Deal for Pacquiao, Mayweather fight close to settlement

Washington: A contract for the much-anticipated March 13 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr could be in place by this week, promoter Bob Arum said on Friday.

"I went through everything and resolved the issues with Manny," Arum said in a telephone interview from the Philippines.

"Now I have to meet with the Mayweather people and finalise the deal. That's where we're at and I'm very, very hopeful things will get done."

Read in-depth report on Manny Pacquiao

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts), 30, is coming off a 12th-round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto on November 14 in Las Vegas.

The last fight for Mayweather (40-0-0, 25 KOs), a 32-year-old American, was a unanimous decision over Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez on September 19 in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz said Arum presented the fighter with the proposal at a breakfast in Manila on Friday.

"The requests of Manny were so realistic that Arum doesn't feel it's a problem and it's pretty much a done deal," Koncz said.

The Filipino legend, who is running for Congress in his home nation, has some requests of his own that require some ironing out, although trainer Freddie Roach believes they will be no obstacle to the fight the world wants to see.

Video: A round with Manny Pacquiao

"We talked to Arum and he had the March date and May 1 available and Manny chose the earlier date because of the elections in the Philippines, and I can't wait to get started," Roach told Sky Sports News.

"It'll be the biggest fight of all time, the biggest pay-per-view event of all time and my main sparring partner will be Amir Khan.

"There's always negotiations, like he [Mayweather] wants 10-ounce gloves we want 8-ounce gloves, stuff like that ... but I think it can be solved."