Source: Daily_Mail
Manny Pacquiao faces life sentence waiting for Floyd Mayweather
Troubled times: Boxing great Floyd Mayweather [LNB]Manny Pacquiao has promised to box on for up to three more years but even if Floyd Mayweather Jnr ever braces himself to challenge the Filipino phenomenon for the mythical title of the greatest pound-for-pound boxer on earth it looks increasingly unlikely that he will be at liberty to do so.[LNB]While the PacMan has carried on beating bigger and bigger men inside the ring to establish a seemingly unsurpassable record of eight world titles in different weight divisions, the Money Man keeps collecting criminal indictments for alleged violence outside the ropes.[LNB]Increasingly, Mayweather seems hell-bent on following Mike Tyson down the troubled path which put the iron man behind iron bars.[LNB]Already facing a January court date on charges of assaulting the mother of his children, theft and witness harassment - which carry a notional maximum jail sentence of 34 years - Mayweather keeps running foul of the law.[LNB]He has been accused now of attacking a security guard at a gated residential estate and, most recently, of trying to drive off the road a former associate who says he has feared for his life since one of Mayweather's body guards was convicted of firing shots at him in Las Vegas.[LNB]Nevada State prosecutors were initially reported to be disinclined to press for a custodial sentence but Sin City is now said to be concerned about allowing one of its most famous citizens to run out of control.[LNB]Not only his freedom but his cherished pseudonym now appears to be at risk.[LNB]Most of the millions banked by Money Mayweather could well disappear in legal fees if he has to fight three high profile criminal cases. Also, resolution of a libel action for unsubstantiated insinuations that Pacquiao uses performance-enhancing drugs is still pending.[LNB] Enlarge One more step for Man: Pacquiao (right) pounds Antonio Margarito on the way to winning the WBC world super welterweight title [LNB]This is sad and the sycophants who surround Mayweather with assurances that he is invincible must bear much of the blame.[LNB]Mayweather's formidable talent is being corroded by ego to the point where he is defending the unbeaten recorded about which he is so obsessive only by not fighting.[LNB]If he had been in training for the super-fight against Pacquiao which the world wants to see - but for which it is becoming tired of waiting - he would not only be too occupied to get into trouble but also preparing to bank his share of boxing's first $200million promotion instead of losing money.[LNB] Enlarge Man of the people: A statue of Pacquiao is unveiled at the Mall of Asia in suburban Manila[LNB]As Pacquiao works for the poor as a Philippines Congressman while pondering his next opponent, Mayweather is in meltdown.[LNB]As one American commentator wryly observes, the way the Money Man is going his next defences of his undefeated record may well take place in the exercise yard of a state penitentiary.[LNB]Juan Manuel Marquez has stepped up his campaign for a third fight against Pacquiao - their record stands at one draw and a controversial victory for the PacMan - with a ninth-round stoppage of Michael Katsidis, the Australian who knocked West Ham's Kevin Mitchell off the world lightweight title track.[LNB]Enlarge Your my No 1: Froch celebrates victory with partner Rachael Cordingly [LNB]Put on your best Froch and the big boys noticeCarl Froch's brilliant out-classing of the dangerous Arthur Abraham to become a two-time world super-middleweight champion appears certain to bring him, at last, the major television recognition he so richly deserves.[LNB]Saturday night's majestic victory in ice-bound Helsinki was restricted to the fringe Primetime cable channel.[LNB]Now Sky Sports are said to be ready to begin talks for the screening of the Nottingham Cobra's Super Six semi-final against US-based Jamaican veteran Glen Johnson - probably in America in March - and the prospective midsummer final against Andre Ward in New York's Madison Square Garden.[LNB]That is no more, either, than the public deserve. The 33-year-old Froch has been British boxing's best-kept secret for way too long.[LNB][LNB] [LNB]James J Braddock The proposed re-release of Cinderella Man comes as a cinematic reminder that it was James J Braddock, not Sylvester Stallone, who was the real Rocky.[LNB]Russell Crowe's portrayal of Braddock in Ron Howard's 2005 movie gave a wider audience than the fraternity of the ring an insight into the brutal reality of boxing, as opposed to the over-exaggerated theatricals of the Rocky series.[LNB]Braddock survived a life of grim poverty and grinding subsistence as a longshoreman to win the world heavyweight title by sheer guts and heroic effort far in excess of his limited talent.[LNB]After damaging his right hand, Braddock used his left to continue working so as to feed his family and stave off what he regarded as the embarrassment of claiming welfare.[LNB]The strength he gained in that hand carried him into an unlikely ring career which came to a climax in the summer of 1935 a few blocks from his humble New York birthplace....at Madison Square Garden.[LNB]Braddock was hand-picked by champion Max Baer as an apparently easy opponent. He entered that hallowed ring as a 10-1 underdog only to spring one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.[LNB]Braddock took a bloody battering in the early rounds but, as he put it, 'simply refused to lose.' Baer became increasingly bemused as the so-called no-hoper who had been nicknamed Cinderella Man by author Damon Runyon staggered under his massive punches but managed to stay upright.[LNB]Braddock's gallant persistence finally wore down the champion and the judges gave him the unanimous 15-round decision which changed the course of not only his own life but that of ring history.[LNB] Fist of fury: Braddock (right) swings for Max Baer on the way to an easy victory at Yankee Stadium in 1935[LNB]Joe Louis knocked him out in the eighth round two years later, to help confirm his true greatness.[LNB]Braddock, who would be elected to the Hall of Fame 30 years after his death in 1974 at the age of 69, was not quite finished yet.[LNB]Back in the Garden in 1838, in his last proper fight, he knocked out Tommy Farr in the tenth.[LNB]We can forgive him for downing one of Britain's finest. Braddock was an authentic hero, not only for his valour in the ring but as an inspiration to struggling people everywhere to strive for achievements above and beyond their natural abilities.[LNB][LNB]Price is right to end the Klitschkos' reignFrank Maloney believes that his giant novice David Price - not David Haye or Dereck Chisora - will become Britain's answer to the heavyweight dominance of the world champion Klitschko brothers.[LNB]Chisora gets a premature shot at Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on December 11, while WBA champion Haye hopes to fight both Wladimir and his brother Vitali to unify the crown before retiring next October.[LNB]But Maloney says: 'Price is fast becoming the best heavyweight out there and will end the reign of the Klitschkos when he gets the chance.'[LNB] Mersey-pride: Price represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing[LNB] More from Jeff Powell Boxing Column... Jeff Powell: Froch and Abraham talk the talk but this pair can walk the walk22/11/10 Jeff Powell: Ricky Hatton the return! Hitman offered comeback fight with Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya15/11/10 Jeff Powell: World will be watching Pac Man, not Haye on Saturday 08/11/10 JEFF POWELL'S BOXING COLUMN: Underdog Audley has fans of his own01/11/10 JEFF POWELL: Hatton let off but can't coax Rooney to Manchester City25/10/10 Jeff Powell: Munroe's world title trek to Japan shouldn't be rubbished18/10/10 Jeff Powell: Tyson, a monster in and out of the ring... but Hall of Fame?11/10/10 Jeff Powell: Pacquiao puts Floyd in a corner - now to get him in the ring04/10/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVEForget about Smith, DeGale can't wait to tell Groves to Hop it!Steven Gerrard, one of several England footballers who are regularly seen at ringside, is tipping fellow Liverpudlian Paul Smith to upset Olympic gold medallist James DeGale on Frank Warren's 30th anniversary promotion at the Liverpool Echo Arena on December 11.[LNB]DeGale, however, is looking beyond his challenge for Smith's British super-middleweight title. He says: 'I have lots of respect for Paul and I won't enjoy taking his belt. But once I do I want to mix business with pleasure by shutting George Groves' mouth after all his talk about me.'[LNB]Groves established himself as mandatory challenger for that championship by beating Scotland's Kenny Anderson in the only redeeming fight on the disastrous Haye-Harrison bill in Manchester.[LNB]But DeGale has connected with the best quote of their spat by saying: 'Groves keeps comparing himself with Bernard Hopkins. He's more like Bernard Cribbins.'[LNB]Get well soon, ChristyBoxing in the US is rallying around Christy Martin (left), the hard-punching pioneer of women's prize fighting in the 90s, after her California home was burgled while she was recovering in hospital after being shot and stabbed.[LNB]The Coalminer's Daughter, as she was known, paved the way for Muhammad Ali's daughter Leila among many female boxers on both sides of the Atlantic to make a career in the ring.[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Frank Warren, David Haye, Wladimir Klitschko, Bernard Cribbins, Russell Crowe, Muhammad Ali, Ron Howard, Juan Manuel Marquez, Paul Smith, Steven Gerrard, Frank Maloney, Carl Froch, Glen Johnson, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Tyson, Joe Louis, James Degale, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, David Price Places: Manchester, New York, Las Vegas, Scotland, Germany, United Kingdom, America, Madison Square Garden
