MANILA, Philippines – The camp of pound-for-pound champ Manny Pacquiao belied rumors circulating in the internet about his supposed “steroid use,” adding that the Filipino champion doesn't need drugs to win fights.

His chief of staff, Jake Joson, said Pacquiao, who is also a congressman representing the province of Sarangani, has never touched steroids.

“Sa tinagal-tagal ng panahon na pinagsamahan po namin ni Cong. Pacquiao, ni sigarilyo, ni gamot hindi po gumagamit ‘yan,” Joson told radio dzMM.

He said Pacquiao only uses food supplements, which he takes during training.

“Sa training lang po siya gumagamit ng kanyang vitamins and supplements. ‘Yun lang po ang ginagamit niya at wala na pong iba,” said Joson.

Pacquiao’s camp reacted to rumors spread through Twitter and the web about a supposed Filipino sparring partner who claimed to have injected Pacquiao with steroids.

The “sparring partner” allegedly gave Pacquiao the injections in the locker room of the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles where he trains in the US.

The rumor was picked up by Shane Mosley, who spread the news through his Twitter account.

Pacquiao defeated Mosley via a unanimous decision last Saturday (May 7) to retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title.

Joson said Pacquiao, the only 8-division boxing champion in the world, has won his fights fair and square.

“Natural lang po lahat ng kanyang lakas na ipinapakita niya sa bawat laban,” he said.

Filipino sparring partner?
Joson pointed out that Pacquiao hasn’t had a Filipino sparring partner since he started fighting in the US.

He said the last time Pacquiao sparred with a Filipino boxer was in Cebu when he was preparing for his fight against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003.

“Mayroon siyang naka-sparring na Pilipino noong kinakalaban niya si Barrera. Tinutulungan lang niya ‘yun, at hindi po ‘yun actual na sparring na nakakasama talaga niya ng bakbakan,” said Joson.

He said they already instructed their lawyers to track down the source of the internet rumor.

“Pinata-track na nga po sa mga abogado namin, para masampahan ng kaukulang aksyon ang sinasabi nila,” said Joson.

He added they will leave it to Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotions to deal with Mosley, who played up the issue.

“So, malamang alam na ng Top Rank ‘yung aksyon na gagawin nila regarding ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley,” said Joson.

Pacquiao is due to arrive in Manila on Saturday a week after he retained his world title in Las Vegas, Nevada.