February 9th, 2010
by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says “Fighter of the Decade” and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao “can fight tomorrow” even as he noted that trainer Freddie Roach’s job is to “have to slow him up.”
Arum told us that he is “getting rave reviews on his (Pacquiao’s) performance in the gym and everybody is saying they can’t believe how great he’s looking.”
The astute promoter said “everything is excellent” in terms of the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey WBO title defense of the Filipino hero at the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium on March 13 as well as the “Pinoy Power III/Latin Fury 13” fight card on Sunday, February 14, Manila Time.
Arum said all the fighters on the card which showcases five promising Filipinos against Latino counterparts. He said “all the fighters are in good shape. All the fighters are confident and they are all coming to win” which has stirred a lot of interest both among the Filipino fans and their Hispanic counterparts.
The fights will be telecast in the Philippines by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN over its pre-eminent Channel 2 at 10:30 a.m. with a replay over Studio 23 at 8:30 p.m. It will also be telecast globally to Filipinos abroad on The Filipino Channel TFC which is widely followed.
Meantime, Oscar De La Hoya continues to ignore the call of respected, award-winning boxing writer and lawyer Thomas Hauser to sign a waiver that would allow the Nevada State Athletic Commission to release the results of drug tests conducted on De La Hoya when he was fighting and to allow people associated with the tests to talk publicly.
Arum who was De La Hoya’s promoter has told boxingscene.com he “knows what the history is” adding that Hauser knows exactly what he is alluding to.”
While indicating even in his conversations with us that he was not going to say much about the issue, Arum told boxingscene.com “I know when it happened, how many times it happened. He also pointed out that there was a grace period when they tested fighters for steroids.”
We inquired from the current NSAC executive director Keith Kizer about Floyd Mayweather Jr’s use of the pain-killer Xylocaine which is reportedly banned in 49 US states except Nevada and there was the contention it was the reason Mayweather Jr didn’t want to go to Dallas for a planned showdown with Pacquiao and wanted to fight to be in Las Vegas.
We also inquired whether Nevada would consider banning the drug or will Mayweather be found guilty of drug abuse if he uses Xylocaine. We mentioned the fact that Thomas Hauser insists that De La Hoya needs to sign a waiver for results on his drug tests before your time, to be released. It also involved - he says - the right to talk to people involved for public consumption.
Tags: clottey, floyd, joshua, jr, manny, mayweather, pacman, pacquiao
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February 9th, 2010
by Rick Rockwell
The failed fight negotiations between Pacquiao and Mayweather have indirectly uncovered a wealth of information about Mayweather and De La Hoya. We have learned that not only has Mayweather used an illegal drug but we are now learning more and more about De La Hoya’s use of performance enhancing drugs. Ironically, we would have never learned about their drug usage if they weren’t hypocritically accusing Pacquiao of cheating. Let’s examine this further…
Oscar De La Hoya
“For Oscar to make his comments. Remember I was De La Hoya’s promoter. I know what the history is. When [Thomas] Hauser says “sign the waiver or shut up”, Hauser knows exactly what he is alluding to. I’m not going to say much about it but remember I was De La Hoya’s promoter. I know when it happened and how many times it happened. If you remember there was a grace period that when they tested fighters for steroids.”… Bob Arum, Boxingscene.com
In regards to the grace period that Arum is referring to, I direct you to Thomas Hauser’s comments that sparked the entire De La Hoya waiver signing:
“In 2002, the Nevada State Athletic Commission instituted steroid testing for championship fights, but said that there would be a six-month period during which, absent aggravating circumstances, a fighter who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug would be sent an “educational letter” rather than be penalized.”
Eddie Mitchell Sacramento, CA “Rick, do you think De La Hoya took performance enhancing drugs?” Eddie, I do believe he took something. With both Howard and Arum alluding to this, and De La Hoya refusing to sign a waiver, it makes it hard to believe otherwise. Keep in mind that Bob Arum was Oscar’s promoter; he would know about any failed tests.
However, something that is just as alarming is the fact that Boxing and the NSAC did more to cover up the positive tests than they did to clean it up. Sending out a letter and “educating” a PEDs user is a joke. Suspensions and a public outing should have been the appropriate course. Perhaps, boxing would have fewer problems now if they actually tried to stop it back then.
Floyd Mayweather Jr
Floyd uses Xylocaine which is a controversial drug that’s illegal and banned in some states. Timothy Crane Saramento, CA “Does the NSAC ban Xylocaine?” The NSAC allows fighters to take this drug up to 1 week before the fight. This means, fighters only get in trouble if they take this drug within 1 week of the fight. Once again, if boxing and the NSAC would take harsher stances on this drug then we would have fewer problems and probably one less Mayweather in the sport.
Conclusion
De La Hoya’s refusal to sign a waiver does not equal Manny’s refusal to agree to Mayweather’s timelines. Manny was willing to be tested. Oscar is not willing to cooperate at all. Also, if there are letters of Oscar’s failed drug tests then there’s actual proof unlike with Pacquiao since there’s no tangible evidence but only false accusations. Both Oscar and Floyd are the ones who use drugs yet they are the ones beating the public “drums” in their efforts to accuse Manny of cheating.
It’s sad that we learn more about their hypocrisy then we do about the actual truth of their drug usage. Maybe one day Boxing’s various entities will “step up” and actually regulate their sport.
Tags: dapidran, de la hoya, jr, manny, mayweather, pacma, pacquiao, peds, xyclocaine
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