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Mayweather and Pacquiao negotiate face to face, contract nears

Mayweather – Pacquiao courtside meeting

When Floyd Mayweather made his way over to Manny Pacquiao at halftime at the Miami Heat – Milwaukee Bucks game in Miami Tuesday night, the crowd watched their every move and the boxing world would soon hear of it. Initially, beyond Pacquiao saying he’d never met Mayweather and they exchanged numbers, little else was learned of what they spoke about.

Until now.

Today boxinghype.com, and other media, reported that when Mayweather reached Pacquiao, he quietly went off on the Pac-Man and his adviser, Michael Koncz, telling the two like it is, saying they were repeating lies fed to them by Top Rank’s Bob Arum. As this writer has noted, there could not be a contract for Mayweather to sign, as Pacquiao and Arum have claimed, no, because one side agreeing on a contract isn’t a contract.

That’s called an offer.

And that, according to Ben Thompson at boxinghype, is the gist of what Mayweather told Pacquiao and Koncz. ‘Don’t lie, there is no contract, we’re negotiating and trying to get it done. Be part of it, don’t simply spread false rumors to make yourself look good.’ Thomson had a source among those who were there when it went down but he’s not saying who talked.

“According to one source, Mayweather told both Pacquiao and Koncz to ‘stop lying’ about signing any contracts,” Thomson writes. “The same eyewitness tells us that Mayweather then informed Pacquiao that he’s been told multiple lies. Mayweather explained that ‘he’s been trying to make the fight happen” and chose to stay silent throughout the negotiation process because “I don’t entertain (expletive)!”

Boxers negotiate after NBA game

Perhaps more incredible is the fact that those same three men, Mayweather, Pacquiao and Koncz, agreed to meet after the Heat-Bucks game and did so. “Yeah. It’s true.,” Koncz said about the three talking. “It’s true and I think it was a very productive discussion. I like to call it a discussion, one-on-one with me, Floyd, and Manny, (rather) than a meeting.”

Koncz said they spoke together for over an hour and that it was more serious than their brief halftime talk. He came away from that meet saying that he “truly” believed Mayweather “is sincere and wants the fight.”

Boxing fans don’t care what the hold-up is, be it Bob Arum playing games to get a bigger split of the richest fight in boxing history or Mayweather refusing to give Pacquiao a fair share. What fans want, this fan included, is for these two pugilists, who at 37 (Mayweather) and 36 (Pacquiao) have passed their prime, to get into the ring together before it is too late.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re still the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the fight game and will still provide a great bout, but it is getting toward the end of their shelf life. Let’s hope the Mayweather courtside walk helps ensure that we get to see them fight before they reach their expiry dates.

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