“we adhere strictly to the WADA code and all of the international standards”…”It took Manny 8 years to get to the point where he became unbeatable”…all recent comments made by some of the biggest names in the sport. Looking back at this week’s key quotes of note, Boxing Scribe Vivek Wallace offers his own unique perspective, giving fight fans “a little something to think about”. Check it out!
“We regularly work with both our national sport governing bodies as well as our international anti-doping partners to test international athletes that live, train, or compete in the U.S. I don’t know what his (Bob Arum) concerns are, but I what I can say is that we adhere strictly to the WADA code and all of the international standards.” – Annie Skinner, USADA Media Relations Manager, speaking on Bob Arum’s concern about neutrality
Perspective: For the better part of two years now, we’ve all listened to, discussed, and debated the controversial dilemma facing Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in their quest to label who’s truly the best. For a good portion of that tenure, fans on both sides have been torn, and the more time elapses, the more this goes from a case of who’s right and who’s wrong to a case of who’s right and who’s left, as legal matters and sheer hatred is slowly causing both sides to fade in the eyes and minds of frustrated fight fans.
The “What Went Wrong” timeline chronicled here on FightHype by our very own Ben Thompson laid a foundation for perhaps the most comprehensive blueprint to the truth that we’ve seen anywhere in the sport to date. Despite the factual proof present, many observers still find a way to question why things haven’t fallen into place? Initially, Team Pacquiao didn’t want to take part in any regulations that would require randomized, unannounced testing. From there, it evolved to everything under the sun: from a fear of needles to public statements of full agreement that were untrue, and beyond.
It wasn’t until a few weeks ago, when Team Mayweather came to the forefront to speak on the matter while in the midst of a promotional tour, that some fight fans truly stopped to say to themselves, “Damn, maybe Mayweather does really want this fight.” After Mayweather finally broke his silence about the matter, with their backs against the wall and the word spreading fast, adviser Michael Koncz certainly didn’t help by openly stating in the aftermath that there was never any true agreement to any testing protocol that required less than a 7-day cutoff in the past. With the deck stacked and the court of public opinion starting to sway, in comes Bob Arum to save the day.
Suddenly, fight fans are being led to believe that it hasn’t been a matter of Pacquiao doing randomized testing up until the day of the fight. The new punchline is that it’s more a matter of WHO does it….not HOW it’s done. What’s tough to comprehend about Arum’s new position is that in taking such an odd stance, he does the precise thing he and Team Pacquiao have accused Floyd Mayweather and his camp of by accusing this agency (USADA) of doing something they may be skeptical of, yet there’s no true bonafide proof of. Annie Skinner from USADA made it very clear in her response that it is standard protocol for ANY ATHLETE THAT LIVES, TRAINS OR COMPETES IN THE U.S. TO BE TESTED BY USADA. Typically, I like to leave the readers with a little “something to think about”, but in this case, there’s nothing to reconsider. Pacquiao makes great wealth in America and if he’s to continue, that means he, like everyone else who undergoes this type of testing, will have to follow the same protocol……or come up with a damn good reason why he should be the only one who won’t.
“Amir is a little bit more ahead of Manny. It took Manny 8 years to get to the point where he became unbeatable and dominated every fight. Amir has been with me for only 3 years and he’s getting very close.” – Freddie Roach speaking to Reuters about Amir Khan’s progression
Perspective: Amir Khan remains a very intriguing prospect on the boxing landscape, but is he truly as good as Roach says? When we trace the hints and check the files, there are reasons to think perhaps Roach is right, but after further review, the reality is that Khan is probably no closer to that mantle than any other fighter on the rise in the sport. One of the intriguing things about Khan is that when most felt he didn’t have it in him, he proved he does in fact have heart. We’ve seen the likes of Paul Williams, Ricky Hatton and many others take devastating shots and never be the same. In Khan, we have a young man with a heart of a lion who took that shot, got up, dusted himself off and never looked back. It’s critical that we give him credit for such a feat because few ever truly cross that hurdle. He has. And not only has he crossed that hurdle, but he continued to impress every step along the way….at least, until recently. And this is where the questions lie. In his last fight against McCloskey, Khan appeared to take a step back, looking marginal at best and not quite the way he had against prior competition coming off the loss. Analyzing things closer, perhaps even before McCloskey, Khan began to show that he wasn’t what some would expect. This was very evident against Marcos Maidana, when trainer Freddie Roach threatened at one point to completely stop the fight.
It was very deceptive because everyone went into the fight thinking Khan would not have the chin to withstand Maidana’s wrath, and that particular mental footnote kept everyone’s attention so strongly that when he proved durable enough to do so, fans didn’t seem to take note of the fact that he took more of a beating in that fight than he was supposed to. Khan took an absolute thrashing, from pillar to post, in that fight, yet the fact that he survived was what everyone decided to hang their hat on. Freddie Roach is one of the best in the game, but his word in this case doesn’t hold much water. The only common thread between the two is that, like Pacquiao, Khan has developed a penchant for taking unnecessary beatings with poor defensive technique. When we look at it that way, perhaps Roach was right…..maybe they are alike. Only trouble for Khan is that Pacquiao has the offensive prowess to nullify that poor attribute. Khan doesn’t. Perhaps an improved defense will propel him to Pacqiuao’s level. Until then, it’s all talk. I could be wrong, but when the rubber hits the road and those powershots are flying down range and Khan is eating them, this is truly something to think about!
(Vivek “Vito” Wallace can also be reached at [email protected], Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), Skype (VITO-BOXING), Facbook, and Myspace)
