Manny Pacquiao Challenges Floyd Mayweather Jr. to Join Negotiating Table

Manny Pacquiao has called on longtime rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. to give the fans what they want, challenging him to negotiations regarding the long-awaited superfight between the two pound-for-pound kings.

As reported by ESPN, the Filipino slugger voiced his desire to make the bout happen when he spoke to the press ahead of his welterweight title defence against Chris Algieri on Nov. 22 in Macau:

"

I do have one specific goal and that is to give the boxing fans the fight they have always asked for. I want that fight [with Mayweather] too.

I believe good-faith negotiations could produce that fight. But it is impossible to negotiate when you are the only one sitting at the table. Two fighters who want to fight each other have never been kept from fighting each other. 

"

People have been dying for the two fighters to meet in the ring for years, but the limited negotiations between both camps have always ended in disappointment.

Fans have often blamed the failings on Mayweather, who is still undefeated in 47 professional bouts but never fought his toughest challenger—Pacquiao. Others have pointed to the rift between HBO and Showtime, with both fighters contracted to the rivaling TV networks.

John Locher/Associated Press

Pac-Man's promoter Bob Arum believes that shouldn't be a problem, however, referring to a similar complication that was resolved when Lennox Lewis fought Mike Tyson in 2002.

True to his nature, he then turned around and placed the blame squarely on Mayweather's shoulders, per ESPN:

"

How can I talk for Mayweather? As far as the Pacquiao fight is concerned with Mayweather, as much as a lot of people surrounding it would want it to happen, myself included and Manny included, Floyd is reluctant to fight Manny Pacquiao, period. If people don't see that by now, they are never going to see it.

"

ESPN's Skip Bayless has agreed with that opinion for a long time:

Mayweather was last seen in the ring when he fought Marcos Maidana for the second time in September, and after that bout, he answered the obligatory Pacquiao questions in typical fashion:

"

As of right now, I will enjoy my time off. We don't know who we gonna be fighting next. I don't even think about Pacquiao. I don't even know him actually. But I wish him nothing but the best. But that's not my focus. I could care less about what Pacquiao does. I don't wish anything bad on the man. I try not to focus on no one else's business.

If it happens, it happens. You guys can keep asking the same questions over and over. I move when I want to, where I want to, and how I want to.

"

Much ink has already been spilled over this hypothetical superfight, with most analysts agreeing the bout should happen but likely never will. Bad blood between Arum and Mayweather is but one of many issues standing in the way, and each fighter's respective TV deals doesn't help, either.

The duo have dominated the pound-for-pound rankings in the past decade, winning titles in multiple weight classes and obliterating the opposition in the process. Countless great fighters have stood across from either contender but, somehow, getting them in the ring together never even seemed like a possibility.

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

Fans gained hope from the fact both are nearing the end of their careers (Pacquiao turns 36 in December; Mayweather turns 38 in February), and there's little doubt the pay-per-views would reach unprecedented heights.

But Mayweather still has other lucrative options waiting, including the likes of Amir Khan and Devon Alexander, who will meet in December. And as long as Arum keeps making allusions to the fact he's supposedly "scared" to fight Pac-Man, the 37-year-old will feel no need to enter negotiations with Pacquiao's camp.

Pacquiao's insistence to make this bout happen is a positive sign, and just maybe it may be the first step on the path to giving fans what they've long been waiting for—the biggest fight of the decade.

Follow @ReverschPass