Mayweather-Pacquiao arrival dispute reminds of issues that caused fight’s delay

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, April 29, 2015 | 2 a.m.

More than 50 people stood on the stage shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but the scene still looked lacking.

An unnecessary plural hung on the banner serving as the event’s backdrop. Instead of grand arrivals, this was just a grand arrival.

A driver of a Mercedes van branded with The Money Team logo on both sides chauffeured Floyd Mayweather Jr. through the venue where he’ll compete Saturday in the fight of the century, but his opponent stayed down the street. Manny Pacquiao passed on the festivities, creating a rare occurrence where two combatants don’t usher in a major fight week by meeting face to face.

Pacquiao held a separate “fan rally” at Mandalay Bay in the morning.

“If I didn’t show up to the grand arrival and I said, ‘Do it somewhere else,’ it would be on the front page because the standards are always different,” Mayweather groaned.

The relatively minor dispute was the latest in a series of disagreements between the camps of the two most popular boxers in the world and a fight-week illustration of why their fight took a half-decade to put together.

It was just six days ago when Top Rank CEO and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said the fight was in jeopardy because of a disagreement on ticket allotment. A last-minute conference call with officials from the MGM, Top Rank and Mayweather Promotions averted the near disaster.

Arum told ESPN shortly after that Pacquiao wouldn’t attend the arrivals in part because they didn’t feel welcome at the MGM. He backed off of those statements Tuesday and was effusive in praise for Mandalay Bay, an MGM property, at Pacquiao’s event.

“Floyd’s doing his thing, and we’re doing ours,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “We’re at this hotel and we’re very comfortable here. This is peaceful and there’s no drama. I think it’s better for us.”

Mayweather interpreted Pacquiao’s absence from the MGM differently. He suggested it was another instance of the proverbial bar being set higher for him.

The undefeated local has taken the brunt of the blame for the fight’s delay over the years, which he finds unfair. He repeatedly references that the closest the matchmaking ever came to being completed previously was in 2010 when Pacquiao refused Mayweather’s request for Olympic-style blood and urine drug testing.

“They were telling you guys for years that they had paperwork and I was scared,” Mayweather told reporters. “It wasn’t true. The only thing with any situation was I wanted to be treated fair.”

Arum led the charge in accusing Mayweather of ducking Pacquiao, but he’s silenced as the fight has drawn nearer. He said Pacquiao’s rally had nothing to do with avoiding Mayweather.

“This hotel is our home hotel and it was an opportunity to do an event that had a Philippine flavor for the Philippine fans,” Arum said. “All the entertainment was Filipino. All the performers were Filipino. Most of the audience was Filipino. I’m the only outcast.”

As always, Pacquiao expressed positivity.

“It was overwhelming support from the fans,” he said. “I’m very surprised how many people were at the meet and greet and are excited to be at the fight.”

Several hundred fans piled into a room on the South end of the Mandalay Bay Events Convention Center to welcome Pacquiao. A Filipino dance troupe and singers occupied the crowd while they waited.

Mayweather left Arum and Top Rank in 2006 because he wanted to market himself more aggressively in the hip-hop community. The MGM’s scheduled grand arrivals were another example of the strategy’s success as a few thousand people attended.

Rapper Doug E. Fresh emceed the proceedings, which included performances by the Southern University marching band and comedian Rickey Smiley before Mayweather took center stage.

He posed alone, noting later that only one thing was missing.

“So many sponsors came together to make this big event happen,” Mayweather said, “and I think that we both should have been here as professionals.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.