By J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY
If recent history is a guide, especially the last three decades, making big fights takes patience. No one knows that any better than HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant, who has intervened in an effort to help bridge the divide between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Negotiations are at a standstill because Mayweather wants random blood testing — not required by the Nevada State Athletic Commission which only tests urine. Pacquiao has agreed to three blood tests instead. Merchant, who has been with HBO since 1978, recently talked with USA TODAY:
When negotiations came to a sudden halt, after it appeared March 13 in Las Vegas was all but a certainty, what were your thoughts?
I thought it was just some gamesmanship by Mayweather who has a certain talent for mind games with opponents, creating conflict to help promote events. It appears that it has spiraled out of control. I couldn't imagine why. First of all, since he thinks he's going to win the fight and second of all because he's going to make upwards of 30 million or 40 million dollars, how could you take it seriously?
They seem serious about it. Almost as if they were saying Pacquiao can't be this good on his own. Now it's seems like it's a bloodbath. There's no precedent for fighters who have already decided how to divide the money then find issues that would break up a huge event. It's hard to take seriously even if it appears to be serious.
Do you think Golden Boy Promotions' demand for random blood testing is reasonable?
I see no indications that Pacquiao is anything but an exceptional, elite fighter. There are many precedents in boxing of smaller fighters to move up in weight division and be successful later in their careers.
(Golden Boy president) Oscar De La Hoya himself started out as a 130-pound titleholder and wound up fighting middleweights which is 30 pounds north of that. It seems like its some sort of ploy. But if both sides take it seriously and both sides see it as a test of their will. And then you get involved with personal issues, then maybe it's more out of control than anybody could imagine.
Old feuds have gotten into this between Mayweather and (Pacquiao's promoter Bob) Arum and Arum and De La Hoya. I've always looked upon these types of negotiations as a kind of ritual of dominance. 'I can impose my will on you in the negotiations, therefore I can impose my will on you in the fight.'
Pacquiao turned pro at 106 pounds, but he was only 16 years old. Is it that uncommon for a fighter to compete in multiple divisions, especially with all the sport's "junior" divisions?
Henry Armstrong turned pro at 120. He also fought for a middleweight championship. Alexis Arguello was a bantamweight when he started as a 16-year-old but he wound up fighting in the 140s. Ted "Kid" Lewis started as a bantamweight, and after winning the welterweight championship wound up fighting the top light heavyweights in the world. There are guys who are exceptions to the rule. Pacquiao fights in the low '40s. That means he has breakfast and lunch before the weigh-in where most fighters eat lightly, if at all. He's done a few amazing things. It's not like he's going around knocking everybody stiff with one punch. He's a boxer-puncher who has won on his boxing ability and his quickness. He hit De La Hoya with a flurry of 50 or 60 clean punches and never knocked him down. He's not Superman's son. He's just a helluva fighter who has captured the imagination of the fight world and become a kind of international cultural figure who transcends the sport.
What are the chances this fight happens in 2010?
(Bernard) Hopkins and (Roy) Jones were negotiating for a decade it seemed for a rematch from their 1993 fight. But that was about money. I don't think the boxing world grieves over the fact that it didn't get made. There's so much money involved here, even if irrationality triumphs over rationality, I think eventually the fight will get made. If they can't come to terms for a March fight then I think it'll happen at some later date. I think by the end of the holidays cooler heads will come to a compromise.
After Pacquiao knocked out Miguel Cotto, there was a positive energy looking ahead to him facing Mayweather. While this still would be a megafight, the headlines have a more negative tone. Does that matter?
There was a certain momentum that was moving along at a furious pace. The fact of the matter is, everybody except Pacquiao would prefer the fight to happen later now. The March date was picked out because he's running for political office in May (in the Philippines) and didn't want to fight after the middle of March. It would still be a huge event. Could it lose some of its mojo? Who knows. Maybe so. There's a great deal excitement and awareness about the fight right now.
It seems to be a virtual certainty to break all revenue records. The last fight below heavyweight that created this type of interest was the first pay-per-view fight that was (Ray) Leonard and (Thomas) Hearns. That fight was talked about for well over a year before it happened. People couldn't wait for it to happen. They just let it cook for a while and build up momentum. There's a lot of heat that's been built up around this match.
You tried to help out both sides by asking Sen. John McCain to mediate the dispute?
I suggested they should bring in Senator McCain to arbitrate because he's a regular at big fights. He himself was an amateur fighter at Annapolis in the Navy. Everybody agreed except Pacquiao. I can understand Pacquiao's point: Who's Senator McCain? He's an American politician. He's being insulted and accused of wrongdoing because he's so good.
So what's your final verdict on Pacquiao?
If (his trainer) Freddie Roach says he's clean — and he's as straight a shooter as there is in boxing — I believe Freddie Roach.
Source: usatoday.com
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