Pacquiao - Mayweather: What Now For Manny as Floyd Tabs Cotto?

The fight everyone wants to happen has been put on hold... again.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted 5-0 on Wednesday to grant Floyd Mayweather Jr. a one-fight license to face Miguel Cotto on May 5 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, thus stalling another chance for Mayweather to fight Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao.

The NSAC vote comes one day after Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said a megabout between Mayweather and Pacquiao won't happen until November at the earliest.

A Mayweather-Cotto fight isn't necessarily a bad one, but it's not the huge boxing spectacular a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout would have been. There had been talk that the fight would take place at Cowboys Stadium, and could be worth $100 million.

Arum said Mayweather wouldn't promise Pacquiao a 50-50 split of fight revenue. Mayweather isn't in the picture, according to Arum, as Pacquiao looks for another fighter for June 9.

The most likely opponent for Pacquiao will be Timothy Bradley, a highly regarded 28-year-old boxer from southern California. Pacquiao would probably like a fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, but the Mexican fighter appears to have little interest in fighting Pacquiao again after feeling robbed of a victory in all three fights.

Bradley (28-0, 12 KO) is considered among the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, but has yet to face a boxer of Pacquiao's prominence.

With Pacquiao and Mayweather choosing other opponents, boxing misses out on perhaps the biggest sporting event of 2012.

Mayweather has an impending 87-day jail sentence in Las Vegas after a plea deal on domestic violence charges related to a September 2010 incident with his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of three of his children.

Mayweather had called out Pacquiao in January,and the two had previously spoken over the phone.

Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see, Mayweather tweeted in January.

On Wednesday, Pacquiao posted on Twitter: I'm fighting Miguel Cotto on May 5th because Miss Pac Man is ducking me.