Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Still a No Go
According to various media reports, including this one from Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix, Manny Pacquiao and his team have come to a decision about his next opponent. Here’s a clue: It’s still not Floyd Mayweather, and it’s still going to be a fight held in June.
Bob Arum is sticking to his story – the changing opinions of fans and a swirling tide of negative media hurled at his operation be damned.
Arum made several announcements over the past month or so about Pacquiao’s next fight. He told us about his list of four potential options for opponents, and he told us that Pacquiao would be fighting in June.
Well, Pacquiao’s next opponent is going to be one of those four guys, and he’s going to be fighting on June 9th. The fight will apparently be held at the new outdoor arena being constructed on the strip in Las Vegas.
Arum is still insisting that the reason he and Pacquiao are going this route, is because the fight didn’t make economic sense on May 5th and they wouldn’t have had enough time to promote it by then. Sure thing, Bob.
According to the above story from Sports Illustrated, Arum said:
“He realizes that economically the May 5th date is not smart. If you postpone it two or three weeks, you can make so much more money. Mayweather told the court he was committed to fight on May 5th. I think they lied and said Pacquiao was ready to fight him. Now they are saying the judge ordered them to fight on May 5? Was the MGM behind this? If the judge says you have to surrender yourself on June 1st, what the f— does it matter to the judge if you fight on May 5th or two weeks later?”
Of course, the judge, and Mayweather’s legal team, might care a great deal if the fight is three weeks, not two weeks, later on the smokescreen proposal of May 26th. There is too much potential for things which can happen and go wrong in a fight, for any fighter, to have him mandated to show up for an 87-day jail sentence less than a week after the contest.
Arum and Team Pacquiao can stick to their story. And surely, in the past, Mayweather and his team had plenty of blame in terms of the superfight not being put together. However, today, the entirety of the focus of our loathing towards the epicly bad way in which boxing is being run can fall onto Arum’s and Top Rank’s shoulders.
Team Pacquiao is the reason there will not be a May 5th Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight.
