Pacquiao-Mayweather in negotiations

Let the talks begin.

Formal negotiations in an effort to make a megafight between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the first part of 2010 will open Monday, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com.

Schaefer was on his way Monday morning from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to meet Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, for lunch at the MGM Grand, which has hosted several Pacquiao and Mayweather fights.

"Floyd and me want to see if we can get the fight done," said Schaefer, who, although he doesn't have a promotional contract with Mayweather, has represented him in his past three fights and was asked to represent him in these talks. "The fact that I am flying to Las Vegas to meet with Bob shows you how serious our side is about making the fight.

"Bob and I will approach this without egos and try to get it done under fair terms. Floyd gave me his marching orders and I will see today how it goes and report back."

A pairing of Pacquiao and Mayweather is the biggest fight boxing has to offer and could break all sorts of revenue records.

In the year's biggest fight earlier this month, Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) beat Miguel Cotto on a technical knockout in the 12th round to win a welterweight title, his seventh title in a record seven weight divisions.

The fight sold 1.25 million units on pay-per-view and generated more than $70 million in domestic television revenue.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), the former welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king before a short-lived retirement, returned on Sept. 19 to dominate lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in a lopsided unanimous decision.

That fight generated 1.05 million buys on pay-per-view.

The all-time pay-per-view record is the 2.44 million buys generated by Mayweather's 2007 win against Oscar De La Hoya.

"I can confirm I am meeting with Richard, but I'm not going to talk about the specifics," Arum told ESPN.com. "It's a meeting where we will try to make the fight. Whether it can be made or not in this meeting, I don't know. We'll see what we will see."

Schaefer said he hopes he and Arum can make the fight quickly, rather than dragging the talks out for weeks.

"As part of the negotiations both Bob and I had to agree to keep all discussions confidential," Schaefer said. "No further comments will be made until such time that we either have a deal or the negotiations fall apart."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.

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Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather need each other

Would anybody argue with the assertion that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather jnr are the two best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet right now?

You can add further spice to that by making Manny Pacquiao the world’s best active offensive fighter, and Mayweather the best active defensive boxer. You’ve got the irresistable force against the untouchable target (one can’t call Mayweather the unmovable object).

Fans should be relishing the prospect of a match-up between these two men. Until Mayweather retired, after hammering Ricky Hatton, he was the pound-for-pound king. In his absence, that title has been usurped by Pacquiao.

How often has boxing really seen two fighters at their prime facing off? When last did pugilism see the world’s two best fighters trading blows legitimately in the same division?

Probably not since the 1980s – when Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler fought each other in a stunning series of battles. They fought, they won, they lost … and they all became legends! The winners needed the losers.

In the 1970s it was the same in the heavyweight division, with Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton all winning and losing. That’s how they became legends.

Sure, I may have overlooked some fights along the way, but in boxing it is rare to get top performers in the same weight division at the same time. Think about it, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson were past their best when they met Lennox Lewis.

Joe Louis was an old man when he got smashed by Rocky Marciano, although if you examine the damage on Marciano’s face by the end of the fight, you have to wonder what might have happened if Louis had been at his best.

More often than not, fighters are not at their peak. Bernard Hopkins was still relatively wet behind the ears when he took on Roy Jones jnr. In the 1990s we had Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Ike Quartey, Shane Mosley and Vernon Forrest, but none of them quite reached the heights of Leonard, Hearns and Duran before them (at least in my eyes).

As a mainstream sport boxing has lost much ground in the past decades. The worst thing that can happen is if the promoters and TV bosses fail to organise the Pacquiao v Mayweather showdown. Boxing needs this fight to happen.

And both Pacquiao and Mayweather need this fight. The winner will earn bragging rights as the pound-for-pound champion, but he can only do that with the other guy in the ring.

Greatness beckons both; Pacquiao and Mayweather need each other.

The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/longdrop/2009/11/19/manny-pacquiao-and-floyd-mayweather-need-each-other/

Pacquiao-Mayweather fight must wait

LAS VEGAS--Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather each made their claims as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter on Saturday but a big-money showdown to decide the issue will not happen any time soon.

Philippines southpaw Pacquiao knocked out British junior welterweight Ricky Hatton with a devastating left hand in the second round for his 10th triumph in a row and claimed a world title in a record-tying sixth weight class.

"Manny is unbelievable. He's the best fighter in the world," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. "He is in his prime right now. Anyone in the world, he could beat them all."

Former undisputed welterweight champion Mayweather put himself atop that list a few hours earlier by announcing the end of his 17-month retirement and a comeback fight July 18 in the same arena against Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather abdicated the pound-to-pound throne that Pacquiao has claimed by winning four fights in a row in as many weight classes, but the International Boxing Organization's new junior welterweight champion likes his current size.

"I'm very comfortable at 140 pounds. You could see it in my performance," Pacquiao said. "I want to stay there."

That's the weighty matter that might delay a showdown with Mayweather, who would not say what weight he will fight the smaller Marquez because talks are still ongoing between 143 and 144 pounds.

Roach said Mayweather feared facing Pacquiao at a similar catch weight so announced his fight before the Filipino star won to make himself the obvious top opponent for Mayweather to prove he is still the ring king he claims to be.

"Mayweather, he just had to wait one day and he could have fought Manny. I think he's afraid of Manny," Roach said. "He made the fight maybe not happen. We're not going to wait for him. There are other great fighters out there."

US veteran Shane Mosley and Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto, two fighters who have tried in vain to make a deal to fight Mayweather, were mentioned by Roach as possible next foes for Pacquiao.

Asked to predict how Pacquiao-Mayweather would end, Roach said he expected the fight to go the distance.

"We win on points," Roach said. "He doesn't like to engage. He's going to run from us."

Roach also made it clear they would not make the leap for a chance to fight Mayweather at his prime weight if he would not step down to face Pacquiao at 140.

"At the right weight? No problem. At 147? Forget it," Roach said. "Why? Manny doesn't need it. Manny's best weight is 140. He should take some time off and make a good decision. He needs some time off."

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said no decision about who Pacquiao faces next will be made until after Cotto's next fight in July, just one week ahead of Mayweather's return to the ring.

One person who thinks Pacquiao-Mayweather will happen sooner rather than later is Mayweather's estranged father and Hatton's trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. He doubted there would be much talk about his son fighting Pacquiao.

"They probably aren't going to be talking about it a long time," he said. "They are probably going to be doing it."


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Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao: The only fight fans want to see

HBO president of sports says actions already taking place to make fight happen

As of Saturday night, can anyone think of a single reason why Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao shouldn’t fight?

It kind of seems silly at first. Of course, there has to be some minor, highly insignificant, but ultimately negative thing about the two fighting one another.

But then really think about it. Is there?

Floyd Mayweather Sr. says there is. But he’s not telling anybody.

“Lil Floyd would whoop (him), but to tell you the truth, I don’t think he should fight him,” Mayweather Sr. said. “That would be my advice to him.”

If he’d have no problem beating him though, then why not take the fight?

“I have my own reasons,” he said. “I’ll let you think about it for a second.”

Whatever Mayweather Sr.’s reasons are, chances are they’d have a hard time stacking up against the reasons for why the two should meet in the ring in early 2010.

As Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, described it, it’s a fight the world wants to see. Moments after Pacquiao’s historic win over Miguel Cotto for his world title in a seventh weight class, fans from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena started chanting, "We want Floyd."

Roach says that he’ll take whatever fight is the best deal for Pacquiao, but his pick is Mayweather.

“We’ll fight whoever we negotiate with the best. If Floyd wants a 65/35 split, he’s not going to get that,” Roach said. “We’ll take the best deal that Bob negotiates for, but personally, I want Mayweather.”

Back in September, following Mayweather’s unanimous decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez, his manager and close friend Leonard Ellerbe said that Pacquiao was the next obvious choice from a marketing standpoint.

That much is especially obvious, as the Mayweather and Pacquiao fights — although Saturday’s numbers aren't official, it’s certainly a reasonable assumption — marked the first time since 1999 that a single calendar year sold two pay-per-view fights that reached more than 1 million viewers each.

As Vice President of HBO Sports Operations Mark Taffet will enthusiastically attest, they are obviously the two most marketable fighters in the world.

“The two fighters’ persona and performance in the ring separates them from the pack,” Taffet said. “From a media aspect, they compliment each other. Pacquiao receives a tremendous following from the West and Southwest markets, whereas in Mayweather we see a lot of Midwest and East Coast activity.

“They are two megastars but to very different target audiences, which is what makes it almost a perfect storm from a marketing perspective.”

Even their styles are tailor-made for one another.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO) is the aggressor, who has shown a willingness to take a punch to give one, as well as a constant desire to finish fights even when he’s well ahead on a scorecard.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) is the tactical defender, whose elusive ability is often referred to as poetry in motion; always the type of fighter that looks to score points and attend a post-fight press conference free of damage.

The trainer in Roach says he has the blueprint to defeat Mayweather — something the undefeated boxer is constantly asserting doesn’t exist.

“We’d break him down and beat him up,” Roach said. “Floyd can’t break an egg; he’s fragile. He hurts his hands all the time. He has speed, but if he lays on the ropes and rolls his shoulders, we’ll take everything he gives us.

“I have a great game plan for Mayweather, and I know how to beat the guy.”

Mayweather Sr., on the other hand, remains unimpressed by the Filipino and the wins he has over opponents that aren’t on the same level as his son.

“We ain’t worried about that fight. Tell me where you see a 5-foot-5 (expletive) hitting someone who’s just standing right in front of him,” said Mayweather Sr., referring to the Cotto fight. “That’s what we saw tonight.

“He hasn’t fought the greatest fighter yet. That might be his next task, but I don’t know.”

One person who doesn’t care about Mayweather Sr.’s withheld reasons for the two not to fight is HBO President of Sports Ross Greenburg, who was already in the media center arguing with Mayweather Sr. on the subject immediately following Saturday’s fight.

Before any of the fighters had arrived for questioning, Greenburg was heard saying to Mayweather Sr. that he knew the fight should happen and that it was time to make it happen.

“I don’t want to say it’s just a question of money,” Grennburg said. “When you have a situation where you’ve created two big events in the last three months, basically to set up a semifinals in the 147-pound weight class, and the American public demands to see the fight it has to happen.

“And the way it happens is to induce all sides by getting everyone to check their egos at the door, sit down at a table and hash out the terms. Each side has to look at the big picture, which is there is a boat-load of money and a fight too important for this sport not to happen.”

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promoted Mayweather until the fighter bought out his contract in 2006 because of a falling out, confessed that even he was more than willing to put their differences aside to make the fight.

“I’m not going to put up with any kind of nonsense — no trash talk, I’m not going to negotiate a fight in newspapers,” Arum said. “If Floyd Mayweather wants to fight Manny Pacquiao, he knows who to call. Period.

“There will be none of this, ‘I hate him, he hates me,’ — that doesn’t matter. If he wants to fight, let him call me.”

According to Greenburg, that was news Mayweather didn’t need to hear.

Right before Pacquiao emerged from his final medical checks in his locker room, Greenburg walked to the microphone to deliver news.

“I just got off the phone with (Golden Boys Promotions CEO) Richard Schaeffer,” Greenburg said. “He told me point-blank that Bob Arum would be getting that call on Monday and plans to come in and meet with Bob next to week to make the Mayweather fight.

“I think we can all hope and pray that a fight of that magnitude and importance to the sport of boxing can truly be made, because it is time to capitalize on all the hard work that was done over the last three months. We can look forward to one of the biggest events in boxing history. Let’s see what happens, stay tuned.”

Monday can’t come soon enough.

The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/nov/15/manny-pacquiao-and-floyd-mayweather-jr-only-fight-/

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao – The Fight That Has To Happen

By Adam McGarry: Think about that for a second, really think about it. Sounds good , yeah? Current pound for pound Number one Manny Pacquiao against pound for pound king (Number 0?) Floyd Mayweather Jnr. The shouts of ‘That won’t happen’ can be heard already, but it’s not impossible. I believe, along with many, that Floyd Mayweather isn’t done with the sport, he’s just not interested in fighting anyone recently who he doesn’t see as any sort of threat to his throne.

All credible fighters in their own right but Floyd seems to believe he’s above any of them and hasn’t wasted any sleep over them. Oscar De La Hoya wasn’t too much of a threat in terms of athleticism and ability, definitely not post-prime, yet Mayweather took that fight over any other of the fighters around him.

It was the sheer lure of a blockbuster fight where he believed he couldn’t lose, and make millions at the same time. He wanted to beat the most popular fighter and Oscar gave it his all and on the night, he was gearing up for a rematch but Mayweather just wasn’t interested. Manny Pacquiao is different, Mayweather can’t even dream of the popularity Manny has, not many people do but when it comes down Manny being hailed as the best fighter on the planet has got to eat away at an ego like Floyd’s.

Manny did what Floyd couldn’t and stopped De La Hoya with relative ease, yes De La Hoya is slightly older but that won’t exactly have that much effect. De La Hoya was shot already. Manny drew a mere five million less for the De La Hoya fight than Mayweather did in his bout, so it’s not like Pacquiao’s not a box office mega star, whereas Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito for example, both fighters Mayweather has been accused of dodging, simply aren’t big enough draws for the boxing public.

The key to big office draws isn’t the passionate boxing fans (i hate to say), it’s the casual fan, who hears a name and thinks ‘oh that’ll be a good fight, i know those two’. After beating a legend in Oscar and near enough sending him into retirement on a stretcher, he’ll be plastered over every sports newspaper, website, magazine etc.

But here’s the beautiful part, Manny can actually fight around Floyd’s weight. Competitively. And he hadn’t lost anything of his erratic flashes of speed and tenacity, he’s probably one of, if not THE, most exciting fighter on this earth.

Again, that must hurt Floyd a little bit, pick away at that ego. The most exciting fighter on the planet vs. the best fighter on the planet, that’s just a fight that has to happen. Attack vs. Defense, Composure vs. Flair, Gung Ho vs. Pure Ability. The list goes on, and it would be a money machine, if you let Golden Boy promote it as well you’re talking record breaking.

Manny may have to get past Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton first, but if that fight is at welterweight, and Manny puts on a display like he did and Hatton can’t handle the jump up in weight again he could seriously get Floyds attention. Which no doubt he already has but a win over the another mass-popular fighter in Ricky would just have to bring him out.

Manny wouldn’t have too many options, and Mayweather can never resist a little bit more cash in the bank. The signs point to a generation defining fight for pound for pound supremacy, the calls have to start.

Surely Floyd wont sleep with everyone telling him there’s a little Filipino fighter with a nations worth of fans and possibly even more admirers and some serious talent. Give every boxing fan, casual or passionate, the fight the whole world wants to see.

The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://www.boxingnews24.com/2008/12/floyd-mayweather-jr-vs-manny-pacquiao-the-fight-that-has-to-happen/