INQUIRER Sports

MANNY Pacquiao has practically bested every able fighter in different weights within his range to be the pound-for-pound king today.

Oscar De La Hoya, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto?without a doubt, an impressive roster of fight victims that none of us could have imagined a Filipino ever beating, until the Pacman gobbled them all up.

But now his biggest fight is already happening outside the ring, before any ink is left on a contract and any training begins.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his camp have insisted on Olympic-style prefight drug testing to ensure that Pacquiao is clean from Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED). There is a suspicion from the Mayweather end that Pacquiao has achieved his feats because of PEDs.

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It is an unsubstantiated claim at best.

Pacquiao has time and again tested clean when the Nevada boxing commission does its urine tests. But the Mayweather side wants blood testing to detect possible substances that cannot be revealed by routine urine checks.

The stab has irked Pacquiao, forcing him to sue Mayweather and others in a United States court, even as negotiations continue and urine tests are being done to save the fight.

Does all this lead to an exciting fight if it ever pushes through on March 13?

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The fight, in itself, does not need anymore hype. Putting the current pound-for-pound king against the one-time holder of that mythical title is more than enough.

Mayweather likes to needle his opponents as part of his prefight routine. Talking is his way of dealing with the anxiety and excitement of a fight. If you get sucked into his vortex, then you could be ripe for his speed and defensive ploys.

Pacquiao is not a trash talker or a taunter. He may have not encountered a brash, fast-talking foe like Mayweather before but he is not going to lose his cool now or inside the ring.

He wants to shut Mayweather up with his gloves on but will do so with a strategy whipped up together with Freddie Roach.

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It is still the fight everyone wants to see.

Sportswriters around the world want the prefight distractions to stop and see Pacquiao-Mayweather inside the ring.

Filipinos and the Pacman faithful everywhere want to see their idol finally silencing Mayweather.

Pacquiao non-believers want to see how he will fare against the undefeated Mayweather.

Expect one thing though. No matter what the result is, Pretty Boy will probably keep on talking because that?s just the way he is.