Floyd Mayweather Jr boxing news
In the midst of the Mayweather Jr. vs. Pacquiao tornado, there seems to be calm area, a mutual understanding and respect of true character from both ends.
In the recent past, for the first time ever, it was Mayweather Jr. who got up and approached Pacquiao during a basketball game. Floyd’s ego is world renowned, yet he took it out of the equation and made first step in personal, face-to-face communication with Manny.
Bodybuilding legends Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler are the latest in a long list of famous individuals now siding with Mayweather over Pacquiao should the fight be made for May 2nd. The list of picks for these two fighters at this point is ridiculously one sided in Mayweathers favour.
I think over the years his auro of invincibility has grown to the point where even Pacquiao is viewed as an expected win for the man and this is displayed in the betting odds which are looking to be around 3-1 in Floyds favour. It speaks a ton about Mayweathers level of skill when the other top 5 pound for pound fighters like Pacquiao are being given such a small chance of winning.
Many of the sports most dominant fighters throughout history have taken losses and this is the same today with many of the top rated fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko, Manny Pacquiao, Saul Alvarez, Adrien Broner, Juan Manuel Marquez, Carl Froch, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto and literally hundreds of others having tasted defeat before in their campaigns to the ring. Despite what many casual fans seem to think today in the Mayweather Era, a loss does not mean anything if a fighter can come back from it and rise again to the top of the sport. Fighters are generally more remembered for the quality of opposition rather than the raw figures.
Nevertheless there is something exciting about watching a fighter who has never tasted defeat. A man who has had his hand raised each and every time he has stepped through the ropes. Here is my personal opinion on the top batch of currently undefeated fighters in the sport today.
At the heel of one of the most interesting and controversial negotiations in boxing history, a lot of talk about the good ol’ days and other clichés emerged and are thrown around like medicine balls in sweaty boxing gyms. They’re used to describe a time when all was well – the gas station attendant filled up your car, the doctor made house calls, and the best fighters fought the best fighters. You even hear fighters repeat the phrase, “I’m old school”, in hopes of luring a no nonsense fan base that will follow them down the often lonely, dark hallways of their boxing journey
So where does Mayweather fit into all of this? You dare not compare Mayweather to the late, great Sugar Ray Robinson. I can feel the eyes of many strangers hawking at their tablets, phones and computer screens as I type this.
For an unbearably long time, camp Manny Pacquiao was pointing fingers at Floyd Maywether Jr. for delaying, or even avoiding their fight. At the same time, camp Mayweather Jr. were doing the exact same thing, proclaiming that Top Promoter Bob Arum is not letting the fight come to fruition, while Pacquiao is evading certain terms and conditions.
All of this just came to an end, at least for now. In a recent interview with the New York Post, Bob Arum stated that he is now convinced that Mayweather Jr. truly does want this fight to happen: “Based on the meeting with Pacquiao in the hotel suite, Manny and Michael Koncz were convinced Floyd absolutely wants to do the fight.”
Why wait for Floyd “TBE/Money” Mayweather, Jr. to make his choice of a 5/2 opponent. Pacquaio and Top Rank’s Bob Arum ought to move ahead and use their influence to sign Miguel Cotto to a rematch with Manny. At the same time, they could push for Amir Khan to fight Kell Brook. That would leave Money with a real problem coming up with an opponent fans want to see him fight.
Why fight Cotto again? Both he and his hall of fame trainer Freddie Roach believe he is an improved fighter. Let Cotto prove it against a fighter who dominated him. See if Cotto has truly improved, and/or whether Manny has slipped. Plus, there would be another belt on the line for Manny to possibly add to his collection. Fan interest could be stimulated for a rematch, and fans would love to see Freddie wave to Cotto from Manny’s corner. He could use hand signals to relay advice and motivation.
Up until now, Mayweather Jr. has been hush-hush about his negotiations with team Pacquiao. With such a significant fight and a potential for a colossal payday, it is no surprise that they are trying to keep as much away from the media as humanly possible. Playing broken telephone is something that ends up happening via multiple interpretations from boxing fans and reporters. This could potentially lead to unintended difficulties in negotiations.
Having said that, in a recent interview with Shade 45 Radio, Mayweather Jr. opened up and briefly discussed the Pacquiao fight matter.
“Everything that everybody is just insinuating, what everybody been saying on TV is false. It’s not true at all… Pacquiao, he’s not in a position to call any shots as of right now and he’s not the A-side, so everything that everybody has been hearing has been rumors,” stated Mayweather Jr.
![Ariza: “We're [Mayweather's] fighting May 2nd but it's not going to be Manny Pacquiao”](https://www.boxing247.com/wp-content/uploads/ariza89.jpg "Boxing photo: Floyd Mayweather Jr image")
Despite being involved in numerous arguments with camp Pacquiao, more specifically Freddie Roach, that drama doesn’t take away from the fact that Alex Ariza was close with camp Pacquiao, and likely at the time involved in most of their decisions.
Now Ariza is on the opposite team, working for Floyd Mayweather Jr., helping the undefeated superstar with strength and conditioning preparation. There is little doubt that Ariza has some knowledge about the ongoing negotiations between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
In an interview with USA Today, Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza has made it clear that while both sides want the fight to happen, finalizing the deal is not yet around the corner.
“We’re making meaningful progress but if we were running a race we would still have a ways to go. Everyone is trying to get to the finish line as soon as possible,” said Espinoza via USAtoday.com.
Sam Watson, a close associate of Al Haymon, says that the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Manny Pacquiao fight is close to being done. It’s being worked on, and they’re at the part where they’re trying to iron out the Showtime and HBO deal. Both networks will likely be televising the fight on pay per view on the same night.
This part of the deal is going to be tricky, and one can only hope that they don’t mess things up. Pacquiao has reportedly agreed to a 60-40 split of the money.