HONG KONG—Manny Pacquiao is knocking on the door of Floyd Mayweather Jr. once again. And for financial reasons, the flamboyant American may be compelled to open it this time.
Pacquiao’s return to prominence and lack of a noteworthy opponent for Mayweather has renewed interest for what could be boxing’s biggest fight ever.
The camp of Pacquiao is pushing for the much-anticipated fight, while Mayweather needs the Filipino ring icon to generate more money.
Revered promoter Bob Arum is willing to renegotiate with Mayweather’s handlers just to make the megabuck bout happen. The fight was on the drawing board for five years but got junked following Pacquiao’s knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December.
After Pacquiao dominated Brandon Rios on Sunday in Macau, Arum said that from his end, the fight must be held. The bout is projected to enrich both boxers by at least $50 million. The 81-year-old lawyer even said that he’s looking at 2014 to stage the bout, which is projected to shatter existing pay-per-view records.
The thing is Mayweather’s camp, including Showtime, isn’t too keen on returning to the negotiating table.
Mayweather’s last fight against Canelo Alvarez was a blockbuster, while Pacquiao-Rios was a sell-out and reportedly did good on PPV even if it was held outside of the United States.
According to Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, Mayweather still has four fights left in his lucrative contract with Showtime, and needs a marketable opponent.
Though Mayweather is being promoted by Golden Boy and Pacquiao by Top Rank, Arum said a joint venture has been done before and is still possible.
“I really hope Bob (Arum) makes that fight (Pacquiao-Mayweather) not only for us, but for boxing,” said Pacquiao.
Amir Khan is being floated as Mayweather’s next opponent on May 3, but the Briton is clearly no PPV star and the bout may yet end up a promotional nightmare like Mayweather’s fight with Robert Guerrero, which lost so much money.
“If he (Mayweather) wants to fight, I’ll fight him,” said Pacquiao.