• Boxing

'No issues' stopping Mayweather-Pacquiao fight

ESPN staff
August 3, 2011
Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan both have their eye on Floyd Mayweather Jnr © PA Photos
Enlarge

There are no significant obstacles preventing Manny Pacquiao from fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr next year for the title of pound-for-pound king, according to Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum.

The mist is beginning to clear from around the proposed super-fight, with Arum reiterating that Pacquiao is willing to comply with Mayweather's blood-testing demands.

A bitter dispute over the timing of sampling put paid to the clash when negotiations began last year, and led to Pacquiao launching a defamation lawsuit against his rival.

But it seems the animosity between the camps is now beginning to fade, and if both win their next fights - Pacquiao against Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather against Victor Ortiz - then we could, at long last, be ready to rumble.

"There are no issues on [drug testing and who handles it]," Arum said to boxingscene.com. "We accepted the drug testing - that is not a real issue of any kind."

The news deals a blow to Amir Khan - Pacquiao's sparring partner in Freddie Roach's Wildcard gym - as the Brit is desperate to secure a bout against Mayweather after moving up to welterweight in the next 12 months.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices