The announcement may have something to do with his potential fight against Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao, who was quoted earlier as saying that the long-awaited fight is already a done deal and he’s just awaiting Mayweather’s official announcement.
“Pirma na lang (ni Mayweather),” (Only Mayweather’s signature is lacking), said Pacquiao who has started training in General Santos City, Philippines for his next fight.
Rumors of the impending announcement was bolstered by a TMZ news clip with a video showing Mayweather in New York on Friday, buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewellery. View article with video video from TMZ Sports here.
Another indication that Mayweather will make the announcement came from an article by Doug Fischer in his regular Ring Magazine column.
“I’ve heard rumors that it could be announced during this weekend’s NBA All-Star game – maybe Les Moonves took my advice and brought in J. Prince to help convince Mayweather to finalize the deal. I agree that our sport needs to get over this ridiculous hump in order to show the public and the sports and business worlds that it isn’t a complete joke,” Fischer said
Before his face-to–face meeting with Pacquiao late last month, Mayweather appeared on CBS/Showtime coverage of a weekend boxing event and announced his decision to face Pacquiao in the ring on May 2.
Later, both parties agreed that MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas would be the venue of the fight.