Bob Arum Eyes June 9 for Pacquiao's Next Fight, Mayweather Likely off the Table

RingTV.com's Lem Satterfield has a story up this morning confirming a Sports Illustrated report from yesterday in which Top Rank promoter Bob Arum stated that Manny Pacquiao will most likely fight on June 9, in a new outdoor stadium in Las Vegas, against an opponent other than Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Arum's comments to RingTV.com left open at least the possibility that a fight with Mayweather could still be made for the end of May:

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"If we can't do a fight with Mayweather at the end of May, yes we will do a fight with somebody else on June 9," Arum told RingTV.com. "That's correct. We're still optimistic, or somewhat optimistic, that we can do a fight with Mayweather at the end of May."

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Arum again emphasized that Mayweather's proposed date of May 5 at the MGM Grand Casino is not feasible for financial reasons. Arum has repeatedly stated that Top Rank plans to complete a temporary 40,000-seat outdoor stadium in time for Pacquiao's next fight, in order to maximize revenue.

Arum and Pacquaio advisor Michael Koncz has estimated that the additional seating will bring in an extra 20-30 million dollars.

Meanwhile, according to a Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, Mayweather claims he is legally obligated to fight on May 5. According to Mayweather, the court ruling in Las Vegas by Judge Melissa Saragosa on January 6 that allowed him to delay his 90-day jail sentence until June 1 mandates that he must fight on May 5. 

Iole reported that, "A call to Saragosa’s office seeking comment Wednesday was not returned."

In his statement to RingTV.com, Arum, a Harvard trainer lawyer, expressed extreme skepticism over Mayweather's latest claim:

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"The idea that Mayweather is prevented by the courts from doing the fight at the end of May is totally bulls--t," said Arum.

"I can not believe this bulls--t, and this excuse that he legally can't fight at the end of May. That makes absolutely no sense. What difference does that make to the judge?"

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According to the Iole story, Mayweather is now proposing middleweight champion and No. 3-ranked pound-for-pound fighter Sergio Martinez as a possible May 5 opponent, provided Martinez can make a catch weight of 150 pounds.

If Martinez does sign to fight Mayweather on May 5, it will require him to pull out of a scheduled March 17 bout with Matthew Macklin.