Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner | Scott Heritage
Despite the fact that negotiations are said to be going well between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. there are still numerous obstacles to the fight ever happening.
Just about every aspect of the fight is still up in the air at this stage, with no official date, venue, purse split or under card having been publicly addressed at this stage.
Some believe the fight will go ahead in March, although there are concerns about this date from Freddie Roach. Others think that a date later on in 2010 will be more likely, giving Pacquiao a chance to campaign in the upcoming May elections in the Philippines. There is also an ever growing third camp who believe that the fight will never happen, largely due to some or all of the obstacles listed below getting in the way of an agreement being reached.
Below are the potential problems that the bout will have to deal with, ranked in terms of how likely they are to increase the chances of the bout being scrapped altogether.
Purse Demands
Manny Pacquiao has reportedly said that he wants a 60/40 purse in his favor for the fight to go ahead, which comes after Mayweather and his representatives from Golden Boy had apparently come to agreements with Top Rank over the purse. The agreed to amount has yet to be disclosed, but it was likely a 50/50 split. Whether Mayweather will accept the lesser share of the purse is unlikely to say the least, particularly after all his grandstanding over wanting the bigger share for himself.
Of all the possible problems that this fight could encounter, stalemates due to purse arguments are the most likely to scupper the whole thing. Before the fight many people assumed that it wouldn't go ahead because Mayweather would demand the bigger purse, although now it appears Manny is doing the same thing. At least this time Mayweather should be able to avoid most of the flack if the fight doesn't happen, given that many thought purse demands would be his way of ducking out of the fight.
Threat rating: 5/5
Political Machinations
Obviously Manny Pacquiao's political career is something of a stumbling block, mainly due to it effectively marking a third of next year off the calender for fights. Most Filipinos I've spoken to about this seem to be rather skeptical about the whole thing, and believe Manny will taint his image by getting involved with the decidedly dirty and dangerous world of Filipino politics.
In reality, how well his political career goes isn't much of a concern to the boxing fans, other than the fact that it will make scheduling fights a lot more difficult. Not to mention that should he lose people will assume he could not focus properly for the fight due to his other obligations.
The early odds are that Pacquiao won't win the election he has entered anyway, partly because his opponent is very powerfully connected and partly because people want to see him box rather than govern. Whether that will lead to him boxing for longer though we will have to wait and see.
Threat rating to the fight happening: 4/5
Legal Battles
The trainers of both fighters, Roger Mayweather and Freddie Roach are facing legal action in the near future, both for allegedly assaulting people. Mayweather apparently attacked a female boxer in a property he owns and Roach apparently pushed a reporter and threatened to kill him.
Mayweather's troubles are apparently based on the fact that he was jilted as a trainer by the female boxer he attacked, who was living in an apartment he owned at the time. The exact truth of the matter is difficult to ascertain as both parties contest the others version of events, but in either case the situation appears to have been senseless and wholly unnecessary.
The Roach incident came after the reporter wrote a story about Roach missing a training session for one of his fighters due to poor health. Roach, who suffers from Parkinson's was seemingly not happy about this, and now faces a lawsuit for substantial damages. No doubt the writer in question will make the most of the fact that Roach is a former boxer and downplay the fact that he has Parkinson's disease and some days can't even hold up a pad.
In a worst case scenario Roach could be embroiled in a legal battle while Mayweather languishes in prison before the fight. What will happen if neither fighter has access to their preferred trainer is a matter of speculation, but it would surely affect the fight outcome to some degree. Floyd has probably by now gotten used to members of his family being in prison, given that his father and uncle (both trainers of his through various periods) both seem to be incarcerated regularly. Manny Pacquiao on the other hand seems to rely on Roach to come up with game plans for his fights and to take charge in the gym.
Threat rating: 2/5
Injuries/Training time
Freddie Roach has said that a March date is too soon for Pacquiao to take another fight. He still has a broken eardrum from the Cotto fight and deservedly wants to take some time off before he hits the gym once again. Mayweather is seemingly ready to begin training now, but if the fight is held off until later next year he will probably take another fight between now and then. Depending on how difficult that fight is (rumors are Matthew Hatton is being considered, so it shouldn't be too damaging) and how close to the Pacquiao fight it happens, injuries are something of a worry.
Another potential problem is that while Manny is busy campaigning for the few months between March and May he won't have time to keep training properly. By all accounts Manny also has the appetite of a small horse, so getting out of shape could potentially be a concern for Roach and team. Usually between fights Manny stays in good shape, but then again usually he gets right back into the gym soon after each bout simply because he likes hanging out in the gym with his team around him.
Threat rating:2/5
Source: Examiner.com
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