Rather like some of Naseem Hamed's ring entrances the lead-up to Pacquiao-Mayweather is turning into a prologue disproportionate to the event itself, grand as that potentially is.
Even the Greatest Show On Earth, as it will no doubt eventually be billed, could do without the posturing that the fighters and their agents have shown the past week or so.
Believe this: the fight will happen. Already there are signs that Floyd Mayweather Jr is softening his stance about Manny Pacquiao having Olympic-style drug testing. Pacquiao's threat to sue him might have had something to do with that. Expect a late compromise there, too.
From the off it has been a mix of clumsy brinkmanship and hype. Mayweather is disingenuous in the extreme in even hinting that Pacquiao has had chemical assistance in growing through the weights – because "Money" himself has tracked him almost identically since they both fought at 106lbs when 16-year-olds. Pacquiao has seven versions of world titles at seven weights, Mayweather at five weights. What is the difference?
Arum has stoked the row brilliantly. Having scheduled the fight for 13 March, he knows the promoters have a desperately short lead-time to maximise pay-per-view sales, which are predicted to top three million.
Consider how quickly two of the most notoriously difficult fighters in the business agreed on what were considered time-bomb difficulties: a split of the $50m purse, the weight, the venue and even a financial penalty if Mayweather came in over 147lbs. Those details were settled in record time.
So, surprise of all surprises, we were then visited by controversy, seemingly though not actually out of the blue. Mayweather, like Arum no fool, picked up on the baseless steroids sniping of his father, Floyd Sr, and the media coverage in what had been disturbingly quiet early days of the promotion kicked into overdrive.
Now everyone is talking about it. This really is the fight you cannot miss. Get on the phone and pay for that view.
The latest (at time of writing in this tiresome melodrama) is that Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Mayweather's promotional partners, Golden Boy Promotions, has told ESPN they are no longer insisting on "Olympic-style" testing.
Hurray. Grow up. Get on with it.
Talk by Arum that he had lined up Paulie Malignaggi as an alternative opponent if Mayweather pulled out has been one of the most laughable smokescreens in the whole episode. Did Arum really think he could build up hopes of the biggest fight in the history of boxing, then substitute one of the players with a second-tier, punchless runner like Malignaggi, a fancy-Dan illusionist who could not keep Ricky Hatton off him? Pacquiao would murder him – in the nicest possible way.
The other option, according to Freddie Roach, was for his little champion to take on the new light-middleweight title-holder Yuri Foreman. The trainee rabbi cannot punch either – but it would at least have given Pacquiao an eighth title, which would be amazing in its own statistical way.
No, forget all of those dumb stories. Pacquiao fights Mayweather, probably on 13 March, almost certainly at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. If not in March, in May. Which is pretty much where we left it before this exaggerated ring walk started.
GOOD TIMES AHEAD
Boxing has had much to celebrate in 2009, even more to look forward to in 2010.
A few predictions
• David Haye to beat John Ruiz after a real struggle as he worries about his right hand and then to wrangle for months with Vitaly Klitschko. That is still too tough to call from this far out. Whether they take it to Gabon, their own Rumble in the Jungle, as reported yesterday, I very much doubt. But it will happen.
• Floyd Mayweather's suspect hands to give up on him against Manny Pacquiao, who walks through him to win by late stoppage.
• Amir Khan to defend his light-welter title against Paulie Malignaggi in the week before Pacquiao-Mayweather, whenever that is, and belt him into retirement.
• Ricky Hatton to come back – first against Juan Manuel Marquez, negotiations for which are well advanced, then in a co-promotion with Khan against the Bolton man – and lose bravely.
• Carl Froch to have an absolute war with Mikkel Kessler and win on cuts.
• Kevin Mitchell, Matthew Macklin, Nathan Cleverly and Rendall Monroe to get world-title shots; Ryan Rhodes and Jason Booth to be in there trying.
• John Murray and Kell Brook to fight for European titles.
• Sam Sexton to beat Danny Williams and be called out by Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora and Uncle Tom Cobbleigh but settle for a third go with Martin Rogan. Fury to fight John McDermott again.
•Frankie Gavin to make bigger strides than the other Olympians.
• And Liam Walsh to confirm what a sublime talent he is.
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND
"As far as I'm concerned, the fight is over. O-V-E-R." Bob "that-was-yesterday" Arum.
Source: bleacherreport.com
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