By Felix Strunk

As the topic of performance-enhancing drugs continues to dominate the headlines in several sports, world-class trainer Freddie Roach shared his thoughts on the recent revelation that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has used the painkiller Xylocaine in previous fights, a fact that he’s known for quite some time. What may come as a surprise to some people is that Roach himself has also used the painkiller in the past and doesn’t consider it to be performance-enhancing. “I’m familiar with Xylocaine because I broke my hands many times in my life and I used Xylocaine as a painkiller also. It kills the pain in your hands and it’s not legal, but it’s not a performance-enhancing drug. It just takes the feeling away,” the world-class trainer revealed in a recent interview.

In fact, Roach is so unconcerned about Mayweather’s use of Xylocaine that he wouldn’t even care if he needed to use it in a bout with his star pupil. “You know, I know Floyd has bad hands and so forth, but I’m not worried about him using Xylocaine. He can use whatever he wants. He can’t beat my guy. I don’t care. It’s okay. We’re going to pass every drug test there is because Manny Pacquiao is a clean liver and he doesn’t believe in enhancing drugs,” added the honest and soft-spoken trainer.

Always the master strategist, Roach considers Floyd’s use of Xylocaine as a sign of weakness and it’s one of the reasons why he’s confident that Pacquiao will beat him should they ever meet. “You know, with Floyd using Xylocaine, I know his uncle Roger used it every fight that he ever had because I used to see him inject it in the dressing room. It’s just a painkiller because he does have bad hands; he has fragile hands,” he astutely pointed out, referring to the fact that Mayweather has had problems with his hands for years. “I think that’s part of the reason why we can beat a guy like Floyd because he can’t punch because he has those little hands and Manny Pacquiao will punch holes in him,” Roach remarked with confidence.

It’s interesting to see the vast differences that both camps have in regards to the confidence they exude in their fighters. On one hand, you have Mayweather’s side, who say they’re confident of victory, but at the same time, are paranoid to step in the ring due to their own fear of Pacquiao’s recent success. On the other hand, you have Pacquiao’s side, who’s so confident of victory that they wouldn’t even have a problem with Mayweather using Xylocaine to numb the pain in his brittle hands. Is it really still a wonder of who actually wanted the fight and who didn’t?
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