Manny Pacquiao firmly claims that he is drug-free and that he feels bad and really disappointed about the steroids allegations against him. He adds that he sacrificed and trained hard for what he has achieved in boxing and feels hurt about these malicious insinuations. He further says that he doesn’t even know and has no idea what a steroid is in the first place.

Pacquiao, who is rated by Ring Magazine as the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, is currently training at the Wild Card gym, owned by his trainer, Freddie Roach, and will be fighting against Joshua Clottey at the Cowboys stadium on March 13. Initially, Pacquiao was supposed to go against Floyd Mayweather Jr. for this fight but after Mayweather’s camp demanded that both boxers undergo Olympic-style steroids testing before the fight, Pacquiao’s camp retaliated. This kind of testing includes random urine and blood tests and Pacquiao stated that he did not want to take blood tests close to a fight (as this weakens him).

The Pacquiao steroid rumor started when Floyd Mayweather Sr. commented in public that Pacquiao must be “on something,” to be so unbeatable, insinuating that he must be on steroids. Pacquiao answered back that he understands if Mayweather Jr. can’t say out right that he doesn’t want and isn’t ready to fight, and has to make these alibis just to cancel the fight. When asked whether Pacquiao was angry with Mayweather, Pacquiao said that he wasn’t necessarily angry, only that he felt bad that Mayweather did not want to fight him and had to make a lot of alibis and allegations that can ruin his name. Because of this, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit against the Mayweathers, as well as their promoter Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. Pacquiao further said that if Mayweather is everything that he says he is, then he wouldn’t have come up with these demands in the first place. “If you are a true champion,” Pacquiao said, “no alibis, just fight.”

The Boxing Writers Association of America recently chose Pacquiao as Fighter of the Year and Fighter of the Decade. Pacquiao said that when he heard this, he was happy that there are a lot of people who believed in his capabilities and achievements in boxing. For him, he said, it is boxing and God. He further said that he believes that what he has done in boxing is because of his sacrifices and his faith in God.

Pacquiao is still open to fight with Mayweather, saying that this remains a possibility. Although he said that the fight won’t push through if Mayweather sticks to his Olympic-style testing provisions. Pacquiao said that he agrees to blood testing one month before the fight and another right after the fight. He also agrees to random urinalysis. Coach Freddie Roach says that he feels Mayweather is doing all these to make the fight bigger, because he is that crazy. He further noted that they will not give in to Mayweather’s demands unless it is under the orders of the commission.

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