Arum hands Mayweather his first Loss

By Leigh K. Seto - 12/10/2014 - Comments

floyd5By Leigh K. Seto: Back in June, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum suggested Saul “Canelo” Alvarez could meet Miguel Cotto on Cinco de Mayo. What is significant about that statement is its common knowledge in boxing circles to be one of two Mayweather fight dates.

It seemed like a far-fetched prospect, because who would dare challenge the pay-per-view king on one of his two annual dates. That’s like someone announcing “I’m moving the Super Bowl to March”.

Pundits and fans alike thought this was another one of his many media games. We all know about the “Building the stadium” proclamation he made to accommodate the Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. Just a delay tactic to push back the fight. It’s also well known that he name drops “Mayweather” in promotion leading up to many of Pacquiao’s fights in what some boxing fans see as an attempt to stir interest in Top Rank Pay-per-view. But, with recent reports that HBO, Canelo and soon Cotto have agreed to the Cinco de Mayo fight date in 2015, Mayweather has been pushed aside.

How smart is Arum? Bob Arum started his career with the U.S. Justice department while John F. Kennedy was president. He graduated from Harvard Law cum laude. It’s safe to say you are not going to outsmart Bob.

So, while Bob was proclaiming a month ago that he was working diligently to make the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight to finally come to fruition, what he was actually doing behind closed doors was orchestrating a move that would inevitability hurt Mayweather where it counts. His pride and his wallet. Oscar De La Hoya was the first fighter to cash in on the first weekend in May and being a savvy business man Floyd soon followed suit. He’s made astronomical numbers by choosing the right Mexican fighters on the right date. Arum is pitting his famous Hall of fame fighter Cotto against the most well know Mexican fighter Canelo Alvarez, it’s a sure hit. Two fighters that love to fight, not box. A Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight would probably be a lot of running and hugging by Floyd, inching a slight victory over Pacquiao. Pacquiao dumbfounded and frustrated thinking he was in a fight, but he was actually in a track marathon. Cotto vs. Canelo is anything but that. Puerto Rico vs Mexico a classic Boxing rivalry. Its genius, its classic Arum.

Mayweather at this point would likely have to announce a ridiculous, circus act fight with a big name to get near 2 million pay-per-view buys. Obviously Pacquiao is out of the picture because Bob won’t have his fighters share the same date. Gennady Golovkin or Andre Ward are well known fighters, but the size difference compared to Floyd would probably deter him to take on those challenges. So, most likely, Floyd will be at home watching the fight like us. Arum may be be grinning ear to ear because he was the first to beat Floyd.



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