According to an informative article written by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, Top Rank president Todd duBoef is "irate" with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum for comments he's been making to several media outlets about the long-awaited mega-fight between undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather and 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. For the past several weeks, Arum has been making conflicting statements about the status of negotiations that simply aren't adding up. Apparently, Arum's antics have also ruffled the feathers of Team Pacquiao as well.
In his latest column, Iole writes:
- But Arum's insistence on public comments are clearly an impediment to reaching a deal. That is one point that people on both sides of the aisles in these talks agree about. Top Rank president Todd duBoef is irate at Arum, his step-father, but has essentially thrown his hands up in the air and said he can't control Arum. Even Pacquiao's team has gotten upset at Arum's willingness to go on the record with comments that often don't add up.
The news of Arum's contradicting statements should come as no surprise to FightHype.com readers. After all, it was Arum who first declared back in January that not only had Pacquiao agreed, but Mayweather's team had agreed as well to all terms, only to hear weeks later from Arum himself that there were supposedly still some "other issues" that existed between both camps. Arum also suggested to boxing fans that a contract for the bout existed when he told them "besiege Mayweather with just these words, 'Sign the contract! Sign the contract!'" However, Showtime Sports Executive Vice President and General Manager Stephen Espinoza quickly shot down that notion, telling FightHype.com, "Arum isn't being truthful on this and he knows it. There is no contract that is awaiting Floyd's signature and Bob Arum knows that."
Arum's latest untruth came just earlier today when he informed Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press that the two networks, Showtime and HBO, had reached a deal. Moments after he made the revelation, multiple representatives from both sides "vehemently" denied the report.
It should be noted that Arum has also been making statements to the media which suggest that perhaps his own team isn't on the same page as him. In a recent interview with Lem Satterfield of RingTV.com, a clearly frustrated Arum went on one of his classic rants about what he called "bizarre-ness" in the negotiations. "Nobody's listening to anybody. I have no idea what's going to happen. I've never been through a situation as crazy as this. I'm tired of it. I've negotiated for 50 years and I've never been through some shit like this," he commented. "It is craziness. It is just crazy. If you knew what was going on, you would know how bizarre it is. But maybe you go through this bizarre-ness before you cross the goal line. I have nothing else to say except that it's not over until it's over."
Given Iole's description of an "irate" Todd duBoef and an "upset" Team Pacquiao, one has to wonder if it's Arum who might be having a difference of opinion with not only his step-son, the president of Top Rank, but also the fighter he promotes when it comes to finalizing the deal for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.
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