Boxing stars Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao chat briefly at NBA game
Manny Pacquiao happened to have a free day in Miami on Tuesday and decided to go to the Heat-Bucks game at American Airlines Arena. Pacquiao, who is a player/coach in the Philippine Basketball League, is friends with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
But Pacquiao wasn't the only prominent boxer to attend Tuesday's NBA game. Pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has a home in Miami, also attended the game.
The Miami Heat put a picture of the two on the scoreboard during the first quarter of the game with the caption, "Coming in 2015?" on top of it.
It gets better.
From the AP's Tim Reynolds:
Pacquiao says Mayweather gave him his cell number and told him it’s time for them to work this fight out themselves. Pac says he got told 1 minute before halftime that Floyd was coming over for a chat. Pacquiao said he never spoke to Floyd in person before tonight. Thank Winter Storm Juno if this fight ever happens. Pac wasn’t supposed to be here tonight — but his flight was canceled.
Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz, who attended the game with Pacquiao, told Yahoo Sports that Pacquiao had planned to fly to the Philippines on Tuesday via New York, but had trouble getting a flight out due to the weather, so they opted to go to the game. Koncz said they are now planning to fly to Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The boxers, whose teams have been engaged in lengthy talks for a mega-fight that would occur May 2 in Las Vegas if a deal can be reached, had a brief conversation with each other.
Koncz told Yahoo Sports he was pleased with their conversation.
"Floyd walked over and he and Manny had a nice little talk," Koncz told Yahoo Sports by telephone from the game.
Pacquiao has said he's agreed to all of Mayweather's terms and conditions, including a 60-40 purse split favoring Mayweather and agreement on drug testing. But no contract has been drawn up and Pacquiao's team has begun talks with Amir Khan in case a fight with Mayweather is unable to be made.
Pacquiao has put a Saturday deadline on Mayweather to come to an agreement or he'll turn attention to Khan.