Three Scenarios for the Floyd Mayweather, Jr./Manny Pacquiao Dream Match

The fight that most boxing fans around the world want to see is not happening this year, and chances are, it will not happen next year or ever at all.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, has failed not just once, but twice in negotiating with the camp of Mayweather for the dream fight to happen.

During the first negotiations, which started late last year, the promoters have all agreed on almost all points of the terms and conditions of the fight, but at the last minute, Mayweather demanded that Pacquiao undertake random drug and urine tests before he would agree to fight the Filipino boxer.

Mayweather accused Pacquiao of taking steroids, or performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), to gain undue advantage over his opponents. Mayweather was joined by his father, Floyd, Sr. on the drug charges without presenting any evidence.

Pacquiao denied the accusations and later sued Mayweather and company for defamation. Pacquiao claimed he has never been found by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to have used or dealt on drugs. The case is now under litigation in a California district court.

After the termination of the first failed negotiations, Mayweather and Pacquiao have fought separate opponents. Pacquiao kept the March 13 date set for his fight with Mayweather and engaged Joshua Clottey of Ghana in a boring fight before 50,000 spectators at the huge Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A month and a half after Pacquiao's lopsided fight and unanimous victory over Joshua Clottey, Mayweather fought Shane Mosley, likewise winning via a unanimous decision.

After winning over their respective opponents, Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, once again engaged Mayweather's promoters in another long-drawn negotiating process that ended when Mayweather failed to respond to Bob Arum's deadline to sign the contract.

Right after the lapse of the Arum deadline, Pacquiao turned to Mexican Antonio Margarito to take Mayweather's place for his scheduled November fight, while Mayweather continues to take his own sweet time by not responding to the fight challenge issued by the Filipino boxer.

More than a month after the last failed talks, discussions and speculations on the possible outcome of the dream fight continue to dominate the Internet as well as the print and broadcast media.

Opinion polls conducted on the most wanted fight of the year show that a great majority of the boxing public still want the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight to happen. And as long as boxing fans continue to talk about the fight, there is a good chance it will happen, not this year but in the very near future.

Here are three possible scenarios:

MAYWEATHER SAYS YES TO PACQUIAO'S CHALLENGE

Responding to Pacquiao's challenge and citing intense and nonstop clamor from boxing fans around the world, Mayweather finally says yes to Pacquiao for a fight to be held next year, possibly in March or May.

Among other things, Mayweather will demand a higher fight purse, possibly 60/40 sharing in his favor if Margarito defeats Pacquiao on November 13. If Pacquiao wins over the Mexican fighter, the undefeated boxer will settle for a 50/50 split.

All other terms and conditions agreed by the parties during the last negotiations will remain and will form part of the deal.

The resulting contract will provide for an automatic and immediate rematch, which will most likely ends in a trilogy.

The announcement will end once and for all, and the public's perception will be that he is scared to face Pacquiao because he knows that the Filipino boxer could take away his "zero" loss record.

MAYWEATHER SAYS NO AND ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT FROM BOXING

Mayweather will say he won't fight Pacquiao or anyone else and announces his semi-retirement from boxing. By announcing his retirement, he will remain undefeated in his entire professional boxing career.

As everyone knows, Mayweather is proud of his unblemished record in his professional career, which gives him legitimacy as the great boxer he wants to be known in boxing history books.

MAYWEATHER WILL REMAIN SILENT AND NON COMMITTAL

The undefeated boxer will maintain status quo and continue to dwell on his silent mode to keep the current media firestorm on the possible outcome of the dream match.

By not directly addressing the world's most desired fight, he will continue to be media's target for news source and in the process remain in the limelight to keep his popularity as a sports celebrity.

He will probably issue bits and pieces about his other plans and activities and let Don King do the talking for him to maintain his presence in the boxing scene.

Boxing analysts say Floyd will take the third scenario by maintaining status quo and remaining noncommittal with his plans for the dream match. They think Mayweather will make a dramatic announcement after the Pacquiao-Margarito match in November.