As boxing fans, and actual boxers, await a resolution to the endless talks between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao about a May 2 super fight, those around the sport are starting to dump the blame for the delay on Mayweather's doorstep.
Boxing icon Bernard Hopkins, the oldest champion in boxing history, believes none other than Floyd himself is the reason the fight remains unsigned. "I think if Floyd Mayweather really wants to fight him (Pacquiao), he would be announcing it right now. That's one side to look at it," Hopkins said.
Hopkins, like Mayweather, has promoted himself for a long time. He told BoxingScene.com that Mayweather sees the value in fighting Pacquiao in his final fight-he has two remaining on his contract with Showtime and has hinted at retirement following that last bout.
WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto is one of the sport's biggest names. He is rumored to be Mayweather's Plan B, and has the built in advantage of having fought Mayweather already, and giving him a good run. Hopkins thinks Mayweather's plan is to face Cotto on May 2, then go out with a bang by fighting Pacquiao.
"I believe that he wants Pacquiao last," Hopkins said. "Nobody that loves money would walk away from $80 million or however much he would make with all the bells and whistles. When someone has that mentality and they love money they always want more.
"And I'm not saying if that's good or bad. But I don't think that he wants Pacquiao right now because it would be a bigger hit if they both win their next one or the two fights that Floyd has on his contract."
Yahoo! boxing writer Kevin Iole intimated the same thing Hopkins did in his latest column. Iole wrote about Mayweather's insistence that he is the A-Side of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. While granting Mayweather that honor, he wrote that being the A-Side also means the onus is on him to set the terms and set the wheels in motion.
Instead, Mayweather has let the negotiations languish. In Iole's opinion, this is the case because Mayweather knows he can. That's in line with Hopkins' opinion, and Hopkins boldly predicted that when all the smoke has cleared, Mayweather won't be fighting Pacquiao in May.
"I think that if he can get Cotto on May 2, and under the illusion that it's not us messing up, then he will do it. But I can tell you they're not going to fight," Hopkins said.
"Do I know anything? No, I could be wrong. It's my gut feeling. When next week comes...this is a short month. If we start getting into the end of February and the start of March people are not going to talk about him fighting Pacquiao. They're going to start asking 'Well who the hell is he going to fight?'"
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