Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Fight News 2015: HBO Says It Is Not a Barrier To Fight Going Ahead
When Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. met at the Miami Heat game last week and had a private, hour-long meeting right after, boxing fans immediately speculated that the deal is close to being made for the much awaited bout to take place on May 2 in Las Vegas.
However, in an Instagram post, Mayweather let everyone know that the fight terms are not settled yet, as he posted a picture of him relaxing in a hammock in Jamaica.
In an interview with ESPN, Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, pointed out the lack of urgency in Mayweather's camp for the official fight announcement's delay.
"There are issues that should be solved in 10 minutes, but it's a slow dance," said Arum. "We send one draft to their side and their lawyer sends back a draft with something else that's an issue. And there doesn't seem to be any urgency about it on their side. It's terrible."
Arum also said that CBS/Showtime president Les Moonves has been personally working to iron out issues raised by Mayweather and his lawyers.
"I've asked Les to expeditiously handle the points there are issues with," said Arum. "Moonves can handle it. The question is whether the Mayweather side will listen to him. If they're sincere about trying to make the fight it shouldn't be an issue, or are they playing a game?"
"I thought they were always playing a game, that Floyd didn't want the fight," he added.
Meanwhile, HBO/ Time Warner has also issued a statement in a direct response to a column by MLive's David Mayo, and the network says that they are not standing in the way of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.
"We are not an impediment to this fight," read HBO's statement. "We stand ready to go. The principals need to agree to terms and come to a deal."
HBO is allied with Pacquiao, while Showtime has a contract with Mayweather.