Boxing Examiner | Vivek Wallace
The on-again/off-again negotiations between American Floyd Mayweather jr. and fightin' Filipino native Manny Pacquiao has apparently come down to a last ditch effort being staged Tuesday afternoon in California between the respective fight camps and now retired judge Daniel Weinstein serving as chief mediator.
These negotiations have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other, and of all the concessions made, there has been no progress what-so-ever in finalizing a deal that once seemed to come together far easier than anyone could imagine.
The breaking point has come in the fact that there seems to be no swaying within Team Pacquiao from their position relative to randomized blood testing.
The position of Team Pacquiao is set on one test before the announcement of the fight, another 30 days prior to the fight, and a final one taking place after the fight is complete.
In the eyes of Team Mayweather, this agreement is unacceptable because - as several medical sources have indicated - any knowledge of the particular testing time can allow someone who is using performing enhancing drugs can beat the test.
For a while, there lied the bigger problem, with Team Pacquiao feeling they were "singled out without proof", while Team Mayweather held the position that there was simply a need to get answers to a few speculative questions.
Recently, Roy Jones jr. spoke on the issue and some felt his criticism of the steroids testing being mandated by Team Mayweather meant he sided with Team Pacquiao.
For the record, it should be noted that while, like Jones jr., we can all agree that the request may have been wrong in principle, not once did Jones jr. say that he would have walked away from a shot at ultimate supremacy and a $40M payday. So the comments he made carry a bit less weight than many have seemed to believe.
At the end of the day, this ruckus will all come down to what happens Tuesday afternoon.
So far, Team Mayweather has conceded to a $10M stipulation for each pound that Mayweather weighs-in over 147lbs. Team Mayweather has agreed to stipulations for the glove size, as the fighters will both where 8oz gloves, despite the welterweight norm is 10oz gloves. Team Mayweather has also agreed to allow NSAC to conduct the testing.
With all of those concessions, it can only be desired that Team Pacquiao concede to one thing....and that thing is blood testing that comes unannounced.
We know what Team Mayweather is about, (the money), but whether Team Pacquiao is or not, clearly we need his help if there will actually be a show.
Stay tuned.
(Team Pacquiao has addressed the media saying that his fear of blood test comes as a result of his experience when facing Erik Morales. I will address this point in my next video segment --- tentatively set for Wednesday at 5pm est)
Source: Examiner.com
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