MANILA, Philippines – Nobody turns his back on $40 million. Not Floyd ?Money? Mayweather Jr.
?He?s bluffing. It?s a bluff. It?s a poker match,? said Rex ?Wakee? Salud, a close associate of Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, on reports that Mayweather now wants out of boxing ?for a year or two.?
Mayweather came off a 21-month retirement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez last year and Shane Mosley last month. As expected, he won both matches, handily, and raised his unbeaten fight record to 41-0.
Salud said those fights against Marquez and Mosley were tuneup matches for Mayweather as he prepares for the fight of the century, a fight with Pacquiao, the reigning pound-for-pound champion.
?There?s only one reason why Mayweather returned to boxing ? to fight Manny Pacquiao. He knows that?s where he?ll make the most money, not by fighting Marquez or Mosley. It?s Pacquiao,? said Salud.
Therefore, the bubbly matchmaker from Cebu, said he couldn?t believe his eyes when he read reports that Mayweather wants out the sport.
?That?s incredible,? said Salud, who must have loved the 1980s television show ?That?s Incredible,? that showcased some of the most incredible, amazing and unbelievable feats ever recorded.
He said Mayweather has nowhere to go but up the ring with Pacquiao for a fight that could earn him around $40 million, and help him settle all his reported obligations.
Salud said the same thing of Pacquiao, that the 31-year-old Filipino has nowhere else to go but Las Vegas on November for the superfight with Mayweather, and not against Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto or Marquez.
?It?s only Mayweather out there left for Pacquiao. Yes, there?s Margarito, Cotto or Marquez, but it?s not the fight the people would want to see. It?s the fight against Mayweather,? added Salud.
Pacquiao, his adviser from Cebu added, may end up giving in to Mayweather?s demands ? random blood-testing all the way to the fight or that he climbs the ring first or that Mayweather?s name comes ahead in the official billing.
But never, ever should Pacquiao agree to a 60-40 split favoring Mayweather.
?That will be an insult to Manny. He can agree to all the demands, but not to one that would give Mayweather the bigger purse. Fifty-fifty should be the ideal split. But never 60-40 for Floyd,? said Salud.
And if Mayweather insists?
?That?s when you pull the plug on this fight,? was the answer.
