BOB ARUM: MAYWEATHER JUST DOESN'T WANT TO FIGHT PACQUIAO

By G. Leon

GL: Why is Manny Pacquiao opposed to the Olympic style drug testing? "Don't give me this nonsese about the Olympic style drug testing. The Nevada Commission has drug testing prodcedures, and Mayweather, in order to find a way out of this fight, started this nonsense about having other tests taken. He is not the commissioner, the commission is the Nevada commission and they have jurisdiction over the fight. I pulled out of these negotiations three weeks ago becuase I wasn't going to put up with it, but Todd said that he would find a solution. First they agreed that Manny would do urine analysis until he couldn't piss anymore. Whenever they wanted he would piss, they agreed to take his blood before the press conference and after the fight. Then they appeased the little rascal even more by saying they would take it 30 days before. But nothing is good for Mayweather because he doesn't want the fight.

He knows that Manny has a phobia of putting needles in and extracting blood when it got close to the fight. He Knew that Pacquiao would't do it and he kept on insisting on it, but Pacquiao just won't do it. If you check with any boxing drug testing specialist.

"Len Satterfield quoted one of the biggest experts in the field, who has 800 football players, who said that sophisticated urine analysis is better than blood testing to detect steroids or anything else. This is just a nonsense issue raised by Mayweather in order to get into the fight."

GL: The whole superstition that Pacquiao has about..

Bob Arum: (cutting in) "It's not a superstition."

GL: That's what ESPN is saying.

BA: "I don't care what they call it. He feels that taking blood from him immediately beofre the fight or a few weeks before the fight. This is what he believes and this is what Freddie believe and we're not going to do it. End of story, case closed and we're going to be moving on to another opponent."

GL: My two part question is this, first off how soon before a fight would Pacquiao give his bloodwork for the HIV test and whatever medicals need to be conducted, and seconldy, what's the problem if the test is conducted after the fight?

BA: "We would agree to that, there isn't any. You're absolutely correct. HE would agree to the test immediately after the fight and he would give blood to the commission in the beginning of the year at the press conference, which had been scheduled for January 6. Even though we believe blood testing determines nothing, we would agree to do it after the fight, of course."

GL: And how soon before the fight would he normally get the bloodwork done for his medicals?

BA: "It depends on when he applied for the license. So in this case he would apply in January and do it in January."

GL: So none of this has anything to do with Manny's desire to run for congress.

BA: "Absolutely not. It won't interfere with the promotion, that was the point of doing it in March, but the point is, Floyd Mayweather is not the commission of boxing. Floyd Mayweather is under the jurisdiction, if we fight in Nevada, which I'm sure we would. To appease him we agreed to urine analysis and the blood test before the fight and after."

GL: Is now until March 13 enough time to promote what could be the biggest fight in boxing history?

BA: "I think it's a short window and I agree with you Greg. The biggest fight in boxing history was the first Ali-Frazier fight and that wasn't signed until the end of December and it happened on March 8. It's much more difficult to promote fights and get info out in those days, so the answer is it can be done, but moments are ticking off and the more this goes on, it's appearing less and less likely."

GL: You said that you're sure the fight would take place in Vegas. Does that mean they're offering more than the $25M Jerry Jones is offering to make the fight?

BA: "I don't want to get into it, but I think before this issue came to a head, I think both sides had agreed to do the fight at the MGM Grand."

GL: Can you give us some thoughts on Kelly's peformance?

BA: "I think everybody loved the show. Kelly needed a test like Espino because he had so much rust. Given the rust he had and the fact that Espino came out like a real warrior, I think he did really well."

GL: I spoke with Jack Loew and he made it clear that Pavlik will stay at middleweight and he wants to fight Paul Williams. Is that a realistic option?

BA: "FOr me it is. We had a contract on December 5, and it didn't happen because of Kelly's hand. We're willing to do it on HBO on the earliest possible opportunity, all they have to do is initial the old contract and it's done."

GL: Since Kelly's hand is healed, other than a serious fluke, you have no doubt the fight would come off?

BA: "Let me assure you Greg that Kelly was seriously injured. It sounds ridiculous that a finger could do this, but it was a staph infection and he nearly died. If you want to inspect the records from the Cleveland clinic, which is one of the foremost hospitals in the country we'll arrange for it.

GL: I think the issue people have has more to do with the fight being scheduled for December 5, it didn't happen on December 5. We watch Williams fight somebody else on December 5 and then Pavlik is back in the ring two weeks later.

BA: "That's right, because Kelly even on December 19 only had a month to prepare. He couldn't fight Williams on a two week training period, that would have been crazy."

GL: Unless a resolution is reached and agree to let Pacquiao take the tests when he's willing to take the tests, will there be a fight on March 13?

BA: "No. No. No. No. I think that's not in the cards."

GL: Closing thoughts?

BA: "Mayweather never had any intetion to fight Pacquiao and this demonstrates it.

Source: boxingtalk.com