Fights Outside the Ring
Manny Pacquiano
The case of Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao: A fight to decide the best boxer in the world.
For week Floyd Mayweather Jr’s father has been claiming that Manny Pacquiao’s astronomical rise through the weight divisions has been fuelled by steroids.
Mayweather’s camp have brought negotiations grinding to a halt by insisting Philippine legend Pacquiao be subjected to random drug testing in the lead-up to the fight, which had been scheduled for 13 March.
Pacquiao, a five-division world champion (or seven, depending on your point of view) who started out as a light-flyweight, had agreed to have blood taken for testing before the initial media conference and after the fight but would not agree to having blood drawn within 30 days of the bout.
His trainer Freddie Roach said: “When Manny gives blood it takes him three or four days to recover from it. I am not going to have my fighter going into a fight feeling weak and not sure of himself.
“We have passed every test ever given to us. We go by the commission rules, since when does the fighter make up the rules?”
For the record, the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which has overseen 10 of his last 14 fights, insists Pacquiao is as clean as the tears of a saint.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum, who announced the fight’s cancellation on Wednesday, has accused Mayweather of “sabotage”, while Roach says the unbeaten American, himself a world champion at five different weights, “is afraid of getting his ass kicked”.
Many see Mayweather as the villain while others will no doubt be wondering how a tough guy like Pacquiao can be scared of needles. After all, he’s done a fair bit of blood-letting in the ring in his time.
But while Pacquiao’s refusal certainly suggests he has something to hide – which, and I can’t stress this enough, isn’t the same as saying he’s hiding something – Mayweather knows boxing’s doping laws, however out of step they may be with the rest of modern sport, and you can understand why Pacquiao would not wish to jump through hoops of the American’s making.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think Pacquiao has something to hide?
Courtesy of the BBC’s Ben Dirs
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