Mike Tyson joined 97.5 the Fanatic in Philadelphia with Mike Missanelli to talk about what Muhammad Ali meant to him, what was it about Ali that made him the most famous athlete in the world, what he represented to people outside of boxing, whether or not he thinks Ali is the best boxer of all-time, and what he thinks about the Ali-Frazier rivalry.

What did he mean to you?

“Muhammad Ali meant so much not only to me, but so many other people in the world, different nationalities and different races. When I first had an encounter with Muhammad Ali, this is really strange, I was a young kid in a detention center in New York City, the Bronx and I forget if it was ’77, we watched a movie first, and then he came in. It was totally overwhelming. I had never in my life experienced that feeling before, that particular stage of my life. It inspired me to want to go truly in that direction.”

What was it about him that made him the most famous athlete in the world?

“This is what my mentor (Cus D’Amato) used to tell me about Ali, he always talked about his characteristics more so than his speed or power or anything. He said Ali just wanted it more than any other fighter in the world. He just had so much inner belief and confidence, and that made him the best fighter in the world.”

Outside boxing what did he represent to people?

“A whole bunch of deep down inner-belief and confidence that we could overcome that kind of stuff back then. Those were the 60’s when he was going through the dodge years and I was just born then. The effect rolled down to my mother. She used to talk about it as well. She called him Clay at the time. She admired him so much.”

So he stood up to white America basically at that time, right?

“I believe so, yeah.”

Is he in your mind the greatest boxer of all time?

“He is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all-time, I think. Yeah. No doubt because Ali has qualities you can’t put on a statistic scale like height and weight and reach and all that stuff. He had internal fortitude. He’s just an amazing man and Cus always said you’re never going to see a guy like him again. Cus was the biggest fan of Ali. He just thought that he was the greatest fighter that God ever created.”

What did you make of the Ali/Frazier rivalry?

“I don’t know. I just thought both of them were awesome fighters and I was a great fan of both of them. I know Frazier had beat him the first time and the second time Ali beat him pretty easy and it wasn’t an exciting fight. Then the third fight I would say to myself ‘I wonder if the Ali of ’71 could’ve beaten the Ali of ’75 if they were to fight.”

Listen to Mike Tyson on 97.5 the Fanatic in Philly here

His first tweet read, “Manny Pacquiao I’m calling you out let’s fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see.” Then he followed that up by saying “My Jail Sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up Punk.” Of course with the way negotiations have gone in the past, this could just be another case of Mayweather blowing smoke or trying to make Pacquiao look like the bad guy. Or maybe Mayweather needs money with his impending jail sentence on the horizon. No matter what the motivation is this time, if it leads to the fight of the year, it’s irrelevant. Pacquiao says he wants Mayweather. Mayweather says he wants Pacquiao. Fight fans continue to wait.

Freddie Roach joined 790 the Zone in Atlanta with Mayhem in the AM to talk about whether or not a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao will actually happen, if Pacquiao’s promoter is currently negotiating a deal to fight Mayweather, how things could change based on Mayweather’s jail sentence, whether or not he thought Pacquiao was distracted in his last fight, and why he thinks Mayweather is calling Pacquiao out.

Whether or not a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao will actually happen:

“It would be nice. The thing is we’ve been calling this guy out for two years now and all of the sudden something changed and they want to go on that date now. He thinks he’s gonna call all the shots now. In the Philippines right now negotiating with Manny and trying to work that out.”

If they are negotiating a fight against Mayweather:

“Yes. (Host: On May 5^th of this year?) They’re talking about May or June. There’s two dates out there right now but which one I’m not sure. Again Bob (Arum) is in the Philippines and they’re talking.”

How Mayweather’s jail sentence affects a possible fight against Pacquiao:

“When he gets his jail sentence we’re looking in a different direction again because we’re not gonna sit around and wait for him so we did make some obligations with some people. They are negotiating those deals out now and hopefully this thing happens.”

Whether or not he thought Pacquiao was distracted in his last fight:

“His mind just wasn’t there. I know that’s why I want a big fight with Mayweather, something he can get up for. I don’t think we’ll have any problem with that fight if it does happen.”

If he thinks Mayweather really wants the fight against Pacquiao

“No, I think he needs money. (Host: As long is the fight happens I don’t think people will care.) I agree. Everywhere I go in the world people say make that fight happen. We’re doing the best we can to make it happen and boxing needs a fight like that right now.”

Where the fight could take place:

“Well the thing is someone in Dubai made an offer for 100 million apiece. (Host: Someone made an offer for 100 million apiece?) Yup. (Host: How does it not happen in Dubai then?) Because Mayweather says he wants to fight in Vegas. He will go where the money is. I think Dallas is maybe a good site also because we will sell that place out no problem. It is the fight of the year. You go where the dollars make the most sense of course.”

Listen to Freddie Roach on 790 the Zone in Atlanta here

Among them, Tyson says that he would pick Floyd Mayweather if a fight with Manny Pacquiao would ever finally happen. But he only finally makes a pick when he convinces the host to give him a pretend $500,000 to bet on it and says his thinking would be more rational if and when the fight got closer. Yeah, that’d be the day.

Mike Tyson joined ESPN Las Vegas with The Gridlock to discuss what he’s been up to, his singing, his new fanbase, Michael Buffer being elected to the Hall of Fame, a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight and the passing of Joe Frazier.

What have you been up to?:

“I’ve been traveling. I’ve been getting paid to sing songs.”

More on his singing, after they play a clip of him singing Girl From Ipanema:

“Teddy Pendergrass has been singing for 20 years and he did all-women concerts. He’s been doing it for 20 years, I did it for three songs and I got an all-woman concert. I’m Teddy Pendergrass reincarnated.”

Who is your favorite artist?:

“Whitney Houston.  She’s a good singer.”

How many new fans do you think you have just based on your singing and The Hangover and things like that?:

“Hey, listen, this new Mike Tyson guy, I don’t know him that well, but he’s got a whole big fanbase of new people, people that never even saw him participate in any kind of fisticuffs and stuff. That’s what takes him to a whole different variation, as far as a fanbase and Twitter. It’s just totally different. I could just never dream of being able to talk to a billion people at one instant of a second.”

On what his new fanbase is like:

“Before, my crowd was like the late-night stoners from Las Vegas. Now it’s a whole different clientele.”

Michael Buffer has been elected to the Hall of Fame. What are your feelings on that?:

“Hey, listen, there’s a bunch of guys that are in the Hall … that from the beginning of fighting, in the 20s and 1910, all these guys, these guys are in the Hall of Fame, too. If these guys never went to the Hall of Fame, then Michael Buffer shouldn’t. But these guys are in the Hall of Fame and his voice is more sensational. We had never heard that voice before. These are guys are people that we just heard because they were in the ring. … He entertained us. … He’s a part of the two men in the ring. The referee should be in there, the announcer should be in there.”

If Pacquiao-Mayweather ever happens, who would win?:

“Well, you have to look at the situation like this: Manny’s getting a lot of slack because of Marquez, mostly in the Latino and African-American community. He’s getting a lot of slack because everybody believes that he lost that fight. They really thought that Marquez won. Marquez is on a big high right now. … It’s very close. I’m the kind of guy, I can go with my heart, but I like to bet concerning the odds of the fight.”

OK, let’s say it’s a pick’em and I gave you $100,000:

“Put some more money on it.” OK, $250,000: “A little bit more.” OK, $500,000: “I’ll go with Mayweather at 500. If Mayweather’s the underdog, I’m going with him. … Closer to a fight, I’d get more rational, realistic.”

On the passing of Smokin’ Joe Frazier:

“One of the first all-time really greats, even since the beginning of boxing, that we could actually visualize and watch these guys and make sense out of what they’re doing.”

Listen to Mike Tyson on ESPN Radio Las Vegas here

However, this might’ve been the best thing for the sport of boxing and it might finally lead to the dream matchup that everyone has been hoping for. If fear played any part in Floyd Mayweather Jr’s hesitancy with this fight that might be all but gone now. Mayweather, like the rest of the boxing community watched the fight. He saw a beatable opponent, he saw an opponent that struggles with counter-punchers, the forte of Money, and he saw a fighter who has been labeled by some as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet show vulnerability.

Freddie Roach joined 590 The Fan in Toronto with Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt to talk about whether or not it is possible that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum does not want a fight between Pacman and Money, if he felt Pacquiao won the fight against Marquez, whether or not he would take a fourth fight against Marquez, if he thinks the Mayweather fight, if it ever happens, would be Pacquiao’s last, and how tough of a matchup Mayweather would be.

If it is possible that Bob Arum does not want to make the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight happen:

“Possibly yeah. The thing is everywhere I travel in the world everyone tells me to make that fight happen and so forth. I talked to Manny’s advisors last week and they told me they are negotiating so it’s definitely a possibility and I hope that fight happens.”

Whether or not he thinks Pacquiao won the fight against Marquez:

“I thought he won by a little bit but the thing is before the decision was announced I didn’t know which way it was gonna go though because it was a close fight. It coulda went either way, and if it went the other way I couldn’t complain that’s for sure. After watching the fight on TV I did have Manny winning by a little bit. First time in ten years Manny had a bad night and just came at the wrong time. It may be good because maybe Mayweather is licking his chops at this point.”

Whether or not he would accept a fourth fight against Marquez:

“If that makes the most sense then yeah but Mayweather is the fight I want. I think he is the biggest challenge out there and I like challenges. I think that’s the defining fight of Manny’s career.”

If he thinks Pacquiao’s last fight will be against Mayweather:

“I don’t think so. The thing is if Pacquiao does lose that fight – well win or lose I think he will retire. I think that’s gonna be his last fight. He’s really into politics and so forth and politics is going to take him away from boxing that’s for sure. Politics is something he wants to be good at. It’s not like the singing or dancing and acting, that’s more for fun. This is serious business and something he wants to be good at. It’s gonna take 100 percent of his time to be good at that. I feel if we do fight Mayweather, win or lose I think it will be his last fight.”

How tough he thinks the Mayweather fight would be if it happens:

“Very difficult fight. He is a good counter-puncher and his style does give us trouble. He does have some Marquez similarities but he’s actually a lot faster than Marquez so he does pose a bigger problem. Manny, in his last fight, he kinda fell back into the realm when he fought this guy the first two times. He didn’t use the improvements he’s been working on to beat these bigger and better guys. He kinda went right back to what he did in the first two fights. That wasn’t enough and that wasn’t really effective. I think Mayweather will bring out the best in Manny. It’s gonna have to because if not we’re not gonna be there in the end.”

Listen to Freddie Roach on The Fan 590 in Toronto here

Tyson joined ESPN Las Vegas to talk about the passing of Joe Frazier earlier this week, Frazier and Ali being the ‘vanguards of apex competition’, how much Frazier’s style of fighting influenced him, the Frazier-Ali trilogy, if boxing will ever regain its stature within the American sporting landscape, and what Frazier was like as he knew him.

The passing of one of boxing’s greats this week:

“Oh man, like I’ve stated before, he and Ali were like the vanguards of apex competition, the best fighters in the world fighting with every ounce of blood that they possess. It was just amazing just to know that human beings posses that kind of intentional fortitude.”

Hoe much Frazier’s style of fighting influenced him as a young boxer:

“You know, as a young man coming up in the world as a fighter, everyone always compared me to Joe Louis because of my height — I was 5’10 1/2″ and I was very aggressive, and I always took that as an honor. Because when Smokin’ was smoking, he smoked.” (Editor’s note: I think he meant Joe Frazier not Joe Louis)

On the Frazier-Ali trilogy of fights being the pinnacle of boxing’s greatness:

“Hey man, those guys in the heavyweight division, they were the yardsticks in which all fighters behind them had to measure up to.”

Will we ever get back to boxing get back its a big deal like it once was:

“Time always repeats itself, it will come back eventually. But we just have to enjoy it for what it is now. There’s always moments in time for everything where they say there’s the apex…”

What Frazier was like as he knew him:

“Just a remarkable man. The way he fought in the ring was the way he lived his life. Just very confident; he was always a pleasure to have around and just a wonderful man. He is someone that the boxing world will never forget. He and Ali are intertwined because they brought out the best in one another.”

If he ever shook Frazier’s hand and experienced his incredibly hard and powerful hand shake:

“Yes, I’ve shaken his hand many times. He was a hard man.”

Listen here to Tyson with The Gridlock on ESPN Radio Las Vegas

Foreman and Frazier though have deeper ties than just what happened between the two in the ring. So when the news about Frazier passing away came to light, George Foreman was front and center reflecting on the life of one of his best friends.

George Foreman joined 105.3 The Fan in Dallas with Shan and RJ to talk about his thoughts on Joe Frazier, whether or not his relationship with Frazier continued outside of the ring, how tough the last few days have been for him since Frazier passed away, what kind of relationship Frazier and Ali had, and what it was like to fight Joe Frazier.

His thoughts on Joe Frazier:

“The most consistent human being that I’ve ever met. You wouldn’t meet a Joe Frazier down today and then up tomorrow, said hello to big shots then ignore someone on the lower level, he was the most consistent human being. What you see is what you get.”

Whether or not his relationship with Frazier went beyond boxing:

“Joe Frazier by the way, his daughter was a boxer and that even recreated our friendship because his daughter and I became very good friends. She’s a judge now, a state judge in Pennsylvania and Joe and I would talk all the time and exchange gifts. I’m surprised I didn’t know earlier that he was sick. For good reasons, maybe they finally just wanted to keep it as close as possible. He was one of my best friends.”

How tough the last two days have been for him since it was announced that Frazier passed away:

“It was kinda rough. You don’t just lose a friend like that and then everything is all fine and dandy but then you think about, I had good years with Joe Frazier and I was able to tell him things that ordinarily boxers are not able to tell each other. Like ‘I love you, I miss you, needing the cash,’ I was able to do those things and didn’t leave any stones unturned if you know what I mean. I sure would’ve liked to get another six or seven years with him. What a Boogieman. He loved to dance, have fun, a party animal to the end.”

What the relationship was like between Frazier and Ali:

“Joe Frazier is from a big family like myself. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were like two brothers. One that Muhammad Ali always teased the other brother and the other brother is like ‘Oh you teased me again I’m gonna fight you.’ These guys genuinely loved each other. They loved each other. I don’t know what Muhammad Ali is going to do once he receives that news. He loved that man. Don’t let anybody fool you. There was no hate there.”

What kind of fighter Joe Frazier was:

“When that bell would ring if you were King Kong you better put your cup as close to your head because he was coming. There would be no backing down. Frazier was not a big man at all. Frazier was about 5-9 but he would make anyone run. Put up your dukes and cover up because he’s coming. He never backed up from anyone.”

How tough it was to fight Joe Frazier:

“I wanted to be champ of the world but I kept hoping something would happen to Frazier. I didn’t want to fight him. Nobody wanted to fight Joe Frazier. The bell rung and he threw that left hook that barely missed me. It sounded like a bullet and I got nervous. I knocked him down and I said he’s gonna kill me now. I knocked him down again and said oh he’s mad now. I knocked him down again. I kept knocking him down and he kept getting up. After six times I was awarded the championship of the world. He was still trying to get me when they stopped the fight.”

Listen to George Foreman on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas here

Bob Arum joined WQAM in Miami with Sid Rosenberg to talk about whether or not he believes what Mayweather said about fighting Pacquiao, if he thinks Mayweather is obsessed with this Manny Pacquiao fight, on the idea that many people feel like Mayweather will be able to beat Pacquiao, and if he thinks the random blood testing is something holding up this fight from happening.

Whether or not he believes what Mayweather said about fighting Pacquiao:

“No. It’s like a big joke. I mean obviously you see what’s happening. I would’ve taken it seriously if he had made a statement on November 14^th but right now what he’s doing is he is a little jealous about the attention Manny is getting so he’s hogging a little bit of the limelight. It’s not a serious kind of thing. You don’t start a negotiation saying I’m gonna fight on May 5^th and it’s gonna be at the MGM Grand. What kind of negotiation is that? What happens if Jerry Jones wants to put up 30 million dollars or something? What do you mean you’re holding a date at the MGM? What does that mean?”

If he thinks Mayweather is obsessed with the Pacquiao fight:

“Yeah he’s obsessed because he’s afraid to fight Manny. The truth is that it’s no longer a competitive fight. It once was but it isn’t anymore. Manny can out-speed him and Manny’s second hand, the right hand, is gonna knock Mayweather out. Truth is Marquez is a more difficult fight for him because Marquez’s style, counter-punching style can give Manny some trouble. I think Manny wins the fight but it can give him trouble.”

I haven’t talked to many people that think Pacquiao can beat Mayweather:

“What? You’re speaking to the wrong people because the people I’ve been speaking to overwhelmingly figure that Pacquiao beats Mayweather. It’s not even a tough fight. It really isn’t a tough fight. Mayweather has nothing to hurt him with, Mayweather doesn’t throw anywhere near the punches. Manny will not only win the fight over Mayweather, Manny will knock him out.”

If the Olympic style blood testing is still preventing a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather from happening:

“No because we’ve been saying for the last year we will take the Olympic style testing, random blood and urine test period. We’ve agreed for the last year. How many times am I supposed to say it? It hasn’t been an issue in a year.”

Listen to Bob Arum on WQAM in Miami with Sid Rosenberg

Marquez might be in the twilight of his career, and while the stiffest competition for Pacquiao remains Floyd Mayweather Jr. there is a lot of bad blood between Pacman and Marquez and the two fighters will finally be able to settle the score on November 12^th in Las Vegas.

Freddie Roach joined 790 The Zone in Atlanta with 2 Live Stews to talk about the two previous fights between Marquez and Pacquiao, what he thinks about Marquez saying he was robbed in the first two fights, what he makes of Floyd Mayweather intimating that he would be willing to fight Pacquiao now, and whether or not Pacquiao is distracted by this news with Mayweather.

On the two previous fights between Marquez and Pacquiao:

“They had two really, really good fights, 24 rounds, and one point separates the two. But Manny has come a long way since they fought. He’s bigger and better fighter now and I don’t think Marquez is gonna last six rounds this time. He’s on a weight program, he has put on a lot of muscle, and I can’t wait for this fight to happen. It’s been a long time coming and I can’t wait to shut Nacho and him up and finally close the book on this one.”

What he thinks about Marquez saying he was robbed in the first two fights:

“The thing is Marquez fought two great fights that were good for boxing. Nobody got robbed, they were just very close fights. He did go to the Philippines wearing a t-shirt that said I got robbed by Manny Pacquiao twice, I beat Manny Pacquiao twice, and that was a slap in the face to Manny. Believe me payback is a bitch, Manny doesn’t like this guy, and this fight won’t last six rounds I’m telling you. Manny is so amped for this fight and this is the best training camp he has ever had. He just really wants this guy badly and I can’t wait to shut these guys up.”

On the idea that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight could be getting closer:

“Floyd Mayweather sends Leonard Ellerbe his little puppet…He won’t even mention Manny’s name, he says the little guy. Is he talking about Larry Merchant? He’d probably knock him out too. The thing is…Floyd sign the contract, shut up, sign the contract, and let’s get it on.”

Whether or not the news about Mayweather is a distraction:

“Pacquiao doesn’t let anything distract him. In training camps and so forth he is 100 percent focused on Marquez right now, this news about Mayweather who cares? If he wants to fight, sign the contract then we will believe it.”

On his prediction for the fight:

“Manny really wants this fight and this fight won’t last six rounds. If Marquez comes to fight it won’t be a sleeper, he does have a lot of balls, and that’s gonna be his downfall in this one.”

Listen to Freddie Roach on 790 the Zone here

Dawson is one of the top light heavyweights around, he has been for a number of years now, and has just one blemish on his record. Despite being the champion and coming off a win over Juan Pascal in his own hometown to become the oldest fighter to ever win a world championship, B-Hop is once again the underdog. He heads into the fight looking to outrace Father Time like he has done so many times in his career.

Bernard Hopkins joined ESPN 980 in Washington D.C. with Nick Ashooh to talk about what he makes of Chad Dawson’s trash-talk heading into the fight, what Hopkins thinks he can exploit in Dawson, and how he has been able to stay in shape despite being 46-years-old.

On what he makes of Chad Dawson’s trash-talking heading into the fight:

“First of all it was music to my ears that the man has a personality and finally he woke up and understands that we have to at least sell the fight to the public that it’s a fight that they should see. So to see him talk that language that I never heard before is like somehow a spirit that came across him and he’s showing something that a lot of people don’t give him credit for doing and that’s having a live personality which hopefully will transform into what we have to do in the ring or at least he, Chad Dawson that is, that it would make a great fight because the best of Chad Dawson will bring the extremely best out of Bernard Hopkins. Listen it takes two to dance and tango. That’s why they have Dancing With the Stars and I’m not promoting it. I’m just using it. It takes two fighters to make a great fight. Not one, it becomes a boring one side beat down, but if it’s two guys giving and taking and using the art of boxing, the fans love it, TV loves it, ratings love it, and at the end who wins wins and who loses loses. I hope he comes with that and it just ain’t talk because I know where I’m coming from. I know I got this title the hard way. Went to a man’s hometown. I believe I won the first fight and secured it the second fight. I’m not willing to give this title up just because he wants it. It’s gonna be straight war and that’s not just promotional talk. Chad Dawson will get schooled, his career might be in jeopardy like those that came before him, and he risks that chance when he steps into the ring with the Executioner.”

What he believes he can exploit in Chad Dawson’s fighting style:

“Everything. Everything. He has a lot of things that makes a great fighter once he realizes that he can put those things together and becomes experience as time goes on, but he bit off something really big before he got there and that is the Executioner Bernard Hopkins. See he will never get a chance to blossom because he was picked off the tree too quick. If the sun and rain would’ve gotten to him a little more, it’s timing, he would’ve been okay, but he ran into the same fate of greed and politics and rushed to get into the light heavyweight championship around your waste and you accomplish it and say ‘okay I’m there’ and you don’t keep it. It’s one thing winning the title, which he did. The second thing is keeping it. In the middleweight division I kept it over a decade. That should tell everyone something. I defended it 21 times. Just because you win a title in today’s world of boxing doesn’t mean that you’re gonna keep it for a long time. As he won a title and defended it three or four times, he fell to what most fighters fall to. They don’t keep it. I’m not gonna fall into the same trap even though this is my third go around and my second as the light heavyweight champion and king in the lightweight division. I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy, I’m saying people should buy and people should watch and I’m saying I’m gonna bring the best out of Chad Dawson. Why? It’s because Chad Dawson don’t want to look in the mirror Sunday morning and gotta be told when he gets home that a 46-year-old grandpa beat his butt on national TV. That’s embarrassing. If I was 29-years-old and a 46-yerar-old guy beat me and I don’t give a damn if it was Bernard Hopkins or Michael Jordan, that’s not a good look among my peers. Most of these guys fathers are my age. If they aren’t my age, they’re older. They gotta live with a lot of questions and answers, some embarrassing. That’s the risk of fighting the ageless warrior.”

How he has been able to stay in such great shape despite being 46-years-old:

“I haven’t deviated from what I’ve done for the last 10, 15, 20 years. It’s lifestyle man. It comes down to, and I know it sounds corny to people it’s a thing where and you’ve heard this many times having this conversation, I realize what got me here, not just my talent. My talent played a percentage, not even fifty, but my work habits and my lifestyle gave me longevity, gave me confidence. If I didn’t do these things it’s like a domino effect. One encouraged the other. One thing that I do, lifestyle encouraged hard work, hard work encouraged longevity, longevity encouraged talent, and that takes me as far as I can go. These are the domino effects of why Bernard Hopkins is where I’m at today. I’m no fool to say oh I’m just that good. You have people that will say that to you but I know I can’t say that, but I know I have what I have. I know if I didn’t do the things that would buy me some time in this sport that surpassed even George Foreman then that was great investment in the bank that I made for myself, my family, and for my legacy.”

Listen to Bernard Hopkins on ESPN 980 in Washington D.C. here

Mayweather defeated Ortiz by knocking him out coming out of a break in which Ortiz was docked a point for a headbutt. Boxing analyst Larry Merchant describes that knockout as a legal sucker punch, but he didn’t really go there right after the fight. In fact, he hadn’t really said anything damaging at all while interviewing Mayweather, but that didn’t stop the fighter from laying into Merchant and calling for him to be fired. Merchant then retorted that if he were 50 years younger, he’d have at least tried to kick Mayweather’s butt.

Larry Merchant joined ESPN Radio Los Angeles with Mason and Ireland to discuss the crazy interview that Mayweather gave after the fight, what he meant exactly when he referenced the ‘sucker punch’ that he felt Mayweather was guilty of administering to Ortiz, why he decided to lash out and say that if he were 50 years younger he’d at least try to kick Mayweather’s butt, who would win a fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, and if he’d change anything about how he conducted the post-fight interview in retrospect.

Why do you think that Mayweather went nuts on you in that interview?:

“Let me ask you something, did you hear anything untoward or anything unfair? … I think to speculate that I’m in the long line of media people that he feels have not given him as much credit as he gives himself. And, in this instance, he fought an outstanding fight up until that crisis moment and the fans saw what they saw. They saw a sucker punch ending a fight. Now, was Mayweather within his rights to throw it? Absolutely. Should he have? In my opinion, no. This was a legal blow but it’s not the way great champions do it. And, the kid, Ortiz, has blame on him as well. But now I’m interviewing Mayweather and he’s absorbing from the boos in the crowd, which are getting more explosive, more inflammatory, and he understands he’s not going to get all the credit he deserves again. And that’s what set him off.”

Explain what you mean by sucker punch in this instance:

“A sucker punch is a guy’s got his hands down, he’s looking away, he’s not ready to start a fight — and this could happen in or out of the ring, by the way — and somebody just walks up and hits a punch. In this instance, they had met mid-ring after a point was deducted from Ortiz for a head collision, and properly so, and Ortiz was almost overly apologetic and coming forward and because he was embarrassed. Then the referee stepped in and should have sent them to their corners while he was trying to restore order and get the timekeeper to go again. Suddenly he turned around and said, ‘Time in,’ and Ortiz was looking away and Mayweather clocked him.”

Was Mayweather within the rules?:

“Yes. It was absolutely a legal sucker punch.”

When you said you wished you were 50 years younger, was that just something you said or had your blood boiled over to a point that you wanted to fight him?:

“It was spontaneous combustion. I have no idea where it came from, but you’re getting personally insulted as well as professionally insulted. I was just trying my best to ask the questions that everybody wanted answered and suddenly he assaults me that way and I just went off and was amazed by myself afterwards. But I did say afterwards that I don’t think I would’ve kicked his butt 50 years ago, but I sure would have tried.”

If Mayweather and Pacquiao fought in three months, who would win?:

“Well, Pacquiao has a fight in two months.” Well, ignore that: “I think Mayweather would be the favorite because he’s a wizard of defense and a defensive wizard is hard to beat because he’s taking fewer risks and leaves fewer openings for opponents to fill. But there’s an old saying in baseball that good pitching beats good hitting and vice versa, so if anyone has the vice versa in them, it’s Pacquiao.”

If you could go back to before that interview, would you have done anything differently?:

“I’m not second-guessing myself. I don’t think that what I did was a sucker punch, put it that way. It was a counter punch.”

Listen to Larry Merchant on ESPN LA here (Interview begins at 22:35)