The boxing world, at least what is left of it, breathlessly lies in wait. The single most lucrative payday in the history of the sport has been seemingly within reach for five or six years now. But this week it took another bizarre turn. Now it looks like Manny Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr is probably never going to happen - and I am not sure that is a bad thing.
Mayweather is 35 and on his way to three months in prison for domestic violence. The earliest he could conceivably fight Pacquiao would be next year when he will be 36 and Manny, who is showing his age more than Floyd, will be 34. That's not exactly prime time, not even close.
The two did manage to clash on one issue this week however: gay marriage. Manny publicly declared he is against US president Barack Obama's pro-marriage stance which caused Mayweather to reactively tweet that he supported the president's position. I guess it's good that neither is afraid to take a stand on a divisive social issue. But if this is the only scrap the two engage in then it will be a sad footnote in the official demise of the sweet science.
For a sport teetering on the brink of oblivion the fact that its two brightest stars did not fight each other in their prime is basically a knockout blow. Never in the history of boxing have the undisputed top two fighters of their weight class failed to meet. Thanks to a number of regrettable factors, most notably a couple of rival promoters looking out more for their self-interest then their fighters, Pacquiao versus Mayweather existed only in the arena of hype.
So what's left for boxing now? Memories, nothing more than sweet, joyous memories. Oh, you can scavenge through the bargain bin today and find a fighter or two who may mildly pique your curiosity. But how many of you can name the current World Boxing Association heavyweight champion? I'll give you a minute or two. Times up, it's Alexander Povetkin.
Face it, if you are of a certain advanced age boxing is merely a wistful yarn from your youth and all the Viagra and Cialis in the world can't change that hard truth, Pops. Your baby boomer demographic gets more irrelevant by the minute. Your kids and their friends don't really care about boxing because they grew up playing insanely violent computer games and now have UFC and MMA to satiate their bloodlust for legalised violence.