It is true that Floyd Mayweather Jr. can brag about his undisputed record in the ring. He was the best pound for pound king but not until Manny Pacquiao unseated him with 8 division world championship belts. Mayweather still claim that he is the best fighter in the world. However, his untainted boxing record is of no use if he has a blemished reputation. Floyd Jr. is now facing a lot of legal problems. He is scheduled to appear in court on April 25 for battery charge filed by a security guard because of an altercation incident. He is also facing domestic violence charges for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Steroid Defamation Suit

Another legal dilemma that Floyd will be facing is the steroid defamation suit filed by Manny Pacquiao. In early 2009, Floyd and his camp told the media in several occasions that they believe Pacquiao is taking performance enhancing drugs particularly steroids. This allegation came out when negotiations about their match up was announced to the public. Floyd asked for Olympic style blood testing which resulted to the failure of the much awaited fight. When Pacquiao agreed on blood testing during the second round of negotiation, Mayweather claimed he never approved any terms with Pacquiao’s promoter.

The defamation suit was filed by Manny Pacquaio in 2009 in a district court in Nevada. Floyd Mayweather filed a motion to dismiss the case for lack of merit. However, after months of delay, US District Judge Larry Hicks ruled on March 21 that the case should move on. Judge Hicks said the case should proceed because there are enough evidence that will support Pacquaio’s claim that he was maliciously and repeatedly accused of using performance enhancing drugs by Floyd Jr. and his camp. Other defendants in the lawsuit include Floyd Mayweather Sr., his uncle, Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya of the Golden Boy Promotions.

Mark Tratos, Mayweather’s lawyer, told the AP that they will continue to fight for the dismissal of the case. Tratos argued that they only questioned Pacquiaio’s refusal to undergo blood testing but never claimed that he is a drug user. He believes Pacquiao will face a difficult time proving the Mayweathers maligned him. “The malice standard is very, very high. We do not believe it can be met by the plaintiff,” he said.

Sufficient Evidence

“Moving defendants argue that Pacquiao has failed to sufficiently allege malice because moving defendants could not have known one way or the other whether Pacquiao had actually taken PEDs when they made the alleged defamatory statements,” Jude Hicks wrote in his decision. “However, the court finds that Pacquiao has sufficiently pled malice in the amended complaint,” he added.

Pacquiao’s camp filed the defamation case to avert any damage to the career and reputation of the 8 division world boxing champion. Dan Petrocelli, lawyer of Pacquiao said that his client has an unblemished reputation and has earned all of his achievements through hard work and his natural-born talent and to call him a cheater is something Pacquiao cannot and will not tolerate. “None of these defendants have had any evidence to back up the assertion that he has taken performance-enhancing drugs, because he didn’t,” Petrocelli told the media.

$100 Million

Another hot topic in the boxing world is the newest ploy of the Mayweather’s camp. The embattled boxer wants $100 million to make the fight happen. This is a ridiculous demand which will lead to the failure of the 3rd negotiation that was initiated by Bob Arum and rival promoter Don King. Arum told the ESPN that it is an indication Floyd doesn’t want to fight. “If Floyd gets a hundred million, then Manny would have to fight for nothing,” said Arum. “We went through with the negotiations and nobody really knew about it. Then some group came in saying they plan to have it in a particular country. He’s not asking for the moon. He just can’t say no. He doesn’t want to fight. So, you price your way out of it.”

Mayweather Sr. was also surprised on the amount demanded by his son. He told the media that it could be the idea of some people around him but he did not name names. Jeff Mayweather, who was also helping with the negotiation, distanced himseld from Floyd Jr. He said it’s up to Floyd to decide on matters related to the fight but also agreed that $100 million is too much.

Floyd Jr. used every tactic to fight Pacquiao outside of the ring. Last year, he uploaded a video lambasting Pacquiao. Recently,50 Cent also made a “Floyd style rant” on the number one pound for pound boxer.

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