A Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao superfight may not be so super anymore, but it would still be the biggest fight in the sport commercially.
I'm not sure Mayweather's win over Robert Guerrero on Saturday affected the probability the fight would ever occur. If anything, it further separated Money from Pacman.
At this point, this is no longer about if these two fighters are the best in the sport. When the hype surrounding a possible meeting was at its peak, the major push was based around the thought that it would decide the true pound-for-pound king.
That isn't the case anymore.
Though Mayweather defeated Guerrero, many would say that at 36 years old, the gap has closed between he and the other top fighters in the sport.
Even if we still believe in Mayweather's supremacy, who can truthfully give credence to the concept that Pacquiao is still one of the two-best fighters in the world?
He's lost two fights in a row, and as we all know by now, the last defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez was a life-changing event.
Despite these harsh boxing realities, casual and hardcore fans would still find a huge interest in seeing a Mayweather and Pacquiao fight. Even if the energy around the bout was more about curiosity than excitement, the appeal is still there.
Mayweather said in this interview with Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony, Doug Gottlieb, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley during March Madness that he would fight for "30 months." The 30 months is a direct reference to the deal Mayweather recently signed with Showtime/CBS.
He also told Gottlieb, who asked specifically about him fighting Pacquiao, that Manny had a lot of hurdles to get over before he can think about fighting him.
Basically, Pacquiao needs to get a win under his belt, then we'll talk.
Hardcore fans may be tired of the Mayweather-Pacquiao talk, but Gottlieb likely represents the majority of casual fans. For him, that was the most compelling question to ask Floyd.
That will probably remain until the fight ever happens, or until either Mayweather or Pacquiao lose another fight.
Mayweather reiterated his point about random drug testing being a stumbling block as well. That just adds more layers to the barricade that separates these two future Hall of Fame fighters.
We'll see if any promising news comes out about a possible meeting. At best, it seems we are at least a year away from a scenario that would create an opening for the fight to take place.
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