“When we have their final proposal, Manny will make the final decision. He will be the master of his own fate on this. “–PACMAN PROMOTER BOB ARUM, speaking from Mexico.
Two telephone calls made today (Tuesday) , one from Los Angeles to Aspen and one from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to the Philippines, will determine whether the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquaio is moving forward for a March 13 mega bout.
I spoke at length with Pacman promoter Bob Arum, who has barely had time to put a swizzle stick or a paper umbrella in his frozen margaritas at a swanky Mexican hotel, and he confirmed that today is crunch time, really and truly, for this Lollapalooza of a fight.
“Todd (duBoef, Top Rank president) will be speaking first to (Golden Boy marketing minion) Bruce Binkow,” Arum said Wednesday morning from Baja California.
“This could be the final proposal from the Mayweather side. Then Todd will call me and then we will have a call late tonight, already the next morning where Manny Pacquiao is. We’ll get Manny and (agent) Michael Koncz on the phone and the final decision on this fight taking place March 13 won’t be made by me, by Todd, by Koncz or anyone else except Manny Pacquiao.”
Meanwhile, Arum said his high-priced, high-profile attorney Daniel Petrocelli, who took former football superstar OJ Simpson down in a civil case, has sent legal letters to Oscar de la Hoya and his top executive, Richard Schaefer, concerning a lawsuit filed on behalf of Pacquiao.
Arum said Pacquiao “is an angry young man and I don’t blame” regarding allegations from the Mayweather camp about the Pinoy Idol being a drug cheater.
“Oscar, I know who he is, I know he is lacking in substance, but I am more surprised at Schaefer. I thought he was smarter than that. I didn’t think that Schaefer would sell out his soul for the fee they get from Mayweather but he has.
“I have been absolutely revolted by their conduct on this issue. I call Schaefer, the blood testing expert, Dr, Strangelove, now. I guess they both have so much hatred about how we’ve been able to help make Manny the icon he is today.”
Arum said he sees a very winnable money damages case against Oscar and Schaefer.
“Schaefer denies calling Manny a drug cheater in a conversation with a Filipino writer (Ronnie Natahznielsz), OK, so that is a question of credibility,” Arum said. “But Oscar’s charges come right out of his own blog on the Ring magazine website. He wrote that under his own name, that alone is enough to take legal action.”
Arum said “no amount” of money can restore the damage to Pacquiao’s name and athletic credibility. What issues remain on the table, as yet undecided
You guessed it, it’s those bloody blood tests the Mayweather camp insists on and who will perform and analyze same.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission is not getting involved in blood testing, only urine tests and analysis of same.
Pacquiao is about to give urine in connection for an HIV/Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C routine licensing screening demanded by NSAC. Arum said a prominent drug testing expert, a physician from Manila, is en route to Pacman’s hometown of General Santos City to handle the testing.
So it’s tick, tock on the clock on Deadline Day and ring a ding ding with those key phone calls.
Gee, I hope Arum is just not giving us all what Mayweather wants to give Pacman meaning the needle.
