Man of the people: A statue of Pacquiao is unveiled at the Mall of Asia in suburban Manila
Manny Pacquiao has promised to box on for up to three more years but even if Floyd Mayweather Jnr ever braces himself to challenge the Filipino phenomenon for the mythical title of the greatest pound-for-pound boxer on earth it looks increasingly unlikely that he will be at liberty to do so.
While the PacMan has carried on beating bigger and bigger men inside the ring to establish a seemingly unsurpassable record of eight world titles in different weight divisions, the Money Man keeps collecting criminal indictments for alleged violence outside the ropes.
Increasingly, Mayweather seems hell-bent on following Mike Tyson down the troubled path which put the iron man behind iron bars.
Already facing a January court date on charges of assaulting the mother of his children, theft and witness harassment - which carry a notional maximum jail sentence of 34 years - Mayweather keeps running foul of the law.
He has been accused now of attacking a security guard at a gated residential estate and, most recently, of trying to drive off the road a former associate who says he has feared for his life since one of Mayweather's body guards was convicted of firing shots at him in Las Vegas.
Nevada State prosecutors were initially reported to be disinclined to press for a custodial sentence but Sin City is now said to be concerned about allowing one of its most famous citizens to run out of control.
Not only his freedom but his cherished pseudonym now appears to be at risk.
Most of the millions banked by Money Mayweather could well disappear in legal fees if he has to fight three high profile criminal cases. Also, resolution of a libel action for unsubstantiated insinuations that Pacquiao uses performance-enhancing drugs is still pending.
This is sad and the sycophants who surround Mayweather with assurances that he is invincible must bear much of the blame.
Mayweather's formidable talent is being corroded by ego to the point where he is defending the unbeaten recorded about which he is so obsessive only by not fighting.
If he had been in training for the super-fight against Pacquiao which the world wants to see - but for which it is becoming tired of waiting - he would not only be too occupied to get into trouble but also preparing to bank his share of boxing's first $200million promotion instead of losing money.
As Pacquiao works for the poor as a Philippines Congressman while pondering his next opponent, Mayweather is in meltdown.
As one American commentator wryly observes, the way the Money Man is going his next defences of his undefeated record may well take place in the exercise yard of a state penitentiary.
Juan Manuel Marquez has stepped up his campaign for a third fight against Pacquiao - their record stands at one draw and a controversial victory for the PacMan - with a ninth-round stoppage of Michael Katsidis, the Australian who knocked West Ham's Kevin Mitchell off the world lightweight title track.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
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