Is The Pacman-Mayweather Tiff Finally For Real Now?

It seems that the highly-anticipated super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao will push through this May after all! Finally. After a painful on-again, off-again roller coaster ride that had many boxing fans dizzy and puking with exasperation, the dream bout is reportedly closer to becoming a reality than it has ever been before. EVER.

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Is this fight finally on? (Courtesy of ringsideboxingevent.com)

Floyd and Manny actually bumped into each other in a Miami Heat game at the American Airlines Arena last January 28 after Manny’s flight out of Miami got postponed. This was after Manny had completed his stint as a judge in the Miss Universe contest held in Miami. Some say the chance-encounter was not a coincidence but a carefully stage-managed event meant to whet the appetites of the fanatics out there. Whatever it was, sportsfans jostled in excitement and anticipation as Floyd went over to Manny, who was seated on the opposite side of the arena. They then talked briefly and exchanged phone numbers. They reportedly met again for about an hour in the privacy of Manny’s hotel.

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Floyd made his way to Manny’s ringside seat and they briefly talk. (Courtesy of dailymail.com)

Later reports would suggest that the two protagonists expressed their genuine desire to get the fight done. And this is what really matters most, that both warriors truly want the fight done. That said, only some minor issues need to be ironed out now. This would mean that Showtime – which has a contract with Floyd – and HBO – which owns a similar contract with Manny – will need to put their heads together to hammer out mutually acceptable terms for a joint telecast.

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The Heat overhead scoreboard welcomed the 2 ring icons to the delight of the crowd. (Courtesy of boxingscene.com)

Alex Ariza, the former Pacquiao-fitness-guru-turned-Mayweather-lackey, had earlier doused cold water on the ongoing negotiations, saying that Mayweather would be fighting on May 2nd, but that it would be with a fighter not named Manny. He cited Bob Arum’s presence as the main hindrance in the talks. Floyd would further add that “Manny is just a pawn in the ongoing negotiations. He doesn’t have a say.”

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It’s Offense versus Defense in the Battle of the Century. (Courtesy of sportskeedo.com)

Fans however would have none of Floyd’s evading tactics any longer. In a recent appearance in a Los Angeles Clippers game at the Staples Centre in LA, fans started chanting: “We want Pacquiao, we want Pacquiao!” The chant would later grow louder: “Fight Pacquiao, fight Pacquiao.” This clearly showed the fans’ sentiments with regards the biggest non-fight of the century. Evidently, with the general perception overwhelmingly against Floyd  Mayweather, he has nowhere to go but inside the square arena to face his dreaded dance partner, Manny.

Indeed, it is time. Man up, Floyd. Lace up your boots, put on your gloves, and come out of that dressing room ready to bring out your best boxing performance ever.  For all the world to see. For all the millions you will earn. For the benefit of Boxing and all its fans the world over. Yes, folks, we are finally going to be treated to a bout of epic proportions. Yes, it is Showtime once again!!  Let’s get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

More on Pacquiao-Mayweather:

A Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight This May?

Will Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Fight the Pacman or Not?

(Photos courtesy of philstar.com, twitter.com, rappler.com, deviantart.com, youtube.com, dailymail.com, mabangis.com)

 

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