By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Keith Thurman is completely comfortable with the amount of performance-enhancing drug testing that has been done leading up to his fight with Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night.

Testing administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association didn’t begin until Pacquiao and Thurman were well into their training camps for their WBA welterweight title fight Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Thurman told BoxingScene.com on Tuesday that he would’ve welcomed comprehensive testing sooner than it began for this fight, but he isn’t suspicious as to why that didn’t happen.

“It was never a big issue,” Thurman said following their grand arrivals at MGM Grand. “They came into camp. There was some drug testing. It doesn’t bother me. However they coordinate it, I accept it. I’m a world champion. I always box clean, fight clean, test clean, and I’m very proud of that. I’m not worried about Manny Pacquiao at the age of 40.

“We’ve been on his [Instagram page]. We’ve watched his performances. We see everything. He doesn’t look 15 years younger. I believe that he’s a professional athlete that is true to the sport. There will be testing before and after the fight, just like every world-class boxing event. It’s just not a thing to worry about.”

Thurman didn’t specify how many times VADA tested him for the Pacquiao fight.

The 30-year-old Thurman previously stated that Pacquiao and other opponents could “take whatever the f*ck they want,” and it still wouldn’t help the 40-year-old Filipino legend or anyone else beat him. The Clearwater, Florida, native’s nonchalance regarding testing in general created curiosity among those concerned about the PED epidemic in boxing, as did a lack of details as to why VADA testing didn’t begin earlier for this 12-round, 147-pound championship match.

As reported by BoxingScene.com’s Jake Donovan, random VADA testing for the Pacquiao-Thurman fight and bouts on its undercard didn’t begin until late last month (https://www.boxingscene.com/pacquiao-thurman-event-now-carry-true-random-drug-testing--140350).

The battle between Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) and Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC) will headline a FOX Sports Pay-Per-View show from MGM Grand Garden Arena (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $74.95 in HD).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.