By Edward Chaykovsky
In very few words, Floyd Mayweather Jr. confirmed a recent report on ESPN Sportcenter, which quoted the unbeaten boxer as rejecting a 50-50 revenue split on a potential fight with Manny Pacquiao. Earlier this week, Mayweather spoke directly to Pacquiao over the phone. During that conversation, Pacquiao advised Mayweather that he wanted a 50-50 split - in response to Mayweather's demand for a fight on May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"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 was quoted by Sportscenter.
There were questions as to whether or not the email was valid, but on Saturday afternoon Mayweather posted the following message on his personal Twitter account.
"A month ago, Pacquiao said he would take a cut to fight me. Now that I called him out, he wants a big piece?," Mayweather wrote.
Mayweather posted a link to a story on Bleacher Report, which sources Michael Marley of The Examiner, who sources the Manila Bulletin, with Pacquiao stating the following.
"I will take less money than Mayweather gets because the important thing is making the fight happen," Pacquiao was quoted as saying by the paper in 2011.
The ongoing debate, between fans and both sides, is whether there should be a 50-50 split to get this fight done, or does one fighter deserve more money above the other. The two fighters are the biggest draws in the sport, and the biggest sellers on pay-per-view, with both sides claiming to be the bigger draw.
Very few in the industry were expecting Mayweather-Pacquiao to push forward on May 5th. Top Rank wants to explore the possibility of staging the fight in November, but over two years of failed negotiations would tell us otherwise. Until the contracts are signed by both boxers, nobody is going to hold their breath on Mayweather-Pacquiao coming off in 2012.
As many expected, both boxers will go in separate directions.
Mayweather is going to fight on May 5th regardless, with Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez being mentioned as the frontrunner opponent. Pacquiao is going to return on June 9th at either the MGM Grand or the Thomas & Mack Center, likely in a rematch with Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto.
