Pair discuss bout again in private at hotel after NBA game…
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Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao met again privately on Tuesday night, hours after their public face-to-face meeting at an NBA game.
According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, the pair met inside Pacquiao’s hotel suite with adviser Michael Koncz revealing further details of how the discussions went.
“It was very pleasant and very encouraging, and we give Floyd credit for coming over,” Koncz told ESPN.
“That’s the first time they ever sat eye to eye. I’ve met Floyd many times, but he and Manny had never had a chance to meet. They talked at halftime, but this was a longer, more serious meeting. You could tell by their body language that this was very positive. It was for a good hour or more.
“It was a business meeting, but it wasn’t a tense business meeting. I think that’s because they both have mutual respect for each other. We’ll determine what will happen over the next couple of days.”
The meeting at half-time of the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks game lit up social media as it was reported that they exchanged numbers and agreed to negotiate directly with one another.
That report in particular appears to be true given that they did indeed meet later in private, and it gives further strength to the argument that the fight will actually happen this time round.
According to Rafael, the issues that remain revolve around the broadcasting rights with Pacquiao contracted to Time Warner/HBO, while Mayweather is with CBS/Showtime.
The respective broadcasters need to agree on a deal for a joint pay-per-view telecast, which they have done previously back in 2002 for the heavyweight title clash between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
Koncz is confident that those issues can be overcome despite not going into detail, and he revealed that both men said that they wanted the fight to happen with May 2 still a possible date for the showdown.
Progress appears to have been made in negotiations as the two fighters discuss aspects of the deal face-to-face, and it remains to be seen whether or not an announcement is made before Pacquiao’s deadline at the end of the month.
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