Pacquiao seeks $75,000-plus in defamation suit

The war of words between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. took a nasty turn Wednesday when Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather, his father, his uncle and Golden Boy Promotions.

The lawsuit comes amid a last-ditch attempt to save the March 13 date for the welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand Garden.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, asks for damages in excess of $75,000 and names Mayweather, his father, Floyd Sr., and uncle Roger Mayweather as defendants. Also named are Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer, who operate Golden Boy Promotions and are negotiating for Mayweather.

Pacquiao has retained Daniel Petrocelli of the Los Angeles-based law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. About the filing of the complaint, Petrocelli said: “Manny Pacquiao’s achievements come from God-given talent and an indefatigable work ethic — not steroids. He cannot and will not allow others to deliberately misrepresent his years of hard work and tarnish his reputation.”

Mayweather’s father has alleged that Pacquiao’s added size and strength were not attained by conventional means and implied that Pacquiao has used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. Mayweather Jr. has insisted that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-style random drug testing, including blood draws, before he would agree to fight him.

It remains the final sticking point to completing a deal that could be worth $40 million to each fighter in what many think would be the richest fight in boxing history.

Despite Pacquiao’s lawsuit, Top Rank president Todd duBoef and Golden Boy chief marketing officer Bruce Binkow met Tuesday and Wednesday to try to save the March 13 date. Schaefer and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum have stepped aside from the negotiations to let their subordinates try to work a deal.

Schaefer said he wasn’t commenting on the lawsuit, even though he knew it was coming. He said despite the pending litigation, he was encouraged by the dialogue between the sides in the past 48 hours.

“I’m hearing they’re making progress,” he said. “There’s just the one issue — negotiating a window for that last random blood test. Hopefully they’ll get it worked out in the next couple of days. I think it’s important for the sport of boxing that this fight take place.”

It has been an explosive week for the proposed megafight. On Monday, the Nevada Athletic Commission announced it randomly would test Pacquiao and Mayweather. On Tuesday, both fighters fired salvos at each other through their publicists, Pacquiao accusing the Mayweathers of lying and Mayweather accusing Pacquiao of sabotaging the fight by his refusal to accept random blood tests.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.