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Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Why it didn't happen this time
July 17, 7:53 PM Fort Smith Boxing Examiner Lorne Scoggins
The fight that the world has been screaming for is once again dead-in-the-water. Media types and fans are looking for someone to blame.
The last time the negotiations fell through, a fair share blamed Pacquiao for refusing to tighten up the testing cutoff window from 24 to 14 days.
It seemed that a larger portion of the fans felt that Mayweather was simply looking for a way out of a fight against the Pacman for fear of tarnishing his coveted, perfect record.
This time around, Pacquiao said that he would agree to the 14 day cutoff, but Mayweather said that nothing less than fully random testing would be acceptable.
In February, David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press reported that Mayweather said he will expect random testing with no cutoff deadline.
"I gave him a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight," Mayweather said. "They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That’s what it is."
Of all the other reasons that are being tossed around about why Mayweather didn't agree to fight Pacquiao, Jeff Mayweather told this writer that it's all about the random blood testing.
On Friday evening, as I wondered if Floyd Mayweather would respond to Bob Arum's deadline, I decided to contact Jeff Mayweather. I asked if it was true that Pacquiao had agreed to 14 days and that Floyd wasn't going for it. Jeff's response to the question was quite simple:
"It's true that 14 days is not random, so it won't happen."
Mayweather had told me in a recent interview that he was very pessimistic about the fight being made.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (AP Photo)
LS: Do you feel optimistic that the fight will take place?
JM: Nope. I'm very pessimistic.
LS: You're very pessimistic?
JM: Yep. And I think that it's one of those situations, that when and if it doesn't happen, everyone's going to point the finger at Floyd, when the finger shouldn't be pointed at Floyd. It should be pointed at Pacquiao because Pacquiao is the reason why the fight didn't happen in the first place, and it'll be that same reason why the fight don't happen this time. It has nothing to do with Floyd. I mean, this guy went into all these demands on Floyd, what he wanted.
You know, [Pacquiao] said, 'Ok. Every pound you're over, that's going to cost you 10 million dollars'. Floyd said, 'Ok'. Then he said, 'I want to wear these kind of gloves'. Floyd said, 'Ok'.
[Floyd said], 'Now, I want you to take the drug tests, random drug testing.' See, Manny's still trying to get around that whole issue. Recently, now he's trying to say, 'Ok. Well, I'll do it up until 14 days'. But that's not random then, because you know when they're going to stop testing you. Random is actually...that's what the word "random" means - that they can test you at any point, at any given time.
It's unbelievable that some sort of compromise couldn't have been reached. It's unfathomable that with $40 million a piece on the line and the opportunity to be a part of what boxing historian Mike Silver called "The most important fight in 20 years", the fight isn't happening yet again.
This is another black eye to the sport and the fans miss the opportunity to witness a very rare kind of mega-event.
http://www.examiner.com/x-42747-Fort...ppen-this-time
July 17, 7:53 PM Fort Smith Boxing Examiner Lorne Scoggins
The fight that the world has been screaming for is once again dead-in-the-water. Media types and fans are looking for someone to blame.
The last time the negotiations fell through, a fair share blamed Pacquiao for refusing to tighten up the testing cutoff window from 24 to 14 days.
It seemed that a larger portion of the fans felt that Mayweather was simply looking for a way out of a fight against the Pacman for fear of tarnishing his coveted, perfect record.
This time around, Pacquiao said that he would agree to the 14 day cutoff, but Mayweather said that nothing less than fully random testing would be acceptable.
In February, David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press reported that Mayweather said he will expect random testing with no cutoff deadline.
"I gave him a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight," Mayweather said. "They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That’s what it is."
Of all the other reasons that are being tossed around about why Mayweather didn't agree to fight Pacquiao, Jeff Mayweather told this writer that it's all about the random blood testing.
On Friday evening, as I wondered if Floyd Mayweather would respond to Bob Arum's deadline, I decided to contact Jeff Mayweather. I asked if it was true that Pacquiao had agreed to 14 days and that Floyd wasn't going for it. Jeff's response to the question was quite simple:
"It's true that 14 days is not random, so it won't happen."
Mayweather had told me in a recent interview that he was very pessimistic about the fight being made.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (AP Photo)
LS: Do you feel optimistic that the fight will take place?
JM: Nope. I'm very pessimistic.
LS: You're very pessimistic?
JM: Yep. And I think that it's one of those situations, that when and if it doesn't happen, everyone's going to point the finger at Floyd, when the finger shouldn't be pointed at Floyd. It should be pointed at Pacquiao because Pacquiao is the reason why the fight didn't happen in the first place, and it'll be that same reason why the fight don't happen this time. It has nothing to do with Floyd. I mean, this guy went into all these demands on Floyd, what he wanted.
You know, [Pacquiao] said, 'Ok. Every pound you're over, that's going to cost you 10 million dollars'. Floyd said, 'Ok'. Then he said, 'I want to wear these kind of gloves'. Floyd said, 'Ok'.
[Floyd said], 'Now, I want you to take the drug tests, random drug testing.' See, Manny's still trying to get around that whole issue. Recently, now he's trying to say, 'Ok. Well, I'll do it up until 14 days'. But that's not random then, because you know when they're going to stop testing you. Random is actually...that's what the word "random" means - that they can test you at any point, at any given time.
It's unbelievable that some sort of compromise couldn't have been reached. It's unfathomable that with $40 million a piece on the line and the opportunity to be a part of what boxing historian Mike Silver called "The most important fight in 20 years", the fight isn't happening yet again.
This is another black eye to the sport and the fans miss the opportunity to witness a very rare kind of mega-event.
http://www.examiner.com/x-42747-Fort...ppen-this-time
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