Mayweather deserves the lions share

By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star | 05/29/2009 12:23 AM Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version | Send to friendSend to friend | Post commentPost Comment MANILA, Philippines - Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s position is very clear: He wants the lion’s share against Manny Pacquiao. “Pacquiao will never get 50/50. It will be a cold day in hell before that happens,” Mayweather told fighthype.com amid reports that negotiations for fight between the two pound-for-pound champions may soon commence. Mayweather is scheduled to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 but a fight with Pacquiao is the one already being talked about. Unless Marquez stuns the world, Mayweather vs Pacquiao is the fight the world wants to see. Pacquiao, who fought and won his last four fights in different weight classes, will return to the ring on Oct. 17, and despite the fact that there are a lot of names out there, it’s now clear that it’s Mayweather whom he’d like to meet next. The problem, however, lies on the negotiating table. Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, Mike Koncz, said it’s not the weight that would either make or break the fight, but the “economics” or how the big pie will be divided between the two fighters with huge egos. Mayweather said he wants 60/40, and actually stands on solid ground asking for it while Pacquiao probably wants the same, with his promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, saying a 50/50 split with Mayweather is “nonsense.” Mayweather, who had a bitter falling out with Arum, his ex-promoter, said he won’t make any more business with the legendary promoter. But he should be ready to forget those words as long as he gets what he wants. Mayweather was the undefeated pound-for-pound champion when he retired last year. Pacquiao is the reigning pound-for-pound king following big wins over Marquez, Oscar dela Hoya and just recently, Ricky Hatton. The pay-per-view record stands at 2.5 million buys during the Dela Hoya-Mayweather fight in 2007. When Mayweather fought Hatton, they sold for 925,000 hits. Pacquiao and Dela Hoya did 1.25 million buys, and the numbers for the Pacquiao-Hatton, although not officially out, may have left some people disappointed, a little far from what they expected. “He’s a very good fighter with a promoter and a trainer that are doing all the talking for him. I ain’t heard Pacquiao mention my name one time. Why? He knows that he would get his ass torn out the frame fighting me,” Mayweather told fighthype.com. “His promoter is jockeying for position to set his guy up but that would never work with us. We deal with facts. When he fought Oscar he did 1.25 (million). When I fought Oscar we did 2.5 (million). Against Hatton, they did 800 (thousand) and change. I did 930 (thousand) for the same fight. I did over a million in the UK and they did less than half of that,” he said. And for these, Mayweather wants more, again if and when he fights Pacquiao. Pacquiao, who earned more than $12 million for the Hatton fight, has options to fight Miguel Cotto or Shane Mosley, Julio Cesar Chavez or Edwin Valero, but none of them could bring to the table as much as what Mayweather would. A fight with Cotto or Mosley, in fact, could be more dangerous than one with Mayweather, who may be more inclined to go lower in weight, at around 144 lb, to face the Pinoy icon. Cotto and Mosley have said they won’t go lower than 145, and Chavez wants it at 150 lb.