Coward Tim Smith Ducks Pacquiao-Clottey NYC Press Conference

New York Daily News boxing columnist Tim Smith skipped out on the Wed., January 20, 2010 press conference held in New York City to promote the March 13 bout ("The Event") between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey.

Smith's absence from such a high-profile pugilistic presser held in his own backyard seems a bit odd until you realize the circumstances.

On December 25, 2009, Smith wrote the following article (note to moderators -- the amount and purpose of the copyrighted material I'm using below is consistent with the Fair Use exemption of copyright law):

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/12/25/2009-12-25_a_test_of_ethics.html

The article included the following section:

Any decent journalist would have at least attempted to verify the information which Smith merely asserts as fact in his piece. He or she also would have tried to look up whether or not Pacquiao has had issues with having his blood drawn in the past (apparently Pacquiao had trouble with this before his loss to Eric Morales, or he believes he did, anyways).

But Smith didn't do that. Instead, he wrote his Pacquiao-bashing article as if he were simply a Mayweather mouthpiece and made a fool out of himself for doing so.

What's worse, like Teddy Atlas on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, Smith has yet to produce any hard evidence to support his claim that Pacquiao's team asked for or requested the supposed "what if Pac tests dirty?" clauses that Smith claims they did.

What this means is that now Tim Smith is guilty of a similar thing as what he tries to accuse Pacquiao of in the above piece: Until and unless Smith produces hard evidence that Pacquiao's representatives asked for the "dirty tests" clauses, Smith is to be considered a hack reporter who is recklessly shilling for Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

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This brings us to Smith's absence at this past Wednesday's New York City Pacquiao-Clottey press conference.

Pacquiao had already called out both Atlas and Smith for their unproven, hearsay charges.

With a contingent of Filipino reporters and Pacquiao set to appear at the press event, apparently Tim Smith figured he would pull a Floyd Mayweather and duck out of the proceedings rather than own-up to his potentially-defamatory writing:

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20100122234550

Until further notice and elaboration then,

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. We'll all be waiting for you to prove otherwise, and we hope that you will soon produce proof of your currently-baseless claim that Manny Pacquiao requested "dirty test" information and clauses in the Mayweather contract/negotiations.

 

Not good enough, especially if you're then going to write "those are disturbing requests" like the information you got from your source is legitimate and factual.

Smith blew it, as did Atlas. Unless you see that supposed email(s) for yourself, you cannot go around smearing someone like Smith and Atlas did. That's horse sh*t.

I would sue the hell out of Smith and Atlas if I were Pac, or include them in the Mayweather suit. Smith's source is obviously either Floyd or one of Floyd's toadies, so wrap that in with the defamation claims against the Mayweather crew.

Smith is a punk. If you're going to be a Mayweather shill and smear Pacquiao with your junk writings, you better have the gonads to show up at the presser and take responsibility for the crap you wrote.

Instead, Smith just chickened out like a coward.

He's a joke, and this incident just cements in my and many's minds that Smith has lost whatever credibility he once had as a boxing reporter.

 

They must feel Smith and Atlas aren't worth it (or that they can roll up what Atlas and Smith said into the original suit). I understand that, from a business/nuisance perspective (that is, the real blame lies with the Mayweather crew, not their stooges, so you hit Team May with the defamation lawsuit instead), but I would want to smack down both Atlas and Smith individually.

I guess that's why Pac wrote what he wrote about Smith and Atlas, to make sure he refuted them in some fashion while at the same time keeping his eye on the bigger picture. Ditton on Arum calling "bullsh*t" on the supposed correspondence's existence.

Again, we'll be waiting for those email(s) to be produced by Smith.

Until then, he's just another punk and fraud taking dictation from Team Mayweather.

Moreover, he's a clown who couldn't even show up to the presser and defend the junk he wrote. No respect for that cowardice. You write it, you better at least have the stones to show up in your own backyard and take the heat.

Instead, Smith did a Mayweather and "retired" from the press conference. What a freaking joke.

But, hey -- a cowardly writer and a cowardly boxer. Good match. At least they deserve each other.