Floyd Mayweather Is Not Afraid of Manny Pacquiao

In the beginning of this year, negotiations for quite possibly one of the biggest fights in history fell apart. The undefeated boxing technician Floyd Mayweather and the explosive Manny Pacquiao were expected to fight on March 13.

However, the fight was cancelled after Pacquiao refused to submit to olympic style blood tests requested by Mayweather. 

Some people assume that Pacquiao indeed has something to hide and is manipulating his popularity to avoid taking blood tests that would expose him as a cheater.

Some people assume the blame for the cancellation falls on promoter Bob Arum. Arum’s disdain for Mayweather is very obvious and some think his stubborn attitude have caused negotiations to fall apart.

Most people, however, blame Mayweather for causing the fight to be cancelled. These people claim Mayweather is afraid of losing his undefeated record and the blood test demand is nothing but a tactic used to get out of the fight.

Let me be one of the first to say, Floyd Mayweather is NOT afraid of Manny Pacquiao.

There are various reasons to support this claim.

First off, Mayweather came out of retirement during the same time Manny began to dominate in the welterweight division. Floyd isn't stupid. He knew people would speculate about the fight once he returned. Why would he come out of retirement simply to “duck” Manny Pacquiao? It was to the contrary. He came back to prove he is still pound for pound Number One.

Secondly, if you look deeper into the negotiations, Mayweather sacrificed more than what most people realize. He agreed to a 50/50 split in revenue, glove size, and a penalty of $10 million for every pound over the requirement (none of these which he initially wanted). The only stipulation Mayweather had was random blood testing. Given what he was willing to sacrifice, it looks as if Mayweather wanted the fight more than most people believe.

Thirdly, Mayweather signed the fight with Shane Mosley after his fight with Pacquiao was cancelled. Many see Mosley as just as big a threat as Pacquiao: Mosley is almost as fast as Pacquiao and just as powerful. Not to mention, he's bigger than both Mayweather and Pacquiao. While still not in his prime, Mosley still posed a big threat to Mayweather and was rated number three on the pound for pound list.

Nonetheless, Mayweather dominated that fight impressively.

With all that said, I doubt Mayweather is scared of Pacquiao. It’s simply not a plausible argument. I know it’s the ideal thing to say, given the disdain many people have for Floyd. But there comes a time when you have to use your brain.

Floyd’s dilemma is that he thinks Pacquiao is on PEDs. While he may not be scared of stepping in the ring with him, he is still aware of the risk involved in any fight. Therefore, he wants to be confident they are fighting on an even playing field if they do fight. And now that Pacquiao refused the tests, it’s only made him more suspicious.

As the soap opera continues, one can only hope it ends with a fight. Time will tell.

One thing is for sure though, Floyd Mayweather is not afraid of Manny Pacquiao.