Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: 5 Ways This Will Be Set Up After Pac-Man Beats JMM

Yes, Manny Pacquiao is stepping into the ring with the long-time thorn-in-his-side Juan Manuel Marquez in two days.

But the fight on everyone's mind is is the possible mega fight between Pacquiao and fellow welterweight great, Floyd Mayweather.

Once Pacquiao beats Marquez, handily, this Saturday night, the push will go back to getting the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight into the ring as soon as possible.

Here are five scenarios in which the fight of every boxing fan's dreams can occur, and finally give us the answer to the question: who is truly the best fighter of the last decade?

Mayweather Shows Up to Pacquiao Fight for Face-to-Face Challenge

The first surefire way to get the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight off the ground is for Mayweather to show up ringside and call out Pacquiao right after he takes care of business against Juan Manuel Marquez.

If the two fighters would have a heated exchange with the world watching, it would definitely make the fight that much more personal for both, making the possibility of the fight getting signed higher than it has ever been in three years of speculation.

Note: Mayweather took to his Twitter account and said the following:

"

FloydMayweather Floyd Mayweather Me and #TheMoneyTeam will be Taking over the #757 on Saturday Nov.12th at Mansion Allure. We had to push it back from Nov. 10th #VaStandUp

"

With him being in Virginia Beach, VA during the Pacquiao fight, it's a stretch, unless he pulls a fast one on everyone and hightails it back to his hometown of Las Vegas within the next two days.

Bob Arum Shuts Up

With Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum dismissing the possibility of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather meeting in the ring next year every chance he gets, it would help the fight negotiations going forward if Arum would close his mouth for a few months regarding the possible mega fight.

Even before Mayweather made the announcement that he will fight on May 5, 2012 in Las Vegas, and calling out Pacquiao without using his name, Arum told the crowd at a Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez  presser that the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight would never happen.

According to ESPN, Arum hasn't changed his stance even after Mayweather's announcement, and has called Money May's suggestion of fighting Pacquiao on May 5 a "sick joke."

If Arum backs off his bashing of Mayweather for a few months, just long enough to get the dream fight signed, it would do the boxing world wonders to allow the fight of the decade to finally come to fruition.

A Public Meeting Is Set Up

Another way for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather fight to take place is to set up a public meeting between the two fighters to let the world know it is happening, instead of keeping it private.

The more the public knows, the better.

If everyone knows that the fighters are meeting, then the pressure to get the fight signed will be more intense than it would be if the meetings were reported after the fact.

Setting up a press conference after each meeting—assuming it will take more than one meeting to get the fight signed—letting the world know how the negotiations are going and what still needs to be ironed out would make the public feel as if they're part of the negotiations, making the possibility of the fight becoming a reality that much better.

Pacquiao Himself Tells Ushe Will Take Drug Tests

Whenever the question is asked whether or not Manny Pacquiao is open to Olympic-style drug testing, it is always answered by someone other than Pacquiao, mainly Bob Arum.

If Pacquiao said in an interview that he has no problems at all with the proposed drug testing, then it would be in Floyd Mayweather's hands as to whether the fight is signed or not.

Since Mayweather's camp have mentioned they want "the little guy", who is presumably Pacquiao, there should be no further hang-ups getting the fight finalized.

Bring in a Mediator

Much like the lockouts of the past year of the NFL and NBA, in order to make any real progress in their talks, they had to bring in a federal mediator. Both brought in the same mediator—George Cohen.

Having a federal mediator—someone from an agency of the United States government who deals with arbitration and contract negotiations—would help the negotiation process go smoother, providing fewer opportunities for breakdowns in communication between the two fighters' camps.

With less bickering and more problem solving going on, the odds of the fight becoming a reality would be greatly increased by bringing in a federal mediator that negotiates for a living.