By Rey Anthony: Multiple news outlets have reported that Floyd Mayweather Jr. recently pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges that will settle his felony charges. The plea deal avoided him the trial on felony allegations that he battered his former girlfriend during an argument in September 2010.
The decision was handed this afternoon and Mayweather, 34, was sentenced 90 days in jail. He was ordered to report on January 6.The judge also ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine.
The judge’s decision also possibly put an end to the much awaited bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. this summer. It was reported more than a month ago that Mayweather Jr.’s camp reserved the MGM grand arena on May 5, 2012 for “the biggest possible fight”. If Mayweather’s lawyer appeals the court’s decision, the outcome of that could be the deciding factor on Floyd’s next fight. For now that reservation needs to be cancelled.
The negotiations between the two fighters started two years ago. Allegations of Pacquiao’s steroid use from Mayweather’s camp surfaced. This prompted Team Pacquiao to file slander charges against them. Mayweather then demanded that Pacquiao undergo a random blood test in which Pacquiao initially refused but eventually agreed after further discussions with his advisers. Multiple exchanges of words from both camps took place in the two year period. Bob Arum was interviewed last month and said that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is scared to fight Pacquiao because “he has no chin”.
The potential mega fight between the two started to flicker some hope when the Los Angeles Times reported that Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter is planning to build a 45,000 capacity arena on the Las Vegas Strip this June. It was reported last week from the Philippines that Manny Pacquiao also agreed to take a lower cut of the purse just for the fight to happen. It will be remembered that he also took a lower cut of the purse when he agreed to fight Oscar Dela Hoya December of 2008.
There have been rumors that money is starting to become a problem between the two fighters. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao are said to be heavy gamblers. Pacquiao is also the current congressman of Sarangani province in the Philippines. It is a known fact that in order to get into politics in the Philippines, one must spend a hefty amount of money. Whether those rumors are true or not, a potential $100 million dollar payday between the two fighters cannot be a bad thing.
The proposed fight can possibly shatter the records in ticket attendance and Pay-per View sales. It’s a fight that needs to happen. It’s almost a sin in the boxing world if the fight does not happen. It has always been the golden question in boxing conversations. “Who will win a fight between Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali?” the fact that both boxer’s generations were apart from each other made that question impossible to answer. We will never find out the true answer to that question. Now that we have these two great fighters in the same generation, it will be a waste for it just to be another golden question. “Who will win fight between Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao?” That’s a question that can be answered. It has to be answered.
However, boxing fans’ patience is running out. In the beginning most people thought that the delays are just both camps’ tactics in order to gain more hype and interest in the fight. However, the hype and interest have already peaked. They are now in a point that if the fight does not happen in 2012, the number of people waiting for the fight will start to decline.
The year is now coming to an end. This is the time when the people are voting for the Fighter of the year, Fight of the year, Round of the year and anything significant that happened in the world of boxing in 2011. In light of the disagreements between the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps, Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer finally agreed on something. That is not to comment on the jail sentence of Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibly the Upset of the Year.