Bad Left Hook

Damn it all, but here we go again. Yesterday, it was a report that there were 48 hours left to make a May 5 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao a reality instead of the non-stop soap opera we've all become increasingly hostile toward.

This morning, here we are: Bob Arum says that Mayweather has until Saturday, and that they're willing to push the fight back until late May, which is kind of a make or break from their side.

Arum says a few things:

1. The deal has to be 50-50, and he will only guarantee Pacquiao's 50%. He will not guarantee Mayweather's side of the money. Someone else -- be it Golden Boy or another outside party -- has to do that.
2. The fight will be at the MGM Grand. No temporary outdoor venue that could house 40-50,000 instead of the 17,000 or so that the Grand Garden Arena holds.
3. If they can cut that deal, Arum believes the fight could be "made in ten minutes."

After over three years of endless whining and accusations and lawsuits and he said-he said PR back and forth, I almost feel insulted by the idea that this fight can be "made in ten minutes."

One does have to wonder why a move of three weeks, at most, from a May 5 date is some sticking point for the Pacquiao side, namely (at this time) Bob Arum. I do recall something Mayweather's judge in Las Vegas said about giving him time to heal from any potential injuries before he starts his jail time, which is due to begin on June 1, which would have given him around three weeks to heal up. So are they calling him for a date he can't do? Is he tied into May 5 as his fight date?

Hell, why not ask this, too: Even if he were, could he get it delayed another three weeks to help bring in an unheard of amount of money to the state's floundering economy?

The exact terminology used by reporter David "Los Gatos" Rosenberg is that Mayweather has until Saturday to "get the ball rolling," and you know, if Arum said that, God knows what getting the ball rolling would entail. I have no idea. It's loose enough that this all could mean nothing.

I'm at the point where I'm throwing my hands up here. I'm not going to pretend I have an idea where this is going, other than to say I put the odds of the fight actually happening in May at about 12%, which may be 12% higher than someone whose sense of imagination or wonder or optimism with the sport of boxing has been brutally murdered by this entire debacle.

As Cliff Rold said at BoxingScene.com, "Make the fight or shut the hell up already."