Promoters planned to go to Dallas to meet with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones yesterday as momentum continued to grow for a March 13 megafight between Manny Pacquiao and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Promoters Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer were to tour the new Cowboys Stadium along with HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg and listen to a proposal from Jones to host the fight, a person close to the promotion said.
Other leading contenders for the fight are the MGM Grand hotel arena in Las Vegas and the Superdome in New Orleans, said the person, who requested anonymity because both sides agreed not to speak publicly during negotiations.
Neither fighter has formally signed for the fight, though both have agreed in principle to terms. Promoters are so confident it will happen that they are also scouting sites in New York City for a Jan. 6 press conference to formally announce the bout.
Most major fights in recent decades have been in Las Vegas, and Pacquiao and Mayweather have fought their biggest fights at the MGM Grand, which seats about 16,000 for boxing. Many in boxing still consider the MGM to have the inside track on landing the fight, but the trip by promoters to Dallas indicates that they believe Jones will make a competitive bid.
The anticipated demand for the fight brings both the Cowboys Stadium and Superdome into the equation because they can seat far more people. The Dallas stadium could hold 100,000 or more for a fight, including seats on the gridiron.
■PAVLIK READY
AP, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik says his left hand is finally recovered from a staph infection and he feels great heading into a title defense against Miguel Espino next Saturday.
Pavlik was throwing jabs with his left on Tuesday, three days after he was supposed to fight Paul Williams in defense of his WBC and WBO titles. The infection forced Pavlik to twice cancel fights, creating a backlash within the boxing community and even among his most ardent supporters.
Now Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs) is healthy again and preparing to face Espino (20-2-1, 9 KOs) in a pay-per-view title defense in Pavlik’s hometown at Youngstown State University. It will come nearly 10 months after his last fight, a win over Marco Rubio on Feb. 21, and end what has become the longest layoff of his career.
■COTTO ACCUSED
AP, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
A former employee of Miguel Cotto filed a sexual harassment lawsuit seeking more than US$500,000 from Puerto Rico’s most popular boxer.
The lawsuit by Martha Chacon Acevedo argues that Cotto made unwanted romantic advances when she worked as an administrator of a residential property owned by the fighter in this US Caribbean territory.
It says Chacon, a Venezuelan, gave in to Cotto’s advances over two months out of fear of losing her job, and was fired in October last year after breaking off the relationship.
The lawsuit was filed in US district court in San Juan on Aug. 24. It was not reported until this week when Cotto’s family released a statement dismissing it as “frivolous, empty and a total fabrication.”
“We are going to leave everything in our lawyers’ hands and everything will be resolved in court,” Miguel Cotto Carrasquillo, the fighter’s father, said in a written statement late on Monday.
Cotto lost the WBO welterweight crown to Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas last month when the referee stopped the fight in the 12th round.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
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