As a young fighter, Floyd Mayweather Jr. could do no wrong. His unique blend of hand speed, reflexes, and other-worldly defense made him a joy to watch. He sent Genaro Hernandez to what some considered an early retirement, he blew out Angel Manfredy, and completely out-classed Diego Corrales (R.I.P.). When he won a controversial decision over Lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo, he immediately gave him a rematch and beat him more convincingly, despite winning the rematch by closer margins on the official scorecards.
 
It was reported that Mayweather's advisor, Al Haymon, negotiated a buyout of his Top Rank contract for a mere $750,000, after bouts with Arturo Gatti (R.I.P.), Zab Judah, and Carlos Baldomir. Mayweather then went on to make a reported $25 to $30 million to fight Oscar De La Hoya and another $20 million for his fight with Ricky Hatton. This may have left a bad taste in Bob Arum's mouth, as he never got a taste of that huge money. Understandably, there seems to be bad blood between Team Mayweather and Top Rank Promotions.
 
Since Mayweather left Top Rank and struck out on his own, a strong case can be made that he has damaged, if not destroyed, his legacy. He began to chase the biggest money fights that presented the least amount of risk. The biggest knock on Mayweather is that while he campaigned at Welterweight, he never fought the best in the division. He fought an old and fading De La Hoya at 154, and made a career 140-pounder (Hatton) come up to 147 and handed him his first knockout loss. Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, and Paul Williams all waited in line to get a shot at the former pound-for-pound king. Before Mayweather even gave a thought to the notion of fighting any of them, he walked away from a rematch and a career-high payday with De La Hoya and "retired".
 
While Mayweather was "retired", Manny Pacquiao staked his claim to the mythical pound-for-pound title. He beat up the gritty David Diaz, beat a drained De La Hoya into submission, and separated Ricky Hatton from his senses. Some, including me, pointed to the facts that De La Hoya's body rejected the weight loss and Hatton was a knockout waiting to happen. Pacquiao, however, silenced all of us critics with his domination of a legit Welterweight in Miguel Cotto.
 
There are still those few that maintain Cotto is and was a shot fighter before stepping in the ring with Pacquiao. In my humble opinion, while the jury is still out on Cotto, based on what we all just saw, although a prime Miguel Cotto may have made the fight slightly more competitive, he still would have most likely lost a 12-round decision.
 
Coming off his virtual shutout of blown up Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather has maintained that he is still the pound-for-pound king and the draw in boxing. Top Rank, on the other hand, says Pacquiao is the draw and the pound-for-pound king. Mayweather claims that he generated over 1 million pay-per-view buys for his bout with Marquez virtually all by himself and that Pacquiao's fans combined with Cotto's fans should help them exceed those numbers in their own bout. One may be able to rationalize Mayweather's logic in this case, as Pacquiao's two fights with Marquez tallied somewhere in the ballpark of 800,000 pay-per-view buys total. All of the posturing has our collective heads spinning though. Mayweather is presenting his case in the court of public opinion. Bob Arum says he won't negotiate in the press and will leave revenue split offers private. As I reported earlier, Mayweather would like, at least, a 60-40 split in his favor. He says he sees no reason to settle for a 50-50 split for the fight, which makes me wonder if Top Rank has privately come down from their 60-40 offer or if Mayweather is merely speculating on potential offers.
 
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, has already stated that a bout with Mayweather would have to take place at a catch-weight of 145 pounds and that the March 13th date already set aside for Pacquaio's next fight would not provide suitable time to train Pacquiao for Mayweather's style. I'm not a betting man, but I would bet that a catch-weight will not be a part of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Consequently, I think it's time Freddie Roach put his money where his mouth is and stop proposing catch-weights for his fighter. The time for Pacquiao to continue to cement his legacy as the greatest of this era is now; he doesn't need catch-weights to taint his legacy. Beating Miguel Cotto signaled his arrival as a real Welterweight and he should fight as one.
 
Whatever the case may be, this fight has to happen. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has already alienated hardcore boxing fans around the world with his trash-talking and negligence for a contractual catch-weight of 144 pounds in his bout with Marquez. He has even alienated his fans with his inability to accept the ramifications of his recent actions. Floyd, it's time to put your money where your mouth is. You made your name coming up through the ranks of the Jr. Lightweight and Lightweight divisions, but what have you done for us lately? We all know you've done plenty for yourself. It's time you back up the talk and get in there with the only man in boxing (other than Paul Williams) that poses a realistic threat to your coveted "0". Beat Pacquiao and you beat the critics. You will take a large step in your quest to cement your place as the pound-for-pound best of this generation and possibly validate your place in the discussion of all-time greats.
 
Golden Boy and Top Rank Promotions settled their differences and have set up some exciting co-operative promotions. It's high time Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank act like professionals and split the money down the middle. Make the fight and make the boxing world happy.