STOP ALL THIS FIGHTING AND PUNCH EACH OTHER
Pittsburgh, PA– Acting as if they suffer from dementia like some ex-pugs they have covered, certain notable boxing commentators over the past week or two have absolutely assured us that the proposed March 13 bout between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) and Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs) will happen due to the obscene amount of money involved. Why, may I ask, did these experts expect boxing to give us exactly what we want and deserve, in this case perhaps the most significant bout in over 20 years? As quickly as terms such as money, a date and venue came together, everything unraveled after Mayweather demanded the condition of random blood testing for performance enhancing drugs.
WELCOME TO BOXING’S BIZARRO WORLD
Through a whirlwind of statements, interviews and press releases, roles shifted this week, as “Money May” became the sport’s moral compass, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaffer the PED watchdog, BALCO’s ex-con Victor Conte, its expert authority, and Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum… well, he never changes. Amidst this confusion, we have learned that Floyd’s making non-negotiable contractual demands that he knows just might kill this megafight, and Top Rank and Pacquiao have followed the blowing winds to the excuse that the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and not the participants, should dictate the terms of drug testing.
THE NEVADA COMMISSION’S TESTING: UR-INE LUCK
The Nevada Commission’s disciplinary rules prohibit, in addition to anabolic steroids, any drugs on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s “prohibited list,” which includes EPO and Human Growth Hormone. The Commission’s Executive Director Keith Kizer says that Nevada only uses urinalysis to detect illegal drugs and that both EPO and HGH can be traced through urine samples, rebutting Golden Boy’s and others’ claims that blood testing alone will suffice. Nowhere in the Nevada rules does it provide for random blood tests, so unless the Pacquiao camp voluntarily agrees to this demand, the Mayweather side is stuck with a few urine tests or no fight. To this point, he’s told us no blood, no Money.
ARUM’S AS TRANSPARENT AS SCOTCH TAPE
With his considerable rhetorical skills, Arum has attempted to transform the focus of this discussion from drug testing to Mayweather’s unwillingness to fight and out-of-line demands. While it’s true that the Mayweather’s run their mouths, with no real proof that Pacquiao has cheated, and that no one has used testing over and above Nevada’s type before, these are also the facts: Athletes at the pinnacle of every sport operate these days under a cloud of suspicion of their generation’s own doing, one that they should aggressively counter by eagerly welcoming the most state-of-the-art, reliable testing to ensure the credibility of their achievements. Anyone saying differently is either naïve, unaware or a particular athlete’s apologist. I’ll say it, Floyd and his dad were out of line to accuse the Filipino great of juicing, but that doesn’t excuse those involved here from using this transcendent contest to set an example, and perhaps a precedent, of the way we should ensure our sport’s fairness.
SO FLOYD SHOULD STICK TO HIS GUNS, RIGHT?
Wrong. Be it a P.R. move, a negotiating tactic or a head game, Mayweather’s demand for random blood tests has no teeth, unless he’s willing to walk away from (with apologies to Shane Mosley) the only fight that matters for him right now and tens of millions. If Pacquiao remains unwilling to consent, Mayweather’s only recourse is to petition the NSAC, which has made it no secret that it will not test blood. A reasonable compromise, such as blood testing 40 and 20 days before and the night of the bout, could save the event and face for all involved. If the Pacquiao side continues to balk at the end of this week, with only ten weeks remaining, it can deal with the fallout from the sporting public after refusing an offer for neutral and equal drug testing. Meanwhile, Floyd should swallow his pride and deliver for the sport that has made him money and “Money,” so that we can enjoy one for the ages instead of an offensive substitute like Pacquiao vs. Paulie Malignaggi or Yuri Foreman.
Pedro Fernandez