Show me the “Money”, Please!

By Keith Terceira

Top Rank’s main man Bob Arum has gotten extremely vocal lately regarding undefeated WBC Welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0 26ko) and his constant dodge around setting his name on a contract to face P4P great and 8 time champion Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2 38ko).

Recently Arum was quoted as stating that the fight was all but ready to go in Singapore!

“We had some rich guys from Singapore who wanted to do Mayweather-Pacquiao. They wanted to host the fight,”

Even the attempt by Arum to convince Floyd it was a good opportunity met with a contemptuous racial “Moneyism” according to Arum.

“Of course, these guys are Chinese, not Filipino, but Mayweather said, ‘No, they are all the same, they are all Asians and all Asians are the same.”

During the recent media day at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, Arum added insult to injury with his insistence that the time for dealing on this fight may be past.

“That fight will never, ever happen,” Arum said. “Ever, ever happen because of Mayweather.

“When Mayweather talks about how he hates Top Rank he’s talking bulls—. What Mayweather hates is Manny’s right hand. Mayweather has no chin and Manny will knock him out. Pacquiao and Mayweather is a three or four-round fight. Period. And who knows that best? Mayweather. The one thing Mayweather has had throughout his career is he knows boxing. He understands boxing and Mayweather cannot compete with Manny. It’s the right hand of Manny that is preventing that fight from happening. If Manny agreed just to jab with the right hand the fight would be made in 30 seconds.”

Time may be running short both in the terms of age and interest in this fight for both boxers but not in the terms of fan interest. Boxing needs the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout even though Manny has stated he doesn’t need Mayweather to establish or increase his legacy. He seems quite content with the history he has made.

“Whoever I have to fight the rest of my career, I’m happy and satisfied with what I’ve done. I don’t need somebody else to be satisfied with what I’ve done. I don’t need to be looking for, or chasing, a fight. I want the fight, but I cannot force him to take it. He has to show he wants to fight me,”

After the Mayweather-Ortiz bout Floyd was quoted as stating to media that he as well has no need to fight Pacquiao.

“I don’t need Pacquiao. Every time I go out there I’m going to make $70 million. I don’t need Pacquiao. Pacquiao is famous because he is attached to my name. When they say Pacquiao, they say that’s the guy they are trying to get to fight Floyd Mayweather. When they say Floyd Mayweather , they say that’s an all-time great.”

For two guys that don’t really need to face one another in the ring their promoters, trainers, family members, and even the fighters themselves talk a lot about this mega battle.

One thing is certain in my mind this fight will happen, at some point, in the not too distant future, because there is way too much money on the table for either thirty something fighter to walk away from. It just might be that the time is not right for it to pay what both sides need.

The bigger the drama that can be created by both sides, the more buys that will fill the ledgers at HBO or Showtime, whomever wins the bidding war.

A big win, minus the theatrics, for Manny Pacquiao over Juan Manual Marquez, would raise the outcry,  forcing  Mayweather’s hand, but first, with the announcement that Mayweather once again set a PPV record in buys, for the Ortiz bout, might just make a second worthwhile to Floyd.

Of course that is if the numbers aren’t inflated a bit!

I will never understand why two fighters would rather face two tough bouts when one could make them the most money. Unless of course Mayweather doesn’t feel any money is worth losing that goose-egg on his record.

Boxing needs Mayweather Jr. to set-up and fight, for Pacquiao to agree as he has stated to testing, and they just need to leave a greater legacy for future fans.

Of course, I’m being bias, as write for Manny Pacquiao’s official web site, and I’m boxing’s biggest fan. (in the interest of disclosure).

Ciao!