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Will this fight ever take place?
By Tim Daniels (Featured Columnist) on September 18, 2011
Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao.
Even though it's the fight everybody in the boxing world wants to see, it's been held back by contract negotiation issues and verbal jarring in the media, leading the world to wonder, will this fight ever happen? The answer is yes.
Both men are in their 30s and have other interests they have been attending to in recent years. However, they will not be able to stay away from the massive (guaranteed) payday available to them if they finally agree to fight each other.
Inside of Cowboys Stadium, which would likely sell out to see these two giants of the sport collide, it would be a bout that could set records. The hype would be unmatched and the fight would probably live up to just about all of it.
You can point the finger at either camp for not getting a deal done, but at the end of the day they are both to blame. The fight is too important to boxing for it never to materialize.
Mayweather was guaranteed $25 million to face Victor Ortiz, who was not widely known outside of the diehard boxing fans. If he would agree to a fight with Pacquiao, it's impossible to tell how much money he could rake in for one night.
Pretty Boy needs the match more than Pacquiao. True or not, the perception is that Mayweather has been ducking Pac-Man by trying to force him into a blood test close to the fight. It's been one of the biggest sticking points in negotiations.
It would be a shame for Mayweather to finish his career undefeated with having a Pacquiao fight that never happened hanging over his head. While the Filipino would probably be favored in the bout, Mayweather has a good enough defensive style to hang with him.
As for Pacquiao, he doesn't escape the situation with clean hands if the fight never occurs, either. If he really wanted to face loudmouth from Michigan, he would accept any of Mayweather's time-wasting ploys and force him to man-up or back-down.
The posturing from both sides will have to end eventually. The money on the table is eye-popping and both guys could use another gigantic payday before moving on in life. It will take weeks of painstaking negotiations, but it will get done. It has to.
For the betterment of the sport and both men's legacies, the fight must happen. Hopefully in 2012.
Pacquiao vs Mayweather: Will Pretty Boy and Pac-Man Ever Meet in Ring? | Bleacher Report
By Tim Daniels (Featured Columnist) on September 18, 2011
Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao.
Even though it's the fight everybody in the boxing world wants to see, it's been held back by contract negotiation issues and verbal jarring in the media, leading the world to wonder, will this fight ever happen? The answer is yes.
Both men are in their 30s and have other interests they have been attending to in recent years. However, they will not be able to stay away from the massive (guaranteed) payday available to them if they finally agree to fight each other.
Inside of Cowboys Stadium, which would likely sell out to see these two giants of the sport collide, it would be a bout that could set records. The hype would be unmatched and the fight would probably live up to just about all of it.
You can point the finger at either camp for not getting a deal done, but at the end of the day they are both to blame. The fight is too important to boxing for it never to materialize.
Mayweather was guaranteed $25 million to face Victor Ortiz, who was not widely known outside of the diehard boxing fans. If he would agree to a fight with Pacquiao, it's impossible to tell how much money he could rake in for one night.
Pretty Boy needs the match more than Pacquiao. True or not, the perception is that Mayweather has been ducking Pac-Man by trying to force him into a blood test close to the fight. It's been one of the biggest sticking points in negotiations.
It would be a shame for Mayweather to finish his career undefeated with having a Pacquiao fight that never happened hanging over his head. While the Filipino would probably be favored in the bout, Mayweather has a good enough defensive style to hang with him.
As for Pacquiao, he doesn't escape the situation with clean hands if the fight never occurs, either. If he really wanted to face loudmouth from Michigan, he would accept any of Mayweather's time-wasting ploys and force him to man-up or back-down.
The posturing from both sides will have to end eventually. The money on the table is eye-popping and both guys could use another gigantic payday before moving on in life. It will take weeks of painstaking negotiations, but it will get done. It has to.
For the betterment of the sport and both men's legacies, the fight must happen. Hopefully in 2012.
Pacquiao vs Mayweather: Will Pretty Boy and Pac-Man Ever Meet in Ring? | Bleacher Report
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