You really didn’t think Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were actually going to fight, did you?
The sport’s two biggest names will do anything to ensure they don’t have to get in the ring with one another, including chasing the same challenger.
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather’s camps are pursuing a fight with WBA 154-pound champion Miguel Cotto.
Why they can’t get on the same page with one another continues to be the biggest story in boxing—now it is their mutual desire to fight Cotto.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican is coming off a major win over a slowing Antonio Margarito and is now arguably the second-biggest draw outside of Pac-Man fighting Mayweather.
But the fight would hardly be anything close to the superfight everyone is waiting for.
The last time Pacquiao and Cotto got in the ring, the Filipino pound-for-pound champion beat the hell out of Cotto and forced him to run around before getting stopped in the 12th.
That is hardly the reason though.
For these two to battle for a fight with another fighter rather than work things out with each other is simply embarrassing.
This fight has been at the forefront of boxing for a number of years. These two stars have been the best the sport has to offer. They fight in and around similar weight classes and have beaten similar opponents.
There is no fight that needs to be fought more than Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather.
Chasing a second-tier fight is a waste of time for both fighters’ legacies. Pacquiao stands to gain nothing from beating Cotto again and “Money”—who does need some money—stands to gain nothing but another win on a flawless record that still won’t include the name Pacquiao.
Cotto is a good fighter, but he’s not in the same class as Pac-Man and Mayweather. For either of them to lower themselves when there is an opportunity to fight each other is nothing short of disgraceful.
