PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — RICE, corn, fish, “balut” and even the lowly “kangkong.”
These, according to Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez, have given Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao the power that enabled him to win seven world boxing titles in as many divisions, including the latest World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight plum that he wrested from Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in December.
Golez said the accusation of Floyd Mayweather Jr., his father and former champion Oscar de la Hoya, that the Filipino champion was using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) was an insult not only for Pacquiao but the whole Filipino nation.
Pacquiao’s scheduled fight with Mayweather on March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada has been cancelled after mediation failed to resolve the differences between the two parties on drug-testing.
Mayweather, the former “pound-for-pound king” until Pacquiao, whose successive victories over world-renowned fighters that included De la Hoya, Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Eric Morales have earned him his titles, has demanded random blood testing, in addition to unlimited urine testing.
But Pacquiao has refused.
Golez, a former boxing champion while a cadet at the United States Naval Academy, said Mayweather’s demands are proof that he is not really ready to fight Pacquiao.
It is a sign of cowardice, he said. “Looking at his style, Mayweather is not a fighter but a coward in the ring.”
In a text message, Golez demanded that the Mayweathers and De la Hoya apologize to Pacquiao and the rest of the Filipinos for irresponsibly suggesting that the Filipino champion is using PEDs.
“I am not aware of any Filipino athlete found guilty of using drugs. The Mayweathers made the wild, very insulting accusations that those PEDs are manufactured in the Philippines. Rice, corn, fish, balut and kangkong for power but not PEDs,” he said.
According to Golez, the Mayweathers and De la Hoya have proved to be sore losers many times over, citing Floyd Mayweather Sr. for his predictions that Pacquiao would not win against Hatton, whom the Filipino humiliated with a second-round knockout when they fought in Las Vegas in April 2009.
The lawmaker also chided De la Hoya for surrendering after eight rounds when he fought Pacquiao, also in Las Vegas, in December 2008.
In the case of Mayweather Jr., the congressman said he lost the pound-for-pound title to Pacquiao who also became the “darling of the boxing world and PPV (pay-per-view) king.”