Pacquiao vs. Mayweather - Only Dollar Signs Holding Them Apart

According to a report on ESPN.com, talks between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. got underway Monday, with the two sides discussing a mega-fight between the men widely believed to be the two best boxers in the world.

The fight, which would ideally take place some time in early 2010, would pit Pacquiao- considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world- with the undefeated and largely untested Mayweather.

According to the report, Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions- who handles Mayweather- flew to Las Vegas Monday morning to discuss the fight with Bob Arum, of Top Rank. No further details were given.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO’s), is coming off the latest in what has been a string of dominating victories for the Filipino champion last Saturday evening, with a victory over WBO Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas. The win secured Pacquiao his seventh title in as many weight classes, a boxing record.

As for Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO’s), Ring Magazine’s Boxer of the Year in 1998 and 2007, is coming off a dominating victory of his own recently, beating Juan Manuel Marquez in a September 19th unanimous decision.

Mayweather was considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world after victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in late 2007, before choosing to retire after Hatton fight. Mayweather’s match with Marquez was his first since returning from retirement.

With the two sides meeting, the heart of the negotiations will likely center on each fighter’s share of pay-per-view money.

Pacquiao is coming off last Saturday’s 1.25 million pay-per-view purchases, with the fight garnering more than $70 million dollars of television revenue. It is believed that between PPV and his gate share, Pacquiao made over $12 million on the fight. Mayweather’s bout with Marquez had 1.05 million buys.

So now, as the world’s two best boxer’s iron out the details of what will be the biggest boxing match in years, the general public is left to wait for an official announcement.

As Schaefer told ESPN.com Monday, "The fact that I am flying to Las Vegas to meet with Bob shows you how serious our side is about making the fight.”