GB and TR even co-promoted a few fights, including Top Rank’s Cuban sensation, Yuriorkis Gamboa, against Golden Boy’s Daniel Ponce de Leon, in September. And that came after a legal tug-of-war over Filipino bantamweight star Nonito Donaire, who called himself a free agent and left Top Rank to sign with Golden Boy.
But retired judge Daniel Weinstein, who often arbitrates arguments between the companies, ruled Donaire was still under contract to Top Rank, and so he stayed. MORE: Guerrero out as Mayweather foe, for now MORE: WBA orders Khan-Peterson rematch
It’s Top Rank’s other Filipino superstar, Manny Pacquiao, and undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who, directly or indirectly, cause most of the angst between the organizations. And Mayweather only uses Golden Boy to negotiate his fights. He’s not one of their fighters under contract.
The “Feud of the Century” revolves around the highly anticipated “Fight of the Century” between Pacquiao and Mayweather which is currently in the throes of verbal warfare. Mayweather calls out Pacquiao on his Twitter account, saying “let’s fight, punk.” Pacquiao says, through the Filipino media, that Mayweather is the only fight he wants next.
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy, appeared agitated on Thursday, saying that Mayweather-Pacquiao “will never happen, because (Top Rank chairman Bob) Arum will never let it happen. I don’t have the time or patience anymore to walk people through it.
