Why Mayweather won’t slug with the Pacman?

It is final! The “Fight of the Century” is dead. There will be no historic boxing duel between former undefeated pound-for-pound king and American boxing superstar Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather, Jr. and the present pound-for-pound and the first and only seven-division world champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on March 13, 2010. The Pacman will instead face Joshua Clottey at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

I understand Mayweather pre-negotiation tactics – the request for Olympic-style drug test protocol before the fight and his accusation that the Pambansang Kamao is using performance-enhancing drugs or steroids. If I were Mayweather, I will also do the same than wax coward in the face of the boxing fans around the world by turning down the proposed ring encounter which I know I have a 50-50 chance of winning. I would also concoct tales to derail the negotiation.

The proposed and now dead fight promises a mega buck earnings for both fighters but it is not the supposed income that is at stake. It is the name and the standing in the boxing world that is put in line. If Pretty Boy loses the fight, he also loses his record of being the only undefeated boxer in the world. He might also become a punching bag of Pacman, in which case, he may no longer be a Pretty Boy but Battered Boy. If Pacman loses, he only loses the pound-for-pound title but he still remains the only seven-division world titlist in boxing history.

In short, trash-talking Mayweather stands to lose more than the humble Pacman.

Pacman’s refusal to be subjected to this drug-test protocol is grounded in cultural belief. Filipinos believe that is it bad karma to be extracted with blood before any fight besides from the fact that most Filipinos are afraid of needles. There could be no reason for the Pacman to cheat the sport. His antics and his being religious spell it all. Moreover, Nevada Boxing Council doesn’t require boxers to undergo drug-testing by use of blood sample instead of urine.