Floyd Mayweather has to fight Manny Pacquiao or retire
It may be perceived by some that Floyd Mayweather Jnr wants to have his cake and eat it too when it comes to his super-fight with Manny Pacquiao. He hasn’t munched down yet, but the sugary treat is in his mouth and the world waits to see if he chews.
Pacquiao has agreed to the blood-testing, even Bob Arum is prepared to change venues, if “Money” asks nicely they will probably even let him pick the glove weight and ring size.
It’s been the longest drawn out saga since the Hundred Years’ War, yet a conclusion is possibly on the horizon. It all centres on what mood Mayweather is in.
The usually flamboyant boxer never has a day off when it comes to opening his mouth, but he has been unusually quiet when it comes to talking about the revelation that “Pacman” has agreed to take the blood test.
Many will be happy with the peace and quiet, but the majority of boxing fans will be ripping out what little remains of their hair and screaming “Why don’t they just get on with it?”
It’s a tough one to follow this, like watching a bad TV series and resentfully sticking with it for the full six seasons simply because you watched it from the start. Surely it will happen, there’s too much money at stake as well as both their legacies. It will definitely happen...won’t it?
As Bob Arum said the ball is now firmly in Mayweather’s court. The multi-weight champion has been accused of ducking the fast-fisted Pacquiao but now the proof will be in the pudding. If he is ducking he has nowhere else to run and will be exposed.
The latest fly in the ointment of this fight is a YouTube video for the “Make a wish foundation” charity, where Mayweather is seen to say he wants to take a two-year break from boxing.
This could just be him adding fuel to the flames and winding up the old-hype machine once again. It’s probably not worth reading too much into, in fact if you read that deeply into everything that has been said and written about this fight you will become a very disturbed and angry person.
Uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather has come out and said it’s nonsense and, at 33 years of age, would there be little point in Mayweather retiring for two years. He may as well retire for good if that’s what he wants to do, it would all be a bit too convenient if he took a 24-month hiatus while Pacman bowed out to pursue a political career.
It’s hard to say what Mayweather’s preoccupation is with the blood testing. Does it really matter to him, is it more games or psychological warfare? The significance of Shane Mosley being Mayweather’s opponent in the last bout is quite astute as “Sugar Shane” has in the past tested positive for banned substances and has had that hanging over him despite having an accomplished career.
It paints Mayweather as some sort of crusading character cleaning up the sport of boxing, like a “Make a wish with Floyd Foundation” where he goes round giving shamed boxers a second chance.
Pacquiao had little choice but to agree to the testing after that. If Mosley is prepared to take it then Pacman has to take it otherwise he must be hiding something. Perhaps this was a bluff from Mayweather to antagonise WBO champ and put him off a bout. However the Filipino has had the guts to call him on it, he’s prepared to take it and show Mayweather he is not hiding anything and he can do no more than that.
So Mayweather now has everything his own way. The fight has been tailored to meet his criteria and now he must merely sign his name, say OK, nod his head, or just throw up a hand signal and we can get underway.
If he does turn Pacquiao down now, there’s no way people will be interested in watching him fight anyone else. Mosley looked a bit leggy against him and he was the only welterweight you would list as a decent opponent in the Mayweather/Pacquiao class out of the current batch.
Mayweather knows it as well, with lack of interest in his fights his pay days are going to decrease. This offers the biggest pay day of his life and potentially the biggest pay day in boxing history. This is good news for fight fans though, because what has been the one constant motivator for Mayweather throughout his career?
The almighty dollar.
Maybe they should just lay a Hansel and Gretel-style trail of $20 notes from Mayweather’s house to the ring.
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