By Jason Kim: The recent mega fight between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. died out because of the random blood tests for drugs that Mayweather wanted bout fighters to take before the fight. Mayweather says that he just wants an even playing field. The negotiations quickly hit a roadblock over this matter, as typically only urine is checked by the Nevada Athletic Commission, who oversees boxing matches in Nevada.
Mayweather got Pacquiao to agree to take three tests initially. However, Mayweather wanted much more than just three tests. He wanted the tests to be truly random and continuous happening at any time up until the fight. Pacquiao feels that having blood taken from him, even small amounts, weakens him. In mediation, Pacquiao agreed to allow blood tests to be taken 24 days before the fight. Mayweather countered by asking for 14 days before the fight. This is where the mediation fell apart it appears.
Pacquiao is looking to fight former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey next, and unless Mayweather backs down on his request for random blood tests, he can forget about a fight with Pacquiao on March 13th. However, what would Pacquiao do if random blood tests become the boxing industry standard. Of course, it would almost impossible for this to happen, because there would likely be differences in drug testing from state to state in the U.S., and the same would probably go for fights out of the country. But if this were to become the standard, would Pacquiao accept it or would he retire from boxing to save himself the trouble of having his blood tested randomly.
You can understand why it would it would be asking a lot of Pacquiao to have to have blood taken from him, because he feels that it weakens him somehow despite the fact that only minute amount of blood are taken for these tests. But if this became the standard for boxing, Pacquiao would have little choice but to accept them or else find himself in a situation where he might have to retire from the sport.
For a fighter like Mayweather’s perspective, you can understand why he would be concerned about wanting the tests to take place. If you’re not sure if your opponent is using performance enhancing drugs to gain bulk and strength, it can be a little worrisome. Mayweather would like for the tests to be taken so that he can be sure in his mind that his opponent is clean. But on the other hand, the tests are not standard in Nevada, so you can understand why Pacquiao wouldn’t want to have to take them.
So would Pacquiao accept and take the blood tests if they become standard or would he retire to avoid the trauma of having his blood taken from him? It would decision I can imagine. If I were uncomfortable with having my own blood taken, and thought that it weakened me, I would probably have to accept it if I wanted to make a living in the sport.
However, if I had already made a ton of money in boxing, I might retire to avoid being tested so that I could spare myself the mental and physical anguish of having my blood taken. Unless someone was to sit me down and convince me that my fears were all inside my head and not real, I would probably lean towards retirement.
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