Bob Arum says he won’t let his personal feelings stop Manny Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The two best P4P fighters in the world could meet in 2010 – a bout that would appear certain to become the richest in ring history.
Arum, who promotes Pacquiao and used to promote Mayweather Jr before their acrimonious split in 2006, says if it was down to him personally he wouldn’t want the fight to happen. However the Top Rank supremo says he’s willing to put those feelings to one side for the good of the sport.
“The only reason I want this Mayweather fight is because the public wants it so badly,” Arum told Yahoo Sports. “Boxing is on a real, real roll right now and I don’t want to do anything to get it off that. But if that doesn’t matter to him, OK, it doesn’t matter to him. I have no problem.
“But I would feel I cheated the sport I’ve worked in for so long if I stood in the way of this fight happening. Because of that, I’ll do everything in my power to try to make it happen. Do I really want this happening, though? Other than that, the answer is no.”
Arum believes that he and Richard Schaefer – CEO of Golden Boy Promotions – could come to a deal if Mayweather is agreeable.
“Richard and I are business friends,” he said.
“We have a good relationship, if competitors can have a good relationship. I would describe as good the way we work with each other. Richard is a business guy and is a smart guy and we would have very, very few problems in negotiations.
“Once he’s authorised, things will proceed. I’m not going to play Mayweather’s games, though. I’m not going to let my fighter play Mayweather’s games. If Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao and make a lot of money, he can do so. But God love him, no-one is forcing him to fight and if he wants to play games or he doesn’t want the fight, he can do what he wants.”
The current record for PPV buys is 2.4million – for Mayweather Jr’s points win over Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas in May 2007.
‘Money’ drew a million buys for his comeback win over Juan Manuel Marquez in September, while Pacquiao’s defeat of Miguel Cotto on Saturday night is expected to easily top seven figures.
