Boxing fans (Jim Lampley) were let down yet again when the Floyd Mayweather – Manny Pacquiao fight went from essentially a done deal to another mega-fight the public wants but won’t get. While a venue was being decided on, Mayweather asked for stricter blood testing and Pacquiao said no. Done and done.
But is the fight canceled permanently or temporarily? Is it truly dead or just postponed? Oscar De La Hoya gave his opinion recently that the recent cancellation is just a set back.
“That fight has to happen,” De La Hoya said. “It’s too big not to happen. We just have to cross one hurdle.”
Agreed. The public pressure, what with this being the only fight any casual fan cares to see, nearly made it happen once, and the pressure will return. Pacquiao has agreed to fight so and so and Mayweather is likely fighting whats his name, but once those fights are over, the matchup request is back. It makes no difference what either outcome is.
If Indiana Jones, John McClane and James Bond have taught me anything, it’s that the good guys always win. That’s why I still believe college football will have a playoff someday, and that Manny and Floyd will soon be touching gloves.
Dead.
I honestly think it’s dead, only because I think Floyd is a prideful dude and feels like he was affronted. And yes, I just wrote Floyd instead of Manny. If anything, this may make Floyd want to stick to his guns more than Manny. And I don’t think Manny can ever make or draw the PPV buys he could without Floyd in his life. But Floyd could definitely make it happen with someone else. So Floyd sticks to his guns. And Manny, for obvious reasons to himself, will do the same.
I was looking forward to this fight for years; I knew it was just too good to be true. Sadly, because of these atheltes’ egos, I think it’s dead. But the true boxing fan in me — since the days of watching old Ali fights with my Grandpa — I hold on to this dream that boxing will be saved again, and regain it’s popularity for all the right reasons. Mayweather v Pacquiao would help relinquish this sport.
I just have a hard time believing they will both pass up the biggest pay day in their lives. However, Pacquiao I’ve heard is ready to go into politics. Maybe he’s done. But maybe that’s just another reason he’ll need the money. We’ll see.