In what seems like another attempt to pressure Floyd Mayweather Jr. into agreeing to fight Manny Pacquiao, a flurry of stories have emerged indicating that Top Rank, which handles Pacquiao, has agreed to terms for a super fight between the boxers in May.
Yahoo! and ESPN both published stories stating that Top Rank and Pacquiao have decided to stage the fight on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. According to the stories, Pacquiao has agreed to a 40 percent slice of the purse while Mayweather would ostensibly get 60 percent. The issue of drug testing — believed to be a major obstacle for making the fight in years past — has also reportedly been resolved. Pacquiao would submit to testing under the United States Anti-Doping Agency. According to Yahoo!, representatives for Mayweather have signed off on these stipulations. But there's still one, enormous problem: Despite all the noise coming from Pacquiao's side, Mayweather has yet to publicly agree to anything or even weigh in on the negotiations, adding a large degree of uncertainty to the talks and casting doubt on the fight even happening.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has been the one spearheading this latest public relations onslaught despite earlier claims he wanted to keep the talks quiet.
Manny Pacquiao beats Long Island’s Chris Algieri in their WBO world welterweight title at The Venetian in Macau in November.
Still, the latest news is encouraging, providing a slither of hope the fight could happen — even if the two sides have been circling each other for years, frustrating everyone, most of all the fans.
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