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MAYWEATHER MAIL: WHY HASN'T HE PETITIONED THE COMMISSION?

By Ben Thompson | June 18, 2011
MAYWEATHER MAIL: WHY HASN'T HE PETITIONED THE COMMISSION?

Last month, FightHype's exclusive Mayweather After Dark series sparked a ton of reaction, both good and bad, from fans and media alike. From diehard fans who were eager to hear more from the undefeated pound-for-pound champion to members of the media who had their own series of questions, the email has not stopped pouring in since the first video went up. Although we don't have all the answers, we do have some and I certainly don't mind sharing my opinion, so check out what I had to say to inquiring minds who want to know all about Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and much more.



Why hasn't Floyd petitioned the Nevada Athletic Commission? If he does this he boxes Manny into a hole, if Manny refuses a commission test even his most loyal fans will turn on him. Floyd could be doing this if he really cared about cleaning up the sport the way he claims, but since he's sitting on his butt for the past year doing nothing I don't really think he cares about the betterment of the sport. - Reno, New Castle DE

BT: Why? Because the Nevada State Athletic Commission is not equipped to handle the level of testing that an organization like USADA does. Heck, the Nevada State Athletic Commission doesn't even know the difference between human urine and animal urine. If they did, then maybe they would have prevented Thiago Silva from breaking Brandon Vera's nose and busting his face up BEFORE they actually fought at UFC 125. The problem with ALL of the commissions is that they barely even have the funding to do the testing that they do now. That's why, in most cases, they only take ONE urine sample right before the fight and ONE urine sampe right after the fight and just do the testing on that. The results of the tests usually don't come in until AFTER the fight is over. Well guess what? AFTER THE FIGHT IS TOO LATE! If they were REALLY doing the type of testing that they need to do, then guys would be getting caught WELL BEFORE the fights actually take place. Fernando Vargas should have been caught BEFORE he fought De La Hoya. Guys like Ali Funeka, Ricardo Mayorga, and even Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. have ALL been caught using PEDs only AFTER their fights, which again is AFTER the damage has already been done. So what's the point in petitioning a commission that doesn't have the type of tools in place to do the right kind of testing to begin with? An organization like USADA specializes in testing and that's why Mayweather would prefer to have them involved as opposed to a state run athletic commission that can't even catch a fighter loading his gloves. On top of that, the NSAC already had a hearing about the possibility of upgrading their testing policies and they voted against it. So petitioning them to do anything is meaningless. That's just an idea that Bob Arum fed to fans in order to make it appear as though they were willing to do whatever tests the commission deems necessary. The ONLY way to do PROPER testing is with an organization like USADA, who specializes in it. Whether or not he cares about the betterment of the sport is irrelevant. What matters is that he made it very clear that if Pacquiao wants the fight, he has to agree to take the same tests that Shane Mosley took. If he does that, the fight is a done deal, period!

Ben, Big fan of the site & even bigger fan of the best boxer in the game. Is there any chance that u will be able to set up an interview (even if it's a phone interview) with Manny so that people will get to hear his side of thing's just as well as they hear Floyd's?? There is a lot of speculation/opinions goin around & it just sickens me to keep hearing/reading that garbage. It's very hard to find quality boxing news/info such as the great stuff I get frm FightHype. I kno it may be hard but please give it a try for the fans of the site. But in the mean time, keep up the good work & keep the Mayweather interviews comin!! - Rexx

BT: Rexx, believe it or not, I've actually been trying to get in contact with Manny, but with him being in the Philippines right now, it's kind of difficult. If a mutual friend would have delivered on their promise to me, I would have had Manny on the site shortly after his fight with Mosley. I hear he'll be back in the States some time this summer though, so you can bet we're going to try and track him down then. Contrary to popular belief, I absolutely enjoy watching Manny Pacquiao fight and would love nothing more than to have him on the site more frequently. Unfortunately, he doesn't really give too many interviews when he's not fighting. Actually, I think the last time we had him on the site was prior to his fight with Margarito when my man Percy tracked him down: http://fighthype.com/pages/content8774.html In my opinion, there's really only two questions that I think Manny should clear up. 1) If you were to fight Mayweather, how many days before the fight would you be willing to take random blood and urine tests? 2) If the Mayweather fight is a priority, have you instructed Bob Arum to send an official offer to the Mayweather camp? I would love for anyone in the media to ask him those direct questions. Like I already said though, he rarely does interviews with the boxing media and when he does, most guys are just happy to get a giggle and a smile from him. You know it's bad when Brian Kenny doesn't even bother to ask him direct questions like that. If that were Mayweather that Kenny was talking to, you already know it would be a totally different story. We'll definitely keep trying to get a hold of Manny though.

Hey Man, I'll keep it short. If you get a chance please ask money how he would feel about doing an 8-week 24 7. He knows business and I think his insight on the matter would carry more weight than mine. thanks for reading my email and keep up the great work you got a ton of fans in Vegas. ~aj reese

BT: AJ, for a change, I'll keep it short too. I'll definitely ask him and I'm sure he'd probably love to do it, but I think that decision rests with HBO. I'm not sure if they would want to tie up a production team that long for this particular fight though. Big shout out to the FightHype fans in Las Vegas. Always a blast in Sin City. You guys definitely have to introduce yourselves the next time I'm out there for a big fight.

Hey Ben, Martin Wade over at Braggingrightscorner.com. When I was watching the After Dark episode in which Floyd showed you his vs. Pacquiao gear I sensed some sadness in his demeanor. Is Floyd a historian? Is he sensitive to the possibility of not just losing out on a huge payday but  the kind of rival that he can hold up against the scrutiny of critics?. Is he also worn out by all of the teeth pulling surrounding the Pacquiao negotiation and is there a still a positive attitude about things finally sorting themselves out?

BT: Martin, you're writing for the wrong site. LOL. I don't think I sensed that sadness in his demeanor that you mentioned. I also don't know if I would call him a historian. I mean, he's definitely aware of the rich history in the sport, but I don't think he dwells on it like that. Now Roger, on the other hand, I would definitely call a historian. Honestly, I really don't think he's too concerned about whether or not the fight takes place. Floyd truly doesn't view Manny Pacquiao as the kind of threat as some fans believe him to be. You have to understand, we're talking about a guy who's been perfecting his craft pretty much ever since he was born. He's never lost as a pro. He's never really even been challenged in a fight. On the rare occassion when he was caught with a shot (Mosley and Corley), he shook it off in a matter of seconds and continued to dominate. The one close fight he's had (Castillo), he came right back in an immediate rematch and dominated again. Please understand, I don't say that to brag about his abilities in the ring. I say that because you have to put yourself into his shoes (note to those of you who will be eager to send me hate mail after reading this). If you've been that good for that long and truly feel like you're the best to ever lace them up, which Mayweather does indeed believe, then you're not going to be concerned about anyone whatsoever, including Manny Pacquiao. To Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao is simply another opponent. Obviously fans don't believe that, but at the end of the day, as far as Mayweather is concerned, he doesn't need to beat Manny Pacquiao in order to prove how good of a fighter he is. So to answer your question about losing out on a huge payday and a potential rival...no...Floyd doesn't seem too concerned about that at all. There are other paydays out there and there will always be other rivals. I think Floyd's attitude is simply that if the fight happens, great, but if not, he's not losing any sleep over it. The only thing he seems tired of is the fact that Bob Arum is constantly putting rumors out about him, but that's a totally different story.

It's great that you get the Mayweather exclusives. You get a chance to get clarification on a lot of the bogus reports out there and it is much needed. One thing I would like to know from Floyd is if there is any way he would release footage of him sparring in training camp throughout the years as he prepares for fights. I understand that there is no access allowed while he is sparring, but I would pay to see that. I've seen the fights and I admire his skill level. I would like to see what he works on while he is sparring. Can you ask him if there is any way he would consider releasing the footage once he has retired for good? Thanks, Bovice

BT: Funny you asked that Bovice because I was just talking to him about that. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll give his fans here at FightHype an exclusive look at one of his sparring sessions from the past. Floyd told me that he has nearly 600 tapes of him sparring. That's just crazy! I have a pretty good feeling that there's a reason why he's been collecting all of that footage over the years. As much value as people put into this Pacquiao fight, just imagine the value of those videos if he were to beat Manny and then retire undefeated.

This may sound rude or critical but I want you to know. Mr. Thompson my friend, who knows my passion for the fight game(boxing), turned me on to you. After a few days of following your reporting, you are the same as all the other reporters. You are a Mayweather fan ( which is alright) but that should not be seen in your reporting. You lied when you said you report facts and not twist words or inject opinions. Because I see your play on words in support for fighter (Mayweather). Please can someone step up and help the sport that I love by reporting objectively and pushing for competitive matches that entertain the true boxing fan. - James Brown

BT: That didn't sound rude or critical at all James. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm just glad you were polite in expressing it as opposed to others who like to use foul language or make racist comments. LOL. Anyway, obviously I disagree with your assessment. Am I a Mayweather fan? Sure, you can say that, but you should also say I'm a Pacquiao fan as well. I'm also a fan of Amir Khan, Andre Ward, Carl Froch, Wladimir Klitschko, David Haye, Bernard Hopkins, Lucian Bute, Kelly Pavlik, Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams, Paulie Malignaggi, Miguel Cotto, Saul Alvarez, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley...pretty much every single fighter who steps through those ropes. To put it simply, I'm a fan of boxing, period! To address your point specifically, however, I believe what was said was that I do not twist the words of fighters or inject my opinions into their interviews. That's fact! If I do an interview with a fighter, then what you're going to see on FightHype is exactly what they give me word for word. Now, do I have an opinion on certain matters? Absolutely! But you've never seen me say that I stand by everything that Floyd Mayweather says nor have you ever seen me attack Manny Pacquiao. I don't blame either one of them for the fight not taking place. I do blame Bob Arum, but again, that's a different story. In my opinion, Manny Pacquiao doesn't have to take the tests at all if he doesn't want to. I'm perfectly fine with that. It's his right to turn down a request that's brought up during negotiations...just like Floyd has a right to make that request. It's not the first time that a fighter has requested additional testing and it won't be the last. Whether or not they can find a middle ground is up to them, but at this point, in order for the fight to take place, the random blood and urine tests are required by Floyd. Simple as that. I just think it will be much easier for someone to convince Pacquiao to take the tests than it will be to convince Mayweather to drop the request. That's just my take on it. But I definitely understand where both sides are coming from and I don't blame either one for feeling the way that they feel. Honestly, neither Manny nor Floyd are losing any sleep over the fight, so if they're not that worried about it, then why should the fans be? For the record though, I don't really consider myself a "reporter" or a "journalist" in the traditional sense. With the advent of the internet, reporting and journalism has changed quite a bit, so I'm not trying to adhere to the same "standards" that some of these grumpy old "professionals" from the newspaper days adhere to. I consider myself to be different than them, and because of that, I'm able to build better relationships and bring fans closer to the fighters.

I was wondering what did you think about Andre Ward vs Bute? - Lamont

BT: What? A non-Mayweather question? I'm not sure how to answer this one. LOL. Seriously, that's a GREAT fight and it will likely happen not long after the conclusion of the Super Six Tournament, assuming that Ward beats Froch of course. Personally, I think that's a pick 'em fight. Both guys have had a lot of fights in their own backyard lately, so I'm extremely interested to see how well they perform when they're not fighting in familiar surroundings. I give the slight edge to Ward, but it really depends on what type of game plan he comes up with for Bute. If Ward lingers on the inside too much, Bute might chop him down with those devastating body shots that he throws. If he stays on the outside, it could end up being a chess match. At the end of the day though, I think Ward might have just a tad bit more toughness in him, so give me Ward by close, maybe even controversial, split decision.

U are a motherfuckin liar who loves to lick that fuckin gayweather's balls!!!! How much u got paid to write this fucking stuff???? Asshole!!!!!  - Tim

BT: First of all, I'm not a liar, but Bob Arum certainly is. Secondly, ICK!!!!! All that talk about lickin' balls and assholes makes me wonder exactly how much time you spend thinking about that shit. LOL. Unlike "professional" journalists and reporters, I don't get paid from anyone. I'm just a guy who started my own website in hopes of getting supporters like yourself to check it out. For what it's worth, I do appreciate you reading, but I'll leave all that ball lickin' to you. 



[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]

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