Earlier we reported that a Pacquiao vs. Broner had been agreed upon. That information was provided by Golden Boy’s VP Eric Gomez.
Gomez offered up that information when explaining why Canelo wouldn’t be fighting Pacquiao in the fall. Bob Arum heard those comments and had a lot to say.
“The fact is they never called us about a Pacquiao fight, which means they should stay away from who Pacquiao’s going to fight next or if he’s going to fight next. It wasn’t a situation where they said, ‘We didn’t go after Pacquiao to fight ‘Canelo’ because Pacquiao already has an opponent’ – that’s bullsh*t,” Arum said to BoxingScene.com.
“We still don’t have an opponent. We’re working on possible opponents but again, they are fighting Liam Smith and looking for 1,700 different excuses to justify a Liam Smith fight, which is the height of idiodicy. I mean, Liam Smith isn’t even the best fighter in his family.”
So, who exactly is Liam Smith?
He is the WBO World Super Welterweight champion, but you probably never heard of him because he has never fought in the US. Every one of his fights have been in the UK and he hasn’t beaten anyone of note.
If this is truly the fight Canelo is planning for September it is going to be a very hard sale to an US audience that wants him to fight GGG.
Arum wouldn’t confirm or deny the Broner rumor, beyond saying Pacquiao hasn’t made up his mind what he wants to do.