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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two