“Arum said he expects the contracts to be signed by Pacquaio and Mayweather by the end of the week,” nydailynews.com writes.
But Ariza, who is now working with the camp of Mayweather, said the unbeaten American boxer will indeed fight as scheduled on May 2 but it won’t be against Pacquiao.
Ariza thinks the long-delayed fight won’t happen for as long as Arum continues to represent Pacquiao.
“Bob Arum has been the roadblock, he has deceived the people, he has lied to the people from the beginning,” said Ariza who attended the Tuesday the premiere of Pacquiao’s documentary film in the US.
For his part, Arum said that Ariza was fired as Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach and he is being blamed for his dismissal.
“Ariza has nothing to do with anything. He has not been a party even remotely to the negotiations. Everything is agreed to, do you understand? I am very positive this fight is going to happen,” Arum told the N.Y.Daily News.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao has made a side trip to London Wednesday to honor an invitation from Prince Harry and hopes to meet the Queen at the Buckingham Palace.
After his brief journey to England, Pacquiao will return to the US to act as one of the judges of the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in Florida.
Pacquiao hopes to return to the Philippines with a signed contract for his first fight in 2015. He is expected to return to the US to join his opponent for the usual conference call and media tour to select cities in the US and elsewhere overseas.
