We are starting to see some compromise in the negotiations between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao. As of right now, the compromise is coming from Manny Pacquiao’s side. Pacquiao annoucned that he would be willing to come down on his original stance of being randomly drug tested. Instead of the original 24 day cut off for testing, Manny is now saying he would come down to 14 days. But will that be good enough? Let’s examine further.
“As long as they?re not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight,? Pacquiao, Manila Bulletin
Originally Floyd Mayweather Jr was calling for a 14 day cut off when these two camps began the first round of negotiations late last year. Manny and his team didn’t budge from 24 days and the fight was ultimately off. Perhaps, it was the initial brashness of Floyd’s new demands that may everything seem selfish and accusatory.
But, as more fighters are starting to jump on the blood testing bandwagon, Manny has relaxed some from his 24 day cutoff. Unfortunately, there are still 2 big problems with a 14 day window. The first problem is the obvious one. Floyd Mayweather Jr and his team have said they won’t have any cutoff dates anymore. They want the testing to go right up to the day of the fight. They said there will be no cutoff dates for Pacquiao and if he wants the fight then he will have to agree to their full demands.
The next big hurdle is the USADA’s public declaration that drugs like HGH can be used and eliminated from the body within a matter of a few days. They say that the random drug testing needs to be done up to the day of the fight. In an exclusive interview with USADA’s Chief Executive Travis Tygart, Mr. Tygart told this reporter the following: “It depends on the substance, HGH can leave the system in a few days… You can use it and it can be out of the system in a matter of a days.”
Conclusion Darrin Weston Sacramento, CA ‘Do you think the 14 day cutoff will be accepted by Floyd Jr?” Sadly, I don’t believe it will be accepted. I believe Mayweather will stick to his demands of random testing up to the day of the fight. I appreciate Manny’s willingness to come down from his original demands but it won’t make the fight happen. The public and the media are more informed this time around on drug testing thanks to the incredible attention Mayweather’s “drug crusade” has received. The USADA has made it very clear that drugs like HGH can still be used within a 14 day window. FOr this fight to happen, I think Manny would have to come down to about 5-7 days.
Do you readers think Floyd Jr will agree to the 14 day cutoff?
