The Yankees are interested in hosting a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next spring

Pacquiao-Mayweather a Match Made in Heaven (or Yankee Stadium?)
NEW YORK TIMES by GREG BISHOP

LAS VEGAS — Three hours after Manny Pacquiao dispatched Miguel Cotto on Saturday night to capture his record seventh title in seven weight divisions, he jogged onto the stage at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
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Pacquiao wore a bandage over his right ear, which had been drained, a fedora and the smile of a man who had just made at least $13 million and won his seventh title. But while Pacquiao and his band launched into “La Bamba,” the boxing world had already turned toward his next potential fight, against Floyd Mayweather Jr., a sure blockbuster if it happens.

“I get chills just thinking about it,” said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. “The reality is there’s only one fight to be made. We’ve waited a long time to get one of this magnitude.”

With the undefeated Mayweather and an international superstar in Pacquiao, the biggest draws in boxing, Greenburg said the bout would deserve a “Super Bowl-type stage.” That presents an enticing option, as early as next May — Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees are interested in hosting a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next spring, according to a person in baseball who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There have been no formal discussions, and there will not be before an agreement is reached between the fighters, but high-ranking Yankees employees have told boxing officials of their interest.

The Yankees held a news conference for Pacquiao and Cotto this fall, part of the effort to showcase the Stadium as a multipurpose site. Yankee Stadium has three times the capacity of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the site for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, which holds just over 17,000.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, said he believed Pacquiao and Mayweather would sell out Yankee Stadium. “That’s a fight the world wants to see,” he said.

Still, obstacles remain.

Mayweather used to fight for Top Rank Boxing, but when he left he said that Bob Arum, Top Rank’s chairman, shortchanges his fighters for money and opportunity. Arum did not hide his dislike for Mayweather on Saturday, but said personal feelings would not interfere with business.

Considered the best in boxing until he retired for more than a year, Mayweather made serious money after leaving Top Rank, in bouts against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez. The Marquez fight surpassed one million pay-per-view buys, according to HBO, fueling Mayweather’s contention that he remains the biggest draw.

Early projections for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, which ended with a 12th-round technical knockout, suggest pay-per-view buys in the range of 1.3 million to 1.4 million. A fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather would most likely surpass that and rank among the most viewed in boxing history.

“No matter who Manny fights right now, he’s going to draw a big crowd,” said Bruce Trampler, Top Rank’s matchmaker. “That’s the difference between these guys. Floyd needs a Manny. He needs a De La Hoya, a Hatton. And that’s no disrespect to Floyd. But one guy is an attraction and the other is a good draw.”

Perhaps. But boxing optimists hope that how the fighters would split the money will matter less than their interest in the total pot, which would be well into the tens of millions.

Arum said he planned to begin discussions Monday with Richard Schaefer, the chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions and the promoter for Mayweather’s last three fights. But the solution seems obvious at the outset, although in boxing, obvious does not always translate to a deal.

“There’s too much in the pot,” Greenburg said. “There’s too much of an opportunity here. Just take that big wad of money, all those millions, and split it down the middle.”

Greenburg labeled the likelihood of Pacquiao’s meeting Mayweather as great. He compared the level of interest in that fight to those staged in the 1980s by Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Still, either Pacquiao or Mayweather, or both, could schedule another bout before they face each other. Greenburg called that prospect ridiculous and said just thinking about it made him ill. But as recently as last month, Roach said he wanted to fight Marquez, who had a controversial loss to Pacquiao.

As evidenced against Cotto, Pacquiao keeps improving and winning in punishing and dramatic fashion. Roach has developed Pacquiao into a devastating finisher. Pacquiao declined Saturday to compare himself to other boxing greats, but Roach did not hesitate, labeling Pacquiao “the greatest fighter of his era, for sure, 100 percent.”

That said, should Pacquiao and Mayweather never square off, their legacies will not be complete, Greenburg said.

“Pacquiao’s place in history is rising on a daily basis,” he said. “But he can only complete it by taking that next step. And it’s an obvious next step. Until he beats Floyd Mayweather, his legacy’s not cemented. And the same goes for Floyd, against Pacquiao.”

Michael S. Schmidt contributed reporting from New York.