By Esteban Garduno: The sometimes combative trainer Freddie Roach says in an interview at Thesweetscience.com that his fighter, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao won’t be fighting undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he insists on blood testing for a future fight against the Filipino star. Roach says in an interview with David Avila “If Floyd [Mayweather] tries to push that blood test again, I can tell you now that we’re not going to fight. Who does he [Mayweather] think he is? He’s not the Nevada Athletic Commission. He’s not going to dictate to us what to do.” Well, there it is. Roach basically saying there won’t be a fight if Mayweather asks for random blood testing without the Commission mandating it.
Although Roach hardly speaks for Pacquiao given that he’s just the trainer and not the mouthpiece for Manny, it’s an ominous sign that Roach is sounding feisty and drawing a line in the sand before Mayweather and Pacquiao even begin negotiations. The blood testing was part of the contract between Pacquiao and Mayweather, just as the $10 million dollar penalty for being overweight.
That was something that came from Pacquiao’s management’s side and wasn’t decided upon by the Nevada Athletic Commission. If Roach is going to throw the question about whether there will be blood testing into the hands of the Commission, instead of seeing this as something that should be negotiated between the two sides, then there really can’t be a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather. It takes two sides to negotiate and you can’t have one side coming up with things like $10 million dollar fines for being overweight, which Mayweather agreed on, but then retreating and leaving it up to the Commission when it comes to Mayweather’s request for random blood testing. That’s a cop out.
I don’t think Mayweather is trying to “dictate” to Pacquiao just because he wants to the blood testing. I mean you could look at this in reverse and make the same statement about Pacquiao’s team wanting a $10 million fine for coming in overweight. It’s part of the contract negotiations.
If Roach and his team think that Mayweather is trying to impose on them for asking for this one thing, then they need to forget about the Mayweather fight completely and continue to focus on fighting opponents like Joshua Clottey, Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto. Those guys won’t likely ask for blood testing, but then again, none of them will bring in the money that a bout against Mayweather will.
If Pacquiao and Roach want the big money, then blood testing is what Pacquiao will have to agree on to get a fight against Mayweather. If their cool with the $10 million dollar fine, then they should be just as cool with blood testing. This can’t be a one-way street when you’re dealing with a star as big as Mayweather. He’s not scrub that will accept anything thrown his way in the contract negotiations.
Comments are closed.