For the past four years, we in the boxing world have been engrossed with the thought of a Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao superfight. However, waiting for the top two fighters over the past decade to actually get into the ring with each other has been tiresome for the most part. While many agree that the bout should've happened three years ago, there are others, casual fans of the sport, that yearn for the bout to occur soon. But many diehard fans of the sport have grown tired of the talk, and now there are many saying the five words that are never good in boxing: Is the wait worth it?
The first time the talk began was back in 2008, when Pacquiao stopped Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya at the end of Round 8. The talk intensified after Pacquaio's second round destruction of Ricky Hatton. While Mayweather had planned on a September 2009 return against Juan Manuel Marquez, a familiar foe for both boxers, the Pacman's following continued to grow. As the year closed, he stopped another pound-for-pound entrant, Miguel Cotto, and talks of a bout with Mayweather grew exponentially.
While fans have been wanting the fight, the fighters themselves have shown some hesitation. First, it was Pacquiao's proclamation that he would not give a blood test within the 14 days prior to the fight. Then came Mayweather's contention of having a 60-40, or even a 70-30, split for the fight. It has been reported by many, including Pacquiao, that Mayweather offered Pacquiao a $40 million contract, with no pay-per-view's percentage of the gate. Then, the unthinkable happened.
Pacquiao suffered a highly disputed decision loss against Tim Bradley, which set off a firestorm that the fight would not happen at all. That loss combined with the extremely contentious relationship between Mayweather and Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank owner Bob Arum, turned into a combustible situation that was bound to blow. Come September, Arum set a date and three potential contenders for Pacquiao's return; all three were rematches of previous bouts, and none of them were Floyd Mayweather.
Arum chose to go with a fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, a bout that infuriated the boxing community. A fourth fight ensured two things: A rematch with Tim Bradley will ensure the Marquez bout and the fight, if it happens, probably won't happen until late 2013.
So will the fight that will define the legacies of the sport's best actually happen? Probably not any time soon, but if and when it does, can you imagine the prefight lead up to the fight?
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