Time to Take a Stand!

As I am watching Manny Pacquiao destroy Antonio Margarito I keep thinking, this is not the fight I really want to see. Yes I paid for it and I am watching it, but I don’t care to see this. The fight I would rather see is Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. I am by far not the only one who felt this way on Saturday night. Yes Pacquiao was beating up a bigger man, but I saw that beatdown coming from light years away. Most of us have followed the recent career of Pacquiao and his rise up the weight division kicking ass and taking names later, but the one fight we all crave for just can’t seem to happen. But why hasn’t it happened? It has not happened because of a blood test, yes a blood test. Sounds silly doesn’t it? Oh but why is that the reason?

Well Mayweather has strong belief in his heart that Pacquiao is taking something illegal in the sport of boxing in order to move up in weight so fast and not lose any effects. To some it sounds like jealousy, but to many others it sounds like a legit concern. Mayweather has requested that Pacquiao as well as anyone he fights in the future submit to Olympic style drug testing. Olympic style drug testing includes no predetermined amount of random blood and urine samples up till the day of the fight. It is not part of the standard state commissions’ tests which include pre and post fight urine samples. It is a request of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Earlier this year Shane Mosley agreed to the test before his fight with Mayweather and there were no complaints. However Pacquiao has refused. We have heard the excuses from the Pacquiao camp, Manny is scared of needles. Manny does not like to see his blood drawn and he feels the loss of blood will make him weak. The only thing weak in these excuses are the excuses themselves. Manny has multiple tattoos and as far as him feeling the loss of blood will make him weak, I’ve seen him bleed a lot in his fights and he still wins. Despite what certain people say, Pacquiao and his camp have yet to agree to random tests all the way up to the fight.

Now let’s look at this from another perspective. This past weekend the Pacquiao camp suspected Margarito of taking an illegal substance in the locker room before the fight. The demand the Pacquiao camp immediately made at that moment was a pre-fight drug test. Now many will say they had reason to suspect Margarito and they didn’t want Pacquiao to be endangered in the fight. I agree, but Mayweather feels the same way in regards to Pacquiao. Mayweather and Pacquiao are considered to be the two best boxers in the world and therefore they are looked upon as leaders. As a leader you are called upon to begin new trends and set examples for the good of all who follow after you. Pacquiao himself should understand that concept since he is a Congressman in the Philippines and hopes to be the President. Leaders make sacrifices to set precedents in the future for others who follow in their footsteps. Leaders do what is right. Sports, boxing included, has issues with athletes using illegal substances in order to gain a competitive edge and honestly it will never end. However, it is the job of the commission to stay on top of the drug testing in order to prevent those things from happening. Unfortunately they can’t get it right every time and to many fans and fighters they are failing us. So it is up to the fighters to take a stand and say lets help the sport we love by going the extra mile.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has begun to take a stand to try and clean up the sport.People will say he is using it to duck Pacquiao and you know what that could be true. However, look at the positives from what he is doing which is putting fighters on notice that we need to step up to the plate and do our part. Mayweather is not saying others take the test and he will not. He is asking his opponents to take the tests as well as himself. Despite all the negative press he has received for many things, his stance on this matter is the quality of a leader. I’m not accusing Pacquiao or anyone else of using anything illegal, but I am saying we need our leaders in the sport to take a stand. If you are clean you should not have any issues taking random drug tests. So to Manny Pacquiao, eight division world champion, take a stand and agree to the random drug testing so I and others can be blessed with the biggest fight of our time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao.