Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Ship Has Sailed on Greatest Fight in History

At some point, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. would have given us the greatest bout in the history of the sport. But that time has passed and will never return. 

Hyperbole aside, a fight between these two very well could have been one of the best in the history of pugilistic endeavors. 

It's not often that you get two legendary boxers coming into their primes at nearly the same time. 

Instead of seeing two boxers that share an affinity for defense and footwork share the ring, we have seen them bicker outside of it. 

After a couple years of ducking Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather finally called him out to give us all an epic match on May 5th. 

The date was good for Money May and so was the purse. Mayweather offered Pacquiao a flat rate $40 million, rather than an equal share of the revenue. An LA Times report issued that promoter Bob Arum was holding out for a 50/50 split, and Mayweather was not going to allow that. 

I can see where Money May is coming from, to a point. Pacquiao looked far worse than we have ever seen him against Juan Manuel Marquez. 

Mayweather, many would argue, had the better form coming into any fight between the two. That perspective ignores that Marquez has always fought Pacquiao well, and there was no reason for us to ever think it would be anything but a close fight. 

The main point in a 50/50 split is the drawing power, and I would argue that Pacquiao has a far wider reach than Mayweather globally, and should at the very least share in the riches. 

None of this matters though. 

What does matter is the two are set to fight other boxers shortly. Mayweather will take on Miguel Cotto and Pacquiao will fight Timothy Bradley. 

Both bouts should be entertaining and not nearly the routs that we might have envisioned if they were set two years ago. 

Both fighters are on the wrong side of 30 and are at the very least a year removed from their best boxing. 

Pacquiao has no doubt lost a step, and this may very well be why Pacquiao is so keen on finally boxing the star. We will now have to wait a few months until their next fights. 

After that, we are guaranteed to have another round of arguing over the finer details of a bout between these two aging boxers. 

But by the time they meet in the ring, if they ever do, it will be too late. 

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