Pacquiao vs. Mayweather (Photo : REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson )
The showdown battle between undefeated American fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao is starting to get more personal, as both camps traded barbs following the non-inclusion of the $5 million doping penalty to the terms of the contract, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
In an interview with Lance Pugmire of the LA Times, Pacquiao's chief adviser Michael Koncz expressed his dismay after Mayweather's camp rejected his client's proposal of a hefty $5 million penalty to be charged against a combatant who failed to pass the Olympic-style drug testing being administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Leornard Ellerbe, the top honcho of Mayweather's Promotion, immediately issued his reaction to Koncz's remark, calling Pacman's confidante a moron for not informing Top-Rank promoter Bob Arum of that particular detail during their negotiation. Moreover, Ellerbe also accused Pacquiao's camp of using tactic to generate some publicity with roughly six weeks to go before the big fight on May 2 at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"If this moron didn't convey his fighter's wishes when the negotiation was going on, that's their problem," Ellerbe told the LA Times. "If ... Koncz and Manny didn't communicate with their promoter during the negotiation, it's a lame ... attempt to generate some publicity."
This is not the first time both camps engaged in a heated discussion over drug testing. In fact, this issue was the major sticking point that triggered the collapse of previous negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao five years ago.
Mayweather, who will be defending the WBC, WBA (Super) and Ring Magazine welterweight titles, has made USADA Olympic-style random drug testing a chief requirement for all his opponents since 2010. Pacquiao, who will be risking his WBO welterweight crown, also began undergoing random-drug testing administered by VADA since his fight with Brandon Rios in November 2013 and made a concession to undergo USADA test just to make the fight with Mayweather happen.
Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is expected to be the highest-grossing boxing match in history, which is estimated to generate as much as $400 million in pay-per-view and merchandize sales.
