Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Fight News 2015 Update: Pacman Pushing for $5M Fine for Failed Drug Test
As if the thought of their match inside the ring isn't exciting enough, Manny Pacquiao has upped the ante by offering to pay Floyd Mayweather Jr. $5 million if he fails a drug test in the buildup to their proposed mega-fight.
The Filipino champion nicknamed "Pacman" has pushed for the inclusion of the hefty fine for a positive drug test into the bout's contract after agreeing to Mayweather's demand for a strict Olympic-style testing.
"I've no problem with drug testing. In fact, in the contract, I was the one who suggested the $5-million fine if one is tested positive for drugs. I was the one who inserted that because that's needed," Pacquiao said, according to Philstar Online.
A separate report claimed that an agreement was already in place for Pacquiao and Mayweather to square off in the ring for a whopping $250 million on May 2, according to the Telegraph's Gareth A. Davies.
"(The fight) is near. The negotiations are nearly finished. We agreed that this fight has to happen. We are ironing out the kinks. He (Mayweather) said he wants the fight to push through," Pacquiao said, according to the Daily Mail.
But during the Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game in Madison Square Garden, Mayweather said the fight isn't officially on yet, the Bleacher Report said.
This has been the closest Mayweather and Pacquiao came to agreeing to commit to face each other inside the ring since 2010 when the contracts were first drawn up.
But Pacquiao refused then to commit to a drug-testing regime overseen by the United States Anti-Doping Association, which would involve taking blood and urine samples at random right up until the day of the fight.
Though he was prepared to provide urine samples at any time, Pacquiao insisted at that time to have three set days to give blood; one in January, one no more than 30 days before the fight, and one immediately after the fight.
The Filipino boxing champ was then so concerned that a blood test so close to the contest would weaken him, having blamed his 2005 defeat to Erik Morales on having to give blood two days before the fight.
The chances of two of the best boxers in the world finally touching gloves were enhanced last month when they came face-to-face at an NBA basketball match in Miami, the Bleacher Report said.
Mayweather later spent more than an hour in Pacquiao's hotel suite in a bid to thrash out the finer details although no official announcement was made.
As more days pass, the targeted month of May for the fight becomes increasingly difficult to achieve, boxing pundits say. The longer these boxers wait, the harder their task to train for each other will be, they add.
At least Pacquiao's push for a hefty fine on a failed drug test will ensure both fighters are clean if and when they do enter the ring, the experts say.