I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. Major boxing is on a break for the holidays but that has not stopped the mainstream media from putting a greater than usual focus on the sport. The extra attention is due to the high profile negotiations between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Both sides are trying to come to an agreement to go forward with their proposed March mega fight, however they have hit some snags that are jeopardizing the fight.
The main obstacle is the issue of how the fighters will be tested for performance enhancing drugs. I am holding out hope that a resolution will be found so that both sides are happy. There is too much money at stake for either side to be stubborn and call off the fight for such a seemingly minor issue.
In this edition of my boxing mailbag I dissect this steroid testing issue and give my opinion on what should be done. I also answer a few other questions, including one about the great Pernell Whitaker. Please enjoy and be sure to email me your feedback.
USADA vs. NSAC
Does Floyd have the upper hand over Pacman to arrogantly demand USADA testing? Does Floyd have upper hand over NSAC when it comes to USADA testing? I’m just wondering why Floyd, in collusion with Golden Boy Promotions, are trying to usurp Nevada State Athletic Commission jurisdiction over the matter of testing boxers?
As a matter of fact, why should Floyd in the first place make a demand when he has no belt at all and only a challenger, and the champion that he is challenging has been cleared every time by NSAC for the last 10 years? As a compromise, Pacman had even accepted blood testing anytime except 72 hrs prior to the fight date and immediately after the fight & Floyd would still not agree. Pacman, as a champion, has prerogative to reject this demand and should have referred the matter to NSAC who has sole jurisdiction when it comes to testing over the boxers fighting in Vegas.
-erniepep
Erniepep,
I think Mayweather is slowing gaining the upper hand regarding the steroid testing debate. Pacquiao is getting extremely angry at Mayweather for suggesting that he is using steroids. As he gets more and more upset and offended at the accusations, you would think that at some point he would want to completely clear his name at any cost (ie. agreeing to the USADA drug testing). The pressure to accept the testing is mounting to the point where I don’t think it is in his best interest to refuse based on principals anymore.
Pacquiao’s adamant refusal of this testing is starting to peak people’s imaginations. They are asking “what is he trying to hide?”. This isn’t fair or right that people are questioning Pacquiao’s drug use, but I have noticed that a large percentage of the population are wondering why Manny doesn’t just man up and take the steroid test to shut Mayweather up for once.
I heard one person say that this fight is bigger than boxing and bigger than any other big event so the strictest measures of testing should be in place, not the second rate system that is in place for every single boxing match, even the meaningless club fights. Mayweather and Pacquiao have both reached the level of popularity where they have leverage despite not having a title. In the fight of the decade it makes sense to only use the best of everything; the best referee, the best judges, the best ring, the best ring stools, the best stadium, the best time keeper, the best glove inspector, and yes, the best drug testing method.
What is so wrong with asking for an improvement with the current drug testing method?
The USADA testing is the gold standard for detecting performance enhancing drugs. The NSAC testing has not changed for years and is not nearly as effective as the USADA testing method. First, the NSAC is not random so you can prepare for the test. The previous suggestion by Arum of 30 days prior would be useless because it is not random and it leaves too large of a window for a steroid cycle to start and finish before the fight. Second, the NSAC test is urine only meaning there is no way to test for HGH.
Saying that Floyd has the upper hand over the NSAC does not really make sense. The NSAC requires a minimum set of regulations and standards for a fight. Any additional regulations are fair game as long as both parties agree to the terms in their contract. Boxing is like the wild west compared to other major sports. Promoters can make up the rules as they go along as it fits for a particular fight. Fighters and promoters make demands in their contracts and if they believe in those demands enough they have every right to walk away from the fight if their demands are not met, no matter what the NSAC says.
With all of that said, the compromise where Pacquiao is subjected to random blood tests all the way up until 72 hours prior to the fight is fair. Such testing would be sure to catch any performance enhancing drugs. Floyd should accept those terms or you have to wonder what his motivation is.
Steroids Issue Blown Out Of Proportion
I don’t know about you but this drug/steroid thing has gone way overboard. A lot of people are unjustly assuming that the Pacman is on some type of performance enhancing drug without any proof or evidence. As far as the NSAC is concerned, Manny Pacquiao is 100% clean. No disputing that. And from the latest developments, Manny agreed to the blood tests (before and after the bout) except for the days leading to fight.
Is there really a drug that won’t be detected after fight night? Manny doesn’t even care if they take urine tests everyday. Manny has proven time and again that he’s clean no matter what these naysayers claim. I hate it when the Mayweather camp makes it seem like Pacquiao should do this in the light of sportsmanship and fair play. WTF? Who’s the one who paid off 600 grand after not making a contracted weight? Whose side was pushing for the “wiggle” room for the Pacquiao-Mayweather contracted weight? Taking the NSAC tests and moving on with the bout is already fair play. This is just pure BS and grandstanding from the Mayweather camp. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pacquiao agrees to these new terms and Mayweather camp finds another issue to disagree over.
-Julius Pabular
Julius,
The concern from the Mayweather camp is that some steroids, including HGH, are not detected through urine tests. New designer steroids could potentially avoid urine tests as well since they are cutting edge and no test exists for them. Shane Mosley for example, has admitted to steroid use in previous fights, yet his NSAC record is completely clean and he has never failed a test.
The blood testing done for the Olympics is much more robust at catching performance enhancing drugs. The randomness ensures that you cannot time your steroid cycle to prepare for a blood test that is on a particular day. If a boxer knew the date that he was going to be tested (as in this instance where Arum wanted it to be 30 days prior to the fight and then right after the fight) he could time his cycles accordingly to avoid detection.
This is where the concern is coming from. I see both arguments and sides and agree that both sides have legitimate concerns and are not just haggling for no reason. If Pacquiao has nothing to hide, and I don’t think he does, then why not say screw it and agree to the testing? But then again, if all of Mayweather’s previous opponents did not have to be subjected to these additional tests then why does Pacquiao have to when there is no evidence of previous steroid use?
The refusal of Pacquiao to agree to these steroid tests has caused public opinion regarding Manny’s use of drugs to turn. Many people now are very suspicious of Pacquiao whereas previously they were not. Pacquiao is so upset that he is contemplating a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather. If he is that upset then why not just give into the pressure and prove his doubters wrong like he has so many times in the ring?
A possible solution I see is some sort of medium. If they allowed random testing up to four days before the fight instead of 30 days as Arum wanted, plus do the blood test directly after the fight, I think that would appease all parties. Four days would give Pacquiao plenty of time to recover from the ill effects of giving blood and that type of testing would surely catch any performance enhancing drugs. If Mayweather wants the fight he will accept terms like these. If Pacquiao has nothing to hide he would also accept these terms.
Pacman and Steroids
Dear Brian,
Good day and Merry X-Mas.
This is sad news, I hope that Pacquiao vs. “Money” Mayweather will happen this March but because of this nonsense and those baseless steroid comments, the fight that we want is in jeopardy. I did not want to make a comment at first but I think, this is a serious accusation without any basis.
First, I believe that the routine urine test that the NSAC has is more than enough to determine if an athlete is on illegal substances. As a nurse by profession, everything that we take in our system is metabolized and excreted via the liver and kidneys. Everything, especially medicine, has its own half life and usually can be detected in the body via urine within 24 to 48 hours.
Second, we all know that Pacman will run for political office in the Philippines, and as a boxing fan, I am very pleased to hear that Manny accepted the proposed March fight vs. Mayweather.
In conclusion: I will say that we should give credit to Pacman and leave the steroids issue to NSAC, because the accusation was not factual. I also think that the Mayweathers are manipulative and insecure and if they really love boxing, these types of comments should not be coming from their big mouths.
God Bless and more power to you.
-Jason Calara
Jason,
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) cannot be detected from standard urine tests and that is one of the most commonly used performance enhancing drugs. As a hormone, your body uses it like a naturally made hormone as opposed to a synthetically made drug that is metabolized.
I also don’t see this as an accusation by Floyd Mayweather Jr. Perhaps you could say that other members of the Mayweather clan, like Jeff and Senior, have made accusations, but Floyd Junior has not made any flat out accusations. Mayweather has been careful with his words saying that he only wants to make sure that Pacquiao is clean. This is a huge fight and he wants to be 100% sure that this is a level playing field. Now if Floyd had said something like “I know for sure that Manny has taken steroids, I was there and shot it up for him” then Pacquiao would have a good libel case on his hands. As it stands now, any judge will see this as a cautious athlete covering all of his bases and demanding a high level method of testing that matches the high level of this fight.
Mayweather has witnessed Pacquiao do incredible things in the boxing ring that defied logic. When you witness someone achieve impossible results and you are the next targeted victim, as Floyd is, you have to wonder if something is going on. That is where Mayweather is coming from.
Pacquiao has done nothing wrong though so I can see why he is refusing these tests. His record is clean. Also, an athlete’s endurance is affected by the amount of blood in his system. This is why some bikers used to “blood dope” by injecting fresh blood into themselves before a race. Thus I can understand why taking blood could impede your performance if taken the day before a fight. Getting injected with a needle could also hurt a bit and weaken your arm temporarily.
I see both sides to this debate. I truly hope that they get this all settled and get the fight done. Pacquiao vs. Mayweather needs to happen.
Pacfan Hater
So this fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather is in 3 months if all goes as planned. How the hell can you listen to these Pacquiao ball lickers for the next 12 weeks explain to you how he is going to beat Mayweather and blah blah blah? He could be fighting Sugar Ray Robinson, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Sugar Ray Leonard all in one day and you would still have barely English speaking people writing to you about how Pacquiao would win all three fights. And it is only going to get worse.
This fight is very likely going the distance. If Mayweather does anything but completely dominate Pacquiao, we are going to hear for the year after about how Pacquiao got ripped off in the decision, similarly to how a bunch of blind fans thought De La Hoya beat Mayweather even though he only landed about 10 punches a round, half of which were when he was holding Floyd against the ropes with his arm while throwing to the body…but I digress. The point is they are going to claim he won unless he gets KO’d. So I hope for all of our sakes Floyd backs up his talk for once and puts Manny on his ass. The thought of Floyd winning a split decision or even a 117-111 UD makes me a little queezy because Manny ball lickers will never think he lost a decision.
Can’t all these idiots, who clearly are nothing but biased and have no credibility in calling the fight, just be happy the fight is happening and shut up? I know part of the fun of boxing is talking about it, but blind loyalty to the point where they think Pacquiao is going to dominate Floyd is just purely ridiculous.
So my first question is: how and why do you do it every week?
2nd Question: The fight that I think will actually be exciting is Andre Berto vs. Shane Mosley, who you got? I love Berto and his size for a welter is amazing. I am not sure if Mosley is back after that win against Margarito or if Margarito is really as bad as I always thought he was (when he doesn’t cement his hands). Personally I think Berto either stops him late or we end up with a ridiculously close score going either way.
Cheers!
-Don Chi Chi
Don,
Patience? LOL Kidding aside, I wouldn’t say that I “put up” with Pacquiao fans. I like and appreciate passionate fans no matter what their beliefs are. I respect people’s opinions as long as they have a somewhat logical argument to back up their claim.
I disagree that Pacquiao fans would cry foul if Mayweather does anything but dominate Manny. In the first fight with Erik Morales, Pacquiao lost by only a round or two but every Pacquiao fan gracefully accepted the loss. I heard nobody badmouthing the judges.
I really like Mosley vs. Berto too. The winner is in prime position to either fight Mayweather or Pacquiao. I see it as a good action fight that ends in a close Mosley decision. I am not quite on the Berto bandwagon. He needs to show me something on the top level before I will predict him to beat someone of Mosley’s stature. Mosley is past his best, I agree, but he is still slick, strong, and crafty. Mosley usually does well with fighters who come at him and fight so Mosley has an edge in the styles match up.
Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker
Hi Brian,
When it comes to defense, Pernell “Swee Pea” Whitaker’s name always comes up. I have only watched him fight once and that was against Oscar De La Hoya, aside from that I am honestly not familiar with his body of work. On to my questions:
1. How would he fare against “Money” Mayweather? Who would win prime vs. prime (what weight division would this be contested?), and what manner would the victory be? And also, who is the better defensive fighter between the two?
2. How would he fare against Pacquiao? Who would win prime vs. prime (what weight division would this be contested?), and what manner would the victory be?
3. Lastly how would he fare against Pacquiao if they fought against each other in all the common weight divisions they both traversed, (putting into account their skills weren’t quite there yet in some of these divisions) who would win in each of these divisions, and what manner would the victory be?
I would really appreciate an answer Brian (knowing full well what I’m asking for is quite a handful lol!). But you are quite one hell of a boxing encyclopedia, except with the “boxing analysis” no boxing encyclopedia on Earth can ever provide. Cheers!
-Muchomarv
Muchomarv,
Whitaker was a great boxer in his prime. Due to drug abuse and lack of top notch opposition throughout his career he did not accomplish as much as he probably should have. His best fights were the “draw” against Julio Cesar Chavez, plus wins over Jose Luis Ramirez and Azumah Nelson. I would say that he was a better defensive fighter compared to Floyd Mayweather, JR., although Floyd is more well rounded.
1. In a head to head fight against Mayweather they would probably meet in the lightweight division. Based on the slight trouble that Floyd has had against slick boxers like DeMarcus Corley and Zab Judah I would take Whitaker to win a close unanimous decision that you have to be scoring very carefully to see Pernell as the winner.
2. Pacquiao vs. Whitaker is a really tough fight to predict. I will take Whitaker by decision (he would have no chance to win by KO) only because Pacquiao had only one fight at lightweight so there is less to go on. This is a very difficult fight to handicap though because of the conflicting fighting styles. Your guess is as good as mine here.
3. The version of Whitaker who was fighting in the welterweight division was not as good as the prime lightweight version of Whitaker. If the Whitaker who fought Oscar De La Hoya fought the Pacquiao who fought Miguel Cotto I would take Pacquiao to win by mid round KO.
Floyd vs. Manny, Dissecting Styles
Brian,
I see this fight as boring, Pacman chasing all night and he wins on points for being the aggressor. While it’s unlikely for Floyd to fight (he’s a “boxer”), if he does, it would be great, exciting and entertaining. This would also lead to his downfall for Floyd has never been in a fight. He might get tempted due to Pacman’s style and the pressure from Pacquiao and the public. What’s your take?
-Ed
Ed,
I mostly agree with you about the fight likely being boring. Mayweather stinks out the boxing ring on a regular basis. He has been in a few good fights and opens up more only if he feels like he is up against someone who is completely over-matched or he sees wide openings. That would not be the case against Pacquiao.
I think that it would be very hard for Pacquiao to win a decision over Mayweather. Fight judges are in love with Mayweather and give him rounds for jabbing and running. Even if Pacquiao was the aggressor, the combination of reach and hypnotizing the judges (aka putting them to sleep) wins the fight for Floyd.
One thing that Mayweather will never cater to is the public’s desire to see a brawl. That disregard for the fans and ignoring the boos might give Mayweather the edge over Pacquiao, because Manny might be tempted to take stupid risks in order to please the crowd in a boring fight.
My List and Undercard Talk
Hey Brian,
I’ve just read your current pound for pound list and I was surprised you placed Edwin Valero on the 8th spot. Honestly, were you impressed by his performance against Velasquez? Yes, the guy’s got some power but that’s it. He has poor defense and bad footwork. I don’t discount the possibility of him improving just like Pacquiao though.
By the way, if you were to make the undercard of the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight, who would you rather see? Well, here’s mine:
Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah (battle of sparmates) Rodel Mayol v. Edgar Sosa rematch Nonito Donaire vs. Vic Darchinyan rematch Edwin Valero vs. Humberto Soto vs. Michael Katsidis (any pair will do)
I guess such would be a very expensive undercard but this mega fight deserves the best card possible considering that this could be one, if not the, biggest match of the decade.
Thanks Brian. Happy Holidays!!
-Morse
Morse,
That list that I posted last week was not my pound for pound list. I was only giving my opinion on which fighters I think had the most ability even if they had done nothing to back it up. Valero has done very little to prove his tremendous natural talent so I can’t make an argument for him being on a top 10 pound for pound list; thus Valero is not on my top 10 pound for pound list.
Your undercard sounds awesome, but as you already pessimistically suggested, it would cost too much money, therefore is extremely unlikely. The only fight I don’t like is the Rodel Mayol vs. Edgar Sosa rematch since the first fight was pretty definitive and not needing a rematch.
Perhaps one fight of that quality would be able to fit on the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather undercard. The one I like the most is the rematch between Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan. Edwin Valero vs. Michael Katsidis would be a fantastic action fight so I’ll pick that one as my second favorite.
Pacquiao’s Weight Against Cotto
Per a GMA TV Fight Commentator, Buboy Fernandez said Manny Pacquiao weighed 149lbs the day of the fight when he fought Miguel Cotto.
-Sugar Reynoso
Sugar,
Thanks for the info since I did not have the answer last week.
That concludes this edition of my mailbag. I hope you send in your emails and come back to read next time. Have a great week everyone.
