Manny Pacquiao has been very busy lately in social media calling out and challenging Floyd Mayweather Jr. to finally agree on their much-awaited historic boxing bout.
Since his convincing victory over Chris Algieri in November, the Pacman has been issuing statements and making social media posts often directed personally to Money, to lure the pound-for-pound king into signing below the dotted line.
But since the Pacman first issued the challenge, Mayweather responded to Pacquiao’s calls only three times.
The first one, which was not even a response, is a mockery. He posted on Instagram a video of how Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez during their fourth fight in 2012. It keeps playing over and over again to the sound of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.”
The second one, an official interview statement, was made in mid-December, where Mayweather told Pacquiao that they should get it on with the fight on May 2, 2015. But without the ensuing formal negotiations or contract signing to back those statements, they actually mean nothing to boxing.
That is why Pacquiao let it all rip during the holidays with his Instagram posts asking, to the point of begging actually, Mayweather to finally agree to the fight.
At the start of the New Year, instead of issuing any statement or making any post that would seem to indicate that he is accepting the challenge of Pacquiao, Mayweather flaunted all his wealth on Instagram by showing photos of his expensive cars and a private jet.
That should have gotten Pacquiao or his advisers into thinking that Mayweather is showing off his wealth to let people know that he is already rich beyond many people’s wildest dream. And that the thought of getting the richest payday in the history of boxing and all of sports should he agree to fight Pacquiao no longer appeals to him. Where would he put all that money anyway when he has everything he wants now?
A new tack
The Washington Post believes that Pacquiao needs a new tack to convince Mayweather to fight him.
He does not have to go hard-sell himself on Mayweather and the social media to do that. What the Pacman needs is a high-profile option or options for that matter.
He needs to find the next best boxer, but a high-profile one, in his class and start drumbeating the fight. Pacquiao needs to show Mayweather that his boxing career does not end with Money. If it does not lead him to Mayweather at all, he can live with it and fight someone else.
Once Mayweather sees that Pacquiao has good fighting option or options, and he has none, then that would likely lead him to thinking that he needs the fight more than Pacman does. And that is when he will respond to the challenge and finally agree to the fight.
There are a lot of things going on in Mayweather’s mind and touting him is not the answer to getting his attention. But turning a back on him may actually force him to seek attention too.