By Jake Donovan
You knew it was coming. The moment that word of Floyd Mayweather’s Twitter-announced comeback hit the press, the suggestion was all but inevitable.
If Mayweather gets past Victor Ortiz on September 17 and Manny Pacquiao survives a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez two months later, then maybe – just maybe – they finally square off sometime in 2012.
When, oh when will we as an industry ever learn?
Often, battles to determine pound-for-pound supremacy are purely subjective and mythical. Rare is the occasion when two fighters campaign in the same weight class, or close enough to where it’s a reasonable request to have them settle their difference against one another rather than comparing their recent performances.
For the past two years – basically ever since Mayweather went from a retired fighter to one who has at least played the game in a part-time capacity – such a fight has been well within reach.
For the past two years, all we’ve heard is “wait ‘till next time.”
The sales pitch heading into every fight featuring Mayweather and Pacquiao the past few years is that it’s an audition for a potential head-on collision somewhere down the road.
Approximately 6 million pay-per-view units have been sold ever since the idea of a Mayweather-Pacquaio showdown has legitimately gained legs.
The lessons to be learned by the boxing community – there’s no guaranteed “next time.”
The lesson long ago learned by promoters and network executives – there’s a sucker born every minute. Or as has been the case for the past two years, approximately 6 million paying suckers, along with the 130,000-or-so paying patrons in attendance for these alleged lead-in events.
‘Maybe next time’ became the phrase that pays the first time Mayweather and Pacquiao somehow managed to leave $100 million on the table, more than a year ago.
Once negotiations officially hit a wall, they each moved on to other game.
Mayweather chose Mosley, inactive for a year but still riding momentum from his career-resurrecting beatdown of Antonio Margarito.
Pacquiao’s choice of Joshua Clottey carried far less sex appeal, at least until focused officially shifted from the fight to where it was being staged – the state-of-the-art revamped Cowboys Stadium.
The May ’10 bout with Mosley was the last time Mayweather stepped into a boxing ring, with the pending Ortiz fight ultimately marking an inactive period of 16 months once the opening bell sounds.
Pacquiao has fought twice more in that span. Each carried a different angle, neither of which directly involved Mayweather, although his name always came up at the end of the night.
First came the catchweight bout with Margarito last year, in which they agreed to a maximum weight of 150 lb for a bout to be contested for a paper junior middleweight (154 lb.) title. The sales pitch there was Pacquiao vying for a belt in a record eighth-weight class. It didn’t quite produce the blockbuster numbers extended, but still drew well enough to make Pacquiao the first fighter to headline pay-per-view events reaching or exceeding one-million buys in three straight years.
His showdown with Mosley last month extended that mark to four straight years. Official numbers were never released, although tallies of more than 1.2 million buys have been confirmed as accurate.
The common thread in the bouts with Clottey, Margarito and Mosley was that there was little to talk about at the end of the night. Pacquiao lost a total of maybe four rounds between the trio of fights, none proving to be exceedingly entertaining – particularly Clottey and Mosley. With little else to talk about after all of the pre-fight storylines were exhausted, the next targeted conversation topic was inevitable – will you face Mayweather, and when?
With Floyd on the inactive list at the time Pacquiao agreed to face Marquez for a third time later this year, there wasn’t a need to ponder whether or not the two would face “next time.” Instead, the question asked is if he would look in the direction of, say Victor Ortiz, in the aftermath of his lawsuit with Golden Boy being settled.
The news was interpreted to mean that Golden Boy and Top Rank could once again do business together. Immediately, Ortiz’ name came up since he’s Golden Boy’s hottest welterweight at the moment, on the heels of his well-earned split decision over Andre Berto earlier this year.
Ortiz’ name once again surfaced – this time in a real fight as opposed to a hypothetical one.
Now if Pacquiao next faces Ortiz, it’s because the latter will have become the first to take Mayweather’s “0” in what would only be a fitting scenario given this is the Year of the Upset.
Of course if Mayweather wins…
As Mayweather and Pacquiao prepare for their next respective contests, each will insist that they don’t have the other on their mind. Media members and fans alike will scoff at such the notion, and continue to hold out hope for the possibility that a win by each will lead to that long awaited showdown.
What few if anyone has ever stopped to consider is, what if it really is true? What if neither one has any intention of fighting the other, and couldn’t care less about what is going on in the other’s career?
Perhaps because in an industry that thrives on the cons, lies and the art of deception, nobody can possibly believe that Mayweather and Pacquiao don’t spend nearly as much time worrying about the other as the boxing world does wondering when they will finally met.
For that very reason, Mayweather will continue to get away with disappearing from the game for more than a year at a time; that he’s entitled to a ‘lesser fight,’ as long as the next one is against Pacquiao.
It’s why Pacquaio continues to pull in massive crowds in the arena and on the tube; that while, yes this current opponent is a poor choice for a pound-for-pound king, it’s not that bad as long as it leads to a Mayweather showdown.
What we can expect once mid-November rolls around is that each of their events will draw blockbuster numbers, both of which will be largely dependent on the notion that their respective fights represent an unofficial Final Four.
What we can expect to follow, are more excuses for why such an event still hasn’t happened as they search for their next respective opponents and another storyline to accompany it.
Another storyline, in addition to “maybe next time.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.