By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao wants boxing fans to “be patient” according to Sports Tempo, in terms of the fans waiting for the negotiations to be completed between him and superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr for their huge fight on 5/2.
There’s been a ton of false information floating around about Pacquiao having signed the contract for the fight many times already, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s all forlorn. However, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is still expected to be announced soon, perhaps by this week.
Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times is saying that the negotiations could be completed by Tuesday of this week.
“Not expecting the @FloydMayweather announcement today but anything starting tomorrow is possible, I’ve been told,” Pugmire said on his Twitter.
Having the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight announced by Tuesday or Wednesday of this week would work out perfectly for both fighters because it would leave them enough time to start a press tour with the remaining days left in February. If they wait too long, then it will cut into their training time and make it all but impossible for them to market the fight properly.
If they wait to announce the fight in March, they could fly out for a quick tour of places like Las Vegas, Nevada, San Francisco, San Jose and California while in training camp. However, flying out to the East Coast like New York and Atlantic City would be all but impossible due to the long back and forth flights.
Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz reportedly will be staying in the Los Angeles area this week rather than flying out to Manila like he originally had planned. This is a further sign that the fight contracts could be signed this week and the fight announced.
Last night while the NBA All-Star game, Mayweather addressed the false information about Pacquiao having signed his portion of the contract for the fight by saying that no contracts have been signed as of yet. Mayweather said that he wants the fight to be made, but that neither he nor the Filipino star have signed contracts for the fight.
It’s quite possible for the two fighters to have less than an eight week training camp for the fight and still be ready for the fight. Mayweather looks like he’s already in sensational shape, and he probably doesn’t need to train more than six weeks to be ready for the fight. As for Pacquiao, he should be able to get ready for the fight in six weeks if need be.
The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight could wind up breaking the record of the most pay-per-view sales of 2.4 set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya back years ago. The number that has been floating around for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight is 3 million PPV buys that it could bring in. However, that number could be impacted if there’s no press tour for the fight, and if the PPV prices are priced too high. There are rumors that the prices could be as high as $110 for high definition to see it.
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