By James Slater: Although the many legal issues he currently has hanging over his head may be making it all but impossible for Floyd Mayweather Junior to even think about fighting again, a recent interview promoter Bob Arum gave to ESNews in speaking about Mayweather leads us to believe “Money” has no intentions of ever facing P-4-P king Manny Pacquiao.
According to Arum, who spoke with Ellie Seckbach this week, Mayweather recently turned down another offer to fight Pac-Man: this offer being to the tune of a whopping $65 million!
“As recently as this week, legitimate people in Singapore offered Floyd $65 million and he turned it down,” Arum said on the video interview. “So what does that tell you? It tells you he doesn’t want to fight Manny Pacquiao. And he’s smart not to fight Manny Pacquiao, because the truth be told, everybody who knows boxing knows that Manny Pacquiao would clean his clock.”
Arum went on to say that 34-year-old Mayweather wants no part of Pac-Man primarily because he is a southpaw. Mayweather has yet to comment on this latest alleged offer to fight the 32-year-old global superstar, and we only have Arum’s word that the Singapore offer actually took place. But if it did, and if Floyd said no to such a staggering cash figure, it really does make you wonder.
Okay, as we know, Mayweather has those legal troubles on his mind, and he many not be thinking as clearly as he might when it comes to boxing these days. Let’s see if a clear and free Mayweather, if he’s offered this kind of money by the time his court cases have been dealt with, says no once again (if he has in fact said no to any Pacquiao fight offers to date).
The whole world wants to see this fight, and Arum insists Pacquiao is more than ready to rumble. Of course, Mayweather has made those random drug testing demands, and he and his fans argue there will be no fight until Pac-Man relents and agrees to take the Olympic-style tests. But as heavyweight legend George Foreman recently said, for the kind of money that is on the table, a fighter should agree to fight a rival, no matter what he is or isn’t accused of taking.
Can any athlete afford to turn down $65 million? Can Mayweather afford to not face the one fighter most threatening to his legacy? Arum says the offer was made; we have to take him at his word.