By John Whisler, San Antonio Express
So here we are again, back where we were a few short months ago when Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao left us at the altar.
With convincing victories in recent weeks, both men have staked their claims to being regarded as boxing's best.
So is there any chance they'll come to their senses and say yes to a fight?
Not if you listened to Mayweather after he won a lopsided decision over Shane Mosley last week. The victory only seemed to harden “Pretty Boy” Floyd's hard-line stance on drug testing.
“If Manny takes the test, we can make the fight happen,” he said. “If he doesn't, we don't have a fight.”
Just like that, Mayweather KO'd the hopes of fans everywhere that boxing's two best fighters would meet in what surely would be the richest fight in the sport's history.
The way Mayweather dominated Mosley, it's easy to see why he's refusing to back off his demands.
Mayweather thinks he's the best, and nothing he did against Mosley served to weaken his argument.
Mosley figured to be Mayweather's toughest test to date. And two rounds into their 12-round bout, he appeared to be just that.
He won the first round and rocked Mayweather with a straight right in the second. The punch caught Mayweather flush on the chin and caused his legs to buckle. It seemed Mosley might upset the man who earlier in the week had boasted he was better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.
But Mosley couldn't close the show.
What followed was a shocking turn of events. In a matter of minutes, Mosley went from looking like Superman to fighting like Clark Kent. He went from full control to on the ropes.
Mysteriously, he stopped punching and watched helplessly as Mayweather — often criticized for his cautious fighting style — did what few thought they would ever see him do.
He stood his ground and became the aggressor.
Mayweather, who earned $22.5 million for the fight (Mosley received $7 million), dominated the rest of the way, pitching a shutout on the scorecards over the final 10 rounds.
That domination was as evident in the punch stats as it was on the scorecards.
Mayweather landed 208 of 477 punches to just 92 of 452 for Mosley. After the second round, Mosley landed double-digit punches only once, in the sixth round.
Pacquiao watched from the Philippines and told reporters there he's eager to fight.
“Yes, I want Mayweather,” he said.
But it appears the only way he'll get him is if he softens his stance on drug testing.
It's not that Pacquiao refuses to be tested. He will, but not too close to the fight because he believes having his blood taken might somehow weaken him.
He's agreed to allow his blood to be checked 24 days prior to the fight, while Mayweather demanded both fighters be tested 14 days in advance.
Recently, though, Pacquiao said on his Web site he will agree to the 14-day window. Perhaps Pacquiao, who is running for Congress in his homeland (the election is Monday), is learning what all politicians must learn — the art of compromise.
So, does that mean we have a fight now?
We'll see. But for now we're back where we were a few months ago — two fighters locked in a strategic tug-of-war over a single issue.
A battle that so far has no winners, only losers.
The fans.
jwhisler@express-news.net
Source: mysanantonio.com
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