Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expects negotiations on a mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to be finalized in “the next couple days,” the strongest indication the much-anticipated bout finally will become a reality.
“Everybody is doing the right thing,” Arum told The Post on Friday. “We’re looking to complete the paperwork. Everything is moving in the right direction. Hopefully, the next couple of days it will get done.”
All major points have been agreed to, according to sources close to the negotiations. The remaining issues concern network involvement. Mayweather has an exclusive agreement with Showtime, while Pacquiao is tied to HBO. Sources at both networks have said they won’t stand in the way of what will be the richest fight in boxing history.
“The issues are being narrowed down to extraordinarily small points,” Arum said. “I’m optimistic it will all be put together in the next couple of days.”
Speculation on an impending agreement grew when the two boxers met face to face at a Heat game in Miami this week and later spent an hour in Pacquiao’s hotel suite discussing the proposed bout.
“I think it helped a lot because we were all putting papers together, and there was still a question as to whether Floyd really wanted to do the fight or not,” Arum said. “Based on the meeting with Pacquiao in the hotel suite, Manny and [Pacquiao adviser] Michael Koncz were convinced Floyd absolutely wants to do the fight.”
The pay-per-view bout is tentatively scheduled for May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and expected to generate somewhere between $250 million and $300 million. A showdown between the two welterweights was first negotiated in 2009, but the two sides reached an impasse over drug testing procedures. Since then, egos, money and personality clashes have derailed any attempts to match the fighters.
But after defeating Long Island long shot Chris Algieri in November in Macau, Pacquiao publicly challenged Mayweather, saying, “I think it’s time to make that fight happen. The fans really deserve that fight.”
Pacquiao and Mayweather have been the best fighters of their era. Mayweather, unbeaten in 47 bouts with 26 knockouts, is considered the pound-for-pound king, while Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) has captured titles in eight different weight classes.
A Mayweather-Pacquiao bout seemed to lose some appeal when Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012. But the Filipino congressman has restored his standing as one of the sport’s elite fighters with recent wins over Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley and Algieri.
Arum had hoped Mayweather-Pacquiao would take place in a larger venue than the MGM Grand, where tickets figure to be hard to get even for the wealthy.
“To me it doesn’t do boxing justice being in a small arena like that,” Arum said. “But if that’s what it takes to make the fight, that’s what we’ll do.”