New York, NY– In January I penned the first part of my plea here at RingTalk for welterweight (147 lb.) and pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2 38 KOs) to come clean about drug testing. Since that article I have read numerous reports, including a recent Huffington Post piece written by Ryan Phillips (Huff Post Blames Floyd) in which he fallaciously blames Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0 25 KOs) for the failed negotiations that would have matched to two best fighters in the world. It’s my opinion that the only way to really end the speculation with this issue is an agreement on drug testing. It’s best for the sport and the individual athlete’s. And at this point, it’s up to Manny, not Floyd to agree.
CLARIFYING REAL CAUSE OF PAC-FLOYD MELTDOWN
Phillips claims in his piece, the opinion that Floyd is scared and he never made concessions on the rigidity of the drug testing he originally requested under contract. This is false and a lie. Anyone who had truly been following the negotiations would know that they ended in a stalemate as Mayweather backed off of his ‘up-until-the-day-of-fight’ original request and offered a testing option of 14 days before the bout. Team Pac, who originally requested a 30-day cutoff, shaved off a few days but would not budge beyond a 24-day window for pre-bout testing. And when that didn’t work, it was TEAM PACQUIAO who then hastily decided they would pursue a match with Pacquiao’s Top Rank stable mate, Joshua Clottey.
WRITER, LIKE MAN(N)Y SIMPLY OFF BASE!
Yet, in the aforementioned report and in the minds of many (and Manny) Floyd somehow still is the one who didn’t want the fight. This is biased opinion and not facts. Some believe that Mayweather used the testing issue as a ruse to get out of the fight and that it is an unreasonable demand. The truth is that it is more than a reasonable to launch an inquiry into PED usage with Manny as plenty of his peers have done it in the past. A list of past culprits include Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas and Shannon Briggs to name a few. All have either tested positive or later admitted to using a banned substance. So is it unreasonable to ask for drug testing in boxing? No. Would Manny reasonably be able to handle blood testing? Yes. Is Mayweather scared to face Pacquiao? No. Is Mayweather reluctant to fight Manny on steroids? Yes. Those are the facts, so lets stick to them.
MAYWEATHER LIKELY UN-RETIRED FOR MANNY
As most boxing fans know, Floyd was comfortably retired after defeating an unbeaten Ricky Hatton in ten rounds in December of 2007. At that point, Manny was fresh off defeating super featherweight (130 lbs.) legend, Marco Antonio Barrera. Manny then began readying himself for a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez (who he previously fought to a draw). Manny narrowly won the Marquez bout and made the jump to lightweight (135 lb), defeated David Diaz, and in his next fight took on Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight. Manny destroyed him. It was at this point that rampant rumors of Mayweather’s plans to come out of retirement began to circulate. And that is what Floyd did. One day before Manny’s historic win over Miguel Cotto, Mayweather announced his return to the sport of boxing against Marquez, a man who many believe deserved the nod twice against Pacquiao. It was very clear that Mayweather’s match up with Marquez was done primarily to set up the future match with Pacquiao.
PACMAN TO RETIRE BEFORE MAYWEATHER BOUT?
More than one report has come out about Manny’s plans to retire after his one-sided victory over the less-than-game Joshua Clottey. According to reports, somehow Manny now believes that he doesn’t need Mayweather, the best skilled, most challenging and biggest monetary generating opponent out there. He is positioning himself as if his legacy without Mayweather would not be questioned. But it would. And so would Floyd’s. There is no denying that they do need each other. Whether Manny is using retirement talk to gain leverage or is he simply wants to ride out on a high note is only speculation. But the truth is that Mayweather and Pacquiao should happen before either fighter decides to hand them up for good.
FIRST STEP TO BOUT & FUTURE: COME CLEAN
Whether you agree with Floyd or Manny’s position or not is a matter of opinion. But the over arching point that drug testing is good for the sport, cannot be questioned. Whatever harm done to Manny in the short term by giving blood pails in comparison to the past and future legacies, careers and lives of the fighters who have and will have sacrificed so much in their bouts. There is no need to sacrifice much more in unfair contests. If Manny and his team can come clean, the sport can go on that way and it is a win for everyone involved. It seems the testing is easy. Hopefully it’s not the truth that continues to remain difficult. Are you listening Manny?
Jarrad Woods