When Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were both at the top of boxing, and the roar for a superfight was at its peak, one of Mayweather's many stipulations was that Pacquiao submit to Olympic-style drug testing. He was often derided for "hiding" from Pacman behind this demand, but recent comments made by Freddie Roach might make critics think twice.
In an interview with Radio Rahim, Roach was asked what he thought about Brandon Rios, whom Pacquiao outclassed in his most recent fight, testing positive for a banned substance. Roach responded by bringing up Rios' new strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who had worked with Manny in the past, but had a falling out with the trainer.
"Well I know he has a new strength coach, and I don't get along with the guy and one of the reasons why he doesn't work for me anymore is I think he's a little shady," Roach said. "He used to give Manny a drink every day before workouts, and I asked him 'What's in that drink' and he would never tell me.
"I said I need to know what's in that drink because you're giving it to my fighter, and if something goes wrong I'm going to get the blame."
Roach's accusations continued pouring out, as he then said he believed Marcos Maidana's corner illegally gave "El Chino" smelling salts during his fight against Adrien Broner. "When a fighter's head jerks back like that when he smells something, that's something that's not legal in boxing," Roach said.
The conversation then turned to Pacquiao's next opponent, amid growing speculation that Ruslan Provodnikov is surging into contention for Pacquiao's next date. "We have a very small field of people that are available right now, so I don't know who's next. The big talk is about Ruslan, and they're both my guys and they don't want to fight each other," Roach said. "But they may have to."
Roach also said he could see a fight with Robert Guerrero happening, as "The Ghost" is currently suing to break his contract with Golden Boy Promotions. Guerrero has a history with Pacquiao, having sparred with him on multiple occasions.
"He [Guerrero] went the distance with Mayweather, so if Manny can knock him out that puts us closer to the Mayweather fight."
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