Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Will it really happen?

December 16, 2009 | Posted by benjie

allan miel and examiner.com

Photo Courtesy: Allan Miel and Examiner.com

As of the moment, the much awaited fight between Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and American Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is in the works. In principle, both have agreed to a mega showdown on March 13, 2010. But there is still a fundamental issue to be settled, that is the venue of the fight. I think it boils down to economics in choosing the host of the event.

Besides, there are specific concerns that need to be ironed out before this fight happens. Firstly, the money matters. At first, the Mayweather camp demanded a 65-35 split in their favor. I think they are more than stupid if they insist on that. But eventually, it was reported that Floyd’s camp has begun to realize their fantasy and accept closer to a 50-50 sharing. For the record, Mayweather’s last PPV fight with Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico generated about a million buys. In contrast, Pacquiao’s recent outing with Cotto reached at least 1.2 million PPV buys. With it, Floyd’s camp should stop dreaming.

Secondly, the weight issue. Pacquiao has fought above 140 pounds just twice – against Dela Hoya and recently against Cotto. Mayweather, on the other hand, has fought five times at 147 and once at 154. This simply suggests that by nature, Floyd is a larger specie compared to Manny. For sure Manny should insist to make the fight closer to 140 while Floyd is expected to make it closer to 147.

With the year about to end, people from all walks of life and races are more than excited to find out whether this ‘fight of the decade’ will become a reality in 2010.