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

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.

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

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.

Devin Haney retained the Undisputed Lightweight world title with his second consecutive unanimous decision over George Kambosos Jr. in Melbourne, Australia.

In round eight, Kambosos left eye began to swell. Late in the round, Haney was cut on his right eyelid. In round nine, Kambosos was cut on his left eyelid.

Haney, 134.81 lbs of Las Vegas via San Francisco won by scores of 119-109 and 118-110 twice and is now 29-0. Kambosos, 131.4 lbs of Australia is now 20-2.

Jason Moloney scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Nawaphan Sor Rungvisai Kaikanha in a bantamweight bout.

Moloney, 117.8 lbs of New South Wales, AUS won by scores of 119-109 and 118-110 twice and is now 25-2. Sor Rungvisai, 117.4 lbs of Bankok, THI is 56-2-1.

Andrew Moloney won a 10-round unanimous decision over Norbelto Jimenez in a super flyweight bout.

In round one, Jimenez was deducted a point for hitting on the break. Moloney dropped Jimenez at the end of the round with a right hand. In round two, Moloney landed a little right hand that put Jimenez down again

Moloney, 114.8 lbs of Victoria, AUS won by scores of 97-90, 98-88 and 98-89 and is now 25-2. Jimenez, 114.7 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 31-10-6.

Cherneka Johnson defended the IBF Super Bantamweight Title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Susie Ramadan.

In round two, Johnson was cut over her left eye from a clash of heads. It was a bad cut that had the blood streaming down her face. In round four, Johnson dropped Ramadan with a right hand.

In round seven, Ramadan was deducted a point for hitting behind the head. Ramadan was deducted in round eight for not obeying the referee’s commands.

Johnson, 121.03 lbs of Melbourne, AUS won by scores of 97-90, 96-92 and 96-91 and is now 15-1. Ramadan, 119.38 lbs of Preston, AUS is 29-4.