MANILA, Philippines — Floyd Mayweather Jr. has rejected Manny Pacquiao’s 50-50 sharing scheme for a proposed super showdown between the two superstars in May, leaving the fighting congressman disillusioned again, and with no other recourse but to start looking elsewhere for an opponent.
In a report shown on ESPN SportsCenter early Friday morning in the US, Mayweather told the show via email that he is not accepting Pacquiao’s equal sharing of the revenue for a planned fight in Las Vegas.
“He asked about a 50-50 split and I told him no, that can’t happen, but what can happen is you can make more money fighting me than you have made in your career,” said Mayweather via email to ESPN.
“I also let him know I’m in control of my side but he needs to get on the same page as his promoter so we can make this fight happen,” added Mayweather.
Informed about Mayweather’s latest rant, Pacquiao told the Manila Bulletin that a “50/50 is fair,” citing their last pay-per-view performance as proof that he is not being unreasonable.
“My pay-per-view numbers are bigger than his,” said Pacquiao, pointing that he did 1.4 million buys when he fought Juan Manuel Marquez last November while Mayweather only drew 1.25 million when he faced Victor Ortiz in September.
“All he has to do is look at our pay-per-view numbers to understand why it would be fair for us to split it in half,” said the 33-year-old Pacquiao.
Pacquiao received a surprise call on Thursday from Mayweather, asking that they immediately get the fight done.
Mayweather’s announcement that he is not willing to give Pacquiao equal sharing was sent to SportsCenter anchor Stan Verrett.
The same network’s boxing authority, Dan Rafael, told the Manila Bulletin that “my people at ESPN swear that the SportsCenter anchor received an email personally from Floyd in which he stated it couldn’t be a 50-50 deal.”
Still, Team Pacquiao is not totally abandoning plans of securing a Mayweather fight as Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz is headed to the US to meet up with Top Rank chief Bob Arum to discuss his boss’s next move.
But if a Mayweather match cannot be made, there is a mouthwatering rematch with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto as a solid backup plan for June 9 either at the Thomas and Mack Center or the MGM Grand.
Pacquiao beat Cotto the first time in November 2009 but since then the shaven-skulled Latino has bounced back, winning three straight fights.
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