 So, the much-anticipated showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is off, Pac-Man's promoter tells ESPN.
Bob Arum, the Filipino's promoter from Top Rank, said Wednesday night (January 6) that the "fight's off", after a last-ditch effort at mediation failed.
The promoters for both fighters met with retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein in Santa Monica on Tuesday (January 5), and it seems things didn't go well.
The fighters and their representatives were originally scheduled to start promoting their tentatively scheduled March 13 mega-fight in Las Vegas on Monday in New York, but their heated disagreement over how drug-testing procedures should be applied put the bout in peril.
But now, it seems both camps could not come to an agreement.
Arum told ESPN Pacquiao would move on and likely fight junior middleweight titlist Yuri Foreman on March 13 or March 20, which would be his eighth world title.
This comes after controversy spread over Pac-Man's refusal to undergo Olympic style drug testing leading up to the fight.
He later sued Mayweather and his representatives for defamation after they allegedly implied that Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs, even though he's never tested positive.
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