suggests that Pacquiao is very hard to land on, and that Rios needs to be ready to deal with frustration:

Freddie Roach Interview Transcript from Pacquiao’s Training Camp

11/14/201311/13/2013 Top Rank

roach1 Good morning America and good evening to World-Famous Freddie Roach because it is 11 PM in General Santos City in the Philippines. It is very gracious of him to join us – he has a 4:30 AM run with Manny Thursday morning.

We are just 10 days from Macau – Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios in a 12-round welterweight battle which will be headlining a live five-bout pay-per-view card on November 23 beginning at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT. Also joining us on the call is Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum who is in Las Vegas.

BOB AUM: I just got up, but listen, I’m in better shape than Freddie because he is ready to go to bed – he has to get up early in the morning. So I am not going to waste any time – I’ll give it back to you.

Brandon Rios Lands in Macau. “Victory Will Be Mine!”

11/13/2013 Top Rank

Former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS and his team, headed up by Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, arrived at The Venetian Macao® earlier today with one mission on their minds — BEAT MANNY PACQUIAO!

“I’m in China baby!” exclaimed Rios as he was greeted at the resort’s VIP Entrance. “I worked hard in camp, have a great team, Robert Garcia will be in my corner on the night of my fight. I’m totally prepared and I will win.”

Rios (31-1-1, 22 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., will train daily at The Venetian Macao’s gym beginning Thursday morning.

12 Days Until Pacquiao vs. Rios – Live on PPV – Saturday, Nov. 23

11/12/201311/11/2013 Top Rank

NEW YORK (November 11, 2013) — If Horace Greeley were a boxing promoter today he would undoubtedly be espousing, “Go East, young man.” And in boxing’s biggest demonstration of Manifist Destiny, Fighter of the Decade Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO and former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS will battle each other in a 12-round welterweight rumble, Saturday, November 23, from The Venetian® Macao’s CotaiArena™, in Macao, China. Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Tecate, Warner Bros. Pictures “Grudge Match” and Eva Airlines, Pacquiao vs. Rios will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Remaining tickets, priced from $1,275 to $115, and various ticket-hotel packages at Sands China’s Cotai Strip Resorts Macao, are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.venetianmacao.com/manny. U.S.-based fans may also order via a special toll-free number: 1-855-234-4410.

Arum says Pacquiao may be finished if he loses to Rios

11/05/2013 Rob Smith

The significance of Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) this month may be a lot more than what many people think it is, because Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum believes that it might be all over for the Filipino if he gets beaten by the 27-year-old Rios on November 23rd in their fight at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

Arum said via Philstar “This is a very important fight for him [Pacquiao] to win. It will certainly hurt him if he loses this fight. It may signify the end. it will be very devastating for him.”

Brandon Rios Media Workout Quotes

11/01/201310/31/2013 Top Rank

OXNARD, CALIF (October 31, 2013) — Former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS (31-1-1, 22 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., and reigning Trainer of the Year ROBERT GARCIA hosted their only U.S. Media Workout today at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard.

KEVIN HART, who stars as a savvy boxing promoter in the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures movie “Grudge Match,” was also in attendance.

Rios is in deep training for his eagerly-anticipated welterweight collision with Fighter of the Decade, Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO (54-5-2, 38 KOs). Rios departs for Macau on November 11 to acclimate to the environment.

Brandon Rios: “We Know He Can’t Take a Good Punch”

10/31/201310/31/2013 Vitali Shaposhnikov

When Brandon Rios and Manny Pacquiao signed their respecting contracts to face each other, the boxing community wasn’t sure whether this fight should count as a legitimate comeback for Manny Pacquiao. Brandon Rios is no Marquez after all. Boxing forums were buzzing with people’s dislike of this fight, calling it anything from a waste of time, to nothing more but a sparring session for Pacman.

Nonetheless, slowly but surely the boxing fans and the media cooled their jets, and began to get progressively interested in the outcome. Brandon Rios is a good, strong, young, and hungry for respect fighter, and we have seen him take a punch. With the fight getting closer, there is talk that it is not all that crazy, to think that Rios will end Pacquiao’s career come November 23, 2013.