Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather has to happen because of declining pay-per-view numbers.
That’s according to well-known Australian promoter Peter Maniatis.
He told the Manila Standard that both fighters “realize the fight has to happen” because of the decline of pay-per-view numbers, to help boost the sport.
Boxing is facing increased competition from other sports such as MMA, UFC, and basketball, so it needs more marquee matchups, and none would be bigger than Pacman vs Money.
“Nobody wants Pacquiao and Mayweather to agree to fight at a time they'll have to enter the ring in wheelchairs. The time is now,” said Maniatis.
Maniatis is also one of the boxing observers who believes that Pacquiao may be beaten by Chris Algieri in the November bout.
Algieri “is lanky, much taller but doesn’t have much power,” he said, but he noted that Algieri is “resilient and Ruslan Provodnikov nearly put him away in the first couple of rounds but he (Algieri) came back and won the fight. Not many fighters can get beaten up that badly, have their face swollen and eventually win.”
“While Manny has had a lot of hard fights,” it may not be as easy as some fans believe.
