By Sizzle JKD: Here’s the thing, there is plenty of ignorance in the world when so-called boxing fans state that boxing icon Manny Pacquiao doesn’t deserve a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. They ask, “What has Pacquiao done to earn a title fight with Floyd?”
This seems to be the main point of discussion lately between the ongoing epic internet battle between the “Pactards” and “Flomos.” To make matters worse, both groups are now even arguing back and forth about how much of the purse split each fighter deserves, as if Floyd and Manny are going to give them a piece of their pay check.
Frankly, it’s absurd and beyond the point of fan obsession. Let this serve as a constant reminder to all fans: it is you who is paying to watch them, not the other way around. Therefore it makes no sense to argue or even debate about which fighter deserves what percentage of the split.
If Floyd and Manny have agreed to 60/40 or 63/37, so be it and enjoy the show. Period.
But again, it begs the question that is widely asked all over the internet by the fanatics and detractors: What has Pacquiao done to earn a fight with the biggest PPV star in boxing history?
It’s an easy answer and there’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Here are the numbers:
Floyd has earned a total of $420 million in his career, Pacquiao has earned $335 million. Floyd has 14.2 million career PPV buys, Pacquiao has 13.6 million career PPV buys. Floyd has broken 1 million PPV buys seven times in his career, Pacquiao has done over 1 million PPV six times. Floyd has generated $860 million in his career in PPV revenue, Pacquiao has generated $755 million. Floyd was Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year once, Pacquiao has won the honor three times. Floyd is currently the consensus number one pound for pound fighter in the world, Manny was BWAA Fighter of the Decade. Floyd used to be Reebok. Manny just does it with Nike.
No other boxer in this era comes close to Mayweather or Pacquiao in money generated, popularity, appeal, and cache. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
So to think that Manny doesn’t deserve a Mayweather fight, I’d like to know how Robert Guerrero, Victor Ortiz, Marcos Maidana, and Canelo Alvarez all deserved a fight with Mayweather when none of the aforementioned boxers had ever done more than 1 million PPV buys prior to facing Mayweather.
How are Ortiz, Maidana, Guerrero, and Alvarez any more accomplished in boxing than Pacquiao and thus more deserving? They’re not. End of story.
The truth is, it’s not a matter of who deserves a shot at Floyd but rather who Floyd and Haymon choose to fight and what is convenient for Floyd’s career. The question then becomes what is the best way to protect Floyd’s “zero” since, after all, it’s the “zero” that means everything to Mayweather’s marketability and, in essence, his brand.
Correct me if I’m wrong. If Floyd weren’t undefeated, what leg does he have to stand on to call himself “the best ever?”
In addition, none of the recent Floyd opponents (Guerrero, Ortiz, Maidana) had ever defeated a future Hall of Famer in their entire career prior to facing Mayweather (save for Canelo, who defeated a 40+ year old Shane Mosley in 2012) therefore what makes these opponents any more worthy than Pacquiao? Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s resume speaks for itself.
Does Pacquiao deserve a fight against Floyd? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” And you can bet your bottom dollar that every boxing historian, boxing expert, journalist, analyst, and former boxing legend will tell you that Manny Pacquiao earned that shot a long time ago. If anybody deserves not one, not two, but three fights with Floyd to see who the best is, it’s Manny.
At the end of the day, there will always be “Flomos” and “Pactards.” As one fan put it: “God Bless and have mercy on all of us.”
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