The hotly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao was teetering on the brink of collapse on Wednesday over a dispute regarding drug testing procedures, a debate that has some experts standing on Mayweather’s side.
On Wednesday, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank proposed a drug testing schedule that would include three blood draws and an unlimited number of urine tests in an attempt to salvage the bout that hit a negotiating snag on Tuesday, when Mayweather’s side insisted on random Olympic-style drug testing administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The world’s top two boxers had agreed to meet on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for what is expected to become the largest-grossing bout in the sport’s history.
Arum said frequent urine testing is sufficient in the final 30 days to prevent either fighter from using performance-enhancing drugs. He said Pacquiao is willing to submit blood samples in early January, in mid-February around 30 days prior to the fight and then again in the locker room immediately upon conclusion of the fight.
In the interim, Arum insisted urine testing would be sufficient.
“Everything can be picked up by urinalysis,” Arum said. “Everything.”
Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, disputed Arum’s contention and said a combination of blood and urine testing is required to be effective. He also said that to be most effective, athletes would have to be subject to random testing while out of competition.
If any testing is conducted in the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight outside of what is mandated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it would be during competition since the fighters are scheduled to start training in early January.
“To have an effective program, you have to collect blood and urine,” Tygart said. “The reason for that is that there are some things that are only detected in urine and there are some prohibited drugs that are both very lethal and potent from a performance-enhancing standpoint that are only detected in blood. One of those, for example, is human-growth hormone (HGH). There is no urine-based tested for human-growth hormone. It doesn’t show up in the urine. It’s only a blood-based test. That’s true of a number of prohibited substances, particularly those that would enhance and aid a boxer.”
Experts told Yahoo! Sports that the amount of blood the fighters would be required to give is minimal and would have no impact upon their performance.
Pacquiao is reticent to give blood within days of a fight because he believes it weakens him, his adviser, Michael Koncz, told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday by telephone from Manila, The Philippines, where he has been meeting with Pacquiao.
An extraordinarily angry Arum, who had harsh words for Mayweather’s camp, which includes the boxer’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, said a deal would have to be reached Thursday in order to salvage the show.
Mayweather Jr. released a statement on Tuesday in which he demanded the testing be conducted and that it be administered by USADA. That didn’t sit well with Arum, who said he wanted whatever testing was done to be conducted by the Kansas City, Mo.,-based National Center for Drug Free Sports.
“The fight is definitely off,” Arum said. “I read their statement and we’re not acceding to it. Unless they pull that statement and call me, they can go screw themselves.”
Victor Conte, the founder and president of the Bay-Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), said that while Pacquiao might be affected mentally by having his blood drawn, the draws would have no impact upon his performance in the fight.
Pacquiao, though, isn’t the only high-profile athlete who has expressed reservations about giving blood near or at the time of competition. Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell complained he was tested excessively during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, in which he won a gold medal as a member of his nation’s 4 x 100 meter relay team.
“I got pretty upset two days ago because since I have been here, they have tested me four times,” Powell said during the 2008 Games. “They’ve taken so much blood from us we’re going to be very weak before the final.”
Conte said to do comprehensive testing, drawing three tubes of blood with three milliliters in each would be sufficient.
“That amount would be less than one-half of one percent [of the total blood in the body],” Conte said. “It’s not going to have any effect, the drawing of blood. Could it have some mental effect? It possibly could and that’s what Asafa Powell did complain about in Beijing. And now we have this complaint from the Pacquiao side.
“That’s the only down side of that. It’s certainly not going to have any physical effect, giving blood before a fight.”
Mayweather’s statement indicated that several elite athletes, like basketball players LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, swimmer Michael Phelps and cyclist Lance Armstrong, have submitted to the testing that he is requesting.
Arum said Wednesday that none of those athletes provided blood and that each gave only urine samples. However, Schaefer, who is representing Mayweather in negotiations, said each of them competed under USADA requirements in Beijing, which includes random blood and urine sampling.
“We asked and we were told that Kobe, LeBron and Michael Phelps all submitted themselves to the same policies, which includes the right of USADA to test for blood,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer, though, said he didn’t know independently whether any of them had given blood.
Arum vehemently insisted none of them gave blood and said Pacquiao would not do so any closer than 30 days out from the fight until it is over, even if that meant the fight did not occur.
He said he consulted experts who “were unanimous in their opinion” that urine testing would be sufficient.
However, Dr. Gary Wadler, an internal medicine physician and chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List and Methods sub-committee, said an athlete should not be able to dictate the terms of testing.
Wadler called Top Rank’s offer to have Pacquiao give a sample in early January, 30 days before the fight and then immediately at the conclusion of the fight “a non-starter.”
“The fundamental principle is that the time and place of testing is in the domain of the governing body, not of the athlete,” Wadler said. “It would lose all its validity if the athlete could pick and choose when he is going to be tested and for what he’s going to be tested for and how he’s going to be tested. They’re sophisticated enough now that if someone wanted to, you could play the calendar to your advantage.
“There are pretty savvy guys out there who are quite conversant with that very issue. That, to me, would be a non-starter.”
Arum said he objects to USADA doing whatever testing is agreed to because of its many requirements.
He said the National Center for Drug Free Sports is used to working with professional athletes and administers testing for the NFL and Major League Baseball.
“USADA is an Olympic body and it is not for professional sports,” Arum said. “They’ve got all this crazy paperwork. It’s nonsense. [The National Center for Drug Free Sports] deals with pro athletes in a professional kind of way. They don’t do [blood] tests during the season. They do urine tests. Urine tests will detect everything. Blood tests are archaic.”
Schaefer hoped that Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach could intervene and talk to Pacquiao and convince him that submitting to the USADA testing would not hurt him or impact his performance.
He said a deal would have to be reached by sometime early next week in order for the fight to go off as planned in March.
“Freddie could explain to Manny that there is a very small amount of blood taken, only about a tablespoon, and that it wouldn’t have any impact on him at all,” Schaefer said. “Kobe is Manny’s hero and Kobe has done it. If Freddie talks to him, this could get resolved very easily.”
Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, reiterated Wednesday that the testing is the only outstanding issue. Though there has been talk that there is an issue over whether or not the fight will be for Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization welterweight title, Ellerbe said the drug testing is the only unresolved issue.
“That’s it,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re done.”
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=Ao.Pa9RHKfw8Ix73aXO9.uqUxLYF?slug=ki-testing122309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Blood Test issue
Manny Pacquiao Refuses to comply with olympic style drug testing
The mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is now in jeopardy after Golden Boy Promotions, on behalf of Mayweather Promotions, learned today that Manny Pacquiao is refusing to comply with Olympic style drug testing as outlined and mandated by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) and as requested by Mayweather's management to ensure fair play and sportsmanship by both fighters.
Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. set for March 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas
The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight will be March 13 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, a source close to the negotiations confirmed Saturday.
Cowboys Stadium in Dallas also was under consideration after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered $25 million to host the welterweight blockbuster, but MGM countered with an offer believed to exceed $30 million.
Contracts should be finalized and an announcement made this week, with formal pre-fight press conferences scheduled in early January in New York and Los Angeles.
Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Mayweather - No One Can beat Me
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is viewing Manny Pacquiao as another fighter the networks and the public have built up to beat him. If a deal is finalized, they will face off on March 13. Mayweather says the media built up Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and several others to place a blemish on his perfect record. All of them came up short. He says Pacquiao will also come up short.
"I just know can't nobody beat me," Mayweather said to the NY Post. "It is what it is. For 14 years they've been trying to find a fighter that can beat me and they've come up short every time."
The winner will end the debate over which of them is the pound for pound best in the world. A lot of people have said the pressure is on Mayweather because of his big talk over how Pacquiao is a one-dimensional fighter. Mayweather says there is no pressure. He says the pressure is fully on Pacquiao to rise to occasion.
"The thing is there's no pressure on Floyd Mayweather. Never. Whoever I face, there's pressure on them because they know they're fighting the best. When you put in the hard work and you dedicate yourself to your craft whatever your craft might be, you have no worries or pressure," Mayweather said.
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=24215
Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr - Fight Confirmed New Game Plan for Pacquiao
MANILA, Philippines – Famed American trainer Freddie Roach admitted that he and Manny Pacquiao would have to make some changes in their training when they prepare for the mega fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
“This is completely opposite of the [Miguel] Cotto fight, opposite of the [Ricky] Hatton fight, and opposite from the [Oscar] de la Hoya fight,” Roach told Brad Cooney of 8countnews.com. “We will come up with a new game plan, a 10 week camp, and some changes. We will work on setting traps and taking Floyd's speed away from him.”
Roach added: “It's a difficult fight, it's the most difficult style for us to go against because he is a runner and a counter puncher.”
The two-time Trainer of the Year recipient also disclosed that the fight is official on their end as Team Pacquiao already signed the contract.
“I don't know if they officially signed, but we have,” he said.
Pacquiao and Mayweather are set to face off on March 13 at a venue to be announced. Las Vegas is said to be the frontrunner in the hunt for the venue. The press conference for the fight will be held on January 11 in the United States.
‘Best fighting the best’
Roach went on to share his thoughts on the match that is being touted as the “Fight of the Century.”
“It's the best fighting the best right now. People can say what they want, but he's very good at what he does. He's not an exciting fighter, but he's good at what he does,” he said.
Pacquiao, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion, has a record of 50-3-2, with 38 knockouts.
Mayweather, the current No. 2 pound-for-pound king (who previously held the top pound-for-pound spot), holds a clean 40-0 record with 25 KOs.
“Floyd is not an offensive guy he's a very defensive fighter, but defense doesn't win fights, offense does. We will excel in those areas, and we can match his hand-speed. Mayweather is very clever, it's a challenge for both men,” the trainer continued.
Fight preparations
According to Roach, they will be working hard to prepare for the undefeated American fighter.
“Let's face it, he's never been beat. We are going to come up with a great game-plan, I know my guy can do it. We will get in shape and we will try to make it as exciting as possible.”
He said he plans to train Pacquiao for one month in the Philippines and another month in Los Angeles, California.
He earlier stated that he wants his other ward, World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan, to spar with the Filipino boxing sensation.
Another honor
Meanwhile, Roach is slated to receive another honor before he gets back to business with training the pound-for-pound king.
Roach will be feted a commemorative custom-made belt during the World Boxing Council (WBC) Legends of Boxing Christmas Toy Drive, reported Ed de la Vega of PhilBoxing.com.
Roach, who will serve as the event’s guest of honor, will be recognized for his achievements in boxing.
The WBC Legends of Boxing will be held on December 20 at Rudy’s Grill in Los Angeles, California.
Source: www.abs-cbn.com
