By Coach Tim Walker – In the midst of the excitement that is proving to be Manny Pacquiao/Ricky Hatton and Freddie Roach/Floyd Mayweather Senior one of the main characters in this soap opera-esk mega-fight has been ominously absent. Sure there have been UFO-like sightings of Sir Pretty-ness but not nearly as much as might expect given the grandiose stage set before us. Of course you all know of whom I speak. Some call him “Pretty Boy” others call him “Money” but we all know him as Floyd Mayweather Junior aka Pound 4 Pound King. “How can he be the king?” you ask. Traditionally a king remains king until he is dethroned or dead. In the sense of him being neither dead nor having ever lost a professional fight it is safe, for me at least, to still consider him King of the Pound 4 Pounds.
I’ve checked websites, video footage, spoken with sources and no one seems to have so much as a recent quote or sound bite from Mayweather Jr. So where could Floyd be at this opportune time?
Maybe Mayweather isn’t entitled to be in front of the cameras right now. After all, he isn’t involved in this fight. Still, isn’t he the major player who either Pacquiao or Hatton will be looking to sign a fight deal with should they win Saturday night at the MGM Grand? Absolutely! While the obvious pay per view king is Oscar Dela Hoya the highest grossing pay per view fight of all time is Oscar’s clash with Money Mayweather (2.15 million buys grossing over $120 million in revenue). You would expect a little party crashing given that it is a typical strategy utilized by one fighter to lure another fighter into fighting. But Mayweather isn’t plagued with the curse of having to lure other fighters to the table. If anything he has 100 or 200 options at any given time.
Maybe he is getting ready for his July 18 showdown, or tune up depending on your point of view, with well established veteran fighter Juan Manuel Marquez. Yes that Marquez. The same Marquez who fought to a draw with Pacquiao then lost to the Pac-Man via the split decision in their rematch. The same fighter that many viewers felt beat the Pac-Man both times. The same Marquez who moved up a weight division then knocked out Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz consecutively. The same Marquez who fight fans seem to think has no chance against Mayweather though they admittedly, with a bit of irony I might add, want to see Pacquiao face Mayweather though Pacquiao and Marquez seem to be at least in the same class as boxers given that both of their fights were close and controversially decided. Hmm, odd?
Maybe Mayweather is intentionally delaying his grand entry. Waiting on the perfect opportunity to strike like a well timed jab. Or maybe he is being respectful to their promotion. Or maybe he doesn’t want to boost their sales. Regardless of why we haven’t heard from Floyd Mayweather Junior we all know that he is on the minds of boxing public as well as both fighters. Expect to hear Floyd’s cheers and jeers in commentaries, post fight interviews and especially within the audience tomorrow night if he shows his face. After all somebody’s got to be the bad boy in this