Manny Pacquiao says he loves and supports gays and lesbians, even though he does not approve of gay marriage.
Reed Saxon/AP

Manny Pacquiao said what?

That was the widespread reaction on Tuesday when Pacquiao, in an interview with the National Conservative Examiner, criticized U.S. President Barack Obama’s support of gay marriage.

“God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other,” Pacquiao told the publication. “It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old.”

Inflammatory words, sure, but then again Pacquiao is not your traditional boxer. He’s a Filipino congressman with an eye toward running for president in 2013. He is asked questions that other fighters aren’t.

But what really electrified this story were words attributed to Pacquiao that he claims he never said. In the Examiner story, Pacquiao was originally attributed invoking the Old Testament, citing Leviticus 20:13, saying: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

Scary stuff, but later — after outlets like USA Today and LA Weekly wrote scathing rebukes and The Grove, a  Los Angeles-area shopping mall where Pacquiao was scheduled to be interviewed on Wednesday, released a statement saying Pacquiao was not welcome at The Grove and “will not be interviewed here now or in the future” — both Pacquiao and the original article’s author released statements saying that, in fact, Pacquiao did not make those comments.

“I didn’t say that, that’s a lie,” Pacquiao said. “I didn’t know that quote from Leviticus because I haven’t read the Book of Leviticus yet. I’m not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can’t help it if they were born that way. What I’m critical of are actions that violate the word of God. I only gave out my opinion that same sex marriage is against the law of God.”

If Pacquiao is telling the truth — and given that he has never hinted at having that line of thinking before, I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt — all Pacquiao is guilty of is being against gay marriage. He won’t get many members of GLAAAD buying his pay per views but he should not be branded a bigot, either.

Longtime nemesis Floyd Mayweather — who had his own battles with being branded a bigot earlier this year and is never one to miss an opportunity to get his name in the news cycle — tweeted out his support for gay marriage. Said Mayweather: I stand behind President Obama & support gay marriage. I’m an American citizen & I believe people should live their life the way they want.

Well, glad we cleared that up.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            – Chris Mannix

Ukraine’s Golovkin, who already holds an alphabet title at middleweight, is looking for a fight with WBA “super” champion Felix Sturm. (AP)

There is a new middleweight on the block and he is already jumping up the most avoided list: Gennady Golovkin.

Last Saturday in Kiev, Ukraine’s Golovkin (23-0, 20 knockouts) defended his paper title in a three-round destruction of Makoto Fuchigami. Golovkin, 30, is a baby faced Kazakhstan native — when I ran into him in New York recently he was sporting a multi-colored T-shirt and a sideways-turned baseball hat, looking more like a refugee from a Manhattan art school than a prizefighter — but sports one of the most devastating right hands in the 160-pound division.

“In order to get the recognition of being the best middleweight in the world, which we think he is, he needs to be seen,” said Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez. “Right now we just can’t seem to get anyone in the ring with him.”

Golovkin knows who he wants to get in the ring with: Felix Sturm, the WBA “Super” champion (Golovkin holds the “regular” title). According to Golovkin’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, after Sturm makes a voluntary title defense, he will be obligated to face Golovkin.

“The deal we made with the WBA is that Sturm was allowed a voluntary defense and if he wins, his next fight will be a mandatory defense of the winner of Gennady-Fuchigami,” Loeffler said. “They have been ordered to make that fight by September 30th. At this point, Sturm is running out of options. Sturm at this time holds the record for being a champion the longest without having a mandatory defense. Two years ago Gennady was the interim champion and Sturm was the WBA Champion. Sturm then got elevated to Super Champion. For the last two years Gennady has been trying to fight him.”

One of the most likeable things about Golovkin is his willingness to shuttle up and down weight classes to get a big fight. At 5-foot-10, Golovkin is already short for a middleweight but says he is willing to go all the way up to 168 pounds for the right matchup.

“I want the fight with Felix Sturm,” Golovkins said. “That is the only fight I really want at this time. If that doesn’t work out … I can move to either 154 or 168 if I need to find another opponent. Whatever it is, I want the best fights against the best opponents. I will fight [WBO middleweight titleholder] Dmitry Pirog or any of the other champions. Right now it doesn’t matter who my opponent is or what weight I fight at.”

Loeffler, who promotes both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, says he would like to market Golovkin the same way as the Klitschkos.

We had Wladimir fight at [Madison Square] Garden, where we had marketed him to the Russian community,” Loeffler said. “The Garden has shown interest and would like to have him fight there two times a year. We were at the Martinez fight and Gennady has a lot of respect for him. That is a fight that he would take immediately — on Saturday night if he had the choice. They probably would not want to put him in with Gennady at this time. There is no fighter that he wouldn’t get in the ring with. He considers himself the best middleweight. He just wants the opportunity to prove it to all the fans out there.”

– Chris Mannix

The $94 million in revenue generated by Mayweather-Cotto represents the second highest grossing non-heavyweight pay-per-view event in history, trailing only Mayweather’s 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya. That fight did a whopping 2.4 million buys for $137 million in revenue.

Mayweather has now generated 9.6 million buys in his nine pay-per-view fights, representing $540 million in revenue.

Aside from Mayweather-De La Hoya, only four pay-per-view events have surpassed the buy total from Saturday’s fight: Holyfield-Tyson II in June 1997 (1.99 million buys), Lewis-Tyson in June 2002 (1.97 million), Holyfield-Tyson I in November 1996 (1.59 million) and Tyson-McNeeley in August 1995 (1.55 million).

Mayweather improved to 43-0 and captured the WBA super welterweight championship with a unanimous-decision victory over Cotto, but not before enduring what many regarded as his toughest test in years.

HBO will replay the Mayweather-Cotto fight, along with the co-feature between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Shane Mosley, on Saturday night (10:15 p.m. ET/PT).

Mayweather’s 21-month retirement, which ended in 2009, did little to diminish his value as an attraction, as evidenced by subsequent fights with Juan Manuel Marquez (1.05 million buys), Mosley (1.4 million), Victor Ortiz (1.25 million) and Cotto (1.5 million).

Over that span, Manny Pacquiao — Mayweather’s lone rival to the mythical pound-for-pound throne — has posted comparable numbers in fights with Cotto (1.25 million), Josh Clottey (700,000), Antonio Margarito (1.15 million), Mosley (1.34 million) and a third fight with Marquez (1.45 million).

– Bryan Armen Graham

Chad Dawson has several options for a great fight, including the winner of Jean Pascal-Tavoris Cloud. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

NEW YORK — It’s no secret that HBO has been pushing for a showdown between super middleweight champion Andre Ward and newly re-crowned light heavyweight titleholder Chad Dawson. The network considers (correctly) Ward and Dawson to be at the top of their respective divisions and sees an opportunity to match two of arguably the top-10 fighters in the world.

On paper, it makes sense. In reality, it’s a terrible idea.

Styles make fights and Ward-Dawson is a stylistic Titanic. One fighter, Ward, is a chameleon, capable of adapting to any style an opponent brings into the ring. But Ward lacks aggressiveness and has made it clear he is not interested in getting into a firefight if he can avoid it. Which, considering his enormous talent, is quite often.

Dawson is equally as talented. He has arguably the best jab in boxing and the speed and elusiveness to go with it. But Dawson hasn’t been in a great fight since … well, I can’t remember when Dawson was last in a great fight. Put those two fighters together, as several experienced matchmakers have told me, and you get a snoozer.

Now, if there was no one else for Ward or Dawson to fight, then maybe it should be something to consider. But the fact is there are opponents out there. On May 26, Lucian Bute will travel to England to take on Carl Froch. Bute, of course, is the other top dog in the 168-pound division. If Bute wins, he could be ready for a showdown with Ward in the fall. Ward, meanwhile, could take a tuneup fight in Oakland (against a Don George-type) and make some decent money from the gate while shaking off the rust. And in September or October, we would finally get a fight we have been waiting for.

Dawson, likewise, has options. On August 11 two top-rated light heavyweights, Jean Pascal and Tavoris Cloud, will face off for Cloud’s alphabet title. It was Pascal who handed Dawson his first loss in 2010 while the undefeated Cloud has power and a fan-friendly style. The winner of Cloud-Pascal will see his Q rating spike considerably, making him a natural fit for Dawson later in the year. If Dawson is anxious for a payday, a unification match with Nathan Cleverly in the U.K. would probably be pretty easy to make. Probably pretty easy for him to win, too.

Maybe someday there will be a clamor for Ward-Dawson. But it’s not today. Neither Ward or Dawson is likely to come cheap, meaning whatever license fee HBO ponies up is going to be a big one. Simply put, that money is better spent elsewhere.

– Chris Mannix

VADA’s mission is to help protect the health and safety of athletes who are willing to demonstrate their commitment to clean sport. As a voluntary organization, we depend on those who share our vision to help rid boxing and MMA of PEDs. VADA understands and shares the disappointment that is felt by Golden Boy Promotions, Amir Khan, the undercard fighters, HBO, and the thousands of fans who were looking forward to Khan-Peterson II. This unfortunate situation, however, serves to underscore the need for PED education and the high-caliber testing procedures that VADA offers.

VADA has respect for Richard Schaefer, GBP, and their commitment to clean sport. However, VADA disagrees with Mr. Schaefer’s characterizations of the contractual relationship between GBP and VADA. The facts are as follows.

There was never a final or signed contract between GBP and VADA. When VADA became involved with the Peterson-Khan fight in March, the individual athletes signed up for the VADA program and executed the proper documentation.

VADA was told that GBP also wanted a contract so that GBP would be authorized to receive the testing results, including the preliminary results from an “A” sample analysis. It is important to understand that “A” sample results are only preliminary, do not legally stand up by themselves, and under commonly accepted anti-doping procedures are typically released only to the athlete.

In order for VADA to release the preliminary “A” sample results to a third party such as GBP, VADA requires an executed authorization allowing us to do so. VADA sent GBP a draft contract for its signature which would have authorized the preliminary “A” sample results to be released to GBP. This initial draft (which was never signed) contained a clause pursuant to which GBP would have represented that it had obtained the necessary authorization from the fighters. GBP’s legal team rejected this clause and instead suggested making the fighters signatories to the contract with their signatures being the necessary authorization. VADA’s counsel made it clear to GBP that, if GBP wanted to handle it this way, GBP must take responsibility for obtaining the athlete’s signatures. Unfortunately, and to VADA’s dismay, GBP never obtained the signatures.
Various versions of a draft contract were sent back and forth between GBP and VADA. The contract was never finalized. Richard Schaefer may, or may not, have been aware of this situation. The bottom line is that VADA had no contract with GBP. This is not a mere technicality. It involves issues of medical ethics. VADA needed a signed contract in order to deviate from its Results Management Policy (posted on our website) and release the preliminary and personal medical information to a third party. VADA still has never received a signed contract or signed athlete authorization from GBP.
 VADA would have been happy to inform GBP of the preliminary “A” results. But we needed a signed authorization allowing us to do so, which we never received.

It has also been asked why it took so long to test the “B” sample after the first positive test result. When VADA notified Mr. Peterson of the adverse finding on April 13, Mr. Peterson had one week to challenge the “A” test result and ask for the “B” sample to be tested. During that time, Mr. Peterson also had the opportunity to supplement his earlier written submissions to VADA with regard to drugs and other medications that he had used prior to the testing. Mr. Peterson’s representatives waited eight days (until Saturday, April 21) to respond. At that time, they did not communicate any of the “exculpatory” material later offered to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Instead, they chose to challenge the positive test result, asserted their right to be present when the “B” sample was tested, and asked that the “B” sample be tested on Friday, April 27th. The UCLA laboratory said that Friday was an inappropriate day to begin testing because four consecutive days are needed to complete the test. The sample “B” test began on Monday, April 30th.

VADA has complied in every way with all signed contracts that we had and will continue to do so. VADA welcomes the discussion about the dangers of PEDs to those who use them and to their opponents. We also reiterate our contention that it is imperative for the managers, promoters, and friends of these brave athletes to assist in the education about PEDs. VADA will help in every way we can. Our hope is that there will come a time when every test is negative.

– SI.com staff

Team Peterson is very disappointed and distraught by the decision to cancel the May 19th rematch against Amir Khan. This is an extremely difficult decision to accept. We have always taken the position of providing factual information rather than responding emotionally to rumors and innuendoes. We did everything that was asked of us in efforts to comply. To support our stance we provided the Nevada State Athletic Commission with a significant amount of factual medical data in response to these allegations. Lamont did a battery of test this week and saw a number of independent board certified physicians. They all had the exact same conclusion as the doctor that initially treated and diagnosed Lamont’s medical condition. It began as a confidential medical matter between a patient and his physician; unfortunately, it has now become a public issue in efforts to clear the name and reputation of this young man.

As a condition for this rematch Lamont demanded that Olympic style random drug testing be implemented. He has been a true advocate for making boxing drug free and fair. In his 18 year career (10 amateur and 8 professional) Lamont Peterson has never failed a drug test and has always complied with the rules beyond this isolated and explainable occurrence. We still stand behind the fact that he did nothing wrong and he was more than ready to go through with the May 19th fight. He is a man of tremendous character and will. His work ethic is second to none and in every sense of the word he is a true Champion, in life, as well as in the ring.

We will vigorously pursue the truth with regards to this matter and continue to fight to protect this young man’s character, credibility and all he has accomplished. Once all the facts have been reviewed we have no doubt that he will be vindicated.

– SI.com staff

“Not true from our end,” said Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in an email to SI.com. “All tests negative so far.”

Kizer confirmed Mayweather’s post-fight test result was negative, as were those Cotto, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Shane Mosley.

The pre-fight test results will be available on Friday, Kizer said.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Dana White could have told the same joke.

Then again, the UFC president might not find the humor in his fight organization’s protracted and still-fruitless bid to have mixed martial arts sanctioned in New York, as it is in nearly every other state in the nation. Especially after Monday’s news that the State Assembly once again will not bring an MMA bill to a vote this year.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, a conference of Democrats discussed the bill behind closed doors and Speaker Sheldon Silver, even while acknowledging that members were “pretty evenly divided,” decided to not bring the measure to the full Assembly. The Manhattan legislator did acknowledge, however, that the tide is turning. “I think it’s evolving,” he told the Daily News. “I don’t think two years ago it was a 50-50 proposition.” Other legislators told the newspaper that the informal tally actually tilted in favor of the MMA bill.

Naturally, this turn of events left UFC officials disappointed, even perturbed. “I feel 150 percent if we had a vote on the floor of the Assembly, we would win,” Marc Ratner, the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, told the paper. “Not to get a vote is un-American.”

And yet unsurprising.

The UFC continues to battle a perception of MMA as a brutal, even barbaric display, an image advanced with a vengeance by the company’s most vociferous opponent: the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, in Las Vegas. What does a Nevada union have to do with a legislative debate in New York? The Vegas local has long been at odds with the UFC’s primary owners, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who also own the non-union Station Casinos. So the union has taken its fight across the country, sinking its resources into mobilizing its labor brethren in the Empire State to oppose the UFC.

Union lobbying aside, the MMA bill also has had to overcome a generational gap in the Assembly. The story in the Daily News quoted an unnamed legislator as griping that Silver, a 68-year-old who has served in the Assembly since 1976 and been Speaker since ’94, “is still siding with a dwindling number of aging veterans.”

So the UFC gets to continue playing the waiting game … just days after staging an event, shown nationally on network television, less than six miles from Manhattan. Last Wednesday, fighters held open workouts at a gym near Tribeca. On Thursday, there was a press conference at the Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side. On Friday, the Fox TV network hosted a gala party in midtown. Then the whole circus packed up and headed across the river to the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

The UFC is actually doing just fine by setting up its octagon over in Jersey, as it did not just last weekend in the Meadowlands but also in March 2011 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Both venues are a short distance from New York City, with easy access via trains and highways. The Prudential Center in Newark is a spiffy new arena, and the Izod, while far from spiffy, is newer than the Garden and has limitless parking (if you can navigate the labyrinth of so-called access roads). Neither Jersey locale has the glittery nightlife or dining options of midtown Manhattan, but there are diners aplenty. And hey, there’s always the Olive Garden. Maybe it’s the Jersey guy in me saying this, but if it’s good enough for Eli, it’s good enough for Dana.

There is a deeper concern, though. For as long as New York declines to sanction MMA, the UFC will be soiled by a stigma that’s convenient for naysayers to use against the sport White’s company has built out of ashes. Banned. Bloodsport. Brutality. It hardly matters what’s true and what’s cruel hyperbole. Perception is reality when you don’t pay close attention, and casual followers of sports and the general citizenship are wont to believe what they hear over and over. It’s true that more and more mainstream advertisers are drawn to the UFC for its appealing fan demographic. But some are still keeping their distance, waiting for the sport to move more deeply into the mainstream. Sanctioning in New York would be a big step in that direction. That’s something worth waiting for, even if we shouldn’t have to.

– Jeff Wagenheim

The May 5 telecast averaged 2.42 million viewers (for a household rating of 1.5), down from 5.7 million for UFC on Fox 1 and 4.7 million for UFC on Fox 2.

By comparison, the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312, which aired earlier in the day, outdrew it with a 2.0 rating. (And that’s not the highest series of racing in NASCAR). The Kentucky Derby drew a 9.0 overnight rating from 6 and 7 p.m. ET on NBC. It was narrowly beaten by the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals between 12:15 and 3:15 p.m, which posted a household rating of 1.6.

UFC on Fox 3 did earn a rating of 1.6 among 18-to-34-year-old men, its primary demographic, but that’s also down from the promotion’s first (4.3) and second (3.2) network-televised cards since it signed a seven-year multi-media rights agreement with Fox in August.

The main card of Saturday’s event at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., saw lightweight contender Nate Diaz submit Jim Miller. Johny Hendricks, Alan Belcher and Lavar Johnson also prevailed in nationally televised bouts.

UFC on Fox 3 faced competition from both an NBA playoff doubleheader on TNT and the undercard of the super welterweight championship fight between Floyd Mayweather and Miguel Cotto on HBO Pay-Per-View.

UFC on Fox 4 is scheduled for August 4 at Staples Center in Los Angeles (8 p.m. ET, Fox), with Hector Lombard-Brian Stann and Ryan Bader-Lyoto Machida among the headlining bouts.

– Bryan Armen Graham

The 37-year-old Martinez, who is the lineal middleweight champion and No. 3-ranked boxer in SI.com’s pound-for-pound ratings, was honored in a ceremony Sunday at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, the club’s home stadium in Buenos Aires.

Dr. Gaston Gallino, River Plate’s president of public relations, presented Martinez with a plaque and a No. 1 shirt with “Maravilla Martinez” printed on the back.

A product of one of Buenos Aires’ toughest barrios, Martinez sought careers in soccer and cycling before taking up boxing at 20. He had been tabbed for a fútbol career as a precocious striker for local club team Claypole during his teenage years, but turned down a contract offer from Club Atlético Los Andes — a decision that perplexed many in a nation where the beautiful game is sacrosanct.

The late-blooming Argentine expat upset Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight championship in April 2010. He is coming off an entertaining 11th-round TKO of Matthew Macklin on St. Patrick’s Day in New York, his fourth consecutive defense of the 160-pound title.

With few big-money challengers at middleweight, Martinez has said he would come all the way down to 150 pounds and settle for pride-swallowing 80-20 split of the purse to make a fight with current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.

– Bryan Armen Graham