The boxing world has been waiting for Manny Pacquiao to respond to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s challenge, and he has certainly delivered.
The undefeated boxer (47-0, 26 KOs) called out Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) during an interview last week with SHOWTIME. Mayweather accused Pacquiao of ducking him and "fooling the public, fooling the critics." He also said that Pacquiao is in a "very, very tight situation" and needs the fight with Mayweather.
Pacquiao has not only responded to Mayweather's challenge, he is laughing at the champ.
According to Sky Sports, Pacquiao says that Mayweather "has reached a dead end. He has nowhere to run but to fight me."
Pacquiao also said that he would "try my best to make this a thrilling and entertaining fight." He also said that most of Mayweather's previous fights, if not all, "induced us to sleep."
.@FloydMayweather, don't be a boxing humbug. Let's give the fans the fight they want. They have waited long enough.
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) December 16, 2014
Pacquiao had called out Mayweather earlier this year after dominating Chris Algieri in November to retain his WBO welterweight title.
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A fight between the two rivals has been described as "a mouthwatering showdown" for the pound-for-pound king of boxing. According to the boxing experts, if the fight is going to happen, it must happen next spring. Both fighters -- Pacquiao is 35 and Mayweather is 37 -- are past their primes and if they put the fight on hold, there is a danger it may not live up to the hype.
Boxing writer Tim Dahlberg writes that the fight "should have taken place five years ago." He also writes that Mayweather has finally been boxed into a corner and that "the charade is over, whether Mayweather realizes it or not." Dahlberg writes that Mayweather must fight Pacquiao next if his career is to have any legitimacy.
Retired boxing champion and boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya also says that if Mayweather doesn't fight Pacquiao, it will "haunt him for the rest of his life."
Mayweather has proposed that the fight take place May 2. If the fight does happen, it would most likely be the highest-grossing pay-per-view in history. According to USA Today, Mayweather has said that he would not be offering Pacquiao a 50/50 split. However, Pacquiao has said that he is not in it for the money and says that he challenged Mayweather to a charity fight in January.
According to a new For The Win poll, 83.55 percent of voters believe that Pacquiao would win.
