If they fight, and Floyd whoops this chump; Pacquaio can hand over his fighter of the decade award. :hat
Hey doom!, glad to see you hop in this thread. Still the report in that link a week old. I don't see any direct proper responses from Arum. As far as I remember, Arum was caught directly lying about Pacquiao having an eye cut so he can't fight in March. Then as soon as Mayweather was announced to be going to prison he comes out and says Pacquiao will be fighting very soon. No matter what happens, I hope you can't/won't deny that Arum is getting smoked right now pretty much the same way Mayweather was in 2010 when he announced his vacation. To make it things clear, I don't think this fight will happen. As long as Arum has other safer options to make millions out of and keep it safe in his stable, he has no logical reasons to risk it all against someone out of, especially someone he personally hates in Mayweather. Fact is, Arum could come out RIGHT NOW and claim that Pacquiao broke a toe and the people will believe him and accept it. Arum knows that the majority are on Pacquiao's side and Pacquiao is the one the public loves, so whatever false statements he wishes to provide he would and the simple minded people will easily buy it. He could announce any nonsense right now then a week later announce Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Concheato 2 is ON and people will jump in excitement.
Pacquiao could lose by knockout in 1 round against Mayweather and it won't change ****. Pacquiao IS the fighter of the decade and could retire right now without being hurt. It's Mayweather that NEEDS this fight, not Pacquiao who is already fully established and done.
He could do that or even announce Antonio Concheato 2 as Pacquiao's next opponent and people WILL believe him and buy into it with ease. Arum knows Pacquiao is the fan favorite and he's using that.
Pacquaio deserves fighter of the decade yes. His wins over Barrera, Morales, Marquez (Controversial but will be remembered as a W) De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto are all excellent. If he retired now, it would be seen as him avoiding a Floyd Mayweather megamatchup. Pacquaio has said repeatedly about Floyd 'Let's get it on' and now here is an ideal oppertunity too. If he retires, it would taint the fantastic legacy he has built for himself. Floyd would be the biggest fight of his career, and the largest talking point on his list of opponents, even if the fight does not happen.
Let me list the wins he has available properly. Barrera x2 Morales x2 Marquez x2(I scored the third fight for Marquez, but the rematch AND first fight for Pacquiao) Cotto Concehato Clottey Hatton DLH Ledwaba Larios Mosley(Not great, but still worth adding) First time ever lineal champion in four weight divisions. Won fighter of the year awards three times. First time ever eight division world champion. Honestly, with all of that done, he NEEDS to beat Mayweather to secure his legacy?, his legacy has been secured and done with. What he's doing now is just extra. I sure as hell won't complain if he announces his retirement, because logically this guy has surpassed all odds and accomplished what no one ever has. A win over Mayweather only adds up, it doesn't improve anything. And this is coming from a fan of BOTH fighters.