Showtime Executive Vice President Stephen Espinoza, speaking to The Telegraph, said, ?Floyd will fight Manny Pacquiao anywhere??
I?m waiting for the holidays to end. Don?t get me wrong. I like mistletoe and noisemakers. I just like boxing more.
While counting the days until actual fighting resumes, there?s the endless back-and-forth between Showtime and HBO to distract us.
Showtime Executive Vice President Stephen Espinoza, speaking to The Telegraph, said, ?Floyd will fight Manny Pacquiao anywhere, any time. Unfortunately, there is a promotional conflicts which are the issue [sic]. I?d like to be optimistic but there is a lot of politics involved. A lot of history to resolve. Unfortunately, until Manny Pacquiao changes his promotional representation, I?m not optimistic that it can happen.?
We?re not optimistic either, and Espinoza?s statement does little to dampen our pessimism.
The screw Top Rank option has been floated forever and is no more appealing now than when first proposed. But Mayweather and TMT Promotions are not Showtime and Golden Boy. Money May, in theory, can make the fights he wants.
Espinoza reaffirmed that Amir Khan is ?one of the leading contenders? for the May 3 fight. ?I know Amir wants the fight. Floyd hasn?t made a decision. I expect an announcement by mid-January or the end of January.?
Also in the running for Cinco de Mayo weekend is Marcos Maidana, whose stock has risen since he knocked some sense into Adrien Broner.
Mayweather-Maidana is preferable to Mayweather-Khan, for reasons too obvious to state, but Mayweather-Pacquiao is the fight, even if it?s five years overdue.
That fight, however, won?t happen?not unless Manny stabs Bob Arum in the back.
