FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The dream fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. inched closer towards reality.
The specific date when boxing’s pound-of-pound fighters will meet in the ring remains unsettled but at least where it will take place has been resolved, according to a report.
The much-awaited showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, “a boxing authority” told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times on Friday (Saturday in Manila).
“We’re making progress,” a source involved in the negotiations told Pugmire.
Aside from the venue, the drug-testing plan, which stalled previous talks between the two camps that ultimately kept the megafight from happening several years ago, has also been agreed upon.
The date remains a mystery but it will be set either “May or June” and that a deal could be reached in “seven to 10 days,” according to Pugmire’s source.
“While a final agreement has not been struck on the purse split, the official said the sides made noticeable progress on the subject in Thursday negotiations,” Pugmire wrote.
“Mayweather sought a 60-40 split in his favor and Pacquiao expressed willingness to meet that,” Pugmire learned from his source.
The fight, which is expected to go down as the richest ever in the sport, could also see rival networks HBO and Showtime working together to televise the historical clash with Pacquiao and Mayweather still under contract with their respective networks.
The 37-year-old Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) beat Marcos Maidana in a rematch last September while Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) retained his WBO welterweight belt after dominating erstwhile undefeated Chris Algieri a couple months later.
RELATED STORIES
Mayweather: I’m a ‘rich coward’; Pacquiao is financially troubled
Mayweather warns Pacquiao might ‘bite the dust’
Pacquiao says Mayweather has ‘nowhere to run’