also on july 26, greenburg released a statement saying he had been negotiating with a representative from each side since may 2, "i had been negotiating with a representative from each side since may 2, carefully trying to put the fight together. hopefully, someday this fight will happen. sports fans deserve it," greenburg revealed in a prepared statement sent out to select members of the media. schaefer again supported ellerbe's denial of negotiations and challenged both greenburg and arum to take lie detector tests. "i think it's unfortunate that ross made that statement. i fully stand behind the statement i made. i have not negotiated with ross and i am not aware of any negotiations that have taken place," schaefer told espn.