By John F. McKenna (McJack)
It is now time for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s) to take control of his life and force the issue with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum with regard to who he fights next. With WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KO’s) having the judge delay the start of his jail sentence through his attorneys until June Manny does not have a leg to stand on if the fight does not happen now.
Reports have already circulated that Arum has said that Pacquaio will not be ready to fight until after the new date for Mayweather’s jail term begins. If Manny allows himself to be overruled he will be vilified by even his staunchest supporters.
The excuse that the MGM Grand Arena is not big enough for the Mega fight is an argument that does not hold water. A temporary stadium could be built to hold the fight. It has been done before.
By having the beginning of his jail term delayed Mayweather has successfully put the ball in Pacquiao’s court and in the eyes of boxing fans worldwide the Pacquiao camp will be seen as the culprit if the fight is not made. Boxing fans have been waiting for over two years for the Mega fight to happen and no amount of excuses by Arum will be accepted as a plausible reason as to why the fight did not happen.
For all his accomplishments in the ring to date and having won championship belts in eight divisions, none of it will matter if the hugest fight of this or possibly any generation does not happen. Rightly or wrongly the unfortunate fact remains that Manny is seen as a puppet by many, who will do whatever Uncle Bob tells him to do. It was well known prior to “Pacman’s fight with Shane Mosley in May 2010 that neither he nor trainer Freddie Roach were happy at the prospect of Pacquiao fighting the badly faded Mosley. But Manny allowed Arum to overrule him. He cannot and should not allow that to happen again.
Pacquiao at 33 only has a couple of fights left before he begins his 2nd career in politics. Mayweather will be 35 in February and his skills will soon begin to diminish. Both Pacquiao and Mayweather can easily bring in over $20 million per fight. They are at the top of their games. No one really wants to see Manny or Floyd fight the names that have been floated in the media lately. It’s time to give the fans what they want.
The sands of time are running out.
