Floyd Mayweather backs out of Pacquiao fight, taking a year or two off

The proposed showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao seems to have been called of again permanently.

Speaking to reporters during an charity appearance with the make a wish foundation, Mayweather stated that he would be taking 'a year or two' off from the sport of boxing.

Mayweather granted the wish of a young man by the name of Armando suffering from Hodgkins disease, who wanted to meet his favorite fighter. During the course of the event, a reporter joked that Armando wanted to see Mayweather take on Manny Pacquiao the most, to which Mayweather revealed that he was taking another leave of absence.

Whether he will return to the ring at some point is not clear, and he says that he doesn't know what the future holds.

According to all other sources, a fight between the two pound for pound stalwarts was nearly made, and the two opposing camps were negotiating behind closed doors. Whether Mayweather has made this news clear to his promoting representatives at Golden Boy isn't clear, and if not than he will have been wasting their time in having them engage in talks with Top Rank all this time.

Without stating any particular reason for not wanting to fight again for an extended period, it will no doubt appear that Floyd is merely sidestepping Pacquiao, a fighter many believe would hand him his first career loss. Certainly this news will dampen the last days of Pacquiao's career as well, and his next opponent will now probably either be Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto.



This latest revelation will no doubt further damage Mayweather's public persona, which had already taken a battering when he accused Pacquiao of being a drug user without evidence. Not only this, but Mayweather's legacy will no doubt be tarnished as well, and even if he remains undefeated if he does fight again, there will always be a question mark as to whether Pacquiao would have beaten him.

Chris Allen, Pittsburgh: "I knew Mayweather would pull out. The fight will never happen now because in two years time Pacquiao will be retired and Mayweather will be too old"

James Stone, Philly: "If he planned on taking a couple of years off why didn't he just say so after he beat Mosley? Its obvious hes only fighting to line his own pockets and that he doesn't give a damn about the fans"

Source: examiner.com