MANILA, Philippines – Top Rank Inc. chief Bob Arum said he no longer has a clue about the fate of the long-overdue fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Speaking to Lem Satterfield of ringtv.com, Arum decried how negotiations have gone the past few days, admitting that he has grown tired of going back and forth with the Mayweather camp.
“Nobody’s listening to anybody. I have no idea what’s going to happen,” the veteran promoter said.
“I’ve never been through a situation as crazy as this. I’m tired of it. I’ve negotiated for 50 years and I’ve never been through some [expletive] like this,” he added.
Boxing fans are hoping there would already be a deal sealing what’s potentially he richest fight in boxing history. Mayweather and Pacquiao even met personally to fan hopes that they can finally settle the score on the ring.
But with the clock ticking, Arum suggested moving the fight to a later date since it would already be too late for the originally planned schedule on May 2.
The Top Rank big boss is now pinning his hopes on Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS – the parent network of Showtime, which holds the exclusive rights to air Mayweather’s fights. Pacquiao, in contrast, is under contract with rival network HBO.
“It’s only going to get settled at Moonves’ level because otherwise, it will just break up and everybody will just walk away and everybody will blame everybody and all of that [expletive]. That’s how I see it now,” Arum continued.
“It is craziness. It is just crazy. If you knew what was going on, you would know how bizarre it is. But maybe you go through this bizarre-ness before you cross the goal line. I have nothing else to say except that it’s not over until it’s over,” he ended.