Imagine Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal not playing each other.
Or Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton refusing to race against each other.
Sounds crazy, but in boxing it can happen that two great rivals go through their careers without ever meeting.
Boxing is full of 'what ifs' and the fear is Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao could be added to that list because of boxing politics.
You'd think it would be straight forward getting them in the same ring to see who really is the greatest fighter of our generation.
But then boxing has never been that simple.
Mayweather and Pacquiao are looked after by rival promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank respectively, who are not famed for their co-operation.
Then there is the small issue of purses and 'Money' Mayweather would want the lion's share from what would be the richest fight in history because he is the world pound-for-pound king.
Hopefully all these hurdles can be overcome because boxing desperately needs these two to get it on.
Boxing has taken a bit of a battering in recent years, particularly in the States, because people have been switched off by the politics and the ever-increasing alphabet titles.
UFC has also hit it hard and MMA is seen as more action-packed and brutal than boxing.
Boxing has slipped away from terrestrial TV and has become almost a minority sport like rallying or darts.
Mayweather against Pacquiao would put boxing firmly back on centre stage.
This would be a clash between two genuine greats in their prime, who are already guaranteed to be Hall of Famers.
Between them Pacman and Pretty Boy have won world titles at 11 different weights and they probably can't remember the numerous world titles they have won.
Global pay-per-view sales would smash all records and as Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said: "This is a fight the whole world wants to see."
We need to know who's best. Logic says Mayweather and he is the bigger man, having beaten Oscar De La Hoya at light-middleweight.
But what about the devastating way Pacquaio has moved through the light-welterweight and welterweight divisions with his stoppages of Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto?
We need to know the answer to these questions.
Source: mirror.co.uk
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