PACQUIAO SAYS THERE IS AN AGREEMENT WITH MAYWEATHER BUT ADMITS NO CONTRACT YET
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 17 Feb 2015
The back and forth negotiations aimed at getting the multi-million dollar fight between eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao and unquestioned pound for pound king and undefeated welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr done on May 2 is still not a done deal despite rumors and speculations.
In an interview with the Manila Standard/Viva Sports/PhilBoxing, Pacquiao who was in congress admitted that ?there is no contract but there is an agreement? which means the two fighters and their negotiators have agreed on the salient points on the May 2 date, the MGM Grand Garden Arena venue in Las Vegas, random blood tests and the revue sharing which was reportedly 60-40 percent in favor of Mayweather.
Pacquiao squelched insinuations that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who has been at bitter odds with Mayweather was the stumbling block to getting a deal done was not true. He said Arum is not the problem, ?the problem is to get Mayweather to say okay.?
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said earlier there is yet no deal but that negotiations are in their final stages.
However, Arum said he is ?very optimistic? but indicated they are waiting for Mayweather ?to sign the contract even as Arum added that it needs to be resolved this week.?
Asked whether the delay in getting a signed contract done would affect the announced May 2 fight date which Mayweather wanted, Pacquiao told the Standard ?there?s a big chance it will happen on May 2.?
Mayweather, in an interview at the NBA All Star Game in New York told David Aldridge on the sidelines during the halftime break that reports the fight had been finally agreed to were ?not true.?
He said ?I haven?t signed yet and he (Pacquiao) hasn?t signed yet. Its just been speculation and rumors? although a report by Dan Rafael of ESPN claimed Pacquiao had put ?ink to paper? and was waiting for Mayweather to sign.
Former Pacquiao strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza who now works with Mayweather told us ?there?s been no pen to paper? and that there?s been ?nothing drafted.?
The Standard also learned that Pacquiao?s longtime adviser Michael Koncz who has declined to take calls or respond to text messages, had called up Britain?s WBC welterweight Silver champion Amir Khan who was considered an option should the Mayweather negotiations fall through.
In a brief text message Koncz said "I have spoken to Amir's people a couple of times" without elaborating.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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