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Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao are gearing up to fight on December 6th in what will be one of the biggest fights (moneywise) in history. DLH is the most popular boxer in the world, and Pacquiao isn’t that far behind. The most intriguing aspect is the size difference, Pac is moving up several weight classes to meet DLH, and many think he’s just too small to make a dent in Oscar.

One of the oddest things about this episode is the (possible?) tension between Manny Pacquiao and his wife. That particular scene only lasts for a couple of seconds, so when you watch this episode feel free to let me know if I was just imagining it myself. It really seems like Manny didn’t want her to be there. (you can see this in the second video below).

Part 1

Part 2

Floyd Mayweather is momentarily retired, and he’s using his newfound freedom to vent about HBO’s treatment of black fighters. There is no secret that although Floyd was the best boxer in the world, HBO NEVER threw roses at his feet. He was never treated like the king of boxing, the announcers never fawned at his performances, and he thinks it’s because he’s black.

“They talk about Kelly Pavlik, a white fighter, like he’s the second coming. Or they go crazy over Manny Pacquiao. But I’m a black fighter,” Mayweather said. “Is it racial? Absolutely. They praise white fighters, they praise Hispanic fighters, whatever. But black fighters, they never praise.

“I’ve noticed it for a long time but I couldn’t say anything because I had to do business with them. I’ll still do business with them, but I’m done holding my tongue.”

HBO responded with the typical corporate drivel press release “Floyds statements were unfortunate…blah blah … we love Floyd blah blah”.

I think Floyd was never really praised because he was too talented for his own good. Think about the guys Mayweather mentioned, Kelly Pavlik, Manny Pacquiao… those are mortal boxers. Pavlik is a slugger who gets in there and mixes it up, and the same goes for Manny. Pavlik nearly had his head taken off by Jermain Taylor in the first fight, and that made for exciting television.

On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather is SO good that his opponents can rarely get a clean hit on him, let alone knock him to the mat. Excellent boxing skill doesn’t always translate to well in terms of exciting television. You can’t be considered a “great boxer” by the media until someone beats your ass and then you get up.

Oh yeah, and I have to include this quote….because it’s so damned funny.

“Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, Emanuel Steward, they’re always talking about the negative things in my life,” Mayweather said. “”Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, Emanuel Steward, they’re always talking about the negative things in my life,” Mayweather said. “But I’ve seen Jim Lampley in the same strip club as me before. They always want to talk about me going to strip clubs, but they don’t want to talk about that. They always want to talk about me going to strip clubs, but they don’t want to talk about that.

Wait… so does this mean Jim Lampley goes to black strip clubs? Oh the comedic material this provides…