Money Mayweather Throws the Usual Convenient Wrench

“My Jail Sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up Punk.”

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

“I’m ready to put my belt up. What about you Manny Pacquiao? Let’s make history.”

-Floyd Mayweather via Twitter,January 10, 2012

On the same day in May 2009 as the Manny Pacquiao/Ricky Hatton match in Las Vegas, only a few hours before the huge pay-per-view event was to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the recently retired Floyd Mayweather saw fit to announce his return bout against Juan Manuel Marquez and held a press conference in Las Vegas, on that same day.

In November 2010, the same month of Pacquiao’s match against Antonio Margarito, and fresh off his one sided victory over Shane Mosley, a viral video surfaced online that showed Mayweather making a long, racist filled rant about the Pac Man, and stated that he was going to beat Pacquiao, then make him serve him rice, among many other ignorant statements.

Within the first week of the new calendar year of 2012, Mayweather once again threw in the proverbial wrench, stealing the show and taking most of the spotlight that he and Pacquiao share while sitting on the top of the sport.

Third time is the charm, right?

This particular wrench though, you have to admit, was expertly thrown.

With Top Rank and Bob Arum content to move forward with plans against another opponent, being as Mayweather was sentenced in December to start a jail term in January, and even a nifty list of four opponents that was made public that Pacquiao would select from, (those lists have been common in the last few fights for Pacquiao), boom!

A Las Vegas pushover, I mean judge, the exact same judge who originally sentenced him and specified her displeasure with the fact that the domestic violence incident occurred in front of the boxer’s children, flipped like a pancake and informed Mayweather that due to all of the revenue that a Mayweather fight brings in whenever he fights at the MGM Grand that hey, let’s push back that pesky 87 day jail sentence so the bucks can roll in for a Vegas economy irresponsibly reliant upon pay-per-view level fights and fight weekends.

Then, just as Arum jumped on an international flight to the Philippines and had a notepad with the four names of Lamont Peterson, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley scribbled on it, expecting Pacquiao to circle the name of the opponent he wanted to face next, Mayweather went to Twitter and messed up any chances of a nice, quiet, easy going and easy opponent picking brunch, lunch, or dinner celebration and toasting to yet another 20 million plus payday against one of the four selected boxers not named Mayweather, who outside of Marquez, barely scratch the top ten list.

The Tweets keep coming, too. Mayweather has even placed a picture of himself sitting next to his WBC belt, saying that he is ready to defend his championship, and if Pacquiao is ready to defend his, as Pacquiao hold the WBO version of the welterweight title.

It was an excellently thrown wrench, being that a list of sorts was also already thrown out for possible opponents for Mayweather, who called dibs on May 5 at the MGM Grand weeks before his sentencing, (which some of my fellow scribes believed was a direct tactic, with Team Mayweather knowing that the fighter was going to be serving some time, so the date could be used to delay going behind bars, and even if that is not true, it sure does make sense, doesn’t it?) as the names of Canelo Alvarez and Robert Guerrero were already thrown to get the shot at Mayweather on Cinco De Mayo.

In hindsight, it looks as if both fighters have already laid out templates that didn’t include fighting each other in the first part of 2012.

What really matters though, is how this all looks:

After nearly two years, Mayweather finally threw a direct challenge aimed directly at Pacquiao. Via Twitter, millions were able to read and look at pictures of Mayweather openly challenging Pacquiao.

He might not even have to back it up, either.

Promoter Arum might stick to his guns and decline making a bout against Mayweather due to a years old grudge against the fighter with him he used to represent and the promotional company that has served as handlers for Mayweather’s fights, Golden Boy Promotions.

If Pacquiao picks one of the four names on Arum’s list, there will only be one question on the minds of every fight fan in the world: Why not Mayweather?

And who would you think would look bad in that scenario?

* I would like to almost certainly guarantee that we hear who Pacquiao will fight next before we hear who Mayweather’s opponent is. After all, that is Mayweather’s formula, right?