But Which Side Won – Pacquiao or Golden Boy?
Manny Pacquiao has settled his defamation lawsuit against Richard Schaefer and Oscar de la Hoya on confidential terms. In connection with the dismissal, Mr. Schaefer and Mr. De la Hoya made the following statement:
“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 prior remarks as in any way claiming or even suggesting that Manny uses or has used performance enhancing drugs.”
Pacquiao vs. Golden Boy Lawsuit Analysis
Judging from the statement that was released, and can be read above, it seems like what went down can be said as follows… Golden Boy, including Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer, agreed to apologize publicly and lose face in that regard. Behind the scenes, they agreed to not interfere with the upcoming Pacquiao vs. Marquez III bout scheduled for the fall.
With their current deal with Marquez, even though he isn’t under contract with them exclusively, they had the right to match any offer made by another promoter. That means they could have matched the $5 million guarantee, and put together a different bout for Marquez, blocking Pacquiao and Bob Arum’s preferred fall opponent. Instead, I’d wager that all is a go at 100% for Pacquiao-Marquez III with this out of the way, and with Oscar’s public apology, no monetary compensation or other settlement had to take place.
Also serving as a recent hiccup between the two organizations was the attempt of Golden Boy to sign Nonito Donaire, while Top Rank said he was still under contract. That could have potentially been a chip on the table in the discussions.
But that’s just some analysis and a potential option for what went down with the Pacquiao defamation lawsuit. Not too much can be gained from the statement itself. What it means for Floyd Mayweather, or a potential Pacquiao vs. Mayweather bout, is anybody’s guess. If Top Rank and Golden Boy are “playing nice” however, it could boost the outlook of getting that done perhaps for the beginning of 2012.
