Top Rank Chair Bob Arum yesterday said that if Floyd Mayweather Jr. is "up for a rematch" next year, "so too" is Manny Pacquiao, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. Arum said that as "difficult as it was for the Pacquiao/Top Rank/HBO and Mayweather/Showtime camps to make the deal for last Saturday's fight -- and as equally difficult as it was to work together during the promotion -- he believes they could make a deal for a rematch." Arum said, "Look at the pot of gold that we both produced. I think there will probably be less aggravation in a rematch. We understand each other better now." Arum suggested that Mayweather "forgo a September fight and simply wait for Pacquiao and fight him in April, which is when the MGM plans to open a new 20,000-seat arena in Las Vegas" (ESPN.com, 5/5). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said with "so much disappointment" around the fight, people might not want to see a rematch, but "watch what happens in the coming months as this drags and drags and Pacquiao comes back from his shoulder injury." Le Batard: "You watch how the hype builds again and we sort of forget everything that we just saw, and we'll tune in again" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 5/5). The N.Y. Daily News' Frank Isola said if there is a rematch, there will be "just as many ... suckers that will buy the fight" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 5/5).
WAS IT A SHAM? USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes Mayweather and Pacquiao "ran the perfect scam, fleecing fans $100 for the privilege of watching what was panned almost universally as a glorified sparring session." Armour: "Fight of the Century? More like Farce of the Century." But like "every good swindler, Mayweather seems to think if a con was good once, it'll be even better the second time around" (USA TODAY, 5/6). But in Charlotte, Tom Sorensen writes under the header, "Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight Didn't Cheat Me Out Of $100" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/6).
I FOUGHT THE LAW: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sharon Terlep reports Pacquiao yesterday was hit with a $5M lawsuit by a pair of boxing fans who say that his "failure to disclose a shoulder injury" before Saturday's fight "amounts to fraud." This development comes a day after Nevada Athletic Commission Chair Francisco Aguilar said that the state attorney general’s office will "look into why Pacquiao checked 'no' a day before the fight on a commission questionnaire asking if he had a shoulder injury." Pacquiao "could be fined or suspended for failing to make the disclosure." The fight, which boxing fans "had long pined for, was widely viewed as a disappointment." Arum and Top Rank President Todd duBoef "are named in the suit along with Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/6). ESPN's Bomani Jones said of fans wanting a refund, "You'll have better luck getting a refund from the airlines" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 5/5).
