Manny Pacquiao waiting for fight

The key stumbling block to making a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight -- which looms as the richest bout in boxing history if it happens while both are near the top of their games -- has been Mayweather's insistence on taking the lion's share of the money.

On Thursday, during an appearance on ESPN2's "First Take," Pacquiao said he is willing to give Mayweather the bigger slice of the pie.

“I'm waiting for that fight to happen. I don't know what's the reason why that fight has not happened. ... It's OK for me if he gets a higher percentage than me.” -- Manny Pacquiao, on potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pacquiao was appearing in the Bristol, Conn., studio with Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KOs). They are in the midst of a tour promoting their welterweight showdown on Dec. 8 (HBO PPV) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but much of the conversation Thursday centered on a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.

"I'm waiting for that fight to happen," said Pacquiao, boxing's only eight-division world champion. "I don't know what's the reason why that fight has not happened. ... It's OK for me if he gets a higher percentage than me."

In January, Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs), a five-division champion, and Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) spoke on the phone about a possible deal during which Mayweather offered to pay him a flat fee of $40 million for a proposed fight but would not allow him to share in the revenue. In the original negotiation, Mayweather agreed to a 50-50 split.

"I spoke to Floyd ... and he offered me an amount," Pacquiao said. "He didn't talk about the pay-per-views here and that's it. I can't agree with that. I told him I agree with 55 and 45 (split)."

The other issue that has prevented the fight -- and there have been multiple failed negotiations -- was Mayweather's demand for random blood and urine testing throughout the build-up to the bout. During the first negotiation, Pacquiao at first declined to participate in such testing but has long said he would agree.

Read more from the source: Espn.go.com