The Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes

L to R: Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Amir Khan

There have been talks about the richest fight in, perhaps, boxing history between Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao but they have been shot down due to both parties not agreeing to terms. As a result, many boxing fans and experts think that this fight will not happen. The most heard excuse comes from the camp of the Filipino Congressman of not wanting to take a blood test for the fight due to superstitions; its this excuse that pro-Mayweather fans use for the "Pac-Man" to not fight Floyd. On the other hand, the pro-Manny fans say that it isn't an excuse, and Mayweather is twisting the situation in order to the duck the World's #1 Boxer in the world; which many fans think can be the one to tarnish the unblemished record of Mayweather. The other roadblock in the negotiations is how the purse will be split and how much will each fighter will make. It was reported that Floyd wanted to make 100 Million Dollars for the fight as oppose to 50 Million Dollars that apparently was the initial offer. Before the this mega-fight can happen, the legal fight between both camps need to come to a decision, so the fans can reap the benefit of one of the most highly-anticipated boxing bouts in its historic history. Luckily for Freddie Roach, the trainer of Pacquiao, he also has another very talented boxer, Amir Khan, in his Wild Card Gym that has his name being thrown around in the Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes.  "There are those dream matches, you know, and sometimes they happen, and sometimes they don't," said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. "Maybe it will happen, and, maybe not, meaning, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight." 

Between Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan winning the Mayweather sweepstakes, the odds are in favor of Amir Khan coming out victorious for several reasons. As everyone is well aware of, the Pacquiao-Mayweather talks have not been successful whereas Khan-Mayweather talks are ready to go. The Khan-Mayweather talks will not go down the same route as Pacquiao-Mayweather because both Khan and Mayweather have ties with the Golden Boy Promotion which would make negotiations a lot easier than how it was with Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions, who negotiates Pacquiao's fights. Lastly, Manny has an ongoing lawsuit in play against Mayweather for defamation of character for a controversial rant Mayweather did sometime ago (see video below).

As far as Freddie Roach is concerned, he believes both his fighters have the ability to defeat the Floyd Mayweather and has come to terms that if one of his fighters were to fight Floyd, it most likely will be Amir Khan. "I guess that that's a possibility, because Amir and Floyd are with the same [promotional] company, and it seems like nobody is getting along nowadays, unfortunately," said Roach. "I think that I have the two guys that can beat Floyd, but I guess that it could happen that Amir gets him first. A fight with Amir Khan, albeit not so lucrative, can be an attractive alternative to Mayweather, since he will be fighting a boxer trained by the great Freddie Roach and the training partner of Manny Pacquiao. "Amir Khan is young, he's fast, he's very skilled, and he has a great team behind him. So Amir Khan is obviously  an attractive proposition for Floyd Mayweather," said Schaefer. 

The Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes do not have an expiration date especially since Floyd will be fighting in September against a rejuvenated Victor Ortiz. Manny Pacquiao will have yet another fight with Juan Manual Marquez, and for those who have seen the previous fights between them, know that this is not a walk in the park for the "Pac-Man." As for Amir Khan, he just came out victorious from a bout with Zab Judah and is expected to return at the end of the year. So the Floyd Mayweather Sweepstakes will have to take a back-seat for awhile to see how these fights turn out, but if recent history tells us anything; it will say that these fights will be something to watch. If one were to ask Freddie Roach which of his fighter would he like to see fight Floyd Mayweather, he would say "...he prefer to see it be Manny against Floyd because that's the bigger fight." But who do the fans think will fight Floyd first - Amir Khan or Manny Pacquiao?