MANILA (Reuters) - Manny Pacquiao would be willing to take a blood test 14 days prior to a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr, local media reports said, edging the two men regarded as the world's best pound-for-pound boxers closer to a showdown.
Talks between the fighters' camps stalled earlier this year over Pacquiao's refusal to agree to Mayweather's demands for Olympic-style random drug testing, with the Filipino saying he did not want blood drawn from him too close to a fight.
"Fourteen days is okay with me, as long as (the blood test) isn't done on the day of the fight, and only the right amount of blood will be drawn from me," Pacquiao told Filipino media.
Pacquiao's compromise could bring the two camps back to the negotiating table for a fight many feel would have the potential to be the sport's richest ever.
That followed Pacquiao's mauling of Ghana's Joshua Clottey in March. The seven-weight champion has since been elected to congress back home and will need to fit his training regime in with parliament sessions after being sworn in on June 30.
However, Pacquiao believes he is perfectly capable of being able to pursue both a boxing and political career.
"I will attend (congress) sessions in the morning until afternoon then I go to the gym around 4 or 5 p.m.," Pacquiao told the Manila Bulletin.
"I will stay in the country during training camp then with two weeks before the fight, I will fly to the U.S."
(Writing by Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien)
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