Pacquiao-Foreman Could Be Next, Mayweather Fight Should Be Priority

Somewhere out of left field, a new opponent for Manny Pacquiao's next bout has emerged.

His name is Yuri Foreman.

No, you are not suffering from hallucinations and yes, you are forgiven for not being familiar with the WBA light-middleweight champion.

Freddie Roach confirmed today the rumours that had been circulating over the weekend.

It appears the stumbling block for an immediate Pacquiao-Mayweather bout is the inability of both parties to agree a date.

Roach has accused the Mayweather camp of dragging their heels.

"We want to fight in March and we don't really want to wait," Roach said.

"Mayweather doesn't want to fight in March, so we might fight for the 154-pound title in March and move up for that eighth world title. I'm thinking about that still and it's something that I'm kicking around in my head right now."

Undoubtedly, if a Pacquiao-Foreman fight were to take place, the Brooklyn resident would put his WBA belt, a title he captured this month when he defeated Daniel Santos by a 12-round unanimous decision, on the line.

This would, of course, offer Pacquiao the opportunity to collect his sixth alphabet title in six different weight classes, and take the claim of becoming the first ever octuple champion.

Although this is a wonderful and potentially historic opportunity, it does not hold a smidgen of the allure as a bout between the "Pretty Boy" and "Pac-man".

Those that fear a bout with Mayweather may never materialise should not be totally disheartened. Roach added a telling caveat in his comments:

"Yuri Foreman might be the opponent. It is a possibility, and then Mayweather in September. If they guarantee me that, we'll do that, but I need more of a commitment from Mayweather because he's not negotiating too well. It has to happen and with the money they are going to make out of it, I feel it will happen. Mayweather can't make that money with anybody else."

The reasons for Pacquiao and his team requesting a March bout rather than a May fight, as the Mayweather team prefer, seem to be motivated by Pacquiao’s unyielding commitment to run for a congressional seat in Sarangani.

Pacquiao's lawyer Franklin "Jeng" Gacal told boxingscene.com that he was informed that Pacquiao had decided to run for Congress.

Pacquiao's longtime friend and sometime confidant Rex "Wakee" Salud also told them Pacquiao would run in Sarangani and that there is a good chance he would run unopposed, banking on an apparent effort by President Arroyo to appeal to the well-established Chiongbian family to withdraw from the congressional race. Salud said he was 99 percent sure that Pacquiao would run and win, no matter what.

On the other hand, Mayweather and his team's motivations for a May fight are unclear.

One thing that should be crystal clear to both camps is how a potential bout between the two has captured the imagination of the public.

The attention that the fight has grabbed over the past few weeks, or even since Mayweather's return from his self imposed sabbatical, has been astounding.

It has the whole boxing community captivated by the prospect of the two greatest fighters active today sharing the same ring and settling the seemingly endless argument of who is the greater fighter.

It also has the mainstream audience standing up and taking notice.

There is no time like the present.

Yet I do side with Mayweather's camp in that May would be the preferable date. Holding the fight in March, even though it is the earlier date, would hinder promotional opportunities.

People will say that it is the two greatest fighters in the world squaring off, so the promotion will take care of itself.

I disagree.

A fight of this magnitude deserves a world promotional tour. It should include whistle-stop tours of the fight epicentres of communities as well as a spattering of the greatest cities on this planet.

Also, as has been evident in the prelude to the initial negotiations that took place last week, compromise over the fighters' individual shares of the purse is cumbersome and will take time as both men are seeking the alpha male's cut.

This, in turn, means that promotion could not begin until late January, leaving only a month to publicise what is truly a mouth watering and potentially mesmerising encounter.

The alternative option, as alluded to by Roach, would be to hold the fight in the latter part of the year after both have taken further bouts.

In this writer's opinion, that idea should be discarded.

Further bouts for both men place them at risk. A loss for either would undermine that fighter's credibility and possibly demote one or the other from atop the pound-for-pound lists.

Although such an outcome is extremely unlikely considering their recent dominance over their respective opponents, it could result in both fighters losing a share of a potential $100 million pot.

Couple the prospect of either boxer losing with Mayweather's advancing years—he turns 33 in February—and it is feasible that when they both do face off, be it the end of year or beyond, we would not be witnessing the best of either fighter.

This is the type of bout that can raise boxing to its glories of yesteryear and perhaps beyond.

So I urge the negotiators of both parties to not prevaricate, for you should remember delay breeds danger, and to protract such a tantalising opportunity as this is often to ruin it.