Quiet progress in Pacquiao-Mayweather talks?

If the fight the world wants to see - Manny Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather Jr. - is going to be made, the deal must get done quietly without a lot of posturing in the media. HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg seems determined to make that happen.

But since he has asked the principals, promoters Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer, to remain quiet, Greenburg is reluctant to go into any detail about the status of negotiations for a bout that likely would take place on Nov. 13, the date reserved for Pacquiao's next fight.

"I can't talk about it," Greenburg told Newsday. "I'm right in the middle of shutting everyone down. We have to do it quietly. This cannot get into the papers. If it gets in the papers, all of a sudden, it takes on a life of its own like it did in December and January, and it becomes very difficult to make the fight. We all kind of shook hands and said, 'Let's keep quiet and do it out of the press and get it done.'

"We're going to try to make it happen. That's all I can say."

Arum recently suggested that serious negotiations needed to take place this month because Pacquiao must fulfill his new duties in the Philippines senate in July. Pacquiao was expected in New York to attend a roast for Arum Thursday night, and he will be at the Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. So, his presence might signal a start to negotiations.

Last time around, the dealbreaker was Mayweather's insistence on random blood testing for performance-enhancing drugs before and after the fight. The Mayweather camp has suggested Pacquiao has used chemical help to carry his power up in weight. Pacquiao has denied the charge and is unwilling to undergo testing that is not required by any state commission.

According to a report from Yahoo.com, Mayweather's last blood test before his May 1 win over Shane Mosley was administered 17 days before the bout. Mosley's last pre-fight blood test came 18 days ahead. Both gave blood for the fourth time immediately after the fight. Pacquiao has said he's willing to have blood drawn up to 14 days ahead of fight time, which suggests an accommodation could be made. But officials of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which was hired to administer the tests have said "random" means it could be done up to the morning of the fight.

Asked if the precedent-setting gap in blood testing before the Mayweather-Mosley fight might help facilitate a deal for Mayweather-Pacquiao, Greenburg just shrugged and said, "That's what I've read. I really don't want to comment."

Because of his vow of silence, Greenburg seems more confident of finding a way to resolve the differences between the two camps this time around. If anything, Mayweather's lopsided win over Mosley and Pacquiao's equally one-sided victory over Joshua Clottey only have added value to what promises to be the richest fight in boxing history.

As Greenburg might suggest to the fighters, they likely have upward of $100 million reasons to reach an agreement.