Because, while Pacquiao was telling the assembled reporters about these plans, every management figure associated with Team Pacquiao was saying the exact opposite. They were telling the world that Mayweather was not in Manny’s immediate plans and that the Mayweather fight was not being discussed at all.
Even Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer, was told of Team Pacquiao’s lack of interest via correspondence by retired federal judge and mediator, Daniel Weinstein, who Schaefer had contacted to act as a go-between for possible negotiations involving a Mayweather bout.
For some of us following this story for years, these contradictions and deflections fit right into the narrative of the story. Pacquiao promoter, Bob Arum, has worked to avoid matching his fighters against Mayweather since the two bitterly ended their business arrangement in 2006.
Arum has focused his promotional genius and used his “friendly” relationship with many key figures in the boxing media to work around his former “Best fighter I ever saw” and, somehow, have the world blame Mayweather for not fighting Arum’s guys.
