After Manny Pacquiao completed his masterful conquest of Timothy Bradley to reclaim the WBO welterweight belt, the thing the boxing world wants to know is this: Will the potential super-fight between the Filipino hero and the undefeated boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather ever happen?
For Pacquiao, the fight the boxing world has been talking about for so long and clamoring for the past four years should be on, but that is if Mayweather wants it. The world knows that the Filipino fighting congressman is never running away from a challenge and that it is all up to Mayweather to make the dream bout a reality.
Definitely after his clear-cut win over the previously unbeaten Bradley in their rematch recently, the boxing world will be seeing more of the eight-division world champion, although it remains fuzzy if the future includes Mayweather.
Hard negotiations between Pacquiao’s camp and Mayweather’s to finally engage in a lucrative showdown have been going on for years. But each time Pacquiao agrees to a Mayweather demand, the American would come up with a new alibi, preventing both camps from getting a deal done.
In late 2009 and early 2010, both fighters were considered the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters and record profits were expected from a showdown.
However, a disagreement over pre-fight blood testing scuttled talks already complicated by the need to satisfy rival pay-per-view outlets HBO and Showtime.
Other negotiations broke down over the division of the purse, and the intervening years have brought a further chill to relations between Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions and Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
Doubtful
In fact, even Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach is doubtful whether the bout will ever take place. Pacquiao’s promoter Arum though is open to resuming talks with the Mayweather camp.
And now that Pacquiao is back on track, he is more than open and willing to talks 24-7 so the fight everybody wants would happen.
At present, however, Pacquiao can only fight Arum’s guys. They are Mike Alvarado, who faces Juan Manuel Marquez in May; Russian beast Ruslan Provodnikov; a longshot third fight with Bradley; and of course a fifth fight with Marquez.
With Mayweather a remote possibility, all roads lead to the winner of the Marquez- Alvarado slugfest in Los Angeles.
It will be a lot easier for Arum to put the fight between Pacquiao and Marquez together since they are both under the Top Rank banner. Even Pacquiao loves the idea of meeting Marquez for the fifth time although Marquez may no longer be interested in facing his archrival as there is nothing more important to the Mexican than to keep the image of his Filipino rival lying motionless on the floor during their fourth bout.
On May 3, the 37-year-old Mayweather will put his perfect 45-0 record on the line against Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in a welterweight world title showdown. Mayweather should have no problems taking care of Maidana, another fall guy.
And while setting up the stage for the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout is not really hopeless, reaching a deal clearly seems to be so difficult. The 35-year-old Pacquiao himself still holds out hope of a showdown with Mayweather, the same way that the boxing world is hoping that someday the two legends would get to face each other in the ring. Rightly so, there is no better pairing in the boxing ring today but a headliner starring Mayweather and Pacquiao.
Anyway, if the Pacquiao-Mayweather slugfest doesn’t happen, Pacquiao’s glory wouldn’t lose any of its shine at all.
