Dudley Do-Rights Mayweather, Tygart must answer Arum's WADA proposal on Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

We absolutely are motivated to find the truth and do the right thing in every case. Our obligation is to protect clean athletes, nothing less and nothing more.—UNITED STATES ANTI-DOPING AGENCY public statement

Travis Tygart, head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, presents himself as a Dudley Do-Right type, a man on a mission to clean up the rampant illegal drug cheating in big time sports.

To a lesser extent, Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants you to think that he is an athlete who willingly has joined the anti drug abuse crusade.

Both the lawyer and the undefeated right are clearly right that drug cheating is pervasive in sports, especially those which involve massive amounts of money.

(Editor’s Note: I’ve reached out to Tygart by phone and email but he is out of his Colorado Springs office until July 18 so perhaps he is on vacation. I do hope to get his views.)

Only a blind and deaf person would argue otherwise. The Barry Bonds legal drama lingers on, the only question now being will he get a small amount of Club Fed jail time.

In Washington, baseball pitching superstar Roger Clemens is on trial in a case involving his alleged use of steroids.

That sleazy Canadian doctor who was supplying various well-known jocks with banned drugs has taken a guilty plea in his case.

Lance Armstrong abandoned his glorious cycling career with the drug posse hot on his heels. Current cycling superstar Albert Contador is beset by similar allegations and continuing probes.

In boxing, BALCO bossman Victor Conte is a steady presence. Formerly the guy aiding and abetting Sugar Shane Mosley to load himself up with banned drugs to enhance his boxing skills, Conte is now a respected conditioning/nutrition adviser to world champions Nonito Donaire Jr. and Andre Ward, among others.

Which brings us around to Saturday night, when I spoke to riverboat gambler and Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum about his sudden statement of the day before.

Arum proclaimed that Team Pacquiao will accept a Mayweather bout with fully random blood testing but only if it is handled by the world governing body, WADA, and not by Tygart’s USA only organization.

“We don’t accept the USADA handling it,” Arum told me. “We do accept the prestigious, well-respected WADA. On those terms, Pacquiao will submit to whatever (blood) testing is required so we can make the big fight.”

Makes sense to me. WADA is the world body and both Mayweather and Pacquiao have multiple world championship histories.

It’s no insult to USADA, really, with American Mayweather fighting Filipino Pacquiao. It’s not something absurd and outlandish such as Arum proposing a drug testing agency from Pacman’s homeland handle the testing.

I’ve no doubt the Nevada commission would permit the Mayweather and Pacquiao to make a contract specifying, chapter and verse, what the required testing would be, when it could take place, yada, yada, yada.

Nevada badly wants and sorely needs the revenue such a boxing bonanza brings to Las Vegas' tourist service economy. I see no NSAC impediment especially where Tygart was like a bull in a china shop in his decidedly negative testimony before the state board on June 9, 2010. Tygart didn't ruffle Nevada feathers, he torched them.

If Mayweather really wants to fight Pacman, then he will agree to WADA and Tygart will also support this, if only to advance Tygart’s crusade.

If Mayweather doesn’t accept WADA, then it can finally be said that he really is ducking the super fight.

I understand Tygart might camping in Yellowstone Park right now, but the silence from the “Money” camp is deafening so far.

Talk up, Floyd, talk up.

On behalf of Pacquiao, Arum’s opened the door. Will you walk through it or slam it shut.

Borrowing from the goofy nickname of the Mayweather-De La Hoya bout, “the world awaits.”

Menawhile, herewith the Mission Statement of USADA, verbatim:

“To be the guardian of the values and life lessons learned through true sport. We hold the public trust to:

Preserve the Integrity of Competition — We preserve the value and integrity of athletic competition through just initiatives that prevent, deter and detect violations of true sport.

Inspire True Sport — We inspire present and future generations of U.S. athletes through initiatives that impart the core principles of true sport — fair play, respect for one’s competitor and respect for the fundamental fairness of competition.

Protect the Rights of U.S. Athletes — We protect the right of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes to compete healthy and clean — to achieve their own personal victories as a result of unwavering commitment and hard work — to be celebrated as true heroes.”

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Nacho Beristain: “Pacquiao will beat Mayweather” -- BoxingNews24

By John F. McKenna, BoxingNews24.com

Legendary Mexican trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain in Atlantic City this past weekend had a surprising response when asked if he thought Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) would beat Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 KO’s) if the two were to meet.

The surprise was not that “Nacho” thought Pacquiao would defeat Mayweather. As reported in the Boxing Insider, what was surprising was that Beristain said that a victory by Manny over Floyd would be bad for boxing.

“It’s a very good, important fight but that fight should not happen,” stated Beristain. “Because I believe that Pacquiao will beat Mayweather your going to take away the glory that has made Mayweather these past years. Mayweather’s style – when he fights someone that pressures him and throws a lot of punches – he just beats him up.”

Beristain said that it would not be an easy fight for Pacquiao, but that he would definitely win.

Beristain has had plenty of close experience watching Pacquiao. He was in the corner of Juan Manuel Marquez for his two fights with Manny and he was also in the corner of Oscar De Lahoya when he took the vicious beating from Pac-Man.

When Beristain was asked what makes Pacquiao so effective, so great, he responded by saying “He just works too hard. His training is too hard. He works very hard.”

When asked how good Floyd Mayweather is, who has proclaimed himself as the greatest fighter of all time, “Nacho” said that Mayweather is a very good fighter, but that Pacquiao would defeat him because “He is just too tough, too strong.”

The great trainer and veteran ring observer “Nacho” Beristain has zero confidence that Floyd Mayweather, as good a fighter as he is, would prevail against Manny Pacquiao.

Obviously Beristain is going to stick by his fighter, Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KO’s) in his November showdown with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “Nacho” said that if Marquez “does his work very good he can win his fight with Pacquiao.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Marquez.

In addition to training Juan Manuel Marquez, the sixty eight year old Beristain has trained many other great Mexican fighters including Daniel Zaragoza, Humberto Gonzalez, Ricardo Lopez and numerous others. Because of his stature in boxing Beristain’s opinions carry a significant amount of weight.

Source: boxingnews24.com

USADA responds: We bear no prejudice, bias against Manny Pacquiao -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

USADA's zealot bossman, the lawyer Travis Tygart, is on a summer vacation but I was able to speak at length with the drug testing agency's s media relations manager, Annie Skinner, twice on Monday concerning Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum's proclamation that his side will accept fully random blood testing if WADA, the world anti-doping organization handles it.

There is a continuing perception in the Pacman camp, according to Arum, that the Tygart-led agency, based in Colorado Springs, is uncomfortably close with American Mayweather. Such raw feelings have been made worse by Tygart's public references to Mayweather as "the clean athlete."

In Tygart's absence, Skinner assured me that USADA does not prejudge whether any athlete, domestic or foreign, is cheating by using banned drugs. Allegations have continually been made about Pacquiao using EPO and maybe other banned substances although no one has ever come up with a scintilla of evidence. Meanwhile, Pacman's defemation lawsuit against "Money" Mayweather continues.

"We certainly do not have a bias against any athlete," Skinner said. "We do not have a bias (favoring) one athlete over another. All athletes are presumed to be clean until such time as they are proven otherwise.

"But, when it comes to drug testing, USADA, which is a signatory to WADA rules, regulations and procedures, is the gold standard for sports in the United States. We completely adhere to all the international standards as promulgated by WADA."

She said that perhaps Arum has a misperception of how WADA operates, explaining "does not do any actual testing, they do not have the infrastructure to do that. You take (world soccer body) FIFA, the Swimming Federation and others...they are all signatories to WADA. What WADA does is contract out (the testing) to recognized doping control agencies in the different countries."

I asked Skinner if hypothetically a third party doping control laboratory or organization might be agreed to, thus overcoming Team Pacquiao's objections to USADA, which Arum branded as "not neutral" in this matter.

"No other organization in the US does the type of gold standard testing that that we do. Personally, at least, I've never heard of any third party organization that performs the WADA approved standards to the same degree that we do," Skinner said.

Obviously, the two camps could make an agreement as to a different testing agency if they chose to do so.

With a bonanza fight in which it is speculated that both Mayweather and Pacquiao can gross up to $50 million, you would think that there is some middle ground that the two fighter's camps can reach here.

Does anyone think that Joe Fan really gives a hoot as which anti-doping agency does the testing as long it is all done fair and impartially?

Has Arum moved the ball forward here or is this going to further block the so-called "Dream Fight."

It could turn out to be that in the ring and in the final money count but with constantly failed and stalled negotiations it continues to be a nightmare to make.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com