Manny Pacquiao says he and Floyd Mayweather are in ‘serious negotiations’ for a £180 million mega-fight.
The two greatest fighters of their generation, Pacquiao and Mayweather came close to agreeing a bout in 2010, which, it is believed, could have generated a record $300m in pay-per-view revenue.
But the proposed fight fell through due to Mayweather’s demands for Pacquiao to submit to blood testing in training.
Pacquiao last month said he wouldn’t ‘waste time’ waiting for Mayweather’s call, however, the richest fight in history could be back on.
“There are serious negotiations with the Mayweather camp and my promoter,” said Pacquiao, speaking during his press tour to promote his fight with Chris Algieri in November.
Asked if the bout would happen in May, Pacquiao added: “Probably for next year.”
Earlier this week, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum expressed hope that the two could fight not once, but twice in 2015, with the fighters’ rival American HBO and Showtime networks keen to do a deal.
“Both TV networks want this to happen,” Arum said. “All signs seem to point to a first fight early next year.
“A second fight in the autumn would provide a different cash split because the winner of the first would claim the higher percentage. As each of them believes he would win, that provides an extra incentive.”
Mayweather, who takes on Marcos Maidana again in Las Vegas on Saturday, has three fights left on his six-fight deal with Showtime.
The final two are expected to happen in May and September next year.
— espn.co.uk
