BoB Arum - Pac-Mayweather has to Happen.

[Ray*]

I: Congratulations on your FirePower telecast. Can you give us some thoughts on the fights? "It was terrific, and the production in the arena was unbelievable, with the new innovation of a cone above the ring. The Pacquiao-Cotto fight, I thought, was fascinating. Until Manny broke Miguel down, it was a very competitive fight. It probably should have been stopped earlier. It was a really terrific fight. I was very pleased with my man Yuri Foreman's [WBA 154-pound title-winning] performance against Daniel Santos."

I: You said Manny Pacquiao basically broke Miguel Cotto down. At what point do you feel he broke Cotto down, and at what point do you think the fight should have been stopped?

The Bobfather: I think the fight was, to my untrained eye, over by the end of 6th round. I think the fight should have been stopped, certainly after the 9th round.

I: Pacquiao is an animal, the likes of which we've never seen. I'm 31, and I've never seen anyone like this.

The Bobfather: I'm 78, and I've never seen anyone like this either.

I: People are making accusations, like Floyd Mayweather Sr., who according to Shane Mosley, thinks that perhaps Manny is on something, because they don't see any way that he's able to continuously move up in weight, and beat the **** out of A level opponents. How do you feel about that?

The Bobfather: One thing I'm sure of, is that Manny's never heard of the word steroids before Floyd Mayweather Sr. used it. Who would even respond to that? Manny has built himself up, and become the physical specimen of the year, because he trains five hours a day, six days a week when he's training. There is nobody, and I've been around a long time, there is no athlete, no boxer that trains like Manny Pacquiao. From that training, he has become this really freakish fighter, and the great physical specimen that he is.

[Ray*]

I: After a victory like this, I understand that Pacquiao has many options. You know what the biggest fight in the world is, you know what the world wants to see. It's not going to get any bigger than this. When are we going to get to see it?

The Bobfather: I would like that to be the next fight, and I would like it to happen in May. Obviously, one thing that you're absolutely correct about, is that whether it's justified or not, the public wants to see Manny Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather Jr.. It would be a shame for boxing if that fight didn't happen. Right now, boxing has all the momentum, people are talking about boxing, the promotion on Saturday was a huge success, Mayweather also did big numbers with the Marquez fight, so boxing is on a roll. Like a football team, when everything is going like this, on a roll, you don't want to stop the momentum. For either guy to fight someone else, the momentum would stop, in my opinion.

I: There's no question that Manny Pacquiao's victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton were hard earned, and he deserved them. If Mayweather hadn't decided to retire when he did, before the second fight with De La Hoya, which was scheduled, Pacquiao wouldn't have fought Oscar, which probably would have prevented him from becoming the PPV attraction he is today. With that being said, are you standing firm on the 50/50 position, or...

The Bobfather: (Inturrupting) I'm not going to discuss any position through the media. When it comes time to negotiate the fight, I have strong opinions about that, but I am not going to jeapordize this fight from happening by being ego driven, and give out demands, and so forth.

I: With that being said, does this mean that you and Al Haymon will find a way to get it done this time?

The Bobfather: I don't care if I have to negotiate with Ahmadinejad [the leader of Iran], this fight should happen, and people should be sensible and come together to make the fight happen. I don't care who I have to negotiate this with, Mayweather has to designate somebody to negotiate with me.

I: How does the fight play out, if it ever comes to fruition?

The Bobfather: I think Manny knocks him out, but again other people think that Floyd is going to win. That's what makes it the great fight that it could be.

I: Are you concerned that Manny might have ruined Cotto, since the fight should have been stopped at least 3 rounds early?

The Bobfather: The referee was looking for a place to stop the fight, and I really thought that Miguel's corner should have stopped the fight earlier. I think Miguel will get a lot of time to pull himself together, and recover. I know he wants to continue to fight, and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I: Going back to what we spoke about earlier. I told you that I'm 31, and I've never seen anyone like Pacquiao, and you said neither have you at 78.

The Bobfather: Never, and that's the truth, that's not hyperbole.

I: How can we compare him? Is he one of a kind? Is somebody down the line, in the next twenty or thirty years going to become him? Somebody tried to call him our Duran, and I even thought that comparison in unfair, based on how Manny is jumping up and down in weight, and beating the cream of the crop in each division.

The Bobfather: And fighting the way he does, I've never seen anybody do it. It's like Bruce Lee in a boxing ring. I've never seen athleticism like this.

I: Is that what Henry Armstrong might have been like?

The Bobfather: I don't know, I never was around. I'm old, but I never saw Henry Armstrong. I really can't say. All I can tell is from 1966, when I came into boxing, and onward. Anything before '66 I don't know about, because I never watched the fights before.

I: I trust your eye in the last 46 years.

The Bobfather: I've never seeen anything like it, never. Sugar Ray was a great fighter, Tommy Hearns was a great fighter, Duran and Hagler were great fighters, but I've never seen anything like this kid.

I: Is Mayweather much more difficult than anybody Manny's beaten thus far?

The Bobfather: I don't think so, but I really don't know. Mayweather is a great fighter, he's a great defensive fighter, it creates a different kind of test for Pacquiao. Pacquiao, with his athleticism, the fact that he's cracking with two hands, and his explosive power, I think is up for anything, but that's my opinion. I can't wait to see what happens.

I: Kelly Pavlik has something scheduled now, right?

The Bobfather: Yes, he's fighting Espina on December 19th, on a split PPV card, from Youngstown, and from Toluca, Mexico.

I: A lot of fans are wondering. They know the history between you and Al, and they know the Williams fight, a much bigger fight got cancelled. Then suddenly a few days later, Pavlik is rescheduled...

The Bobfather: (Inturrupting) Pavlik couldn't close his hand to make a fist, and we asked for the fight to be rescheduled, but they couldn't accomodate us. Also, because of the fact that Pavlik's hand wasn't healing quickly enough, Williams' people got impatient and pulled the plug. I don't blame them, that hand took a long time to heal, it's healed now, and they didn't want to wait. I don't blame them, but that fight can happen sometime next year, no problem.

I: When can we expect Antonio Margarito back?

The Bobfather: Margarito comes off of suspention, I think, in the end of January. We'll apply for a license for him, and if he gets one in the United States, we'll probably go to Mexico and fight a tune-up there. After that we'll step up and fight whoever.

I: How long before Chavez-Duddy is a done deal?

The Bobfather: John Duddy is going to be on a January 23rd card at Madison Square Garden, in the little building. Probably in April, we'll do the PPV with Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Duddy, from someplace in Mexico.

I: I understand why you had Chavez Jr. as a co-feature for such a huge event. At the same time, after his performance, are you concerned that it was counter-productive to the promotion with Duddy, which is going to appear on PPV?

The Bobfather: No, it certainly wasn't a scintillating performance, but I can't fight for them. They have to fight for themselves. It wasn't a great performance. It was the kind of fight that appeals to the Mexican fans that bought it on PPV, but there weren't many Mexican fans in the arena that night, because they were all there for Pacquiao and Cotto. They got impatient, because they couldn't wait for the fight to be over so the main event could start.

I: On HBO 24/7, you managed to keep a straight face when you said that Joe Santiago probably knows his fighter better than Freddie Roach knows Pacquiao. Do you still feel the fight should have been stopped after the 6th round?

The Bobfather: I didn't say after the 6th round, I said after the 9th round. I think they made a mistake, that a more experienced corner would have stopped the fight earlier, absolutely I feel that way. Maybe Joe knew his fighter too well, the fighter is a real warrior, and the fighter wouldn't have accepted the stoppage. The way that Joe Fraizier never forgave Eddie Futch for stopping the fight in Manilla with Ali.

I: If trainers actually had fight-by-fight contracts with their fighters, and didn't have to worry about losing their percentage if they stop the fight before the fighter wanted them to, do you think we'd see less fighters damaged?

The Bobfather: Yes, I think that's a good point. If I had been in Miguel's corner, I would have stopped the fight after the 9th round. Other people have different judgement. I thought Miguel's chances for winning the fight, after the 9th round, were non-existant. There was no sense in continuing, I would have stopped the fight.

I: As his cornerman, if stopping the fight before he wanted it stopped risked your only interest in all the work you put in...

The Bobfather: (Interrupting) I think that Cotto is a very intelligent guy, and he would have realized that it was the right decision. What did he gain be getting the fight to go into the 12th round? Even if he finished the fight and it went to decision, would there have been any more kudos than having it stopped after the 9th round?

I: Can you give us some closing thoughts?

The Bobfather: Saturday night was a great night for boxing, the fight recieved worldwide attention.

I: Any early indication on the PPV numbers?

The Bobfather: They're very good.

I: More than one million?

The Bobfather: Yeah, well over.

I: Can we have a guesstimation?

The Bobfather: I really don't know. It will be somewhere north of one million.

I: So, it will challenge De La Hoya-Trinidad?

The Bobfather: Yes, it could concievably challenge De La Hoya-Trinidad.

[alexpz]

thanks Stewie for this one. Arum did call Floyd a great fighter.. Wow..