Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Latest News and Updates

Purse squabbles doom Pacquiao-Mayweather

Published on: 30th January, 2012

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JUN MEDINA

SQUABBLING over purse sharing and the absence of any actual negotiations are dooming a Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao vs Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. super fight in May or at a latter date this year.

This grim reality came to the fore as Pacquiao’s camp flatly rejected a reported $40 million guarantee offered by Team Mayweather to seal what could be the richest fight in boxing history.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank told The Manila Times Saturday “there’s no way Manny is taking less than 50-50,” a figure he said both fighter were always agreeable to when attempts to make the fight started about two years ago.

“If you look at the recent pay-per-view and live gate numbers, Manny has been doing better than Mayweather, so why would we agree to a lower share of revenues?” Arum stressed.

Arum admitted that there have been no actual negotiations to make the fight until now, suggesting that everything about the megabuck boxing showdown is until now nothing more than gamesmanship in the media.

He was referring to Mayweather’s much-hyped twitter message and personal phone call to Pacquiao to make the fight, to which Pacquiao promptly replied “anytime” provided there’s a 50-50 split.

“If they really want this fight, then let’s do it,” Arum said by phone. “And the way to do it is for both parties to sit down and work together on a contract acceptable to both fighters.”

Asked if there has been any attempt to negotiate the terms of the fight, Arum flatly said, “no.”

This means that unless Mayweather agrees to the 50-50 revenue-sharing stipulation, the big fight the public wants to see will not happen in May 5, Mayweather’s preferred date—or even later in the year.

“I don’t know what’s on his [Mayweather’s] mind. You don’t do a big fight as this by making noises in the media,” Arum said.

But Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Top Rank’s rival Golden Boy Promotions, put the blame squarely on Arum because he’s afraid Pacquiao would lose to Mayweather.

“[Arum] doesn’t want to do this fight. How many more times do I have to say that?” Schaefer told Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com.

“I told all of you . . . he has no intention of doing this fight. Do you want to know when the fight is going to happen? The fight is going to happen when it’s Pacquiao’s last fight, probably towards the end of 2013—when Arum doesn’t care anymore if he loses,” said Schaefer, who has represented Mayweather in most of his most recent fights.

Schaefer said the idea of Arum pitting Pacquiao against unified junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and the winner taking on the winner between World Boxing Association junior welter champ Lamont Peterson and lightweight titlist Juan Manuel Marquez is the biggest indication that Arum is preventing the Pacquiao-Mayweather match-up.

“Everybody is sick and tired of that bulls—t. Arum doesn’t want to do the fight. Let him go and do his tournament and put whoever in front of Pacquiao,” Schaefer said.

With the bad blood between Arum and Schaefer, it’s clear that Pacquiao and Mayweather would have to take personal action to facilitate their projected mega fight.

And it starts with the crucial decision of agreeing to an equal sharing of revenues from a fight that could earn each fighter at least $50 million each.

Continue reading at manilatimes.net

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