There is no doubt in my mind that Manny Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, have really, truly wanted Pacquiao to face Floyd Mayweather going on three years now. I believe that they are the ones that want this fight to happen the most. There is also no doubt in my mind that up until very recently after seeing Pacquiao struggle with Marquez, Mayweather was not keen on this fight or any other for that matter that involves a serious threat to his undefeated record.
Another person who has not been thrilled with this fight is Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, for multiple reasons. First, he does not promote Floyd Mayweather, and as we all know, the Bobster loves keeping everything in-house.
Secondly, he is a bitter old man who lost out on multiple huge paydays after Mayweather bought his promotional freedom from Arum’s Top Rank for 750K.
The fact that he has a history with Floyd (and not a hugely profitable one at that) certainly isn?t helping matters. At least after Oscar De La Hoya bolted from Top Rank, Arum could say to himself ?well, I did make a ton of money with him before he left?. He can?t say that about Floyd because Mayweather?s peak earning years came AFTER he left Top Rank. I believe the last thing Arum wants it to put even more money in Floyd’s pocket at the expense of his own fighter. Lastly, like Floyd can do with his own career, Arum can continue to put Pacquiao in with less threatening opposition for huge paydays. Low to medium risk for a very high reward is the name of the game that Bob and Floyd love to play.
Don?t get me wrong, if push came to shove, I do believe that Arum would make the fight because the fight is so damn lucrative and could potentially spawn one or two more fights that would make it worthwhile to the Bobster. The best way to get Arum to make the fight would be for Pacquiao to “Manny up” and tell Arum ?I want to fight Floyd or else I’ll retire and go into politics full time? as this author wrote in a prior article. It?s real simple: no cow, no cash.
