The main article is already pretty damn long, so I’ll put this down here as an extra talking point.

Bob Arum is just as likely to talk his way out of this fight as Floyd is.

Arum has been making preemptive excuses ever since Floyd beat Marquez. “He’ll want too much of the split, etc., etc.”

Floyd and Golden Boy will open with a hard-line offer. I’m sure of that. They might even try 65-35. It’ll be a tactic. At the end of the day, I think a 52-48 Floyd split (or something like that) is probable. It’s going to take sacrifices on both sides.

And yes, Manny is just as money-hungry. He almost negotiated himself out of the Hatton fight, a fight in which Hatton was the bigger overall money generator. But seriously, who else can these guys fight? Joshua Clottey?

were not so great then why do you want him to fight Manny?

“every fight he’s taken has been a no-brainer”

So why the hype between Mayweather and Manny? If it doesn’t happen then we shoul be happy then, right? Beause Manny only fights the best. Mayweather only is considered the best because of his record. Manny’s to good for that.

I can’t believe any of that. Mayweather did challenge himself verses Hatton and Oscar. Many people were talking about Hatton’s style of boxing was the best style to take him down.

The problem with Money is that he always want’s to make an arguement. He loves to debate. The world is his barbershop. He talks to much. But he backs it up.

can some one explain to me why pbf gets labeled with fighting the mediocre opposition …. while manny gets praised for those same wins … i look at manny;s career and its impressive but the only wins that really stand out to me, that really overly impress me are barrera the first time and cotto now …

I’m not even going to get excited about a potential fight between these two yet, considering there are so many ways this thing could fall apart at the negotiating table. Although a 50-50 split would be the most appropiate for both fighters, I highly doubt either man would be willing to take that. Both would want to take the upper hand, even if it would only be a 51-49 split.

Other than the absolute boatloads of money you’re going to get paid, right Floyd?

Try not to burn through it all in 18 months this time.

Yes, PBF will make heaps more money than for anything else he could do. But I rather think his ‘0’ means more to him than the money, and he’ll price himself out of the gig. It’ll come across as both sides not agreeing, but my gut feeling is that even if Arum moves towards him, he’ll move further away. 51-49, PBF? ‘I want 55-45!’

For all his skills, I’m not sure that he has the heart for the fight. The DLH scare made him crawl into his shell and ask for too much to rematch, something I don’t think he really wanted anyway, given DLH faded down the stretch. I also think that the weight stunt he pulled with JMM was as cheap a move as I’ve ever seen.

Bad Left Hook, I hear you and agree.
I really think Mayweather wants to be loved, adored and respected like Oscar was in the American market and Pacquiao is now. Mayweather is going to talk, talk and talk.

Whether this fight gets made or not at this point . . . whatever. In the end, it is going to be up to the greed, compromise of the promoters and the boxers? At what weight will the fight happen, who knows. Every single contractual point will be argued and contested. There will probably be more verbal jabs, quips thrown during the negotiating than the actual match.

If it happens, great but I expect Mayweather to bitch, moan, shout, brag and analyze the potential fight all the way to the weigh-ins. We all know Pacquiao is ready to step into the ring without a complaint.

The one thing negative about Mayweather is his style of fighting. Guys like Larry Merchant criticize because he’s not willing to engage, brawl and exchange blow for blow. Mayweather has already admitted he would never “put it all on the line” like Castillo vs. Diego Corrales did. I totally understand and agree with him, but that’s what most casual fans want to see, a wild brawl, a vicious KO. That’s just not Mayweather’s game. Look at Klitschko, he’s a methodical, plodding dominant champion who eventually KO’s his opponent, just not in a huge-vicious-high light reel manner.

I feel there’s not a proper argument about Floyd anymore without this:

“BUT GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? BUT GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? BUT GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? GUESS WHAT? BUT GUESS WHAT? I. AM. CLAPPING. MY. HANDS. IN. RHYTHM. WITH. WHAT. I’M. SAYING. BUT GUESS WHAT?”

Funny stuff. Floyd’s Greatest Hits is a broken record, too. The Marquez fiasco is almost a mirror image of the Hatton fiasco. Here’s the recipe:

1) Floyd’s next opponent calls him out after a victory, in an obviously scripted way.
2) Floyd calls the fight a one-sided mismatch against a guy who is too small and too slow to beat him.
3) 90% of longtime boxing observers agree with him, dismissing the fight as one-sided mismatch a guy who is too small and too slow to beat him..
4) The fight takes place, and it turns out to be one-sided mismatch against a guy who is too small and too slow to beat him.
5) Floyd claims that everyone was saying it was going to be a great competitive fight, reminds us that he is undefeated, and mulls retirement, because he just can’t get a break.

He can’t win when he does win.

People hate him enough to find ways to downplay every victory.

But when he does beat Manny, it’ll just mean fewer doubters.

But the doubters will still be there, like always

If he wants to be given credit & be loved he becomes something great in history by beating Pac at a fair weight, and he becomes loved by being a humble winner in that fight.

It is that easy Floyd. You can still be a dick about almost everything. Still showboat and whine.

You just have to beat Pac. & be a gentleman about it.

Alright I’ll try to be a semi-well-reasoned Floyd fan. First off he has to make this fight. No questions, no excuses, make the damn fight. Second, at least give Floyd credit for promptly try to get this fight done. Everyone has been clamoring for him to fight Mosley and he easily could’ve said “I’m weighing my options until after the Mosley-Berto fight.” Would have been a bitch move but most people expect this from Floyd. So what does he get for trying to get this done? He’s just posturing…. At least give the man a little credit for this. Third if he wins, big if, then there should be a legitimate discussion about the greatest defensive fighters of all time. In my view this fight is essentially greatest offense vs. greatest defense. No matter who wins, there should be a discussion afterward about the winner being possibly near the top of either of these categories.

The full interview paints a different picture. He’s still sounds like he’s complaining but it sounds different.

Check out more of the entire interview.

it’s funny, b/c after seeing Manny win…i was humored in wondering how PBF would talk it down if Manny dominated. PBF took on Marquez, a very beatable guy nearly 2 weight classes above nat’l weight…and that was the only fight that “made” sense. Floyd is a ducker and a runner in the ring and out. Period. I"m glad this shows it. PBF don’t want Mosley either, he’s worried Mosley’s speed will be a problem, and for PBF to say Manny is one-dimensional is laughable. Anyone watch PBF fight Marquez? that was as one dimensional a boxer fight at the elite level as i’ve seen in years. 1-2 pot shots, wash, rinse, repeat.

He talked up Marquez before the fight, just like DLH talked up Pacquiao, to try and keep “little guy” talk out of the pre-fight hype. There are certainly ways to do that here: Castillo said that Pacquiao hits harder and punches faster than Floyd.

Instead of publicizing that, Floyd’s going back to bad guy Floyd? I thought he’d be a little more confident than that.

Good write up. As EVERYONE has said, this fight NEEDS to be made.

So Manny isn’t to small for Floyd as he was saying earlier but now he is to one-dementional and has 3 losses?

If Floyd KOs Pac i would be bit shocked to be honest. Manny’s defence is patchy but he takes a good shot. If Floyd times him with a good shot as Manny comes in he may be able to knock him off balence, but as for a KO I think Pac has a good chance of getting to Floyd and atleast hurting him once.

As for a no win situation can he not see that Pac has proven his worth as a fighter and if Floyd beats him people will know the quality of oppenent he was, and fighting at a weight he is good at? If he pulls out a win the only slight bit of flack i can see coming is “why couldn’t he fight a challenge earlier”.

As for weight, make it 147. Pac can handle the weight and it wont give Mayweather a size diffrence or strength etc. As far as split i say 55/45 Mayweather. He is the bigger PPV draw

The reason I don’t care for PBF is different than most here, I think he is boring fighter for the most part. I consider myself a boxing purist, but I also enjoy war and aggression in the ring. i don’t consider Floyd a pure boxer, i think his style is a gimmick. He has found a way to out point everyone by being entirely defensive, until if by chance he can stop them because they get tired of chasing him around. The boxing lesson Hopkins gave Trinidad is a good example of hitting and not getting hit, but still with aggression

Now when it comes to his record, i think people on this site are extremely caught up in revisionist history. Floyd has for the most part only fought B level and above competition for the last 8 years. Sprinkled in those fights are some fights that were viewed as challenges at the time for Floyd. It’s easy to look back now and dismiss wins over Corrales, Manfredy, Chavez, Castillo, Hatton, Marquez, De la Hoya, Corley etc… But are you willing to dismiss wins for someone like Trinidad, when you look back at wins over De la Hoya, Reid, Whitaker, Or how about Manny’s wins over an aged and worn down Barrera and Morales.

My point is this, Manny’s wins over Oscar and Hatton look better because he is not only a great fighter but a guy who is willing to go for it (much like Trinidad) that is why it feels easy to say Floyd has not been challenged even though he beat Oscar and Hatton before Manny. He did it in a boring way. and we all hate that about him.

Let me save you guys the Mystery of a Mayweather-Pacquaio or Mayweather-Mosley fight. Floyd will win both of those fights by pointing away to boring SD. This sucks as a entertainer and a true Champion willing to go for it.

It’s not that he is not challenging himself with opponents. It’s that he is not challenging himself with his fighting style.