The news of Floyd Mayweather supposedly offering Manny Pacquiao a $40 million guarantee sparked a ton of reaction from fans and media alike. The emails have not stopped pouring in with more questions about their phone conversation, the split, and much more. Although I don't have all the answers, I do have an opinion, so check out what I had to say to inquiring minds who want to know.
Hey Ben. Just 2 quick questions. 1) Has the split become a bigger issue now than it was the first time they negotiated? 2) How can Floyd offer Manny a guarantee if Bob Arum isn't involved? Thanks. - Cecil
BT: It really doesn't matter what Floyd says regarding the split, just like it didn't matter last month when Manny said he was willing to take a cut. Ultimately, it's the principals, the people who fully understand the number crunching - in other words, Bob Arum and Al Haymon - who will negotiate the split. This isn't the first time that Floyd has said he deserves a bigger share of the pie, but guess what...in the past, both sides still agreed to split it 50/50. That is FACT and has been confirmed on multiple occasions by Arum himself. But if the principals, Haymon and Arum, aren't working on the deal, then there are NO REAL NEGOTIATIONS going on in the first place. Manny Pacquiao is a Top Rank fighter, therefore, the only people authorized to negotiate on his behalf are Bob Arum and Todd DuBoef, so Michael Koncz has absolutely no authority to negotiate anything with Floyd Mayweather. He can negotiate with Bob Arum regarding Manny's agreement with Top Rank, but he can't really negotiate with the Mayweather side. So at the end of the day, like I said, Floyd's comments and Manny's comments pertaining to the split are irrelevant since they're not really negotiating the fight. Bob Arum made that crystal clear back in November when he informed retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein that he wasn't interested in negotiating a Mayweather fight. All you need to know is that when it comes to Cotto fighting Pacquiao, it's Bob Arum and Todd DuBoef meeting with Cotto's representatives. When it comes to Mayweather fighting Pacquiao, however, it's lowly Michael Koncz meeting with Mayweather and that's it. I think that says a lot about just how much Bob Arum truly wants to make this fight.
You have any confirmations or rumors about Mayweather-Cotto close to being finalized? - Jose Levya
BT: I mean, it really just depends on your definition of "close". I can confirm that Cotto is an option for Mayweather, just like he's an option for Pacquiao, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's close to being finalized. Cotto is looking to get paid, but I have no idea what kind of offers he may be looking at, so it's really hard to say. However, given the fact that it sounds like Pacquiao seems unwilling to fight above the welterweight limit, that could mean Cotto is leaning more towards Mayweather now. Then again, he may also be looking at an offer to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., so don't be surprised if Cotto tries to drag his feet on a decision for at least another week in order to see the outcome of Jr.'s fight with Rubio next weekend.
Hey why dont you stop writing pointless article that just make floyd look even more greedy. your actually hurting mayweather while trying to shed bad light pacquiao. you dont hate pacquiao but you sure write alot of articles with bad pictures that prove your out to make him look bad. i love this site but your getting tired bro. - Nick D.
BT: It's a lot easier to control yourself than it is to control someone else, so why don't you just bypass the articles that you don't want to read? As for Mayweather, I highly doubt that anything I'm writing is making him, as you say, "look even more greedy". I'm simply giving you the info as it happens. Mayweather doesn't seem to have a problem retweeting my articles, so I don't think he shares your opinion. That being said, your critique is duly noted. I'll be sure to post some better warm-and-fuzzy pictures of Pacquiao.
Right now, would be a good time to find out what Alex Ariza been upto for the past few months since his tirade. It seems as if he's been hushed during the BS, and games thats been going on with his fighter's promoter so called meetings and negotiations. Alex comments automatically give FH high rating status, because you never know what he's going to say, and who, when, where he's going to expose someone in his camp or around his camp atleast. If you dig there I'm sure it'll be a interesting piece.
BT: LOL. I've talked to Alex a few times in the past couple of weeks. He's just been busy getting Chavez Jr. ready for the Rubio fight. Trust me, Alex isn't the type of guy who's going to be hushed by anyone. There really hasn't been much to talk about on the record regarding Manny because, like the rest of, he's just waiting to find out who the next opponent will be. Once that decision has been made, or following Jr.'s fight, whichever comes first, I'm sure Alex will give me plenty of content to type up.
Ben, Good afternoon Ben. Name is Brandon i've written u previously on Mayweather. I was writing u to ask u about the 40 Million Guarantee Mayweather offered Pacquaio can u please break down how this work. If Pacquaio was to receive a Guarantee would Bob Arum receive a cut from that or does he just make money of the back end of things?? And how much of a percentage does Mr Arum actually get from Pacquaio. Keep up all the hard work u and your team with reporting the truth. Blessing, Brandon Hall
BT: Hi Brandon. Unfortunately, I really don't know any details about Mayweather's alleged offer, so I can't answer any of those questions. From my understanding though, their conversation only lasted a couple of minutes, so that doesn't sound like they had a lot of time to discuss any of those details. If I had to take a guess, I'd say it was probably just a number that Mayweather may have thrown out there during their convo, but I doubt it was really meant to be a legitimate offer. I mean, at the end of the day, Manny Pacquiao is under contract with Top Rank Promotions, so there's no way Mayweather can make any type of deal without Bob Arum being involved. Speaking of Mr. Arum and Top Rank, according to their contract with Pacquiao, they are entitled to 27.5%.
Ben, How's it goin brotha? I hope all is well. This Mayweather Pacquiao thing is getting annoying. LOL! I wake up every morning to hit up fighthype.com and a few other sites hoping there's a brighter light for this fight to go down. First it was blood testing, supposed ducking by both parties, and now it's about the loot. Man... SMH. I say it should be 60/40 and winner takes the greater purse. It would make the fight more interesting. What do you think about that man? =) - Franco Alducente
BT: That sounds GREAT to me. Personally, I think ALL fights should be structured that way. That's one of the good things about the UFC. Knowing that there's an opportunity to earn more money with a win is great motivation. Don't get me wrong, nobody is trying to lose a fight, but at the same time, knowing that there's more money to be earned with a victory provides that extra incentive to step on the gas in the later rounds. Case in point, Juan Manuel Marquez! With an extra 20% on the line, I highly doubt Marquez would have taken his foot off the gas the way he did in the last couple of rounds against Pacquiao. I would love for boxing promoters to start offering some incentives based on performance. A KO bonus might motivate some of these guys to fight a little more aggressively, thus giving fans more entertaining fights. More importantly, however, your suggestion would eliminate the headache of drawn-out negotiations due to arguments over the split. That being said though, if a fighter is the draw, they absolutely deserve to get their fair share of the pie, so I understand the argument on the opposite side as well.
[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]