Floyd Mayweather Jr: Is Mayweather Afraid of Manny Pacquiao?

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are the two biggest boxing icons of this generation and they fight in the same weight class. Naturally, the general public wants to see these boxing stars collide, but Mayweather's willingness to fight Manny Pacquiao has been questioned ever since he returned to boxing September 2009.

Two years later, the questions remain and only evolve. Twice, negotiations have failed between the two over random blood testing for performance enhancement drugs (PEDs). Mayweather wants blood testing to be completely randomized up until the day of the fight. Not knowing when a group of scientists might show up to draw blood is meant to deter cheating. Pacquiao wants a cutoff point out of fear that giving blood too close to a fight could put it in jeopardy. Not knowing when a group of scientists might show up to draw blood could disrupt a fighter's training.

Pacquiao's cutoff point has moved from 30 days to 24 days to even 14 days before the planned fight. But Mayweather refuses to move on his stance. Does this make him stubborn in getting his way or clever at finding a way to not face Pacquiao?

The truth is that boxing superstar Shane Mosley submitted to Mayweather's completely randomized blood testing to face the undefeated superstar on May 1 2010. Young rising world champion Victor Ortiz submitted to Mayweather's completely randomized blood testing to face Mayweather September 17 2011.

Why Pacquiao, one of the two biggest draws in today's boxing, would possibly not want to fight Mayweather is not hard to figure. He doesn't need the money.

Pacquiao and Mayweather have accomplished quite a bit in their respective careers, some of it against similar opponents. They have also accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in pay-per-view revenue. Neither star is starving.

So, how does this fight happen?

Well, Pacquiao is near the end of his career. As he tries to go even deeper into politics in 2013, he eyes finishing his career with a bang via Mayweather.

Pacquiao is currently a congressman in the Philippines, and he finds it hard to fight twice a year and perform well as a politician. The executive office he runs for in 2013 is one that will effectively end his boxing career thanks to the higher responsibilities he will inherit.

Pacquiao has said during the build-up to his third fight with long-time legendary Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez, he will concede to fully randomized blood testing in hopes of landing a fight with Mayweather. Whether that will actually happen during the negotiations is a hard thing to determine. Both sides have angered each other throughout both previous dealings.

With Mayweather facing Ortiz, a southpaw with humongous power and youth, many suspect he's preparing to face Pacquiao who shares similar attributes. If that is true, then maybe Mayweather is only scared to be unprepared or cheated during the toughest fight of his career.

One thing is for sure: If Mayweather defeats Ortiz in impressive fashion and Pacquiao does indeed agree to fully randomized blood testing and then Mayweather still doesn't agree, like it or not, history will rule Mayweather as fearful of his greatest possible opposition.