The long-awaited super showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather may finally happen.
Yes, we’ve heard this sentiment too many times before, only to get let down when the fight fell through for a multitude of reasons, from Olympic-style drug testing to financial disagreements.
However, this time, Pacquiao’s camp has agreed to terms for a May 2 bout, relaying to ESPN.com that they have agreed to terms on their side.
“Top Rank and Manny have agreed to the terms on our side. I don’t know about the other side,” Top Rank Vice President Carl Moretti said.
While nothing is imminent, this is a major hurdle cleared for a fight that has been put on hold for the last six years.
Mayweather’s camp has not responded to the recent report and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum has been negotiating the bout for the past couple of months through Leslie Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS. The negotiations have led to progress, but nothing as groundbreaking as Pacquiao’s recent agreement on terms.
According to Dan Rafael from ESPN, Pacquiao has agreed to a 40 percent cut of the revenue, leaving Mayweather with the remaining 60 percent of what will be a massive cash cow for everyone involved. The fight between boxing’s two biggest stars is widely expected to break PPV and box office records.
The two sides are far from drafting a contract, but this is closest the fight has been to materializing since 2009 when issues arose over drug testing and revenue split.
According to the Pacquiao side, everything was agreed to, including the gloves and drug testing. Still, Mayweather is under contract with Showtime and Pacquiao with HBO, so the networks would need to collaborate to make a joint-PPV work, and Mayweather would still need to agree to terms on his side.
If the bout falls through again, it will likely be viewed as one of the most disappointing non-fights in the history of the sport.
And with the boxers both aging, their time to fight each other is quickly evaporating. In addition to that, any fight that doesn’t involve each other will garner little interest from the public.
Mayweather’s two most recent fights, both against Marcos Maidana, had underwhelming PPV numbers and both resulted in relatively easy wins for Money.
As for Pacquiao, he got revenge in a rematch against Timothy Bradley Jr. last April, and then went on to face Chris Algieri in one of the most lopsided fights of the Pacman’s career. The fight produced such minimal excitement that it had to be put on in China.
With both fighters legacy’s almost complete, only a fight against each other will provide them with a fitting end to their storied careers.
