HOT POTATO via HOLLYWOOD, California – Top Rank Godfather Robert “Bob” Arum’s argument over United States Anti-doping Agency’s bearing on blood testing for both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather as a matter of clearance, so to speak, for their purported fight is simple and one of brevity in a rhetorical question: “Why should it be done by the United States Anti-doping Agency (USADA) when you have a Philippine fighter and an American fighter?”
And, what if Pacquiao would otherwise say and insist like what Mayweather does, as a matter of rebuttal just to bring the matter much deeper into arguments, that it should be done by a Philippine anti-doping agency? Would that be less than neutral as well?
But, a world-governing body of utmost prestige and considerable higher authority than USADA exists.
Arum rather wants the Olympic-style blood testing done by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA), which he sees as neutral versus Mayweather’s choice to have it done by USADA, which is funded by a U.S. Federal grant and regarded as too unbecoming of a one-sided game for the American Athlete as a matter of disctinction over a foreign athlete like Pacquiao.
Yes, USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing is consistent with the WADA Code and outlines the organization’s testing program.
But, unlike USADA, on the other hand, WADA receives half of its budgetary requirements from the International Olympic committee, with the other half coming from various governments throughout the world . It is originally based in Switzerland and now its headquarter is based in Montreal, Canada. And just by its standing, Arum prompts to acount of its neutrality over USADA’s claims as it should be.
Arum demands fairness and, therefore, points out, “Wouldn’t that be fair because it would be neutral? And, shouldn’t it be done under the auspices of a boxing commission?” Arum asserts. Worse, Pacman’s defamation lawsuit against “Money” Mayweather continues. And USADA’s zealot bossman, lawyer Travis Tygart, has shown partiality during one of his public appearances referencing Mayweather as “the clean athlete”.
Another issue would strike on the handling of blood samples. Even crime screen scientists are not without faults, especially when intensive scrutiny by cross-examiners on the results of blood samples are set to record. One such case in point outside of boxing is the OJ Simpson case at Judge Ito’s desk and its run-through in the collection of evidence and even to the point of refuting its protocol about the same samples were vigorously quashed and ended up as inadmissible.
Pacquiao-Mayweather issue on blood-testing has the potential of making it like one of OJ Simpson case, to speak. And, in fact, it’s signaling to that shift. It’s really a bigger scale, if not toll,than what the boxing public thinks of it. It would draw infectiously the attention of non-boxing pulbic and solidify interests even more in the quiasi-boxing circle, which would really heighten the magnitude of the fight, only if it would really happen.
Would Pacquiao-Mayweather blood samplings become like one of huge traffic of crime scene investigators which could somehow whip the boxing public up into frenzy?
Would it not just drag further their scheduled fight, that if their contract to fight is sealed and, then, ended up not happening at all?
Waste of time? Hmm…it can be.
And “Mayweather, Jr. is as relevant as he allows himself to be. But, we are not going to tolerate any non-sense from Mayweather,” Arum asserts.
Stay tuned for more!
