It seems like the dream fight between Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao and undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr. will remain like that: A dream.
Weeks after Mayweather announced that he would finally fight the “Pacman,” fight website boxingnews24.com reported that the camp of the brash American said they would get ready for a fight with Miguel Cotto on May 5 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The report, written by John F. McKenna, also said that Mayweather turned his back on a deal offered by Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser Michael Koncz, including a 55-45 percent split on pay-per-view earnings, with the winner getting the bigger share.
McKenna quoted Koncz as saying he had offered the Mayweather camp a guaranteed purse of $50 million to fight Pacquiao, whom he has been ducking since 2009, when first word of the fight was floated.
“The deal proposed by the Pacquiao camp would far surpass what any fighter in boxing history has earned for one fight,” the report said. “But, ironically, it may be more than just the money for ‘Money’ Mayweather.
“Apparently, Floyd is so paranoid about losing his “0” (on his fight record) that he must be absolutely certain of winning before he enters the ring with any fighter.”
The report also said that Bob Arum’s Top Rank, which promotes Pacquiao’s fights, is aware of the offer that Koncz forwarded to the camp of Mayweather.
The Mayweather camp’s announcement of the Cotto fight had obviously irked Koncz, who bared the terms of his latest offer to McKenna.
“I’ve been talking directly to Floyd and I made a commitment to him to keep it out of the media,” McKenna quoted Koncz.
“But with him saying all the things he’s been saying—that Manny ducked the fight, that Manny is only a $10-million fighter, I am compelled to talk to the media and say what really happened,” Koncz said.
Pacquiao demolished American Chris Algieri in Macau last Nov. 23, coming up with a boxing clinic against the taller former MMA fighter, after which he threw out another challenge to Mayweather for a fight.