Floyd Jr. has ‘good reason’ to skip bout

When a midnight deadline passed Friday for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to agree to fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13, it seemed certain that Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, would unleash a tirade.

After all, there has been bad blood between Arum and Mayweather since the latter bolted Top Rank several years ago to form his promotion company.

But there was no eruption. Rather than attack Mayweather and blame him for the fight failing to materialize, Arum attempted to give Mayweather the benefit of the doubt.

"I am sure (Mayweather has) a very good reason for not committing to a fight at this time. I really and truly believe that," Arum said during a midnight teleconference. "Now I am speculating that one of the reasons could be the uncertainty regarding Roger Mayweather."

Trainer Roger Mayweather, the fighter's uncle, is scheduled to go on trial in Clark Country District Court on Aug. 2, a year to the day after he was arrested for allegedly beating and choking Melissa St. Vil, a boxer he once trained. If convicted of the assault charges, Roger Mayweather could face up to 10 years in prison.

"Right now I understand Floyd's position, I believe his position regarding Roger," Arum said. "We know about this serious issue regarding Roger. I can understand Floyd delaying any plans for a future fight until there is a resolution of the Roger situation. Once you understand that, how can you jump on the guy (Floyd Mayweather)?

"I know how Manny would feel if he had to go into a fight like this without the services of (trainer) Freddie Roach, and presumably Floyd would feel the same way going into a fight like this without the services of his uncle Roger, who has been training him for a number of years."

Arum emphasized he was speculating. Mayweather Jr. has not commented, and nobody from his camp has spoken publicly about a fight with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao, in a statement released by his publicist, said: "I'm very disappointed. I wanted to give the fight fans the event they really wanted to see. I'm sorry that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has not come to terms to make this fight.

"I have told my promoter, Bob Arum, to proceed and make the best fight possible for Nov. 13. I remain hopeful that Floyd Mayweather and I will meet in the ring in the near future."

Arum said he thought Team Mayweather was dealing in good faith, something he was convinced wasn't the case the first time he tried to make a Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. fight for March.

Arum was dealing directly with Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. Greenburg, in turn, dealt directly with Al Haymon, Mayweather Jr.'s co-manager.

"Ross was committed to making the fight happen, and I felt the best chance of making the fight happen was to do everything through Ross, almost like he was the mediator. I still believe it was the right way to go," Arum said. "It obviously didn't work out, not because Ross didn't do a good job, because I think he did. Obviously the problem was Floyd, for whatever reason, and I'm sure he has some valid reason he didn't want to commit.

"We have never talked to anybody on the Mayweather side. All conversations have gone through Ross Greenburg, and he reported all conversations on the Mayweather side from Al Haymon."

Arum has begun talks with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto to be Pacquiao's opponent Nov. 13. If it's Margarito, Arum said the MGM Grand Garden would be the preferred venue.

Such a fight would depend on Margarito being licensed in Nevada. He tried to obtain a license July 9 before the Nevada Athletic Commission, which tabled his request and recommended he go to California. Margarito was suspended for a year and had his license revoked in California after hard inserts were found inside his hand wraps before entering the ring against Shane Mosley in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2009.

If the NAC ultimately denies Margarito's request, the fight could move to Monterrey, Mexico. Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates has also expressed interest in hosting a Pacquiao bout.

If a Pacquiao-Cotto fight is made, it would be a rematch of the Nov. 14 fight in which Pacquiao destroyed his opponent at the MGM Grand. The fight would be in Las Vegas or the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Pacquiao outclassed Joshua Clottey on March 13 in his most recent action.

Arum, who promotes all three principals, said he is working toward getting a deal done quickly.

"It will be Manny's decision," Arum said. "I do not have a preference. I do not want to prejudice the situation. I want Manny to decide. He is a very intelligent guy and knows what the considerations are and whomever he selects is who we will go after and make the fight."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.