Boxing Rumors: Manny Pacquiao Versus Terence Crawford 'A Real Possibility', Says Bob Arum

Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum says the mega bout between Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford might happen soon. The 88-year-old legendary promoter seemed to take a sudden turn from his previous statement shutting down the potential showdown, this time calling it “a real possibility.”

Besides the series of restrictions that boxing has to deal with because of the worldwide coronavirus crisis, Arum says there should be no reason the Pacquiao-Crawford bout will not take place.

“Crawford and Pacquiao is a real possibility, and that’s one of the things we’re working on,” Arum claims as he spoke with IFL TV.

Given the present economic situation, the boxing executive pointed out the financial and cost concerns, particularly a site fee, as a potential stumbling block for the fight.

“Now it would be a possibility if some country or sports authority from a country put up the money for a site fee. Because without a site fee, given the situation now, you couldn’t do it,” Arum added. “Who’s going to pay for it. You’re going to have to realistically lower the pay-per-view in the United States, which in my opinion were too high, to begin with. That’s what I’ve been told.”

But should they secure the site fee, Arum believes the fight is on.

“I think Pacquiao wants to fight Crawford, and Crawford wants to fight Pacquiao,” he said.

Arum also spoke about fights possibly being staged in Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis tagged sports as an “essential service”, thanks to the initiative made by the WWE.

According to the report on Tuesday, Arum will be discussing the opportunity with the wrestling entertainment company, which owns the Performance Center in Orlando.

"It's very, very interesting, and we're going to be in touch with them (WWE). There's a possibility to use their facility to maybe do events without a crowd," Arum said, per ESPN.

But while there is a good chance that the talks will come into fruition, Arum is aware that the future cards will still have to be staged behind closed doors.

"Now, we're not going to have crowds there, I get that," he said. "But if NASCAR does a race and can televise it without having large crowds, I think that's a good thing."

Despite the recognition, Arum also knows that crowd-less fights mean lesser revenue, in which he suggests that huge bouts be postponed until everything settles.