NEW YORK, March 14 — Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao agreed to blood and urine testing ahead of their May 2 world- championship welterweight boxing match.
A plan to have Mayweather, 38, and Pacquiao, 36, fight in March 2010 fell apart over a dispute about the method of drug testing, according to ESPN. Mayweather demanded random blood and urine testing — which now are more commonly used than they were at the time — which Pacquiao declined to accept, ESPN said.
The fighters have enrolled in the US Anti-Doping Agency’s registered testing pool, which requires them to be available for random tests before the fight. USADA oversees drug testing of all US Olympic sports, following protocols established by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“It’s a strong statement of the importance of clean and safe competition to have these two fighters voluntarily agree to have a WADA level anti-doping program implemented for this fight,” Travis Tygart, chief executive officer at Colorado Springs, Colorado-based USADA, said in a news release.
Mayweather will receive 60 per cent of the money split between the two in a fight that could gross around US$400 million (RM1.48 billion), according to ESPN.
Mayweather enters the Las Vegas bout with a 47-0 record, including 26 knockouts. He’s won world championship belts in five weight classes. Pacquiao is 57-5-2, with 38 knockouts and world titles in eight different weight classes. — Bloomberg
