by Ronnie Nathanielsz
The World Boxing Council headed by its president Mauricio Sulaiman has joined the chorus of media, boxers and fight fans who continue to clamor for a mega-buck fight between undefeated pound for pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao.
The WBC remarked that after Mayweather clearly defeated Marcus Maidana in their much anticipated rematch, “there have been countless news stories, articles and statements in the press regarding the fight that has been in the making for several years. Clearly and simply the world wants to see Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao.”
In a statement on the WBC website received by the BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard/Viva Sports, the premier world professional boxing organization said “the WBC hereby ratifies complete support and commends Mayweather and Pacquiao to sit down and make the fight happen, if Pacquiao successfully wins his upcoming fight against Chris Algieri.”
Pacquiao defends his WBO welterweight title against the undefeated WBO light welterweight champion Algieri at a catch-weight of 144 pounds in the plush Cotai Arena of the sprawling Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino in Macau on November 22.
The WBC noted that both Mayweather and Pacquiuao have a great history in the WBC and added “without a doubt their fight would be one of the biggest events in the history of boxing.”
The WBC said the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight ”has been in the making for several years . Clearly and simply, the world wants to see Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao”, even as it noted that Mayweather, the WBC welterweight and super welterweight champion of the world “has been the pound for pound driving force of the sport in recent years while Pacquiao is an iconic champion who has re-established the interest of the boxing world after his dramatic loss in his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.”
The sanctioning body also said “it has been extremely supportive “and in fact ranked Pacquiao as the No. 1 contender in the welterweight division after his comeback victory against Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios.
It said that with this ranking in the month of December 2013 “Pacquiao was in line to have the fight against Mayweather but unfortunately his plans were different and he challenged Timothy Bradley, capturing the WBO championship” in a rematch, following Pacquiao’s controversial loss in their first encounter.
