Pacquiao willing to take 45-55 split versus Mayweather

Eight division titleholder Manny Pacquiao said on Thursday that he is willing to take the lower half of a 45-55 split to make a bout with Floyd Mayweather should he beyond his fourth bout with four-division titlewinner Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand.

"I want that fight to happen. I don't know what's the reason why that fight has not happened...It's okay for me if he gets the higher percentage than me," said Pacquiao, on ESPN's First Take on Thursday.

"I spoke to Floyd, I don't remember, last year, last January I think, and he offered me an amount. He didn't talk about the pay-per-views here and...I can't agree with that. I told him that I agree with 45-and-55."

Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 knockouts) has chosen to face Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs) over a rematch with Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KOs), whose controversial split-decision in June dethroned Pacquiao as the WBO's 147-pound titleholder.

In November, Pacquiao won an unpopular and highly-disputed majority decision over Marquez, who has also battled Pacquiao through a draw and a split-decision loss previously. Bradley ended a 15-bout winning streak for Pacquaio that included eight knockouts.

Negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao have also failed over the notion of drug testing, which has been contractually mandated by Mayweather for his past three victories over Victor Ortiz, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto.

But on Thursday, during the ESPN interview, Pacquiao said that he would agree to full, random drug testing "No problem. Whatever he wants...no problem. Even the the night of the fight, no problem."

Pacquiao, nevertheless, has an ongoing lawsuit against Mayweather accusing him of defamation, alleging that Mayweather continues to imply publicly that Pacquiao's success over eight weight classes is the result of having used performance-enhancing drugs.

This week, a federal judge ordered Mayweather to pay $114,000 for failing to appear in the Pacquiao case.

"That's always been the offer on the table to fight Floyd. That's what Manny told him when Floyd called him and offered Manny the $40 million, so there's no problems," said Pacquiao's advisor, Michael Koncz.

"But first, we have to concentrate on Marquez, because I truly believe that this is going to be a very exciting fight. Somebody is going to knock somebody out, and I honestly believe that Manny is going to knock Marquez out."

Sitting next to Pacquiao, Marquez said the same on another ESPN platform.

"The last three fights were very close. But for the people watching, I want to say something," said Marquez. "The fourth fight is going to be a great fight. Because he says he wants to knock out me, and I want to knock out him."

Marquez also said Mayweather would beat Pacquiao, who smiled.

"Everybody knows Floyd. Floyd is very defensive. He doesn't have aggressive, and Manny, I think, is looking for the fight all night," said Marquez. "You know Mayweather. He don't like to fight. He's very defensive. I think that Mayweather is the best fighter in the defense."

Asked if he thought Mayweather is afraid of him, Pacquiao said, "I think it's kind of that."

Marquez, pointing at Pacquiao, said,  "he has a tough fight on Dec. 8."

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com