Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr: Money For Nothin’
It was supposed to be the fight of the year. The fight of the decade. The previous decade. Not the one in which it will eventually take place. That decade will only be three months old by that point. At any rate, Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. was supposed to be the fight that resurrected interest in the sport. Maybe even the fight that saves it. A fan favorite versus a brilliant AMERICAN boxer. Everyone wanted the fight. And the money men were going to make sure they gave it to us all while stuffing their pockets with as many burlap bags full of money as the satin-lining of their suits would allow.
And maybe that is what will happen. Heck, maybe that is what is happening right now. But from a fan’s perspective, things have gone from weird to friggin’ ridiculous now.
It sorta comes down to Pacquiao’s refusal to have blood drawn within 48 hours of the March 13 fight. He has his reasons (hates needles, doesn’t want to be weakened by a blood deposit so close to the fight) just as Mayweather has his reasons for requesting a different method of testing be performed (hoping to psyche out opponent, believes opponent cheats). But it also sorta isn’t that simple.
With megafights come megastakes and both parties want any and every advantage they can get. After all, this is everyone’s payday. Not one last big score necessarily, but along those lines. For both fighters, 2009 led up to this 2010 fight. They know this, the promoters know this, the fans know this and most importantly, the promoters know that the fans know this.
So all this could be bluster. Here we are writing about it. Here you are reading about it. That’s hype, folks. Mayweather’s promoter Leonard Ellerbee (who really ought to go by “Leo”) and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum might just be flexing. Puffing their chests and fanning their plumes. Makin’ something out of nothin’ in hopes of making this big thing bigger.
But nevermind the camps in this bout. This thing’s gone past crazed hype and moved dangerously into disaster. Just yesterday, Pacquiao officially sued the Mayweather camp for defamation. This, of course, has nothing to do with boxing anymore.
Start with Mayweather’s request. Pacquiao agreed to normal testing for a boxing match. Mayweather wants to utilize the Olympic-style of testing. But think about this: if the Nevada State Athletic Commission changes its protocol to appease one or both fighters, it’s tacitly admitting that its methods need tweaking. Do you like admitting your methods need tweaking? No. So imagine if you weren’t you, but an entire commission.
Which isn’t to suggest the NAC is perfect. Far from it. They could have stopped this. Instead they bounced along the sidelines, fueling an already uncontrolled fire. On Monday the Nevada commission ordered both fighters to take immediate random drug tests.
Yeah. I typed that correctly. Random. Both fighters. Same time. Simultaneously being targeted on purpose, but still being called random. Totally legal.
So yeah. The NAC could use a little tweaking. But that doesn’t mean they want to admit it.
From Martin Rogers at Yahoo!:
Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have both been ordered to take immediate drug tests by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
NAC chairman Pat Lundvall issued the demand on Monday in line with the commission’s random testing policy, which conforms to the World Anti Doping Agency’s guidelines.
However, the tests will only sample urine, and despite the commission’s actions, a resolution to the argument over blood testing which is threatening the staging of the fight is no nearer.
Awesome. Not blood. Urine. Perhaps both fighters will come up clean. Then the commission will tell both fighters to shut up and train for the bout. Maybe. But why test them at all? Why not just skip to the shut up bit?
The lazy answer is hype and money. But as a fan, this doesn’t excite me. This confuses me. When is the fight? Where is the fight? Are we going to see the best of both fighters on March 13 if they’re bickering about needles until February?
This move by the commission seems designed to show it is committed to a drug testing policy
Yeah, but whose policy? It’s not the NAC’s or else this sudden random test wouldn’t have happened? If it was the one’s being bandied about from Mayweather’s camp, it would be a blood test and it would happen in a few months. This? This is just … a panic attack.
Also, why is Mayweather vaguely suggesting Pacquiao is a cheat and demanding blood tests to prove such a hypothesis? Others have suggested Mayweather doesn’t feel this way, but simply wants to get into Pacquiao’s head.
Either way, we’re over two months away from a fight that hasn’t even been made official. Pay-Per-View buys haven’t been sold yet, neither have tickets to the event. Is now the best time to make it look as if Pacquaio’s a fraud. If Pacquiao is using performance enhancers (and there’s absolutely no evidence to suggest he is or has in the past), exposing him would erase the fight and Mayweather’s biggest payday. And if he’s just trying to psyche out Pacquaio, is this the way to do it? By telling the world he’s not the athlete he appears to be?
That’s funny behavior for the camp backing a guy named “Money.”
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Photos courtesy of Flickr
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