Pressure on Mayweather after Pacquiao's Win

Manny Pacquiao is done taking the high road, tired of pretending he doesn't care. At long last he has Floyd Mayweather Jr. right where he wants him. And this time he's not about to let him slip away without a fight.

"I think it's time to say something," Pacquiao said Sunday after dispatching Chris Algieri in convincing fashion in this Chinese casino town. "The fans deserve that fight. It's time to make that fight happen."

Whether it actually happens, of course, depends on Mayweather agreeing to sign on the bottom line. And for the better part of five years now, Mayweather has given one excuse after another when it comes to making the one fight boxing fans really want. He thought Pacquiao might be on steroids, and refused to deal with his promoter. When Pacquiao got knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather said it wasn't worth his time to even mention his name.

But now Mayweather may be boxed into a corner for a number of reasons and from a number of angles. The pressure will be on to make the fight sometime in the first half of next year or forever draw the wrath of the fans who contribute to his massive paychecks. And suddenly the prospect of boxing's richest fight ever doesn't seem like such a far-fetched fantasy after all.

"Answer the telephone, it's as simple as that," promoter Bob Arum said when asked what it would take to make the fight. "If boxing is to be considered a major sport then the fight has to happen. The nonsense needs to cease. There are no excuses anymore."