Take it to the Bank, Pac-Man and Pretty Boy Will Fight

Al Dannity reckons money will triumph over ego to force Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao into a ring with each other.

Money takes it to the bank
A dominant performance by Pretty Boy against Shane Mosley has only made the calls for a clash with Manny Pacquiao even louder. Following Pac-Man’s convincing win over Joshua Clottey, the pressure was on Money to look even better and he didn’t disappoint. It was easy at times during the fight to forget Mosley is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world; when an old man is getting pounded like a side of beef it’s hard to recognise the prime quality of the boxer being beaten. With this win Money has a platform to call out Pac-Man and force this fight to happen, creating a Boxing betting bonanza in the process.

The drug smokescreen
On the face of it the previous attempts to put this fight together fell apart due to the issue of drug testing. In reality it was a matter of head games between the two camps. Pacquiao wanted all urine and blood testing to end 24 days before the fight while Mayweather was only willing to stop tests 14 days before the contest. Pac-Man’s concerns over the affect blood testing would have on his training are frankly crazy. Money’s willingness to stop tests a full two weeks before a fight with Pacquiao however showed he’s not exactly sincere in his pledge to clean up Boxing. Blood doping agents like EPO can be flushed out of the body within five days so Pretty Boy’s offer of a two-week window would do nothing to stop either fighter cheating. As usual with elite boxers, it’s all part of the mind games.

Reason to hope
If the only people calling for this fight were the fans and sports writers then there would be little reason to be confident. The fighters’ camps and the money men are weighing in now which should see a contract signed within the next few months. Pacquiao corner man Freddie Roach has essentially acknowledged the blood testing issue will be resolved and Bob Arum is looking at re-opening negotiations. Potential hosts like Jerry Jones, who would love to stage the fight in Cowboys Stadium, have signalled an interested to play host to the superfight.

For their part, Mayweather’s camp is eager to get the fight made as well. Pac-Man presents, by some distance, the most lucrative option for Pretty Boy. A fight with Pacquiao could be even bigger than his fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. This fight will happen but expect some more posturing before Mayweather and Pacquiao sign on the dotted line.

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