Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao (Photo : REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been one of the most passionate proponents of Olympic-style random drug testing to the extent that he has made it a requirement for his opponents to maintain the credibility of the sport.
However, Gabriel Montoya of Maxboxing.com published a controversial story three years ago, detailing a conspiracy theory between Golden Boy Promotions, who served as Mayweather's promoter during that time, and the US Anti-Doping Agency to conceal information that could put the boxer's reputation into question.
Montoya was claiming a source told him that Mayweather were tested positive for performance enhancing drugs not once but thrice, but the Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions managed to enter into an agreement with USADA with the purpose of keeping the results confidential.
Mark "Scoop" Malinowski of the Examiner provided an excerpt of Montoya's exposé that would surely shake the boxing world, if it holds any truth.
From Gabriel Montoya Maxboxing.com via the Examiner:
"In a letter to Montoya dated May 23, 2012, Spitz wrote: "...(Montoya) asserted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission that (he has) received information that Golden Boy attempted to obtain an agreement from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) not to disclose a potential B sample test until after the tested boxer had participated in the scheduled fight. (Montoya) further asserted that Golden Boy had entered into an agreement with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) which contained such a provision."
"You have also claimed that Golden Boy entered into a contract with USADA for testing in connection with Floyd Mayweather fights which provided inadvertant use exemption that would permit a positive test to be excused if the result were inadvertant use. And that Mayweather had tested positive on three occasions which were excused under the inadvertant use provision."
As expected, Montoya's article drew flak from Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions camp, receiving a letter from GBP's law firm Lerman, Painter & Spitz LLP that asked him to backtrack from his potentially-damaging accusations.
Montoya is a revered boxing journalist known for dropping revelations about the rampant use of performance enhancing drugs and cover-up story. An exposé of this magnitude would not only tarnish Mayweather's integrity but he might face a million dollar lawsuit as well if his source was just leaking out fabricated statements.
Mayweather, who hasn't been tested positive for any PED in his unbeaten career, is set to face Manny Pacquiao in what is dubbed as the most lucrative fight in sport's history. According to latest estimated, he will pocket around $180 million, including his shares on PPV buys, merchandize sales and gate receipts revenue.
