By Giancarlo Malinconico: Floyd Mayweather Jr. initially wanted a 60-40 purse split against Manny Pacquiao. But eventually Mayweather realized his unreasonable demand would be looked upon as an excuse to avoid fighting the Pac man. Next, Mayweather wanted the fight at 154 pounds with 10-ounce gloves, granting him an obvious weight advantage against the smaller Pacquiao. At the same time, diminishing the Pac man’s hand speed and punching power with the heavier gloves. Mayweather continues to take issue with every clause in the contract. Now Floyd is demanding unprecedented Olympic-style drug testing if the blockbuster matchup is to occur. So one may wonder why Floyd has been such a stickler during the negotiations. It is simple– Mayweather is insecure with his chances against the Filipino icon.

Although Floyd would rather not face Pacquiao, he does not want boxing pundits and fans to figure out his true reasons for turning down the biggest bout in boxing history. If Floyd were to pull out of the fight for an unreasonable money issue, an issue of weight, or glove size, it would stain Mayweather’s legacy in boxing, especially since he is the self-proclaimed greatest fighter of all time.

Pacquiao has agreed to take a blood test immediately following the contest. And Freddie Roach has agreed to testing up until 5 days before fight night. Are we to believe that the random testing of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) will superbly be able to uncover illegal conduct by Pacquiao that random urine tests, a blood test five days before the matchup and an immediate blood test following the match could not? It would be ridiculous for Pacquiao to agree to random tests by the USADA from the beginning of training camp until the day before the fight. Theoretically, the USADA could test Pacquiao seven days straight for the last seven days leading up to the bout, including a test on the day of the weigh-in. Although this occurrence is unlikely, it is possible that Pacquiao could have his blood drawn on the day of the weigh-in and suffer a bad reaction. Since the USADA cannot amend the way in which it administers its testing, the fight is a dead issue unless Mayweather’s camp is willing to allow a third-party agency to carry out the testing. Ironically, Golden Boy promotions would not allow Shane Mosley, who has been implicated in the BALCO scandal, to take an independent blood test in a proposed bout with Zab Judah. But now Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer are demanding Pacquiao do what they did not ask their fighter to do.

Swing enough times and you will strike something. After many excuses throughout the negotiations, Floyd may have just found one that will work brilliantly. Floyd’s prior excuse for not fighting Pacquiao last year was that Juan Manuel Marquez “called him out”. And ESPN’s Brian Kelly on national television practically embarrassed Floyd over it. The suspicion of Pacquiao stems from an unproven statement by a bitter Floyd Mayweather Sr. who was out coached head-to-head against Freddie Roach, leading to a second round knockout of Ricky Hatton. Additionally, promotional companies are siding with Floyd on this matter. Even Max Kellerman has stated that Pacquiao’s refusal is “suspicious”.

Mayweather, who should be 39-1 in the ring because he clearly lost his first fight to Jose Luis Castillo, may now hold the opposite of that record, 1-39, as far as it comes to successfully convincing the media of his excuses for not facing an opponent. From refusing to fight Antonio Margarito to “Marquez called me out first” to a 60-40 purse split request, Floyd has finally scored a knockout with his unprecedented request for USADA drug testing. Floyd’s proposal is brilliant for two reasons: it grants him a seemingly “legitimate” reason for not accepting the fight with Manny, allowing him to remain undefeated by facing a mediocre opponent instead, as he did when he avoided Margarito. Moreover, it further casts suspicion on the achievements of Pacquiao. Pacquiao will counterpunch, however. He has stated that he will file a lawsuit against the Mayweathers for defamation.

If Freddie Roach has agreed to allow Manny to take random blood tests up to five days before the matchup, what does Floyd have to be afraid of? It sounds as if Floyd is afraid of losing because his claim as the greatest fighter of all time would be diminished. Oh well, if the fight is cancelled, Mayweather fans should not worry,—I’m sure Floyd will find a suitable replacement for Manny—he could always fight Mathew Hatton in England—or maybe he can get Golden Boy’s Israel Vasquez to move up to welterweight.