By Michele Emrick
The recently improved physique of the 38-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez rightfully was met with skepticism by many observers. The added bulk, with no loss in speed, flexibility or quickness certainly led to suspicion that perhaps his gains were from more than just hard work.
On top of that, he works with Angel Guillermo Heredia, a man that has admittedly provided athletes with performance enhancing drugs in the past. He has even gone so far as to make videos showing how to hide drug usage. Prior to joining forces with Heredia, Marquez was a much more lean, less defined fighter.
Where he once looked tiny as a welterweight, in December, when he fought Manny Pacquiao, he was much more thick and muscular. He showed power that he had not displayed before. The result was Juan Manuel Marquez knocking out Pacquiao at the end of the sixth round.
Despite the red flags, Juan Manuel Marquez denies that he has taken anything illegal, and Heredia has denied providing him with anything. Whether that is true, we may never know.
What we do know is that Marquez will be taking on Tim Bradley in October for Bradley’s WBO welterweight title. However, before Bradley would agree to the fight, he demanded that drug testing be in place for the fight which will be held in Las Vegas. According to an agreement signed by Bradley, he demanded random testing to be administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).
Marquez, however, was reluctant to agree to VADA handling the testing. The reason for this is the poor relationship between Heredia and VADA proponent Victor Conte.
Because of that relationship, Marquez preferred to use USADA to handle his drug testing.
What seemed to be a difficult issue to resolve was handled by Bob Arum who suggested the Nevada State Athletic Commission handle the tests. Arum agreed to pay the bill. A laboratory will be hired to issue random tests throughout the camps of each fighter, testing for all substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
It may be the perfect solution given Conte’s close relationship with WADA and USADA having some of its own issues that make trusting them risky as well.
For a fighter like Bradley, who is worried that he possibly could be facing a dirty opponent, USADA’s handling of the recent Erik Morales fight against Danny Garcia certainly could cause him some level of discomfort. Morales failed a pre-fight test, but that agency said nothing, allowing the fight to move forward. It wasn’t until after the fight the results were revealed. WOuld they do the same if Marquez failed a pre-fight test?
The solution of Bob Arum should alleviate the fears of both men. However, trusting the Nevada State Athletic Commission not to screw things up seems risky in itself. But it does seem to be the best possible way to deal with things.
“I am not a cheater, and I told you that before,” Marquez said. “I don’t know what I have to do to prove I’m clean. Before the [Pacquiao] fight [in December], I was asking to be tested. The reason my body changed was months of hard work.
“I knew I didn’t cheat, and that’s why I wanted to be tested. When Freddie Roach said he thought I was doing something, I said that I would piss in a cup any time he wanted to prove I was not.”
Up until his fight with Manny Pacquiao, Marquez had always enjoyed a good reputation. No matter who he fought under, he was never suspected of cheating, and was considered to be a very honorable guy. It wasn’t until Heredia showed up by his side that his image began to change.
While Heredia has admitted that he has made mistakes in his past, and that he has cleaned up, things still looked suspicious during the training camp for the Pacquiao fight. In addition to the obvious changes to the body of Marquez, he also trained mostly in Mexico where oversight is much less, and PED’s are much more easily attainable.
Even though Manny Pacquiao is easily Arum’s most valuable fighter, he never jumped on the bandwagon of those accusing Marquez of taking shortcuts.
“I know the kid, and I know what kind of values he has and the kind of person he is,” Arum said. “And look at the fight. He was getting the shit kicked out of him and was one round away from being stopped until Manny ran into that punch.
“There is nothing suspicious. Manny ran right into it and Marquez was going forward. It was a great punch at the perfect time and place. If I didn’t know the kid as well as I do, maybe I’d be suspicious. But he’s as classy and honest a kid as there is.”
The commission will decide next month if Arum’s plan will be used. And if it is accepted, Keith Kizer promises that no fighter will be entering the ring if there is a failed test involved.
This offers an opportunity for Marquez to silence at least some of his critics. Should he show up the same as he did against Pacquiao, and pass all of his tests, he can claim that all his gains were earned through hard work. And for most of his critics, they may have no choice but to believe him.
