Is Pacquiao impossible?-Why Steroid accusations are baseless?

Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Posted By Avi "Shoefly" Korine 4:00 PM

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First, let me say that I resent this whole thing. I'm not interested in steroids, never have been. Barry Bonds was my favorite baseball player and I haven't watched a game since he was run out of the game.

Furthermore, if I wanted to write about steroids I would be a baseball writer. (Mostly, I resent that it forced me to make the chart above, which I'll explain and repeat later.)

But things are what they are, so lets look at it. There has been absolutely no evidence - circumstantial or otherwise - that Manny Pacquiao has used steroids. There have been no rumors from his camp or unsavory characters with a suspicious past surrounding him.

All we have is the speculation of Floyd Mayweather Sr. that Pacquiao is a steroid user, not exactly the most trustworthy source. Floyd Sr. has been crowing that Pacquiao's reluctance to give blood samples so close to the fight proves that he is right. Floyd says, "Like I said from the start, that was just my opinion. It's a lot of people's opinions now. For that kind of money how could you not take the test? There's a reason."

Whatever the reason, did or does Mayweather Sr. have cause to be suspicious in the first place? His argument, and that of those who believe him, has largely been based on Pacquiao's swift move up through the weight classes.

The argument goes something like; "In March, 2008 Pacquiao was fighting Juan Manual Marquez at the super featherweight limit of 130 pounds. In November, 2009 he beat Miguel Cotto in the welterweight division. It's impossible to gain 17 pounds (or the 15 for the 145 pound catchweight) in such a short period of time."

This speculation is not enough to conclusively prove anything, but it is evocative. Such a large weight gain over such a short period of time is, indeed, suspicious.

But is that what actually happened? As all boxing fans know making weight is not a simple thing. When a fighter comes in at the lightweight limit of 135 they can put on any amount of weight above that in the thirty hours before the fight takes place. To see Pacquiao's growth, I went back and took screenshots of the tale of the tape of his most recent fights. His actual in-ring weight tells a far different story than the one Floyd Mayweather Sr. and the steroid skeptics would have you believe.

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Pacquiao vs. Morales: November, 2006

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Pacquiao vs. Barrera: October 2007 (Sorry I couldn't get a bigger version. Pacquiao's official weight was 130, and in-ring was 144.)

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I couldn't find a shot of Pacquiao Vs. Marquez in March 2008, but Pacquiao's official weight was 129. (UPDATE: I FOUND IT: NOTE: Pacquiao's in-ring weight is not reflected in the graph.)

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Pacquiao vs. Diaz: June, 2008

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Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya: December, 2008.

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Pacquaio vs. Hatton: May, 2009

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Pacquiao/Cotto: November, 2009. No in-ring weight given.

Now, what does this all tell us? From November of 2006 until May of 2009 Pacquiao's in-ring weight only changed by four pounds. His body could have changed in many ways, but there is no way to argue he put on an impossible to believe fifteen or seventeen pounds unless you think he suddenly ballooned after the Cotto fight. Below is a chart marking Pacquiao's growth from the final Morales fight until his more recent fight with Miguel Cotto.

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As we can see in this chart, Pacquiao's official weight has jumped quite rapidly, but his actual in-ring weight has remained very consistent.

Again, this doesn't provide evidence that Pacquiao is not using steroids. For all we know he is using everything under the sun. The point is that the underlying basis for the suspicion that Pacquiao is doping is based on a false premise. Manny Pacquiao has not gained an incredible amount of muscle mass. Instead he has simply ceased to drain such a huge amount of weight.

If anyone could understand this it would be Floyd Mayweather, who is known as one of the very few in the sport who does not drain himself severely to gain an advatange entering a fight. Here are some screen shots of Floyd's notable fights and his official and in-ring weights:

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Mayweather vs. Corrales: January 2001.

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Mayweather vs. Ndou: November, 2003.

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Mayweather vs. Judah: April 2006.

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Mayweather vs. Hatton: December 2007.

Mayweather hasn't allowed in-ring weights for his last few fights, but we can see his career growth has taken a longer period of time. The key difference, though, is that Mayweather never so severely drained weight as Pacquiao did. Mayweather always kept his official weight relatively close to his in-ring weight. Manny Pacquiao now does the same.

Manny Pacquiao could very well be doing steroids, but as the chart and photographs above show, he has not undergone a radical body reformation over recent months and years. It is mainly his success and fame that has grown, while his actual in-ring weight has remained consistent.

Will this convince people on either side? I doubt it, but just know that the reason for the supposed suspicion of Manny Pacquaio's steroid use is based around a faulty premise.