Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Bob Arum's Stalling Tactics Are Killing Superfight

Not long after Floyd Mayweather Jr. took to Twitter to call out Manny Pacquiao did he receive a response, according to Lance Pugmire. However, it wasn't the one that he or boxing fans around the world were hoping for from Pac-Man's camp, who attempted to talk themselves out of a corner once again.

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Mayweather faces a June 1 date to report for an already delayed 90-day jail term in a domestic violence case, but Arum said he'd be "willing to chip in for lawyers' fees" to get that date moved again so a June 9 bout could occur.

Mayweather is scheduled to fight May 5 in Las Vegas against an as-yet unnamed opponent. "June 9 is perfect," Arum said. "May 5 is out, that's impossible."

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This is just the latest stalling tactic employed by Arum in an attempt to avoid the fight from happening without making it appear as though Pacquiao is ducking Mayweather. Unfortunately for him, the gig is up, because it doesn't take a genius to read between the lines in this case.

Pacquiao and his team have been trying to limit media interaction with Money May's camp following an underwhelming majority decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez.

Attempting to push the meeting back past Mayweather's jail date after it was already moved once isn't exactly a sneaky maneuver. It's actually quite transparent and reads like Pacquiao wants nothing to do with the superfight now or in the future.

What makes Arum's comments even worse is that the biggest loser of all is the sport of boxing. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is the only bout with any chance of revitalizing the sport and it becomes less likely to occur with each passing day.

Boxing has been plagued by a lack of big stars, minimal competitiveness and controversial endings over the past year. The rise of MMA, and more specifically UFC, is starting to eat into the previously loyal fanbase. That trend will be tough to reverse.

Assuming Pacquiao and Arum continue to dance around the issue, there should be outrage from fans and other members of the boxing community. This is the window. This is the chance to turn the tide back in boxing's favor and they are treating it like some type of meaningless event.

Hopefully some type of agreement can finally be reached, but nobody is holding their breath. It appears May 5 will come and go without a superfight. Both sides will probably look back on it in the future and recognize what a major opportunity was missed.

And it will all be due to Arum's continuous stalling.