By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press
LAS VEGAS -- Anyone who believes the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight is automatic hasn’t been paying attention -- and it doesn’t appear their freeze is thawing anytime soon.
Late Saturday night, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, said in a telephone interview with The Press that as long as Mayweather’s stance on random drug testing remains in place, there is “nothing to talk about” pertaining a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.
And Mayweather insisted that if Pacquiao doesn’t submit to the same random blood and urine testing that Shane Mosley did before losing to Mayweather Saturday night, then the fight won’t happen.
That was the same impasse that stalled Mayweather-Pacquiao talks last winter, and which seems just as daunting in any resumption of negotiations.
“I want to give fans a pleasing fight,” Mayweather said. “If they want to see me and Pacquiao, I want to give them that. But we must be on an even playing field in the sport of boxing. Too many fighters are dying, too many families are getting hurt, in the sport of boxing.”
Arum said there has been no discussion about Pacquiao’s next opponent while the Filipino focuses on a run for a congressional seat in his native country.
“The election is a week from Monday, then we'll figure out who he's going to fight,” Arum said.
Asked if that might be Mayweather if the drug-testing demand remains in place, Arum responded curtly.
“No,” he said.
Mayweather said if the fight ever does materialize, he expects the same courage that got him through a second-round trouble spot against Mosley to be on display against Pacquiao.
"I'm not saying that Manny Pacquiao's not a good fighter,” he said. “He's a good fighter. But I've got the will to win under the lights."
He also said he’s “not chasing any fighter” and that it’s just as likely he could move up to middleweight -- the 160-pound division -- and challenge new champion Sergio Martinez, who dominated Kelly Pavlik to take the title last month.
"I saw him fight,” Mayweather said. “I thought about that. It's possible, it's possible. We don't know. I saw him fight Kelly Pavlik and I looked at him, I caught a little glimpse of it.”
Pressed on the possibility of fighting Martinez, Mayweather said he’s really more interested in some time off and watching the NBA playoffs.
"I just mean it'd be good to go up and win the middleweight title,” he said.
E-mail David Mayo: dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo
Source: mlive.com
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