Busy Manny need not be in fight talks

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao’s presence will not be required when his promoter, Bob Arum, begins the new round of talks with the camp of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Arum said a gag order will be in place once the negotiations, aimed at making the superfight happen, begin. He said there’s no need to bring the boxers to the table.

The legendary promoter said Pacquiao, who just won a congressional seat in his home province of Sarangani, will be too busy in the coming days for him to be present at the talks.

“My guy is too busy with his congressional duties to do that. That’s why he has to delegate these things. The answer is he couldn’t do it. He doesn’t have the time to do it,” Arum told fightnews.com.

Pacquiao, according to Arum, will fight on Nov. 13 either in Las Vegas or Texas. The reigning pound-for-pound icon who had thought of retirement prior to the elections has gotten the go-signal from his mother.

Arum said Nov. 6 has also been reserved even if it may come too close to the World Series.

Arum, who was in Sarangani during the week of the elections, has discussed things with Pacquiao, and while he wouldn’t share them, is looking at three more fights for the Filipino icon.

“He discussed it but I’m not going to say what the answer is. It was told to me in confidence and I’m not at liberty to say. My belief is, based on my conversations with him, he will engage in probably three more fights,” said Arum.

Pacquiao said his mother, Aling Dionesia, has given him her nod to fight one more time. But one fight, especially if it’s against Mayweather, will be quite impossible, considering that a rematch clause will surely be included in the contract.

Pacquiao’s adviser, Wakee Salud, said Pacquiao and Mayweather might figure in a trilogy, one that should top all previous ones, if and when it happens.

Arum said he can manage and represent Pacquiao in the talks.

“He is not a congressman like the US Congressman, he will get an allocation of millions of dollars of American money and he has to allocate to hospitals, schools, municipalities.

“To sit and spend time negotiation a fight is not something that’s productive. But he does have time to train and perform his best for a fight,” said Arum, confident that he can make the fight happen.”

As long as they keep the prying media out of sight.

“Absolutely. Once you start negotiating through the media, it becomes ego driven. People can’t wait to give a statement to the press. The flames just shoot up and there is no real opportunity for rational behavior to take over.

“A negotiation is a negotiation. A lot of nice things happen if people negotiate in good faith and people want something good to happen and negotiate without going through the media. So let’s see what happens,” Arum told fightnews.com.