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Who Is Responsible for the Pacquiao-Mayweather Cancellation?
Published: Jan 14 2010 by: Scott Levinson
The blame for the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather mega-fight must fall at Mayweather’s feet
The biggest boxing event of our era is off. Crestfallen fans now scramble to make sense of this fiasco, attempting to figure out how two men can walk away from the richest fight of their lives.
While situations such as this are seldom black and white, this writer feels the blame should be laid on the doorstep of Floyd Mayweather. The fight was on the verge of being signed. How to divide the money, the common hanging point in a superfight negotiation, had been hashed out. Then, suddenly, the issue of drug testing comes up. If not for that, the fight would be signed right now and we would be covering press conferences instead of this sad aftermath of a failed negotiation.
At the end of the day, the fighters themselves must take responsibility for career transgressions. While both Mayweather and Pacquiao’s management played a role in this, any fallout reflects on the fighters. We don’t look back to the early 90’s and say Rock Newman avoided Lennox Lewis, we say Rid**** Bowe avoided him. The fighters themselves must ultimately take responsibility for their career trajectories.
Here are some reasons why Floyd must accept responsibility for this failed negotiation:
The Powerlessness of Su****ions
I have su****ions. They live in my head and I have no evidence. If I had evidence, they wouldn’t be su****ions, they would be facts. Should any importance be given to my su****ions? Absolutely not. Why? They are unsupported thoughts.
My su****ions impose zero responsibility on those I suspect to prove me wrong.
Imagine the precedent this would set. Anybody suspected of something should have to prove otherwise? Even if I had people who agreed with me, su****ion is su****ion. Facts are facts. The grand-canyon sized gulf between su****ion and fact seems to have been lost on a great number of boxing fans that blame Pacquiao for this fight falling apart.
If I suspect guilt on the part of a person, does the burden of proof shift to the accused? In what part of the world does this practice exist? Not in Vegas. A person could choose to ignore my su****ions, and I would be no closer to establishing his guilt. I would also have no right to be offended. Nobody owes me an explanation based simply on su****ions or assumptions devoid of evidence.
A few years ago, someone stole some pieces of ***elry from me. My neighbor’s son is a drug addict. I suspected he might have stolen the ***elry. I decided to let it go. But if I demanded to search his room, and he declined, would that alone justify me thinking he was guilty? If he ignored my accusations, would I have a right to then assume he did it? The answer must be no. At the end of the day, all I had were my su****ions, which add up to precisely nothing.
The only times su****ions carry any weight are when those in power hold them. If my boss who suspects I am stealing office supplies asks to see my bag, I might feel compelled to acquiesce to his demands. He is, after all, my boss. If a colleague made the same request, my response would not be so accommodating.
In other words…
Floyd Has no Authority
Mayweather attempted to become the first participant of a sport to simultaneously play the role of a commissioner. The amount of fans who have not gotten their heads around this is startling. Floyd Mayweather has no right to make any such drug testing demands. Like every other fighter, he is subject to the rules of the commission he fights under.
This fight is not happening because Manny didn’t cater to all of Mayweather’s demands. Lost in this is the fact that Manny did agree to the most thorough drug testing given to a pro fighter in the history of boxing. But it wasn’t enough to meet the demands that had no right to be made in the first place.
Imagine a world of sports where participants can call shots based on su****ions. What if a baseball team suspected another team of using corked bats? Before the game, they demand that all bats be confiscated and put through a battery of tests to determine their legitimacy. When the accused team tells them to forget it, what should happen? The answer is nothing. They had no right to levy demands in the first place. That’s what Bud Selig is there for. Let him officiate the sport and let the participants play. The line must remain clear.
Floyd’s Role of Anti-Drug Crusader
It simply does not ring true. While he has criticized those in the past caught for steroid use, a little trash talk is not enough to become a respected voice on the topic. In 40 fights, he has never made such demands on any other opponent. During an 18-month retirement—he didn’t make a peep about drug testing. Then at the precipice of signing for his biggest fight, he throws out the drug testing issue. Like a rock.
If Floyd were as genuine about his concern about performance enhancing drugs as he wants everyone to believe, why did he not broach the subject at any point in his 13-year pro career? Why did he not once contact the proper authorities and make an effort to change drug-testing policy? He waited to be on the cusp of signing for his landmark fight to bring up the issue of drug testing?
I would applaud Floyd’s concerns if he didn’t use them solely to stonewall the biggest fight of this generation.
Floyd’s Flippancy over His Legacy
When the signature boxing talent of the time says, “Legacy don’t pay bills,” then I guess we should expect his aversion to fighting top fighters. After wins at 130 and 135 over Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, his M.O. seems to be to skirt the challenges of worthy and dangerous opponents. Over four years ago, he entered the welterweight division. His entrance came just before the explosion of talent making 147 the best division in the game. He mopped up the remnants of the inglorious Spinks-Judah-Baldomir era.
Since that era, such standout fighters as Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Andre Berto, and Manny Pacquiao have risen to the top of the division. These guys can now be called division mainstays, and Floyd has yet to face any of them. In a relatively brief time in the division, Pacquiao’s resume at 147 is already more compelling than Floyd’s. If he beats Clottey, it will be even more so.
Continued on Page 2
Published: Jan 14 2010 by: Scott Levinson
The blame for the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather mega-fight must fall at Mayweather’s feet
The biggest boxing event of our era is off. Crestfallen fans now scramble to make sense of this fiasco, attempting to figure out how two men can walk away from the richest fight of their lives.
While situations such as this are seldom black and white, this writer feels the blame should be laid on the doorstep of Floyd Mayweather. The fight was on the verge of being signed. How to divide the money, the common hanging point in a superfight negotiation, had been hashed out. Then, suddenly, the issue of drug testing comes up. If not for that, the fight would be signed right now and we would be covering press conferences instead of this sad aftermath of a failed negotiation.
At the end of the day, the fighters themselves must take responsibility for career transgressions. While both Mayweather and Pacquiao’s management played a role in this, any fallout reflects on the fighters. We don’t look back to the early 90’s and say Rock Newman avoided Lennox Lewis, we say Rid**** Bowe avoided him. The fighters themselves must ultimately take responsibility for their career trajectories.
Here are some reasons why Floyd must accept responsibility for this failed negotiation:
The Powerlessness of Su****ions
I have su****ions. They live in my head and I have no evidence. If I had evidence, they wouldn’t be su****ions, they would be facts. Should any importance be given to my su****ions? Absolutely not. Why? They are unsupported thoughts.
My su****ions impose zero responsibility on those I suspect to prove me wrong.
Imagine the precedent this would set. Anybody suspected of something should have to prove otherwise? Even if I had people who agreed with me, su****ion is su****ion. Facts are facts. The grand-canyon sized gulf between su****ion and fact seems to have been lost on a great number of boxing fans that blame Pacquiao for this fight falling apart.
If I suspect guilt on the part of a person, does the burden of proof shift to the accused? In what part of the world does this practice exist? Not in Vegas. A person could choose to ignore my su****ions, and I would be no closer to establishing his guilt. I would also have no right to be offended. Nobody owes me an explanation based simply on su****ions or assumptions devoid of evidence.
A few years ago, someone stole some pieces of ***elry from me. My neighbor’s son is a drug addict. I suspected he might have stolen the ***elry. I decided to let it go. But if I demanded to search his room, and he declined, would that alone justify me thinking he was guilty? If he ignored my accusations, would I have a right to then assume he did it? The answer must be no. At the end of the day, all I had were my su****ions, which add up to precisely nothing.
The only times su****ions carry any weight are when those in power hold them. If my boss who suspects I am stealing office supplies asks to see my bag, I might feel compelled to acquiesce to his demands. He is, after all, my boss. If a colleague made the same request, my response would not be so accommodating.
In other words…
Floyd Has no Authority
Mayweather attempted to become the first participant of a sport to simultaneously play the role of a commissioner. The amount of fans who have not gotten their heads around this is startling. Floyd Mayweather has no right to make any such drug testing demands. Like every other fighter, he is subject to the rules of the commission he fights under.
This fight is not happening because Manny didn’t cater to all of Mayweather’s demands. Lost in this is the fact that Manny did agree to the most thorough drug testing given to a pro fighter in the history of boxing. But it wasn’t enough to meet the demands that had no right to be made in the first place.
Imagine a world of sports where participants can call shots based on su****ions. What if a baseball team suspected another team of using corked bats? Before the game, they demand that all bats be confiscated and put through a battery of tests to determine their legitimacy. When the accused team tells them to forget it, what should happen? The answer is nothing. They had no right to levy demands in the first place. That’s what Bud Selig is there for. Let him officiate the sport and let the participants play. The line must remain clear.
Floyd’s Role of Anti-Drug Crusader
It simply does not ring true. While he has criticized those in the past caught for steroid use, a little trash talk is not enough to become a respected voice on the topic. In 40 fights, he has never made such demands on any other opponent. During an 18-month retirement—he didn’t make a peep about drug testing. Then at the precipice of signing for his biggest fight, he throws out the drug testing issue. Like a rock.
If Floyd were as genuine about his concern about performance enhancing drugs as he wants everyone to believe, why did he not broach the subject at any point in his 13-year pro career? Why did he not once contact the proper authorities and make an effort to change drug-testing policy? He waited to be on the cusp of signing for his landmark fight to bring up the issue of drug testing?
I would applaud Floyd’s concerns if he didn’t use them solely to stonewall the biggest fight of this generation.
Floyd’s Flippancy over His Legacy
When the signature boxing talent of the time says, “Legacy don’t pay bills,” then I guess we should expect his aversion to fighting top fighters. After wins at 130 and 135 over Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, his M.O. seems to be to skirt the challenges of worthy and dangerous opponents. Over four years ago, he entered the welterweight division. His entrance came just before the explosion of talent making 147 the best division in the game. He mopped up the remnants of the inglorious Spinks-Judah-Baldomir era.
Since that era, such standout fighters as Antonio Margarito, Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Andre Berto, and Manny Pacquiao have risen to the top of the division. These guys can now be called division mainstays, and Floyd has yet to face any of them. In a relatively brief time in the division, Pacquiao’s resume at 147 is already more compelling than Floyd’s. If he beats Clottey, it will be even more so.
Continued on Page 2
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