FROM GMANEWS.TV

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., came out negative during the random-style urine testing procedure conducted on them, before negotiations for their projected 12-round mega-bout fell apart two weeks ago.

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director Keith Kizer announced that the urine samples taken from the two boxing icons “came back negative for all prohibited substances."

Pacquiao and Mayweather were ordered to undergo the procedure as part of a random out-of-competition drug-testing practice of the commission, since both fighters are licensed in Nevada.

The two provided samples last Dec. 28.

Pacquiao was tested in his hometown in General Santos City, the sample of which was taken in Malaysia, while Mayweather underwent the same process in his hometown in Las Vegas.

A disagreement in the drug-testing procedure to be conducted on Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. hindered what many believe could have been the richest and biggest fight ever in the history of boxing.

That gave way to a Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey 12-round showdown on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the Filipino’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt will be at stake. – GMANews.TV

By Kirk Jackson: I have been informed from a few reliable sources, the much anticipated mega boxing show down between Pound for Pound Kings Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still on.

It seems like there have been recent developments everyday, going into a range from drug testing disputes, to whatever else the two camps choose to disagree on, and deadlines to come to an agreement have been tossed everywhere.

The main problem with the recent disputes between the two camps, have been trying to come up with an agreement in regards to the random urine and blood testing for performance enhancing drugs. The camp of Floyd Mayweather wants a 14 day cut off, while the camp of Manny Pacquiao wants a longer extended period. From what I have been informed, both camps have scheduled yet another meeting to salvage this fight.

The meeting for the final arrangements are to talk place this Sunday, with the fight still being scheduled for the tentative date of March 13 of this year. It looks like both sides will compromise and agree to a cut off period of 14 – 20 days for the random drug testing.

This will leave them with an opportunity to get off quick press tour before their historic show down in March.

By Shaun Campbell: Boxingnews24 today reported that Manny Pacquiao is likely defend his WBO welterweight title against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey. The former International Boxing Federation champion Clottey will no doubt be thrilled with the announcement that Pacquiao’s proposed “super fight” with Floyd Mayweather fell through. For boxing fans though it’s a totally different story. A disappointment, a letdown, a disgrace. Why pick an opponent who, while putting in a good effort again Miguel Cotto was eventually beaten. And the world saw what happened when Cotto faced the “Pac-man”.

Is Pacquiao vs Clottey the most attractive fight Bob Arum could find? They may as well have staged a 3rd contest between Pacquiao and Marquez, which would have probably been a more competitive fight than this one. This bout looks set to be happening on March 13th. With no disrespect to Clottey, what chance does he have to beat a man who so convincingly outclassed Miguel Cotto? It seems as if the bout will have to happen in March, which rules out the chance of Pacquiao facing the winner of Mosley vs Berto, which is a shame but the winner of that fight surely has to fight Floyd Mayweather.

Speaking of Mayweather, it is possible he will be fighting either Paulie Malignaggi or Britain’s Matthew Hatton. Both fighters a genuinely nice guys and no disrespect to them, but the difference in class is staggering. Malignaggi and Mayweather and two defensively minded fighters would like to hit and move, therefore their styles probably wont result in an exciting fight. Mayweather is a master of making exciting fighters, fight an ordinary fight. People will eventually lose interest in the dream match Pacquiao/Mayweather and focus on other fights which could possibly be made. Every day that passes where Pacquiao and Mayweather don’t fight, they’ll be losing money.

Clottey and Malignaggi are decent fighters, but they aren’t in the class of Pacquiao or Mayweather. So whether this is promotional hype or genuine problems that can not be settled, it is a disgrace.

By Frank Car: Contrary to news circulating that the Floyd Maywather vs. Manny Pacquiao bout is off once again. I still believe it’s not over. “It’s off” is something we have heard, what, three or four times now? Although my optimism is somewhat fading, there is still time for what a source called a “business deadline” for the Mega-Fight to be made.

There is not that much to say, other than we need to wait for more official news to surface, from both camps. It has been Pacquiao’s camp to once again say it’s off. That is no surprise seemingly how it has been Pacquiao’s camp to be quick to say it’s off numerous times in the past. It could be a negotiations tactic, but how many times you cry wolf. This time though, things seem to be a bit more serious for there is not much time left to strike a deal, but there is some time left.

When Mayweather’s camp gives a official statement, we hear about the contract negotiations themselves, and find out why they were unable to come to an agreement. We can start assume this thing is officially off. And then, the finger of blame will be coming out in full force, looking for just who is at fault for botching the one of the most anticipated match-ups ever. But it may not come to that, for once again there is still time.

You know in most negotiations, either side would probably be glad to take any type of drug test if they could chose, say the glove size. Pacquiao wanted 8 ounce gloves Mayweather wanted 10, they are using 8. Or say the weight, Pacquiao wanted 147 Mayweather wanted 154, they are going at 147. Or perhaps the date, Pacquiao wanted March, Mayweather wanted May; they are doing it in March. The only real demand I have seen Mayweather make is for Pacquiao to take the random blood test, but there has been hinting of Pacquiao using PEDs which probably didn’t help that any.

In any case a Olympic-style random blood test would take 3-5 random blood tests and 4-9 random urine tests or so. And in each of those blood tests, you would probably lose more blood if you got a bloody nose then they would require. A random drug test (which is almost the only way it can be effective) to seal the deal for the fight of the century is really and truly not that big of a deal in my view.

Pacquiao has always shown class and integrity in and outside the ring. On this one though, I am not seeing eye to eye with him. However I do understand him not enjoying being bombarded with accusations of doping, but denying a state-of-the-art drug test isn’t helping it any.

For a fun fact, if you donate an entire pint of blood you get paid $0. If you donate plasma – which is a part of blood and about a 2 hour process – you get paid around 25$. But a few random drops may keep some from making millions.

Each side may be waiting until the final seconds to see if the other side gives in until they themselves do. (That can make sense if you read it a few times)

If this bout doesn’t proceed, each boxer would be walking away from about $40 million each… I would think someone is going to turn around and pick it up.

by Jason Alcairo: According to news from Yahoo sports and as also reported in the Las Vegas Review Journal, the oft-cancelled potential mega fight between top ranked Pound for Pound fighters world Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr is once again off. Mediation went on for 9 hours yesterday but no conclusion was reached and this morning, neither fighter was present at the actual mediation. A revised proposal was given to both fighters, with Mayweather being the one to disagree. The stipulations in the new proposal is at the time unknown.

The underlying issue was the drug testing demands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. The former top rated fighter in the world wanted random blood tests of the Filipino champion based pretty much entirely on the suspicions of Floyd Mayweather Sr. and despite him never failing a drug test. Though they would both be going through the same tests, Pacquiao would only agree to 3 blood tests and unlimited urine tests.

This leaves both fighters to take on 2 opponents in the meanwhile until they can decide when they finally want to get together and fight. Pacquiao is more than likely going to be taking a fight with WBA Jr Middleweight champion Yuri Foreman, with Mayweather potentially facing either Matthew Hatton of the UK (chuckle) or former IBF Jr. welterweight champ Paulie Malignaggi.

Many boxing fans feel that the blood test demand by Mayweather is unwarranted. What is also grinding the gears of the same fans is that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer gave very vocal support to the blood tests after refusing to agree to Shane Mosley undergoing blood tests for a potential fight against Zab Judah that never materialized in 2008. According to a press release at the time, Pacquiao can be found in an interview following his 2005 loss to Erik Morales discussing the mental effects of having his blood drawn within 48 hours of the bout. According to him, he was informed that his blood documentation had been lost and he would have to give another sample.Having his blood removed in such an artificial way left him feeling weak. Even Morales had said that his punches didn’t hurt after beating Pacquiao by decision.This lead to the disagreement between the frequency and cutoff date for the blood tests.

This author’s personal opinion is riddled with frustration and a little bit of confusion. First off, if this is some sort of terribly conceived plan to keep on hyping up the fight, I’d rather they didn’t. This fight has continually demonstrated that it sells itself. If the lawsuit or PED allegations were meant to increase the drama, then I would consider it overkill. However, if this fight really, really, REALLY is off, then the lawsuit should go on as planned. Manny’s honor was besmirched by baseless accusations, and no, he doesn’t have anything to hide by refusing to take the tests no matter what the Floyd fan boys tell you. Manny’s refusal to test isn’t an attempt to hide any potential chemical transgressions so much as it’s his way of standing his ground and refusing to bend to Mayweather’s will and demands. All too often, people will throw the basic right to innocence until proven guilty out the window. The Mayweathers haven’t so much as presented a single shred of evidence to support their allegations, and the minute that the whispers of steroid use surround an athlete,the results could be costly. Pacquiao wasn’t like a baseball player who could barely hit the fence and then suddenly started crushing balls over the stadium walls left and right. He stopped shrinking himself down to make the lower weights and trained himself against pain while fully optimizing his body’s ability to produce his destruction of Ricky Hatton last May and Miguel Cotto in November. Simply put, Pacquiao is a killing machine powered by rice and fish.

Mayweather’s refusal to accept any sort of compromise leads me to believe that his 0 truly is more important to him than 40+ million dollars. To think that both sides have been capable of blowing through several months of anticipation with nothing to show for it is downright aggravating. I hope Pacquiao would pick a better opponent than Foreman,but perhaps in the future he can take on the winner of Mosley-Berto.

By Eric Thomas: If Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants his negotiations with World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to get back on schedule, Floyds might possibly need to issue a public apology and agree to drop the random blood testing demands for his March 13th fight with Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, said he wants the random blood testing dropped and some kind of public apology from Mayweather, according to news from the Sports.inquirer.

Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer. However, with the defamation lawsuit in process, it’s unclear what Mayweather’s lawyer would say about him giving a public apology, if Mayweather would even consider doing this. Currently, Mayweather’s management team and Top Rank will be meeting with a mediator Daniel Weinstein tomorrow to try and solve the impasse in the negotiations.

If Mayweather drops his demand for the random blood tests and issues a public apology to Pacquiao this will likely be all that is needed to get the fight back in motion. However, if Mayweather gives in to all of these points, it would appear that he would be caving in on everything without Pacquiao’s team meeting him halfway. Would Mayweather be able to give on these issues? It would give him a shot at making between twenty five and forty million if he can somehow get past all this mess with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao could face WBA light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman next as an alternate opponent in March if the Mayweather talks fail to move forward.

By Dave Lahr: In an article at Tempo.com.ph Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum says “It’s unbelievable. They don’t care who Manny fights.” Arum is speaking about Pacquiao’s popularity with stadium owners and boxing fans around the world many of who can’t get enough news about the Filipino star. Pacquiao and unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. are currently stuck in their negotiations with the random blood testing being the sticking point in the negotiations.

On Tuesday, an outside mediator, Daniel Weinstein, will be meeting with Top Rank, Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions to try and rectify the stalled negotiations. As for Arum’s claim that boxing fans don’t care who Pacquiao fights, that remains to be seen. Arum wants to match Pacquiao up next with World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman if the mediator fails at reviving the Mayweather-Pacquiao talks.

A fight against Foreman, a fighter only known among hardcore boxing fans, would be a big test for whether casual boxing fans would be interested in paying for to see Pacquiao fight an unknown fighter. Pacquiao wants another title, and Foreman would appear to be the easiest way for Manny to accomplish that.

A much harder task, perhaps even impossible, would be for Arum to match Pacquiao up with WBC light middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, who is considered by many boxing fans to be the best fighter in the light middleweight division. That fight would be a much more interesting fight than to see Pacquiao fight Foreman, who is a fighter with weak punching power and a history of being a runner in his fights.

To be sure, it doesn’t give one a sense of well being to see Arum so upbeat about the stadium owners not caring who Pacquiao fights.

That gives me the impression that there may not be any budging in the negotiation process by Pacquiao’s management team. I hope I’m wrong about this, because I really want to see Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. But if Arum believes like he says that people don’t care who Pacquiao fights, then there is no real reason for Pacquiao’s team to give in and meet Mayweather halfway.

I think some fans would interested in seeing Pacquiao fight Foreman, but nothing like the same amount of fans that have watched Pacquiao’s recent fights against Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya. It takes two good fighters to make a mega fight, and if you match Pacquiao against a fighter that many casual boxing fans have never heard of in their life, I doubt they’ll willing to pay big money to watch Pacquiao on pay-per-view no matter who is packaged together on the undercard.

By Sean McDaniel: In a last ditch effort to save the March 13th mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, an outside mediator, retired judge Daniel Weinstein, will meet with Top Rank, and Mayweather’s management team to try and overcome the stalemate in the negotiations for the fight. Weinstein, who previously helped work out a problem between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions in 2007, has to find a way to solve the dispute over the drug testing.

Mayweather, 32, wants random blood tests during the training period before the fight, but Pacquiao only wants three separate blood tests – one at the kickoff for the fight this month, another 30 days before the fight and a final one after the bout.

Mayweather asked for blood testing to be done for the fight despite the Nevada Athletic Commission, who oversees the bout, only asking for urine tests. Pacquiao and Top Rank feel as if they’re being pushed around by Mayweather with the extra blood tests, and don’t want to take more than the three blood tests that Pacquiao has already agreed upon. Unfortunately, this is the sticking point.

Mayweather hasn’t shown any signs of backing down on his request for blood tests inside the 30 day window, and Pacquiao is just as firm not to take any more than those three. Both fighters agree to the random urine tests. At stake for the fight is a possible $40 million for each fighter if they can come to an agreement.

In addition to the problems with the blood testing methods, Pacquiao has filed a lawsuit filed against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Sr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer for defamation. If this fight is to go forward, the mediator will likely have to work on getting this suit dropped, because it might make it difficult for the two fighters to come to an agreement if this lawsuit is still pending.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has a back-up plan of matching Pacquiao against World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman if the mediation process fails. This obviously would be a huge letdown for boxing fans who were hoping that Pacquiao would face Mayweather or at the very least a better known fighter like Shane Mosley. However, Pacquiao wants to try and collect an 8th world title, and if he can beat Foreman, this would give Pacquiao’s his 8th title. Many boxing fans on the internet have been less than thrilled with the prospect of seeing this fight, because many of them see Foreman as the weaker of the light middleweight champions. They also wonder whether Foreman, the champion, would have to fight Pacquiao at a catch weight while still having his title on the line for the bout.

As for Mayweather, there has been talk about him facing British fringe welterweight contender Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of Ricky Hatton. That, too, hasn’t been a fight that boxing fans have been thrilled about.

By Scott Gilfoid: HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant doesn’t understand why Floyd Mayweather Jr. has created such a big deal about the random drug testing in recent weeks, saying to Boxing Fanhouse “If it’s not gamesmanship [by Mayweather], then what they’re really saying is that ‘Nobody can be as good as Manny Pacquiao unless he’s helped by something.’ Maybe it reflects on Floyd Mayweather. Even if he believes he’s going to win, maybe he thinks that there’s a change he won’t.” This makes a lot of sense. Mayweather appears to have a doubt in his mind that he won’t be able to beat Pacquiao.

Why else would he make a huge production about the random blood testing for his March 13th bout against World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Pacquiao? That looks like a fear-based move to me. If Mayweather was really as confident as he portrays himself, he probably wouldn’t be worrying so much about the drug testing. After all, it isn’t like Pacquiao is going to come into the fight out-weighing him like Mayweather did against his last opponent Juan Manuel Marquez in September.

If he’s the same weight as Pacquiao, if not heavier, than why should Mayweather be worrying so much about the drug testing? It just seems to me that Mayweather has doubt in his mind about whether he can beat Pacquiao, and by having him drug tested numerous times, it would somehow quiet Mayweather’s self doubt.

Merchant doesn’t understand the logic behind Mayweather calling so much attention to drugs for this fight, remarking “I thought that it was gamesmanship, because I didn’t see anything to be won by this. If you think that he’s [Pacquiao] been using illegal substances, do you want him called out before the fight and revealed, and blow the whole deal? I never got the point of all this.”

I don’t understand that either. By doing that, Mayweather is basically talking down the fight, because many boxing fans might be turned off about a fight if they think one of the participants is using illegal performance enhancers. What good is it to mention that kind of thing if you want boxing fans to get excited about the fight and purchase it in droves by pay-per-view?

If anything, Mayweather should be keeping his trap shut and trying to talk up Pacquiao or at least say how he’s going to beat him. The worse thing, I think, for Mayweather to do is to put so much emphasis on the drug testing methods for the bout. That’s like a huge turn-off, at least for me.

I don’t think Mayweather has clearly thought this issue out and seen what kind of adverse effect it would have in drumming up ticket sales and pay-per-view buys. I’m just left with the impression that Mayweather is afraid about this fight about losing and ending up with his first defeat on his record.

By Scott Gilfoid: According to Michael Marley of Examiner.com, the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao bout is breathing new life. Marley reports that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said that he’s willing to meet with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer next week, as well as the attorneys for Pacquiao and Golden Boy, and see if he can work something out. As things stand now, Pacquiao is going to be starting training next week with trainer Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym, in Los Angeles.

Marley states that Arum doesn’t seem as excited about a potential bout between World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman and Pacquiao compared to before. That’s not surprising, because few boxing fans seem all that interested in paying to see Pacquiao fight the little known Foreman.

Marley says that Arum is open to meeting with judge Weinstein, the same judge who assisted in mediation with Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions in the past. “Something could be bubbling,” Arum says, hinting that there would be some movement between the hard-line stances between the parties of the two fighters Pacquiao and Mayweather.

As of now, the sticking point is over the random blood tests for drugs that Mayweather wants for the fight to take place. Arum says, “Our first priority, before any fight with anybody, is to clear Manny’s name. Would that be through an apology? I don’t want to get into that.”

This is very interesting. Would Mayweather be willing to make a public apology to Pacquiao about the drug using allegations? I don’t know if I can see Mayweather doing that, but then again he stands to make a lot of money if he did apologize. If it meant getting the fight back on track, and having Pacquiao’s lawsuit for defamation dropped, Mayweather would stand to gain a heck of a lot by doing a bit of groveling.

Arum continues, “I will say that, if they [Golden Boy Promotions CEO Schaefer, Mayweather, and the attorneys from both sides] to meet in front of judge Weinstein on Monday, Tuesday or any day, then we are willing to listen. If some mediation occurs, and I don’t know if it will, then we would have to listen to that.” This sounds very promising. Arum also said that ‘Rumblings” about mediation were given to him by Daniel Petrocelli, the lawyer for Pacquiao.

By Jason Kim: As reported by The Grand Rapids Press, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao could stand to win tens of millions of dollars if his lawsuit for defamation against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is successful. Pacquiao has hired famous American lawyer Daniel Petrocelli to represent him in this case. Petrocelli said in an interview at Grand Rapids Press, “They’ve already done untold damage, in the tens of millions of dollars, and we’re going to see this doesn’t happen again, and we’re going to recover for all the damage that they’ve already inflicted.”


If Pacquiao does win this case, he may not need to fight Mayweather after all to get a huge payday, because this case could potentially bring Pacquiao millions of dollars in damages. If Pacquiao fights Mayweather, he stands to make between $25 million to $40 million. That fight is looking more and less likely to happen because the two sides have been unable to agree to the drug testing methods.

By Michael Taylor: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is known so well by boxing fans for his torments and the way he gets under opponents skin, but usually does it when they stand face to face, and when the fight is arranged. But this time Mayweather has already enraged Manny Pacquiao, and Manny wasn’t short of words in a recent interview back in the Philippines. Manny has now agreed to do urine tests before the fight but still the fight is still in danger.

Manny said, “I can’t believe these guys can lie without batting an eyelash and they would even make it appear that I am the culprit for the delay of the fight and saying I don’t want it to happen. Liars go to hell. They should be man enough and own up to their words”.


So finally Pacquiao has come back, and lets hope he does the punishment in the ring, because no boxing fans are going to be at the court now are they Manny.

Manny wasn’t quite finished and had to add some remarks about Mayweather, “They claimed I threatened to walk away from the largest fight in history. That’s the first lie! Last week, I told Floyd Jr, to shut his big, pretty mouth and that we should fight so that the world will get to see who is the best fighter in the planet.

On December 30, 2009, 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.

By Chris Williams: Yahoo sports writer Kevin Iole is reporting that the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao bout is all but set for March 13th. Iole says that he got the news from one of his sources, so let’s hope that it’s legitimate. The previous rumors that were floating around was that Pacquiao was considering a bout against Yuri Foreman while Mayweather was possibly looking at fighting Matthew Hatton. Not too many boxing fans were interested in seeing Pacquiao and Mayweather fight against those opponents based on the negative comments.

As of now, no site has been set for the location of the bout, but Las Vegas is one of the cities that is being considered.