Chahli B. (Los Angeles, CA): I don’t think you seem to understand that Pacquiao is not willing to cater to Mayweather’s demands. Why do you think Pacquiao should do something that no one has ever been asked to do in the history of the sport?
Vivek W. (ESB): As I’ve said in previous segments, I find this to be far greater than any one mans demands on the other. This is one mans legacy here, whether many are willing to see it that way or not. The brush of speculation has been painted over this whole entire affair, and at there’s only one man who can cure it, yet he has denied the only tangible option available to validate a clarifying position one way or the other. As far as this being the ONLY time this has been done in the sport; I think proper research can put that rumor to rest, as well. Leading up to the second Holyfield/Tyson fight, Mike Tyson demanded a steroid test from Evander Holyfield that was not part of the normal protocol. The difference there was that Holyfield played his cards differently. Realizing that it was some type of mental tricknology initiated from Team Tyson, he decided to oblige, simply requesting that the results not be known until after the fight, so that he can have Tyson enter the ring under the impression that he was facing a man with an unfair advantage – thus giving himself an “excuse to lose again” prior to entering the ring..
Those kind of mental head games is what Tyson defeated so many others with in the past, yet this time, someone was finally brilliant enough to spin it back on him. My point is this……Pacquiao can use this in so many different ways, yet rather than clear any questions and potentially gain an edge, the decision was to simply walk away and fight elsewhere. That decision is why so many continue to have questions. That decision is also why I continue to remain on that list as well. I won’t say that he’s guilty, but what I will say is that he has made his life much tougher than he needed to by not proving he isn’t.
Nile L. (Los Angeles, CA): As a Filipino, I am very troubled by the recent events in the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations because I think Pacquiao’s team has not represented him well. Do you think that the boxing public will ever view Pacquiao the same?
Vivek W. (ESB): I think this whole scenario has taken many of us down a path we wish we hadn’t gone down, to include Manny Pacquiao. I say that for a few reasons. As it relates to fight fans, it forces those who are genuinely neutral to suddenly have to pick or choose by pointing fingers at one man or the next. As it relates to Pacquiao himself, it leaves him totally vulnerable, in the sense that choosing to not take the test – be it for a valid reason or not – has now placed him in a lose/lose situation. If he wins the pending fight against Joshua Clottey in a dominating fashion, fight fans will say that if he was using substances, he was able to continue because he faced a fighter in the Top Rank stables who couldn’t press the issue of blood testing for obvious reasons. If he loses the proposed fight against Clottey, the major question will be raised relative to whether or not he stopped using the substances and suddenly faced normalcy?
This truth takes me back to the position I have held for quite some time now. When you get beyond all the name calling and finger pointing, the questions that exist now will exist later, and they won’t die, they’ll multiply. My (seemingly) anti-Pacquiao position IN THIS MATTER was never about being pro-Floyd. It was about realizing that Pacquiao stands to lose far more by maintaining his current position. The world isn’t concerned about catering to another mans demands. They simply realize that there’s a man who has decided to go to court and pay to clear his name when he could have simply conceded a little more and gotten paid to clear his name. Some say, “well, maybe they can fight later”. My thoughts on that is that Team Mayweather is not gonna change their demands as we can see. So, if Pacquiao wants the fight, be it now, or later, he’ll have to allow the very thing he isn’t allowing now. Why make the fans wait? I say again….this could be far easier than it is, and regardless of what he did (or didn’t do) in the past, the course of action he takes in the present will dictate how well he’s received by many in the future.
Chavis T. (Brooklyn, NYC): Now that Pacquiao seems to have a dancing partner, what do you think is in the immediate future for Mayweather?
Vivek W. (ESB): Although the clock is about out of time, I’m actually hopeful that information I’m learning from sources is true that this fight between the two of them is closer to being done than the public thinks. If not, to answer the question….if the Pacquiao fight doesn’t come off, things get a bit more difficult for Mayweather – as it relates to the immediate future. Mosley/Berto is off the radar and waiting until they’re clear would require Floyd to sit for too long. Cotto isn’t an option due to personal reasons and the Arum agenda. Cintron isn’t a fight that too many people are really interested in, (although not a bad one). Margarito is suspended, and Paul Williams is said to be considering Pavlik or a rematch with Martinez. Truthfully, I don’t know what options are really out there, with the exception of maybe a Timothy Bradley – and even that isn’t a great option because if he picks Bradley apart, people will say he was just a jr. welterweight. Unfortunately, Floyd is also in a losing situation in some respects, because there are few fights out there that will allow him to get beyond the shadow of Pacquiao. There are simply no fights for him on that scale. Right now, whether he likes it or not, both he and Pacquiao need one another.
Selwyn O. (Boca Raton, FL): The recent comments made by Teddy Atlas on Friday Night Fights as well as Tim Smith from the NY Daily News about Pacquiao’s people asking questions about how potentially “dirty test” results would be handled and whether or not they could be concealed seems to be a smoking gun to me. Has anyone confirmed those statements?
Vivek W. (ESB): To my knowledge, those comments have NOT been officially confirmed. What I would like to know, though, is whether or not those comments made it in the lawsuit pending? If they were in the lawsuit, I would say that they were not confirmed, however, considering that those words were initially spoken before the lawsuit was filed, I would say that if that allegation isn’t a part of it, definitely there has to be some truth to it. Why leave them out? I find those allegations more condemning than any other words spoken because it points directly to some type of wrong-doing. Sources have it that those allegations are very much true, which is why Team Mayweather stood their ground to have the test performed, and despite the public backlash, Team Pacquiao stood their grounds not to have the test performed. It’s all a mystery right now, but as I said, whether or not they made it in the lawsuit will tell us all we need to know about those allegations. If they aren’t part of that lawsuit, you’re absolutely correct that this would be the closest thing any of us have to a smoking gun.
Rosario F. (Miami Lakes, FL): With Antonio Margarito set to return on the undercard of the Pacquiao/Clottey fight, is their a possibility that he could end up facing Pacquiao down the road?
Vivek W. (ESB): Both men fight under Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions, and that would be another intriguing option that would not be met with stiff opposition for blood test and things of that nature. If Arum is willing to put Pacquiao in the ring with Clottey, and has with Cotto, I see no reason why he wouldn’t play this card as well, considering that each of those other men (Cotto/Clottey/Margarito) have already faced one another. Freddie Roach has stated that Pacquiao is comfortable at this weight, and he feels strong, so I don’t see why not. With Dallas, Texas having a strong Mexican fight fan base, the mere fact that both men are already on that card tells me without a doubt that this could be a preview to that fight, providing Pacquiao gets beyond Joshua Clottey. One thing I’ll say about the Clottey fight though, is that anyone thinking it will be a walk in the park had better stand fast. Styles make fights, and Clottey’s durable chin and superb defense gives him a helluva chance against ANYONE. I know this isn’t Mayweather, but if Pacquiao comes in anything less than what he was against Cotto, we may not have to worry about a Mayweather showdown, because that ‘gift’ could very well be stolen. Stay tuned.
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, YouTube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747), Facebook, and Myspace).