Pacman vs. Pretty Boy

By MrFivesixone

With the recent tweet of Floyd Mayweather Jr. calling out Manny Pacquiao to fight on May 5th, I find myself wondering if this fight will ever really happen? With Mayweather's 87 day jail sentence set to begin on June 1st, this is the deadline we have for this fight to happen. If it doesn’t happen by then, I truly believe it probably never will. There is also no better time for this fight to happen than now.

Mayweather's last fight against up-and-comer Victor Ortiz was controversial and made Mayweather perhaps one of today's most hated athletes. If you haven’t heard what happened  then you can check it out here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOU_JwuDUcA . My opinion on the matter is that Mayweather took a cheap shot and showed no class, especially when he was already dominating the fight and would have easily won anyways. We all know that Mayweather is a better fighter than Ortiz; there was no need for a sucker punch. It only fueled his reputation as a bad boy and made the average fan hate him even more. Most people are now hoping to see Pacquiao fight him just to knock him out and give them justice.Even more classless than the sucker punch was Mayweather’s pitiful post-fight interview with legend Larry Merchant (which can be seen in the clip linked above).Although Mayweather isn't exactly a model citizen, he is still one of the best, if not the best, fighter in the world. Mayweather still boasts an impressive 42-0 record and has fought almost every big name out there -- except Manny Pacquiao.

On the other hand, Pacquiao's last fight was equally as controversial. Many are now wondering if he really does stand a chance at being the only fighter to ever beat Mayweather. Pacquiao fought Juan Manuel Marquez for the 3rd time last November. The previous bouts were a draw and a split decision in favor of Pacquiao. This time in the  bout between the two rivals Manny walked away with a majority decision win. However, many critics and boxing fans alike are screaming at the judges and their scorecards about this fight. Many believe that Marquez was the rightful winner of the 3rd fight, a fight in which the previously invincible Pacman began to look human again. Did Marquez show Pacquiao's weakness? Or is Pacquiao not the fighter we all thought he was? To make matters even more interesting, Mayweather previously fought Marquez in 2009 and absolutely destroyed him. So Pacquiao needs the Mayweather fight to prove he is the best, just as much as Mayweather needs Pacquiao.

But even if the 2 fighters need each other, will the fight actually happen? Mayweather's contract has a fight scheduled on May 5th and this is the only reason why his jail date was pushed back.  Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, is saying that Pacquiao will not fight until late May or early June. We've heard them all before -- excuses as to why the fight cannot happen. For years, people said that Mayweather was ducking Pacquiao. Now Mayweather is finally calling Pacquiao out and setting the date. Maybe it's time to stop saying that Pretty Boy Floyd is the one dodging Pacquiao and for him to step up to the task. Or perhaps Bob Arum is the one to blame for not allowing his fighter to make the May 5th fight. Either way, both fighters need this fight to restore reputations, to prove who is best, and to finally settle the debate once and for all. So hopefully in the next few weeks, boxing fans will get confirmation on the fight we have all been waiting for.