Manila, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao laughed off fresh rumors about his alleged use of steroids and looked forward to a possible rematch with Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez in November.
The Filipino boxing icon arrived with his wife Jinkee from Los Angeles yesterday morning. As they emerged from the arrival tube of the airport, their kids jumped on them.
Then, in a makeshift stage, the 32-year-old world champion faced the media, and fielded questions regarding his family, his immediate plans on and off the ring, and steroids.
“It’s not true,” he said, laughing.
After his lopsided victory over American Shane Mosley last week, a blogger only known as “The Shadow” wrote that a Filipino sparring partner of Pacquiao confirmed his steroids use.
The sparring partner, who was not identified, claimed in his blog that he injected Pacquiao with steroids as he prepared for his fights with Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
“Filipino? Before Dela Hoya?” Pacquiao asked. He couldn’t believe the accusation because he couldn’t even remember the time he used a Filipino as his sparring partner.
“That’s another case. I will consult with my lawyers, and maybe make money out of it. There’s a commission handling this and we never break the rules,” he said.
Pacquiao faced similar accusations a couple of years back, and hurled the Mayweathers to court, from the boxer to the father and the uncle, for saying Pacquiao is into steroids.
“My lawyers will look into this. So, if they have any evidence, they should present them. My conscience is clear that it’s all hard work that led to my success,” he added.
Mosley helped fan the fire through his Twitter account, but later on clarified that he was just as amused with the allegations, saying those written in the blog were “not my words.”
Mosley, who refused to engage with Pacquiao and decided to dance all night, even praised Pacquiao for his speed and power, especially after he was knocked down in the third round.
“After round three I went back to my corner and looked up and seen the (round) girl walking, holding up round 6. Crazy!!! The Pacman hit me harder that anybody in my entire boxing career.
“Never went down so easy, but at 39 (I) still for legs to move. The best man won that night. And we will leave it at that,” said Mosley.
Pacquiao said the American boxer, a former world champion in three weight divisions, could not have been the source of the nasty blog.
“He is an educated man and he knows how to respect people. He’s unlike the others who are educated but don’t know how to respect other people,” said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, refused to make a big issue out of it, saying the accusations are baseless because they didn’t have any Filipino sparring partner for the said fights in the first place.
Pacquiao then talked about the planned fight against Marquez. It’s being set for Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, and a catchweight of 144 pounds.
He said he’s looking forward to the third fight with Marquez, who drew with the Filipino in 2004 at 126 lb and lost a very close decision in their 2008 rematch at 130 lb.
“It will be better this time because I’ve gotten used to fighting bigger boxers. I can fight him at any weight but 144 is okay. Maybe this time will be more exciting. Maybe I will be the underdog,” he said.
Pacquiao said he was happy to be home because it’s the first time he got to see their children for more than a month.
“They want to go on a vacation in LA so we might take them there. I’m also here for my mother’s birthday (today),” he said.
Then he talked about his fight against poverty, and his continuing call for unity.
“We must fight poverty, but to do that we must unite. We can use the color yellow as the symbol for unity. Because if we don’t unite, we cannot solve this problem,” he said.
Pacquiao, who was scheduled to meet President Aquino yesterday afternoon, flies home to General Santos City today for another hero’s welcome.
Then he will attend his mother’s birthday bash, and according to Jinkee, will present his birthday gift -- a Hermes bag for Mommy Dionisia.