Yesterday, Ben Thompson, sharp and crusading writer (FightHype.com), tried to make it clear he was “not making a case about whether or not Manny Pacquiao knowingly or unknowingly used performance enhancing drugs.”
At the same time though, Thompson claimed Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach has “cast his own cloud of suspicion on his star pupil, multidivision world champion Manny Pacquiao.”
Before this, Roach shared his opinion of famous conditioning coach Alex Ariza, a former friend and associate of the multiawarded trainer.
Roach referred to Ariza as a “shady” character.
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It went this way: Roach revealed to Thompson that Ariza used to give Pacquiao a mysterious drink every day before a workout.
Explained Roach, as quoted by Thompson: “I asked him what was in that drink because I need to know… If something goes wrong, I’m gonna get the blame.”
Ariza, as could only be expected, never bothered to reveal what was in the mysterious drink.
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Thompson decided to talk to Roach to get his thoughts on the news that Brandon Rios had tested positive for banned substances following a lopsided loss to Pacquiao in Macau last November.
Ariza functioned as strength and conditioning coach for Rios in that bout.
It was during that talk that Roach made a brutally frank revelation about Ariza feeding Pacquiao with a mysterious drink during training.
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“What Roach may have not realized however is that his own comments have brought into question the 5-plus years that he and Ariza worked side-by-side during Pacquiao’s rapid ascent, racking up dominant victories from 130 to 154 pounds,” Thompson said.
Counted among Pacquiao’s victims in that fantastic streak toward superstardom were Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Oscar de la Hoya and Antonio Margarito.
Continued Thompson: “The fact that Pacquiao was so dominant against bigger opposition after jumping 3 weight classes and notching big wins in a 20-month timeframe is likely what prompted world-class trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to first raise his own suspicions about Pacquiao allegedly using performance enhancing drugs.”
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When news broke out about Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s requirement for strict drug testing for the mega-buck fight to take place, Thompson noted that both Roach and Ariza were a united front when it came to accusations leveled at Pacquiao regarding performance enhancing drugs.
Here, Thompson repeated that he was not out to make a case on whether Pacquiao knowingly or unknowingly used performance enhancing drugs.
“However, in this day and age, when even seemingly clean-cut, do-no-wrong athletes like Alex Rodriguez and Lance Armstrong are getting caught in PEDs scandals, it can certainly happen in boxing, a sport that is well behind the curve when it comes to strict drug testing,” Thompson explained.
Thompson has called on investigative reporters in the West Coast with connections to try and get answers to “tough” questions from Roach on the sensitive PEDs issue.