Believe what you will but it seems to make sense.
Looks Like Floyd Will Use The Arum Card To Duck Pacquiao in 2012
December 8th, 2011
By Scoop Malinowski
The greatest ducking dodger in boxing history is at it again. Floyd Mayweather is not showing any positive signs about making a super fight with Manny Pacquiao, the fight everyone wants to see.
Bob Arum is trying to get the ball rolling by talking with investors, sending Michael Koncz over to the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas, dropping his public intentions for Pacquiao-Marquez 4.
But all the while Floyd and his manager Al Haymon defiantly refuse to engage.
Now that the drug testing issue has been settled you would think Floyd might be eager to finally make the biggest money fight in history. But a key clue was given when Mayweather refused to show up just a few miles from his home to sit ringside at Pacquiao-Marquez 3, a la Clubber Lang at Rocky fights, to build up hype for the super fight we’ve all been waiting two years for.
Of course, Mayweather had no problem showing up in Cincinnati to watch Adrien Broner, or Connecticut to see Berto vs. Ortiz. So the logical conclusion is that Floyd’s plans absolutely do not include Manny Pacquiao.
Then when Pacquiao struggled vs. Marquez, a man Floyd handled easily, you would have thought Floyd might come on strong and aggressive to make the fight now. But Floyd refused to commit or even challenge or call out Manny publicly. You would have thought Floyd, if he had half the confidence of his fans, would have verbally attacked Pacquiao, like he did many of his other overmatched opponents, or even dare Manny to keep his word on the “winner take all” idea he verbalized live on national TV on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
Floyd just stays low-key in the background, like a mouse in his hole, latching on to the May 5th date, which is another clue that he has no intentions of boxing Manny Pacquiao. Why would Floyd insist on boxing Pacquiao on the Mexican Cinco De Mayo holiday weekend? You’re right, it makes no sense, other than that Mayweather’s true secret plan is to fight a handpicked Golden Boy Mexican set up such as Robert Guerrero or Erik Morales on May 5th.
If you think about it, Mayweather’s latest ducking agenda has been altered. Since Floyd can no longer use the “Take the test” excuse, the new script is that it’s not about the money anymore, he doesn’t need Manny, Manny has six losses and doesn’t deserve to fight me, Manny’s not his own boss. Those are the secondary smokescreen excuses. But the real whopper blocker which Floyd will use to kill the fight is to play the Bob Arum card.
No matter what Arum says or does, in my view, Team Mayweather will simply slander him as a liar, a fake, they don’t trust him, they don’t want him in control of anything to do with the fight or to be the one dealing with investors in the fight.
Arum is in a tough spot, he can’t win. Now that Team Mayweather must deal with the Pacquiao defamation lawsuit, they have given up on trying to slander and destroy the character of Manny Pacquiao, which they clearly were trying to do. So now Team Mayweather has a new target. Mayweather and his gang of protectors are declaring war on Bob Arum and they will do all in their power to pin all the blame on Arum as the reason for killing the biggest event in boxing history.
But it’s not really about Arum, Just like it wasn’t really about random testing or Cotto’s pay-per-view numbers in 2008 and Margarito five losses in 2006. It’s all about that Floyd Mayweather fears getting stuck in the ring with the A + game of Manny Pacquiao. Floyd fears Manny can once again re-find and show the dazzling, vicious form which slaughtered Hatton, Oscar, Cotto and Margarito.
For Floyd, it’s always been about “ducking and dodging” and making “smart business decisions.” With Al Haymon at his side, Mayweather thinks he can evade the Manny Pacquiao storm which is now almost passed – Manny, 33 this month, will either lose or retire eventually – and once the Pac Man is gone, Floyd knows he will be home free. There will be no pressure whatsoever to force Floyd to fight anyone else, you can forget about Floyd vs. Cotto, Khan or Martinez.
Once Pacquiao is gone from the scene or loses a fight, Floyd will be 100% free to handpick all the Golden Boy set ups that he and Haymon want. And HBO will once again invest in Floyd as the #1 face of boxing.
Floyd and Haymon know it’s the Manny Pacquiao show now but they are patient, calculating businessmen. They know Manny’s the popular superstar who gets all the media glory (60 Minutes) and major endorsement deals from the likes of Nike, while Floyd is virtually ignored as a coward, disgrace, jackass punk. But once Manny loses or retires, Floyd and Al Haymon are ready to fill the void after a couple of years of being on the outside looking in. And Floyd and Haymon will try to manufacture and piggyback the Floyd “Money” Mayweather brand into becoming the ultimate star of boxing.
But first things first, and in this high stakes poker game, Floyd and Haymon must play the “We hate Bob Arum” card. And use it to kill the biggest fight in boxing history – Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather.