Pastures were looking green just a week ago, when Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions C.E.O. Richard Schaefer agreed to meet one another for lunch in Las Vegas to begin negotiations for the fight between pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Just when the sun appeared to be shining bright with chances of the $80 million fight possibly coming to fruition, negotiations completely stalled over the holiday weekend. Perhaps the color green in the monetarily influenced disparities between the two parties shined just a little more vividly, and as result, brought an end to negotiations for the time being?
According to Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, Arum stated that a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight would probably happen in September at the earliest. Originally Roach was not keen on the idea of Pacquiao fighting Mayweather in March, due to injuries that he incurred in the Cotto fight (most notably a punctured right ear drum). Pacquiao recently insisted that he would still be ready to fight in March, even thought HBO had set aside the date of May 1, 2010 for the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super fight to take place.
Team Mayweather does not want the fight to happen so soon, so they may be pursuing other options, including but not limited to a showcase fight in the United Kingdom. According to Golden Boy Promotions partner Bernard Hopkins, there is also a good chance that Mayweather would face WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley if he successfully wins his unification title fight against undefeated WBC titlist Andre Berto on January 30. Mayweather's advisor Leonard Ellerbe echoed the same sentiments with the Los Angeles times last week, implying that Mayweather would pursue the Mosley fight if he beats Berto and the Pacquiao fight can not be made.
Roach claims there's a possibility that Pacquiao's next fight will very likely take place in March, with or without Mayweather. On Boxingscene.com, Roach was quoted as saying, "Mayweather doesn't want to fight in March, so we might fight for the 154lb title in March and move up for that eighth world title. I'm thinking about that still and its something that I'm kicking around in my head right now."
Pacquiao could move up to 154lbs to challenge newly crowned WBA super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman. Foreman won the title by unanimous decision over Daniel Santos on November 14, on the televised under card of Pacquiao vs. Cotto. Roach continued, "Yuri Foreman might be the opponent. It is a possibility, and then Mayweather in September. If they guarantee me that, we'll do that, but I need more of a commitment from Mayweather because he's not negotiating too well."
Although this is not exactly the course of action that boxing fans were hoping for, such a course would appear to be the logical path for each respective party to take. Mayweather vs. Mosley would be relatively easy deal to make, given the fact that Team Mayweather has successfully worked with Golden Boy Promotions to negotiate and finalize his last three fights against Oscar De la hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Juan Manuel Marquez. Each of those fights were successful at the boxing office, generating record high PPV revenue. Mosley is yet another fighter who is represented by the promotional power house; logic says that match up is a no brainer.
While Pacquiao vs. Foreman is not exactly the highly anticipated showdown that the boxing world is clamouring for, it is a fight that Top Rank should have no problem putting together given the fact that both Pacquiao and Foreman are represented by Top Rank. Promoters usually prefer to keep as many fights within their stable as possible, due to the fact that the success of the promotion will result in more income for them.
One must wonder if the negotiations stalled because both parties are going to require additional time to iron out their differences, or did they prefer to go with a back up plan so they could put off having to deal with each other all together? Yours truly sincerely hopes that option number one was really the case.
Pacquiao is the man that the world wants to see Mayweather against, but this commentator will not exactly be shaking his head in disapproval if Mayweather vs. Mosley were to become a reality.
photo courtesy: therandomtopics.blogspot.com
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