WHAT has been touted as one of the biggest fights in boxing history won’t happen just yet as Floyd Mayweather Jr. failed to give his answer before yesterday’s deadline set by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Because Arum hasn’t heard from Mayweather Jr. by his midnight deadline, they will be looking for another opponent for pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13.
"Floyd, for whatever reason, didn't want to commit," Arum said in a report posted at the LA Times.
Arum is now open to negotiations with other fighters. Arum is looking at either a rematch with Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto or against Mexican banger Antonio Margarito.
"I've had no negotiations or discussions with any other fighter," said Arum. "This Friday was the end of the exclusivity agreement."
Pacquiao will be gunning for his eighth division world title against either Cotto or Margarito.
Cotto is currently the World Boxing Association light middleweight champion, while Arum will arrange to put the vacant World Boxing Council light middleweight crown on the line if Pacquiao chooses Margarito.
If Pacquiao picks Margarito, the fight will possibly be held at the new arena in Monterrey, Mexico or Abu Dhabi because the 32-year-old Mexican’s license in the US was revoked after he was found to have an illegal substance on his hand wraps before his fight with Shane Mosley last year.
This is the second time the Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. fight failed to materialize.
The first negotiation didn’t reach an agreement after the 31-year-old Gen. Santos native and Mayweather Jr. disagreed on the method of drug testing.
"We will conclude a deal with an opponent for Manny's fight in November, and then we will look to do a fight with Floyd next year," said the American promoter.