Mayweather vs Pacquiao Steroids Drama: Has Manny Pacquiao's Head Really Gotten Bigger Over the Years?

Floyd Mayweather cut loose again yesterday on the topic of Manny Paquiao and performance enhancing drugs, claiming that it is "basic common sense" and that anyone can see Pacquiao has used something over the years, noting that Pacquiao's head has grown.

For athletes accused of using steroids, HGH (especially HGH), or other PEDs, this is a common trait thought to be linked to abuse of the drugs. Barry Bonds may be the most infamous of all PED users in sports, and the size of his hats did increase over the course of his career (so did his shoe size, according to court testimonies). So the swelling of the head over time is definitely a red flag.

In his usual bizarre manner, Bob Arum has tried to spin this all around and blame Mayweather's jealousy over Pacquiao's grossly overplayed Hennessy ad, and came up with what may be the worst excuse he's had for anything to date:

"There is this actor who sort of looks like Manny, but you can't really tell and they shoot it in a way that makes you think it's a younger Manny, and he's in a gym working out," Arum said. "Then it segues to a scene where it is Manny. So when Mayweather is talking about the size of the head, that's got to be where he gets it. He's seeing this commercial over and over and over in just about every NBA game that's on television and we know he loves to watch basketball. He's a basketball junkie. And yeah, there are two different-sized heads, but one's an actor's and the other's is Manny's."

Like, come on, Bob. Come on, man. No. That does not "got to be where he gets it." It's hardly as if anyone else has noticed that Manny's head has seemingly gotten bigger over the years. The question is this: Has it gotten bigger in an abnormal fashion, or has his head simply "filled out" with the rest of his body over time, as he's moved up the weight classes, stopped draining so much weight for fights, and become a more well-conditioned and well-trained athlete?

Let's take a look at some photographic evidence, and you can make up your own mind.

I decided to go with a photo from every two years, starting in 2006. I chose photos that weren't from weigh-ins on purpose. Everyone looks weird at the weigh-in, and Manny used to cut a good amount of weight, and his face was very thinned out on many occasions, then didn't appear much like that after the fight.

So here are four shots, from 2012 to 2006, in order.

Here's Manny Pacquiao in January 2006, following his win over Erik Morales in their second fight:

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Here's Manny Pacquiao in December 2008, right after beating Oscar De La Hoya:

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Here's Manny Pacquiao in November 2010, after his win over Antonio Margarito:

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Here's Manny Pacquiao in February 2012:

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

The verdict? Fuck if I know, I'm just a dude looking at pictures, not some science doctor. But there you are. Those are the photos, and they're all Manny Pacquiao, not Arum's ridiculous "it must be that actor that got Floyd confused and btw Floyd is jealous and he is a basketball junkie and he watches all the games and Manny has a commercial" explanation.

You make the call: Is the size of Manny Pacquiao's head something that gives you suspicion, or does it just seem like he's gotten older and stayed at heavier weights as he's aged?

And here's Pacquiao's Hennessy ad, in case you somehow have not seen it: