Forget what you've heard about Paulie Malignaggi, Nate Campbell, Kermit Cintron or Paul Williams! None of those guys will be fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. on March 13th? Who then will the undefeated phenom be fighting? I'll tell you who....no one! That's right! I'm calling it! Floyd's not going to be fighting anyone on March 13th. If I were a betting man, I'd say there's an awfully good chance that "Money" Mayweather is going to be paid some "step aside" money just to give up that date. I know, it might sound crazy, but keep in mind this is boxing and far crazier things have happened.
Oh, don't get me wrong, that won't be the official reason why he won't be fighting. They'll come up with something clever and my guess is that's exactly what the "brains" of Team Mayweathr and HBO are doing right now. In fact, there may not even be money involved. After all, there are a lot of other ways that HBO can appease a disgruntled fighter. A promise of a future PPV date against an opponent of his choice is always a nice topic to discuss. Then again, this is "Money" Mayweather, AKA "The Human ATM Machine" we're talking about, so chances are, he's going to expect somebody somewhere to cough up the loot. My guess is that that somebody will likely be Ross "Greeny" Greenburg.
In one way, shape or form, the President of HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg, will pay. On one hand, they have Bob Arum ready to stage another Pacquiao mega-event at Cowboys Stadium. On the other hand, they have Floyd Mayweather ready to go against the dreaded TBA...and that TBA is a big problem right now. The clock is ticking to find a legitimate dance partner for Floyd Mayweather and thus far, most of the candidates have been meet with a lukewarm reception on both sides. Chances are, Team Mayweather, for one reason or another, doesn't seem so eager to jump in with Paul Williams or Kermit Cintron and likewise, HBO isn't too eager to stage another meaningless PPV with a smaller opponent like Nate Campbell or Paulie Malignaggi. Ideally, both HBO and Golden Boy would love to be able to offer up Shane Mosley's services, but there's simply not enough time for Team Mayweather to wait around for the outcome of Mosley's fight against Berto on January 30th. They need to make a move and they need to make one now. Not to mention, HBO needs to give Bob Arum an answer.
Let's face it, HBO is caught between a rock and a hard place right now. If they piss off Bob Arum, they could potentially lose out on future Manny Pacquiao bouts, as well as bouts with other Top Rank fighters, as Arum is perfectly capable of producing pay-per-events on his own. Then again, if they piss off Floyd Mayweather, they will more importantly piss off Mayweather's manager, Al Haymon, and risk losing future business with some of his other fighters, including Paul Williams, Andre Berto and Chris Arreola to name a few. Even worse, they'll lose that cushy relationship they had with one of the nation's top concert promoters, which is the real reason why HBO keeps Al Haymon happy. Oh, you didn't know? Yeah, do a little research on Al...there's A LOT more to him than just this being this mystery man involved with boxing.
It is for that reason that somewhere, right at this moment (at least right at the moment that I wrote this), there's a discussion going on between the powers that be and I'm willing to bet they're talking about a way to make everyone happy. The only way everyone will be happy is if Floyd steps aside and allows HBO to work with Arum. The only way that's going to happen is if Floyd and Al Haymon are made happy. Yes my friends, there are some backdoor deals going on right now, so don't be surprised when you find out that Floyd Mayweather will not be fighting on March 13th after all. And that's a good thing, as we'll all get a chance to enjoy Manny Pacquiao's tough fight...and yes, it is indeed a tough fight...against Joshua Clottey. Meanwhile, maybe we'll get lucky, Mosley will win and perhaps we'll get Mayweather vs. Mosley in May. After all, Golden Boy will have to be appeased as well and what better way to make them happy than to give them another big PPV date and opportunity to do more business with "Money" Mayweather.