The saga of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s negotiations for a super fight with Manny Pacquiao continues to torture boxing fans eager for this iconic matchup. Despite reports from The Daily Telegraph that the two sides had agreed to a fight worth $250 million, Mayweather, along with others close to the talks, has denied it strongly.
"It's just been speculations and rumors. But hopefully we can make the fight happen," Mayweather said. Mayweather's not the only one who has shot down reports of the fight's completion, along with rumors that Manny Pacquiao has signed his end of the deal. Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza handled that one.
Telling the truth isn't helpful? "@paulcervi: Espinoza you are a useless bastard. Do u think these public statements actually help matters? — Stephen Espinoza (@StephenEspinoza) February 15, 2015
An imaginary contract, maybe. Real one not finished yet. "@alstar3636: Sporting News & Telegraph reporting Pac signed a contract for 250M"
— Stephen Espinoza (@StephenEspinoza) February 15, 2015
In fact, Espinoza has turned into a sort of boogeyman throughout this process, often having to be the bearer of bad news when rumors about positive movement, or that a deal has been inked leak. He was called out by a Twitter user for that, and responded that he's only delivering the facts.
Telling the truth isn't helpful? "@paulcervi: Espinoza you are a useless bastard. Do u think these public statements actually help matters? — Stephen Espinoza (@StephenEspinoza) February 15, 2015
Sources lying about having a signed contract is a sign of progress? "@thomaslig: every sign of progress you douse water on our hopes"
— Stephen Espinoza (@StephenEspinoza) February 15, 2015
On top of all this confusion, it's very unclear who is standing in the way of a deal that all parties involved swear they want completed. Recently HBO came under fire for being a roadblock to the super fight only to release a strong statement that they weren't in the way.
"We stand ready to go," the statement said. "The principals need to agree to terms and come to a deal."
Time might be running out for the "speculation and rumors" to become reality. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum worries that if the talks drag out too much longer, there won't be enough time to properly promote a fight of this magnitude.
"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."
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