Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: 'Stupid' Pac-Man Conference Call Cancelled by Bob Arum

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum ended a Manny Pacquiao conference call session with the media after just one question, as reported by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.

This was supposed to be Pacquiao's last chance to address the press before his May 2 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr, as reported by Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News.

Although Top Rank released a statement suggesting a technical hitch halted Pac-Man's Q&A session—it read "we were unable to communicate with our operators," per Iole—Arum suggested the reality was more sinister than that. 

Richard Drew/Associated Press

Iole reported comments from Arum, who thinks conference calls are "terrible." He suggested "every jerk in the world gets on there and asks these stupid (expletive) questions." Arum, who doesn't want Pacquiao to waste any time, said the session should be limited to the media's "top, top guys."

He wasn't pleased with the opening setup of the call and abruptly ended proceedings. Further comments from the 83-year-old were reported by Iole:

"

So when it was finally opened up for questions and the first one came from Michael Marley of Examiner.com, I knew they'd screwed it up. It was going to be an absolute disaster. I said we either do it the right way or we don't do it.

The best way is to get four or five of the top guys and put them on the phone. It would be the equivalent of when the fighters (arrive and speak to the media in) the VIP area at the MGM. I didn't want Manny on there having to listen to all of this nonsense.

"

Arum told Yahoo that Top Rank's statement "was the p.c. way of doing it, but what I told you is the Arum way," per Iole.

Michael Marley of Examiner.com, the man who was in line to ask the first question, expressed his thoughts on Twitter:

Iole suggests Mayweather is scheduled to hold a similar conference on Wednesday, and that there's yet to be word of a rescheduled Pacquiao sit-down.

John Locher/Associated Press

Both fighters have largely let their camps do the talking since the Las Vegas battle was agreed. This is fair enough—training is far more important than continually exchanging with the press—but nobody's word holds greater weight than the two men who will be stepping into the ring together.

Manny isn't a natural trash-talker and it's unlikely he would have goaded Mayweather too much, but Arum's decision to step in could leave him vulnerable to vitriol from Pretty Boy.

Pacquiao is one of boxing's most diplomatic stars, someone who has attended congress in the Philippines, so it's likely he would have been able to deal with the range of questions without becoming too irritated.

In this instance, it seems Arum's annoyance toward the blogger type stepped in the way. He is trying to protect his fighter, sure, but ultimately it appears Pacquiao now has one less opportunity to make his voice heard ahead of the biggest fight in his career. A fight trainer Freddie Roach believes he'll win, as he told Bleacher Report's Stephen Nelson:

Such odd circumstances make Mayweather's upcoming media session even more exciting. It wouldn't be unlike the American to drop quotes which will ring loudly until the bell sounds on May 2.

While Pacquiao's session proved to be a waste of time for all involved, Floyd is likely to take control of his situation without unnecessary input from others.