Pacquiao vs. Mayweather may happen not once but twice

MANILA, Philippines – There is a good chance that the long-anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather will take place not just once but two times in 2015. 

Jeff Powell of dailymail.co.uk is reporting that a fight between the two future Hall of Famers is closer to becoming official after Pacquiao’s dominant unanimous decision victory over Long Island native Chris Algieri, 119-103, 119-103, 120-102, this past weekend in Macau.

Per Powell, the target date for the fight is in May 2015, with a rematch instantly being scheduled four months later in September if Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 knockouts) wins the first contest. 

Powell reports that if Mayweather (47-0-0, 26 KOs) finally agrees to a fight between the two boxers, he will demand for a rematch clause to be inserted in the contract, according to Pacman’s trainer, Freddie Roach. 

“My understanding is that Floyd is insisting on the rematch if Manny beats him, which I believe he will,” Roach told Powell. “That’s okay with us.” 

“Floyd is afraid of losing his unbeaten record to Manny. But that’s not what defines greatness,” said Roach, who mentioned that even if boxing’s greatest in the past like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard suffered defeats, they’re still considered “all-time greats.”

“What counts is fighting the best of your era,” he said.

(RELATED: Pacquiao puts pressure on Mayweather after Algieri beating)

Powell reports that the money involved in the fight could reach up to 1 billion dollars if Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, manages to open China’s television market to pay-per-view. The same amount will be present if the two fight again in September.

Powell also says that some of Mayweather’s other demands for a fight have been met by Pacquiao’s camp, like Manny taking random blood tests for drugs and agreeing to a 60-40 split of the pot in favor of Mayweather. 

Pacquiao submitted to random testing with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) prior to the Algieri fight.

Pair Pacquiao agreeing to Mayweather’s terms with how he looked in the ring against Algieri, and the pressure on the undefeated Floyd to agree to the fight is now at its highest.

“Enough is enough. Let’s do this. All it needs now is for them to make the call. Me and Manny are waiting to pick up the phone,” said Arum, who’s also working on having CBS, the parent company of Showtime, and HBO split pay-per-view rights to the fight similar to what they did with Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis in 2002. 

“I want this fight,” Pacquiao told Mayweather and the world after he beat Algieri. “It is time now to give it to all our fans. They deserve to see it.” – Rappler.com