By Rusty Nate: I like Manny Manny Pacquiao, and I think he is a good fighter, exciting to watch, never gets involved in stupid arguments and name calling and he is clearly one of the better ambassadors of the sport.

He has never been tested positive and until he is as far as I am concerned it’s not even something worth being discussed so if that’s your believe then this article is not for you.

I like Juan Manuel Marquez as well. The way in which he has handled the controversial results of the previous fights with Manny has been a great testament to his character.

The problem that bothers me is the ever growing interest in the back office staff getting involved with the media trying to hype a fight that doesn’t need hyping! We have enough trash talking from the fighters (a lot of whom wont fight each other anyway)

As an example, the word floating around the media is of Pacquiao’s “new style of fighting” for the Marquez bout.

I don’t know if this was said directly by Manny himself or not but it is something that I will not believe until I see it in person.

I don’t believe he is a dishonest person. I can’t help but think that there is no weight in this claim at all.

Pacquiao’s camp over the past 2-3 years seems to have become the “Boys who Cry Wolf” before every event.

We have heard in recent years that Manny has had problems in his personal life that have caused the decline in performance (that was apparently not an issue anymore)

We have heard that a poor fitness conditioner was to blame for the cramping of the legs and a lack of stamina (that was apparently not an issue anymore)

Most of all we have heard from Roach & Ariza prior to most of Manny’s fights recently that there will be an explosive KO because his opponent won’t be able to live with the animal that has been on display in the gym.

Its getting very difficult to believe a word these guys are saying.

My opinion behind Pac’s problems and performance issues – Age, that’s it.

A fighter can age over night. We have used the phrase many times and even seen this happen from one fight to the next in certain fighters. Manny got old and so the reflexes, speed, movement etc all started to disappear along with his youth.

Why is that hard to believe? It’s happening to Floyd Mayweather as well believe it or not. The difference is Mayweather’s style was always going to allow for a sustained higher performance for longer, he doesn’t rely on offensive speed and power in order to win. Yes he gets hit more now than a few years ago but his style allows him to handle that. It’s simple when you think about it.

It happens in all sports with different types of skills. Take football for example (Soccer for our American friends)

Michael Owen was a devastating striker at Liverpool because he was rapid! He got older and his career suffered.

Teddy Sherringham on the other hand never relied on speed for performance and so his career spanned past the age of 40 at the highest level.

Like I said I love Manny as a fighter and as a figure of the sport, I will never point towards PED’s as reason for anything unless he is proved to be a user. Everyone is innocent until proven otherwise in my book as he should be in everyone else’s eyes as well! (that goes for any fighter)

But Manny, please, please, please tell your advisers, coaches and other staff in the camp to shut the h*ll up! There is no need to make all these claims because it brings bad press in the long run!

Muhammad Ali once said “people think I am mouthy, some say I talk too much but anything I say I am willing to back up” and that’s the point, Ali did exactly that! If you are going to say it, do it! If you are not sure you can do it then say nothing, get on with the job and deal with the talking after the result, you’ll save your self a lot of embarrassment!

Just a note to the forum posters and bloggers – if your just going to post comments about how Manny is supposedly on PED’s then please don’t bother here, the comments are getting boring and unwarranted. There are plenty of CW’s articles to do that on ;)