Al Bello - Getty Images
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Posturing, nonsense and the same old problems in boxing. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have been going back and forth in an intense PR war over the past month. Floyd got his jail date pushed back so he could fight on May 5 and said he wanted Pacquiao, Bob Arum said Manny would be ready in May, but then changed it to June because of a cut suffered in November. Then Manny said he wanted to fight Floyd more than anyone else, so Arum said he didn't know who to call to discuss the fight. Then Floyd decided to say that there'd be no 50/50 purse split, effectively killing any chance of the fight.
Now word has come out that Manny will rematch Miguel Cotto with Cotto already having agreed to almost all terms for the bout.
Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook with some reaction:
The fight is already receiving backlash from many in the boxing community and the fanbase who feel that no matter what, Cotto simply isn't a tough style matchup for Pacquiao. The two went pretty even for the first four rounds of their November 2009 bout, but in the end Pacquiao simply wound up the much better man, and by the time Kenny Bayless mercy-stopped it in the 12th round, Cotto was refusing to engage Pacquiao.
It was unrealistic to think that he and Floyd were ever going to meet in May, but this is still not exactly a thrilling development.
It's not so much that Cotto/Pacquiao is a horrible fight, it's not really. It's just that it already happened once and pretty much anything was going to be a letdown with the constant "will they/won't they?"
0 recs | 84 comments
What an insult to boxing fans this is, Arum wants $60 to see Pacquiao fight a man he brutalised years ago. The Pacquiao mystique has well and truly evaporated. Wonder if Pacquiao will pull his favourite stunt and force Cotto to make some ridiculous catchweight again?
Boxing promoters have abused the fanbase for far too long, heres to MMA, a sport where the best guys actually fight each other.
sheikybaby - January 21, 2012
I really thought that after Floyd reached out to manny personally
that they would make the fight happen.
HitokiriX - January 21, 2012
Well, if the e-mails are real, Floyd reaching out involved saying that he wouldn’t give him a 50/50 split. so…
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
I meant when he called him on the phone in the Philippines
HitokiriX - January 21, 2012
Yeah, he sent an e-mail to ESPN with the details of the call and supposedly Manny asked for 50/50 and Floyd said “yeah, that can’t happen”
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
oh, didn’t hear about that… well damn. did he say what kind of split he wanted?
HitokiriX - January 21, 2012
Why don’t boxing fans just boycott that fight. It is an insult. A fight nobody wants to see.
Ilias - January 21, 2012 via Android app
Because people do want to see it…
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
Can I ask why?
dbcb - January 21, 2012
Well, Cotto isn’t a bad fighter. Also, these two men have two of the biggest fanbases in the sport.
Cotto just got a very highly publicized win in a grudge match. A lot of people always want to see Manny fight.
This is actually a huge money fight.
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
i dont feel Cotto has improved enough to give manny a real challange
And to top it off, their last fight was dominated by Manny. Like you said, in the later rounds Cotto refused to engage. That’s how over matched he was.
Ricardo Arguello - January 21, 2012 via mobile
I don’t really follow boxing closely but I would have thought that Manny would want to fight Marquez again and put that right. As P4P best he should not be happy with a controversial decision win that most people think he lost!
Thats just my opinion. I know money is important but they should really find a better balance by also giving the fans what they want to see.
Ilias - January 21, 2012 via Android app
Marquez killed that fight. He won’t fight in Vegas (where the fight is worth the most money) and is demanding like 7-10 million to take the fight. So…he killed that idea.
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
It better be huge money
If it isn’t, then Floyd will say “I told you so” and be even more intransigent about the split next time.
paythefighters - January 21, 2012
I wanna see the fight because I like watching Manny fight. This fight isn’t terrible and if manny comes in the same way he did against marquez last time it could be close.
But on the other hand I only really want manny to fight mayweather, which seems like it’ll never happen. I don’t see why mayweather won’t do a 50/50 split for the biggest fight in the world right now. That’s incredibly greedy.
Ricardo Arguello - January 21, 2012 via mobile
Agreed. Mayweather refusing a 50/50 split is really his way of saying he doesn’t want the fight. Pacquiao taking on Cotto again though isn’t good. No doubt Pacquiao will get away with it because he’s a nice guy and all that, but can you imagine the uproar if Mayweather tried to get away with taking on a guy he stopped convincingly 2 or 3 years ago?
sheikybaby - January 21, 2012
Bs
This is the biggest fight payday in boxing history, and floyd is the bigger draw. You dont reach out personally and try to make a fight, that you dont want. That notion is incredibly ridiculous. Manny’s handlers dont want the fight, bc they think theres a good chance he will lose.
warren305 - January 21, 2012 via mobile
How is Floyd the bigger draw in a fight with Pac Man?
That’s crazy talk.
Rob Young - January 21, 2012 via mobile
PPV buys
warren305 - January 21, 2012
Here is a post from a member in BLH
Strange I thought Floyd was WAY above Manny in PPV numbers…
In order of buyrate for their last few fights:
Floyd Mayweather vs.Oscar De La Hoya -2,400,0001,450,000-Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
-Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley-1,400,000
-Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley-1,300,000
-Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya-1,250,000
-Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto-1,250,000
-Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz-1,250,000
-Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito-1,150,000
-Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Márquez-1,050,000
-Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton-920,000
-Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao-850,000
So there is one outlier when DLH was still considered a viable threat and huge PPV buy. Aside from that, where is the justification that Floyd is a bigger drawl?
Floyd’s average buyrate is 1.404m including the DLH fight (a total of 5 fights)
Manny’s is 1.208m (a total of 6 fights).
Against common opponents:
Floyd: 1.4425m
Manny: 1.2125
Those numbers are dead even without DLH in the mix.
Manny: 1.2m
Floyd: 1.123m
If you remove the fights against non-common opponents, and remove the one PPV marquee name that they both faced equally, they sell virtually the exact same amount of PPV.
by younggunzvt on Jan 20, 2012 2:51 PM PST reply actions
vivero - January 21, 2012
Yeah well, whatever
warren305 - January 21, 2012
ah...
…. ZINGER!
jthin - January 22, 2012
but my question is, will you keep going around saying Floyd is the bigger draw?
The Lethal Haze - January 22, 2012
Not here
:-)
warren305 - January 22, 2012
Bc hes the bigger draw
……
warren305 - January 21, 2012 via mobile
And people complain about the way Dana runs things?
Dana fucking puts on the fights people want to see BECAUSE he doesn’t have to deal with greedy prima donnas like Floyd.
Newman24 - January 21, 2012
Not really a fair comparison. He puts on the fights people want to see because the whole structure is different for the sport.
if he were a boxing promoter he’d operate exactly like everyone else.
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
That's my point, though....
It’s because of the UFC structure that we get the fights that we do. Boxing is what it is, but it should be a cautionary tale to the idiots who obsess over Zuffa’s Evil Empire and claim it’s wrong for the sport.
Newman24 - January 21, 2012
Oh…sure.
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
And we never did get GSP vs Silva, so its not like Dana has absolute power in regards to matchmaking.
Kefka - January 22, 2012
this is total BS. i won’t pay a cent for that fight and i hope no one else does either.
phantom5691 - January 21, 2012
I’m just throwing this out there. but Cotto is pretty clearly going to knock out Manny. Not because he’s better, but because they dicked around with the Floyd fight too long.
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
Cotto isn’t a one punch KO guy, and he isn’t quick enough to hit Pacquiao enough to knock him out. I reckon a strong card by the UFC headlined by a fight like Overeem vs Dos Santos could compete with this head to head.
sheikybaby - January 21, 2012
What I think people are missing is that Cotto/Pacquiao is still a big fight that is going to do an all time great gate in Vegas and do a shitload of PPV buys.
Brent Brookhouse - January 21, 2012
Yes
I have no interest but I know a lot of people that will pay for it.
IRodC - January 21, 2012
... if karma was real
The Lethal Haze - January 21, 2012
Cotto is the perfect style match up for Pac
Is and will always be.
No if’s or buts.
Pac destroys Cotto even at 154.
Mohammedini Hussein - January 22, 2012
I'm washing my hands away from this.
Get your fucking shit together boxing.
Maclovio Williams - January 21, 2012
I wish a piece of the chair smacked him silly that would have been so much better
RECE ROCK - January 21, 2012 via mobile
They'll never have this fight because it'll kill off at least one of the two major ppv draws left in boxing.
Better to just keep dragging it out forever.
UncleMax - January 21, 2012
I REALLY hope this tanks on PPV
Sadly Pacquiao and Mayweather fans will buy a million buys for each and this crap will continue. For the good of the sport both of these need to get below 500K buys so they realize that they need each other.
HaterSlayer - January 21, 2012
It's going to be higher than the first three UFC PPV buyrates combined
SSreporters - January 21, 2012
I'm not really a huge boxing fan so
could someone explain to me why Mayweather wouldn’t take a 50/50 split? Is he being greedy or is he just a bigger draw than Pacquiao?
mabel4life - January 21, 2012
short guys feel the need to overcompensate
UncleMax - January 21, 2012
Bigger draw...common sense
warren305 - January 21, 2012
while that may be true
if you promise Mayweather 10m, 20m, or 300m, why the hell should he care what his opposition receives? That seems like dense mentality. Obviously ego plays a big part, but one would think that monetary concerns come first and foremost.
FatBa - January 21, 2012
he cares because most of the negotiation leading into a big boxing match is a dick measuring contest.
Phildo - January 21, 2012
I would be more than happy to.
MicahtheCynic - January 21, 2012
I hope manny NEVER fights floyd. It will ruin the tension. Remember how disappointing it was when Mulder kissed Scully in the x-files movie? Or when dr Temperance ‘bones’ Brennan hooked up with agent Booth, in the hit tv show, ‘Bones’, or when Dawson and joey smooched in the season one cliffhanger of ’Dawson’s creek?
Ooh the suspense. Be still my beating heart.
Fucking get on with it.
ihateyourkids - January 21, 2012
ever see that show moonlighting?
bruce willis and cybill shepherd hooking up ruined the whole series and the ratings plunged
Cunny - January 21, 2012
This isn't highschool, it's fighting.
But yeah, long term one of these guys will see a ratings drop AFTER the fight itself.
UncleMax - January 21, 2012
Was just adding an example
i want the fight to happen
Cunny - January 21, 2012
moonlighters wtf
doesnt beat ross and rachel
MegaReem - January 22, 2012
Who will promote the fight once it happens? if it does.
Floyd wants a bigger cut, does he promote himself or does he have a promoter such as Arum?
elmojo - January 21, 2012
Manny already beat the shit out of Cotto the first time
I have no idea why Cotto needs another rematch. Manny beat him legally.
SSreporters - January 21, 2012
prolly coz Floyd has always ducked cotto, and cotto needs a big name fight.
New_User - January 22, 2012
Does anyone actually think this fight will happen?
It became a joke to me long ago but for those of you grasping on to each post on here you see that may hint at a possible date and all that need to give it up lol. The only time they will finally fight is when they are both past their prime and just want to make a big payday before they both are washed up.
mikeI981j - January 21, 2012
It make no sense for Mayweather or Pacquiao to take the fight
And it probably won’t happen for a while.
discoandherpes - January 21, 2012
That's it, I'm done.
I’ve ordered almost every major boxing PPV in the last couple years including Pac vs Clottey, PBF vs Marquez, Cotto/Marg 2 and all the other big ones (even bought a ticket to see Hopkins/Dawson live) but enough is enough. Only PBF PPV I will pay to see is if he fights Canelo and I’m done with Manny.
Rob Young - January 21, 2012 via mobile
This ppv will fail
If enough people refuse to buy it. I for one will find something else to do that evening…I see NO need to watch them fight a second time.
SmittytheCutman - January 21, 2012 via mobile
A rematch no one wants to see
At least Pacquiao could have chosen someone that he hasn’t fought already. This is ridiculous.
discoandherpes - January 21, 2012
This is like
Anderson Silva rematching Demian Maia. There’s no reason this fight should ever happen again.
Scott Whitaker - January 21, 2012
Ive said it before and il say it again
Boxing needs their own UFC in order to survive beyond the next 20 years. because right now when Pacman and Mayweather retire, there will be no one left. not only that, but many of the athletes who used to go into boxing will be going into MMA now, further depleating Boxing’s fighters.
unfortunatly, because of the selfishness in boxing that has built up for decades, its not going to happen.
Boxing is dead, LONG LIVE BOXING
justsomehawkeyefan - January 21, 2012
Once De La Hoya retires, there will never be a decent draw in boxing again.
pdl - January 21, 2012
De La Hoya is retired.
Sugel Mendoza - January 21, 2012
*whistle*
Put your baseball glove on because that one went right over your head.
Scott Whitaker - January 21, 2012
+1
woah time to leave your bridge and read the newpaper, Oscar is retired,
MegaReem - January 22, 2012
pdl's point
is that people were saying, while ODLH was still active, that once ODLH retired there would never be a decent draw in boxing again.
The Lethal Haze - January 22, 2012
Floyd doesn't deserve another payday
Floyd is such a diva/prima donna who’s arrogance knows no bounds does not even deserve another huge payday. Money was never able to sell out an arena in his own home state of Michigan for his entire career. (Didn’t help that he was a safety first counter puncher) It wasn’t untill he fought Oscar did he start getn noticed by the general media n public. Where as Pacquaio is always going for a kO win. Takn on bigger opponents as he went up multiple weight divisions. Fraud can’t draw without the right opponent. Him askn for more than 50% is laughable.
Hankverdee - January 21, 2012 via mobile
Mayweather and Pacquiao share a few opponents.
Mayweather drew nearly double the PPV buys against De La Hoya that Pacquiao did and still holds the record for PPV sales.
Mayweather drew greater numbers against Shane Mosley than Pacquiao did by about 100k.
Pacquiao drew better numbers against Marquez with the benefit of being the final match of a trilogy.
I don’t get why people try to fabricate ridiculous untruths to demean and hate on Mayweather. Between the racism and violence against women and children he’s already given you a wealth of legitimate material.
pdl - January 21, 2012
oh the win in this
inthepipes - January 21, 2012
This is FANTASTIC news!
This now frees up Floyd to pursue that MMA title he said he would easily win.
FatBa - January 21, 2012
inthepipes - January 21, 2012
Noooooo...
dajulzta - January 21, 2012 via Android app
What a joke...
Pacman is running, Arum is right behind him and Cotto will get destroyed… AGAIN.
Im convinced this superfight will never happen, JMM showed Mayweather all he needed to know to smash Pacman and Arum knows he has to milk this cash cow for all its worth because one defeat and the “Milks gone bad my friend!!!”.
Chin Check - January 21, 2012
then why did Floyd make a demand for a split that he knew would never be agreed to?
The Lethal Haze - January 22, 2012
Considering we dont even know what split he asked for other then refusing a 50/50.
Id say you were purely speculating as to whether or not he “knew” it would never be agreed upon, Bob Arum is ducking this fight so bad even his own fighter has called him out on it and even that adorable picture you posted wont change the fact that Top Rank DO NOT want this fight to happen.
I wonder why?! lol….
Chin Check - January 23, 2012
And dont get me started on the avalanche of lame excuses coming out of Top Rank for why Manny cant fight Money.
Chin Check - January 23, 2012
wow floyd actually really wants it and manny and bob are ducking him hard
fuck!
theworldismine - January 22, 2012
Neither guy really wants this fight in my opinion.
Floyd is popular because no one likes him and wants to see him beat. Pacquiao is popular because people think he can beat up Mayweather.
That’s why we get Floyd posturing and Pacquiao coming up with lame sauce excuses.
discoandherpes - January 22, 2012
i think mayweather was actually somewhat wanted it
but arum the greedy pig wants to hold out for a bigger arena or something ,while he hopes for mayweathers skills to decline in the short time he has in the slammer clenching his bumhole
MegaReem - January 22, 2012
That "arena" Excuse have been debunked by almost every boxing site out there
Same with that retarded cut excuse.
Freddie Roach saying in interviews that the cut is already healed then flip flopping on tv saying it needs 6 months to heal…….
Manny’s small cut has to be the longest cut recovery in boxing history…
But when Floyd was supposed to go to jail, the may 5th date sounded perfect for the 4th JMM fight according to Arum.
All I can say is Fuck Arum
Mohammedini Hussein - January 22, 2012
Manny has always had lame sauce excuses
Remember when he was saying he doesn’t like needles?
discoandherpes - January 22, 2012
Is there really no other welterweight for Pacquiao to fight?
discoandherpes - January 22, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Bloody Elbow to post a comment.