The fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather has quickly gone from agreed upon to in jeopardy to now completely “off,” reports multiple sources. From The Philippine Star:
Promoter Bob Arum On Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight: ‘The Plug Is Pulled’
Top rank promoter Bob Arum yesterday said the fight, set on March 13 at MGM Grand, is off following the two camps’ dispute on the Olympic-style drug testing.
“The plug is pulled. The fight is off as far as we’re concerned,” said Arum who, however, said Pacquiao could start looking for a new opponent.
“Mayweather proves that he’s a coward and he’s looking for a way out of the fight. The Nevada commission has been doing drug testing for the last 40 years,” said Arum.
“Takot talaga sa akin (He’s really scared of me),” was Pacquiao’s immediate reaction after negotiations for the blockbuster fight came to a screeching halt.
This whole situation is stemming from Mayweather’s insistence that both fighters submit to “Olympic-style random drug tests,” something Pacquiao refuses to do. Bad Left Hook has their take, and they see it all as one big game of chicken.
On one hand, it looks bad that Pacquiao won’t submit to testing if he actually is clean. On the other hand, it looks bad that Mayweather is demanding something that, as far as I know, has never been something required in a professional boxing match. Both sides seem to have some reasonable arguments here.
Who’s going to blink? I find it hard to believe that both fighters are willing to leave a guaranteed $25 million (with kickers of up to $40 million) on the table over something so small. But for now, the fight gets some more free publicity, and the sports talk shows will have something to discuss during what’s normally a slow time of the year.
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