By Trevor Weis: The battle of bad-blood continues and the blame will fall exactly where it belongs: on everyone involved.

Boxing fans of the Sweet Science are forced to the limits of patience time and again, dealing with infrequent fights, absurd match-ups, inexcusable scorecards, unforgivable undercards, and pay per view prices that seem to rise in a failing economy.

But boxing advocates the world over swallow hard, time and again, holding to a dismal hope that appears maybe only once a generation. And the hope of our time, albeit a fading one, is the demand for Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to meet in the square circle, the proving ground where the likes of Ali and Frazier discovered something precious and unveiled something timeless.

However, negotiations through a neutral party, retired Federal Judge Daniel Weinstein, have apparently collapsed, with Bob Arum declaring “the fight is off.” After a nine hour stalemate on Tuesday, Pacquiao agreed to allow the second blood test to be taken no later than 24 days before the fight. Pacquiao has never failed a drug test in 11 professional fights in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission does not and has never required random blood testing, yet still Mayweather refused to budge from his stance on random blood testing.

Entrenched within this blood-feud is the conflict of interest involving Golden Boy Promotions, who receive a percentage of every Pacquiao fight as a co-promoter, insinuating Pacquiao may be using performance enhancing drugs while representing Mayweather throughout negotiations. Arum demands that Golden Boy Promotions relinquish their rights to Pacquiao, citing that a promotional company should never illicit baseless accusations against it’s own fighter. Top Rank retains full promotional rights after Weinstein successfully mediated a truce between the bickering boxing businesses in 2007 when Pacquiao signed with both companies.

At the heart of this issue are pride and ego. Manny Pacquiao, universally regarded as #1 Pound for Pound, believes his reputation has been tarnished after Mayweather Sr., Mayweather Jr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, and Richard Schaefer made either direct accusations or false implications that his successful ascension through higher weight classes may be attributed to drug use. Pacquiao’s back-story of a malnourished boy rising from poverty to international iconic status tugs at the heart-strings, although his humility should not be confused with pride. The Filipino southpaw is a man of principle, and his contributions to boxing’s revival in 2009, winning a consecutive Fighter of the Year award, have probably removed any desire to cater to another fighter’s demands. But boxing is nothing without negotiation, compromise, and politics, which he would be wise to familiarize with should he win his second attempt at a congressional seat in 2010.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be the best technical boxer on the planet, but he sits below an occupied throne, a pedestal he wishes to reclaim since returning in September. Mayweather has always been a show-man, a character, a villain, a mouth and an ego to accompany. Love him or hate him, he’s good for boxing. In his own mind and the minds of many boxing purists, he is still the draw in boxing, the man to call the shots. Mayweather may not like meeting the demands of a proud but humble fighter, especially one others consider better, especially one without a perfect record. Mayweather conceded to testing no later than 14 days before the fight, but neither party intends to flinch.

Throw out all the jargon about Pacquiao’s fear of needles, his superstitious nature, Mayweather’s mind-game tactics and his propensity to take the easy fights, the melodrama that is boxing and the intangible aspects that makeup pre-fight hype: all they do is spark rioting debates that neither fan-legion can answer.

If the world were a perfect place, Pacquiao would rise-up to Mayweather’s “challenge,” take the random blood tests and let the coliseum decide the rest. Maybe he doesn’t realize what an advantage it could be, beating Mayweather at his own game, leaving his rival without a “weight-drained,” “overrated,” or “damaged goods” excuse.

If the world were a perfect place, Mayweather would drop these allegations, focus on the task at hand, and do what he does best. If Mayweather let Pacquiao keep his 24 day window and still de-throned the current king, he could celebrate without blood-testing brush-back. He would have successfully usurped his place as king of boxing.

But the boxing world continues on course, and the fans now suffer through yet another normal happenstance. This fight is about more than money, more than rankings, more than alphabet belts, more than pride and certainly more than ego; this fight is about cementing legacies, uniting a fan-base world-wide, and giving the deserving public what it demands: something timeless. Let’s hope the demands of the loyal aren’t falling on deaf ears.