Raining on the Pacquiao - Mayweather Jr. announcement

What a joyous occassion today has been in the boxing world. I mean ESPN reported "it." Yahoo Sports reported "it" hell even I reported "it" on a different site. The "it" that I refer to obviously is the agreement that Manny Pacquiao would fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what would likely be the biggest money making fight in boxing history. It has been the biggest story in the industry today because it is a fight that pits the two fighters recognized as the pound for pound best against one another. Unfortunately in all the excitement surrounding the announcement I think some people missed a few important aspects of "it" that lead me to believe that "it" isn't anywhere near as close to complete as you may believe.

Allow me to rain on your parade for a moment if I might.

This is the direct quote concerning the "announcement" from GMANews.tv which is a Filipino news source that tends to get their Manny Pacquiao news correct.

"Pacquiao said he agreed for the March 13 mega-fight with Mayweather and instructed Arum to iron out all details in order for both boxers to finally seal the deal.

Arum will still negotiate the details of the contract, like the weight where they will be fighting and the purse split, with Golden Boy’s Richard Schaeffer, whom Mayweather has tapped to deal with the camp of the seven-division world champion."

Did you catch that?

According to the source that was actually present when Manny made the "announcement" the only minor details that need to be ironed out are weight, location and purse split. For those of you who don't know much about boxing let me explain something -- other then weight, location and purse split the only thing that I imagine could have been agreed upon is that March 13th is a date in 2010 when there could be a fight, and both Pacquiao and Mayweather are boxers who could fight one another.

Perhaps that's too simplistic. Let me break it down this way -- Arum and Richard Schaeffer met a week after Pacquiao's victory over Miguel Cotto. Thus the groundwork was laid between Bob Arum and Floyd Mayweather's camp before it was presented to Manny Pacquiao. Everyone and their mother knows that Mayweather will not fight at a 145 pound catchweight, so a bout between the two MUST take place at the 147 pound welterweight limit. I believe that everyone also agrees there is no chance that Floyd Jr. accepts a 60/40 (or even 55/45) purse split.

Do you see where the problem lies? What we know about Pacquiao is that his last fight against a true welterweight was at 145 pounds, Freddie Roach has said that a fight with Mayweather would have to take place at 145 pounds -- and we know that Floyd ain't fighting at 145 pounds. We also know that there is simply no chance that Pacquiao - who did better PPV numbers then Mayweather in their respective last times out will take a smaller percentage of the purse split then Junior receives.

Which tends to show that if Bob Arum left a meeting with Pacquiao without ironing out the weight, and the purse split -- then there is ABSOLUTELY NO DEAL YET! Did I stress that enough? Arum knows exactly what Mayweather wants, because he's already met with Mayweather's people. If Pacquiao didn't agree to weight, that means that there is no agreement for the fight at 147 -- the ONLY weight that Floyd Jr. would fight Pacquiao at -- are you starting to see the problem with the whole "agreement" yet?

It's also clear that there is no agreement on the purse split, which you have to assume was presented to Pacquiao as a 60/40 Mayweather split or a 50/50 direct split because nothing else would've come out of Floyd Jr.'s mouth. Which means if Pacquiao didn't agree to either of those numbers, and Floyd the stubborn man that he is would NEVER take less then Pacquiao in this fight -- folks we have a major hang up.

Look, I want to see Floyd Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight in 2010 as much as the next guy and I do believe that it's going to happen. The fight is worth far to much money to far to many people to not get done. Pacquiao's congressional run won't interfer because even he admits that campaigning won't begin until April (giving him plenty of time to fight in March), and regardless of what Freddie Roach says the March 13th date is still well in play because as long as Pacquiao can get into camp by the middle of next month he will be fine.

But saying purse split and weight haven't been decided are minor details is like saying that you've planned a trip to London that leaves in an hour and the only minor details you've overlooked are booking a flight and getting a hotel room. These are major issues that still need to be ironed out -- hell they are the MAJOREST (most major?) issues between the two fighters. I can't even begin to fathom how anyone thinks this fight is signed, sealed and delivered already just because Manny Pacquiao has agreed that if he fights on March 13th, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is an opponent he'd be willing to fight (and the feeling was reciprocated).

I have a very strong feeling that the fight will get made. I think that the two sides will now spend the next three weeks or so hammering out the details and we'll get a good deal made one way or another. The fight will take place at 147 pounds there is no doubt in my mind. Just taking how dominant Pacquiao was against Cotto as an example there is little argument to be made that Pacquiao can't just stay at the weight he fought Cotto and fight a true 147 pounder, and Floyd won't fight him at a catchweight there is just no chance of that happening. I'd also say the purse split goes 50/50 or 45/45 with the last 10 going to the winner of the bout, and Floyd will get top billing stateside, while Manny gets top international billing. I honestly don't see any ground giving way on either side from those stipulations but the key point is that NONE of that has been ironed out yet so before everyone puts a down payment on the PPV for March 13th lets see this thing play out first.