It’s hard to know what Manny Pacquiao thinks about all the mixed signals coming from Floyd Mayweather Jr. these days.
First, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum tells the Filipino media that Mayweather wanted $100 million in undisclosed talks for the biggest fight nobody has yet to see.
Then, Mayweather brags on twitter by displaying a winning ticket for $37,272.75 on a bet that the Atlanta Hawks wouldn’t outscore the Chicago Bulls by six or more points in the second half. If accurate, Arum is 100 million times right in interpreting Mayweather’s demand as just another way of saying — no, hell no — he won’t fight.
But the winning ticket from Las Vegas’ M Resort looks like another good bet that Mayweather is going to need more than a nickname to pay his bills. He calls himself Money, but he won’t have much of it if gambling is a habit and criminal lawyers are a necessity.
Let’s just say that it’s safe to assume Mayweather isn’t tweeting anything that ever looks like a losing ticket. For anybody who has invested part of a paycheck at a Vegas’ book, it is also a good bet that the losers outnumber the winners.
Does Pacquiao even care? If he doesn’t, then there are 100 million more reasons to believe the long-awaited showdown will happen only in a video game. Pacquiao already is well into his second career as a politician. As the public and media grow weary of the continuing speculation, Pacquiao appears to already have moved on and beyond.
Sometimes, however, money – or the urgent need for some – creates big fights. There continues to be talk that Shane Mosley, who faces Pacquiao on May 7 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, has to fight to pay for his divorce. That price is as cynical as it is steep. It is also dangerous. But it has always been there.
Mayweather, who faces eight criminal charges for an alleged incident involving a former girlfriend, has countless ways of saying he won’t do this and he might do that. It’d be no surprise if he soon denies that Arum’s latest story about negotiations that heretofore had gone unreported. It would be a lot harder for him to deny that he wants $100 million.
But Mayweather’s words don’t really matter. It’s what he shows us. The latest offering is several zeroes short of what his nickname claims and one reason to think that Pacquiao-Mayweather will happen.
NOTES, QUOTES
· The best hope for a resurrected heavyweight division is an NFL work stoppage that lasts, say, a couple of years. Baltimore Ravens safety Tommy Zbikowski, who fights Saturday night in Atlantic City on the Yuriorkis Gamboa-Jorge Solis undercard, is as skilled and athletic a prospect as there is on the side of the world that does not include a Klitschko. Zbikowski is evidence that America’s best heavyweights are in the NFL. “Yeah, it might be true,’’ said Zbikowski, who says Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata could be a great one. “The Klitschkos are the best right now and they’ve been the best for a long time. Just because they’re in Europe doesn’t mean there are not great heavyweights. I think a lot of the American heavyweights right now are playing football. Boxing is honestly one of the most athletic things you can do. To be a good boxer, you have to be very athletic. Right now, you’re seeing the top athletes go to college to get an education. I think if you have boxing back at the collegiate level, you might have some more American heavyweights.”
· And another shot in the Golden Boy-Top Rank feud could be fired next week. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said Wednesday that he is planning to meet with Juan Manuel Marquez. There is rampant speculation that Marquez will jump from Golden Boy to Top Rank. That might be the only way he gets a second rematch with Pacquiao. “We don’t know what Márquez’s plan or plans are,’’ Schaefer said during a conference call for an April 9 card topped by Erik Morales-Marcos Maidana and will include Robert Guerrero, Michael Katsidis and James Kirkland at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “I am actually scheduled to meet with him next week in Mexico and see what he is planning on doing.’’
Source: 15rounds.com
