Advertisement
Advertisement
Manny Pacquiao fights Chris Algieri in Macau in November. Photo: AP

Exclusive | Floyd Mayweather should fight Manny Pacquiao in Macau, says promoter Bob Arum

Mayweather thinks all Asians are the same, says promoter Bob Arum, so probably won't want to fight Pacquaio in SAR

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has revealed Macau would be the choice city to stage a possible showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr in 2015 – but the American’s “lack of sophistication” would mean the superfight would probably be held in Las Vegas.

“Of course it could be held in Macau [at the CotaiArena].Top Rank would be amenable to Macau but whether Mayweather would agree to have it in Macau that’s something I rather doubt because Mayweather is not the most sophisticated guy,” said Arum, speaking in Las Vegas.

“In his mind, all Asians are the same, doesn’t matter whether you’re Chinese, Japanese or Filipino, you’re Asian and you’re the same. In his mind, fighting Manny in Macau would be like fighting on Manny’s home court."

Arum took a jab at Mayweather just days after the unbeaten American fighter stretched his record to 47-0 by winning his rematch against Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas. Mayweather doesn’t have much time left in the ring, according to Arum, with the 37-year-old planning to retire in September, 2015.

“We would certainly, Manny and Top Rank, view with a lot of favour the fight be held in Macau. Manny wants the fight, I want the fight and the only one or two impediments. One is Mayweather and Pacquiao obviously have to agree to fight and the second impediment is [Chris] Algieri,” said Arum of Pacquiao’s next fight against the 30-year-old American at the Clash in Cotai II in Macau on November 23.

In his mind, all Asians are the same, doesn’t matter whether you’re Chinese, Japanese or Filipino, you’re Asian and you’re the same
Bob Arum on Mayweather

Arum said Mayweather was also losing his fan base if his latest pay-per-view revenues were anything to go by and he must fight Pacquiao to seal his legacy.

“His PPV numbers have been going down considerably. For example his numbers from the Maidana fight were considerably less than the first fight and less than Pacquiao did when he fought [Timothy] Bradley [rematch in April].

"What that tells us is that people are getting disgusted with Mayweather and his base is eroding, particularly his urban base in the United States because he’s fighting with very popular rap stars, the urban population is not happy with a lot that goes on in his personal life.

“Here’s a guy who took on fighters who were pretty good and some not so good but he ducked the one guy that everybody wanted him to fight [Pacquiao]. That’s not good for your legacy. He has no excuses anymore. We saw after that fight [Maidana], he looks 37 and doesn’t look like a kid anymore.”

Arum also said Pacquiao was less than impressed by Mayweather’s latest win in the welterweight title fight that cemented his status as the world’s leading pound-for-pound fighter.

“He’s not as fast as before, his footwork is not as good and remember against Maidana, he was in with a guy who knows very limited skills as a rough, tough guy,” said Arum.

However, Arum said two major obstacles have been cleared to move closer to a superfight that would be the richest in history, topping US$200 million.

The Harvard-educated former lawyer said HBO and Showtime, the opposing networks that Pacquiao and Mayweather represent, have agreed to work together to make the superfight happen. This would be the first time since the Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson fight in 2002, when the two rival networks collaborated to produce and distribute the event. Lewis beat Tyson in an eighth-round KO.

"Based on the willingness of both networks wanting to do a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight as I understand it from them, they have agreed on a format to do it. So that major obstacle has been cleared away. They have agreed at the highest level,” said Arum.

"We have spoken with the network people. We have spoken to Showtime [who represent Mayweather] and we have spoken with HBO [Pacquiao]. We have not spoken with anybody on Mayweather’s side. We understand from the Showtime people that they have talked to the Mayweather side.

"The drug testing, all of that stuff, those obstacles are gone away. Manny has had the biggest drug testing for his last three or four fights so he is now used to it and he has no problem with it. It is not an issue," said Arum of the disputes over drug testing and revenue sharing that scuppered attempts to stage the fight a few years ago.

 

Post