MANILA — Manny Pacquiao on Thursday accepted US rival Floyd Mayweather’s provocative challenge for a showdown of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers, though sticking points to the mega fight remain.

The unbeaten Mayweather dared the Philippine icon this week on Twitter to “Step up Punk”, attempting to entice Pacquiao into a May 5 bout in Las Vegas, a fight that boxing fans have wanted to see for years.

Mayweather and Pacquiao, 33, previously saw a fight derailed by the US fighter’s demands about blood testing, with both boxers accusing the other of running scared.

“I want to fight him. This is the fight the world wants,” Pacquiao declared at a news conference in the Philippines with his US promoter Bob Arum.

Pacquiao, 54-3 with two draws and 38 knockouts, said if the 34-year-old Mayweather, 42-0 with 26 knockouts, can find a promoter who would give him a guaranteed purse, the fight would be on.

Arum said he favours a showdown in late May and previously told the Los Angeles Times he could secure $40 million more with the construction of a temporary venue in Las Vegas before more than twice as many spectators.

“Mayweather wants a guaranteed purse so what he has to do is get a promoter who can give him the guarantee,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t have problems getting a guarantee because I have a promoter who will give me my guaranteed purse.”

“If he gets a guarantee, then we are going to share the revenue on a 50-50 basis,” Pacquiao added, referring to the money raised from pay-per-view television, gate and broadcast rights.

Arum added: “There is no problem on our part — the problem is on Mayweather’s.

“Mayweather needs somebody on his side that’s going to guarantee his purse. Mayweather has nobody on his side and GBP (Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions) is not going to guarantee his purse.”

Arum insisted that if there was to be no fight in late May against the American then he would move forward with a Pacquiao clash on June 9 against someone else.

He listed a re-match against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez or Puerto Rican southpaw Miguel Cotto, as well as Americans Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson, as potential alternatives.

Arum had originally said that Mayweather was not on Pacquiao’s hit-list.

Pacquiao, a southpaw, won a majority decision over Marquez in November to keep his World Boxing Organisation welterweight title.

Mayweather, who turns 35 next month, won the World Boxing Council welterweight title with a fourth-round knockout of compatriot Victor Ortiz.

But he is currently awaiting the June 1 start of a 90-day jail sentence on domestic violence charges, further complicating things.

(AP)  

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has taken his quest for a fight with Manny Pacquiao to Twitter.

The unbeaten Mayweather publicly challenged and taunted the Filipino superstar on Tuesday, daring Pacquiao to meet him May 5 in Las Vegas.

“Manny Pacquiao I’m calling you out let’s fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see,” Mayweather tweeted.

Moments later, Mayweather tweeted: “My Jail Sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up Punk.”

Mayweather is available for a fight in May at the MGM Grand Garden after a judge agreed last week to postpone his jail sentence in a domestic violence case until June. Mayweather was sentenced to 87 days in jail, but likely will serve less time.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are boxing’s top two stars, and they have circled each other warily for more than two years. Both have said they’re eager to fight, yet still haven’t reached a deal for what’s likely to be the most lucrative bout in boxing history.

While Pacquiao appeared to be more eager for the fight when the two first began verbally sparring in 2009, Mayweather has taken the lead in recent months, stepping up his campaign since Pacquiao’s narrow win over Juan Manuel Marquez last November.

Mayweather’s tweets appear to put the megafight’s future in Pacquiao’s hands — and a decision likely will be made soon.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum traveled to the Philippines this week to meet with Pacquiao, planning to choose the eight-division champion’s next opponent. Arum, who has repeatedly said Mayweather won’t actually agree to fight Pacquiao because he fears losing, has a list of candidates including Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson and Timothy Bradley Jr. for Pacquiao’s next bout.

Arum also has suggested Pacquiao might not be ready to prepare for a fight in May because of a facial cut from his win over Marquez. Mayweather’s camp has dismissed that notion as subterfuge, saying cuts rarely require several months to heal.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, whose company has promoted Mayweather’s last five fights, has suggested Mayweather’s Cinco de Mayo fight could be against popular 154-pound Mexican champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or lightweight champion Robert Guerrero, a Mexican-American from the Bay Area, if he can’t make a deal with Pacquiao.

But if Mayweather and Pacquiao intend to make their long-awaited fight, both sides know they must do it quickly, since a promotion of that size would require several months of preparation.

Mayweather controls his own Twitter feed, which is often filled with pictures of his fiancDee and braggadocio about his gambling exploits. On Monday night, he tweeted a photo of a betting slip, claiming he won $400,000 on the BCS title game.

Manny Pacquiao, boxer; congressman; singer; actor; Filipino icon. The man known to most as “Pac-Man” has been a dominant force in the sport of boxing for over a decade. Despite some losses early in his career, Manny has risen to the top of the sport, and is considered by some as one of the greatest to ever lace up the gloves. However, getting to this point in his Hall of Fame career has not been without controversy and allegations.

Floyd Mayweather, who many believe has been ducking Manny Pacquiao and a slew of other boxers for years, alleges that Manny has been using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) and refuses to fight him unless Manny takes “the test”. So far, no evidence whatsoever about the use of steroids has ever been associated to Pacquiao. “If they have any evidence, they should present them. My conscience is clear that it’s all hard work that led to my success.” Pacquiao said shortly after the Shane Mosley fight.

Bob Arum has stated that Manny Pacquiao is willing to go undergo random drug testing in the event that a fight with rival Floyd Mayweather presents itself. However, Arum has refused to allow the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to be in charge of the testing. Mayweather’s testing authority of choice is the USADA, but Arum indicated that he would favor the Olympic Organization to conduct the tests instead.

“We don’t believe USADA is a neutral organization,” Arum explained, “I don’t think anybody’s test is as vigorous as the test administered by the Olympic Organization. And we can arrange for the Olympic Organization to handle the test under the supervision of the Athletic commission respective of the state where the fight is going to be held.”

Is this not enough for Floyd? Would Floyd Mayweather pass on the highest payday in boxing history because of who administers the tests? Would you?

Manny Pacquiao has already made it perfectly clear, Mayweather has to either fight him in 2012 or never fight him, and miss out on one of the richest paydays in the history of sports. Pacquiao’s legacy appears to be already intact with or without fighting Floyd Mayweather. Floyd on the other hand – in the public eye at least – needs to fight Pacquiao to solidify his career, even at 42-0.

Mayweather has stated on a few occasions that a boxer doesn’t become great at the age of 25 and that Pacquiao “came out of nowhere”. While some of this may be true, Pacquiao was already a legitimate world champion in the Philippines at the age of 19, by knocking out lineal and WBC flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul. At the age of 24, the heavy underdog Manny Pacquiao destroyed Mexican boxing legend Marco Antonio Barerra until Barerra’s corner threw in the towel in the 11th round. This was the fight that put Manny on the map as a legitimate contender in the boxing world.

Mayweather also contests that Pacquiao’s rise in weight is unnatural. However, at the age of 16, Floyd Mayweather was a 106 pound amateur boxer and Golden Gloves Champion. At age 16, Pacquiao was already a professional boxer fighting grown men, also fighting at 106 pounds. At the age of 17 both boxers were in the 113-116 pound range.

Comparing the two fighters is pretty much like comparing apples to oranges. On one hand you have Floyd Mayweather, a tactician in the ring and defensive genius with some of the quickest hands you will ever see. He embodies the “sweet science” of boxing and although this doesn’t win him any style points, it has made him one of the most successful boxers ever. On the other hand you have Manny Pacquiao, a Tasmanian devil of sorts in the ring with a whirlwind of punches from virtually every angle. Manny has much more power than Mayweather and the proof can be seen on the faces of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosely, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.

I – like most of the boxing fans in the world – would love to see this fight happen one day, but I just don’t see it happening.

I can see why Floyd wouldn’t want to fight Manny. First off, his record is unblemished at 42 wins 0 loses. He doesn’t neccesarrily need the $50 million, and could easily pick up a quick $25 million fighting guys with far less talent than Pacquiao. I believe that the 0 on his record is far more important to him than an extra $25 million in his pocket. Why fight a guy that you think you might beat for $50 million, when you have the option to fight a guy you know you can beat for $25 million? It’s understandable though, because 10, 20 or even 30 years down the road, boxing purists and fans will only see 42-0 in the books. It won’t show you who had the most money or who ducked who. Just your win loss record. That’s historic, but what’s more important to Floyd?

Floyd also had a falling out with boxing promoter Bob Arum after Arum was unable to guarantee Mayweather $20 million to fight Oscar De La Hoya. The pair parted ways in 2006 after Mayweather bought out of his contract for $750,000. It doesn’t appear that things have been rectified, and I doubt that Floyd Mayweather wants to put any money in to Bob Arums pockets.

Manny Pacquiao already has plans for himself after boxing. He is currently the congressman of the Sarangani province in the Philippines, and plans to run for vice president of the Philippines in 2016. Pacquiao may need to put his vice presidential dreams on hold a few years, as you have to be at least 40 to run for vice president in the Philippines. Pac-Man will only be 37 in 2016. In my opinion, Manny fights once maybe twice in 2012, calls it quits and concentrates on his political career.

If you ask me, even if Manny Pacquiao were to meet all of Floyd Mayweather’s demands, I truly believe Floyd will come up with new demands. There is no question that Floyd is the one holding up this fight. The question remains though, is he too scared to lose and blemish his flawless win-loss record, or will he take on the challenge – along with a massive payday – in an attempt to secure his boxing legacy as the greatest of all time.

There is only one way to stop all the talking, tweets, debates, and countless blog entries… FIGHT!