LAS VEGAS — Promoters of the Manny
Pacquiao–Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight abruptly canceled a trip to Dallas
on Wednesday, dealing a possibly fatal blow to the chances of Cowboys
owner Jerry Jones landing the bout for his stadium.
The trip was canceled at the last
minute because Mayweather's promoter apparently decided he didn't want
the fight at the new stadium. The move leaves the MGM Grand hotel arena
in Las Vegas as the heavy favorite to host the March 13 fight.
Co-promoter Bob Arum — who got the
news at his 78th birthday party on Tuesday — was upset by the trip
being canceled because Jones had rearranged his schedule so he could
give the promoters a tour of the $1.2 billion stadium and present a
proposal to host the bout.
"I'm just embarrassed, really
embarrassed," Arum told The Associated Press. "The man [Jones] changed
his whole schedule for this and you certainly want to listen to the
man."
Arum said he was blindsided by
Mayweather's promoter, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, who was to join
him in Dallas along with HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg. He said
Schaefer called him and told him he wasn't going to go to Dallas
because he didn't want the fight there.
"There was no point in me going then," Arum said. "My guy can't go into the ring and just take bows. He needs an opponent."
Arum said Schaefer told him that he
didn't want to stage the fight in an outdoor stadium, and that there
wasn't enough time to set up the stadium for the bout.
"I told him it wasn't an outdoor stadium, that it had a retractable roof," Arum said. "That didn't seem to matter."
The abrupt cancellation was the first
problem between the two promoters, who earlier had quickly come to
agreement on the date of the fight and the purses for their respective
fighters. Things were going so smoothly that they were looking for
sites for a Jan. 6 press conference in New York City to formally
announce the bout.
Schaefer could not immediately be
reached for comment. He and Arum earlier agreed not to publicly speak
about the negotiations until all arrangements for the fight were
complete.
Arum said he planned to talk to
Schaefer again on Thursday and that he didn't believe the fight was in
any jeopardy. Though both fighters have reportedly agreed to terms,
neither of them have signed contracts.
Jones said last week he hoped to bid
for the fight for his stadium in Arlington, Texas, and representatives
of the Superdome in New Orleans were also interested. The gate for the
fight could be the richest ever in boxing, perhaps exceeding the $20
million mark before even starting to count pay-per-view sales.
A Staples Center official told the
Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that the arena has made a $20 million
offer to host the fight, but the offer would likely have to be higher
than any MGM Grand offer because California imposes state taxes that
the fighters would have to pay, and Nevada doesn't.
Assuming the fight still moves
forward it will almost assuredly now be at the MGM Grand, where both
Mayweather and Pacquiao have fought their biggest fights. Mayweather
lives in Las Vegas, and has always been partial to fighting in the
city.