Pacquiao vs. Mayweather and Haye vs. the Klitschkos Permanently Stalled and We Need the Truth:
As passionate boxing fans we cannot help but get caught up in the action. But more and more we seem to be transfixed with what is going on outside of the ring. The Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao negotiation fiasco has produced a clear division between fans and critics alike, and the David Haye-Klitschko circus has followed suit. It seems that as boxing fans, we feel we have an obligation to take sides. However, without knowing the real inner-workings of a negotiation process, as opposed to quotes and press releases from individuals with huge biases, we never really know the truth about what went down.
It is too easy for one fighter to simply pass blame to his opponent. We have become slightly bored with the phrases “he wanted too much money” or “he won’t take a blood test”. But beyond all of the “he said- (s)he said” nonsense there is the truth, so how do we find out what the truth is?
I believe the answer lies in “public” negotiations. This means each part of the negotiation process between fighters and their promotional teams is accessible to the public. Whether it be through the publication of terms of contracts and documents or simply video footage of meetings between the opposing camps. At this point, fans would probably pay a few bucks for an online video of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather – The Daylong Negotiation Battle Staredown, and it would produce more hype for the bout itself.
By having transparency in the negotiation process fans and the media are able to scrutinize fighters, which could hopefully put pressure on all involved to make the fight happen. So if a fighter is offered for example a 50/50 deal he will feel obliged to take the offer due to the transparency of the negotiations. If he rejects then there can be no legitimate excuse as the fans and media are mindful of the truth.
This idea would be unnecessary to implement for all fights, but could be highly valuable when attempting to produce so called “mega-fights” which have been very difficult to put together these days, factoring in complex politics, larger egos, insider feuds, and more. If both fighters say they want it and the fans are craving it, this method could satisfy all parties, and the entire sport of boxing would benefit as well.
The networks supplying the funds, be it HBO, Showtime or elsewhere, can say if you want to fight on my network, you get this fight made, and you make the negotiations public so there are no excuses. It might be that simple, although it never is in boxing.
A Pacquiao vs. Mayweather contest would captivate the sporting world, and a Haye vs. Klitschko bout, either Vitali or Wladimir, would reignite the stagnant heavyweight scene, the most important and prestigious weight class. Bringing the negotiations public would enable fans to more accurately gauge what is happening, and would place more onus on the fighters and promoters to make the deal.
