Dating back to last December, Team Mayweather and Team Pacquiao have gone back and forth.
The days have changed, the weather has changed, and the times have changed, but one thing remains the same. That one thing is the fact that these two sides have continued to fail at coming up with a plan solid enough to solidify a fight the entire world is waiting to see.
Initially when the two sides met to put the fight together, Floyd Mayweather jr. was coming off of a stellar performance against Juan Manuel Marquez which positioned him well at the negotiating table, only to see Pacquiao absolutely annihilate a bigger Miguel Cotto in a fashion no one could forecast prior to.
That victory for Pacquiao gave him the clear path to call all major shots at the negotiating table, resulting in a package which included a $10M overweight clause, 8oz Reyes gloves, 50% purse split, as well as a sizable chunk of the PPV and gate money generated.
Team Mayweather, realizing their position was not as firm, agreed to each of the stipulations without fail, but the one stipulation that they requested in return turned out to be the one thing Team Pacquiao was not willing to do, which was allow randomized blood/urine testing.
As things began to fall apart, a last minute attempt at a compromise by Team Mayweather put in motion a 14-day proposition, allowing all randomized testing to halt exactly two weeks prior to the big showdown.
That attempt also failed, and the rest was history.
Fast-forward a few months and the two sides have reconvened, again, only this time, the plot has thickened.
When negotiations initially broke down between the two camps, both teams had an open table of host to entertain as replacements opponents. Team Pacquiao, lead by Arum and company, chose Joshua Clottey. Team Mayweather decided on Shane Mosley who – despite his time off – entered the ring on a great high after dispatching Mexican Antonio Margarito.
Both men were victorious, but Mayweather faced the more dangerous opponent, evident in the big PPV #’s and the mass-appeal received after making a tough fight seem easy over the last 10 rounds.
Team Pacquiao had the most coveted position any fighter could want leading up to a mega showdown. The apparent mismanagement on behalf of his promoter and respective team to pursue Clottey rather than Mosley who had asked to face him months earlier, only to be told he was “too good” by Freddie Roach, is what most would view as the seminal moment which ultimately shifted the balance of power…..a watershed moment that can never be undone.
What’s even more bizarre is that not only was Pacquiao/Mosley the better fight stylistically, but Pacquiao’s speed and power would have given him a considerable edge, particularly late in the fight.
Now that this damage is done, fight fans will continue to debate the question of “who truly owns the balance of power” at the table, but a recent concession of the 14day proposition by Team Pacquiao answers this question, as Pacquiao’s handler’s have agreed to concede a point now that was not even a remote option before.
Too bad for fight fans this concession came so late. Had this approach taken place in January, we’d now know who the better man is.
When Team Pacquiao was at the helm, Team Mayweather openly conceded the quite abnormal $10M overweight penalty fee, among other things. Now that the balance of power has appeared to shift and Team Mayweather has exercised their option to call the shots by removing that 14-day proposition, it’ll be interesting to see if Team Pacquiao humbles themselves like Floyd had to…..after all, Team Mayweather is only doing now what Team Pacquiao had the opportunity and apparently lost the opportunity to do before.
Whether we ever see this fight or not remains a question, but one thing for certain….a bad decision by Team Pacquiao has led to a seat at the ‘table’.
Stay tuned.
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at [email protected], Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747), Facebook and Myspace).
