Mayweather-Pacquiao stuck in limbo

THE GULF has widened between the “haves” of boxing.

American Floyd Mayweather Jr., after masterfully toying with Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, remains cocky and disrespectful as ever.

Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, now training in high gear for his next fight with Brandon Rios in November, stays silently superstitious while ensconced in his shell.

“East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,” wrote Rudyard Kipling in a classic piece.

So vastly different in culture and belief they may never find common ground, both men breathe life to Mr. Kipling’s ironic imagery for the ages.

Pacquiao who? Mayweather, aka “Money,” appeared to be asking himself in jest after earning boxing’s biggest purse to date—a guaranteed $41.5 million (about P1.8 billion) for taking Alvarez to school in that monumental mismatch last Sept. 15.

After final pay-per-view numbers, “it’ll be more like $100 million,” Money bragged to boxing writers. “I am not thinking about Manny Pacquiao,” Money continued, without skipping a jab in a chat with the Agence France-Presse.

With his own admission that his immaculate 45-0 record was built on the backs of handpicked opponents, Floyd Jr. may continue to sidestep what could be the biggest fight of all time with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao himself has been accused of dodging Mayweather. The eight-division world champ’s fear of needles and belief that he gets weakened when blood gets taken from him seemed absurd and had led to the impasse in the first place.

At one time, the Filipino ring icon changed his tune, said he will take the fight, agree to drug testing and split the purse, 60-40, in Mayweather’s favor.

But Mayweather had looked beyond Pacquiao all along, although credible foes are running out for the 36-year-old boxer, the world’s highest-paid athlete this year.

Likewise, Pacquiao is unperturbed and looking to bridge the gap, between him and Money, when it comes to money while legions of fans still clamor for a Mayweather-Pacquiao duel.

It wasn’t exactly chomp change that the Filipino ring icon earned in his last two fights, however inglorious they were.

Though hounded by rumors of bankruptcy, Pacquiao was reported to have been guaranteed close to $50 million, minus PPV shares, despite an atrocious decision defeat to Timothy Bradley and a ruthless knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pure boxing followers, meantime, are of the belief that despite his many feats, ringwise, the fight that will speak of Money’s legacy is the one that may never happen.

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Congratulations to University of Santo Tomas for snagging the last Final Four berth in the UAAP basketball tournament, at the expense of defending champion Ateneo.

It was sweet revenge for the Growling Tigers—known as the Glowing Goldies during our time at the España campus—over the Blue Eagles, who defeated them for the championship last year.

The victory belongs to everyone who has worn the UST jersey with pride, especially the players of our era—Danny Florencio, George Lizares, Max Laurel and the Bicolano kid named Bogs Adornado, just to name a few.