SANTA MONICA, California-AGREEMENT over drug testing procedures could not be reached by arbitration and the proposed super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been officially abandoned.
Two days of arbitration talks by retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein came to an anti-climatic close late Wednesday night (Jan. 6), leaving it highly unlikely that one of the most anticipated boxing matches in recent history would happen by the proposed March 13 date.
Neither of Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank or Mayweather’s Golden Boy were able to agree on final terms for blood and urine drug testing that would take place in the lead up to the fight, which had an estimated earning potential of as much as US $40 million for each fighter.
Immediately following the collapse of the arbitration process, Top Rank executive Bob Arum turned to the media and placed the blame squarely on Mayweather’s camp.
“We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time, and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight. Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knew that Manny gets freaked out when his blood gets taken, and feels that it weakens him. This is just harassment and, to me, just signaled that he didn’t want the fight.
“Floyd, to me, is a coward and he’s always been a coward. He’s afraid to face somebody who could beat him. And believe me, Manny Pacquiao could beat him. So he’ll go his way, we’ll go our way, and that’ll be fine,” Arum said, suggesting Mayweather has history of ducking challenging fights.
Arum noted that Mayweather’s camp was requesting blood testing above and beyond the normal Nevada standards, despite Pacquiao never failing a drug test in his entire career. He said that he was sorry to the millions of fans who would be disappointed, but Top rank would not stand to be “pushed around” so Mayweather could have a psychological edge.
Shortly after being lambasted by Arum, Mayweather was reported in the Associated Press as saying that he was “thoroughly disgusted” by the conduct of Pacquiao’s handlers.
“The truth is he just doesn't want to take the tests,” Mayweather stated.
With both sides at each other’s throats in the media, Weinstein issued a statement as the mediator of the process to say that reports in the media were not accurate of the process that had taken place.
“Various articles have appeared in the press purporting to characterize the substance and outcome of the Mayweather-Pacquiao mediation and the negotiations between the parties. Many of the reports are incorrect.”
“Any attempt to characterize the mediation process as an acceptance or rejection by any of the parties of a mediator’s or an arbiter’s proposal or of any specific proposal is false,” the judge said.
With the negotiation process seemingly left by the wayside for both fighters, it has been proposed that Pacquiao would move up yet another weight class to fight 154-pound champion Yuri Foreman, making for a potential record-setting eighth division championship for him.
Mayweather on the other hand is being predicted to take on a largely unthreatening bout against Paulie Malignaggi as his next fight.
Even if Pacquiao and Mayweather do not fight on March 13, many analysts predict that the fight could still happen in late-2010, though with much less hype and a smaller box office return.
