Boxing thread: Is Pacquiao/Mayweather really not going to happen?

[Crown&Coke]

boxing wont die, but it will never reach the heights that it had in the 70's through 90's, when boxing was pretty much must see TV. When Friday Night Fights was a fixture in most households, when PPV fights attention spread through word of mouth and not posters or commercials, when heavyweights ruled the kingdom

it will stay what it is now, basically a niche sport. people tune in when there is a lot of hype for certain fights. I mean the masses that is. Boxing fans will still watch, Im sure of that, but the casual viewer wont, and the caual viewer is what they are targeting for the sport to thrive as it once did

[dunksby]

Boxing is too corrupted to die anyway. Boxing is not gonna go while there are still hungry kids who got nothing to look forward to other than becoming a superstar athlete and get out of the shithole they live in or as long as at least Vegas exists.

[rezznor]

boxing wont die, but it will never reach the heights that it had in the 70's through 90's, when boxing was pretty much must see TV. When Friday Night Fights was a fixture in most households, when PPV fights attention spread through word of mouth and not posters or commercials, when heavyweights ruled the kingdom

it will stay what it is now, basically a niche sport. people tune in when there is a lot of hype for certain fights. I mean the masses that is. Boxing fans will still watch, Im sure of that, but the casual viewer wont, and the caual viewer is what they are targeting for the sport to thrive as it once did

as long as the best fighters keep acting like primadonnas and avoid each other, boxing will continue to lose it's fanbase.

[heavensdevil]

40 million straight... that is good enough. That would be the most Pac has made in his entire lifetime

[JustinJDW]

The fight will most likely never happen, at least not while Mayweather remains undefeated and Pac-Man is in his current state. The thing is, Floyd Mayweather is easily without a a doubt head above heels the biggest draw in boxing. He has brought a plethora of causal fans to the sport. Dude is undefeated, and makes more money for more people in the sport than anyone.

He shouldn't be splitting revenue down the middle with anyone.

[wpdougie2180]

The fight will most likely never happen, at least not while Mayweather remains undefeated and Pac-Man is in his current state. The thing is, Floyd Mayweather is easily without a a doubt head above heels the biggest draw in boxing. He has brought a plethora of causal fans to the sport. Dude is undefeated, and makes more money for more people in the sport than anyone.

He shouldn't be splitting revenue down the middle with anyone.

Why do people keep saying this as if saying it will make it true????

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/01/...-three-fights/

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sport...yweather-again

So again why doesn't he deserve a 50/50 split, he also said he'd do a 45/45 split with the winner getting the other 10%.

[AirGauge23]

WWhat other great draws are up-and-coming in boxing that could create this type of hype, or anywhere near it, in the near future?

Alvarez vs Chavez Jr.

But like Floyd/Pac, it might never happen. Too many interests in the way.

[Dwade305]

Alvarez vs Chavez Jr.

But like Floyd/Pac, it might never happen. Too many interests in the way.

Chavez Jr is too big already for 154, and I do not see Canelo moving up either anytime shortly. 147 to 154 is where all the $ is for right now in Boxing.
Chavez Jr and Pavlik wil be a monster fight though, especially since they both do most of their work inside. Jr vs Martinez will be too boring, MArtinez will outbox the f*ck out of him from the outside like he did to Pavlik for majority of the fight.

[Lebron23]

Who's the fighter of the Decade?

Who ranks higher in the all time lists?

Who has beaten a bunch of hall of famers?

Who's the reigning pound for pound King?

It's Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao deserves a 50/50 split.

[raiderfan19]

Who's the fighter of the Decade?

Who ranks higher in the all time lists?

Who has beaten a bunch of hall of famers?

Who's the reigning pound for pound King?

It's Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao deserves a 50/50 split.

You do realize Floyd pretty clearly ranks higher on the all time lists right?

[Lebron23]

You do realize Floyd pretty clearly ranks higher on the all time lists right?

Pacquiao still has the better resume. 2009 Miguel Cotto >>> 2012 Miguel Cotto.

[Lebron23]

The earliest date would be some time in 2016 when both of them are 38/39 years old.

No one will watch that fight. By 2014 Canelo Alvarez will be the pound for pound King.

[DonDadda59]

You do realize Floyd pretty clearly ranks higher on the all time lists right?

On whose list?

The vast majority of boxing scribes/historians have Manny, rightfully so, higher on the all time lists. Pacquiao has done several things that no other boxer in History has done, Floyd can't say the same. Plus he's outperformed Floyd against 4 out of 5 common opponents so far. All Floyd has is his claim to being undefeated, a feat matched by the great Sven Ottke and modern legends like Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

[rezznor]

Scoop Malinowski: Floyd Mayweather Is Still Terrified Of Manny Pacquiao
May 7th, 2012
By Scoop Malinowski
Like a non-stop output of punches over 12 rounds by a determined warrior, the excuses by Floyd Mayweather to avoid a showdown with Manny Pacquiao just never cease.
Despite scoring an impressive performance to defeat Miguel Cotto on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Mayweather is still adamantly opposed to the idea of stepping into the ring with Manny Pacquiao. “The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is not going to happen,” insisted Mayweather. “It’s not my fault, it’s Bob Arum’s fault.”

Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank
The only reason, of course, that it won’t happen is because Mayweather fully realizes and understands it’s a fight he will lose. Because his style of defending and shoulder rolling is designed for right-handed fighters who do not have height and reach advantages. World class lefties like Demarcus Corley and Zab Judah were able to stun and floor Mayweather, just imagine what the world’s best and most spectacular fighter Manny Pacquiao would be able to do to Mayweather from his lefty stance.

Floyd knows and he knows full well. That’s why he must seek protection from Pacquiao by using walls of excuses to blockade himself from the complicated dangers that Pacquiao presents. So deep and impregnable are Mayweather’s walls of excuses that it indeed looks like the fight will never happen. The first wall of defense is the baseless steroid accusations. The second wall is blaming all the fault on Bob Arum. The third wall of protection is a refusal to accept a 50-50 split. The fourth wall of defense is the “I don’t need Manny, he needs me” facade. The fifth wall of defense is the “Manny’s really not that good, he lost five times and he lost to Marquez who I beat easily.” Mayweather also has a sixth wall of protection – “I might (fake) retire again.”

Six reinforced walls of excuses and blockades by one man – Floyd Mayweather – to duck and dodge the biggest event in boxing history. That is a Guiness record that will never be broken or equaled. (Well, let’s hope none of Al Haymon’s future fighters ever come close to challenging this mark.)
Mayweather knows the pressure is so strong and powerful for him to face Pacquiao, that one excuse is not nearly enough, he needs to use six different excuses to keep his security and unbeaten record. Wait a minute, there’s actually seven. Health concerns, self preservation, and fear of ending up like Ali are Floyd’s seventh excuse to duck Manny, as he used them in the Bob Costas interview and also the roundtable with reporters last week.

But if you really think about it, the fear for his health is a lame excuse by Mayweather. While Pacquiao is certainly a brutally devastating fighter, he hasn’t, thank God, killed or severely hurt anyone. Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and others all lived to tell and did not suffer permanent damage.
Also, Floyd should feel secure in himself because, as he tells us he’s the greatest fighter of all time and his defenses are surely superior to Oscar, Hatton or Cotto’s.

The mind of a fighter can be strange sometimes. A lot of ring observers believed Michael Spinks could defeat Mike Tyson before their epic heavyweight clash, even Muhammad Ali predicted a win for Spinks, on the record. Michael Spinks, despite the confidence of “The Greatest” behind him, was obviously completely psyched out by Tyson long before he emerged from his Atlantic City Convention Center dressing room. Similarly, Floyd Mayweather, is totally psyched out by Manny Pacquiao and he must fully know what his fate would be if he were to ever trade punches with the Filippino Destroyer.
Like Archie Moore once said about boxing Cassius Clay, “It’s the worst feeling in the world when you are in a fight you know you can’t win.”

Another strange aspect of the Pacquiao-Mayweather saga is how the American media just sits back and permits Mayweather’s cowardice to go on, which is so contrary to the integrity of what the sport should be about: The best versus the best, honor, bravery, courage, overcoming self-doubt and adversity. People like Iole, Rafael, Kellerman, Merchant, Dahlberg, Smith, Atlas, etc. need to be more vocal and put more pressure on Mayweather to just shut up with the excuses and just fight this guy Pacquiao. What the heck do you think Howard Cosell would be saying if he were around today? He’d be telling it like it is.

The United States of America is supposed to be the “home of the brave”, yet Mayweather is shaming us all with his constant duckery and cowardly excuse-making. And he is shaming our great sport of boxing too. Ali didn’t try to duck Frazier. James Toney didn’t try to duck Roy Jones. Hearns didn’t try to duck Leonard. Liston didn’t try to dodge Clay. These were milestone fights in boxing history. And Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will be the biggest of them all. The American media must get more actively involved and force this fight to happen, it’s what the fans around the world are demanding. Quit protecting Mayweather and the American establishment. The media must pressure Floyd to fight Pacquiao, or retire.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the PPV numbers for “Ring Kings” will do next week. Even if they are strong, it’s hard to imagine the public wanting to pay up again to see Mayweather against another Golden Boy handpicked set up like Malignaggi, Guerrero, Alexander or Morales, even if they bring in Justin Beiber again.
Ken Hershman and his team at HBO are fully aware that Mayweather’s reluctance and lack of self confidence are the reasons the biggest event in boxing history is not happening. Perhaps Hershman needs to play hardball and be more forceful to the Mayweather team – and less obliging and cooperative to Al Haymon’s “low risk” business tactics. It’s gotten to the point that it’s time for Hershman to start doling out ultimatums, such as, “Floyd we love you and appreciate your fine work, but you’re next fight is with Manny. It’s Manny or the highway Floyd, take it or leave it.”

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is perfectly primed right now (if Pacquiao defeats Tim Bradley on June 9). Mayweather vs. Cotto was an exciting lead-up event, like a thrilling AFC Championship game won by an artful fourth quarter TD pass. “Ring Kings” certainly boosted the credibility of boxing and also it’s visibility in the culture. But there’s no reason to stop there. The future is even brighter. The Super Bowl of boxing will be even more exciting and more competitive than Mayweather vs. Cotto was. The upside of how Pacquiao vs. Mayweather can explode boxing into a new golden era is immeasureable.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather simply must be made next. No if’s, ands or buts about it.

dunno who this scoop guy is, but here's some flamebait

[magic chiongson]

does he have comments enabled for that article?