By Mark Vester
HBO's expert boxing analyst Larry Merchant doesn't see anything that would make him think that Manny Pacquiao is using any performance enhancing drugs. The debate over the legit nature of Pacquiao's performances has come up in the big mess involving the dispute over the cut-off date for random Olympic style drug tests for a March fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"I see no indications that Pacquiao is anything but an exceptional, elite fighter. There are many precedents in boxing of smaller fighters to move up in weight division and be successful later in their careers. Oscar De La Hoya himself started out as a 130-pound titleholder and wound up fighting middleweights which is 30 pounds north of that. It seems like its some sort of ploy," Merchant told USA Today.
Merchant thinks Mayweather's demand for random blood tests was a mental game that exploded out of his control and has now buried the fight.
"I thought it was just some gamesmanship by Mayweather who has a certain talent for mind games with opponents, creating conflict to help promote events. It appears that it has spiraled out of control. I couldn't imagine why. First of all, since he thinks he's going to win the fight and second of all because he's going to make upwards of 30 million or 40 million dollars, how could you take it seriously?" - Merchant said.
"They seem serious about it. Almost as if they were saying Pacquiao can't be this good on his own. Now it's seems like it's a bloodbath. There's no precedent for fighters who have already decided how to divide the money then find issues that would break up a huge event. It's hard to take seriously even if it appears to be serious."
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