Planned Pacquiao-Floyd bout dead, says Arum

The clock – and not Manny Pacquiao – finally caught up with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Top Rank Promotions chairman Bob Arum said that Mayweather has failed to meet the Friday night deadline (Saturday in Manila) on whether or not to accept a lucrative November 13 showdown with the Filipino boxing superstar. "(The Pacquiao-Mayweather bout is) dead when we conclude a deal with an opponent for Manny’s fight in November," Arum said. Arum held a midnight conference call from Las Vegas to inform the world that he failed to hear anything from Mayweather regarding the latter's interest to go inside the ring with the fighting congressman from Sarangani. "Floyd, for whatever reason, didn’t want to commit," said the 78-year old Harvard-schooled Arum, who promoted some of the richest bouts in boxing history, including the epic "Thrilla in Manila" and the super-fight pitting Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns. "I’ve had no negotiations or discussions with any other fighter," Arum added. "This Friday was the end of the exclusivity agreement." The 31-year old Pacquiao was hardly bothered by the failure to lure Mayweather in the ring for the second straight time. "It’s okay with me if he doesn’t want to fight me. I’m always ready for any challenger," said Pacquiao, who attended the birthday party of chief of staff Jake Joson Friday night at The Republiq. The Top Rank big boss made it clear however, that he’s not conceding about making the fight the world wants to see hopefully by next year. "He’ll (Pacquiao) look to do a fight with Floyd next year," Arum said. The long-time boxing promoter doesn’t want to second-guess why Mayweather, for the second time in a row, refused to do a fight guaranteed to net him and Pacquiao at least $50 million each. But he did mention that the coming August trial of Roger Mayweather, Floyd’s uncle and chief trainer, may have something to do with it. The elder Mayweather is going to trial following a battery charge filed against him by a female boxer he once handled. "I'm trying to rationalize it, and if it's because he may be reluctant to fight now because of the problems his uncle (and trainer, Roger Mayweather) has, then I understand it," Arum said. "I know Manny would not want to go into a fight without the services of Freddie Roach. Presumably, Floyd feels the same way about going into a big fight like this without the services of his Uncle Roger." The Top Rank chief revealed that he never negotiated with anybody from the Mayweather camp, but discussed the matter with Ross Greenberg, president of HBO sports, who acted as the sole intermediary between the two parties. After Greenberg held a series of talks with both Arum and Mayweather’s adviser, Al Haymon, it appeared that both parties had come up with an acceptable offer, including the drug-testing issue that derailed last year’s initial negotiations for the fight, and a resolution seemed close to being reached. Unfortunately, Mayweather would have none of it. "Without knowing, I am sure that there is a very, very good reason that Floyd Mayweather has for not committing to a fight at this time," Arum said. "I really and truly believe that." Pacquiao-Cotto II or Pacquiao-Margarito? With Mayweather out of the Picture, Arum said he’s looking for a Plan B and a new challenger for the seven world division champ. While not totally discounting the possibility of hearing from the Mayweather camp, Arum said he’ll start negotiating with either two-time world champion Antonio Margarito or reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto. Cotto and Margarito are both fighters under the Top Rank stable as Pacquiao. Arum hopes talks can begin by next week, noting that time is indeed, running out to buildup a fight set four months from now. A bout with Margarito may likely end up being staged in Monterey, Mexico since the former welterweight champion is not licensed to fight in the U.S. after being caught wearing an illegal substance in his hand wraps minutes before his title fight with Sugar Shane Mosley last year. The ban is not applied in the U.S. A return bout with Cotto on the other hand, will have the WBA 154-pound title belt at stake which the Puerto Rican won last June by dethroning Yuri Foreman via a ninth round technical knockout. – JVP/TJD, GMANews.TV