(CNN) -- Manny Pacquiao's career will be defined by Floyd Mayweather, even if the Filipino can't give boxing the fight it has long been clamoring to see.
That's the view of Sports Illustrated's boxing correspondent, Bryan Armen Graham.
He says he is optimistic that Pacquiao and Mayweather can finally reach a deal to settle who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Pacquiao's next fight is in May next year while Mayweather is due in court next month to answer charges of domestic violence. Should he retain his liberty, Graham thinks a showdown in December 2011 is a possibility.
And according to Graham, the danger for eight-division world champion Pacquiao is that his legacy will be affected just as much by a failure to meet Mayweather in the ring than if the fight goes ahead.
He told CNN: "If Manny gets through his next fight scheduled for May 7 and if Floyd resolves his problems I think there is actually a good chance. I'm as optimistic as I have been in long time for that fight to come off late in the year, maybe December. CNN
