I read this article today containing this quote from Floyd Mayweather Sr. on his take on Pacquiao's willingness to agree to a 14-day cutoff now (when he wouldn't agree to anything less than 24 days the last time around):
"Why the sudden change of mind? Pacquiao walked away from the opportunity to face my son in March, so why has he had a sudden change of mind and is now agreeing to all forms of testing." “Six months have passed, sufficient time to clear your body of any illegal substance, that’s why."
I am no expert on drug testing or Pacquiao's motivations, but this statement really makes no sense given that Pacquiao was willing to submit to blood tests the last time around leading up to the cutoff date.
The only advantage that a 24-day cutoff presents over a 14-day cutoff is the extra 10 days leading up to the fight where a fighter could use a banned substance and derive some benefit and potentially get away with it.
In other words, under either a 14-day or 24-day cutoff the fighter has to be willing to submit to a test at any point LEADING up to the cutoff date and Pacquiao was ALWAYS willing to agree to blood tests in the months leading up to the fight -- or from December to a point in February. So, the notion that somehow he is only willing to agree to 14-days now because he has cleaned up over the last six months doesn't hold water when he was willing to submit to blood tests six months ago.
Theoretically, I guess, Floyd Sr. could be saying that Pacquiao knew 24-days was a non-starter for Mayweather the first time around and that sticking with 24-days was his way of ensuring that there would be no fight -- and no testing -- giving him time to get clean. However, I don't really think this is what he is trying to say.
I won't opine on what Pacquiao's reasons are for the change, but it is more likely the money involved, the legacy implications, and/or the negative inferences people drew (and are drawing) from his unwillingness to agree to a strict testing protocol the first time around.
Fight Lawyer
