The boxing community couldn't be more hyped when it was announced that Floyd Mayweather's sentence had been postponed to June, giving way to a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao bout on May 5. The long awaited showdown should have taken place a couple of years ago, but it has yet to happen due to several circumstances. Blame whoever you like for what's happened in the past, but with Mayweather making it clear that he wants to face Pacquiao on the May 5 date, now seems like the perfect time and opportunity for the fight to happen. Pacquiao, in recent months, has shown great interest in having the Mayweather fight by agreeing to full random blood testing and even going so far as to publicly say that he'd be willing to take the lesser share of the purse just for the fight to materialize.
Unfortunately, a report from USA Today came out revealing that Team Pacquiao has officially turned down a Mayweather fight on May 5, stating there is no economic sense in setting up a bout with him on that date. It was also said that Pacquiao is now asking for a 50-50 split again, taking back his words about a smaller purse from just a month ago. After all the hype and excitement that's been going on over the past few days, the fight we've all been waiting for has yet to come to fruition, and the reaction from the majority of fans all over the world is the same; a general disappointment that Pacquiao refuses to fight on May 5. Check out what several fans from around the globe had to say.
Manny should be man enough to step up to the plate and fight Mayweather on May 5th. If he really is fighting for the fans "what he always says" then no need to wait for that new stadium to gain more profit out of that so called "MEGA FIGHT".
Ryan Andal - Parañaque, Philippines
I think the fans have been waiting long enough for this fight and May 5th sounds good to me. Pacquiao has said that his cut would heal, so I see no reason why not [to] make the fight on that date
Nedzad Habibi - Adelaide, South Australia
Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum, need to take the date and stop making excuses. It seems to me that Arum is the one who is holding up the fight. Arum, in my personal point of view, wants the May 5th date to be used for one of his fight promotions. He wants to put his Mexican talent in the ring in Vegas that day, to make the most money, which is why he's promoting Pac vs. May to happen later on in May, but still, it looks weak to me. It looks like Arum simply doesn't want the fight. I also feel that Pacquiao is not speaking for himself here. Instead of DEMANDING that Arum get behind the fight, he lets his promoter do the talking. Is that what a p4p king does? Hell no! He demands the best and nothing but the best and it gives me the signal that Pacquiao is not ready for Money May.
Juan Martinez - Kent, Washington
I think Boxing has taken such a Huge Blow. Arum is to blame for this fight not happening and in part, I blame the Media as well and HBO and the rest of the people behind the scenes making Pacquiao look like this Humble Nobleman Congressman who "Fights for the People". If so, at least we can say it's not a battle of egos no more. We can rule that out the window not to say furthermore. The blame is on Pacquiao for not gathering his own Promotional Company to ditch and leave behind his "Promoter" whom of 2008 seems to be giving the public unlogical and poor explanations to why this fight hasn't been done. I can care less at this point about this fight now. It seems like it's burned out and at the end of the day, it will be another clear duck from Team Pacquiao and Roach. If you call yourself a true boxing fan, leave fanatism aside. Let's look at the situation for what it really is. Pacquiao clearly ducks and shields himself with his promoter Bob Arum once again to the rescue.
Antonio Bocanada - San Diego, California
I can't blame Manny for not being able to dictate to Arum what he wants - he may look like a multi-million dollar athlete but don't forget that he started as a nobody and he gets used to people 'dictating' and 'ordering' him what to do - he's never really had to make big decisions for himself. Not everyone has the capability to dictate to our superiors as Floyd can, everyone has a different persona. The ideal scenario would be Manny takes Floyd's requests for Drug Testing to get it done and over with and have a 50-50 split purse on 5th May to get the job done. Floyd has had his faults too for demanding unnecessary testing procedures but Manny is now the one who should take responsibility of his own promoter and man up to tell Bob what he wants. Arum promotes Manny, but it doesn't mean he should dictate what fights he should have.
Vincent Felix - UK
I feel like Manny is still ducking. Arum and Manny know that Floyd already has an agreement for May 5th, why would he change the date? By requesting to fight at the end of May is Manny's way of saying he doesn't want the fight. Vitali Klitschko suffered a much worse cut than Manny when he fought Lewis and he fought again less than 6 months later, so they can save the whole cut needing more time to heal crap. They could wait a year before they fought and Mayweather would still mark Manny up with his clean accurate punches. It's so funny to me that Manny was ready to fight Mayweather 3 months after beating Cotto, and he was really bruised up in that fight and had a broken ear drum, but now you need so much time for a small cut. We all know Arum's reason for not wanting the fight, he doesn't have his normal 100% control and he knows the possibility that Manny could lose, but for Pacquiao to refuse to step up to the challenge is very disappointing.
Travis McLaughlin - Augusta, GA
My problem is not with Manny, it's with Floyd. It seems everything has to be on HIS timetable, his rules, he decides when the fight is finally made. No thanks Floyd. Let's see Pacquiao versus Martinez or Alvarez.
Justin Salvato - Matamoras, PA
Manny needs to man up and say he's gonna fight floyd on May 5. He should stop hiding behind Bob Arum. The world wants to see these two fight, floyd straight up called him out, so you cant say its floyd's fault for this fight not happening. If this fight doesnt happen next boxing is going to take a huge blow. I got floyd by KO if it does happen.
Kenny Cruz - Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Pacquiao and his team have been aware of the May 5th date since before his JMM fight. If they were serious about this fight they would have looked into the outdoor stadium plans much sooner. There are a lot of excuses coming from his camp. I grew tired of this fight a long time ago it is hyped tot he max the time for this fight was 18months ago. The fans have been waiting too long and we deserve to know if it is happening or not.
Daniel Lacy - Hertfordshire, UK
Manny is a bigger puppet than I thought. To let Arum sit there and help tarnish his image isn't befitting of a true pound for pound champion. Now the reason Manny won't fight Floyd May 5th is because of making more money from a new stadium? More money?!! I thought the "Money" persona belonged to Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Not Manny "Money" Pacquiao. This just goes to show that this fight isn't for his fans, but for his wallet.
Sean Rosa - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Manny Pacquiao, Arum & Koncz need to realize that this is not an appropriate time for just a mere profit gaining....this is the time that the star need to do what the fans wanted, it's what the fans wants, that's all that matter.... Win, lose or draw...by decision, KO, TKO, Doctor stoppage...I don't care...who cares??! I still respect both PBF and Pac whatever the fight result be... To PBF, in negotiation table, everybody are equal!!
Willy Budiman - Jakarta, Indonesia
Manny Pacquiao vs Floy Mayweather is a fight both fighters genuinely wants. But this fight even though is a huge money, fight it will end up one of the guys big money fights streak. Another problem is that Manny is a employee of Top Rank and thats a big problem. Bob Arum dont want to lose his big money making fighter and his leverage to impose his will on HBO and Showtime. Manny is that leverage, if one of the network says no to a fight he wants to put together, he threatens to take Manny away.
Eusebio Perez - Jayuya, Puerto Rico
I can't blame Manny if he can't disobey uncle Bob but I don't think this is the right time to demand on Floyd. Should Mayweather not go to jail and we may have a different case.
Roldan Celestino - Bulacan, Philippines
Pacquiao has officially declined the fight against Mayweather. No surprise there, Pacquiao is too much of a cherry picker to fight a fighter who's not old, weight drained, past their prime or a come forward brawler. It must be bad for the people that follow him blindly to not realize the truth about this duck.
Ivan Rabago - San Diego, CA
It's more of economic problem. Staging the big fight in a smaller venue is foolish from an economic standpoint..I think they want to delay the fight for a bigger venue. We are looking for possible big fight and figting in small venue doesn't make sense. This might also be Floyd's trick, there are many angles to look at since this man knows the game very well...
Oliver Salazar - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
For questions, suggestions and feedback, you can email me at jmsiasat@fighthype.com, follow me on twitter @JMSiasat www.twitter.com/jmsiasat, or you can also add me on facebook at www.facebook.com/jm1boxing