Manny's frightened stalker

LAS VEGAS – No doubt about it, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was a keen observer of the action in WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao’s win on points over Sugar Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday might.

Mayweather wasn’t in the audience of 16,412 that witnessed Pacquiao’s masterful humiliation of Mosley. But his trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather watched like a hawk. The Pretty Boy probably took in the fight on pay-per-view alone so nobody could see the frightened look in his face.

At the weigh-in the day before the fight, Roger was a visible presence. He pranced around like a peacock as if to taunt Pacquiao. Asked to comment on the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, Roger hesitated. “We’re in litigation at the moment so I’d rather not talk,” said Roger, obviously playing a game of hard-to-get with the media. Along press row, Roger was virtually ignored.

Mayweather, 34, hasn’t fought since outpointing Mosley. Pacquiao had an easier time dismantling Mosley than Mayweather. He has persistently come out with excuses to avoid a showdown with Pacquiao. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum called Mayweather “a psychological coward” for refusing to face Pacquiao in the ring for fear of staining his unblemished record of 41-0, with 25 KOs.

Inevitably, Mayweather and Pacquiao will face off. The timing is a question mark. Mayweather is playing a waiting game. The speculation is he’s stalking Pacquiao and closely analyzing his moves in every fight, looking for signs of slippage or slowing down. Mayweather won’t fight Pacquiao at the Filipino’s peak, that’s for sure. He’ll wait for Pacquiao to age then call for a showdown. The problem is Mayweather has a long wait ahead and with his legal issues, he can’t afford to hibernate too long.

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The other day, Mayweather was slapped with a new criminal case involving a confrontation with security guards Aaron Ryan and Miguel Burgos in a plush residential subdivision in this city. He was hit with two counts of misdemeanor harassment. Mayweather was quoted as threatening the guards, saying “my homies have guns, if you want me to call them, they’d come over here and take care of you.” The guards had ticketed two of Mayweather’s vehicles for illegal parking.

Mayweather told the guards he owned 29 vehicles and warned them to lay off.

The former world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter is neck deep in legal troubles. He faces a battery charge for verbally abusing a security guard in a separate parking incident. The case is set for trial on Sept. 1. He is also scheduled to appear in court on July 29 to face felony charges including coercion, grand larceny and robbery involving his three children and his former girlfriend Josie Harris. Mayweather posted bail of $31,000 for that case. Then, he was sued for libel by Pacquiao for accusing the Filipino of taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Mayweather lives in a $9.5 Million, 12,000-square foot mansion here. He likes high-living and seems to think he’s above the law. Pacquiao is itching to bring Mayweather down to earth but Pretty Boy isn’t in a hurry to get into the ring with the Filipino.

“A big part of Floyd’s confidence is staying undefeated and being thought of as the best,” said boxing trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas. “With that comes a fear of losing. It’s not a fear of Pacquiao, it’s a fear of losing to something that’s not in this world. Something he can’t control or understand, in this case a guy putting something in his body that erases physical and technical edges. I think Floyd has a healthy fear of losing. Part of his genius is he finds things to use when there are doubts to get through the shadowy areas. He doesn’t want to lose what he has but in the end, he’ll use being undefeated to convince himself to fight Pacquiao.”

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Pacquiao said he’s not losing sleep over Mayweather. Nobody disputes that Pacquiao is now the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and Mayweather has been stricken off the list of contenders because of inactivity. “For me, I don’t care about that fight (against Mayweather),” said Pacquiao. “I am satisfied with everything that I have done in boxing. I want to fight because the people want the fight.”

Pacquiao and Mayweather will rake in at least $50 million apiece if and when they lock horns. That’s too much money to turn away, particularly if you’re Mayweather who needs the cash to settle his legal difficulties.

“If Floyd doesn’t fight Manny, there will always be a hole in his resume,” said boxing trainer and analyst Emanuel Steward. “There are only a few signature fights in a career. Manny versus Floyd is Big Time No. 1 because it’s a fight the public has made. If it’s not made, the public will blame Floyd.”

 Juan Manuel Marquez has been mentioned as Pacquiao’s next possible opponent for a fight on Nov. 12. But while Marquez won’t back off like Mosley, it’s not likely he’ll pose a threat to Pacquiao who’s become tougher, heavier and stronger than when they fought in 2004 and 2008. Neither Pacquiao nor Mayweather should consider retirement until they’ve settled who’s the better fighter in the ring.