MANILA, Philippines – It seems the highly anticipated mega fight between superstar boxers Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will finally come to fruition after the two rivals finally met at an NBA game.
Pacquiao and Mayweather had a brief chat at halftime of the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat, and the "Pacman" later said they exchanged phone numbers.
It was later revealed that Mayweather also visited the Filipino star in his hotel suite in Miami where the two supposedly discussed the details of their long-awaited showdown.
Speaking to Rick Reeno and Steve Kim of
Boxing Scene, Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, provided some details of the meeting.
"(Mayweather) was very pleasant, very professional," Koncz said. "He indicated he was very eager to make the fight, which I believe, as of last night, he is."
"Whether or not that's the same tomorrow, I don't know," he added.
Koncz told Boxing Scene that Mayweather was most concerned about the issue of who will broadcast a fight, as the American has an exclusive deal with Showtime/CBS, while Pacquiao works with HBO and Time Warner.
"Manny and I both told him, 'If those are the only issues, those are simple and we can have those fixed in the morning,'" Koncz said. "And in fact, I've confirmed that they've been resolved."
Koncz revealed that Mayweather also connected Pacquiao to Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza, who briefly talked with the "Pacman."
"Floyd put (Espinoza) on the phone with us. I told Floyd, and Manny agreed, if those are the only issues, then no problem, we can take care of it," Koncz said.
Koncz said that upon Pacquiao's instruction, he then called Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum, who had his own discussions with HBO chief executive Richard Plepler and CBS chief executive Les Moonves.
"Those issues are resolved now," said Koncz.
Arum, in a separate
Boxing Scene report, said signs are pointing towards the fight happening, but warned that nothing is set in stone yet.
"I cannot assure you that it is going to happen, but certainly, with this development in Miami and from what I know about the finalization of papers and everything, I have to be optimistic," he said.
"And I know that everybody that I deal with, like Les Moonves of CBS and HBO's Richard Plepler, are all very positive of making this happen," he added.
Arum also told Boxing Scene that the broadcast issues between Showtime and HBO "were solved two weeks ago."
"I think everything is positive, and hopefully, if everything keeps going well, we'll get it wrapped up by the end of the week," he said.
Pacquiao and Mayweather's meeting in Miami happened purely by chance as the Filipino boxer's flight back to the Philippines was delayed due to a winter storm and he decided to watch the Heat game instead.
It was the first time that Pacquiao and Mayweather have ever met in person.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
