One zero somehow means more to the man nicknamed “Money” than seven zeroes.
That’s the only plausible explanation for why, at least for now, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao won’t fight March 13 in Las Vegas. There is still some time, of course, for Mayweather to come to his senses and avoid sabotaging boxing’s biggest fight by budging off his unprecedented insistence on Olympic-style drug testing.
If Mayweather doesn’t accept Pacquiao’s offer of submitting to unlimited random urinalysis and three blood tests, two before and one after what could become the biggest bout in boxing history, we’ll be forced to presume Mayweather determined sometime during these once-smooth negotiations that he really doesn’t want to fight Pacquiao.
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter and Mayweather’s promoter-turned-adversary, said Thursday that he suspected all along that Mayweather wouldn’t fight Pacquiao. But before this blood-testing nonsense emerged two weeks ago, Mayweather seemed more than ready to settle this pound-for-pound debate in the ring.
Mayweather’s almost immediate acceptance of a 50-50 purse split surprised everyone involved in the negotiations. It indicated Mayweather, a master matchmaker above all else, didn’t view Pacquiao as a threat to his unblemished record despite Pacquiao’s recent dominance, and that he understood he’d have to accept about a third of what he would earn for facing Pacquiao if he fought someone else.
Whatever his reasons, Mayweather appeared prepared to silence an ever-expanding legion of critics who’ve lambasted him for avoiding the best welterweights in boxing since he moved up from 140 pounds in 2006.
Maybe Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) just doesn’t want to fight Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) in two months. Or maybe, as unfathomable as walking away from a possible $40 million payday might seem, Mayweather won’t ever want to fight the Filipino superstar.
One thing we do know is that if they don’t fight March 13, or even March 20, we must blame Mayweather.
He is the one requesting something extremely out of the ordinary of an opponent who has never tested positive for anything. And don’t discount that Mayweather might’ve made this demand knowing Pacquiao would decline, providing Mayweather with an escape clause.
Mayweather will sell that Pacquiao is to blame for the fight falling apart should they fail to salvage it over the next few days, which they’d need to do if organizers of this surefire pay-per-view extravaganza are to schedule a press conference for next week in New York and still leave Mayweather and Pacquiao the requisite two months to prepare.
Then Mayweather will try to sell a fight against former junior-welterweight champ Paulie Malignaggi, or another less-threatening opponent than Pacquiao, who might meet junior-middleweight champ Yuri Foreman on March 13 or March 20. Whatever Mayweather’s selling, we shouldn’t buy it.
There’s only one man to blame if Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn’t occur in two months. And it isn’t Manny Pacquiao.
ADAMEK’S MISSION: Tomasz Adamek’s heavyweight fight against Jason Estrada on Feb. 6 in Newark has taken on even more importance.
If the former cruiserweight champion defeats Estrada in his second fight at heavyweight, he’ll probably box Cristobal Arreola (28-1, 25 KOs) on April 24 in an HBO bout likely to take place in Arreola’s hometown of Riverside, Calif. If Kearny’s Adamek overcomes Arreola, too, he’d become a viable championship challenger for Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) or Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) later this year.
First, however, he’ll have to topple Estrada (16-2, 4 KOs, 1 NC), a 2004 Olympian from Providence, R.I., whose movement and skill could compensate for his lack of power and cause trouble for Adamek (39-1, 27 KOs).
The Adamek-Estrada encounter will headline a seven-bout card at Prudential Center. Tickets ($38-$253) to the card, promoted by Totowa-based Main Events, can be bought by calling 800-745-3000 or by visiting Prucenter.com.
UNREAL DEAL: Evander Holyfield’s heavyweight “title fight” against Francois Botha has been postponed from Jan. 16 to Feb. 20, so both boxers will have enough time to properly prepare for a 12-round bout set to take place in Kampala, Uganda.
Is there any way we could reschedule the fight for 1996, when it actually might’ve mattered?
Though Holyfield (42-10-2 27 KOs) clearly deserved a decision victory over then-WBA heavyweight title-holder Nikolai Valuev (50-2, 34 KOs, 1 NC) in December 2008, the 47-year-old four-time heavyweight champ should at least fight relevant heavyweights if he insists on continuing his Hall of Fame career.
Botha (47-4-3, 28 KOs, 1 NC) beat Germany’s Axel Schulz in December 1995 to win the then-vacant IBF title, but the 41-year-old South African tested positive for steroids after that bout and hasn’t had a noteworthy win since.
