Who besides me is sick to death about the entire Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao saga? This story has been a roller-coaster ride for quite some time now. Floyd Mayweather has been beat up in the media and by the loyal fans of Manny Pacquiao, being accused of ducking, dodging, and of being afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao. This writer has been defending Floyd when it comes to being afraid of Manny Pacquiao. Floyd Mayweather Jr is not afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao. I know some of you die hard Pacmaniacs refuse to believe that, but it’s true folks. Floyd is not afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao.
So why has this fight not happened yet? Well it’s not because the Mayweather’s think Manny is juicing. It’s not because Floyd is afraid of losing, and it’s not because Pacquiao is afraid of Floyd. As long as Bob Arum can feed Pacquiao Top Rank opponents he will continue to do so. Just look at the list of Manny’s opponents. The proof is in the pudding.
Adding to the list of Top Rank force feeds is Tim Bradley. Top Rank signed Bradley to a promotional contract a few weeks ago. Guess who will be fighting Manny Pacquiao next? You guessed it, Tim Bradley. If not Bradley, Arum will go after a 4th fight Vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. There won’t be any Mayweather/Pacquiao fight next that’s for sure.
Why won’t Arum make the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight? It’s simple. Arum isn’t ready to cash out Manny Pacquiao yet. Pacquiao is the cash cow and Arum is doing the milking. Why risk matching Pacquiao up with Mayweather when you can maximize your earnings by feeding him Top Rank guys first? Arum has full control of the revenue as long as Manny fights Top Rank opponents.
Arum ran out of guys to feed to Manny so what does he do? He goes out and signs Timothy Bradley. Now there are reports coming out of the Mayweather camp that they have reached out to Arum in an effort to negotiate and were shunned and shot down in flames. Of course Arum doesn’t want Floyd Vs Manny. Floyd brings bargaining power to the table. He’s not restricted by any promotional company and he doesn’t have to share half of his money with anyone.
Can’t blame the fighters in this nightmare folks. Floyd’s team just reached out in an effort to make the fight happen, and they had the door slammed on their face. Pacquiao is locked into contractual contracts with Top Rank, and pretty much has to fight whoever Arum tells him to fight. It won’t be Floyd Mayweather and you can take that to the bank.
