News
Arum eyes Pacquiao-Mayweather fight
By: espn.comPosted On: 05/13/2010 2:58 P
Newly elected Filipino congressman Manny Pacquiao, who will be sworn in on June 30 after his resounding victory this week, will fight Nov. 13, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said on Wednesday. And if Arum and Pacquiao have their way, the fight will be against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"Manny is definitely going to fight in November," Arum said during a teleconference in which he addressed a handful of media members upon his return from the Philippines, where he had spent the past week supporting Pacquiao in the final days on the campaign trail and also talking a little business.
"The fight we want to do is the Mayweather fight," Arum said. "There is no question that is the fight the public wants. I'm very optimistic once we start we will conclude this time [but] you never know."
Arum also said Pacquiao's next fight, whomever it is against, would not be his last one, as some have speculated.
"My belief, based on my conversations with him, is that he will engage in probably three more fights," said Arum, noting that if the Mayweather fight can't be made Plan B is to match Pacquiao with former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito.
He said his trip to the Philippines made him realize just how much people want to see Pacquiao and Mayweather -- the top two fighters in the world pound-for-pound in whichever order you choose -- fight.
"It's amazing how many people came up to me as I was leaving the Philippines and asked me when is the Mayweather fight going to happen," Arum said. "That's the fight people want to see. That's the fight and I will do my darnedest to make it happen."
"The people are requesting that I fight Mayweather before I retire," Pacquiao told The Associated Press. "If I ever fight again, I think I will give in to the request of the people."
Pacquiao defeated businessman Roy Chiongbian, who comes from the dominant political family of the Sarangani region.
"People don't realize that this victory over the candidate that he beat was a tremendous upset that nobody expected him to pull off," Arum said. "The Chiongbian family holds all of the major businesses in his province. Every major elected official in the province, congressman, mayor, are related to the family or are associates of the family. Manny was running against the elder son in the family and they hadn't been defeated. Manny Pacquiao is a fighter and with his grit and determination was not only able to win, but win by a landslide. ... To me it is incredible."
With the election behind them, Arum vowed not to get caught up in negotiating the Mayweather bout through the media, which is exactly what happened in December and January.
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