Manny Pacquiao Using Steroids? Freddie Roach Says 'Special Drinks' Were Given to Boxer

According to his trainer Freddie Roach, boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao may have been taking steroids at one point in his career.

In a report by KDrama Stars, Roach admitted that he thought Pacquiao took PED's from Alex Ariza. Alex Ariza used to be Pacquiao's nutrition and conditioning coach.

Roach said, "One of the reasons I don't work with him [Ariza] anymore is he's a little shady. He used to give Manny a drink before workouts, and I asked him what was in the drink and he would never tell me. I told him I need to know what was in the drinks because you're giving it to my fighter."

He added, "And if something goes wrong, I'm going to get the blame. So in my opinion, he's a little shady. So he's in that champ [Brandon Rios] now and it doesn't surprise me [Rios testing positive for a banned substance] happened."

Considering that Pacquiao worked with Ariza during his peak years, people started asking whether his dominant victories then had something to do with the "special drinks" that his former conditioning coach served. Fans also wish to know when Pacquiao may have stopped taking Ariza's concoctions.

Controversies started to stir with some saying that one of the reasons why Pacquiao currently wins via decision and no longer by knockouts is because he lost the extra strength given by banned substances. Also, it is equally "shady" that Roach never pulled Ariza out of the picture when he became suspicious about the drinks.

According to Boxing News 24, Roach as the main trainer of Pacquiao, should not have allowed his fighter to continue taking the drinks if Ariza did not reveal its ingredients. It was supposed to be a simple solution for Roach to remove Ariza, but he did not, so people are also wondering if Roach's recent statements were more of a confession than an opinion.

Such a statement may even remove the possibility of a mega-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. who had come up with a lot of reasons not to face the Filipino boxer in the past several years. One of Mayweather's contentions was that Pacquiao is taking illegal substances, which is why he requested random blood testing up to the day before the fight, to which Pacquiao initially rejected.