The waiting still continues for what would be one of the most anticipated fights in boxing history. Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Manny Pacquiao reluctantly will look for another opponent for his next bout after promoter Bob Arum’s deadline for a deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr. passed Saturday without a word from Mayweather.

In the latest improbable twist in the torturous negotiations for the most tantalizing prospective fight in boxing, Arum said Mayweather’s camp simply hasn’t responded to a contract proposal with no obvious points of contention.

Pacquiao already has agreed to extensive drug testing and an equitable split of the earnings from what’s likely to be the richest fight in boxing history.

”Floyd, for whatever reason — and I’m sure he has some valid reason — didn’t want to commit,” Arum said.

Maybe they are just trying to hype it up for more money, but each fighter is looking at making 40 million how much more do you need?

After Floyd Mayweather’s defeat of “Suger” Shane Mosley last month, the big question has been: will a fight against Manny Pacquiao be next?

Well, it looks like the mega-fight is back on.

Shortly after Pac-Man won a seat on Congress in his native country the Philippines recently, negotiations for a fight between himself and Money Mayweather began … for the second time. However, Mayweather was still said to be holding firm on his stance for Olympic-style drug testing.

But now, a compromise may have been met.

According to the BBC, Pacquaio is agreeing to a 14-day cut-off — leading up to the fight — for blood testing, an offer Mayweather said he offered originally, but was denied.

“I have agreed to it, but they should not draw much blood. They should only take what is necessary for the drug test,” the Filipino boxer is quoted as saying.

A fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather — who many regard as the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the sport today — would likely be the biggest in boxing history.

“He [Mayweather] will no longer have a reason [not to fight],” said Pacquiao. “Let’s see if that is really the reason.”

Both fighters tried to make the fight happen earlier this year, but negotiations ceased after both sides failed to agree on terms regarding drug testing.

They both went on to take separate fights, and both were victorious. Pacquiao defeated Joshua Clottey, and Mayweather beat Shane Mosley in a decision. Following Mayweather’s win, talk began about a possible match against Pac-Man, and now, things seem to be nearly finalized.

At press time, nothing had been announced officially, but previous statements from Pac-Man’s camp said the potential fight would take place in November.

Ballerstatus.com

Freddie Roach, the world famous boxing trainer to Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, told Associated Press that he believes the negotiations for the most anticipated boxing match of this era; Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, will begin shortly after Pacquiao’s May 10th Philippine election outcome. Manny Pacquiao is running for congressional seat in Sarangani Province and is currently winning in the polls and expected to win by a landslide.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was counting money, and had to be equally happy.

“There’s a reason they call him Money Mayweather,” Mayweather’s manager, Leonard Ellerbe, said. “He’s winding up making $40 million for his night’s work.”

Indeed, Mayweather’s mood was brightened by the unofficial tally showing 1.4 million people paid to watch him dominate Shane Mosley, which Ellerbe said meant his payday would be almost double the $22.5 million he was guaranteed for the fight.

If the numbers are accurate, it would mean that Mayweather has been in the two richest non-heavyweight pay-per-view fights ever. Just as important, it gives him pay-per-view bragging rights over Pacquiao and perhaps an upper hand if and when representatives of the two sit down to negotiate the fight all boxing fans really want.

If the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super-fight cannot be made, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter said his plan B option is for Pacquiao to fight Antonio Margarito on November 13 at Dallas Cowboy stadium.

The mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is officially dead, as promoter Bob Arum announced Tuesday (January 19) that the Filipino superstar will now face Joshua Clottey on March 13th at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

After Pac-Man and Money Mayweather failed to agree to terms over pre-fight drug-testing procedures, promoters for both fighters said they would stick with their plans for a March 13 bout against different opponents. However, it looks like it’s just gonna be Pacquiao on March 13th, as Mayweather began negotiations to fight Shane Mosley in May.

Now, it’s a welterweight title fight, simply dubbed “The Event,” where Pac-Man faces the #1 challenger Joshua Clottey, who says he thankful the boxing superstar gave him a shot.

“He is the best guy, and I want to thank him for giving me this opportunity,” said Clottey.

Pacquiao has been undefeated in his last 11 fights. His last loss came in 2005 against Erik Morales, who he came back and beat two times after.

Clottey is a 32-year-old a native of Ghana, who has a record of 35-3. He lost his last fight by split decision to Miguel Cotto in June.

Tickets for the fight range from $700 at ringside down to $50. Arum says they plna to sell 40,000 seats, but can seat up to 60,000 if necessary. The fight will also be televised on HBO Pay-Per-View.(BallerStatus.com)

News broke of the highly-anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao early Thursday (January 7) being called off, and it’s got fans in an uproar.

However, boxing fans are divided over who is to blame for the match not coming to fruition. Some feel Mayweather is trying to dodge the Filipino fighter in fear of tarnishing his perfect record, while others think Pac-Man is worried about what might show up in his drug test.

Mayweather released a statement late Thursday, addressing the recent news, claiming he did everything he could to meet Pacquiao halfway, but its been nearly impossible.

“Throughout this whole process I have remained patient, but at this point, I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them,” the boxer said.

Regardless of how it looks to fans, Mayweather says he WANTS to fight, and says his offer — which includes the drug testing stipulations — still stands.

“First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass,” he said. “Before the mediation, my team proposed a 14-day, no blood testing window leading up to the fight, but it was rejected. I am still proposing the 14-day window but he is still unwilling to agree to it, even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part, as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cut-off. The truth is he just doesn’t want to take the tests.”

According to Mayweather, it’s Pacquiao who is taking the mega-fight away from fans, not him.

“In my opinion it is Manny Pacquiao and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest fight ever,” Mayweather concluded. “I know the people will see through their smokescreens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract. Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight.” (BallersStatus.com)

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are going to mediation to try and salvage their March 13 fight.

Representatives of the two fighters will meet Tuesday with a California mediator in an effort to reach agreement on blood testing issues that have threatened to derail the fight. The mediation comes after two weeks of talks on the issue.

The mediator, retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, was used by promoters for both fighters three years ago to resolve a dispute over promotional rights to Pacquiao.

Lee Samuels, a spokesman for Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, confirmed that Arum will be in Santa Monica, Calif., for the talks.
(FoxSports)

pound-for-pound boxing champion Manny Pacquiao filed a lawsuit in Nevada federal court against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Roger Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions, LLC, and Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar de la Hoya, and Richard Schaefer for making false and defamatory statements accusing Pacquiao of taking performance-enhancing drugs. The complaint is attached. The lawsuit claims the Mayweathers, de la Hoya, and Schaefer knew that Pacquiao has never taken performance-enhancing drugs, knew their statements were false, but made them anyway out of “ill-will, spite, malice, revenge, and envy.”

Pacquiao has retained Daniel Petrocelli of the Los Angeles-based law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. About the filing of the complaint, Petrocelli stated: “Manny Pacquiao’s achievements come from God-given talent and an indefatigable work ethic — not steroids. He cannot and will not allow others to deliberately misrepresent his years of hard work and tarnish his reputation.”

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Las Vegas, Nevada, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages for defendants’ wrongful conduct.

(Eastsideboxing.com)

The chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission has ordered Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to take immediate out-of-competition urine tests, even as the sides bicker heatedly over a drug-testing policy that threatens to scrap their scheduled March 13 mega-fight in Las Vegas.

Nevada Athletic Commission Chairman Pat Lundvall ordered Executive Director Keith Kizer to point Mayweather and Pacquiao to accredited drug-testing labs in the United States and Philippines, respectively, for tests that must be completed by Wednesday, Kizer told The Times.
The tests will be paid for by Nevada and are consistent with World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, Kizer said.

“It’s a start,” Kizer said. “Whether it’s the end, I don’t know.”

Kizer was referring to the ongoing argument that the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps are engaged in over how to conduct drug tests. Pacquiao’s camp wants to submit two blood tests, one in January, another 30 days before the fight, and another after the bout. Mayweather’s camp, after consulting with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency about its protocol, argues that the fighters should be subjected to possible random blood testing until the first bell.

On Tuesday, Mayweather’s camp issued a prepared statement saying they’ve already made major concessions on deal points, including the weight limit and gloves, and were hopeful Pacquiao would agree “that many different substances and procedures can only be detected by blood testing.” Team Mayweather contends that Pacquiao had blood drawn just 14 days before his May fight against Ricky Hatton.

Mayweather’s statement also noted Pacquiao won’t agree to mediation on the subject by someone as respected as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.):

“Team Mayweather … is still open to the earlier discussions of having both parties work out a mutually agreeable understanding of the testing, which would be conducted by a mutually-agreed-upon agency.”

“… As Floyd has already stated, he does not have a problem with the random procedure and will be under the same requirements as Pacquiao. It is simply hard for him to understand why there is reluctance on Pacquiao’s part to agree to do the same.”

(LATimes)