SPECIAL REPORT "Enough is Enough"
INSIDE BOXING
BY STEPHEN S. JOHNSON
(IB-DECEMBER 26, 2009) The humble, reserved and gracious Manny Pacquiao has finally had enough of the allegations of performance enhancing drug use made by Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Jr. and Golden Boy Productions.
In the next few days Pacquiao has announced that he will be filing libel, defamation and slander suits against the aformentioned individuals where they will have to provide proof of their accusations.
Pacquiao issued this statement late Christmas night: " Enough is enough. These people, Mayweather, Sr., Jr. and Golden Boy Productions think it is a joke to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. I have tried to just brush it off as a pre-fight ploy, but I now believe they have gone overboard. I maintain and assure everyone that I have NEVER used any type of steroid or performance enhancer and will now give the mentioned individuals the opportunity to provide their proof of the malicious statements they've made".
Manny Pacquiao further states: "I say to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. come face me in the ring and stop being a coward. Get in the ring with me and let's show the world who the true king of the ring is. Despite all these accusations I say to Floyd...may your Christmas be merry and soon I will see you in court".
WOW!
It seems that (as I predicted) the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. camp has pushed itself into a corner where they may never be able to get out of. The continued verbal accusations have done what Mayweather's people had hoped.
They definitely got under the skin of Pacquiao, but it may have back-fired in that it is a 99% probability that none of the three named in the lawsuit will be able to provide any proof of their allegations. So where does that leave the negotiations for the proposed March 13, 2010 bout?
I predict that the fight WILL be held on March 13th at the MGM GRAND HOTEL AND CASINO. The difference now is that Pacquiao will have a judgement against all three of the accusers in his pocket.
The negotiations will now progress at warp speed since Pacquiao will challenge his accusers in the appropriate place where accusers SHOULD be taken...TO COURT!
The Pacquiao camp will now clearly be in total control of every aspect of the fight. Any and all concessions made by Pacquiao prior to the filing of this lawsuit in court will be taken off the table. If the Mayweathers' and Golden Boy Productions thought they could brow beat and humiliate Pacquiao into fighting, they were sadly mistaken.
The Mayweather's are "old-school" and can be forgiven for their dinosaur-like attitude. The folks at Golden Boy Productions (Richard Schaefer) should know better. The days of lies and unfounded accusations have been gone for quite sometime.
Tiger Woods made no effort to difuse negative comments referrencing him, because...THEY WERE TRUE!
Pacquiao is a proud man and could not let these allegations linger. When the court of public opinion has ANYONE scratching their head, something has to be done. Pacquiao has decided to fight back.
We usually live by the creed "where there's smoke, there's fire". In this instance, the "smoke" was only seen or smelled by one group. That group will now have to pay for their libelous allegations and the cost will not be cheap.
The fight WILL happen and now a rather subdued Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Jr. and Golden Boy Productions will march to the beat of a different drummer. The usually quiet and reserved Manny Pacquiao has referred to Floyd, Jr. as a "COWARD", something I cant ever remember him referencing an opponent as.
Things have started to really heat up and I believe Manny Pacquiao's stove is just starting to get warm.
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