Bob Arum: Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao ‘seems so logical’

Sep

Chris Algieri is the “one obstacle” in making a “fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao” said Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum during a Tuesday interview with RingTV.com.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s unanimous decision over Marcos Maidana, whom he vanquished by majority decision in May, Mayweather addressed the notion of next facing Pacquiao, who must first get beyond Algieri on Nov. 22 in Macao, China.

“I’m going to go back and talk to my team and see what we can assess and my next opponent. If the Manny Pacquiao fight presents itself, let’s make it happen,” said Mayweather. “Manny Pacquiao needs to focus on the task in front of him. After he gets past that guy, we’ll see what the future holds.”

THE RING No. 1-rated fighter, pound-for-pound, Mayweather holds THE RING’s welterweight and junior welterweight championships as well as the WBC and WBA titles in each of those divisions.

Arum said “it’s inexcusable” for Mayweather-Pacquiao not to happen should Pacquiao successfully defend his WBO 147-pound belt against Algieri, the WBO 140-pound titleholder.

“I think that what Mayweather said right after the fight is very encouraging although he has sort of gone back on it a little bit. But that’s Floyd,” said Arum.

“I think that there should only be one obstacle to making this fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao and that’s Chris Algieri. But if he gets through that fight OK, then it’s inexcusable for these guys not to fight…it just seems so logical to me that these guys should fight.”