Mayweather-Pacquiao fight off for now -- Examiner

By Edward Castro, Examiner.com

It’s a shame Bob Arum’s ‘Countdown’ didn’t pack the same kind of wallop as Lebron James’ ‘Decision.’

While James’ announcement changed the landscape of professional basketball, the result of Friday’s ‘Countdown’ did little to improve the way sports fans look at boxing.

The ‘Countdown’ media event, held at midnight on Friday, focused around the contract negotiations between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and a proposed bout between the two superstars.

But, as revealed by Arum, negotiations between the two camps failed to produce an agreement. Pacquiao is now considering other opponents for his bout in November.

“Next week we will be talking to the (Miguel) Cotto camp and the (Antonio) Margarito camp regarding a fight with Manny Pacquiao,” Arum said. “People have asked me, or people here at Top Rank, if the Mayweather fight is dead. Even though Mayweather has not responded, my answer is simple: It’s dead when we conclude a deal with an opponent for Manny’s fight in November.”

Arum added, “Then we are bound to that fight. We would then look for a Mayweather fight next year.”

Arum also made it clear that Desert fighter Timothy Bradley has yet to build a big enough following to be considered as a viable opponent for Pacquiao.

“Timothy Bradley is a tremendous fighter and a great young man,” Arum said of Bradley, who fights Carlos Abregu today at the Agua Caliente Casino near Palm Springs. “But the problem with a guy like Bradley is that, even though we know he is a super fighter, the public really doesn’t know him.”

Arum did let one strange bit news slip. During negotiations for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, he never spoke with anyone from Golden Boy Promotions (Mayweather’s promoter) or with Mayweather directly.

Negotiations were held between Arum and HBO president of sports Ross Greenburg, who communicated with Mayweather manager Al Haymon.

“Ross was committed to making the fight happen,” Arum said. “As head of HBO sports, I felt the best chance to make the fight happen was to do it all through Ross – like he was the mediator. I still believe it was the right way to go.”

Arum added, “It obviously didn’t work out, not because Ross didn’t do a good job. I think he did. Obviously, the problem was Floyd, for whatever reason, and I am sure he has a valid reason, didn’t want to commit.”

Arum seemed to give Mayweather a pass despite not coming to terms for a fight. He mentioned the legal woes of Roger Mayweather, Floyd’s trainer and uncle, as a reason why the undefeated champion has not put his stamp of approval on the fight.

“I don’t think anyone should be too harsh with Floyd,” Arum said. “The real issue with the Uncle has an effect. I, putting myself in his shoes, would feel a lot of reluctance to take such a big fight without my trainer.”

Source: examiner.com