If Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao is going to happen in 2015, the role of Time Warner/HBO is critical. That much is known.
What the cable network tried to make clear Monday — in a direct response to a column by MLive.com’s David Mayo — is it’s not standing in the way.
“We are not an impediment to this fight,” the statement read. “We stand ready to go. The principals need to agree to terms and come to a deal.”
Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum are with HBO. Mayweather has two fights remaining on a Showtime contract that ends t his year.
If Time Warner/HBO wanted a chance at Mayweather-Pacquiao to itself, in 2016, then dragging its feet in the current negotiations would be advantageous, Mayo wrote: “It is incumbent on both sides to stay at the table, but the fact that Time Warner/HBO has little reason to push for Mayweather-Pacquiao this year remains, even while CBS/Showtime has every reason to deliver it, and until the former gets shoved into the negotiating inferno by Pacquiao and/or his promoter Bob Arum, the fight won’t get made. And inevitably, because Mayweather plans to fight May 2 regardless who it is, and Pacquiao’s backup plan if he doesn’t fight Mayweather on May 2 is an alternate date of May 30, guess who has to walk away from the table first?
“That’s right. Pacquiao and Arum, and by extension Time Warner/HBO, only have to stall these talks a little while longer, can say they stayed at the table beyond their end-of-January deadline, and can force the opposite side to walk away first because Mayweather has the earlier date to fulfill.”
It’s been nearly a week since Mayweather and Pacquiao crossed paths at a Miami Heat game, and later meet in a hotel suite to discuss a possible May 2 fight. But over the weekend, following erroneous reports a deal had been reached, Mayweather posted on social media that nothing was finalized.
On Jan. 14, Arum told Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole that Pacquiao had agreed to terms for the fight and they were just waiting on Mayweather. But no contract has been draw up, or signed.
And judging by HBO’s statement, terms have not been finalized and obstacles remain for pulling off what would be the richest fight in boxing history.
