MANILA, Philippines – No doubt about it, if ever Manny Pacquiao faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the ring, the fight will set a new record for pay-per-view buys and earn for both protagonists their richest payday.
With little excitement being generated in the heavier divisions, fans are finding the fireworks in the highly-competitive welterweight class the main reason why boxing is still an attraction in the stadium, on TV and in closed-circuit theaters.
It is inevitable that Pacquiao and Mayweather will cross paths. Pretty Boy was the world?s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter before he took a self-imposed leave of absence for nearly two years. With Mayweather out of action, Pacquiao took over the throne and isn?t about to give it up.
When Mayweather returned to the ring, he used a lame excuse to avoid an engagement with Pacquiao. He called for Olympic-style random drug testing, which isn?t required by state athletic commissions, and accused Pacquiao of taking performance-enhancing drugs to preserve his speed and power moving from one weight category to another. Pacquiao sued Mayweather in court for the defamation and it looks like he?s got Pretty Boy hemmed in.
How ironic that with the Mayweather family?s history of drugs, Pretty Boy is now playing Mr. Righteous. The suspicion is Mayweather used the drug bogey to camouflage his unwillingness to risk staining his unblemished record in a fight against Pacquiao. His 42-0 record is Mayweather?s only claim to superhuman status and a loss will turn him into a mere mortal. Surely, the probability of losing to Pacquiao was a daunting notion.
Then came Pacquiao?s third fight against Juan Manuel Marquez last month. Pacquiao failed to drop Marquez like he did in their first two encounters but still did enough to squeeze out a majority 12-round decision. The computer punch stats clearly showed Pacquiao had the edge in workrate and connections. Still, it was a close contest ? something that Mayweather might view as a sign of Pacquiao slowing down, a cue to sign up for a showdown.
