Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Will Reportedly Fight Cotto If Mayweather Falls Through

Manny Pacquiao plans to fight Miguel Cotto if a fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. can't be made, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.

Pac-Man and Mayweather have been trying to arrange a fight ever since Mayweather called out Pacquiao on Twitter last week. The two sides have struggled to agree on a fight date and a reasonable split.

What Does It Mean?

We should take this as a pretty strong signal that Pac-Man's camp is more than ready to move on if their negotiations with Mayweather continue to drag on.

Alas, the odds of that seem likely. The two camps have been bickering back and forth for more than a week at this point, and Mayweather told ESPN (via Examiner.com) that he is not cool with a 50-50 split.

Mayweather also had this to say: "I also let him know I’m in control on my side but he needs to get on the same page as his promoter so we can make this fight happen."

This, of course, would be a thinly veiled shot at Bob Arum, Pac-Man's promoter. Arum has been tough to sway in these negotiations, and it's no secret that he and Mayweather have no love lost for one another.

Somebody has to give in for this fight to happen. In all honesty, you don't want to hold your breath waiting for that.

What Happens Next?

I would give these two fighters a couple more days to figure out their differences, but nothing longer than that. Something is going to have to happen quickly, or the possibility of this fight will disappear once again.

On the bright side, Pacquiao vs. Cotto would be a sweet bout. They gave us a good fight back in 2009 and Cotto looked to be in top form in his last fight against Antonio Margarito.

Make no mistake, Cotto is a worthy adversary for Pac-Man. His last bout against Juan Manuel Marquez was one of the worst performances we've ever seen from Pac-Man. Either it was an anomaly, or it was a sign of things to come.

For now, sit tight and wait for updates. Rest assured, they're coming.