There are few things in this world that are as pitiful as watching grown men act like children. You would think two groups of grown, somewhat educated men (some more than others), could negotiate what could be the biggest fight boxing has seen since De La Hoya-Trinidad. Due to swollen egos, outrageous demands and childish mind-games, that fight may not take place...allegedly. It all began when Floyd Mayweather Sr. made the claim that Manny Pacquiao was taking some form of performance-enhancing drug. He felt there was no plausible explanation for Pacquiao climbing the weight ladder while carrying his power up, even gaining some he didn't have.
Kermit Cintron jumped on the bandwagon and said Manny should be chubbier. Paulie Malignaggi soon signaled his support for the theory with stories of large heavyweight-sized men not being able to gain adequate mass at the same rate as Pacquiao. When Mayweather's camp had their request to wear ten-ounce gloves turned back, they came out with a demand to use Olympic-style drug testing for both fighters. Pacquiao's camp initially agreed, according to numerous reports.
Yesterday Pacquiao's camp fired back with a contract proposal that stated Mayweather would have to pay a $10 million penalty for every pound over the 147-pound weight limit, if he were to repeat his one-time antics and come in over the contractual weight limit. Mayweather reportedly agreed.
Today, Pacquiao's camp did a virtual 180 and adamantly refused to comply with Olympic-style drug testing with random blood and urine tests. Mayweather's camp says they are willing to comply openly with the random blood and urine tests, while Pacquiao's is not.
Team Pacquiao has since countered with an offer to submit to blood testing before the (official) kick-off of the promotion, thirty days before the fight, and immediately after the fight. Bob Arum, who had previously excused himself from the stressful negotiations, stated Mayweather has until Thursday to accept the terms or risk losing the bout.
Is team Pacquiao hiding something? Maybe. Maybe not. Is team Mayweather trying to discredit Pacquiao? Maybe. Maybe not. Both assumptions are what they are; assumptions and nothing more. The only people that know the answers are firmly entrenched in subterfuge and egotistical negotiating demands and publicity grabs. Yes, I said it. Publicity grabs, my friends. When is the last time we have seen such extensive reporting and ESPN coverage of a fight that is missing the signature of one of its participants?
This whole promotion boils down to publicity. With limited time for a full-scale promotion, we are being hit with "bumps in the road" in order to keep the fight in the ESPN headlines. It seems that we see another negotiation hit an impasse every few days. So far, today, I've seen Manny and Floyd on the screen more than I have in the last few months. What better way to promote the fight than to keep the fans on both sides screaming?
While I don't question Floyd Mayweather's ego, Bob Arum's willingness to stretch the truth when presented with a microphone or Freddie Roach's proclivity to change his mind, I do question the legitimacy of Pacquiao and Mayweather's collective willingness to forfeit upwards of $40 million over something as petty as a few drops of blood and an occasional surprise visit from a drug tester. Despite all the negativity, and Bob Arum's Thursday deadline to drop the blood test demands, I still believe the fight is on. Reserve your rooms for March 13th.