Arum says Floyd afraid of losing

MANILA, Philippines - As far back as two years ago, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum had made up his mind on what he thinks of unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. who was widely recognized as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter until Manny Pacquiao came along.

“Mayweather is a psychological coward,” said Arum, quoted by Steve Kim in Boxing Digest magazine (August 2008). “He’s a guy who psychologically cannot face the prospect of losing. He’s always avoided challenges. Forget about Mayweather.”

Arum has been frustrated by Maywather’s ducking tactics at least thrice. In 2006, Mayweather refused an $8 million paycheck to fight Mexican warrior Antonio Margarito. And twice this year, he recited a litany of excuses to wiggle out of a showdown with Pacquiao.

The Pacquiao-Mayweather duel is the marquee match-up that every fight fan wants and deserves to see. It’s the biggest money bout waiting to happen and the speculation is the fight could become the highest pay-per-view grosser ever. Pacquiao and Mayweather could conceivably earn $40 million apiece for facing off.

There’s no question Pacquiao’s willingness to battle Mayweather. Arum represents Pacquiao and has been desperately trying to arrange the match. But Mayweather refuses to oblige, citing reasons from drug-related issues to an uncompromising position on income splits. The real bottom line is Mayweather isn’t ready to take on Pacquiao who’s in the prime of his storybook boxing career. Mayweather is avoiding Pacquiao because the prospect of losing isn’t just imaginary – it’s a strong possibility.

Eventually, the fight will take place because the money is too good to pass up. Mayweather, however, isn’t in a hurry to enter the ring to meet Pacquiao. He’ll wait for the Filipino icon to get older, to absorb a little more wear and tear by fighting others and to start losing focus on boxing because of his responsibilities as a congressman. There is also speculation that Mayweather isn’t inclined to fight Pacquiao or anyone else this year to keep from moving up the tax bracket where the escalation will mean paying more millions to the IRS.

As for Pacquiao, he’s staying busy. He’s booked for his next bout on Nov. 13 and his likely opponent is Margarito.

Pacquiao said he doubts if Mayweather will ever step up to the plate and take him on. He recently denounced Pretty Boy for resorting to gutter tactics and showing disrespect by accusing him of using performance enhancing drugs. Pacquiao said he was forced to go to court against Mayweather and his team to protect his reputation. At least, Margarito is more respectful, said Pacquiao.

Mayweather, 33, ended a 21-month layoff to outpoint Sugar Shane Mosley last May but survived a scare to pull off the victory. Mosley rocked Mayweather who was on the verge of falling to the canvas in the second round. Mayweather weathered the storm and went on to dominate the faded, 38-year-old Mosley. It was the fifth fight in his last six where Mayweather went the distance, indicating a growing inability to finish off opponents, presumably because of age. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach recently said Mayweather is now too old to pose a challenge for the fighting congressman from Sarangani.

What makes the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight so marketable is according to The Ring Magazine’s Eric Raskin, how “Pacman and Money represent the antitheses of each other in many ways,” like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The dream bout pits good versus evil.

“Pacman is humble and respectful, such a genuine man of the people that he actually ran for public office to represent the common man in the Philippines and won,” said Raskin. “(Mayweather) learned to embrace his inner villain. He curses and hurls insults; he brags and boasts. He waves his money in your face and makes fun of you for paying for your possessions in installments. He wants to be loved, like we all do, but if you aren’t going to love him, then his goal is to make sure you hate his guts.”

Pacquiao is rated the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter by The Ring Magazine and ESPN.com but Mayweather, on account of his comeback win over Mosley, is at the top of the ladder in boxrec.com and Yahoo! Sports. The debate on who’s No. 1 won’t be settled until the fighters finally get it on in the ring. If the fight never happens, it will be the greatest injustice to boxing fans in history.