LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao has openly told Floyd Mayweather jnr he will take a smaller purse than his rival in a bid to get their $100million superfight finally inked in.
LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao has openly told Floyd Mayweather jnr he will take a smaller purse than his rival in a bid to get their $100million superfight finally inked in.Mayweather has long insisted that he deserves a larger payday than Pacquiao should the world’s two best pound-for-pound boxers ever meet in the ring.That has proved one of the many stumbling blocks to a deal in the past but now the Filipino superstar has gone public in saying he would take 45 per cent of the purse to allow Mayweather to pocket 55 per cent of the money.Pacquiao, a world champion in eight weight divisions and a congressman in his native Philippines, faces Juan Marquez for the fourth time on December 8 but already has one eye on the long-awaited bout with the unbeaten Mayweather, and is prepared to pander to his American rival’s string of demands to make it happen.‘I’m waiting for that fight to happen,’ Pacquiao told ESPN. ‘I don’t know what’s the reason why that fight has not happened.‘It’s OK for me if he gets a higher percentage than me.’Pacquiao spoke to Mayweather on the phone in January and was offered a flat $40m fee with no share of the revenue, which he refused. ‘I spoke to Floyd... and he offered me an amount,’ Pacquiao added. ‘He didn’t talk about the pay-per-views here and that’s it. I can’t agree with that. I told him I agree with 55 and 45 (split).’Pacquiao also insisted he would have no problem undergoing random blood and urine tests in the build-up to the fight, something Mayweather has always insisted on and which had previously been one of the near countless stumbling blocks delaying a deal.Mayweather had accused his rival of taking performance-enhancing drugs, which led to Pacquiao taking legal action for defamation in December 2009.Earlier this week a Las Vegas judge ordered Mayweather to pay £70,000 because he has refused to appear for a deposition with Pacquiaos lawyers.‘No problem,’ Pacquiao said when asked about whether he would undergo testing. ‘Whatever he wants to do. ‘Even the night of the fight. No problem.’Pacquiao must overcome Marquez to have any hope of facing Mayweather. The Filipino has won two and drawn one of their three previous fights, but many observers - and Marquez - have contested that the Mexican deserved to win.