Video: De La Hoya not a fan of Mayweather, rooting Pacquiao

Oscar De La Hoya, speaking from inside the Golden Boy Promotions office in Downtown L.A. on Tuesday, described Manny Pacquiao as the hero and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the villain in what’s being billed as “The Fight of The Century.”

“Mayweather has this image,” he said. “The money and the flash and this-and-that. As person I don’t know him to well to judge him, but from what I’ve read, what I’ve heard, I just don’t like what he represents.”

De La Hoya, who has brought boxing back to Downtown L.A. with Golden Boy Promotions’ L.A. Fight Club, added that boxing fans want to see Pacquiao win Saturday’s fight.

“The majority of the fans out there want to see Manny Pacquiao give Floyd Mayweather his first loss,” including De La Hoya himself. “I’m a huge Pacquiao fan and I’m rooting for Pacquiao.”

See more of what De La Hoya had to say in the video below, also check out more of his interview in this column by the L.A. Daily News’ Mark Whicker.

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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is stopped by Andrzej Fonfara after nine rounds

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., left, and Andrzej Fonfara pose after they weighed in Friday for their fight Saturday at StubHub Center in Carson/Photo by Gene Blevins, Los Angeles Daily News

 

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. could not answer the bell for the 10th round Saturday night at StubHub Center, Andrzej Fonfara of Poland stopping Chavez via ninth-round technical knockout.

Chavez told trainer Joe Goossen after the ninth round to stop the fight, that there was something wrong with his leg. But Chavez never mentioned a leg injury during a post-fight interview inside the ring. Chavez was beaten to the punch by Fonfara all the way through, getting decked by Fonfara in the ninth round ahead of the fight being stopped between rounds.

It was the first fight at light heavyweight for Chavez (48-2-1) , the former middleweight champion from Mexico. Fonfara (27-3)  was ahead by seven, seven and nine points at the time. It was Chavez’s first fight in 13 months.

In other action: Lucas Matthysse (37-3) of Argentina won a 12-round majority decision over Ruslan Provodnikov (24-4) at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y. One judge had it even 114-114 while the other two had Matthysse ahead 115-113 and 115-113.

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PHOTOS: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao media workouts

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Photos by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

Floyd Mayweather Jr., in Las Vegas, and Manny Pacquiao, in Hollywood, worked out in front of the media Wednesday ahead of their mega clash on May 2.

Mayweather’s workout included a guest appearance from David Hasselhoff.

Pacquiao’s workout also drew a big crowd in Hollywood, where Bob Arum had some interesting things to say.

Below is a sample of our photos from the workout, but click the links to get the check out all of the photos (all 140 of them).
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May Crowd

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Manny Pacquiao hopeful Floyd Mayweather Jr. tries to knock him out

Manny Pacquiao/Photo courtesy of Top Rank Inc.

 

Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday played host to a media workout at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood, where he is trained by Freddie Roach. A couple of hundred reporters and photographers were on hand, and that’s not including the 50 or so who were turned away because there wasn’t enough room for them.

During a question-and-answer period, Pacquiao was asked if it would be to his advantage if Floyd Mayweather Jr. opens up and tries to knock him out when they tangle May 2 in a welterweight title-unification fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on HBO and Showtime pay-per-view). Pacquiao responded with a slight smile on his face.

“Well, if he does that, that’s good for me,” Pacquiao said. “I mean, I like that. That’s what I want and that’s definitely what the fans want, you know, action.”

 

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Philly’s Danny Garcia says he’s following footsteps of other Puerto Rican greats

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Danny Garcia/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Super lightweight world champion Danny Garcia was born and raised in Philadelphia. But he is of Puerto Rican descent and when it comes to how he stacks up with other fighters of his heritage, he takes it very seriously.

“I used to love other great Puerto Rican boxers like Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto and Hector Camacho,” Garcia said. “I feel like I’m definitely working my way up into the ranks with them and following their footsteps.”

Right off the top, we noticed that Garcia left out Wilfredo Gomez. But Garcia has a lot on his mind as Saturday he will square off with fellow champion Lamont Peterson at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on NBC). Also, Gomez, 58, retired in 1989 – the year after Garcia was born.

Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) and Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) will be fighting at a catch-weight of 143 pounds, so their titles will not be on the line.

 

 

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Light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson keeps belt with unanimous decision over Sakio Bika in Quebec City

Adonis Stevenson

Adonis Stevenson/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Adonis Stevenson on Saturday retained his light heavyweight world title with a unanimous decision over Sakio Bika at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Stevenson decked Bika twice and won by scores of 115-110, 115-111 and and 116-110. Bika (32-7-3), of Australia via Cameroon, tasted the canvas in the sixth and ninth rounds.

Stevenson (26-1, 21 KOs), of Laval, Quebec, appears on a collision course with fellow champion Sergey Kovalev, who holds the other three belts.

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Julian Ramirez shuts out Raul Hidalgo in L.A. Fight Club main event at Belasco

 

Julian Ramirez/Photo courtesy of Carlos Baeza

 

Julian “El Camaron” Ramirez of Los Angeles is now 14-0 after winning a lopsided unanimous decision over Raul Hidalgo of Mexico in the 10-round featherweight main event Thursday at Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. The card was part of Oscar De La Hoya’s L.A. Fight Club series.

Ramirez, just 22, won by three scores of 100-90 as Hidalgo (23-13) did not win a round.

Ramirez did good work both to the head and body.

 

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Sakio Bika must be dreaming if he thinks he’s going to KO Adonis Stevenson

Adonis Stevenson

Adonis Stevenson/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Perhaps Sakio Bika had a vision because he must have been dreaming when he said what he said at Wednesday’s final news conference promoting his challenge to light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson on Saturday. The two will square off at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (at 12 p.m. on CBS).

“He’s knocked people out, but I’ve never been knocked out,” said Bika, of Australia. “On Saturday, I’ll be the one to knock him out.

Stevenson, of Laval, Quebec, is a beast in the ring. His nickname is “Superman.” He is 25-1 with 21 knockouts for a knockout ratio of 80.7 percent. He won the title when he knocked out Chad Dawson in the first round in June 2013 and has made four successful defenses.

Bika is 32-6-3 with 21 knockouts, a knockout ratio of 51.2 percent. Bika is a former super middleweight champion, and this will be his first fight at light heavyweight.

There is always the chance that Stevenson will be looking past Bika to fellow champion Sergey Kovalev, as that fight could be on the horizon. Stevenson intimated that will not be the case.

“I’m very focused because I know Bika is very dangerous,” Stevenson said. “I know he’s going to come into the ring and try to give me trouble.”

 

 

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