MANILA, Philippines — Floyd Mayweather threw down another provocative gauntlet to Manny Pacquiao on Tuesday, daring the Filipino icon to “Step Up, Punk” in a posting on his Twitter webpage.
Mayweather hopes to entice Pacquiao into accepting his challenge to meet May 5 in Las Vegas in a megafight showdown between the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters, one that boxing fans have wanted to see for years.
But Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum was quick to dismiss Mayweather’s barb as all bark and no bite.
Speaking to the Manila Bulletin, Arum – who is in Manila to discuss with Pacquiao whom he should fight next — issued his own challenge to Mayweather: Fight Pacquiao on June 9 or the end of May.
Arum has ripped Mayweather's May 5 plan, saying he could secure $20 million more with the construction of a temporary venue in Las Vegas to stage such a long-awaited fight before more than twice as many spectators.
Critics see that and other moves as Arum wanting to avoid pitching Pacquiao, 54-3 with two drawn and 38 knockouts, against Mayweather, 42-0, with 26 knockouts.
The 80-year-old Top Rank chief said the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, which can sit 18,000 at the most, is way too small for a fight of such magnitude, a move that would result in the inability to generate at least an additional $20 million in revenue in gate receipts.
“Mayweather is trying to deflect criticisms (because he is fighting Robert Guerrero),” Arum said.
Guerrero, a lightweight without a solid track record in big fights, apparently tops Mayweather’s list of possible opponents for a May 5 bout at the MGM Grand.
Arum said he doesn’t understand why detractors could not see the rationale behind putting up the fight in a bigger arena like a temporary site being eyed to be built on the Las Vegas strip that can accommodate at least 40,000.
It would take a few months before a makeshift arena can be built, Arum noted.
“That’s a lot of money that goes to the pot,” said Arum, stressing that it is paramount that he maximizes the earning potential of his fighter.
If Mayweather is indeed serious in facing Pacquiao at the soonest possible time, Arum said he is ready to talk business, and if all these noises prove to be nothing but that, he will have no choice but to move on.
Pacquiao is reviewing the four proposals that Arum laid out on the table in their initial meeting late Tuesday.
“We’ll talk again this Saturday (before I return to the US),” said Arum.
Mayweather was supposed to serve a 90-day prison term last week for domestic battery but a Las Vegas judge ruled he can postpone it until June 1 so he can fulfill his obligations to fight on May 5.
Arum said he would be willing to financially lend a hand in postponing Mayweather’s prison sentence until June 15 so he can fight Pacquiao by chipping in expensive lawyers’ fees.
Mayweather awaits the June 1 start of a 90-day jail sentence on domestic violence charges.
Arum originally said Mayweather was not among possible next foes for "Pac-Man," listing Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, Puerto Rican southpaw and Americans Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson as candidates.
But that was assuming Mayweather was going to serve his sentence starting last week. Instead, a judge postponed Mayweather's trip behind bars until after his already-booked May 5 fight.
"My jail sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up, Punk," Mayweather also tweeted on Tuesday.
Pacquiao, who has won 15 fights in a row over the past seven years, has told Filipino media that he wants the opportunity to fight Mayweather to be a top priority.
Mayweather, who squandered a chance to make a fight with Pacquiao earlier by seeking extraordinary blood-testing measures, hopes to add pressure upon Arum and Pacquiao with his Twitter challenge.
Past near-deals for Mayweather-Pacquiao have fallen apart for years, sending Pacquiao and Mayweather against different rivals with similar results.
But this time, both fighters are coming off controversial victories.
Pacquiao, a 33-year-old southpaw, won a majority decision over Marquez last November, giving him two wins and a draw over the Mexican.,but none of them by such a margin that Marquez's claims he was wronged could be dismissed.
Mayweather, who turns 35 next month, won the World Boxing Council welterweight title with a fourth-round knockout of compatriot Victor Ortiz, but he landed the decisive blow, while Ortiz was distracted after the referee had separated the fighters, then said they could resume.
Should Pacquiao not be next on Mayweather's hit list, "Pretty Boy Floyd" has been mentioned as filling the May 5 date with either US southpaw Robert Guerrero, 29-1-1 with 18 knockouts, or Mexico's Saul "Cinnamon" Alvarez, the WBC light-middleweight champion who is 39-0 with one drawn and 29 knockouts.
http://mb.com.ph/articles/347749/mayweather-taunts-pacquiao-step-punk
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