The truth is finally out. Floyd Mayweather Jr. will not fight Manny Pacquiao on May 2. All along, the unspoken stumbling block has not been Manny Pacquiao, but his promoter, Bob Arum. That is, if you believe Mayweather himself. Despite all pronouncements that he really wants to fight Pacquiao and get the fight done, the truth is he won’t do it as long as Arum and Top Rank are involved. This naturally raises the hackles of millions of fans who were, once again, hopeful that the long-anticipated fight was going to push through after years of hemming and hawing by Floyd. But this time, the fans will probably not be as forgiving, considering how compliant Pacman and his team said they have been.
So despite all pronouncements to the contrary, it appears Mayweather has been riding on all the hype for the fight, only to drop bombs along the way declaring the contrary. On Dec. 15, Mayweather tweeted in all capital letters, “I’M JUST TIRED OF THE FANS BEING MISLED. BOB ARUM IS IN THE WAY.” The self-styled “TBE” for “The Best Ever” has been referring to himself in the third person more and more frequently. No wonder he’s a big fan of young basketball player Isaiah Thomas. The older Thomas was the first major athlete to start talking about himself in the third person, as if he weren’t even in the room. On Dec. 18, Mayweather re-tweeted Walter McCarty’s message to Manny Pacquiao which said “Lose Arum if you really want to make the fight.”
Then the other day, Pacquiao’s former strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who now works for Mayweather, was quoted as saying, “It’s not going to happen. We’re fighting May 2nd but it’s not going to be Manny Pacquiao. Hopefully eventually Bob Arum will blow away in the wind or whatever. As soon as we get rid of him, we can get it on.” Mayweather publicly thanked Ariza on his Twitter feed.
Ariza has been on the attack, even attending the premiere of Pacquiao’s new documentary and launched a full verbal assault on Arum, accusing him of “lying”, being “deceitful” and patently fooling the public into thinking the fight was further along than it really is. Ariza, whose services were terminated by Pacquiao’s team under very abrasive circumstances over two years ago when Pacquiao started losing, is in turn being accused by Arum of sourgraping. The bitterness of everyone on Mayweather’s side who has ever dealt with Arum shows a pattern of never abating.
As a brief backgrounder, Arum promoted Mayweather until a falling out in 2006. Mayweather reportedly paid $750,000 to get out of their contract, then sued Arum for withholding revenue due him from two previous fights. Floyd also accused Top Rank of being detrimental to his career, citing an inability or reluctance to sign him to fight Oscar De La Hoya. Arum countered that he was the one owed money, and was merely holding on to certain monies until the financial issues were settled. De La Hoya himself has a beef with Arum, the first after they themselves parted ways as promoter and contract talent in 2007, the second revolving Pacquiao’s promotions. De La Hoya is the more diplomatic about it, but the accusation that Arum and his Top Rank Promotions “stole” Pacquiao from his Golden Boy Promotions still rankles.
Lately, a lot of Mayweather’s publicity has been focused on his personal activities and his “TMT” for “The Money Team” brand. Mayweather cites and thanks celebrities and personalities who have worn his signature embossed caps in public. On Jan. 7, Mayweather re-tweeted a photo of him walking out for two of his fights with controversial singer Justin Bieber. The dialogue bubble asked: “Why do you have Justin Bieber to walk out for you?” To which Mayweather’s bubble read, “If you want to be the best, you surround yourself with the best.”
With all due respect to Mayweather, the actual quote is “If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.” For all his braggadocio about his status and financial liquidity, that is the one thing Mayweather has not addressed. He talks about “still winning” and “still going to the bank”, but not about his fearlessness and willingness to fight whoever the public wants him to, whoever would make the most exciting, most compelling fight. From Sugar Ray Robinson to Jake LaMotta to Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran, those considered the greatest of all time in the lower weight classes have always fought the best, riskiest, most dangerous opponents. How many have ever bragged about their private planes and European sports car collections? Mayweather insists that he is the boss, that he owns Mayweather Promotions and can make the call to fight Pacquiao. So why hasn’t he? Next excuse, please.
Just yesterday, The Daily Mail in the UK reported that Mayweather’s assistant of 12 years, Tasha Robinson-White, wrote a tell-all memoir entitled “Right Hand to the Champ”, detailing Mayweather’s growing obsession with the manifestations of wealth. The article says, “In a sensational account of the sportsman’s personal life Tasha, 42, reveals how Mayweather became deeply consumed by the trappings of wealth; lost $15 million after being duped by a conman; surrounded himself with an entourage of paid strippers and hangers on; and gave cash and presents to strangers... When the fighter was not in training he would sleep from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day before spending two hours dressing and grooming himself. He selected what designer outfit to wear from his vast walk-in wardrobe, which included a separate room for his furs and a room for his leathers.” The book, out this week, also supposedly describes how Mayweather carried around large wads of cash with him in a duffel bag which he kept beside him at all times. Money has apparently become his beloved, and he has found ways to make it easier and easier to earn over the years, no matter what his critics say.
You could also lay some blame for the fight’s imminent abortion at the door of Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya said in December that they were closing a deal for Canelo Alvarez to fight Miguel Cotto. Apparently, that may have never been the case, as Cotto was holding out for a rematch with Mayweather. Mayweather beat Cotto in a comfortable unanimous decision in 2012. Also, Oscar complained that he would have wanted more time to promote a Mayweather-Pacquiao blockbuster, when all this time, Mayweather wasn’t going to do it.
For many fans, this is the last time they will be taken for a ride by Mayweather. He has run out of reasons not to fight Pacquiao. He knows it will make him more money than any of his other fights, which is all he says he is about. He knows it will make his reputation iron-clad if he wins. But like I have said all along, it will not happen, except maybe after he has surpassed Rocky Marciano’s record, and maybe not even then, which means never.
There is only one reason left, really, which fans are more and more certain of as the flimsy excuses fall away like spoiled onion peel. Mayweather is scared to lose the record he has nursed and padded over the last 18 years, scared that, for all his bluster, Manny Pacquiao is the one boxer he cannot be sure of defeating.
Let’s closet our expectations until at least 2016, then.