Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: The anti-climatic, never ending soap opera
A fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. over the years has become a fairy tale that has yet to see its happily ever after ending.
Fight fans have grown tired of the two most popular fighters in the world exchange verbal tirades against each other over the past six years. Over the years, Mayweather has insulted Pacquiao in interviews and on social media. While Pacquiao has kept his squeaky-clean image and taken the higher road.
Until recently.
Mayweather recently insulted Pacquiao after he questioned his desire to finally step foot in the ring against him. Mayweather posted a photo of an unconscious Pacquiao on the canvas, after his 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, and said, “Miss Pac Man is broke and desperate for a pay day. Your pay-per-view numbers are a joke.”
After the pound-for-pound king’s antics, Pacquaio said he was unaffected by his taunts.
“I’m not affected by it,” Pacquiao told a TV station in his native Philippines. “I pity him and I pray that someday he would change his ways. (Mayweather) should fear God.”
Pacquiao then quoted the Bible, “for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Pacquiao went on to claim the fight between the two could finally take place around spring or fall next year.
Yawn! Fight fans have heard those words over, and over again.
Then things got interesting Thursday when news broke that Floyd Mayweather Sr. told FightHype.com that the fight would “definatley” happen. Mayweather Sr. added it’s a fight the entire world wants to see.
But Mayweather Jr. was quick to disspell the allegations.
“Well my father is totally wrong,” he told FightHype.com “Like I said before, we have people constantly being removed from the Mayweather Promotions team, Team Mayweather, and we also have people being removed from The Money Team. I want my dad to be with my team, but if he continues to go out there and speak on things that he has no knowledge about without communicating with me, then I must get a new trainer.”
Although he did not say the fight would ever happen, Mayweather went on to share his desire to fight Amir Khan next. He dismissed the notion he would like to fight Pacquiao, despite his post-fight remarks to Jim Gray following his Sept. 13 rematch against Marcos Maidana.
“I’m gonna go and talk to my team and see what the future holds,” Mayweather told Gray. “I don’t know who I’m fighting in May but I expect to fight in May. Manny Pacquiao needs to focus on the guy in front of him. Once he gets past him, he can look to the future. If the Pacquiao fight presents itself, let’s make it happen.”
Pacquiao knows and said he must focus on Chris Algieri, but after years of build up, his periphial vision must be locked on his rival. But if Pacquiao takes Algieri lightly, fight fans could see another upset and a deep pothole on the road to Mayweather/Pacquiao.
Many expect Pacquiao to emerge victorious in China Nov. 22, often over looking the slick boxing style that gave Ruslan Provodnikov problems in June. Algeiri upset Pacquiao’s stable mate and earned the decision en route to claiming the WBO junior welterweight championship.
All eyes should be tuned into the fight in November because the outcome will play a huge factor in who Mayweather opts to fight in May.
Early indications point towards Khan.
Mayweather recently said his father is “desperate” for him to take the Khan fight. Mayweather said his father wants him to “shut the kid up and put him down.”
“My Dad doesn’t like fighters trash talking his son, but he knows as well as I do that if the fight happen, then I am going to punish him,” Mayweather said. “If he thinks he can trash talk me and get away with it he needs to think again. … My Dad wants the fight, I want to put him on his backside. So hopefully we can make it happen.
“I have always said that nobody has any right just to get a fight with me. I am nobody’s pay day, I am nobody’s meal ticket. I take fights that I believe will test me, and will put on a good show for the fans. I ain’t ever taken a fight just because somebody has been running off their mouth. If Khan gets his fight, it will be because I think he deserves a shot.”
– Jose Quintero @Jose Swift8755
US Editor for BehindTheGloves.com
Leave a Reply