Filipino star Manny Pacquiao has given the clearest indication yet that he is willing to compromise over Floyd Mayweather's drug-testing demands.
Pacquiao says he would now be willing to take a blood test 14 days ahead of any fight with his American rival.
"I have agreed to it, but they should not draw much blood," he said.
Negotiations for a bout between the pair fell through earlier this year when the unbeaten Mayweather insisted on Olympic-style random drug testing.
Five-weight world champion Pacquiao said: "They should only take what is necessary for the drug test."
The 31-year-old, who previously said he does not like giving blood close to his fights, added: "14 days," when stating the time limit for blood to be taken before the fight.
In the run-up to their aborted March bout, Mayweather called for repeated blood testing up to the day of the fight. Pacquiao, who has never failed a doping test, wanted a 30-day cut-off.
Mayweather later said he agreed to a 14-day cut-off but that Pacquiao would not accept it.
Since then they have faced different opponents, with Mayweather beating Shane Mosley and Pacquiao defeating Joshua Clottey.
A fight between the pair, widely regarded and the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, would also likely be the richest in the sport's history, with Las Vegas or Dallas the likely venue.
"He [Mayweather] will no longer have a reason [not to fight]," added Pacquiao. "Let's see if that is really the reason."
Earlier this month, Pacquiao said he would have one last fight after securing a seat in the Philippine Congress by a huge margin.
His chief financial adviser Michael Konzc added that 6 November and 13 November had been set aside as potential dates for his next bout.
If it is not against Mayweather, Mexico's Antonio Margarito is his other likely opponent.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said Saturday Manny Pacquiao’s bold move to be tested 14 days before a proposed November 13 fight against Floyd Mayweather doesn’t solve the issue of random drug testing.
Speaking to fight scribe Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, USADA chief Travis Tygart said Pacquiao’s 14-day window “totally misses the point.”
“If you know you aren’t going to be tested within the last 14 days, you can cheat and get away with it. It is our right to test at any time, 30 days before the fight, 20 days before, the week of, the morning of – that provides the deterrent. If you block out a period of time and say we can’t test during that period, then an athlete could cheat and get away with it,” said Tygart, who heads the non-governmental agency tasked to get rid of doping in amateur and professional sports.
Pacquiao had told the Bulletin late Wednesday night that as part of his desire to make a deal with Mayweather, the Filipino is amenable to being tested two weeks before the scheduled bout and that only a reasonable amount should be taken from him.
Mayweather has demanded that he and Pacquiao undergo random blood and urine testing “in order to level the playing field.”
Although Mayweather hasn’t categorically stated that Pacquiao has been using performance-enhancing drugs, the statements of the flamboyant Detroit native imply that the 31-year-old seven-division titleholder is juiced, something that Pacquiao and his camp have perceived as utterly insulting.
“My only wish is for this fight to take place for the sake of the fans of boxing,” said Pacquiao, who has never been suspected and tested positive of any banned substance in 18 fights on US soil.
Pacquiao, who started out as a 108-pounder back in the mid-1990s, is bothered why Mayweather has the temerity to dictate the terms when it is the job of a boxing commission to regulate fights.
Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said the 14-day window sound sensible but Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s outspoken adviser, is unfazed by Pacquiao’s recent pronouncements.
“Random is random. It could be at any time. That’s what random means. I will say this: If and when Floyd Mayweather decides to fight again, random blood and urine testing will be part of it. Period,” Ellerbe said.
Mayweather is coming off a lopsided win over Shane Mosley early this month, while Pacquiao posted a similar win over Joshua Clottey last March.
MANILA, Philippines - Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said Saturday that the super fight between him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. now depends on the American boxer after he has agreed to undergo a blood test 14 days before their faceoff.
"Talagang hindi siya lalaban kung mangatwiran ulit siya," Pacquiao told radio dzMM when asked what he would do if Mayweather comes up with a new demand.
He said that if ever the superfight fails to push through, he may still fight another boxer or just retire and focus on his newfound career in politics.
Pacquiao has been proclaimed as winner in Sarangani Province's congressional race. He toppled a member of a powerful political clan in the province.
The Filipino boxer said he will take a 1-week crash course on public administration and governance at the University of the Philippines.
He said he is also determined to finish his business management course at the Notre Dame University in 2 years and then take up law.
Pacquiao clarified Friday that the blood that would extracted from him should only be minimal for the drug test.
“Pumayag naman ako pero hindi yung talagang maraming dugo na kukunin. Kung anong dugo ang kelangan sa drug test, ganoon lang karami. Fourteen days [before the fight],” Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News' Dyan Castillejo.
Pacquiao said during the radio interview that he has yet to receive a feedback from the camp of Mayweather.
The reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion said he softened his stand after listening to boxing fans’ clamor for a mega fight between him and Mayweather.
“Everywhere I go… gusto talaga nila ng Mayweather fight. [They ask me] over and over,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao made the decision to fight the former pound-for-pound king weeks after he received permission from his mother, Dionisia Pacquiao, for one last bout.
The blood test controversy was the reason the negotiations between the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps collapsed early this year.
The two would have fought last March 13, but Mayweather ended up fighting Shane Mosley and Pacquiao battling Ghana's Joshua Clottey.
Pacquiao’s camp earlier agreed to undergo tests 24 days before the fight, but Mayweather’s group insisted that blood should be taken 14 days prior to the fight.
Blood test as the drug protocol is the personal requirement for Mayweather. Athletic commissions require urine tests on boxers as the form of drug testing, and Pacquiao has never had a problem.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he learned the last day for blood testing used by Mayweather and "Sugar" Shane Mosley in their recent fight was 18 days prior to the fight.
"The USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) stopped the blood test... they took 5 or 6 tests but the last one was 18 days for Mosley and 19 days for Mayweather," he told ABS-CBN News' Dyan Castillejo in a phone interview.
Floyd Mayweather has remained silent on the breakthrough move made by Manny Pacquiao concerning the touchy issue of random drug testing even though the American fighter may have already had his mind all made up as early as February.
Talking to the Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather's hometown paper, the flashy fighter said his stand on drug-testing and purse-sharing would change if his pay-per-view numbers in the fight with Shane Mosley would do better than Pacquiao's bout with Joshua Clottey.
The Pacquiao-Clottey tiff on March 13 generated over 700,000 buys, while the Mayweather-Mosley match last May 1 drew 1.4 million buys.
Mayweather told the paper: "I gave him a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight. They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That’s what it is."
And since Mayweather was able to generate more success in pay-per-view, he is of the belief that the revenue-sharing will no longer be at 50-50, which was agreed upon by the two camps during the heat of negotiations to pit them together early this year.
"Instead of 20 or 25 (million dollars), he may have to drop to 15, or 17. And you know me, they may have to throw that extra five or 10 on mine, and and we can rock and roll. Take it or leave it."
Last Wednesday, Pacquiao said he will be willing to be tested until two weeks before the proposed Nov. 13 fight with Mayweather, something that is seen by ringsiders as a sign that the Filipino is determined to salvage the fight.
Pacquiao stressed that as long as the amount that will be taken is small, he will have no problem giving out blood.
Negotiations for the bout fell through earlier this year when the American Mayweather insisted on Olympic-style random drug testing, which the Filipino seven-time world champion rejected as too intrusive.
But Pacquiao, fresh from winning a seat in the Philippine Congress, told local television network ABS-CBN he was now ready to agree to the blood tests, ABS-CBN said on its website.
"I have agreed to it, but they should not draw too much blood. They should only take what is necessary for the drug test," Pacquiao, who has said he does not like letting blood close to his fights, told the station.
"Fourteen days," Pacquiao added, stating the time limit for blood to be taken before the fight.
In the run-up to the aborted March bout, Mayweather called for repeated blood testing up to the day of the fight. Pacquiao, who has never failed a doping test, wanted a 30-day cut-off.
Mayweather later said he agreed to a 14-day cut-off but that Pacquiao would not accept it.
The two rivals signed up to fight other opponents, Pacquiao beating Ghana's Joshua Clottey and Mayweather defeating Shane Mosley.
Pacquiao, the reigning World Boxing Organisation welterweight champion, told ABS-CBN he wanted to find out whether the anti-doping controversy was the real reason Mayweather had refused to fight him in March.
"So he will no longer have a reason (not to fight)," Pacquiao said. "Let's see if that is really the reason," he added.
Pacquiao said he had earlier rejected Mayweather&£8217;s demands because they were not required by professional boxing rules. Fighters should not meddle, he added.
"I'm a boxer, so why should I interfere with the work of the commission. That's the reason commissions are there, so they can set the rules."
US promoter Bob Arum told the Manila Standard newspaper earlier this month the clash, which would likely generate one of the biggest purses and television audiences in boxing history, could take place on November 13 in Texas or Las Vegas.
As the days go by boxing fans hope and wait for the announcement that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao have agreed to fight. With negotiation reports running rampant it appears that an agreement is inevitable. But a few new obstacles may emerge and stop the mega fight from happening.
This week, and over the past month, it’s been widely reported that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would try to negotiate a larger cut of the earnings for a bout with Pacquiao. Earlier this year, before their bout fell through over blood-testing, Mayweather and Pacquiao had agreed on a 50-50 split. However, after generating an impressive (although less than expected) 1.4 million pay-per-view buys and grossing the tenth highest gate take in Vegas history for his fight with Mosley, Mayweather may want 55-45, or even 60-40. However, Top Rank and Manny Pacquiao wouldn’t agree to anything less than a 50-50 split.
The other obstacle, the same issue that caused the fight to fall through before, blood-testing. This week, Manny Pacquiao told the Manila Bulletin that he’s willing to accept a 14 day cut-off on blood testing. During their last negotiation period Mayweather insisted on a 14 day cut-off to blood testing, while Pacquiao would only agree to 24. Now Pacquiao has agreed to the 14 days, however it’s been widely reported that Mayweather may now request testing up until the day of the fight. Its Mayweather’s right to request testing whenever he wants, but it’s also Pacquiao’s right to tell him to buzz-off. Hopefully the 14 day cut-off period will be agreed upon.
It’ll be interesting to see what new demands, if any, surface when negotiations begin. Reportedly they may begin next week. Let’s hope they do.
LOS ANGELES -- The pain was so great, Rafael Marquez couldn't bear to watch.
He had battled and bled for 25 rounds against Israel Vazquez in one of the most action-packed trilogies in boxing history.
Marquez had pulled himself off the canvas in the first fight to win by seventh-round TKO when Vazquez quit because of a broken nose. Marquez himself had lost by TKO in the sixth round of the rematch. And he had stood mano a mano for 12 rounds with Vazquez in the third fight, ultimately losing a split decision by one point on one judge's scorecard.
Marquez turned his back on boxing to heal his body and mind, also turning his back on every opportunity to watch a replay of Vazquez-Marquez III, the best of them all.
Marquez knew there have been few times in boxing history that two fighters have squared off for a fourth time. But he hungered for one more shot at his archrival, one more chance to take aim at the man with whom he will always be linked.
When he ran into Vazquez at the Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas in December 2008, Marquez pleaded his case.
Vazquez had been absent from the ring himself, but not by design. He reveled in that third fight. He watched it 30 times, always taking delight in his 12th-round knockdown of Marquez that clinched the outcome.
But Vazquez couldn't watch with clear vision because he had suffered a detached retina.
On Saturday night -- his eye healed after multiple surgeries -- Vazquez will give Marquez his long-awaited chance for redemption. Vazquez-Marquez IV will be the main event at Staples Center, the fighters moving up to featherweight after fighting their previous battles at super bantamweight.
Both fighters weighed in Friday at 125½ pounds, a half-pound below the limit.
"It's going to be a war," Marquez said.
"These two guys are attached at the hip, like Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward," said Gary Shaw, Marquez's promoter.
There have been doubts about Marquez and Vazquez each time they stepped into the ring, doubts about how good the first fight would be, doubts if the rematch would equal it, doubts about how the third fight could possibly match the first two. Each, as it turned out, was better than the last.
Now there are doubts about how much these two guys have left. Marquez (38-5, 34 knockouts) is 35 years old and has fought only once since the conclusion of the trilogy, beating Jose Mendoza on a third-round TKO a year ago.
Vazquez (44-4, 33) is 32, but he, too, has fought only once since the trilogy, beating Angel Priolo, who had seven losses in 37 fights, last October.
"My motivation is to shut those naysayers' mouths," Vazquez said. "They say I shouldn't be fighting anymore. ... I want to let them know I can still make great fights. Rafa and I might be in wheelchairs one day, but we'll still be throwing punches."
Promoters and fans alike are talking about the possibility of Saturday's semi-main event "stealing the show."
How do you steal the show when you are followed by two men who have staged a classic boxing trilogy?
Matching undefeated fighters who are a combined 40-0 with 27 knockouts is a good start.
Yonnhy Perez (20-0, 14) will be making the first defense of his International Boxing Federation bantamweight title against Abner Mares (19-0, 13).
Perez, a Colombian who lives in Santa Fe Springs, and Mares, a Mexican who lives in Hawaiian Gardens, are friends.
But not Saturday.
"This is our job," Perez said. "He wants to win and I want to win. We'll still be friends afterward, probably better friends than before."
No argument from Mares.
"In the ring," he said, "we are the worst of enemies. Outside the ring, the best of friends."
Steve Springer is a freelance journalist and the author of eight books, the last three best-sellers. He was an award-winning sports writer with the Los Angeles Times for 25 years and is a past winner of the Nat Fleischer Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Boxing Writers' Association of America.
It seems that Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to dodge a megafight with Manny Pacquiao.
The virtual chess match between both fighters continued after Mayweather’s camp announced a new demand regarding his rival’s drug testing, preventing him from squaring off with Pacquiao inside the ring.
On Thursday, Pacquiao called Mayweather’s bluff, agreeing to take a blood test 14 days before their proposed November 13 battle.
No deal has been finalized in the much-awaited duel between two of boxing’s most celebrated fighters as Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer are still on the negotiating table to make the fight of the year take place.
Mayweather, in an interview by boxing writer Michael Marley, had a quick answer to Pacquiao’s turnaround, saying that from the start, he has demanded the seven world division champion to take test 14 days before the fight.
Now Mayweather, according to Marley, wants to do testing closer to the fight.
This new demand may not sit well with Team Pacquiao.
“(Mayweather) should be blamed if the fight doesn’t push through because Pacquiao has already agreed to take the test," said Arum.
Pacquiao believes getting blood sample closer to fight day could have an affect on his performance the same thing that happened when he lost to Erik Morales in 2005.
The US Anti Doping Agency is expected to facilitate the testing. – JVP, GMANews.TV
The wait is finally over. In an Examiner.com exclusive, this reporter was able to obtain a copy of the Drug Test Summary for Floyd Mayweather Jr and Shane Mosley. The summary lists the dates, types of tests, and results for both Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
I can now confirm Bob Arum's comments, from earlier today, that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley were last blood tested 18-19 days from the fight.
Before the blood tests on fight day, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s last blood test was on April 13th and Shane Mosley's last pre-fight day blood test was on April 12th.
Both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley each had two more urine tests before the fight. In total, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley were drug tested 16 times each.
These drug testing details are significant in the negotiations of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Since Floyd Mayweather Jr. was last blood tested 18 days before the fight, he should be more flexible in his stance on Manny Pacquiao's offer to be blood tested up to 14 days before the fight.
Source of Document: Nevada State Athletic Commission
demands.
Five-weight world champion Pacquiao said: "They should only take what is necessary for the drug test."
