Changing his desperate call, Manny Pacquiao shifted from ultimatum to a plea for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to please sign the contract (for their dream super fight) now.
“If this doesn’t happen now, I don’t think it will. Now is the time,” Pacquiao was quoted by boxingscene.com as saying.
Pacquiao has given Mayweather until the end of January to sign the contract.
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However, there are people in the know who say that the deal (there was no prepared contract) was as good as dead earlier on.
Here’s a message, sent by Filipino boxing expert Hermie Rivera from California last week, but which we see fit to print for its valid points:
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Hello. Ever wondered why Bob Arum is staking all on (a) desperate final call for a chance to have Mayweather sign the contract with Pacquiao?
The fight has all the earmarks of falling by the wayside. So for a fallback—a Pacquiao-Khan fight in Merry Ol’ England?
You see, this talk of a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout is just that—all talk. Fact is Money isn’t even entertaining any further communications from Top Rank anymore, leaving our hapless champ to fend for himself.
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Out of desperation, Arum has conned Prince Harry to meet MP in London to explore the possibility of matching Amir Khan with Manny. This is happening owing to a waning interest of CBS due to Bob’s inability to nail down a contract five years running. An ultimatum was issued by the top brass of the networks (CBS-HBO) to fix their acts as a matter of fact.
I’ve said this repeatedly in the past that FMJunior has not forgotten BA’s treatment while under contract which led to their obtuse parting of ways remember?
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Leave it to Bob to maneuver Manny’s inclusion in the Miss Universe pageant so they can plot moves here prior to the London sojourn. Now that part of his trip here (promoting his film in LA) is true and the rest are desperate moves to salvage his hold on the networks (CBS-HBO) and of Manny (but of course).
Hope they can come up with a less-than-tragic conclusion to this soap opera.
Chiz, Hermie!!
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(BRIGHT NEW TWIST: A flash report from Florida yesterday said Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a chance meeting during the Miami-Milwaukee NBA game. The Associated Press said Mayweather walked over to the other edge of the ringside section where Pacquiao was seated. They exchange pleasantries and swapped phone numbers. Hopes were raised the development would lead to formal negotiations for the dream bout between them, which could be the richest in boxing history.)