Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Is this fight on or not?
The boxing rumor mill is churning once more. 聽
Champion fighters Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., spotted shaking hands at Tuesday鈥檚 NBA game between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks, have revived hopes of a much-anticipated showdown in May.聽
The two men 鈥撀爓hose simultaneous appearance at the American Airlines Arena in Miami appears to be coincidence 鈥撀爏at on opposite sides of the court while the game was on, but at halftime met face-to-face for the first time, .
"He gave his number to me and said we will communicate with each other," Mr. Pacquiao told the wire service.
Mr. Mayweather reportedly visited Pacquiao at the latter鈥檚 Miami hotel room after the game for a longer chat, , a Philippine media outlet.
Whether or not this means a fight is in the works again remains unclear. Earlier this month, that both sides had agreed to set the long-awaited bout for May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, and to split the purse 60/40 in favor of Mayweather.
"I want to get some movement here, with bringing Mayweather to the table so we can go out and get everything signed and get the networks together and get the thing finished," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told Yahoo Sports Jan. 13.
A little over a week later, that Pacquiao鈥檚 camp was making contingency plans in case the Mayweather fight fell through. A May 30 bout against welterweight fighter Amir Khan, who has trained with Pacquiao and his coach Freddie Roach, became a possibility. Russian Ruslan Provodnikov and Argentine Lucas Matthysse, both junior welterweight sluggers, were also raised as potential matches.
"Hopefully, it won't happen and we won't need this plan because Manny will be fighting Mayweather," Mr. Arum told the sports network. "But you have to plan ahead."
Pacquiao and Mayweather, both decorated champions in multiple divisions and arguably the two best fighting-age boxers alive, are no strangers to on-again, off-again negotiations; rumors of a match between them have been circulating for years. As 海角大神 noted:
In 2010, for instance, a fight was in the works, but Pacquiao backed out over Mayweather鈥檚 demand for up to the day of the fight. Another fight almost happened in 2011, and in 2012 Mayweather personally called Pacquiao and offered him a flat $40 million to fight him if Mayweather could keep all the pay-per-view revenue.
The May 2 bout, if it happens, could gross up to $200 million 鈥� the highest ever in boxing, according to the AP.
