Is Floyd Mayweather Jr. afraid of Pacquiao?

“If Mayweather wanted to prove he was the best all he had to do was wait one day to see who won Pacquiao-Hatton before signing to fight Marquez. You might as well rename him Fraud Mayweather, Jr."— Freddie Roach

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a smart business man. Whether you love him or hate him, the man has created himself as a brand of his own. With all due respect, lil’ Floyd has definitely been careful with the chances he takes inside the boxing ring like a smart businessman when it comes to investing. No offense to all pro boxers out there, I’m sure they mean it when they say it’s their job and would fight anybody in the ring- up to a certain point. Sometimes though, things like ego, money, pride, personal vendettas and yes I said it, fear, gets in the way of a fight from happening.

In the curious case of Floyd Mayweather Jr. against Manny Pacquiao, what reason is there really behind Floyd’s recent tirades against Pacquiao and for him to claim that he does not need to fight Pacquiao? Businesswise, lil’ Floyd has always said he was about making money, and practically if he wanted to make the most money, dancing with Pacquiao is the biggest money-making fight there is out there for him. So why did Floyd go out of his way to sign and announce a fight against Pacquiao’s nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez on the same day Pacquiao fought Ricky Hatton?

Perhaps Pacquiao’s ascension as the sport’s #1 Pound for Pound best fighter in the world after he retired, hurt lil’ Floyd’s ego. As you can see on the video I posted below and others online on Youtube while he has been promoting his fight against Marquez, Floyd gets irritated every time the media asks him about Pacquiao. He is quick to point out Pacquiao’s knockout losses a long time ago back when Pacquiao fought as a skinny kid in Southeast Asia. Floyd has a point though. On paper, his unblemished resume does look glamorous. One thing Floyd forgot however is that this is boxing. A boxer’s record means nothing more than the competition he’s faced. And what Floyd fails to understand is that the Pacquiao today is a far different Pacquiao from the one that last lost via decision against Erik Morales. Or perhaps Floyd does understand that quite well and that’s why he opted to verbally convince people that he is still the best instead of just jumping in the ring against the smaller Filipino and let his hands do the talking.

Or is it because Floyd is truly, deep in his heart afraid of Pacquiao? I asked, simply because I am running out of reasons why Floyd does not want to fight Pacquiao. The money and the demand are there, and if his ego is hurting, a victory over Pacquiao would make him the undisputed king once again. Based on his track record as well of avoiding stiff competition such as Mosley, Cotto, Paul Williams and even Margarito before he got busted, is Floyd simply afraid that Pacquiao would finally crack that egg in his loss record? Well if he is, then he definitely is making an intelligent decision of strafing Pacquiao just as he would his opponents on the way to a unanimous decision win- just not a very courageous one.



Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m5d20-Is-Floyd-Mayweather-Jr-afraid-of-Pacquiao