By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Seven-division champion, Manny Pacquiao, has reached an agreement in principle to put his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt on the line against unbeaten six-time titlist, Floyd Mayweather, in a bout that would take place on November 13 likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Konz, told FanHouse on Wednesday night.
Koncz added that there are documents in the hands of the Mayweather camp, which, BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno reports include corroboration between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions on Mayweather's demand for a random drug testing protocol, and a tentative agreement on a 50-50 split of the purse.
Koncz said that Mayweather's camp has two weeks --"whether it's July 13, or, July 15, it doesn't matter, but it's two weeks" -- within which to sign and return the documents indicating their acceptance of the terms.
If Mayweather does not indicate his acceptance of the terms by then, Pacquiao will begin negotiations with another opponent -- likely either Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito.
"I'm not going to discuss the negotiations, but so far, though, there are no issues. We're just waiting on Floyd. Floyd has to decide whether or not he's going to fight this year or next year or not at all. It's up to him, man to decide whether or not he is up to any obligation," said Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, which handles Pacquiao's affairs.
"We want a fight this year, and if he doesn't take the fight this year, then we'll fight somebody else. As far as I'm concerned, there is no actual deadline date, but sometime in the middle of July," said Arum. "If we haven't gotten this thing locked up and done, then we're going ahead and taking another opponent. We're not just going to sit there and blow our chances for a fight in November."
Arum said the need to complete the deal has everything to do with promoting the fight.
"We want this fight period. This is the fight we want, period. But a lot of things that you want can't happen. Everything has to fall into place, and we need the time to start publicizing the fight during the month of August," said Arum. "We've got to get the tickets on sale, commercials done, etc. We have to begin gearing up and getting ready to go by the beginning of August -- whomever Manny is going to fight."
Arum had long reserved the date of Nov. 13 for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex., for the proposed mega fight, although it appears that the Las Vegas site is more likely.
Koncz said that Arum, Pacquiao, and himself have been involved in the negotiations for their side. FanHouse has learned that Mayweather, his advisers, Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon, and, HBO's Ross Greenburg also are believed to have been involved.
"I refuse to comment on the specifics and I'm not going to discuss any terms of the agreement that we want signed. And my recommendation to Manny and to Bob Arum is that once the agreement is signed, that the terms of the agreement remain confidential also," said Koncz.
"There's nothing to say. It's right and correct that we have an agreement, but there are no documents signed. And we will not sit here and jeopardize the November 13 fight date," said Koncz. "So if there are no documents signed within a two-week period of time, then I've been instructed to inform Mr. Arum that we're supposed to go ahead and find a new opponent."
Arum has expressed optimism that negotiations would end positively, even as he believed that a resolution should come "one way or the other" over the next two weeks.
Then again, six-time champion Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) and seven-division king and WBO welterweight (147 pounds) titlist Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) appeared to be set to fight on March 13 at the MGM Grand before talks reached an impasse in December over random drug testing for both fighters to be conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
The fighters had agreed on a 50-50 split of the revenue, as well as eight-ounce gloves and a clash at the welterweight (147 pounds) limit rather than a catch weight.
Since the original talks collapsed, a mutually agreed upon gag order has been in place for all parties involved in the negotiations until the talks are complete.
If Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn't happen, said Koncz, then Pacquiao will pursue a bout against either newly-crowned WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champ, Cotto, whom Pacquiao has already knocked out in the 12th round in their November bout, or ex-world titlist, Margarito, who also has knocked out Cotto but has, himself, been stopped in the 11th round by Shane Mosley.
"The opponents remain the same: Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. I don't put them in any specific order other than the fact that Mayweather is obviously the deal that we have been working on for some time," said Koncz.
"That's [Mayweather] the primary fight because that's what the public wants and that's what Manny wants to give the fans," said Koncz. "As far as Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, there is no particular order. It comes down to monetary factors, it's as simple as that."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
No comments:
Post a Comment