While Pacquiao is under contract to HBO, Arum said the network will not be involved in producing and distributing the pay-per-view event, though he did not say which broadcaster would.
Arum and HBO have been knocking heads over the date. HBO is already contracted to put on the Nov. 19 pay-per-view showdown between unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward and does not want to put on two pay-per-view events in the same month. Arum, however, is insistent on Nov. 5 to accommodate Pacquiao's senate responsibilities and training schedule and because he wants the fight in Las Vegas and has an arena lined up.
Arum told ESPN.com that if HBO passed on doing the Pacquiao fight on pay-per-view, it would make Pacquiao a free agent, which would be difficult for HBO to allow. In spite of Pacquiao's falling pay-per-view numbers, there is still a possibility of a gargantuan fight next year -- a rematch with Mayweather. The network surely would not want to cede its share of the potential windfall entirely to rival Showtime/CBS, Mayweather's broadcast partner, with whom it put on a joint pay-per-view when they met last year. An HBO spokesman had no comment.
Pacquiao confirms fight vs. Vargas on Nov. 5