UPDATED SUN. AM: TMZ Says Mayweather and Pacquiao “Came To An Agreement”

THURSDAY UPDATE: Thought it, The Fight,  was DOA, did ya? And you thought they wouldn’t make anymore “Friday the 13th” movies, lol. Floyd Mayweather met with Manny Pacquiao today, and took to Shots to tell us about it.

“I set up this meeting with Manny Pacquiao to get this fight done but they will continue to tell the public it’s us and that’s NOT TRUE.” He then put in a plug for Shots, and FightHype…

SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: You have been conditioned to expect the unpexpected, and this sport of ours being the theater of the unexpected, you show wisdom in your comprehension that anything can happen in boxing, and usually does. Some, maybe many of you, are hoping we get The News we’ve craved, that The Fight, #MoneyVsManny or #MannyVsMoney for my friends in the Sarangani Province region, announced during the Super Bowl this evening.

It kicks off after 6 PM ET, from a stadium in Arizona…so you Arizonans might want to be on the lookout for plane-jumpers who might parachute in during halftime with news that the fight is signed, sealed and will be delivered for May 2.

Or not…Maybe better not…

May I remind you that Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza told me on Saturday that, “There won’t be any announcements this weekend.”

Now, could things change on a damned dime. Right on, tampon…Absolutely…

But I’m guessing they won’t. So enjoy the Super Bowl, tip your waitress excessively, and check back often for updates on this ludicrous and wondrous and annoying and addictive situation we’re all monitoring.

Also, a note: Pacman advisor Michael Koncz told me late Saturday night that he thinks all parties involved in negotiations should better adhere to a loose lips sink ships mindset, and “spend less time giving information and stories in the media (whether factual or fictional) and devote our time, energies and efforts in coming to an amenable resolution of the outstanding issues if possible.”

So make of that what you will, friends.

Be well…

SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: You were thinking we were at that home stretch, you could see the finish line in the near horizon, that our long national nightmare, the years-long period of optimism dashed and resurrected ad neauseum, was over.

Sorry, sirs and madams.

The Fight, #MannyVsMoney, #MoneyVsManny, TBE vs. The Fighting Congressman, it isn’t a done deal, no matter what our friends at TMZ told us yesterday. Of course that could change in the blink of an eye, but for now, no done deal…

I checked in with Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza, onsite in Arizona for the Super Bowl, which makes sense as he oversees “Inside the NFL,” a Showtime property. I put it to the executive/attorney:

Is this thing of ours nearing the finish line? Can you see it without squinting?

“We continue to make progress,” Espinoza told me,  “but there are meaningful issues to resolve before an agreement is reached.”

Floyd himself offered an update on the Shots app: “Laying back, relaxing, enjoying good weather, palm trees and pina coladas. While they continue to lie about making the fight….I’m just going to continue to travel and explore the world on my private jet.”

That dropped around 3 PM ET, and to be honest, gave me pause, as the language betrayed a hostility that we hadn’t seen in, lol, a couple days. When he uses the “L” word, that conjures a spirit of enmity, potentially, which could push this train off the tracks. So…if you have been feeling this deal is imminent, maybe you and me should consider dialing “imminent” back a notch….

There ya have it. Continue to be like me, check Twitter with OCD regularity, and at some point, hopefully soon, maybe Monday, we will get the all clear…

Follow Floyd and Manny on Twitter, and me too https://twitter.com/Woodsy1069

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The Fight is on, or so said gossip site TMZ, early Friday evening, and word spread like lice at a grade school. Yep, the story of the fight that has been negotiated five separate times, and been built up and trashed and resurrected like the “Rocky” franchise, was ON, said TMZ: “Floyd Mayweather has agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao … multiple sources tell TMZ Sports … who say the two finally came to an agreement moments ago.”

They followed up a bit after that, with: ?

6:27 PM PT — A source involved in the negotiations tells TMZ Sports both fighters have agreed to fight and a date and location (Vegas) have already been set. The source says…everyone expects the signatures “soon.” Negotiators are putting “finishing touches” on the deal.

They say a lie can make it around the world three times before the truth gets its arse up off the coach, and that popped into mind when Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza took to Twitter to respond to a tweet I sent out.

?@StephenEspinoza

TMZ usually has good sources. This time, not so much. “?@Woodsy1069?: ?http://m.tmz.com/#Article/2015/01/30/floyd-mayweather-vs-manny-pacquiao-fight-boxing-deal-done-fight-set …?”

Yep, the done deal was no deal, said the Sho exec. He threw a bit more cold water on the bubbling cauldron of gossip?…misinformation?…guesstimate?…early leak?…by saying that the fight would not be announced Sunday, getting the rub off Super Bowl buzz, and further iterated, “There is no deal right now.”

Note the “right now.” The hustle and bustle had accelerated when Pacman promoter Bob Arum told the NY Post and George Willis late Friday afternoon, “Everybody is doing the right thing,” Arum told The Post. “We’re looking to complete the paperwork. Everything is moving in the right direction. Hopefully, the next couple of days it will get done.”

I reached out to Pacman advisor and deal facilitator Michael Koncz, apprised him off that comment, and heard him indicate that he wasn’t that optimistic as Arum.

The frenzy on Twitter reminded us of Tuesday night’s hubbub, when Pacman and “Money” chatted at the NBA Heat-Bucks game, and everyone went into lip-reading mode. This time, the TMZ tipoff set boxing heads into a tizzy…until word filtered out that the gun was jumped. Or was it? Did somebody look to maybe snag a little cashish for a story tip, and let the cat out of that bag? Or did TMZ just catch wind that the parties were getting thisclose to wrapping up all the deets, including important matters like foreign money and such, and figured they’d drop the news…which maybe wasn’t so on target at that moment, but would be by, say, Monday…in which case they could say, “We were first.”

Me, I think it’s safe to stop the Twitter monitoring and get back on the bus maybe Monday morning. As Espinoza told me, “There won’t be any announcements this weekend.”

It’s the new normal in media, friends, get used to it, get over it, get with it. And enjoy the football…

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