Negotiations are moving ahead to make a Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez fight this May. While they are still at the early stages it seems as though Martinez hot off a disputed loss to Paul Williams could challenge Pavlik for his WBC/WBO Middleweight crown.

It appears as though it would happen in Atlantic City where Pavlik is extremely popular and Martinez fought last time out.

Martinez agent Sampson Lewkowicz told 15rounds.com that “It’s and Exciting fight that people want to see” He also added that they had an offer to fight the rematch with Paul Williams but preferred to get his man a straight title shot. He also said he is requesting WBC approved judges.

So finally it appears that things are getting back to normal in the Boxing world after being held hostage regarding the on off on and finally off negotiations between Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao.

Photo by Chris Farina of Top Rank

According to various reports, the much anticipated bout between Pound for Pound King’s Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will NOT happen on March 13th after a last ditch mediation session on Tuesday provided no resolution to save the bout.

The two camps met for nine hours in Santa Monica, California on Tuesday with a compromise on the table for which Pacquiao would undergo a drug testing procedure twenty-four days before the fight where Team Mayweather wanted the tests during fight week.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter was quoted in various reports that the fight cant happen and he will now look for Pacquiao to attempt to win a a title in an eighth weight division as he will look to take on WBA Super Welterweight champion Yuri Foreman on either March 13th or March 20th.

Mayweather nor his representatives were available for comment

Atlantic City, NJ—Unbeaten Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, PA, makes the fourth defense of his North American Boxing Association (NABA) welterweight title when he faces Henry Bruseles, of Gurabo, Puerto Rico, in the scheduled 10-round main event Saturday evening, Feb. 27, at Bally’s Atlantic City. First fight 8.30 p.m.

The Jones-Bruseles fight will be part of a two-hour portion of the show which will be televised live by Fox Sports Espanol, Fox Sports Net (FSN) and its regional sports network affiliates, beginning at 10 p.m. This card, part of the Top Rank Live series on Fox Sports Espanol on Saturdays, three times a month.

Jones, 26, is considered one of the hottest prospects in boxing. His 19-0 record includes 16 knockouts and he is rated highly—No. 8 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), No. 11 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), No. 16 by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

He won the vacant NABA title when he K0d Juliano Ramos, a Brazilian living in Boca Raton, FL, on Aug. 29, 2008, at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia.

Though injuries to himself and to several opponents made 2009 a hard year for Jones, he still managed to defend his title three times, knocking out Dairo Esalas at the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia, outpointing Lenin Arroyo at Bally’s and knocking out Raul Pinzon at Bally’s.

Other victims include Germaine Sanders, Gilbert Venegas and Luciano Perez.
Though Jones appears to have found a home at Bally’s—this will be his third straight fight there—he also has boxed in Las Vegas, NV, Spokane, WA, Niagara Falls, NY, Allegany, NY, and Reading, PA.

Bruseles, 28, represents Jones’ toughest opposition so far.

A pro since 1999, Bruseles has a 28-3-1 record, 15 K0s. He has won his last seven fights and he has wins over Wilfredo Negron, Ener Julio, Arturo Urena, Cesar Bazan, Robert Frankel, Ben Tackie and Mario Ramos.

Bruseles has not lost since Jan. 22, 2005, when Floyd Mayweather, Jr., stopped him in eight rounds in Miami, FL. That was the only time Bruseles has been stopped.

Tickets for the seven-bout card, promoted by Top Rank, Inc. in association with Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc., are priced at $75 and $50. They are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing
(215-765-0922), all Ticketmaster outlets (1-800-745-3000), or online at www.Ticketmaster.com and www.peltzboxing.com.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the first day of a mediation process to hopefully resolve the differences between the camps of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather lasted nine hours on Tuesday but did not produce a resolution for the proposed March 13th mega-fight to go forward.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Todd duBoef, along with their legal team, Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer, Oscar De La Hoya, their legal team, and Mayweather manager Al Haymon spent the day with mediator Daniel Weinstein at offices in Santa Monica, Calif., hoping to pave the way for potentially the richest fight in boxing history.

“Mediation is still ongoing,” one of Top Rank’s lawyers told ESPN Deportes’ Jaime Mota.

Weinstein has placed a gag order on all parties.

It is unclear if the talks will resume on Wednesday.

They had agreed to everything in the deal except for the method of drug testing for the boxers.

Although the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which would oversee the bout, requires only urine testing, Mayweather has insisted on random blood testing. Both sides have already agreed to unlimited random urine testing.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), who didn’t want any blood testing, agreed to take three blood tests: one during the week of the kickoff news conference, which would take place next week if they can make a deal, one random test to be conducted no later than 30 days before the fight and a final test in his dressing room after the fight. Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) would be subject to the same testing procedures.

Besides Weinstein trying to mediate a resolution to the drug testing issue, there is also the matter of the defamation lawsuit Pacquiao filed last week in Nevada U.S. District Court against Mayweather Jr., Schaefer, De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions.

Pacquiao alleges that they made false and defamatory statements and sullied his reputation by accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao denies he has ever used PEDs and has never failed a drug test.

At issue is also Golden Boy’s continued involvement in Pacquaio’s contract. With Golden Boy representing Mayweather and allegedly accusing Pacquiao of using performance enhancing drugs, Arum believes it has diminished Pacquiao and that Golden Boy should no longer be entitled to share in the money his bouts generate, especially when it also is making money off Mayweather.

If the mediation fails, Arum has repeatedly said he will match Pacquiao with junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman, whom he also promotes, on March 20 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas so Pacquiao could attempt to win a title in a record-extending eighth weight division.

Mayweather could still fight on March 13 at the MGM Grand and potentially face former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi.

Today in a room in a Santa Monica, California, boxing will be going under for its own form of major surgery.

The kind of surgery isn’t for a bum knee or a damaged elbow. It could be an operation to fix and resurrect any number of things inside the body of boxing.

Due to Doctor/Patient confidentiality we will call the patient “FMMP”.

FMMP is a potential larger than life event that could bring an influx of new fans to the sport. FMMP was set to debut on the Las Vegas strip on March 13th until some infections got in the way, hence the reason for this surgery.

Enter the honorable former judge Daniel Weinstein who will act as the lead surgeon. Helping him out in the board, I mean operating room will be represent eves from promotional giants, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions as well as well as the inner circles of FM & MP.

What is the potential prognosis if this procedure succeeds or fails?

If Weinstein is successful, the sport of boxing will get what it’s been longing for a fight that its been yearning for since at least De La Hoya – Trinidad or Chavez – Whitaker and that fight was almost twenty years ago.

This is a fight that has been brewing for the better part of two years and this is all that boxing and even the non-boxing fans want to see.

After the news has been all over boxing and sports news services that a deal was reached in principle that the fight was closer to fruition then not, the infection, arose that the camp of FM wanted a more stringent drug testing procedure on MP started to fester in the body, of this patient.

Now if Weinstein can get this infection straightened out, the sport has a chance to be healthier than it’s been in a decade as a fight will be made that EVERYONE wants to witness.

Sure we know that this is a big money event that everyone involved from the fighters, promoters, casinos and right on the down the line will line their pockets with a bushel of cash but to have boxing back on center stage will be worth whatever we have had to endure over the last few weeks as we read about proposals and counter proposals about drug testing and drawing blood.

The potential of an unsuccessful surgery I don’t want to say will be catastrophic for the business but it would certainly be another bruise on the body that is boxing.

Many hardcore and even the very casual fan wants to see the bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao and lets home that the former Judge Weinstein can perform a magical procedure to help save this fight.

Photo Chris Farina/Top Rank

The top man at Middleweight may not have had the best of years but now Kelly Pavlik’s healthy again hopefully he’ll engage in some big fights and bring excitement back to the Middleweights which have been derelict over the past few years. With Paul Williams having to sit out much of the first half of the year look for Sergio Martinez to take advantage of the situation and fight Pavlik in Atlantic City in April/May. Martinez has skills in abundance and his speed of foot could also cause Pavlik problems, however “The Ghost” is tough, gritty with a huge heart who’ll keep going until the last and pull off a hard fought decision win. Paul Williams will get back into action over the summer possibly against someone like John Duddy or Peter Manfredo either should give Williams the opportunity to put on an impressive performance setting the stage for a highly anticipated fall fight with Pavlik. When all the smoke has cleared Pavlik will have scored a late impressive stoppage in give and take battle. WBA Kingpin Felix Sturm will have several problems getting free of his contract with Universum so wont be very active. Even so it’s difficult to see Sturm losing as he’ll likely have home advantage and probably won’t be matched with any of the top dogs. Fellow German IBF ruler Sebastian Sylvester will make his first defence against the very average Pablo Navascues of Spain. Sylvester shouldn’t have any problem keeping hold of his title in that fight setting up a May/June fight with his mandatory challenger. That will be Roman Karmazin who will best Dionisio Miranda in early January. Karmazin is skilled and tough but at 37 passed his best so Sylvester who will likely also have home advantage, again getting the win. European champ Matthew Macklin has a tough fight with Dmitriy Pirog in February the winner of that will be well positioned to fight Sylvester before the end of 2010. The best of the rest will see Daniel Jacobs become a top 10 ranked contender on the verge of a world title fight. French transplant Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam will also have a good year. Gennady Golovkin will be hoping to fight Sturm but that may largely depend on if Sturm can free himself of his Universum contract. If the fight happens Golovkin is good enough to win it. Matt Korobov will also be busy and start to face better opposition placing him on the fringes of the world scene.

With Sergio Martinez fighting up at 160 leaving him to vacate the WBC title which will see Kermit Cintron paired with Ryan Rhodes. Both guys carry a good story coming in, Cintron will be the better guy scoring a unanimous decision. Don’t be surprised to see Cintron hold onto the title through out the year. Yuri Foreman is on standby to square off with Manny Pacquiao encase Pac-Man’s fight with Floyd Mayweather doesn’t come off. Eventually he’ll settle for a spot on the undercard fighting Japanese WBA Interim champion Nobihiro Ishida. Ishida shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge with Foreman posting an easy points win. Its possible Foreman will be matched with Miguel Cotto over the summer. Foreman has the style and size advantage to give Cotto fits if it happens. Another option could be Joachim Alcine who is popular in Monteal. As time goes by Cory Spinks is slowly morphing from cagey mover into a more stationary boxer which is good for us but not so good for him. Spinks probably due to Don King not keeping his fighters too active will keep the title in 2010 with only Vanes Martirosyan in the top 15 of the IBF posing any threat. With Sergei Dzindziruk not having fought at all in the last calendar year he may have to vacate which will see Alfredo Angulo promoted to full champion. If this happens Angulo backed by Gary Shaw will become a staple in the HBO cards taking part in at least two fights. He’ll be matched carefully against tough fighters and not cagey runners. The best of the up and comers is Martirosyan who’ll outpoint teak tough Kassim Ouma in mid January from there the Freddy Roach trained prospect will continue to develop having a busy year marking him out as the top contender in the division. Shawn Porter came to prominence late in 09 he’ll continue to develop and may even drop down to 147.

The world awaits on what will happen in the soap opera that is the tediously long and drawn out negotiations between Floyd Mayweather Jnr & Manny Pacquiao. Hopefully soon enough they will sort out the Blood tests and put pen on a deal that will see both men earn more than they’ve ever earnt before. Hopefully the fight will then live up to the drama that has ensued in the build up if it does we’re all in for a treat. It pits the skills of Mayweather verses the power of Pacquiao plus many many other intriguing intangibles. When all is said and done and the dust has settled Mayweather will prevail via unanimous decision looking every bit the star he believes himself to be. The only real threat then on the horizon would be Shane Mosley who’ll roll back the years once again and dominate the young skilled but not quite ready Andre Berto. After much posturing they’ll square off in Las Vegas in another huge fight. Again Mayweather will back up his talk and win a competitive but clear cut decision. Antonio Margarito may re-emerge but struggle to get a big fight because of previous history. Cotto after several months off will put himself back in the picture with a couple of wins. Among the possible opponent’s for Cotto if elects to stay at 147 could be Jesus Soto Karass & Jose Luis Castillo. Joshua Clottey will continue to struggle to gets fights and not manage to get any of the big guys in the ring. If he can get a fight with the ordinary Jan Zeveck he could once again be the IBF champion. Zaveck will not get through the year as IBF champion in such a talented weight class. The younger guys coming through should provide enough action to again make the 147 hot top to bottom whereas in 2009 this was only the case for the top 5 or so guys. Selcuk Aydin has the power and attitude to take him to the top, it may get him a European title or even the IBF crown if he gets the chance. The often underappreciated Mike Jones will break out as a top 10 contender. Young guys like Saul Alvarez & Kell Brook could also supplant there credentials with successful years that could leave them with in striking distance of the best.

Another talent laden division is the Light Welterweight’s. The numero uno is Tim Bradley who had a great 09 that run should continue this year with him again struggling to get the Big name that he craves to bring him big money. With Bradley fighting on Showtime and most of the other champions fighting on HBO it’ll be interesting to see who Bradley gets in his next fight. On 6 March Devon Alexander & Juan Urango will look to unify there WBC & IBF titles in a fight that has a lot of promise. Alexander will be getting back into action after 7 months off since he beat Junior Witter, this fight will give him the chance to really push himself out there. I look for him to post a dominant decision win before fighting Victor Ortiz over the summer. Look for Ortiz to get a win in the first half of the year to set up that fight with fellow young gun Alexander. Amir Khan will fight Marcos Maidana possibly on the same card as Alexander-Urango. That could eventually be a prelude to a future match up between two of the very best at 140. Khan will use his speed to befuddle Maidana on his way to getting a points win. At some point a fight between Khan & Paul Malignaggi could very well happen though that may not be until the fall with Khan squeezing in a defence in Britain. The ever popular Ricky Hatton will make his comeback possibly on 1 May as co-main event with Juan Manuel Marquez. The double header will help set up a fight with Marquez for later in 2010. Kendall Holt will beat Tim Coleman in an IBF eliminator but he’ll lose if he steps up to fight Alexander. When neither Malignaggi nor Holt can get a title shot they may elect to fight over the summer in a fight that will help the winner get a title opportunity. It would also be a pretty big fight in New York or New Jersey. Another fight that may interest Malignaggi would be Dimitri Salita if Salita can get a few wins under his belt. That would be a pretty big fight in New York. Ireland’s Paul McCloskey broke out last year and is now the European champion. Expect him to continue his development and gain a few more defence’s that should enable him to improve his rankings in the alphabet organisation’s top 10. Nate Campbell who has signed with Golden Boy should get a big fight but likely wont be able to win it. Lucas Matthysse will get the best win of his career stopping shop worn Vivian Harris on the Mosley-Berto card. That may get him a shot at Bradley later in the year. Noteworthy guys coming through are Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia who was very impressive on the Hopkins-Ornelas card & Britain’s Frankie Gavin who appears headed for the big time.

After losing to Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez will drop back to a more natural 135 on 1 May when he will fight in a co feature with Ricky Hatton. He’ll face either Juan Diaz or Michael Katsidis both have styles that suit Marquez who’ll be favoured to beat either. Edwin Valero fought twice last year against ho hum opposition and will be hoping for a bigger year…he’ll have one too. Starting on 6 February he’ll defend his title against Interim holder Antonio De Marco. De Marco’s a good fighter but he looks made to order for Valero with his come forward style. He may start off ok, but will get caught and when that starts happening the whole fight will change. Valero will take De Marco out by the mid rounds. Valero will be back in action over the summer and he’ll get a license to fight in America where he’ll meet David Diaz. Diaz is teak tough but will also fall into the same trap as De Marco and get stopped in 9. By the end of the year Valero-Marquez will be talked about as well as a move up to 140 for Valero. Another possible opponent’s for Valero could be Urbano Antillon & Humberto Soto. Ali Funeka will finally get his big break when he claims the vacant IBF crown when he stops Rolando Reyes in ten. Funeka is promoted by Gary Shaw who look’s after his charges. I expect Funeka to thrive with the title and be active with a couple of defence’s. It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if the 6’1 South African stepped up to 140 late in the year to fight Bradley. If Katsidis doesn’t get the opportunity to face Marquez on 1 May look for him to possibly feature on the undercard against Jorge Barrios for the vacant WBO title. It would be a war from start to finish with both guys bleeding and hitting the canvas. At the end Katsidis will take the title and improve his status and see him get on another big card before the year is through. Anthony Peterson will come into his own and be a threat to anyone by the end of the year, he’ll get chances to show his talent on Top Rank cards. Another talented young guy Luis Ramos will get more chances on bigger Golden Boy Promotions.

Anthony Mundine’s decision to forego a quest for the International Boxing Organization’s junior middleweight title next week in Australia is his own – and not based on undue influence or conflict from the IBO – according to its president, Ed Levine.

Mundine had been scheduled to meet Robert Medley for the IBO’s vacant 154-pound championship on Jan. 11 in Sydney, but the fight – if held at all – will no longer be for the IBO belt and is more likely to be fought at middleweight, Levine said.

A Jan. 6 report in the Sydney Morning Herald cited Mundine’s displeasure with the IBO stemming from review of his May defeat of Daniel Geale for the organization’s 160-pound title – which Mundine relinquished upon requesting sanction for the 154-pound bout with Medley.

Levine, however, said it’s more likely Mundine’s decision is based on other factors.

“Our opinion is that Mundine’s current failure to honor his contractual obligations to the IBO and Medley are purely based on his inability to make the weight and/or his reluctance to accept two international officials and the costs attendant to putting on a world title fight,” Levine said.

Mundine defeated Geale by split decision to win the IBO middleweight belt. According to Levine, an appeal to the IBO from Geale’s management resulted in a review of the bout by three “senior IBO judges,” which then resulted in a narrow split decision opinion in Geale’s favor.

Some reports, including the Sydney Morning Herald’s, erroneously indicated that a unanimous decision in Geale’s direction after the review would have mandated the original decision be overturned.

“That is total nonsense and completely incorrect. The IBO would never overturn an official result,” Levine said. “What was said by the IBO is that if the three appeals judges ‘unanimously and clearly by a wide margin’ scored the bout for Geale, title recognition could be withdrawn or an immediate rematch ordered.

“A mere close unanimous re-scoring of the contest would have led to Geale being made a mandatory fight for Mundine. Effectively, the close re-scoring getting a narrow split decision to Geale resulted in the same decision, a mandatory position for Geale but not in an immediate and direct rematch. Mundine was given the opportunity for an intervening optional defense.”

Levine said fights will be scheduled soon to fill the vacancies at 154 and 160 pounds.

IAN NAPA has been handed a chance to regain the European bantamweight title.

The slick Hackney boxer (19-7) has been nominated to face Frenchman Jerome Arnould for the vacant title, which is likely to take place in March or April.

Napa, 31, will still press ahead with his British title defence against Jamie McDonnell at Brentwood Centre on Friday January 22 despite his date against the former world title challenger.

Promoter Frank Maloney said: “The pressure is on now for Ian, because a loss to McDonnell and the EBU will withdraw their nomination.

“The fight against McDonnell is all or nothing for Ian, but if he has prepared right McDonnell cannot beat him.”

Arnould, 24, is on a eight fight winning streak and unbeaten since being knocked out in the seventh round of a WBA bantamweight title challenge Wladimir Sidorenko in June 2007.

Napa lost the European title ten months ago when he was shocked by Arnould’s countryman, Malik Bouziane.

Top of the bill is Ian Napa’s (19-7) British bantamweight title defence against Jamie McDonnell (12-2-1)

On the same bill Cheshunt’s cocky Ashley Sexton (8-0) faces fellow extrovert Usman Ahmed (6-2-1) in a clash for the vacant English flyweight championship.

On the comeback trail is former British super-featherweight champion Carl Johanneson (27-4) who boxes for the first time since his defeat to Kevin Mitchell in March 2008.

Maloney’s heavyweight Larry Olubamiwo (6-1) moves up a notch when he boxes Irish puncher Scott Belshaw (10-3).

Tickets for this top class show, priced £80 and £35 are available on line www.frankmaloney.com or 0871 226 1508

Sources notified 15rounds.com that Atlantic City based welterweight Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez will meet hard hitting Texan Alexis Camacho Saturday, February 6 at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino.

Alvarez, 20-2 (11 KO’s), makes his first start since losing a razor thin decision to Delvin Rodriguez in March. The volume punching Alvarez most recently outpointed 1996 US Olympian Terrance Cauthen in November 2008, but also dropped a competitive decision to future titleholder Joshua Clottey back in ’07.

The hard hitting Camacho brings a record of 17-2 with 16 KO’s, but like his counterpart, fell short on the scorecards in two of his last three fights and is in need of a victory. Camacho, who most recently dropped a decision to upset specialist Carlos Molina, has been working hard with one of New Jersey’s very best to prepare for February 6.

“This is not going to be an easy fight, but I am very confident that I will be walking away as the winner”, Camacho told 15rounds. “I have been working with Lou Duva for a few months now, and he has really improved my game. I want to face the top welterweights in the world, but first and foremost I must get by Shamone.”

Alvarez, a perfect 12-0 when fighting in his hometown of Atlantic City, recognizes the importance of getting back in the winners circle.

“I am really looking forward to this fight. Anytime you have the opportunity to fight in front of your hometown fans is great. I want to get myself back into title contention and a win over Camacho points me in that direction.”

The card is being promoted by Joe Deguardia’s Star Boxing. Also slated to appear in a six round light heavyweight contest is Wildwood’s Chuck Mussachio against the ever famous TBA.

For more New Jersey boxing news, go to www.gardenstatefightscene.com

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the saga between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will take another turn on Tuesday as the sides will head to mediation in Santa Monica, California.

“We’re going into mediation,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, told ESPN.com. “This guy (mediator, Daniel Weinstein) was successful resolving our nutty problem before and hopefully he can be successful this time. He’s a guy who is a big fight fan and loves the sport, and I found him last time to be a delight to deal with. Everybody did.”

At the time of the previous mediation, the companies had several ongoing lawsuits, including the one at the center of the bad blood: ownership of the promotional rights to Pacquiao, who had signed contracts with both companies before eventually pledging his loyalty to Top Rank.

When the disputes were settled in June 2007, Arum and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer both credited Weinstein’s steady hand for getting them to reach an accord. Under the global settlement, Top Rank retained Pacquiao’s promotional rights with Golden Boy receiving a percentage of Top Rank’s profit from his future bouts.

The hope is that Weinstein can once again help the sides see their way through what has become an increasingly nasty battle in an effort to finalize the bout between welterweight titlist Pacquiao and Mayweather, the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, in a fight many believe will break the pay-per-view record of 2.44 million buys. Mayweather’s 2007 fight with Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya set the record.

Top Rank and Golden Boy have agreed on all points on the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight except for one: The protocol for drug testing.

One issue sure to be discussed in front of the mediator is the impact of the defamation lawsuit Pacquiao filed last week in Nevada U.S. District Court against Mayweather Jr., Schaefer, De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions.

In the suit, Pacquiao alleges they made false and defamatory statements and sullied his reputation by accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao denies he has ever used PEDs and has never failed a drug test.

If mediation fails, and the fight does not get made, Arum said he will match Pacquiao with junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman, whom he also promotes, on March 20 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas so Pacquiao could attempt to win a title in a record eighth weight division.

Mayweather could still fight on March 13 at the MGM and potentially face former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi.

“This one storm is going to change the face of our planet. When this storm is over, we’ll be in a new ice age. My God.” – Professor Jack Hall, “The Day After Tomorrow”

Thank heavens the hyperbolic professor didn’t have an internet connection and an interest in boxing these last 40 days. Who knows how many worlds he might have seen ending? But then, if he’d had those things there’s an outside chance his carrying on might have been ridiculous enough for us to snicker, find our equilibrium and realize that – much as in the poorly scripted case above – the end of the world is not nigh.

Nor is the end of boxing. Nor – mercilessly enough – is the end of negotiations for Manny Pacquiao to fight Floyd Mayweather and determine the mythical pound-for-pound titlist of 2010. Soft deadlines have passed. Hard deadlines have come and gone. New Year’s Day is in the books. Both sides are unwilling to budge. And with March 13 looming but 68 days from here, there’s not nearly enough time to fill Cowboys Stadium!

Get a hold of yourself. This fight was never going anywhere but Las Vegas. With MGM Grand the settled site for Pacquiao-Mayweather, there are no tickets to sell; attracting pay-per-viewers is the only point of the promotion. That means HBO’s “24/7” program is the de facto promoter and the ultimate deadline needn’t come before Feb. 1.

That could be the last word in optimism if optimism were warranted. It isn’t.

Anyone reading this column cares enough about our sport to cast a wary eye at outsiders who assure us boxing’s future relies on this fight coming off. I know, I know. We finally had the New York Times and Wall Street Journal’s validation. Well, so long as this fight looked doable, it behooved us all to agree this was the most important happening of the millennium. Now that Pacquiao-Mayweather in Texas has gone the way of Pacquiao-Valero in Macao, though, ask yourself: How does this fight affect me?

Manny Pacquiao is considered the world’s best fighter. Floyd Mayweather is considered the world’s second-best fighter. If they were to fight, those positions would likely switch. How is that good for boxing?

Pacquiao is a charismatic action fighter who’s created a market for prizefighting in the Philippines and made it popular as ever throughout Asia. Mayweather is a foul-mouthed defensive specialist whose fights lose more fans than they gain. Pacquiao is good for boxing. Mayweather is good for Mayweather.

Mayweather is also too smart by half, this time. He’s devised a strategy of implying Pacquiao has been cheating, without exactly saying it. He didn’t want fair play; he wanted another psychological advantage over another opponent. He knew Pacquiao would consider the blood testing intrusive. He knew in Pacquiao’s mind it would be “Money May” himself reaching in those veins and doing God knows what with the blood.

Hey, as an American immune to superstition, I’m with Mayweather on the testing. I’d probably agree to the testing even if I did have something to hide – betting on the testers’ incompetence. But most Filipinos would refuse blood tests even if they had nothing to hide.

If the fight’s off because neither side flinches on blood tests, Pacquiao remains the world’s best fighter. Mayweather holds down the two spot. Works for me.

But let’s hope it doesn’t work for Mayweather. Let’s hope being a runner-up enkindles him enough to declare war on the welterweight division, demand the head of whoever wins the upcoming match between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto, and then issue beatings to Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Luis Collazo.

Wait, stop laughing.

A more likely scenario of course is that Mayweather will pursue dwindling-money fights with old guys and b-level talents until he, too, becomes an old guy. If that happens, Mayweather’s ultimate legacy will look like this: Top 10 talent, Top 100 resume.

Oh, no it won’t! I’ll remind the world till the day I die that Pacquiao ducked him by refusing blood tests!

No, you won’t. Someday you’ll be married with kids and a full-time job and no more than an hour of every week for message boards. Then, only Mayweather’s record of actual fights will matter, and some youngster half your age will say: “Not one prime hall-of-famer on that 50-0 record.”

Based on their past exploits, we can assume Pacquiao really wants this fight, Mayweather sort of wants this fight, Golden Boy Promotions really wants this fight, and Top Rank sort of wants this fight. Though they share similar levels of enthusiasm, Mayweather is wrong and Top Rank is right – coincidentally, for the same reason:

If anyone can solve Manny Pacquiao, it’s Floyd Mayweather.

Pacquiao and his millions of fans don’t know this. Mayweather and his dozens of fans do. And so, one assumes, do a few people in Top Rank – the company that developed Mayweather before it developed Pacquiao. Top Rank won’t jeopardize the Pacman party till it gets plenty more concessions at the negotiating table.

If Pacquiao-Mayweather does happen, though, it will be an event. The New York Times will be there. The undercard will be unwatchable. The fight itself will be dull. Mayweather will hold the sport of boxing hostage – whupping the daylights out of the Matty Hattons of the world – for five more years. And we’ll all be $100 million richer.

No we won’t. Yet, that’s the final reason why many seem to think they have a vested interest in this fight happening: Because it will make a lot of money. Money for whom? In prizefighting the money distributes like the talent on a super-fight’s marquee: 90 percent in the top 10 percent.

So, dry your eyes. And remember, less money in boxing, not more, is what made 2009 so much better than 2008.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Nicolai Firtha 247 – Joseph Rabotte 350
Eric Stevens 168 – John Stallings 167
Mike Moore 160.5 – Anthony Watson TBA
Omari Braxton 206 – John Fields 195 ½
Jason Freeman 221 – Alexis Cruz Medina 259 ½
Randy Campbell 181 ½ – Daniel Shull 180

The Heavyweight’s have largely been dominated by The Klitschko’s through out the later part of this decade. I don’t see much change in that this year with Wladimir beating his WBO mandatory Eddie Chambers in March by eighth round stoppage then closing out the year fighting his IBF mandatory Alexander Povetkin who may have a few moment along the way before being stopped in the tenth. Big brother Vitali wont fight until the summer when he’ll take on either Odlanier Solis who’ll win an eliminator against Ray Austin or Tomasz Adamek if he gets past Jason Estrada in February & Chris Arreola in late April. Either way he wont lose. That will set the platform for Vitali to face David Haye who’ll force the stoppage against John Ruiz. After all the jostling for position Vitali will stop Haye who may give the big man trouble early with movement in the 5 with a big KO. Sam Peter to continue rebuilding on Top Rank shows and have a good year. The most noteworthy guy coming through is Russian Denis Boytsov. At just 23 boasting a pristine 26-0(21) he looks to have a bright future which could see him win the European title before the end of the year. The fast rising Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev could also have a good year. He’s fighting once a month at the moment but already beating decent guys with his next appearance due late in January against the vastly more experienced Oleg Platov.

With Tomasz Adamek abdicating his thrown as the top man at Cruiserweight the other will jostle for position. Steve Cunningham will regain his IBF crown when he turns back Matt Godfrey on points in the first quarter of the year. The Philadelphia product has never been the most active of guys and may only fight once more in that calendar year and that may be a road trip North to Canada to fight Troy Ross or even further a field to Europe. Marco Huck looks the future of the division at 25. He managed to win the WBO title in 09 look for him to defend it three times this year all at home one likely foe is Grigory Drozd. It’ll be interesting to see if Zsolt Erdei elects to stay at Cruiserweight i don’t think he will. Leaving Krzysztof Wlodarczyk to beat Herbie Hide for the vacant WBC title. Look for Wlodarczyk to defend at home in Poland before possibly having to go to Germany for a defence where Cuban Juan pablo Hernandez may be dangerous. Guillermo Jones finally got over the hump in 08 when he won won the WBA title after 3 previous shots at various world titles. However he hasn’t capitalised on that having not fought since September 08, time seems to be running out for Jones who turns 38 in May. He’ll either be stripped of at some point have to fight Alexander Alexeev. Either way Alexeev will win come good on his promise to win.

When Danny Green stopped Roy Jones a few weeks back he changed the landscape of the division dramatically. First off we we wont get to see Jones square off with long time rival Bernard Hopkins in a rematch that has been 16 years in the making. That means that Hopkins will have to find a new dance partner. One possible is Danny green who’d love the fight. If the money’s right it’ll happen, just don’t bank on Hopkins going the way of RJJ. Hopkins will be far more studious and out fox Green if it comes off. One fight that it wont set up is Hopkins against Chad Dawson who will instead have to sit out until June when Jean Pascal’s shoulder will hopefully of healed. Dawson will go to Canada and regain his old WBC title with a hard fought points win. With a lack of opportunity’s Dawson will then make a routine defence at home in Connecticut against Chris Henry. It looks as though there will be rematch in the first quarter between WBA kingpin Gabriel Campillo & Beibut Shumenov. This time Shumenov will prevail. Look for him to take his new title back to Kazahkstan and make a few lucrative defences. In 2008 Tavoris Cloud entered the ranks of a contender with a drubbing of former champion Julio Cesar Gonzalez then after a full year without a fight he fought for the vacant IBF crown when he outpointed Clintonm Woods. Since that fight in August he hasn’t fight and has nothing in the works. Hopefully he’ll get back to work and capitalise on being a champion with a couple of defence’s. One could be against Glen Johnson if he gets past Yusef Mack. Jurgen Braehmer became WBO champion when Zsolt Erdei moved upto Cruiserweight. It’s possible that Erdei could comeback to 175 and that fight would be pretty big in Germany. If it happens it’ll pit Braehmer’s power against Erdei’s clever boxing i’d look for Erdei to be a little to clever for Braehmer and take a points win. However if it doesn’t come off there isn’t to much in the WBO rankings to suggest Braehmer will lose. Just outside the world scene Nathan Cleverly of Wales is going the old fashioned way of British, Commonwealth and in January he’ll travel to Italy where he’ll look to add the European title. If all goes according to plan he’ll stay at theat level turning back a few challengers whilst maturing ready for the world stage.

Future fights for many of the top guys at 168 are largely mapped out for 2010 thanks to the Super 6. Which goes into stage two and kicks off when Andre Dirrell will host Arthur Abraham in California in March. It figures to be an interesting fight with Dirrell’s speed putting him and early lead before Abraham comes tearing back even rocking Direll late though Dirrell will hold and get the victory. Then on 17 April Mikkel Kessler will outpoint Carl Froch in Denmark and Andre Ward will score a tenth round stoppage over Jermain Taylor. Also possibly on the same date arguably the best 168er in the world Lucian Bute will fight though across the airwaves on HBO. It was rumoured that possible foes would be WBO Kingpin Robert Stieglitz in a unification or possibly Edison Miranda who was due to meet Stieglitz until he fell ill. Either way it wont matter to Bute who’ll score another impressive stoppage. It has also been rumoured that Sakio Bika may face Allen Green in an elimination fight to decide who would go into the Super 6 if someone pulled out. I look for Green to out box the rugged Bika and campaign for his shot at a place in the Super 6. The final phase of the super Six will take place before the end of the year. It will see Ward face countryman Dirrell in what could be a modern day Jones-Hopkins. With Ward eking out a close chess match. Froch to fight Abraham both coming off loses it’ll be close early. Froch using his speed advantage while Abraham will pick his moments ultimately late on Abraham will enjoy the more success and win a close points decision. Taylor will decide to sit out the final round with Allen Green stepping in to face Kessler. Green will have his moments but Kessler will prevail by unanimous decision. The best two up and comers are Olympic gold medallist James Degale and his compatriot George Groves. Both did well in 09 and will do even better in this year.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former two-time heavyweight title holder, Shannon Briggs tested positive for a banned substance following his first round knockout over Marcus McGee on December 3rd in New York City.

The bout was changed to a no contest. Briggs was also suspended for 90 days by the New York State Athletic Commission, according to Ivaylo Gotzev, Briggs’ manager.

Gotzev declined to identify the substance that Briggs tested positive for but told ESPN.com on Saturday night that the test result came about because of medication he takes for asthma, which he has battled for years.

“Shannon is on enough medication to kill a horse because of his asthma,” Gotzev said. “All the medications he takes, other people couldn’t even get out of bed. But he’s out there running and training and fighting. He’s not a steroid user or a drug user. He’s using medication. We’re consulting with his physicians and seeing how we can make the proper adjustments so this doesn’t happen again.

“Maybe he needs to stay off certain medications before fights. I don’t know. I’m not the doctor. But Shannon is on a number of medications due to his asthma. He had something found by the commission, and we’ve dealt with that.”

“Shannon is a fighter, so whatever comes our way we’ll be ready, be it MMA or boxing,” Gotzev said. “If it makes sense, why not give MMA a try? I don’t think [UFC heavyweight champion] Brock Lesnar gets past Shannon’s jab.”

“I have sat down with [Chris Arreola’s promoter] Dan Goossen and if he’s not lying through his teeth, he’s said several times on several occasions that he’s looking at Shannon as a possible opponent for Cris.

Fighter of the Year: Manny Pacquiao

Pacquiao’s 2009 was one for the ages. With dominant victories over Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight champion Ricky Hatton (who was previously unbeaten at 140 lbs) and WBO Welterweight kingpin Miguel Cotto (considered by many an undefeated fighter due to the Antonio Margarito hand wraps controversy), Pacquiao was a unanimous pick for Fighter of the Year.

Fight of the year: Juan Manuel Marquez TKO9 Juan Diaz

Marquez-Diaz was a sensational action bout from start to finish. The two mixed it up from the opening bell, with the naturally bigger Diaz getting the better of the exchanges early on. Marquez, who refused to back down, continued to slug it out with Diaz before turning the tides in fashion. The technically proficient Marquez badly cut Diaz in round 8 and dropped him hard with a two punch combo in round nine. Marquez then tagged the badly hurt Diaz with a vicious uppercut, leaving him flat on his back, forcing Referee Rafael Ramos to halt the most exciting fight of 2009.

Hottest Division: Welterweight

With the inclusion of Pacquiao, the hottest division got hotter. The sport’s biggest fight in recent memory will occur at 147-pounds when Pacquiao eventually meets Floyd Mayweather Jr. Though they are one and two on the pound-for-pound list, neither will be able to claim they are the clear welterweight king until they beat Shane Mosley. The ranks 4-7 at 1-4-7 are as good as in any other division, with Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Andre Berto and Luis Collazo competing in a ridiculously stacked weight class.

Weakest division: Heavyweight

Just about enough has been said about the dearth of talent at heavyweight. No one can argue that the brothers Klitschko, Wladimir and Vitali, are not a highly talented duo. But the drop-off after them is unlike anything we have seen in decades. Not only is the top ten a limited lot, but there are scarcely any prospects to get excited about. Once upon a time, not that long ago, the World Heavyweight champion was the most recognizable man in the United States, if not the world, and the most prestigious position in all of sports.

Prospect of the Year: Fernando Guerrero

Guerrero (17-0, 14 KOs) has the look of a future champion and made great strides in 2009. There are several criteria for choosing a Prospect of the Year, and Guerrero seemed to get check marks for each one. Guerrero kept a busy schedule, as a prospect should, fighting five times, scoring three knockouts and winning two decisions. Guerrero took a step-up in competition, winning a majority decision over fringe contender Ossie Duran and stopping tough journeyman Brian Norman, who had gone ten full with Jean Pascal.

Guerrero has the benefit of fighting at the high-profile middleweight class, which is ripe with opportunities for rapid advancement. The former amateur star is still young at 23-years-old, and has a fight of some significance scheduled in 2010 against former prospect Jesus Gonzales. Lastly, what gives Guerrero a huge edge over every other U.S. based prospect, is his massive drawing power in his hometown of Salisbury, Maryland, where he has fought in front of 8,000 people.

Worst Decision of the Year: Ali Funeka D12 Joan Guzman

For the better part of twelve rounds, Funeka hammered the unbeaten Guzman. Guzman, a quick and slick Dominican, was bloodied and rocked on a number of occasions by his taller opponent. Funeka had everything going his way. From a strong jab and big power punches, the South African clearly had the fight in control, winning at the absolute worst 8 of the 12 rounds (the score Joseph Pasquale had of 116-112).

The vacant IBF Lightweight title appeared to be his. This was until Alan Davis and Benoit Roussel unexplainably scored the contest 114-114, disgustingly robbing Funeka of the title. This created a major out roar in the boxing community and further solidified why judges should be required to do post fight interviews.

Promoter of the year: Top Rank

The promoter of the year’s biggest fight, Pacquiao-Cotto, and the co-promoter perhaps the second biggest fight, Pacquiao-Hatton, Top Rank earns the nod as best promotional firm of 2009. In addition to those two mega events, Top Rank continues to develop their prospects into champions and stars better than any one in the business. The latest example of which is Juan Manuel Lopez, who has achieved superstardom in Puerto Rico and may be en route to his second world title January 23.

Fight you’d most like to see in 2010: Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather

This appeared to be a given until issues over pre fight drug testing at least temporarily derailed the fight. Pacquiao and Mayweather are unquestionably the top two fighters in the sport. Each brings a style that the other hasn’t faced. With both topping 1,000,000 pay per view buys for a fight in 2009, they are obviously box office kings as well.

Pacquiao and Mayweather appear ready to take on different opponents in their next bout, but an overwhelming public demand makes the fight all the more likely for later in 2010.

Knockout of the Year: Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton

There were not that many people outside of England picking Hatton to beat Pacquiao this past May, but could anyone have expected the brutal one-sidedness in which Pac man would end the fight? The left hand Pacquiao landed to put Hatton down in a heap at the end of round two was picture perfect.

Fighter of the Decade: Manny Pacquiao

Pacquiao nabbed titles in a record six divisions over the last ten years (super bantamweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight). Pacquiao’s sensational decade included knockout victories over Marco Antonio Barrera (who he would later defeat by decision), Erik Morales (twice), Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton; all multi division world champions that were ranked on the pound for pound list during their careers. Pacquiao also owns a points victory over the great Juan Manuel Marquez, and stopped once-beaten David Diaz among other notable victories. A simply sensational run by one of the best fighters in the last quarter century.

Authors note: Pacquiao’s victories over Barrera in their first fight and Ricky Hatton were for the Ring Magazine title, which is globally recognized as the legitimate championship belt in each weight division.

Fight of the Decade: Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo

On May, 7 2005, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo battered each other over the duration of an unforgettable fight. Both neglected any kind of defense in this phone booth battle, willingly using their faces as a line of defense. In the opening thirty seconds of round ten, Castillo dropped Corrales hard with a left hook. The dazed Corrales was down just seconds later and his night appeared to be all but over. This was until, the unthinkable happened.

After a brief break and a point deduction for spitting out his mouth piece, trainer Joe Goosen famously quipped Corrales “you have to f****ng get inside on him now. And did he ever. Castillo swarmed Corrales in an attempt to finish the fight, but was rocked by a two punch combo, springing the latter back to life. Corrales then stunned Castillo via a hard left hook and stopped him with a vicious combination (which had Castillo out on his feet) him thirty seconds later. Corrales tragically passed away exactly two years after the fight, but will forever be linked to the most miraculous comeback in one of the greatest slugfests of all time.

Division of the Decade: Welterweight

The 147 lb division, our best of 2009, had a number of terrific pugilists make a mark in it. The list of fighters making major waves at 147 include Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao (since the Cotto bout lifted him to an even higher level), Vernon Forrest, Paul Williams, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, and current rising star Andre Berto among others. Though featherweight was a very close second, welterweight division had too many top tier fighters to ignore.

Worst Decision of the Decade: Courtney Burton SD10 Emmanuel Augustus

Discounting significance, but just based on sheer disgustingness, Courtney Burton’s 2004 decision over Emanuel Augustus in Michigan was the Worst Decision of the Decade. Their fight, televised on ESPN2 from Burton’s home state, was utterly one-sided. Despite an unnecessary point deduction by the referee, Augustus should have had the verdict running away. Somehow, one judge scored the bout 99-90, while another had it 97-92 for Burton.

The third judge scored the fight 98-94 for Augustus, and even that was a little too close. Making matters worse, when commentator Teddy Atlas approached the Michigan Boxing Commission representative on air, they apparently did not know the difference between a majority decision and a split decision. Augustus gained a small measure of justice, stopping a by-then faded Burton in 2006.

Promoter of the decade: Top Rank

With the reign of Don King Productions winding down, and Golden Boy Promotions rising up as the decade began the clear choice for Promoter of the Decade is Top Rank. Again, Top Rank helped create or elevate three of the decade’s the biggest stars in Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. In addition, Top Rank was largely behind the renaissance of the featherweight division.

Knockout of the decade: Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton (see above)

Write ups compiled by Matt Yanofsky and Mario Ortega Jr. Awards voted on by staff.

Photo by Chris Farina of Top rank

“When archaeologists discover the missing arms of Venus de Milo, they will find she was wearing boxing gloves.”
— John Barrymore

The late Barrymore, a great American actor more than 70 years ago, is long gone, but he could have been speaking about the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather negotiations, which have been putting more nausea into ad nauseam with each passing day. It’s hard to know whether to laugh, cry, scream or just ask for the barf bag.

I’ve done all of that and more since the talks spun out of control and into a familiar gutter. There are no winners here, other than perhaps Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Arizona Senator John McCain.

Jones must be relieved that nobody dragged him into it by accepting his $25-million offer to stage the fight at Cowboys Stadium. McCain has to be happy he didn’t follow up on a reported suggestion that he become an arbitrator. The escalating Pacquiao-Mayweather blood feud makes the health-care debate sound like kumbaya. There’s no peace here. Only a piece of you-know-what.

How the talks, seemingly so smooth in the early stages, turned into such a stinking mess is probably not a surprise if placed within boxing’s usual context, which is older than Barrymore’s defining line and probably at least as ancient as the marble in the de Milo statue. But Pacquiao-Mayweather looked as if it were a chance to move on and beyond a frayed way of doing business.

That said, the business still beckons with enough potential money to say that it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the fight was signed, sealed and delivered in a sudden announcement next week. With a reported potential of $40 million for each side, it’s hard, perhaps impossible, to walk away. In the end, nobody is making a compromise. There is only one thing they’re making: Money, money, money.

But the process won’t make new fans out of a public leery of a sport that never seems to get out of its own way. Michael Katz, who is to fight-writing what Barrymore was to acting, would write that the only thing killing boxing is boxing. Nothing has changed and, oh yeah, Happy New Year.

Pacquiao’s defamation suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, against Mayweather Jr., Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer could only insert more vitriol into rancor that began with the Mayweather camp’s demand for Olympic-style blood testing. That’s one interpretation among many, too many.

Who knows? Both sides were quick to say that the lawsuit doesn’t necessarily kill the fight. Okay, then maybe it is just another step in the negotiations. To wit: The Pacquiao camp says it will drop the lawsuit if Mayweather backs off on the demand for random testing, especially unannounced tests within 30 days of opening bell, which had been scheduled for March 13. Then again, maybe the lawsuit is a real expression of Pacquiao’s anger at how he believes he has been smeared by the blood-testing demand, which includes at least an implication he is using HGH.

Pacquiao’s drug-testing resume is spotless in Nevada. But the state’s Athletic Commission doesn’t conduct the comprehensive, random tests done by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Oh yeah, USADA has been another issue. The Mayweather camp wanted it to conduct the tests. No way, said the Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who has said urine testing is sufficient. But physicians have said repeatedly that only random blood tests can detect HGH.

Credibility? That’s hard to detect anywhere.

The Mayweather demands are undercut on several fronts. Schaefer said no to blood testing for Shane Mosley, a former BALCO client, amid plans for a fight in 2008 against Zab Judah. According to reports of testimony to a grand-jury investigation, Mosley said he unknowingly used the clear, the cream and EPO, which were Performance Enhancing Drugs readily available in BALCO’s PED dispenser. Yet, Schaefer said Mosley had never tested positive in tests conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Hence, Schaefer said, it was wrong to treat him as a cheater.

“We are not going to do other tests than the Nevada commission requires,’’ Schaefer said in an Associated Press story. “The fact is Shane is not a cheater and he does not need to be treated like one.”

Why should Pacquiao be treated any differently?

Then, there’s Pacquiao who has reportedly said he doesn’t like needles, yet has tattoos that prove he has been needled often. Pacquiao’s anger at suspicions inherent to Mayweather’s demands is understandable. But those same suspicions are also the price of athletic fame these days. Even if Pacquiao pursues the lawsuit and wins, he will have to live with questions he can’t knock out. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres underwent a battery of random tests at her own request when she decided to make a comeback as a 40-year-old mom. She passed them all. Yet, suspicions are still there.

Olympic-style testing, no matter what acronym conducts them, is random and more thorough than anything done by a boxing commission. But the prevailing assumption is that athletes are always a masking agent ahead of any technology.

Mayweather has to know that, too, and he has used it in what some say is an early attempt at gamesmanship. Then again, there are others who say that Mayweather is simply hiding behind the demand in an attempt to delay the fight until May or September. The theory is that Mayweather has decided he wants a tune-up.

An extra helping of skepticism is needed for anything done by Mayweather. He likes to talk about a level playing field and transparency, yet he was happy to pay Juan Manuel Marquez $600,000 — $300,000 a pound – for being two over the contracted weight in September. Then, he refused an HBO request to step on an unofficial scale on the night before his one-sided decision over Marquez. So much for transparency.

In hindsight, you can only wonder why everybody talked and acted as though the March 13 fight was a done deal when there wasn’t a contract with Mayweather’s signature on it. There’s another New Year’s resolution in there somewhere.

But maybe this flap is a good thing. Initially, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach balked at March 13. It was too early, he said. Pacquiao still needed time to recover from his bruising victory over Miguel Cotto in November. And, yeah, maybe Mayweather really does need a tune-up. And, maybe, a fight later in 2010 will lead to some history in the ring and a rich rematch. More important, maybe it represents an opportunity for Nevada and other state boxing commissions to upgrade the testing process, especially for the biggest fights.

But, please, quit all the rancorous maybes and get the fight done. If there are only lawsuits and screaming arguments, only archaeologists will find the game, buried with de Milo’s long, lost arms.

Photo By Chris Farina/Top Rank