Three Things That Could Finalize Mayweather-Pacquiao

Everyone has the bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao chalked up as the fight that could potentially save the sport of boxing. That’s what fans, promoters, and analysts were saying in March (until the fight fell through because of a dispute about drug testing) and that’s what they are saying again as the fight is back on track.

The fight is scheduled to take place November 13 at either the MGM Grand in Las Vegas or New Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves—this is exactly what happened in March. Both fighters need to cooperate on a few initiatives before this match-up is finalized.

1. Drop the lawsuits

First off, there is already a bad taste in both fighters’ mouths from the disagreement concerning drug testing.

Pacquiao previously refused to submit Olympic-style drug tests that require drawing blood. As a consequence, Mayweather and his entourage proceeded to talk themselves into multiple law suits for accusing Pacquiao of taking performance enhancing drugs without evidence.

We know that Mayweather doesn’t hold his tongue for anybody. It’s just in his nature. Unfortunately, that means that Pacquiao will have to be the bigger man in this situation and drop the law suits for the benefit of the fight. Once this happens, I think that both sides will be more willing to talk turkey.

2. Settle on drug testing

The next objective for both sides is to agree on a reasonable compromise for drug testing.

At this point, Pacquiao has agreed to offer blood tests up until 14 days before the fight, which seems sufficient. However, Mayweather hasn’t budged, still requesting Pacquiao to present a blood sample the day of the fight.

This may be asking too much.

Mayweather could possibly thwart one of the greatest match-ups in boxing history over meaninglessness. He shouldn’t take Pacquiao’s cooperation for granted. The fans deserve to see this fight, so it’s time for Mayweather to show boxing enthusiasts some compassion.



3. Lose the idea of fighting alternate opponents

Finally, both fighters have mentioned their respective Plan Bs in case this match-up should fall through.

Mayweather has been speculated to fight Sergio Martinez, while Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said they will pursue a fight with Antonio Margarito.

If negotiations do go wrong, the outcome would be devastating to boxing. This is most likely Pacquiao’s last career fight and Mayweather has already wandered in and out of retirement.

It is bad enough that boxing has been reduced to a limited viewing audience by pay-per-view television. Once you start making restricting your audience, the less popular the sport will become. It also causes paying viewers to expect more from the fights. Therefore, if Mayweather-Pacquiao doesn’t happen or even worse, fails to live up to expectation, it could be a fatal blow to boxing’s popularity.