Nasa huli at maselang bahagi na ng negosasyon sa Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight ang pag-uusap ngayon ng cable giants na Showtime at Home Box Office (HBO) para sa joint broadcast ng $200-M welterweight unification megabout sa Mayo 2 sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sinabi ng kampo ng dalawang boksingero kay Lance Pugmire ng Los Angeles Times na nagkasundo na ang dalawang boksingero sa maraming bagay na tulad ng hatian sa premyo pero wala pa silang dapat ihayag para hindi masira ang negosasyon.
“The television part of the deal is not necessarily a slam dunk. There’s a fierce rivalry there too, with production controls, promotional shows and budgets to sort out,” ayon sa ulat ni Pugmire. “There was a dual HBO-Showtime broadcast in 2002 for heavyweights Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, but HBO’s Lewis was the favorite — he won by knockout — and HBO produced the broadcast.”
“This time, Showtime has Mayweather (47-0), who will probably be favored in the bout and is drawing the heavier purse,” dagdag sa ulat. “One official said, ‘Nothing’s done until it’s all done,’ but acknowledged that if the pay-per-view deal is settled for what should become the most lucrative fight in boxing history, attorneys will draft contracts.”
Ipinauubaya ni Pacquiao ang negosasyon kay Top Rank promoter Bob Arum pero malaki ang pakialam sa usapan ni Mayweather kasama ang kanyang manedyer na si Al Haymon.
Iniulat ng LA Times noong nakaraang linggo na nagkasundo na ang dalawang panig sa lugar ng laban na MGM Grand sa Las Vegas, Nevada, gayundin sa Olympic-style random drug-testing plan na isasagawa ng U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Tiyak na rin ang petsang inihayag ni Mayweather-ang Mayo 2, 2015- matapos kumpirmahin ni Arum kay Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach na sa ibang petsa gagawin ang posibleng sagupaan naman nina WBC middleweight champion Miguel Angel Cotto ng Puerto Rico at dating kampeong si Saul Alvarez ng Mexico.
“Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach told The Times on Tuesday that he’s received assurances from Arum that the potential Mayweather-Pacquiao and Cotto-Alvarez fights will be comfortably separated on the calendar to allow him to train both Pacquiao and Cotto,” ayon pa sa ulat. “Roach said he’s under the impression May 2 is the date for Mayweather-Pacquiao, a Mayweather-imposed condition of the deal.
