"I'm for the safety of the fighter and I feel that the New York State Athletic Commission didn't look out for the safety of Mr. Garcia, who was the welterweight champion, for the simple reason, how in the world you have two tests come up positiveÂ…the NYSAC fell for it. So now, everyone should be able to say they ate some tainted meat and get away with it. It's a sad situation and boxing all over the world is so corrupt, man. They talk about they are gonna fix this and fix thatÂ…they not gonna fix nothing. I can guarantee that. As long as the money is pouring in, they not fixing anything," stated world-class trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, who shared his thoughts on Erik Morales testing positive prior to his fight with Danny Garcia. Check it out!
PC: Great card the other night in your hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Both Golden Boy and Showtime did their thing with the presentation and putting 4 world title fights on one show. But something about the card really bothered you my man. Tell us about it.
EMM: It was a great card, and again, I commend Golden Boy Promotions and Showtime. They did a fantastic job. My situationÂ…listen, it's always been that way, I'm for the fighter. I'm for the safety of the fighter and I feel that the New York State Athletic Commission didn't look out for the safety of Mr. Garcia, who was the welterweight champion, for the simple reason, how in the world you have two tests come up positive and you let the guy tell you, "Hey man, I ate a bad cow," and you go with that. I'm lost! I am totally lost. And I got a lot of respect for the athletic commission, but I just can't fathom how they ever got by.
PC: Yeah, a lot of people were scratching their heads behind that one because it's like they tested him until he was negative and then gave the fight the okay.
EMM: It's a bad situation, and the answer he gave them was worst and they fell for it. He ate a bad cow. Come on, man. What's up with that? Bring the cows in.
PC: Lamont Peterson and Andre Berto were crucified in the media for testing positive for banned substances, and even Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and this seems to be swept under the rug because the commission said it was okay and that's wrong.
EMM: Like I said, I have the utmost respect for the New York State Athletic Commission, but they let one get away with this one. It's like the Nevada State Athletic Commission let one get away when Abril clearly beat Brandon Rios, and then the Pacquiao/Bradley fight, and they did an even bigger boo boo when Levander Johnson passed away. Right away, they were supposed to put a special committee together, and if I'm not mistaken, it's been about 5 years since this brother passed away, and I haven't heard anything about a special committee yet.
PC: Yeah, I thought there would be a bigger uproar in the fact that Morales fought after failing two tests. I know the Texas Commission catches hell all of the time and I thought the New York Commission should have been heavily scrutinized for this one.
EMM: See, a lot of these people in the sport don't have the balls to step to the plate like I do. I call it the way I see it. It was a blatant slap in the face for boxing. They let this guy get away with dirty urine because he was a great champion. And I'm not taking that away from him; he was a great champion, and he's provided thrills and chills and everything, and Erik Morales was a great fighter, but at the end of the day, your urine came up dirty and you came up with a sorry, lame ass excuse saying you ate a bad cow. Come on, man, that don't even sound right. And the NYSAC fell for it. So now, everyone should be able to say they ate some tainted meat and get away with it. It's a sad situation and boxing all over the world is so corrupt, man. They talk about they are gonna fix this and fix thatÂ…they not gonna fix nothing. I can guarantee that. As long as the money is pouring in, they not fixing anything. It's just a bunch of bullshit.
PC: Could you imagine if Danny Garcia was on the other end of that knockout?
EMM: Exactly! They would have tried to sweep it under the rug and go on with business as usual. That's all it is.
PC: Before I let you go, a lot of people have asked my opinion on Arturo Gatti getting into the Hall of Fame, and it doesn't bother me if he does or doesn't, but to go in before an all-time great like you is a shame in my opinion. Have you given up on the idea of being in the International Boxing Hall of Fame?
EMM: You know what it is? And I'm only gonna speak on my part and my issue, and I think I'm too black to be in the Hall of Fame. I'm the type of guy that the only thing that I'm afraid of or what I'm scared to death of is what I can't see. But if it's in front of me, I don't have no problem with it and I will deal with it head on. I don't kiss nobody's ass. I will never kiss nobody's ass and if anybody want to confront me about a situation, I got no problem with that. I will confront them head on; it's as simple as that.
PC: That's not a rumor either because I have heard that from several people.
EMM: Listen, I'm Mrs. Arlene's son. You know what I'm saying? I ain't scared of nobody and I will bring it to them however they want to bring it. And that's just how it is. These guys get in a position in boxing and they are not gonna make waves. They gonna let boxing be the way it is and corrupt, and they are not gonna say anything about it because if they say anything about it, it's gonna mess up what they are doing. I'm not like that because this is how I feed my family. I sent my kids to school through boxing and now it's gotten to a place where it's so corrupt, it's unreal. I mean, a blatant slap in the face. They don't care. It's like that Pacquiao/Bradley fight. They don't care; a blatant slap in the face. And instead of Pacquiao re-matching the man they gave that decision to, he has to fight Marquez for a fourth time. That's the way boxing is. If it's broke, we'll fix it later, not now. And in retrospect, they will never fix it. They will never fix it because it's so much money involved in the situation. That's why my hat is off to Floyd Mayweather. My hat is off to that brother because he tells it like it is. "This is my show. I'm going to do what I want to do and if Pacquiao want to fight me, let him take the tests." That's the bottom line. They always talk about they are going to form a committee to do this and that, but they are so full of hot air, it makes me laugh.
PC: Well, even these supposed thorough investigations. Did someone really investigate the Pacquiao/Bradley decision? I know the sanctioning body did, but Arum said he was going to spend his own money to get it investigated, and now we are 2 months away from Pacquiao's next bout and still no word on the private investigators that were gonna be brought in.
EMM: I'm waiting for it to even start. That's been 5, 6 or 7 months ago. They didn't investigate nothing.
PC: On a brighter note, being from Brooklyn, it has to be great to finally see an arena down there in your hometown.
EMM: You know what? Brooklyn way back used to be a city. Brooklyn is the biggest borough in New York, and let me tell you something man, Brooklyn holds a special place in my heart and always will. That's where I was born and raised at. I still have a lot of family there. I have a lot of great memories there and I went to school there. I have done a lot of things in that area and it's great to see the Barclays Center. Now they are building it up to where you have multi-religions and cultures in that area and they are just building it up big time and I am happy for that.
PC: Hopefully soon, they honor guys like you, Mike Tyson, and Zab Judah in some way, shape, or form for representing Brooklyn for so long and doing it well.
EMM: They will never honor me. I guarantee that, and I don't care. Everybody talk about, "Why aren't you in the Hall of Fame?" I'm in the Hall of Fame with my family. I'm good with that. I don't care if I don't get in the Hall of Fame the rest of my life. I'm not gonna lose any sleep. I go to my refrigerator and eat anything I want, close it back, and know that I can do the same thing the next day.
PC: I think it's great that you accepted that. It's still a tough pill for me to swallow because you definitely deserve to be there. Thanks always for your honesty. You wanna say anything else in closing?
EMM: Percy, you have always been my man. And you always let people that have something on their chest get it off. I could talk to you until you are blue in the face about how corrupt this sport is and how bad they treat it, and what do they do? They let it go on. They keep making promises that they don't keep. Come on, man. What do they say on the football show? C'mon man (laughing). I'm just tired of it and it's pure bullshit.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]