CEBU, Philippines - Unless a 50/50 purse split will be put in place, a Manny Pacquiao superfight against Flloyd Mayweather, Jr. is not going to happen.
This was the hardline stance of Pacquiao himself, saying that there is no way he’s going to climb up the ring against Mayweather if the split on prize money and other revenues is not even or in other way favorable to the unbeaten American warrior.
“Kung 50/50, seguradong madayon ang away (If it’s going to be a 50/50 split, the fight will definitely push through),” said Pacquiao in an exclusive interview with this writer at his suite at Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel and Casino last Sunday.
Pacquiao and his amiable wife Jinkee were in Cebu during the Father’s Day celebration. It was his first trip to the Queen City of the South since he was elected congressman in the lone district of Saranggani Province.
“Karon wala pay klaro. Dili man siya mosukol (Right now, it’s not yet clear. He’s afraid to fight me),” added Pacquiao, who recently received the “Fighter of the Decade” award from the prestigious Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
After Pacquiao’s clinical 12-round whipping of Joshua Clottey last March 15 in Texas, Mayweather’s name swiftly cropped up as the next opponent of the Pacman.
Initial negotiations of what could be the biggest bout in boxing history fizzled out after Mayweather batted for an Olympic-style drug testing, which was strongly rejected by Team Pacquiao.
Most recently, Mayweather’s handlers purportedly demanded for a 60/40 purse split, something that Pacman’s camp is frowning at.
“That is too much for Mayweather to ask. Besides, that’s unfair to Pacquiao because he’s the main draw being the current pound-for-pound king,” said Pacquiao’s confidant and top advisor Rex “Wakee” Salud.
But according to certain David in his blog posted on www.usanewsweek.com, the best solution for the megabout to happen is for both fighters to agree on a 50/50 split.
He doubts though if Mayweather will agree to such set-up.
“The best solution would be that the fighters agree a 50/50 split and if they are not willing to reach a common ground then a simple solution would be that the winner of the fight gets 60 and the loser walks home with 40 percent,” said David.
“But it seems unlikely that Mayweather would agree on a 50/50 purse split because he knows that Pacquiao is a tough opponent and he will find it tough to defeat the Filipino star. Mayweather knows that this could be his last mega bout and he wants to earn maximum out of it because if Pacquiao beats him then his next fight on Pay-per-view would not attract much viewers,” the blogger added.
When pressed for her gut feel, Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee said her husband is likely to face next Mayweather because “there’s no viable opponent out there other than Flloyd.” (THE FREEMAN)