Calling A Spade A Spade 11.20.09: Killjoy

Posted by Ryan Bates on 11.20.2009

The one man who can bring all this Pacquiao/Mayweather speculation to a grinding halt, and how he might do it.

It's Friday, and I won't go too far into Pacquiao/Cotto. I mean, what's left to say? His performance over the king of the welterweights was almost beyond words to begin with, so whatever was out there has already been said. "Brilliant," "dominating," "exceptional," "historic" -- words that are all out in the boxing press, and spilling over into the mainstream.



But the phenomenon that happened less than five minutes later caught my attention too. During the post-fight interview in the ring, the audience, in a tremendous battle cry, started chanting, "We want Floyd! We want Floyd!" And the chorus grew: "WE WANT FLOYD! WE WANT FLOYD!" And all the fans, not just Pacquiao's fans, Cotto's fans too, unleashed their emotion toward the pretender to Manny's throne. They released their pent-up anger at his big, loud mouth, and they released their frustration at his immense skill going to waste against mid-range fighters like Carlos Baldomir and Sharmba Mitchell: "WE WANT FLOYD! WE WANT FLOYD!"

We want Floyd indeed.

The fans want Floyd. The press wants Floyd, as one of the first questions out of the gate was, "Is Floyd Mayweather next?" Freddie Roach wants Floyd, promising a victory. Bob Arum wants Floyd; even though he says he doesn't care, the man hears cash registers ringing from this potential fight until his dying day. Ross Greenburg of HBO wants it, as it would fill HBO's coffers for years to come. And Manny Pacquiao himself has said he wants Floyd.

There is demand, now let there be supply. Let's call a spade a spade...

...PACQUIAO/MAYWEATHER IS NOT A SURE BET. IT MAY NEVER EVEN HAPPEN.

**screeeech** What? Come on, Ryan, surely this time you must be joking with us. We thought you were joking with the Pavlik article... we thought you were out of your mind when you said pay-per-view buys for Pacquiao/Cotto would be higher than Mayweather/Marquez. But THIS TIME... this time you're surely out of your mind. EVERYONE wants to see Pacquiao/Mayweather!

Everyone except one man:



Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't particularly excited about the idea. In fact, the excuses started the day after "Firepower," as Mayweather said in an press statement.

Manny Pacquiao is the fighter and every time someone asks him if he wants to fight me, he says it is up to his promoter, he's going to take a vacation, whatever the answer is. I have yet to hear him actually say, "yes I want to fight Mayweather." We are the fighters and if one fighter is talking about fighting another fighter, then they should just come out and say it. Manny Pacquiao doesn't say anything directly about fighting me because he might just know it's not a fight he can win.

Let's address this quickly, then move to the crux of the matter. Firstly, Pacquiao hadn't said anything about fighting Mayweather (or anyone for that matter) because Pacquiao, by and large, is humble. This is a foreign concept to Floyd. Floyd wouldn't know humility if it smacked him on the derrière and called him "Jiggles McCoy." Let's face it – the night after his biggest win in his career, and Pacquiao's up at the dais calling himself an "ordinary fighter." Floyd doesn't grasp this.

Secondly, may I bring to everyone's attention what Floyd said after his win against Juan Manuel Marquez?



1:52 into the clip – "I let Al Heymon and Leonard Ellerbee conduct my bouts, and we'll go from there."

Well, now, that sounds familiar... kind of sounds like exactly what Manny Pacquiao said that Floyd Mayweather was whining about!

But I digress. Manny went on the record the other day saying he would like to fight Floyd, so this is neither here nor there.

So, while we wait for the next excuse of the day, let's go over why Floyd has the capacity to bring this ultimate bout to a screeching halt.

1.) Floyd Mayweather and Bob Arum hate each other. Not "dislike," not "find perturbing." They downright can't stand each other. Arum has gone on the record and said that while he loathes The Pretty Money Boy Child, he would not stop a Pacquiao/Mayweather bout. He's also said if Floyd punks out, he'd start going after a Pacquiao/Marquez III, a fight that would also draw, given the two fighters' long and controversial histories together. So Arum is willing to set things aside for the good for the sport. But what about Floyd though? Floyd isn't above holding grudges. He's not above making people acquiesce to him. He likes power and likes to use it. So could he just step back and make people clamor for what they want? Sure. It's totally immature, but it could happen. Besides, when's the last time Mayweather was a sparkling diamond of maturity?

2.) Floyd Mayweather won't take second billing. What do I mean by that? Read how I've referred to this potential bout all the way through: Pacquiao/Mayweather. Not Mayweather/Pacquiao. While it may not seem like a significant point, it is in the business. To have your name first means you're the first face people associate with this promotion. In fact, it's so important, that one of the sticking points in making Pacquiao/Hatton was the nomenclature. To resolve this, the fight was called Pacquiao/Hatton... except in the UK and parts of Europe, where it in fact was called Hatton/Pacquiao.

If it's that important, don't you think Floyd's ego will want the best of it? When was the last time Floyd had second billing in a fight? That would be De La Hoya/Mayweather. So the only person Mayweather would allow above his name is THE CEO OF THE PROMOTIONAL COMPANY. With as much as he hates comparisons to Manny Pacquiao, you think Floyd's ego will let Pacquiao play king of the roost? No sirree, Bob. He will kick and scream and make a sticking point that he's not top billing. But he won't be doing it to just any fighter. He'll be doing it to the WBO welterweight champion, the universally-recognized pound-for-pound champion, the greatest fighter in this era, and I might point out someone who outsold him in pay-per-view buys. Pacquiao wins that argument hands down.

3.) Floyd Mayweather won't take the smaller portion of the purse.



Here's where we run into a very real problem. Floyd loves money. It's all he really cares about, except for his zero in his loss column. I'm surprised he didn't name his kids Franklin, Grant, Jackson, and Hamilton. Floyd doesn't see fights to cement his legacy; he sees money-making opportunities and business ventures. However, once again, this business venture involves the WBO welterweight champion, the universally-recognized pound-for-pound champion, the greatest fighter in this era, and someone who outsold him in pay-per-view buys. Anything other than 65% of the purse for Pacquiao is a cold-hearted insult. Mayweather may as well just come up to Manny and spit in his face if he intends to come to the negotiation table thinking he'll walk away with the lion's share. And yet, when was the last time Floyd walked away on the short end of the financial stick? Even in fights where he's fighting a belt-holder, he's demanded more than 50% and gotten it, despite his challenger status. He won't get it against Pacquiao.

If I were to get out my Tarot cards, I would predict this: Manny and Floyd agree to negotiate. Floyd asks for 70% and digs his heels into the ground at 65%. Manny, Freddie, Bob Arum, and even scum-of-the-universe Michael Koncz unanimously agree that the figure is ludicrous, and Floyd sticks to his guns and screams that they don't really want the fight. Overpricing 101, and whether it's ego, greed, or cowardice, Floyd takes away from everyone what they really want, while keeping his zero that he so lusciously covets.

The potential match up between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather puts Mayweather in very real danger. Manny Pacquiao has the speed to catch up to Floyd, and the power to hurt Floyd when he gets there. If the fight is made, Floyd's zero is in legitimate danger. However, if Floyd takes this fight away from Manny, away from boxing, away from the world, the bigger danger is Floyd holding a record of 40 wins... and 0 supporters.