“You have to believe me that my power is all natural”…”This is ridiculous, completely unfounded, completely untrue”…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!
“You have to believe me that my power is all natural…I’m not taking any medicine before the fight; my power is all natural!” – Manny Pacquiao responding to a fan who asked him about taking blood tests
Perspective: Very intriguing answer to a very intriguing question. Sensitive in subject matter, yet quite abrasive in underlying tone. Seems no matter where Pacquiao goes, what he does, or who he does it with, this issue of randomized testing simply won’t go away. On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 15th, Pacquiao and his lovely wife Jinkee spent a few moments in the company of American President Barack Obama and wife Michelle. This particular pairing was very intriguing in the sense that it combined two politicians who have often conveyed a firm message centered around trust and transparency.
For Pacquiao, the response which he offered to the fight fan who asked him to “take the test” served a heavy dosage of both, yet in a somewhat contradictory fashion. Pacquiao’s response to the young man was basically to “trust him” and “believe [his] power is all natural,” but past refusals to take the randomized test remove the ease of trust, based on complicated questions of transparency.
Few know specific details of the talks held between President Barack Obama and Congressman Manny Pacquiao, but one has to wonder if America’s leader, who built his entire campaign on transparency, informed the congressman that utilizing this option (by way of taking the test to remove all doubt) would serve as an ultimate tool to gaining unquestionable trust from the people forevermore.
Ironically, on the same day of this meeting between the two leaders, HBO (whom Pacquiao and Arum shunned to work with CBS/Showtime) aired a “Real Sports” segment with Victor Conte, the grandmaster of these radar-defying wonder drugs. Conte’s revelation that these drugs are far more rampant today than any other time in the sport, and far more developed than any other time in the sport, served as a chilling reminder that no matter how much we love and respect the miraculous ability of Pacquiao, an undone test essentially means more unanswered questions.
Not since a young Muhammad Ali has the sport seen a fairy-tale story of this magnitude. As much as some would love to celebrate, a stark realization tempers that celebration. That realization comes in the fact that no matter how great Pacquiao has been, if he ever looks marginal after conceding to a test, he will never be viewed the same again.
When it all boils down, we have a man who is now a victim of his own success. Pacquiao has done so many grand things in recent times that he appears to have no limits. Could he really reach his biggest and final career milestone, a fight with Mayweather, and simply stand at the goal line without ever crossing for the big score? One can’t be viewed as “the greatest of all-time” if they didn’t defeat the greatest in their own time! With a victory over Mosley, only two major obstacles would await. Although he may have the ability to defeat one, there remains another that he simply isn’t willing to face. Just somethin’ to think about!
“I spoke to Team Chavez. They called me and told me it’s absolutely not true. This is ridiculous, completely unfounded, completely untrue, and they’ll be here Thursday to start gettign ready for his next fight!” – Alex Ariza responding to rumors about being fired by Team Chavez
Perspective: Seems every week now, conditioning expert Alex Ariza finds himself a part of some new headline, and it isn’t all good. Fortunately, this time around it appears the outcome was positive as we learned Ariza is in fact still the head conditioning trainer for Julio Cesar Chavez jr. Weeks ago, he was part of headlines stemming from a nasty break up with British boxer Amir Khan and his camp. That time around, he wasn’t so lucky.
When you look at what Ariza has been able to do for these two men, as well as Pacquiao, one has to admit that there has been a visible display of improvement, and each would surely find themselves questioned without his presence. The oddity here is that the one who probably needs him the most, Khan, will be the one who unfortunately won’t have him as an option.
None of us know the “truth” behind the split, but speculation ranges everywhere from a stolen contract to a not-exactly-successful drug test. The results of the recently taken drug test that Khan took remain unpublished, but few can deny the timing of the breakup is little short of a head scratcher.
For Ariza, the questions all surround what he terms “secret ingredients,” and the more we see his fighters as of late, the more critics question what these elements could be. When he was in the corner of the late Diego Corrales (RIP), there wasn’t much of a marked improvement, but suddenly, Roach tells him to show an improvement in Pacquiao while on a 6-month unpaid trial, and overnight we have a totally reinvented fighter, accompanied by a few other stablemates who have suddenly become indestructible.
Many laughed when Roger Mayweather stated that Pacquiao uses “A-Side Meth,” but if we can hunt Mr. “Most-People-Don’t-Know-S**t-About-Boxing” down right now, I’d like to ask him if that “A” in “A-Side Meth” possibly stood for “Ariza!” Just a little light humor on a subject that actually isn’t somethin’ to laugh about!
(Vivek Wallace can also be reached at [email protected], Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEKWALLACE747), Skype (VITO-BOXING), Facbook, and Myspace)
