The Break Up!

*insert Ferio photochop here*

According to a recent article on Yahoo Sports the highly anticipated fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao is temporarily off as of Tuesday. The cancellation stems from a disagreement regarding drug testing procedures. Mayweather's camp insisted on adopting a random Olympic-style drug testing administered by the US Anti-Doping Agency. However Bob Arum quickly suggested an alternative to try to save the fight from being canceled. He proposed that there would be three blood drws and unlimited urine tests.

Arum (who I suspect obtained his medical degree from Casaca University) assured everyone that frequent urine testing is sufficient in the final 30 days to prevent either fighter from using performance enhancing drugs.

“Everything can be picked up by urinalysis,” Arum said. “Everything.”

I guess the Olympics have it all wrong then Bobby! Someone get Marion Jones on the phone. She will be happy to hear the good news.

Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, disputed Arum's support of urinalysis. Tygart stated that a combination of both urine and blood would be necessary to be deemed effective. He also said that the most effective method would be to subject athletes to random testing.

“To have an effective program, you have to collect blood and urine,” Tygart said. “The reason for that is that there are some things that are only detected in urine and there are some prohibited drugs that are both very lethal and potent from a performance-enhancing standpoint that are only detected in blood. One of those, for example, is human-growth hormone (HGH). There is no urine-based tested for human-growth hormone. It doesn’t show up in the urine. It’s only a blood-based test. That’s true of a number of prohibited substances, particularly those that would enhance and aid a boxer.”

So it looks like we have an old Mexican standoff here. Arum angrily said that a deal (compromise) would have to be reached by today if the fight would be salvaged. He suggestd that a Kansas City based National Center for Drug Free Sports conduct the testing. He had some choice words for Mayweather that only Bobby could put so eloquently

“The fight is definitely off,” Arum said. “I read their statement and we’re not acceding to it. Unless they pull that statement and call me, they can go screw themselves.”

It looks like we have an good old Mexican Standoff. Both camps are not budging. However Pacman is really making himself look suspicious in my opinion. If Pacquiao chooses not to fight because of random testing, what will this mean for his career as a a boxer? There have been a couple of people come out and make allegations against him and the use of steroids. If the day comes that an athlete can dictate when and how he/she is tested for performance drugs it will be a sad one in sports history.