Weekend Review: Where's Manny?

STRANGEST SITUATION

Roach can’t reach Pacquiao: Actually, this isn’t the first time trainer Freddie Roach can’t reach Manny Pacquiao, who is busy making a movie or something back home in the Philippines. Pacquiao has a way to distancing himself from anything boxing when he wants to. Still, it’s weird given Pacquiao’s apparent devotion to Roach. The trainer said advisor Mike Koncz refuses to connect fighter with trainer, who merely wants to know where and when to set up training camp. Roach is frustrated but, he says, not worried. Everything will be fine once they meet face to face in a gym, just as it has always been. Pacquiao had better not wait too long, though. The fight is right around the corner. And Cotto is no pushover.


BIGGEST WINNER II

Joshua Clottey: The Ghanaian welterweight once complained that he couldn’t get big fights in the United States. That certainly isn’t the case any longer. Clottey lost a split (and controversial) decision to Miguel Cotto in June in New York yet immediately landed a fight with another of the sport’s biggest stars, Shane Mosley. They’re scheduled to meet on Dec. 26 in Los Angeles. Clottey is particularly fortunate because he wasn’t Mosley’s first choice among possible second-tier opponents; Andre Berto was. However, the pot wasn’t big enough to satisfy both fighters. Thus, Mosley settled for Clottey, who must feel as if he’s won the lottery.


BIGGEST LETDOWN

Shane Mosley: Coming off his spectacular victory over Antonio Margarito in January, Mosley was suddenly one of the hottest boxers in the world again. He has cooled off quite a bit. THE RING’s No. 1-rated welterweight pushed hard for a fight against Manny Pacquiao and would’ve gladly settled for Floyd Mayweather Jr or even Miguel Cotto again. Instead, he’s fighting a very good, but relatively obscure African in what can hardly be described as a mega-fight. Maybe Mosley just looked too good for his own good against Margarito. And, hey, he can’t sit around forever hoping to land a big fight. He needed to get back to work.


SMARTEST MOVE

Randall Bailey: The hard-punching Miami fighter is moving from 140 pounds to 147 after he was stopped in 11 rounds by Juan Urango in a spirited battle on Aug. 28 in Hollywood, Fla. It’s about time: Bailey has fought at junior welterweight his entire career. There are no guarantees that he will carry his power to the higher weight class but it seems likely because he won’t have to struggle to make weight, which should leave him stronger. Of course, his chin remains a question mark. And they hit harder at 147 than they do at 140. It will be interesting to see how he does against welterweights.


MOST CONFUSING

WBA 140-pound title: Amir Khan took Andreas Kotelnik’s title in July. That is certain. However, it has been difficult to determine what will come next. Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana fought for the all-too-meaningless “interim” title even though Dmitry Salita was ranked No. 1. Maidana won, apparently putting him in position to challenge Khan. Khan’s trainer wants nothing to do with Maidana, though, and says Salita is the rightful challenger. Maidana now appears to be targeting Kendall Holt for Nov. 28 anyway. Meanwhile, Khan’s promoter reportedly wanted Khan to fight fellow Briton John Murray, although Frank Warren now says that’s not true. So, it seems Salita will get his shot on Dec. 5 or 12 in London. Got all that?


MOST-EXCITED COMMUNITY

Ennis, Ireland: Irish immigrant Abe Grady settled in Kentucky in the 1860s and married a freed slave. Their granddaughter, Odessa Lee Grady Clay, gave birth to perhaps the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time – Muhammad Ali. Who could’ve imagined? Ali, who learned of his Irish roots in 2002, went to Ireland last week and paid a visit to Grady’s hometown of Ennis in County Clare. The local folks went nuts. Obviously, Ennis, a town of around 25,000 people, had never seen anything quite like this. They decorated store fronts, thousands lined the streets to cheer his motorcade, his visit to their Town Hall was televised on big screens outdoors and much more. It was as if royalty had come to town, which is how the people Ennis seemed to view it.


WORST MATCHUP

Judah vs. Malignaggi: One of the rumored possibilities now that Zab Judah has refused to fight either Shane Mosley in December or Antonio Diaz on the Mayweather-Marquez card on Sept. 19 is an all-New York matchup against Paulie Malignaggi. Oh, there’s one we wouldn’t want to miss! Judah vs. Malignaggi! We love fights between two guys who would rather retire than actually exchange punches with an opponent. As stated last week, Judah is virtually irrelevant. Mosley is much better off fighting Clottey. And, while Malignaggi showed us a great deal against Juan Diaz on Aug. 22, he’ll never be a crowd pleaser. This potential matchup is a dog.


BIGGEST BACK-TO-BACK WEEKENDS

Sept. 19 and 26: The momentum is building. Say what you will about Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, which doesn’t seem to be stirring passions like fights involving Oscar De La Hoya or Manny Pacquiao. Still, it’s a fascinating matchup with significant ramifications. It’s a huge fight. The following week, Vitali Klitschko takes on fearless Chris Arreola in Los Angeles. Again, it’s not exactly Ali-Frazier but those who thirst for an entertaining heavyweight fight most likely have one in this matchup. And both fights have one thing in common: Marquez and Arreola probably will lose but they’ll go down swinging, which is why these are back-to-back weekends to which we can look forward.


BEST QUOTE

Mike Koncz, Manny Pacquiao’s advisor: “You don’t have to talk to Freddie Roach. He’s just the trainer,” Koncz was quoted as saying to Pacquiao.