OK, so I missed yesterday. What can I say? I'm dumb, and this feature is still new. I can't decide my favorite part. Is it Ray Mercer's delusion, or Oliver Harrison's inner torment?
AND NEW LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD...
"I figured this would be a tough fight to the end, but I was the more intelligent fighter." -- Juan Manuel Marquez, new lightweight champion (ESPN)
"We moved up to get Pacquaio, but we'll fight whoever my promoter wants." -- Marquez
"(Casamayor) was the best lightweight in the world, and he had strong counterpunches. Joel is a great fighter, so I wasn't surprised by how good he was." -- Marquez
"I fought as a champion, but Marquez was the best this night. He knew how to control my punches. Honestly, I am very emotional right now. Marquez is a hell of a fighter." -- Joel Casamayor, vanquished ex-champion
OBNOXIOUS COMMERCIALS FOR $500, ALEX
"My better was better than his better." -- Vernon Forrest, after regaining the WBC junior middleweight title (ESPN)
"Now you see the difference between a contender and a real champion." -- Forrest
"I only had six weeks to train, and I usually have 10. It was a short camp and I worked too hard. This guy is old and I should have won." -- Sergio Mora, making excuses but trying not to
MEXICANS FOR MANNY 2008
"Believe me, the true Mexican fans are going to be on Manny Pacquiao's side. Because you know what? Oscar's never been accepted by the true Mexican fans from Mexico. Mexican-Americans, yes, but not Mexicans." -- Freddie Roach (Boxing Scene)
"And Manny Pacquiao's style, the Mexicans love that. People call Manny 'The Mexican Assassin,' but Manny's never really taken that name. He doesn't dislike anybody. But believe me, the Mexican fans from Mexico will be cheering for Manny that night. I believe that with my heart." -- Roach
I AIN'T GOT THE WORDS
"David Haye has been running his mouth long enough. I'll give you a fight and we'll even come to you. Have your people call my people, and I'll make your worst nightmare come true." -- 47-year old Ray Mercer, challenging David Haye (Boxing Scene)
"I just defeated a fighter nearly thirteen years my junior, and I will school David Haye even more when we get in the ring." -- Mercer, slipping further into senility and failing to note that Haye is 20 years his junior
"When I had twenty fights under my belt, I had a similar record that Haye has now with just as many first round knockouts." -- Mercer, who was at 22 fights (where Haye is now) in 1993; fight No. 22 was, coincidentally, his shocking loss to Jesse Ferguson
"Haye has been shouting from the rooftops that he wants to fight the best. Well, here's his chance." -- Mercer, who would be making sense if this were 1991
"I would love to bring a fight of this magnitude to London. The fans deserve to see great, competitive heavyweight fights. With Ray, you get nothing short of that from start to finish." -- promoter Sal Musumeci, whose fighter just went a grueling six rounds (and the rounds were two minutes each)
LITERALLY ANYONE COULD TRAIN OSCAR FOR MANNY. PARIS HILTON. ANYONE!
"I’ll be honest with you. Nobody can do what I do. Don’t get me wrong. But Oscar doesn’t need me to beat Pacquiao. He really doesn’t. For this fight, Oscar can beat Pacquiao with just about anyone training him. When he hits him with that first left hook, it’s all going to be over. Ain’t no way Pacquiao can beat Oscar. No way." -- Floyd Mayweather, Sr., after being fired/stepping down from Oscar de la Hoya's team (Yahoo! Sports)
"Am I disappointed? Absolutely, I’m very disappointed. I respect Floyd Sr. very much. I respect him as a person and as a trainer. Obviously, the door is always wide open for Floyd Sr., because I truly feel that Floyd Sr. can take me, after every single fight, to a whole new level." -- Oscar de la Hoya, attempting to set a record for most times saying "Floyd Sr." in one statement
"I would put the blame on me." -- Oscar, stating that Floyd is simply trying to make a living
BOY THE WAY GLENN MILLER PLAYED...
"A lot of the 'C' and 'D' fighters back in my (amateur) days are better than the 'A' fighters now. The scoring has ruined boxing a lot and it's caused all this pitty-patty punching. In my day, you had to fight like a man." -- 37-year old Joel Casamayor, elder statesman of boxing and beacon of light remaining from a long-forgotten time (Yahoo! Sports)
"Knockouts like that one will rejuvenate any man’s career and I feel like I have the love back for the game." -- Casamayor, on his March knockout of Michael Katsidis
"You lose love for the game. I felt I was robbed in some decisions and in my draw (in a 2005 match with Almazbek Raiymkulov. I wanted to fight guys who wouldn’t fight me. This business can take a lot out of you. I was sick of it. But then fighting that young guy (Katsidis) and winning that way, it made me interested again." -- Casamayor
THE WRIGHT STUFF (GET IT?)
"I wore it good, but that's a lot of weight for me." -- Winky Wright, on getting up to 198 pounds during his long layoff (ESPN Insider)
"Ain't no good opponents around who bring a big name or big money. Vernon Forrest lost to 'The Contender' dude and they're doing a rematch. Besides that, who is there?" -- Wright
"I still got a lot to give this sport. I just want to fight the best. I ain't retired, but nobody wants to fight me." -- Wright
"Maybe I won't be at my best in the first fight back, but not being at my best, I can still beat the rest." -- Wright
RICKY HATTON IS TO JOHN RUIZ AS PAULIE MALIGNAGGI IS TO...?
"Hatton is a limited fighter. He can't box. I'm not going to criticise him personally, because I really like Ricky. I just don't think he's much of a fighter, or was ever much of a fighter." -- Paulie Malignaggi, on his upcoming opponent (Sky Sports)
"I'm not just talking out of my ass here, he's the John Ruiz of the junior welterweight class." -- Malignaggi
"Basically, Graham was giving Hatton instructions to hold. Believe me, I'll be ready for anything Ricky Hatton has to offer." -- Malignaggi, on Billy Graham's corner instructions during Hatton-Mayweather
IT MUST'VE BEEN LOVE, BUT IT'S OVER NOW
"All I ever wanted was Amir to myself." -- Oliver Harrison, former trainer of Amir Khan (Sky Sports)
"But they wanted him to do interviews, to open clubs. Now he's even been saying, 'I like the cameras, I want the cameras', and slagging me off like I was an old girlfriend. Now they go and get a Cuban amateur trainer." -- Harrison
"I can't believe how Amir fought. It was absolutely the wrong way to fight somebody who can bang. I can't believe they learned him to keep his hands up and just stand in front of a fighter like that." -- Harrison, on Khan's first, highly unsuccessful fight with new trainer Jorge Rubio
"The Amir I know would have his guard in front of his face and slip and slide to avoid the punches. But the Cuban guy had him with his hands up just walking forward. Madness. Any half-decent fighter could have hit him." -- Harrison, j-j-jaded
ODDS 'N SODS
"Joe is a great British fighter but I'm a great American fighter and that will be the difference." -- Roy Jones, Jr., exhibiting typical American arrogance and showing why the rest of the world thinks of us as they do (and Calzaghe is Welsh, Roy) (Mirror Sport)
"To me it's like getting Oscar De La Hoya or Roy Jones when they came out." -- Star Boxing promoter Joe DeGuardia, on signing Demetrius Andrade (ESPN)
"The only possible justification for believing that Katsidis won seven rounds in that fight is that Hamada was distracted by the babe sitting next to Mario Lopez, seated a couple of rows behind him." -- Michael Swann (Sportsline)
"They presented us with the option and we respectfully declined." -- Mark Taffet, head of HBO pay-per-view, on the attempt by Golden Boy and Affliction to put an Andrei Arlovski-Josh Barnett fight on the undercard of the Pavlik-Hopkins show in October (ESPN)