Although we're just eight weeks away from one of the most anticipated bouts of the year, the showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton was nearly over before it even started. After an impressive, one-sided eighth-round stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya, it appeared a bout with Hatton, who happened to be in attendance, was practically a done deal before negotiations had even began. According to his promoter, Bob Arum, Pacquiao had initially agreed to a 50-50 split of the pay-per-view revenue with Hatton, but after a few days had passed, it became clear that negotiations were not going to be quite as easy as anticiapted.
After a dominant performance that virtually cemented his claim as the new pound-for-pound king, Pacquiao rightfully felt that he deserved a bigger chunk of the pie as he insisted on a better percentage of the revenue. After weeks of back and forth negotiations, Pacquiao missed a deadline to sign. Frustrated with the difficulty of getting the deal done, Hatton was prepared to move on and the fight was called off. After a few more days of negotiations to try and revive the fight, in the end, Manny got what he wanted as he received the bigger cut. Pacquiao finally agreed to receive 52 percent of the purse to Hatton's 48 percent and the fight was on again. “They were a very difficult few weeks," Hatton recounted as he would later admit that the negotiation stage in securing the fight was a difficult time for him. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer added, "I'm just so sick and tired of the games Pacquiao keeps playing and so are Ricky Hatton and Bob Arum as well."
This wasn't the first time Schaefer had difficulties in negotiations with Pacquiao. It also happened when Manny played hardball with De La Hoya, demanding a better split of the money for their fight. Despite being offered the biggest purse of his career, Pacquiao initially turned down a 30 percent cut of $40 million, insisting that he deserved at least 40 percent. Although he didn't get the 40 percent he had asked for, eventually, Manny got what he wanted as he received a bigger cut of the purse than the 30 percent he was originally offered. In the end, he accepted a 68-32 split in De La Hoya's favor. "When you beat the man, you think you are the man. Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and as his co-promoter, we are proud of him. But he thinks by beating Oscar that he is Oscar and he is not Oscar," Schaefer would state.
No, Pacquiao isn't Oscar, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't Oscar either. Mayweather, who holds a 12-round split decision victory over De La Hoya, hasn't fought in over 15 months since his tenth-round stoppage of Ricky Hatton in December of 2007. During that 15-month span, Pacquiao jumped up four weight classes and has gone on to win an exciting back-and-forth split decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez as well as two scintillating stoppages over David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya. With the recent rumor that Mayweather is coming out of retirement and eyeing a July 11 tune-up in anticipation of a fall clash with the winner of Pacquiao-Hatton, it will be interesting to see if a deal can be finalized that will satisfy both fighters assuming Pacquiao gets by Hatton.
Given his propensity to play hardball at the negotiating table, one has to wonder if Manny Pacquiao will be willing to take a smaller purse to a fighter who's been retired for nearly two years. Furthermore, if Manny repeats the type of performance he had against De La Hoya and again outperforms Mayweather against a common opponent, should he even be offered the smaller purse? You can be certain that Mayweather, who's bout with De La Hoya broke the all-time record for pay-per-view buys and revenue, will expect to get the lion's share of the purse. A 50-50 split seems highly unlikely for a fighter that retired and walked away from a rematch with De La Hoya and a $20-plus million payday. As we've seen in the past, what Manny wants, Manny gets, but if Mayweather is unwilling to cooperate, it's likely that we won't be seeing Mayweather vs. Pacquiao any time soon...especially since both fighters have the exact same options. The question is, who would those options rather fight? Would Juan Manuel Marquez prefer a fight with Mayweather over a third fight with Pacquiao? Would Shane Mosley prefer a clash with Pacquiao over a long-awaited showdown with Mayweather? Time will tell, but my guess is, what Manny wants, Manny gets!