It has been about two years since legitimate Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather rumors , musings and grumblings have been making the rounds. In the fall of 2009, Floyd Mayweather returned after a nearly two year absence from the ring to dominate Juan Manuel Marquez, and two months later, Manny Pacquiao resoundingly defeated welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.
Fast forward to the present, and we find that Mayweather is set to return from a year and a half absence from the ring to face welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, and two months after that, Pacquiao is set to meet Marquez.
Therefore, the obvious question then is if Mayweather vs. Ortiz and Pacquiao vs. Marquez III will clear the way for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather to finally take place. Here are 5 reasons why victories by each man this fall will lead to the mega-fight of the generation.
1. Mayweather Prep Work: Victor Ortiz shares some interesting attributes with Manny Pacquiao. Mainly, he's an aggressive southpaw with a big punch and quick hands. Mayweather has taken matches which served as style tune-ups in the past, namely when he fought Sharmba Mitchell before facing Zab Judah. Therefore, Mayweather could very well be putting in the prep work to get himself ready to fight Pacquiao next. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, you can take Freddie Roach's instead.
2. Further Delay Could Derail: Top Rank's head honcho Bob Arum is big on letting matches simmer or marinate for as long as possible, in order to build up the hype, anticipation and payoff when two fighters finally meet. Sometimes that pay dividends, but sometimes that blows up in your face. For example, Arum was angling towards a future Yuriorkis Gamboa-Juan Manuel Lopez featherweight mega-bout, but that got destroyed when Orlando Salido upended JuanMa. Further delay could derail this fight as well, and sooner or later, one of these guys is going to lose before they face each othe, ruining the magic of the event.
3. Intermingling Opposition: The list of common opponents between Pacquiao and Mayweather has grown to be quite lengthy over the past few years. Pacquiao has faced all four of Mayweather's most recent opponents - Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley - although Mayweather faced three of them first, all excluding Juan Manuel Marquez... whom Pacquiao is of course set to fight again. The remaining competition the two haven't met comes with a mixture of low name recognition, lower weight class, or simply a poor quality of opponent for a pound for pound fighter. The remaining competition, that is, besides one another.
4. Legal Drama (Hopefully) Subsiding: Mayweather has been more active fighting legal battles over the past year than he has been fighting in the squared circle. Most have been delayed or averted, although Mayweather recently made news by no-showing a court ordered deposition for a defamation lawsuit filed by team Pacquiao. Hashing out a deal in their mutual lawsuit would be a boldfaced indicator that they are ready to do battle elsewhere, assuming Mayweather avoids jail time from his pending charges.
5. Money Still Matters: Interpret the phrase as you wish. Maybe it means that "Money" Mayweather still matters to the sport of boxing, or perhaps it could mean that his name on Pacquiao's resume still matters to his legacy. Or maybe it simply means that money still matters to both fighters and their promoters, and sooner or later, a combined $100-$150 million of earnings will be far too great to ignore, all other issues aside.
Sources: ESPN.com/boxing, Boxrec.com, ProBoxing-Fans.com
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