Is Floyd on the ropes? (AP Photo)
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Between making a concession, backing out of the fight completely and being sued, Floyd Mayweather may be in for a tough time of it in the new year.
Swathes of the media and fans are already down on Floyd since he came back from retirement because of his weight tricks against Juan Manuel Marquez, and the so called blood gate isn't helping any.
Floyd might still be the best fighter of his generation as he keeps telling everyone, but sooner or later he's going to need to start fighting relevant tough fighters to keep his name out there.
Obviously they don't come any tougher than Manny Pacquiao at the moment, but with that fight hanging by a thread it seems Floyd has backed himself into a corner. There are options for other top fighters Floyd could take on, but if his first choice if the Manny fight is off is Matthew Hatton, then it doesn't look likely that a true test will be forthcoming.
On the one hand he could drop the drug testing issue completely, or make some sort of compromise with Top Rank and Pacquiao, which the latter have been trying to do for several days now. This at least guarantees him a $40 million plus pay check in March and could put him back at the top of the pound for pound rankings should he win. At the same time though a fight against Manny could be the breaking of his career, and a loss would no could be difficult to overcome no matter what he does afterward.
The other option for Floyd is seemingly to leave his testing demands intact and let the fight slip away over the next few days. From there he will probably make chump change against the decent but beneath him Matthew Hatton, which few people want to see.
He also faces the prospect of being dragged through the courts by Pacquiao, who intends to sue him for slander/defamation of character or some similar legal term which will only take up time and cost both of the money. If Floyd loses, then he may well even end up paying out more than he can make against the likes of the younger Hatton.
If Floyd is really just stalling for time, and wants a tune up fight before taking on Pacquiao later on in the year, he should just come out and say it, and clear the air about the implied steroid accusations. There isn't any reason the fight still can't be signed and sealed for a later date if both parties can get past all the problems and agree to keep the more opinionated from either camp quiet with their thoughts about either fighter.
More About: Boxing · Floyd Mayweather · Manny Pacquaio
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