By Mark Vester
Top Rank's Bob Arum told the Associated Press on Thursday that Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao is a dead fight. Arum had set a Thursday deadline to make or break a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. The two sides could not reach an agreement over the ongoing dispute over both fighters having to go through random Olympic-style drug testing. Pacquiao would not agree to the random testing methods of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Golden Boy Promotions [on behalf of Mayweather] held firm on a request to have the USADA handle the random blood and urine tests of both fighters.
Arum told the AP that Mayweather/Pacquiao could happen at a later point in 2010. He still plans to move forward with the date of March 13, and told the AP that former junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi is a serious candidate to replace Mayweather on the date. Malignaggi is one of the first boxers to go on the record with suspicions that Pacquiao that might be using performance-boosting drugs.
Editor's Note: BoxingScene.com had spoken with Malignaggi's promoter Lou DiBella on Thursday afternoon, and Top Rank had not yet contacted him to discuss a Pacquiao/Malignaggi fight.
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