Since Floyd Mayweather won an impressive unanimous decision against Miguel Cotto to claim the WBA Light Middleweight title, two things have been discussed – Whether this was Mayweather’s last professional boxing fight & how can a fight with Manny Pacquiao come into existence.

Retirement was the first thing to be out there, a day after the fight. Maybe it’s the jail time that’s waiting for Mayweather shortly down the road (less than 3 weeks from now) or maybe he truly is satisfied with everything he’s achieved – Undefeated after 43 fights, without getting knocked down once. Without hardly ever being pushed to limit. A champions in five different weight divisions. Pound for Pound, best in the world.

But legends are also defined by who they faced. And Mayweather seems to have faced everyone he should and could have, except for one name. Sometimes, it actually looks like he’s dodging him. Manny Pacquiao, who usually takes up the number two spot in the world Pound-4-Pound rankings, if not first according to some people. He’s not undefeated, but he usually is much more exciting to watch, and he doesn’t create antagonism like Floyd some masterfully does.

What’s the issue? The drug testing? Mayweather returned to the claims that Manny is doped up; using Performance Enhancing Drugs. Just look at the size of his head… Said Mayweather. He said it would be a health risk to step into the ring with someone who’s a cheater. Amir Khan said the same thing about Lamont Peterson last week, but Peterson has actually tested positive.

But according to everyone, the drugs are no longer the issue. Pacquiao and his crew have agreed to the testing. Money, Mayweather’s second name, is always the issue. And the more someone has it, it seems he find it harder to make compensations regarding finances.

Mayweather views himself as the biggest draw in the sport. His fight with Miguel Cotto got 1.5 million people to buy a PPV share, bringing in almost $100 million. Pacquiao’s fight with Juan Manuel Marquez brought a little less than that. What both seem to forget is that they had fights with big time opponents, who have a strong following as well.

Miguel Cotto and Marquez get a lot of seats filled by fans, at home and in the arenas. Mayweather’s fight with Ortiz probably brought just a little less than a million views. Good, but not something out of this world. Pacquiao would’ve probably done something similar.

But Mayweather doesn’t want to split. Simply won’t hear it. He’s willing to pay $40 million to Manny Pacquiao, and keep the PPV revenue for himself. This fight will probably generate at least $130-140 million, with a huge chunk going to Floyd. Why should Manny give that up? Advisers closer to Pacquiao think that the fight won’t happen, because Floyd is simply afraid. That’s why he’s putting up ridiculous terms.

Another hurdle is Bob Arum, according to Mayweather. For personal grievances, he’s stopping the fight from happening. Whispering the kind of advice in Pacquiao’s ears that turns him into other directions. Mayweather has always said that for Pacquiao to finally get a deal done with him, he needs to get rid of Arum.

Maybe Arum has some stakes in the reasons for the two never meeting in the ring. He’s certainly not making it easier for the two sides to strike a deal. But when he talks to the press and in front of cameras, he seems all for it. Like his latest plan, which isn’t a new idea, on how to get the fellas to fight.

Manny Pacquiao has now taken the position, which I endorse, that if Floyd Mayweather thinks that he is the greatest fighter of all time, let’s do it 45% to Mayweather, 45% to Pacquiao and 10% to the winner. But we’ve got to have parity. If Mayweather really believes that he can beat Pacquiao, which I don’t think he believes, he’ll pick up more than 50% that way. But it’s up to Floyd.

And that’s the question – Does Mayweather believe he can beat Pacquiao? Has he figured out what his weakness is? More importantly – Does he know how to exploit it? If not, then even after he has time to think about everything in county prison, we won’t see this fight happening. Despite everything Mayweather achieved in boxing, it’ll hurt his legendary status he cares so much about.

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