By Sizzle JKD: It’s Friday the 13th and there’s an unexplainably spooky and scary feeling among those who don’t want to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight Manny Pacquiao (and vice versa) that the fight of the century is on.
Although the mega fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather wasn’t announced on Super Bowl Sunday as everyone had hoped, the announcement of boxing’s own super bowl was never in question. It’s going to happen. And the flying fists of Pacquiao will meet the high-guard defense of Mayweather on May 2nd in Las Vegas.
On January 29, I wrote that last minute complications during the negotiations would be the only thing that can delay the announcement during Super Bowl weekend, and as it turned out there were indeed unforeseen impediments that resulted in the talks hitting a minor snag.
Whether the barriers were a direct result of HBO and Showtime disagreeing about a couple of issues or merely Mayweather’s obstinate inclination to religiously seek unending attention so he could be the sole entity to announce the fight whenever he sought fit, at the end of the day the announcement was always imminent. Not once did I ever think otherwise. I stayed the course, relied on what the network disclosed, and never doubted the intentions of television executives, the promoters, and most importantly, both fighters.
There will be no more confusion, no more second-guessing, and no more Mayweather-Cotto 2 predictions or those ridiculous Pacquiao-Vargas rumors that so many uninformed scribes and commenters so willfully claimed was going to happen.
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is on, and nothing can be more revealing to this truth than the fact both fighters have already begun training for the bout.
Pacquiao usually commences training about eight weeks before his fights but why has he already begun his workouts yet we are still more than ten weeks from May 2nd? Because Manny knows he’s in for the fight of his life and his focus this time around is having the best and most spirited training camp he’s ever had.
Rumors also surfaced out of Las Vegas that Mayweather began light training after his return from his Caribbean vacation. He is currently in New York City hosting a party tonight and tomorrow to celebrate NBA All-Star Weekend. Mayweather will be in attendance at the All-Star game as well.
When asked by GMA-7, a television station in the Philippines, about the impending announcement, Pacquiao said, “Oo, positive na (Yes, it is a positive),” while nodding his head as if to say it’s a done deal.
“Pirma na lang ni Mayweather (Just Floyd’s signature is needed),” added Pacquiao while hinting the contract is all but done and that Mayweather simply has to put pen to paper and finalize the deal.
A recent Instagram post by Pacquiao futher hinted, “More than anything that is very important is when you serve the Lord and spend time with family before the serious training for the upcoming fight. Fight who?????? Hehehe, I’m excited for this!”
Of course, there is a gag order that was placed by Mayweather prohibiting both sides to tell “the truth” therefore Pacquiao can’t fully reveal what’s about to happen. Pacquiao, however, can certainly provide clues through social media.
The signs, thought subtle, have spoken volumes since the negotiations began. Only the trained and watchful eye is able to decode the puzzle.
First, it was Mayweather’s numerous appearances at Staples Center in Los Angeles during the months of December and January, suggesting that he was in town to meet with manager Al Haymon, who has offices in Los Angeles and was frequenting the L.A. area in between meetings with Spike TV to announce his deal to air his new show “Premier Boxing Champions,” which debuts in March. A key indicator that Haymon wanted to keep everything on the hush was the fact that no boxing media was invited to the press conference to announce his new show at Spike TV’s Santa Monica headquarters.
Second, it was Pacquiao’s untimely worldwide tour that garnered all kinds of attention as Manny flew to Los Angeles to meet with his team at Top Rank, promote his docu-film to the masses in L.A and New York, then took trips to Miami to judge the Miss Universe Pageant, London to dine with Prince Harry, and the nation’s capital to attend a prayer breakfast with President Obama and other political leaders.
Then there was the not-so-impromptu meeting with Mayweather at the Miami Heat game that created a media and fan frenzy like no other while further bolstering everyone’s confidence that the fight was moments away from being finalized. It’s important to note that Manny and Jinkee’s courtside seat are typically reserved for Mayweather and his friends. How did Manny somehow secure courtside seats that Mayweather’s team normally uses? Think about it. Was the Floyd-Manny meeting in Miami a coincidence, as both teams said it was? No freakin’ way. Everything was planned.
The only thing that was derailed was Floyd’s promotional tour in Australia because Floyd wasn’t allowed to enter the country due to his being a convicted felon. When Floyd’s visa was denied, he instead decided to go on vacation to the Caribbean islands further distancing himself from the negotiations because he already knew the fight was a done deal waiting to happen.
In fact, it is this writer’s opinion that the fight became a done deal the night in Pacquiao’s Miami hotel room when both fighters reportedly discussed the last two remaining issues regarding HBO and Showtime. Both fighters then left with the understanding that it would be Floyd who would announce the fight at his discretion, and would announce it whenever he pleased. Simply put, it was Floyd being Floyd.
Over the last week, very little has been said about the Showtime-HBO negotiations. Maybe it’s because the last couple of issues that were thought to have been delaying the announcement had already been resolved a long time ago in spite of what the media and the networks have told you.
If this was the case, and if Mayweather wanted the least amount of transparency as possible when it came to the talks, it’s clear why it makes sense for both sides to make it seem as if they keep going back and forth so as to keep the public guessing and in essence, continue GENERATING THE HYPE. This was always the key.
Anyone who knows Mayweather’s tendencies and antics knows that Mayweather has always been the type to keep you in limbo. He will play games with your head and then suddenly announce the fight in the 12th hour, when nobody expects it. He did it with the Marcos Maidana fight when his fans choose Amir Khan, then he suddenly turned on his promise and fought Maidana instead. He did it with Robert Guerrero in 2013, when he waited until the last minute to announce that Guerrero was his opponent and shocked the boxing world by revealing his switch from HBO to Showtime.
In addition, Mayweather’s opponents are always wondering who he’s going to fight next and while his opponents are anxiously waiting, Floyd is already in the gym training and gaining a competitive edge.
But in this case, both fighters are so legendary that no amount of psychological mind games will one-up the other prior to fight night. Manny is already ahead of the curve and training at 100% efficiency. Floyd is probably already in fight shape and could fight Manny next week if he wanted. That’s what makes these two fighters above and beyond the competition.
Ring Magazine’s Doug Fischer, who has some of the most reliable and trusted insider sources in boxing, said today, “I’ve heard rumors that it could be announced during this weekend’s NBA All-Star game – maybe Les Moonves took my advice and brought in J.Prince (highly respected music and boxing manager who currently manages Andre Ward and formerly managed Floyd) to help convince Mayweather to finalize the deal.”
Pacquiao and Mayweather are second to none. They’re undeniably the two best all-stars in the sport today, and during NBA All-Star Weekend in New York, the fight will finally be announced.
The only way the message doesn’t get revealed this weekend is if more complications in Mayweather’s mind prevents him from manning up and taking the challenge. After all, we already knew the final contract, the posturing, the back-and-forth between the networks, and the media buzz were nothing but formalities all along.
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