The boxers, both regarded as all-time greats, had been set to meet in the richest bout in history on March 13 in Las Vegas, until Mayweather’s demands for random blood testing led to a dramatic falling-out and a lawsuit from Pacquiao to Mayweather and his team, claiming defamation.
It had been hoped that mediation with a retired federal judge would bring the sides together, but after two days of wrangling there was no deal.
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, blamed Mayweather. “Floyd Mayweather walked away,” Arum said. “Our guy was agreeable, Mayweather wasn’t. The fight’s off. I always felt he wasn’t going to do the fight. He knows Manny will beat him.
“Mayweather’s never stepped into the ring with a guy he had any question but that he was going to beat. That’s why there’s never been a [Shane] Mosley, never a [Antonio] Margarito, never was a [Miguel] Cotto and there’s no Pacquiao.
“Floyd Mayweather is a coward. He will never fight anyone that will remotely give him a tough fight.”
Arum’s company, Top Rank, promoted Mayweather, 32, until 2006 and the parting was acrimonious. Likewise, Golden Boy, Mayweather’s representatives, once promoted Pacquiao. A threat to negotiations was always going to be whether such a group of huge egos could work together again.
With Pacquiao, 31, running for Congress in the Philippines in May, it seems that the window for the contest early this year is shut. It could be that the bout is merely put off until the autumn, but nothing is certain.
The Filipino is expected to press ahead with a challenge for Yuri Foreman’s WBA light-middleweight title on March 13 or 20. While Foreman, a New York-based Israeli, appears to be the softest option at light-middleweight, it would give Pacquiao the chance to claim a world title in an eighth weight division.
Mayweather’s options are less glamorous. One that has been mooted is against Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of Ricky, in Britain. But that bout lacks credibility.
Billy Graham, Hatton’s former trainer, scoffed at the possibility. “It would be an embarrassment for Floyd to have that fight,” Graham told boxingscene.com. “It is a wonderful opportunity for Matthew but it wouldn’t be good for boxing, the fans or Floyd Mayweather as it is a mismatch.”
A better option could be to wait until May, when a bout against the winner of Mosley and Andre Berto could be made. Mosley, the WBA welterweight champion, and Berto, the WBC champion, meet in Las Vegas on January 30.
SOURCE : timesonline.co.uk
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What do you think? Is Mayweather really a coward?
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