Even though many of the folks around WBO welterweight champion, Manny Pacquiao, insist the Filipino congressman's preparations for his June 9 bout against Timothy Bradley are moving along smoothly, that doesn't seem to be the case. Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza clearly doesn't see eye to eye with Bob Arum, and he's had quite a bit to say about the Top Rank Promoter.
"Remind all of your top rank fighters what happened to Floyd Mayweather and De La Hoya when they left top rank. $$$," a fan tweeted to Ariza. "Good point!" Ariza replied. According to Ariza, Bob Arum is solely responsible for the failed negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao, telling another fan who felt Floyd deserved some of the blame, "Wrong, it's Arum."
Another user asked Ariza: "if Manny were a free agent or under GBP [Golden Boy Promotions] would we have already seen Mayweather vs Pacquiao???" Again, Ariza's didn't mince any words, tweeting: "1000%!"
Ariza doesn't have a problem with Mayweather's refusal to accept an even split either, telling another fan who asked if Pacquiao deserves a 50/50 split with the PPV king: "Not if Floyd's #'s are higher."
Ariza deserves a lot of credit for his honest comments, considering how close he is to Pacquiao. While it's pretty obvious that Ariza isn't particularly fond of Pacquiao's handlers, he remains loyal to his client, emphatically stating that he knows Manny wants to fight Floyd.
"If it was gonna happen, it should have happened already," Ariza said during an interview with WLIE 540. "I think Mayweather said it best after his fight, as to what the world wants to know, why they're there, and why the fight's not happening. Fighters are supposed to fight, promoters are supposed to promote, and they're supposed to do it within the best interest of the fighter, not within their best interest. Unfortunately I'm not privy to what goes on behind closed doors, I'm on this end over here. I don't know. I hope just as much as everybody else wishes. I know Manny wants the fight, I know Floyd wants the fight. You can only do so much."
David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner that has watched and studied MMA for the past 7 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
Sources:
Bad Left Hook, "Alex Ariza: 'Mayweather vs Pacquiao Should Have Happened Already…'"
Fight and fighter information from BoxRec.com
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