It's now or never time for a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather bout

MACAU -- It's beyond ridiculous what boxing fans have had to put up with the last five years as they have waited, pleaded, hoped and, in some cases, even prayed for a bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The fact that it hasn't occurred minimizes the sport, detracts from the fighters' resumes and makes all involved look, to a greater or lesser extent, like fools for failing to make a sporting event that in one night could generate close to a quarter of a billion dollars.

Mayweather's zealous fans will blame Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum. Pacquiao's even more ardent fan base will blame Mayweather and adviser Al Haymon.

It doesn't matter who is at fault. They're all to blame.

Pointing fingers is beyond the point now. After Pacquiao routed Chris Algieri on Saturday before 13,202 fans at The Venetian Macao's Cotai Arena, there is no other fight to be made for either man.

Pacquiao looked better on Saturday than he has in a while, knocking Algieri down six times while sprinting after him. All three judges had it easily for Pacquiao, whose major failing Saturday was an inability to cut off the ring.

But no one really cared to discuss what happened in the ring before a pay-per-view audience in the U.S. because it was largely inconsequential. Algieri is one of the true good guys of boxing, but he wasn't nearly as capable in the ring as he is outside of it. Pacquiao won this event in a waltz.

The important issue is that there are talks of some kind aimed at making a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight for next year. Arum has spoken with CBS Corp. chairman Leslie Moonves about making the bout. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach got them together after talking to the owner of a pizza shop that Moonves frequents in Los Angeles.

This, of course, doesn't mean that a fight between them, however much money it might rain on the parties involved, is close to happening. The odds are still against it.

But there are high-level talks and more momentum for the fight any time since they nearly came to terms for a 2010 fight.

Roach is so excited by the possibility that he said he's begun to watch video of Mayweather once again.

"It's always good [that there are talks]," Roach said. "I like challenges and that's a big challenge. it's not an easy fight by any means, but I love Manny in that fight. I look forward to getting him ready for that fight more than anything."

Mayweather is 37 and will be 38 before he fights again. He's still the best fighter in the world, but he's no longer the untouchable, invincible fighter he once was. Marcos Maidana hit him plenty in their two 2014 bouts and that's something that was unthinkable just a couple of years ago.

Pacquiao will be 36 next month and isn't as fast or explosive as he once was. He hasn't scored a knockout since 2009, when he beat Miguel Cotto, though he looked on the verge of it several times Saturday.

While many hard-core boxing fans have long since given up the ghost, they're both still good enough and near their peaks that a fight would be massive.

"I think both guys maybe have slown down a little bit," Roach said.

Pacquiao seems to realize the urgency of the situation. Last year, after he routed Brandon Rios in the same arena, he was reluctant to call out Mayweather. But on Saturday, he had no such hesitation.

Foot Locker released a clever commercial in which Mayweather's name is never spoken, but it was obvious the spot was about a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout.

And Pacquiao made it plain Saturday it's the fight he wants. He clearly called for a deal to be made so the two rivals can finally, albeit years late, share a ring together.

"It's time to step up and say yes," Pacquiao said.

Arum has often shot himself in the foot in his effort to make the fight. He promoted Mayweather from the time Mayweather turned pro following the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta through 2006. But the two had a bitter split and haven't spoken in years.

Mayweather is oddly obsessed with dictating terms and, as a result, has refused to budge whenever Arum has spoken publicly. Arum is still talking publicly, but this time, it's more on the down low. He's mentioned the fight, he's campaigned for the fight, but he's only said that he's spoken to Moonves.

A story on Thursday in the Wall Street Journal gave credence to Arum and Roach's accounts. A CBS spokesman told the newspaper, "that Moonves declined to comment, respecting the confidential nature of the discussions."

If nothing were happening, he wouldn't have called talks confidential. So something is happening.

But what is it? No one knows.

There are, though, several significant issues that need to be handled in order to make the fight. The first is how the fight will be distributed. That should be the easiest of the many thorny problems, even though Mayweather has a deal with Showtime and Pacquiao is with HBO. The networks worked out a deal in 2002 for a Mike Tyson (Showtime) versus Lennox Lewis (HBO) fight and that template should be able to be used again, even if it needs some revisions.

Issue two is the big one, and it's about the fighter purse split. In 2009 when talks aimed at making the fight were nearing completion, it appeared a 50-50 split was imminent. That was befitting their status as Nos. 1 and 2 not only in the welterweight division but in the world.

Mayweather has remained unbeaten and in the top slot since then, but Pacquiao was knocked out once by Marquez and isn't widely regarded as No. 2 in the world. That is probably the idle but talented super middleweight, Andre Ward.

Mayweather has shown little inclination to do an equitable purse split with anyone, and it's going to be hard to make the fight if he doesn't change his mind. If the fight generates $200 million or more in gross revenue, as seems likely, Pacquiao won't settle for a flat fee like $40 million, even though that would be the most he's ever made.

In 2012, Mayweather once called Pacquiao, who was in a Congressional session in the Philippines. Mayweather offered to wire Pacquiao an immediate $20 million upon signing a contract and pay him another $20 million on fight night.

Mayweather sycophants point to that as a reason to say Pacquiao didn't want the fight. But that would have been 25 percent or less of the money pool and Pacquiao would have been a fool to accept given that he would have contributed far more than 25 percent to the coffers.

The third big problem will be choosing a venue. Las Vegas would be the logical choice, because casinos could underwrite it and the high cost of tickets that could be charged in Las Vegas is far greater than anywhere else.

But there is not a big enough venue in Las Vegas to accommodate demand and to get a large enough gate. So that brings a stadium venue like Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones' AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, into play.

Jones told a Dallas radio station he's desperate to get the fight.

"Well, it’s well known that I would walk over and I guess have to get in some boat time too to get over and meet [boxing promoter Bob Arum] in China to get it done,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “I’d be that excited about the possibility. It’d be a great fight. It’s going to be contemporarily, it’ll be one of the greatest fights in the last 15 years when it does happen.

“It needs to be in our stadium and I want to be a part of, working with Bob, CBS of course is really involved in the promotion of it, and we’d love to just in any way have that fight here. It would be a real, well it’d just be an epic event for our stadium."

It would have the 100,000 or so seats needed, but whether it can charge high enough prices is the question.

The bottom line is that for the fight to happen, to respect the wishes of the public that both Mayweather and Pacquiao say they're aiming to please, compromises need to be made.

All sides involve need to compromise and the time is now for those compromies to be made.