Ethan Miller - Getty Images
Freddie Roach doesn't expect Mayweather vs Pacquiao to happen in 2012. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Speaking to BoxingScene.com's Keith Idec, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach says that he doesn't believe a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr will happen, throwing a bucket of cold water on anyone who has moved on from the May-based talks and turned their hopes to a late autumn date:
"No way. [Mayweather is] scared. He doesn’t want to take a chance. He wants that zero so bad on his record, so that he can say he’s better than Sugar Ray Robinson and all these great fighters, because he’s never lost. Losing makes you a better fighter. He’s not better than those fighters and he never will be."
This latest batch of negotiations (if you want to call the whole saga a "negotiation" since no one ever really did anything but wail to the media) saw Mayweather leap out to an early PR lead with a "call out" on Twitter, and then Bob Arum dug a small hole for Team Pacquiao with his increasingly odd and defensive position on the matter.
But Mayweather took a hit recently, too, saying that there's no way that he'll take a 50-50 deal with Manny Pacquiao, saying he told Pacquiao on the phone, "That can't happen." Even Teddy Atlas feels that Mayweather looks like he doesn't want the fight now.
[ Related: On Freddie Roach Recap ]
I don't know if anyone's really afraid of anyone. More and more I just think that perhaps everyone involved can't be bothered to go into a negotiation that isn't easy, where they don't get the massive lion's share of the money, where they have to actually negotiate. It's not like either of them has had to do that in a while. Mayweather gets a fight with a Golden Boy guy, it's easy to make. Pacquiao fights a Top Rank guy or a wayward veteran free agent, it's easy to make. This requires actual effort and thought and swallowing of pride and maybe even an ego check.
0 recs | 17 comments
Bored
doglookslikeafox - January 24, 2012
i agree
will someone please get bob arum out of their the best boxers should fight each other not around each other.
jonny12 - January 24, 2012
You can literally apply this to every promoter in boxing. I understand and all (I guess), but I’m kind of getting tired of Bob Arum being painted as Satan when he does nothing differently than anyone else. I’m not saying you should give Arum more credit. I’m saying give everyone else the same guff.
Scott Christ - January 24, 2012
He actually does more as far as old school promoting
But whatever. Haters are gonna hate. And waste their energy doing so.
Most promoters are TV packagers and let the networks control their fighters destinies. King back in the day and Arum to a large extent still promote with their own money and sponsorships the old fashioned way.
pakinpower - January 24, 2012
true
i guess i never looked at it like that ,but i mean the world wants to see this fight happen and right now bob arum is the wall between it.
jonny12 - January 25, 2012
I agree. the whole notion of either guy being scared is kind of a joke and it’s insulting to my intelligence to claim this. roach (and anybody else claiming this) should just STFU. money split negotiations would be the issue and egos would get in the way. no one wants to go through the hassle when they can’t guarantee they will reach agreement. that’s why we keep hearing alternative fights for each guy…it’s easier
KidSleez - January 24, 2012 via Android app
I’m very aware I can’t count, but it seems to me that if FMjr goes to jail early June, that he’d be barely out the door if that in November. So I’ve never thought 2012 was reasonable, even if I were to believe the fight will ever get made, which I don’t.
BoxAnne - January 24, 2012
He’ll be out in September, assuming he actually does 90 days, and he won’t.
Scott Christ - January 24, 2012
BA
I actually find his freedom disgusting in light of his plea and sentence. How any judge could allow anyone to delay their sentence WITHOUT definitive contracts in place is beyond me. It’s bad enough that celebrity justice and economics allow for unequal justice but this situation is absurd.
Floyd should either announce WHO he is fighting and show that to the judge or serve now and negotite and promote later.
I have already seen the Vegas papers starting to address this issue and ask these same questions
pakinpower - January 24, 2012
I agree it’s absurd, and that’s not directed at Floyd, who’s just staying out of jail any way he can as would anyone, it’s directed at Las Vegas, and that judge. How bought can they be? Pretty bought, I guess. And shamelessly willing to display their boughtness to the world with this delayed sentence. Las Vegas just looks beyond corrupt, and absolutely owned by FMJ. Don’t even seem to get it that they should be ashamed of themselves. This remark is not meant to be all soft on Floyd, just, Las Vegas looks worse to me here than Floyd does.
That said, getting out in September doesn’t make FMJ ready by November, as one doesn’t, I shouldn’t think, just walk out of jail and go immediately to fight camp, all focused and and set to get ready to rumble, That really seems like a ridiculous expectation of any human to me. Surely going to take him at least a month to re-orient mentally, if not longer, even though it’s not that long a sentence. It’s still a long time for somebody like Floyd—or anyone, really—to be mostly alone with their thoughts.
BoxAnne - January 24, 2012
Agree across the board
pakinpower - January 25, 2012
"I don't know if anyone's really afraid of anyone"
I think they are afraid not in a sense that “ooh this guys is scary is going to kill me” but rather scared of losing their status and leverage. No ones takes this much time for a fight unless they dont wanna do it, simple as that.
boxplatino.com - January 24, 2012
I agree with this. They’re afraid of something, either each other or not making more money, or losing face, or some shit, but yeah, there’s a definite air that nobody involved here wants this fight.
Apprentice - January 24, 2012
+1
Never mind zeros, there’s too much to lose—face, future bargaining power, future at all, etc. They’ll both be rag dolls by the time they ever fight (if they ever do), with nothing at all left to lose = it won’t be The Fight.
BoxAnne - January 24, 2012
I think Freddie is just goading Floyd
And that all parties are doing what they probably should be doing which is feeling things out behind the scenes and trying to make it happen later this year.
But feeling things out forever is pretty tedious so I’m moving on to fights that are being made…..and hoping that Floyd Manny priorities are not causing the delays in announcing new matches for this year.
pakinpower - January 24, 2012
This fight won't happen....
Mathematically, this fight doesn’t look like it will happen. If they don’t agree on this May 5th date, November fight cannot happen due to Mayweather going to jail in June. 90 days from June will be September. That will give Mayweather 2 months to train and promote the fight in Nov?
We are looking at May 2013 as the last date to where they can make the fight due to Pacquiao leaving the sport to bid for the senate seat in the Philippine. No way is this fight going to happen now….
brandon916 - January 24, 2012
Utterly idiotic nonsense.
DrRck - January 24, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Bad Left Hook to post a comment.