Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight possible in 2015

Could the long-anticipated, much-hyped fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather finally happen?

Author:
SI Wire
Publish date:
Aug 28, 2014

Could the long-anticipated, much-hyped fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather finally happen?

Manny Pacquiao's Biggest Fights

Marco Antonio Barrera I — Nov. 15, 2003

With an 11th-round TKO of Barrera at the Alamodome, Pacquiao captured the lineal featherweight championship and cemented his stardom among American fight fans. It marked Pacquiao's third title in three weight classes.

Juan Manuel Marquez I — May 8, 2004

With designs on unifying The Ring featherweight title with Marquez's WBA and IBF belts, Pacquiao faced the Mexican legend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Marquez went down three times in Round 1, but showed unforgettable heart and resiliency in storming back to force a controversial draw.

Erik Morales I — March 19, 2005

Moving up to super featherweight (130 pounds) for a showdown with Mexico's legendary three-division champion — the first installment of an epic trilogy — Pacquiao suffered a cut from an accidental butt in the fifth round and lost a unanimous decision.

Erik Morales II — Jan. 21, 2006

The rematch between Pacquiao and Morales lived up to advance billing through nine grueling rounds. It ended in the 10th, when Pacquiao avenged the previous year's defeat with a knockout of Morales — the first of his career.

Erik Morales III — Nov. 18, 2006

Morales bravely tried to stand toe-to-toe with Pacquiao in the highly anticipated rubber match, but the strategy proved ill-advised. Pacquiao put an exclamation point on the trilogy with a third-round knockout of the Mexican warrior.

Marco Antonio Barrera II — Oct. 6, 2007

In the long-awaited rematch with Barrera at super featherweight, Pacquaio won a lopsided unanimous decision at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Juan Manuel Marquez II — March 15, 2008

Fighting for the WBC super featherweight title (130 pounds), Pacquiao outpointed Marquez in a narrow decision — a crucial third-round knockdown making the difference. The victory gave Pacquiao the world title in a fourth weight class.

David Diaz — June 28, 2008

Pacquiao became a five-division champion with a ninth-round knockout of Diaz for the WBC lightweight title (135 pounds). He'd vacate the super featherweight title in July while mulling another move up in weight.

Oscar De La Hoya — Dec. 6, 2008

Pacquiao's transition from boxing notable to crossover superstar was crystallized with a dramatic ninth-round TKO of De La Hoya in a non-title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. While De La Hoya was considered past his prime, many believed the climb to the welterweight limit (147 pounds) would prove too imposing for Pacquiao. They were wrong. The Filipino peppered the Golden Boy all night long with punches from all angles, until De La Hoya quit on his stool after the eighth round ... and quit boxing shortly thereafter.

Ricky Hatton — May 2, 2009

With a spectacular second-round knockout of Hatton in Las Vegas, Pacquiao bagged the lineal junior welterweight title (140 pounds) and became the second fighter in history to win titles in six divisions along with De La Hoya.

Miguel Cotto — Nov. 14, 2009

With his 12th-round knockout victory over Cotto for the WBO welterweight title — in a bout fought at a catch-weight of 145 pounds — Pacquiao became the first boxer to win titles in seven divisions.

Joshua Clottey — March 13, 2010

Pacquiao overwhelmed Clottey from wire to wire in his first defense of the WBO welterweight title before 50,994 fans at Cowboys Stadium. It marked the first boxing event at Jerry Jones' $1.3 billion palace. Only two fights in the United States during the past 50 years drew more fans: Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks II at the New Orleans Superdome in 1978 (63,350) and Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez at San Antonio's Alamodome in 1993 (59,995).

Antonio Margarito — Nov. 13, 2010

Pacquiao outpointed Margarito for the vacant WBC super welterweight championship before 41,734 fans at Cowboys Stadium. The victory gave the Filipino an eighth world title in eight different weight classes (from 112 to 154 pounds).

Shane Mosley — May 7, 2011

Pacquiao wasn't up to his near-perfect standard, but he still dominated the 39-year-old Mosley over 12 rounds for a unanimous-decision win. Trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao, who was involved in a fight-day fender bender, was beset by leg cramps during the fight. Mosley suffered just the third knockdown of his career in the third round and, by the end of an uninspiring fight, was being booed by the Vegas crowd.

Juan Manuel Marquez III — Nov. 12, 2011

Pacquiao showed great heart down to the stretch to rally for a majority-decision victory over the ageless Marquez, who entered as a 7-to-1 underdog despite narrow points losses to the Filipino in 2004 and '08. One ringside judge scored it 114-114, with the other two giving it to Pacquiao at 115-113 and 116-114. (SI.com had it 114-114.)

Timothy Bradley — June 9, 2012

In a controversial split decision ruling that even the WBO itself said should have gone the other way, Pacquiao was robbed of a win over Timothy Bradley. The judges at ringside scored it 115-113, 113-115, 113-115, which most media observers had Pacquiao winning by a large margin.

Juan Manuel Marquez IV — Dec. 8, 2012

In his fourth meeting with Juan Marquez, Pacquiao was knocked out in the sixth round, marking the first time in his career he'd lost consecutive bouts.

Brandon Rios — Nov. 24, 2013

Manny Pacquiao lands a right to Brandon Rios during their WBO international welterweight title fight Nov. 24, 2013, in Macau, China. Pacquiao defeated Rios by unanimous decision to end a two fight losing streak.

Timothy Bradley II — April 12, 2014

Pacquiao won a unanimous decision in the April 2014 rematch with Bradley, avenging his 2012 loss and claiming the WBO welterweight title. Pacquiao (56-5-2) pursued and peppered the previously unbeaten Bradley around the MGM Grand Garden ring with an aggressive effort occasionally recalling the Pacman in his prime. Bradley fought back with counterpunching and elusiveness, but Pacquiao kept up his attack while Bradley (31-1) struggled down the stretch. (Text: AP)

Chris Algieri — Nov. 23, 2014

Manny Pacquiao knocked Chris Algieri down six times and won a lopsided 12-round decision in his most recent fight to date, a November 2014 bout in Macau.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. — May 2, 2015

2015-0502-Floyd-Mayweather-Jr-Manny-Pacquiao-X159559_TK1_4794.jpg — Robert Beck for Sports Illustrated

The long-awaited mega fight, billed as "The Fight of the Century," failed to live up to the hype as Mayweather won easily via a unanimous decision, running his undefeated record to 48–0 and earning at least $100 million from the richest purse in boxing history.

According to boxing promoter Bob Arum, it could -- as soon as next year. Arum told the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday that he is "very optimistic" the two will finally square off, as the networks representing both fighters -- Showtime/CBS for Pacquiao and HBO for Mayweather -- have discussed a potential fight. Arum said both networks were eager to have the fight finally come to fruition.

"Both networks want this fight to happen," Arum said. "All signs seem to point to the fight happening early next year."

The 35-year-old Pacquiao was in San Francisco on Thursday to promote his Nov. 22 fight with Chris Algieri in Macau, China, for the WBO welterweight title. The 37-year-old Mayweather, who is still undefeated at 46-0, will fight Marcos Maidana Sept. 13 in Las Vegas for the WBC welterweight and super welterweight titles.

Since both boxers are creeping toward 40, Arum knows it's imperative to make the fight happen soon.

"There is a sell-by date, where it becomes, 'Who cares?' It has to happen by the first six months of next year," Arum told the paper. "And if it happens, there should be a provision with a different percentage for the rematch. So that the winner is rewarded for winning the fight.

"I would love to see these guys fight twice next year."

Still, a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight has been close to happening for years, only to have anything from a minor or major dispute get in the way during negotiations.

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