Despite the fact that Floyd "Money" Mayweather is set to face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Saturday night in one of the biggest boxing matches in recent years, questions persist regarding when Mayweather will fight Pacquiao. Based on recent comments made by Mayweather, though, it's time to give up on the notion of a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao dream fight.
According to Lee Hawkins of The Wall Street Journal, Mayweather is open to discussing a potential bout with Pacquiao, but that comment comes with a massive caveat. Mayweather would only be interested in fighting Pacquiao if Pac-Man agrees to join Mayweather Promotions.
Ever the businessman, it should come as no surprise that Mayweather told Hawkins, “It’s all about business.” Unfortunately for boxing fans, business is the main thing that seems to be preventing two of the all-time greats from stepping into the ring with one another.
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is an unlikely endeavor, regardless of logistics, due to the fact that the two sides have tried and failed to reach an agreement on numerous occasions. Mayweather's sudden insistence that Pacquiao must sign with Mayweather Promotions is yet another obstacle standing in the way of this fight happening.
With that said, it should come as no surprise that Mayweather is pushing for Pacquiao to sign with Mayweather Promotions in order to make the fight happen. Mayweather Promotions is just starting to get off the ground, so reeling in Pacquiao and making the most anticipated fight in boxing happen would give Mayweather Promotions the same level of credibility as promotions such as Top Rank and Golden Boy.
Unfortunately for Mayweather as well as boxing fans, Pacquiao seems fairly entrenched at Top Rank. Pacquiao and Top Rank founder Bob Arum are essentially joined at the hip, so it's extremely difficult to imagine the Filipino star leaving Arum high and dry in favor of arguably his chief rival.
While Mayweather said that he wouldn't be against fighting Pacquiao, throwing out a ridiculous qualifier such as Pacquiao joining Mayweather Promotions tells the entire story. Boxing fans can argue until they're blue in the face about which boxer is ducking the other, but it has become blatantly obvious that neither man is particularly interested in making this fight happen unless the other makes a ridiculous amount of concessions.
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao know their worth, though, so they aren't going to fight for any less than that. Mayweather has always had the upper hand in negotiations since he has always been a slightly bigger draw, but the gap is now wider than ever as Pacquiao has lost consecutive fights to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, respectively.
Pacquiao is set to fight Brandon Rios in China on Nov. 23, and if Pac-Man loses that bout, then his career could be over, and all of this Mayweather vs. Pacquiao talk would be moot.
Pacquiao has hinted toward running for president of the Philippines at some point, so his political ambitions seem to be overshadowing his focus on boxing already.
Mayweather's new stance certainly won't compel Pacquiao to switch gears either.
It's clear that Mayweather wants to control the entire monetary situation in the event of a fight with Pacquiao, but there wouldn't be much of a point in allowing that from Pacquiao's perspective. Since Mayweather is so locked in on Mayweather Promotions brokering the fight, it is probably more unlikely now than it ever has been.
While it's extremely unfortunate that two of the best fighters of the current era may never lock horns when there were plenty of opportunities to make it happen, it's time to move on. Mayweather vs. Alvarez could be just as good as or even better than Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, so that fight should be given its due credit.
There are still some compelling fights out there that could take place in the coming weeks months and years, but it's time to forget about Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.
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