Every fighter has been under suspicion of taking PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) and Manny Pacquiao is no different. His successful rise through eight different weight classes had critics calling steroids. Is there any substance to the accusations?

Pacquiao's coach Freddie Roach actually gives it some weight, even if it's just a nagging suspicion.

In an interview with Radio Raheem (transcribed by Boxing News 24): "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.

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 that [Rios testing positive for a banned substance] happened."

Ariza has been the conditioning coach for Pacquiao during his best years, and with this news, it opens a Pandora's Box of possible questions with regards to all the Manny Pacquiao victories in that era.

However, it should be considered that Freddie Roach has a lingering feud, to say the least, with Ariza and these might be another chapter of their back-and-forth trash talking. Was he not aware that with these accusations, he is also placing his prized fighter Manny Pacquiao under suspicion? Actually, it even places himself under suspicion!

Boxing News 24 argues:

"If Roach wasn't getting an answer from Ariza about what he was giving Pacquiao in those drinks, then Roach shouldn't have allowed him to give them to him. After all, it's his fighter and he was in charge of the situation. If you have someone that's not giving you answer about what's inside of a drink that's being given to one of your fighters, then you've got to let that person go. It's kind of surprising that Roach didn't pull the plug on Ariza as the strength trainer for Pacquiao if he had suspicions about the drinks that he was giving to him and not getting answers about the contents of those drinks."

If it really happened, then Roach would be liable as well.