Did drugs nearly kill Pacquiao?

Recently, in the Oprah Winfrey Show, Lance Armstrong, the incredible seven time winner of the Tour de France cycling tournament, the most grueling competition in the sports world – shocked millions by confessing publicly that he used an array of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in winning all seven events. Previously, he had repeatedly denied doping allegations.
What does Armstrong’s confession about his use of PEDs mean to the entire sports world?
Among other things, it confirms the effectiveness of PEDs in significantly pushing to extremes the capabilities of athletes. It also means that certain kinds of PEDs are undetectable with the current standard testing protocols. The number of athletes willing to use them is likely to increase because of the fabulous fortune, fame and other rewards that usually come with being top dog in major sports.

In 2005, a case involving the sale of PEDs to elite athletes by a small laboratory in Burlingame, California – made the headlines. Known as Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative or BALCO – it’s Chairman and founder Victor Conte – pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute steroids and other PEDs.
Conte referred to specific drugs as “the clear,” “THG” and “the cream” which were either taken orally, injected or rubbed into the skin. While these can be detected if specialized detailed testing is done, they are practically undetectable when usual standard testing procedures are done on athletes. Years later, Conte also revealed that there are certain ways to beat different testing systems for PEDs in sports events.

Some 30 elite athletes were listed as among the secret customers of BALCO which included the great Barry Bonds, holder of baseball’s all time home run record and seven time MVP; Marion Jones, dubbed the “fastest woman alive” and the biggest track and field star in the 2000 Olympics in Australia and former boxing champion Shane Mosley, winner of world titles in three divisions.
Bonds pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of obstruction of justice in connection with PEDs investigations but a dark cloud remains over his outstanding record denying him what would have been certain entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
In 2007, Jones admitted in court her use of PEDs and lying about it. She was sentenced to six months in prison, stripped of her five Olympic medals and lost all her endorsement deals.
As for Mosley, the World Boxing Council indicated that they would investigate his admitted drug use but probably lost interest as Mosley’s career had come to an end. However, his boxing record will forever be tainted by his drug use.

Users of PEDs display certain observable signs: a new physique with ripped bulked up muscles, markedly increased power and strength, speed and remarkable stamina.
It was not only these visual indicators that Juan Manuel Marquez showed in his last fight with Manny Pacquiao which caused many in the press box to suspect that he was using PEDs but also the presence in his corner of a shadowy figure named Angel Hernandez. Angel is officially designated as Marquez’ conditioning trainer.
Just before Marquez’ spectacular dead to the world knockout of Manny Pacquiao last December 8, 2012, while watching HBO’s reality show “24/7 Pacquiao – Marquez” on TV, convicted BALCO Chairman and PEDs supplier Victor Conte recognized Angel Hernandez and came out with the bombshell public revelation that “Hernandez” was an assumed name and that the man was formerly known as “Angel ‘Memo’ Heredia” – a user and supplier of PEDs to elite athletes.

In 2008, in the US government’s case against Olympics track coach Trevor Howard, in order to avoid prosecution, Angel agreed to testify for federal prosecutors. He revealed that he supplied PEDs to Marion Jones and other star athletes in various sports.
During the trial, a New York Times article profiled him:
“Mr. Heredia, a former Mexican national discus champion, is a secretive figure on the track circuit who describes himself as a chemist, scientist and nutritionist…He said he used family connections to pharmacies and labs in Mexico to help his business. For years, Mr. Heredia said, he helped clients flout the rules and easily avoided detection. Substances like the human growth hormone and the blood booster erythropoietin or EPO, are still virtually impossible to detect, and it’s still easy to use testosterone with fast acting creams, he said. ’You combine all these things – boom! – you get amazing results.’ Mr. Heredia said.”

One report also indicated that he had created about 20 different PEDs which he claimed are undetectable. A 2009 German documentary downloadable in YouTube shows Angel injecting himself with a PED and telling the viewers how easy it is to get these drugs in Mexico.

Even the famed Freddie Roach, iconic trainer of Manny Pacquiao, doubted that the new bulked up chiseled body the 39 year old Marquez brought to the ring – was the result of natural training. Roach’s comment: “I’ll kiss his ass if it is.” Marquez so far has kept his pants up.

In their three previous fights, Pacquiao took Marquez’ best punches and not once did Marquez knock him down. In this last fight, Marquez showed unusual power first knocking down Pacquiao in the third round with a powerful hard right on the face and then in the sixth, knocked Pacquiao cold with a frightful monster right on the jaw. The Pacman crushed to the canvas face down unconscious for a scary two to three minutes. A lesser conditioned fighter could very well have died from that Hulk punch. Was Marquez fueled by PEDs in his last fight with Pacquiao? Maybe yes. Maybe no. Visual indicators certainly point to that direction. Various articles in the electronic and printed media suggest that this may be the case especially with PEDs expert Angel in Marquez’ corner. According to TV boxing commentator Jim Lampley, after the Pacquiao-Marquez fight, Mexican boxing great Erik Morales tweeted the comment: “The Mexican pharmacy was better.” – and then deleted this, probably concerned about being criticized by his countrymen.
Or course, Marquez and his camp understandably deny these doping allegations. However, he and his trainer should welcome investigations to clear the air of these accusations of cheating.

Not only is it obvious cheating to use PEDs in any sport, but in boxing and other martial arts sports, it’s deadly dangerous and criminal to do so. It can result in death, brain damage, blindness or other serious injuries to boxers. But PEDs testing in boxing is among the most lax in sporting events. Standard uniform testing for PEDs are not even required for major boxing events. Strict testing for PEDs has to be included in the contract between two fighters to make it happen. In the case of Pacquiao-Marquez 4, no pre-fight testing was even done for both fighters.
One would think that the gods of boxing such as the managers, trainers, promoters, state boxing commissioners, federal officials and the boxers themselves – ought to recognize that they bear a heavy moral responsibility in preventing death or permanent brain and other serious damages to boxers by establishing uniform stricter testing protocols for PEDs – but they don’t. “As long as the money is very good, why rock the boat?” seems to be the attitude.

Bovine dung! Greed should not be the primary polestar and mantra of the movers and shakers in the sweet science world. They owe it to the fans, the boxers and the sport to at least have fair fights and reasonable protection of life and limb for the gladiators who are engaged in an already dangerous sport.

In the case of cycling, the situation was similar. Despite heightened suspicions of PEDs use by Armstrong and other cyclists, the governing International Cycling Union appeared not to be taking affirmative action to correct the situation. In fact they were party to constant general denials that PEDs were involved in their sport. Too much money was involved from sponsors, advertisers and other sources to risk changes.
It took the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to seriously investigate drug use by cyclists that helped lead to Armstrong’s shocking confession of his use of PEDs to win an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles.
In the case of the US boxing world, it is high time for state and federal officials to step in and seriously investigate the use of PEDs by boxers – starting with the last Pacquiao-Marquez fight. Preventing cheating as well as unnecessary deaths and serious injuries to athletes is a very legitimate moral concern for everyone.

The USADA should also be involved in urging uniform strict testing for PEDs in boxing. Even if this organization’s main mandate is control over the anti-doping programs for U.S. Olympics, Paralympics, Pan American and Parapan American sporting events, it can use its influence to change the doping landscape for the good of all.

Angel is also the conditioning coach for Jamaican track and field star Usain Bolt who broke speed records and won all kinds of medals in the last Olympics.

Imagine if Marquez took PEDs and Manny has since found out.

Imagine the 5th fight gets made and Manny takes PEDs to even the odds.

Imagine if Manny gets caught.....

TheMackemMawler wrote:Imagine if Marquez took PEDs and Manny has since found out.

Imagine the 5th fight gets made and Manny takes PEDs to even the odds.

Imagine if Manny gets caught.....

Good work John Lennon

Brilliantly written, I just don't really want to believe that Marquez is a drugs cheat

AlexHuckerby wrote:Brilliantly written, I just don't really want to believe that Marquez is a drugs cheat

I agree, Ted Languatan did a good job writing this article.

Pedro are you Ted?

TheMackemMawler wrote:

AlexHuckerby wrote:Brilliantly written, I just don't really want to believe that Marquez is a drugs cheat

I agree, Ted Languatan did a good job writing this article.

Pedro are you Ted?

I wasn't trying to claim I wrote it. I simply just copy and pasted. Believe me if I wrote it you would've heard about it haha

You could be Ted and not want to give your true identity away.

TheMackemMawler wrote:You could be Ted and not want to give your true identity away.

I could well be but I'm not ha. I came across the article on a break from college work today so just copy and pasted it onto the site.

Ok Ted

TheMackemMawler wrote:Ok Ted

Cheers Eminem

If that's true about Pac and JMM not being tested before the fourth fight, it's disgraceful for all concerned.

It's not a total shock that JMM hurt Pacquiao as he'd rocked him in previous fights but the sudden change in physical appearance of JMM is questionable.

Herein lies the problem, if no testing was done then on what basis do the authorities now have to investigate?

Such a terrible shame for what was a terrific fight between two marquee names that, yet again for boxing, there are shades of grey. Ironic given the conclusive nature of the ending!

This sport is its own worst enemy.

More of a shame is that I don't see it resolving its inherent problems.

As a fan of both fighters, this will always have a massive question mark in my mind.

It wasnt sudden though Tumbling, He'd had it for one fight with fedchenko, and he spent a year bulking up - not difficult for an athlete to put on about 5-6 pounds of muscle on in a year.

That is the one thing I've always said, I of course aren't as ripped as Marquez, but I work out a lot (Yes, yes, I love watching the big sweaty men in the gym of course) but I feel that if I had all the background of being such an in shape boxer and had all the best medical help (Natural) for a full year and completely committed myself to it, I reckon I could have that kind of physique. Though I'd be sparked in one by Manny.

If Pacquiao's team were worried they should have demanded tested whether it was random testing, Olympic style or whatever, so if Pacquiao was fighting someone who was on PEDs then you can only blame his team for allowing that

People are also forgetting that Marquez looked almost as big in the 3rd fight and as someone said he had a full year of training. He himself said he knew that the 4th fight was going through and had been training since the 3rd fight a whole year before

He did look more powerful, he had only stunned pacquiao in the previous fights and then went to knocking him down and out. However, from the camp footage he was focusing almost everything on power and said that he was going for the KO. I still think that he looked alot slower than he has ever looked and the first knockdown was sent from so far back that pacquiao shouldn't have been caught like he did. If he was on PEDs wouldn't he have gained power and retained his speed in reflexes. Added muscle normally translates to deductions in speed so it seemed natural

I'd love to believe JMM was/is clean as I enjoy watching the guy fight, big fan.

However, my point is that we'll never know and his involvement with the BALCO chap and subsequent physical transformation at least raises doubts to my mind.

As I said, the bigger argument above just JMM is why there was no testing at all and why David Price says he's never been tested in 4 years as a pro...

It encourages skullduggery in the sport we all enjoy.

You've also got to remember, it was JMM who was pushing for the drug test, and Mannys lot who refused it.

Would this be the JMM camp with the expert at hiding his goods?

You mean like andre Ward experts?

I also find it funny how people are questioning Marquez despite perfectly reasonable explanations but ignore that Manny has refused blood testing foir ages.

Pacquiao and his team caused all this mess by refusing to take the tests so while I don't agree with PED users, he could and should have done something to alleviate the situation when he had the chance.

Agree, which is I mentioned how boxing is its own worst enemy and brought in the David Price reference in my comment.

For me at least, when I guy uses a known dealer/PED pumper in his corner then suspicions are raised.

Just as with Pacquiao and Ariza as I've read numerous articles about how that guy has a shady history and may even have worked with the Marquez guy.

After reading this I think that YOU are on PEDS pedro.

Is there a clue in your name?

Pacquiao, Roach, Ariza, Arum, et al. look ridiculous complaining about possible PED use.

They have all consistently conspired to block any attempt to have Pacquiao adequately drug tested.

I hope the irony isn't lost on them.

Gentleman01 wrote:Pacquiao, Roach, Ariza, Arum, et al. look ridiculous complaining about possible PED use.

They have all consistently conspired to block any attempt to have Pacquiao adequately drug tested.

I hope the irony isn't lost on them.

Completely agree, if they don't want their own fighter to have stringent testing then they can't ask JMM so they shot themselves in the foot.

Roach made a comment about the testing and if memory serves correct he said JMM's camp refused. Arum himself said it wasn't true and both camps didn't request further testing.

Live by the sword, die by the sword...

It's strange,

I wrote an article on this before the Pacquaio V Marquez fight and highlighted Hernandez role and links to BALCO.

I went one further and linked the lack of testing by the NSAC and what they deem appropriate results (comparing them to USADA, WADA and VADA).

People didn't take well to my article, even though it says nothing different?

Anyways, the strange thing about the Hernandez saga is that Victor Conté noticed him in the corner for Marquez... Hernandez is the guy who sold out Conté during the BALCO fiasco in the early 2000's and was given a slap on the wrist. Victor Conté who is also a convicted PED-Pusher has VERY strong links to VADA, who do like to smear campaign against other bodies (rightfully so in some cases) and do have a zero-tolerance on doping...

This is where things get funny, Hernandez is the conditioning coach to Usain Bolt - who has been tested by USADA around 70 times last year with no positive results to nandroline or testosterone.

Whilst Victor Conté has been "giving advice" to sportsmen like Andre Ward and Zab Judah (neither of which have been recommended the VADA testing that Conté recommends to all sportsmen).

If people are willing to allow Conté back into the sport and as one of the main guys within VADA, then I'm willing to say everyone is allowed a second chance... after all, he alone put the entire US Olympic team into disrepute... so why aren't people giving Hernandez the same benefit of the doubt?

The whole thing is pot-kettle-black - especially when you throw in Ariza and Roach's MASSIVE concerns before the 4th fight with Marquez. At the end of the day, the opportunity is there for the testing but neither party took it.

Agree SP. It's easy to be wise after the event.

For Pacquiao and his team, adequate drug testing in boxing wasn't an issue prior to him being flattened.

Frankly, wether or not JMM took PEDs prior to the Pacquiao fight is no longer relevant. He passed all the required tests and so we'll now never know. If Roach, Pacquiao, Arum etc. are serious about this issue then they can start by setting an example and insisiting on random testing from now on in.

It'll be three years too late, but it will at least keep them from revealing themselves to be such blatant hypocrites, it might even dissuade a potential drugs cheat from using prior to fighting Pacquiao.

This is all conjecture..........at the end of the day know one is going to know who did what..If they indeed did what or didn't do what..know what I mean..

I can think of 10-1-1 more interesting subjects to talk about..