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ESPN re-aired a piece originally shown in April on athletes and the super-televangelists who exploit them on Outside The Lines today …. and I really have no words for what I witnessed.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last couple years, surely you have noticed the various stories about Evander Holyfield having 374 kids and how he owes tons of child support money to pay for them all. You also may have heard about his massive home that was foreclosed on, which contributes to the fact that he’s STILL boxing well past his prime and is risking long-term brain damage (see: Muhammad Ali) because there are bills to pay.

What I *DIDN’T* know is that he’s donated over $20 million dollars to the church over the last 15 years or so. In the video below you’ll see Evander explain his tithing and proudly declare that if he had to choose between paying a house note, and donating to the church…..the house would have to wait:

I realize he’s a religious man and he says the bible requires 10% of his earnings…. but there are various monumental mistakes in judgment going on here. First of all, if you want to give that much cash…. fine… but scale back your living arrangements accordingly. There’s no need to buy a mansion with 100 rooms in it if you plan on giving the church so much of your extra money. Secondly, when you listen to Evander talk, it seems like he’s giving so much money because he thinks god is going to give it back to him for being so generous as opposed to giving it and expecting nothing in return. There’s a little bit of flawed logic there in my opinion.

Great news for all the boxing heads out there.

It appears that a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto is in the preliminary stages and could very well happen in November. I don’t think you could make a more exciting fight than this unless Mayweather decides to fight Pacquiao, so fans are definitely getting what they want to see this year. Check the details:

“Manny told me what to do,” Bob Arum said. “Manny told me, ‘Go ahead, make that fight.’ So it will go Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand here in Vegas.”

What with Cotto’s badly cut left eyebrow area, I asked if that might cause a date delay.

“No because it’s not that bad. Miguel is delighted to get a fight against Manny, trust me. Miguel very much wants this fight. It will be a sensational fight the way they attack.”

As far as the explosive, arena-shaking ovation more than 17,000 fans gave Pacquiao when Michael Buffer introduced him, Arum said the fighter was thrilled.

“Manny really enjoyed and liked that,” Arum said. “He was impressed by Cotto’s fan support and told me it reminded him of how the British fans stand with Ricky Hatton.

This fight is gonna be one of the most exciting things we see all year because their styles are very suited for each other. Manny is a fast offensive fighter, Miguel is all-heart and never clenches his opponent. Team Pacquiao made a VERY smart move by targeting Cotto because:

1. His defense is mediocre. Cotto has been put on his ass and rocked PLENTY of times, this plays into Manny’s hands.
2. Cotto is relatively slow, he doesn’t wow anyone with handspeed.

These two things are the exact reason Manny Pacquiao didn’t fight Shane Mosley (who has excellent handspeed and excellent defense). Shane approached Team Pacquiao immediately following his destruction of Ricky Hatton, and was basically told to kick rocks. It wasn’t about money, it wasn’t about weight, it was about the fact that Mosley is very dangerous and the risk outweighed the reward.

I highly doubt Manny would kick Cotto’s ass the way he kicked Hatton’s ass, because Cotto is a tough cookie, but Manny will win nonetheless.

[shouts to bad left hook for the scoop]

I’m not sure if many people actually saw it, but HBO aired this teaser for Mayweather/Marquez 24/7 after the Cotto/Clottey fight on Saturday night and it was EXCELLENT. Although it only consisted of old footage of Floyd talking shit mixed with new footage of Floyd talking shit, it still made for the most entertaining 3 minutes of my weekend (I could make so many jokes here). I was extremely hyped for the 24/7 series as well as the actual fight on July 18th…. and then this happens:

Mayweather-Marquez fight delayed

Floyd Mayweather Jr., set to exit his year-plus retirement to face Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, suffered a rib injury in training late last week, forcing him to postpone the welterweight fight on Sunday.

“I am extremely disappointed that this fight has to be postponed,” Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) said in a statement. “I was training very hard and looking forward to getting back in the ring.”

These sort of things happen all the time (most recently with David Haye) and theres really nothing anyone can do about it. The good news is, we know its not a broken or fractured rib so Floyd’s recovery shouldn’t last any more than 2 months. The rumored reschedule date is in mid-September and I’m praying that it’ll actually stick. For a fighter who relies on defense as much as Floyd does it would be suicide for him to go into a bout at anything less than 100%.

I know Sportaphile has been really boxing-centric recently, but I just want to let you guys know I haven’t forgotten about the NBA and NFL news. I *always* write about what interests me at the time, and sometimes the typical sports headlines of the day just don’t inspire me to write. But rest assured, I’ll get some NBA in soon.

Now on with this painting…. .isn’t it sick? Details about the painting can be found at the bottom of the post.

The image of Manny Pacquiao on the RingTV.com homepage was painted by Tyler Streeter, an emerging artist who greatly admires the sport of boxing. He began drawing and painting fighters at the age of 10 after watching Marvelous Marvin Hagler fight Sugar Ray Leonard. The chemistry between Tyler Streeter and the “Sweet Science” is evident in his paintings. Reflecting the beautifully sharpened minds and courageous hearts of these modern day warriors, Streeter brings to life the mental anguish and physical stamina unique to boxing. Streeter lives in Las Vegas. You can view his works at www.tylerstreeter.com.

via The Ring Magazine

I have never been so pissed off at a fight in my life.

I picked Hatton to win this because I didn’t put much stock into Pacquiao’s win vs. De La Hoya. Oscar was old, shot, and refused to punch back. Therefore, when you couple the fact that Ricky is naturally bigger than Manny and he’s known as a puncher….. I thought he could pull it out.

Another thing to point out was that I believed Hatton would listen to Floyd Sr. and actually BOX, by jabbing and moving his head. Hatton did neither, he charged in trying to bully Manny and got his ass knocked out. Manny (just like Floyd Jr.) is way too fast to let someone charge in and bully them around. Freddie Roach was correct when he said Hatton wouldn’t change his ways and claimed he knew exactly what he would do.

If Mayweather vs. Pacquiao happens, it’s going to be the ULTIMATE case of a great offense vs. a great defense. Manny is the most unstoppable offensive force in boxing and Mayweather is the best defensive fighter of this generation.