Manny Pacquiao believes that many people want to see him and Floyd Mayweather slug it out on May 2 but the Filipino fighter cannot wait forever. And apparently the lawmaker-boxer wants a definite answer and he has given the undefeated Mayweather up to the end of January to answer.
In an interview with the Los Angeles times, Pacquiao said that he is ready to move on if Mayweather continues to play coy.
"My promoter and I, we've already agreed to the terms and conditions of whatever he wants. We're just waiting on the signed contract from him," Pacquiao said. "That's the hard part – if they will fight or not. We have to know soon, because if they will not fight, we can move on and choose another opponent.
"We have a deadline … this month."
It is no secret that Mayweather may be taking his sweet time to weigh his options.
Many believe that he is purposely trying to avoid a bout with Pacquiao since his unblemished record could be broken. Thus far, Mayweather's only response was this through Shade 45 Radio:
"Hopefully, it's Mayweather-Pacquiao. Of course we are trying to make the fight happen between me and Pacquiao. Are we negotiating? Absolutely we are negotiating. But Pacquiao said that he agreed to everything. What did you agree to? You have no say," said Mayweather.
"We're trying but it's extremely difficult dealing with Top Rank. And I don't want to sit here and point the finger at Pacquiao and say 'It's him.' It's not Pacquiao, it's his promoter. A lot of times when Pacquiao says 'I agreed,' you don't have anything to do with this. You're not the boss. On the chessboard, you're a pawn."
Many believe that Mayweather's response is another diversionary tactic to delay the progress of the fight. It is no secret that Mayweather does not like promoter Bob Arum hence new demands could be forthcoming. And from all indications, this serves as bad news which could lead to Pacquiao and Mayweather opting for plan B foes.
For his part, Pacquiao surprisingly threw jabs at Mayweather via Twitter.
If you really care about the fans, you will fight. If you care about yourself... you won't fight. #MannySmile
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) January 20, 2015
Everyone had me as a big underdog to @OscarDeLaHoya too. If @FloydMayweather fights me boxing will get an even bigger upset victory. — Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) January 20, 2015
I can easily beat @FloydMayweather, I believe that.
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) January 20, 2015
If not a boxing match, well maybe a Twitter war could entice Mayweather. Then again maybe not!
So Manny has thrown the first tweets. Expect Mayweather to retaliate soon!
