By Scott Gilfoid: Man, I wouldn’t even waste my time anymore trying to negotiate a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. if I was Manny Pacquiao. He and his promoter Bob Arum already drew a line in the sand and said they don’t want to take any blood tests within 30 days of their March 13th fight, but Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather are still trying to get blood testing done within that time parameter. I say forget the Mayweather bout. Pacquiao needs to move ahead and fight former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi.
Malignaggi may not be as good as Mayweather, but he’s kind of like him with his fighting style. Entertainment wise, I see the Malignaggi-Pacquiao bout being just as interesting as a fight with Mayweather. Malignaggi will come to fight his heart out for as long the fight lasts, and it won’t matter that he ends up getting drilled into oblivion. As long as he entertains the fans, what else is there to worry about.
The Mayweather fight is already tainted as far as I’m concerned because of the blood issues and the stuff tied into it with the impending lawsuit. I don’t see how Pacquiao could want to still fight Mayweather after all this. It’s better for Pacquiao to just cut his losses and move on to a fight with Malignaggi. That fight will at least be free from all the baggage that surrounds the Mayweather bout. Plus, it will probably be much more easy to put together contract wise, because Malignaggi isn’t about to haggle long and hard about it. He needs this fight, since it would bring him a huge payday.
If I was Pacquiao, I’d tell Arum to forget the fight with Mayweather, and tell him even if they gave him exactly what he wants, that I still wouldn’t to fight Mayweather. It’s the principle of the matter that counts. There’s been too much that’s occurred for this fight to be good for Pacquiao. He doesn’t need it to build his legacy. Pacquiao should go ahead and fight Malignaggi instead and after that look at other alternatives in the light welterweight or welterweight divisions. Pacquiao has a lot of good opponents that he can fight like Edwin Valero, Shane Mosley, and Andre Berto in the future.
That’s where Pacquiao should be looking to instead of taking a fight that is causing him headaches. He doesn’t need the money and can easily make up for what he doesn’t get in losing the Mayweather fight by taking on other stars in the sport. But if it was me, I’d tell Mayweather to go fly a kite. I wouldn’t fight him now at this point no matter what they say.
Pacquiao has his dignity and doesn’t need the Mayweather fight. He should go for Malignaggi and then let his promoter Bob Arum look for the next big fight for him after that. The Mayweather fight isn’t a good option for him now, not with them asking for blood tests within 30 days of the fight. The fight is too tainted for my tastes. Pacquiao needs to look after himself and not waste his time with this fight anymore.
Comments are closed.