Those hoping for any progress in the drug testing saga between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather briefly had renewed hope last week with the announcement that Pacquiao will now agree to fully random testing for a potential mega fight with Mayweather.
That hope appears to have been short lived, or at least postponed.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said in a recent interview with Yahoo that his fighter was open to unlimited random testing, so long as that the USADA wasn’t the testing agency involved in the proceedings.
Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz then said in a separate interview a day later that the fighter’s stance was unchanged from the original negotiations in that he would still want a cut off date for any Olympic style testing
While Koncz is with Pacquiao on a day to day basis and is also presumably in regular contact with Arum, most tended to believe that it was the 79 year old promoter who probably knew best on the issue.
Which then raised the question of whether Mayweather was open to using a different testing agency than the USADA since he has used them in the past and appears adamant that they are the best option available.
Earlier today Mayweather’s adviser Leonard Ellerbe spoke to FightHype reporter Ben Thompson, and naturally was asked his opinion on Arum’s statements.
While he was quick to put down Arum’s talk as more vocal sleight of hand and to state that Mayweather is concentrating solely on his September 17th encounter with WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, what he didn’t say was perhaps more telling.
Ellerbe at one point called the USADA the gold standard of testing.
He also said that for a fight to take place Pacquiao would be subjected to the gold standard of random blood and urine testing.
Whether the USADA are categotically the only testing agency Mayweather will accept and why he holds them above any of the many similar testing agencies isn’t mentioned. From Ellerbe’s statements though, it seems USADA involvement might be a deal breaker for Mayweather.
Full interview available here: Leonard Ellerbe: “Yet another example of Bob Arum trying to run misdirection”
In either case which agency is doing the testing seems a rather miniscule and insignificant issue to separate the fighters if they both truly want the fight to happen.
Although the USADA are the obvious choice and are well regarded, they are far from the only game in town.
There are numerous other testing agencies just as well suited to the task that follow all the same WADA procedures and standards and why then Mayweather’s side would care who collects the samples is puzzling.
Similarly though Arum’s claim that the USADA are in his eyes not neutral fails to stand up to scrutiny also.
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The USADA tests athletes of all nationalities and backgrounds on a regular basis and the collection process leaves little room for bias of any kind.
Blood samples for example are kept anonymous after they are securely sealed in front of the athlete being tested, and are tested in WADA approved labs which other agencies would use as well.
Of course there are still many on either side of the debate who will doubt both Arum and Ellerbe’s words.
The only real solution in this case is that both Pacquiao and Mayweather themselves need to speak out clearly and definitively on where they stand.
Manny Pacquiao still needs to confirm whether it was Bob Arum or Michael Koncz who had his stance on random testing correct.
Floyd Mayweather needs to address the issue of whether a different testing agency than the USADA is something he would be willing to accept.
With both fighters already fighting in the near future it appears that any full and conclusive answers will have to wait until after Pacquiao’s bout with Juan Manuel Marquez in November at the earliest.
Cleon Smith, Pitt: “The USADA is just a middleman who sends blood to a WADA labs, doesn’t make any difference if they do it or a different testing company does”
