All quiet on Mayweather’s May 4 foe
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was expected to have announced his return to the ring by now. At least that was the word from his co-manager Leonard Ellerbe, who said to expect something right after the first of the year.
So what’s the holdup? Nothing, Ellerbe said.
“We’re still going May 4 at the MGM Grand,” he said. “Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s holding anything up. We control everything we do. As soon as we have it together, we’ll announce it.”
Ellerbe is mum on Mayweather’s opponent. Talk is centering on Robert Guerrero and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but nobody from either fighters’ camps has confirmed anything.
Alvarez, the WBC junior middleweight champion, reportedly is listed on the May 4 card, but not necessarily against Mayweather.
Ellerbe said there’s no timetable for the announcement but that Mayweather will have plenty of time to train. Mayweather (44-0, 28 knockouts) last fought May 5, 2012, winning a 12-round unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto.
“Floyd’s been in and out of the gym,” Ellerbe said. “But we’re not in serious training right now.”
■ STEELE SEEKS FUNDS – A fight card featuring local amateurs is scheduled Jan. 26 as a fundraiser for Richard Steele’s gym and community center, which is struggling to keep its doors open.
Steele said the North Las Vegas gym, located at 2475 W. Cheyenne Ave., needs $40,000 to stay in business. The facility serves about 125 youths.
“We’ve reached out to the boxing community, but so far no one has stepped up,” Steele said.
Admission to the 3 p.m. card is free, but donations are requested.
For more information, call 702-638-1308.
■ LOCALS WIN IN RENO – Devin Haney and Nysja Barrientes of Las Vegas won their weight classes Friday at the Junior World Team Open Championships in Reno.
The new event showcased the top 15- and 16-year-old amateurs in the country. Among the champions, eight states were represented.
Haney, fighting as a bantamweight, beat Isidro Ochoa of Fresno, Calif., in a 34-30 tiebreaker after their title bout was tied 10-10. Haney won the right to represent the United States at the AIBA Junior Men’s World Championships at Kiev, Ukraine, in August.
Las Vegas light flyweight Freduis Rojas won silver, losing the final to Daniel Gonzalez of Moreno Valley, Calif., 25-19.
In the women’s flyweight division, Barrientes won the title unopposed.
■ SUSPENDED – Middleweights Josh Meyers and Andrew Hernandez were each suspended for nine months and fined 30 percent of their purses by the Nevada Athletic Commission, having tested positive for elevated testosterone after a Nov. 10 card at Wynn Las Vegas.
Meyers, from Perris, Calif., was stopped by Jesse Hart in the second round, and was docked $600 of his $2,000 purse. Hernandez, from Phoenix, scored a second-round technical knockout over Rudy Puga. The result was changed to a no contest, and he lost $750 of his $2,500 check.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.