By James Slater: Yet more news has broken regarding the will-they-won’t-they Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Junior saga (groan!). As fans may have already read, Mayweather took it upon himself to call up Pac-Man on the phone yesterday, and the two superstars spoke about their would-be fight.
Apparently, Pacquiao said he can take the May 5th fight, but that he must have a 50-50 share of the purse split. This sounds reasonable enough to most fight fans (after all, the money the fight will generate will be absolutely astronomical) - but Mayweather has gone on record as saying no way; he will not agree to a 50-50 deal.
“He asked about a 50-50 split and I told him no, that can’t happen, but what can happen is you can make more money fighting me than you have made in your career,” Mayweather said on Sportscentre. “I also let him know I’m in control on my side but he needs to get on the same page as his promoter so we can make this fight happen.”
Mayweather, with his Tweeting (“Step up, Punk”) and his seemingly wanting the fight, had won over most of the media, leaving it up to Bob Arum to play the bad guy. But now, in light of Floyd balking at a 50-50 split that would likely net him close to $30 or $40 million bucks, it’s possible it will be Pacquiao - who is happy with taking just half of the purse - who will be back in favour with the experts.
Is Floyd’s ego forcing him to demand the lion’s share of the cash? Will Mayweather, if he refuses to budge (and it’s highly unlikely he will budge) be the person who prevents the mega-fight from happening?
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has said that if Mayweather does not agree, he will be forced to fight someone else; with a June 9th date being talked about.
So here we are, seemingly still no closer to seeing a fight the whole world wants to see. First it was Mayweather’s “Take the test” demands that was the stumbling block, then it looked like a jail term for Floyd would hold up the fight, then Bob Arum said Pacquiao’s cut eye (suffered in the fourth fight with Marquez) would not be healed by May 5th, adding that a bigger arena than The MGM Grand was needed - and now we have Mayweather apparently refusing to accept a 50-50 purse split.
Has any other big fight in boxing history had so much trouble getting signed?!
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