Sunday, January 10, 2010

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao: Who's Bad?

(First of a two-part series)

The proposed mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr scheduled on March 13, 2010 is definitely off owing to disagreements in both camps on the how the contentious and controversial drug testing will be done and what agency will handle it.

Let us look back and answer some issues that contributed as to why the said mega fight went kaput.



Bad Blood

There was bad blood between both sides and they were wary of each other’s intentions and sincerity from the very beginning. It did not bode well that Floyd Mayweather, Jr has a bad history with Bob Arum and so does Manny Pacquiao with Golden Boy Promotions. Add the fact that Pacquiao gave Oscar de la Hoya, GBP’s owner, the beating of his life and turned his pretty face into a punching bag.

Also, Freddie Roach and Pacquiao terribly embarrassed the Floyd Mayweather, Sr- trained Ricky Hatton in just two rounds that made Mayweather, Sr cope out on the Mancunian fighter by blaming him of not listening to his instructions instead of his poor fight plan and strategy.

After these two fights, rumors began to swirl around about Manny Pacquiao’s alleged steroid use without any evidence to show but mainly coming from Mayweather, Sr.’s mouth that was soon picked up by fighters with hidden agenda, some people with an axe to grind, and some media people who are skeptical of Team Pacquiao’s success.

Bad Intentions

Pacquiao shamed Oscar de la Hoya when he made him quit on his stool after the 8th round and failed to answer the bell for the 9th round of their fight that Oscar was predicted to win handily. The Golden Boy’s image was tarnished and he still cannot get over the fact that the last image of him being remembered was of a defeated man sitting forlornly in his corner while Team Pacquiao and the boxing world were celebrating around him.

Oscar de la Hoya’s huge ego was irreversibly pricked when Freddie Roach proved to the whole world that he “can no longer pull the trigger”, and was made worse when Pacquiao made him eat his word. Who can forget what he told Pacquiao during one of the press conferences before the fight, “I will knock you out“?

And after proclaiming to anybody who cared to listen after his surrender that Pacquiao’s punches had no power at all and that he could’ve have stood there all night and Pacquiao would not be able to knock him out, he made a 180 degree turn around and wrote in his blog that, “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!”

Thus, we can forgive his conflicting statements since he was on the receiving end of many powerful and wicked blows to the head in his fight with Pacquiao and could have resulted into him not being his old self. Now, we have to wonder if he is the same sane old man that he believe is.


Bad Education

Manny Pacquaio’s accusers lack the necessary smarts to understand the nature of anabolic steroids and human-growth hormones and their functions and effects on the body. They don’t possess the necessary educational attainment to even understand the essence of what they are talking about.

Floyd Mayweather, Sr. who started the ball rolling never finished high school to have even an iota of understanding the basics of what he is accusing Pacquiao of doing. Obviously, Team Mayweather lacks the knowledge to separate the facts from fiction regarding the tests that they are demanding.

First, they asked for blood tests to look for steroids in Manny Pacquiao’s blood. Manny Pacquiao agreed to 3 tests that are not even part of the mandated drug testing by the NSAC, the sole authority in conducting such tests on fighters in the State of Nevada. When told that this could be done through urinalysis, they changed their tune and now added Human- Growth Hormones (hGH) to the lot. While it’s true that hGH can be detected in one’s blood, contrary to popular beliefs hGH can also be detected in the urine by using molecular ‘markers’ to detect its presence in the urine in this day and age.

I will not be surprised if they will raise the EPO- question in the future. This is an obvious witch- hunt that Team Pacquiao did not tolerate. More so, a ludicrous demand coming from a fighter who belittles Manny Pacquiao’s skills and says that he will “whip the Pacman’s punk ass“.


Bad Company

Team Pacquiao is not known to harbor people with questionable characters in their midst . Team Pacquiao has no links to companies with bad reputations. They have not been involved nor linked in any controversies in and out of the ring. Team Pacquiao has no links to laboratories/ companies like BALCO nor to any dirty and unsavory characters both at present and in the past.

Freddie Roach is as straight a shooter as you can get. He is so transparent and speaks his mind out without regard for anything. He is the “what you see is what you get” kind of guy.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza who admitted that he prepared everything that he gave to Manny Pacquiao himself. He said that if there is any person in the team that should know what goes into Pacquiao’s system, it should be him. His record is impeccable and speaks for itself.

Alex Ariza, who was obviously irritated by the issue, said in an interview -

“I didn’t really do any interviews before this because I didn’t feel it warranted it. But I’ve seen stories like Lou DiBella said that members of Team Pacquiao have a history of steroid use? Show me. Where’s his paperwork that leads to BALCO? I’ve worked with Diego Corrales, Erik Morales, Angel Manfredy. None of those guys has ever even tested for a diuretic, cold medication, antibiotics, nothing. I don’t give any of my fighters that would be considered illegal or a performance enhancing drug. I don’t know where people are coming up that I’m linked to BALCO. I’ve never been associated or questioned about anything.”

As for Team Mayweather, I’ll just give you three names and I believed no further explanations are necessary to put the message across - Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Roger Mayweather and Richard Schaefer.


Bad Reputation

Manny Pacquiao earned the mythical P4P title the hard way. He persevered against the odds and fought his way to the top against worthy and world class opponents. The list of his victims are worthy of Hall of Fame status themselves. He may have been involved in some controversies in the past with regards to his dalliances with show business but his record in and out of the ring when it comes to the sport is spotless. He quietly made his mark and fought the best there is.

On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s reputation in and out of the ring left something to be desired. His name was mentioned in relation to a shooting incident in a Las Vegas skating rink and his mansion and limo were subjected to a weapons search by authorities. The IRS is after him for several years now and also has several pending cases for foreclosures in court. Recently, he and his entourage were involved in a night club scuffle with a rapper and his crew.

True, Mayweather fought some good fighters like Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo (although he was gifted a win in their first fight) when he was still in the lower weight divisions but as he scaled the weights he was also accused of cherry- picking his opponents to preserve the “0” in his record. His most impressive win in the last 5 years was the 10th round knockout of Ricky Hatton who was fighting out of his natural weight for the first time.

His biggest fight was an unimpressive split decision win over Oscar de la Hoya wherein de la Hoya, learning from his mistakes in the first fight, could have whipped his ass the moment they faced again but he never gave him the rematch. So, that is subject to debate until now.

His comeback fight against a very bloated Juan Manuel Marquez (which earned him the laughable no. 1 P4P ranking over Pacquiao from Yahoo Sports for some time) is nothing spectacular either. It did not sit well to boxing fans that he came out two pounds over the catch weight limit and refused the customary weigh-in again on fight night. Although he showed his vaunted defensive skills in that fight, the fans were dissatisfied when he failed to engage and knockout the smaller Mexican.

While Manny Pacquiao continues to take on all- comers throughout his career, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fought patsies and second- tier fighters while dancing en route to victory. He conveniently ducked the people who could have challenged his skills and defined him as a fighter. Mosley, Margarito, Cotto and Williams are just some of the names that could have cemented his legacy, but rather than facing them in the ring, he opted to retire.

Bad Mouth

Manny Pacquiao is a soft- spoken person and is not known to bad mouth his opponents. He respects his opponents even if some of his opponents disrespect him. He just smiles at all the trash talk and lets his fist do the talking inside the ring.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. shoots from his mouth without regard for anything. He brags about his ‘greatness’ and trash talks anyone that he wants to or got in his way. Everyone is fair game to him and he will disrespect everyone if it will suit and further his cause.

Consider Floyd mumbo-jumbos on fighting Pacquiao-

“He has to call me out first- he knows he can’t beat me- it will be an easier fight than Marquez- 60-40- I’m the best fighter of all time- God doesn’t want me to lose- I’ll promise I’ll fight Mosley instead”

When Pacquiao called out his bluff, he proposed an unprecedented and unparalleled Olympic- style testing which no boxing commission in the United States uses despite the fact that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has the most sophisticated testing facilities and the most stringent measures in drug testing.

If he thinks Pacquiao will be of no match to him, why be adamant with his senseless demands since he once admitted that he was the bigger man, anyway? Why not just sign the contract and prove that he is the greatest fighter of all time inside the square ring?

Sadly, for all of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s pronouncements, deep inside he is afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao and lose his cherished “0” to the Pacman. For all of his braggadocio, deep inside he is a big coward. Floyd Mayweather, Jr should remember that being a loud-mouth will not gain him respect. He should also take to heart the old saying that “Still water runs deep.”


Note: This article is also featured at Now Boxing

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Floyd Mayweather, Jr.- I'll whip Manny Pacquiao's punk ass!



Now that the fight is definitely off, Floyd Mayweather, Jr is back talking some sh**. Now that the fight is not going to happen Floyd Mayweather, Jr is talking about whipping Manny Pacquiao’s punk ass. Finally, it’s no longer quiet on Floyd Mayweather, Jr’s front but this time the typical Mayweather mumbo- jumbo is falling on deaf ears. Floyd Mayweather, Jr can keep on talking about his greatness, his wealth and his fighting ability until eternity but nobody is listening.

Mayweather in a statement released earlier today said-

“Throughout this whole process, I have remained patient, but at this point I am thoroughly disgusted that Pacquiao and his representatives are trying to blame me for the fight not happening when clearly the blame is on them.

“First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao. I want to whip his punk [rear]. Before the mediation, my team proposed a 14-day, no-blood-testing window leading up to the fight. But it was rejected. I am still proposing the 14-day window, but he is still unwilling to agree to it, even though this is obviously a fair compromise on my part as I wanted the testing to be up until the fight and he wanted a 30-day cut-off. The truth is he just doesn’t want to take the tests.

‘In my opinion, it is Manny Pacquiao and his team who are denying the people a chance to see the biggest fight ever. I know the people will see through their smoke screens and lies. I am ready to fight and sign the contract. Manny needs to stop making his excuses, step up and fight.”



Now, that the fight is never going to happen, Floyd Mayweather, Jr is talking tough and cheap.

I say, man up Floyd and stop making excuses, step up and fight if you really want it to happen. I say, stop the tough talk, back up your mouth, be a man and fight Manny Pacquiao in the ring. But since you don’t want to take a chance against a fighter that could erase the “0” in your resume, you won’t do that.

How naïve of some people who didn’t get the charade you were playing early on. You never really liked this fight in the first place after seeing how Manny Pacquiao manhandled Miguel Cotto (a fighter of your own size where you took the easy way out and retired instead of facing him in the ring).

Despite all your talk and press releases, I know that you are just engaging in double- talk and trying to find a way out of the hole that you dug into when your loud mouth proclaimed that you want to fight the Pacman.

The moment you asked Richard Schaefer to cancel the Texas flight, I knew that you were having a change of heart -- for how come the so-called "greatest fighter of all time" refused to fight mano-a- mano in an 80,000 seating capacity arena? How could the fight’s "greatest showman" refuse to show his greatness in front of thousands of fans and suddenly suffer from stage fright?

It’s simple, you‘re just afraid of Manny Pacquiao. Your demand for an unparalleled and unprecedented Olympic-style drug testing is an indictment of how you really fear the Pacman. In the end, you would rather be labeled a coward than enter the ring and have your pretty face busted by the fists of the Pacman.


NOTE: The reason Olympic-style drug testing is usually done on athletes in the off-season (e.g. when they are deep in training) because that’s the time that the benefits of PEDs (e.g. hGH & anabolic steroids) will come in handy to build those muscles and tissues. An athlete should have been using those banned substances for a long time for any changes in the body and the desired results to occur. It’s not as if you will just shoot them into your system and the dramatic effect will take place immediately. Besides, if one is a long-time user, there will be very visible changes not only in appearance but also in the psychological make-up of the user.

Nowadays, steroids can now be detected in the hair and when a positive test comes back, the urine sample is then tested for confirmation. Also, hGH is only effective if they are used in conjunction with steroids, and contrary to popular belief, it can also be detected in urine (aside from blood) by using molecular ‘markers’ which could be used as evidence of doping.

So in this case, whether you test Manny Pacquiao for hGH and anabolic steroids, 24- days or 14- days or post fight, is really immaterial since if he was really using them in the past, he would have tested positive for both, while on the other hand, if he will be using them just weeks before the fight, with a window period of less than 30 days, the desired outcome will not take effect nor make an impact on his performance. They should be looking for amphetamines and its derivatives instead.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Dynamite 2009: Aoki's Antics



Shinya Aoki, Dream's colorful champion and considered to be one of the best submission fighters in the world showed no class in his win over rival Sengoku champion Mizuto Hirota.

The very impressive victory was tainted by Aoki's post fight antics when he gave the fallen Hirota the bird. It was an obvious PR nightmare for Dream's top fighter considering the fact that he once criticized several American fighters for their behavior inside the octagon as being disrespectful to the sport.

He would later apologize for the wild wayward birdie.

There was a history of bad blood between the two fighters as Hirota had defeated Aoki's friend Satoru Kitaoka for the lightweight title at Sengoku 9 in August 2009, not to mention that Hirota labeled Aoki as a "repulsive person."

Also Aoki felt insulted when the organizers put Hirota against him instead of Tatsuya Kawajiri, another top-notch lightweight for the fight.

Thus, Aoki vowed before the event that he consider the fight with Hirota to be personal and promised to give Hirota the beating that he deserved.

The much- anticipated fight turned out to be one-sided as Aoki dominated and broke Hirota's will early that culminated into the brutal bone-breaking submission.


"When I had his arm behind his back, I could feel it popping, I thought, 'Well, this guy's pride just won't let him tap, will it?' So without hesitation, I broke it. I heard it break, and I thought, 'Ah, there, I just broke it.' I was stopped afterward, but even if I hadn't been, continuing to break it more would have been fine by me."


Now, wouldn't it be awesome if he can prove his mettle against world no. 1 BJ Penn in the near future? Dana White should consider bringing Shinya Aoki to the UFC soon. If he was able to lure Takanori Gomi to cross the Pacific, I'm sure he can do the same with Aoki.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Counter Punch: Pound Poundes



Obviously the self- proclaimed Professor is showing signs of dementia pugilistica even if the record of his short-lived career as a boxer is laughable and negligible to say the least. His best accomplishments, though ,came of having worked as the third man in the ring in obscure fights in obscure places.

He may have a thick skull but you can bet that there is no doubt that he is already punched drunk as evidenced by his recent article since he cannot fathom the real guise of my retort to his article. Maybe his brain is just really a bit on the soft and soggy side that he cannot comprehend even simple English now. Ha, what a shame for someone who is supposed to have been born to write and speak the Queen’s language.

You gotta laugh at how ignorant this guy is especially on his hypotheses in his newest article at RingsideReport entitled “Manny Pacquiao- Floyd Mayweather, Jr: The Idiotic Following of the Pacman” This is not surprising though as he is known for his pathetic and idiotic views in the boxing world.

Whoa, how presumptuous of Geoff Poundes to usurp the title of Professor which traditionally should have been reserved for people who truly deserved it. And how could RingsideReport pride itself as “The Heart of Boxing” with a person known to have a spurious title as one of its inhabitants. This is tantamount to having an athlete using PEDs to attain something that you don’t normally have in your system. Maybe we should use an Olympic Style testing in order to determine how Mr. Poundes obtained his Professorial chair.

Yes, you gotta laugh. This time wail if you must like a real hyena. Or better still, howl like a jackal at the absurdity of the contentions these ignorant nincompoops can come up with.

But we can forgive the man for his perception is really clouded and he is living in a wide warped world where he cannot stand Pacquiao and his followers. You can blame it on envy and his huge ego popped since he cannot accept the fact that a midget brown man like Manny Pacquiao is on top of the boxing world.

Anyway, when was the last time mighty England had a P4P champion? Nada. Zip.

Most of the boxing world had already seen the ruse by Golden Boy and Mayweather in order for them to put a huge cloud over Manny Pacquiao’s head. But this Geoff guy is still acting like a buffoon by stubbornly sticking to his beliefs based really on NOTHING but gossips and innuendos. Not very manly, come to think of it.

Why would Manny Pacquiao allow himself to be bamboozled into some test to prove he’s clean (when he knows in his heart that he is clean) just because a known drug nut and convicted felon says he’s not, without even an iota of evidence to show? Why would Manny Pacquiao dignify this obvious witch-hunt by people with dubious characters and intentions?

For the record, unlike in the cases of many British athletes like the “venerable” Linford Christie as well as their American “roid warrior counterparts like McGwire and Mosley, there is no smoking gun nor corroborating witnesses in the accusations against Manny Pacquiao of using PEDs. Even the vaunted Scotland Yard will scoff at these charges.

So, it is really quite astonishing for a person who goes around with a “Professor” title attached to his name to foolishly continue to harp on this. It doesn’t bode well for Mr. Poundes’ stature to pound on issues raised by an uneducated felon. But we cannot blame him since his illusions were shattered when his idols, the symbols of British pride and dominance in some sports, were caught using PEDs and eventually labeled as Royal Cheaters. These people who were supposed to be the Creams of the Crown shamed the Empire, of course but this doesn’t mean that what is true for the British is also true for the Pinoys. There’s a big difference between Tea and Salabat or a pudding and a Balut, if you ask me.

Unlike Geoff Poundes and his ilk, I can understand where Manny Pacquiao is coming from. Manny is not dumb enough to jump into something just because somebody told him to jump. Let them prove the worth of their accusations first by citing and giving concrete facts rather than just baseless hunches.

And yes, Manny Pacquiao is not Superman and as proven in his many fights that he is indeed human. But he perseveres and works hard to attain his mythical status that he deserves right now. And so I’m cutting him some slack on this but make no mistake about it that when a competent authority like the NSAC asks him to undergo this so-called Olympic Style testing, I’m positive Manny Pacquiao will surely answer the bell come test time.


Note: Just for the benefit of the uninformed, like Mr. Geoff Poundes, who obviously need to get out of their small worlds to educate themselves regarding the vast culture of the big, wide world in order to spare them from all the idiotic stuff that their small demented minds can come up with.

I say, with or without Manny Pacquiao the Filipinos’ world will go on turning. Filipinos are a hardened lot and they will not just succumb to the hardships of life without a fight. We don’t throw ourselves from buildings just because we lose our jobs, nor do we put bullets in our heads just because we don’t have pie for Christmas. And most of all, we know how to distinguish between fact and fiction.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Pacquiao- Mayweather Blood Feud: CBS Sports Gregg Doyel's Folly

There are articles written by writers that are worth reading, and then there are articles that are not worth the time to read. CBS Sports columnist Gregg Doyel’s article entitled “Boxing’s bloody mess: Manny meet McGwire” belongs to the latter. It is a bloody mess only because it harped on things that are nothing but the byproducts of the pure unadulterated warped sense of American righteousness and the crap that goes with it. CBS' image would be a lot better if they would stop patronizing people like him who are obviously not capable of logical thinking and deal mostly in speculative fiction.



The eras of the Salem witch hunts and McCarthyism may be in the past but make no mistake about it; many Americans still harbor those wicked principles in the dark abyss of their hearts and the deep recesses of their small minds if they suit their purpose. They would even lie and omit pertinent facts to justify their positions.

Doyel tried to sugarcoat his partisan views on the issue of the Manny Pacquiao- Floyd Mayweather Jr. mega fight fiasco with what he deemed were logical premises on the surface, but on closer examination, they smacked of double-standard, lack of knowledge and outright ignorance to justify his leaning toward his fellow American in this particular case.

I will just raise and discuss some points here in passing. I’ll do a clearer and more extensive explanation on the issues in my next post entitled “Pacquiao- Mayweather: Who’s Bad?” in the coming days. Suffice it to say that for now I will just refute some of Gregg Doyle’s dumb assertions.

“Now the onus is on Pacquiao. Like so many who came before him -- McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, cyclists and sprinters and body builders -- he is guilty until proven innocent. But this is different from the Salem witch trials or the McCarthy's reign of terror, because the solution is simple:

Do the blood test.“


Putting Manny Pacquiao in the same league as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and the like is nothing but a ploy to condition the mind of a gullible public to condemn him for these make- believe accusations that primarily originated, without rhyme or reason nor any evidence to back up the said claim, from the mind of a known drug addict and convicted dealer (Floyd Mayweather, Sr.), that were then parroted by several personalities that either had an axe to grind (Schaefer & Golden Boy) or simply lacked the brain power (Malignaggi and Cintron) to comprehend the things that they are talking about that was then aided by the equally biased and ignorant press like Doyel and his ilk.

I am also quite amused on how some media people are now saying, and gullible people are really buying it, that the Philippines is now capable of systematic sports doping typically reserved for technologically- advanced countries like the United States, Russia, China and the United Kingdom just to name a few. It’s not only laughable but absurd. The sporting world’s Hall of Shame have been populated by athletes from those countries mentioned above since God-knows when. The list is a veritable who’s who of people adored and worshiped by people all over the world before their ignominious fall from grace.

Correct me if I’m wrong but there is no record of any Filipino athlete that has tested positive on any performance- enhancing drugs (PEDs) in the history of any sports that they have participated in and Manny Pacquiao is not and will not be the first one to break the said record.

The Olympic Style Drug Testing proposed by the Mayweather camp is not only unparalleled and unprecedented in the history of professional boxing but is also not the norm by any governing body that oversees and sanctions the sport like the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

All of a sudden here comes Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his posse accusing Manny Pacquiao of this and that and demanding this tests and that for Pacquiao to undergo. Manny Pacquiao of course did what a proud champion who earned his spurs in the square ring should do- he stood his ground, refused to be bullied and bamboozled into this kind of foolish exercise.

Let us remember that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not the belt holder and P4P champion to even demand such stuff; he is not boxing’s hottest property nor is he above anybody nor has the authority to demand such tests. He is not the NSAC and is not even close to being an expert on the subject.

And unlike the accusers of the MLB ’roid warriors and Golden Boy partner Shane Mosleywho came forward with loaded guns, the Mayweather camp doesn’t have anything but their foul mouths and hot air to show. They are not in possession of any documents (BALCO), pieces of evidence (Clemens’ syringe) nor have witnesses (trainers) on hand that link Manny Pacquiao to Performance- Enhancing Drugs (PEDs).

It is on record that Manny Pacquiao has never tested positive in any tests (like A-Roid) conducted by competent authorities in his entire career to even justify their accusations. Let the Mayweathers show us some proof of what dirt they really got on Pacquiao, and only then will Pacquiao be bound to prove himself. This is the most logical thing to do so as not to dignify these baseless allegations further. The contention that if Pacquiao has nothing to hide, he should just do the damn test, doesn’t hold water in this case, if you ask me. This is simply a matter of pride and principle to avoid a precedent that will encompass a witch hunt whenever a boxer will accuse and besmirch somebody of anything at a drop of a hat.

Manny Pacquiao is a proud and honest man and is not that dumb person that will just jump into their whims and caprices. But believe you me, Manny Pacquiao is not unreasonable and would readily accede to an Olympic Style testing in a heartbeat if a sanctioning body like the NSAC would require it for his fights or to an extent if Mayweather would agree to a 65- 35 purse split in Pacquiao’s favor.

Now back to Mr. Doyel’s contentions in his article-

“Pacquiao's supporters say he will do the blood test, but they are right only up to a point. They refuse to see beyond that point, because that's what supporters do: They see what they want to see. And Pacquiao fans see this: They see Pacquiao as being accommodating -- willing to submit to a urine test whenever it is asked, and even willing to submit to a blood test months before the fight, or shortly after the fight.

Pacquiao fans ignore this glaring truth, that their hero is not willing to give blood in the weeks leading up to the fight.

When the HGH would still be in his system.”


It’s really elementary but Mr. Doyel is obviously way out of his league in this case. He should at least emulate Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and at least take some time to study the subject and gather the pertinent facts before he puts his thoughts on paper. He is ignorant on the matter and is an embarrassment not only to himself but to the CBS Network to say the least.

I will not even go into Mr. Doyel’s malicious theory and insinuations regarding Manny Pacquiao’s weight and power that he was able to carry as he scales one division after another. Had he done his research properly and consulted some knowledgeable people, he would know the answers right away.

Let me just get this straight though; Manny Pacquiao never refused the blood tests. He already agreed beyond what the Nevada State Athletic Commission demands for its fighters. But then the camp of Floyd Mayweather Jr. wanted more but could not even make up their minds on what they were looking for and asked for additional tests to be added in the contract. First, they want Manny Pacquiao to be tested for steroids then backtracked when they learned that this can be tested via urine. They then demanded that he be tested for Human Growth Hormone (hGH) and are now even demanding to add EPO to the lot which is an obvious fishing expedition. So, why would we take these obvious trial and error accusations seriously?

If there are people who are muddling the issue here, they are the Mayweathers, the Golden Boy Executives led by Schaeffer and journalists like Mr. Doyel who do not possess the necessary smarts to comprehend the subject, yet they act like experts on the matter. They concoct stories and brew conjectures in their small minds and pass them off as truth serum.

These people should at least learn and study how anabolic steroids and hGH work: the mechanisms of action and its effect; the life span as well as the half life of the said chemicals in the system and the proper manner of detection; how to quantify their levels as well as the correlating factors that affects each and every organ system in the body.

If only they knew these things then they will be enlightened enough to know that whatever crazy idea they have in their sinister minds is far, far from the truth and realize that they really have no business talking about the subject lest they will be exposed and labeled as buffoons who have no business venturing in a field that they have no idea about in the first place.

There is an old saying which best described the attitude of this stubborn yet unenlightened few- “Little learning is a dangerous thing.” Yes, Mr. Doyel, that’s precisely the reason why a lot of innocent Americans have lost their lives at the stakes in the past.

And I’ll leave you with this food for thought in the words of Golden Boy’s henchman Richard Schaeffer in answer to Zab Judah’s demand for admitted Steroid user "Sugar" Shane Mosley to undergo a more thorough drug testing similar to what his promotion company is demanding for Pacquiao prior to their fight that was eventually canned,

“Whatever tests they (the Nevada Athletic Commission) want them to take, Shane will submit to that,”

“We are not going to do other tests than the Nevada commission requires. The fact is Shane is not a cheater and he does not need to be treated like one.”


And that, folks, is the classic American double- standard and hypocrisy at work for you.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Manny & Money: Geoff's Gaffes

The current brouhaha on the Olympic Style Drug Testing proposed by the camp of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. on Manny Pacquiao to which the Filipino and current P4P King refused to heed has elicited a lot of controversies that were further fanned by partisan as well as ignorant boxing writers on the subject.

At first, I chose to keep quiet on the matter since I still believed that the megafight between Money and Manny will push through despite all the reports of disagreement and bad press from both sides.

But sometimes I come across articles written by people who simply have no business writing such stuff that merit some retorts lest they continue with their myopic points of view and self- proclaimed knowledge on the subject when in reality they don’t have an iota of expertise on what they are talking about.

We could easily classify them into three classes- simply biased, paid hacks, dumb & dumber.

I will not speculate in what category Geoff Poundes (RingsideReport.com) belongs to, but instead I will leave it up to the readers to put him in his proper place. I read his article the other day entitled “Did Roid Rage Ruin the Manny Pacquiao- Floyd Mayweather Super Fight?”



When reading the said article of this self- proclaimed “Professor,“ I noticed there was nothing of note in it except already known facts and baseless contentions with some “new” malicious lines attributed to a so-called unnamed “Philippine” source.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“ I was apporached recently by a contributor who laid out for me several reasons why he was convinced that Pacquiao was on steroids. His reasons mostly centers around the Pacman’s physique – the argument being that Pacquiao’s muscularity was impossible in the time span and in light of the level of weight gain – and a view of the Philippines and that country’s attitude to competition and fair play. He was a Philippine himself, so I can repeat his assertion that cheating and corruption are endemic in the Philippines in most areas of life (a cursory examination of the political history of Pacquiao’s homeland pretty much tells its own story). “


The Professor’s time in the ring as a referee might have warped his sense of reality and judgment although not a single punch has landed on his head during his long career to even suggest that he is already punched drunk. Maybe it is just endemic that he lacks the requisite grey matter to fully grasp and comprehend the enormity of his theories and beliefs.

Let me just pound on Mr. Poundes’s assertions and assumptions. As if appointing clowns like Paulie Malignaggi and Kermit Cintron as boxing dignitaries was not laughable enough, he compounded his ignorance by referring to his source as well as to Manny Pacquiao as a “Philippine.” For the record, it is a known fact that no such term exists except maybe in the minds of ignorant and uneducated people that proliferate the boxing world. The correct term is FILIPINO.

Once again, he showed his ignorance and lack of knowledge when he asserted that cheating and corruption are endemic in the Philippines. As if the Philippines has a monopoly of those things. I will not go into some historical details about how the British Empire acquired most of its wealth through conquest and plunder, but let me just state the fact that while the Philippines might be a known place for acquiring cheap drugs like methamphetamines and marijuana as well as being the transit point for cocaine and heroin from the Golden Triangle en route to the West, there is no evidence to support that the Filipinos are capable of manufacturing performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), more so of doing systematic sports doping.

It is a fact that Manny Pacquiao has never failed any drug tests administered on him by any sports bodies at any point of his career. It is also of record that NO FILIPINO ATHLETE HAS TESTED POSITIVE OF USING PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS in any sporting event that the country has participated in, which cannot be said of their MORE ILLUSTRIOUS AND HONEST BRITISH COUNTERPARTS like Dwain Chambers, Greg Rusedski, Gary Cadogan, Perriss Wilkins, Doug Walker and LINFORD CHRISTIE (who won gold in the Olympics, World, Commonwealth and European Championships).

I wonder where Professor Geoffs got his education for there is nothing professorial in the way he writes his opus. It is full of gaffes and lacking in substance. In fact, it is a shame that despite being British, he simply doesn’t have the chops nor the flair of the traditional and contemporary English writers like Conan Doyle et al in his veins. It is really very elementary but the sun has long set on the British Empire and its people.