The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of March 15

Saying that it was a big week in boxing would understate it by a fair bit.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally met face-to-face for the first, and only, time ahead of their huge fight on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

What did we learn from the lone press event that will be held featuring the two before fight week rolls around in Las Vegas?

In the ring, Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev made Jean Pascal his latest victim on Saturday night in Montreal. What's next for the Russian terminator after his toughest, and best, fight to date?

Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions kicked off its TV slate on Spike TV Friday night.

Did we learn anything at all from a card that was odd, to say the least?

Finally, we sort out the latest on Miguel Cotto—spoiler alert: It's not Gennady Golovkin—and GGG's next opponent.

These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week of March 15.

What Did We Learn from the Floyd-Manny Presser?

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Mayweather and Pacquiao finally shared a stage—rather than center court at a basketball game—Wednesday, officially kicking off the promotion for their May 2 superfight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was one of those iconic moments that fight fans had been hoping to see for the better part of a decade, and it didn't disappoint.

Most of the time, these pressers take on the feeling of formality and are anticlimactic at best. So, did we learn anything from Mayweather and Pacquiao's first official face-to-face meeting?

As Lyle Fitzsimmons pointed out earlier last week, it's all business.

One immediate takeaway is that both fighters respect each other. Mayweather, in particular, seemed well-aware of the danger Pacquiao presents to his undefeated record and legacy among fight fans who felt he'd never take this fight. 

Pacquiao was also respectful but supremely confident, predicting on ESPN's First Take that he would win the fight. He told hosts Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless that the reason the fight took so long to make was because Mayweather was afraid of losing.

It wasn't just the fighters who were respectful and businesslike to each other at the Nokia Theater. You could feel the tension in the room as Mayweather shared the dais with Bob Arum, his former promoter and longtime enemy, and the two met for a cordial, if not warm, handshake. 

What about the fight itself? Did we learn anything usable?

For one thing, Mayweather is clearly the bigger man. He's about two inches taller than Pacquiao and has a five-inch reach advantage. Seeing the two men together in person drove that point home in a big way. Whether or not that has an impact on the ultimate result remains to be seen.

Regardless, all of this will cease to matter in just a couple of months.

The road to the biggest fight in boxing history has begun.

What Next for the Krusher, and a Shout-out to Jean Pascal

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Wow.

What a fight.

Kovalev appeared on the verge of a blowout victory over a former undisputed light heavyweight champion (who could still very much claim to be among the top three fighters in the division) in Rounds 3 and 4, but Pascal showed a ton of guts—or a certain slang term for part of the male anatomy—to not only hang in but win a few rounds.

Pascal fought back and even seemed to stun Kovalev a few times with his right hand when he became the aggressor and shot punches at him with mean intentions. That's something we hadn't yet seen during Kovalev's run to the top.

The result was the best light heavyweight fight we've seen in years. While some will debate the stoppage, it was eminently fair given the way Pascal was wobbling and the big right that ended things. It was another clear indication of why Kovalev is the man at 175 pounds.

Oh, and you have to admire the guts, guile and determination of Pascal. He proved that he's a true warrior. His stock goes way up, even in defeat.

Where do we go from here?

Lineal champion Adonis Stevenson, who blew chances to fight Kovalev, Pascal and Bernard Hopkins in just one calendar year, would seem logical. 

HBO reported on the broadcast that Stevenson, who was in the arena for the fight, said he would do whatever it took to get the fight made, but given his reputation and potential network conflicts, let's not hold our breath.

Stevenson has a harsh dose of medicine to swallow. He may be the man who beat the man, but he's not the man. He forfeited that right when he passed up multiple chances for big fights to take on Dmitry Sukhotsky.

Who?

It's a rough business, but that's the way it goes.

Kovalev could do a lot worse than a rematch with Pascal, should he be unable to lure Stevenson or someone like Andre Ward, once he, you know, actually begins to fight again.

What to Make of PBC's Debut on Spike TV?

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You could pretty much sum up Premier Boxing Champions' debut on Spike TV as the night of reclamation projects. And some are still a long way off.

All of the major bouts featured big-name fighters who had fallen on hard times and were badly in need of wins to get their careers back on track.

In the main event, former welterweight champion Andre Berto snatched up a ludicrous interim WBA Welterweight Championship with a questionable sixth-round knockout of veteran contender Josesito Lopez. 

Berto was trailing on the scorecards as the bout approached its midway point, but a pair of knockdowns in Round 6 ultimately ended the fight.

Lopez was floored by a hard right hand with a bit over two minutes remaining in the round. He rose to his feet and got put down again a few seconds later, with referee Raul Caiz Jr. immediately waving off the fight without a count and without seeming to check the fighter's condition.

Lopez and his team vociferously protested, and his hometown crowd booed, but Berto, who looks like a shell of the guy who once held a welterweight title as one of the sport's top young fighters, got the win he needed to press on.

In the co-feature, former IBF welterweight champion "Showtime" Shawn Porter made a successful return from his loss to Kell Brook by stopping late-replacement opponent Erick Bone in Round 5. 

Porter was originally scheduled to face Mexico's Roberto Garcia, who didn't show up to Thursday's weigh-in and was scratched from the card. 

It's really hard to draw many lessons from this card.

Berto looked "eh" at best and benefited from a seriously questionable stoppage, and Porter beat a guy who didn't know he was fighting until the day before.

We're going to have to defer a little longer before we make any judgments here.

Is Miguel Cotto Ducking Gennady Golovkin?

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Well, it all depends on your perspective. 

Cotto is a living legend, one of the greatest fighters to ever emerge from the fighting-crazed island of Puerto Rico and a future Hall of Famer. He's never had the reputation of a fighter who slinked away from a challenge and has taken on many of the good, great and elite fighters of his era.

The 34-year-old captured the lineal middleweight championship with a shockingly one-sided knockout of Sergio Martinez last June, but he seems to have less-than-zero interest in facing Golovkin, a titleholder who is generally recognized as the division's best fighter, anytime in the near future.

Golovkin's outspoken trainer Abel Sanchez, in comments to David Greisman of BoxingScene.com, doesn't believe the fight will happen, and he has a theory why:

"

We can’t kidnap him [Cotto] and force him to get in the ring. He in his mind knows, and Freddie [Roach] knows that Golovkin is too much for him and will stop him in less than five rounds. They’re not going to take a chance on that. Cotto’s had a great career. There’s no reason, unless he really wants to prove that he’s a middleweight. There’s no reason to get in the ring with Golovkin. Golovkin will destroy him

"

That seems to be the consensus wisdom. You don't have to fight Golovkin, but you can't claim to be the legitimate middleweight champion unless you do.

The question for Cotto now becomes: What next?

Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports reported that Cotto received a $5 million signing bonus for signing with Roc Nation Sports, and he's likely to face junior middleweight titlist Cornelius "K9" Bundrage next. That large signing bonus made it easier to select an opponent who was less lucrative—than say Canelo Alvarez or Golovkin—and still do well financially.

That's an awful fight that absolutely nobody has been demanding. 

Cotto can obviously save some face by dropping back down to 154 pounds to face the awkward and seldom aesthetically pleasing K9, but if this fight qualifies as a middleweight title defense, it becomes an immediate farce and adds credence to the ducking allegations.

Has GGG Scared Everyone Away?

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Speaking of GGG, is there a point where we just reach the conclusion that this guy has literally scared away any and all quality opponents?

That might not seem like a satisfying conclusion—because it isn't—but the crickets in the room are deafening anytime you mention facing Golovkin around any of the fighters considered elite in and around his neighborhood.

Cotto?

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.?

Carl Froch?

Those are all quality tests for the undefeated Kazakh pulverizer, but they haven't, and won't, happen for various reasons. You can make up your own minds on why, but the bottom line is that nobody seems in any great hurry to try his hand against the man who has knocked out his last 19 foes.

Cotto and Chavez Jr. have both rebuffed his advances for a fight.

Instead, Golovkin will take on Willie Monroe Jr. (19-1, 6 KO) on May 16 at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

It's the definition of a stay-busy fight, but Monroe, who won the Boxcino middleweight tournament but has very little punching power and chance of winning, is likely going to be ill-received by boxing fans.

Let's be honest: This isn't an attractive fight. Fans desperately want to see GGG in there with an elite-level challenge, and this, being generous, isn't that.

But can you blame a guy who nobody wants to fight?

That's the question.