Mayweather Loses More Ground After Snub of Court-Mandated Deposition
By Winchell Campos
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 18 Jun 2011
LOS ANGELES?Manny Pacquiao?s battle to clear his name against primary accusers alleging performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) use has hit a blank wall following Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s refusal to face lawyers in a court-mandated deposition Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
If there is any relief from Mayweather Jr.?s no-show, snub and default of the scheduled deposition in connection with Manny Pacquiao?s quest to seek justice stemming from an ongoing defamation case, a Nevada judge will soon make known his ruling next week whether or not Mayweather Jr. can indeed trample upon court rulings and just get away with anything.
If nobody is above the law, and crime, indeed, does pay, Pacquiao?s lawyers will be batting for sanctions, relief or a default judgment from Federal Magistrate Judge Robert Johnston next week even as they expect Mayweather to file another motion to appeal.
?We have not yet won by knockout but in my opinion, this was a 10-8 round for us,? said lawyer David Marroso of the prestigious O?Melveny and Myers law firm, speaking in boxing terminology. Marroso and the battle-scarred Daniel Petrocelli, who have been helping Pacquiao win this case for over a year and a half now, expressed dismay after Mayweather failed to give his sworn statement and knowledge as to why he and his family have reason to believe that Pacquiao cheated his way to becoming the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world today.
Mayweather Jr., his father Floyd Sr., his uncle Roger Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions have been named and made to answer in a defamation case filed in December 2009 which allegedly tarnished and maligned Manny Pacquiao?s name in public.
Mayweather, et al, claimed Pacquiao used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and steroids as he demolished legendary fighters one after the other on his way to winning unprecedented eight world titles in eight separate weight divisions, including a breakthrough and shocking victory over a surprised and outgunned superstar De La Hoya in December 2008. He eventually was named this decade?s runaway best boxer, voted upon by America?s top writers over the incensed and never-been-beaten American Mayweather.
De La Hoya and Schaefer have since been dropped from the case after they issued public apologies to Pacquiao and settled out of court only last month. ?Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya, on behalf of themselves and Golden Boy Promotions, wish to make it crystal clear that we never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance enhancing drugs, and further state that we do not have any evidence whatsoever of such use.?
?Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest fighters of all time, and we apologize if anyone construed our remarks as in any way claiming or even suggesting that Manny uses or has used performance enhancing drugs,? said De La Hoya and Schaefer, who also previously had a falling out with Pacquiao regarding promotional rights.
For the Mayweathers who have not wavered from bashing Pacquiao in public and even went as far as issuing racial slants at times in the past, it was a case of ?damn if you do, damn if you don?t.? Pacquiao has never tested positive for banned substances or performance enhancing drugs in all his 15 years as a pro and has gone on record that he even hasn?t seen or come in contact with any form of steroids.
Mayweather Jr., in trying to avoid getting deposed by some of the most powerful lawyers in the world, stated that he needed to focus on his fight preparations three months from now. He has also tried to delay and reschedule separate charges following assault and battery-related charges with his wife and another, against a security guard.
?We will hold our ground against the Mayweather?s future moves and we will seek to have the judge hand out some relief, evidenciary sanctions or a default judgment in our favor,? said Marroso. Relief and evidenciary sanctions can be in the form of cash while a default judgment will give more leverage for Pacquiao to finally win the case.
A deposition would have allowed Pacquiao?s lawyers to discover every detail and important information as to why the Mayweathers think that Pacquiao has been juicing up and cheating in order to win titles starting from flyweight up to the light middleweight class, a truly remarkable feat owing to his body size and height.
In winning these titles, Pacquiao had to fight giants and even had to weigh way below most of his fights at welterweight and light middleweight.
Pacquiao and Mayweather stand to fight in the biggest and most awaited match in boxing history estimated to easliy gross at least $200 million, according to some boxing experts.
Pacquiao will have to face nemesis and current world lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in November while Mayweather Jr. recently signed up to challenge young southpaw Victor Ortiz, the WBC welterweight champion on September 17.
In order to make that mega-fight happen with Pacquiao, Mayweather Jr. and company have drawn up silly and repetitious demands including Olympic-style drug testing for both fighters over and above the existing and strict requirements as ordered by every governing athletic commission in any state in America or country in the world.
Winchell Campos is the official biographer of "Pacquiao," the true and only accurate Manny Pacquiao life story of boxing's lone eight-time, eight-weight division pound-for-pound champion.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Winchell Campos.
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