LAS VEGAS – As if negotiating one fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t hard enough, now comes the unbeaten fighter’s father Floyd Sr. conjuring visions of two blockbuster faceoffs.
How Mayweather’s dream will be affected by Pacquiao’s loss to Timothy Bradley Jr. last Saturday night remains to be analyzed. According to Freddie Roach, it won’t make a difference one way or the other.
“Sure, it can happen, why not?” said Mayweather Sr. who was here to witness the Pacquiao-Bradley fight at ringside while his son languishes in a jail a few miles away from the strip. “It’s perfect for at least two fights. But not if (Bob) Arum is involved.”
Asked if Mayweather Sr. will be in his son’s corner if ever a Pacquiao fight materializes, the father cracked, “Well, I certainly won’t be in Pacquiao’s corner.”
Even as Arum has been blamed for derailing the Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, the Top Rank chairman said he wants it done. “I’m thinking of building a makeshift arena near the Luxor grounds to sit 40,000,” he said. “We’ve looked at the property which is owned by MGM Grand. I think it’s a great location.”
Mayweather Sr. said no doubt, it will be the Fight of the Century. “It’s the only fight every boxing fan wants to see,” he said. “And I think the fight will be so close, there will be a clamor for a rematch.”
Former WBC secretary-general Eduardo Lamazon, now a boxing analyst for Mexico TV, said since Mayweather will be released from the Clark County Detention Center after serving an 87-day term in Spetember, it’s unlikely a Pacquiao fight will happen this year. Of course, Mayweather could stay in shape working out in prison so that he’ll be in condition right after his release.
“Realistically, the fight could happen in March or April next year,” said Lamazon. “I think boxing needs Pacquiao to win big again. He has a lot to prove after beating (Juan Manuel) Marquez not so convincingly.”
With Pacquiao’s loss to Bradley, it now appears that they’ll slug it out in a rematch in November. A source said that’s how Top Rank planned it from the start. “Manny’s running out of opponents since Mayweather still hasn’t come to terms,” said the source. “Marquez was supposed to be the opponent in November but who wants to see them fight a fourth time? Bradley is the logical choice now that he just beat Manny. The rematch will buy Top Rank some time before finalizing a deal with Mayweather.”
Mayweather Sr. asked when Pacquiao’s contract with Arum expires. “When Floyd broke away from Arum, he started to earn big bucks,” said the father, once jailed for drug trafficking. “Arum’s stopping the Pacquiao fight against my son because it’s not in his interest.” A source in Pacquiao’s camp observed that only after Mayweather, Oscar de la Hoya and Miguel Cotto ended their exclusive contracts with Arum did they begin to bankroll big money.