Manny Pacquiao Must Agree to Floyd Mayweather's Testing Regimen to Clear Name

The back-and-forth between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is well-documented, and Mayweather added even more fuel to the fire in a recent interview with ESPN. Money suggested that the main reason he hasn't agreed to fight Pac-Man to this point is that he believes that Pacquiao uses performance-enhancing drugs.

There has yet to be any evidence of Pacquiao using PEDs, but Mayweather said that it is "basic common sense" that Pac-Man has done exactly that. Whether Pacquiao has or hasn't used performance-enhancing drugs, though, he'll never fully clear his name until he agrees to a fight with Mayweather complete with Olympic-style drug testing.

The two elite boxers have come close to agreeing to a fight in the past, but Pacquiao and his camp wouldn't agree to Olympic-style drug testing, which calls for random testing throughout the training process and up until the day of the fight. Pacquiao contended that drawing blood so close to the fight would weaken him.

It has been said that Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum, eventually softened their stance on such testing, but Mayweather and his camp has said that isn't the case. Pacquiao may very well be clean, but since Mayweather essentially dragged his name through the mud in the ESPN interview, he needs to do something to prove that he doesn't need PEDs to be a great fighter.

Pacquiao must first do battle with Tim Bradley in June, while Mayweather will fight Miguel Cotto on May 5 before starting a 90-day jail sentence for a domestic violence charge next month. The chances of a bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao certainly aren't dead yet, but they lessen with each passing day and each passing fight for the respective combatants.

Just like in his matches, Mayweather didn't pull any punches in the interview. He wasn't shy about making accusations toward Pacquiao. He also had stern words for boxing fans who have implored him to get in the ring with a man who he believes has an unfair advantage.

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People say, 'We don't give a f--- if he's taking or not; we just want to see the fight. We don't give a f--- about your health and we don't give a f--- about your family.' " Mayweather said.

I care about my family. I love my family. They're going to be there when no one else is there. When my career is over, you're all going to move on to the next one.

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Mayweather's comments could be construed as a scared fighter looking for a way out, and while that may be the case, it's tough to blame him. Mayweather has already made far more money than he will ever need, and if he honestly thinks that Pacquiao is using PEDs, then there is certainly a chance that he would be putting himself in harm's way against him.

Regardless of what either man says, boxing fans already have a preconceived notion of whether or not Pacquiao is a clean fighter. There is no doubt that his initial refusal of Mayweather's proposed drug testing threw up some major red flags, though.

If Pacquiao wants to clear his name and Mayweather wants to kill any accusations of him dodging the fight, then all that needs to be done is for both sides to agree to a fight with Olympic-style testing. It doesn't seem like it should be too tough to accomplish, but here we are three years after initial negotiations without a resolution in sight.