By Keith Idec

Teddy Atlas blamed Bob Arum on Friday night for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight not being made for May 5 in Las Vegas.

“Arum doesn’t want that fight to happen right now because it’s going to cost him $120 million,” Atlas said from ringside during an ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” broadcast from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. “Does he want to lay out $120 million, Bernardo? No, I don’t think you do, especially when you have a fighter like Pacquiao, who can go and make $25 million, $20 million fighting other guys, and you don’t have to pay that much for the opponent.

“That allows the promoter, who happens to be, you got it, Bob Arum, to make more money. … It is about making money to Mr. Arum and to all promoters. He can make more money if he doesn’t have to pay $60 million [apiece] to both fighters. Unless both fighters come way down in their demands for money, I don’t think that fight’s going to happen.”

Atlas, ESPN’s outspoken color commentator, added that everyone involved is running out of time to make the long-awaited showdown between the 33-year-old Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) and Mayweather (41-0, 26 KOs), who’ll turn 35 on Feb. 24.

“The window of opportunity is closing,” Atlas said. “It’s getting smaller, smaller and smaller, because Pacquiao has so much stuff going on. He’s a congressman. He might wind up being the president of the Philippines.

“He gets paid for singing. Even though he don’t sing that great, he gets paid for singing, and for acting. He don’t’ act great, either, but he gets everything. He’s an icon over there. He has a lot of things on his plate. His interest in boxing is going to start to fade.”

While it is more likely Mayweather will fight Saul Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KOs) or Miguel Cotto on May 5 and Pacquiao will oppose Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs, 1 NC), Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) or Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) on June 9, Atlas would consider Mayweather a decisive favorite if they ever agree to fight.

“Well, as far as who would win the fight … Mayweather would win it, maybe quite easily,” Atlas said. “I think he’s a more talented fighter, he’s the naturally bigger guy, he can match him with speed. A lot of guys can’t do that. He can match in another category a lot of people can’t do, with confidence. And his defense is better, he’s better technically.

“While Manny gets away with being aggressive, maybe reckless aggression, he won’t get away with that with Mayweather. He’ll pick him. He’ll pot-shot coming in.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.