By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
LAS VEGAS -WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao might have submitted to drug testing, no problem, for a mega bout against anyone but pound-for-pound rival Floyd Mayweather -- at least that is what Pacquiao's Filipino countryman, Nonito Donaire, believes.
"I think that that it was about pride. I think that it's just because it's Floyd Mayweather asking him to do it," said Donaire. "If other people had asked him beforehand, he probably would have done it."
A former WBA interim super flyweight (115 pounds) titlist, Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts) made his comments following a Wednesday workout at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas, where Donaire was gearing up for Saturday night's HBO televised, Top Rank Promotions bantamweight (118 pounds) clash against WBO and WBC king Fernando Montiel (44-2-2, 34 KOs) of Mexico at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) became the source of speculation, by some, of alleged use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) resulting from his ability to rise in weight and retain power, a notion that was highlighted following the twice-failed negotiations to make a bout between him and Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) over the issue of Olympic style drug testing of both blood and urine.
Pacquiao refused to give in to the demands of Mayweather, who insisted on random testing all the way up to and after the fight, as opposed to Pacquiao's contending for testing based on a 14-day window prior to the fight.
"If it was Fernando Montiel who told me to take a test, I would think, 'Why would you want me to do it?'" said Donaire.
"I would think that he was just trying to play with my head," said Donaire. "I think that's how Manny sees it, like, 'Why would you tell me to do it?' I think that that's what it all comes down to. I think that a lot of it is pride."
In November, Pacquiao won a record eighth crown by unanimous decision over ex-champion Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) for the WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt, and Donaire has indicated that he would like to pursue similar glory by climbing weight classes.
Donaire is coming off of December's fourth-round knockout of Volodymyr Sydorenko (22-2-2, seven KOs), a man who never had been stopped before suffering a broken nose and being floored three times by Donaire.
Donaire credited his new-found energy, speed, and, power, against Sydorenko to controversial former BALCO founder Victor Conte, who will be in his third fight as Donaire's nutritionist entering his fight with Montiel.
Conte was once committed to "helping athletes to circumvent" Olympic-style drug testing policies such as those executed by United States Anti-Doping Agency until BALCO was raided in 2003, causing him to be imprisoned for a short time.
Since then, however, Conte has made a new life of training and supplying athletes with legal supplements, one of those athletes being Donaire.
As a result of his association with Conte, Donaire said that he must be willing to voluntarily submit to drug-testing at any time.
"For me, that's just how I have to do it, and I would take the test because I work with Victor. That's why I'm so willing to take it," said Donaire.
"I have Victor with me. I have my name and his name, and I have to prove that we're legit," said Donaire. "But if I wasn't working with Victor, and my opponent tells me to take the test, I would be like, 'Screw you. I'm not going to take it. You take it.'"
Pacquiao has named Mayweather, his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather Sr. and both Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya -- the CEO and President, respectively, of Golden Boy Promotions -- in a suit which seeks compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character for their alleged accusations of steroid use by Pacquiao.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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