AS far as I am concerned this Spring should be the expiration date for a Floyd Mayweather Vs Manny Pacquiao match. After that it should be taken off the shelf.
The mega fight of our era has been delayed so long that I have come to the following conclusions: Pacquiao would like to box Mayweather, but is not demanding it. Floyd does not want to fight Pacquiao but would be willing to. Top Rank Inc boss Bob Arum (Pacquiao’s promoter) and Golden Boy Promotions’ Richard Schaefer (Mayweather’s man) would try to make the match if they absolutely had to, but would be quite happy to stretch the process out. Although they have made a peace pact and have agreed to do co-promotions, it is much better for their bottom line if they did not have to share in the profits.
Some think that HBO should swoop in and demand that Pac Man and Money Man get it on. However, this is one of those rare cases where the giant cable outfit has no juice. They are treading quite carefully after Arum took Pacquiao’s wares to Showtime in his last fight (Shane Mosley). Pacquiao’s is back on HBO PPV for November’s fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, but the warning shot was fired. What Manny wants Manny gets. HBO can feel free to make suggestions, but not demands.
At least Pacquiao is fighting regularly if you want to call two fights a year that. The unpredictable Mayweather tends to disappear and not resurface until his cash portfolio needs a fresh infusion.
All this becomes irrelevant if either slips up in his next fight, Mayweather against Victor Ortiz and Pacquiao versus Marquez. Some consider these opponents as live underdogs, but I don’t no matter how well the promotions are being marketed. Ortiz can whack. It is conceivable that he could have a highlight moment and put Mayweather on the floor, but seeing the dollar signs slip away would motivate “Money” to get up and outbox “Vicious Victor” quite handily. Mayweather lopsidedly on points is the call here.
