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Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Pretty Boy Floyd Ducking Fight That Would Cement Legacy
November 17, 2011
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is ducking the one fight that would cement his legacy as the greatest pound-for-pound champion of his generation.
According to an ESPN report from boxing expert Dan Rafael, the proposed mega-fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao next May is off.
Rafael reports that Mayweather's advisers were notified by Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum that the side was not interested in any super-fight discussions, but it's hard to buy that as the truth.
Mayweather has been ducking this fight for the longest time, attempting to implement wacky drug test strategies and other cowardly maneuvers to deter Pacquiao from fighting him.
Sadly the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is the one fight that both boxers need to validate their superb careers.
Mayweather has never been defeated in 42 bouts, and a win over Pacquiao to remain undefeated is the only route he could have taken to become the greatest boxer of this generation.
Pacquiao could have cemented the exact same legacy with a win over Mayweather. But unfortunately for boxing fans, we may never know just how good these two fighters were.
This quote from Rafael's article suggests Pacquiao's side is the only roadblock in the way of the fight:
"I am sick and tired of Bob Arum twisting the truth. It's another case of 'yesterday I was lying, today I'm telling the truth,' the truth of the matter is that we received this afternoon an email from retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who has informed us that Top Rank is pursuing a rematch with Marquez and, therefore, is not interested in immediate talks for a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. This is obviously as clear as it can be that they have no intentions of making a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Therefore, Floyd Mayweather will have no other choice than to move on and identify and lock in another opponent for his ring return on May 5." - Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer
This may in fact be an accurate account of the situation by Schaefer, but the bottom line is that Mayweather's camp has been running from Pacquiao for so long that it was front page news just a few weeks ago when they announced they had a time and place for the fight.
The opportunity has come and gone for Mayweather to prove himself as one of the greatest boxing champions.
Mayweather was first afraid of the more powerful, younger Pacquiao, and now that he looks beatable after his controversial bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, the roles have been reversed.
All of a sudden Mayweather wants a piece of Pacquiao, and Pacquiao's camp wants to protect their rattled fighter from a fight he may not be ready for.
Regardless of who's to blame for this disgrace, Mayweather has dropped the ball and proved that he is merely the result of weak opposition and cowardly tactics.
