Pacquiao-Marquez in Play For April or June, Schaefer Livid
BoxingScene.com
By Chris LaBate
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KOs) has advised his promoter, Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, that he wants an immediate fourth meeting with Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6-1, 39KOs). Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao won a controversial twelve round majority decision over Marquez, with many observers believing Marquez did enough to win the fight.
Arum would like to stage Pacquiao-Marquez IV in April or June, either at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas or a specially constructed outdoor venue in Las Vegas. A super-fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26KOs), who plans to return on May 5 and has the MGM Grand on hold, will be placed on the backburner.
"That fight [against Mayweather] can still be there for us a year from now," Arum told The Los Angeles Times.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who works closley with Mayweather, was livid with the recent information passed over from Arum and Team Pacquiao. Schaefer had planned to begin immediate negotiations to stage a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao.
"I am sick and tired of Bob Arum twisting the truth. It's another case of 'yesterday I was lying, today I'm telling the truth,' " Schaefer said to ESPN.com. "The truth of the matter is that we received this afternoon an email from retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who has informed us that Top Rank is pursuing a rematch with Marquez and, therefore, is not interested in immediate talks for a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. This is obviously as clear as it can be that they have no intentions of making a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Therefore, Floyd Mayweather will have no other choice than to move on and identify and lock in another opponent for his ring return on May 5."
But I thought Mayweather was ducking Manny?? Floyd called Top Ranks bluff.