LOVERRO: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather fight would be end of an era

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The long-awaited, much-talked about showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather appears to on the road to reality.

In boxing, though, there are potholes and bumps. We shall see.

It is curious that the news that Pacquiao had agreed to the financial terms reportedly previously dictated by Mayweather — a 40 percent split of the biggest pie in boxing history, compared to 60 percent for Mayweather ­— has leaked the week that Don King has emerged back in the public eye with his own fight.

In case you missed it, King — who has been out of the spotlight while his longtime rival, promoter Bob Arum, has been basking in the Pacquiao glow for the last five years — has a heavyweight champion.

You probably missed it.

No, it’s not a Klitschko. His name is Bermane Stiverne, and he won the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship in May by knocking out Chris Arreola. He’s defending that title Saturday night against someone named Deontay Wilder at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas — the same arena that will likely host the May 2 superfight between Mayweather and Pacquiao, if it comes to pass.

It wasn’t much of a slice of the pie for the 83-year-old King — given the Star Trek cloaking device that has engulfed heavyweight boxing for the last decade or more — but now his old rival Arum pulled that piece right out of King’s mouth with the news that Pacquiao and Mayweather may be close.

I mean, the only thing bigger than a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight being close is an actual Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

When that happens — if that happens — and it is all over, you can break down the ring and put it away in a storage unit. You can take the timekeeper’s bell and put it in a museum somewhere.

It will be the last fight. Then it’s over.

This has been the schedule for big-time boxing in America for the past five years — the kind of boxing that gets more attention than coverage from web sites like punchmyface.com, a fight that creates real buzz. Mayweather fights an opponent who is not Pacquiao and makes a truckload of money; Pacquiao fights an opponent who is not Mayweather and makes a truckload of money.

Then everyone spends the rest of the time wishing for and arguing about a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Then Mayweather fights an opponent who is not Pacquiao and makes a truckload of money. Pacquiao fights an opponent not named Mayweather and makes a truckload of money. Then everyone spends the rest of the time wishing for and arguing about a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

And on. And on.

The promise of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight has been boxing’s life support now for five years. When it finally comes to pass, it will be like pulling the plug on a comatose patient.

There will be great boxing. And there will be great fighters. But the kind of fight that feeds the beast that is front page sports coverage today?
This will be it — the last fight.

Mayweather-Pacquiao, at this stage of their careers (Mayweather is 37, Pacquiao 36) is reminiscent of the last heavyweight title fight anyone really cared about — Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, which was nearly 13 years ago.

Like Mayweather and Pacquiao, Lewis and Tyson were both contractually obligated to other cable networks — Lewis to HBO and Tyson to Showtime. After Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999, heavyweight boxing consisted of waiting for the two fighters to meet in the ring. By the time they did, Lewis was 37, Tyson 36, and both fighters had seen their better days. Tyson was a shot fighter at that point, and Showtime wanted to get one last big payday out of him before his contract was up, so they agreed to a joint pay-per-view production — the same thing reportedly that both networks are discussing now between Mayweather, nearing the end of his contract with CBS/Showtime, and Pacquiao, who is with HBO.

After Lewis manhandled Tyson in eight rounds, they packed up the heavyweight ring and put it in storage and put the timekeeper’s bell in a museum. That was the last big heavyweight fight — although King would say otherwise this Saturday night in Las Vegas, if anyone is paying attention.

• Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 andespn980.com.