Weinstein sees hope in Pacquiao-Floyd standoff

Retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who's trying to mediate the negotiations between the camps of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., believes the conflict can be resolved.

On the eve of the mediation sought out to make the March 13 super bout that many believe could go down as the richest in prizefighting history, Weinstein sounded optimistic about solving the issue, since, according to him, “all parties are negotiating in good faith."

“Neither side is insisting on pre-conditions, and both sides will present their position in an effort to resolve the dispute," said Weinstein in a statement published by the L.A. Times.

Weinstein is scheduled to preside over the mediation Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) at his Sta. Monica office of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS).

Bone of contention which Weinstein hopes to settle is the drug-testing procedure to be done on both Pacquiao and Mayweather.

The Mayweather camp, suggesting that Pacquiao has been using performance-enhancing drugs, demanded that the two undergo random, Olympic-style drug testing to be supervised by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum rejected the idea, but are amenable to do blood and urine testing under a certain period of time and to be handled by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Along the way Pacquiao also sued Mayweather, his father, Floyd Sr., trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather and Mayweather representatives Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions for their statements implying the Filipino boxing champion had been under steroids – the main reason why he had been winning his fights even as he goes up in weight.

“I….have been asked by representatives of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to mediate certain disputes that have arisen in connection with the negotiation of a bout between the two fighters," said Weinstein.

Mediating between two warring sports parties is nothing new to Weinstein.

In 2007, he was responsible for reaching an accord between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, which were caught in a case of tug-of-war after Pacquiao signed with both promotional outfits.

As per the structure of the agreement, Top Rank retained the promotional rights on the 31-year-old Filipino, but with Golden Boy receiving a percentage of Top Rank’s profit from future Pacquiao bouts.

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum was naturally impressed with the way Weinstein handled the case back then. And he’s keeping his fingers crossed that the retired federal judge will be able to do it again.

“This guy was successful resolving our nutty problem before, and hopefully, he can be successful this time," said the 78-year-old Arum.

“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." - GMANews.TV

Source: gmanews.tv