Floyd Mayweather: Time Has Come to Make Deal with Manny Pacquiao

Walk down the street and ask someone for their opinion of what Floyd Mayweather Jr. did on Saturday when he knocked Victory Ortiz out.

You'll get a lot of different comments.

Some will say that he took a cheap shot and should have been disqualified.

Others will say that he's a punk, even if what he did was technically legal.

Lastly, you'll get people (like me) who say that he didn't do anything wrong and that we need to get off of his back.

But you know what? Who's right in this matter is not at all relevant. The fact of the matter is that while opinions are wide, they are almost all strong.

But what makes the Yankees work? Why do their playoff and World Series games tend to draw significantly better than every team in the league?

It's the same thing that makes Notre Dame football worthy of its own TV contract even though they haven't won a National Championship since 1988 and haven't seriously competed for one since 1993.

The opinions on these teams are strong. People tune in to watch the Yankees win, or they tune in hoping they will lose. The networks don't really care which team you're cheering for.

NBC doesn't care if Notre Dame isn't a contender. They care about what their ratings tell them. If the ratings are strong, Notre Dame isn't going anywhere.

And finally, that brings us to a Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. What in the world does this have to do with the Yankees and Notre Dame?

People care. Honestly, people have always wanted to see this fight. The clamoring for these two greats to get in the ring against each other is nothing new.

But now we have Mayweather. What happened on Saturday is drawing the attention of people that aren't even fans of the sport. There will never be a better time for these two to lock up. After Pacquiao fights Juan Manuel Marquez in November (assuming he wins), no time should be wasted in getting these two signed on for a fight.

Whether people like Mayweather or they despise him, they will tune in. That's all that matters for the people selling the fight, and the people getting that money. Mayweather is one of those people.

More important than legacy, Mayweather needs this for the bottom line. The money will never be greater than it is right now.