Bob Arum?s arrogant announcement early Saturday, which addressed the unlikelihood of a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight in 2010, also shed light on why Nonito Donaire?s three-year hookup with Arum in 2008 has proven to be a mistake.
Mayweather failed to meet a midnight Friday deadline for negotiating a Nov. 13 Pacquiao fight, so Arum said he will explore two options for Manny instead. The first is a rematch with Miguel Cotto, with the Puerto Rican?s recently won 154-pound title on the line, which would boost Pacquiao?s career take of belts won. The other is an extravaganza against Antonio Margarito in Monterrey, Mexico, that Margarito simply does not deserve, tempting though it is to envision Donaire against Fernando Montiel in the sub-main..
There are several folks from 140 pounds to 154 you?d rather see Pacquiao face, from Timothy Bradley and Andre Berto to Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez. But unlike Cotto and Margarito, those folks are not promoted by Arum?s Top Rank Boxing.
It used to be that promoters avoided matching up their own, because one guy comes out damaged goods. But it?s getting so there?s only one formidable promoter with whom Arum can do business: Bob Arum. And there?s only one other formidable promoter at all in Arum?s estimation, Mayweather?s handlers at Golden Boy.
Arum dumped on all the others Saturday — the Dan Goossen-Gary Shaw-Lou DiBella tier of promoters who represent the guys Pacquiao ought to fight in lieu of Mayweather.
He typified Bradley (Shaw) and Williams (Goossen) as able fighters ?the public really doesn?t know.
?That?s why a lot of these promoters are shouting out names of very good fighters. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars building up our fighters and publicizing them so they are pay-per-view attractions,? said Arum, whose own roster is notably light when it comes to African-Americans.
?The other promoters don?t really promote their fighters. They take money form HBO or Showtime or a little Indian casino and they think they?re doing the kid a big service. I?m not going to give them a free ride on the work we have done.?
You can imagine what sort of ?negotiations? Arum would have with these guys.
That?s the kind of take-it-or-leave-it attitude that Gary Shaw, who used to promote Donaire, has no doubt been taking as Vic Darchinyan?s representative for a rematch with Donaire. Although Donaire beat Darchinyan and would beat him again if they fought, Darchinyan is the bigger TV name and probably should have commanded half the purse for a rematch, even counting Arum?s TV deals in the Philippines for Donaire.
Can you imagine Arum going for that? That?s why he has the leverage to get Donaire the level of money he merits, but not the level of opponent.
Fortunately, Arum handles Montiel, and he probably can maximize his holdings in the lower weights by finally pitting them against each other, as he has been promising most of the time Donaire has been with Top Rank. Arum in recent days has said Donaire-Montiel is in the works for November, probably in the United States and perhaps on the Pacquiao-Cotto card.
Will Donaire leave Top Rank in 2011? Neither he nor manager Cameron Dunkin has said anything of the kind, but to read the non-verbal vibes the two give off when that subject is broached, the Montiel fight is de rigeur for all concerned, and even that might not keep Donaire at Top Rank.
