Here we go again as the on and off again mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr appears to be no closer to what we may have thought. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum appears to be more concerned about a possible fourth mega fight with Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank
And with Pacquiao involved in another controversial fight with Marquez, there is reason to see them fight again. This time the Mayweather camp is calling Pacquiao a coward, though Manny has left the talking to Arum. Besides the fact that many see Pacquiao now losing a fight to Mayweather, there are other specifics involved.
Pacquiao seems to be a troubled fighter. Arum is calling the shots and would not allow his WBO welterweight champion to talk much after the controversial decision was announced at the MGM Grand Arena Saturday night in Las Vegas. Pacquaio appeared to be exhausted, and there are numerous reports, from Filipino media outlets, that he was involved in an altercation with his wife Jinkee, on the eve of the fight in a suite at the MGM Hotel.
Lee Samuels, longtime publicist for Arum and Top Ranks denied reports that Pacquiao had an altercation with Jinkee and that trainer Freddie Roach had to be summoned to separate the couple. Other reports state that Roach broke up the scuffle and the suite was damaged.
As to Arum turning down the latest offer from Mayweather, or from Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, ?We are still months away from making any decisions,? said Samuels. So who do you believe? Is it Arum and Pacquiao, or the Mayweather side that is giving an opposing view as to who are the culprits from making this fight happen?
Regardless, Mayweather is intent on keeping his commitment of getting in the ring again on May 5th. And one source close to Mayweather claimed on Monday, because Pacquiao and Arum are playing the game, Floyd could take a fight sooner. They seem to believe that Pacquiao needs more than six months to prepare based on his last two fights with Shane Mosley and Marquez.
And where does this leave Marquez in the equation? He definitely deserves the right to get Pacquiao for the fourth time, something Arum made clear. That certainly changes the perspective, giving more meaning to what has been the topic of discussion. Mayweather could beat Pacquiao if they made the fight now, based on how Pacquiao may not have that right hook perfected, and earn a right to be claimed the best pound-for-pound fighter in the business.
Pacquiao and Arum look like the bad guys now, a sudden turn of events as Mayweather has always been the stumbling block for the showdown with Pacquiao. This still remains the fight fans want to see, but every day when it appears to become imminent there is another obstacle.
And based on what is expected to be one of the top grossing pay-per-view fights that happened Saturday night, there will be more cause for Arum to stage another Pacquiao-Marquez encounter. It will have drama, and become a spectacle because Marquez indeed earns the opportunity. But this time, it will be up to Marquez as to what he wants to do.
If Marquez opts to hang up the gloves, then Arum once again shifts the tide to Mayweather. And if Marquez decides a fourth fight with Pacquiao is what he needs for a resolution from the trilogy, he is talking about the fight being held in Mexico.
Mexico, Las Vegas, Texas, it won?t matter. The only way Marquez defeats Pacquiao is with a decisive knockout. And after 36-rounds of boxing, we still don?t know the decisive winner, even though boxing is a subjective sport and the judges granted a draw, and two decisions to Pacquiao.
Time will tell and the drama will continue. Also, because Arum is not pursuing Mayweather, the war of words out of the ring has resumed with Schaefer.
SHOWTIME GETS A NEW CHIEF: It did not matter what move Showtime made in replacing Ken Hirschman who moved on the HBO Sports. Stephen Espinoza will have a hard road ahead to rival HBO. Showtime, a CBS Network subsidiary does not have the budget for boxing as HBO commands, nor the fighters that HBO is able to market from the top promoters, Bob Arum and Golden Boy.
Espinoza, has a background in sports and entertainment programming, and his attempt will be to market the boxing product that Showtime offers that also includes the ShoBox cards that are more frequent. But the tasks ahead will be an agenda to stage pay-per-view fights that seem to be secondary to the Showtime mixed martial arts programming.
His resume includes working with Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya, previously when he represented athletes and entertainers in the firm Ziffren Brittenham LLP. So with ties to De La Hoya, Showtime Chairman and CEO Matthew Blank apparently made the proper move. The association with De La Hoya could mean business as to Golden Boy perhaps gaining another network to showcase their fighters. The prominent name is bantamweight champion Abner Mares who has a championship return bout with Joseph Agbeko?
THROWING THE PUNCHES: Arum is looking at Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan for a 140-pound title bout soon, as Bradley made a great impression in his Top Rank debut Saturday night with a KO over Joel Casamayor?. The test will come Saturday night on HBL when Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. defends his WBC middleweight title against Peter Manfredo Jr. On the same card, Joshua Clottey, now at middleweight returns opposing Calvin Green. It is the first fight for Clottey since his welterweight title loss to Manny Pacquiao?
Mares and Agbeko, free on Showtime, does not concern Arum as the fight conflicts with the HBO PPV telecast of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito return bout from Madison Square Garden on the same n
ight of December 3rd. Well, neither did the Dana White UFC telecast on Fox concern Arum this past Saturday that had a huge Neilson rating.
