An article by Dan Rafael, courtesy of ESPN.com:
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I’m not entirely sure what to make of the whole Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. negotiations/non-negotiations thing. All I do know is that I have lost sleep over it, which is what a 3 a.m. Saturday conference call with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum will do.
Arum has insisted over and over that he was negotiating a deal with Mayweather adviser Al Haymon, with whom he has a horrific relationship, using HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg as an intermediary. Arum swears by it. He said it to me before the conference call. He said it on the conference call to the world media. He said it to me and others in separate interviews after the call.
Arum has a long history of playing fast and loose with the truth, which is nothing new to anyone who follows or covers boxing. But this would be an all-time whopper. If he is lying, it means he not only threw Greenburg under the bus, it means Arum was the bus driver.
Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s other adviser and the one who speaks for him publicly — Haymon fears the media more than Mayweather apparently fears Pacquiao — said no negotiations ever took place. Ellerbe put out a statement, the only official word we’ve heard from Team Mayweather during this whole childish saga. The statement read, “Here are the facts. Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis, and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”
I’ve known Ellerbe for a long time. As far as I can tell, he’s not the lying type, although he still owes me dinner.
But I don’t know who to believe in this case.
The fighter I’m talking about is George “Rush” St. Pierre… and if you’re just waking up, I suggest you make you’re way from beneath that rock and pay attention… because this guy is by far the most exciting and talented fighter in the world… PERIOD. 
Don’t believe me?… Check his stats! He’s done nothing but beat the best in his weight class, and manages to improve physically with each fight. He’s not fighting a drained De la Hoya, Ricky Hatton (who was never the same after Mayweather exposed his lack of defense), a mentally beaten Miguel Cotto who was still suffering from the effects of being MUGGED by Margarito’s stone-wrapped hands, and “the replacement” Josh Clottey. Instead, “Rush” has been in with Hall-of-Famers Matt Hughes (whom he forced to verbally scream “Tap!” from an arm bar) and BJ Penn (who was being dominated and expired from his corner stool), guys that you’ve probably heard of even if you don’t follow the game. He’s cleaned them all, and surprisingly he keeps improving. 
The catchphrase “greatest upset in the history of boxing” just doesn’t do Mike Tyson vs. James “Buster” Douglas justice. When you consider the unfortunate truth that Tyson was never the same again; the fact that a fighter whose reputation was built on intimidation & power could be countered by sheer heart & purpose was like David’s slingshot piercing through biblical air; almost seems like something from script text rather than from history logs. What was once considered inconceivable crept into reality amidst a lightening right-hand, a defenseless expression, and a reckless scramble for a dislodged mouthpiece. The youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history; younger than Muhammad, crowned king sooner even than the ‘Brown Bomber’; cemented his Hall of Fame career before he ever set foot onto Japanese soil. Regardless of the outcome, history shines favorably on Mike’s troubled career, and although he didn’t officially lay down his weapons of choice until some 15 years later, (in a loss to a fighter who in the “true” Tyson era would’ve been put away faster than drinks at club Pure in Caesars Palace) he’s still admired as perhaps the last, truly dominant American Heavyweight.
