Any hopes that the boxing public might someday see Manny Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. likely fell by the wayside Tuesday.
Top Rank Promotions announced that WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao signed a two-year extension with the promotional company. The extension keeps him in the Top Rank stable through 2016, when Pacquiao will be 38.
Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather in his fights but does not have him under contract, have both repeatedly stated that as long as Pacquiao is with Top Rank, there will never be a fight between the two.
Mayweather is halfway through a six-fight deal with Showtime.
Top Rank’s founder and President, Bob Arum has recently mended his long-estranged relationship with De La Hoya, who had the fighter under contract for many of the prime years of De La Hoya’s career.
But De La Hoya’s relationship with Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer has been cool in recent months. Schaefer has told USA TODAY Sports he will never work with Top Rank, even if Arum is not involved with negotiations.
Pacquiao, 35, is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Timothy Bradley in April at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in their long-awaited rematch of their controversial 2012 decision, won by Bradley.
Pacquiao’s mandatory challenger right now is Juan Manuel Marquez, whom he has fought four times.
Marquez became the mandatory challenger last Saturday when he defeated Mike Alvarado in Los Angeles. In the last Pacquiao-Marquez fight in December 2012, Marquez, now 40, knocked Pacquiao out cold in the sixth round.
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Pacquiao is expected to fight Marquez, possibly in Macau, this fall, if Marquez accepts the fight. He did not answer the question after Saturday’s fight, saying he has to talk to his family and his team before making a decision.
Top Rank’s Bob Arum has said Pacquiao (53-5-2, 38 KOs) is ready to fight Marquez a fifth time.
“We are pleased that together with our partners at HBO we will continue presenting to the public fights of the great Manny Pacquiao through the end of 2016,” Arum said Tuesday. “The partnership among Manny, Top Rank, MP Promotions (Pacquiao’s promotional company) and HBO has been a wonderful one for all parties and for the public and it’s great that it will continue for the years to come.”
Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather in his fights but does not have him under contract, have both repeatedly stated that as long as Pacquiao is with Top Rank, there will never be a fight between the two.
Mayweather is halfway through a six-fight deal with Showtime.
Top Rank’s founder and President, Bob Arum has recently mended his long-estranged relationship with De La Hoya, who had the fighter under contract for many of the prime years of De La Hoya’s career.
But De La Hoya’s relationship with Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer has been cool in recent months. Schaefer has told USA TODAY Sports he will never work with Top Rank, even if Arum is not involved with negotiations.
Pacquiao was guaranteed $20 million for his rematch against Bradley, and has made at least $20 million in most of his fights over the last several years.
