Networks Compromised To Make Mayweather-Pacquiao

The negotiations that finally turned the long-awaited fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao into a reality weren’t just negotiations between the fighters themselves, but also involved the networks that air them, Showtime (for Mayweather) and HBO (for Pacquiao), which are working together for the May 2 pay-per-view.

“It required a consensus among everybody. Everyone was working hard and in good faith to get everything done,” said HBO’s Ken Hershman on a media conference call held Feb. 20, shortly after the fight was officially announced.” There was no hold-up on one end or the other. It was really all simultaneous. I think that what it shows is that everybody was truly motivated to cooperate and make concessions that they found uncomfortable at times, difficult to come to that place.

“And that’s the sign of a fair deal, is that everybody compromised. Everybody compromised at the right time,” he said. “It’s really a credit to Floyd and to Manny that they pushed their respective teams and networks to get this done, and I think it’s a credit to Stephen [Espinoza of Showtime] and his staff and team for the way that they handled themselves through this. We look forward to that spirit continuing all the way through May 2. And we’ll go back to our regular day jobs after that.”

Neither Hershman nor Espinoza wanted to delve into what those concessions and compromises were.

“I prefer to leave the negotiations behind us,” Hershman said. “We got the deal done, which is the important thing. Our focus from here forward is how do we make this into the biggest event of all time and how do we collaborate to do that. So I’m looking forward, not backward.”

Added Espinoza: “The only comment I’d make on the negotiation process is really to echo what Ken said. Each side in this negotiation bore some of the pain of making the deal. Everyone made compromises, and that’s why it got done. We are looking forward to making this the biggest event ever.”

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