Will Mayweather and Pacquiao ever fight – Maybe in 2014 finally?
By Niall Doran
After an impressive points shut out victory at the weekend by Manny Pacquiao, the old question seemed to surface once again with reporters in the post fight press conference – will we now finally see the Mayweather and Pacquiao fight that the world of boxing has so desperately craved for years? I think we could.
If you take Saturday’s performance by Manny it was impressive no doubt. He used blistering speed of hand and foot combined with dazzling use of in and out angles in his attacks that left a tough Mexican/American warrior in Brandon Rios bemused and lost at times. Simply put, Rios never looked like he had any chance to win the fight really.
But looking past this, is that really the type of performance that would scare Floyd Mayweather? I don’t think so. I’m a fan of both fighters but for me Floyd easily wins in any showdown between the two should it ever happen. Rios really is nowhere in the class of a Floyd Mayweather if were honest.
I think commercially it was great that Manny got back to winning ways as it gives the fight an added dimension now when it comes to making business sense, which is what it comes down to at the end of the day in big time boxing. I think a lot of fans will have Floyd as the favourite at this point, but I still believe the fight garnishes enough global interest and buzz for it to generate huge umbers at the gate and box office, enough to break all records previously set by “Money”, even if the fight should have happened years ago.
I guess we will never know what would have happened if the fight did happen say 3 or 4 years ago, when both men were at the top of their games (although Floyd still is). However I think the general sports fan, casual boxing fan and even hardcore fight fan would still tune into this elusive, mystical bout if it were to become a reality.
There are a few options available to both men going into 2014. Floyd Mayweather has been heavily linked to a potential Amir Khan fight on what has now become almost his date in Vegas on May 5th which he dubbed last year as “Cinco De Mayweather”. Manny has been linked with a 5th fight with Marquez to finally set the record straight along with a rematch to Tim Bradley for similar reasons.
However I think the reason we’ll see the fight if not in May next year or later in the year, is because Floyd will want it – plain and simple. He calls the shots at this point with his mega in the ring and out of the ring financial records, and from what I understand he needs to generate a lot of revenue to live up to the mega bucks he has been given in his 6 fight contract with Showtime (which he is on his 3rd fight on) and a bout with Pacman could solidify this return on investment for the powerful network. I think he’ll get a great financial deal in his favour too and knows he can beat Pacuqiao, along with Pacman been vocal in the past to submitting to any type of drug testing and taking a smaller financial split, so why not?
I think 2014 is the year we’ll finally see it, all be it long after when we should have.
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