HBO: We're Not Impeding Mayweather-Pacquiao Talks

HBO said Monday that it is not standing in the way of making the May 2 Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view fight as negotiations for the mega fight continue.

Neither Showtime nor HBO would comment on the particulars of their negotiations to co-distribute the PPV fight, but late Monday HBO released a statement saying that they are not hampering negotiations for what is expected to be the most lucrative boxing event in history.

While there seemed to be recent progress being made to reach a fight deal – late last week Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said a fight deal would be finalized over the next couple of days – an agreement has yet to be secured.

Recent published reports have intimated that the HBO – which has a multi-fight deal with Pacquiao – has less incentive to make the fight than Showtime, which has two more fights on its six-fight deal with Mayweather and wants to finish the contract with a huge PPV payday.   

HBO Sports in a statement said: “We are not an impediment to this fight. We stand ready to go. The principals need to agree to terms and come to a deal.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.