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Wanted to share this perspective on what purports to still be the richest fight in boxing history between FMJ and Manny that in my opinion continues to still be held up by Floyd. Now let me preface this by saying that I was a big FMJ fan until 2010 coincidentally around the time he adopted the nickname "Money" which was also around the time that it started to become clear to me that Floyd had no intentions of ever making the Manny fight. In my opinion, I thought Manny blew it initially when he would not accept the test but obviously a lot of those issues are no longer the case and a lot has changed but yet the fight 5 years past due has still not come to fruition. Now before all you Floyd and Manny fans boys come out in full swing, take a few minutes to think sensibly, read through and reason before you starts spewing or hurling unnecessary insults. If you believe otherwise, state your case. We are all adults in here and if you are not, then shame on you.
--> The things Floyd Mayweather says are frequently at odds with the things he does, so predicting his moves based on his comments can be a foolish task. For one, I only pay attention to interviews granted by boxing outlets 'cos I believe questions relevant to the boxing fans gets asked as oppose to those other outlets who truly don't understand boxing. But an interview with F.ight Hype makes it abundantly clear to me that Floyd would never fight Manny Pacquiao be it last year, this year, next year or any other year, not even if pressured by boxing godfather Al Haymon, his manager/advisor. It is obvious that Pacquiao is very much on Floyds mind. If you think otherwise, then you are truly delusional as we 've seen Floyd's rants/attacks on Manny on numerous outlets but we are yet to see one from Manny. He, not the interviewer, raises the issue: We all know the Pacquiao fight, at this particular time, will never happen. And the reason the fight would not happen is because I will never do business with Bob Arum.
He goes on to say, still not asked about the subject, I will give you two reasons the Pacquiao fight is not going to happen. First he repeats his pledge never to do business with Arum, and then he adds, And I want to see Manny Pacquiaos real pay-per-view numbers. Get the numbers, he says, from his last fight and compare them with my pay-per-view numbers with Canelo Alvarez.
This declaration is ridiculous, misleading, and downright false. It also insults the intelligence of fans. You don't tell a fighter, an established one at that to quit his promoter and then maybe you will fight him. That is like saying, If you leave your job, then maybe I might offer this other job NOT like saying, u leave the job and I will have a job here waiting for you. Even to the ordinary joe, such irresponsible statement will never sit well. Lets be REAL! What he is really saying is, I would not fight you.
Why all this outrage with Arum and where was all of this outrage when negotiation was taking place for a fight in 2010? Mayweather does not claim Arum stole any money from him because if he did he would have gotten sued and lose plenty, which is also why such suit was never brought against Arum. He wanted to get out of his contract with Arum which Arum could have dragged out considerably with Floyd being on the shelf but he let Floyd out without much complications. Listen, I do not like everything Arum does, but I know of no instance when he has been sued by anyone claiming Arum stole money from him. Don King, yes! but to my knowledge Arum honors his contracts. Fighters want more money and they want their contract modified to reflect their new status which is the majority of what I have seen with Arum and NEWSFLASH!! that happens with every promoter as well as in other sports. So what is the problem? Are we supposed to believe that because you do not like just one guy in a fighters team that you will refuse to fight him and pick up $95 million or more when your name is "Money"? Al Haymon isn't the most likeable guy but networks and other promoters tolerated him and did business with him because they understood that it is about the bottom line.
Sugar Ray Leonard never said anything like that. Nor did Tommy Hearns, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. You could go on and on naming great champions. We are barely aware of who promoted their fights. That is because they were not looking for excuses to duck anybody.
Now about those pay-per-view numbers. Apparently in the two fights Mayweather named, Floyd came in around 2.2 million buys (Canelo) and Pacquiao a bit less than 500,000 (Rios). Quite a difference. Part of the reason is that Pacquiaos fight was in China, making U.S. marketing a nightmare. But let us pretend the comparison is completely apt. Let us go farther and say Floyds numbers are four times better. Then ask yourself what were the pay-per-view numbers of Canelo Alvarez or Robert Guerrero before Mayweather fought them. Answer: There were not any. Now fast forward, Floyd is going to do 900k with Maidana, Manny did about 800k with Bradley. Mind you, Floyd had two bonafide stars, in Khan and Broner on his show while Manny had virtually nobody since Bradley himself doesn't do much for a card but yet, we still can't crack a million buys. Makes you really think how much weight the Garcia/Mattyse fight really had to shoulder on that card. So are we to truly believe that Floyd is this huge PPV star that he purports to be. To me, Floyds excuses are just that - an excuse, not a reason. In fact, there is nothing reasonable in those remarks. Does Floyd honestly believe he can make more money fighting any other fighter out there not named Manny Paquaio (an accomplished PPV superstar fighter in his own right). Of course not, so why does he bring up the PPV numbers at all? Could it be because he needs yet another smokescreen?
It is not Haymon who is preventing the welterweight fight that the whole world wanted to see or Richard Schaefer or Oscar De La Hoya, or Manny Pacquiao, Arum, Ken Hershman, Stephen Espinoza or anyone else other than Floyd himself. Mayweathers position is reminiscent of heavyweight champions back in Jack Johnsons time who would not let a black man fight for their title. That wasnot really about about race. It was about their fear of Johnson. Floyds utterances are proof that it was never been about PEDs or the money split or the timing or Arum or Manny's PPV or the other multitude of excuses. The truth is that the man who calls himself "Money" and the best of all time is not so interested in making the most money when he does not like the risks, and he sees something in Pacquiaos ability that is too great of a risk to his health and undefeated record. Unfortunately when his legacy is written, it will never be complete as the name Pacquaio will forever be entwined with his and if I might add, not in a flattering way-->
--> The things Floyd Mayweather says are frequently at odds with the things he does, so predicting his moves based on his comments can be a foolish task. For one, I only pay attention to interviews granted by boxing outlets 'cos I believe questions relevant to the boxing fans gets asked as oppose to those other outlets who truly don't understand boxing. But an interview with F.ight Hype makes it abundantly clear to me that Floyd would never fight Manny Pacquiao be it last year, this year, next year or any other year, not even if pressured by boxing godfather Al Haymon, his manager/advisor. It is obvious that Pacquiao is very much on Floyds mind. If you think otherwise, then you are truly delusional as we 've seen Floyd's rants/attacks on Manny on numerous outlets but we are yet to see one from Manny. He, not the interviewer, raises the issue: We all know the Pacquiao fight, at this particular time, will never happen. And the reason the fight would not happen is because I will never do business with Bob Arum.
He goes on to say, still not asked about the subject, I will give you two reasons the Pacquiao fight is not going to happen. First he repeats his pledge never to do business with Arum, and then he adds, And I want to see Manny Pacquiaos real pay-per-view numbers. Get the numbers, he says, from his last fight and compare them with my pay-per-view numbers with Canelo Alvarez.
This declaration is ridiculous, misleading, and downright false. It also insults the intelligence of fans. You don't tell a fighter, an established one at that to quit his promoter and then maybe you will fight him. That is like saying, If you leave your job, then maybe I might offer this other job NOT like saying, u leave the job and I will have a job here waiting for you. Even to the ordinary joe, such irresponsible statement will never sit well. Lets be REAL! What he is really saying is, I would not fight you.
Why all this outrage with Arum and where was all of this outrage when negotiation was taking place for a fight in 2010? Mayweather does not claim Arum stole any money from him because if he did he would have gotten sued and lose plenty, which is also why such suit was never brought against Arum. He wanted to get out of his contract with Arum which Arum could have dragged out considerably with Floyd being on the shelf but he let Floyd out without much complications. Listen, I do not like everything Arum does, but I know of no instance when he has been sued by anyone claiming Arum stole money from him. Don King, yes! but to my knowledge Arum honors his contracts. Fighters want more money and they want their contract modified to reflect their new status which is the majority of what I have seen with Arum and NEWSFLASH!! that happens with every promoter as well as in other sports. So what is the problem? Are we supposed to believe that because you do not like just one guy in a fighters team that you will refuse to fight him and pick up $95 million or more when your name is "Money"? Al Haymon isn't the most likeable guy but networks and other promoters tolerated him and did business with him because they understood that it is about the bottom line.
Sugar Ray Leonard never said anything like that. Nor did Tommy Hearns, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. You could go on and on naming great champions. We are barely aware of who promoted their fights. That is because they were not looking for excuses to duck anybody.
Now about those pay-per-view numbers. Apparently in the two fights Mayweather named, Floyd came in around 2.2 million buys (Canelo) and Pacquiao a bit less than 500,000 (Rios). Quite a difference. Part of the reason is that Pacquiaos fight was in China, making U.S. marketing a nightmare. But let us pretend the comparison is completely apt. Let us go farther and say Floyds numbers are four times better. Then ask yourself what were the pay-per-view numbers of Canelo Alvarez or Robert Guerrero before Mayweather fought them. Answer: There were not any. Now fast forward, Floyd is going to do 900k with Maidana, Manny did about 800k with Bradley. Mind you, Floyd had two bonafide stars, in Khan and Broner on his show while Manny had virtually nobody since Bradley himself doesn't do much for a card but yet, we still can't crack a million buys. Makes you really think how much weight the Garcia/Mattyse fight really had to shoulder on that card. So are we to truly believe that Floyd is this huge PPV star that he purports to be. To me, Floyds excuses are just that - an excuse, not a reason. In fact, there is nothing reasonable in those remarks. Does Floyd honestly believe he can make more money fighting any other fighter out there not named Manny Paquaio (an accomplished PPV superstar fighter in his own right). Of course not, so why does he bring up the PPV numbers at all? Could it be because he needs yet another smokescreen?
It is not Haymon who is preventing the welterweight fight that the whole world wanted to see or Richard Schaefer or Oscar De La Hoya, or Manny Pacquiao, Arum, Ken Hershman, Stephen Espinoza or anyone else other than Floyd himself. Mayweathers position is reminiscent of heavyweight champions back in Jack Johnsons time who would not let a black man fight for their title. That wasnot really about about race. It was about their fear of Johnson. Floyds utterances are proof that it was never been about PEDs or the money split or the timing or Arum or Manny's PPV or the other multitude of excuses. The truth is that the man who calls himself "Money" and the best of all time is not so interested in making the most money when he does not like the risks, and he sees something in Pacquiaos ability that is too great of a risk to his health and undefeated record. Unfortunately when his legacy is written, it will never be complete as the name Pacquaio will forever be entwined with his and if I might add, not in a flattering way-->
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