Pacquiao of the Philippines Celebrates His Victory Over Bradley of the U.S. After Their Title Fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines celebrates his unanimous decision over WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley of the U.S. after their title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada April 12, 2014. Bradley was previously undefeated. REUTERS

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield joined the list of Hall of Famers who believed pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. is ducking Manny Pacquiao, the former champion said in an interview with Boxing Scene.

Holyfield, arguably the most dominant force in the heavyweight division in the 90s, believed Mayweather is not confident his skills are enough to get the job done against Pacquiao.

"Everbody is saying, 'Why doesn't he fight Pacquiao? He'll kill Pacquiao,' " Holyfield said Thursday during a news luncheon at a Manhattan restaurant to announce the pro debut of Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei via Boxing Scene. "He doesn't believe it himself. Until he believes it, the fight won't happen."

For Holyfield, the Pacquiao-Mayweather scenario has startling similarities to his situation with Iron Mike Tyson in the 90s. Holyfield obliterated the competition in the early part of that decade, but most boxing fans and analysts are not contented with his accomplishment until he faced Tyson.

Finally in 1996, Holyfield and Tyson agreed to fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship - a match that saw 'The Real Deal' stopping in the 11th round. Both fighters met again in June 1997, and this time, Tyson pulled off the infamous ear-biting stunt.

Pacquiao has expressly showed his desire to fight Mayweather, agreeing to all kinds of stipulations - including Olympic style blood testing and taking less from the PPV and fight purse sharing.

Mayweather, on the other hand, remains not interested despite Pacquiao's action to submit to his requirements. He believed Pacquiao has to opt out of his current contract with Top-Rank Promotions and negotiation as a free-agent fighter for the fight to take place.

"I think that fight will eventually happen," Arum said in an interview with Reuters last May. "We are certainly open to the fight happening and we are prepared to sit down with (the Mayweather team) at any time and work out terms."

The Harvard-educated promoter has a feeling that Mayweather will eventually agree to fight Pacquiao once his contract with Showtime Boxing ends.

"He (Mayweather) would figure, 'Why don't I do those (three) fights for the easy money and then in 2016, with my 50th fight, I could beat the (49-0) record of (Rocky) Marciano by fighting Pacquiao'," said Arum.

"That would be a huge fight, and I believe it will happen," he added.

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