Boxer Manny Pacquiao of the PhilippinesSHANNON STAPLETON/Reuters
It seems one of Manny Pacquiao's New Year's resolutions is to try and give boxing fans what they want in 2015 – a much anticipated showdown between himself and fellow welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather. He took to Twitter to issue yet another challenge:
The tweet had been retweeted more than 10,000 times.
Pacquiao, who sports a record of 57-5-2 with 38 knockouts, has been the more vocal of the two about cutting through the obstacles in the way of a potential fight with Mayweather, who is 47-0 with 26 knockouts. Back on December 16, Pacquiao also tweeted, "Don't be a boxing humbug. Let's give the fans the fight they want. They have waited long enough."
The two champions have danced around a possible clash for roughly five years, with disputes over purses and drug-testing preventing a match being made.
One of the primary obstacles standing in the way of a fight is the fact that Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum have a deal with Time Warner/HBO while Mayweather is currently under license for six fights with rival CBS/Showtime.
A deal between the two broadcast giants is not unheard of; Back in 2002, the two sides came together when heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis fought Mike Tyson. That bout went on to become one of the highest grossing fights in boxing history.
In remarks to Showtime TV earlier this month, Mayweather also suggested Pacquiao was not worthy of a 50-50 split in his proposed showdown, which would likely become the highest grossing pay-per-view bout in history. Pacquiao has reportedly said he would take less than 50 per-cent in order to make the fight happen.