Pacquiao vs Mayweather... in 2013?

Boxing fans are desperate for a high-profile fight, and it appears one might happen, but not for another two years.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will likely fight in 2013, according to Mayweather's uncle, Jeff Mayweather in ESPN.com.

"I think he [Mayweather] will be fighting another couple of years," Jeff Mayweather said to Fighthype.com. "I think that's being realistic because I think the fight that's out there will take that long to materialize."

There has been constant back-and-forth between the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps. Most of the problems stem from Mayweather demanding that Pacquiao adhere to thorough drug testing, which Pacquiao has accepted.

Pacquiao has retaliated with a defamation suit against Mayweather for accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs.

Meanwhile, both boxers have moved from one another by scheduling fights with other opponents. Mayweather has an upcoming fight with Victor Ortiz on September 17th, while Pacquiao has a November fight with Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time.

Considering Mayweather has been inactive since May 2010, it makes sense to fight someone of Ortiz's stature before moving on to perhaps Pacquiao or Amir Khan. However, it's possible that Mayweather would put Khan ahead of Pacquiao considering the rise in Khan's popularity.

For Pacquiao, he may be running out of big-name opponents. Timothy Bradley and Marcos Maidana may be the only prize-fighters remaining since Zab Judah lost to Khan this summer. Though a Pacquiao-Khan fight would generate a great deal of interest, particularly in the United Kingdom, Khan's camp appears to have more interest in Mayweather should he defeat Ortiz next month, as expected.

Both Mayweather and Pacquiao would likely want to fight two or three more times before retiring, and Pacquiao has openly stated he will fight Mayweather next year.

What might be ideal for boxing fans would be for Pacquiao to fight Bradley, and Mayweather to fight Khan to set up a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in late 2012 or early 2013. Fans would like to see Mayweather and Pacquiao fight sooner than that, but it doesn't seem realistic.

Earlier this week, Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, posted this message on Twitter: "There are no issues" holding up a Pacquiao- Mayweather bout. That's encouraging news, and so is the money that could be involved with this long-delayed fight.

A Pacquiao-Mayweather mega-bout could pay both boxers $50 million.