Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is giving himself “a few more weeks” to get a deal in place for Manny Pacquiao to meet Floyd Mayweather next year.
Speaking from Los Angeles yesterday, the 83-year-old Arum told the Bulletin that he remains in close contact with CBS owner Les Moonves as he hopes to make the dream fight a reality for June 2015.
“I just received an email from Les and we’d be talking more about this in the coming days,” Arum said, noting that Moonves is currently outside the US.
Moonves is the president and CEO of CBS, the network that also has Showtime under its wings. Showtime has two more fights remaining in its high-income six-fight contract with Mayweather.
Arum said a May date for Pacquiao versus Mayweather is not ideal since it has been eyed for a collision course between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez of Mexico and Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico to commemorate Cinco de Mayo, a matchup that also has all the trappings of a super blockbuster.
There are a lot of obstacles to be cleared for a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown to happen even if both fighters have exchanged words that they are willing to face each other the soonest.
Mayweather said he is raring to face Pacquiao in a welterweight unification war on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas provided that he calls the shots in the negotiations.
Boasting that he is the A-side and Pacquiao is the B-side, Mayweather said that the Filipino doesn’t have the right to impose his own terms, adding that when he fought Oscar Dela Hoya in 2007, he obliged to everything the Golden Boy wanted.
The undefeated Mayweather, 37, also made about half of what Dela Hoya earned ($55 million) and Pacquiao has to understand his being inferior before Mayweather.
If a Mayweather fight doesn’t happen, Arum said Pacquiao, who turned 36 last week, will return to the ring in April against an opponent to be determined later although Jessie Vargas, a Mexican-American banger, has been considered.
This early, oddsmakers in Sin City, have installed Mayweather as the 3-1 favorite.