Last week while presiding over a show in Hong Kong, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum relayed his desire to speak to retired boxing champion and newly-elected senator Manny Pacquiao about what the future holds.
Already aware that Pacquiao was on his way to earning a Senate seat, Arum told TEMPO about the possibility of seeing Pacquiao get it on one more time with Floyd Mayweather.
Although Arum made it clear that getting it done will be difficult since both are already retired, the Top Rank chief still sounded hopeful that the two could get the chance to make up for the disappointment of their first meeting.
“It would also depend on Manny, who says he is retired,” said Arum, noting as well that for a rematch to take place, Mayweather has to reconsider.
But yesterday, there was a major breakthrough when Arum and Al Haymon, the chief adviser of Mayweather settled the $100 million federal anti-trust lawsuit filed by Arum last year.
Speaking to ESPN.com, Arum said he is not allowed to provide details about the settlement.
“The stipulation of dismissal was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, and it’s a matter of public record,” said Arum.
“We settled, but the terms of the settlement are confidential, and I’m not going to talk about it. I’d be pissed if they said anything about it, and I am not going to,” he said.
Arum likewise stressed that the settlement was not done to help them arrange a rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather after their record-shattering $600 million super showdown last year.
Recently, Mayweather has floated the idea of facing MMA star Conor MacGregor.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has declared that his focus now is his new role as a lawmaker although during the runup to his last fight last month, a clear-cut victory over Tim Bradley, the 37-year-old eight-division titleholder said he is not closing the door on a comeback.
“I don’t know the feeling of being retired. But right now I’m retired,” Pacquiao said after beating Bradley.
Arum said he will allow Pacquiao to enjoy his Senate win before deciding to lay down everything.