Floyd Mayweather, JR – Manny Pacquiao Finally Set for May 2nd! Oh Wait – it was Just Another Rumor….
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By Lou Eisen
As of January 17, 2015, there is no deal in place for Floyd Mayweather, JR. to fight Manny Pacquiao. Yes, that’s right. You were taken in again by yet another false rumor regarding a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. This rumor mill about the two having signed a deal has almost become a parlor game in some circles. For the past week or so the Internet has been deluged with rumors and speculation about a supposed contract that has been signed by both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, JR. to fight each other on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There must be hundreds of thousands if not millions of personal Facebook pages that grandly announced that the Pacquiao-Mayeather fight is all set for that date. There is just one little problem. The rumor is not true. Apparently, or so the story goes, there will be an official announcement by Top Rank to announce this “superfight” on Jan. 17. Well, surprise! There was no official announcement on Jan. 17. As with all other rumors pertaining to Mayweather facing Pacquiao in the squared circle, don’t hold your breath.
Most rumors never hold up under scrutiny and this one seems to be no different. If a deal were in place, as every one is claiming, then why hasn’t any newspaper in North America or around the world picked up on it yet? If there were a deal already signed, wouldn’t there be a formal announcement issued at a huge press conference? You would think that ESPN and many other all-sports channels would have devoted some airtime to it. HBO or Showtime would most surely have made a big deal out of such a fight if it in fact had been signed. Oh, there is one more rumor to dispel. That is the rumor that says HBO and Showtime will jointly broadcast a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Major PPV networks do not as a rule let their prized possessions appear on competing networks.
Most fans have been down this road so many times with previous unsubstantiated Mayweather and Pacquiao “signing” rumors that nothing said or printed about any deal between the two warriors would ever be taken too seriously. In fact, many people simply no longer care at this point. There are so many rumors about a Mayweather-Pacquiao deal in place that it is hard to keep track of them all.
Hmmmm. Let’s see. First they were going to fight in Dubai for a purse of $200 million. Now that is off. Then, apparently CBS offered $1.5 billion for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight to take place. Well, Al Haymon just signed a deal for a new boxing series with NBC. It is unlikely he would now allow his top fighter to perform on a competing network like CBS. The latest rumor added to the gristmill, is that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight will take place in Dallas at Cowboys stadium sometime later this year. It should all be taken with a grain of salt. Even if a deal were to be announced for these two foes to meet head on in the ring, I would still be skeptical right up until the bell rings and they are standing in front of each other throwing punches. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Every new week brings a new rumor of a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao deal. You’d think even they’d be sick of it by now.
How did this latest rumor take hold so quickly? Well, just over a week or so ago someone hacked into the website Box.Rec and altered Pacquiao and Mayweather’s career records page. Each fighter was listed as fighting the other on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It did not take long for Box.Rec to excise the incorrect added information. Instead of quelling the rumors it only served to exacerbate them.
Why does this one particular rumor happen so often and why are boxing fans so quick to always believe it? Well, they believe it because they want it to be true and there is nothing wrong with that. You must remember that many fans have been waiting to see Mayweather battle Pacquiao for just shy of a decade. They so want it to happen that they are willing to believe any rumor as being truthful. Interestingly, every one of the Internet articles posted states that Pacquiao likes the deal as it was presented to him and is ready to sign the contract. That does not sound like a done deal to me.
If there is an actual contract in place, then why have the major newspapers, magazines and television networks been silent about it? You would think if a deal has been agreed to by both parties the media would have mentioned it. There is also no mention of Mayweather signing any contract to fight Pacquiao. You would think if there really were a secure deal in place that Mayweather’s name would be mentioned along with some comments from him to the effect that he can no longer be accused of ducking Pacquiao. There are no such comments on record from Mayweather or Pacquiao.
It should also be noted too that if ever there is a genuine deal in place between these two fighters, either one of them could pull out of the fight or cancel it due to an injury, whether real or imagined, at a moment’s notice. Mayweather does not feel he must fight Pacquiao to secure his boxing legacy and that may be the most pertinent point of all. Maywather does not respect Pacquiao in the least. Mayweather does not view Pacquiao as an all-time great like many other fighters and fans and media do.
One thing is certain, if these two ever reach a deal to fight each other (which is extremely unlikely) there is no doubt that almost everyone will be there to see Mayweather. 99% of them however will be there to see Mayweather get beat. In that sense, Mayweather is avoiding giving fight fans satisfaction for their money.
