Mayweather vs Pacquiao: The Charade Continues

The recent series of press conferences to hype the upcoming Floyd Mayweather Jr.–Miguel Cotto match generated no shortage of interesting quotes and quips, all of them from Mayweather and most of them not about his Puerto Rican opponent but instead about, who else? — Manny Pacquiao.

“In my mind, Miguel Cotto is still undefeated,” Mayweather said during the press conference in New York, another not-so-subtle swipe at Pacquiao. Mayweather maintains, without a shred of evidence to back his assertion up, that the Pacman has used steroids to achieve his remarkable championship run. Pacquiao of course soundly thrashed Cotto back in November of 2009 to win his seventh divisional world crown.

Before Mayweather agreed to take on Cotto, in what should be his toughest test since his 2007 showdown with Oscar De La Hoya, he went to great lengths to convince everyone of his sincere desire to finally face Manny Pacquiao before he goes to jail this coming June. But that desire only went as far as Pretty Boy getting the financial terms he feels entitled to. Which means not giving Pacquiao any credit for being a huge PPV draw. Dramatically enough, it all came down to a cell phone conversation between Floyd and Manny.

Mayweather and Cotto hype "Ring Kings."
Mayweather and Cotto hype “Ring Kings.”

“I told him, ‘Okay, 50-50 and I’ll agree to everything else,'” Pacquiao recently recounted to Kevin Iole. “I told him I would agree to all of the other things he was demanding. Everything. Even the blood testing he wanted, I would do it. But it had to be 50-50.”

And just like that, all chance of a May 5th Mayweather vs Pacquiao superfight instantly evaporated as there is no way Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to share equally in the riches of boxing’s biggest fight. Not with Pacquiao, not with anybody.

“Just by speaking to Pacquiao on the phone, I mean, he’s not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer,” said Mayweather in New York. “He faces Floyd Mayweather, he’s not getting 50-50. Not at all. No one is getting 50-50.”

And yet in reality, Mayweather should consider himself fortunate to get a 50-50 split with a boxer who actually draws more paying customers than he does. Like they say, the numbers don’t lie.

Pay Per View:
2009
1.Pacquiao-Cotto…………….1.25M PPV ($70M)
2.Mayweather-Marquez…….1.05M PPV ($52M)
3.Pacquiao-Hatton……………850K PPV ($45M)

2010
1.Mayweather-Mosley……….1.4M PPV ($78.3M)
2.Pacquiao-Margarito……….1.15M PPV ($64M)
3.Pacquiao-Clottey……………700K PPV ($35.3M)

2011
1.Pacquiao-Marquez………..1.41M PPV ($77.6M*)
2.Mayweather-Ortiz………….1.25M PPV ($78.4M)
3.Pacquiao-Mosley…………..1.2M~ PPV ($68M)

Live Gate:
2011
Pacquiao v Mosley………….16,412 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)
Pacquiao v Marquez……….16,389 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)
Mayweather v Ortiz…………14,687 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)

2010
Pacquiao v Clottey………….41,843 (Cowboys Stadium, Texas)
Pacquiao v Margarito………40,154 (Cowboys Stadium, Texas)
Mayweather v Mosley………15,117 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)

2009
Pacquiao v Hatton………….16,262 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)
Pacquiao v Cotto……………15,930 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)
Mayweather v Marquez……13,116 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas)

First it was the problem of Olympic-style drug testing. Now it’s the money. The bottom line is one man was willing to sign the contract as long as it stipulated a fair split. The other man said, “Forget it.” So who is avoiding who?

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