By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Adrien Broner’s recollection of his initial negotiations to fight Manny Pacquiao differ from Bob Arum’s account.
Broner said during a press conference Wednesday that Arum offered him $2 million to fight Pacquiao, when Arum’s Top Rank Inc. remained the Filipino superstar’s promoter. Broner joked, “F*** him,” in reference to what the former four-division champion claims Arum offered him.
Arum has told BoxingScene.com multiple times that he offered Broner a $4 million guarantee to oppose Pacquiao.
The 40-year-old Pacquiao remains the “A” side in the promotion of their fight Saturday night, but multiple sources have confirmed Broner’s guarantee is higher than $4 million for their 12-round welterweight title fight. Pacquiao is expected to make substantially more than Broner because adviser Al Haymon had to pay him handsomely to entice Pacquiao to commit long-term to Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.
Broner, 29, will make a career-high payday to face Pacquiao, despite that he settled for a draw with Jessie Vargas in his last fight. Pacquiao soundly defeated Vargas in November 2016.
Cincinnati’s Broner still feels disrespected.
“I just feel like y’all just trying to throw me in there to the wolves, because let’s just think about it,” Broner said Wednesday at MGM Grand’s David Copperfield Theater. “Look at my last five fights, right? I fought world champion after world champion after world champion after world champion. And then these other motherf***ers, they like, ‘All right, he the world champion. But he gonna go in there and fight his assistant.’ But I’m like, ‘I just seen these two motherf***ers together yesterday. Now they fighting on Saturday? This sh*t ain’t right, man.’ But it’s cool. I don’t duck no fights. I don’t give a f*** I don’t care that he’s an eight-time world champion in all them weight classes and sh*t. I don’t care about none of that.
“All I worry about is, as long as my money right, we could have a nice fight. I told Bob Arum that, but he only wanted to give me like $2 million. But I said, ‘F*** him.’ So, this time, you know, so this time they talking a lot better. Them numbers right. So, we gonna have a hell of a fight. I trained my ass off and I just want y’all to know, though, I play a lot. But when that bell ring, though, I’m gonna be ready. And I ain’t coming here to lose. I ain’t come to lay down, man. I’m coming to get this victory. Real talk. Man, that’s some real talk. I love y’all.”
Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) is more than a 2-1 underdog against Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs). The challenger will try to win back the WBA world welterweight title he once owned against the powerful southpaw from the Philippines.
The Pacquiao-Broner bout will headline Showtime’s four-fight, pay-per-view telecast Saturday night from MGM Grand Garden Arena. The show will start at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and costs $74.99 to watch in HD through most cable and satellite operators.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.