The ever-unpredictable Floyd Mayweather Jr. has given Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum another reason not to use his Twitter account.
There might be some unreported negotiations going on somehow, on some planet, for the fight always under discussion, yet still in never-never land Thursday. But I’ll believe that Mayweather is fighting Manny Pacquiao only at the very moment they answer an opening bell. Everything else about this process without end is sad comedy.
Anybody laughing? Actually, I did the other day when Mayweather resorted to Twitter in an attempt to say he’s serious about fighting Pacquiao on May 5. “Step up, punk,’’ Mayweather tweeted. He might as well have broadcast his message on a back-alley wall with a spray-can full of paint. Mayweather’s tweet was digital graffiti.
If negotiations for the richest fight in history can be conducted via Twitter, President Tweet will move into the White House next January. Come on Floyd, be serious. As social media, Twitter is fun. It’s also a good way to see what’s trending, which the Pacquiao-Mayweather won’t be if negotiations are limited to 140 characters.
QUOTES, ANECDOTES & COUNTERS
The Mayweather-Pacquiao mess and ad nauseam qualify as a redundancy. Blame everybody, including the media.
It’s hard to believe Arum’s latest warning that Pacquiao’s can’t fight until early June instead of early May because of a cut above an eye suffered against Juan Manuel Marquez in November. The bigger wound might have been to Pacquiao’s confidence after he escaped with a controversial decision over Marquez. Pacquiao might need a tune-up to recover from that one.
In saying a fight with Mayweather would be better in late May instead of early May, Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz says he want to maximize financial opportunities by holding the fight in a temporary, 40,000-seat arena on the Las Vegas Strip. Apparently, it’ll take more time to build the outdoor arena. Okay, but there’s a college football venue, Sam Boyd Stadium and Nevada-Las Vegas’ home field, available right now. The stadium’s record crowd is 44,165. After all, major fights already have been staged at Thomas & Mack Center, where UNLV plays basketball.
AZ NOTES
The bad news is Phoenix junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. was forced to cancel a scheduled fight on Feb. 3 because of a troublesome injury to his right wrist. The good news is that he is only 19 years old. He might have to deal with hands vulnerable to injury throughout his career. It’s not uncommon. Whether he needs to wear different gloves or have his hands taped differently, Benavidez has time to find a solution that could save a promising career.
