Floyd Mayweather IV Claims 'Meaningless' to Manny Pacquiao Fight, Says Bob Arum
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has sought to move on from talk of Floyd Mayweather Jr. using an IV ahead of his fight with Manny Pacquiao back in May, insisting claims it would have affected the result are “meaningless.”
Arum, who promotes Pacquiao’s fights, insisted he would not be pursuing any punishment for the American, nor should anyone else.
“I don't think we're in grade school where reprimands mean anything,” he told Radio Rahim of BoxingScene.com. “The fight happened, the result was in, and anything that goes on now is meaningless.”
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Rahim outlines why there is so much talk about Mayweather injecting himself with vitamins and minerals via an IV after he and Pacquiao weighed-in for their bout in May:
"The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who had an official present when Mayweather took the IV, says the boxer did nothing wrong. There are several issues being debated between veteran writer Thomas Hauser and USADA officials, on whether Mayweather and USADA acted within the boundaries of the WADA and/or Nevada State rules.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has sided with Mayweather and USADA, by officially stating that Mayweather did nothing wrong and acted within the rules.
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Mayweather won the fight via a unanimous points victory, silencing many doubters who didn’t think he would be able to cope with the Filipino. Since then, Mayweather has beaten Andre Berto to take his career record to 49-0, a mark on which he’s been insistent he will be retiring.
There are few who believe this is the end for Money, though. Indeed, SportsTalkFeed.com thinks that a rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao will go ahead in 2016:
Pacquiao discussed the prospect of the rematch recently, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com): “I'm OK. Whether there is a second [bout with Mayweather], it's not a problem. I heard he has retired, so it doesn't matter."
When Arum was quizzed on whether it could happen, the promoter was coy, per Rahim: “People ask me 'do you think he's going to come back?' And I said 'he probably doesn't know.' If you asked him, and put him under a lie detector test, he couldn't give you an answer on whether he stays retired or comes back.”
While the first fight between the two didn’t live up to expectations, there’s no denying a second scrap with Pacquiao would be a much more fitting way to sign off than his previous fight against Berto.
Tommy Beer of BasketballInsiders.com doesn’t think Mayweather will be able to stay away from the boxing spotlight:
The American seems unlikely to stay away from boxing for good, with another lucrative payday and the chance to go 50-0 surely too tantalising to turn his back on. A Pacquiao rematch would definitely stir intrigue among the boxing cognoscenti, and this controversy regarding the IV will only serve to fuel speculation of another score to settle between the illustrious pair.
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