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With a well-earned reputation as the sports’ premier ducking dodger, who has characteristically used an abundance of alternating excuses and reasons to avoid stepping in the ring with the best, it appears now that Floyd Mayweather could be getting very close to doing what he does best of all – duck another high-risk, prime, A+ level opponent.
Floyd failed in his attempt to kill the proposed superfight with Manny Pacquiao when he dared the Filippino to call him out. Pacquiao did just that. Floyd failed to kill the fight with his forced ultimatum to make Manny fight on just four months rest after Cotto on March 13 was agreed to. Floyd also failed to kill the fight when his team demanded Olympic style drug testing which was also agreed to by Pacquiao.
Now, there is talk that Floyd has settled on a new scheme to cancel the March 13 fight. According to Ringside Report managing editor Geno McGahee, Mayweather is threatening to pull out of the negotiations over a weight issue. Pacquiao has agreed to put his WBO welterweight title on the line at 147 pounds and reasonably wants Mayweather to pay a stiff penalty for every pound above the limit (which would be a larger amount than the reported $600,000 he paid Juan Manuel Marquez for being two pounds over the agreed limit in their October duel). McGahee’s report says that Mayweather wants wiggle room on the weight issue. And that this sticking point is being contested by the Pacquiao team.
On top of that, Ringside Report quotes a source saying that Floyd Mayweather wants an in-between bout in March – with Pacquiao facing Yuri Foreman, the newly-crowned WBO Junior Middleweight champion and Mayweather to meet Matthew Hatton. HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg previously said the idea of Mayweather taking another tune-up fight made him “ill.”
As you would expect, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who knows firsthand how skillfull Floyd is at ducking his top-rate Top Rank-promoted opposition – Cotto and Margarito for instance – is not exactly overly optimistic about Pacquiao vs. Mayweather coming to fruition on March 13. Arum spoke with www.insidesports.ph, by telephone and remarked, “Your guess is as good as mine,” when asked when a final agreement on the Mayweather fight could be expected. Arum added, “We solve one problem, Mayweather makes another problem. Everyday, there’s another problem. Let’s see whether we can get it resolved tomorrow.”
George Peterson’s ominous words last week, saying Pacquiao vs. Mayweather “is not going to happen. Some fights weren’t meant to be made,” sure are looking credible now aren’t they? Keep in mind, Peterson works closely with Paul Williams advisor Al Haymon, who is also the advisor for Floyd Mayweather.
