*Rich Mancuso can be heard Sunday nights from 6-8pm EST on Keep It In The Ring Radio at nitelineradio.com. Call in and interact with him or reach him directly at Ring786@aol.com
By Rich Mancuso
From a personal perspective, this writer has had enough of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. theatre and drama. And until further notice there will be no more listening to what Mayweather, Pacquiao, or what Bob Arum have to say unless the contract is signed, sealed and delivered. Fight fans have had enough, so has the boxing media.
Mayweather made the call to Pacquiao, as reported by ESPN. Top Rank, promoter of Pacquiao will not deny the call. All they say is, “Pacquiao will fight June 9th and an opponent is to be determined.” We know this, Pacquiao will not fight Mayweather May 5th, or June 9th and could meet Miguel Cotto, Timothy Bradley or get Juan Manuel Marquez a fourth time. It is absurd and we have had enough.
Right now this is the only news that boxing media can write and discuss. Even those, not in the know are in the discussion. The fact is, Mayweather continues to talk and it is making Pacquiao and Arum look bad.
It has become a mockery. You-Tube which, can be fact or fiction, made the rounds with a prank phone call Mayweather placed to Pacquiao on Wednesday that created a buzz on Face Book and Twitter. Was it real? Of course not, because a conversation of this magnitude would never be released, and in the old days, when fights were made face-to- face, phone conversations with promoters and fighters were made known.
The promoters, then Don King and Arum, had the late Murray Goodman and Irving Rudd do the talking, the old school boxing publicist as they were known. And it was official when all the details and facts were signed, sealed and delivered. However in this age of bloggers, web sites, and social media, who are you to believe? This is how boxing has changed, and with Mayweather and Pacquiao it has been a two-year fiasco of words and rumors.
It has been official one day, and off the next. A fight that is losing interest with fans, as the media continues to write and talk about revenue that will be made and how all records will surpass any of the other mega-fights in boxing history. In addition, you do get tired of hearing how much this fight is needed for the sport.
Correction, the sport is not just about Mayweather and Pacquiao. There is Canelo Alvarez, Abnar Mares, Nonito Donaire. Sergio Martinez, Lamont Peterson, Andre Berto, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. and many more. Except, we as fans and the media are so immersed with this Mayweather-Pacquiao drama and that is all we write and talk about.
When all is said and done, the famous expression, with exception to Mayweather Pacquiao and company, this fight will eventually be made. ESPN breaks the story about the phone call and the so-called sports experts, those who could not name another fighter in the business, become the experts.
Except this is Mayweather and Pacquiao, and a major story the past two years with boxing has been…..Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. There has always been a history of premature talk in the sport, and with this fight the rumors and confirming of what is true or false have never been accurate.
From the steroid testing issue, the venue, and now the 50/50 revenue split, you never know what to comprehend. We do know that Arum is half- way there when he says that a 40,000 temporary stadium is under construction on the Las Vegas strip to host the fight. Though, Arum has also said he would like to see the fight held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Texas.
Keeping the fight in Las Vegas will favor Mayweather and Arum. Mayweather, who resides in Las Vegas, wants to stay home. Arum prefers a tax structure to stage this fight in the states of Nevada or Texas, which benefits Pacquiao because of his Filipino residency.
That rules out New York City and Madison Square Garden, the ideal venue, because the Garden is the so-called “Mecca” of boxing but the tax issue is not want Arum sees as reasonable for Top Rank or Pacquiao in New York. And Mayweather is adamant with his stance regarding choice of venue and a percentage of the revenues, more so the split that will come from final pay-per-view receipts.
So every word that comes from Mayweather, we listen and then await a response from Arum. Manny Pacquiao has an easier time negotiating legislation as a Congressman in the Philippines, and at this point still leaves the bargaining and timetable to his promoter.
In the end, rumors are a part of every sport. Players get traded and big time contracts are negotiated, but boxing is not played every day. So when Mayweather, Arum, or Pacquiao speak, it is always a story. Except this is a story of theatre and drama, maybe better than the way William Shakespeare wrote.
The Shakespearian drama had conflict and ended in tragedy. We can only hope this conflict of Mayweather and Pacquiao ends with a better result, a fight the boxing fan still anticipates waiting for a date, time, and venue.
So the next time you hear either participant saying something, close your eyes and clog your ears. You won’t hear anything on this end until the fight is signed, sealed, and delivered to the boxing fan and for a sport that needs more than Mayweather and Pacquiao talk.
This post is sponsored in part by Great Neck Rentals & Five Towns Real Estate
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