PhilBoxing.com
DAPHNE, Ala. — Two outstanding international athletes, each with strong cases to be considered the best-ever in their respective sports, have been named the 2009 United States Sports Academy’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Boxer Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva were selected through a worldwide ballot that saw the public cast more than 1.9 million votes thanks to distribution through the websites of NBC Sports and USA Today.
The Academy’s international reach has always been strong, and that was reflected in the final vote results. Each of the top three finishers on the men’s and women’s sides hailed from countries other than the United States.
The Athlete of the Year competition consisted of 12 male and 12 female candidates from around the world, representing a dozen countries. And as the resumes of the runners-up show, the field had plenty of tremendous candidates.
Finishing second in the men’s balloting was Swiss tennis star Roger Federer, who won his record 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, less than a month after completing the career Grand Slam at the French Open. In third place was another amazing 2009 performer, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. Already the defending Olympic champion in the events, Bolt was stunning at the world track and field championships by lowering his already world-record times in the 100 and 200. Bolt won the 100 in 9.58 seconds and the 200 in 19.19, lowering each mark by a stunning .11 seconds.
Still, it’s hard to fault sports fans for choosing Pacquiao in 2009. “Pac-Man” became the first boxer to win titles in seven different weight classes, claiming the light welterweight title over Ricky Hatton in May before winning the welterweight title over Miguel Cotto in November. A highly anticipated match with American Floyd Mayweather looms in early 2010. Pacquiao has a career record of 50-3-2 with 38 knockouts.
Isinbaeva, 27, says goodbye to 2009 with the outdoor (16 feet, 6 inches or 5.06 meters) and indoor (16 feet, 4 inches or 5 meters) world records. That shouldn’t be a surprise, considering she has broken 27 total during her career. But this year she became the first woman to clear 16 feet indoors, an amazing accomplishment. Among her other honors in 2009 were the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year and the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports.
Finishing second in the women’s balloting was Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, who won her fourth straight Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Player of the Year crown and fourth straight Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average. Kenyan distance runner Linet Masai placed third after winning the 10,000 meters at the world track and field championships and leading her team to first place in the World Cross Country Championships.
The Athlete of the Year ballot is the culmination of the yearlong Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in sports around the globe. The Athlete of the Month is selected by an international voting committee comprised of media members and representatives of sports organizations and governing bodies.
The United States Sports Academy is an independent, nonprofit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports. For more information, call 251-626-3303 or visit the Academy’s website www.ussa.edu.
Source: philboxing.com
Thursday 24 December 2009
Floyd Mayweather doesn't need weigh in, he needs way out -- Examiner
By Michael Marley, Examiner.com
"For me, no problem. If he (Mayweather) wants to fight, then both of us should fight. But, if he is scared, then he should gather enough courage first before he decides to fight me." – SO SAYETH MANNY PACQUIAO
Funny thing, while the Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao camps were squabbling publicly and privately Wednesday night, I ran into great comedian Jackie Mason at the Parker Meridian Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Jackie’s classic line came when someone asked him in Atlantic City if he was going to Joe Schmoe’s fight weigh in.
Mason shot back: “Joe doesn’t need a weigh in, he needs a way out!”
Some want you to believe that Mayweather is looking for a way out of fighting Pacman.
Frankly, I think it is ridiculous, all this barking at the moon about how either Pacman or Floyd Mayweather Jr. is afraid of the other guy.
Repeat after me, at their level, the only thing they’re truly afraid of is leaving money on the table that could go into their respective pockets.
Mayweather has boxed rings around opponents. And his last foe, Juan Manuel Marquez, got dropped on his posterior four times by Megamanny in two bouts.
Why would Manny be afraid of Money and why would Money be fearful of Pacman?
Makes zero sense.
This amusing interlude and this silly squabble over the form and sequence of drug testing won’t last long, I am here to tell you.
The stage is wide open and it will likely be Ross Greenburg of HBO riding to the promotional rescue as the “neutral but concerned” party with massive power.
Come to think of it, Greenburg and HBO have the same fear, the only fear the fighters have and that is leaving some moolah on the table.
The fight will take place on March 13. There will be a press conference in New York on Jan. 6 ort 8, somewhere around that date.
This fight is not going bye bye, trust me.
No one wants to leave the $30 million or whatever the real number the MGM is paying on the table.
All this braying by Big Donkey Oscar de la Hoya, his public urging for Manny not to fear a needle prick, is unseemly.
Lest we forget, Oscar has his grubby hands in Floyd’s pocket and Manny’s also.
No conflict of interest there, right?
Oscar’s Golden interest is his only interest, grabbing all the gold he can.
If it took pushing Mayweather into the ring in a wheelchair, Oscar would do that.
Them are the Golden Rules.
In the meantime, let’s all gather our courage in the spirit of ancient Greek philosopher Virgil.
I think Virgil was the guy who asked, “What’s a Grecian urn or earn?”
I think the answer was, “Not as much as Manny and Floyd will earn, nothing like $35 to $30 million drachmas.”
‘Nuff said.
Don’t cancel your air and hotel reservations. We will be at the MGM Grand on March 13 or on the alternate date of May 1.
Gather ye courage and ye rosebuds while ye may, friends.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL, THANKS FOR SUPPORTING YOUR WHITE GORILLA ON EXAMINER.COM AND ON BOXINGCONFIDENTIAL.COM.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
"For me, no problem. If he (Mayweather) wants to fight, then both of us should fight. But, if he is scared, then he should gather enough courage first before he decides to fight me." – SO SAYETH MANNY PACQUIAO
Funny thing, while the Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao camps were squabbling publicly and privately Wednesday night, I ran into great comedian Jackie Mason at the Parker Meridian Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
Jackie’s classic line came when someone asked him in Atlantic City if he was going to Joe Schmoe’s fight weigh in.
Mason shot back: “Joe doesn’t need a weigh in, he needs a way out!”
Some want you to believe that Mayweather is looking for a way out of fighting Pacman.
Frankly, I think it is ridiculous, all this barking at the moon about how either Pacman or Floyd Mayweather Jr. is afraid of the other guy.
Repeat after me, at their level, the only thing they’re truly afraid of is leaving money on the table that could go into their respective pockets.
Mayweather has boxed rings around opponents. And his last foe, Juan Manuel Marquez, got dropped on his posterior four times by Megamanny in two bouts.
Why would Manny be afraid of Money and why would Money be fearful of Pacman?
Makes zero sense.
This amusing interlude and this silly squabble over the form and sequence of drug testing won’t last long, I am here to tell you.
The stage is wide open and it will likely be Ross Greenburg of HBO riding to the promotional rescue as the “neutral but concerned” party with massive power.
Come to think of it, Greenburg and HBO have the same fear, the only fear the fighters have and that is leaving some moolah on the table.
The fight will take place on March 13. There will be a press conference in New York on Jan. 6 ort 8, somewhere around that date.
This fight is not going bye bye, trust me.
No one wants to leave the $30 million or whatever the real number the MGM is paying on the table.
All this braying by Big Donkey Oscar de la Hoya, his public urging for Manny not to fear a needle prick, is unseemly.
Lest we forget, Oscar has his grubby hands in Floyd’s pocket and Manny’s also.
No conflict of interest there, right?
Oscar’s Golden interest is his only interest, grabbing all the gold he can.
If it took pushing Mayweather into the ring in a wheelchair, Oscar would do that.
Them are the Golden Rules.
In the meantime, let’s all gather our courage in the spirit of ancient Greek philosopher Virgil.
I think Virgil was the guy who asked, “What’s a Grecian urn or earn?”
I think the answer was, “Not as much as Manny and Floyd will earn, nothing like $35 to $30 million drachmas.”
‘Nuff said.
Don’t cancel your air and hotel reservations. We will be at the MGM Grand on March 13 or on the alternate date of May 1.
Gather ye courage and ye rosebuds while ye may, friends.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL, THANKS FOR SUPPORTING YOUR WHITE GORILLA ON EXAMINER.COM AND ON BOXINGCONFIDENTIAL.COM.
(mlcmarley@aol.com)
Source: examiner.com
The Two Big News Stories Of The Week - Pacquaio vs Mayweather Could Be Off, Jones Jr. Wants Green's Win Overturned! -- Eastside Boxing
By James Slater, Eastside Boxing
Even though all the fighting has been done in the ring in 2009, and even though there is no boxing action scheduled for at least a week or so, this week has been a most newsworthy one for the sport of boxing. Two huge stories broke, both of which are shocking and upsetting in their own way.
First of all, as has been reported all over the place, the mega-match between Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Junior is on the rocks, due to the refusal on Pac-Man's part to comply with the blood testing demands of his pound-for-pound rival. Fans know all about this; about how the Filipino hero has a serious phobia of needles and of having his blood taken, and about how the southpaw has gone on record as saying he is quite willing to be tested both before and after the fight as is the case usually in the sport.
Yesterday, Manny's trainer, Freddie Roach, and his promoter, Bob Arum, spoke to Sky Sports News and The Grand Rapids Press, respectively - as they gave us an update on the fight that may now never take place..
Roach told Sky how he "refuses to work for Floyd Mayweather," meaning he will not have his fighter dictated to the way "Money" wants him dictated to.
"I'd love to see this fight happen but we're going to go by the Commission rules and not Mayweather's rules," Roach said. "I refuse to work for Mayweather. It's absurd that this is the first time in the history of boxing that he wants to hire his own private company to do drug testing."
Roach went on to say how he feels Mayweather's random blood testing demands (the way they test athletes in the Olympics) are a sign that he doesn't really want the fight.
"He is looking for a back door out," Roach said. "I never thought he wanted to fight Manny in the first place. We have no problem with any drug testing in the world but I'm not going to have my fighter give blood a week out, that's my decision because I know it affects him mentally when he gives blood."
Some fans may raise their eyebrow when they hear how a tough warrior like Pacquiao is afraid of anything. But any phobia can be a most distressing thing, even for a hugely courageous prize fighter. Has Mayweather tried to bring in the blood testing as a way to unsettle his rival's pre-fight preparations? Roach clearly thinks so.
Bob Arum had more to say on the subject, and depressingly he spoke of "going in a different direction."
"What I believe is Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao," Arum told The Grand Rapids Press. "So he will go his way, we will go our way and that will be fine. We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight. Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knows that Manny gets freaked out when he gets his blood taken and feels that it weakens him."
So what do the fans believe? Is Pacquiao being unreasonable by refusing to agree to the testing Mayweather has demanded, or is Floyd making his demands simply because he IS looking for a way out? Either way, if the fight does fail to come off (and Arum seems to be looking that way) it will be boxing itself that loses out.
This week's other big news story actually surfaced a while back, but the story got even bigger yesterday. Fans have read about how Roy Jones Junior complained shortly after his stunning 1st-round stoppage loss by Danny Green, saying his opponent cheated and used an excessive and illegal amount of wrapping tape and bandages on his hands in the fight.
Brushed off as nothing more than sour grapes on the part of the former pound-for-pound king, fans forgot about the issue. But yesterday, as has been reported by The Los Angeles Times, Team-Jones asked an Australian Commission to DQ Green and overturn his win.
John Wirt, the chief exec of Jones' Square Ring outfit, wrote a letter to Australian officials, saying how Green's hand wrapping "was clearly in violation of the New South Wales boxing regulations on numerous counts," and that "the combination of these violations resulted in a very dangerous weapon."
Wirt also said of how objections to Green's wraps were "denied" on fight night, and that Jones was told to "fight or be disqualified."
So far Green has not responded to the complaints.
So, could there be a chance that Green's spectacular win, the biggest of his career, gets taken away from him? This one looks destined to be fought in court for a substantial amount of time.
It's been quite a bad end to the year for boxing, what with the Jones-Green situation and the possibility that the biggest fight for many a year may not take place. Otherwise, 2009 was a pretty good year for our beloved sport.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Even though all the fighting has been done in the ring in 2009, and even though there is no boxing action scheduled for at least a week or so, this week has been a most newsworthy one for the sport of boxing. Two huge stories broke, both of which are shocking and upsetting in their own way.
First of all, as has been reported all over the place, the mega-match between Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Junior is on the rocks, due to the refusal on Pac-Man's part to comply with the blood testing demands of his pound-for-pound rival. Fans know all about this; about how the Filipino hero has a serious phobia of needles and of having his blood taken, and about how the southpaw has gone on record as saying he is quite willing to be tested both before and after the fight as is the case usually in the sport.
Yesterday, Manny's trainer, Freddie Roach, and his promoter, Bob Arum, spoke to Sky Sports News and The Grand Rapids Press, respectively - as they gave us an update on the fight that may now never take place..
Roach told Sky how he "refuses to work for Floyd Mayweather," meaning he will not have his fighter dictated to the way "Money" wants him dictated to.
"I'd love to see this fight happen but we're going to go by the Commission rules and not Mayweather's rules," Roach said. "I refuse to work for Mayweather. It's absurd that this is the first time in the history of boxing that he wants to hire his own private company to do drug testing."
Roach went on to say how he feels Mayweather's random blood testing demands (the way they test athletes in the Olympics) are a sign that he doesn't really want the fight.
"He is looking for a back door out," Roach said. "I never thought he wanted to fight Manny in the first place. We have no problem with any drug testing in the world but I'm not going to have my fighter give blood a week out, that's my decision because I know it affects him mentally when he gives blood."
Some fans may raise their eyebrow when they hear how a tough warrior like Pacquiao is afraid of anything. But any phobia can be a most distressing thing, even for a hugely courageous prize fighter. Has Mayweather tried to bring in the blood testing as a way to unsettle his rival's pre-fight preparations? Roach clearly thinks so.
Bob Arum had more to say on the subject, and depressingly he spoke of "going in a different direction."
"What I believe is Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao," Arum told The Grand Rapids Press. "So he will go his way, we will go our way and that will be fine. We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight. Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knows that Manny gets freaked out when he gets his blood taken and feels that it weakens him."
So what do the fans believe? Is Pacquiao being unreasonable by refusing to agree to the testing Mayweather has demanded, or is Floyd making his demands simply because he IS looking for a way out? Either way, if the fight does fail to come off (and Arum seems to be looking that way) it will be boxing itself that loses out.
This week's other big news story actually surfaced a while back, but the story got even bigger yesterday. Fans have read about how Roy Jones Junior complained shortly after his stunning 1st-round stoppage loss by Danny Green, saying his opponent cheated and used an excessive and illegal amount of wrapping tape and bandages on his hands in the fight.
Brushed off as nothing more than sour grapes on the part of the former pound-for-pound king, fans forgot about the issue. But yesterday, as has been reported by The Los Angeles Times, Team-Jones asked an Australian Commission to DQ Green and overturn his win.
John Wirt, the chief exec of Jones' Square Ring outfit, wrote a letter to Australian officials, saying how Green's hand wrapping "was clearly in violation of the New South Wales boxing regulations on numerous counts," and that "the combination of these violations resulted in a very dangerous weapon."
Wirt also said of how objections to Green's wraps were "denied" on fight night, and that Jones was told to "fight or be disqualified."
So far Green has not responded to the complaints.
So, could there be a chance that Green's spectacular win, the biggest of his career, gets taken away from him? This one looks destined to be fought in court for a substantial amount of time.
It's been quite a bad end to the year for boxing, what with the Jones-Green situation and the possibility that the biggest fight for many a year may not take place. Otherwise, 2009 was a pretty good year for our beloved sport.
Source: eastsideboxing.com
Bad blood? Testing issue scuttles fight -- Las Vegas Review-Journal
By STEVE CARP, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was expected to provide the toughest test of Manny Pacquiao's career -- only it was supposed to happen in a boxing ring.
The superstars' proposed March 13 showdown at the MGM Grand Garden appears to be off, scrapped by Pacquiao's objection to the Mayweather camp's insistence on stringent prefight blood testing administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, said Wednesday that his fighter will not submit to the multiple blood tests. If Mayweather refuses to compromise on the issue, Pacquiao will fight someone else on March 13, possibly Yuri Foreman or Paulie Malignaggi.
"The fight is off as of now," Arum said. "Will they be able to save it? I don't know. But in my heart, I never believed Mayweather wanted to fight Pacquiao, and this is his way of getting out of it.
"This whole exercise is a malicious attempt to smear Manny Pacquiao. I knew what their game was, and I wasn't going to allow them to put Manny through that."
Mayweather's camp has inferred that Pacquiao's enhanced size and strength did not come naturally and wants him to submit to Olympic-style random drug testing, including five to six blood tests and as many as 10 urine tests.
Pacquiao has not flunked a drug test in his 13 years as a professional. Arum said Pacquiao is willing to be blood tested on a limited basis, either through the Nevada Athletic Commission or through an independent agency like those that administer tests for the NFL and the NBA.
"Manny has said all along he would allow himself to have blood drawn," Arum said. "But he's not going to have blood drawn right before he enters the ring. That's ridiculous.
"In my mind, since the fight was going to be in Las Vegas, the Nevada commission has jurisdiction over the fight. They should be the ones overseeing the testing. If that's not acceptable (to Mayweather), then have an independent agency do it."
According to Arum, Pacquiao would allow his blood to be tested in early January, coinciding with a kickoff news conference in New York, again 30 days before the fight and once more after the fight. In addition, Pacquiao would submit to an unlimited number of urine tests.
Arum said the USADA would not be able to meet those terms because of its protocol.
Top Rank president Todd duBoef was talking Wednesday to Richard Schaefer, the chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, who has been representing Mayweather in the negotiations, to see if Mayweather would accept a compromise. On Tuesday, both Schaefer and Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's co-manager, said their stance on drug testing through the USADA was non-negotiable and that they would not permit the NAC to administer the additional tests.
On Wednesday, Schaefer seemed to be softening his stance slightly.
"I saw Bob's comments, and it's not really random when he's proposing specific dates," Schaefer said. "I think the blood testing is important because if you don't do blood, things like EPO and HGH can't be detected.
"But I'm not willing to give up. I think it needs calmer heads and some diplomacy. If we get that, maybe we can get this done. Let's see what happens in the next couple of days."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.
Source: lvrj.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was expected to provide the toughest test of Manny Pacquiao's career -- only it was supposed to happen in a boxing ring.
The superstars' proposed March 13 showdown at the MGM Grand Garden appears to be off, scrapped by Pacquiao's objection to the Mayweather camp's insistence on stringent prefight blood testing administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Pacquiao's promoter, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, said Wednesday that his fighter will not submit to the multiple blood tests. If Mayweather refuses to compromise on the issue, Pacquiao will fight someone else on March 13, possibly Yuri Foreman or Paulie Malignaggi.
"The fight is off as of now," Arum said. "Will they be able to save it? I don't know. But in my heart, I never believed Mayweather wanted to fight Pacquiao, and this is his way of getting out of it.
"This whole exercise is a malicious attempt to smear Manny Pacquiao. I knew what their game was, and I wasn't going to allow them to put Manny through that."
Mayweather's camp has inferred that Pacquiao's enhanced size and strength did not come naturally and wants him to submit to Olympic-style random drug testing, including five to six blood tests and as many as 10 urine tests.
Pacquiao has not flunked a drug test in his 13 years as a professional. Arum said Pacquiao is willing to be blood tested on a limited basis, either through the Nevada Athletic Commission or through an independent agency like those that administer tests for the NFL and the NBA.
"Manny has said all along he would allow himself to have blood drawn," Arum said. "But he's not going to have blood drawn right before he enters the ring. That's ridiculous.
"In my mind, since the fight was going to be in Las Vegas, the Nevada commission has jurisdiction over the fight. They should be the ones overseeing the testing. If that's not acceptable (to Mayweather), then have an independent agency do it."
According to Arum, Pacquiao would allow his blood to be tested in early January, coinciding with a kickoff news conference in New York, again 30 days before the fight and once more after the fight. In addition, Pacquiao would submit to an unlimited number of urine tests.
Arum said the USADA would not be able to meet those terms because of its protocol.
Top Rank president Todd duBoef was talking Wednesday to Richard Schaefer, the chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, who has been representing Mayweather in the negotiations, to see if Mayweather would accept a compromise. On Tuesday, both Schaefer and Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's co-manager, said their stance on drug testing through the USADA was non-negotiable and that they would not permit the NAC to administer the additional tests.
On Wednesday, Schaefer seemed to be softening his stance slightly.
"I saw Bob's comments, and it's not really random when he's proposing specific dates," Schaefer said. "I think the blood testing is important because if you don't do blood, things like EPO and HGH can't be detected.
"But I'm not willing to give up. I think it needs calmer heads and some diplomacy. If we get that, maybe we can get this done. Let's see what happens in the next couple of days."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.
Source: lvrj.com
MAYWEATHER DEMANDS ARE PURELY OUT OF FEAR -- PhilBoxing
By Ed de la Vega, PhilBoxing.com
Enough already!
Enough of the tenuous statements and allegations being put forward by Team Mayweather and let’s just get on the business of finalizing the details and get on with the damn fight.
Richard Schaefer, Haymon, and that Ellerbe guy should just shut up and do the job they are supposed to do to make the fight happen and not the opposite. They should cease making statements about the validity and merits and all the other issues connected with the “blood testing” because they do not have an iota of expertise on the science of “blood-testing”.
The trio plus Mayweather Sr and Uncle Roger have zero background on medicine so whatever they are saying is just pure hearsay. Statements from people who give them what they want to hear.
In short just pure hog wash!
Hey Richard, were are the research and studies to support your statements?
My guess is Team Mayweather is putting up all these “demands” to cover the fact that Junior is so scared of losing to the little brown guy who his Dad call “one dimensional” and is pissing in his pants at the thought that Pacquiao called their bluff and was willing to fight him.
Little Floyd know in his heart that he has better than 99% chance of getting his butt kicked by the Filipino spitfire. And, he finds himself back up against a stone wall with no where to go.
Remember how Team Mayweather cherry picked all his opponents to keep his boxing record without an “o”?
And, remember how fair they were with Marquez? How can they even make statements about “being fair” when they themselves have never been fair?
With Pacquiao, it’s a different ball game.
Pacquiao is a unique kind of animal. He is one they did not cherry pick and one who has no fear of the so called “Money Man”. He will beat Mayweather just like he did ODLH, Hatton and Cotto.
No doubt about it.
Thus, Team Mayweather is putting up demand after demand in a desperate effort to frustrate and mess up the mind of Pacquiao and a hope he calls off the fight.
If that happens, they will all go out to the whole world and say that Pacquiao is a coward. He did not like to accede to their “blood testing demands” so he has something to hide and thus refuses to fight on an “equal playing field.”
Again, as if they played on a level playing field with Juan Manuel Marquez!
In reality it is Floyd Junior who is the coward. And he hides behind all the silly demands they bring forth everyday.
To put and end to this charade, will somebody please tell the Mayweathers and their clowns that a blood test in January, followed by one a month before the fight and one right after the fight at the dressing room, with random urine test in between will be more than sufficient enough to detect illegal drugs on Pacquiao and even Mayweather Jr. himself?
And while at that topic, please tell Team Mayweather to have some respect for the good people at the NSAC.
Why would Team Mayweather insist that the USADA do the testing? Are they the gods in these kinds of procedures?
Are they the only ones infallible in these types of testing protocols?
What special expertise do they have that the guys testing professional athletes (NBA and NFL) do not posses?
Is Team Mayweather telling us that the USADA is a far superior testing center than the National Center for Drug Free Sports?
Why would they insist on using USADA who has reportedly an “affiliation” with Golden Boy Promotions?
Do we smell a rat here?
Besides come to think of it, no one with Team Pacquiao has the capability to provide Pacquiao with illegal drugs let alone the expertise to hide it if they did. Not Alex Ariza, not Freddie Roach and certainly not Michael Koncz or Buboy Fernandez!
So where does Team Mayweather get the idea that Pacquiao is into something illegal?
I guess it’s nothing but illusions of grandeur secondary to fear of losing.
What else could it be?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Source: philboxing.com
Enough already!
Enough of the tenuous statements and allegations being put forward by Team Mayweather and let’s just get on the business of finalizing the details and get on with the damn fight.
Richard Schaefer, Haymon, and that Ellerbe guy should just shut up and do the job they are supposed to do to make the fight happen and not the opposite. They should cease making statements about the validity and merits and all the other issues connected with the “blood testing” because they do not have an iota of expertise on the science of “blood-testing”.
The trio plus Mayweather Sr and Uncle Roger have zero background on medicine so whatever they are saying is just pure hearsay. Statements from people who give them what they want to hear.
In short just pure hog wash!
Hey Richard, were are the research and studies to support your statements?
My guess is Team Mayweather is putting up all these “demands” to cover the fact that Junior is so scared of losing to the little brown guy who his Dad call “one dimensional” and is pissing in his pants at the thought that Pacquiao called their bluff and was willing to fight him.
Little Floyd know in his heart that he has better than 99% chance of getting his butt kicked by the Filipino spitfire. And, he finds himself back up against a stone wall with no where to go.
Remember how Team Mayweather cherry picked all his opponents to keep his boxing record without an “o”?
And, remember how fair they were with Marquez? How can they even make statements about “being fair” when they themselves have never been fair?
With Pacquiao, it’s a different ball game.
Pacquiao is a unique kind of animal. He is one they did not cherry pick and one who has no fear of the so called “Money Man”. He will beat Mayweather just like he did ODLH, Hatton and Cotto.
No doubt about it.
Thus, Team Mayweather is putting up demand after demand in a desperate effort to frustrate and mess up the mind of Pacquiao and a hope he calls off the fight.
If that happens, they will all go out to the whole world and say that Pacquiao is a coward. He did not like to accede to their “blood testing demands” so he has something to hide and thus refuses to fight on an “equal playing field.”
Again, as if they played on a level playing field with Juan Manuel Marquez!
In reality it is Floyd Junior who is the coward. And he hides behind all the silly demands they bring forth everyday.
To put and end to this charade, will somebody please tell the Mayweathers and their clowns that a blood test in January, followed by one a month before the fight and one right after the fight at the dressing room, with random urine test in between will be more than sufficient enough to detect illegal drugs on Pacquiao and even Mayweather Jr. himself?
And while at that topic, please tell Team Mayweather to have some respect for the good people at the NSAC.
Why would Team Mayweather insist that the USADA do the testing? Are they the gods in these kinds of procedures?
Are they the only ones infallible in these types of testing protocols?
What special expertise do they have that the guys testing professional athletes (NBA and NFL) do not posses?
Is Team Mayweather telling us that the USADA is a far superior testing center than the National Center for Drug Free Sports?
Why would they insist on using USADA who has reportedly an “affiliation” with Golden Boy Promotions?
Do we smell a rat here?
Besides come to think of it, no one with Team Pacquiao has the capability to provide Pacquiao with illegal drugs let alone the expertise to hide it if they did. Not Alex Ariza, not Freddie Roach and certainly not Michael Koncz or Buboy Fernandez!
So where does Team Mayweather get the idea that Pacquiao is into something illegal?
I guess it’s nothing but illusions of grandeur secondary to fear of losing.
What else could it be?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Source: philboxing.com
Do the test, Oscar urges Pacquiao -- Manila Bulletin
By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin
Oscar De La Hoya said on Wednesday that if Manny Pacquiao insists he is clean, he must submit himself to Olympic-style drug testing.
“C’mon. It’s only a little bit of blood. If you have nothing to hide, then do the test,” said De La Hoya in his blog in the on-line edition of The Ring magazine a day after it was announced that the proposed March 13 showdown between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather was in danger of being scrapped for the Filipino’s disagreement with a drug-testing procedure being demanded by Mayweather.
De La Hoya, who lost his farewell fight to Pacquiao in December 2008, says Mayweather is submitting himself to the same tests to show that he doesn’t use performance-enhancing substances.
De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) is representing Mayweather in negotiations with Pacquiao’s promotional banner Top Rank, wonders why Pacquiao, regarded as the world’s best boxer pound-for-pound, “is afraid of needles and having a few tablespoons through random testing in the three months leading up to the fight.”
“If Pacquiao, the toughest guy on the planet, is afraid of needles and having a few tablespoons of blood drawn from his system, then something is wrong. The guy has tattoos everywhere; he’s tattooed from top to bottom. You’re telling me he’s afraid of needles?”
Pacquiao says the urine test being conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission is more than enough to determine if he is drug-free or not, but De La Hoya says it is not so.
“And the idea that urine tests can detect HGH [Human Growth Hormone] is wrong. I talked to Travis Tygart, CEO of the USADA. He testified before Congress that anyone who says HGH can be detected by a urine test is mistaken. It can only be detected by a blood test.”
For the fight to be saved, De La Hoya advises Pacquiao to agree to undergo such tests.
“So you have to do the blood work. If Pacquiao doesn’t want to do this and risk a possible $40-million payday because he’s afraid of needles or believes he’ll be weakened by blood tests, then that raises question marks,” said De La Hoya, who has fought two fighters who have tested positive for banned substances, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas.
“Now I have to wonder about him. I’m saying to myself, 'Wow. Those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same.' I’m not saying yes or no [about whether Pacquiao might be taking performance-enhancing drugs]; I’m just saying that now people have to wonder: 'Why doesn’t he want to do this? Why is it such a big deal.'”
De La Hoya, who had once inked Pacquiao to a promotional contract that was later rescinded owing to a technicality, stresses that Pacquiao’s refusal is being looked at differently.
“A lot of eyebrows have been raised. This is not good at all.”
If Pacquiao says he is deathly-afraid of needles, De La Hoya has a piece of advice.
“I believe Mayweather wants to do the right thing, to get tested properly. He’s not doing it to harass Pacquiao; that’s garbage. I would say to Pacquiao:
“'Do the test. Do it because it’s only a couple of tablespoons. Needles don’t hurt. Just look away when they put the needle in your arm.'” Besides, De La Hoya articulates, “he’ll probably lose more blood in the fight than the blood being drawn for the test.”
Source: mb.com.ph
Oscar De La Hoya said on Wednesday that if Manny Pacquiao insists he is clean, he must submit himself to Olympic-style drug testing.
“C’mon. It’s only a little bit of blood. If you have nothing to hide, then do the test,” said De La Hoya in his blog in the on-line edition of The Ring magazine a day after it was announced that the proposed March 13 showdown between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather was in danger of being scrapped for the Filipino’s disagreement with a drug-testing procedure being demanded by Mayweather.
De La Hoya, who lost his farewell fight to Pacquiao in December 2008, says Mayweather is submitting himself to the same tests to show that he doesn’t use performance-enhancing substances.
De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) is representing Mayweather in negotiations with Pacquiao’s promotional banner Top Rank, wonders why Pacquiao, regarded as the world’s best boxer pound-for-pound, “is afraid of needles and having a few tablespoons through random testing in the three months leading up to the fight.”
“If Pacquiao, the toughest guy on the planet, is afraid of needles and having a few tablespoons of blood drawn from his system, then something is wrong. The guy has tattoos everywhere; he’s tattooed from top to bottom. You’re telling me he’s afraid of needles?”
Pacquiao says the urine test being conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission is more than enough to determine if he is drug-free or not, but De La Hoya says it is not so.
“And the idea that urine tests can detect HGH [Human Growth Hormone] is wrong. I talked to Travis Tygart, CEO of the USADA. He testified before Congress that anyone who says HGH can be detected by a urine test is mistaken. It can only be detected by a blood test.”
For the fight to be saved, De La Hoya advises Pacquiao to agree to undergo such tests.
“So you have to do the blood work. If Pacquiao doesn’t want to do this and risk a possible $40-million payday because he’s afraid of needles or believes he’ll be weakened by blood tests, then that raises question marks,” said De La Hoya, who has fought two fighters who have tested positive for banned substances, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas.
“Now I have to wonder about him. I’m saying to myself, 'Wow. Those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same.' I’m not saying yes or no [about whether Pacquiao might be taking performance-enhancing drugs]; I’m just saying that now people have to wonder: 'Why doesn’t he want to do this? Why is it such a big deal.'”
De La Hoya, who had once inked Pacquiao to a promotional contract that was later rescinded owing to a technicality, stresses that Pacquiao’s refusal is being looked at differently.
“A lot of eyebrows have been raised. This is not good at all.”
If Pacquiao says he is deathly-afraid of needles, De La Hoya has a piece of advice.
“I believe Mayweather wants to do the right thing, to get tested properly. He’s not doing it to harass Pacquiao; that’s garbage. I would say to Pacquiao:
“'Do the test. Do it because it’s only a couple of tablespoons. Needles don’t hurt. Just look away when they put the needle in your arm.'” Besides, De La Hoya articulates, “he’ll probably lose more blood in the fight than the blood being drawn for the test.”
Source: mb.com.ph
Pacquiao dispute unlikely to be settled by deadline -- Sports Illustrated
By Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated
NEW YORK -- Negotiations between representatives for Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather remained at an impasse on Wednesday night and are unlikely to be resolved before the Thursday deadline.
Both Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who represents Pacquiao, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who is handling the negotiations for Mayweather, told SI.com late Wednesday night that they are still unable to come to an agreement on drug testing for the proposed mega fight and no formal discussions were scheduled at this time. Arum has imposed a Thursday deadline for a deal to be made between the fighters.
Arum told SI.com that his principal complaint is the use of USADA as the testing administrators. Under USADA guidelines, both Pacquiao and Mayweather would be subject to random urine and blood testing at any time before the fight. Arum said he believed the USADA was "compromised" because of their relationship with Golden Boy and proposed that the Kansas City-based National Center for Drug Free Sport -- an agency that has been used by the NFL, NBA and MLB -- be charged with testing before the fight. That agency, Arum said, would limit the number of blood tests -- including no tests within 30 days of the event -- while being free to conduct urine tests at any time.
"We'll take a urine test as Manny is walking into the ring," said Arum. "I don't know what [Mayweather's team] are up to but the tests they are talking about are totally useless."
Schaefer is hoping that recent comments made by Freddie Roach will help move the negotiations along. The Los Angeles Times reported that Roach was agreeable to blood tests as long as they did not occur within 72 hours of the fight. Schaefer told SI.com that the USADA would not test Pacquiao within 48 hours of the fight and that they might explore the possibility of expanding that window as long as "it protected the integrity of the test." Schaefer said he has spoken with members of the USADA and they have assured him that they are sensitive to the schedules kept by top athletes and wouldn't be out there "waking them up in the middle of the night."
"It's important [to Mayweather] that we have these blood tests," said Schaefer. "HGH [human growth hormone] cannot be detected in urine tests. New types of EPO are only detectable by blood tests. This is not about embarrassing anybody or Mayweather trying to get out of this fight. If Mayweather wanted out, there were plenty of other chances for him to do it. This is about being fair."
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
NEW YORK -- Negotiations between representatives for Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather remained at an impasse on Wednesday night and are unlikely to be resolved before the Thursday deadline.
Both Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who represents Pacquiao, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who is handling the negotiations for Mayweather, told SI.com late Wednesday night that they are still unable to come to an agreement on drug testing for the proposed mega fight and no formal discussions were scheduled at this time. Arum has imposed a Thursday deadline for a deal to be made between the fighters.
Arum told SI.com that his principal complaint is the use of USADA as the testing administrators. Under USADA guidelines, both Pacquiao and Mayweather would be subject to random urine and blood testing at any time before the fight. Arum said he believed the USADA was "compromised" because of their relationship with Golden Boy and proposed that the Kansas City-based National Center for Drug Free Sport -- an agency that has been used by the NFL, NBA and MLB -- be charged with testing before the fight. That agency, Arum said, would limit the number of blood tests -- including no tests within 30 days of the event -- while being free to conduct urine tests at any time.
"We'll take a urine test as Manny is walking into the ring," said Arum. "I don't know what [Mayweather's team] are up to but the tests they are talking about are totally useless."
Schaefer is hoping that recent comments made by Freddie Roach will help move the negotiations along. The Los Angeles Times reported that Roach was agreeable to blood tests as long as they did not occur within 72 hours of the fight. Schaefer told SI.com that the USADA would not test Pacquiao within 48 hours of the fight and that they might explore the possibility of expanding that window as long as "it protected the integrity of the test." Schaefer said he has spoken with members of the USADA and they have assured him that they are sensitive to the schedules kept by top athletes and wouldn't be out there "waking them up in the middle of the night."
"It's important [to Mayweather] that we have these blood tests," said Schaefer. "HGH [human growth hormone] cannot be detected in urine tests. New types of EPO are only detectable by blood tests. This is not about embarrassing anybody or Mayweather trying to get out of this fight. If Mayweather wanted out, there were plenty of other chances for him to do it. This is about being fair."
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Manny Pacquiao's promoter says fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 'dead' -- Los Angeles Times
By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times
Boxing's tendency to inflame hostility, name-calling and old grudges in contract negotiations is threatening the biggest fight in the sport.
Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, told The Times on Wednesday that he's treating the Filipino's verbally-agreed-upon mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on March 13 as if it's "dead," and added he's instructed his matchmaker to explore other possible fights for Pacquiao.
Arum is angered that Mayweather's camp wants Pacquiao to submit to a random blood-testing protocol supervised by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Arum also said that Pacquiao feels harassed to go beyond pre- and post-fight urine testing already mandated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "Mayweather is not the commissioner of boxing," Arum said.
Arum once promoted Mayweather's fights, but the pair had a bitter split a few years ago and haven't worked together since.
The questions now are: Will Pacquiao agree to provide a blood sample inside the 30-day window before the fight, as requested by Mayweather? And are the parties at such loggerheads that they'd walk away from a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout that has a chance to be the richest in boxing history?
"I'm not saying the fight is off," Mayweather promoter Richard Schaefer said. "And unless I hear it is from Manny, then it's not."
Arum is merely "ranting and raving," Schaefer said, and he instead should talk to USADA chief Travis Tygart about how the blood-testing procedure would work. "Pacquiao may be having this nightmare of this being a huge needle sucking all this blood from him, and that's not what this is about," Schaefer said.
Mayweather said in a prepared statement Tuesday that he wants to ensure a level playing field for the bout.
His father, Floyd Sr., has speculated publicly that Pacquiao, who's won world titles in a record seven divisions, could be using performance-enhancing drugs.
USADA's Tygart said blood tests give his team the ability to search for a greater number of performance-enhancing substances, including a synthetic version of energy boosting EPO, and ultimately could check for human growth hormone.
Arum says he's perturbed that USADA has the right to request a blood sample on fight night, or at the weigh-in one day before the bout.
Instead, Arum has proposed the fighters' urine tests be conducted by those who preside over NFL and Major League Baseball testing, and said another alternate company which does blood tests could be summoned.
If they can't come to terms shortly, Arum said, a Pacquiao bout against someone like Paulie Malignaggi, Yuri Foreman or Juan Manuel Marquez could be sought.
Tygart told The Times that USADA's "testing will not interfere with the competition. It's unreasonable to believe that it would." As for Pacquiao's demand not to be tested within 30 days of the fight, that is "unacceptable to any effective anti-doping program," Tygart said.
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
twitter.com/latimespugmire
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Source: latimes.com
Boxing's tendency to inflame hostility, name-calling and old grudges in contract negotiations is threatening the biggest fight in the sport.
Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, told The Times on Wednesday that he's treating the Filipino's verbally-agreed-upon mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on March 13 as if it's "dead," and added he's instructed his matchmaker to explore other possible fights for Pacquiao.
Arum is angered that Mayweather's camp wants Pacquiao to submit to a random blood-testing protocol supervised by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Arum also said that Pacquiao feels harassed to go beyond pre- and post-fight urine testing already mandated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "Mayweather is not the commissioner of boxing," Arum said.
Arum once promoted Mayweather's fights, but the pair had a bitter split a few years ago and haven't worked together since.
The questions now are: Will Pacquiao agree to provide a blood sample inside the 30-day window before the fight, as requested by Mayweather? And are the parties at such loggerheads that they'd walk away from a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout that has a chance to be the richest in boxing history?
"I'm not saying the fight is off," Mayweather promoter Richard Schaefer said. "And unless I hear it is from Manny, then it's not."
Arum is merely "ranting and raving," Schaefer said, and he instead should talk to USADA chief Travis Tygart about how the blood-testing procedure would work. "Pacquiao may be having this nightmare of this being a huge needle sucking all this blood from him, and that's not what this is about," Schaefer said.
Mayweather said in a prepared statement Tuesday that he wants to ensure a level playing field for the bout.
His father, Floyd Sr., has speculated publicly that Pacquiao, who's won world titles in a record seven divisions, could be using performance-enhancing drugs.
USADA's Tygart said blood tests give his team the ability to search for a greater number of performance-enhancing substances, including a synthetic version of energy boosting EPO, and ultimately could check for human growth hormone.
Arum says he's perturbed that USADA has the right to request a blood sample on fight night, or at the weigh-in one day before the bout.
Instead, Arum has proposed the fighters' urine tests be conducted by those who preside over NFL and Major League Baseball testing, and said another alternate company which does blood tests could be summoned.
If they can't come to terms shortly, Arum said, a Pacquiao bout against someone like Paulie Malignaggi, Yuri Foreman or Juan Manuel Marquez could be sought.
Tygart told The Times that USADA's "testing will not interfere with the competition. It's unreasonable to believe that it would." As for Pacquiao's demand not to be tested within 30 days of the fight, that is "unacceptable to any effective anti-doping program," Tygart said.
lance.pugmire@latimes.com
twitter.com/latimespugmire
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Source: latimes.com
Olympic-style drug testing the last hurdle to Mayweather-Pacquiao -- USA Today
By J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY
Exactly what is the Olympic-style drug testing that has brought negotiations between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to a halt?
Unlike the sole urine tests issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Olympic testing includes blood.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, based in Colorado Springs, was contacted by Golden Boy Promotions, which is representing Mayweather for the proposed March 13 bout in Las Vegas, about performing the tests.
"There's a number of potent performance-enhancing drugs you can only find in blood," says Travis T. Tygart, CEO of USADA. Those PEDs including Human Growth Hormone, certain forms of EPO and synthetic hemoglobin. "If you want the most effective program, it's the world program. … The world's experts know you have to collect blood and urine."
Unlike urine, blood can reveal if there's evidence of drug use by analyzing the bodily functions that may have been altered even though the particular drug used is no longer present.
Pacquiao has agreed to additional testing — beyond the NSAC's requirements — in January when the fight was expected to be made official, 30 days before the bout (Feb. 13) and immediately after the fight.
Tygart insists that setting blackout dates for testing is inadequate, and educating athletes on why that can't be done is important. "If you give a blackout date, there's plenty of things you can do to cheat and get away with it," he says of the potential to use masking agents. "That's why it's not allowed."
Cyclists at the Tour de France, for instance, are tested the morning of their events under the code establish by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which sets the rules for banned substances that are followed by USADA and other international testing groups. Speedskaters, skiers and cricket and rugby players also are tested in similar fashion.
The blood is taken from the arm and it's less than one teaspoon of about 380 teaspoons in the body.
Said Tygart: "We don't do anything that can potentially impact an athlete's performance. … It's a matter of learning about the process. There's just a lack of the knowledge about these issues."
Source: usatoday.com
Exactly what is the Olympic-style drug testing that has brought negotiations between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to a halt?
Unlike the sole urine tests issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Olympic testing includes blood.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, based in Colorado Springs, was contacted by Golden Boy Promotions, which is representing Mayweather for the proposed March 13 bout in Las Vegas, about performing the tests.
"There's a number of potent performance-enhancing drugs you can only find in blood," says Travis T. Tygart, CEO of USADA. Those PEDs including Human Growth Hormone, certain forms of EPO and synthetic hemoglobin. "If you want the most effective program, it's the world program. … The world's experts know you have to collect blood and urine."
Unlike urine, blood can reveal if there's evidence of drug use by analyzing the bodily functions that may have been altered even though the particular drug used is no longer present.
Pacquiao has agreed to additional testing — beyond the NSAC's requirements — in January when the fight was expected to be made official, 30 days before the bout (Feb. 13) and immediately after the fight.
Tygart insists that setting blackout dates for testing is inadequate, and educating athletes on why that can't be done is important. "If you give a blackout date, there's plenty of things you can do to cheat and get away with it," he says of the potential to use masking agents. "That's why it's not allowed."
Cyclists at the Tour de France, for instance, are tested the morning of their events under the code establish by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which sets the rules for banned substances that are followed by USADA and other international testing groups. Speedskaters, skiers and cricket and rugby players also are tested in similar fashion.
The blood is taken from the arm and it's less than one teaspoon of about 380 teaspoons in the body.
Said Tygart: "We don't do anything that can potentially impact an athlete's performance. … It's a matter of learning about the process. There's just a lack of the knowledge about these issues."
Source: usatoday.com
Biggest Fight in Years Turns on Question of Blood -- The New York Times
By GREG BISHOP, The New York Times
Promoters for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao billed their potential bout as the fight of the century and the largest payday in boxing history. They settled on the site (the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas), the billing (Mayweather’s name first), even the $10 million penalty for each pound Mayweather weighed over the 147-pound limit.
But one issue threatens to derail the fight entirely: blood testing. And these negotiations are turning into a blood feud.
“This is a simple question,” said Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive of Mayweather Promotions. “If you have nothing to hide, then why not comply?”
To which Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter and chief executive of Top Rank Boxing, responded: “This is a simple issue. Floyd Mayweather does not want this fight. And this is his way out. This is a smoke screen.”
No match in recent years means as much to boxing — in terms of publicity, dollars and relevance — as Mayweather versus Pacquiao. The two fighters are generally regarded as the best in the world. Last month Pacquiao achieved a first against Miguel Cotto, winning another title in his record seventh weight division. Mayweather holds an unblemished record.
As Richard Schaefer, another Mayweather promoter and the chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, negotiated with Top Rank, he heard about this fight everywhere he went, heard the anticipation at dry cleaners and convenience stores and gas stations.
“If it doesn’t happen, it will be a big void for boxing,” Schaefer said. “It would be a setback, for the sport and for these fighters. Sometimes in sports you have these dream matchups, and this is certainly one of them.”
This boxing back-and-forth is nothing new, of course. In Pacquiao’s negotiations with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, both fights appeared at times unlikely, and both eventually took place, with Pacquiao winning each.
These negotiations are different because never before has a fighter demanded blood testing before a bout. Schaefer said the issue was included in the first draft of the proposal, about six weeks ago, but the divide became public Tuesday, when Mayweather’s camp issued a news release.
Mayweather wants the fighters to undergo Olympic-style drug testing as outlined by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Currently, fighters are tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, with urine tests before and immediately after each fight. Neither Pacquiao nor Mayweather has failed a drug test.
Travis Tygart, the chief executive of Usada, said his organization has a checklist that it calls the matrix of effectiveness. It includes blood and urine testing, both in and out of competition. Blood tests, Tygart added, detect prohibited substances like human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin, designer EPO and blood transfusions, while urine tests do not.
Pacquiao has agreed to have his blood tested three times: in early January, when the fight was expected to be announced, 30 days before the fight and immediately after it. He also agreed to random urine testing.
But Tygart said the 30-day window would still allow an athlete plenty of time to dope with illegal substances not detectable by urine testing.
“That kind of window is totally unacceptable,” Tygart said. “It would provide a huge loophole for a cheater to step through and get away with cheating.”
Pacquiao’s camp said he had a problem with giving blood. Ellerbe then wondered why Pacquiao had tattoos if he has an aversion to needles. Arum said the issue was with the blood, not the needles.
Back and forth it goes. Mayweather’s advisers said they believed Pacquiao had not been fully informed of the testing procedures. They pointed out, and Tygart confirmed, that the test requires less than a teaspoon of blood, and that there are about 380 teaspoons in the body. They noted the athletes who have undergone this type of testing, including Kobe Bryant and Michael Phelps.
Arum countered with Top Rank’s preference: using the testing procedures of the N.F.L. or the N.B.A., organizations that he said “deal with professional athletes.” The issue is not the testing, Arum said, but who does it and when.
Lost in the bickering over blood testing is what this fight could mean to boxing — and the momentum and money the sport will lose if this issue becomes insurmountable. The bout would be expected to set records for pay-per-view buys, continuing boxing on the road to resurgence.
If both fighters agreed to the blood test, Tygart said, boxing could set itself apart from other sports by proving how seriously it takes performance-enhancing drugs.
The undercurrent running through both camps is that the fight will still be made, that a compromise will be reached. But none of the principals are willing to say that publicly. In fact, Arum said Pacquiao had already begun looking at three other fights — against Yuri Foreman, Paulie Malignaggi or a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez.
If that happened, Ellerbe said, “it would be doing the sport an injustice.”
To which Arum responded: “This fight is not going to happen. Because Mayweather doesn’t want it to.”
Source: nytimes.com
Promoters for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao billed their potential bout as the fight of the century and the largest payday in boxing history. They settled on the site (the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas), the billing (Mayweather’s name first), even the $10 million penalty for each pound Mayweather weighed over the 147-pound limit.
But one issue threatens to derail the fight entirely: blood testing. And these negotiations are turning into a blood feud.
“This is a simple question,” said Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive of Mayweather Promotions. “If you have nothing to hide, then why not comply?”
To which Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter and chief executive of Top Rank Boxing, responded: “This is a simple issue. Floyd Mayweather does not want this fight. And this is his way out. This is a smoke screen.”
No match in recent years means as much to boxing — in terms of publicity, dollars and relevance — as Mayweather versus Pacquiao. The two fighters are generally regarded as the best in the world. Last month Pacquiao achieved a first against Miguel Cotto, winning another title in his record seventh weight division. Mayweather holds an unblemished record.
As Richard Schaefer, another Mayweather promoter and the chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, negotiated with Top Rank, he heard about this fight everywhere he went, heard the anticipation at dry cleaners and convenience stores and gas stations.
“If it doesn’t happen, it will be a big void for boxing,” Schaefer said. “It would be a setback, for the sport and for these fighters. Sometimes in sports you have these dream matchups, and this is certainly one of them.”
This boxing back-and-forth is nothing new, of course. In Pacquiao’s negotiations with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, both fights appeared at times unlikely, and both eventually took place, with Pacquiao winning each.
These negotiations are different because never before has a fighter demanded blood testing before a bout. Schaefer said the issue was included in the first draft of the proposal, about six weeks ago, but the divide became public Tuesday, when Mayweather’s camp issued a news release.
Mayweather wants the fighters to undergo Olympic-style drug testing as outlined by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Currently, fighters are tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, with urine tests before and immediately after each fight. Neither Pacquiao nor Mayweather has failed a drug test.
Travis Tygart, the chief executive of Usada, said his organization has a checklist that it calls the matrix of effectiveness. It includes blood and urine testing, both in and out of competition. Blood tests, Tygart added, detect prohibited substances like human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin, designer EPO and blood transfusions, while urine tests do not.
Pacquiao has agreed to have his blood tested three times: in early January, when the fight was expected to be announced, 30 days before the fight and immediately after it. He also agreed to random urine testing.
But Tygart said the 30-day window would still allow an athlete plenty of time to dope with illegal substances not detectable by urine testing.
“That kind of window is totally unacceptable,” Tygart said. “It would provide a huge loophole for a cheater to step through and get away with cheating.”
Pacquiao’s camp said he had a problem with giving blood. Ellerbe then wondered why Pacquiao had tattoos if he has an aversion to needles. Arum said the issue was with the blood, not the needles.
Back and forth it goes. Mayweather’s advisers said they believed Pacquiao had not been fully informed of the testing procedures. They pointed out, and Tygart confirmed, that the test requires less than a teaspoon of blood, and that there are about 380 teaspoons in the body. They noted the athletes who have undergone this type of testing, including Kobe Bryant and Michael Phelps.
Arum countered with Top Rank’s preference: using the testing procedures of the N.F.L. or the N.B.A., organizations that he said “deal with professional athletes.” The issue is not the testing, Arum said, but who does it and when.
Lost in the bickering over blood testing is what this fight could mean to boxing — and the momentum and money the sport will lose if this issue becomes insurmountable. The bout would be expected to set records for pay-per-view buys, continuing boxing on the road to resurgence.
If both fighters agreed to the blood test, Tygart said, boxing could set itself apart from other sports by proving how seriously it takes performance-enhancing drugs.
The undercurrent running through both camps is that the fight will still be made, that a compromise will be reached. But none of the principals are willing to say that publicly. In fact, Arum said Pacquiao had already begun looking at three other fights — against Yuri Foreman, Paulie Malignaggi or a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez.
If that happened, Ellerbe said, “it would be doing the sport an injustice.”
To which Arum responded: “This fight is not going to happen. Because Mayweather doesn’t want it to.”
Source: nytimes.com
Blood test a gimmick that backfired on Floyd Mayweather, Jr. -- Examiner
By Matt Stolow, Examiner.com
This blood-testing deal is just some good old -fashioned hustle by Team Mayweather that is time - tested in boxing history.
Though Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has to be accountable for being his own worst enemy here. Let me explain: In the past 24 hours he and those close to him have been trying to sway public opinion his way.
But everybody hates him! He flaunts that gangster persona and he's getting exactly what he deserves in this market place. I don't think he gets it.
On HBO recently Mayweather, Jr. suggested he should be supported just as American troops currently at war. I say let him do something for America first such as risk his life for another and earn such respect. What a convoluted ego!
This fight is going to happen. They (Team Mayweather) just wanted to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the public, media, in Pacquiao himself. Nobody knows what thoughts roll around in Pacquiao's mind at night.
So I expect there will be more salvos fired by Team Mayweather before this dance is over.
I don't mean by Floyd Sr or his brother, Uncle Roger. Their act is quite old. Well maybe they'll prop them up on slow news days.
I mean promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy and adviser Al Haymon. They dream up and concoct these things as they are probably putting the finishing touches on the ticket sales network for the fight.
This is what I think is really going on and why boxing is literally being held captive and in the toilet.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach are certainly preparing to launch their head games toward Mayweather and Bob Arum is already fully engaged in protecting Pacquiao.
The important thing is that this is all forgotten and both fighters are at full strength and ready to go March 13, which is just about 78 days away.
I did have to laugh when Floyd, Jr. said Pacquiao should agree to the blood testing in fairness to sportsmanship.
Where was that sportsmanship when he came in two pounds overweight for his last fight September 19 against Juan Manual Marquez? And then refused to lose it. The fight where neither the fighter nor promoter (Golden Boy) would tell the public even what weight the fight was being fought at until the actual weigh in?
Now all of a sudden Mayweather, Jr. is the sensible, altruistic one?
I'm going to ask Mayweather, Jr. to use as his music for the night of the fight ring entrance to be the 1979 popular hit "Head Games" by Foreigner. Lou Graham was lead vocals.
This fight will eventually break plenty of financial records, but it needs the casual sports fan for it to really hit a grand slam. The very people Mayweather is now running off are the casual fans that are saying "I don't want to hear about all this nonsense. The following week it's free on HBO."
Losing weight is always a New Year's resolution. And like gaining weight, Mayweather didn't get this horrible reputation in a day. He's worked long and hard at it. He's built it up over a number of years.
So now that this trick of trying to expose Manny Pacquiao in an impropriety over a silly blood test has backfired, all of Team Mayweather has egg on its face and should be ashamed of themselves.
Team Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions should be reprimanded for insulting the integrity of the Nevada State Athletic Commission that it couldn't handle a simple blood test on the very day it asks the state to host the fight.
Source: examiner.com
This blood-testing deal is just some good old -fashioned hustle by Team Mayweather that is time - tested in boxing history.
Though Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has to be accountable for being his own worst enemy here. Let me explain: In the past 24 hours he and those close to him have been trying to sway public opinion his way.
But everybody hates him! He flaunts that gangster persona and he's getting exactly what he deserves in this market place. I don't think he gets it.
On HBO recently Mayweather, Jr. suggested he should be supported just as American troops currently at war. I say let him do something for America first such as risk his life for another and earn such respect. What a convoluted ego!
This fight is going to happen. They (Team Mayweather) just wanted to plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the public, media, in Pacquiao himself. Nobody knows what thoughts roll around in Pacquiao's mind at night.
So I expect there will be more salvos fired by Team Mayweather before this dance is over.
I don't mean by Floyd Sr or his brother, Uncle Roger. Their act is quite old. Well maybe they'll prop them up on slow news days.
I mean promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy and adviser Al Haymon. They dream up and concoct these things as they are probably putting the finishing touches on the ticket sales network for the fight.
This is what I think is really going on and why boxing is literally being held captive and in the toilet.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach are certainly preparing to launch their head games toward Mayweather and Bob Arum is already fully engaged in protecting Pacquiao.
The important thing is that this is all forgotten and both fighters are at full strength and ready to go March 13, which is just about 78 days away.
I did have to laugh when Floyd, Jr. said Pacquiao should agree to the blood testing in fairness to sportsmanship.
Where was that sportsmanship when he came in two pounds overweight for his last fight September 19 against Juan Manual Marquez? And then refused to lose it. The fight where neither the fighter nor promoter (Golden Boy) would tell the public even what weight the fight was being fought at until the actual weigh in?
Now all of a sudden Mayweather, Jr. is the sensible, altruistic one?
I'm going to ask Mayweather, Jr. to use as his music for the night of the fight ring entrance to be the 1979 popular hit "Head Games" by Foreigner. Lou Graham was lead vocals.
This fight will eventually break plenty of financial records, but it needs the casual sports fan for it to really hit a grand slam. The very people Mayweather is now running off are the casual fans that are saying "I don't want to hear about all this nonsense. The following week it's free on HBO."
Losing weight is always a New Year's resolution. And like gaining weight, Mayweather didn't get this horrible reputation in a day. He's worked long and hard at it. He's built it up over a number of years.
So now that this trick of trying to expose Manny Pacquiao in an impropriety over a silly blood test has backfired, all of Team Mayweather has egg on its face and should be ashamed of themselves.
Team Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions should be reprimanded for insulting the integrity of the Nevada State Athletic Commission that it couldn't handle a simple blood test on the very day it asks the state to host the fight.
Source: examiner.com
Arum suggests alternate drug test plan -- ESPN
By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
An impasse over the drug-testing protocol to be used in the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather welterweight title bout can be overcome if Mayweather agrees to allow the agencies used by the NBA, NFL and MLB to handle testing for boxing's biggest fight, Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said Wednesday.
"Our suggestion is to utilize any of the independent agencies that work with the National Football League, the National Basketball Association or Major League Baseball, since they administer drug testing for their professional athletes," Arum said.
The fight, which was tentatively scheduled for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was knocked off track Tuesday over a significant disagreement on drug testing.
Mayweather continues to demand Olympic-style testing, which is conducted by the United States Anti Doping Agency. Its protocol calls for random urine and blood testing throughout the training camps, fight week -- even the day of the fight -- and immediately after the fight. According to Leonard Ellerbe, a Mayweather adviser, that means something like 3 to 5 blood tests and 10 to 12 urine tests over an approximately 10-week period.
Mayweather would be subject to the same testing as Pacquiao.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission and other state commissions only conduct post-fight urine tests and, in some cases, pre-fight urine tests.
Floyd Mayweather Sr., the fighter's father, has repeatedly accused Pacquiao of taking illegal substances. Pacquiao, who has risen through seven weight divisions to win titles in a record seven divisions while maintaining his speed and power, denies it. He has also never failed a drug test.
"Manny says, 'I'm not going to let them take my blood whenever they want when I'm getting seriously ready for a fight. They can take all the urine they want,' " Arum said. "My fighter feels uncomfortable with that and feels that would weaken him. I know if I deal with an organization that deals with pro athletes we can agree to the protocol."
Arum said that USADA's testing procedures would not allow it to assure Pacquiao that he would at least not be blood tested during the week of the fight or even on the day of the fight.
"He'll give them blood but he wants to know it will stop at a particular point," Arum said. "He wants the fight. But he's a proud guy. He won't be pushed around by this guy [Mayweather]."
Ellerbe said that if Pacquiao won't submit to random testing, it must mean he has something to hide.
"The reason why they don't want to do that is because obviously there is something to hide," Ellerbe said. "You're not going to dictate to an organization like USADA, which has tested the elite athletes of the world, on how their testing is conducted. Arum is talking about the fighters like they're going to have a blood transfusion. We're talking about a tablespoon of blood. We're taking about a tablespoon. This is the same representation of Manny Pacquiao that says he's superstitious and doesn't like needles and then you look all over his body and he has tattoos. So which one is it? If there's nothing to hide then what is the problem?
"Boxing has an opportunity and a platform with the whole world watching to say we have a clean sport. What better opportunity that with the two top guys in the sport stepping up to make this happen?"
Arum said Pacquiao would submit to three blood tests, even though he would prefer not to have his blood drawn at all.
"Let's be very clear on the real issues we differ on. It's not about being tested," Arum said. "Manny is on board with that since it's such a major concern of Floyd Mayweather Jr. It's about who does the testing and the scheduling of the procedures.
"Manny will submit to as many random urine tests requested," Arum said. "Regarding the blood tests, he will subject himself to three tests -- one given in January during the week the fight is formally announced, one 30 days from the fight, no later than Feb. 13, and the final one immediately following the fight, in Manny's locker room.
"The major issue related to the testing rests with which independent agency will administer these tests," he said. "The United States Anti Doping Agency cannot do it because they will not amend its procedures to accommodate the blood testing schedule we have outlined. USADA, under its guidelines, would have the right to administer random blood tests as many times as they want up to weigh-in day and that is ludicrous.
"If Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions are sincere in creating 'a level playing field,' as they stated in their [Monday news] release, our recommendations should put their minds at ease. If not, one has to wonder if their motives are more about leveling the fight."
Arum said that if they use the agencies that administer testing to the American professional sports leagues they could write down a specific set of guidelines, while USADA will only conduct testing one way.
"You gotta understand," Arum said. "I'm dealing with a Filipino fighter who is superstitious and I have to tell him they (USADA) have the power to come into his dressing room before the fight and take his blood. Any time means any time. They would put nothing in writing as to any kind of schedule. That is ludicrous. Let's bring in the testers from the NBA or the NFL or baseball."
Ellerbe said Mayweather is not interested in anything other than the USADA way of doing things because its way is random.
"We're sticking to what we've been saying," Ellerbe said. "Manny Pacquiao or any of his representatives are not going to dictate random testing. That's the whole point of random testing, so you don't get a chance to study for the test. USADA is the premiere agency for doing this, the gold standard. They're not going to have Top Rank, Mayweather Promotions or Golden Boy Promotions dictate to them. It's pretty simple. Manny Pacquiao can put an end to this whole thing by stepping up to the plate and doing this."
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
An impasse over the drug-testing protocol to be used in the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather welterweight title bout can be overcome if Mayweather agrees to allow the agencies used by the NBA, NFL and MLB to handle testing for boxing's biggest fight, Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said Wednesday.
"Our suggestion is to utilize any of the independent agencies that work with the National Football League, the National Basketball Association or Major League Baseball, since they administer drug testing for their professional athletes," Arum said.
The fight, which was tentatively scheduled for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was knocked off track Tuesday over a significant disagreement on drug testing.
Mayweather continues to demand Olympic-style testing, which is conducted by the United States Anti Doping Agency. Its protocol calls for random urine and blood testing throughout the training camps, fight week -- even the day of the fight -- and immediately after the fight. According to Leonard Ellerbe, a Mayweather adviser, that means something like 3 to 5 blood tests and 10 to 12 urine tests over an approximately 10-week period.
Mayweather would be subject to the same testing as Pacquiao.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission and other state commissions only conduct post-fight urine tests and, in some cases, pre-fight urine tests.
Floyd Mayweather Sr., the fighter's father, has repeatedly accused Pacquiao of taking illegal substances. Pacquiao, who has risen through seven weight divisions to win titles in a record seven divisions while maintaining his speed and power, denies it. He has also never failed a drug test.
"Manny says, 'I'm not going to let them take my blood whenever they want when I'm getting seriously ready for a fight. They can take all the urine they want,' " Arum said. "My fighter feels uncomfortable with that and feels that would weaken him. I know if I deal with an organization that deals with pro athletes we can agree to the protocol."
Arum said that USADA's testing procedures would not allow it to assure Pacquiao that he would at least not be blood tested during the week of the fight or even on the day of the fight.
"He'll give them blood but he wants to know it will stop at a particular point," Arum said. "He wants the fight. But he's a proud guy. He won't be pushed around by this guy [Mayweather]."
Ellerbe said that if Pacquiao won't submit to random testing, it must mean he has something to hide.
"The reason why they don't want to do that is because obviously there is something to hide," Ellerbe said. "You're not going to dictate to an organization like USADA, which has tested the elite athletes of the world, on how their testing is conducted. Arum is talking about the fighters like they're going to have a blood transfusion. We're talking about a tablespoon of blood. We're taking about a tablespoon. This is the same representation of Manny Pacquiao that says he's superstitious and doesn't like needles and then you look all over his body and he has tattoos. So which one is it? If there's nothing to hide then what is the problem?
"Boxing has an opportunity and a platform with the whole world watching to say we have a clean sport. What better opportunity that with the two top guys in the sport stepping up to make this happen?"
Arum said Pacquiao would submit to three blood tests, even though he would prefer not to have his blood drawn at all.
"Let's be very clear on the real issues we differ on. It's not about being tested," Arum said. "Manny is on board with that since it's such a major concern of Floyd Mayweather Jr. It's about who does the testing and the scheduling of the procedures.
"Manny will submit to as many random urine tests requested," Arum said. "Regarding the blood tests, he will subject himself to three tests -- one given in January during the week the fight is formally announced, one 30 days from the fight, no later than Feb. 13, and the final one immediately following the fight, in Manny's locker room.
"The major issue related to the testing rests with which independent agency will administer these tests," he said. "The United States Anti Doping Agency cannot do it because they will not amend its procedures to accommodate the blood testing schedule we have outlined. USADA, under its guidelines, would have the right to administer random blood tests as many times as they want up to weigh-in day and that is ludicrous.
"If Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions are sincere in creating 'a level playing field,' as they stated in their [Monday news] release, our recommendations should put their minds at ease. If not, one has to wonder if their motives are more about leveling the fight."
Arum said that if they use the agencies that administer testing to the American professional sports leagues they could write down a specific set of guidelines, while USADA will only conduct testing one way.
"You gotta understand," Arum said. "I'm dealing with a Filipino fighter who is superstitious and I have to tell him they (USADA) have the power to come into his dressing room before the fight and take his blood. Any time means any time. They would put nothing in writing as to any kind of schedule. That is ludicrous. Let's bring in the testers from the NBA or the NFL or baseball."
Ellerbe said Mayweather is not interested in anything other than the USADA way of doing things because its way is random.
"We're sticking to what we've been saying," Ellerbe said. "Manny Pacquiao or any of his representatives are not going to dictate random testing. That's the whole point of random testing, so you don't get a chance to study for the test. USADA is the premiere agency for doing this, the gold standard. They're not going to have Top Rank, Mayweather Promotions or Golden Boy Promotions dictate to them. It's pretty simple. Manny Pacquiao can put an end to this whole thing by stepping up to the plate and doing this."
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
Floyd Mayweather's Adviser Wonders What Manny Pacquiao Has to Hide -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
"Why?"
That's the question Floyd Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, has for Manny Pacquiao.
As in, why won't the seven-division world boxing champion from the Philippines allow his blood to be randomly tested for performance enhancing drugs by the United States Anti-Doping Agency before taking the ring on March 13 against Mayweather?
If it is not called off due to the negotiations impasse related to the drug-testing issue, Mayweather-Pacquiao is slated for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, whose Nevada State Athletic Commission requires bloodwork to be submitted before issuing year-long licenses to fighters.
The NSAC tests urine for performance enhancing drugs, usually after a fight, but does not require blood testing for illegal drugs.
NSAC chairman Keith Kizer said Pacquiao's urine tests have always been clean, adding, "I don't have any reason to believe" that Pacquiao is on steroids.
It had appeared that Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) and Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) were in agreement in principle with all of the fight deal's negotiation parameters, including a 50-50 financial split, competition at the 147-pound limit, eight-ounce gloves, and an Olympic-style random drug test at the request of Mayweather's camp.
But recently, Pacquiao, believing that giving blood so close to fight time would weaken him, has told his handlers that he would supply blood only 30 days out or beyond from the fight or directly after the fight, according to his promoter, Bob Arum.
"We're not going to be harassed into taking blood tests the day of the fight, or, even the week of the fight," said Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.
"I'm not accusing Manny Pacquiao of anything. However, if he doesn't have anything to hide, then what is the problem?" asked Ellerbe, adding that Pacquiao's refusal to adhere to USADA standards is "a deal-breaker."
"If Pacquiao is representing that he is superstitious of needles," said Ellerbe, "then how does he have tatoos all over his body?"
Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. But his organization is the one contracted to execute the blood-testing procedure.
"The USADA is the gold standard for administering this type of testing, and neither Top Rank, Mayweather Promotions, nor Golden Boy Promotions will determine when and how often the USADA will be conducting their tests," said Ellerbe. "That's the whole objective of doing random-testing. You don't get a chance to prepare."
Tygart told the Los Angeles Times recently that blood screening can allow testers to detect use of "a number of potent performance-enhancers not detectable in urine."
But Arum told FanHouse that even the methods used by professional baseball, basketball and football would be preferable than the spot-check blood-testing procedures he sees with USADA.
"The conventional thinking by most groups involved in the Olympics is that you can do everything with urine analysis. That's the way it's done in football, that's the way it's done in basketball, that's the way it's done in baseball," said Arum. "And Mayweather, in order to disconcert Pacquiao, can't turn things on its head. I won't allow it."
Tygart said, however, that Pacquiao's request to be tested only 30 days and beyond was "unacceptable to any effective anti-doping program," adding, "with a [30-day] window like that, you could dope to the gills and get away with it."
"Testing will not interfere with the competition," said Tygart. "It's unreasonable to believe that it would."
Pacquiao has fought in Las Vegas 11 times, including his past six bouts -- decisions over Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, and knockouts over David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.
The NSAC does require blood testing for AIDS and other blood-related diseases. Urine tests are screened for performance enhancing drugs, alcohol and marijuana, Kizer said.
"Talking to the experts, they are very confident in the drug-testing that we do. And if they weren't, we'd change it. But we're confident in how we do drug-testing, and we'll continue to do it that way," said Kizer. "That being said, if a fighter or fighters want to do additional drug-testing, more power to them. We have no problem with that."
Pacquiao weighed 134, 142, 138, and, 144, respectively, against Diaz, De La Hoya, Hatton, and, Cotto, scoring knockouts in nine, eight, two, and, 12 rounds.
Pacquiao's ability to carry power into all of those bouts has raised questions in the eyes of Mayweather's camp, and his father, Floyd Sr., in particular.
Arum has said that the fight is off, and that he has begun to look for other opponents for Pacquiao.
Asked if he believed that the fight will still occur, Ellerbe said, "I do believe that it can still happen."
"I believe that Pacquiao, being who he is, that he'll step up and take the test," said Ellerbe. "These are the two best fighters in the sport, and entire world is watching. We have a chance to show, with two of its best athletes, that boxing is a clean sport."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
"Why?"
That's the question Floyd Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, has for Manny Pacquiao.
As in, why won't the seven-division world boxing champion from the Philippines allow his blood to be randomly tested for performance enhancing drugs by the United States Anti-Doping Agency before taking the ring on March 13 against Mayweather?
If it is not called off due to the negotiations impasse related to the drug-testing issue, Mayweather-Pacquiao is slated for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, whose Nevada State Athletic Commission requires bloodwork to be submitted before issuing year-long licenses to fighters.
The NSAC tests urine for performance enhancing drugs, usually after a fight, but does not require blood testing for illegal drugs.
NSAC chairman Keith Kizer said Pacquiao's urine tests have always been clean, adding, "I don't have any reason to believe" that Pacquiao is on steroids.
It had appeared that Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) and Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) were in agreement in principle with all of the fight deal's negotiation parameters, including a 50-50 financial split, competition at the 147-pound limit, eight-ounce gloves, and an Olympic-style random drug test at the request of Mayweather's camp.
But recently, Pacquiao, believing that giving blood so close to fight time would weaken him, has told his handlers that he would supply blood only 30 days out or beyond from the fight or directly after the fight, according to his promoter, Bob Arum.
"We're not going to be harassed into taking blood tests the day of the fight, or, even the week of the fight," said Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.
"I'm not accusing Manny Pacquiao of anything. However, if he doesn't have anything to hide, then what is the problem?" asked Ellerbe, adding that Pacquiao's refusal to adhere to USADA standards is "a deal-breaker."
"If Pacquiao is representing that he is superstitious of needles," said Ellerbe, "then how does he have tatoos all over his body?"
Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. But his organization is the one contracted to execute the blood-testing procedure.
"The USADA is the gold standard for administering this type of testing, and neither Top Rank, Mayweather Promotions, nor Golden Boy Promotions will determine when and how often the USADA will be conducting their tests," said Ellerbe. "That's the whole objective of doing random-testing. You don't get a chance to prepare."
Tygart told the Los Angeles Times recently that blood screening can allow testers to detect use of "a number of potent performance-enhancers not detectable in urine."
But Arum told FanHouse that even the methods used by professional baseball, basketball and football would be preferable than the spot-check blood-testing procedures he sees with USADA.
"The conventional thinking by most groups involved in the Olympics is that you can do everything with urine analysis. That's the way it's done in football, that's the way it's done in basketball, that's the way it's done in baseball," said Arum. "And Mayweather, in order to disconcert Pacquiao, can't turn things on its head. I won't allow it."
Tygart said, however, that Pacquiao's request to be tested only 30 days and beyond was "unacceptable to any effective anti-doping program," adding, "with a [30-day] window like that, you could dope to the gills and get away with it."
"Testing will not interfere with the competition," said Tygart. "It's unreasonable to believe that it would."
Pacquiao has fought in Las Vegas 11 times, including his past six bouts -- decisions over Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, and knockouts over David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.
The NSAC does require blood testing for AIDS and other blood-related diseases. Urine tests are screened for performance enhancing drugs, alcohol and marijuana, Kizer said.
"Talking to the experts, they are very confident in the drug-testing that we do. And if they weren't, we'd change it. But we're confident in how we do drug-testing, and we'll continue to do it that way," said Kizer. "That being said, if a fighter or fighters want to do additional drug-testing, more power to them. We have no problem with that."
Pacquiao weighed 134, 142, 138, and, 144, respectively, against Diaz, De La Hoya, Hatton, and, Cotto, scoring knockouts in nine, eight, two, and, 12 rounds.
Pacquiao's ability to carry power into all of those bouts has raised questions in the eyes of Mayweather's camp, and his father, Floyd Sr., in particular.
Arum has said that the fight is off, and that he has begun to look for other opponents for Pacquiao.
Asked if he believed that the fight will still occur, Ellerbe said, "I do believe that it can still happen."
"I believe that Pacquiao, being who he is, that he'll step up and take the test," said Ellerbe. "These are the two best fighters in the sport, and entire world is watching. We have a chance to show, with two of its best athletes, that boxing is a clean sport."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Blood remains issue for Pacquiao-Mayweather -- The Associated Press
By TIM DAHLBERG, AP
LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao has always been willing to spill blood to win a fight. He's not nearly as eager to give blood to get a fight.
The fate of Pacquiao's planned March 13 megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. hangs in the balance. Both sides traded jabs Wednesday over Mayweather's insistence that the two submit to Olympic-style drug testing amid indications that both were open to a possible compromise.
With time running short, though, Pacquiao's promoter said he's not willing to negotiate much longer to make the fight.
"I think it's over tomorrow and we're going to another opponent if there is no agreement," promoter Bob Arum said. "It looks to me like they want a way out of the fight. Mayweather doesn't want to take a chance of losing."
A day after Mayweather's camp threatened to scuttle the fight unless the boxers were subject to random blood tests, Arum said his fighter would agree to just three blood tests. One would be done in January during the week the fight is formally announced, a second would be done no later than 30 days before the fight, and a final test would be done in the locker room afterward.
Arum also said the tests should be done by companies used by major sports leagues, like Major League Baseball and the NFL, something that so far is a major sticking point in the talks. Mayweather's camp wants the tests done by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which operates under much stricter rules that include random blood tests.
Arum accused Mayweather of trying to play mind games with Pacquiao, saying that the Filipino sensation has never failed urine tests for performance-enhancing substances.
"They want to put it in Manny's head that they can come in any time and take blood," Arum said. "Manny believes taking blood will weaken him. This is absolutely outrageous. Who does Floyd Mayweather think he is, the commissioner of boxing?"
Mayweather's promoter, Richard Schaefer, said he was willing to try and reach a consensus between the two sides. He cited comments by Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, that Pacquiao would agree to blood tests up to five days before the fight as possible middle ground.
"If we could agree to a 3-day cutoff I would try to sell that to my side," Schaefer said. "If Arum wants to walk away then he is going to be the one responsible for this fight falling apart."
Roach told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that he would not allow Pacquiao to be tested the day before the fight, but would agree to giving blood if there was a cutoff date.
"If they give me a 5-day window or something like that I have no problem with it," Roach said. "When they've drawn blood from Manny in the past he feels weaker for three or four days. It may be mental, but it's there."
The standoff over drug testing is the only issue still in the way of a fight that could be the richest ever. The two fighters earlier agreed to take equal purses, and earlier this week Mayweather's camp agreed to pay Pacquiao $10 million for each pound or fraction of a pound if the fighter does not make the 147-pound welterweight limit.
If the fight is held, it will be at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. But with the magnitude of the fight's promotion and the need for the fighters to set up training schedules, there isn't a lot of time left to reach an agreement.
The demand by Mayweather for the USADA to administer an Olympic-style testing program for the two fighters beginning with the contract signing goes far beyond any testing done by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Boxers have their urine tested before and after fights and occasionally in training, but there are no blood tests for things like human growth hormone that can't be detected in urine.
Schaefer, who with former boxer Oscar De La Hoya runs Golden Boy Promotions, said that if Mayweather was trying to get out of the fight he would have walked when Pacquiao's camp demanded the $10 million weight clause in the contract. He said he didn't think 8 to 12 urine tests and 3 to 5 blood tests before a fight was unreasonable.
"Manny Pacquiao probably thinks it's going to be some nurse with a big needle sucking out a gallon of blood and leaving him lying on the floor for a week," Schaefer said.
Nothing could be further from the truth, said USADA executive director Travis Tygart, who promised that any testing his agency did would not affect the outcome of the fight.
"What we do and have been doing in no way impacts any athlete's ability to compete," Tygart said.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: Google News
LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao has always been willing to spill blood to win a fight. He's not nearly as eager to give blood to get a fight.
The fate of Pacquiao's planned March 13 megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. hangs in the balance. Both sides traded jabs Wednesday over Mayweather's insistence that the two submit to Olympic-style drug testing amid indications that both were open to a possible compromise.
With time running short, though, Pacquiao's promoter said he's not willing to negotiate much longer to make the fight.
"I think it's over tomorrow and we're going to another opponent if there is no agreement," promoter Bob Arum said. "It looks to me like they want a way out of the fight. Mayweather doesn't want to take a chance of losing."
A day after Mayweather's camp threatened to scuttle the fight unless the boxers were subject to random blood tests, Arum said his fighter would agree to just three blood tests. One would be done in January during the week the fight is formally announced, a second would be done no later than 30 days before the fight, and a final test would be done in the locker room afterward.
Arum also said the tests should be done by companies used by major sports leagues, like Major League Baseball and the NFL, something that so far is a major sticking point in the talks. Mayweather's camp wants the tests done by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which operates under much stricter rules that include random blood tests.
Arum accused Mayweather of trying to play mind games with Pacquiao, saying that the Filipino sensation has never failed urine tests for performance-enhancing substances.
"They want to put it in Manny's head that they can come in any time and take blood," Arum said. "Manny believes taking blood will weaken him. This is absolutely outrageous. Who does Floyd Mayweather think he is, the commissioner of boxing?"
Mayweather's promoter, Richard Schaefer, said he was willing to try and reach a consensus between the two sides. He cited comments by Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, that Pacquiao would agree to blood tests up to five days before the fight as possible middle ground.
"If we could agree to a 3-day cutoff I would try to sell that to my side," Schaefer said. "If Arum wants to walk away then he is going to be the one responsible for this fight falling apart."
Roach told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that he would not allow Pacquiao to be tested the day before the fight, but would agree to giving blood if there was a cutoff date.
"If they give me a 5-day window or something like that I have no problem with it," Roach said. "When they've drawn blood from Manny in the past he feels weaker for three or four days. It may be mental, but it's there."
The standoff over drug testing is the only issue still in the way of a fight that could be the richest ever. The two fighters earlier agreed to take equal purses, and earlier this week Mayweather's camp agreed to pay Pacquiao $10 million for each pound or fraction of a pound if the fighter does not make the 147-pound welterweight limit.
If the fight is held, it will be at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. But with the magnitude of the fight's promotion and the need for the fighters to set up training schedules, there isn't a lot of time left to reach an agreement.
The demand by Mayweather for the USADA to administer an Olympic-style testing program for the two fighters beginning with the contract signing goes far beyond any testing done by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Boxers have their urine tested before and after fights and occasionally in training, but there are no blood tests for things like human growth hormone that can't be detected in urine.
Schaefer, who with former boxer Oscar De La Hoya runs Golden Boy Promotions, said that if Mayweather was trying to get out of the fight he would have walked when Pacquiao's camp demanded the $10 million weight clause in the contract. He said he didn't think 8 to 12 urine tests and 3 to 5 blood tests before a fight was unreasonable.
"Manny Pacquiao probably thinks it's going to be some nurse with a big needle sucking out a gallon of blood and leaving him lying on the floor for a week," Schaefer said.
Nothing could be further from the truth, said USADA executive director Travis Tygart, who promised that any testing his agency did would not affect the outcome of the fight.
"What we do and have been doing in no way impacts any athlete's ability to compete," Tygart said.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Source: Google News
RICHEST FIGHT EVER OFF AS PACQUIAO REFUSES TO GIVE BLOOD -- Daily Star
By Steve Lillis, Daily Star
BOXING’S richest ever fight between Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao is OFF because the Filipino is refusing to give blood.
The £80m clash was set for Las Vegas on March 13 but is on the skids because Mayweather demanded random Olympic-style dope tests.
Seven-weight champion Pacman agreed to be tested before the press conference to announce the fight and after the 12-round contest but baulked at the American’s demands because of a blood phobia.
Now a war of words has erupted, with Mayweather questioning Pacquiao’s integrity and others claiming the American has been trying to get out of the fight.
Olympic-style drug testing involves random sampling of blood and urine before and after the fight because urine alone does not show up all banned substances.
Mayweather said: “I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken because frankly I don’t know anyone who does.
“But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level.
“I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same.
“It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night.
“I hope that this is either some miscommunication or that Manny will change his mind and step up and allow these tests.”
But WBO welterweight champ Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said: “Floyd, to me, is a coward and he’s always been a coward.
“He’s not a physical coward, but a coward because he’s afraid to face somebody who could beat him.
“And believe me, Manny Pacquiao could beat him. So he’ll go his way, we’ll go our way. That’ll be fine.
“What I believe is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao.
“Manny doesn’t know anything about drugs.
“This is just typical nastiness by wise guys like Mayweather and his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe.
Source: dailystar.co.uk
BOXING’S richest ever fight between Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao is OFF because the Filipino is refusing to give blood.
The £80m clash was set for Las Vegas on March 13 but is on the skids because Mayweather demanded random Olympic-style dope tests.
Seven-weight champion Pacman agreed to be tested before the press conference to announce the fight and after the 12-round contest but baulked at the American’s demands because of a blood phobia.
Now a war of words has erupted, with Mayweather questioning Pacquiao’s integrity and others claiming the American has been trying to get out of the fight.
Olympic-style drug testing involves random sampling of blood and urine before and after the fight because urine alone does not show up all banned substances.
Mayweather said: “I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken because frankly I don’t know anyone who does.
“But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level.
“I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same.
“It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night.
“I hope that this is either some miscommunication or that Manny will change his mind and step up and allow these tests.”
But WBO welterweight champ Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said: “Floyd, to me, is a coward and he’s always been a coward.
“He’s not a physical coward, but a coward because he’s afraid to face somebody who could beat him.
“And believe me, Manny Pacquiao could beat him. So he’ll go his way, we’ll go our way. That’ll be fine.
“What I believe is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao.
“Manny doesn’t know anything about drugs.
“This is just typical nastiness by wise guys like Mayweather and his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe.
Source: dailystar.co.uk
Mayweather/Pacquiao fight in air after disagreement over drug testing -- Las Vegas Sun
By Brett Okamoto, Las Vegas Sun
The proposed super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, what would certainly be the richest fight in boxing history, may be called off due to a recent disagreement over drug testing prior to the fight.
Out of all the possible details that could have derailed the mega-fight between the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world, the method of drug testing is proving to be the culprit.
Negotiations of the March 13 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena have stalled as of late, due to Pacquiao’s (50-3-2, 38 KO) reluctance to agree to random Olympic-style testing, an addition to the contract that Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) and his promoters have requested.
Olympic-style testing allows random blood testing of fighters all the way up to the weigh-in of the event. The Nevada State Athletic Commission typically only requires fighters to pass urine tests before and after a fight.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who represents Pacquiao, told the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press Tuesday that Mayweather’s insistence on changing the drug-testing procedures shows he has never been serious about taking the fight with Pacquiao.
“We’re going in a different direction,” Arum told the newspaper. “What I believe, is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment or Pacquiao.”
In a statement released on Wednesday, Arum added that his fighter has already agreed to rigorous drug testing but he would not agree to have blood drawn so close to the event.
Pacquiao is known for having a hard time giving blood.
“Let’s be very clear on the real issues we differ on,” Arum said. “It’s not about being tested. Manny is onboard with that since it’s such a major concern of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny will submit to as many random urine tests requested.
“Regarding the blood tests, he will subject himself to three tests; one given in January during the week the fight is formally announced, one thirty days from the fight and the final one immediately following the fight.”
Pacquiao has never failed a drug test, although that hasn’t stopped Floyd Mayweather Sr. to repeatedly accuse the Filipino of taking steroids.
According to a released statement from Mayweather, the fighter pointed out the magnitude of the proposed fight to explain his desire for stricter testing methods.
“I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken because, frankly, I don’t know anyone who really does,” Mayweather said. “But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to a sportsmanship at the highest level.
“I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same. It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night.”
All other details of the fight appear to be worked out, as both sides have said that the only thing preventing a formal announcement is the disagreement on the drug tests.
Reports from ESPN.com state that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Shaefer has revealed that the fight would be fought at 147 pounds, and that the penalty for coming in over weight would be a whopping $10 million per pound.
The huge penalty was called for by members of the Pacquaio camp, after Mayweather ignored the contract limit of 144 pounds in his last fight with Juan Manuel Marquez and weighed-in at 146. Mayweather won that fight by unanimous decision.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.
Source: lasvegassun.com
The proposed super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, what would certainly be the richest fight in boxing history, may be called off due to a recent disagreement over drug testing prior to the fight.
Out of all the possible details that could have derailed the mega-fight between the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world, the method of drug testing is proving to be the culprit.
Negotiations of the March 13 fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena have stalled as of late, due to Pacquiao’s (50-3-2, 38 KO) reluctance to agree to random Olympic-style testing, an addition to the contract that Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) and his promoters have requested.
Olympic-style testing allows random blood testing of fighters all the way up to the weigh-in of the event. The Nevada State Athletic Commission typically only requires fighters to pass urine tests before and after a fight.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who represents Pacquiao, told the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press Tuesday that Mayweather’s insistence on changing the drug-testing procedures shows he has never been serious about taking the fight with Pacquiao.
“We’re going in a different direction,” Arum told the newspaper. “What I believe, is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment or Pacquiao.”
In a statement released on Wednesday, Arum added that his fighter has already agreed to rigorous drug testing but he would not agree to have blood drawn so close to the event.
Pacquiao is known for having a hard time giving blood.
“Let’s be very clear on the real issues we differ on,” Arum said. “It’s not about being tested. Manny is onboard with that since it’s such a major concern of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny will submit to as many random urine tests requested.
“Regarding the blood tests, he will subject himself to three tests; one given in January during the week the fight is formally announced, one thirty days from the fight and the final one immediately following the fight.”
Pacquiao has never failed a drug test, although that hasn’t stopped Floyd Mayweather Sr. to repeatedly accuse the Filipino of taking steroids.
According to a released statement from Mayweather, the fighter pointed out the magnitude of the proposed fight to explain his desire for stricter testing methods.
“I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken because, frankly, I don’t know anyone who really does,” Mayweather said. “But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to a sportsmanship at the highest level.
“I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same. It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night.”
All other details of the fight appear to be worked out, as both sides have said that the only thing preventing a formal announcement is the disagreement on the drug tests.
Reports from ESPN.com state that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Shaefer has revealed that the fight would be fought at 147 pounds, and that the penalty for coming in over weight would be a whopping $10 million per pound.
The huge penalty was called for by members of the Pacquaio camp, after Mayweather ignored the contract limit of 144 pounds in his last fight with Juan Manuel Marquez and weighed-in at 146. Mayweather won that fight by unanimous decision.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.
Source: lasvegassun.com
Pre-fight drug testing lacks substance -- CBA Sports
By Chris Iorfida, CBA Sports
Blood thicker than bull?
It's pretty sad how many "Manny Pacquiao refusing to comply with drug testing" variants currently abound on the web and sports TV in the wake of Tuesday's announcement that a superfight with Floyd Mayweather is in jeopardy.
To sum up as shortly as possible, there is word the fight will not happen if Pacquiao doesn't agree to blood and urine testing standards similar to those followed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and that he is apparently not interested in doing so.
Even though reliable AP fight writer Tim Dahlberg clearly explained what was happening, with the indications that this is a full-court press from the Mayweather camp, extrapolating and discerning are, like, really big words.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum did speak to Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com, indicating that drawing blood even several weeks away from a big competition is hazardous to an athlete's health.
Arum just turned 78. He's the same age as George Steinbrenner.
I'm pretty sure if I dug a little bit I could find quotes from Bob in 1998 predicting that the Internet was a big threat to boxing's survival. There's also probably one about a decade earlier where he espouses the way to grow the sport is to make people pay for nearly every fight they watch, and whet their appetite for the main event with really crappy undercard bouts.
Arum's not even the principal negotiator for the fight, his stepson Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, is. So talk any statement he makes to the media in that light.
Folks, there's a good chance that Manny Pacquiao hasn't even heard all of the particulars of this demand. Given his all-encompassing status in the Philippines, he could be shooting a new movie, recording a new album, endorsing one of 185 products and services - not unlike the old Tiger Woods, who often thought Manny's brand was strained by the weight of all its unlikely extensions - having an affair (ahem), or running for office (he's got you there, Tiger).
Pacquiao has done all of these things (so 'they' say), in addition to being the most exciting big-name fighter since Mike Tyson.
Those who are adamant that there's no possible way Pacquiao has ever used PEDs are fools. We simply don't know and we've seen too many athletes from too many sports run afoul of the rules.
But let's be clear about two things: 1. Pacquiao is an extraordinary, freakish talent, and that has nothing to do with any substance; and, 2. We could say the same about dozens of fighters because boxing's testing policy has been fairly toothless.
Shane Mosley was found out not from testing but from the BALCO grand jury testimony, with the allegations he unknowingly took the clear and the cream.
Fernando Vargas was caught by state commission urine testing, but while a terrifically entertaining character, he's also someone who thought the best strategy against Tito Trinidad was to stand flatfooted and directly in front of the Puerto Rican punching machine.
Exhibiting terrible judgment, rising star Andre Ward of Oakland is one of a handful of athletes currently being consulted by former BALCO chief Victor Conte.
Boxing should definitely strengthen its ability to test fighters, and look at any safety issue that can jeopardize a fighter. Obviously, it's a brutal sport.
Enforcement, in the long run, is another issue. What happens if a fighter doesn't give a blood sample?
There's no other sport where an entire event, encompassing millions of dollars in promotion, betting, tourism and on and on, rests on the participation of just two individuals. We'll still have a Super Bowl if Peyton Manning gets injured or finally loses a game.
We saw it just four months ago in a different vein when the honourable Mayweather decided he didn't give a damn about a catch weight obligation in the contract of his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.
What were the choices when he weighed over the agreed limit? What real choice is it to hold your nose and go ahead with the bout while fining the fighter, or to cancel it, causing financial pain all around the board and putting another blight on the sterling reputation of the sport.
I don't think I could say it any better than a reader who commented on the original story on CBCSports.ca, Al Kumonyu:
"Though I do believe that in the long term having pre-fight blood testing will be good for the integrity of the sport, I do not believe that Mayweather has boxing's integrity in mind when he made this request."
Please don't apply for my job, Al.
This fight has to happen. Not for boxing's sake, but for Mayweather's. It may not be in March, and there's a sliver of a chance not even in the next calendar year (we've seen bigger delays in boxing).
Heck, you may even read just minutes after printing out and laminating this column that the fight's been cancelled. It may very well get "cancelled" four or five times.
Mayweather may seem to be holding the hammer now. But if he nixes a fight with Pacquiao and his plan B doesn't include Mosley (presuming he beats Andre Berto in January) no one in boxing will care how high-minded his principles sound.
Source: cbc.ca
Blood thicker than bull?
It's pretty sad how many "Manny Pacquiao refusing to comply with drug testing" variants currently abound on the web and sports TV in the wake of Tuesday's announcement that a superfight with Floyd Mayweather is in jeopardy.
To sum up as shortly as possible, there is word the fight will not happen if Pacquiao doesn't agree to blood and urine testing standards similar to those followed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and that he is apparently not interested in doing so.
Even though reliable AP fight writer Tim Dahlberg clearly explained what was happening, with the indications that this is a full-court press from the Mayweather camp, extrapolating and discerning are, like, really big words.
Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum did speak to Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com, indicating that drawing blood even several weeks away from a big competition is hazardous to an athlete's health.
Arum just turned 78. He's the same age as George Steinbrenner.
I'm pretty sure if I dug a little bit I could find quotes from Bob in 1998 predicting that the Internet was a big threat to boxing's survival. There's also probably one about a decade earlier where he espouses the way to grow the sport is to make people pay for nearly every fight they watch, and whet their appetite for the main event with really crappy undercard bouts.
Arum's not even the principal negotiator for the fight, his stepson Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, is. So talk any statement he makes to the media in that light.
Folks, there's a good chance that Manny Pacquiao hasn't even heard all of the particulars of this demand. Given his all-encompassing status in the Philippines, he could be shooting a new movie, recording a new album, endorsing one of 185 products and services - not unlike the old Tiger Woods, who often thought Manny's brand was strained by the weight of all its unlikely extensions - having an affair (ahem), or running for office (he's got you there, Tiger).
Pacquiao has done all of these things (so 'they' say), in addition to being the most exciting big-name fighter since Mike Tyson.
Those who are adamant that there's no possible way Pacquiao has ever used PEDs are fools. We simply don't know and we've seen too many athletes from too many sports run afoul of the rules.
But let's be clear about two things: 1. Pacquiao is an extraordinary, freakish talent, and that has nothing to do with any substance; and, 2. We could say the same about dozens of fighters because boxing's testing policy has been fairly toothless.
Shane Mosley was found out not from testing but from the BALCO grand jury testimony, with the allegations he unknowingly took the clear and the cream.
Fernando Vargas was caught by state commission urine testing, but while a terrifically entertaining character, he's also someone who thought the best strategy against Tito Trinidad was to stand flatfooted and directly in front of the Puerto Rican punching machine.
Exhibiting terrible judgment, rising star Andre Ward of Oakland is one of a handful of athletes currently being consulted by former BALCO chief Victor Conte.
Boxing should definitely strengthen its ability to test fighters, and look at any safety issue that can jeopardize a fighter. Obviously, it's a brutal sport.
Enforcement, in the long run, is another issue. What happens if a fighter doesn't give a blood sample?
There's no other sport where an entire event, encompassing millions of dollars in promotion, betting, tourism and on and on, rests on the participation of just two individuals. We'll still have a Super Bowl if Peyton Manning gets injured or finally loses a game.
We saw it just four months ago in a different vein when the honourable Mayweather decided he didn't give a damn about a catch weight obligation in the contract of his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.
What were the choices when he weighed over the agreed limit? What real choice is it to hold your nose and go ahead with the bout while fining the fighter, or to cancel it, causing financial pain all around the board and putting another blight on the sterling reputation of the sport.
I don't think I could say it any better than a reader who commented on the original story on CBCSports.ca, Al Kumonyu:
"Though I do believe that in the long term having pre-fight blood testing will be good for the integrity of the sport, I do not believe that Mayweather has boxing's integrity in mind when he made this request."
Please don't apply for my job, Al.
This fight has to happen. Not for boxing's sake, but for Mayweather's. It may not be in March, and there's a sliver of a chance not even in the next calendar year (we've seen bigger delays in boxing).
Heck, you may even read just minutes after printing out and laminating this column that the fight's been cancelled. It may very well get "cancelled" four or five times.
Mayweather may seem to be holding the hammer now. But if he nixes a fight with Pacquiao and his plan B doesn't include Mosley (presuming he beats Andre Berto in January) no one in boxing will care how high-minded his principles sound.
Source: cbc.ca
Floyd Mayweather ‘looking for exit’ after demand for Manny Pacquiao drugs test -- Herald Scotland
heraldscotland staff
The proposed megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr has been thrown into doubt after a demand by Mayweather’s camp that both fighters be subjected to Olympic-type drug testing in the weeks leading up to the bout.
Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s manager, said the fight would not go ahead if Pacquiao did not agree to blood testing under standards followed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
However, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter countered by saying that the fight would be called off if Mayweather’s camp did not back off, adding that using blood tests for the highly anticipated fight on March 13 was unprecedented for professional fights in Las Vegas.
The bickering began earlier yesterday, with Mayweather’s team claiming they were told Pacquiao, right, would not agree to have his blood tested within 30 days of the fight because of personal superstitions. But Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, rejected that, saying he could live with some testing, as long as it was not too close to the fight nor overly intrusive.
“I will not let my fighter take a blood test the day before a fight,” Roach said. “If they give me a five-day window or something like that I have no problem with it.”
Roach said he hoped the issue wasn’t brought up as a way to get Mayweather out of the fight. “He’s looking for a back door out,” Roach said. “We’re eager to fight.”
Arum, though, went further. “As far as I’m concerned, the fight is off,” he said. “We don’t object to more extensive drug testing, even though it’s certainly not required in Nevada. What we’re saying is that the drug testing he is proposing is intrusive and would disturb Pacquiao’s training if it’s done within 30 days of his fight.”
The fight, which promises to be the richest of all time, had been expected to be formalised this week and is expected to be held at the MGM Grand hotel, with the biggest live gate ever.
Neither fighter has signed formal contracts, though, and there have been disputes between representatives of the two fighters ever since Mayweather’s promoter pulled out at the last minute of a trip to Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was to make a proposal to host the bout.
Pacquiao has never failed a post-fight urine test in Nevada, including his last fight when he stopped Miguel Cotto. Mayweather also has passed urine tests in the state after his fights. Boxers, though, are not routinely tested before bouts for performance-enhancing drugs, and there are no blood tests done for those drugs.
Mayweather’s father, Floyd Sr, said after the Cotto fight that he suspected Pacquiao was using performance-enhancing drugs to move up and win titles in so many weight classes.
Ellerbe did not make that claim, however, he said that for a fight of such magnitude fans deserve to be confident that neither fighter is cheating.
“If it’s good enough for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps and Lance Armstrong why isn’t it good enough for Manny Pacquiao?” Ellerbe asked. “The fans and sports deserve a level playing field.”
Travis Tygart, executive director of the USADA, said he had talked to representatives of both fighters about providing testing and said he welcomed the request as he would for any sport that does not have stringent Olympic-type testing.
Blood tests, he said, can find things urine tests can’t, like the use of human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin or blood transfusions.
Source: heraldscotland.com
The proposed megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr has been thrown into doubt after a demand by Mayweather’s camp that both fighters be subjected to Olympic-type drug testing in the weeks leading up to the bout.
Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s manager, said the fight would not go ahead if Pacquiao did not agree to blood testing under standards followed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
However, Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter countered by saying that the fight would be called off if Mayweather’s camp did not back off, adding that using blood tests for the highly anticipated fight on March 13 was unprecedented for professional fights in Las Vegas.
The bickering began earlier yesterday, with Mayweather’s team claiming they were told Pacquiao, right, would not agree to have his blood tested within 30 days of the fight because of personal superstitions. But Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, rejected that, saying he could live with some testing, as long as it was not too close to the fight nor overly intrusive.
“I will not let my fighter take a blood test the day before a fight,” Roach said. “If they give me a five-day window or something like that I have no problem with it.”
Roach said he hoped the issue wasn’t brought up as a way to get Mayweather out of the fight. “He’s looking for a back door out,” Roach said. “We’re eager to fight.”
Arum, though, went further. “As far as I’m concerned, the fight is off,” he said. “We don’t object to more extensive drug testing, even though it’s certainly not required in Nevada. What we’re saying is that the drug testing he is proposing is intrusive and would disturb Pacquiao’s training if it’s done within 30 days of his fight.”
The fight, which promises to be the richest of all time, had been expected to be formalised this week and is expected to be held at the MGM Grand hotel, with the biggest live gate ever.
Neither fighter has signed formal contracts, though, and there have been disputes between representatives of the two fighters ever since Mayweather’s promoter pulled out at the last minute of a trip to Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was to make a proposal to host the bout.
Pacquiao has never failed a post-fight urine test in Nevada, including his last fight when he stopped Miguel Cotto. Mayweather also has passed urine tests in the state after his fights. Boxers, though, are not routinely tested before bouts for performance-enhancing drugs, and there are no blood tests done for those drugs.
Mayweather’s father, Floyd Sr, said after the Cotto fight that he suspected Pacquiao was using performance-enhancing drugs to move up and win titles in so many weight classes.
Ellerbe did not make that claim, however, he said that for a fight of such magnitude fans deserve to be confident that neither fighter is cheating.
“If it’s good enough for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps and Lance Armstrong why isn’t it good enough for Manny Pacquiao?” Ellerbe asked. “The fans and sports deserve a level playing field.”
Travis Tygart, executive director of the USADA, said he had talked to representatives of both fighters about providing testing and said he welcomed the request as he would for any sport that does not have stringent Olympic-type testing.
Blood tests, he said, can find things urine tests can’t, like the use of human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin or blood transfusions.
Source: heraldscotland.com
SI.com's 2009 Boxing Awards -- Sports Illustrated
By Chris Mannix, Sports Illustrated
As far as I know, the technology of the flux capacitor is still embedded in the fictional mind of Dr. Emmett Brown. Which is too bad, really: because so many of us desperately want to put it in the hands of Manny Pacquiao.
We want to take Doc Brown's mythical time machine and transport Pacquiao back to the 1970's and see how he would fare against the likes of Salvador Sanchez and Alexis Arguello. We want to deposit him in the 1980's and see how he would stand up an assault from Sugar Ray Leonard or Tommy Hearns. We want to warp him back to the mid-1990's and see if Pacquiao's speed can match that of a young Oscar De La Hoya or Julio Cesar Chavez. We want this because of what we already know: that Pacquiao, SI.com's 2009 Fighter of the Year, is the best boxer of this era.
We grew accustomed to Pacquiao's brilliance a long time ago. We watched in awe as the southpaw rose through the ranks outdueling the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez. But in 2009 we were witnesses to something we really didn't see much of until now: stunning displays of raw power.
Last May, Pacquiao was matched up with Ricky Hatton, a physical equal (at least on paper) to Pacquiao and a man who had long dominated a 140-pound division that Pacquiao was debuting in. It was supposed to be an evenly matched fight.
It wasn't.
Hatton was target practice from the opening bell, getting dropped to the canvas twice in the first round before eating a crushing right hand that could be felt from London to General Santos City.
Six months later Pacquiao was back in the ring and once again he was matched against an opponent, welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, who was considered by most to be physically superior. Yet in a stunning display of power and speed in a weight class he had little experience in -- if one fight can be called experience -- Pacquiao systematically dismantled one of the top fighters in the division. Cotto, a fearless warrior who had previously gone toe-to-toe with Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, was no match for the little Filipino, absorbing a stomach-churning amount of punishment before being mercifully saved from an even more savage beating by a benevolent referee who had seen quite enough.
"Manny Pacquiao," his promoter, Bob Arum, claimed after the fight, "is the greatest fighter I have ever seen."
That he may be, though we'll never really know. What we do know is that Pacquiao is the best in his generation. Better (for the moment) than Floyd Mayweather, better than Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Margarito. That's not a knock on any of them; right now, Pacquiao is simply in a class by himself.
He has a thudding left hand and a cast-iron jaw. He throws punches from almost geometrically impossible angles and looks tireless doing it. He's personable, in a quiet, next-door-neighbor kind of way and is more philanthropic than a suburban church. Honestly: How many athletes do you know whose appearances are enough to have a cease-fire declared in wars.
Manny Pacquiao has become boxing's emissary to the world. He also happens to be its best fighter. What a perfect combination.
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
As far as I know, the technology of the flux capacitor is still embedded in the fictional mind of Dr. Emmett Brown. Which is too bad, really: because so many of us desperately want to put it in the hands of Manny Pacquiao.
We want to take Doc Brown's mythical time machine and transport Pacquiao back to the 1970's and see how he would fare against the likes of Salvador Sanchez and Alexis Arguello. We want to deposit him in the 1980's and see how he would stand up an assault from Sugar Ray Leonard or Tommy Hearns. We want to warp him back to the mid-1990's and see if Pacquiao's speed can match that of a young Oscar De La Hoya or Julio Cesar Chavez. We want this because of what we already know: that Pacquiao, SI.com's 2009 Fighter of the Year, is the best boxer of this era.
We grew accustomed to Pacquiao's brilliance a long time ago. We watched in awe as the southpaw rose through the ranks outdueling the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez. But in 2009 we were witnesses to something we really didn't see much of until now: stunning displays of raw power.
Last May, Pacquiao was matched up with Ricky Hatton, a physical equal (at least on paper) to Pacquiao and a man who had long dominated a 140-pound division that Pacquiao was debuting in. It was supposed to be an evenly matched fight.
It wasn't.
Hatton was target practice from the opening bell, getting dropped to the canvas twice in the first round before eating a crushing right hand that could be felt from London to General Santos City.
Six months later Pacquiao was back in the ring and once again he was matched against an opponent, welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, who was considered by most to be physically superior. Yet in a stunning display of power and speed in a weight class he had little experience in -- if one fight can be called experience -- Pacquiao systematically dismantled one of the top fighters in the division. Cotto, a fearless warrior who had previously gone toe-to-toe with Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, was no match for the little Filipino, absorbing a stomach-churning amount of punishment before being mercifully saved from an even more savage beating by a benevolent referee who had seen quite enough.
"Manny Pacquiao," his promoter, Bob Arum, claimed after the fight, "is the greatest fighter I have ever seen."
That he may be, though we'll never really know. What we do know is that Pacquiao is the best in his generation. Better (for the moment) than Floyd Mayweather, better than Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Margarito. That's not a knock on any of them; right now, Pacquiao is simply in a class by himself.
He has a thudding left hand and a cast-iron jaw. He throws punches from almost geometrically impossible angles and looks tireless doing it. He's personable, in a quiet, next-door-neighbor kind of way and is more philanthropic than a suburban church. Honestly: How many athletes do you know whose appearances are enough to have a cease-fire declared in wars.
Manny Pacquiao has become boxing's emissary to the world. He also happens to be its best fighter. What a perfect combination.
Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Bob Arum: Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight 'Dead' -- FanHouse
By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum, said that Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight scheduled for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas "in my mind, is dead as a door nail," adding that, "we're starting to look, today, for other opponents" for Pacquiao.
At the center of the negotiating impasse is the Mayweather camp's insistence on Olympic-style drug-testing, specifically, in taking blood samples, randomly "up to and including the weigh-in the day before the fight," said Arum.
Pacquiao had agreed to random urinalysis testing at any time, said Arum. But the seven-division champion from the Philippines, believing that giving blood so close to fight time would weaken him, would supply blood only 30 days out from the fight or directly after the fight, Arum said.
"As far as I can see, nothing is going on with the fight. I really believe that this exposes the fact that Mayweather never had any intentions to do the fight," said Arum. "I don't think that I can salvage this fight because Mayweather -- the fighter on the other side -- does not want to fight, he never wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao, and he's afraid to lose."
Arum noted that Pacquiao has fought nearly a dozen times in Las Vegas, including his past six fights -- decisions over Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as knockouts of David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto.
"He's passed every test that they've given. And if the extensive testing of the kind that is done in Nevada has been good enough for everybody in Nevada for 40 years, I don't see why it should change now," said Arum. "Floyd Mayweather's being cottled by sycophants like [Golden Boy Promotions CEO] Richard Schaefer, who ought to be ashamed of himself for the statements that he's made."
Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) earned an unprecedented seventh crown in as many different weight classes when he took Miguel Cotto's WBO welerweight (147 pounds) title with a 12th-round knockout on Nov. 14.
Arum said that Pacquiao could go after an unprecedented eighth crown in as many weight divisions against New York's newly-crowned WBA titlist Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs), or he could fight Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) at 140 pounds, against whom Pacquiao has fought to a disputed draw and earned a disputed decision, respectively.
Another opponent, said Arum, is New York's Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), another 140 pounder.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum, said that Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight scheduled for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas "in my mind, is dead as a door nail," adding that, "we're starting to look, today, for other opponents" for Pacquiao.
At the center of the negotiating impasse is the Mayweather camp's insistence on Olympic-style drug-testing, specifically, in taking blood samples, randomly "up to and including the weigh-in the day before the fight," said Arum.
Pacquiao had agreed to random urinalysis testing at any time, said Arum. But the seven-division champion from the Philippines, believing that giving blood so close to fight time would weaken him, would supply blood only 30 days out from the fight or directly after the fight, Arum said.
"As far as I can see, nothing is going on with the fight. I really believe that this exposes the fact that Mayweather never had any intentions to do the fight," said Arum. "I don't think that I can salvage this fight because Mayweather -- the fighter on the other side -- does not want to fight, he never wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao, and he's afraid to lose."
Arum noted that Pacquiao has fought nearly a dozen times in Las Vegas, including his past six fights -- decisions over Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as knockouts of David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Cotto.
"He's passed every test that they've given. And if the extensive testing of the kind that is done in Nevada has been good enough for everybody in Nevada for 40 years, I don't see why it should change now," said Arum. "Floyd Mayweather's being cottled by sycophants like [Golden Boy Promotions CEO] Richard Schaefer, who ought to be ashamed of himself for the statements that he's made."
Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) earned an unprecedented seventh crown in as many different weight classes when he took Miguel Cotto's WBO welerweight (147 pounds) title with a 12th-round knockout on Nov. 14.
Arum said that Pacquiao could go after an unprecedented eighth crown in as many weight divisions against New York's newly-crowned WBA titlist Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs), or he could fight Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) at 140 pounds, against whom Pacquiao has fought to a disputed draw and earned a disputed decision, respectively.
Another opponent, said Arum, is New York's Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), another 140 pounder.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
Mayweather-Pacquiao appears dead over drug testing issue, and there's blame to go around -- The Grand Rapids Press
By David Mayo, The Grand Rapids Press
You might think someone will blink, and that either Floyd Mayweather’s camp will relent on this blood feud, or Manny Pacquiao’s camp will relent and allow a few pinpricks so everyone can bleed money.
Of course, that assumes common sense prevails, which isn’t always the case in boxing.
Money usually does prevail, however, and if Mayweather-Pacquiao actually does disintegrate over a disagreement in how to administer random drug tests, it would be a bigger upset than the night Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson.
Happy Holidays, sports fans. The prettiest package under your tree just got smashed to smithereens.
And the discussion of who did the smashing is well under way.
At issue is that the Mayweather wanted to ensure that Pacquiao doesn’t use performance-enhancing drugs via Olympic-style, random blood testing, administered by either the U.S. Anti-Doping Association, or an independent laboratory using the same technology.
Pacquiao agreed to two blood tests -- one at the beginning of training camp in January, then again at the fight site -- and urine sampling in between.
When neither side would budge, the accusations flew.
Pacquaio’s promoter, Bob Arum, and trainer, Freddie Roach, claim Mayweather is looking for a way out of the fight. Mayweather, in a statement, said he merely wants to ensure a level playing field, while his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, said he can’t believe Pacquiao would let the fight fall apart over blood testing, and his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., said this validates his performance-enhancing charges against Pacquiao.
At the core of this fallout were two egregious demands, one by each side, that were the final sticking points in a fight which had an agreed-upon date (March 13), site (MGM Grand in Las Vegas), weight limit (147 pounds) and financial split (50-50):
• One, Pacquiao demanded a usurious $10 million payment to the offended fighter if either man came in even a fraction heavier than 147 pounds. That demand was based on Mayweather paying $600,000 to Juan Manuel Marquez after weighing 146 pounds for a September fight.
Of course, that ignores that the real weight limit for Mayweather-Marquez was, in fact, 147, but with a contractual stipulation for a $300,000 payment for each pound heavier than 144. Mayweather abided by the weight restrictions in a screwball contract, just as he has for all his professional fights. Faced with Pacquiao’s enormous penalty requirement, Mayweather agreed.
• Two, Mayweather demanded both fighters submit to USADA-style random blood testing, obviously based on the performance-enhancement charges first raised by his father.
Pacquiao has passed urine screens -- including for steroids -- in all of his previous post-fight testing in Nevada, and has complied completely with that state commission’s policy. Keith Kizer, the commission executive director, said that body would continue to enforce its own testing, but that additional testing could be negotiated by the parties.
Faced with Mayweather’s over-the-top drug-testing demand, Pacquiao refused and, as of now, the fight will not happen.
The concern in the Mayweather camp is that if Pacquiao only submits to blood testing in January and March, he would have two months to engorge performance-enhancers that can be masked from urine detection -- primarily HGH and the synthetic blood-boosting hormone EPO -- but easily be detected in blood sampling.
The concern on Pacquiao’s side is that Mayweather’s demand is nothing but a way to “harass” its fighter, Arum said. Roach claimed Pacquiao would feel “weakened” by frequent blood testing.
Both concerns can be dismissed as absolutely ludicrous: Pacquiao supporters say Mayweather is trying to weasel out of the fight or create a built-in excuse if he loses; Mayweather supporters say it’s absurd to think a little drawn blood would weaken anyone and Pacquiao’s non-compliance merely heightens speculation about him.
Whether the fight can be pulled back together will require concession, although this issue has been on the table two weeks, and neither side has blinked.
Time is running out.
The fight looks dead. And regardless whom you support, you can find plenty of blame to spread around.
E-mail David Mayo at dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo
Source: mlive.com
You might think someone will blink, and that either Floyd Mayweather’s camp will relent on this blood feud, or Manny Pacquiao’s camp will relent and allow a few pinpricks so everyone can bleed money.
Of course, that assumes common sense prevails, which isn’t always the case in boxing.
Money usually does prevail, however, and if Mayweather-Pacquiao actually does disintegrate over a disagreement in how to administer random drug tests, it would be a bigger upset than the night Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson.
Happy Holidays, sports fans. The prettiest package under your tree just got smashed to smithereens.
And the discussion of who did the smashing is well under way.
At issue is that the Mayweather wanted to ensure that Pacquiao doesn’t use performance-enhancing drugs via Olympic-style, random blood testing, administered by either the U.S. Anti-Doping Association, or an independent laboratory using the same technology.
Pacquiao agreed to two blood tests -- one at the beginning of training camp in January, then again at the fight site -- and urine sampling in between.
When neither side would budge, the accusations flew.
Pacquaio’s promoter, Bob Arum, and trainer, Freddie Roach, claim Mayweather is looking for a way out of the fight. Mayweather, in a statement, said he merely wants to ensure a level playing field, while his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, said he can’t believe Pacquiao would let the fight fall apart over blood testing, and his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., said this validates his performance-enhancing charges against Pacquiao.
At the core of this fallout were two egregious demands, one by each side, that were the final sticking points in a fight which had an agreed-upon date (March 13), site (MGM Grand in Las Vegas), weight limit (147 pounds) and financial split (50-50):
• One, Pacquiao demanded a usurious $10 million payment to the offended fighter if either man came in even a fraction heavier than 147 pounds. That demand was based on Mayweather paying $600,000 to Juan Manuel Marquez after weighing 146 pounds for a September fight.
Of course, that ignores that the real weight limit for Mayweather-Marquez was, in fact, 147, but with a contractual stipulation for a $300,000 payment for each pound heavier than 144. Mayweather abided by the weight restrictions in a screwball contract, just as he has for all his professional fights. Faced with Pacquiao’s enormous penalty requirement, Mayweather agreed.
• Two, Mayweather demanded both fighters submit to USADA-style random blood testing, obviously based on the performance-enhancement charges first raised by his father.
Pacquiao has passed urine screens -- including for steroids -- in all of his previous post-fight testing in Nevada, and has complied completely with that state commission’s policy. Keith Kizer, the commission executive director, said that body would continue to enforce its own testing, but that additional testing could be negotiated by the parties.
Faced with Mayweather’s over-the-top drug-testing demand, Pacquiao refused and, as of now, the fight will not happen.
The concern in the Mayweather camp is that if Pacquiao only submits to blood testing in January and March, he would have two months to engorge performance-enhancers that can be masked from urine detection -- primarily HGH and the synthetic blood-boosting hormone EPO -- but easily be detected in blood sampling.
The concern on Pacquiao’s side is that Mayweather’s demand is nothing but a way to “harass” its fighter, Arum said. Roach claimed Pacquiao would feel “weakened” by frequent blood testing.
Both concerns can be dismissed as absolutely ludicrous: Pacquiao supporters say Mayweather is trying to weasel out of the fight or create a built-in excuse if he loses; Mayweather supporters say it’s absurd to think a little drawn blood would weaken anyone and Pacquiao’s non-compliance merely heightens speculation about him.
Whether the fight can be pulled back together will require concession, although this issue has been on the table two weeks, and neither side has blinked.
Time is running out.
The fight looks dead. And regardless whom you support, you can find plenty of blame to spread around.
E-mail David Mayo at dmayo@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/David_Mayo
Source: mlive.com
Nutritionist bares Manny's secret success in boxing -- The Philippine Star
By Joaquin Henson, The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - It took nutritionist and jeet kune do instructor Teri Tom to unravel seven-time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao’s secret of success in the ring.
Tom joined conditioning coach Alex Ariza’s team for Pacquiao’s fight against Oscar de la Hoya last year and immediately made an impact in making him stronger and faster despite adding weight to his body. She remained with the team for Pacquiao’s bouts against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.
“I think Manny is an example of a perfect marriage between hard work and genetics that truly maximizes someone’s potential,” Tom told The STAR from her base in Los Angeles. “Manny’s obviously got some serious fast-twitch muscle fibers - that’s God-given. But he’s also got an incredible work ethic and a brilliant trainer in Freddie Roach.”
Tom, who earned a Master’s degree in nutrition science at California State-Los Angeles after graduating summa cum laude at UCLA, credited Ariza for masterminding Pacquiao’s physical conditioning program.
Ariza said the exercises that he puts Pacquiao through in the gym are elements of a comprehensive program formulated with Tom and another associate Andrea Macias, an expert in isometrics.
“Alex and I are very much on the same page about how to ring training and sports nutrition in boxing to the level of other sports,” she said. “Alex foisted me on to his fighters like Manny and Amir Khan. With Manny, we were initially met with a little resistance. But he knew he had to do something different to move up in weight for the De la Hoya fight so, you do what you got to do.”
Tom said it wasn’t too difficult adjusting Pacquiao’s body weight to the requirements of each fight. The limit for the De la Hoya fight was 147 pounds but it was 140 for Hatton and 145 for Cotto.
“We just monitor his body composition from week to week,” said Tom, a Bruce Lee disciple. “If we see something we don’t like, we change it. Alex is with him, like the show’s title, 24.7, so he’s able to tell me what’s going on with Manny’s intake pretty accurately.”
When Pacquiao trained in Baguio about a month before moving camp to the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles for the Cotto fight, Tom didn’t make the trip but continued to monitor his body composition.
“Alex called me from the Philippines when they were a few weeks into training and said that it was going to be an amazing fight,” said Tom. “Still, I was surprised at how well he took Cotto’s punches. He just looked so strong in camp, we were pretty confident.”
Tom said what was most impressive in Pacquiao’s showing against Cotto was his ability to take the Puerto Rican’s hardest shots.
“You know what surprised me the most was Manny’s granite chin,” she continued. “He took some shots the likes of which I’ve never seen him take before and he just kept going - completely unfazed. I knew he was tough but I was really impressed by that.”
Tom said working as a team is imperative in providing a fighter total support from the conditioning end.
“When I head over to Wild Card, Freddie will sometimes ask me how I think things are going or give me a heads up about things we should give special attention to,” she explained. “Every week, during camp, I’ll measure body composition. Then, I feed the numbers into a chart and I let Alex know where we’re at. If we see a number we don’t like, then we’ll make a change. But we try not to impose too many changes on a fighter’s diet if we can help it. Just enough to get the desired result. I’ll also go to the conditioning workouts in case I have to fill in for Alex if he’s got fighters with conflicting schedules. I keep up with what he’s doing in case I have to run the workouts if he’s not out of town for a fight.”
In Pacquiao’s diet for De la Hoya, Tom increased the frequency of his meals and switched his supplements. She introduced a protein shake of about 20 grams in the morning before jogging and another 20 grams after his workout in the afternoon. There was also a mid-morning snack, usually an egg sandwich. The goal was to build his muscle mass without diminishing his speed and power. If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then the diet worked like a charm because Pacquiao was hardly threatened in disposing of De la Hoya.
Tom’s book “Martial Arts Nutrition – A Precision Guide to Fueling Your Fighting Edge” is available in local bookstores. The 192-pager features a chapter on Roach and a profile on Pacquiao with his body composition chart.
Source: philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines - It took nutritionist and jeet kune do instructor Teri Tom to unravel seven-time world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao’s secret of success in the ring.
Tom joined conditioning coach Alex Ariza’s team for Pacquiao’s fight against Oscar de la Hoya last year and immediately made an impact in making him stronger and faster despite adding weight to his body. She remained with the team for Pacquiao’s bouts against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.
“I think Manny is an example of a perfect marriage between hard work and genetics that truly maximizes someone’s potential,” Tom told The STAR from her base in Los Angeles. “Manny’s obviously got some serious fast-twitch muscle fibers - that’s God-given. But he’s also got an incredible work ethic and a brilliant trainer in Freddie Roach.”
Tom, who earned a Master’s degree in nutrition science at California State-Los Angeles after graduating summa cum laude at UCLA, credited Ariza for masterminding Pacquiao’s physical conditioning program.
Ariza said the exercises that he puts Pacquiao through in the gym are elements of a comprehensive program formulated with Tom and another associate Andrea Macias, an expert in isometrics.
“Alex and I are very much on the same page about how to ring training and sports nutrition in boxing to the level of other sports,” she said. “Alex foisted me on to his fighters like Manny and Amir Khan. With Manny, we were initially met with a little resistance. But he knew he had to do something different to move up in weight for the De la Hoya fight so, you do what you got to do.”
Tom said it wasn’t too difficult adjusting Pacquiao’s body weight to the requirements of each fight. The limit for the De la Hoya fight was 147 pounds but it was 140 for Hatton and 145 for Cotto.
“We just monitor his body composition from week to week,” said Tom, a Bruce Lee disciple. “If we see something we don’t like, we change it. Alex is with him, like the show’s title, 24.7, so he’s able to tell me what’s going on with Manny’s intake pretty accurately.”
When Pacquiao trained in Baguio about a month before moving camp to the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles for the Cotto fight, Tom didn’t make the trip but continued to monitor his body composition.
“Alex called me from the Philippines when they were a few weeks into training and said that it was going to be an amazing fight,” said Tom. “Still, I was surprised at how well he took Cotto’s punches. He just looked so strong in camp, we were pretty confident.”
Tom said what was most impressive in Pacquiao’s showing against Cotto was his ability to take the Puerto Rican’s hardest shots.
“You know what surprised me the most was Manny’s granite chin,” she continued. “He took some shots the likes of which I’ve never seen him take before and he just kept going - completely unfazed. I knew he was tough but I was really impressed by that.”
Tom said working as a team is imperative in providing a fighter total support from the conditioning end.
“When I head over to Wild Card, Freddie will sometimes ask me how I think things are going or give me a heads up about things we should give special attention to,” she explained. “Every week, during camp, I’ll measure body composition. Then, I feed the numbers into a chart and I let Alex know where we’re at. If we see a number we don’t like, then we’ll make a change. But we try not to impose too many changes on a fighter’s diet if we can help it. Just enough to get the desired result. I’ll also go to the conditioning workouts in case I have to fill in for Alex if he’s got fighters with conflicting schedules. I keep up with what he’s doing in case I have to run the workouts if he’s not out of town for a fight.”
In Pacquiao’s diet for De la Hoya, Tom increased the frequency of his meals and switched his supplements. She introduced a protein shake of about 20 grams in the morning before jogging and another 20 grams after his workout in the afternoon. There was also a mid-morning snack, usually an egg sandwich. The goal was to build his muscle mass without diminishing his speed and power. If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then the diet worked like a charm because Pacquiao was hardly threatened in disposing of De la Hoya.
Tom’s book “Martial Arts Nutrition – A Precision Guide to Fueling Your Fighting Edge” is available in local bookstores. The 192-pager features a chapter on Roach and a profile on Pacquiao with his body composition chart.
Source: philstar.com
Pacman-Mayweather bout off - Arum: Drug test row unresolved -- The Philippine Star
By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star.
MANILA, Philippines - The Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. Showdown, billed as the fight the world wants to see, will remain a dream.
Top rank promoter Bob Arum yesterday said the fight, set on March 13 at MGM Grand, is off following the two camps' dispute on the Olympic-style drug testing.
"The plug is pulled. The fight is off as far as we're concerned," said Arum who, however, said Pacquiao could start looking for a new opponent.
"Mayweather proves that he's a coward and he's looking for a way out of the fight. The Nevada commission has been doing drug testing for the last 40 years," said Arum.
"Takot talaga sa akin. (He's really scared of me), "was Pacquiao's immediate reaction after negotiations for the blockbuster fight came to a screeching halt.
Mayweather was demanding an Olympic-style random drug testing for him and Pacquiao in the weeks leading to the fight. It was a demand that Pacquiao found too stiff.
Pacquiao said he's willing to undergo blood testing on the first week of January, when the fight is officially announced, but not in the final days before the match.
His trainer, Freddie Roach, said they could do another blood test right after the fight, but certainly not in the days leading to the fight, which could gross over $ 100 million.
Pacquiao said drawing blood so close to the fight will make him weak, but said he has no problem with urine tests. Experts said there's not much of a difference between both tests.
"Pinapakita niya na naduduwag talaga siya sa akin. (He's just showing that he's scared of me), "said Pacquiao, who has yet to receive any official word that the fight is indeed off.
Pacquiao's lawyer, Franklin Gacal, said if everything falls off, Pacquiao has a couple of options.
"One, he can take a fight with either Juan Manuel Marquez or Yuri Foreman, whoever is available, and two, he can take a break, and fight after the May 2010 elections," said Gacal.
Pacquiao is seeking a congressional seat in his hometown in Sarangani, and wouldn't actually mind losing the Mayweather fight as long as he wins the elections.
"If he decides to skip the March 13 date and take care of the elections, the next fight he can look at is around October. Besides, before both camps said yes to do the fight, he already said he wanted to take a break and. just fight after the elections, "Gacal added.
The lawyer from Gen. Santos City, who is also seeking a congressional seat in May, said what's happening right now could all be part of the big dance and could lead to fresh negotiations.
"To appease Mayweather, we agreed they could do urine analysis anytime they wanted. But Manny doesn't want them to draw his blood when he's in training because it weakens him," Arum told USA Today.
His counterpart, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, said there's nothing absurd with taking blood tests even if it falls on the eve of the fight, except that Pacquiao feels weak doing it.
Mayweather agrees.
"I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken, because frankly I don't know anyone who really does," Mayweather said. "But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level. I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same.
"It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night. I hope that this is either some miscommunication or that Manny will change his mind and step up and allow these tests, which were good enough. for all these other great athletes, to be performed by USADA, "Mayweather was quoted as saying.
It's a form of harassment, according to Arum.
"All they're doing is harassing Pacquiao. I'm not going to allow it to happen. We're willing to do urine analysis at random even though we don't have to do it under Nevada rules. ... I know. deep down Mayweather doesn't want the fight. He can take a walk, "he said.
If Mayweather takes a walk, he could end up fighting Matthew Hatton early next year, and with $ 20 million or $ 30 million less in his bank account.
Source:. philstar.com.
MANILA, Philippines - The Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. Showdown, billed as the fight the world wants to see, will remain a dream.
Top rank promoter Bob Arum yesterday said the fight, set on March 13 at MGM Grand, is off following the two camps' dispute on the Olympic-style drug testing.
"The plug is pulled. The fight is off as far as we're concerned," said Arum who, however, said Pacquiao could start looking for a new opponent.
"Mayweather proves that he's a coward and he's looking for a way out of the fight. The Nevada commission has been doing drug testing for the last 40 years," said Arum.
"Takot talaga sa akin. (He's really scared of me), "was Pacquiao's immediate reaction after negotiations for the blockbuster fight came to a screeching halt.
Mayweather was demanding an Olympic-style random drug testing for him and Pacquiao in the weeks leading to the fight. It was a demand that Pacquiao found too stiff.
Pacquiao said he's willing to undergo blood testing on the first week of January, when the fight is officially announced, but not in the final days before the match.
His trainer, Freddie Roach, said they could do another blood test right after the fight, but certainly not in the days leading to the fight, which could gross over $ 100 million.
Pacquiao said drawing blood so close to the fight will make him weak, but said he has no problem with urine tests. Experts said there's not much of a difference between both tests.
"Pinapakita niya na naduduwag talaga siya sa akin. (He's just showing that he's scared of me), "said Pacquiao, who has yet to receive any official word that the fight is indeed off.
Pacquiao's lawyer, Franklin Gacal, said if everything falls off, Pacquiao has a couple of options.
"One, he can take a fight with either Juan Manuel Marquez or Yuri Foreman, whoever is available, and two, he can take a break, and fight after the May 2010 elections," said Gacal.
Pacquiao is seeking a congressional seat in his hometown in Sarangani, and wouldn't actually mind losing the Mayweather fight as long as he wins the elections.
"If he decides to skip the March 13 date and take care of the elections, the next fight he can look at is around October. Besides, before both camps said yes to do the fight, he already said he wanted to take a break and. just fight after the elections, "Gacal added.
The lawyer from Gen. Santos City, who is also seeking a congressional seat in May, said what's happening right now could all be part of the big dance and could lead to fresh negotiations.
"To appease Mayweather, we agreed they could do urine analysis anytime they wanted. But Manny doesn't want them to draw his blood when he's in training because it weakens him," Arum told USA Today.
His counterpart, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, said there's nothing absurd with taking blood tests even if it falls on the eve of the fight, except that Pacquiao feels weak doing it.
Mayweather agrees.
"I understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken, because frankly I don't know anyone who really does," Mayweather said. "But in a fight of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level. I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same.
"It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night. I hope that this is either some miscommunication or that Manny will change his mind and step up and allow these tests, which were good enough. for all these other great athletes, to be performed by USADA, "Mayweather was quoted as saying.
It's a form of harassment, according to Arum.
"All they're doing is harassing Pacquiao. I'm not going to allow it to happen. We're willing to do urine analysis at random even though we don't have to do it under Nevada rules. ... I know. deep down Mayweather doesn't want the fight. He can take a walk, "he said.
If Mayweather takes a walk, he could end up fighting Matthew Hatton early next year, and with $ 20 million or $ 30 million less in his bank account.
Source:. philstar.com.
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