The 60-40 alternative

Negotiating with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is like bargaining with a schizophrenic. You’ll never know if what Mayweather confirms today, he’ll deny tomorrow. Let’s face it. From what we’ve observed, the guy speaks with forked tongue. He doesn’t belong in a slammer. He should be confined in a mental asylum and locked up with the key thrown away.

As a world boxing champion who’s earned millions from the fight game, Mayweather is obligated to preserve the integrity of the sport. It’s the least he should do for the sport that has given him fame and fortune. Mayweather should fight the best out there to prove who should sit on top of the welterweight mountain and not deny the fans the chance to witness what is arguably the most significant bout of the decade.

Mayweather is by no means being short-changed by negotiators trying to arrange a showdown with the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum is begging for Mayweather to nominate a representative so talks can progress, obviously realizing you face a brick wall if you bargain with Pretty Boy. Arum said he can’t possibly give Mayweather a guarantee because he doesn’t share in his percentage. Boxing is business, big business, and a fight like Pacquiao-Mayweather is expected to generate an economic impact of over $300 Million at least.

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When the dream of staging Pacquiao-Mayweather was hatched two years ago, Pretty Boy made some unreasonable demands one of which was to do Olympic-style random drug testing. Pacquiao said he’ll allow blood to be drawn from his veins anytime except two weeks before the fight because it’s in his mind that the extraction has a weakening effect. No state governing body for sports requires Olympic-style random drug testing in boxing so who is Mayweather to make a demand that is not only unnecessary but irregular?

Just to get things moving, Pacquiao eventually agreed to the drug-testing procedure. That’s how transparent he is. He’s willing to compromise to give the fans what they want. But with the obstacle removed, Mayweather turned to something else to derail the proceedings. He said he wouldn’t agree to a 50-50 split because he deserves more than an even share.

After Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez by a majority decision last year, Mayweather finally got the nerve to call out the Filipino icon for a duel. He probably figured Pacquiao’s performance, which wasn’t as decisive as in his past victories, was a sign of slippage. It’s no secret that Mayweather’s claim to glory is his unblemished record of 42-0. He’ll avoid anything that might stain his record and leave him without an anchor to claim invincibility. For sure, Mayweather didn’t relish the thought of engaging Pacquiao coming off devastating wins over Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya. Weighing the probabilities, Mayweather would’ve felt his chances of beating Pacquiao weren’t too encouraging.

But now, things are different. Mayweather must like his chances against Pacquiao because he’s calling him out. Last December, Pacquiao said the fight was almost a done deal. Arum flew in two weeks ago to discuss two options for Pacquiao’s next bout – a Plan A involving Mayweather and a Plan B involving four other fighters, Cotto, Lamont Peterson, Marquez and Timothy Bradley.

Last week, Mayweather phoned Pacquiao and indicated they were on track for a battle. There didn’t seem to be an objection to a 50-50 sharing. The hitch was the timing. Mayweather has a May 5 booking at the MGM Grand Garden Arena but Arum is batting to stage the duel in a makeshift outdoor facility on the Las Vegas Strip because it would mean an incremental income of at least $30 Million. Besides, what’s the sense of pushing for a Cinco de Mayo show when neither Mayweather nor Pacquiao is Mexican?

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Now, Mayweather has thrown another monkey wrench into the deal. It’s not just the timing where he differs, it’s also in the purse sharing. Why has he resurrected the cutting of the pie as a problem point? Did Mayweather get cold feet? Is he now trying to delay the negotiations further until Pacquiao gets older and slower?

If Mayweather wants 60-40, why not put his money where his mouth is? Make it the winner gets 60 percent and the loser, 40 percent. That means both fighters are guaranteed 40-40 each and after the fight, the winner takes an extra 20 percent. A draw will mean splitting the 20 percent equally. Surely, that’s not a bad deal. If Mayweather insists on a 60 percent share, he’s got to earn it – he’s got to prove he deserves it by beating Pacquiao. If he’s not a betting man, then Mayweather should be happy with a 50-50 split.

As for the timing, Arum said he can request the judge to postpone the serving of Mayweather’s prison sentence to June 15 because constructing the makeshift facility and marketing the fight may push the show date to June 9. To do it on May 5 would be a waste of an opportunity to generate an additional $30 Million.

But the question is: Does Mayweather really want to fight Pacquiao? If he keeps avoiding Pacquiao and making outlandish demands, Mayweather isn’t paying back the sport that has been so good to him. Surely, Mayweather is playing mind games. Who’s he fooling? Not Pacquiao. Not the fans. He’s fooling himself into thinking he’s untouchable, unbeatable and unimpeachable.

Pacquiao doesn’t need Mayweather to cement his legacy as one of the sport’s all-time greats. He’s already achieved what probably will never be equaled or surpassed – winning eight world titles in different divisions. If Mayweather continues to play the clown, Pacquiao can walk away with his pride intact. It’s Mayweather who’ll end up with a tarnished reputation in the history books as the gutless villain afraid to test himself against the greatest Filipino fighter ever.