Manny Pacquiao has agreed to terms to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden according to Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum.
However, the deal isn’t done and it awaits Mayweather signing off on the contract, which, if it comes to fruition, will likely set records in the sport for purses, live gate and pay-per-view buys.
Arum told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that Pacquiao is willing to accept the shorter end of a 60-40 purse split and that the World
Boxing Organization welterweight champion would agree to random Olympic-style drug testing, including blood draws, by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
“I want to get some movement here, with bringing Mayweather to the table so we can go out and get everything signed and get the networks together and get the thing finished,” Arum told Yahoo Sports.
Last Friday, Arum told the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media outlets he was not at liberty to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the two camps. However, the chairman of Top Rank had a change of heart. He initially talked to examiner.com and told that outlet that Pacquiao was on board with the terms for the fight. Pacquiao, a congressman from the Philippines whose
boxing record is 57-5-2 with 38 knockouts, is flying to the United States today and plans to meet with Arum.
“The point is that I don’t want what happened the other times to happen again,” Arum said. “I want this fight to actually happen. I want everybody to make a lot of money on the fight. I want the public to be satisfied. And I think it will be a terrific event. That’s what I want, and I’ve done everything in my power to make that happen.
“I think Manny has been very reasonable and demonstrated that he wants the fight to happen. Now, we’re waiting on Floyd. That’s not to say that Floyd has been obstinate, that Floyd won’t do it, but we’re waiting on him.”
Attempts to reach Arum on Tuesday for further comment and clarification were unsuccessful.
The MGM has kept the May 2 date, which falls on Cinco de Mayo weekend, open for
boxing. Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), the reigning welterweight and junior middleweight champion with the World
Boxing Council and World
Boxing Association, has fought on that date in years past. But Arum has also been trying to make a fight between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez for May 2. However, he said he would be willing to move Cotto-Canelo to another date in order to get Mayweather to agree to fight Pacquiao.
The other key issue, pay-per-view television, is reportedly being worked out between Showtime, which has a deal with Mayweather, and HBO, which airs Pacquiao’s fights. In 2002, the two networks showed the heavyweight title fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
“I’m not trying to force anybody’s hand, I’m just saying, ‘Hey, we’ve agreed to everything, period,’ ” Arum said. “The people we have talked to on Mayweather’s side have agreed to everything. Now we need Mayweather to step up and say, ‘Yeah, I’m on board. I agree.’
“I’m not going to put a deadline on there. I’m just going to hope that everybody does the right thing and we get this concluded. It would be really sad if we went through this stuff again like we did before.”
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