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MANILA, Philippines - In a rare admission, unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. said recently his much-awaited fight against Manny Pacquiao to determine who’s the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter is inevitable.
Mayweather, 33, used the drug bogey to wiggle out of a March date with Pacquiao, insisting on Olympic-style testing which he knew the Filipino icon would never agree to. The speculation is Mayweather realized he wasn’t ready for Pacquiao and needed a tune-up to raise his level of confidence. Mayweather, of course, would never confess to backing out of the fight.
As for Pacquiao, he will submit to whatever testing procedure is required by the supervising authorities. To accommodate Mayweather, Pacquiao said he will bend over backwards and agree to blood-testing 24 days before the fight or anytime after.
Pacquiao’s reluctance to submit to a blood-letting 14 days before the fight – which is Mayweather’s condition – is traced to his belief (whether substantiated or not) that it will weaken him, physically and psychologically. The 10-day difference will surely be the subject of compromise.
If Pacquiao is on any kind of performance-enhancing drug, it will show in the test after the fight and if the test is positive, he will be severely sanctioned. Mayweather shouldn’t be worried about Pacquiao getting away with it if he is drug-positive.
But Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said the drug issue was raised only as a ruse. Mayweather would be the last person in the world to wave the anti-drug flag, considering his father Floyd Sr. was once convicted of ******* smuggling.
“The blood tests, it’s all BS,” said Roach. “(Mayweather) doesn’t care about that. He found out Manny didn’t like giving blood and just took off with it. There are no negotiations with drug testing that we will deal with because he doesn’t run the sport, the commissions do. Next thing you know, we’ll be fighting two-minute rounds and wearing 15-ounce gloves.”
Mayweather, who reportedly has obligations to the Internal Revenue Service, can’t afford to pass up the chance of a lifetime to earn major bucks in a Pacquiao bout. He was guaranteed $22.5 million to battle Sugar Shane Mosley and a Pacquiao showdown would easily bring in $30 to $40 million. In the end, it’s all about economics, not drug-testing.
Mayweather was quoted by Nima Zarrabi in Slam Magazine as admitting the Pacquiao fight will happen – and he didn’t mention anything about drug-testing. The interview was conducted during the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas last February.
“We know the Pacquiao fight is eventually going to happen,” he said. “To make over $100 million in my next two fights (Mosley and Pacquiao), I owe thanks to God and my team.”
Mayweather described his negotiating team of Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon as the “best in the business, very shrewd and smart businessmen.” It’s highly possible that Ellerbe and Haymon hatched the drug bogey to buy Mayweather some time to prepare for Pacquiao and also up the stakes for the inevitable duel.
“We’re talking about Harvard,” continued Mayweather, referring to his negotiators. “We’re talking about guys with master’s degrees. Sports and entertainment is what we run and what we do. That’s why I’m able to make crazy-crazy money in the sport of boxing.”
Mayweather was castigated by critics for beating up a much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez in his comeback fight last September after a 21-month layoff. Yet he couldn’t knock out the Mexican.
“Marquez is one hell of a fighter,” said Mayweather. “What’s so crazy is that the fans say I was too big for Marquez who was the No. 2 pound-for-pound guy at that particular time. You’re too big for Marquez but you’re not too big for Pacquiao? They’re the same size. It’s crazy. The fight game is crazy.”
Mayweather was also castigated by detractors for beating up an ageing Mosley last Saturday. He also couldn’t floor Sugar Shane, making fans wonder about his power. Mayweather has scored only one knockout in his last six wins.
If Mayweather thinks the fight game is crazy, it’s because fighters like him are crazy. Mayweather is surrounded by crazies from his father to uncle and chief trainer Roger whose expertise is mouthing expletives in between rounds of a fight.
Pacquiao has enlisted the services of lawyer Daniel Petrocelli to sue Mayweather and Golden Boy honchos Oscar De la Hoya and Richard Schaefer for defamatory remarks about his supposed drug use. De la Hoya hired New York lawyer Judd Burstein, who represented Pacquiao in his case to break out of a contract with Murad Muhammad, to go against Petrocelli. Burstein was in the ring during the introduction rites of last Saturday’s Mayweather-Mosley fight.
After all is said and sued, it looks like Mayweather and Pacquiao will slug it out before the year ends because in the final analysis, money on the table is what counts. For Mayweather who likes to be called “Money,” the only thing that matters is greenbacks because he can’t deposit integrity in the bank.
Mayweather, 33, used the drug bogey to wiggle out of a March date with Pacquiao, insisting on Olympic-style testing which he knew the Filipino icon would never agree to. The speculation is Mayweather realized he wasn’t ready for Pacquiao and needed a tune-up to raise his level of confidence. Mayweather, of course, would never confess to backing out of the fight.
As for Pacquiao, he will submit to whatever testing procedure is required by the supervising authorities. To accommodate Mayweather, Pacquiao said he will bend over backwards and agree to blood-testing 24 days before the fight or anytime after.
Pacquiao’s reluctance to submit to a blood-letting 14 days before the fight – which is Mayweather’s condition – is traced to his belief (whether substantiated or not) that it will weaken him, physically and psychologically. The 10-day difference will surely be the subject of compromise.
If Pacquiao is on any kind of performance-enhancing drug, it will show in the test after the fight and if the test is positive, he will be severely sanctioned. Mayweather shouldn’t be worried about Pacquiao getting away with it if he is drug-positive.
But Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said the drug issue was raised only as a ruse. Mayweather would be the last person in the world to wave the anti-drug flag, considering his father Floyd Sr. was once convicted of ******* smuggling.
“The blood tests, it’s all BS,” said Roach. “(Mayweather) doesn’t care about that. He found out Manny didn’t like giving blood and just took off with it. There are no negotiations with drug testing that we will deal with because he doesn’t run the sport, the commissions do. Next thing you know, we’ll be fighting two-minute rounds and wearing 15-ounce gloves.”
Mayweather, who reportedly has obligations to the Internal Revenue Service, can’t afford to pass up the chance of a lifetime to earn major bucks in a Pacquiao bout. He was guaranteed $22.5 million to battle Sugar Shane Mosley and a Pacquiao showdown would easily bring in $30 to $40 million. In the end, it’s all about economics, not drug-testing.
Mayweather was quoted by Nima Zarrabi in Slam Magazine as admitting the Pacquiao fight will happen – and he didn’t mention anything about drug-testing. The interview was conducted during the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas last February.
“We know the Pacquiao fight is eventually going to happen,” he said. “To make over $100 million in my next two fights (Mosley and Pacquiao), I owe thanks to God and my team.”
Mayweather described his negotiating team of Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon as the “best in the business, very shrewd and smart businessmen.” It’s highly possible that Ellerbe and Haymon hatched the drug bogey to buy Mayweather some time to prepare for Pacquiao and also up the stakes for the inevitable duel.
“We’re talking about Harvard,” continued Mayweather, referring to his negotiators. “We’re talking about guys with master’s degrees. Sports and entertainment is what we run and what we do. That’s why I’m able to make crazy-crazy money in the sport of boxing.”
Mayweather was castigated by critics for beating up a much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez in his comeback fight last September after a 21-month layoff. Yet he couldn’t knock out the Mexican.
“Marquez is one hell of a fighter,” said Mayweather. “What’s so crazy is that the fans say I was too big for Marquez who was the No. 2 pound-for-pound guy at that particular time. You’re too big for Marquez but you’re not too big for Pacquiao? They’re the same size. It’s crazy. The fight game is crazy.”
Mayweather was also castigated by detractors for beating up an ageing Mosley last Saturday. He also couldn’t floor Sugar Shane, making fans wonder about his power. Mayweather has scored only one knockout in his last six wins.
If Mayweather thinks the fight game is crazy, it’s because fighters like him are crazy. Mayweather is surrounded by crazies from his father to uncle and chief trainer Roger whose expertise is mouthing expletives in between rounds of a fight.
Pacquiao has enlisted the services of lawyer Daniel Petrocelli to sue Mayweather and Golden Boy honchos Oscar De la Hoya and Richard Schaefer for defamatory remarks about his supposed drug use. De la Hoya hired New York lawyer Judd Burstein, who represented Pacquiao in his case to break out of a contract with Murad Muhammad, to go against Petrocelli. Burstein was in the ring during the introduction rites of last Saturday’s Mayweather-Mosley fight.
After all is said and sued, it looks like Mayweather and Pacquiao will slug it out before the year ends because in the final analysis, money on the table is what counts. For Mayweather who likes to be called “Money,” the only thing that matters is greenbacks because he can’t deposit integrity in the bank.
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