They say that mere words can move mountains. In boxer Manny Pacquiao's case, small fists can rock the stars of the welterweight division.
This past weekend, Pacquiao demolished his third welterweight opponent, this being Miguel Cotto, the first true welterweight he has faced since his ascent into the higher ranks at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in front of more than 16,000 fans.
In Cotto, (34-2, 27KO) Pacquiao faced the toughest opponent in his fourteen year career, as Pacquiao sent a weight depleted Oscar De La Hoya into retirement last December and steam rolled through light-welterweight Ricky Hatton in May of this year. Cotto was the first true, in prime 147 pound fighter Pacquiao has faced, and the Pac Man passed with flying colors with two knockdowns en route to a decisive 12th round stoppage for the WBO title this past weekend.
What Manny Pacquiao has accomplished in the past 17 months in the sport of boxing has been nothing short of spectacular.
The Philippine born Pacquiao has boldly stepped up in weight class, from fighting his first career bout at the weight of 106, to last weekends fight, where he weight in at 144, winning titles in seven weight classes, the Pac Man has provided history before our eyes.
What looms next is what the media is penning as the match made in heaven, a fight that comes along every once in a generation, a battle between the top two boxers in the world, Manny Pacquiao v. Floyd Mayweather.
The fight is expected to top all financial records, purse, pay per views, ticket sales, and could become the most viewed boxing night in the sports history around the globe.
Heading into the Cotto fight, many believed that the match would set up a dream fight against Mayweather, and now here it is, a match to be made and written endlessly about until the fight is signed with the signatures of Mayweather and Pacquiao.
The fight would provide the same ascent for the sport as Pacquiao has received, a much needed global attention that could propel boxing into the national sports limelight, if not for a few months, at least one magic night where two of the sports best glove up against each other.
Pacquiao, (50-3, 38KO) threw the first punch already, saying before the Cotto fight that a Mayweather fight probably won't happen.
"I don't think it's going to happen," Pacquiao said. "I'm sure he doesn't want to fight."
"Boxing for him is like a business," Pacquiao said. "He doesn't care about the people around him watching. He doesn't care if the fight is boring, as long as the fight is finished and he gets (plenty of) money. … I want people to be happy. You have a big responsibility as a boxer."
Truer words have never been spoken while speaking of Mayweather, who repeatedly refers to the picking of his opponents as ‘business decisions', and in a recent radio interview with rapper RA ‘Da Rugged Man' stated that his legacy as a fighter "don't pay the bills". "Legacy don't pay the bills," is verbatim from FMJ.
Mayweather responded this week to Pacquiao's first punch.
He said during an interview he did leading up to his fight that he didn't think I wanted to fight him and that boxing for me was just a business and I wasn't interested in a good fight. But again, he never said during that interview that he would fight me. Why is he talking about what I won't do instead of what he wants to do? Plain and simple, it's because he knows he can't beat me under any circumstances," said Mayweather.
Mayweather wants Pacquiao to personally ask him for the fight, however that won't be the final issue of the fight being made.
"Tell Manny Pacquiao to be his own man and stop letting everyone, including his loudmouth trainer, talk for him. I am my own boss, speak for myself and tell it like it is. If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight me, all he has to do is step up to the plate and say it himself."
The ultimate issue at hand in making Pacquiao v. Mayweather will be money. The purse split will be on the mind of both fighters, as Pacquiao himself has also engaged in purse wars with DLH and Hatton. Both fighters, both promotional companies, will make big assertions as to who should receive the larger slice of the pie based on pay per view sales, as Floyd Mayweather pulled in a million for his comeback fight against Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao registered _ buys for his fight with Cotto. (Writers note, as of deadline, the official pay per view numbers have not been released for Pacquaio v. Cotto.)
Promoter Bob Arum, who promoted Mayweather early in his career, has an open distaste for Mayweather and Co., yet will look to Golden Boy's CEO Richard Schaeffer as a mediator in making the fight made. Floyd Mayweather has let GBP take the lead in promoting in his past three fights, and will be doing the same if a match against Pacquiao is made, pitting the two rival companies directly against each other. Arum is currently holding off on negotiations until the Cotto v. Pacquiao pay per view numbers come out to use as a negotiating tool.
Simply put though, there is simply too much money on the table for both parties for this fight to not be made.
In speaking of Schaefer, Arum had this to say recently, alongside still fueling his discontent for Mayweather and working with him in a business sense.
"Once he's authorized (Schaefer), things will proceed. I'm not going to play Mayweather's games, though. I'm not going to let my fighter play Mayweather's games. If Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao and make a lot of money, he can do so. But God love him, no one is forcing him to fight and if he wants to play games or he doesn't want the fight, he can do what he wants."
"The only reason I want this Mayweather fight is because the public wants it so badly," Arum said. "Boxing is on a real, real roll right now and I don't want to do anything to get it off that. But if that doesn't matter to him, OK, it doesn't matter to him. I have no problem.
"But I would feel I cheated the sport I've worked in for so long if I stood in the way of this fight happening. Because of that, I'll do everything in my power to try to make it happen. Do I really want this happening, though? Other than that, the answer is no."
This match up will be the biggest between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, which may help to be a deciding factor in making the fight possible. Both companies like to be viewed as the premier promotion in boxing, and a win by their employees would provide bragging rights in 2010.
Boxing will have to wait several months to find out if the fight will happen, yet one thing is sure: Pacquaio v. Mayweather will be one of the biggest fights ever.
The fight will also serve as one last mountain Pacquaio is to climb before he will be thought of as one of the best boxers to ever lace up a pair of gloves.
Notes on Mayweather v. Pacquiao
This fight should take place in a stadium as opposed to the usual casino. Promoter Bob Arum has proposed stadiums from Texas, to New York, to New Orleans. It doesn't matter which one he picks, just pick one! To get 50 to 60 thousand people to watch the biggest fight in boxing in decades would be the best thing to do.
Last point from this writer: no matter what you read in the weeks to come, don't expect a quick signing of this fight. Pacquiao will most likely take a month vacation, so the fight can't be physically signed until at least 2010. Until then, everything will just be hearsay and Floyd Mayweather's weekly rants.
THROUGH MY EYES
Yes, trainer Joe Santiago should have stopped the fight sooner than the 12th round after seeing Miguel Cotto had no chance at winning the fight. I guess that's where the ‘rookie trainer' card can be pulled out. I wrote recently that referees need to better protect boxers, well the same goes for their trainers… Z Gorres is in a more stable condition this week, which is a good sign. Too many boxers have died this year due to injuries, not to mention the tragedies of Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest. 2009 has not been kind in that sense in the sport of boxing… Mosley v. Berto to open up 2010! It should provide an awesome opening to what could be a terrific year for the sport, which could also see the biggest fight in the past thirty years if Pac v. Money is made… Kelly Pavlik fighting one week later than the cancelled Williams bout? Well, I guess Williams and Co. were tired of being dicked around with cancellations. If Pavlik/Williams can happen in 2010, man, what a year it would be for the sport… Kessler v. Ward this weekend. Yes, yes, yes, I picked Cotto this last weekend. But I'm moving forward, and I'm going with Ward.
Source: 411mania.com
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