According to Malcolm LaVergne, a lawyer who represents Floyd Mayweather Sr. in the defamation case filed Manny Pacquiao, all parties involved have reached a settlement to the nearly 3-year long lawsuit. Pacquiao originally filed the lawsuit back in December of 2009, alleging Floyd Mayweather, his father, Floyd Sr., his uncle, Roger, as well as Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer all accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs. The lawsuit was dropped against De La Hoya and Schaefer after both men issued a full statement and apology to Pacquiao. It appears now that the case against the Mayweathers will also be settled out of court, although details of the settlement are said to be confidential.
LaVergne repotedly told The Associated Press today that documents have been signed and will be filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. The lawsuit was just one of many roadblocks that stood in the way of a mega-fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather. Pacquiao recently revealed that he was now willing to give Mayweather a bigger percentage (55%) of the split, and on top of that, he's also willing to participate in USADA's random blood and urine testing that Mayweather has requested of all of his opponents. It would seem like the path is now clear for both sides, namely Bob Arum and Al Haymon and/or Richard Schaefer, to sit back down at the negotiating table to once more hammer out the final details of the fight we've all been waiting.
Of course, there's still some questions to be answered, like whether or not Bob Arum is okay with Mayweather taking the bigger percentage, or does he still have plans to build a temporary outdoor stadium for the fight. Time will tell, but first, Manny Pacquiao must take care of business on December 8 when he faces Juan Manuel Marquez for a 4th time.
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