Article: "Mayweather Diminished By Avoiding Pacquiao"

OSDT is a version of testing. Any version of testing can include cut-off dates, either negotiated ones or in-effect ones [like Mosley not being tested 18 days before the Mayweather fight, despite his possibly being tested then]. A kind of testing is simply that: A range of things tested for and a method (collecting blood and urine, as opposed to just, say, urine).

And, you are wrong on this:

This content is protected

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2009-12-23-olympic-style-testing-the-last-hurdle_N.htm

In his opinion, the cut-off date is inadequate. I understand that, but that does not invalidate that Pacquiao agreed to Olympic-Style drug testing, which collects blood as well as urine and may test for a wider range of PEDs than standard boxing testing.

Now, what Tygart also says is that Tour De France users are tested on the day of events by WADA. By all accounts, those cyclists routinely beat the tests. Which means such testing isn't foolproof, and means that if you want to beat the tests, you can.

Now, I have to look up how long EPO stays in the system. I would think it has to be 2-3 days, at least. So, if Pac agrees to a 7-day cut-off date, and someone thinks he is going to do EPO, then he would be introducing the EPO in the week before the fight -- when most fighters are in cool-down mode to gather up their strength for the bout -- and get, what, 4 days of supposed benefit from it?

Doesn't seem to make much sense as a training regimen. A guy won't use EPO for his camp because of testing, but he'll slip some in in the last week before the fight? Even though he might risk getting caught in the post-fight test?

Really? Really?

 

He may have given different reasons at the time, then reflected on it later. That happens.

I'm not the person who created the story about Pacquiao blaming the loss to Morales on blood testing. It's out there; I didn't fabricate it out of nothing.

I will try to look something up in a bit, though.

 

The cyclists do not get caught. Not all of them. And not the ones who are good at gaming the tests. This is what is going on with Lance Armstrong and his cohorts right now. They weren't caught. Neither was Marion Jones, who won numerous Olympic events.

So, you take an arbitrary, non-mandatory test and ask an opponent. The opponent agrees to the demand. There is a 7-day window before the fight date -- a time window that is almost impossible to benefit from PEDs in -- and you still won't take the fight? Even though your own medical expert(s) allegedly told you this was more than enough?

Pacquiao walked towards Mayweather on this issue. Even Victor Conte said that. We all agree the tests can be beat if one wants to do so. Pacquiao, with his fame and fortune now, could certainly beat the tests if he wanted to. But he agreed to the OSDT and made concessions. And it wasn't enough.

That's where we stand.

 

Because the initial issue -- why Pacquiao didn't want to take the [blood] tests, or had issues with it -- was that he blamed blood testing for the Morales loss. Thus, a cut-off date.

So, you work out a cut-off date that takes away virtually any chance of PED effect but still gives the superstitious guy his window. That's what a negotiation is. And, again, Mayweather's medical expert(s) supposedly signed off on this, as did, allegedly, Team Mayweather.

One person apparently did not. No fight.

 

The thinking of most boxing historians seems to be that Pacquiao's career accomplishments are greater than those of Mayweather. Thus, if that is the case, Pacquiao doesn't "need" Mayweather as much as Mayweather "needs" him.

I've said this before: I don't think either side wants the fight now. In the past, before the Cotto fight, I think Team Mayweather wanted the fight. Then, for a while, Team Pacquiao seemed to want the fight.

Now, neither side seems to want the fight. But, they are trying to fight over who will get the blame for the fight not happening.