An offer seemingly too good for Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to refuse has brought the fight the whole world wants to see tantalisingly close to happening.
Actually, a whole string of offers.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has received ‘a number of massive financial proposals’ which he hopes will finally bring both his PacMan and Mayweather the Money Man together in the ring.
Already, the potential scale of the richest boxing match of all time is bringing the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world back to the negotiating table with renewed purpose.
All the feuding ? including the dispute over the Olympic standard blood-testing demanded by Mayweather and to which Pacquiao has agreed unreservedly ? is likely to be forgotten as these mutually suspicious rivals consider the fortunes in the offing.
Arum explains: ‘As Floyd himself says, he is all about Money and we are all looking at huge offers which should satisfy everyone.’
There is always talk of bad blood between Arum and Mayweather following their acrimonious split but the Hall of Fame promoter reveals that Floyd Jnr is in talks with his Top Rank company.
He says: ‘Floyd has always maintained a good relationship with Todd DuBoeuf (Arum’s son-in-law and right-hand man) and our discussion includes Manny and Michael Koncz (Pacquaio’s business advisor) as well as the major television networks.’
Somewhat presumptuously, Mayweather single-handedly announced that he has reserved the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas for ‘the biggest fight out there, which means the little fella (Pacquiao) for May 5.’
That has been seen as an attempt to give him control over the Pacquiao team but Arum says: ‘Floyd understands that it makes sense to consider these offers of extraordinary amounts of up-front money.’
Arum is know to have been approached before by the financial powerhouses of the Middle East ? notably for a desert spectacular in Dubai – and there is sure to be intense interest from the gambling empires in South-East Asia.
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is certain to raise a substantial offer for this mega-fight to go to his magnificent new stadium, which has already hosted two of Pacquiao’s world title fights.
Although Mayweather has always been reluctant to box anywhere outside his home town of Las Vegas, it appears now that the financial incentive to do so is prompting him to consider the alternatives.
All of which indicates that what started out as a prospective first $100million fight in ring history could now gross mind-boggling sums of two, three or even four times that amount.
That would be more than enough for the pair of them to set aside their rancorous differences, Pacquiao’s libel action for Mayweather’s insinuations of drug abuse included.
Welcome back: Pacquiao on his return to the Philippines after his latest win
Pacquiao also suspects that his below-par performance in narrowly and controversially winning his third fight against Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez will embolden the unbeaten Mayweather to believe he can be certain of winning.
Arum initially wanted the PacMan to settle the score with Marquez once and for all in a fourth fight, perhaps on a grand scale in front of a 100,000 crowd in Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium.
But as master trainer Freddie Roach has pointed out, that event would still be viable even if Pacquiao lost to Mayweather first, while defeat by Marquez would kill the big one for which we have all waited so long.
Boxing itself, meanwhile, needs Pacquiao v Mayweather to galvanise public interest in the hard old game among millions outside the boxing fraternity.
The time is fast approaching for the talking to stop and the Fight of the New Century to begin. Murray set for a bite of the Big Apple
When New York relented and licensed Antonio Margarito to contest his rematch with Miguel Cotto, that commission also rescued John Murray’s dream of fighting in the boxing mecca of Madison Square Garden.
Start spreading the news: Miguel Cotto (left) and Antonio Margarito meet at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden this Saturday
That will happen this Saturday when Murray’s challenge to world lightweight champion Brandon Rios tops the undercard for the Cotto-Margarito light-middleweight championship.
Although he will start as heavy underdog in the betting against the gifted Rios, having clearly been drafted in as a warm-up opponent, Murray firmly believes he can spring a major upset.
‘My training has been right back on track since I went back to Joe Gallagher and we all know styles make fights,’ says the Manchester man.
‘Rios is a terrific boxer but he is in for a shock because he is made for me.’
Chance: John Murray has set his sights on an upset against Brandon Rios
We wish Murray all the luck in the world, in the belief that at the very least he will give it his all.
New York’s somewhat reluctant decision to approve Margarito despite his lengthy recovery from an eye injury inflicted by Pacquiao has spared promoter Arum the costly upheaval of moving the show to another city, most likely Denver, at the last minute.
The Big Apple’s reward is its hefty tax take from a sold-out Garden.
