by Leo Reyes
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum and Adviser Michael Koncz could not hide their anger Thursday when Floyd Mayweather and his advisers Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon announced a possible fight with Manny Pacquiao on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas without their knowledge.
Koncz said he was not aware of any recent negotiation between Mayweather’s group and Team Pacquiao.
“How can he set the date, how can he set the venue without consulting with your opponent?” Koncz told veteran sports scribe Ronnie Nathanielsz in Boxingscene.com.
“They have not spoken to Bob Arum and they have not spoken to me”, Koncz said. Mayweather is just trying to get attention as Pacquiao date against Juan Manuel Marquez approaches, he added.
For his part, Arum said Mayweather is just trying to move Pacquiao away from the spotlight with his fight against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez drawing near.
“You don’t negotiate this way. This is Floyd trying to move Manny out of the spotlight. This is no way to negotiate a fight. The MGM on May 5th? Who the hell is Floyd to say that? I know they are not serious. We put Floyd in a corner when we made it crystal clear that the issue of drug testing is over. So he comes out and makes this statement? Nobody even knows if he is going to be around in May.”
In his last sentence, Arum was apparently referring to his legal problems which could land him in jail even before the date of the fight
In the article by SI.com, Arum said there is a need to negotiate on the venue as the fight is expected to draw substantial number of people in attendance.
“The negotiation on the site is a major element in any of these promotions. They know that. It’s why I believe this is not sincere.”
“I’m not reaching out to anybody. They know my number. I want it done right. I want to maximize the revenue for everybody. And what is the magic of May 5? May 5th is Cinco de Mayo. What does that have to do with anything? It makes no sense.”
Arum and Koncz believe Mayweather and his advisers are not really serious with their statements as they are intended to take away public attention from Pacquiao who is riding high on his popularity rating with barely a week to his November 12 date with Marquez.
It may be recalled that Mayweather has also seized the limelight when he announced his upcoming fight with just a day before Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight last May.
In a press tour to promote his fight with Victor Ortiz in September, Mayweather kept mentioning Pacquiao’s name for his next fight, which irked Ortiz as Mayweather continue to talk about Pacquiao at every opportunity and forgetting about him as they promote the fight.
Obviously Mayweather was trying to capitalize on Pacquiao’s popularity as a way of reaching out to a wider share of the pay-per-view market that resulted in the 1.25 million PPV buys for his recent fight with Ortiz.
For the third time Mayweather is again trying to seize the limelight with his sudden announcement of a possible fight with Pacquiao on May 5 without consulting or even just informing Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum or any member of Team Pacquiao.
Is Mayweather serious with his statement? Or is he afraid to fade away from the limelight as Pacquiao’s popularity soars to unprecedented level after bagging major endorsements that include the world’s most popular cognac and gracing the cover of Newsweek?
Seemingly, his actions on his supposed May 5 engagement with Pacquiao, will not
help in improving his sagging popularity.
Still, he can reach out to Arum and say he is indeed serious in making the fight this time. And if he does, he can again seize and even share the spotlight with the Filipino boxing star.
9 Comments
Comment by jerry — November 4, 2011 @
4:52 am
manny .sorry you have to put up with so much bullshit from mayweather,he gets nothing but hand picked fights and that is a fact.mayweather will never fight you on fair grounds because he can not win and thats another fact.manny you are a true man and millions of people look up at you.so don’t ever bow down to he’s shit.
Comment by wildpawn — November 4, 2011 @
10:58 am
everybody should ignore every words that coming from the mouth of this drug user/dealer family mayweather. boycot all news, articles related to this family!!
Comment by ira — November 4, 2011 @
1:26 pm
Hello Leo !
Perhaps you and your Pacman followers would benefit from a memory refreshment course : Read Ben Thompson’s article in today’s FightHype – November 4th .
Why are you not reminding your Pacquiao fans that Arum and Koncz have done the exact same thing – chosen the Dallas Stadium and the MGM Grand as locked up venues BEFORE going to contract ( Clottey ) . Now , here they are , Crook # 1 and Crook # 2 , claiming that Mayweather has a lot of nerve choosing the venue and the date without even consulting nor negotiating with them .
I’ve said it before – Arum ( and his henchman Koncz ) is the problem here .
Manny should have the guts to fight Floyd next , and stand up to Arum , and choose his next opponent – Floyd Mayweather . Afer all , fans pay to see Manny fight , not to watch Arum promote .
BTW , Floyd picked the date and site for the next bigest fight – he did not mention Pacquiao by name , IF ( the largest word in the dictionary ) Marquez does beat Manny next weekend – possible , not probable – the next biggest fight would then be Marquez and Floyd II , @ the MGM , on …… CINCO de MAYO !!!
Floyd’s ready , Saturday , May 5th , Cinco de Mayo , in Las Vegas , at the MGM Grand .
Now , all Manny has to do is show his fans : Is he a man or Arum’s puppet ?
What’s it gonna be , ‘lil fella ?
Comment by daajefe — November 4, 2011 @
5:07 pm
@ira you couldn’t of said it better!!! Little man needs to man up and call his own shots. Pacquiao needs to cut the strings and stop being a puppet.
Comment by jemz boy — November 4, 2011 @
5:55 pm
it only justifies that floyd is afraid with manny and also afraid of losing his popularity.
this act by mayweather camp is just a lie.. they just wanted to steal the spotlight for the manny’s fight because the results of the pay per view after this fight with marquez, the world will know who is the real pound for pound king in boxing and pay per view..
for floyd, i recommend that you sit with manny and his promoter and study the offer of the winner takes all by manny’s camp.. so that people will know if you’re really not afraid of the good congressman..
Comment by Jay — November 5, 2011 @
3:20 am
Floyd Mayweather is a very immature manny pacquiao dodging mother fucker ducking idiot !!
Comment by ira — November 5, 2011 @
12:01 pm
Hello Leo !
Let’s pay attention here . Yes , Floyd’s timing is deliberate – he IS stealing Manny’s spotlight/limelight : The fact that it got an angry response from Arum and some of Manny’s fans proves me right .
Now , wake up , and pay closer attention : Floyd picked May 5th as the date for his next fight . He has asked MGM Grand to put that date on hold , and his people have informed those in the PPV industry to be so notified .
He has NOT gone to contract with MGM , and he has NOT entered into contract with HBO nor anyone within the PPV networks .
Now , settle down . When Manny does go to contract with Floyd , other casinos will bid for the site : Mandalay Bay , Caesar’s , and I am sure that Steve Wynn would like to get in on the action .
Arum cries foul . SO WHAT ? Arum hollers that the Thomas and Mack Center could even be a viable venue . That is just more bs from Arum . When The Fight is over , the MGM crowd empties out into the casino . The Thomas and Mack empties out into the parking lot . Who do you think will win THAT bidding war ?! That’s why MSG loses all the top fights to Vegas – MSG empties out onto the street . If Cotto – Margarito was a big draw , it would have been bid up by a Vegas venue .
Imagine this : Floyd isn’t fighting next weekend , but he wins again !!
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