As the virtues of Manny Pacquiao
are being extolled by Bolton's finest, the future of Floyd Mayweather Jnr lurches between a rap and a hard place.
are being extolled by Bolton's finest, the future of Floyd Mayweather Jnr lurches between a rap and a hard place. As our own Amir Khan gives thanks for falling under the influence of Filipino shanty-town courtesy rather than US ghetto culture, Zab Judah predicts retirement for his African-American soul-mate.
As one door finally opens - Haye versus Klitschko is signed, sealed and ready to be delivered - another stays closed. Maybe permanently.According to Judah, a former world champion in the throes of resurrecting his own career, Mayweather has confided that he is finished with boxing. If so then the richest fight of all time will never happen.
Pacquiao versus Mayweather - for the indisputable title of greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world - is already jeopardised by Floyd Junior's impending assault trials. Now Judah is indicating that Mayweather is hanging up the gloves.
When he reports his ring-mate as saying that he is going to 'chill out for at least a couple of years,' it carries a worrying ring of authenticity.
Mayweather faces two delayed court cases in Las Vegas next month and the latest hot tip from the gambling capital of the world is that if he fails to beat the rap he will serve two of the 34 years' maximum sentence.
Even if Pacquiao - now a Philippines congressman as well as an unprecedented eight-division world champion - was willing to wait that long, his patience with a rival who has insinuated that he is a drugs cheat might be in vain.
Mayweather - perhaps realising that the safest way of protecting the unbeaten record about which he obsesses is to quit the ring before fighting Pacquiao - is hinting at an afterlife in music and movies with his friend and business partner, the rapper 50 Cent.
Would that make Money Mayweather the full dollar? Not according to Khan.
At the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, just before jetting off with master-trainer Freddie Roach to join the PacMan at their Philippines trainng camp, Britain's world light-welterweight champion said: 'Look at Manny, he is a nice guy, modest and generous with everyone, especially those who come from poverty like himself.
'Then you look at Floyd Mayweather, who is a great talent but has a bad personality. I don't want to be known as a fighter like that. I want to be loved the way people love Manny.'
To that end, like Pacquiao, Khan devotes much of his time to charity.
The pair of them are back together sparring for their upcoming fights. Khan defends his title against Ireland's unbeaten European champion Paul McCloskey in Manchester on April 16, with an eye to a world championship unification battle with Tim Bradley in July.
Pacquiao takes on Sugar Shane Mosley in Vegas on May 7.
Mayweather, meanwhile, is less profitably engaged. And even if he did feel inclined to come back after two years in a hard place with Pacquiao possibly retired by then, it might be discouraging for him to find a fully developed Amir Khan gloved up and awaiting his return.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
