The ultimate boxing dream match-up appears too good to be true, after all.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. refused to compromise on his demands for Olympic-style drug testing and, as a result, the planned March 13 bout with Manny Pacquiao is officially off, promoter Bob Arum told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday.
For Manny Pacquiao's official statement in reaction to the news, head over to MP Boxing, Pac-man's official blog site (Mayweather Pacquaio Fight Off). To put it mildly, the slugger's unhappy with the decision.
Mediator Daniel Weinstein, a retired federal judge, was unable to bring the sides to an agreement for the historic bout after two days of heated negotiations over the drug-testing dispute.
“Manny’s reaction is that he’s very disappointed because he wanted to give the fans this fight,” Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz, his acting manager, said from the Philippines, where he is with Pacquiao. “He is upset his reputation has been tarnished and he wants his fans to know that at some point, you have to stand on principle. He’s walking away from $35 million, $40 million, maybe $50 million on principle.”
The cancellation is an utter ball-drop on every level for the industry, which would've drawn unprecedented numbers for the match.
