Manny Pacquiao vs Brandon Rios: Pac-Man Not Afraid of Doping Test; Agrees To Undergo Random Drug Testing; Floyd Mayweather Fight Now Possible
Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao has agreed on Wednesday to undergo Olympic-style drug testing for his upcoming welterweight showdown with Brandon 'Bam Bam' Rios on Nov 24 at the Venetian Macao in Macau, China.
Pacquiao signed the contract with Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, requiring the Filipino boxing star to undergo the same kind of drug testing being used by major international sports bodies.
With this development, the Pac-man will undergo a series of urine and blood testing prior to his fight with Rios in November. Dr. Margaret Goodman, who worked for VADA, confirmed to Yahoo Sports that she already accepted payment to conduct drug testing for both Pacquiao and Rios, though she hasn't received the contract yet.
Pacquiao's decision to finally undergo random drug testing is viewed by boxing analysts as a big step towards a possible epic fight between Pac-man and Floyd Mayweather Jr., who engaged in several negotiations before, but talks eventually fell apart due to Pacquiao's refusal to undergo the test (Because of his psychological trauma to needles)
Meanwhile, Pacquiao's conditioning coach Alex Ariza broke his silence about the report of being fired by Hall of Trainer Freddie Roach.
Ariza, who worked for Pac-man in a number of his big fights for the past three years, cleared he wasn't fired by Roach because the trainer wasn't even his employer in the first place.
"I haven't heard anything from Manny. How can Freddie fire me when I don't work for him? Everybody knows that the past two years I haven't worked for Freddie. I will give Manny a call and talk to him, but you just never know," Ariza told the Manila Standard via Boxing News 24.