Mayweather says lies are being told; denies negotiations are taking place

MAYWEATHER SAYS LIES ARE BEING TOLD; DENIES NEGOTIATIONS ARE TAKING PLACE By Ben Thompson | December 03, 2011 Several hours after FightHype.com disclosed the identity of Carl Harris, CEO of Big InterSports Group, and details about his buy-out offer that was pitched to Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum decided to reveal the identity of another investment group, Falcon Hawk Entertainment, a company headed up by Donny Rucker, Mike Garibay, and Joseph Jackson, father of the late Michael Jackson. Speaking to Michael Marley of Examiner.com, Arum would explain that a meeting with representatives of the company took place last Monday at his home in Las Vegas. Shortly after Marley's story was published, at 5:11 PM ET, I immediately received an email with the subject line "Pacquiao, Mayweather Press Release" from Mike Garibay, Vice President of Falcon Hawk Entertainment, explaining that they were "one of the wealthy investor groups" mentioned by Bob Arum and instructing me to contact Mr. Donny Rucker, President of Falcon Hawk Entertainment, for further questions. There was also a link provided, directing me to Michael Marley's article for additional information, and attached was an interesting press release, which looked rushed given the numerous grammatical errors, proclaiming that a breakthrough was made in the Pacquiao-Mayweather "Welterweight Fight of the Century". According to the press release, Roger Mayweather and Jeff Mayweather were instrumental in "bringing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Michael Koncz together to discuss crucial issues pertaining the proposed fight." Skeptical of some of the information outlined in the press release, I contacted Floyd Mayweather himself and spoke to him on the phone as he was on his way to an appearance at the Riverfront Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan. Contrary to popular belief, according to Floyd Mayweather, absolutely no negotiations are taking place. As far as he's concerned, if any serious negotations were going on, they would be taking place with his adviser, Al Haymon, and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe. When I informed him about the press release that I received, Mayweather made it crystal clear that whatever is being put out there to the media is a lie, as he doesn't even need investors for the fight. In fact, he's convinced that Bob Arum still doesn't want to make the fight. The news may seem surprising to some considering the reports of Michael Koncz visiting Mayweather at his gym last week. In fact, the press release sent out by Falcon Hawk Entertainment suggested that the gym meeting between Mayweather and Koncz was "a confirmation by both camps to move forward with negotiations." Mayweather's recollection of the meeting, however, echoed comments previously made by Leonard Ellerbe, noting that no negotiations ever took place. Mayweather explained to me that his uncles, Jeff and Roger Mayweather, were simply being used by individuals who were looking to get close to him in hopes of pushing their own agenda. Just as Ellerbe explained, Mayweather said he was simply shaking out at the gym when his Uncle Jeff asked him if some guy could in. Not wanting to be rude, Mayweather obliged, thinking that it was simply a fan wanting to take a picture. At which point, Koncz walked in, introduced himself, and immediately began talking about making a fight. Having absolutely no idea who he was, it was the fist time that Mayweather had ever heard the name Michael Koncz, so he politely let him finish his pitch before informing him that there was absolutely nothing to talk about until his defamation lawsuit is cleared up. As our conversation continued, it was clear that Mayweather was getting more irritated as I spoke more about the press release and what was being said by Bob Arum to various media outlets. One surprising statement in the press release suggested that "goodwill and harmony" was brought to the meeting between Mayweather and Falcon Hawk Entertainment due to the fact that his fiancé, Shantel Jackson, was a niece of Joe Jackson. According to Mayweather, that's news to him, as he informed me that Miss Jackson is no kin to Joe Jackson, does not know Joe Jackson, and does not get involved in his boxing business. Again, Mayweather reiterated to me that anything that Bob Arum or anyone else is saying about negotiations taking place is a lie. While he does think that Manny Pacquiao wants to make the fight for the money, he simply doesn't believe that Bob Arum wants to make the fight and is doing whatever he can, including meeting with investors who have no realistic chance of being involved in the fight, to keep from being exposed. As a matter of fact, shortly after getting off the phone with Mayweather, I learned that this is not the first time that Mr. Donny Rucker has pitched an offer for the fight, having already been turned down twice before. Look, if negotiations were REALLY going on, as some of you seem to believe, then why would Floyd Mayweather even bother to pick up his phone and speak to little ol' me to dispute it? He could easily ignore my phone call and keep it moving, going on about his business of allegedly negotiating a fight in secrecy while Arum continues to tell his version of what's going on in public to the media. Lies, lies, lies Mayweather would repeat to me over and over again, making it abundantly clear that there's no way he would be negotiating through a 3rd party like Michael Koncz. As far as he's concerned, if Al Haymon's not involved, there's really nothing to talk about, and with the defamation lawsuit still unresolved, there's not much talking he plans on doing. Interestingly enough, at the time of this writing, no other media outlet has published this press release. In fact, the only person who actually has published it is Michael Marley, the same boxing scribe that Bob Arum has been kind enough to release details about these "serious offers" and alleged negotiations. FOR THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED, CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE THAT WAS SENT OUT (not currently available) http://fighthype.com/pages/content11299.html?PHPSESSID=4a2ee1a36fee23edb08021eca2e3ea09