Floyd Mayweather, Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao: Who's Bad?

(First of a two-part series)

The proposed mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr scheduled on March 13, 2010 is definitely off owing to disagreements in both camps on the how the contentious and controversial drug testing will be done and what agency will handle it.

Let us look back and answer some issues that contributed as to why the said mega fight went kaput.



Bad Blood

There was bad blood between both sides and they were wary of each other’s intentions and sincerity from the very beginning. It did not bode well that Floyd Mayweather, Jr has a bad history with Bob Arum and so does Manny Pacquiao with Golden Boy Promotions. Add the fact that Pacquiao gave Oscar de la Hoya, GBP’s owner, the beating of his life and turned his pretty face into a punching bag.

Also, Freddie Roach and Pacquiao terribly embarrassed the Floyd Mayweather, Sr- trained Ricky Hatton in just two rounds that made Mayweather, Sr cope out on the Mancunian fighter by blaming him of not listening to his instructions instead of his poor fight plan and strategy.

After these two fights, rumors began to swirl around about Manny Pacquiao’s alleged steroid use without any evidence to show but mainly coming from Mayweather, Sr.’s mouth that was soon picked up by fighters with hidden agenda, some people with an axe to grind, and some media people who are skeptical of Team Pacquiao’s success.

Bad Intentions

Pacquiao shamed Oscar de la Hoya when he made him quit on his stool after the 8th round and failed to answer the bell for the 9th round of their fight that Oscar was predicted to win handily. The Golden Boy’s image was tarnished and he still cannot get over the fact that the last image of him being remembered was of a defeated man sitting forlornly in his corner while Team Pacquiao and the boxing world were celebrating around him.

Oscar de la Hoya’s huge ego was irreversibly pricked when Freddie Roach proved to the whole world that he “can no longer pull the trigger”, and was made worse when Pacquiao made him eat his word. Who can forget what he told Pacquiao during one of the press conferences before the fight, “I will knock you out“?

And after proclaiming to anybody who cared to listen after his surrender that Pacquiao’s punches had no power at all and that he could’ve have stood there all night and Pacquiao would not be able to knock him out, he made a 180 degree turn around and wrote in his blog that, “Now I have to wonder about him. I’m saying to myself. Wow, those Mosley punches, those Vargas punches and those Pacquiao punches all felt the same!”

Thus, we can forgive his conflicting statements since he was on the receiving end of many powerful and wicked blows to the head in his fight with Pacquiao and could have resulted into him not being his old self. Now, we have to wonder if he is the same sane old man that he believe is.


Bad Education

Manny Pacquaio’s accusers lack the necessary smarts to understand the nature of anabolic steroids and human-growth hormones and their functions and effects on the body. They don’t possess the necessary educational attainment to even understand the essence of what they are talking about.

Floyd Mayweather, Sr. who started the ball rolling never finished high school to have even an iota of understanding the basics of what he is accusing Pacquiao of doing. Obviously, Team Mayweather lacks the knowledge to separate the facts from fiction regarding the tests that they are demanding.

First, they asked for blood tests to look for steroids in Manny Pacquiao’s blood. Manny Pacquiao agreed to 3 tests that are not even part of the mandated drug testing by the NSAC, the sole authority in conducting such tests on fighters in the State of Nevada. When told that this could be done through urinalysis, they changed their tune and now added Human- Growth Hormones (hGH) to the lot. While it’s true that hGH can be detected in one’s blood, contrary to popular beliefs hGH can also be detected in the urine by using molecular ‘markers’ to detect its presence in the urine in this day and age.

I will not be surprised if they will raise the EPO- question in the future. This is an obvious witch- hunt that Team Pacquiao did not tolerate. More so, a ludicrous demand coming from a fighter who belittles Manny Pacquiao’s skills and says that he will “whip the Pacman’s punk ass“.


Bad Company

Team Pacquiao is not known to harbor people with questionable characters in their midst . Team Pacquiao has no links to companies with bad reputations. They have not been involved nor linked in any controversies in and out of the ring. Team Pacquiao has no links to laboratories/ companies like BALCO nor to any dirty and unsavory characters both at present and in the past.

Freddie Roach is as straight a shooter as you can get. He is so transparent and speaks his mind out without regard for anything. He is the “what you see is what you get” kind of guy.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza who admitted that he prepared everything that he gave to Manny Pacquiao himself. He said that if there is any person in the team that should know what goes into Pacquiao’s system, it should be him. His record is impeccable and speaks for itself.

Alex Ariza, who was obviously irritated by the issue, said in an interview -

“I didn’t really do any interviews before this because I didn’t feel it warranted it. But I’ve seen stories like Lou DiBella said that members of Team Pacquiao have a history of steroid use? Show me. Where’s his paperwork that leads to BALCO? I’ve worked with Diego Corrales, Erik Morales, Angel Manfredy. None of those guys has ever even tested for a diuretic, cold medication, antibiotics, nothing. I don’t give any of my fighters that would be considered illegal or a performance enhancing drug. I don’t know where people are coming up that I’m linked to BALCO. I’ve never been associated or questioned about anything.”

As for Team Mayweather, I’ll just give you three names and I believed no further explanations are necessary to put the message across - Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Roger Mayweather and Richard Schaefer.


Bad Reputation

Manny Pacquiao earned the mythical P4P title the hard way. He persevered against the odds and fought his way to the top against worthy and world class opponents. The list of his victims are worthy of Hall of Fame status themselves. He may have been involved in some controversies in the past with regards to his dalliances with show business but his record in and out of the ring when it comes to the sport is spotless. He quietly made his mark and fought the best there is.

On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s reputation in and out of the ring left something to be desired. His name was mentioned in relation to a shooting incident in a Las Vegas skating rink and his mansion and limo were subjected to a weapons search by authorities. The IRS is after him for several years now and also has several pending cases for foreclosures in court. Recently, he and his entourage were involved in a night club scuffle with a rapper and his crew.

True, Mayweather fought some good fighters like Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo (although he was gifted a win in their first fight) when he was still in the lower weight divisions but as he scaled the weights he was also accused of cherry- picking his opponents to preserve the “0” in his record. His most impressive win in the last 5 years was the 10th round knockout of Ricky Hatton who was fighting out of his natural weight for the first time.

His biggest fight was an unimpressive split decision win over Oscar de la Hoya wherein de la Hoya, learning from his mistakes in the first fight, could have whipped his ass the moment they faced again but he never gave him the rematch. So, that is subject to debate until now.

His comeback fight against a very bloated Juan Manuel Marquez (which earned him the laughable no. 1 P4P ranking over Pacquiao from Yahoo Sports for some time) is nothing spectacular either. It did not sit well to boxing fans that he came out two pounds over the catch weight limit and refused the customary weigh-in again on fight night. Although he showed his vaunted defensive skills in that fight, the fans were dissatisfied when he failed to engage and knockout the smaller Mexican.

While Manny Pacquiao continues to take on all- comers throughout his career, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fought patsies and second- tier fighters while dancing en route to victory. He conveniently ducked the people who could have challenged his skills and defined him as a fighter. Mosley, Margarito, Cotto and Williams are just some of the names that could have cemented his legacy, but rather than facing them in the ring, he opted to retire.

Bad Mouth

Manny Pacquiao is a soft- spoken person and is not known to bad mouth his opponents. He respects his opponents even if some of his opponents disrespect him. He just smiles at all the trash talk and lets his fist do the talking inside the ring.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. shoots from his mouth without regard for anything. He brags about his ‘greatness’ and trash talks anyone that he wants to or got in his way. Everyone is fair game to him and he will disrespect everyone if it will suit and further his cause.

Consider Floyd mumbo-jumbos on fighting Pacquiao-

“He has to call me out first- he knows he can’t beat me- it will be an easier fight than Marquez- 60-40- I’m the best fighter of all time- God doesn’t want me to lose- I’ll promise I’ll fight Mosley instead”

When Pacquiao called out his bluff, he proposed an unprecedented and unparalleled Olympic- style testing which no boxing commission in the United States uses despite the fact that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has the most sophisticated testing facilities and the most stringent measures in drug testing.

If he thinks Pacquiao will be of no match to him, why be adamant with his senseless demands since he once admitted that he was the bigger man, anyway? Why not just sign the contract and prove that he is the greatest fighter of all time inside the square ring?

Sadly, for all of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s pronouncements, deep inside he is afraid to fight Manny Pacquiao and lose his cherished “0” to the Pacman. For all of his braggadocio, deep inside he is a big coward. Floyd Mayweather, Jr should remember that being a loud-mouth will not gain him respect. He should also take to heart the old saying that “Still water runs deep.”


Note: This article is also featured at Now Boxing