Jun 25 2010
Victor Conte Suspicious If Both Pound for Pound Boxer Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Are Clean of Steroids
Floyd Mayweather Jr. asked for an Olympic style blood testing to know if Manny Pacquiao is really using any performance enhancing drug like steroids. The first talks between the two camps failed because of unsettled testing terms. The Mayweather camp started the allegation that Manny Pacquiao is using steroids. However, up to this time, the Mayweather camp can’t even provide proof that the current boxer of the decade is taking PED’s.
The negotiation is again opened between the two camps but it seems that the fight will not happen soon. Pacquiao already agreed on the Olympic style blood testing as requested by Floyd Mayweather Jr. but the later said in an interview that he wants to take a break from boxing for awhile. Boxing experts believe that aside from the specific terms of the blood testing, another problem for the two camps is who will receive a bigger share in the fight.
If the two boxers agrees on the Olympic style blood testing, can we say that they are really clean of any performance enhancing drug? The former BALCO owner who developed many designer steroids believes otherwise. Floyd and Manny could still beat the Olympic style testing if they know what to do. In the interview of the BoxingScene’s Leave It In The Ring radio show, Victor Conte shared his views on the Floyd-Manny fight and the issue of using anabolic steroids in boxing.
Conte said that the random Olympic style blood testing can be easily circumvented if the boxers know how to deal with them. Before his conviction in the BALCO case, Conte supplied many professional athletes with designer steroids and human growth hormones including Shane Mosley and Olympian track and field athlete Marion Jones. Some of his prescribed performance enhancer is EPO. He said that EPO can be used without being detected during drug test.
In the world of cycling, many cyclists including Floyd Landis and Armstrong allegedly went on to compete in world championships without being detected for EPO. So, the statement of Conte could be true. The Examiner quoted Allan Spencer of Philly saying Conte is more reliable than the USADA or the NSAC when it comes PED’s because he doesn’t have a vested interest in how testing in the sport plays out. “The USADA aren’t credible because they want the business and the NSAC want to remain in control,” he added.
In Conte’s opinion, the success of both fighters in climbing into different weight classes is highly suspicious. “Going up that many weight divisions and not only maintaining but increasing the strength and power. It’s just not something you see. Is he possibly just a genetic freak? I guess that’s possible, but its certainly highly suspicious.”
The training that the boxers were doing to make them leaner but with great skills were something to look at. “Moving up five or six weight classes and becoming faster and more powerful, yet [staying] very lean. Without the use of performance enhancing drugs….just the stories I hear alone about training for five or six hours a day….you just can’t do that,” said Conte.
Although the Olympic style blood testing is considered as the world’s most advanced method in detecting anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, it is not yet 100% effective. The NSAC’s implementation of steroid testing, on the other hand, is more of a ‘for show and tell only’ according to Conte.
[...] workouts which include sprinting and boxing. However, the supplements that he was taking come from Victor Conte. The BALCO founder became controversial when he was investigated for illegal distribution of [...]