Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally share a ring in just over week but an actual contract to stage the richest bout in history at the MGM Grand still has not been signed.
A row between the rival promoters has resulted in no tickets being printed for the showdown between the world’s TWO
best pound-for-pound fighters on May 2.
best pound-for-pound fighters on May 2.
Tickets for closed-circuit viewing at the MGM Hotels have also yet to go on sale.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is refusing to sign a draft of the contract he received last week because he claims it was not what he agreed a couple months ago.
"We agreed that we would all be signatories on the final contract and then they sent us a draft of the agreement and it excluded us," Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, told ESPN.
Top Rank will not have any control of any decisions during the fight, including in-arena production, video content and music if they are not signatories to the contract.
"They don't want us to have any say," Arum said. "So whether they came up with the deal between Mayweather and MGM before or after our agreement, they've committed fraud either way. That's what we're enmeshed in."
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, disagreed with Arum's interpretation of the original deal.
"The bottom line is that Bob isn't willing to live with the agreement signed a couple of months ago, which doesn't allow him to be in control," Ellerbe said.
"The only conspiracy, in my opinion, exists with him trying to conspire with his lawyers to change the terms of the agreement. I assure you that nothing underhanded is going on and the reference to this back-alley stuff is ridiculous."
