Mayweather camp: ‘We’re OK’ with less-stringent drug-testing protocol
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The promoter for unbeaten boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. told The Times today that he’d be willing to compromise on U.S. Anti-Doping Agency policy that would leave Mayweather and his tentatively scheduled March 13 opponent, Manny Pacquiao, subject to a blood test on the eve of their mega-fight.
‘As long as there’s a blood test, as long as there’s a urine test and as long as it’s random, a [specificied] cutoff date is agreeable to us,’ Mayweather promoter Richard Schaefer said. ‘We’re saying, ‘We’re OK,’ and we hope Pacquiao [and his promoter and trainer] are OK.’
Schaefer didn’t precisely spell out how the drug testing would be done. He and USADA Chief Executive Travis Tygart have said they don’t believe an effective anti-doping policy can be carried out if Pacquiao won’t agree to test anytime in the 30-day period before the fight. Schaefer pointed to Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach’s comments to The Times this week that a blood test three days before the bout seems reasonable.
Pacquiao first told The Times on Christmas Eve that he planned to sue Mayweather and Schaefer’s Golden Boy Promotions for defamation because of their intense public push for testing beyond that required by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
‘They’re trying to tarnish, damage and destroy the clean reputation of someone who is a fighter, a warrior,’ Pacquiao advisor and biographer Winchell Campos told The Times on Saturday. ‘Manny has said he fights for his country, his honor and his God, and he’d never do anything to disgrace any of those.’
That said, Campos said Pacquiao is willing to consider any direction from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. If Nevada authorities agree that additional blood testing beyond their urine collection is appropriate for this high-profile bout that could be the most lucrative in history, ‘then that’s fair,’ Campos said. ‘But nobody should be dictating those things to the commission.’
Schaefer said he’s ‘never accused Pacquiao of doing something illegal’ and said as a promoter who has more than 20% of Pacquiao’s rights, ‘the last thing I’d want is to see him accused or be found guilty of using steroids.’ Schaefer said he strongly wants the fighters to come together and agree to drug-testing terms.
‘Now that I’ve learned more about this, boxing now will have an outspoken advocate for blood testing in the sport,’ Schaefer said. ‘I plan to ask Nevada to have Travis Tygart explain why blood tests are necessary. This is not about hitting a baseball, throwing a football or hitting a puck. This is a sport that’s mano-a-mano, with guys hitting each other’s heads. It’s important that the strongest testing possible is in place.’
-- Lance Pugmire
