Much-anticipated duel to be held May 5, 2012

HOLLYWOOD—There was one missing figure in the Manny Pacquiao team bus as it rolled from the American gambling capital to this glitzy California district.

Manny Pacquiao himself.

The pound-for-pound king, coming off a less-than-decisive victory over Juan Manuel Marquez Saturday, decided to stay an extra day in Las Vegas—taking his own sweet time before making the road trip here.

It was an almost symbolic gesture.

Pacquiao is expected to take a week off before plotting what could be a slam-bang 2012.

Mike Koncz, his adviser, said the Filipino ring icon will not make any decisions yet despite saying he was open to a rematch with Marquez after yet another non-definitive victory over his Mexican rival Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

But what’s really starting to take shape is the fight everybody has been hoping for in the last two years.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the pound-for-pound title.

After not allowing himself to get reeled into calling out the undefeated American during a round-table with journalists last week, Pacquiao finally called out Mayweather after the Marquez fight, saying it was time to square off in the ring.

“Let’s make it happen on May 5,” Pacquiao said to Mayweather through an interview with Max Kellerman after the bout. “Let’s give the people a good fight.”

“Let’s get it on.”

It was the boldest statement yet by the eight-division champion on the ongoing Mayweather odyssey. Previous to that, he would deflect requests to call Mayweather out by saying his job as a fighter was to battle whoever his promoter puts in front of him in the ring.

In an interview with international journalists days before the fight, a reporter said asked him to call out Mayweather.

“Good try,” he said, laughing. “But no.”

Pacquiao-Mayweather started taking shape again after two collapsed negotiations when both Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya said the fight could be made next year.

De La Hoya expressed optimism that the fight would be made next year, with Golden Boy Promotions, the De La Hoya outfit that helps promote Mayweather, saying it has penciled a May 5 fight night for Money, hinting that it would be the biggest fight ever.

Arum, meanwhile, had said Team Pacquiao was willing to drop a defamation suit against Mayweather if the fight was made.

Pacquiao sued Mayweather after the latter publicly that the Filipino ring icon leaped through weight classes—collecting scalps and titles along the way—through the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Mayweather has constantly ducked Pacquiao using his allegations as a foundation for his reason to not sign a fight contract. The American is insisting on Olympic-style testing protocols while Pacquiao is insisting on using established Nevada Athletic State Commission rules. Inquirer