By DA: If anyone is to be thanked by the boxing media and fans for putting together the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Manny Pacquiao fight, that anyone should be CBS CEO Les Moonves for pulling all sides of Mayweather and Pacquiao to the table. According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, Moonves was the man who organized the meetings between Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum and powerful manager/advisor Al Haymon.
CBS, of course, is the parent company of Showtime as Time Warner is to HBO. Moonves had apparently been working on this fight since before Mayweather and Pacquiao fought in the fall against Marcos Maidana and Chris Algieri.
Moonves had kept things from falling apart and is credited as the “adult in the room” by one person and “the straw that stirred the drink” during negotiations. HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Pleper told ESPN.com “I tip my hat to Les. This would not have happened without his perseverance and his unique relationships. We were more than honored and delighted to work closely with him to make it happen. It would not have been possible without his energy throughout the process.”
Stephen Espinoza the head of Showtime sports agrees with Plepers statements “One of the main reasons why this deal got done, as opposed to deals in the past, was because Leslie Moonves was a part of the process,” Espinoza said. “He was deeply committed to making this deal and was someone that all parties in this negotiation really respect. He was really the catalyst for seeing this through and refused to take no for an answer from any side.”
Not only that CEO of Top Rank inc. Bob Arum also backs Espinoza and Plepers claims “He was the guy who really wanted to make it happen. He has enormous experience and talent in this area. This wasn’t his first rodeo. It never would have happened without him. Trust me, it would never happen.
“Les was the difference, in my opinion, on why it happened this time and not other times we tried. But you never look back at the road that you took. You always look at the result — and we got a fight done didn’t we? — so yeah, it was worth it.”
Moones was able to organize a meeting in his LA home with Bob Arum and Al Haymon face to face and be the messenger back and forth between the two as well. It wasn’t easy according to Moonves but he claims the fight needed to be done for the sake of the sport and because he’s a big fan as well. “This will be huge. So, yes, there was a business interest in getting this done,” Moonves said. “But I also felt the importance of this fight for the boxing industry and for the sport. That kept me going. This was more than just a business deal to me. So as fans we should thank not Al Haymon, not Bob Arum, but Les Moonves, if anything Haymon or Arum would’ve ruined the fight from being made anyways.
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