Editor?s note: This article is part of a series of Manny Pacquaio-Floyd Mayweather flashbacks in advance of their May 2 fight, which was six years in the making. Mayweather?s insistence that Pacquiao be tested for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, which began with a September 2009 declaration by Mayweather?s father that Pacquiao was juiced, is particularly interesting in light of Pacquiao?s recent complaint that Mayweather rejected a $5 million contract clause that would have mandated penalties for detection of performance-enhancing substances. Although I eventually got irate in my defenses of Pacquiao, notably tapping my friend Pedro Fernandez?s Ring Talk site, my reaction in 2009 to the original accusations was tongue-in-cheek. Please enjoy it in that vein.
KEEP THOSE PACQUIAO STEROIDS ACCUSATIONS UNDER YOUR HAT (SEPTEMBER 2009)
Does he or doesn?t he? Only his haberdasher knows for sure.
The question is whether Manny Pacquiao uses steroids, and it was raised this week by Floyd Mayweather Sr., which doesn?t exact give it any journalistic validity. Pacquiao is far more powerful at 144 pounds than he was at 124, but that?s probably because 144 is closer to his natural weight. He doesn?t need steroids, and I think he?s too sensible to use them.
Still, I couldn?t help noticing in recent photos that Manny?s head is really huge, almost O.J.-like, especially compared to that of Nov. 14 opponent Miguel Cotto.
The issue was put in perspective at AT&T Park, where we watched Barry Bonds? skull grow faster than his home-run totals. Pacquiao?s noggin wouldn?t seem to stand out in those environs, unless the opposite is true. His head has always been large, and perhaps the Barry Bonds get-up conveyed an inappropriate subliminal message as to why.
This has been compounded by other Pacquiao-Cotto publicity tour stops such as Yankee Stadium, where comparisons to Babe Ruth and his noggin are inevitable.
Head size is apparently a longstanding issue in baseball, as writer Joe Posnanski?s Sports Illustrated anecdote involving Pete Rose and Ty Cobb attests.
When Pete Rose was chasing Ty Cobb’s record for most career hits, New York Times sportswriter Dave Anderson asked Rose how much he really knew about Cobb. Rose, being Rose, indelicately answered, “I know everything about Ty Cobb except the size of his c—.” Of course, The New York Times — the Gray Lady — could not report it quite that way. So the quote was delicately repackaged like so: “I know everything about Ty Cobb except the size of his hat.” Rose was furious. He knew damn well that Cobb’s hat size was 7 5/8.
But I digress. The question germane to Mayweather Sr.?s accusation is not whether Pacquiao requires a size 9 hat but whether he requires a significantly larger hat than he used to.
