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Will the steroid accusations stop now that Pacquiao has tested clean once again?
Will the steroid accusations stop now that Pacquiao has tested clean once again?
November 24, 11:05 PM
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner
by Scott Heritage
He may be ripped like Bruce Lee, but steroids can't account for Pacquiao's success (AP Photo/Jae C.Hong)Manny Pacquiao and his team have made the doping tests results from his latest fight against Miguel Cotto public, hoping to assuage the accusations he has been facing as he cuts through the best fighters in the world with apparently little effort.
Obviously the results were clean, as they have been throughout his career, but this probably still won't be enough to stop the accusers, who seem to be growing by the day.
The accusations are often based on the fact that Pacquiao struggled with lighter fighters in the past, such as Juan Manuel Marquez, and is now running through world champions at a higher weight than he started at. The flaw with this argument would be that it implies that Pacquiao is a tiny fighter who bloats up like Marquez did against Mayweather.
Although he is small compared to some of his recent opponents, he isn't too small to carry the weight the right way, and has looked ripped and lean rather than bulky and sluggish as he has moved up. It may also be the case that as he has started to earn more and more money, he has simply been able to improve his training and diet, the end result of which being what he looks like now.
The biggest explanation of all these accusations however is simply jealousy by people who could not achieve what Pacquiao has in their own careers. Note how the accusers are all boxers or former boxers, all of which who have struggled with success. Pauli Malignaggi was outclassed and embarrassed against both Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto who Pacquiao beat easily. Mayweather Sr. was Hatton's trainer for his fight against Pacquiao, where an elementary error not corrected by his coaching was exploited by Freddie Roach. Kermit Cintron has no real motive to try to badmouth Pacquiao, other than that he is of course far less successful.
Kermit Cintron, talking to RingTalk:
“I just think that… I honestly think that he is taking something, because a lot of fighters coming up in weight like that, 40 something pounds… he just looks ripped like Bruce Lee. A lot of people who come up in weight like that don’t look as ripped as he is, they hold a lot of water weight. I just believe he is taking something. I think he is taking something that’s for sure. I don’t know what it is, whatever he is taking its not coming up in the drug test. I honestly believe he is taking something, no 112 pounder comes up to 147, to look the way he does, he is taking something. Definitely, people who come up in weight like that they look soft, they don’t look as ripped like when they fought at the weight they started. Its definitely questionable.”
Paulie Malignaggi, talking to BoxingScene:
I think there is something up with Manny Pacquiao. I am not going to get into it. I think people will understand what I am saying. Full blown welterweights don't take those type of punches from Miguel Cotto the way he took them with total disregard for his power nor do they hurt him with every punch they hit him with. These are full blown welterweights I am talking about. This guy is coming up in weight and doing all these things. There is something up with this guy but that's as far as I am going to go into it. Floyd Mayweather (Senior) has gotten into it a little bit. There have been other fighters who have mentioned it. I am not going to get into no controversy. I am going to leave it at that. There is something that seriously makes me feel weird about Manny Pacquiao. I am going to leave it at that.
Although there isn't great testing in most sports, steroid users tend to get caught eventually, and it only takes one mistimed cycle or change of fight date to make a fighter test positive. Pacquiao has yet to fail a test, and doesn't seem like the kind of fighter who would use steroids anyway. He has losses, and he doesn't seem to mind about winning or losing so long as he gives his all. The kind of fighters who tend to test positive more often than not are those who are only in the sport for the money, and only care about protecting their own records.
November 24, 11:05 PM
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner
by Scott Heritage
He may be ripped like Bruce Lee, but steroids can't account for Pacquiao's success (AP Photo/Jae C.Hong)Manny Pacquiao and his team have made the doping tests results from his latest fight against Miguel Cotto public, hoping to assuage the accusations he has been facing as he cuts through the best fighters in the world with apparently little effort.
Obviously the results were clean, as they have been throughout his career, but this probably still won't be enough to stop the accusers, who seem to be growing by the day.
The accusations are often based on the fact that Pacquiao struggled with lighter fighters in the past, such as Juan Manuel Marquez, and is now running through world champions at a higher weight than he started at. The flaw with this argument would be that it implies that Pacquiao is a tiny fighter who bloats up like Marquez did against Mayweather.
Although he is small compared to some of his recent opponents, he isn't too small to carry the weight the right way, and has looked ripped and lean rather than bulky and sluggish as he has moved up. It may also be the case that as he has started to earn more and more money, he has simply been able to improve his training and diet, the end result of which being what he looks like now.
The biggest explanation of all these accusations however is simply jealousy by people who could not achieve what Pacquiao has in their own careers. Note how the accusers are all boxers or former boxers, all of which who have struggled with success. Pauli Malignaggi was outclassed and embarrassed against both Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto who Pacquiao beat easily. Mayweather Sr. was Hatton's trainer for his fight against Pacquiao, where an elementary error not corrected by his coaching was exploited by Freddie Roach. Kermit Cintron has no real motive to try to badmouth Pacquiao, other than that he is of course far less successful.
Kermit Cintron, talking to RingTalk:
“I just think that… I honestly think that he is taking something, because a lot of fighters coming up in weight like that, 40 something pounds… he just looks ripped like Bruce Lee. A lot of people who come up in weight like that don’t look as ripped as he is, they hold a lot of water weight. I just believe he is taking something. I think he is taking something that’s for sure. I don’t know what it is, whatever he is taking its not coming up in the drug test. I honestly believe he is taking something, no 112 pounder comes up to 147, to look the way he does, he is taking something. Definitely, people who come up in weight like that they look soft, they don’t look as ripped like when they fought at the weight they started. Its definitely questionable.”
Paulie Malignaggi, talking to BoxingScene:
I think there is something up with Manny Pacquiao. I am not going to get into it. I think people will understand what I am saying. Full blown welterweights don't take those type of punches from Miguel Cotto the way he took them with total disregard for his power nor do they hurt him with every punch they hit him with. These are full blown welterweights I am talking about. This guy is coming up in weight and doing all these things. There is something up with this guy but that's as far as I am going to go into it. Floyd Mayweather (Senior) has gotten into it a little bit. There have been other fighters who have mentioned it. I am not going to get into no controversy. I am going to leave it at that. There is something that seriously makes me feel weird about Manny Pacquiao. I am going to leave it at that.
Although there isn't great testing in most sports, steroid users tend to get caught eventually, and it only takes one mistimed cycle or change of fight date to make a fighter test positive. Pacquiao has yet to fail a test, and doesn't seem like the kind of fighter who would use steroids anyway. He has losses, and he doesn't seem to mind about winning or losing so long as he gives his all. The kind of fighters who tend to test positive more often than not are those who are only in the sport for the money, and only care about protecting their own records.
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