Arum laughs off Mayweather attention grab

Floyd Mayweather Jr. thought he had stolen the spotlight from Manny Pacquiao last week when his adviser told ESPN.com that the WBC welterweight champion would return to the ring May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Nice try, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said.

With Pacquiao finishing preparations for Saturday's trilogy fight against Juan Manuel Marquez at the Grand Garden, Mayweather thought he could get some exposure at Pacquiao's expense. At the same time, Mayweather probably was trying to upset Arum and get him to launch into one of his legendary tirades.

Instead, Arum laughed it off, calling Mayweather's ploy "a sick joke." The promoter added that Mayweather knows what he must do if he is serious about fighting Pacquiao in May or whenever.

"He does it all the time," Arum said. "It drives him crazy when Pacquiao fights and gets all the attention, so he does crazy things. But we're used to that."

What Mayweather and his camp did was out of character. His co-manager and adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, usually is tight-lipped about plans for his fighter. He often is one of the last in the camp to comment, waiting until a deal is signed.

Efforts to reach Ellerbe were unsuccessful.

Mayweather usually doesn't announce his fights that far in advance. Traditionally, most megafights scheduled for May are announced in late January or early February, giving promoters three-plus months to hype the event, sell the pay per view and line up corporate sponsors.

Mayweather obviously wants Pacquiao. By announcing the May date, he puts the onus on Pacquiao. The ploy won't work, Arum said, and nothing regarding Pacquiao's future will be determined in the next week or even the next month.

"This is nonsense," Arum said. "You don't negotiate a deal that way. All this signifies to me is that they're not serious. When they decide to get serious, the smart people will sit down in a room together and work out all the details.

"Who's to say Floyd will be able to fight May 5? He still has legal issues he's dealing with. And Manny may not be available May 5 because he may have obligations in Congress in the Philippines. Plus, there are going to be other people interested in doing this fight, not just the MGM. So for anyone to think that this is going to get done right away doesn't know what they're talking about."

■ PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ OFFICIALS -- When two fighters meet three times in the same city, it can be tricky lining up officials for the third fight who weren't involved in the first two.

But the Nevada Athletic Commission's pool of referees and judges is deep enough to avoid any conflicts. Tony Weeks of Las Vegas was selected to referee the Pacquiao-Marquez fight, with Dave Moretti, Robert Hoyle and Glenn Trowbridge, all of Las Vegas, serving as judges.

In 2004, Joe Cortez refereed the first Pacquiao-Marquez fight at Mandalay Bay, which ended in a 12-round draw. The judges were Burt Clements, John Stewart and Guy Jutras.

In 2008, Kenny Bayless refereed the rematch at Mandalay Bay, which Pacquiao won by split decision. The judges were Jerry Roth, Duane Ford and Tom Miller.

■ FIGHTER ARRIVALS -- Marquez will make his official arrival at noon Monday at the MGM Grand lobby. Pacquiao will arrive at noon Tuesday.

Pacquiao remains a 9-1 betting favorite at most sports books.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com
or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.