The talk never ends and the controversy never dies. The Mayweather-Pacquiao debate will likely go on forever, even if the mega-fight never happens.
For the most part, fans have already chosen their sides and won’t likely budge. However, there should be a real effort in the media to put all the cards on the table and lay out the facts as fairly as possible.
The pro-Pacquiao side of the fiasco is well-represented by Manny’s huge legion of loyal fans who pounce on all related articles and fill comment sections with heated words in fierce defense of their hero.
To a lesser extent, Mayweather’s supporters do the same, but are usually drowned out by the sheer number of pro-Pacquiao/anti-Mayweather activists who bury all comments with opposing viewpoints.
Agree or disagree, Mayweather supporters and many hardcore fans hold Pacquiao as responsible, if not more so than Mayweather for the collapse of the mega-fight. And, in truth, both fighters do hold a responsibility for the fight not happening. Of course, you won’t hear that take from many analysts and professional boxing scribes who make good money from only telling one side of the story.
It’s no secret in the media that there is an entire industry built around giving Pacquiao fans the news they want to hear and there’s plenty of money in churning out this type of material. Less than reputable writers will pump out two or three articles a day and laugh all the way to the bank while paying little to no attention to the actual information they spread around. Most of what they use as facts come directly from the talking points of Top Rank Promotions and some “major” stories are based solely around unsubstantiated random comments made by Pacquiao promoter, Bob Arum.
Hardcore fans and close followers of the sport wince when they hear certain stories or come across the bylines of certain writers. Logic obtained over decades of observing the sport doesn’t support the stories being told and the group of writers putting out the dubious material have little to no credibility in the mainstream world of boxing coverage.
Mayweather is an abrasive and easy-to-loathe character, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything he does is cowardly or evil.
By all accounts, Pacquiao is a likable fellow, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s not capable of doing some shady things when it comes to his career path.
When it comes to to the Floyd/Manny conflict, Pacquiao critics will point to Manny’s habit of agreeing to terms after the fact.
For example, it has been widely reported that Pacquiao is now on-board with random blood testing. However, that wasn’t the case when the issue was actually being discussed. Team Pacquiao only made the concession after a Mayweather fight was no longer being negotiated. Some members of his team, like Michael Koncz, still are not on-board when it comes to random testing, at least according to Koncz in a segment on HBO’s 24/7.
Another instance of a Team Pacquiao flip-flop was when Pacquiao called a December press conference in his native Philippines and insisted that a Mayweather fight was a top priority. According to Pacquiao, he would gladly take the smaller purse if it meant getting Mayweather in the ring. Then, a couple of months later, when he was offered a smaller purse, a 50-50 split became an issue.
Mayweather, of course, has his own role in the sport’s most infamous non-fight and definitely carries a good share of the blame, but his sins are more along the lines of arrogant disinterest. On Team Pacquiao’s side, though, there seems to be a definite presence somewhere in the organization actively standing in the way of the bout.
But the fact of the matter is this? On the two occasions where the fight was actually being discussed by both camps, Pacquiao walked away. This is not a guess, a hunch, or news filtered through unreliable quasi-journalists and dedicated shills. These are the facts.
