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    Kevin Iole

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    Award-winning veteran sportswriter Kevin Iole is the national boxing and mixed martial arts reporter for Yahoo! Sports. Kevin previously covered boxing for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other publications, writing on some of the biggest names and bouts in the sport.

    • Junior dos Santos: Fighting is worth the health risks because it's 'everything to me'

      Cain Velasquez lands a punch on Junior dos Santos' face during their fight at UFC 155. (Courtesy: Tracy Lee for Y! Sports)


      LAS VEGAS – Junior dos Santos stretched out his entire 6-foot-4 frame, filling an oversized chair in a locker room at the MGM Grand Garden. Minutes earlier, he'd completed a surprisingly intense workout, just days from his three-round heavyweight bout Saturday against Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 160

      He furrowed his brow and took a deep breath as he pondered a seemingly bizarre, but now pertinent, question: Would he quit, or at least change his methods, if he knew for certain that his job could create health issues that would last the rest of his lifetime?

      He wiggled in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head.

      "That's a good question," he said. "That's a really good question."

      A period of silence ensued before dos Santos shifted in his chair and began to answer. A smile began to crease his face.

      "You know, I think it's worth it," he said. "This is my life. This is everything I have. People don't know how hard we [work] and what we sacrifice to [be successful]. MMA

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    • UFC 160 could be launching pad for Canadian T.J. Grant, but he'll never be top star in hometown

      LAS VEGAS – T.J. Grant chuckles at the thought that he may someday become known as the most famous resident of his hometown.

      Maybe in some other sleepy ocean-side town of 25,000, a statue of him would be erected in the town square and he'd be celebrated throughout the years for his athletic feats.

      T.J. Grant, left, defeated Evan Dunham last September at UFC 152. (Getty Images)But Grant is from Canada and was born and still lives in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. That pretty much guarantees that, no matter what he's able to accomplish in the UFC, his ceiling is pretty much becoming the town's second-most famous resident.

      Cole Harbour, you see, is the birthplace of Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, the NHL's greatest player. And while a popular championship fighter may become more widely known worldwide than a hockey player, it's a massively different story in Canada.

      "You know what? Anywhere else in the world, maybe I'd have a shot," he says. "But this is hockey country. This is Canada. Not much chance of [ever surpassing Crosby]. But maybe if things go

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    • Manny Pacquiao to fight Brandon Rios in Macau, China, on Nov. 24

      Manny Pacquiao will look to break a two-fight losing streak when he returns to the ring on Nov. 24 (Nov. 23 in the U.S.) at The Venetian in Macau, China, to fight Brandon Rios in a 12-round welterweight bout, Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz exclusively told Yahoo! Sports on Monday. 

      Manny Pacquiao throws a right at Juan Manuel Marquez. (Getty)The bout will be distributed on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S. Significantly, though, Koncz said it is going to be sold online in China in something of a test run for the American equivalent of $5 or $6. 

      Pacquiao had also been considering Mike Alvarado, but Koncz said the choice to go with Rios was made because of the style matchup. Rios is a straight-ahead fighter who loves to get into a slugfest and it should make for a sensational television bout.

      "Rios isn't going to get in there and dance around and run around," Koncz said. "He's going to come to fight. He'll move straight forward and try to brawl with Manny, and that's the kind of fight that will be very entertaining for the fans. Anyone who knows these

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    • Floyd Mayweather Jr. can't be considered greatest of all-time due to lack of elite competition

      LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather showed yet again why he is, conclusively, the greatest fighter of his generation.

      He brilliantly outboxed Robert Guerrero on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, cruising to a wide unanimous decision in their WBC welterweight title fight that probably would have been a stoppage had he not injured his right hand in the middle of the fight.

      Mayweather is far beyond being judged against his peers, but the lack of depth and quality among them keeps him from seriously being regarded as one of the 10 best fighters ever.

      [Related: Fans boo Floyd Mayweather's 'boring' style]

      Sugar Ray Robinson is, without question, the greatest fighter who ever lived. He was 128-1-2 before he suffered his second defeat, and he beat enough Hall of Famers to fill a football team. Floyd Mayweather avoids a Robert Guerrero punch on Saturday. (USA Today)

      The thing that Robinson, and more recent superstars such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, had over Mayweather was elite opposition.

      "Let me tell you this right here about the

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    • Still 'Money': Floyd Mayweather Jr. picks apart Robert Guerrero to win unanimous decision


      LAS VEGAS – The countdown to the end of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s legendary career began on Saturday with a brilliant performance in a victory over Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Garden.
      Mayweather rolled his record to 44-0 and kept alive a dream to end his career with a perfect mark.

      He signed a six-fight, 30-month contract with Showtime in February –  likely his final contract – and he started it off on the right foot.

      Floyd Mayweather punches Robert Guerrero their WBC welterweight title fight. (USA Today)Floyd Mayweather punches Robert Guerrero their WBC welterweight title fight. (USA Today)

      He won a unanimous decision, with all three judges seeing it 117-111, to keep his WBC welterweight title.

      Though Guerrero's trainer and father Ruben Guerrero shouted at the conclusion, "He ran like a chicken, baby," it was a masterful boxing performance by Mayweather.

      Guerrero tried to pressure Mayweather, but Mayweather had none of it. Guerrero had some success pinning Mayweather in the corner in the first two rounds, but after that, Mayweather used his lateral movement and a laser accurate right hand to pummel Guerrero.

      He landed more than 60 percent of his

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    • Perfect in the ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still pursuing that quality in his personal life

      LAS VEGAS – It's impossible to improve upon perfect, but when the subject is Floyd Mayweather Jr., the normal rules don't apply.

      An outsider might say the 36-year-old boxer lives a perfect life. He's among the greatest ever to have competed in his sport. He owns a fleet of luxury cars, a massive and stylish home in a tony, golf-course community, wears hand-tailored custom suits and accentuates his wardrobe with more diamonds than Elizabeth Taylor could dream of having.

      He employs a gaggle of assistants to take care of his every need, real or imagined. If he wants to go to the movies, he rents out the entire theater. He stays in the finest hotels and flies on a sleek private jet. Women throw themselves at him; men dream of being him.

      It's some people's idea of a perfect life. In life, as in sport, however, perfection is very elusive.

      And so, even with a 43-0 record, even with a spot among boxing's all-time greats long ago assured, even with every material thing he might want at his

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    • Following dad's rant, Robert Guerrero confident as ever before showdown against Floyd Mayweather

      (Warning: Video contains strong language so viewer discretion is advised.)

      LAS VEGAS – It's hard to pinpoint when it first happened, perhaps late in 2009 or early in 2010. Robert Guerrero was an anonymous lightweight fighting even more anonymous opponents, yet, after nearly after bout, in almost every public appearance, his message was the same:

      I want to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next.

      Guerrero had the audacity to call out the best fighter in the world even though said fighter was competing several weight divisions above him. 

      Few took Guerrero seriously and reporters struggled to change the topic to something more grounded when he'd bring up his desire to fight Mayweather. There was no point, the logic went, of talking and writing about a fight that was almost certainly never going to happen.

      Guerrero and his team were nothing if not determined, though, and they never gave up hope. In late 2011, Guerrero's publicist solicited reporters' opinions about a potential Mayweather-Guerrero

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    • He's a business, man: Floyd Mayweather Jr. knows the money is in the details

      LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather, said Richard Schaefer on Tuesday as he looked across a large crowd that had gathered in the lobby of the MGM Grand specifically to catch a brief glimpse of the world's best boxer, is a details man.

      The chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, Schaefer said there are few details of a business deal that escape Mayweather's eagle-eyed scrutiny.

      Floyd Mayweather Jr. is as focused on the business of boxing as he is on punching. (Getty Images)On this day, the people had crowded around a makeshift boxing ring erected in the lobby to help promote Mayweather's welterweight title fight Saturday in the Grand Garden Arena against Robert Guerrero. Many were snapping photos; a few carried signs in support of Mayweather. All were lively as they awaited his entrance.

      A video board behind the front desk at the hotel included a scroll of a Twitter feed filled with comments about the fight. Trying to kill time to appease the crowd until the man they came to see had arrived, the day's host shouted into a microphone. Tickets, he said, were still available. The

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    • Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones: Longevity puts the pound-for-pound question to rest

      UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones already has one loss and nearly suffered another Saturday, but no one has even come close to defeating him in the cage.

      Despite his dominance of Chael Sonnen on Saturday at UFC 159 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Jones was only 27 seconds away from losing his belt. Jon Jones attends a press conference after UFC 159. (USA Today Sports)He suffered a broken toe while taking Sonnen down in the first round. Had referee Keith Peterson not stopped the bout at 4:33 as Jones was pounding on Sonnen, it is highly unlikely that the New Jersey commission would have allowed Jones to come out for the second round because of the gruesome injury. 

      As a result, Jones would have lost the bout by knockout, even though a novice could see he was the far superior fighter.

      Jones' one defeat came in a non-title bout in 2009 as a result of a highly controversial disqualification during a match with Matt "The Hammer" Hamill. Jones was disqualified for throwing an illegal elbow that caused Hamill to be injured. After reviewing a

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    • Road to 43-0: Floyd Mayweather's biggest wins

      LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. was only about a year into his professional career and still a year away from fighting for his first world title when he was already considered by many boxing insiders as one of the game's elite talents.

      Even while still a teenager, Mayweather had a preternatural ability to see an opponent's punches as well as deliver spectacularly fast and accurate counters.

      He was an underdog when he met the great Genaro Hernandez for his first world title on Oct. 3, 1998, but only because Hernandez was so highly regarded and because so few could believe what they were seeing from Mayweather could be duplicated against an elite opponent. Floyd Mayweather Jr. lands a punch against Miguel Cotto. (AP)Floyd Mayweather Jr. lands a punch against Miguel Cotto. (AP)

      Mayweather's rise to the top wasn't like that of Leon Spinks. Spinks became the heavyweight champion in his eighth professional bout through a set of good fortune and fluke circumstances.

      Spinks was one of the gold medalists on the highly acclaimed 1976 U.S. Olympic team that got significant air time during ABC's television coverage

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