If the epic fight, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, were to take place, I would have to give a big advantage to Nevada to host the event.
I was a big advocate for my home state of Texas; glad it got Pacquiao vs. Clottey; but not in the same league as Nevada when it comes to resources such as the boxing commission. This isn’t a Pacquiao vs. Clottey. This is a Super Bowl, a World Cup. This is Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. The ultimate fight.
Further, while Cowboys Stadium is a sports palace, Texas is the wrong state in which it resides for boxing.
David Mayo is the boxing writer for the Grand Rapids (MI) Press and he quotes Pat Lundvall, Chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission saying “We will fight like hell to keep it (Mayweather vs. Pacquiao) in Nevada.”
I’m not hearing anything like that out of Texas. I never hear anything like that out of Texas. Usually just a spokesperson for the Executive Director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Talk about bureaucracy! In fact, I’m still waiting for a return call from agency director William Kuntz for an interview I requested weeks before the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.
If he were too busy to speak to me weeks before Pacquiao vs. Clottey, how could his agency handle Mayweather vs. Pacquiao?
On Wednesday, Lundvall and the four other commissioners will meet to discuss blood-testing. Currently Nevada only tests for urine but reporter Mayo quotes Lundvall that everything, including blood-testing is on the table and she has been talking to some of the same experts I have been critical of like Travis Tygart that have been gracing the boxing websites with their respective spins.
One interested party, who asked not to be identified, said the additional testing is ridiculous. “More testing means more expenses for the promoter. Promoters and TV are so scared of a boxer being disqualified that that is the reason why weigh-ins are now the day before and not the day of the fights.”
So if Nevada will do anything just to keep this one fight and change its entire protocol, you have to wonder if Dallas promoter Jerry Jones is wondering what the legislature and commissioners in Texas are doing to help the Texas economy and its prestige to help him bring the big fight to Texas.
TDLR Executive Director William Kuntz wasn’t available at press time to respond to my questions but if he does I will publish his comments here.
