Mayweather-Arum: Spoils Issue Preventing The P4P War

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. won via Decision over Oscar De La Hoya on their last two bouts.

Manny Pacquiao literally retired De La Hoya on his stool after 8 one-sided rounds on their only bout. And consequently, De La Hoya retired from the sport.

Mayweather caught the charging Ricky Hatton with a fast left hook on the 10^th round of their bout.

Pacquiao annihilated Hatton in the second round with an equally fast left hook, loaded with the intention of making a statement, or a message to Mayweather and the whole world.

Arguments regarding the difference between their common opponents’ condition the time both Pacquiao and Mayweather fought them is no longer relevant. The fact remains the same – Manny Pacquiao overshadowed Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Mayweather took a vacation seemingly content on his 39-0 record, while Pacquiao delivers fight after fight of thrill and excitement, and consequently, Pacquiao’s hard labor paid off. In the eyes of maybe more than half the world’s people, Pacquiao has now accomplished more than Mayweather. A considerable fraction is yet to be convinced.

The matter is yet to be settled. And settlement will not be within the nearest possible time one can think of. Mayweather has an upcoming fight with Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. And the much awaited contest may not even happen right after.

After Pacquiao-Hatton, Bob Arum barred the release of the actual PPV numbers. It took a leak for the general public to know that the fight sold more than 800,000 PPV buys in the U.S. alone.

800,000+ U.S. PPV buys is a great sales achievement in a time of great economic hardship. But Arum is reluctant to celebrate, because Mayweather's fight with Hatton generated 900,000+ PPV buys, hence the attempted secrecy.

Should the economically-challenged Mayweather-Marquez bout generate more PPV buys in the U.S. than that of Pacquiao, then Arum's cards loses, and Mayweather gains leverage.

Pacquiao's camp was looking past Hatton already even before the fight. The sooner they can sign Mayweather for a date, the more leverage they have in the negotiations.

But Mayweather's a very shrewd businessman. And he was aware that at times when the Pacquiao-Hatton negotiations were breaking down, both camps were mentioning him as an option. Until Marquez called on him, and the shrewd businessman's thinking head thought of a viable business scheme.

Mayweather knew that he should not appear as too eager to have a showdown with Pacquiao. Coming off a vacation while the latter's climbing summits, he just doesn't have leverage. How will he gain one? Well, he can't have one right now, but wait till he's done with Marquez.

Both Arum and Mayweather knew that the Marquez bout is a gage, or a weighing scale. And the PPV counts will tell who'll the get the upper hand on the negotiating table.

Both men are not looking towards how the up-coming fight will come out, since Mayweather victory is almost guaranteed this early. How the fight will be patronized is to them the most crucial part.

But Mayweather had caused enough stir and publicity the last few weeks for him to be a public interest once again. And this worries Arum. Likers or haters, public interest means patronage.  

As early as now, Mayweather had been issuing statements that Pacquiao (but with more reference to Arum than the name mentioned) will not get a 50-50 split. 

How does Arum deal with the threat that Mayweather may gain upper hand on the future Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations? This is when the other names becomes significant - Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley.

Mosley had been almost ruled out as a possible opponent for weight dispute, leaving Cotto as the next highly possible fight.

Cotto is indeed who Arum must set for Pacquiao if Arum wants to level the field between him and Mayweather on their own tactical war. Miguel Cotto is NOT an over-rated, less risk/high reward type of fighter. He's a high risk/high reward fighter, and must not be taken lightly.

To most people, Mayweather ducked Cotto, hence his vacation from the sport. Whether it's true or not, a Pacquiao victory over Cotto will hand Arum back his leverage against Mayweather.

The pound for pound king, whether he's oblivious to the current mind-wrestling game between his promoter and Mayweather or not, has declared his next fight to be October 17 this year.

Arum better make sure Cotto's in it, and Freddie Roach better ensure a Pacquiao victory. Should Pacquiao come out victorious and Pacquiao-Mayweather doesn't happen right after, the boxing world will be divided. The dispute will never end unless a war is waged and a conquest is achieved.

Pacquiao-Mayweather, or Mayweather-Pacquiao, or simply Battle of P4P Kings, it will happen, depending on who deserves more and who deserves less. Or if circumstances based on upcoming events' outcomes obliges both parties to eventually agree to split the spoils evenly, even before the actual war.