By John F. McKenna (McJack): Although Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) will be fighting Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO’s) in November, he still thinks that there is a chance that he will eventually fight Floyd “Money” Mayweather (41-0, 25 KO’s) sometime in the near future.

In an interview with ABS/CBN news Pacquiao stated when asked about Victor Ortiz being his next opponent: “Maybe he’s preparing to fight me because he chose to fight a southpaw.”

Most boxing fans and writers however, are not convinced of Pacquiao’s theory and do not share his optimism. The most likely reason that Mayweather is fighting Ortiz is that he needs the cash and it is a winnable fight.

There is another school of thought that “Money” was scouting Andre Berto when he showed up for the Ortiz – Berto fight and that he chose Ortiz when he unexpectedly won the fight.

Manny Pacquiao’s theory that Floyd Mayweather is fighting Ortiz as a tune up for him may be wishful thinking on his part. Aside from being a southpaw, there is no similarity whatsoever between Pacquiao and Ortiz in the ring.

From Mayweather’s point of view there are downsides to a fight with Pacquiao ever happening. First of all “Money” would have to deal with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, with whom he had an acrimonious split a couple of years ago.

Clearly Mayweather likes to give the impression that he is running the show. Golden Boy is more than happy to go along with that, even if they are doing all the leg work. After all there is the proverbial “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow for Golden Boy because of Floyd’s super star status when it comes to PPV sells.

Bob Arum on the other hand likes to remain in control when planning such an event and there have been clashes in the past between Floyd and “Uncle” Bob during negotiations.
Those clashes resulted in problems between Mayweather and Arum.

Both Pacquiao and Mayweather have suffered damage to their reputations due to the breakdown in past negotiations. There is now a large percentage of boxing fans in the USA who believe that Pacquiao has used PEDS. There is an equally high percentage of fans who deplore Mayweather for his continuous accusations against Pacquiao

Last week Floyd was a no show for a defamation lawsuit brought against him by Manny.
The lawsuit would be an obvious impediment to a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather ever happening.

Both fighters have big money options. Amir Khan is now gunning for Mayweather and after a couple of more fights by Khan, a fight between Amir and Floyd would be a huge PPV fight.

There are also many potential big money fights coming down the pike for Pacquiao. After his upcoming world tour to hype the Marquez fight, and as expected he defeats Marquez, it is likely that Manny will be receiving a number of offers. At this point the growing Manny Pacquiao phenomenon is rapidly spreading worldwide and as Jimmy Durante used to say “Everybody wants to get into the act.”