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Mayweather Threatens to Pull Out of 2010 Fight Over Weight Issues
Dec 16, 2009 by ■ Leo Reyes



Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has threatened to pull out from the proposed Pacquiao-Mayweather boxing fight set to be staged on March 13 in a venue that is yet to be named as the boxer's request for a wiggle room is being contested by the Pacquiao camp.

Promoted Bob Arum looks exasperated when he learned that Floyd Mayweather has placed another thorny issue on the negotiating table on top of the unresolved choice of fight venue which has been narrowed down to MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Cowboy's Stadium in Dallas.

A source very close to the situation is reporting that Mayweather has threatened to pull out of the March showdown with Pacquiao over a weight issue, according to ringsidereport.com.

According to the report, the two sides are seeking a set weight for the bout and Mayweather's request for wiggle room surrounding that number is being contested by Team Pacquiao.

Bob Arum says that news issues are being advanced by Mayweather camp on a day to day basis which makes it quite difficult for the Pacquiao camp to address. Arum has in fact distanced himself in most part in negotiating with Mayweather and instead asked his son-in-law who is a top official of Top Rank to handle the negotiations.

Boxing fans are saying that the unreasonable piecemeal Mayweather demands show that Mayweather is afraid and scared to face Pacquiao. Some say that the undefeated American boxer is more concerned about maintaining his 'zero' loss record as a professional boxer.

The proposed Pacquiao-Mayweather match is tentatively set for March 13, 2010. No fight contract has been signed but the two famous boxers have reportedly agreed in principle to fight on this date. It has also been reported that the fight purse has been agreed upon but the fight venue is yet to be named. Other contentious issues such as weight, ring size, gloves, etc. are still being tackled.

Floyd Mayweather is an undefeated American boxer who retired more than two years ago and came back to fight professionally when he faced Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico and won via a unanimous decision in what appears to be a tune up bout for a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is the current WBO welterweight champion and the Ring Magazine pound-for-pound king. The popular Filipino boxer has recently won over Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico to capture the WBO crown.
The proposed boxing match is set for March 13, 2010 in a fight venue yet to be announced.

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
3 hours, 59 minutes ago

Nearly every detail is finalized for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao to fight on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas but one. That one detail, though, may kill the fight.

Negotiations are at an impasse over Pacquiao’s failure to agree to random Olympic-style drug testing, said Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, on Tuesday.

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said his fighter is willing to comply with strict drug-testing standards, but Roach won’t allow Pacquiao to have blood drawn 48 hours before the fight.

Ellerbe said he would not let Mayweather enter the ring unless Pacquiao agreed to it.

Both sides agreed that the drug testing issue is the only hurdle preventing the fight from being finished. Earlier Tuesday, Golden Boy Promotions officially requested March 13 from the Nevada State Athletic Commission to host the show.

“As Floyd’s management, we are insistent that there be a level playing field,â€

Mayweather scurred!

London -- Promoter Bob Arum has told BBC Sport that the scheduled welterweight title fight between champion Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is off.




Pacquiao's refusal to comply with Olympic style drug testing as outlined and mandated by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has been the major sticking point in negotiations for the multimillion dollar bout.

Arum also told the BBC late Wednesday that Pacquiao would agree to testing by the same agencies that test pro American football and baseball players, but not for random tests by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

"I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken, because frankly I don't know anyone who really does," the undefeated Mayweather said this week. "In a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level. (I hope Manny) will change his mind and step up and allow these tests."

Pacquiao plans to sue Mayweather



Manny Pacquiao has said he will take Floyd Mayweather to court following a blood-testing dispute.



The Filipino pulled out of a lucrative fight to face Mayweather on 13 March after the American demanded Olympic-style drugs tests ahead of the bout.
Pacquaio also plans to sue Mayweather's father and Golden Boy Promotions.

"I have instructed my promoter, Bob Arum, to help me out in the filing of the case as soon as possible," read a statement on Pacquaio's website.

"Enough is enough. These people, Mayweather Sr, Jr and Golden Boy Promotions think it is a joke and a right to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.

"I have tried to just brush it off as a mere pre-fight ploy but I think they have gone overboard."


WBO welterweight champion Pacquaio withdrew from what was expected to be the richest fight in boxing history on Wednesday following a disagreement about blood tests 30 days prior to the fight.

The Filipino said he would only give blood before the initial media conference and immediately after the fight.

Although Pacquaio said he would agree to testing by the same agencies that conduct pro American Football and baseball players, he would not sign up to random tests by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Promoter Arum accused Mayweather's camp of raising the issue not because they were worried about Pacquiao taking performance-enhancing substances, but because Mayweather never wanted to fight in the first place.

And Pacquaio now intends to settle matters in court.

"I have had people coming over to me now asking if I really take performance-enhancing drugs and I have cheated my way into becoming the number one boxer in the world," said the 31-year-old, who has never tested positive for performance-enhancing substances.

"I maintain and assure everyone that I have not used any form or kind of steroids and that my way to the top is a result of hard work, hard work, hard work and a lot of blood spilled from my past battles in the ring, not outside of it.

"I have no idea what steroids look like and my fear in God has kept me safe and victorious through all these years.

"Now, I say to Floyd Mayweather Jr, don't be a coward and face me in the ring, mano-a-mano and shut your big, pretty mouth so we can show the world who is the true king of the ring."

Unbeaten Mayweather and five-weight champion Pacquaio - considered to be the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world - were set to meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in one of the biggest fight since the turn of the century.

Pacquiao became a five-weight world champion following his WBO welterweight title win over Miguel Cotto in November, while Nevada-based Mayweather returned from a 21-month retirement to beat Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in September.

Lol... This is all BS hype to build up a massive PPV audience & HBO 24-7 crowd, the fight will go on because it's all about $$$! BTW Mayweather will wear Pac Man out!!

Updated: December 29, 2009, 5:27 PM ET
Key to super fight could be '24/7' testing
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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com


When HBO televised "Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7," it aired footage of Pacquiao taking a routine blood test as part of his prefight medical exam. The blood test was conducted approximately 14 days before the fight; it punches holes in Pacquiao's argument that giving blood inside 30 days of a fight negatively impacts his performance.




Arum was intrigued by the "24/7" scenario. He told Reuters on Monday that he was ready to move away from Mayweather and announce a new opponent on Tuesday for Pacquiao, but that was before the "24/7" scenario was brought to his attention.

"I will transmit it [word of Pacquiao's '24/7' test] to Manny once [HBO Sports president] Ross Greenburg establishes the actual date of the test in '24/7' and [the Mayweather camp] makes a proposal based on what Ross has come up with," Arum told ESPN.com from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. "If that happens, I am sure I can convince Manny" to tighten the testing window.

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, which is promoting Mayweather for the fight, was also made aware of the "24/7" footage, telling ESPN.com, "I need to discuss it with Team Mayweather. We need to find out what it means if you cut off testing 14 days before the fight. I want to talk to [Mayweather advisers] Al Haymon and Leonard [Ellerbe]."

Although talks had broken down on Sunday, the camps were at least talking again on Monday afternoon after they learned of the "24/7" scenario.

"It's a very good point to point out that Manny was tested so close to the [Hatton] fight," Arum said. "I'm not going to suggest anything to him though, until I hear from the other guys. They have to say, 'This is what Manny did. Here is what we propose.' Then I will bring it to Manny and say, 'Manny, look, you took this test however many days before the fight and it didn't affect you. Hey, you knocked him out in two rounds.'

"What will Manny do? I assume he will listen to me, but I can't promise anything. But I want [Mayweather's camp] to make a formal proposal that this is the outside date for the blood testing based on Manny's prior test in '24/7' and then I will move mountains."

Prior to discussing the "24/7" scenario, the camps were looking at alternative March fights. Both camps had reached out to former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi. Arum was also prepared to have Pacquiao challenge for a title in a record-extending eighth weight class against Yuri Foreman, a Top Rank junior middleweight who won a belt on the Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto undercard on Nov. 14.

"We'll ask the MGM which fight they want [Pacquiao's or Mayweather's] and the MGM will then pick the fight and alienate one of the fighters forever," Arum said. "We have another date [of March 20] that we can go on outside of the MGM and we will do that if we have to. If HBO takes sides, which they're free to do, we have discussed alternatives."

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the Nevada commission held its final meeting of 2009. At the conclusion of the 25-minute meeting, chairwoman Pat Lundvall closed by invoking the commission's right to conduct random urine tests on Pacquiao and Mayweather.

"The Nevada administrative code obligates any unarmed combatant to submit to tests if they're directed to do so by a member of the commission for prohibited substances," Lundvall said at the public meeting. "And it was in 2007 that we amended our regulations to ensure we were following the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list. ... That is the list we adhere to for the purposes of the testing that is conducted through the athletic commission. We determined that those provisions applied not only immediately before and after a fight, but also to random testing during training, and that any member of the commission can request such a random test."

Lundvall asked commission executive director Keith Kizer to employ the commission's random testing procedure and "request a urine sample from Floyd Mayweather as well as Manny Pacquiao. They're both licensees and they are subject to these kinds of exams whether the proposed fight goes forward or not.

"Random testing is the best way to evaluate the compliance with our rules and regulations against prohibited substances and the primary reason for that is that an athlete doesn't have time to cycle out or flush out any prohibited substances, and therefore random testing is the best thing to employ, which is why I thought it was a good idea for Keith to inform these fighters that we would like to have a sample and move forward with our random testing."

Commissioner Bill Brady added that he supported the request to ensure the safety of the fighters as well as to "reassure the public worldwide that when anyone fights in Nevada that they can count on those fights being fair, above board and on a level playing field. I think it's important that the public knows the commission takes their responsibility seriously."

Pacquiao and Mayweather must submit to the tests within 48 hours or face possible fines or suspension by the Nevada Athletic commission.

"That at least starts the ball rolling," Kizer said.

Mayweather lives in Las Vegas, so that should not be an issue. But even with Pacquiao in the Philippines, Kizer said the commission has labs it works with worldwide.

Kizer said the results would likely be back within a week of the test.

"That's fine, no problem at all," Arum said when told of Nevada's ruling. "We are absolutely in favor of it. That's what they should be doing. That's what they do in other sports. I see no reason why they shouldn't do it here. We support it 100 percent. I really applaud the way the Nevada commission has acted.

"I will check with Mayweather," Schaefer said, reacting to Nevada's request. "Right now, I need to focus on getting the fight done."

This is the match that I am waiting for. I'm sure this will be a sold out event. I really hope that this match pushes through. Can pacman retain his pound-for-pound title before he retires or will Mayweather beat his record? Actually, I really want Pacquiao to win. GO PACMAN!



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