End game, arum admits that the tests were agreed to and was not an obstacle

Why? All of the actual talk (if any exists) has been going on behind the scenes. Why should Arum's public statement that the tests aren't a problem be given any more weight than Floyd's assertion that they remain the chief issue? Floyd just said in a recent interview that all of the rumors about him are false; does this suddenly mean Top Rank has to call his bluff and demonstrate that he has in fact demanded $100 million?

 

Floyd's public pronouncements and Arum's public pronouncements are both worthless though. Of course I don't want to hear Floyd continuously insist that Manny needs to take the tests, but I also don't want to hear Arum simply state testing won't be a problem (especially without an accompanying disclosure of the extent of testing they'd actually agree to). Talk is cheap. And yes, the past is in fact relevant since all individuals involved have a history of playing loose with the facts. Arum's statement strikes me not as an opening for a fight, but just another effort to win a PR battle.

Beyond all of this, I imagine it's kind of hard for Floyd to jump in glee at the chance for these apparent good faith negotiations when there's already an offer on the table for a Marquez fight before the Mosley bout even takes place.

 

I was there that night too. Right b4 she got to you guys, I paid to take her in the VIP, and i gave her a pearl necklace:good:hey

 

The idea that publicly announcing something exhausts every effort to make the fight is laughable to me. Again, all of these public announcements mean nothing, and I have no idea why people who aren't predisposed to believing everything either side says should view them as significant at all.

Floyd says testing is still a problem, despite what Pacquiao, et. al., have asserted. This could be a case of him simply sticking his fingers in his ears (as you seem inclined to believe) or it could reflect real differences in any ACTUAL negotiations (or any number of other explanations). Arum says testing is not a problem. This could be a genuine indication that he's trying his darndest to make the fight, or it could simply be an effort to marginalize talk of drug testing as the obstacle to the fight in the media narrative and paint Mayweather as the bad guy (or any number of other explanations). Until either side actually puts something official in writing indicating their specific positions on the disputed issues and/or their willingness to compromise/negotiate/act in good faith towards the fight, I see little reason to attach any significance to the mere talk that's been going on. I'm inclined to believe Floyd's full of it, but the reasons for it have absolutely nothing to do with Arum's words and I have no idea why you think they're revealing at all.

And again, what is this next move that Floyd's supposed to make here when Pacquiao appears to be locked in for the rest of 2011? Floyd may or may not have dodged the fight before Mosley was chosen as an opponent, but negotations for the November date seem to have been effectively ruled out by the Pacquiao camp.

 

And the only reason for that is probably because Marquez does not want to get stuck in a contract with Top Rank should Mosley win tonight. I imagine that fight will be made within a week. And why is it automatically assumed that Mayweather will take a tune-up?

A unilateral contract would surely carry a lot more weight than any of the above, don't you think? Asserting that one has agreed to demands is not equivalent to actually agreeing. Additionally, given the fact that Pacquiao, Koncz, and Arum have offered different accounts of the actual content of the concession, being told whether they are agreeing to full OSDT or a 7 or 14-day cut-off would substantially bolster their credibility. Arum merely saying today that "that's not the issue" simply keeps the situation somewhat opaque, and allows Floyd partisans to argue that aside from a very brief video clip, there's no evidence that Pacquiao gave in to all of his demands.

 

but then again, nothing. Not even the slightest of effort, even denying negotiations took place. God damn, What in the blue hell is Floyd doing?

 

But this goes back to my earlier point: we don't know if Floyd continuing to say "take the test" is simply a way to avoid such an investigation or reflects a continuing obstacle to the fight encountered in the course of such an effort. I'm sure you'll say if that if the latter were true, he should call out Pacquiao for his earlier video, but quite frankly, it does not seem that Floyd cares a great deal about significantly improving his current reputation.

And I must reiterate, publicly stating one agrees to demands is not equivalent to actually agreeing. We also have very good reason to believe both sides have lied a great deal in their public accounts of negotiations for the fight (best evidenced of course by Daniel Weinstein and Ross Greenburg). One can therefore justifiably be skeptical that pronouncements to the media should be seen as credible commitments.

We thus have no reliable information that Pacquiao, et. al. have exhausted every possible effort to make the fight a reality. Even if one accepts public words as credible here, there has been a clear glossing over of the extent of the concessions made. I am thus not dissuaded from my position that Arum's most recent statement is not nearly as signficant as you take it to be.

 

The obstacle is that Floyd is on vacation and not interested in boxing right now. Floyd's own words. Why can't people understand that?

 

Fine he's on vacation, then he can STFU about his take the test campaign and make some shirts that say "on vacation"

 

No kidding man. We've heard Arum say that everything had been agreed to only to later findout that Manny had agreed to 14 days before and nothing more. Until Arum says yes we've agree to random testing up to 1 week before the fight and Mayweather comes out and says the same I'm not going to waist my time spectulating about who has agreed to what.