Pacquiao wants bout with Floyd ‘very badly’

Ever wonder why it didn’t take much convincing for Manny Pacquiao to agree in principle to the proposed March 13 mega-showdown with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.? “I want to fight Floyd Mayweather very badly," the Pacman himself confessed in an interview with Boxing Fanhouse Saturday.

“It's the fight that everyone wants to see. And, of course, that's the fight that I want," the Filipino ring icon added. Pacquiao made the statement a day after announcing on GMA’s 24 Oras his decision to accept the much-anticipated megabuck duel with Mayweather on March 13 following a meeting with Top Rank boss Bob Arum. “We agreed to everything in principle, but there are still some finer points that need to be negotiated. Bob is going to take all of this back to Floyd Mayweather and then, hopefully, it will be all worked out," he told Boxing FanHouse. "We believe that the deal will get done," he added. Among the issues to be settled are the gloves, which Pacquiao would insist to be the 8-ounce kind, and the weight, whether at the Pacman’s preferred 147-lb or the reported 154-lb of the Mayweather camp. Fight for Pacquiao's crown? But according to a report on ESPN.com, the fight will be held at welterweight and that Pacquiao's World Boxing Organization title - not to mention the bragging rights as the planet's pound-for-pound king - will on the line. Interestingly, the issue about purse split did not crop up yet. Both fighters have earlier insisted on taking the lion’s share of the prize money and the projected record-breaking PPV buys but ESPN's Dan Rafael reported that the two camps have agreed to a 50-50 split. Mayweather-Pacquiao will be held in March to clear the way for the schedule of Pacquiao, who is running for a congressional seat in the May 2010 elections in Sarangani Province. Pacquiao, who is making a second jab at politics after a failed bid in 2007, assured his fans that his political campaign won’t stand in the way of his training for the Mayweather superfight. “The first day that I can legally begin campaigning is March 26, and the fight – being March 13 - it will be over by then. I'm going to be very focused for this fight," he said. - GMANews.TV