WBC President Sulaiman Continue Pushing Mayweather-Pacquiao, Afraid Fans Will Lose Interest If It Doesn’t Happen In 2015
World Boxing Council (WBC) President Mauricio Sulaiman wants the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight to happen but if it doesn’t take place in 2015 he warns that most boxing fans will lose interest in the big bout and will give up hoping for the match-up.
“I hope they make it. There can't be any egos and the people are only looking at the business side. I feel there are the egos involved and economically there is so much money involved that everyone can have their egos satisfied,” Sulaiman said to boxingscene.com. “It is a necessary fight. I think if it does not happen soon, then people are going to get tired or even give up. Right now there are so many fight combinations being discussed, that the public will move on.”
The WBC President shared the same opinions during the WBC annual convention in Las Vegas in December when he said that the WBC, one of the most respected boxing organisations in the world, will encourage both the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps to take on each other. Back in mid-December, Sulaiman stated that he wants to see the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao clash and that no mandatory challenge bouts will be held in 2015 in the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions. Way back in 2013, WBC made a similar move in naming Pacquiao the No. 1 contender in the welterweight division or 147 pounds to force Mayweather to fight the Filipino but the American continued to ignore the boxing body’s desire to put them together on the ring.
Sulaiman has also been consistently active on social media in talking about the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight and even retweeted a “Tale of the Tape” image post from the official WBC Twitter account.
"MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO" @FloydMayweather vs @MannyPacquiao #WBC #Boxing #GreenBelt pic.twitter.com/A2zPZ4BjWJ
— World Boxing Council (@WBCBoxing) November 27, 2014
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Mayweather Jr. or The Money Team has still refused to sign any deal despite the encouragement of Sulaiman and the WBC and Pacquiao’s consistent moves to call him out on social media. While there are no signs that the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations are still moving, Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz has recently set a deadline for end of January before they move on in trying to schedule a non-Mayweather fight in 2015.
To contact author of this article, email j.gloria@IBTimes.com.au