Floyd Mayweather Jr. seems to have given up on the idea of perhaps facing off against his arch rival, Manny Pacquiao, at some point this fall.
The much-discussed showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao has been the subject of boxing analysis consistently over the last three years. Ever since Mayweather returned from his self-imposed 21-month sabbatical (in 2009) claiming that he wanted to prove that he was the sport’s biggest star, the prospect of him and Pacquiao agreeing to a bout has had fans salivating.
Unfortunately, between red herring performance-enhancing drug (PED) battles and equally ludicrous arguments about potential purse splits, all of the talk we’ve heard up to this point has just led to more of the same – talk.
During a recent interview with Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Mayweather acknowledged that he didn’t foresee taking on Pacquiao after his bout versus Miguel Cotto this May.
"No, I don't think it's going to happen," Mayweather said. "It's because of [Pacquiao promoter] Bob Arum. It's not my fault."
Of course it’s not Mayweather’s fault.
Back at the beginning of 2012, things actually looked relatively sunny in terms of getting this match put together. The only stumbling block that anyone could see was how the financial breakdown would turn out. But seeing as Pacquiao had once agreed to give his counterpart the lion’s share of the purse if this fight ever happened, even that seemed like it wouldn’t be a huge hurdle.
Of course, it did end up being a huge hurdle.
Pacquiao demanded a 50-50 split. Mayweather refused to give him anything more than $40 million guaranteed. And then negotiations broke up for good. There were murmurs over the last few months that these two would come to their senses and agree to an end-of-the-year fight but, apparently, that’s now off the table too.
So where do we stand now? Basically, best case scenario, we’ll get a Mayweather versus Pacquiao showdown in 2013 when Mayweather is 36 and Pacquiao is 34. Seeing as both guys rely heavily on speed in their matches and speed is the first thing to go, they’re both essentially aging in dog years right before our very eyes.
At what point does the public simply stop demanding that this fight happen?
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Mayweather fights for money and not for legacy.
There Can Be Only One.
Was this article posted 2 months ago? Of course is not Mayweather's fault. Someone who refuses does not make it a fault. Strange way to promote his future fights. Let's just wait and see the fights sales and revenue.
There Can Be Only One.