Manny Pacquiao has reportedly rejected a 52-48 split in his favor to fight Ricky Hatton in May, and an associate of his -- the famous Rex "Wakee" Salud -- has said that it is possibly Pacquiao would take a 55-45 split.
I'm getting tired of dancing around what I really want to say about this whole fiasco, so I'm just going to say it, and I hope my fellow Pacquiao admirers will forgive my insolence.
Manny Pacquiao is being a prick, showcasing a huge ego, and doing the sort of things over which we as fans would rip Floyd Mayweather to shreds. I've probably kind of said those things, but I want to be clear. Manny is behaving like a detriment to the upper tiers of boxing right now. And I really hate saying that, because he's such a phenomenal fighter.
I will also say that Hatton -- who I frankly don't think compares to Pacquiao pound-for-pound -- has further won me over as a fan during this whole thing by standing his ground. It probably helps in my case that I think Ricky is right to be doing what he's doing, even if it's just another side of what Manny is doing. He's looking out for himself.
The whole thing is ludicrous, since as many have said in recent talks, Hatton generates more money than Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao thinks he's SO good that he deserves a bigger share of the revenue stream that Hatton brings.
I would love for these guys to do that whole "put up or shut up" idea where the winner takes 60% of the purse and the loser gets 40%, and the actual prize fight happens. It won't ever happen in a major fight, at least the way things are going right now, but we'd damn sure see the best Hatton and best Pacquiao squaring off in that scenario. They'd come to fight.
At the end of the day, I just want all this to end, somehow, and the fight to get signed, because I still love the fight. I think most of us do.