Manny Pacquiao scored a scintillating victory against Chris Algieri on Saturday in Macau, which fueled talks about the Filipino boxing icon's highly anticipated showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pacquiao, who knocked Algieri down six times en route to a lopsided decision win, recently said that he is always ready to face Mayweather, but the reigning pound-for-pound king has been showing no interest in fighting him
World Boxing Council (WBC) president Mauricio Sulaiman said that the fight between Mayweather, the reigning WBC welterweight and light middleweight champion, and Pacquiao has to happen next year.
Aside from the fact that fight fans have been clamoring for the super fight, Sulaiman pointed out that Mayweather, who holds a perfect 47-0 record, should face Pacquiao before he retires to prove that he is the best fighter of their generation like what he has been claiming over the past several years.
"If Mayweather retires without defeating Pacquiao, the question about being the best of the world will linger," Sulaiman told the WBC website. "There is no other fight in this decade that had been expected for so long."
Sulaiman admitted that money talks and egos of both fighters are major issues, but he declared that he will do anything possible to finalize the showdown in 2015.
"It is all to do with money and egos, and therefore outside the boxing area," Sulaiman said. "However, we will do everything we possibly can to help make it happen."
On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather Sr., told On The Ropes Boxing Radio that he is unsure about his son's plan for next year, but he will support the unbeaten champion if he decides to face Pacquiao in a super fight, which is expected to make boxing records in terms of revenue.
"It's his business and I'm not really gonna get into it," Mayweather Sr. said when asked about his son's plan for 2015. "That's his business, whatever he wants to do. If he wants to fight Pacquiao or if he doesn't want to fight him, that's on him."
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is also unsure if his fighter will get a shot at Mayweather next year. But if Mayweather continues to decline to face Pacquiao, Roach said that they already have several options, including a junior welterweight title fight against Danny Garcia.
