The prospect of the highly hyped Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather superfight taking place early next year surfaced today as talks of scrapping Pacquiao's November 10 ring return could be on the agenda of a meeting of promoter Bob Arum and Pacquiao early next week in Manila.
When asked about the chance of scrapping the scheduled November fight, Pacquiao's lawyer, Jeng Gacal, gave a simple response to Nick Giongco of mb.com.ph: "That's possible."
"Gacal said that if a Mayweather fight can be made for early next year, Pacquiao might decide not to proceed with a planned return in November to avoid any complications," Giongco writes.
Mayweather was released from a Las Vegas jail over the weekend after serving 60 days of the 90-day jail term for attacking his former girlfriend and mother of his three children about two years ago.
The huge media coverage of the sudden entry of Mayweather's close friend and business partner, 50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson), into the boxing promotions business gave credence to the looming superfight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Another indication the fight is bound to happen earlier than expected is the possible out-of-court settlement of the defamation case filed by Pacquiao against Mayweather et al for alleging the Filipino boxing star used performance-enhancing drugs in his fights to gain advantage over his opponents, which Pacquiao vehemently denied.
Both fighters are nearly past their primes and the earlier they get up to the ring together, the better for both of them and for their supporters and passionate fans.
The superfight has been locked on several occasions at the negotiating table for close to three years over disagreements on contentious issues, including drug testing protocols and purse splits.
The entry of 50 Cent into the business of boxing promotions gave boxing fans renewed hope to see Mayweather and Pacquiao face each other right in front of them either on television or in person at a designated venue (read more on that here.)
Still, some observers doubt 50 Cent's ability to deal with Arum, who is expected to hold his ground on his offer of 45-45-10 purse sharing as an alternative proposal to Mayweather's offer of $40 million in net pay-per-view sales, which Pacquiao has turned down, saying it was an embarrassing offer.
As boxing fans await Mayweather's public announcement on his next fight after his release from detention, Arum may decide to alter his shortlist of Pacquiao's next opponents on his way to Manila to include Mayweather depending on developing situations on both sides.
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