Promoting giants mend fences

Golden Boy Promotions’ public apology to world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao last week and the decision by Pacquiao’s attorneys to drop GBP from a defamation lawsuit is the latest indication that Top Rank and Golden Boy might be close to being able to work together on promoting — something that hasn’t happened in nearly two years.

“Enough was enough,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. “It was time to put our differences behind us. We all need to work together.”

In the apology, Golden Boy said it did not intend to insinuate that Pacquiao used steroids or performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao accepted the apology, and his Los Angeles-based attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, dropped Golden Boy from the lawsuit.

However, the lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather Jr., his father, Floyd Sr., and his uncle, Roger, remains in play, and Petrocelli is seeking a date for the case to go to trial.

“They made a good apology to Manny, and that took down a major barrier,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “There’s no reason not to make fights in the future (with Golden Boy), if it makes financial sense. But that would be the case with any promoter.”

There have been signs lately that some sort of reconciliation between Top Rank and Golden Boy was happening. Golden Boy’s recent decision not to block Juan Manuel Marquez’s Nov. 12 fight against Pacquiao was a big first step in normalizing relations between the sport’s two largest promotional companies.

Schaefer and Arum had a congenial discussion when the two parties met at mediator Daniel Weinstein’s office in Los Angeles two weeks ago, when Schaefer agreed not to stand in the way of Pacquiao-Marquez III.

Another sign of civility came when Arum and Top Rank president Todd duBoef publicly wished GBP president Oscar De La Hoya well while De La Hoya goes through rehabilitation in California.

“We shook hands and promised to put the past behind us and move forward to work together in the near future,” Schaefer said. “(Arum) put his best foot forward, and I put my best foot forward.”

Whether this is a temporary cease-fire or the start of an actual truce remains to be seen. But for now, Schaefer and Arum are not at each other’s throats.

■ COSMO CARD — Boxing will return to the Cosmopolitan on July 29 with former world lightweight champion Juan Diaz headlining.

Diaz (35-4, 17 knockouts), who has not fought since losing to Juan Manuel Marquez on July 31 at Mandalay Bay, will meet David Torres in a 10-round bout to be televised on ESPN2. Torres (21-2-2, 13 KOs) has not won since Oct. 25, 2008, and his two most recent fights have resulted in 10-round majority draws.

Also scheduled on the card is former world lightweight champion Joel Casamayor, who will face Jorge Luis Teron in a 10-round bout. The card will be indoors at the Cosmo’s Chelsea Ballroom.

■ VEGAS VS. CANADA — North Las Vegas Center Ring will host a special amateur fight card Friday at the Silver Nugget Casino’s Event Center with a team of Las Vegas boxers facing a squad from Ontario, Canada.

Nine fights, from 121 pounds to heavyweight, are scheduled. Also, nine other amateur bouts are set featuring fighters from California, Utah and Nevada.

The first bell is scheduled for 6 p.m., and tickets, priced at $10, will be available at the door.

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