FilAmstar.net: Pacquiao-Mayweather deal KO’d in second round

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Pacquiao-Mayweather deal KO’d in second round
Jul 23, 04:41 PM

By NICHOLAS VON WETTBERG

It should come as no surprise that boxing fans from the U.S. to the Philippines are upset over the second failed attempt to arrange a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

As dysfunctional as the sport is at times, the boxing public was optimistic that all of the parties involved in the negotiating process could set aside their past differences and reach an accord for a scheduled Nov. 13 fight, dubbed by many as a potential ‘Super Bowl of Boxing.’

Common sense tells us that with the chance for each fighter to make at least $50 million, their respective camps, along with HBO, would do whatever it takes for the fight to manifest in either Las Vegas or Dallas.

The fans, who wanted the clash to happen perhaps more than any other in the past two decades, deserved the bout, as did the fighters themselves, who are widely considered the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the sport today.

But once again there were too many obstacles to overcome during the negotiating process and a deal for the fight fell through after a Top Rank Boxing-imposed July 16 deadline came and went.

Pacquiao’s handler, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, commented that the collapse of these negotiations weren’t as much about drug-testing, which was the issue that deadened the fight in December’s negotiations.

Yet a few weeks back, Floyd’s Uncle Jeff said that random blood testing — only days before a potential fight — would be required.

One popular theory over why the fight stalled out is Mayweather’s reluctance to step into the ring without his longtime trainer, his other boxing Uncle, Roger, who’s been in his nephew’s corner since 1996. Uncle Roger is awaiting an August trial over an assault charge from an incident he had last year with Melissa St Vil, a 26-year-old fledgling boxer originally from Haiti.

If convicted, Roger could face up to 10 years in a Las Vegas prison.

Another theory for the fight’s demise is Floyd feels financially he doesn’t need the bout at this time, that after making $40 million from his last fight in May against Shane Mosley; he’s set for a while. Plus, an additional payday in the $50-60 million range and the one they call “Money” will be looking at some absurd taxes for the year.

Last Sunday, Mayweather, who played in the Dwayne Wade/ Alonzo Mourning charity basketball game in Miami, was asked what his thoughts were on the deadline to sign a contract that passed two days earlier.

“I’m not really thinking about fighting right now. I’m just relaxing. I fought about 60 days ago, so I’m just enjoying myself, enjoying life, enjoying my family and enjoying my vacation,” Mayweather said.

Over a month ago, Mayweather, 33, commented that he’d like to take some time off, but didn’t rule out the possibility of him fighting Pacquiao, a title-holder in seven different weight divisions, sometime in the spring of 2011.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao, on the other hand, is looking for any kind of prize fight to take place this fall. While rumored to be mulling retirement after being elected congressman of the Sarangani Province in his native Mindanao, Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, has gone on record saying his ward has at least three more fights in him.

Classic rivalries will always define the legacy of any great pugilist, and an in-house rematch for Pacquiao with Miguel Cotto at junior middleweight (154-pounds) simply doesn’t hold the cache of his past battles against Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales or Juan Manuel Marquez.

If Pacquiao intends to improve aspects of the Sarangani infrastructure, as promised, he will be forced to sink some of his own money into various projects, which will require a steady cash flow.

That means no matter who it’s against, Pacquiao is fighting this November, most likely in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium.

As for the failed negotiations, they were to be a closed-door affair between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, negotiating on behalf of Mayweather.

It turned out that, yes, they were in fact shielded, but so much so that HBO’s Ross Greenberg allegedly acted as a mediator/go between figure between Arum and Mayweather adviser Al Haymon.

Is that really a negotiating process or just an alternate version of the merry-go-round we saw back in December?

The bottom line is that the personalities and egos of those involved were simply too big, and the stakes were too high, in terms of future holdings, for bold moves to be made. Nobody wanted to be told what to do, and nobody wanted make the wrong decision.

Pride won out in this bargaining process, as it did in the last one.

Go ahead and blame it on one person or blame it on everybody involved. It makes no difference who or what’s at fault because the real loser in all of this is the great sport of boxing.

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