http://www.livefight.com/images/pages/1277914893bob-arum-manny-pacquiao.jpg
Despite Arums tactics, you have to admire his hustle. Image if Manny fought Floyd after knocking out Hatton. The Pacquiao glory would have shattered as boxing's version of Jesus Christ was dominated by boxing's version of Lucifer. The numbers generated in the fights against Cotto, Clottey, and Margarito may not have been so high. The bright Pacquiao hype lights would have been shut off and it would have been an awfully bad day in the Philippines.
Most importantly, Arum would not have been able to eat off of Manny's hype, which he could not afford to be diminished prior to matching Manny up against every Top Rank fighter possible. They will put Manny against Floyd after all other options are gone and they have milked the fans pockets. I also believe Mosley will be breaking Arum off a few dollars from his own purse as well. If they're going to put Manny in the ring with a fighter who is likely to defeat him then they're going to go for the biggest pot of gold possible (Mayweather) rather than going for a Bradley, Martinez, or Berto. I mean, seriously, why risk getting Manny beat up for much less money against guys who are not boxing stars?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Bob_Arum.jpg/400px-Bob_Arum.jpg
The same thing happened with Gatti. The Mayweather Gatti fight was in the making for a year and a half because Gatti wanted to fight a couple other guys prior to fighting Mayweather. Merchant said before the fight that he felt Gatti's handlers, who didn't want the Mayweather fight, figured that somebody would eventually beat Gatti anyways, so they went for the biggest money and event possible.
We're watching the same scenario play out with Manny. Arum and Roach know that Floyd is going to dominate Pacquiao and Arum is trying to make as much money off of the "Pacman" hype as possible before feeding him to the Master Craftsman. So far, he has done a great job. Watch history repeat itself as it did with Margarito.
http://www.boxingrepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Antonio-Margarito.jpg
They will hit everybody will 24/7's, add a little drama, and have you all ordering the fight like zombies who just can't go against the wishes of Arums program. Gotta give it to him.... he knows how to maximize profits and take full advantage of the media.
http://www.livefight.com/images/pages/1277914893bob-arum-manny-pacquiao.jpg
Mr.Opal... Yesterday, 10:19 AM:
"The Pacquiao glory would have shattered as boxing's version of Jesus Christ was dominated by boxing's version of Lucifer."
Michael Marley: Today, 12:49 PM:
"I pine for the return of the devil we all know":nonono: