While talks on the planned Mayweather-Pacquiao super fight seem to be going nowhere following their unexpected face-to-face meeting, nothing significant happened other than Mayweather’s Shots teasers.
Late last month Mayweather crossed the court of the American Airlines Arena in Florida during the halftime break of the NBA game between Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks to meet Pacquiao in person.
The initial meeting was followed by an hour-long meeting at the hotel where Pacquiao was billeted after acting as one of the judges of the just-concluded Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in Florida.
In Mayweather’s Instagram/Shots postings, he has reiterated his desire to make the super fight happen but that assurance sounds like a broken record to fans who have long wanted to see him and Pacquiao brawling up in the ring
Fight fans are now resigned to the idea of watching Mayweather fight on May 2 with another opponent not named Pacquiao.
But on the assumption that Mayweather will face either Miguel Cotto or Amir Khan on May 2 at the MGM Grand, how will he now justify his junking of Pacquiao when he has successfully convinced everyone that he will share the ring with the Filipino star on the appointed date?
It will be a herculean job for Mayweather to convince the fans once more to support his non-Pacquiao fight because almost every fight fan has been conditioned to watch a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on May 2.
But he may have thought of some options to sell the fight and reach a reasonable pay-per-view (PPV) sales target to prove that he is still boxing’s PPV king.
One of the possible options would be to tell the fans that the window for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on May 2 is getting narrower and the best thing to do for both camps would be to set the super fight before the end of the year.
There is nothing wrong with this option except that fans will need an assurance that indeed the fight take place before the end of the year.
To keep the unruly fans at bay, Mayweather can sign a fight contract with Pacquiao now for the fight that will take place before the end of the year. He can do this simultaneously with the signing of the fight contract with either Cotto or Khan and then immediately make the official announcement to appease even the most temperamental fans.
Both camps can agree on a very limited options or grounds to abort the end-of-the year fight. But they have to agree that regardless of the outcome of their next immediate fight (win or lose) they have to face each other next.
The other option is to abort all ongoing talks and let the fans know that it is nothing but a wild dream and the fight that they have long wanted to see will never happen now and ever.
