LAS VEGAS - They have yet to square off inside the ring, not even once, but the saga involving Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues.
And this time the bone of contention involves fight promotions.
Bob Arum of Top Rank was pissed off by the what he felt was MGM Hotel promoting Mayweather's coming title fight against Marcos Maidana by riding on Pacquiao's own rematch against Timothy Bradley.
Pacquiao-Bradley II is set this Saturday night (Sunday, Manila time), while the Mayweather-Maidana showdown promoted by Top Rank rival Golden Boy, won't be held until May 3 yet.
But from the many billboard and posters seen around the hotel and along the Strip in the days leading up to the grudge match with Bradley, it's obvious Mayweather's fight is getting a lot more mileage than Pacquiao around the hotel.
Arum didn't take things sitting down and criticized MGM for not properly doing its job.
"I can't help if they can't sell tickets for Mayweather's fight," said Arum. "Now, they're trying to advertise on the basis of my fight."
The issue is just the latest surrounding the rivalry between Pacquiao and Mayweather, two men whose marquee fight never really got off the ground owing to several major issues, including drug testing, fight purse, and even Mayweather's dislike of Arum and Top Rank.
The 82-year-old Arum said there was no contract signed between his company and MGM since he took its word for it.
"We've been betrayed. What they did here is wrong," he said. "This is a real outrage for both Manny and Bradley."
Nonetheless, despite the blunder, Arum proudly announced the Pacquiao-Bradley match at the MGM Grand is already sold out.
"Did it hurt us? Not really, because a sellout is a sellout," he said.
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