I recently spoke with Top Rank head Bob Arum and got an update on the possibility of a Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao fight. This has been an ongoing saga for quite some time now, to the point where many of the fans don’t even care if the fight happens or not. The fact is, if this fight does eventually get made, both fighters will no longer be at their primes. In an interview that I did with ESPN’s Joe Tessitore, he said it best, “The fight will probably happen, but not until both guys are old and past their primes. We will get a watered down version of a fight that should have taken place long ago.” I agree with Joe on this one.
The can has been kicked down the road for miles. Both sides have come up with reasons for the fight not to happen. Arum told me late last week, “I don’t see how we can get this fight done with Floyd being in Jail, he wouldn’t have the time in order to prepare for a fight Vs. Manny this year.” This is actually a true statement, because Pacquiao has a November date for his next fight. I don’t see the fight happening in 2012 because Floyd is not scheduled to be released until sometime in September. There’s no telling what sort of shape he will be in if he’s truly locked in a cell for 23 hours a day with only an hour a day out of his cell. I asked Arum how he felt about the big fight happening in 2012, to which he replied, “I feel great about it.”
Read more and listen to Bob Arum HERE
Pacquiao recently made it clear to Arum that he in fact does want Mayweather before it’s all said and done. As far as who Manny will fight next, it looks like Juan Manuel Marquez is the front runner. This to me is actually a risky opponent for Pacquiao to face. JMM has already given Pacquiao trouble in each of their previous fights. Some say Marquez won a few of them. With Pacquiao getting robbed Vs. Bradley, and if he loses the next fight Vs. Marquez, that takes a lot of the steam away from a Mayweather fight.
Mayweather and Pacquiao still are the top dogs in the sport, but not too far behind them on the horizon the next stars are emerging. Canelo Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Erislandy Lara, Adrien Broner, Gary Russell Jr, just to name a few. These are all new, young, strong, and fast up and coming stars that will soon all be overtaking Mayweather and Pacquiao both.
Hopefully the boxing God’s will bless the fans and bring us the big fight, Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao. Hopefully the fight if it happens, will still have some merit.
