Let’s not be fooled; no Mayweather vs Pacquiao duel on May 2

“Everything is negotiable. Whether or not the negotiation is easy is another thing.” Carrie Fisher

By Alex P. Vidal

UNCLE Bob Arum always has the final say.

Not Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

Not even Manny Pacquiao.

Let’s not be fooled to swallow hook, line and sinker that Mayweather will finally swap leathers versus Pacquiao on May 2, 2015.

The fight isn’t going to happen yet—not until Uncle Bob sings.

What Mayweather said was that he wanted the fight with the Filipino congressman to happen on May 2; he did not say that they have already inked the contract.

Announcement is different from contract signing.

The Mayweather vs Pacquiao duel will only materialize next year if Uncle Bob, the wily Harvard-educated promoter behind Paquiao’s astonishing stardom in boxing, is part of it.

Uncle Bob’s Top Rank holds the contract of Pacquiao’s professional career in prizefighting which is still binding until 2015.

Pacquiao has the imprimatur to fight anybody on this planet, including Incredible Hulk and Godzilla, at Top Rank’s behest.

Even Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotion could not unilaterally make the dream fight happen without Uncle Bob’s blessing.

If Uncle Bob says “no, don’t fight Mayweather”, the fight isn’t going to happen even if 20 angels will confirm and announce it.

And it appears Uncle Bob is not yet in the mood to agree to Mayweather (47-O, 26 KOs) that the Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) match will take place on May 2, at least not yet.

In the first place, some of Mayweather’s demands are incredible and impossible to be accepted by Uncle Bob lock, stock and barrel.

TELEVISE

Mayweather, 37, wanted the rich duel to be televised on a pay-per-view by Showtime, HBO’s rival network.

Just like saying that “Bob, you are not part of this deal.”

Uncle Bob and HBO are like Siamese twins and are inseparable.

It was Uncle Bob and HBO that made Pacquiao a multi-millionaire, not Showtime.

Mayweather can’t just ease out Uncle Bob from the deal.

You can’t discuss about Mickey Mouse and Snoopy without involving Walt Disney.

It has to be a joint HBO-Showtime project or none at all.

By hook or by crook, Uncle Bob should not only be a part of the transaction, he should be on top of the transaction; he should be the main negotiator, not a curtain raiser.

And Mayweather can never accept this.

Unknown to some sports fans, Mayweather and Uncle Bob are not on speaking terms.

There is no love lost between boxer and promoter.

It’s a common knowledge in Las Vegas that Uncle Bob has an ax to grind against the unbeaten welterweight champion.

The feeling is mutual.

MAYO

Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican week celebration could not be the main reason as invoked by Uncle Bob why he was against the May 2 fight.

The main reason was that Mayweather announced he wanted to fight Pacquiao on May 2 under Showtime and hinted of overstepping Uncle Bob’s authority over the future Philippine senator.

Over Uncle Bob’s body.

In world boxing, Uncle Bob is king.

No world boxing body, including the dominant World Boxing Council (WBC), can sway his decision.

When WBC refused to scale down its exorbitant sanction fees, Uncle Bob hied off to the WBO and WBC didn't raise a whimper. 

No boxing superstar can dictate the terms while Uncle Bob is at the helm.

Uncle Bob is like a demigod. What he wants he gets.

What Uncle Bob does not want to happen won’t happen at all.

That’s why I’m betting my media credentials in the future Las Vegas fisticuffs that the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight won’t happen yet on May 2.