Manny Pacquiao signed a contract extension with Top Rank, effectively diminishing chances of a bout between “Pacman” and Floyd “Money” Mayweather.
Pacquiao, who won his last fight in a rematch with Timothy Bradley, signed a two-year contract extension.
The deal is now through December 31, 2016.
The new deal means that Pacquiao will likely have at least five more fights--one this year and two each in the next two years.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The deal seems to indicate that a showdown between Macquiao and Mayweather won’t happen. Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has been unsuccessful in setting up the bout that most boxing fans want to see.
Mayweather recently said that he'll fight next in September while Arum says that Pacquiao will fight in November. The most obvious fighter is the other but it looks like that won’t happen now.
However, Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, sought last month to insist that Arum isn’t at fault for not setting up a Pacman-Money fight.
“I don’t believe Floyd not fighting us has to do with Bob [Arum],” Koncz said last month to ESPN.
“Why did he wait until he exhausted all other excuses before saying he wouldn’t fight Manny if Bob was involved? First he brought up the drug testing [during the initial 2009 failed negotiations]. Then he wanted Manny to sign with him. Then he wanted to pay Manny only a flat fee of $40 million for the fight instead of sharing a percentage [of the revenue]. And now he can’t fight Manny because Bob would be involved? ”Why did he wait so long to bring that up? If that’s true, why not use that excuse a few years ago?”
Then again, Floyd Mayweather Sr. recently said that he believes his son will fight Pacquiao--but not before he gets three more wins.
Mayweather Jr. is 46-0 and needs three more wins to tie the record 49-0 set by Rocky Marciano.
Mayweather Sr. believes that once his son ties Marciano’s record, he’ll have the long-awaited bout against Pacquiao.
“I think he (Floyd) has to be 50-0 to surpass Marciano. They got three more fights, I’m more than sure that if Floyd gets to the 49, I’m pretty sure they’ll come up with that [Pacquiao] fight,” he told Jenny Jay on her radio program, according to the Manila Standard.
“If we fight Pacquiao, that would be last anyways. That would be the fight that’s going away, and that fight would probably be the biggest fight in the world. If Floyd fights Pacquiao, believe me, it’s gonna be the best for last.”
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