Boxing fans want to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, but instead all they've been treated to is the two superstars and their camps fighting over who is delaying completion of the negotiations.
Recently Mayweather took to social media with a photo of he and Pacquiao meeting face-to-face about the fight, claiming both want it to happen, and that the delays are out of their hands. Reports have backed up certain claims that Showtime, whom Mayweather fights on, and HBO, where Pacquiao's fights are broadcast, are to blame.
The latest reports say that some major hurdles between the networks have been cleared, but Showtime Sports executive vice president Stephen Espinoza was quick to temper excitement.
"There are a few significant issues remaining on both the fighter side and the network side of this deal," Espinoza said. "While we are optimistic, it's a bit premature to say that the networks are in total agreement."
One thing that has been agreed to though is the purse split. Mayweather will be on the winning end of a 60/40 split, and could rake in as much as $120 million for this super fight should it get made. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum danced carefully when making statements about the talks though, and fans familiar with this particular matchup know not to hold their breath.
"There's a lot of devil in the details and that's what we're sorting through now," Arum said. "The remaining issues are obviously important to the participants, and are things we have to work out."
Earlier this week Arum expressed concern that the more the talks drag out, the less feasible May 2 will be as a date. The date is extremely important to Mayweather, but Arum fears there won't be enough time to properly promote the fight.
"The thing that really concerns me is that we are running out of time for May 2," Arum said. "If you want to drag this out a little longer then move the fight to later in May -- May 30 is a good date -- or go in June. We agreed to go on May 2 because that is the date Mayweather is hung up on, but if we're going to go on May 2 we need to get this done."
[ESPN]
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