Muhammad Ali was on a late night talk show back in the day when the host surprised him by bringing out Mike Tyson, then near his prime. Ali looked dumbfounded–maybe even a little mad. “What’s wrong, champ?” the host asked, thinking he’d made an error in judgment. Ali leaned over confidentially and said, pointing at Tyson, “I’m scared of him.”
That’s a reasonable reaction to encountering Tyson in his prime, even for The Greatest. Is the same thing bothering Floyd Mayweather–fear? Manny Pacquiao is demanding a fight with the undefeated Mayweather and Mayweather keeps blocking it. There are other difficulties–mostly about money, but also where and when, who gets top billing. Those sorts of things. But Pacquiao has said he’ll take a 40-60 split, which should give Mayweather the green light money-wise. So what is it? Boxing promoter Bob Arum, who worked with Mayweather for years, believes it’s the fact that Pacquiao’s a southpaw. “If Manny agreed to fight right-handed the fight would be agreed upon in five minutes,”Arum says. It really does seem like the only thing in the way of this hundred million dollar matchup is Floyd Mayweather’s fear. Wonder what 50 Cent thinks?
