We Keep Hope Alive For Floyd-Manny in May

We Keep Hope Alive For Floyd-Manny in May – We can still hold on to hope. It’s all we got, at this point, as most signs point against there being a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in May.

The people that want this bout to happen, and that’s most boxing fans, though I think some have stopped caring because this two-year flirtation has dragged on too long, were encouraged at a sign of détente. They heard that Floyd Mayweather called Manny Pacquiao on the phone the other night, and had to be happy at that development. Because it makes sense that walls could be torn down, barriers could be busted, if the two athletes removed some middlemen who might be looking a bit more towards their self interest than the interest of the fighters, and the people who put the money in their pockets, the fans, from the equation.

Dan Rafael reported that the men chatted, and among the topics was the purse split. Pacquiao, it is said, wants a 50-50. We don’t know how Floyd took that, but I guess I see that as being a bridge too far, a pie-split that Floyd wouldn’t be open to. A good part of me takes offense at this gulf, because if you really think about it, arguing over who gets the bigger portion of such an immense sum, which could feed a starving nation for a year, is obscene. (Yes, that is the side of me which I try with all my will to hide on Twitter, so as not to offend a goodly portion of my readers with my pointed political leanings, lol.)

In an ideal world, both men would be open to making compromises, to making concessions. Floyd though he is seen by and large as the favorite, the better boxer, and for that reason perhaps should be apportioned a bigger chunk of the take,  could say heck with it, and acquiesce to a 50-50 split. And Manny, though he has been smeared by allegations of steroid usage, without apparently a shred of credible evidence beyond hearsay to back that up, could drop his defamation suit against Team Mayweather, for talking that PED smack.

Ah, but whatever gave you the idea that this is an ideal world?

But we hold on to hope. Even though the signs are ominous.

Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz confirmed to me that Pacman promoter Bob Arum did indeed lock down June 9 as the target date for Manny’s next fight. But that is apparently Plan B, with Plan A still being Mayweather-Manny getting it on before Floyd has to go to jail for a period of no more than three months for his domestic assault charge.

Hope is hard to find in this scenario; we’ve heard too many excuses, about Manny’s November cut being too raw still, about there not being a proper outdoor venue available, about there not being enough time to properly promote the endeavor, and we struggle to find something that has changed the dynamic. I mean, the fans have lobbied hard to this thing to get done for a looong time. Are all involved now all of a sudden factoring in the customers’ desires today more than they have been in 2010 and 2011? I guess that’s possible..

I stand by my theory: that when word drops that the defamation suit against Mayweather is dropped and stopped by Pacquaio, THEN hope can morph into certainty. Until then, I suspect we dogs continue to chase our tails.

I talked to the esteemed Angelo Dundee the other day, and asked him about this Mayweather-Pacquiao non-entity. His take:

“I think Pacquaio is being very intelligent, he knows he might get himself licked,” said Dundee, who bless his heart touted North Carolina Demetrious Jones, an Olympic hopeful who will train with Dundee for a couple weeks shortly. “But I think the fight should be made for public. They owe it to the public. You got to take care of the public, without them you got nothing.”

The man has 90 years of learning tucked into his belt. From his mouth, to Manny and Floyd’s ears…

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