Fair Play: 'Tis the season to be merry for fight fans?

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's Dec. 17 edition)
IT seems Christmas is bright for boxing fans, with their present due to be opened six months from now.

But would they really have something to look forward to this May? Or would they be in for another disappointment?

Floyd Mayweather Jr., after years of dodging Manny Pacquiao if you take the side of the boxing icon’s fans, has finally agreed to fight the boxer-turned-congressman-turned boxing coach in May next year, realizing a fight that fans have been salivating for for years.


So, after years of making so many demands, why did The Money say yes to a fight against The Manny?

Is it, as one unassuming Cebuano who knows the Vegas fight scene said, because Floyd’s last few fights under showtime all lost money?

Interesting. Money now wants Manny because of money but is also saying Manny only wants Money’s money.

I’ve been in the sportswriting business for over a decade but I’ve yet to understand the nuances in who gets to fight who in major boxing fights.

Of course, the major premise is money but if that’s the major consideration then why is this fight—considered by most to be one the richest fights in boxing history—five years delayed?

Is it about the money? Or is it about who gets the bigger slice of the pie?

So color me skeptic if I’m not as excited as some with the latest announcement because I won’t be surprised if, even if they’ve announced it, this thing gets scuttled anew because of one demand or another.

Floyd is after one thing, to retire undefeated, while Manny wants to hand the brash American his first defeat. It’s a fight made in boxing heaven for fans, right?

It is, but if boxing is about what the fans want, wouldn’t we have one champion per division only?

As it stands, we are as close to a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight now as it was first proposed years ago.

It’ll happen if it will happen but so far, all the parties involved are busy talking. They haven’t signed anything yet.

PERFECT PROGRAM. It’s the Christmas season and for Filipinos, it only means one thing. Lots and lots of eating. Sure, every year, we make resolutions to lose weight, but for this year, why not sign up for the 10K in the Cebu City marathon so you can eat to your hearts’ content this Christmas and pretend to lose the extra pounds in January?

That’s better than wasting a month’s fee in gym class.

(mikelimpag@gmail.com)

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