Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has cast doubt on the possibility of a super-fight between his Filipino superstar and comeback king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The bout is one boxing fans across the world are waiting impatiently for, pitting the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters against each other, but one which Arum feels negotiation problems will render it unfeasible.
Arum told The Ring: “I don’t think [Pacquiao-Mayweather] will happen within the next year because of all of Mayweather’s posturing, the trash talk. That impedes any realistic negotiations. It would just be too difficult.”
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who is also working with Britain’s WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan, expressed a similar opinion.
“It seems like there’s a lot of things working against this fight ever happening,” Roach told The Los Angeles Times.
“It makes sense. It’d be a great fight, but it seems there’s a lot of distractions around it. I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he added.
The doubt cast on the fight ever taking place by both promoter and trainer comes as somewhat of a surprise considering it’s the fight that boxing fans want to see, not to mention the potential to be the biggest fight in the sport’s history in terms of money.
However, like many boxing match-ups, money is the key element to making the fight happen, but also the thing which could derail it. It has been reported that neither fighter would be willing to accept an equal split of the purse, with both feeling they are entitled to a champion’s share.
Mayweather Jr returned to the ring in September to convincingly out-point Juan Manuel Marquez, someone who fought two wars with Pacquiao ending in a draw and a split-decision in favour of the Filipino.
Pacquiao has to show he has what it takes to overcome Miguel Cotto comfortably and if he can do this then the pressure will be on the promoters to make Pacquiao-Mayweather happen. And talks of money disputes won’t silence millions of fans who want to see what would be the fight of the decade.
