By Giancarlo Malinconico: I have been critical of all parties involved in the negotiations: Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Top Rank and Golden Boy. But it seems to me that the proposal by team Mayweather is reasonable and fair. There is no proof that Pacquiao or Mayweather has ever taken performance-enhancing drugs. Mayweather, moreover, has especially proven his innocence with his adamant stance on random-blood testing.
Pacquiao has stated that he is a strong advocate for keeping professional boxing a drug-free sport. And by accepting Floyd’s request for random-blood sampling, he can become a role model and pioneer for boxing. As long as there is a certain, reasonable cutoff point for the blood testing, I do not see a problem. Who cares if blood testing would be setting a precedent—professional athletes ought to be subjected to random-blood testing because there are obviously substances that cannot be detected in urine. Besides, there are ways for cheaters to pass the most stringent testing (e.g. Marion Jones).
But as these negotiations have taken a turn for the worst, one man’s voice in this discussion has been missing—Freddie Roach. Roach was the one who publicly suggested a 50/50 purse split, which was agreed upon by both parties. Furthermore, Roach suggested a 5-day cutoff period for the random testing. But it seems that ever since making the suggestion, Roach has been told to remain silent. Did Bob Arum or someone from team Pacquiao silence Coach Roach?
And for Pacquiao fans who believe that random-blood testing is an insult, they should think again. We, pay-per-view purchasing costumers and boxing fans, deserve to know that our hard-earned money is going to competitors who are respecting the sport. If we can pull $54.99 out of our pockets, then there is no reason that Manny and Floyd cannot subject themselves to a few random-blood tests to ensure the integrity of the sport for the biggest matchup in boxing history.
Freddie Roach, wherever you are, why don’t reintroduce your proposal about the reasonable cutoff point for the random testing. Bob Arum continues to antagonize the situation by making ridiculous statements including an alleged conspiracy between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and Golden Boy Promotions, leaving testing up to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and plenty more. Therefore, Freddie, you’re the only voice of reason remaining to salvage this fight. Otherwise, let me be the first to state publically, I will boycott a Pacquiao/Malignaggi pay-per-view bout.
Breaking News: There is video footage of Manny Pacquiao receiving a blood test 14 days before his bout with Ricky Hatton on HBO’s 24/7. In the video, Pacquiao appears to be smiling while receiving the test. Hopefully, after the superstitious Pacquiao views this video, he will be more flexible on Mayweather’s request. According to ESPN, Bob Arum has stated the deadline (today) for closing the deal on the Mayweather versus Pacquiao bout will be extended, and Arum will notify Pacquiao of the newly discovered information in hopes of reaching an agreement on the blood testing clause of the contract.
Comments are closed.