Bob Arum in May 2009: "Mayweather (vs Pac) would be at a catch weight, 144-145"

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iAv3sWcYpalnViqywjX177LE8gxQ

Others may feel as though a media sample size of one will determine the negotiations for the weight of a potential bout between #1 P4P Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but that isn't likely to be the case.

This recent statement (May 2009) by Bob Arum (Pacquiao's promoter) and similar words from Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach seem to quite clearly signify that Team Pacquiao is very serious about having this fight fought at 145 lbs.

As Pacquiao appears poised to demonstrate he is the largest draw in boxing (pending the return of the Cotto PPV numbers), any perceived media "hit" taken by forcing Mayweather to fight at 145 lbs instead of 147 could easily be averted by Pacquiao's simply dropping the WBO WW belt he won last Saturday from Miguel Cotto. Problem solved. And, it should be recalled, this would be similar to what Floyd himself did when he moved up to fight ODLH at 154 lbs.

After winning the WBC jr middleweight belt from ODLH, Floyd simply relinquished it instead of pretending he was a legitimate jr ww.

This is a similar scenario as that facing Manny Pacquiao (who seems to top out at 145 lbs) and Pacquiao could merely drop the new belt as Floyd did after defeating ODLH. Then, a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather bout is not for the welterweight championship and thus any concerns with a "legitimate" 147 lbs weight limit go out the window.

Now, the author of the flawed thread on Dan Rafael and the 145 lbs potential catch weight speculates that "the media" will turn on Pacquiao if Floyd is made to fight at 145 lbs. In my own research I have only seen Dan Rafael of this opinion, and I have seen none of this feeling from other sources. Instead, the catch weight provision is merely talked about as a possible stipulation and no evaluation of whether or not it is a "good" decision is made.

Here is an article of that ilk:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...ight-would-be-easy-says-Floyd-Mayweather.html

As you can see, respected boxing writer Gareth A. Davies makes no judgment on the fight possibly being held at 145 lbs. He simply states this is a realistic option since it is favored by Pacquiao.

Given the available evidence, it appears Team Pacquiao is likely to seek the 145 lbs catch weight. And with Pacquiao-Cotto apparently set to outsell PBF-JMM, they may well possess the necessary leverage to get Floyd -- who weighed in at but 146 for the JMM fight -- to accept that demand or else cede some of his purse requests.

Additionally, at least at this point, Dan Rafael's frankly irrelevant hope that the fight take place at a weight of 147 lbs appears to be a media outlier, and unreflective of the media's opinion as a whole.

Finally, Pacquiao has the option to drop the ww title and thus strengthen his argument to have the fight held at 145 lbs. This would mimic Floyd Mayweather's actions of dropping his jr mw belt following his defeat of Oscar De La Hoya.

 

It's going to be tough, because what somebody "should" be entitled to and what they are able to negotiate aren't always the same thing.

I feel that the fight should take place at 145 lbs, especially considering Floyd weighed in at 146 for his last fight and he absolutely dominated JMM. That is, it seems that weight was not a problem for him to make and still be at his best come fight time.

In terms of the purse split, we'll probably know more about what might be equitable when the Cotto-Pac PPV numbers come back.

The truth is, if the Cotto-Pac PPV numbers are much north of what the JMM-PBF figures were, then Pac is going to have a large amount of leverage, whether or not he "should" have it.

Pacquiao is a phenomenon beyond Mayweather at this point in their careers. Each has transcended the sport, and Pacquiao's fighting style and entire mystique is more appealing than that of PBF, at least for many fans. Part of that has to do with his being a foreign-born fighter who is basically a demigod in his own land.

Because of Pacquiao's last few devastating victories and his rapid ascent up the weight divisions, he has achieved a level of awe that even PBF can't match.

PBF, however, can steal and "absorb" that aura from Pacquiao if a fight is made and PBF -- as I think he would -- defeats Pacquiao.

But pending the PPV returns from Cotto-Pac, Mayweather may have to give a little more ground than he would like in order to get the chance to regain his P4P #1 spot and steal Pac's thunder.

 

Dead serious -- your thread is speculative, based on a cherry-picked sample size of one and your own projection of what you want to happen (i.e., you want "the media" to be up in arms about a catch weight so that Floyd doesn't have to fight at 145). Bunk, and you know it.

May to November = 6 months. Not so long since Arum said what he said about 144-145.

I KNOW what the article I cited says -- I'm the one that cited it, Einstein.

The point is simple: Davies could have taken a shot at the fight potentially being held at 145 lbs, yet he did not. That's not likely an accident. Davies didn't whine like the "respected" Rafael did, in other words.

I saw other articles like Davies,' as I said.

Roach's statement in my other thread backs up what Arum said 6 months ago. That is, the statements are consistent with one another. It does appear, then, that Team Pac is serious about having this fight at 145 lbs or at least starting negotiations from that point.

And if I were them and I had to ditch the belt, I would do so. Just like Floyd did post-Hoya. And especially if I had the leverage the Pac-Cotto PPV numbers seem likely to bring. "The media" means nothing, which is why Arum isn't negotiating through the media.

How much did "the media" affect PBF's decision to come in heavy for the JMM fight? In fact, your "respected" Dan Rafael killed PBF for that.

Think PBF cared what Rafael thought after he whipped JMM?

 

Megadeath, janeschicken -- great posts. I agree with them both!