Pacquiao says there’s a “Big possibility” he will face Mayweather

By Jim Dower: World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao thinks there’s a “Big possibility” of facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the future, according to Bloomberg.net. Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO’s) is coming off a dull, one-sided 12 round unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey last March, a fight that took place in the Cowboy Stadium in front of over 50,000 fans in Arlington, Texas. Although Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach and his promotional company felt that Clottey would make for an exciting opponent, he badly came up short of that in fighting in a defensive manner for the full 12 rounds.

In hindsight, it was the wrong opponent for a huge stadium like the Cowboy Stadium, and hopefully Pacquiao will attempt to make a fight with Mayweather in the future. On that end, Pacquiao, speaking of a fight with Mayweather, says “There’s that big possibility. My mother wants me to retire from boxing. It’s 50-50 at this point. I will discuss this with the entire family.” What Pacquiao fails to say is why he feels that there’s a strong possibility that he will be fighting Mayweather.

In the past, the two fighters were unable to put together a fight because Mayweather wanted Pacquiao to take random blood tests and Pacquiao wasn’t interested in taking the textbook definition of random blood tests. He was okay with the blood tests, but wanted them to be within time frame, stopping a little over three weeks before the fight. Mayweather wanted them to take place up until 2 weeks before the fight. Mayweather has since hardened his stance, and says he wants the blood tests to be continuous, leading up to the fight for a bout against Pacquiao.

Perhaps Pacquiao may change his mind about the blood tests or else he’s counting on Mayweather making an exception for a fight against him. Hopefully, Pacquiao isn’t counting on Mayweather to give in on the blood test issue, because he seems to be firmly set on wanting them to take place for his future fights. And if he does really well – and makes a lot of money – in his fight against Shane Mosley on May 1st, he could be even firmer on the blood test issue.

One hope is that there’s been a lot of time that has gone by since his failed fight with Pacquiao and perhaps Mayweather will soften his stance on the blood testing issue enough for the fight to be made. This is a fight that will likely be the biggest in boxing history and will go along ways to cementing the legacy for one of these fighters.

If the fight gets made and does incredibly well, there could be a rematch between the two fighters if the bout doesn’t end up being a one-sided blowout. With the talent of Mayweather and Pacquiao, there’s always a chance that one of these fighters will totally dominate this fight to the point where a rematch might not be an appealing option.