Floyd Mayweather says he’s ready to take on Manny Pacquiao, and is targeting May 2 as the fight date . Mayweather has called for the negotiations for the Pacquiao fight to start, and has warned Pacquaio that he will not make anywhere near the amount of money that he will make for the fight. Mayweather’s reasoning for not giving Pacquiao a 50-50 split is because he’s undefeated, and Pacquiao is not.
“You lost twice and now you’re coming back begging for the same money? That’s not going to happen.”
In an interview on Showtime, Mayweather claimed that he’s not the one to blame for the Pacquiao fight never happening, and that Pacquiao’s manager, Bob Arum, has been the biggest obstacle in the way of making what would be the biggest fight of all-time.
“Floyd Mayweather is not ducking or dodging any opponent. Bob Arum is stopping the fight. We have been trying to make this fight happen for several years behind the scenes.”
Pacquiao put the pressure on Mayweather to accept his challenge and make the fight happen, telling Mayweather that he has no more excuses, and it’s time to make the world’s most anticipated bout happen.
Bob Arum has been talking with CBS, who operates Showtime where Mayweather is under contract for two more fights, about making Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao happen.
Mayweather, who is 47-0, said that he doesn’t believe that Pacquiao is on his level, and is confident that he could beat him easily.
“I know that he’s not on my level. The fans would love to see the fight. And, of course, I want to go out with a bang.”
There are some people who believe that Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has lost its luster, and that if the fight happens, it’ll be happening four or five years too late. However, just because it’s happening four or five years too late doesn’t mean that it will lack interest, as Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is still boxing’s most popular subject.
Early revenue projections for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao say that the fight would gross at least $250 million, and that Mayweather would collect over $100 million for the fight. It’s unclear what Pacquiao will make for the fight, but in the past, Mayweather has offered him around $40 million. According to Mayweather, Pacquiao turned down that offer several years ago.
It truly is time for this fight to happen, mostly because there’s really no one else for Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight. It was rumored that Mayweather’s next opponent would be Amir Khan. However, if Khan loses his fight on December 13 against Devon Alexander, Mayweather will likely have no interest in fighting Khan.
[Photo via Ethan Miller / Getty Images]
