Mayweather fight still tops Arum's agenda

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao should give the superfight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. another shot before he considers a rematch with Timothy Bradley or a fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

“I think the fight with Floyd Mayweather should be on top of the agenda when he meets with Bob Arum next week,” said Pacquiao’s legal counsel, Franklin Gacal, yesterday.

“It’s still the fight that has to be made,” he added.

Pacquiao flew to Los Angeles Saturday evening with his wife, Jinkee, and chief adviser, Mike Koncz.

Pacquiao is scheduled to meet with Arum as soon as he finds time in LA, and before he takes a vacation with his family.

“I think they should give the Mayweather fight another try. And if nothing happens, and there’s nothing more to expect, only then should they consider fighting Bradley or Marquez next,” said Gacal.

Mayweather is serving time in jail for a domestic violence case in 2010, and should be out of prison by August, or possibly earlier than that.

Then Mayweather and Pacquiao can do it in December.

The superfight came close to happening twice, but on both occasions talks bogged down due to various reasons.

The last time they talked, Mayweather insisted on a bigger share of the purse, offering Pacquiao a guaranteed purse of $40 million with no share in the pay-per-view sales.

Arum said they’re willing to do it 45-45 with Mayweather, with the remaining 10 percent of the revenue going to the winner.

“If I take his $40 million offer, and no share in the pay-per-view sales, Floyd will be laughing at my back. That’s not the way to do business,” said Pacquiao, who lost to Bradley last June 9 in Las Vegas.

The judges’ decision giving Bradley a narrow victory drew a lot of flak from boxing experts and diehard Pacquiao fans, prompting the WBO to do its own inquiry.

The WBO tapped five judges to do an individual re-scoring of the fight, and they all came out with the 33-year-old Pacquiao, who had gone undefeated for more than seven years, as winner.

Bradley said Pacquiao should face him in a rematch on Nov. 10 to settle the issue once and for all, but Pacquiao also has a fourth fight with Marquez on his mind.