Floyd Mayweather Jnr has named May 2 as the date for his
shotgun wedding with Manny Pacquiao.
Speculation that the richest fight in boxing history is
close to being made has been rife since the Pacman put on an impressive
performance to defeat Chris Algieri in Macau two weeks ago.
Now Mayweather, put under pressure by one of his promotion
companies' events, said: 'Will I fight Pacquiao? Absolutely.'
When asked if it would be his next fight he replied:
'absolutely.'
Pressed as to when that would be he confirmed the expected
date for his next appearance, saying: 'May 2, absolutely'.
The undefeated holder of the mythical title of the best
pound-for-pound fighter in the world went on: 'The public want this fight. I
want it. the only stumbling block has been Bob Arum (Pacquiao's promoter) but I
think both fighters want it. So it's time to get it on.'
Mayweather admitted for the first time that negotiations are
underway 'behind the scenes', adding: 'I'm not ducking anyone, so let's get
this on.
'Years ago we had problems with random blood and urine
testing. I just want to have an even playing field.
'Now he's in a very, very tight situation with his loss to
(Juan Manuel) Marquez and his loss to (Timothy) Bradley. His pay-per-view
numbers are extremely low, so he's desperate. I wanted that fight a long time
ago.'
For the man who calls himself Money, most of the discussions
centre around the split of the biggest purse of all time.
It is estimated that the fight will gross a minimum
$300million. Pacquiao has agreed to take the thin end of the 60-40 split,
although there are suggestions that Mayweather may demand an even higher
percentage if an agreement is to be finalised.
If Arum can pioneer pay-per-view in his new market, China, the
revenue could rise to so far as to make this a billion dollar fight.
It is probable that Mayweather will insist on fighting in
his adopted hometown of Las Vegas as usual. But Arum has been proposing the
erection of a pop-up stadium in the famous Strip with a 50,000 capacity, more
than double that of any existing arena in Sin City.
If Mayweather is indeed signalling the advent of the biggest
fight of all time it will come as a disappointment for our own Amir Khan, who
is hoping that an outstanding performance as well as victory here in Vegas this
very Saturday night over Devon Alexander would seal his own long-awaited
super-fight with Mayweather.
TIMELINE
December 5, 2009: ESPN report Pacquiao has signed a contract
to fight Mayweather which the Filipino later denies.
December 11: Yahoo report an eight-page contract was sent to
Pacquiao with a proposed date of March 13, 2010.
December 22: Golden Boy claim Pacquiao is unwilling to agree
to Olympic-style drug testing.
December 30: Pacquiao sues Mayweather, alleging him of
making defamatory statements regarding performance-enhancing drugs.
July 13, 2010: Arum gives Mayweather a week to sign the
contract for the fight.
July 19: Mayweather's adviser Al Haymon denies negotiations
have ever taken place.
January 20, 2012: EPSN reports that Mayweather spoke to
Pacquiao on the phone and offered him $40m but Pacquiao demanded a 55/45 split
in Mayweather's favour.
September 25: Mayweather and Pacquiao reach a settlement in
their defamation case.
December 20, 2013: Mayweather says the fight will never
happen while Pacquiao is promoted by Bob Arum.
January, 2014: Pacquiao challenges Mayweather to fight him
but to donate all proceeds to charity.
November 22: Pacquiao beats Algieri and tells Mayweather:
'The fans deserve the fight, I think it's time to make it happen'.
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