In an eventful Wednesday conference call with trainer Nacho Berenstein, fighter Juan Manuel Marquez and promoter of the November 12 rubber match with Manny Pacquiao, Bob Arum, things got heated and then they got out of hand when I came on to ask a few questions regarding strength coach Angel Hernandez AKA Heredia. All through the call before it got to me, writers from the US and Mexico were asking Marquez about Hernandez/Heredia and his allegedly checkered past involving his testimony in the BALCO and his alleged ties to doping cases involving Maurice Green and Marion Jones.

The story broke earlier this week after the second episode of HBO 24/7 came out. Earlier in the week, on Fighthype.con, Alex Ariza, strength coach for Manny Pacquiao, had pointed out that Marquez had appeared to working with the guy who trained sprinter Usain Bolt. While he did not exactly point fingers, it had some looking at Hernandez/Heredia closely. He was then featured throughout 24/7 working out Marquez and speaking about his methods. Soon after, BALCO founder Victor Conte, who runs SNAC and has recently begun helping condition fighters tweeted about Hernandez real name and his alleged involvement in doping cases. Steve Kim wrote a story about it on Maxboxing.com maxboxing.com/will-the-real-memo-please-stand-up and other sites picked up the story thread.

So when I got on the call, it seemed fair play to ask about the trainer. Before I did, Arum, who had dealt with similar questions earlier in the day on the conference call with Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach, attempted to squash the rumors and direct the writers to discuss the fight rather than the growing cloud of suspicion surrounding Hernandez/Heredia and his work with Marquez who is moving up to 144 pounds from 140 in his last fight for this HBO PPV bout.

“I’d like to say something,” said Arum. “I want to say something to the writers. Many of you are really behind the times. Victor Conte and this Hernandez or Herrera or whatever were implicated in the use of steroids in the so-called BALCO case. The two of them are the least likely to use steroids anymore because they have both learned their lesson. Secondly, people who understand conditioning and getting athletes getting ready they know now they don’t use steroids. Not because they are good guys but because natural supplements, used correctly, have the same effect as steroids without the bad part. Without the rage, without future complications in life. And so the conditioners who know what they are doing wouldn’t touch steroids because they aren’t as effective as the natural supplements and the sophisticated training methods which are now used now. So people are talking about things that existed five to ten years ago that are not currently being used because there is better methods now all of which happen to be legal.”

The next writer on directed his questions to the fight itself. So did the writer right after him. Then it was my turn. During the call, Marquez had alluded to filing a lawsuit against Conte for his comments about Hernandez/Heredia. He also mentioned Ariza, who did not seem to have made inflammatory statements in his sole interview on the subject in the week leading up to this call.

“Am I to understand you will be filing a lawsuit against Conte?” I asked.

When the question was translated, I heard the name ‘Ariza’ thrown in, though I did not mention him in my question.

Marquez explained he would leave it to the lawyers and that Heredia/Hernandez would as well.

So I followed up, off the cuff and since Ariza had been mentioned by the translator, “Do they find it ironic that Ariza is part of a team, that balked at doing Olympic-style testing, that is now pointing the finger at you?”

“Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?” interrupted Arum. “We have agreed, as far as Manny Pacquiao is concerned, to Olympic style drug testing. Don’t start with this absolute nonsense. It has no place here. For two years Manny Pacquiao has said he has agreed to random Olympic style testing. So don’t say that Ariza has said that he wouldn’t do it or would do it. Manny Pacquiao has said that he would do it.”

I countered with history. “Bob, with all due respect, you guys have had about five or six different excuses and reasons for why you would or you wouldn’t_____”

Bob Arum cut me off and said to the person handling the conference call “Can you get this guy off?”

And I was summarily cut off and dropped from the call. Ironically, I had yet to ask any of my harder question about a fight I consider a mismatch at this point in Pacquiao and Marquez’ careers.

If you know the history of the Mayweather/Pacquiao negotiations Parts 1 and 2, you know that while recently Arum has said as well as Pacquiao that they will take the proposes Olympic Style testing, there were many conditions, stipulations and excuses for why and how Manny would or would not take the testing Mayweather asked for.

As recently as the last episode of Leave-it-In-TheRing.com, Freddie Roach, when asked about the testing said “You know, Manny Pacquiao has taken every drug test every commission has ever had and we have passed every one of them. Floyd all of sudden wants to make all the rules himself and call the shots. Who the f*ck is he? So what, he makes the rules of boxing now? He changes the California Commission and the Nevada Commission and he calls the shots? Give me a break. He’s not that powerful.”

I had spoken to Pacquiao adviser Mike Konz and Manny Pacquiao recently and had asked them if they would be willing to take the tests and while they were not specific about the future, they said that they had agreed to take the tests in the past and appeared willing to do so for a future fight.

So I asked Freddie about it, if he was now willing to do the testing and he replied “We called [Mayweather’s] bluff. We said for $50 million then he said $100 million. If it’s not one thing it’s another.”

Later that evening, after the news spread Arum had cut me off while stating Pacquiao would do USADA Olympic-style testing, I spoke with Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s adviser and he confirmed a report by Dan Rafael of ESPN.com that Mayweather would indeed return to the ring in eight months on May 5, 2012. Ellerbe seemed pleased that Arum had finally agreed, publicly at least, to the testing. While Ellerbe did not state an opponent specifically, it appears a major roadblock has been cleared for the fight everyone on the planet wants to see.

Whether another roadblock is put in place remains to be seen.

For more on this, tune in tonight to Leave-It-In-the-Ring.com radio show at 5-8 pm PST to hear Victor Conte, Alex Ariza, and possibly a surprise guest discuss this developing story.