LAS VEGAS ? Floyd Mayweather called promoter Bob Arum’s claim of secret talks for a Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight “totally false” Tuesday, though he didn’t slam the door on the possibility of fighting the Filipino star in the future.
“I can’t say what can happen in the future,” Mayweather said at his MGM Grand official arrival for Saturday’s rematch against Marcos Maidana. “But as of right now, all the stories that y’all been hearing is totally false.”
Arum said during the recent press tour for Pacquiao’s November fight against Chris Algieri in China that there have been back-channel discussions about the logistics for the fight, including how rival networks HBO and Showtime would handle it.
Those talks included a visit from CBS president Les Moonves to Arum’s home, the promoter said. CBS is parent company to Showtime, which has a contract for three more Mayweather pay-per-view bouts through 2015, including Saturday’s.
While CBS/Showtime might like to find a way to cut a deal, Mayweather said he isn’t involved in any of those talks.
Mayweather said Arum’s claims are a standard move by the promoter, trying to sell a Pacquiao fight on the promise of a future blockbuster against him.
Floyd Mayweather: My focus is on Marcos Maidana, not Manny Pacquiao Floyd Mayweather says he hasn’t been involved in any secret talks about a future fight with Manny Pacquiao. (Video by Josh Slagter | MLive.com) “Not true,” Mayweather said of movement toward a Pacquiao fight. “I can’t say what the future holds. But as of right now, I think Arum and Pacquiao’s trying to sell tickets for ? I don’t even know the guy’s name, Algieri? They’re trying to sell tickets for that fight.”
Algieri rose to prominence with a June 14 upset of Ruslan Provodnikov to lift the World Boxing Organization junior welterweight title (140 pounds).
Five months later and seven pounds heavier, Algieri is scheduled to face Pacquiao on Nov. 22 in Macao.
“I don’t even know where they’re fighting at, I don’t know anything, really, about what Top Rank is doing,” Mayweather said. “But everybody is connected to Floyd. Like I said before, I’m relevant. Once again, I’ll say it again, I’m relevant. Everybody always wants to be connected to me, some how, some way. Whether it’s in a negative way or a positive way, people are always trying to get next to Floyd.”
Mayweather-Pacquiao talks first fizzled almost five years ago. While it’s still the most-sought matchup in boxing, time, two losses by Pacquiao and indifference by both fighters has dulled its luster.
“I think with the Pacquiao-Marquez fight, as you can see, when a guy is focused on other things, you see what happens,” Mayweather said, referring to Pacquiao’s 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. “So my focus is Maidana.
“After that, we can’t say who the next two are going to be.”
