Floyd Mayweather Jr. blamed Manny
Pacquiao for the collapse of their prospective bout Thursday, claiming
the Filipino boxer refuses to accept a reasonable compromise on drug
testing concerns.
Mayweather also says he's still ready
to sign a deal for the fight, which was slated for March 13 at the MGM
Grand Garden in Las Vegas before Pacquiao promoter Top Rank declared it
dead Wednesday night.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) made his
first public comments about the negotiations in a written statement
that began with Mayweather saying he's "thoroughly disgusted" by
Pacquiao's representatives' attempts to blame him for the collapse of
what's likely to be the richest bout in boxing history.
"In my opinion it is Manny Pacquiao
and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest
fight ever," Mayweather said. "I know the people will see through their
smokes screens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract.
Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight."
The sides went to mediation on
Tuesday in Santa Monica in an attempt to resolve the drug testing
issues that are the only remaining conflicts in the negotiation.
Mayweather's demands for frequent blood testing beyond the Nevada
Athletic Commission's requirements — and Pacquiao's reluctance to agree
to those requests — have derailed the bout.
Mayweather initially demanded
repeated blood testing right up to the day of the fight, while Pacquiao
asked for a 30-day cutoff before the bout. Mayweather now claims he
agreed to a 14-day cutoff compromise before the mediation session
began, but Pacquiao still wouldn't accept those terms.
"The truth is he just doesn't want to take the tests," Mayweather said.
Pacquiao has filed a lawsuit alleging
Mayweather and most of his representatives, including Golden Boy
Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, defamed him by falsely accusing him of
using performance-enhancing drugs.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum was brutally
frank about his former fighter on Wednesday night, telling The
Associated Press that Mayweather is "a psychological coward who doesn't
want to fight anybody who has a chance of beating him."
After generating stellar
pay-per-view revenue from their previous fights, both Pacquiao and
Mayweather likely stood to make much more than $25 million apiece from
their welterweight bout. Mayweather returned to the ring after a
21-month absence in September with a victory over Juan Manuel Marquez,
while Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) pounded Miguel Cotto in November for
his 13th straight victory since 2005.
Pacquiao is widely considered
boxing's pound-for-pound champion, an unofficial title held by
Mayweather before his aborted retirement. Their proposed fight was seen
as the biggest moment in boxing since Mayweather's split-decision
victory over Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007.
Daniel Weinstein, the retired
federal judge who oversaw the mediation, also issued a statement
Thursday saying little about the actual discussions.
"In the end, the parties could not agree on a testing protocol acceptable to all," Weinstein's statement read.