Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Can We Take Them Seriously If Fight Never Happens?

Although Floyd Mayweather insisted he hasn't been ducking a fight against WBO Welterweight World Champion Manny Pacquiao, he certainly hasn't been too forthcoming with a fight proposal.

That is, perhaps, until just last week. 

According to ESPN, Floyd "Money" Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, stated that the Mayweather camp is ready to go, choosing a time and place for Floyd's next big fight: May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Ellerbe also said that they wanted to make this next event a blockbuster, "We're looking to make the biggest fight possible and everyone knows what fight that is, the little fella."

The "little fella" obviously being the 53-3-2 Manny Pacquiao.

It makes me curious that Mayweather's camp picked a venue and date just before Pacquiao's fight against Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night. All he did was pick a place and time—he never blatantly came out and stated that he wanted Pacquiao; that was Ellerbe simply stating what would be the biggest fight.

If the past is any indication, it seems it's just a mind game by the WBC World Welterweight Champion Mayweather to get into Manny's head, and he has no real intention of fighting him come May 5th.

Floyd Mayweather is currently undefeated through 42 contests, 26 of which have come by knockout. Without a doubt, that goose egg in the loss column is another huge factor why Mayweather is cautious going forward with a fight against a warrior like the Pac-Man. By the same token, Pacquiao hasn't really been tested by a fighter of Mayweather's caliber yet.

From the beginning, Floyd Mayweather has continuously demanded that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-style random drug testing for the two of them to tango.

Pacquiao had agreed to take blood tests 24 days up until the fight and no later because he felt it would weaken him for the fight. After a mediation process, Mayweather agreed to a 14-day window (he originally wanted a week), but nothing ever came of the negotiations because of their time differences. 

There's no question that Pac-Man wants to be comfortable going into such a fight, as will Mayweather.

Right now, it's a battle of mind games and politics—a Cold War if you will. The only way for both of these premier athletes to get this behind them is to face each other in the ring.

It seems after very nitpicky policy set forth by Mayweather in the past, he's trying to save face by setting the next fight for May 5th, and it should be against Manny Pacquiao.

Should the 32-year-old Pacquiao defeat Marquez Saturday night, he will hopefully accept Mayweather's challenge.

However, if both fighters don't get their way, which doesn't seem all too likely, this fight just won't happen.

Both their legacies will forever be tarnished with the other's name should the fight not take place. Nobody wants to see it come to that, so let's hope we can start marking May 5th, 2012 on our calendars as a night to go down in boxing history.