It finally looks like the ‘super-fight’ that has evaded us for so long will become reality in 2012. Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Jr are said to be close to setting a date for the bout that so many have wanted to see for some time. A potential purse of in excess of £25m for each fighter is being dealt with by the two fighter’s promoters in an attempt to seal the deal. It comes following Mayweather called Pacquaio out publicly on twitter in the week insisting the Philippine needs to, “give the world what the want to see” referring to a potential date of May 5th, where Mayweather is booked to fight at the MGM grand.
"They can put somebody else up here to give me an interview. HBO need to fire you. You don't know s*** about boxing. You ain't s***."
This lead to the 80-year-old Merchant claiming that he wished he was 50 years younger so that he could kick Mayweather’s ass. Much of the man they call ‘pretty boy’s publicity is negative and although his talent is undoubted, the way he carries himself is a far cry from that of his counterpart of the Philippines. ‘The Pac Man’ is hailed as a saint-like figure in his homeland and his mannerisms out of the ring coupled with his electric speed in the ring makes him an extremely marketable fighter.
Once more, the problem lies with Mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The American has had a 90-day jail sentence, for beating up his ex-girlfriend and threatening her two children, suspended until the 1st of June; meaning he wants the fight to happen at the start of May. However, the new, bigger arena isn’t due to be opened until later on that month.
Using his twitter account, Mayweather has challenged Pacquaio to,
"Step up Punk,
"Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5 and give the world what they want to see."
The tug of war continues as both fighters want to hold onto their own dates, but with Pacquaio’s preferred later date offering a significant increase in purse, the power is in his hands. Hopefully, Golden Boy Productions can come to an agreement with Top Rank to ensure the fight goes ahead.
In the upshot of his last fight, Mayweather claimed,
"I don't need Pacquiao. Where was Pacquiao in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 when I was dominating the game?
"He never asked me (for a fight) when I was in my twenties or when I was in my teens."
The undefeated American may have a case. He might not need the fight (although he’d be an idiot to turn down the money and the opportunity to give boxing fans the fight everyone wants), but the boxing world does. Between them, they’ve won 13 titles, Pacquaio in a staggering 8 different weight divisions and Mayweather in 5. Following the embarrassment of the Amir Khan – Lamont Peterson fight, boxing needs to pull itself out of the doldrums. It could be the fight that propels the sport to its great heights once more, so let’s hope that this time it actually goes ahead.
Predictably, there is a conflict of interest, with Pacquaio’s financial adviser Michael Koncz wanting to stage the fight at the 45,000-seater arena in Las Vegas; which is set for completion in late May. With the MGM grand only able to host a 17,000 capacity, Koncz has said that it would be crazy for him to tell Pacquaio to fight on the 5th of May and throw away a percentage of an additional $30m.
This is the only obstacle in the way of the fight that would be a titanic clash of the two best ‘pound for pound’ boxers in the world. Unfortunately, talks have broken down in the past when the fighters have been this close to getting into the ring. Most notably, Pacquaio’s team were resolute that the fight will go ahead back in December 2009 with Michael Koncz stating,
"We all believe that it will be done,
"The requests of Manny were so realistic that Arum doesn't feel it's a problem and it's pretty much a done deal."
Scandalously, talks broke down later that month when Mayweather’s camp demanded random blood tests up to 30 days prior to the fight to be written into the contract. Pacquaio reacted angrily to the demands, filing a lawsuit against Mayweather and his promoters, Golden Boy Promotions, for bringing his reputation into question. Pacquaio’s trainer, Freddy Roach, declared that is was a ploy to get himself out of the fight,
"When Manny gives blood it takes him three or four days to recover from it. I am not going to have my fighter going into a fight feeling weak and not sure of himself.
"Mayweather is scared, and he's just afraid that he's going to get his ass kicked."
Mayweather claimed,
"I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken, because frankly I don't know anyone who really does,
"But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level."
It was another opportunity missed and the fight, which was scheduled for March 2010, never went ahead. In the time between that break down and the current talks, Mayweather claimed the WBC Welterweight title in a controversial fight with Victor Ortiz in September last year. Mayweather’s questionable knockout (pictured above) came at the end of the fourth when the Mexican-American seemed to be apologising for a head-butt. Meanwhile Manny Pacquaio retained his WBO Welterweight title in November by the narrowest of margins on points against Juan Manuel Marquez with one judge even scoring the bout 114-114. Many thought the Mexican deserved the verdict and the Philippine was gracious as ever in victory, stating that Marquez deserved a rematch.
The aftermath of Mayweather’s defeat by knock-out of Ortiz was typically divisive, with the Michigan-born fighter laying into HBO’s boxing analyst Larry Merchant in the post-fight interview. Trying to discuss the debated knockout punch, Mayweather’s response on live television caused quite a stir,
"You never give me a fair shake. So I'm gonna let you talk to Victor Ortiz, alright? I'm through.
This is the only obstacle in the way of the fight that would be a titanic clash of the two best ‘pound for pound’ boxers in the world. Unfortunately, talks have broken down in the past when the fighters have been this close to getting into the ring. Most notably, Pacquaio’s team were resolute that the fight will go ahead back in December 2009 with Michael Koncz stating,"We all believe that it will be done,
"The requests of Manny were so realistic that Arum doesn't feel it's a problem and it's pretty much a done deal."
Scandalously, talks broke down later that month when Mayweather’s camp demanded random blood tests up to 30 days prior to the fight to be written into the contract. Pacquaio reacted angrily to the demands, filing a lawsuit against Mayweather and his promoters, Golden Boy Promotions, for bringing his reputation into question. Pacquaio’s trainer, Freddy Roach, declared that is was a ploy to get himself out of the fight,
"When Manny gives blood it takes him three or four days to recover from it. I am not going to have my fighter going into a fight feeling weak and not sure of himself.
"Mayweather is scared, and he's just afraid that he's going to get his ass kicked."
Mayweather claimed,
"I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken, because frankly I don't know anyone who really does,
"But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level."
It was another opportunity missed and the fight, which was scheduled for March 2010, never went ahead. In the time between that break down and the current talks, Mayweather claimed the WBC Welterweight title in a controversial fight with Victor Ortiz in September last year. Mayweather’s questionable knockout (pictured above) came at the end of the fourth when the Mexican-American seemed to be apologising for a head-butt. Meanwhile Manny Pacquaio retained his WBO Welterweight title in November by the narrowest of margins on points against Juan Manuel Marquez with one judge even scoring the bout 114-114. Many thought the Mexican deserved the verdict and the Philippine was gracious as ever in victory, stating that Marquez deserved a rematch.The aftermath of Mayweather’s defeat by knock-out of Ortiz was typically divisive, with the Michigan-born fighter laying into HBO’s boxing analyst Larry Merchant in the post-fight interview. Trying to discuss the debated knockout punch, Mayweather’s response on live television caused quite a stir,
"You never give me a fair shake. So I'm gonna let you talk to Victor Ortiz, alright? I'm through.
"They can put somebody else up here to give me an interview. HBO need to fire you. You don't know s*** about boxing. You ain't s***."
This lead to the 80-year-old Merchant claiming that he wished he was 50 years younger so that he could kick Mayweather’s ass. Much of the man they call ‘pretty boy’s publicity is negative and although his talent is undoubted, the way he carries himself is a far cry from that of his counterpart of the Philippines. ‘The Pac Man’ is hailed as a saint-like figure in his homeland and his mannerisms out of the ring coupled with his electric speed in the ring makes him an extremely marketable fighter.
Once more, the problem lies with Mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The American has had a 90-day jail sentence, for beating up his ex-girlfriend and threatening her two children, suspended until the 1st of June; meaning he wants the fight to happen at the start of May. However, the new, bigger arena isn’t due to be opened until later on that month.
Using his twitter account, Mayweather has challenged Pacquaio to,
"Step up Punk,
"Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5 and give the world what they want to see."
The tug of war continues as both fighters want to hold onto their own dates, but with Pacquaio’s preferred later date offering a significant increase in purse, the power is in his hands. Hopefully, Golden Boy Productions can come to an agreement with Top Rank to ensure the fight goes ahead.
In the upshot of his last fight, Mayweather claimed,
"I don't need Pacquiao. Where was Pacquiao in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 when I was dominating the game?
"He never asked me (for a fight) when I was in my twenties or when I was in my teens."
The undefeated American may have a case. He might not need the fight (although he’d be an idiot to turn down the money and the opportunity to give boxing fans the fight everyone wants), but the boxing world does. Between them, they’ve won 13 titles, Pacquaio in a staggering 8 different weight divisions and Mayweather in 5. Following the embarrassment of the Amir Khan – Lamont Peterson fight, boxing needs to pull itself out of the doldrums. It could be the fight that propels the sport to its great heights once more, so let’s hope that this time it actually goes ahead.
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