Pacquiao-Mayweather bout appears headed for Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) - – Promoters of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather jnr bout have cancelled a trip to Dallas, an apparent sign that the new Cowboys Stadium won't host the mega-bout next year.

The trip was called off at the last minute on Wednesday because Mayweather's promoter apparently decided he didn't want the fight at the new billion-dollar stadium that is home to the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.

The move left the MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas as the favorite to host the fight, expected to take place on March 13.

Co-promoter Bob Arum said he was surprised by the decision from Mayweather's promoter, Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer, to call off the trip to Texas.

Both fighters have reportedly agreed to terms for the bout, but neither has signed contracts.

Jones said last week he hoped to bid for the fight for his stadium in suburban Dallas, while representatives of the Superdome in New Orleans were also interested.

An official of Staples Center, home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that the arena had made a 20 million-dollar offer to host the fight.

However, the Los Angeles venue would likely need to offer more than a Las Vegas venue because California imposes state taxes that the fighters would have to pay, and Nevada doesn't.

Mayweather, 40-0 with 25 knockouts, was regarded as the world's top pound-for-pound fighter before a 19-month layoff that ended last September.

Pacquiao, 50-3 with 38 knockouts, staked his claim on the pound-for-pound crown in Mayweather's absence by knocking out England's Ricky Hatton in the second round last May and stopping Miguel Cotto in the 12th round last month.

The Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown could bring record profits to break the mark set by Mayweather's split-decision victory over Oscar de la Hoya in 2007.

The fight is expected to be officially launched with a press conference in January in New York.

Pacquiao is running for congress in his homeland and elections are in May, which scuttled plans for a May date for the fight.

The Filipino star is expected to begin training in his homeland and complete his workouts at trainer Freddie Roach's Hollywood gym.

Roach: Manny inks deal to fight Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao has officially signed on to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what could be the biggest and richest fight in boxing history, the Filipino ring icon’s trainer said today.

Speaking to 8CountNews, Freddie Roach confirmed that his ward has indeed placed his signature on the fight contract, adding that the bout will be held on March 13.

“March 13th is the date, that's not going to change,” he told 8CountNews.

The multi-awarded trainer said that with Pacquiao inking the deal, it is now up to Mayweather to complete his end the deal.

“Well anything is possible with Floyd Mayweather involved, but we signed our contract and that's all I care about. There is nothing that I can do about the other guy. I don't know if they officially signed, but we have,” Roach said.

The bespectacled trainer added that among the things that the Pacquiao camp has agreed on were the glove size to be used and the weight class on which the fight would be held. He, however, did not provide further details.

“Everything looks good. We have agreed on the glove size, and the weight. I talked to (Pacquiao’s promoter Bob) Arum, Dallas wants the fight, MGM wants the fight, Yankee Stadium wants the fight, so it's just trying to find out where the venue is. The fight looks good,” Roach said.

And with the fight now closer to being finalized, how does Roach see Pacquiao matching up against Mayweather?

“It's a difficult fight, it's the most difficult style for us to go against because he (Mayweather) is a runner and a counter-puncher. We will go to camp and we will make some changes, we will set traps for this guy. This is completely opposite of the (Miguel) Cotto fight, opposite of the (Ricky) Hatton fight, and opposite from the (Oscar) De La Hoya fight. We will come up with a new game plan, a 10-week camp, and some changes. We will work on setting traps and taking Floyd's speed away from him,” he explained.

A Pacquiao-Mayweather bout would pit two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in their primes. It is expected to shatter existing pay-per-view records, with both fighters having proven themselves to be mammoth box-office draws. - By Dino Maragay (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)