Dispelling the Misconceptions About Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

By Boxing News - 02/20/2014 - Comments

floyd#31By Chester Rivers: Supporters of Floyd Mayweather Jr. believe Manny Pacquiao is hiding something and that’s the sole reason the fight hasn’t happened. Manny Pacquiao supporters believe that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is simply too afraid to fight and that is the sole reason. Misconceptions are formed when people seek the truth but are fed a spoon full of half truths which leads to ideas and theories based on inaccuracies and not facts.

After researching some of the facts for myself I will share with you some of the truth I have learned. One of the breaking points in the fight negotiations was the money split.

You may remember Floyd offered Manny 40 million dollars and Manny refused and asked for a 50/50 split based on the popularity of both fighters. Manny supporters agreed that Manny is as popular as Floyd. Is this the truth or a misconception? In a May 2012 report by Chris Mannix of SI Sports, both fighters sold about 9.5 million pay-per-views in their careers as of May 2012. That would make Manny’s claim seem legit except it took Manny 15 pay-per-view events to reach this milestone and it took Floyd only 8 events. Floyd averages about 1.2 million pay-per-view sells while Manny averages approximately 635,000. Since May 2012, Floyd has appeared in 2 other events with his latter against Saul Alvarez garnering 2.1 million pay-per-view sells. To believe Manny is as popular is a MISCONCEPTION.

Mayweather supporters believe Pacquiao is hiding something by refusing to abide to Mayweather’s request of Olympic style drug testing. Adding to their suspicions is Manny’s involvement with controversial conditioning coach Alex Ariza. Brandon Rios who used Ariza for his fight against Pacquiao tested positive for a banned substance. Are the Mayweather fans on to something or are they being sucked in by another misconception?

Manny Pacquiao has NEVER tested positive for performance enhancing substances. If a person is guilty by association, we should take a closer look at Floyd Mayweather Jr. J’Leon Love ,a Mayweather Promotions fighter, tested positive after his fight with Gabriel Rosado. Does this mean every fighter under Mayweather Promotions is dirty including Floyd? There is also a rumor that Floyd himself has tested positive 3 times and was given a waiver due to extenuating circumstances. Floyd also has held titles in several weight classes, the same as Manny, is this cause for suspicion? Manny using performance enhancing drugs without any failed drug tests is a MISCONCEPTION.

Not fighting while they’re both somewhat still in their prime will be hurtful to their legacies and will not be as big of an event. How many of you agree with this statement? While it may be disappointing if the fight doesn’t happen anytime soon, it will not hurt their legacies or revenue. There have been several notable fights that didn’t happen at the time the fans demanded. Leonard vs. Hagler, Leonard vs. Hearns rematch and Tyson vs. Holyfield all happened long after the public demanded yet was still very successful in revenue.

If this fight never happen, there will be three sides of the stories as to why. There will be Floyd Mayweather Jr side, Manny Pacquiao side, and the TRUTH. Which side will you believe?



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