Negotiations for Pacquiao/Mayweather Imminent?

Posted by Patrick Cassidy on 11.18.2009

Have negotiations begun for the proposed superfight?


Photo by Laura De La Torre / 411mania.com

It appears Bob Arum has yet to put aside his personal animosity towards the fighter he once promoted, Floyd Mayweather Jr. He's stated that if it were up to him the superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. would not happen. Despite, Arum's reluctance to make the fight he's claimed he will not stand in the way of making the fight happen.

Arum may put on tough words but he realizes the financial implications such a fight would generate. On Monday, Richard Schaefer who heads Golden Boy predicted that a Mayweather-Pacquiao matchup could generate up to five million pay-per-view buys which would smash the previous record of 2.45 million set by Floyd Mayweather's clash with Oscar De La Hoya.

Arum, still claims that the only reason he wants to make the fight is that the public desperately craves it. "The only reason I want this Mayweather fight is because the public wants it so badly," Arum said. "Boxing is on a real, real roll right now and I don't want to do anything to get it off that. But if that doesn't matter to him, OK, it doesn't matter to him. I have no problem.

"But I would feel I cheated the sport I've worked in for so long if I stood in the way of this fight happening. Because of that, I'll do everything in my power to try to make it happen. Do I really want this happening, though? Other than that, the answer is no."

The bad blood between Arum and Mayweather has it's roots from when Arum promoted Mayweather at which time Mayweather had not appeared on a single Pay-Per-View card despite his reputation as one of the best fighters in the sport. These allegations are tough to deny as Mayweather would go on to be a major draw once leaving the Top Rank banner.

Whether or not, the fight happens will ultimately depend on Schaefer and Arum who have their own history of bad blood dating back to an incident when Golden Boy attempted to sign Pacquiao away from Top Rank. The relationship has since been patched up and now both men have said they're willing to work together to make the fight happen. Whether those negotiations have begun or are in the process of being worked out is unclear at this moment as Arum cites such discussions as "confidential".

Schaefer believes the fight will happen and that negotiations will convene in a timely manner, saying "based on the good relationship that exists between Golden Boy and Team Mayweather and the discussions we've had, I would expect that to be the case."

Arum concurs with Schaefer's assesment of the situation.

"Richard and I are business friends," Arum said. "We have a good relationship, if competitors can have a good relationship. I would describe as good the way we work with each other. Richard is a business guy and is a smart guy and we would have very, very few problems in negotiations.

"Once he's authorized, things will proceed. I'm not going to play Mayweather's games, though. I'm not going to let my fighter play Mayweather's games. If Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao and make a lot of money, he can do so. But God love him, no one is forcing him to fight and if he wants to play games or he doesn't want the fight, he can do what he wants."

According to Yahoo, Arum has also said that if the fight is not made, he'd be willing to explore a possible third bout with Juan Manuel Marquez.