NY Boxing Examiner | Michael Marley
You can forget “Jerry World,” the billion-dollar Dallas Cowboys playpen, as a host site for the March 13, 2010, Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao megabout.
I just spoke with Pacman promoter Bob Arum who told me he was “stunned” to get a late-night phone from Mayweather’s designated promoter Richard Schaefer Tuesday night in which the Golden Boy COO said he was canceling a planned Wednesday trip to Texas to meet NFL franchise owner Jerry Jones and tour the glimmering facility which features the humongous overhead high definition TV screen.
Advantage, Las Vegas, as it now appears the gambling mecca has no real competition to land the battle between the undefeated Mayweather and the Pinoy Idol.
Arum got the surprise Schaefer call during a lavish dinner party held to honor the Top Rank honcho’s 78th birthday.
“Schaefer refused to go,” Arum said Wednesday afternoon. “He said they don’t want to have the fight in an outdoor stadium.
“I explained to Richard, 'That’s a bit of a problem because they have a roof over this stadium (in Arlington).'”
Arum said Schaefer relayed the same no-go-for-Texas message to HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg.
I asked Arum if he knew any other reason for the sudden objection to the one-day Texas venue tour and meeting with the rich and powerful Jones.
“I have no idea,” Arum said. “It’s nonsense.”
That leaves Vegas, in particular the MGM Grand Mirage folks, in the driver’s seat, doesn’t it?
“What do you want from me?” Arum said in his best Brooklynese.
“I was stunned because we all had our plane tickets and all that.”
Does this point to a larger problem in getting Mayweather-Pacquiao into contract form?
“I have no idea, we shall see what we shall see,” Arum said.
Arum further clarified an erroneous AP report, which was carried by ESPN and others, saying that Pacquiao signed a bout contract when the promoter visited with his top client in the Philippines last week.
“I didn’t even bring a contract. We just went over everything verbally and Manny gave his approval to the major points,” Arum said.
Besides Arum’s birthday, he and colleagues also toasted matchmaker Bruce “Southland” Trampler Tuesday night. Trampler’s election to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame was announced Tuesday.
“We’re very happy about Bruce as he is the best matchmaker out there and he deserves this,” Arum said. “It well deserved and a long time in coming. Bruce was a protégé of the great Teddy Brenner, who also worked for me at Top Rank, and my old publicist, Irving Rudd, is also in the hall so we are proud.”
Actually, the TR contingent enshrined at Canastota, NY, is a quartet as Arum is also in the shrine.
Finally, switching gears, Arum said he thinks middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik’s extremely serious hand problems (staph infection) are behind him. Pavlik defends his title in hometown Youngstown, Ohio, Dec. 19, against Miguel Espino.
“I think Kelly is fine now,” Arum said. “That staph infection could have killed him. People need to start taking those infections more seriously. They can spread quickly and actually kill you.”
Source: Examiner.com
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