By Dave Lahr: I don’t see how Bob Arum’s deadline for Floyd Mayweather Jr. is helping matters in getting him to accept the contract proposal for a fight with Manny Pacquiao. That seems kind of self-defeating to give a big star like Mayweather a deadline and then making it public. That’s the last thing you want to do if you want to get a fight with Floyd.
It gives the appearance that Arum is calling the shots and Mayweather has hurry up otherwise he’s going to miss out on this great thing. I think it’s the opposite. I think Arum needs to be doing his utmost to kiss up to Mayweather to make this fight happen.
Giving him a deadline in public is about as wrong-headed a move that I can even think of. It’s sort of like when you see some really nice looking woman you want to ask out, and you’ve been going out with pretty much ugly women all your life in comparison to her.
The last thing you want to do is say ‘You got until mid-July to make up your mind whether you’ll go out with me, otherwise I’ll continue to go with ugly women.’ Who’s the one losing out here – you are the attractive girl? I see a deadline as a total blow it move by Arum and couldn’t think of a worse way to try and get a fight with Mayweather.
Here you got a fighter with Mayweather that is out-performing your own fighter in terms of pay-per-view fights, is unbeaten and is considered by many to be the best fighter in boxing. And now you’re going to give Mayweather a deadline and if he doesn’t take you’re going to have Pacquiao fight Miguel Cotto, who Pacquiao already beat, or Antonio Margarito who can’t fight in the United States. Either of those fights will go over real good, I bet.
Seriously, who wants to see Pacquiao fight Cotto again? I don’t care if there’s a title on the line. That doesn’t make up for the fact that Cotto got trounced last time out by Pacquiao. And I can just see Americans having to travel to Mexico or the Middle East just to see Pacquiao Margarito. Who needs that hassle?
Arum should be giving Mayweather the red treatment, sending him bottled water, caviar or whatever he wants to try and make the fight happen. He’s got to worm his way if he wants to get a fight with a talented guy like Mayweather. Giving deadlines is the worst thing he can do, unless he really doesn’t want Mayweather to fight Pacquiao. In that case, a public deadline for Mayweather is the perfect way not to make the fight happen.
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