Pacquiao vs. Malignaggi on the horizon? Has The Magic Man altered his tone as a result?

Following the death of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao super fight, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank made it clear that they would consider former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi as Pacquiao's next opponent. As you are all well aware, Malignaggi has been rather verbal and open-minded regarding his belief that there is evidence suggesting that Pacquiao is committing foul play.

Back in November you may recall that Malignaggi was quoted Fighthype.com as making his case to Onthegrindboxing, "There's something fishy about Manny Pacquiao, man, for a lot of reasons...if the situation is what I think it is, God, Manny Pacquiao will not lose to any of these welterweights. It's unfortunate. The level of drug testing in boxing is not really that deep. I mean, we have urine tests on the day of the fight and we don't have much else... there's things that don't come up in drug tests. There's ways to beat drug tests."

Upon realizing that his name has suddenly been tossed into the Pacquiao sweepstakes, Malignaggi seems to have conveniently taken a slight change of tone. In an interview with Boxingtalk's Greg Leon that was published today, Malignaggi admitted, "I gave my opinion, it's my opinion and I feel the same way. That being said, I have full confidence in the drug testing procedures of the Nevada Commission and that they will conduct the proper testing. At the end of the day, they were my observations and my opinions. Let's keep in mind that Manny Pacquiao has never failed a drug test. But there are certain things I have observed him that have led me to my opinions."

How have we gone from drug testing not being that deep in boxing, to a commission that administers proper testing and instills confidence? The testing of the Nevada commission did not change over night Mr. Malignaggi. The same commission that you are suddenly expressing your confidence in is the one in which Pacquiao has passed a total of ten drug tests. When one's name is thrown into the dynamic equation for what could be a career high pay day, it is fascinating but also understandable to see just how ones tone or point of view can take a different shape.

Nonetheless, Pacquiao has agreed to submit to blood testing if necessary, but one can also see Pacquiao’s point in not wanting to concede total control of drug testing demands to Floyd Mayweather Jr and his team. Malignaggi believes he has a style to beat Pacquiao, stating that Pacquiao has never been in the ring with a fighter that possesses his style of fight.

Going from Juan Diaz to Manny Pacquiao, pound for pound the best fighter in the world, is like going from a rain puddle to the ocean in terms of the dramatic step up in class that The Magic Man would be taking. More power to Malignaggi if he's able to secure the opportunity and substantial payday to meet the pride of the Philippines inside the squared circle.

photo courtesy: John Booz / Fightwireimages.com