Remember when Manny Pacquiao said he didn’t need a 50-50 split to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.? I sure didn’t. After all, with the constant PR spinning and endless flow of untruths coming from the top two pound-for-pound boxers in the world on a regular basis – how can anyone keep track of all the BS?
Fortunately for us, our Opposing Views readers are around to pick up the slack.
This morning we published an article in which we essentially laid all of the blame for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather not coming together this latest time around at the latter fighter’s doorstep. We cited Mayweather's inflexibility as it applies to a purse split as the main reason why he’s culpable, and we justified our stance by noting that Pacquiao is just as big a name in boxing as Mayweather is.
What we happened to forget right up until a savvy commenter reminded us was that Pacquiao, back in December, offered a pretty huge sacrifice. Right around that time, supposedly in an effort to legitimately put together the only fight fans have wanted to see for two years now, Pacquiao said he was willing to give his undefeated arch rival the lion’s share of the purse.
Here’s a little refresher of what we wrote on December 18, 2011:
While speaking to reporters from his home in General Santos City, Pacquiao made it clear that fighting the undefeated Mayweather was in fact important to him. That, regardless of whether or not Mayweather really wants to fight him, he’d make sure that his American rival would be left with no excuses this time around.
As per Nick Giongco of the Manila Bulletin:
Pacquiao is willing to take the smaller piece of the pie as long as the dream fight takes place.
“Walang problema kahit pa mas maliit ang premyo ko,” said Pacquiao, who turned 33 on Saturday. “Ang importante ay matuloy lang ang laban.”
Pacquiao’s pronouncement that he is giving Mayweather the lion’s share of the pot only puts credence that he is moving heaven and earth to make it happen.
The subject of random blood testing is apparently a non-issue now since Arum had mentioned many times in the past month or so that Pacquiao has agreed to Mayweather’s demands
This latest gesture by the Filipino champion is absolutely huge. It goes a long ways in proving that he isn’t concerned with wasting his time on inconsequential, meaningless bouts that won’t do anything for his legacy anymore. Rather, Pacquiao’s sole focus has been shifted to giving the public what they’ve longed for since 2009 – a match between the two biggest and brightest stars the sport has to offer.
Pacquiao has officially done his part.
Maybe we have been a little hard on Mayweather.
Pacquiao clearly promised to give Mayweather a bigger share of the purse for the sake of making this fight happen. The undefeated Mayweather is now simply collecting on that promise. Good for him.
Look, there is no denying that Pacquiao and Mayweather should split everything down the middle for this fight. They’re the two top figures in boxing, they bring equal name recognition, and both have some very loyal fan bases. But despite all that, Pacquiao clearly promised to give Mayweather a bigger share.
So why is Mayweather demanding what Pacquiao promised him back in December a big deal all of a sudden?
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Pacquiao did say he's okay to get the smaller piece of the pie and that is the guaranteed purse because he has his own promoter to give him the guaranteed purse but he did not say that he's also willing to get the smaller purse for the FIGHT PURSE which includes the PPV, live gates, endorsements, etc.
Had Floyd offered 55-45, perhaps Manny would have accepted. But 60-40, 70-30, or flat 40 without ppv share is downright insulting! Who is Mayweather? A sucker-puncher, convicted felon, woman beater, ranter, deceiver, accuser, etc... Well, what do you expect, Floyd is there for himself, he doesn't respect anyone, even his own father.
FYI manny, did not promise to give floyd bigger purse, "Walang problema kahit pa mas maliit ang premyo ko,” said Pacquiao, who turned 33 on Saturday. “Ang importante ay matuloy lang ang laban". And this goes to prove that manny is not greedy, it just that
maybe manny took the advice of his financial advisors, coz we all know
manny is the biggest draw in boxing now, every boxing commentator, analysis knows that, so 50/50 is just fair, as what Teddy Atlas said :), remind me of Boxing Analysis Teddy Atlas, is he the biggest fan of Floyd Mayweather?!