Clottey not Mayweather?

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is still pushing for a mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao, but key people around Pacquiao said Friday the Filipino star fighter's focus has shifted to a replacement foe, Joshua Clottey.

"If you concede to whatever Mayweather wants, that's giving him an edge," Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said Friday. "We're bigger than Mayweather. We don't need him. We don't work for him.

"So, the way I feel now, we'll go fight Clottey, then we'll fight the winner of [Shane] Mosley and [Andre] Berto."

Welterweight Clottey (35-3) lost a close 2009 fight to Miguel Cotto, who was subsequently defeated by Pacquiao via a 12th-round technical knockout in November.

"It'll be a tough fight, not an easy fight, but better than some of the other names that were being thrown around," Roach said.

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum went so far as saying he expects both fighters to verbally approve contracts sent to them in the Philippines and Africa, respectively. Arum will also tour Dallas Cowboys Stadium today, saying he expects to put Pacquiao-Clottey there March 13.

Behind the scenes, however, there is still movement in the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps to try to bridge the dividing line in their negotiations over when pre-fight random blood tests for performance-enhancing drugs should stop.

Pacquiao agreed to a blood test 24 days before a Mayweather bout planned for March 13 in Las Vegas, and another sample immediately after the bout. Mayweather wants the final blood test to come 14 days before the fight. "Isn't that reasonable?" asked Mayweather promoter, Richard Schaefer.

So there is a push to pitch Mayweather's blood test plan to Pacquiao once more before he arrives back in the U.S. to begin training Monday at Roach's Hollywood gym. Roach also said, "Mayweather can still say he's OK with the 24 days, and the fight's back on, right?"

That's not the case, according to Arum. "We have moved on," he said.

Schaefer is urging Mayweather-Pacquiao talks to continue, admitting a deal needs to be struck soon because of training schedules.

Arum's response: "He wants talks to continue. Who is he going to be talking to?"

Arum: Mayweather-Pacquiao fight can be salvaged

Boxing promoter Bob Arum on Thursday told this newspaper there is one way the proposed fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. can be salvaged.

"Get rid of USADA, bring in one of the agencies that do the NFL and NBA and we'll tell them what kind of testing we want and they will do it for us and the fight will go on," said Arum, Pacquiao's promoter.

If not, Pacquiao will move on.

Arum said he already has reached out to Paul Malignaggi's promoter, Lou Dibella, about Malignaggi replacing Mayweather for the March 13 fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"Lou wants the fight, but he has to get a hold of Malignaggi, who is with his family for Christmas Eve," Arum said.

Malignaggi is the former junior welterweight champion from Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley of Palm Springs has thrown his name into the mix. He said he won't ask Pacquiao to do any testing other than that already provided by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It consists of a urine test before and after a fight - sometimes, but rarely, during training.

"I feel I'm more than ready for Manny Pacquiao," Bradley said Thursday. "I would not require no (other) drug testing. Manny Pacquiao ain't doing drugs, man. He is just on top of his game."

Pacquiao-Mayweather was expected to be formally announced any day.

But earlier this week the Mayweather camp, represented by Golden Boy Promotions, told Pacquiao's camp there would be no deal unless Pacquiao agreed to submit to Olympic-style drug-testing provided by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

That would require eight to 12 urine samples and three to five blood samples that could be taken at random during the promotion.

Pacquiao never has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and has fought 11 times in Las Vegas. But Floyd Mayweather Sr. has gone on record as saying he believes Pacquiao, who has had success in seven weight classes, is using them.

"Manny is not opposed to testing. He just doesn't want to do blood right before the fight," Arum said. "We have never been against drug testing, we have been against drug testing close to the fight.

"Athletes around the world have complained that this blood testing close to the event really affects their performance."

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, said he is trying to save the fight. Arum said he would agree to a system that would require no more than three blood tests - one in early January, one 30 days before the fight and one directly after.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said he would consider a blood test as close as five days before the fight but no closer.

Schaefer was told about Arum reaching out to DiBella.

"I guess he is going to do what he is going to do," Schaefer said. "But I don't give up easily. I still think we owe it to the sport and owe it to the fans to get this thing done."


Credits to sgvtribune.com

Pacquiao-Mayweather may not happen!

The proposed megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was thrown into jeopardy Tuesday with a demand by Mayweather's camp that both fighters be subjected to Olympic-type drug testing in the weeks leading up to the bout.

Mayweather's manager said the fight would not go on if Pacquiao didn't agree to blood testing under standards followed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

"There is no fight without Olympic-style random drug testing," Leonard Ellerbe said.

Mayweather's camp claims it was told Pacquiao would not agree to have his blood tested within 30 days of the fight because of personal superstitions. But Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said he could live with some testing, as long as it wasn't too close to the fight and wasn't overly intrusive.

"I will not let my fighter take a blood test the day before a fight," Roach said. "If they give me a five-day window or something like that I have no problem with it."

Roach said he hoped the issue wasn't brought up as a way to get Mayweather out of the fight.

"He's looking for a back door out," Roach said. "We're eager to fight."

The fight, which promises to be the richest ever, had widely been expected to be formalized this week, with an official announcement Jan. 6. It was expected to be held at the MGM Grand hotel, with the biggest live gate ever.

But neither fighter has signed formal contracts and there have been disputes between representatives of the two fighters ever since Mayweather's promoter pulled out at the last minute of a trip to Texas, where Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was to make a proposal to host the bout.

But Mayweather's promoter, Richard Schaefer, said all other issues have been agreed upon.

"The good news is we have agreed on all the other points," Schaefer said. "Depending on what Manny Pacquiao decides to do we either have a fight or we don't have a fight."

Schaefer said he is still hopeful of the fight happening, based on the fact Pacquiao himself has not publicly said he would not accept blood testing.

"I am still hopeful because I really believe this decision didn't come from Manny Pacquiao, it came from somebody else," Schaefer said. "It's up to Manny Pacquiao to prove me right or wrong." Read more...