Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Assigning Blame for the Greatest Fight to Never Happen

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are not going to fight each other in the near future. Mayweather will fight Miguel Cotto next in May, and Pac-Man will fight Timothy Bradley in June.

Money and Pac-Man were circling a fight a couple weeks ago, but their negotiations ended up being just another big tease. There was a lot of noise, but in the end there was no deal.

This is par for the course as far as these two fighters are concerned. They should have fought each other at least once by now, but it's only becoming clearer that the oft-dreamed-of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao superfight is never going to happen.

Exactly why it's never going to happen is a long, complicated story. For a telling of that story, take a stroll through the ensuing slideshow.

December, 2009: Agreement for March 2010 Fight Nearly Finished

For all intents and purposes, the Mayweather/Pacquiao drama started way back in the winter of 2009.

Pac-Man was fresh off a big welterweight victory against Miguel Cotto that November, and Mayweather had beaten Juan Manuel Marquez, Pac-Man's own rival, in September. It was a perfect time for them to fight one another.

For a second there, everything looked hunky dory, as it was reported that Pac-Man and Mayweather had agreed to a proposal that would put them in a ring together in March of 2010.

"We all believe that it will be done," said Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz, per ESPN.com.

The fight was going to be held on March 13th at a 147-pound catch weight. Oddsmakers had Mayweather down as the early favorite.

It didn't take long for the deal to fall apart.

December, 2009: Mayweather's Drug Testing Demands Kill Fight

As soon as this superfight was put together, Mayweather went out of his way to make it clear that he wasn't about to fight Pacquiao unless he knew for certain that Pac-Man was clean.

For that, he insisted on Olympic-style drug testing, which is far more rigorous than typical boxing drug testing procedures. 

The deal-breaker for Pac-Man was Floyd's insistence on random blood testing right up until the weigh-in. He wanted nothing to do with it, and Bob Arum, Pac-Man's promoter, called foul.

Courtesy of Dan Rafael of ESPN.com:

"

"We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time, and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight. Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knew that Manny gets freaked out when his blood gets taken, and feels that it weakens him. This is just harassment and, to me, just signaled that he didn't want the fight."

"

Mayweather shot back, taking Pac-Man's refusal to submit to Olympic-style testing as an excuse to be outwardly suspicious:

"

"I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken because, frankly, I don't know anyone who really does," Mayweather said in a statement. "But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level. I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same. It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night."

"

The disagreement over the drug testing procedure led Arum to call the fight off completely, and he accused Mayweather of using testing as a means to duck the fight.

"What I believe is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao," he said.

Fight-ducking accusations would become a regular feature of this rivalry.

November, 2009 to Present: Mayweather's Family Accuses Pac-Man of Juicing

Before Pac-Man and Floyd broke up their 2010 fight agreement over drug testing, Mayweather's father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., had already accused Pac-Man of juicing.

He didn't beat around the bush either.

This is what appeared in a November, 2009 story in Sports Illustrated:

"

Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., told SI he would advise his son not to face Pacquiao, saying that he believed Pacquiao's ability to absorb Cotto's shots and keep coming is proof that Pacquiao is taking performance-enhancing substances—an accusation for which he had no proof. "I know Floyd is the best," says Mayweather Sr. "But when [your opponent] uses something illegal, even the best can get hurt."

"

The elder Mayweather would later defend his stance on Pac-Man in an interview with Examiner.com, saying he had a right to his own opinion:

"

"I am entitled to speak on what I think, on my opinion. I will say this, if Pacquiao is using those roids, it won't help him against my son. I got a poem on that and it goes, 'Roids don't mean spit if you can't hit.' And Pacquiao will never hit my son if they fight."

"

It apparently never crossed Mayweather Sr.'s mind that he was only making the situation worse with his comments.

The same is true of Roger Mayweather, Floyd's uncle. He has also consistently accused Pacquiao of juicing. For example, he told Examiner.com in July of 2011 that "mother****ers" from Pac-Man's camp had told him that Pac-Man was juicing.

This past January, Mayweather told BoxingScene.com: "Everybody know what Pacquiao got in his ass. He got those steroids in his ass, that's it."

Sure enough, talk like this made matters even worse for Floyd Mayweather Jr.

December, 2009: Pac-Man Threatens Litigation

If you make accusations against someone without the proof to back them up, you may be guilty of defamation. 'Tis the way of the world.

Right around the time his agreement with Mayweather fell apart, Pacquiao decided he'd had just about enough of all the steroid accusations. To prove his point, he threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions.

"Enough is enough. These people, Mayweather Sr., [Mayweather] Jr. and Golden Boy Promotions, think it is a joke and a right to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs," said Pacquiao, via ESPN.com. "I have tried to just brush it off as a mere prefight ploy, but I think they have gone overboard."

He went on to say:

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"I maintain and assure everyone that I have not used any form or kind of steroids and that my way to the top is a result of hard work, hard work, hard work and a lot of blood spilled from my past battles in the ring, not outside of it. I have no idea what steroids look like, and my fear in God has kept me safe and victorious through all these years."

"

Pacquiao went forward with his lawsuit, but Mayweather was not quick to go along with it. In August of 2011, it was reported by the USA Today that Pacquiao was filing for a default in the case in response to Mayweather's refusal to show up in court.

At that point, Mayweather had blown off at least 24 different dates.

Summer, 2010: Deadline Comes and Goes with No Agreement

In June of 2010, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that both Pac-Man's and Mayweather's camp had agreed to terms for a fight that would be held in November.

All it needed was Mayweather's approval. For that, Arum set a mid-July deadline.

Sure enough, mid-July came and went, and Arum came out and said that Mayweather had missed his chance. He moved on to pursue other fights, ultimately choosing to schedule a fight for Pac-Man against Antonio Margarito.

So as soon as that agreement came, it was gone. It wasn't the first tease, nor would it be the last.

September, 2010: Mayweather's Racist Rant

Already facing a defamation lawsuit for his PED suspicions, Mayweather did not help his cause by lashing out at Pac-Man in a racist and homophobic video in the fall of 2010.

Here's what Mayweather had to say in the video, which eventually made its way to YouTube, via ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:

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"I'm on vacation for about a year, about a year," Mayweather said. "As soon as we come off vacation, we're going to cook that little yellow chump. We ain't worried about that. So they ain't gotta worry about me fighting the midget. Once I kick the midget ass, I don't want you all to jump on my d---. So you all better get on the bandwagon now. ... Once I stomp the midget, I'll make that mother f----- make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice."

"

An apology came swiftly Mayweather, who insisted (via Yahoo! Sports) that he does not have a "racist bone" in his body.

Nevertheless, it suffices to say the damage was done. If he wasn't the bad guy before, Mayweather definitely became the bad guy with that video. 

Lo and behold, he would only make things worse for himself.

September and December, 2010: Mayweather's Legal Troubles Begin

A big reason why Mayweather and Pacquiao are not scheduled to fight each other later this year is because Mayweather's pending prison sentence created disagreements over fight dates in the negotiations.

This is an issue that traces all the way back to September of 2010, when Mayweather was first arrested for a domestic violence incident involving his ex-girlfriend and their two children. He was initially booked on a grand larceny charge, and was said to be facing five years in prison for the incident.

A couple months later, Mayweather was in handcuffs once again, this time for assaulting a security guard outside his Las Vegas home.

This past December, Mayweather was sentenced to 90 days in jail for these incidents, though his jail time was ultimately pushed back until June so he could make his May 5th fight date.

November, 2011 to January, 2012: Bob Arum Refuses to Seize Fight Opportunity

After Pacquiao won a controversial decision against Juan Manuel Marquez in November of 2011, all eyes turned to a fight against Mayweather.

Well, all eyes except the ones belonging to Bob Arum. It was reported soon after the Marquez fight that Arum wasn't even talking to Mayweather's people.

"We have been informed that Bob Arum is not interested in pursuing a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao at this time," said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, according to ESPN.com. 

Schaefer went on to be more direct with what was going on:

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"I am sick and tired of Bob Arum twisting the truth. It's another case of 'yesterday I was lying, today I'm telling the truth,' " Schaefer said, invoking Arum's most famous quote. "The truth of the matter is that we received this afternoon an email from retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who has informed us that Top Rank is pursuing a rematch with Marquez and, therefore, is not interested in immediate talks for a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. This is obviously as clear as it can be that they have no intentions of making a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Therefore, Floyd Mayweather will have no other choice than to move on and identify and lock in another opponent for his ring return on May 5."

"

When Mayweather was first sentenced to jail time in December, it looked like Arum was going to be let off the hook from having to negotiate with Mayweather's camp. But when Mayweather's sentence was delayed, a new door opened up for a fight to be made.

Arum refused to walk through it.

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported in early January that Arum had already made up his mind that Pac-Man would fight in June against an opponent not named Mayweather, and that he wasn't about to change him mind.

 "Absolutely not. Nope," said Arum when Rafael asked him if he was going to talk to Pac-Man about fighting Mayweather.

Eventually, Mayweather decided to take it on himself to get things moving.

January to February, 2012: Talks Start Only to Break Down

In January, Mayweather famously took to Twitter to call Pac-Man out to fight, saying that he and Pac-Man should "give the world what they want to see."

Sure enough, this got things moving between the two camps, as it wasn't long before reports were coming out that the two sides were trying to hammer out a deal.

Pac-Man's camp eventually offered very simple terms, which were passed along by Chris Mannix:

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Bob Arum tells SI from Philippines that if @FloydMayweather accepts a 50-50 split and can guarantee his half, Pacquiao can fight in late May

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) January 12, 2012"

Though these terms were simple enough, Mayweather rejected them on the grounds that he simply couldn't fight in late May due to his guarantee to fight on May 5th.

Not too long after, Pacquiao agreed to fight Timothy Bradley and Mayweather agreed to fight Miguel Cotto.

The recent talks between Pacquiao and Mayweather broke down for several reasons, but Mayweather has since revealed that the split was the deal-breaker for him.

February, 2012: Mayweather Says Pac-Man Won't Get a 50-50 Split

When he appeared at a press conference to promote his May fight against Cotto, Mayweather was invariably asked what happened with the Pac-Man negotiations.

Mayweather said that drug testing is still an issue, but he also said that he simply wasn't willing to agree to a 50-50 split.

"Just by speaking to Pacquiao on the phone, I mean, he's not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer," Mayweather said, per ESPN.com. "He faces Floyd Mayweather, he's not getting 50-50. Not at all. No one is getting 50-50."

This despite the fact Pacquiao is the one holding the bigger collection of belts and all the accolades. In addition, Pacquiao's last fight against Marquez brought in more pay-per-view buys than Mayweather's last fight against Victor Ortiz.

Summary

Relative to the grand scheme of things, this slideshow represents a very small portion of the drama that has gone back and forth between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Truth be told, if you were to gather everything that has gone on between them and their camps, you'd have enough material for a book.

What's in this slideshow is a bare-bones representation of the narrative that has developed over the last couple years, one that started with the promise of a fight and is currently trending towards a fight between these two never happening. Instead of getting closer to an agreement, Pac-Man and Mayweather actually seem to be getting further apart.

As you can tell, there's more than enough blame to go around.

On Pac-Man's side of things, the blame rests primarily with Bob Arum. He's done enough to make it look like he has at least tried to hammer out a deal between these two fighters, but he has routinely failed to take the initiative, and he has been unwilling to compromise when talks have heated up.

Pac-Man himself is also guilty of not compromising. I don't blame him for resisting Mayweather's drug testing demands, but there are other ways for him to make this fight happen. He could have gone out of his way to overrule Arum, but he hasn't done that. He could have given in to Mayweather's demands about the split, and he didn't do that. He could have appeased Mayweather by throwing out his defamation lawsuit, and he hasn't done that.

On Mayweather's side of things, the simple truth is that Money has done pretty much everything in his power to kill this fight. His drug testing demands represent a major barrier that will likely never be overcome, his split demands are utterly ridiculous, and he hasn't helped himself with his antics outside the ring.

If you want to fight somebody, you don't attack them with racist remarks, and you make sure your family members aren't digging your hole any deeper with their steroid accusations. In addition, you sure as heck don't go and get yourself arrested and sentenced to three months in jail.

This fight has been beaten and left for dead by a perfect storm of circumstances. What we have here are two fighters who are unwilling to compromise, one because he's being controlled and one because he's too arrogant. Moreover, the bad blood between the two camps has given rise to complications that are not helping the process.

There is still time for this fight to happen, but not much. And for this fight to happen, a lot of bridges need to be repaired and quite a few others need to be built.

In the end, it's just not going to happen.