"The much-anticipated showdown between Manny
Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, tentatively scheduled for March 13 at
the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, has collapsed, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum
told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.
"The fight's off," Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said from Las Vegas.
The
fight died after a last-ditch attempt at mediation between Top Rank and
Golden Boy, which represents Mayweather, failed in an effort to
determine the drug testing protocol.
The fight died after a last-ditch attempt at mediation failed in an effort to determine the drug testing protocol.
Pacquiao
had agreed to move off his hard-line stance of refusing a blood test
inside 30 days before the fight, but Mayweather wouldn't budge off his
desire for random testing all the way until the fight, Arum said. Nor
would Mayweather agree to a public apology for remarks he made accusing
Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs, Arum said.
"I am
very disappointed that we could not make this fight for the fans and I
am angered because of the false accusations from Golden Boy and the
Mayweather camp that I used some type of drugs, and that is why I have
instructed our American lawyers to proceed with the lawsuit to clear my
name," Pacquiao said in a statement.
“
”
-- Top Rank chief and
Manny Pacquiao promotor Bob Arum
Arum said Pacquiao would move on and likely fight junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman on March 13 or March 20.
The
fight was to have been on HBO PPV, a sure blockbuster many believed
would break the all-time pay-per-view record of 2.44 million buys set
by Mayweather's 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya, who owns Golden Boy
Promotions. But Arum said he had informed HBO PPV boss Mark Taffet that
the fight was off.
Had the fight done the monster numbers
organizers expected, it would have likely generated in the neighborhood
of $200 million with the fighters receiving in roughly $40 million
apiece.
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy and the point
person for the company on the negotiations, did not return multiple
messages.
The sides had negotiated every point of the deal except
for the drug testing procedures. The fighters agreed to unlimited
random urine testing, but Mayweather insisted on random blood testing
as well, even though the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which would
regulate the fight, requires only urine testing.
Pacquiao
(50-3-2, 38 KOs) didn't want any blood testing but had agreed to take
three blood tests: one during the week of the kickoff news conference,
which would have taken place next week, one random test to be conducted
no later than 30 days before the fight and a final test in his dressing
room after the fight. Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) would have been subject
to the same testing procedures.
When they could not come to an
agreement on the drug testing, they enlisted the aid of a mediator,
retired judge Daniel Weinstein, who successfully mediated a series of
disputes between Top Rank and Golden Boy, which represents Mayweather,
in June of 2007. At the center of the problem was ownership of the
promotional rights to Pacquiao, who had signed contracts with both
companies before eventually pledging his loyalty to Top Rank. Under the
settlement, Top Rank got Pacquiao's contract with Golden Boy retaining
a small percentage.
With lawyers at their side, Top Rank's Arum,
company president Todd duBoef, Golden Boy's Schaefer and De La Hoya,
along with Mayweather adviser Al Haymon, spent nine hours in mediation
on Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif.
The sides struck a deal during
the marathon session Tuesday, but it was contingent on getting the
fighters to sign off, Arum said.
On Wednesday, they were back
in their offices -- Golden Boy in Los Angeles and Top Rank in Las Vegas
-- and worked the phones with their clients while still under
Weinstein's gag order not to talk to the media.
Arum said Pacquiao agreed to ease his demands on the drug testing window but Mayweather wouldn't.
Arum
said Pacquiao agreed to shorten the window for a blood test to 24 days
before the fight. In order to receive a Nevada boxing license, Pacquiao
took the standard annual blood test 24 days before his May 2009 fight
with Ricky Hatton.
"Manny accepted what was on the table and
Mayweather rejected it," Arum said. "Haymon and Schaefer tired to
convince Floyd all [Tuesday night] and [Wednesday] and he wouldn't
agree to it. He didn't want the fight. He never wanted the fight. I
always knew the fight wouldn't happen."
The drug testing became a
major issue when Floyd Mayweather Sr., the father of the fighter, made
several public remarks accusing Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing
drugs without a shred of proof. Mayweather Jr. later made similar
remarks about him using PEDs, even though Pacquiao denies it and has
never failed a drug test.
"When the fight was offered, Manny
accepted it with no hesitation," Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz told
ESPN.com from the Philippines, where he was with Pacquiao. "We're not
surprised. We saw this coming once they started this drug bull----. It
was a way for them to get out of the fight. I don't think Mayweather
expected Manny to accept the challenge so quickly."
The
accusations led Pacquiao to file a defamation lawsuit last week in
Nevada U.S. District Court against Mayweather Jr., Schaefer, Golden Boy
president De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather and
Mayweather Promotions.
"The guys who should be most disappointed
in the fight being off are Schaefer and De La Hoya because they went
along with this guy [Mayweather] and ended up with gatz and a big
lawsuit," Arum said.
Said Koncz: "We agreed to move the drug
testing to 24 days under the supervision of the Nevada commission and
Mayweather still wouldn't budge. So now what we've done is give up
maybe $40 million to take a stand for Manny's principles. We will
proceed with the lawsuit in an effort to clear his name and tarnished
image. Even if they make a public apology it's not enough. Now they'll
have to prove to a judge that Manny is on drugs, which they won't be
able to do because he's not. Manny is pissed off because he feels Floyd
is a chicken and because he tarnished his reputation. This is about
principle. We have nothing to hide."
Golden Boy also risks losing its share in Pacquiao's contract, Arum said.
They also risk losing their share in Pacquiao's contract, Arum said.
"There's
an arbitration which calls for them to lose any percentage of Manny's
promotional contract, something we asked for and had postponed, but now
it will go forward," Arum said. "We did that two weeks ago before Manny
filed his lawsuit. It's binding arbitration. Our request was for Golden
Boy to forfeit its interest in Pacquiao's contract based on the fact
that they had demeaned Pacquiao with their remarks [alleging he used
PEDs] and that it violated the [2007] agreement between Pacquiao, Top
Rank and Golden Boy."
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