Manny Pacquiao: Pride Stands in the Way of Potential Floyd Mayweather Fight

Pride is a very important feeling to own in the world of sports, and especially in boxing.

It’s an individual sport where you are stripped down to nothing but shorts, shoes and boxing gloves. The crowd is there to watch you. They know your background and the financial terms you are currently fighting on.

We all know the financial details of Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Timothy Bradley. They are all over the internet. He is guaranteed to earn $26 million when he steps into the ring on Saturday against Desert Storm, and that’s before you count the sponsor money and pay-per-view profits.

Pacquiao is one of the greatest athletes boxing has ever seen, yet continues to be lowballed by the potential deal offered by Floyd Mayweather’s “Money Team” in a fight that would likely generate well over $100 million.

Money May has proposed a deal that would guarantee Pac-Man $40 million, but none of the PPV revenue, which would likely break the all-time record set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya.

In a recent interview, Pacquiao made it clear he won’t cave to his demands (via ESPN.com):

"

Well, if you are a fighter, would you fight if I give you 40 million and nothing to share in the PPV? I would not fight for that. He will be laughing (behind) my back if I do that. It's not a proper negotiation if you're a businessman.

"

Pacquiao doesn’t need the money. With a net worth of roughly $70 million, he could retire today and be set for life. The main issue here is pride.

Manny doesn’t want to cave to anybody else’s demands; he wants to fight on his terms. Considering he’s been doing as much for years now, it’s completely understandable.

On the other side of the spectrum, Money May has made his offer and doesn’t want to surrender any more. Few people love money as much as Floyd and you can bet he wants to fully capitalize on a fight that would be etched into the record books. Mayweather believes he is the main draw in their potential fight. A 50/50 split is not in his vocabulary.

As a result, we stand at a stalemate. Two thick-skulled, cocky leaders of the sport can’t decide on a fair number. Money equals pride in this squabble and assuming Pac-Man beats Bradley, the timing would be perfect for a late 2012 battle.

However, until one or both of the fighters can put their pride to the side for the greater good of the sport, we’ll continue to be denied the biggest fight to come along in 20-plus years. 

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