Arum says Floyd Mayweather is a ‘chicken’

By: Roy Luarca - 9 years ago

Bob Arum. AP FILE PHOTO

MANNY Pacquiao attends the premiere of “Manny” at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California recently. AFP

At 83 years of age, Bob Arum finds no need to sugarcoat his words.

The Hall of Fame promoter called Floyd Mayweather a “chicken” for once again making negotiations difficult for his projected megabuck bout with Manny Pacquiao to push through this year.

“Everybody knows that Manny accepted the terms that were negotiated for the fight, including CBS and his management with Al Haymon, but Floyd Mayweather once again throw the fight because he’s a chicken,” Arum told Azteca Sports.

The silent and sensitive talks to make Mayweather-Pacquiao a reality involved Les Moonves of CBS and Richard Pletter of HBO, and Haymon, Mayweather’s adviser.

Arum earlier disclosed that Pacquiao has agreed to everything imposed by the Mayweather camp (purse and revenue split, drug-testing protocol and gloves to be used) and that only the unbeaten American’s signature is needed for the fight to happen.

Mayweather, who publicly announced his willingness to tangle with Pacquiao on May 2, however, has other excuses up on his sleeves.

The favorite target, of course, was Arum.

Fed up with Mayweather’s rants, Arum disclosed to Fightsaga.com that he, too, gave in a lot of concessions just to forge the deal which will involve cable giants Showtime and HBO.

Showtime, which is a subsidiary of CBS, has two more fights left in its multimillion contract with Mayweather, while HBO has been airing Pacquiao’s last few fights.

According to Arum, he even agreed for a dual promotion with Mayweather Promotions and his Top Rank though Mayweather’s outfit hasn’t even staged a fight card.

Arum added he knows why Mayweather continues to evade a fight with Pacquiao, even if he stands to earn around $150 million.

“He’s not stupid. But he is afraid to lose,” Arum told Fightsaga.com.