WBO World Welterweight champion and IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight titlist Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao was scheduled to fight undefeated “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. on March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Predictably, because boxing has historically relished disappointing its fans, the glamorous matchup is now in jeopardy because Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) has refused to comply with Mayweather’s request to undergo Olympic style drug tests both before and after the fight.
“Let’s be very clear on the real issues we differ on. It’s not about being tested,” Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum claimed. “Manny is on board with that since it’s such a major concern of Floyd Mayweather Jr. It’s about who does the testing and the scheduling of the procedures.”
Arum continued to ridiculously defend Pacquiao, who is rated by Ring Magazine as the number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
“Manny will submit to as many random urine tests requested,” Arum said.
“Regarding the blood tests, he will subject himself to three tests—one given in January during the week the fight is formally announced, one 30 days from the fight, no later than February 13, and the final one immediately following the fight, in Manny’s locker room.
The major issue related to the testing rests with which independent agency will administer these tests. The United States Anti-Doping Agency cannot do it because they will not amend its procedures to accommodate the blood testing schedule we have outlined. USADA, under its guidelines, would have the right to administer random blood tests as many times as they want up to weigh-in day and that is ludicrous.”
According to a Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, Pacquiao has clearly proved himself to be a juicehead by declining to partake in the Olympics methods for drug testing.
“The reason why they don’t want to do it is because obviously there is something to hide,” Ellerbe said.
“You’re not going to dictate to an organization like the USADA, which has tested the elite athletes of the world, on how their testing is conducted. Arum is talking about their fighters like they are going to have a blood transfusion. We’re talking about a tablespoon of blood. We’re talking about a tablespoon.
This is the same representation of Manny Pacquiao that says he’s superstitious and doesn’t like needles and then you look all over his body and he has tattoos. So, which one is it? If there’s nothing to hide then what is the problem?”
Ellerbe justifiably persisted to question Pacquiao and his entire team for their suspicious behaviors.
“Boxing has an opportunity and a platform with the whole world watching to say we have a clean sport. What better opportunity than with the top two guys in the sport stepping up to make this happen?”
Like a yellow clown pocket reeking of deceit, Arum insanely maintained that one of Pacquiao’s major concerns is the irrational belief that extensive testing would create bad luck.
“You gotta understand,” Arum rambled. “I’m dealing with a Filipino fighter who is superstitious and I have to tell him they (USADA) have the power to come into his dressing room before the fight and take his blood. Any time means any time. They would put nothing in writing as to any schedule.”
Comically, it is apparent that both Arum and Pacquiao do not comprehend that the words “random testing” and “schedule” are not intended to be correlated with each other.
“Pretty Boy’s” father, Floyd Mayweather, Sr. initially suspected that “Pac-Man” abused performance enhancing substances earlier in the year and he stated that he would advise his son to sidestep a fight versus Pacquiao.
“I don’t think little Floyd should fight Pacquiao,” said Mayweather Sr., a flamboyant dresser who is known to don brazenly colorful outfits likely designed for pimps.
“I know Floyd is the best,” continued Mayweather Sr., a convicted cocaine smuggler and trafficker. “But when your opponent uses something illegal, even the best can get hurt.”
“Pretty Boy” has long been criticized for avoiding the most challenging opponents.
But, in this instance, Mayweather, 32, has readily agreed to fight Pacquiao, 31, for an even split of $50 million.
As recently as November, Pacquiao, the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions, publicly doubted that Mayweather would ever scrap him.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Pacquiao said about the enormously lucrative battle with the man www.espn.com ranked No. 48 on their 50 Greatest Boxers of All-Time list. “I am sure he doesn’t want the fight.”
Pacquiao resumed naming the reasons why he believed Mayweather would ultimately cower before their prizefight ever had a chance to occur.
“Boxing for him (Mayweather) is like a business. Mayweather doesn’t care about the people watching. He doesn’t care if the fight is boring, as long as the fight is finished and he gets plenty of money. I want people to be happy. You have a big responsibility as a boxer.”
Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, Alexa Ariza, said that Pacquiao enriched his workouts with whey protein, liver support supplements, and a diet that consisted of consuming 6,500-calories-per-day.
Baseball has long been vilified as the sport that has most suffered from the steroids epidemic.
However, there is no question whatsoever that performance enhancing substances have hindered all fields of athletics.
Therefore, it is safe to presume that boxing has been grievously affected by steroids as well.
Manny Pacquiao does “have a big responsibility as a boxer.”
Manny Pacquiao has accomplished more in the ring than most prizefighters in the history of boxing.
Sadly, if Pacquiao doesn’t permit the drug testing that Mayweather has demanded, he will deservedly be considered boxing’s answer to Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire.
To his legions of fans and to the sport of boxing, Pacquiao has “a big responsibility” to succumb to Mayweather’s requests and ensure that this mega-fight transpires in a tad more than three months.
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