ARUM BLASTS US ANTI DOPING AGENCY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 24 Dec 2009
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has blasted the US Anti Doping Agency for demanding that pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao undergo a total of seven random blood tests and twelve urine tests prior to the planned fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr in Las Vegas on March 13.
Arum said they are “propagandizing” and added “these people are crazy. We told them to take a walk.”
The top Rank promoter emphasized that Pacquiao is not against the tests while Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz said the Filipino renowned as the “Hero of Asia” supported the efforts to keep all sports free of performance–enhancing drugs.
Arum disclosed he was prepared to allow “the same people that test the National Football League players and the National Basketball Association players among others to do the tests because they are used to dealing with professional athletes and they (Mayweather’s camp) refused.”
The Top Rank promoter who has steadfastly stood by their original position of allowing a blood test a day before the official press conference, one 30 days before the fight and a third in the dressing room immediately after the fight revealed that the same USADA which tested nearly 200 American athletes (boxers, swimmers and track and field athletes) before they went to the Olympic Games “took nil, zero, zero blood tests and they want to take seven from our little Filipino. Now what the hell is going on?”
Arum insisted “I am not going to allow it. I don’t care what kind of money there is or anything because this is an absolute outrage.”
Taking a dig at Mayweather who is being represented in the negotiations by Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, Arum said “our first position is let the Nevada State Athletic Commission recommend. Nobody appointed Mayweather as super Commissioner.”
He stressed that “if there is to be any pre-fight drug test it’s got to be done by a professional organization that has tested other professionals. I am not going to turn this over to the USADA.”
Arum said he could foresee what would happen if they agreed to the so-called Olympic-style drug testing. He said “they would spook Manny Pacquiao, they would be threatening him with drug tests here, drugs tests there and this kid has a phobia anyway for getting his blood and claims he lost the first (Erik) Morales fight because they took blood the week of the fight. I’m not going to let that happen, I promise.”
At the same time Arum claimed that a lot of doctors and scientists have said that urinalysis is much more accurate.
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