Manny Pacquiao: Why Pac-Man Must Fight Floyd Mayweather Next

Manny Pacquiao’s third duel with Juan Manuel Marquez was just as controversial as the first two, but the question on everyone’s mind is if a fight with Floyd Mayweather is in the cards today.

Despite their personal preferences, the answer to that question must be yes.

Pacquiao has been criticized in recent years for taking fights with opponents who were clearly inferior. That is not necessarily an insult, because he is the best boxer in the world today, and there are few fighters who have the talent to hang with him.

No disrespect to Antonio Margarito or Shane Mosley, but they were thrown to the wolves just to get Pacquiao on pay-per-view, because he is a cash cow that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue anytime he fights.

Mayweather and Marquez are the only fighters in the same weight class—or at least one close enough that Pacquiao can get to without ruining what it is that makes him special as a boxer—and he has already defeated Marquez twice.

Everyone knows that the next fight for both Mayweather and Pacquiao has to be against each other, though just how anxious they are to lock horns remains to be seen.

In an article written by Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times, money is obviously the driving force behind a fight, but that might not be enough to get Mayweather and Pacquiao together.

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Arum likes Mayweather and his people the way Rick Perry likes presidential debates.

Arum wants the fight for all the obvious reasons, including money. But he also knows that it may never happen, that deals like that come hard. So he always has a lurking alternative for Pacquiao. This time, it is unbeaten Tim Bradley, a new member of Top Rank's stable...

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The idea of an undercard fighter who had a a boring fight on the undercard being in line to take a fight with Pacquiao and prevent a bout with Mayweather is hard for a lot of fans and analysts to swallow. 

Both Pacquiao and Mayweather know that they have to fight, and with no real challenges left for either man, now is the time to make that dream a reality.

Boxing needs the fight to happen, Mayweather needs the fight to happen, and Pacquiao needs the fight to happen.

At some point, they have to put aside their personal differences and do what is in the best interest of their careers and the sport of boxing.