Ending the incredible speculation about just who represents Floyd Mayweather Jr in matters of fight negotiations, the fighter took to Twitter this evening to name the men that Bob Arum is supposed to call to negotiate a fight. Get ready, guys and gals. It's shocking.
@FloydMayweather
Floyd Mayweather I'm ready to fight Pacquiao 5/5/12 Bob Arum know the date can't change I have my guarantee call Schaefer & Al and stop lying to the public
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Whoooa. No waaay. Can't believe it's Richard Schaefer and Al Haymon. Maaan. That's out of left field.
The truth is, Arum has known who to call. This just makes it 100% official that yes, Golden Boy and Schaefer would be involved. Mayweather says he has his guarantee. He says he's ready. He's called Arum's final bluff.
Can Bob come up with some other way to avoid the May 5 fight? Of course he can! He's a pretty smart guy, though some don't feel that way.
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Remember, he's said that he'll do it at the MGM Grand, even though he wants that temporary stadium. But he has not said he'll do it on May 5 -- he has offered late May, and it seems as though Floyd is saying what I've suspected before: That the May 5 date is locked in, and can't be changed. Mayweather got his jail time pushed back until June 1, and his judge did that in part, she said, to give him time to heal any injuries, such as cuts.
This has definitely been the most productive round of what passes for negotiations between these two, at least in terms of people calling each other out and trying to look good for the media. But I can't say I feel that anything significant has really happened, either. That's why I'm not convinced that putting it off and waiting for November is going to be any better. We've done all of this, which seems like a lot because it's a lot of chatter, an still the two parties have not sat down at a table or even on the phone to really, truly discuss the fight.