When Floyd Mayweather requested random blood testing of potential opponent Manny Pacquiao, public outrage ensued. "Why now?" "Why Manny?" "Mayweather isn't bigger than boxing", we all said. Top Rank and Team Pacquiao went on the attack, and with a lawsuit hanging over his head, Mayweather's team has stayed largely silent in defending itself.
The big boxing media outlets are seemingly ignorant to what I'm about to state, or they know, but just do not seem to want to discuss it. To the best of my knowledge, the first person to shed some light back on this topic was Paul Magno of The Boxing Tribune. Prior to the rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Tyson said he would not fight Holyfield unless Holyfield took a steroid test. That was in 1997, some 12 years prior to Mayweather's "unprecedented" request.
Holyfield's book, "The Holyfield Way" is quoted as follows: "I wasn't worried about the test, and I knew that a refusal would be taken as evidence of guilt. On the other hand, Tyson had no probable cause to request such a test and absolutely no right to require one as a condition for the fight going forward." The rest of the quotation (from the book's author and Evander's own words) can be found on page 85 of Holyfield's book.
The book, however, does not mention if a blood test or a simple urine test was required to screen for performance-enhancing drugs. It also does not mention if multiple tests were required during the course of training camp and up to 14 days before the fight, as requested by Mayweather.
Upon further review, I found that Mike Tyson was not the first contemporary boxer to demand a steroid test from his opponent. Just one year prior to the Tyson-Holyfield rematch, Riddick Bowe demanded that Andrew Golota submit to steroid tests before their 1996 rematch took place.
In an article from the Baltimore Sun, published on October 18, 1996, Bowe is quoted as saying, "I definitely think he [Golota] was on steroids." Bowe, if you remember, was being soundly beaten before Golota hit him with 4 low blows and was disqualified.
Bowe went on to state, "If he is not tested for steroids this time, there will be no fight. Mano a mano, I know he can't beat me. If he's clean, and he gives the same kind of performance, I'll tip my hat to him. Otherwise, we'll know his performance in July was enhanced by steroids."
Bowe's opinion was based on Golota's unusually high energy level and ability to take his punches without being visibly bothered. Like Holyfield, Golota had never failed a drug test prior to Bowe's accusations.
Most recently, Zab Judah requested that Shane Mosley submit to random blood testing prior to their proposed bout in 2008. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer adamantly refused to comply. His refusal was eerily similar to Arum's refusal to Mayweather's demands.
Mayweather's demand, request, or opt-out is not the first of its kind. The difference, and reason he has been largely vilified in the public eye, is that he chose to pick on the media's current love interest in Manny Pacquiao. Holyfield, Golota, and Mosley weren't held to the same outer worldly standards of treatment as Pacquiao, so Tyson, Bowe and Judah weren't vilified for their demands.
Holyfield and Golota were big names in the mid-nineties, but their world appeal paled in comparison to Pacquiao's. Mosley used the "I thought they were vitamins" excuse, and Golden Boy helped bury his past use. To this day, Mosley's publicist still The accusations of Tyson, Bowe, and Judah were soon forgotten, maybe even swept under the rug. I would like to think Mayweather's accusations will soon be forgotten, but that is highly unlikely. It is more likely that Mayweather's "unprecedented" demands will be the force to bring about the cloud of a doubt, the dark cloud of PED suspicion, over the sport of boxing.