WATCH: Kellerman defends Pacquiao on injury

 

Analyst blames NSAC instead

Remenber Max Kellerman, whose post fight interview with Manny Pacquiao incensed the boxer’s loyal fans?

The HBO color commentator had just defended the Filipino champion over Pacquiao's injury, which has been dubbed “shouldergate” by some sports journalists.

In his analysis on HBO Sports, Kellerman asserted that Pacquiao didn’t commit fraud when he chose to fight on despite having a torn rotator cuff three weeks before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Kellerman said that with the injury, the Filipino was faced with a dilemma.

“A dilemma is not a tough choice. A dilemma is choice between two bad options. What was Manny Pacquiao supposed to do, when three weeks before the fight, he was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff that needed surgery? Was he supposed to postpone the fight, taking twelve months off in the interim?” he said in the HBO video posted by Boxing Videos Only on Facebook.

“Does coming back after shoulder surgery and a seventeen month ring absence give him a better chance to beat the best pound for pound fighter in the world? The tickets had already been sold, the hotel rooms had been booked, the airfare, etc…the eyes of the boxing world waiting six years to see this fight.”

Kellerman said that instead of vilifying the boxer, he should get praise for fighting despite the odds.

“What did Manny Pacquiao do? He manned-up,” said the analyst.

If there’s anyone to blame for the superfight flopping out, it should be the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), Kellerman said, noting that the USADA has approved Pacquiao’s use of an anti-inflammatory drug, but the Commission has prevented this because of a “clerical error.”

“USADA says, ‘fine…a shot of Toradol is fine’. And then ultimately, at the eleventh hour, the Nevada State Athletic Commission says Pacquiao can’t get a shot of Toradol because of what is essentially a clerical error? Because some box wasn’t checked off and some form wasn’t filled out correctly?” said the analyst.

“If people are mad at anybody for Pacquiao not being at his best on May 2, be mad at the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in my view. Because just when the boxing world needed them to show sound judgment, they decided to stand on principle instead of cooperating with the spirit of the event.”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Reporter hit for 'disrespectful' interview with Pacquiao

MANILA - When Manny Pacquiao said in a post-fight interview that he thought he won against Floyd Mayweather Jr., HBO reporter Max Kellerman seemed surprised.

Moments after the judges handed Mayweather his 48th win, Kellerman asked the Filipino: "You thought you won the fight? Why?"

"He didn't do nothing," Pacquiao replied.

"He was always moving outside. It's not easy to throw punches if he's moving around. But if he stays, then I can throw punches," he explained to Kellerman, who is also one of the hosts of ESPN's radio show SportsNation.

The 41-year-old Kellerman insisted, however, that he felt that Mayweather deservedly won the fight, which he repeated hours later on his official Twitter account.

"The fight was competitive during some stretches, but ultimately not close. I had it 9-3," Kellerman wrote.

He also took to the social media site to address the criticisms he received from netizens, who thought that his line of questioning was "disrespectful" and "opinionated."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bradley to Pacquiao: It's my time

American boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. insists he personally has nothing against Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao. But he firmly believes that the time has come for him to take his place as a superstar in boxing.

During Bradley and Pacquiao’s appearance in “Face Off” with Max Kellerman, the American did not hold back as he expressed his confidence ahead of their rematch on April 12.

“I don’t think that you’re old,” Bradley told Pacquiao, as quoted by RingTV. “I don’t think that you’re not a great fighter. You are a great fighter. You are a tremendous fighter.”

“But I just feel that it’s my time, and that’s it. That’s all. That’s all that it is. I have nothing bad to say to you, Manny. I just feel that it’s my time,” he said.

Bradley faced great criticism following his controversial victory against Pacquiao in their first fight two years ago. But he believes that he is better equipped now to claim a decisive win.

“I’m right in the forefront of greatness, and to being a superstar in the game. I’m a lot better than when I first faced Manny,” he claimed. “I’m a lot better now.”

“I’m a very smart fighter, and a very intelligent fighter. He (Pacquiao) doesn’t know what I’m going to do. He can guess and train for whatever,” he added.

Directly addressing the “Pacman,” Bradley said: “You know what the hardest thing about me is, Pacquiao? It’s that you just can’t train for one thing. I can do it all in there. I can brawl and I can box.”

Pacquiao, who does not usually engage in trash talk with opponents, merely told Bradley: “My time is not finished yet. My time is not yet done. I can say that.”

The Filipino idol seems to want his fists to do the talking instead.

“They should watch the fight to get rid of all the question marks in their minds,” said Pacquiao. “This will answer all of the questions from the past. The last fight that we had, this is the answer on April 12.”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com