As promised last week, let’s dive into the latest round of Mayweather-Pacquiao madness.
It absolutely amazes me how a group of adults and self-proclaimed journalists/experts/analysts can fall for the same story over and over again, but that’s what seems to happen every time boxing Nosferatu, Bob Arum plops a floater into the toilet bowl of boxing media coverage.
I just imagine these “reporters” as a group of supremely gullible twits wandering through life, falling for telemarketing scams and constantly having their bank accounts drained by desperate email pleas from Nigerian royalty.
How else can you explain a batch of humanity buying into anything that Arum sells or, worse yet, passing along info from some other “report” where the only source is Arum, himself?
This time, Arum got the media all thick-nippled about his alleged dealings with wealthy investors to discuss funding and sponsorship for a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao mega-bout.
Arum appears to have taken actual meetings with these two groups, Big InterSports Group and Falcon Hawk Entertainment, who, months ago, made naive bids to invest in the fight and were soundly rejected, but somehow got invited back to the table.
Falcon Hawk even issued a press release– probably the worst, most poorly written press release of all-time, indicating that there “was indeed a successful breakthrough amidst the ongoing saga of speculations of Pacquiao and Mayweather fight.” and that “Differences between the Pacquiao and the Mayweather camp are being resolved through the plan of action designed by the Falcon Hawk Entertainment.” [sic…SIC!]
You would think that a group seriously willing to pony up a nine-digit investment could afford a proof reader and, while we’re at it, letterhead!
Arum stooge and Manny Pacquiao leash-holder, Michael Koncz was even dispatched to Mayweather’s gym for a photo-op that Arum used as proof positive of his burning desire to actually sign the fight that everyone, including his most famous Filipino client, wants to make happen.
All of this appeared to be news to Mayweather, himself, who told Ben Thompson of Fighthype that, as far as he knew, nothing was being negotiated at all and that nobody has reached out to him or advisor, Al Haymon to discuss anything.
Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time that Arum held full negotiations with an empty chair. He did the same in 2010, supposedly working on a Mayweather fight without actually talking to anyone from Mayweather’s camp and then imposing a deadline for Mayweather to sign a contract that had never even been seen by the fighter– all the while keeping a Margarito-Pacquiao fight as a pre-planned “back-up” that many astutely assumed was the only plan all along.
Now, Arum is hemming and hawing about the Mayweather date of May 5th possibly being too soon for Pacquiao’s cut to heal properly.
In other words, don’t count on Arum ever making a serious effort to actually sign THE fight and don’t count on Pacquiao, who must be subject to some sort of voodoo curse of indentured servitude to Arum, to ever put his foot down and demand it.
Personally, I’ve given up on this fight. To me, the real intrigue in this matter involves how, exactly, Arum will get out of making the fight this time.
To their credit, most of the boxing media’s heavy hitters have been slow to fall for this latest manipulation– I guess you can only fool the “experts” eight or nine times in a row. “Fool me ten times, shame on ME!”
But the fringe guys, the reporters who can’t quite decide on whether they’re trying to be journalists or fan club presidents, will fall for the routine every single time.
So, why is that?
The short answer is that they’re idiots. The long answer is that they are dummies, but definitely know where their bread is buttered and will always err on the side closest to Manny Pacquiao penny clicks.
The Pacquiao Machine wants to be fed plenty of fawning praise for its motor. The movement now has very little to do with Manny Pacquiao, himself, anymore. Pacquiao is an outstanding fighter and a true pop culture icon, but the Manny Pacquiao Phenomenon in the media is now about those figures on the periphery who have made a nice living from pandering to Pacland. The guys hustling penny clicks are the ones ensuring that the truth, or something resembling it, will never get out there.
I guess you could call me on the carpet for writing a Pacquiao-Mayweather article, sure to get Pacland attention, while at the same time lambasting those who make a living from the Pacquiao penny beat. But, believe me, there’s no money in being a “hater” who insists on being the bearer of bad news to a rabid Pacquiao fan base. It’s especially unpleasant when these same fans are fed nothing but a steady stream of lies and half-truths by writers whose sole intent is to create a steady stream of pay-per-click traffic for their articles.
This is not to let the “big boys” of the media off the hook, though. They are just as guilty of fact-bending, shilling, and pay-for-play reports as anyone at Examiner.com, they just do it at a higher pay scale and with greater subtlety and skill.
To the penny-click Pacquiao Press Corps, though, they wear their bias on their sleeves and wield their ignorance like a sledgehammer. To them, the actual truth is secondary to getting paid. Why else would someone run with a story about Mayweather or a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight where the only source is Arum? That would be like backing up a hit piece on President Obama, using Fox News’ Sean Hannity as the only source.
Some tools, if they’re big enough, actually get the word directly from Arum. Guys like Examiner.com’s Michael Marley seem to be Arum’s favorites. If Arum is the buttocks dumping turds all over the boxing public, Marley can best be described as Arum’s gaping, hemorrhoid-ridden asshole, ready and willing to facilitate the excretion. Arum could run to any of numerous media sources, but the guy is a genius at manipulating those desperately eager to suspend disbelief in the name of a “scoop” or some other sort of personal advancement.
The story then gets picked up by various other sources, handed down from one dimwit to another, posted on countless forums and social media sites until, suddenly, the blatantly false somehow becomes common knowledge.
And that takes us right back to the alleged Pacquiao-Mayweather talks and Arum’s “efforts” to make the fight.
Why would this fight need outside investors? The bout would likely blow away the all-time pay-per-view record of 2.45 million buys and would have a block-long list of legitimate companies lining up to throw their sponsorship bucks at it?
Why would Arum bring in outsiders to share the control and glory when he definitely doesn’t need to?
Why would he reject Golden Boy’s offer to provide an impartial retired judge to serve as the intermediary for any discussions– especially one who has been the chosen mediator whenever Top Rank and Golden Boy come to blows?
Why wouldn’t Mayweather or anyone at Mayweather Promotions have any knowledge of this? And if you don’t believe Mayweather, think about it– The one time there were actual talks going on, we ALL knew about it and all parties acknowledged it openly.
Why has Arum been so secretive about all of this? If it’s true, this is huge news and it certainly isn’t in his character to keep things so tightly guarded. Why would Arum only go to Michael Marley with this and not to everyone and anyone who would listen? I can understand a media gag, but he’s on record as saying “things” are going on and he even allowed a press release to be issued to selected members of the media.
These would all be questions that might come up if a real journalist ever got a crack at Arum. But that’s a moot point, because you’re not going to find a real journalist in boxing today– And even if you could find an independent, free-thinking, unbiased journalist, Arum would most definitely not be talking to him.
You can email Paul at paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com or catch him as he continues to royally piss off the boxing media’s upwardly mobile swine. Paul is a full member of the Burger King Kids’ Club, a born iconoclast, and an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church.
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