Oscar De La Hoya, the iconic fighter whom Manny Pacquiao sent to retirement with an upset TKO win in 2008, challenged the Filipino superstar to agree to an Olympic-style drug testing proposed in his endangered March 13 fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. By refusing to subject himself to blood testing in the build-up to the superbout, Pacquiao is raising a lot of questions on his status as a dope-free fighter, noted De La Hoya, who has actually fought two fighters who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas.
Manny Pacquiao, left, connects against Oscar De La Hoya during their December 2008 Dream Match. Pacquiao won after the fight was stopped in between the 8th and 9th round. AP
âIf Pacquiao doesnât want to do this and risk a possible $40 million payday because heâs afraid of needles or believes heâll be weakened by blood tests, then that raises question marks," dela Hoya wrote in his blog for
The Ring . "Now I have to wonder about him. Iâm saying to myself, âWow. Those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same.â Iâm not saying yes or no (about whether Pacquiao might be taking performance-enhancing drugs); Iâm just saying that now people have to wonder: âWhy doesnât he want to do this? Why is it such a big deal." he added. The Mayweather camp, represented in the negotiations by De La Hoyaâs company Golden Boy Promotions, has insisted on having dope tests under the US Anti-Doping Agency purportedly to protect their fighter and level the fight in the light of allegations that Pacquiao might be on to something. But the 31-year-old Pacquiao, who has denied the allegations and came clean in all his previous dope tests conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, has agreed to the blood tests but not while in the middle of training. He said it would weaken him if itâs done so close to fight night. âIf 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; heâs tattooed from top to bottom. Youâre telling me heâs afraid of needles?" the Golden Boy De La Hoya said.
Scheduled testing Pacquiaoâs promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has stressed in a
press statement that the Pacman is agreeable to submitting himself to three tests - one in January during the week the fight is formally announced; the second 30 days from the fight; and the final one immediately following the fight. Arum also proposed the tapping of the independent agencies that work with the National Football League, the National Basketball Association or Major League Baseball, instead of the USADA, which would have the âludicrous" right to administer random blood tests as many times as they want up to weigh-in day. For Team Pacquiao, this could all be part of Mayweatherâs mind games and possibly a ploy to get out of the projected blockbuster card.
Câmon. Itâs only a little bit of blood. If you have nothing to hide, then do the test. â Oscar De La Hoya to Manny Pacquiao
But promoter De La Hoya quickly came to Mayweatherâs defense. âI believe Mayweather wants to do the right thing, to get tested properly. Heâs not doing it to harass Pacquiao; thatâs garbage. I would say to Pacquiao: âDo the test. Do it because itâs only a couple of tablespoons. Needles donât hurt. Just look away when they put the needle in your arm.â Heâll probably lose more blood in the fight than the blood being drawn for the test," he said. âCâmon. Itâs only a little bit of blood. If you have nothing to hide, then do the test," he added. The Olympic-style dope testing is the lone item that derailed the otherwise smooth negotiations for the battle between the two pound-for-pound superstars. Pacquiao and Mayweather have apparently agreed to other major fight terms, including the purse spilt, the weight and the glove sizes.
- GMANews.TV