Boxing's Manny Pacquiao VS. UFC's BJ Penn. Anyone?

UFC 103 had been set to counter-programme boxing's Mayweather Vs. Marquez bout. In an apparent intention to do the same on November boxing's Pacquiao Vs. Cotto bout, UFC will stage a bout with one of its pound for pound fighters - BJ Penn.

BJ Penn will defend his lightweight title against Diego Sanchez.

Concurrently, MMA and Mainstream Boxing are in the midst of popularity war, thanks so much to some fight fans from either side who are freakishly childish in downplaying the other in expression of full support to their chosen sport.

I am an avid fight fan, and as such, where there's a good war going on, I'll watch it. Whether it be a boxing match or an MMA bout, I'm sure to spend time enjoying every round of it, and I'm pretty sure there are others like me.

I'm a Pacquiao fanatic, but I also admire Penn's knack for flurries. I admire Marquez's ring intelligence, but I have always been an admirer of Royce Gracy's octagon arts.

Honestly though, I lean more to mainstream boxing as a personal choice, and for reasons I prefer to keep by myself so as not to stir the unstable emotions of some immature solid MMA fans.

And just like every other fight fan, I wonder if there will ever be a time when both sports will meet for a grand spectacle of a fight featuring the bests both sports can offer.

If boxing can come up with series such as Latin Fury featuring Latinos against the rest of the world, or Pinoy Power featuring Filipino fighters and with the same fight format, why can't both sports agree to come up with MMA strikers against Boxing heavy hitters?

I'm sure the merging of both sports for a grand night of fights requires coming up with regulatons acceptable to both parties, but nothing good negotiators from both sports can't handle.

I wonder how Manny Pacquiao will fare against a BJ Penn, and vice versa? As of now, nothing solid can be referred to as basis for comparison. 

And unless they indeed meet in a ring, or an octagon, that question will forever be unanswered.

Only one thing's certain, they're the best of what they do, they just happen to belong to different sides of the fence.