| 06 January 2012
After all of the times we've seen Floyd Mayweather escape punishment in the ring, should we really be surprised that he danced his way out of reporting to jail at the last possible minute?
Though he was scheduled to report today to begin serving his three-month prison sentence for pleading no contest to domestic violence charges, Mayweather was granted until June 1 to report so he could fight on his previously announced date of May 5. Among the reasons given by the Las Vegas judge who made the somewhat surprising decision was the economic impact a Mayweather fight would have on Sin City.
It would have an even bigger effect on the money flow into Vegas' coffers if said Mayweather fight was against Manny Pacquiao. The bout that everyone wants to see but nearly everyone is getting tired of wondering when it will happen is sure to be to topic of much conversation over the next week or three. Sadly, the people who know best still don't expect it to happen.
Why not? Ask Bob Arum. Pacquiao's promoter seems to be dead set on his prior list of possible opponents - Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Lamont Peterson and Timothy Bradley - when he heads to the Philippines to talk to Pac-Man about who he will face next. Realistically, the only hope of seeing Pacquiao-Mayweather four months from now is for Manny to pull Arum aside and tell him in no uncertain terms that he wants that fight and only that fight. At least publicly, Pac-Man has always deferred to his Top Rank team, so we're probably going to have to face facts and accept that Mayweather will battle someone in May and Pacquiao will take on someone else in June.
Both Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports and Dan Rafael of ESPN suggest that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is the frontrunner to trade punches with Mayweather. That's not a bad option for Floyd at all, as Alvarez is a huge attraction in his native Mexico and would be an easy sell for a Cinco de Mayo date. He'd also be likely to attempt to take the fight to Mayweather more directly than Pacquiao would, and his youth (he's only 21) means he may still be improving. As great as Manny has been, he certanly can't say that. That doesn't mean I'd bet on Canelo to win, mind you, just that he'd provide a different type of challenge for Money May.
Robert Guerrero is another name that has been thrown around today, and while I'd love to see The Ghost get such a big opportunity, he'd be a lesser option from an economic standpoint. I'll agree with the experts and say I expect to be watching Mayweather-Alvarez come May 5.
And while we'll never know exactly what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to negotiating something like a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, it amazes me that the PR battle between the two sides has changed so drastically over the last few years. Once upon a time, it looked like it was Mayweather who was reluctant to make the mega-fight, hiding behind his thinly veiled accusations of PED use on Pac-Man's part. Now it appears that it is Pacquiao's team who feels their man has too much to lose, and even with today's turn of events opening the door a crack for the bout to take place, they are quick to offer reasons why it can't.
So to sum up, the winners today are Mayweather, whoever Pacquiao fights and probably Canelo. The losers are the boxing fans - again - unless both Floyd and Manny end up having sensational match-ups against other opponents. Here's hoping.
