By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) hasn’t let go of the idea of him fighting Floyd Mayweaher Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s) in the near future despite Mayweather saying he has little interest in fighting him anymore now that he’s lost his last two fights. Pacquiao says he wants to fight Mayweather to make the fans happy, as it’s a fight that fans have been pushing for since 2009.
Pacquiao said to ESPN “I am already satisfied with what I have done in boxing. But I want the fight to happen for the sake of fans. I’m hoping for the fight to happen, but it’s up to him. If he says yes, then the fight will be on.”
I’m afraid there’s a lot more to it than that. Mayweather says he wants Pacquiao to agree to a smaller cut of the revenue, possibly a lump sum. Mayweather offered Pacquiao $40 million last year to fight, but Pacquiao chose not to accept that offer. Recently, Mayweather Jr. said he wants Pacquiao to sign on with Mayweather Promotions before he’ll agree to fight him.
It’s unknown whether Mayweather was serious when he said that, because sometimes he says thinks that he’s not entirely serious about. But if that’s case, Mayweather Jr. will have to wait until Pacquiao’s contract expires with Top Rank, and that’s probably not going to happen until at least 2015.
Pacquiao missed a lot of time after getting knocked out, and it’s not known whether that will cause his contract to extend into 2015 or not. But I don’t see Pacquiao ever leaving Top Rank, even if it meant that he would be getting the payday of his life to fight Mayweather. Pacquiao will likely remain with Top Rank until he retires from the sport in 2 or 3 years, or possibly sooner depending on what happens against Brandon Rios in November.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum wants Mayweather to fight Pacquiao in Asia someplace, and he thinks Mayweather will change his mind about this. It’s possible that Arum could be right if they show that the Chinese pay per view money is too huge for Mayweather to ignore. Arum is selling the Pacquiao-Rios fight to Chinese fans for $5 on PPV in China, and with a population over 1.3 billion, it’s possible that the Pacquiao-Rios fight card could bring in huge money from Chinese fans.
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