Mayweather-Pacquiao: In the Judges' hands

Manny Pacquiao filed a defamation suit against Floyd Mayweather and his handlers this afternoon, following through on last week's promise to take team Mayweather to court over insinuations that the current pound-for-pound champion takes performance enhancing drugs.

The move is the latest, most serious turn in a nasty back-and-forth between the world's two top boxers, and threatens to derail a bout that would be the richest (a record $50 million purse) and most significant of each man's career.

Final negotiations for the proposed March 13 superfight between the world's two top boxers broke down last week, when Pacquiao continued to refuse to agree to Olympic-style random drug testing. Mayweather's negatiating team, headed by Golden Boy Promotions executive RIchard Schaefer, insisted on more stringent testing as a condition of making the bout, while Pacquiao maintains that the standard state commission testing is adequate.

While the state of Nevada, where the bout would likely take place, requires urine tests before and after the bout, the Olympic-style testing Mayweather wants allows for random blood and urine testing at any time from the agreement to fight until the night of the bout.

In his 12-page statement of claim (available here) Pacquiao, a world champ in seven divisions and the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, alleges that Mayweather's desire to institute tougher testing protocols is part of a three-month campaign to destroy Pacquiao's reputation.

The claim -- which also names Schaefer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., trainer Roger Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya -- says all five men are  "motivated by ill-will, spite, malice, revenge and envy." 

Pacquaio's lawsuit doesn't ask for a set amount of damages, but does request that team Mayweather pay damages, punitive fees and legal costs in connection with a litany of transgressions, including:

* A September interview with the Grand Rapids Press in which Mayweather Sr. accuses Pacquaio of doping.

* A blog entry from De La Hoya in which he compares fighting Pacquiao to fighting Fernando Vargas and Shane Mosley, two past opponents who were later revealed as steroid users.

* An October radio interview in which Mayweather was asked about Pacquiao's physical development and answered in part that the "Philippines got the best enhancing drugs."

None of the allegations have yet been proven in court.

A week after the biggest impasse in negotiations for the proposed superfight became public, the emphatically underscores how close this bout is to falling through.

Pacquiao had maintained that he would take a blood test, but not within 30 days of the fight. But earlier this week his own promoter, Bob Arum, reminded him and the sports public that Pacquiao had taken a blood test 24 days before destroying Ricky Hatton. 

Still neither Schaefer nor Pacquiao attorney Daniel Petrocelli thinks the lawsuit means the fight is off. Petrocelli says the suit is simply an necessary measure against the negative press his client has endured since Mayweather Sr. first accused him of doping, and Schaefer thinks the two camps can still reach a deal.

"The fact is Floyd Mayweather is ready, willing and able to fight Manny Pacquiao," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "(Golden Boy marketing manager) Bruce Binkow has told me that conversations are ongoing with Todd duBoef from Top Rank to find a solution to get this fight done, and just because there is a lawsuit, Todd has not represented to Bruce that they should stop talking."

Mayweather-Pacquiao: Why it has to happen

Rather, why Pacquiao needs to smarten up and let it happen.

When word first surfaced in early December that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao planned to meet in March for all the pound-for-pound marbles, boxing purists rejoiced, casual sports fans paid attention, and this blog's comment section lit up with readers weighing in on who would triumph.

Then last week came even more news -- that Pacquiao wouldn't sign off on the fight as long as 
Mayweather's camp insisted on Olympic style doping control, which allows for random urine and blood testing from the time to fight is signed until the fighters enter the ring. If Mayweather's people didn't back off of that demand, Pacquiao's team said they would pull out of the fight.

Merry Christmas, fight fans.

Over the weekend Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, offered an alternative to Olympic-style drug testing and gave Mayweather until Monday to accept. But even as that deadline passed Tuesday dawned with the news that both sides are willing to compromise on doping, and that the Nevada Commission hoped to move negotiations forward.

And, really, do any of these plot twists surprise us?

The real surprise came three weeks ago, when important details of the bout seemed to fall into place with minimal wrangling. When egos this large negotiate over an event this big, it's normal to expect one side or the other to hold out long and hard over something, whether it's the contract weight (147 pounds), the type of gloves (8oz) or the purse split (50/50).

Now it's clear that the quick toppling of those dominoes simply concealed the real deal breaker -- drug testing. Mayweather wants to go well beyond standard procedure, while Pacquiao has said he won't consent to a blood test within 30 days of a fight.

Are Mayweather's drug test demands unprecedented?

Of course they are. Up until now the Nevada Commission's testing regimen -- pre-and post-fight urine tests -- have satisied everyone.

But are they unreasonable.

Not at all. Not for the pride at stake for these two fighters, and certainly not for the $25 million (U.S.) each of them figures to earn for the bout. Pacquaio may find the prospect of additional blood tests annoying, but when they double your salary (he made a reported $13 million in his last bout), you forfeit the right to quibble over minor nuisances.

Mayweather seems to understand that.

 

In negotiations for this fight Pacquiao's people pressed hard on the one aspect on which they thought he would bend the rules -- the contract weight. In September Mayweather was scheduled to face Juan Manuel Marquez at 144 pounds, but weighed in at 146 and paid a $600,000 fine. So for this fight team Pacquaio insisted on a fine of $10 million per pound for any fighter (read: Mayweather) who fails to make weight.

A steep demand, for sure, but Mayweather agreed to it.

Meanwhile Mayweather's people realize that Pacquiao's densely muscled physique and unreal punching power at higher weights provide circumstantial (even if flimsy) evidence of chemical enhancement, so to make sure everyone fights fair they impose a steep demand of their own.

 

But instead of agreeing Pacquiao resists, and jeopardizes not just fight of a generation but his own pristine reputation, and as a bonus concedes an edge in the psychological sparring that begins long before the fighters enter the ring.

While Mayweather has shown that neither Pacquiao's demands nor the prospect of increased drug testing bother him, Pacquiao has acted irrationally. 

He threatened a defamation suit against Mayweather, his father, Floyd Sr., and Golden Boy Promotions, even though only Mayweather Sr. has ever accused him of doping.

He and promoter Bob Arum have publicly considered replacing Mayweather with Paulie Malignaggi, even though the Brooklyn-based super lightweight thinks Pacquiao is on steroids and has said so on the record.

And he has maintained that having blood drawn within 30 days of the fight would weaken him, even as his own promoter unearthed video evidence of Pacquiao taking a blood test just two weeks before his May 2009 destruction of Ricky Hatton.

Now, none of this adds up to guilt, or even suspicion of doping (although these days even cheating on your wife can been seen as evidence that you're juicing).

But it's strange behaviour for a guy with nothing to hide.

It's out of character for a fighter who, until now, has only shown an interest in taking on the biggest challenges available.

And it's outright crazy behaviour for a guy who has 25 million reasons to consent to the test and make the fight happen.

Dana White: UFC in Toronto in 2010

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White says he'll bring the UFC to Toronto within 12 months.

Mixed martial arts events -- of which UFC pay-per-views are the biggest, richest example -- still aren't legal in Ontario, but White is confident that the large local fan base and the UFC's persistent lobbying will combine to force provincial officials to legalize the sport.

And he contends it will happen in 2010.

"I want to be able hold an event there next year," White said in a phone interview from is Las Vegas home. "There's only so many places we can get to at the same time, so we're knocking all these little ones down. Once we're done we're focusing on Ontario and I'm 100 percent confident that it's going to happen."

 

The UFC has a track record of persuading athletic commissions to change their minds on mixed martial arts. Yesterday their lobbyists finally persuaded Vancouver city council to regulate the sport, and the UFC quickly confirmed that they would host a show at GM Place in June 2010. And late last month Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick signed legislation allowing that state to host MMA events.

Those moves mean that among major North American jurisdictions, only New York and Ontario still refuse to regulate MMA, but White expects to conquer New York early next year.

"We got Vancouver done, we got Massachusetts done, now we'll get new York done," he said. "Then we're all guns blazing in Ontario. We're coming after Ontario."

In Ontario the UFC still must contend with the provincial athletic commission, which hasn't budged from its position that MMA violates the section of the Criminal Code that outlaws unsanctioned prize fights, and which struggles to cover its current workload, much less the extra labour the UFC would create.

Commissioner Ken Hayashi hasn't yet returned a phone call from the Star, but two weeks ago his assistant said the commission's stance on MMA hadn't changed.

Stay tuned.

UFC: they say that stuff is legal in Vancouver...

I don't know what kind of quasi-legal west coast imports you guys were thinking of, but I'm talking mixed martial arts.

Saw it first on Showdown Joe's Twitter feed, but word out of Vancouver is that city council has voted to legalize the sport on a two-year trial basis.

That ruling means that UFC can go ahead and stage a show in VanCity next spring.

 

And that in turn will mean that the UFC will have touched down in two Canada's three largest and best-known cities. We all know what number three is, and why Dana White and his crew may not host a show here any time soon.

But the folks in Vancouver seem to have solved a manpower crisis and found a fundraising opportunity with one simple measure:

E. THAT Council approve an increase to the seat tax charged by the Vancouver Athletic Commission from $0.10/seat to $1.00/seat for every contest or exhibition, to go towards the administrative costs and expenses of the Vancouver Athletic Commission and support staff involved; 

Of course, it's way too early to tell if Vancouver's regulations will serve as a template for other jurisdictions (like this one) to follow. Ontario could have followed Quebec's example in regulating the sport years ago, and the more states and provinces drop their restrictions against MMA, the more clear it becomes that the folks who would regulate it in Ontario are determined to make up their own minds. 

So while the fall of Massachusetts, and then of Vancouver, make it look like MMA (the UFC, really) are building the type of momentum needed to topple Ontario, the reality is that the Ontario commission takes cues from no-one but the Ontario commission. This isn't to say the MMA will never become legal here, but that any changes to the sport's status here will unfold according to the provincial commission's schedule -- if, in fact, it has one.

Kelly Pavlik: Headliner to One-liner

You've got to feel for WBC/WBO middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik.

Fifteen months ago "The Ghost" was rocketing toward the top end of pound-for-pound rankings and closing in the mainstream appeal reserved for fighters with a rare combination talent, personality and backstory.

An undefeated champ with thunder in his right hand, Pavlik's romp through the middleweight division made him a symbol of rebirth in the post-industrial wasteland he calls home. And after a pair of victories over 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Jermain Taylor led to the kind of press coverage that made him nearly a household name in middle (read: white, anglo) America.

Then last October he met Bernard Hopkins, who beat him -- as my mom would say -- nine ways from Sunday.

 

Because he fought Hopkins at 170 pounds Pavlik held on to his middleweight titles, and this month he was supposed to creep back amongst the cream of the boxing crop by defending those belts against highly regarded and widely avoided Paul "The Punisher Williams."

But then a staph infection in Pavlik's right hand forced him to postpone the showdown, which was to have aired on HBO on both sides of the border.

Then a second staph infection forced Pavlik to pull out of the fight, sending the two fighters in opposite directions.

Williams, who shuttles between three weight classes (welter, super welter and middleweight) remained on HBO and on Dec. 5 took on Argentina's Sergio Martinez, a late-blooming star at 154 pounds and a guy most other contenders would rather not face.

The result?

A career-best win in one of the action fights of the year.

A courageous late rally in a bout so close and controversial it demands a rematch.

And a bigger following among fans who respect him for taking a risk and respect high-octane style.

Pavlik, meanwhile, headlines a lacklustre pay-per-view card this weekend that has struggled to attract attention in a December full of big fights. 

For $40 you can watch him defend his titles against the world famous Miguel Espino, a fighter whose previous claim to fame is a loss way back in the first season of The Contender.

And if you find the matchup uninspiring, the trash talk is even worse. The lowlight? This groaner from Pavlik's trainer, Jack Loew.

"Over the past seven day of training Kelly has returned to his world championship form," he said during a mid-week news conference.  "Kelly is ready to drop Espino more times than Tiger Woods' trousers!”

*Taps mic*

Is this thing on?

*Taps mic*

Is this thing on?

I'll be here all week, folks!

I know you're out there. I can hear you leaving...

Yeah, I'll wait to catch the highlights on YouTube, and hope that Pavlik can maneuver himself into the Super Six 168-pound tourney if Taylor follows his (ex) promoter's advice and shuts it down. 

But his coach should lose his license over that Tiger Woods joke.

Ugh.

What's next for BJ Penn?

Really, it's the only question remaining after The Prodigy's five-round destruction of a spirited and skilled but badly outclassed Diego Sanchez at UFC 107.

In round one Penn demonstrated why a lot of observers, including sweet science sensei Freddie Roach, consider him the best boxer in MMA, dropping Sanchez with a short, crisp straight right hand.

 

And in the fifth Penn proved that his legendary flexibility doesn't just help him with submission attempts, but allows him to inflict show-closing blows, like the kick to the forehead that opened the gruesome gash that inspired ringside doctors to stop the fight.

Before the fight we wondered whether Sanchez' relentless pressure could overcome Penn's skill and savvy.

It didn't come close.

And now we wonder whether anyone in the world can indeed come close to Penn at 155 pounds.

Lightweights Kenny Florian and Clay Guida provided plenty of action and spilled a ton of blood on the UFC 107 undercard, but does either one of them look ready for Penn?

No more than I am.

Florian, who choked Guida out on Saturday, challenged for Penn's belt last August and himself wound up on the wrong end of a rear naked choke.

After coasting on his talent for the first half of his career, Penn has dedicated himself to preparation and has improved steadily in recent years. In a sport where even then the best fighters suffer occasional losses, Penn has only lost once in the past three years -- a four-round stoppage against 170-pound dynamo and Canadian Athlete of the Year, Georges St. Pierre.

Which brings us back to the question of who Penn confronts next.

Seems to me he faces the same problem GSP did (and still does) after systematically dispatching the UFC's best welterweights -- he's a level above the best of the rest in his division, but not quite equipped to take down champion in the weight class above him.

It's a good problem to have. it's better than, say, wondering whether every fight will end with smelling salts, a stretcher, and a doctor asking if you remember where you are. 

But it's a problem nonetheless when -- and this is no disrespect to the UFC's  other 155-pound fighters -- you've exhausted your supply of compelling matchups.

So what next?

Another shot at GSP?

UFC president Dana White thinks it could happen, provided Penn dispatches a few more lightweight contenders first.

Not sure I want to see that fight just yet. I know Penn has blossomed since connecting with strength coach Marv Marinovich, but still can see how a third fight with St. Pierre produces a different result than the first two.

But if Penn really does look for bigger challenges after cleaning out the lightweight division, the UFC should consider matching him with world-class welterweights a step below GSP.

Is Penn versus (hypothetically) Josh Koscheck as big an event of as a third bout with St. Pierre?

Of course not.

But on paper it's a lot more competitive, and that alone makes the match worth making -- especially if Penn can't find anyone to push him at 155.

Links to the Sweet Science

BITTER FRENEMIES

No denying that the folks at the head of the boxing business have learned a little about good matchmaking from their cousins in the octagon in the five years since the UFC forced its way into the mainstream sports scene with its monthly pay-per-view shows and star vs. star showdowns.

But this week two of the UFC's top fighters could learn something from a pair of boxers, all of them preparing to throw down this weekend.

As we mentioned yesterday, UFC 155-pound champ B.J. Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez are good friends who have struggled to muster any animosity towards each other before this Saturday's title fight.

But that same night in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Timothy Bradley will defend his WBO 140 pound belt against mandatory challenger and long-time buddy Lamont Peterson. These two have been friends for a decade, and while they're reluctant to talk trash, they at least are talking like people who are actually about to fight.

"We're both undefeated, which makes for a great fight. Web both have speed and power, and we both have boxing ability," Bradley told espn.com. "But at the end of the day it's my job to teach Lamont Peterson how to lose, and that's what I'm going to do."

See how that's done, B.J. and Diego?

SUPERFIGHT SITE?

So where will the March 13 megafight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao land?

Not in Dallas, where Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had wanted to bring the bout to his brand new, $1.2 million stadium. Both fighters' camps have turned down that proposal.

But before you book your tickets to Vegas for fight weekend, consider that another site has put in a bid.

A big bid.

A $20 million bid to bring the bout to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

As Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer points out, the tax issue complicates the case for a fight in California. Specifically, fighters would have to pay taxes in L.A. that they wouldn't face in Vegas or even Texas.

But a decade ago there was enough public interest and money available to stage Oscar De la Hoya and Shane Mosley's first bout at the Staples Center. So it could happen.

Unless, of course, some Las Vegas outfit with a little spare cash and a lot to gain from hosting the fight of the century steps in and outspends them all.

Yeah, that could happen too.

A merry Christmas indeed for fight fans

Penn vs. Sanchez -- ready to humble

Less than a week ahead of their title bout at UFC 107, lightweight champ B.J. Penn and challenger Diego Sanchez engaged in one of the least confrontational conference calls you'll ever hear involving two people a few days away from bashing each other in the face.

The call included five "Merry Christmases," (including two from the fighters), and countless "thank yous," and copious compliments for each other's skills.

But it contained precious little trash-talk.

Actually, it had none.

As intense as the action figures to be in octagon Saturday night, these two refuse to spar verbally.

At all.

When a reporter asked Sanchez to assess Penn's performance in choking out Kenny Florian at UFC 101, Sanchez offered direct and effusive praise.

"He went in there and he dominated and he kicked ass," said Sanchez, a San-Diego based lightweight making his first title challenge

But when talk turned to Penn's lopsided loss to Georges St.-Pierre at UFC 94 last February, the Nightmare offered an assessment both bland and diplomatic.

"The GSP fight, you know, it is what it is," Sanchez said. "He went in there and he won the fight. I don't know what your're trying -- what you want me to say."

I don't know. How about brutal honesty, a-la GSP?

Yes, I understand sportsmanship, and how its presence helps distinguish the UFC from gutter brawling.

And I'm not suggesting that either Penn or Sanchez engage in any Brock Lesnar-style pre-or post-fight grandstanding. That rant was so classless Lesnar later apologized.

But heading into a title fight I'd like to see at least a little animosity between champ and challenger, or at least get the sense that they disagree strongly on who deserves the belt more. And if they don't dislike each other, they could at least pretend...at least until the fight's over.

That's not disrespect or poor sportsmanship; that's hyping a fight.

And as quickly as the UFC has grown over the last five years, it could use a little boost right now.

Granted, this fight sells itself for MMA purists and junkies.

Anyone who has followed Sanchez' ascent from Ultimate Fighter reality show winner to legitimate contender for the lightweight crown has to be eager to see how his relentless aggressiveness will play against one the world's top jiu jitsu practitioners in Penn.

And Penn, after years of getting by on his grappling, natural talent and insane flexibilty is finally committed to conditioning, enlisting strength trainer and world class stage dad Marv Marinovich for his last two fights. An equal amount of anticipation surrounds just how great Penn can be now that he's in shape full time.

But mainstream sports fans still need a little incentive to stay plugged in to the UFC, since the organization's three most magnetic and marketable champions won't return to the octagon for a while. 

While elbow surgery might keep Anderson Silva out of action until April, St. Pierre is tentatively scheduled to fight next in March, sidelined since the summer with a groin injury. Meanwhile, the combination of mononucleosis and an intestinal infection have Lesnar so sick UFC president Dana White says the heavyweight champ might never return.

Factor in Internet sensation Kimbo Slice's UFC debut...snore...and the UFC heads to the end of 2009 in need of some momentum. 

A marquee matchup between Penn and Sanchez should provide it in the octagon Saturday night -- just don't expect any bad blood between them before they get there.

In ring and octagon, local fighters in action tonight

First of all, I really appreciate the debate that's raging on the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather post. It's intelligent, passionate and, above all, respectful. No personal attacks or name calling; just a lot of people who really know the fight game agreeing to disagree.

Vehemently.

Fighting Words, indeed.

But as much as we enjoy verbal sparring, we shouldn't forget that three local fighters will throw down for real on Saturday night.

IN THE OCTAGON...

Woodbridge native and American Top Team lightweight Mark Bocek makes his sixth start in the UFC, taking on UFC debutant Joe "The Hammer" Brammer on the undercard of tonight's Ultimate Fighter Finale.

Bocek acknowledges he doesn't know much about Brammer - who was booked for the bout less than a month ago - but is sure about two things heading into Saturday night's fight.

First, that Brammer will present a stiff challenge. 

"It's his first fight in the UFC and I'm sure he's trying to make a name for himself," said Bocek who, according to his web site weighed in at 156 pounds for the fight. "He's just another guy (but) they're all tough guys."

Second, Bocek knows that this fight is an opportunity to prove that he has graduated from prospect to legitimate threat in the UFC's 155-pound division. With the symbolic stakes so high, Bocek trained for this undercard bout like he was fighting for the title.

Six weeks before every fight Bocek, a jiu-jitsu instructor at Xtreme Couture in Etobicoke, heads to Coconut Creek, Fla., checks into a local Ramada Inn, and trains with American Top Team. 

He said with its focus on strength and conditioning (Olympic lifts, sprint drills, and 12-round cardio circuits) this training camp was the most intense of his five-year pro career.

Factor in high-octane sparring sessions with guys like Jorge Masvidal and recently-dethroned WEC featherweight king Mike Brown, and Bocek believes he now has the striking skills to match his world-class grappling. 

Tonight he intends to prove he's now ready to handle the division's best.

"There was a gap two years ago, but I feel I've closed it. That's why I'm looking at this fight like it's a really big one," he said. "Hopefully (I'll fight) a really big name after this. Just work my way up the ladder."

MEANWHILE IN THE RING...

Brampton cruiserweight Troy Ross takes on Brazilian journeyman Daniel Bispo in a stay-busy bout at Casino Montreal. 

Some of you might remember Ross as a part-time star on the large and small screens.

If he beats Bispo tonight he's in line to fight in a title eliminator in the first quarter of 2010, bringing him a big step closer to the world title he's been chasing since turning pro nine years ago.

ON THE SAME CARD...

Mississauga lightweight Logan McGuinness faces Mexico's Cesar Soriano in his first scheduled eight-rounder.

McGuinness trains out of Chris Johnson's Fighting Alliance, alongside former (and future?) IBF 122-pound champ Steve Molitor, and the guys at Hennessy Sports think he can be the next Ontario fighter to win a world title.

But he'll have to handle Soriano first.

There's no local TV coverage for the card, features which former world champ and Montreal resident Joachim Alcine in the main event. But if you have a few hours and about four dollars to spare tonight, you can catch it all online at http://www.secondsouttv.com/.