By Lem Satterfield
Despite two failed negotiations, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is still holding out hope that a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. will come together in 2011. Pacquiao will move up to junior middleweight this coming Saturday to face Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC title at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao would "like to fight every five-to-eight months."
"For the fans, I hope that it [Mayweather fight] happens. It would be a nice gift to the fans, because without the fans, Manny Pacquiao would not be Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather would not be Floyd Mayweather. I've said everything I can say about it, but Floyd has to agree to fight me," said Pacquiao.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, through HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, sent a contract for Mayweather to sign. Pacquiao is waiting for an executed contract to finalize the fight. If he doesn't receive one, he will pursue other options.
"I'm still waiting for the signature on the contract. It's Bob Arum's decision who I'm going to fight," said Pacquiao. "I just get my training in order and prepare myself. I hope Floyd will fight me, but if not, we have other options that I'm sure Bob can find."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
