By Giancarlo Malinconico: According to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Richard Schaefer, who is representing Floyd Mayweather in negotiations, has stated that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) conducted testing of both fighters is not a necessary condition any longer.Testing conducted by an independent agency would be sufficient. Perhaps members of Golden Boy Promotions and the Mayweather camp (whom I have heard are big fans of Boxing News 24.com) have smartened up and read my latest article, Mayweather versus Pacquiao: If the fight does not Happen, Floyd will have Blood on his Hand. Schaefer seems to be implying that Mayweather would agree to random urine and blood testing up until a certain cutoff date, but that the tests must be much closer to fight night than the original 30-day proposal from the Pacquiao camp, which is an understandable request. Somewhere between 3-5 days before the day of the fight seems appropriate.
One problem remains through these negotiations: Bob Arum. Arum’s ego and “big mouth” seem to have a habit of exacerbating negotiations. Memo to Bob Arum: the fans do not care if Mayweather has insulted you in the past; they want to see a fight. You’re not a boxer, so why don’t you do what is in the best interest of your client and allow him to make the most money he can make by removing yourself from negotiations, and refrain from publicly commenting on the situation. No one wants to see Pacquiao versus Yuri Foreman or Paulie Malignaggi; both fights are meaningless to Pacquiao’s legacy, and neither would not bring in anywhere close to the money he would make facing Floyd.
The Mayweather/Golden Boy camps seem to have made a good faith proposal to work out this issue. Let’s just hope this press release is in good faith, and not just a way for Mayweather to avoid appearing as if he is avoiding the bout. Nevertheless, it is now up Pacquiao to accept the random blood tests up until a reasonable amount of time before the weigh-in. As long as the testing does not intrude on the competitors in an unreasonable manner such as random tests during sleep hours or the day of the weigh-in, there is no reason this fight should not happen. If he refuses to accept the fight under reasonable conditions, then the Pac Man’s legacy may be haunted by a black cloud.
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