Is Floyd Mayweather Afraid to Fight Left-Handed Manny Pacquiao?
The most talked about fight of the 21st century still hasn't happened.
Boxing fans have been left empty handed when it comes to the superfight of Floyd Mayweather Jr. against Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather recently defeated Marcos Maidana in an uncontesting 12-round match. Pacquiao, on the other hand, is still set to fight Chris Algieri this November in Macau, China.
According to boxing promoter Bob Arum, Mayweather is "scared to fight left handed boxers like Pacman."
Arum said, “I promoted the guy for 10 years, and I know how difficult it was to get him in the ring with any southpaw. When you talk about a southpaw who can move like Manny, that’s not the kind of opponent that Mayweather feels he would do well against.”
Arum is obviously frustrated because he would love nothing more than to see a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Arum was Mayweather's promoter from 1996-2006, so he is qualified to speak on who Mayweather wants to fight and who he doesn't want to fight.
Mayweather has proven to be a picky fighter over his career. Although putting together a perfect 47-0 record, Mayweather has demands unlike any other boxer. He has never fought a single one of his 47 professional fights outside of the United States, unlike some of the all-time greats such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Robinson. In fact, Mayweather has fought his last 12 fights in the same city, Las Vegas.
"If Pacquiao would agree to fight right-handed, Mayweather would sign a deal for the dream match in 5 minutes," Arum said.
Obviously that would never happen, but Arum is calling Mayweather out, as he should. The 82-year-old promoter has been blamed by many fans for a superfight not taking place. The Mayweather camp has also said they won't do business with Arum in the past.
According to Breathecast.com, Pacquiao has voiced his displeasure with Mayweather and his running ways.
"He's all talk. Until now he has not yet agreed to fight me. Instead of blabbing, he should face me atop the ring," Pacquiao recently said.
It appears that Mayweather would rather take the easy road against inferior competition and have a simple path to 50-0. The only problem with choice is his legacy will take a hit. Boxing fans will always remember Mayweather for "ducking" Pacquiao when it mattered most. Mayweather could have at least given fans a fight with Keith Thurman. Thurman isn't a pure southpaw, but he still does a lot of damage with his left hand. It's unlikely we will ever see a Mayweather-Thurman fight.
Despite agreeing to Mayweather's Olympic drug style testing rules, the fight still hasn't come close to happening, the primary reason being money. Mayweather has only "offered" the Pacquiao camp just 13 percent of a potential $300 million fight. In his last fight with Maidana, Mayweather took in over $32 million, while Maidana made just $3 million despite going the distance. Did Maidana deserve just under 9 percent of the match profits even though he lasted all 12 rounds?
Undefeated Mayweather has not yet announced his next opponent, but his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., has already said it's not likely Pacquiao will be next. There's a good chance Mayweather will (once again) fight someone he knows he can defeat.
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