"Pac" it in

If you're a boxing fan, you have already heard the news about the highly anticipated fight between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton being cancelled. The projected May 2 fight was axed after Pacman declined to sign the offer sheet from Hatton's camp by the Wednesday deadline. 

Let us take a moment to mourn the loss of this fight.......OK, that's enough, now it's time to rip these coddled superstars for being spoiled and once again turning their backs on boxing fans. 

There is no denying boxing has lost some of its popularity and some of it can be attributed to the inability for promoters to pull off the big fights at the right time. This was a chance to book an important match with both fighters still close enough to, or even in, their prime. But that evil color green reared its ugly head once more and the dollar sign delivered another knockout punch to boxing fans. 

While both fighters are to blame, the brunt of the blame should fall on Pacquiao. His win over Oscar De La Hoya has inflated his ego as well as his price to step into the ring. The pride of the Philippines did not get his fair share for fighting the Golden Boy, I will give him that, but he shouldn't take it out on the fans. 

Hatton's camp offered Pacquiao a 50-50 split on the purse, not a bad deal considering it would net Pacquiao a minimum of $12 million, which is the most he would have ever made in his career. Considering $12 million was the base, I have no idea why Pacquiao wanted to push the purse split higher. 

Pacman reportedly wanted a 60-40 split, which is ridiculous considering Pacquiao is moving up in weight to challenge the Super Lightweight Champion. 

I can understand Pacman wanting to have the "superstar split." After all, he was pretty much robbed when he agreed to fight De La Hoya on a 68-32 split in the Golden Boy's favor. However, Ricky Hatton fights have drawn some of the biggest crowds in recent years as he drew 57,000 in Manchester and 30,000 in Las Vegas. 

The guaranteed sold-out crowd along with the pay-per-view purchases should have been enough for Pacquiao to agree to a 50-50 split, but Hatton's camp budged a little near the end of negotiations and offered a 52-48 split for Pacman. Still the offer wasn't good enough as Pacquiao's camp said they would not even begin to listen until a 55-45 offer was on the table. 

So Hatton grew tired of the stubborn superstar and the deal was pulled Wednesday night, leaving both fighters scrambling for an opponent. Hatton said he would still like to fight May 2 and he has quite a few options. Matches with either De La Hoya, Juan Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez or David Diaz could be pursued. 

Mayweather is very unlikely as they have already fought once and it was clear Pretty Boy Floyd was the better man. It is also unlikely because one reason Pacquiao may have backed out of the Hatton fight was because he had his eyes set on a match with Mayweather in the fall. Risking a loss to Hatton in the spring would make the Mayweather fight much less attractive. 

But if Pacquiao were to fight Mayweather in the fall he would have to take a 60-40 split or even another 68-32 split in Mayweather's favor as he is the biggest draw in boxing. Pacquiao said he pulled out of the fight because he thought he could get his 60-40 split fighting Edwin Valero or Juan Manuel Marquez and make just as much money. He might be able to get his split, but it would not even come close to the money he could make with Hatton. 

It has been estimated the Hatton/Pacquiao fight could have brought in close to $57 million. And after the promoters, managers, venue and networks all get paid, I would still split that 50-50. 

There is still one last hope this fight could be back on. That one last hope is Bob Arum. Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, is one of the best, if not the best promoter in boxing. When he found out Pacquiao turned down the deal, he set up a face-to-face meeting with his star boxer to find out what in the world he was thinking about. 

Arum is a very powerful man in boxing and when he takes time to fly to the Philippines to meet with a fighter, you know he is serious. Arum saw his dollar signs fly out the window when Pacquiao shrugged off the contract, so I still have hope Arum can convince Pacquiao to wake up and take the deal within the next week. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why they are called prizefights and not boxing matches.