This is my take on it all.....

[JazMerkin]

Now...

The way I look at any sport is when you see a guy that reaches not only the Pinnacle but set the bar so amazingly high, it raises eyebrows... and questions.

Any champion in any sport should expect these questions and be flattered by them... Flattered because they're doing it on their own... and to have people question you because you're that good... Hell, I'd be flattered.


...but then I would turn around and dispell them. That makes it all the sweeter, no?

This essentially tallies with what has been plaguing my mind, and has essentially led me to believe that he is up to something no good. Over the past decade or so we've seen numerous instances where someone has done something truly amazing in the world of sports, and we've then gone 'is it really possible to do that?'. When said athletes react to these insinuations, we've basically been able to divide them into two categories.

Category 1:- The athlete reacts by taking all the tests that are asked of them, even if not mandated by some kind of government body. They take an all-new battery of tests, of any kind of asked of them, and then typically whilst doing this, they keep raising the bar of what is possible, amazing us more and more with their athletic ability and all the while with every clean test they show us 'I'm for real'. Some of the athletes who've chosen this response - Lance Armstrong, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt.

Category 2:- The other reaction is that the athlete is affronted and angered by these doubts on their ability, and they are very vocal about how they would never cheat. They typically spout things like 'I've never failed a drugs test in all my years of competing', and talk about how their gifts are not down to drugs, but to hard work and in some cases God. Often when they feel that they've been pushed too far defending their honour, they will seek to extract compensation from those who've besmirched their name in the courts. Some of the athletes who have chosen this response and whose reactions are the basis for the above examples - Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, Shane Mosley.


That's the problem here. Even if Pacquiao isn't guilty, his reaction is tallying with those who have been guilty in the recent past. This is what bothers me most of all. If he'd just said, I don't like it too near the fight and asked for 3 days to a week before the fight as a cut-off point, I'd be more inclined to believe it's pride or superstition. But he's following what feels like a well-worn path and why as much as we might want to, it's difficult to do the whole 'innocent till proven guilty' thing all over again.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

Now...

The way I look at any sport is when you see a guy that reaches not only the Pinnacle but set the bar so amazingly high, it raises eyebrows... and questions.

Any champion in any sport should expect these questions and be flattered by them... Flattered because they're doing it on their own... and to have people question you because you're that good... Hell, I'd be flattered.


...but then I would turn around and dispell them. That makes it all the sweeter, no?

This essentially tallies with what has been plaguing my mind, and has essentially led me to believe that he is up to something no good. Over the past decade or so we've seen numerous instances where someone has done something truly amazing in the world of sports, and we've then gone 'is it really possible to do that?'. When said athletes react to these insinuations, we've basically been able to divide them into two categories.

Category 1:- The athlete reacts by taking all the tests that are asked of them, even if not mandated by some kind of government body. They take an all-new battery of tests, of any kind of asked of them, and then typically whilst doing this, they keep raising the bar of what is possible, amazing us more and more with their athletic ability and all the while with every clean test they show us 'I'm for real'. Some of the athletes who've chosen this response - Lance Armstrong, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt.

Category 2:- The other reaction is that the athlete is affronted and angered by these doubts on their ability, and they are very vocal about how they would never cheat. They typically spout things like 'I've never failed a drugs test in all my years of competing', and talk about how their gifts are not down to drugs, but to hard work and in some cases God. Often when they feel that they've been pushed too far defending their honour, they will seek to extract compensation from those who've besmirched their name in the courts. Some of the athletes who have chosen this response and whose reactions are the basis for the above examples - Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, Shane Mosley.


That's the problem here. Even if Pacquiao isn't guilty, his reaction is tallying with those who have been guilty in the recent past. This is what bothers me most of all. If he'd just said, I don't like it too near the fight and asked for 3 days to a week before the fight as a cut-off point, I'd be more inclined to believe it's pride or superstition. But he's following what feels like a well-worn path and why as much as we might want to, it's difficult to do the whole 'innocent till proven guilty' thing all over again.

This is exactly where I'm at.

I can not, in good conscience, call Manny a cheater when I don't know... But on the other side of the coin find it hard to believe that he wouldn't want to dispell these rumors as false.

I want to be the first person to call Floyd a coward for asking for the tests as a possible way of getting out of the fight by asking for crazy demands but deep down I just do not see it to be so. I think Floyd has his suspitions and wants to make sure he's clean by making it a stipulation... It's not outlandish... It really isn't. It'd be outlandish if Manny was to be the only one being tested.

This is a P4P fight and if Hatton had marched through 7 weight divisions KOing people all the way up then there's a good chance similar things would have been asked.