Arum: Mayweather Has Until Mid-July To Accept The Deal

By Rick Reeno

Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions have reached an agreement on the terms for a welterweight super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. The fight would take place on November 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum says there are no issues at the moment to prevent the fight. The two most important aspects of the fight have been agreed upon. The two sides have reached an undisclosed agreement on Mayweather's demand for a random drug testing protocol. And there appears to be a tentative agreement on the money, rumored to be a 50/50 deal between the two fighters.

Now it's up to Mayweather, says Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. According to the veteran promoter, Mayweather has until mid-July to accept the proposal. If Mayweather fails to accept the deal by mid-July, Arum and Pacquiao will look for a November replacement. Top Rank fighters Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto are the frontrunners to replace Mayweather if the deal falls through.

"There's no actual date of a deadline, but it's sometime in the middle of July. If we haven't gotten this thing locked up and done then we're going ahead and taking another opponent. We're not just going to sit there and blow our chances for a fight in November," Arum explains to BoxingScene.com.

The mid-July deadline is necessary to give both sides the proper time to promote a major fight like Mayweather-Pacquiao for a November pay-per-view date. Mayweather or otherwise, Arum wants to get the wheels rolling by early August.

"We need the time to start publicizing the fight during the month of August. We've got to get the tickets on sale, commercials done, etc. We have to begin gearing up and getting ready to go by the beginning of August whomever he's going to fight," Arum said.

"We're waiting on Floyd. Floyd has to decide whether or not he's going to fight this year or next year or not at all. It's up to him, man. He isn't up to any obligation. We want a fight this year, and if he doesn't take the fight this year, then we'll fight somebody else."