It began as a war of words fought on internet websites and on Saturday, Jan. 30, welterweight superstars Sugar Shane Mosley and Andre Berto will take their dispute from cyberspace to the ring at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The 12-round bout will air live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing and will determine once and for all the King of the 147-pound weight class.
“Andre Berto’s a good young fighter but he’s bitten off more than he can chew with all the talking he’s been doing,” said WBA Welterweight Super World Champion Mosley. “I’ve forgotten more about the fight game than he knows and the world will see that in January.”
Berto, the WBC Welterweight World Champion commented, “This is the fight I’ve waited my whole career for and now it’s finally a reality. Shane Mosley made me chase him for a while, but he won’t be able to run when we get into the ring on January 30, and I can’t wait.”
Mosley vs. Berto, a 12-round welterweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and DiBella Entertainment. The bout will air live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, beginning at 10 pm ET / 7 pm PT.
Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50 are now on sale and available for purchase at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar de la Hoya said, “Mosley-Berto is the first big fight of 2010 and it’s the perfect way to kick off the boxing year. Mosley fights his best when the challenge in front of him is greatest. Berto is one of the most talented fighters in the world, so I expect Mosley to be at his very best in a great fight on January 30.”
“This is one of those can’t miss fights in terms of action and Berto and Mosley won’t have to look too hard to find each other in the ring,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “I think this fight represents the passing of the torch from the old lion in Mosley to the young lion in Berto and I’m expecting an early Fight of The Year candidate. With respect to a first ballot Hall of Famer, the Shane Mosley era ends on January 30.”
Richard Sturm, President of Sports & Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE, said, “We are proud to kick off 2010 with Golden Boy Promotions, DiBella Entertainment and HBO Sports and welcome the return of both Shane Mosley and Andre Berto to Mandalay Bay. This will be an exciting fight for not only our customers, but boxing fans around the country.”
Kery Davis, senior vice president of programming of HBO Sports said, “Beginning the new season of HBO’s World Championship Boxing with Shane Mosley vs. Andre Berto is a spectacular way to start the year. Boxing fans need to mark down January 30 right now on their calendars.”
A future Hall of Famer with five world titles to his name, Sugar Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO’s) has ruled the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions over his storied 16-year career. However, at 38 years old, the Pomona, Calif. native seems to be getting better and better as the years pass.
Winner of seven of his last eight fights dating back to 2005, Mosley has defeated the likes of Fernando Vargas (twice), Luis Collazo and Ricardo Mayorga, but his most recent victory also was one of his most spectacular — a ninth round stoppage of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 to win the Welterweight World Title for the third time.
One of boxing’s top young stars, 26-year-old Andre Berto (25-0, 19 KO’s) first made his mark on the worldwide sports scene as a member of the 2004 Haitian Olympic team. However he already has surpassed those accomplishments as an unbeaten professional and world champion.
The biggest boxing match of the year is set. Pound for pound champion Manny Pacquiao will take on welterweight powerhouse Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 14th, 2009.
Pacquiao vs. Cotto is a great fight and can be seen live on HBO Pay-Per-View. Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, but Cotto, the WBO welterweight champion, is a real threat to him.
The fight will be fought at a catch weight of 145 pounds. The weight was one of the biggest factors holding up the creation of this fight, as Pacquiao’s camp wanted Cotto to come down even farther. Finally the two sides agreed on 145, 2 pounds lighter than the welterweight limit.
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao
49 (37) – 3 – 2
Height: 5′6″ Reach: 67″
Current Pound for Pound Champion
Last 5 fights: 5-0 with 3 knockouts against Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Marco Antonio Barrera, spanning four weight classes from super featherweight to welterweight
Miguel Cotto
34 (27) – 1
Height: 5′7″ Reach: 67″
Current WBO Welterweight Champion
Last 5 fights: 4-1 with 2 knockouts against Joshua Clottey, Michael Jennings Alfonso Gomez and Shane Mosley with the defeat coming against Antonio Margarito
A Fight Preview: Pacquiao vs. Cotto
Manny Pacquiao’s opponent for his November fight was unknown for quite some time. Finally it appeared that Shane Mosley would be the man to step into the ring with him. However, Team Pacquiao and Team Cotto were able to finalize the deal, made all the easier since both men are promoted by Bob Arum and Top Rank Promotions.
Pacquiao will have the clear speed advantage in this bout. He showed the world what his speed could do even at the higher weight classes against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
Miguel Cotto on the other hand will come into the ring as the naturally larger man, having fought at junior welterweight and welterweight for his entire career. He also has superior boxing skills, while Pacquiao is the more dynamic offensive fighter. Team Pacquiao is also hoping that forcing Cotto to cut weight down to 145 pounds will leave him weaker, and Pacquiao more able to capitalize on that vulnerability.
Which man will have the edge come fight night? Some people wonder how much Miguel Cotto has left in the tank after his beat down from Margarito, however, he has rebounded and gutted out a tough win against Joshua Clottey. And isn’t there ever going to be a limit on Pacquiao, on the size and caliber of the fighters he can continue taking out so impressively?
We’ll have to wait for fight night to see the winner of this exciting match between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. The winner will have the world at his fingertips, and may end up facing Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez or Floyd Mayweather.
Fantasy football fanatics from far and near will descend upon Las Vegas this weekend for the Main Event of the 8th Annual World Championship of Fantasy Football, a premier fantasy football contest with over $2,000,000 in prizes to be awarded.
The contest begins on Friday, September 11, 2009, and ends on Tuesday, December 29, 2009, spanning the first 16 weeks of the NFL season. Up to 100 leagues will hold their Draft on Friday, September 11, 2009 and Saturday, September 12, 2009.
Some leagues will draft in Las Vegas, NV. Others will draft in Atlantic City, NJ, Orlando, FL or Dallas, TX. Each league will be composed of 12 teams, and each draft will last for 20 rounds, with each team selecting a player in each round in a serpentine fashion.
The Crew from VegasFantasyFootballPicks.com, one of the Internets most visited fantasy football sites, will be Twittering LIVE for the duration of the draft in Las Vegas on September 12th. Be sure to check out their tweets on this day at their Twitter site @vegasfootball
World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) is a fantasy football contest of skill that offers guaranteed cash awards to participants.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s eagerly anticipated showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez on Sept. 19 will be showcased live in about 170 theaters nationwide, promoters announced Monday. The fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will also air on HBO pay-per-view.
Richard Shaefer of Golden Boy Promotions said he’d been considering theater feeds for several years, ever since a trip to the movies with his kids. Unaware that live boxing has a long history on the big screen, Shaefer’s children asked him whether it was possible today.
“I always try to see ways we can expand the message in the sport of boxing and increase the distribution,” Shaefer said during a conference call.
“Actually,” he added, “my kids said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great?’”
Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs), considered one of the sport’s pound-for-pound kings, will be fighting for the first time since ending a brief retirement. The flamboyant six-time world champion will be taking on a five-time champion in Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs), headlining a stacked card that includes two other title fights.
