By Mr. Pennington: Ahh were to begin, such a polarizing figure, likely the most entertaining fighter since Mike Tyson’s brief rain in the world of boxing. I will start by saying “how can you not like Manny Pacquiao”. The Pacquiao loyalist seems to think that if you’re a Mayweather fan, that automatically makes you an anti-Pac.
That couldn’t be any further from the truth; in fact, I don’t think that any fan of the sport itself dislikes Manny Pacquiao.
How could you, his fights are exciting, he comes to knock guys out, and gives the impression of being very humble and down to earth. But there’s a stain in the minds of many fans, and every time Pac man is brought up, sadly, talks of PED’s are sure to follow.
In today’s society for whatever reason when allegations are made, often times the defendant is guilty in the eye of the public and must prove innocence. You don’t have to think too far in the past to recall incidents were the public gave a guilty verdict before the case ever gets to trail.
So when Pac fan says “prove it” in regards to PED allegations, unfortunately those who choose to think Pacquiao may have taken some illegals don’t have to. But the defenders of Pacquiao seem to feel the need to defend false allegations, which in return only gives the accusers legs to stand on. But that arguments for another day, today I want to rehash the reasons these accusations were made in the first place.
In sports, there are certain bounds of what humans can, and can’t do. Within these bounds all athletic accomplishments are held, and judged. Usain Bolt for example, many inside the track world are convinced he has taken some form of performance enhancers. Why you ask, simple, because his performance has enhanced at an unhumanly rate.
Many track insiders say there’s no way a man can drop nearly a whole second of the time he ran for years, just not humanly possible. And this is the same category of suspicion that in my estimation Pacquiao would fall under. Many in the boxing world say there’s no way a fighter who started in the fly weight division, can 10 years later be fighting 50 pounds heavier with the same speed and the power to carry.
Him being an 8 division champion is a great feat, but at the same time the most brow raising aspect of suspicion. Simply put, it has never been done for a reason. The constant theme in sports seems to be, when an athlete does something so far from the normal competition, usually suspicion is to follow.
Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds are two classic examples of guys who had careers, then seem to have a second career that was better than the first. Point here is, both Lance and Barry both did things that were thought to be not humanly possible, and in the long run, they couldn’t.
But Manny has never been failed a test, and won the defamation case, so rightfully there should be no cloud of suspicion over his head. Is it okay to say maybe the man is a talent never seen before, Seems that way to me. Having the talent to do things never done is truly a gift, but as I have attempted to illustrate, it can also be a curse.
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