LAS VEGAS ? Millions called him a coward, and it didn?t have anything to do with his disgusting domestic violence record.
No matter whom Floyd Mayweather Jr. beat, no matter how impressively, it always came back to one lingering question. When are you going to fight Manny Pacquiao?
It came up before and after his fights, when he attended other fights, NBA games and the Super Bowl; when he frequented car dealerships and jewelry stores. Wherever Mayweather went, that?s what people wanted to know.
You?d think it would?ve haunted him to the point he?d have succumbed to public pressure long before now. But Mayweather made excuses and made more millions than he could count fighting everyone except Pacquiao.
Mayweather made the right decision, too.
As aggravating as it?s been for those of us who?ve wanted to see Mayweather-Pacquiao for five-plus years, Mayweather was wise to wait. Had Mayweather-Pacquiao occurred sometime between 2009 and 2012, it wouldn?t have been the enormous event it is now.
It would?ve been huge, undoubtedly the biggest fight of the 21st century. But it wouldn?t have generated between $400 million and $500 million in overall revenue.
Those numbers would?ve seemed unfathomable five years ago.
Even with some saying it?s happening too late, Mayweather might make more than $150 million from a single fight. Pacquiao could eclipse $100 million as well if the pay-per-view and gate projections come to fruition Saturday night.
Those are insane sums of money for boxers to make from one fight, especially at a time when boxing has been relegated to a niche sport in the United States.
How?s this for context? Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) and Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) could walk away from their welterweight title fight with more money combined than legendary heavyweight Evander Holyfield made for his entire 26-year career (about $230 million, according to what Holyfield told The Record last year).
It?s even more remarkable when you consider Juan Manuel Marquez knocked Pacquiao unconscious in their fourth fight just 2? years ago at MGM Grand, where Mayweather and Pacquiao will finally fight Saturday night. That?s the same Marquez that Mayweather dominated three years earlier, when Mayweather-Pacquiao hype was in its infancy.
Back then, Mayweather wouldn?t box Pacquiao because Pacquiao refused to submit to random blood and urine testing for performance-enhancing drugs.
That was a reasonable request, a demand the Philippines? Pacquiao was willing to meet only after their first round of negotiations ended in frustration. Mayweather later claimed financial splits and Pacquiao?s association with promoter Bob Arum were reasons the fight couldn?t be made.
Those excuses understandably made Mayweather a target for constant criticism, even though the Grand Rapids, Mich., native has been the best boxer of his generation. He didn?t care what the skeptics said.
?From the beginning of my career, I always had a game plan,? Mayweather, 38, said Wednesday after a news conference at MGM Grand. ?It?s just like chess. I make calculated moves inside the ring and outside the ring.?
Mayweather?s moves led to him signing a six-fight, 30-month contract with CBS/Showtime two years ago that guarantees him $32 million per fight. It has made him the highest-paid athlete in sports and only requires him to fight twice a year.
Whatever you think of some of his indefensible behavior outside the ring, it?s impossible to argue with Mayweather?s math.
You won?t hear any argument from Pacquiao, whose pay-per-view numbers dwindled in the three fights following his devastating loss to Marquez.
?It?s a good thing that it?s happening now, at this time,? Pacquiao, 36, said Wednesday. ?I believe that it?s God?s plan.?
Whichever explanation you buy, Mayweather?s plan is unfolding this week in a way no one could?ve envisioned when this fight first penetrated the public?s consciousness. For Mayweather, waiting was the smartest thing he could?ve done.
