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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Arum says Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is off

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GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AFP) - Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, says the Filipino hero's planned welterweight mega-fight against unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather is off because the sides cannot agree on drug testing.

Arum told the Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather's hometown newspaper, that he thought the American never really wanted to fight "Pac-Man", who took his pound-for-pound throne during a retirement that Mayweather ended in September.

"We're going in a different direction," Arum told the newspaper. "What I believe is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao."

"Floyd, to me, is a coward and he has always been a coward. Not a physical coward, but a coward because he's afraid to face somebody who could beat him. And believe me, Manny Pacquiao could beat him."

"So he will go his way, we will go our way and that will be fine."

The last stumbling block after all other negotiations had been completed was on Mayweather's request for World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) doping test procedures rather than those commonly used at fights in Las Vegas.

"I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same," Mayweather said. "It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night."

At issue is blood testing. Mayweather wants testing close to the fight as well as after, which became a deal-breaker for Pacquiao that has wiped out what could have been the biggest moneymaker of a fight in boxing history.

"We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight," Arum told the Press.

"Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knew that Manny gets freaked out when his blood gets taken and feels that it weakens him. This is just harassment and to me just signaled that he didn't want the fight."

Pacquiao agreed to random urine tests at any time and blood tests at a pre-fight news conference in two weeks in New York as well as after the planned March 13 bout.

Arum had sympathy for boxing fans who have been looking forward to seeing two of the sport's finest fighters meet in a fight expected to bring more than 100 million dollars in revenue.

"Sure they will be disappointed, but they've got to understand what's up," Arum said. "We're not going to keep appeasing this guy for no damn reason, especially over something that would affect, psychologically, my fighter."

"We're not going to be pushed around by this guy. We're not going to do it."

Arum said he backed out of talks on December 10 in favor of stepson Todd duBoef after Mayweather refused to consider a bid to fight in the 100,000-seat stadium of American football's Dallas Cowboys.

Two days later, Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe made the demand for WADA-style testing.

"I knew what was up. I'm not a fool," Arum said. "I knew the fight wasn't going to happen. But I could be wrong and that's why Todd made a 'college' try.

"Manny Pacquiao doesn't know anything about drugs. This is just typical nastiness by wise guys like Ellerbe and Mayweather."

Arum, who called the blood tests a psychological ploy to gain an edge over Pacquiao, said telecaster HBO tried in vain Tuesday to find agreement on the testing but to no avail.

"This is all a bunch of hooey and nonsense," Arum said. "Nevada has stringent drug testing, right before the fight and after the fight. The kind of testing we agreed to was designed, 100 percent, to detect everything.

"Remember, 40 years of fights in Las Vegas and nothing like this has ever come up. If you want more stringent testing, sure, as long as it doesn't inconvenience and psychologically affect Pacquiao, sure, who cares? They could analyze urine from today until tomorrow, it wouldn't affect anything."

"It's the blood testing close to the fight, while he's in training, that's unnecessary. And everybody who knows anything about drug testing will tell you it's unnecessary."

Another factor complicating the matchup should the sides sort out their testing woes is that Pacquaio is running for Congress in his homeland in May, wiping out the original May 1 date organizers had in mind for the bout.

Possible next foes for Pacquiao, Arum said, include Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, American Paulie Malignaggi or unbeaten Israeli Yuri Foreman, the World Boxing Association super welterweight champion.

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