MANILA, Philippines - Oscar dela Hoya has one good reason why he thinks the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. won’t push through.
It’s too complicated.
“There are too many details. I don’t know anything about the details and the negotiations, but it’s so complicated,” Dela Hoya told www.boxingscene.com yesterday.
It’s so complicated that people have been working on it for five years now, and each time they come close to making a deal, everything goes dead.
This time, however, some of the issues have been settled, like the drug-testing procedure, the date, venue and even the weight.
Now it’s all about money.
Of course, Mayweather wants more and he’ll get it once he agrees to fight Pacquiao. The fight is expected to generate from $200 million to $300 million.
Mayweather can earn around $120 million for the fight. It’s hard to guess how much Pacquiao wants or how much he’s being offered.
If reports of a 60-40 deal in favor of Mayweather are accurate, then nobody’s complaining.
Dela Hoya thinks that there may be heavy discussions on what happens after the fight which should be covered by a rematch clause.
Pacquiao is confident he can handle Mayweather. He has agreed to all the terms set by the undefeated American.
“I’m sure they are talking rematch, who gets what, if this guy wins, the terms change and the numbers change. It’s very complicated,” said Dela Hoya.
Is Pacquiao working on a clause that if he beats Mayweather, he gets 60 percent of everything in the rematch?
Mayweather can also insist on a one-way clause that if he beats Pacquiao, there’ll be no second fight.
How Showtime, for Mayweather, and HBO, for Pacquiao, can strike a deal is also making it more difficult for the fight to materialize.
When Dela Hoya fought Mayweather in 2007 at the MGM Grand, HBO carried the fight, still the biggest in pay-per-view history (2.4 million).
Dela Hoya, who lost on points, earned $52 million that night, and Mayweather, then 37-0, took home no less than $25 million.
“I just don’t think Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao. I don’t think it’s going to happen.” Dela Hoya told Rick Reeno of www.boxingscene.com.
It was also announced in Vegas yesterday that talks for a Miguel Cotto versus Canelo Alvarez for May 2 have come to a halt.
Mayweather can consider fighting Cotto, the WBC middleweight champion, on May 2 and seek a world title in a sixth weight division.