Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Is Key to Fixing Floyd Mayweather's Image

Isn't it ironic how the one thing Floyd "Money" Mayweather needs is also the one thing that he seems to avoid the most?

It's yet another case of getting what you want and not what you need, as Coldplay so eloquently put it. The one thing that Mayweather needs is exactly the one thing he doesn't want.

It's simple: Mayweather needs Manny Pacquiao.

All we've ever heard from Mayweather since he came back to the ring was how great he is and how he could take on, and beat, any boxer. While his record certainly does prove that, there is no denying that he's had a history of choosing smaller opponents that seem to be on the down side of their careers.

He had a chance to prove something in his recent bout with Victor Ortiz, but he lost any chance at redeeming his image the second the fight turned into a cheap-shot clinic.

The boxing world wants to see Mayweather put his money where his mouth is, and, unfortunately for him, there is only one way for him to do that.

Fighting Pacquiao would be the ultimate test for both fighters, but it would also be the ultimate ground for Mayweather to prove himself.

He talks about how he's the greatest ever and how he could absolutely destroy Pacquiao, but there is  only one way he could ever prove it.

Mayweather needs to step up to the plate and fight.

If he wins, nobody would be able to deny that he is the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, and then he can do all the trash talking he wants.

If he loses, at the very least he would gain the respect of a lot of his doubters that believe all he is doing is ducking the one fighter that can prove him wrong.

Either way, it's a win for Mayweather, but I don't think he sees it that way.

I doubt he cares about his image within the boxing world or his legacy as a fighter, but the truth of the matter is that those are both on the line.

He has the ability to fix all that, but he has to do the one thing he seems to be avoiding the most.

Mayweather needs to fight Pacquiao.