Tag Archives: steroids

Posted on 02/05/2020

By: Hans Themistode

The reign of WBC Super Middleweight champion Alejandra Jimenez was a short one. She has been officially suspended and stripped of the belt she won just a few short weeks ago. 

When the former Heavyweight titlist slimmed down her 200 plus pound physique, in order to get down to the 168 pound limit to take on then champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn, it was eye catching to say the least. Not only did Jimenez make weight easily but she looked to be in the best shape of her career. 

When the two met at the Alamodome, in San Antonio Texas, it was Jimenez who came out with a close but unanimous decision victory. 

It didn’t take long for Crews-Dezurn to raise her concern over whether or not Jimenez was playing fair. While the former champ fell just short of calling Jimenez a cheater, you could easily read between the lines.

“It was different,” said Dezurn on Boxing Insider Radio. “I’ve fought around the world, remember I used to fight at Light Heavyweight as well. I’ve sparred men but it was different. Something was different that’s all I can say. I hit like a Heavyweight, I’ve done testing with USA boxing and I hit as hard as a man but some of the punches she was taking wasn’t normal.”

The assumptions of Crews-Dezurn turned out to be true as the Voluntary Anti Doping Association found something adverse in the sample’s provided by Jimenez following the fight. 

A suspension was inevitable, and it’s now been made official as she has been stripped of her title and provisionally suspended while they investigate the situation more in depth. 

“In light of the adverse finding, the WBC is provisionally suspending the WBC’s recognition of Alejandra Jimenez as WBC Female Super Middleweight Champion until the WBC’s investigation and adjudicatory process are finalized,” said a spokesman from the WBC. “The WBC has notified Ms. Jimenez and her team of the WBC’s provisional suspension. Also that it is affording Ms. Jimenez the opportunity to present her position to the WBC as part of the WBC Clean Boxing Program Protocol’s investigative process. Throughout its investigation, the WBC has extended and will afford, Ms. Jimenez and her team the opportunity to present any available information and materials. Any exculpatory evidence they might deem appropriate.”

When both Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Jimenez met in the ring, not only did the former champ lose her titles but she also lost her hair in a hard fought contest. The hair that she lost is gone and isn’t coming back but as for her titles, there’s a good chance that she could get the opportunity to regain them soon.

Posted on 01/27/2020

By: Hans Themistode

When Franchon Crews-Dezurn placed her titles on the line against Alejandra Jimenez at the Alamodome, in San Antonio Texas, on January 11th, it was supposed to be nothing more than a speed bump, a stepping stone if you will, on her way to becoming the undisputed champion in the Super Middleweight division. 

Yet, that aforementioned speed bump turned into a roadblock. 

Jimenez, a former Heavyweight champion, found a way to shrink down to the 168 pound limit to challenge Crews-Dezurn. When the two met in the ring it was bombs away immediately. 

Crews-Dezurn may only have two knockouts on her resume but she’s always been known as a big puncher. The former champ landed big shot after big shot. Forget about landing those punches on a woman, you could argue that Crews-Dezurn would have put down numerous men with those same blows. Jimenez on the other hand, just walked right through those punches without breaking a sweat. 

After the judges scored the fight in favor of Jimenez it seemed like a fair decision. It was a close fight but Jimenez seemed to do just enough to win it. 

Shortly after the win, Crews-Dezurn didn’t flat out call Jimenez a drug cheat but she did have her eyebrows raised. 

“It was different,” said Dezurn on Boxing Insider Radio shortly after her loss. “I’ve fought around the world, remember I used to fight at Light Heavyweight as well. I’ve sparred men but it was different. Something was different that’s all I can say. I hit like a Heavyweight, I’ve done testing with USA boxing and I hit as hard as a man but some of the punches she was taking wasn’t normal.”

Since both fighters fought under VADA drug testing, they had their post fight drug test checked. When Jimenez had her results viewed, it revealed anything but normal. A banned substance was found in her “A” sample which now leaves everything up in the air. 

Crews-Dezurn may have lost her titles and her hair on the night but she can at the very least get her titles back. Or at least, that’s what her promoters are currently working on. 

“As Franchon’s promoter, we are incredibly disappointed for her as she worked incredibly hard to defend her titles,” said Crews-Dezurn’s promoter De La Hoya. “However, our job is to ensure the safety of our fighters both inside and outside of the ring. Thus, we have always insisted and supported testing through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association for all of our world championship fights. Jimenez’s fight against Franchon Crews-Dezurn is no exception. Now our job is to find justice for Franchon by working closely with the WBC and the WBO in order to reinstate her as a world champion.”

At this point it isn’t just about reinstating Crews-Dezurn as champion but more so about what could the ramifications be for the transgressions of her opponent. 

To the credit of Jimenez, she wasted absolutely no time trying to clear her name.

“Since 2019 I decided on my own to belong to the ‘Clean Boxing’ program of the WBC, because of the great respect I have for boxing and myself,” said Jimenez. “I have always been against the use of illegal substances. On December 15, 2019, VADA performed took the first urine and blood anti-doping samples, which turned out to be negative. On January 10 of this year, I was subjected to another urine anti-doping test, which was positive, a fact that surprised me since I have never used any illegal substance for my preparation. However, on January 11, I had another blood and urine test and it was negative again. I think there is an error in the test that tested positive, an error that affects my image and is detrimental to the example I want to give as an athlete. I will immediately request the analysis of the B-sample to prove the credibly that it has been a mistake.” 

Jimenez of course will scream to the mountain tops of her innocence, yet if her B sample comes up negative as well, then it won’t matter how loud she screams, no one will believe her.

Posted on 10/08/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

It’s time to re-evaluate the conventional paradigm of what constitutes cheating and a level field of play in combat sports. According to an October 7, 2019 ESPN.com article titled, “Tyrone Spong fails drug test, fight vs. Oleksandr Usyk called off,” you can count the undefeated professional boxer and kickboxing legend Tyrone Spong among the long list of performance enhancing drug (PED) users in combat sports. It’s a list that includes Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and more recently heavyweight Dillian Whyte. With so many high-profile athletes testing positive for prohibited substances, its increasingly clear their use is more common than one might initially think.

According to ESPN.com Senior Writer Dan Rafael, “Heavyweight Tyrone Spong tested positive for a banned substance, leaving 2018 fighter of the year and former undisputed cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk in search of a new opponent.” The report goes on to state, “Now Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is on the hunt for a new opponent after Spong tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene.”

Clomiphene is an anti-estrogen drug commonly used by athletes as an accompanying medication to anabolic steroid use, in this context its general purpose is to combat the metabolization of exogenous testosterone into estrogen. Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, which is a naturally occurring hormone produced in the human body that is responsible for any number of physiological traits most often associated with men.

As reported in an August 2, 2019 payitforwardfertility.org article titled, “How Does Clomid Help Bodybuilders,” Dr. Mirta Marsh weighed in on the use of clomid, also known as clomiphene, recommending that, “You should ideally not use clomid when you are also taking steroids. Complete your steroid therapy first, and then begin using clomiphene.” Also known as post cycle therapy (PCT), this methodology of training is common throughout the bodybuilding and combat sports communities.

According to the report, “When steroid substances are used by men, their natural production of male hormones is reduced. The longer they depend on steroids and heavier the dose the more it affects their hormonal balance. The level of testosterone keeps getting lower and the level of female hormones (estradiol, progesterone, and prolactin) keeps increasing. This results in the growth of female breasts in men, also known as gynecomastia, and it even causes fluid retention in their bodies.”

The addition of clomiphene to one’s performance enhancing drug use regimen is used to combat these negative side effects associated with PED use; it is also the mechanism anabolic steroid users look too as a means of jump starting their bodies own natural testosterone production after it has shut down from exogenous synthetic testosterone use. While clomiphene is used legitimately as fertility treatment in men, it is this same medical necessity and value that is most often cited as an excuse by athletes who return adverse findings for its use.

Though according to a May 11, 2010 New York Times article titled, “Common Thread in Failed Drug Tests Raises New Questions,” author Michael Schmidt writes, “Because these drugs are used to restart the bodies’ production of testosterone after the use of steroids, the sports might be catching the players only at the tail end of their steroid use, when they have already benefited.” Which could mean athletes testing positive for clomiphene who are not using it for legitimate medical necessity may be successfully evading detection for anabolic steroid use while only flagging for their post cycle therapies.

While it may be easy, even convenient, to call fighters like Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, Tyrone Spong and others cheaters, according to MMA pioneer Renzo Gracie, “Everybody is taking (steroids). The difference is that Anderson (Silva) probably lost control of when the substance would be out of his body,” writes BJJEE.com in their March 12, 2015 article titled, “Renzo Gracie: ‘Everybody is Taking Steroids. Fighters Who Don’t Use, Can’t Compete in this Sport.” Thoughts which were echoed by UFC superstar Nick Diaz in MMAWeekly.com’s September 14, 2015 YouTube video interview titled, “Nick Diaz Declares All Fighters Are on Steroids.”

“That’s another thing I’ll tell you right now,” Diaz told MMAWeekly.com. “I know all the fighters and they are all on steroids. All you mother****er’s are on steroids.”

With recent high-profile positive tests from professional boxers Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, Dillian Whyte and now Tyrone Spong, perhaps Gracie and Diaz are correct in their estimations of exactly how prevalent performance enhancing drug use is in combat sports? If these two highly respected athletes are to be believed, that would mean the conventional cheating paradigm espoused by the vast majority of pundits and fans alike is based off little more than a naïve perception of how combat sports actually work.

And that perception only justifies the continued existence of the commissions, organizations and associations alike who have managed to turn the issue of performance enhancing drug use in combat sports into a for profit enterprise operated under the guise of fighter safety. If nearly every top level, high profile combat sports athlete is using performance enhancing drugs, perhaps its time to re-evaluate what constitutes cheating and competing on a level playing field in combat sports?

Posted on 08/15/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

Perhaps the biggest scandal of 2019 in professional boxing is currently unfolding as heavyweight Dillian Whyte tested positive for metabolites of the prohibited performance enhancing drug Dianabol prior to his most recent decision victory over Oscar Rivas. The United Kingdom’s own government oversight bodies, United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the British Board of Boxing Control (BBBofC), failed to take action or even notify the Rivas’ camp of their findings prior to the fight in an unconscionable decision that may haunt the oversight bodies for long to come in the future.

According to an August 1, 2019 frankwarren.com article titled, “Where’s the B Sample?” author Frank Warren writes, “The silence surrounding the failed drug test of Dillian Whyte – and the subsequent permission given for him to fight – continues to hold firm.” Warren, a fight manager and promoter to some of the biggest names in the industry including Tyson Fury would go on to write:

“Whatever has taken place in this case and whether there has been “procedural issues”, lawyers have written to most of the media claiming Whyte’s privacy is being invaded, despite the fact he has gone on record himself on a number of occasions accusing some fighters, including Anthony Joshua, of being “Juicers” without providing any proof.”

The Warren report goes on to state, “After making such accusations, I believe he forfeits any right to privacy after he was informed that he himself had tested positive.” The overall tone and focus of Warren’s article being that of one in defense of the circumstances that lead to the news of Whyte’s flagged test result becoming public knowledge in an interesting picture to consider.

Whyte, an intelligent man who is not afraid to speak his mind, had previously summed up former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s troubles in the ring against Andy Ruiz Jr. as being the result of fighting in the United States under the stringent Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing program where obtaining therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) is markedly more difficult to achieve than in the United Kingdom.

Warren, not lost for words on the subject, went on to write, “Thomas Hauser, one of the most respected journalists in the sport has rightly reported on this matter is now being discredited by Eddie Hearn. Yet he fails to elaborate on which points are supposedly wrong.”

According to Warren, “As a leading boxing writer and lawyer, is it right that Hauser has to endure having his reputation trashed for doing his job and bringing this serious matter to the public’s attention and more importantly, to the man most affected by this sorry situation, Rivas?” Indeed, if not for Thomas Hauser, his sources and subsequent reporting, one has to wonder at what point if ever any of this information would have ever come to light.

In the original July 24, 2019 boxingscene.com article titled, “Dillian Whyte Tests Positive for Banned Substance,” author Thomas Hauser writes, “Under VADA protocols, the positive test result would been reported to the World Boxing Council and Rivas camp. That appears to have not been the case in this instance with UKAD.”

You read that right, UKAD not only allowed the fight to proceed after a positive test from Whyte but failed to notify his opponent who was literally stepping into the ring with his life on the line against a potentially doped fighter.

Referencing an August 1, 2019 boxingscene.com article titled, “Whyte Completes VADA Testing Program – But Not Yet in Clear,” author Jake Donovan writes that both Rivas and Whyte had pre-fight VADA samples collected on July 17 and post-fight samples on July 21, approximately a day after the bout. According to Donovan, VADA had announced the fighters had entered the testing pool on April 26, 2019 and that United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD), a separate government body from the prestigious Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) conducted their own distinct drug test from that of the VADA testing program.

Donovan goes on to write, “The remaining question is how his late-June test with UKAD produced the lone adverse finding through 12 weeks of testing with two different agencies. Any such cleared test from either agency would also have to fall within the timeframe the substances in question remain in the human system, which would support Whyte’s case.”

Whyte reportedly tested positive for metabolites of the anabolic steroid Dianabol, a banned performance enhancing drug with a half-life of 3 to 5 hours according to a January 17, 2017 anabolic-bible.org article titled, “Dianabol -Methandrostenone.” According to author Jay Nichols, “The half-life of Dianabol is only about 3 to 5 hours, a relatively short time. This means a single daily dosage schedule will produce a varying blood level, with ups and downs throughout the day. The user likewise has a choice, to either split up the tablets during the day or to take them all at one time.”

Nichols goes on to write, “The usual recommendation has been to divide them and try to regulate the concentration in your blood. This however, will produce a lower peak blood level than if the tablets were taken all at once, so there may be a trade off with this option.” One such technique in particular, known a micro-dosing, is a methodology of taking small, barely detectable amounts of performance enhancing drugs in order to reap their rewards while minimizing the potential punitive risks and consequences associated with more commonly used administrative schedules.

Google defines the term half-life as, “The time required for any specified property (e.g. the concentration of a substance in the body) to decrease by half.” So that means if Whyte was theoretically dividing his dosages of Dianabol up in micro-dosages to regulate the concentration in his blood it would take 3-5 hours for that concentration to decrease by half until the concentration halves itself into undetectable levels.

A February 12, 2018 BusinessInsider.com article titled, “Olympians may be taking cues from Silicon Valley’s favorite way to do drugs,” author Eric Brodwin writes, “Testosterone micro-doses may escape regulators’ radar because they only stay in the system for minutes or hours.” Dianabol is of course a modified form of testosterone.

This may be the answer to Donovan’s remaining question, simply put, it’s all a matter of the timing of the test in relation to the amount and last ingestion of the Dianabol itself. With such a short half-life, athletes may be able to pass random tests simply based upon the nature of the drug itself in relation to the timing of the testing. Unless caught within the timeframe it takes for the drug to half itself out of detectable levels through micro-dosing, its theoretically possible to avoid detection altogether under the currently standing conditions.

Both VADA and UKAD would use World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited testing facilities, which means the testing procedures for both individual, separate agencies would be dependent on laboratories that adhere to the same WADA Code of scientific testing procedures and protocols. The adverse finding was not from the prestigious Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) but from the sore thumb in the crowd United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD), which may or may not bring into question the sample chain of custody with UKAD’s Doping Control Officers (DCOs), Blood Collection Officers (BCOs) and Chaperones.

In an August 12 2019 skysports.com article titled, “Dillian Whyte remains determined to clear his name over drug allegations, says Eddie Hearn,” Whyte passed the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) tests both before and after his latest addition to the win column. According to the report, “The British heavyweight faced allegations of a failed UK Anti-Doping A sample following his points win over Oscar Rivas at The O2 in July, but has declared his innocence. The B sample results have not been disclosed.” Whyte, an unusually candid man who is not prone to tell tall tales often may be telling the truth in professing his innocence and there is more going on here than initially meets the eye, but only his team of lawyers and time will ultimately see to how the tale is ultimately told.

According to a July 30, 2019 talksport.com article titled, “Frank Warren slams ‘totally wrong’ handling of Dillian Whyte positive drugs test and says Oscar Rivas should have been told,” author Michael Benson writes that Dillian Whyte had appeared before an “independent panel hearing on fight day and was allowed to compete.”

One has to question the efficacy of such a panel hearing on of all days, fight night, after television and pay-per-view rights had already been negotiated, venues booked, tickets purchased etc. For a main event fight to be cancelled at the very last second would literally mean tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, in lost revenue and likely lawsuits for some time to come into the future. In other words, it would have been a disastrous turn of events and thus one not likely to have occurred as a result.

According to Talksport.com, “There was a hearing, if you have a problem with that hearing, speak to the national UKAD government agency or whatever, Hearn said.”

With Dillian Whyte in the spotlight, all eyes are on UKAD and the BBBofC as UKAD, the less prestigious of the two agencies actively monitoring Dillian Whyte’s performance enhancing drug use produced the lone positive result yet sanctioned the fight anyway. With UKAD for all intents and purposes being the long arm of the BBBofC, the government agencies are two pigs in a blanket in this growing controversy.

Subsequently, news of Whyte’s flagged test result managed to leak out to the press through multiple unknown sources with direct knowledge to the situation according to Hauser’s original report with a short list of potential suspects who could have been privileged to that information. The B sample results, which would either confirm or bring into question the results of the original A sample are being withheld, leaving many to question the motives behind the lack of transparency, perhaps even striking at the very integrity of the governing bodies themselves.

Whyte was allowed to compete despite a flagged test result for performance enhancing drugs by government bodies whose responsibility it is to protect the health and safety of its athletes. With boxers Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Santillan recently dying within a week of each other as a result of injuries sustained in the ring, the fact UKAD and BBBofC allowed this fight to commence without informing the Rivas camp prior to the fight is an unconscionable decision that is now under intense scrutiny. And the subsequent refusal to release Whyte’s B sample is only adding fuel to the fire in what may very well prove to be 2019’s most scandalous report in professional boxing.

About the author: Jesse Donathan is the UFC correspondent for BoxingInsider.com and contributing editor to MMAPressRoom.com. A longtime fan of both boxing and mixed martial arts, Jesse’s first published combat sport reports were in 2009 and he was written for a number of outlets to include most recently BoxingInsider.com, Boxing.com and Fightpost.co.uk. Follow Jesse on Twitter @the_mmapress and @MMAPressRoom for up-to-date news and current events in combat sports.

Posted on 07/26/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

Not long after a full moon lit up the surrounding landscape here in the United States, the mass hysteria has once again returned to the combat sports community upon the news of yet another heavyweight testing positive for banned performance enhancing drug (PED) use. A habitual problem transcending sports, somehow the narrative is still perpetuated that the vast majority of athletes are clean and its only a few evil doers ruining the sport for everybody else. Yet, time and time again athletes repeatedly test positive on a near monthly basis for banned prohibited substances.

As of July 24, 2019, Boxingscene.com is reporting that an “A-sample” extracted from heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte by United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) prior to Whyte’s scheduled July 20th bout with Oscar Rivas resulted in a positive test for metabolites of the banned performance enhancing drug Dianabol. An anabolic steroid with androgenic effects, Dianabol is also known as “DBol” on the streets.

According to a July 25th, 2019 article titled, “Dillian Whyte tested positive for two metabolites of Dianabol,” author Thomas Hauser writes that, “The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) was advised by UKAD prior to Whyte-Rivas that Whyte had tested positive for epimethandienone and hydroxymethandienone. However, it allowed the fight to proceed as scheduled without notifying the Rivas Camp of the finding.” The report went on to note that Whyte’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, released the following statement:

“Further to reports, I can confirm that both Dillian Whyte and Oscar Rivas were subject to extensive VADA and UKAD testing for their bout. Both fighters were cleared to fight by both bodies and the BBBofC.”

Whyte, also known as the “Body Snatcher,” is an unusually candid pugilist, who famously quipped that the reason why former champion Anthony Joshua wasn’t feeling himself in the ring the night he lost to champion Andy Ruiz Jr. was because he was competing in the United States under stricter anti-doping testing procedures than that of the United Kingdom.

“It is because you’re in America with the VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) testing and you’re not on the juice, that’s why,” said Whyte. Continuing, Dillian went on to insinuate that, “It’s harder to get therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) in American than the UK.”

Back in March, heavyweight Jarrell Miller infamously ran into problems with VADA himself according to an April 20, 2019 ESPN article titled, “Sources: ‘Big Baby’ Miller failed three drug tests,” by author Dan Raphael. Miller reportedly tested positive for the banned prohibited substances GW1516, EPO and human growth hormone (HGH) according to reports. Hearn, who famously had a lot to say to iFL TV following news of Miller’s flagged test results, appears less chatty at the moment as the curtain is pulled back revealing the inner workings of an inept system of governance in boxing.

News of Whyte’s positive test couldn’t have come at a worse time either, boxers Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Santillan both died earlier this week as a result of an accumulation of blows received inside the squared circle. A fact which may or may not exacerbate any consequences sure to come Whyte’s way from the very same people who turned a blind eye to his flagged test results to begin with, allowing him to step into the ring in the first place despite the fact they had advanced knowledge of his positive test results. Which is the real story here, the fight was allowed to continue despite the BBBC being notified by UKAD in conjunction with VADA that Whyte had flagged positive for performance enhancing drug use.

They had prior knowledge, yet unlike in the case of Jarrell Miller who was pulled by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) after his positive tests, astonishingly, the British boxing authorities allowed the fight to move forward as planned despite the flagged test results. In Millers wake, in stepped Andy Ruiz Jr. on short notice to face the seemingly unbeatable Anthony Joshua, and the rest is history as they say, as Ruiz Jr. shocked the world in route to upsetting the statue-esk British champion.

“Under rules in place in the United Kingdom, Whyte has a right of appeal,” writes Thomas Hauser in his July 24, 2019 Boxingscene.com article titled, “Dillian Whyte Tests Positive for Banned Substance.” According to the report, “UKAD takes the position that, until the adjudication process is over and due process is complete, there has not been a finding that a fighter is in breach of its PED protocols and no sanctions can be put in place by the British Boxing Board of Control.”

Meaning, as far as the BBBC and UKAD are concerned until Whyte has exhausted his appeals process the matter is still as of yet unresolved. Which for those paying attention means the BBBC and UKAD are allowing fighters using performance enhancing drugs to compete against presumably clean fighters despite any concerns about the safety of the fighters or sanctity of sport coming into the bout.

“Ruiz Jr has consistently pushed for the second fight (with Joshua) to be held in New York again and news of Whyte’s reported failed drug test has riled the Mexican,” writes Coral Barry in her July 25, 2019 Metro article titled, “Andy Ruiz Jr will refuse to rematch Anthony Joshua in the UK amid Dillian Whyte doping allegations.” And who can blame him? After Whyte’s positive test, Whyte’s allegations about Joshua receiving a TUE in the UK and the UK’s own insane PED policies Ruiz Jr. would be a mad man himself to step foot in the UK under these current conditions.

The United States is not without its own problems in the world of performance enhancing drug use and sanctioning bodies that look the other way, with both the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) having licensed UFC fighter Jon Jones to fight despite a-typical drug test results according to reports. Famed boxing trainer and ESPN analyst Teddy Atlas has called for a national commission to combat the perceived impropriety in professional boxing, though after Dillian Whyte’s latest run in with UKAD and BBBC maybe its time to start thinking internationally.

Posted on 06/04/2019

By: Michael Kane

Dillian Whyte has had his say on former opponent Anthony Joshua’s defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr on Saturday night in New York.

Many observers felt Joshua was out of sorts with reports that Joshua’s father wanted him to pull out of the fight beforehand.

Joshua also seemed overly gracious in defeat, in what some have construed as a relief that the pressure of being champion was now gone.

It seems Whyte picked up on this.

“He seemed scared, not bothered, he was running, he was jabbing out of range, he was retreating, he had his left hand down,” he said on his official YouTube channel.

“When he got hurt he didn’t know whether to hold or tie up. He seemed like he wasn’t bothered, like he didn’t want to be there.

“Maybe he couldn’t deal with the pressure anymore, he just seemed like he was there to collect his money. He said he was the landlord but he failed to collect the rent.”

Whyte then suggested an all together different theory that due to Joshua fighting in America and VADA testing in place he couldn’t use Therapeutic Use Exception (TUE) and that was in fact the reason he didnt show up.

“He said to his coach ‘why do I feel like this?’, because you’re in America with the VADA testing and you’re not on the juice that’s why,” Whyte said.

“It’s harder to get therapeutic use exemptions in America than the UK, that’s why.”

Whyte feels Joshua will ultimately come back and will avenge his defeat against Ruiz Jr.

“He’ll live and learn, at the end of the day I’ve had a loss, he’s big and strong enough to come back, he’s an olympic champion, former world champion, he’ll be back bigger and stronger,” Whyte said.

“I still believe he will beat Andy Ruiz Jr in the rematch, you need to look at his camp, he needs to look at what he did wrong, where he went wrong.

“He’s got a very experienced camp with Rob McCracken behind him. Maybe he should have gone to America two months or a month before the fight, you don’t know.”

Photo credit Dillian Whyte Twitter account

Posted on 05/13/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

Did Brock Lesnar retire from mixed martial arts because he failed another USADA prohibited drug test? “If you were a level of conspiracy theorist, or as we do over here, we just simply speculate, and visit, and talk, there is some clues to point to that is a possibility, said Bad Guy Inc. CEO Chael Sonnen in his May 9, 2019 YouTube video titled, “Did Brock Lesnar fail a USADA drug test and retire?” An ESPN analyst and current Bellator fighter, Sonnen is a former UFC middleweight challenger who counts UFC President Dana White among his friends. In other words, Sonnen is an industry insider and someone you should listen to when he has something to say.

Sonnen, who once famously thrashed Anderson Silva in the Brazilians’ prime before succumbing to a come from behind triangle armbar submission in the fifth and final round went on to list a litany of reasons of why its possible that rumors of a Lesnar failed USADA drug test could possibly be true:

“The first of which is Brock Lesnar retired out of nowhere, he retired out of nowhere after taking a lesser WWE schedule, he retired out of nowhere after going into training for 12 full months. He retired out of nowhere after entering and clearing the USADA protocol of things that he had to pay for from his last outing at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt.”

As Sonnen correctly surmises, Lesnar’s abrupt retirement from MMA came out of left field. Everything was pointing to a Lesnar return to the cage; he had been training with Gable Stevenson, one of the top collegiate wrestlers in the country at the University of Minnesota and had shoved the UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier across the octagon at UFC 226 in a picture-perfect promo in the lead up to the fight. “It looked like all; everything was a go. He had a world title fight, he had a main event, he had a huge pay day, he had Daniel Cormier standing in front of him,” Sonnen exclaimed, and out of nowhere, Lesnar retires.

“Guys, I don’t want to add to something right now, I want to come to you candidly and tell you that I do not have information but I am starting to hear things from people who generally do have the correct information that perhaps that wasn’t totally wrong,” Sonnen said on the rumors of a Lesnar issue with USADA that went ignored by the MMA media when the information first started trickling out.

“The new way that USADA is operating, okay, I’ll remind you of the old way first. Which was a guy flags, boom! They put out a boilerplate statement, the only thing they change between athletes is simply the name. John Doe right, fill in the blank, and the whole rest of the uniform statement. We get it. But when USADA got confronted with five people who were later cleared and the USADA was able to look at it and go you know what, we didn’t total clear out, we cleared them, but in the world of PR and the mess they went through, in the minds eye, the day of the internet, the sponsors that were already lost, its just very hard to unfry that egg.”

The Bellator light heavyweight contender who lost to “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko in a valiant effort during the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament last year at Bellator 208 went on to say of USADA’s new approach to handling athletes who may have flagged a prohibited substances test:

So, what we’re gonna do now is if we flag somebody, we are not going to say a word. They will very quietly not be booked for a contest but we will also very privately see the process through to the very end. And when we make our release, we will not only tell you who, what and when but we will also tell you what the remedy was. Whether it’s a disciplinary action or a clearing of the athlete. But we will present one statement to you in its entirety. Okay great, really good way to do things. There is now some people that are saying that they have dug into this and it’s the very spot Brock Lesnar is in.”

Prior to Sonnen’s fire side chat, Dave Metzler on Wrestling Observer Radio had suggested that the new UFC deal with ESPN had been a factor in Lesnar’s retirement, according to Sonnen that just isn’t the case.

“It is a very strange circumstance, and it seems that there was then a later dialogue that came in and said no, the reason Brock walked away is because the pay-per-view model has changed, and therefor he can’t collect his pay-per-view points and therefor he lost his enticement to do this. Now, that is, I can tell you now that is not what happened. I don’t know what happened, but I think it’s probably a pretty straight forward. One, either, we’re going to find something out in the next 45 days or two, and far more likely if I am being fair, far more likely, he started training and his body was just sore and tired and he wasn’t getting the same reaction as fast as he had in the past and he said I’m done.”

As reported by Foxsports.com in their January 4, 2017 article titled, “Brock Lesnar suspended one year by USADA after failing two drug tests,” the WWE superstar infamously, “tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolite, 4-hydroxyclomiphene, following an out-of-competition urine test conducted on June 28, 2016, and an in-competition urine test conducted on July 9, 2016, at UFC 200 in Las Vegas, Nev. Clomiphene is a prohibited substance in the category of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators and is prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.”

According to USADA.org, “In men, clomiphene can alter testosterone levels by interfering with the negative feedback loop of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis.” Interestingly, the USADA description of clomiphene goes on to state that, “clomiphene is not FDA-approved for use by men for any condition,” but there are some exceptions to that claim as USADA goes on to state.

“However, it may be prescribed off-label, meaning that a doctor may prescribe a medication for a use that is not indicated on the FDA’s approved packaging insert or label. Once the FDA approves a drug, healthcare providers can typically prescribe the drug for an unapproved use when they judge that it is medically appropriate for their patient.”

The USADA clomiphene description goes on to state that, “In males, similar to other substances with anabolic properties that lead to increased muscle mass, clomiphene is associated with a number of potential and serious side effects, including: increased risk of negative cardiovascular events, liver damage, and gastrointestinal discomfort.”

In an April 24, 2012 bleacherreport.com article titled, “Brock Lesnar: Understanding Diverticulitis, the Illness That Changed His Life,” author Louie Babcock wrote that, “In November of 2009, Brock was diagnosed with mononucleosis, and later in the month it was discovered he had a serious case of diverticulitis.” According to Babcock, “Diverticulitis is a disease of the digestive tract, normally in the large intestine. On the colon of the patient, tiny pouches form. These pouches are called diverticula. When these pouches become inflamed, diverticulitis is diagnosed.” The bleacherreport.com article would go on to note that Lesnar suffered another bout of diverticulitis in May of 2011, retiring after his last match in December of 2011 against Alistair Overeem before coming out of retirement to face Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016.

According to dopinglinkki.fi, “Clomiphene is a doping substance according to the Penal Code. Particularly men, who use anabolic steroids, commonly use clomiphene or other anti-estrogens (for example, tamoxifen) as an accompanying drug.”

Dopinglinkki.fi would go on to state that, “The purpose of clomiphene, in this case, is to inhibit the estrogen problems caused by the overdosed anabolic steroids, that appear when anabolic steroids convert in the body to estrogens or other metabolic products that have estrogenic effects.”

With Lesnar’s history of at least two bouts of diverticulitis in 2009 and 2011, one would think that Lesnar would have been weary of using Clomiphene, a drug described as causing “gastrointestinal discomfort” as one of its potential side effects. Which immediately brings me to one of the oldest questions plaguing mankind. Which came first? The chicken or the egg? The answer to that question could very well let many cats out of the bag.

According to thesmokinggun.com, “Brock Lesnar, the World Wrestling Entertainment champion, was once arrested for illegally possessing steroids, though the felony charge against the 26-year-old athlete was dismissed four months after his January 2001 arrest.” The report would go on to state:

“Lesnar was exonerated when tests showed that the seized pills were not, in fact, steroids. While a Louisville detective told TSG that the material was some kind of growth hormone, Lesnar’s defense attorney, Scott Cox, characterized the confiscated pills as a ‘vitamin type of thing.’”

Regardless of the true circumstances of Lesnar’s retirement(s), health problems and reported prohibited drug use, there is no question that Brock Lesnar is a huge draw for both the WWE and UFC. Former K-1 kickboxing champion Mark Hunt once famously sued UFC President Dana White, Lesnar and the UFC, accusing them of collusion, “in an effort to allow Lesnar to use performance enhancing drugs,” according to a February 15, 2019 ESPN.com article titled, “Judge dismisses most of Mark Hunts case Against UFC, Brock Lesnar,” by Brett Okamoto.

According to ESPN, “U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey threw out all but one of the claims Hunt made against the UFC,” with the Judge ordering, “Hunt and the UFC to enter a mandatory settlement conference on the final outstanding claim — breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. That claim is against the UFC only. All of Hunt’s claims against White and Lesnar were dismissed.” Putting the pieces together, the extent of the breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing could potentially stretch back some time in this case with the reader being left to make up their own minds as to what the actual truth may be.

Posted on 04/30/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

News broke Monday afternoon, April 29, 2019 that undefeated heavyweight boxer Jarrell Miller has officially been suspended for six months by the World Boxing Association (WBA) for his failed Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) performance enhancing drug tests. Miller tested positive for the prohibited substances GW1516, human growth hormone (HGH) and Erythropoietin (EPO) earlier this month, costing “Big Baby” Miller a respectable pay day and a shot at the world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the process.

BoxingInsider.com remarked Monday afternoon on Twitter that Miller, “failed for three separate PED’s. Most of these guys don’t even fight every six months. So that “suspension” is no suspension at all, really.” Miller has received, for all intents and purposes, a smack on the wrist for multiple infractions that most people would consider of a fairly serious nature.

For those with intimate knowledge of the professional combat sports world, the use of performance enhancing drugs in the ring, cage or field of play will come to them as no surprise. It’s the open, dirty little secret among those in the know. The charade starts when fighters, managers and promoters alike attempt to spin the truth into a fantasy world of rainbows, unicorns and lollipops. The laughable notion that most of the elite professional athletes are clean, and it’s the dirty, evil doing minority spoiling the impeccable integrity of the sport for everyone else is always front and center as the various entities attempt to spin the truth in order to protect their own necks, legacies and paydays from the real truth.

In what I have long described as the most eye-opening article on the use of performance enhancing drugs in competitive sports that I have ever read, a November 11, 2008 Spiegel.de article titled, “The Dealer Olympias” details an interview with Angel Heredia, former coach and trainer to Olympian Marion Jones, who explains his insights into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Spiegel would go on ask Heredia if he was planning to watch the 100-meter finals in Beijing, who replies, “Of course. But we will not experience a clean Olympic champion. Not even a clean participant.”

“Of eight runners,” Spiegel asks Heredia in an open-ended question, there, “will be eight doped,” explains Heredia. Spiegel then goes on to explain that Heredia can’t prove any of his statements however. “It’s undoubtedly like that,” explained Heredia who knows a thing or two about Olympic athletes doping. What this information should mean for you, the viewer, is that the most elite athletes across professional sports are also using performance enhancing drugs. While there will always be some exceptions to the rule, its almost a given that some of the biggest stars in combat sports today are also on the juice.

In an April 20, 2019 IFL TV YouTube video titled, “You are (Expletive) Disgusting – Fuming Eddie Hearn Rips into Jarrell Miller Over 3 Banned Substances,” the boxing promoter and Anthony Joshua representative had plenty to say on Jarrell Millers failed tests. “I am disgusted that someone would try and take these lengths, and gain these edges in a physical fight, especially against one of our fighters. Especially against a friend of mine. Honestly, its (expletive) it’s really, like, it’s made me question many things. Many things. Even the sport.”

“What do you think will happen to Miller,” the reporter asked. “He should be banned immediately,” in Hearn’s estimation. “He must have been unlucky,” Hearn told IFL TV. “He knows they’re coming and they’re coming every week. You can’t cheat the VADA system that we have in place I believe,” Hearn proclaimed as threw his hands up in the air almost as to convince us he has no other knowledge to the contrary. “I mean it’s, like I say, it has to be the worst case of drug results of all time,” said Hearn.

If Hearn honestly believes this is the worst case of drug results of all time, he probably hasn’t heard of former UFC title challenger and Bad Guy Inc. CEO Chael Sonnen who tested positive for HGH, EPO, anastrozole and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) according to a June 28, 2014 bleacherreport.com article titled, “Chael Sonnen Tests Positive for 4 Banned Substances in Latest Drug Test” by author Steven Rondina.

There is almost a mass psychosis occurring in the combat sports entertainment industry, where the promoters, fighters and fans alike refuse to acknowledge the truth and play into the politically correct lie in order to convince themselves their favorite athletes are naturally superhuman. As opposed to unnaturally superhuman, which drives advertisers and investors away who naturally seek to protect their investments by avoiding any kind of negative connotations associated with their brand.

And therein lays the problem, money drives deception, which in turn keeps the charade going despite the overwhelming evidence to suggest performance enhancing drug use in competitive sports is as sure of a bet as winners and losers on the field of play. Yet the demonization of athletes who fail performance enhancing drug tests continues, despite the reality being all they are really guilty of is getting caught. Otherwise they are only operating on the same field of play as everyone else, the only difference being some athletes get caught and others do not.

“I knew he knew that he was going to get tested,” Hearn told IFL TV. “What worries me more about this sport is, is these people know they are coming and they do that. What the (expletive) they doing when they know that they’re not coming?” Hearn would continue on with the same old, tired argument I have read for years from those espousing the rainbows, unicorns and lollipop fantasy about performance enhancing drug use in sports.

“I know what he’s put in the game, Joshua. So, you’re saying that you’re willing to take everything Joshua has earned in this sport, everything that he’s achieved, you’re willing to take that away by cheating. You know, that’s not fair. Take it away from Joshua on a level playing field, you deserve. You’re the best heavyweight on the planet. But don’t try and cheat the best heavyweight on the planet by being a super human man that gives you the physical edge to do it.”

According to an April 1, 2018 BBC article titled, “Anthony Joshua: From Watford to world champion” the young British boxing champion was, “brilliant at football and athletics and broke the year nine 100m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.” The BBC would go on to write that, “Anthony became very good at the sport of boxing very quickly, and had won all 18 fights at amateur level during his early 20s. He soon set a goal to become an Olympic champion. In 2012, Joshua won the gold medal in the super heavyweight category at the London Olympics.”

An April 29, 2019 mirror.co.uk article titled, “Boxing News: Dillan Whyte Accuses Anthony Joshua of ‘legally juicing’” author Rich Jones wrote that Whyte, “believes boxing has a bigger problem with fighters gaining Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) to allow them to use banned substances legally.”

“He has accused heavyweight rival Joshua as being amongst the offenders – something he believes could have contributed to Miller’s decision to try and cheat the system,” wrote the mirror in what, if true, is a fascinating parallel to the sport mixed martial arts (MMA) where TUE exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) were common place before a ban was enacted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and UFC in 2014 according to an ESPN.com Brett Okamoto report titled, “UFC to follow ban on testosterone therapy.”

Until the world of professional combat sports wants to come out of their mass psychosis and face the cold, hard truth that performance enhancing drug use is common even in the amateur ranks we can fully expect the charade to continue. This fantasy notion that most elite professional athletes are clean only serves to fill the pockets of those perpetuating the lie, and until a new paradigm on performance enhancing drug use is adopted to either make the penalties so severe that athletes will think twice about using them or performance enhancing drug use is outright legalized we can expect this ridiculous package of lies to continue.

Posted on 04/22/2019

By: Sean Crose

Although he was scheduled to face Anthony Joshua for numerous heavyweight titles on June 1st at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller now stands looking at an uncertain future. The Joshua fight fell apart after it was revealed that Miller essentially failed a March 20th drug test from the Voluntary Anti Doping Agency (VADA) and the New York State Athletic Commission subsequently refused to license the 23-0-1 fighter. The drug found in Miller’s system was a weight loss substance known as GW1516. It was then revealed that Miller again tested positive for GW1516 on March 31st. On that same day Miller also tested positive for a strength building human growth hormone known as EPO. Both GW1516 and EPO are banned substances.

Now that he’s missed out on an almost five million dollar payday to face the 22-0 Joshua, Miller has come clean – a bit of an oddity in this current boxing era – after initially denying any wrongdoing. “I messed up,” the Brooklyn native said in an Instagram post. “I made a bad call.” Miller went on to acknowledge that he’s now paying the price for his indiscretions. “There’s a lot of ways to handle a situation,” said Miller. “I handled it wrongly and I’m paying the price for it. I missed out on a big opportunity.” Miller’s mea culpa went on to bleed into those he claimed he hurt through his actions.

“I hurt my family, my friends, my team, my supporters,” he said. “But I’m going to own up to it. I’m going to deal with it. I’m going to correct it, and I’m going to come back better. I’m humbled by the experience.” At the very least, Miller can take consolation in the fact that the New York State Athletic Commission doesn’t indent to punish him for the positive tests – aside from not granting him a license. When and where Miller will be able to fight again remains to be seen.

For the moment, all of this means that Joshua is left without a dance partner for June 1st. An enormously popular fighter in his home country, the Englishman is apparently still planning to make his US debut at the Garden that evening, even though Miller won’t be his opponent. Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, the two fighters most fans would likely prefer Joshua to face, have their own separate bouts lined up for the spring, virtually making a June 1st fight with either man an impossibility.

Posted on 04/17/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

News broke late Tuesday evening, April 16, 2019 that heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller has tested positive for the banned substance GW1516, putting his June 1 Madison Square Garden showdown with heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in jeopardy according to a cbssports.com article by Jack Maloney titled “Report: Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller fails VADA test before heavyweight title fight vs. Anthony Joshua.”

According to an ESPN report, “Sources: Miller, set to face Joshua, fails drug test” columnist Dan Rafael writes that, “GW1516, also known as Cardarine and Endurobol, is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list and is classified as a metabolic modulator. An athlete might use it to assist in fat loss or use it as an endurance booster.”

The world of performance enhancing drug use is a familiar one to athletes virtually across the board in sporting competition. Whenever winning counts, there will be competitors looking for any and all advantages over their opponents. It’s an instinct inherent within the human experience, survival of the fittest, where only the strong survive. And as the old adage goes, if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.

Competition in sport harnesses that primal instinct to win, to survive, and manifests itself in a variety of forms of sport where society rewards the best with a nearly god like status while reserving all others as mere mortals in the presence of said greatness. Whoever that may be in your respective sport of choice, whether its Tiger Woods or the great Michael Jordan.

“In order to try to evade detection, athletes who continue to dope are having to resort to the use of a far more dangerous form of drug – the designer steroid,” writes Ray Kazlauskas in his September 17, 2009 link.springer.com abstract titled, “Designer Steroids.”

According to Kazlauskas, “These steroids are manufactured to closely resemble existing known compounds, but with sufficient chemical diversity to ensure that their detection by the WADA accredited laboratories is more difficult.”
As you may have already surmised, there are known illegal substances and unknown illegal substances. These designer steroids that are of unknown compositions are difficult to detect because the tests administered to athletes are designed to look for specific markers only. The world of anti-doping testing is constantly having to evolve their methodology and understanding of performance enhancing drugs in order to keep up with the evolution of science.
And just as there are illegal performance enhancing drugs, there are legal performance enhancing drugs as well.

Creatine being one of the more popular legal substances on the market today which is regularly used by athletes in order to increase muscle mass and improve athletic performance according to an NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine medlineplus.gov report.

Of course, what constitutes a legal and illegal substance depends very much on what set of rules you’re operating under, though there does seem to be some overlap with a variety of major anti-doping agencies.

“Of eight runners,” Spiegel asks Angel Heredia, former coach to Olympian Marion Jones while hypothetically discussing the 2008 Beijing Olympics, there “will be eight doped,” responds Heredia as Spiegel is obligated to then point out that he cannot actually prove it. “Its undoubtedly like that,” responds Heredia in a November 8, 2008 Spiegel online interview titled, “The Dealer Olympias.” What this should mean to every combat sports fan reading is that many if not all of the elite athletes in sports today are using performance enhancing drugs to one degree or another.

Mexican boxing phenom Canelo Alvarez famously tested positive for clenbuterol in 2018 ahead of his highly anticipated rematch with Gennady Golovkin. “Clenbuterol has shown up in drug tests for many Mexican athletes in recent years because of meat contamination in the country. Alvarez also said meat contamination caused his positive test,” writes ESPN reporter Dan Rafael in his March 6, 2018 ESPN.com article, “Canelo Alvarez’s camp blames suspect meat for positive clenbuterol test.”

Searching for more information, it turns out an August 27, 1995 NCBI U.S. National Library of Medicine abstract titled “Clenbuterol: a substitute for anabolic steroids” states that, “Clenbuterol is a recently popular drug used by athletes in many sports for its purported anabolic effects and reduction of subcutaneous fat. It is a beta-2 (beta 2) agonist prescribed overseas as a bronchodilator, but not approved for use in this country. It is on the banned substance list of the United States Olympic Committee.”

In a March 14, 2019 LA Times article titled “Victor Conte, of BALCO fame, has found a new home in boxing” author Dylan Hernandez writes “Only in what Conte described as the “red-light district of sport” can a convicted steroid distributor be part of a high-profile event and do so in full view of the public.

“I was banned everywhere else,” Conte said with a chuckle. Now a vocal advocate for year-round drug testing, the self-educated former BALCO mastermind helped lightweight champion Mikey Garcia move up to the heavier welterweight division for his showdown with hard-punching Errol Spence.”

According to Hernandez, “Conte, 68, spent four months in prison in 2005 for his role in the BALCO scandal, which tarnished the reputations of high-profile athletes such as Barry Bonds and Marion Jones.” Only a fool would think the Mikey Garcia camp went to Conte for anything but performance enhancing drug use. “We’re clean,” Garcia told the LA Times. The author would go on to state that, “Garcia and his trainer-brother have talked openly about their work with Conte, insisting they have nothing to hide.”

And they may very well not have anything to hide, if you follow the rule book and avoid banned, prohibited substances. However, that does not mean Conte isn’t riding on the cutting edge of science and technology, obviously his milkshakes are still bringing all the boys to yard. So, it is highly doubtful the Garcia camp is going to Conte for fish oil and creatine supplements.

Undoubtably, there are going to be those who decry that science has given us an endless bounty of performance enhancing substances to make athletes bigger, stronger and faster yet we are purposely suppressing this fountain of knowledge and entertainment to our own expense.

The cold, hard reality is that the fairy tale world of fairness, sportsmanship and a level playing field have joined forces with a multi-million-dollar regulation industry to ensure that a cat and mouse like game continues in order to keep the fines and penalties associated with prohibited banned substances rolling in.

Mixed martial arts referee “Big” John McCarthy famously said this is the hurt business. And in the hurt business people get hurt. The amount of damage and sacrifice these athletes make is incalculable, their lives and future very much at stake and on the line as they train to chase a dream that has customarily chewed up and spit out many greats before them.

Modern medicine and science exist to help these athletes perform to the best of their abilities, yet there is an entire industry developed to ensure these athletes do not take advantage of every possible opportunity to protect themselves in the ring, cage or field of play. And its justified under a false pretense that the rest of the field is clean, while it’s a select few bad guys ruining the sport for everyone else. Meanwhile, there is an entire industry profiting from a fairy tale, false belief perpetuated by those raking in the dough as a result of continued, sustained regulation.

Though I am not for or against the use of performance enhancing drugs in combat sports, believing it to be a deeply complicated subject and one without a clear right and wrong answer, I am absolutely in favor of a fair, level playing field. I do not however subscribe to the naïve paradigm espoused by most casual observers that the baseline truth is that the vast majority of elite athletes in professional combat sports today are clean. I simply do not believe that to be case and neither should you.

While there may be some outliers, naturally gifted athletes with the physical attributes and athletic ability to compete at an elite level without the aid of performance enhancing drugs the continued and sustained number of athletes regularly popping for banned, prohibited substances suggests the use of performance enhancing drugs is endemic within combat sports due to the very nature of the sports themselves and a new paradigm of regulation and enforcement is needed in order to adjust to the realities of combat sporting competition.

The naïve, fairy tale ramblings of those who seem to concern themselves with matters in which know very little about need to be recognized for what they are and filtered through the lens of common sense that suggest combat sports are an entirely different animal to non-contact sports. And the realities associated their participation need to be taken into account when dealing with how these athletes treat their bodies and live their lives. Its time for a new paradigm shift in how performance enhancing drugs are regulated in combat sports.

Posted on 12/28/2018

By: Jesse Donathan

“He tested positive again!” Those were the words I was greeted with upon logging on to twitter Sunday, December 23 and seeing the first message of the day from UFC two division champion Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately, Cormier didn’t even need to elaborate any further. Those four short words said it all. Subconsciously, we all knew who Daniel was talking about without needing any further explanation. He of course was talking about Jon “Bones” Jones. Widely considered the best fighter in the sport, according to a December 23, 2018 Jack Crosby article from cbssports.com titled, “UFC 232 moved to Los Angeles after Jon Jones drug test includes miniscule amount of banned substance” Jones has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs once again though he has not been suspended and his title fight against Alexander Gustafsson remains as previously scheduled.

An abnormality in a pre-fight drug test taken by former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has forced UFC to move Saturday’s UFC 232 pay-per-view from Las Vegas to just outside of Los Angeles. Jones’s drug test showed a trace amount of Turinabol, the banned substance that saw him suspended 15 months by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, remained in his system. The USADA referred to it as “an extremely low level,” concluding that it is a residual amount “from his prior exposure for which he was previously sanctioned.

In an espn.com article from Brett Okamato, “Jon Jones subject to drug testing from USADA, VADA” published on December 24, 2018 Okamato reports that as a result of the “atypical” anti-doping test results Jones will be enrolling into VADA testing, testing Jones had initially elected not to participate in, drawing widespread criticism before this latest flagged test result. Okamato would go on to write:

Jon Jones, as of Monday afternoon, is subject to drug testing from both the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
According to California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster, Jones, 31, enrolled in the VADA program on Monday. As a UFC athlete, he is still enrolled in the promotion’s mandatory USADA program as well, making him the first MMA fighter to be enrolled to both programs at the same time.

Jones is no stranger to banned substances, as described above this latest positive test for miniscule amounts of Turinabol are alleged to be trace deposits from the last positive test which Jones failed over a year ago. According to a September 13, 2017 article, “Jon Jones’ B sample confirms failed drug test from UFC 214” written by the BBC, “USADA confirmed that Jones had tested positive for an anabolic steroid called Turinabol, just one day before he defeated Daniel Cormier in Anaheim to reclaim the UFC’s light-heavyweight title.

Jones has denied knowingly taking the banned substance, and requested the test of his B sample, but this has now confirmed presence of Turinabol.” This latest December 2018 “atypical” result is alleged to be from this previous 2017 offense. Mixed martial arts journalist Dave Meltzer of The Wresting Observer isn’t so sure, stating via twitter social media on December 24, 2018 that, “when the same expert says a substance can only be detected for 6 weeks in 2017 and then tells you it was detected 17 months later in 2018, that tells me the “expert” may be smart, but also may be a con.”

Originally reported by Aaron Bronsteter, UFC content editor for The Sports News (TSN) via twitter, Jones tested at 60 picograms per milliliter on December 9, 2018. Interestingly enough, according to Bronsteter Jones originally tested positive back in 2017 for the same banned substance of between 20-80 picograms per milliliter. In other words, Jones’s most recent “atypical” flagged test is within the same range of his 2017 failed urinalysis for which he was originally sanctioned. Yet, Jones’s fight with Gustaffson remains as previously scheduled despite the NSAC’s refusal to license Jones. Rather questionably, the California State Athletic Commission is signing off on this fight when the Nevada State Athletic Commission would not, as the UFC bends over backwards to make sure the fight continues as scheduled.

According to a NCBI.gov article titled, “The pharmacokinetics of Oral-Turinabol in humans” originally published in September of 1991 by Schumann, W. oral-Turinabol has a terminal half-life of 16 hours. For those who may not be familiar with the term half-life, it is defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as, “the time required for half the amount of a substance (such as a drug, radioactive tracer, or pesticide) in or introduced into a living system or ecosystem to be eliminated or disintegrated by natural processes.” Note, it’s been over a year since Jones’s original positive test.

In a July 7, 2016 Associated Press report at the nydailynews titled, “Tearful Jon Jones denies taking PEDs after positive test blows up UFC 200’s main event” Jones was reportedly adamant that, “he (had) no idea why his June 16 test would yield a violation after he passed seven other doping tests this year.” It was later revealed that Jones had tested positive for the anti-estrogen blocker clomiphene and the aromatase inhibitor Letrozole according to Marc Raimondi of mmafighting.com in his July 23, 2016 article titled, “Brock Lesnar tested positive for anti-estrogen; Lesnar, Jon Jones won’t face UFC fine.”

In a January 8, 2015 Ariel Helwani article for mmafighting.com, “Nevada Athletic Commission head: Jon Jones’ testosterone clean prior to UFC 182; carbon isotope ratio test conducted” we find some invaluable information in understanding the parallel world of doping in combat sports. In explaining testosterone to the reader, Helwani heads to WebMD to define testosterone as “the “male” hormone accounting for strength and endurance.” The WebMD definition goes on to state “for every molecule of testosterone produced by the body, another molecule of a substance called epitestosterone, which does not enhance performance, is made.” In examining some of the criteria set forth by regulatory bodies in mixed martial arts, the Helwani article would go on to explain that:

In a normal male body, the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, the T/E ratio, is about 1:1. But variation can occur in individuals, and the World Anti-Doping Code has deemed 4:1 as the threshold for a positive test.”

Note: Nevada’s threshold is 6:1.

This is some information worth sitting on and examining closer, because these ratios are incredible in comparison to the data we previously broke down barney style. Though I admittedly only had a C average when I graduated with a Bro-Science degree in English, the fact “the World Anti-Doping Code has deemed 4:1 as the threshold for a positive test,” seems to me to be a piece of information too incredible to skip over. There is nothing to see here people… move along!

If 1:1 is our baseline for normal, athletes could potentially have a 3:1 ratio of testosterone molecules made to every molecule of epitestosterone and still be well within the acceptable range of the World Anti-Doping Code and therefor passing the test with flying colors. That is literally three times what is considered normal and the scary part is that only a 4:1 ratio is considered a positive test. Understanding this information alone puts the performance enhancing drug question in combat sports in an entirely different light. If you are normal male athlete with a 1:1 T/E ratio you may think twice about stepping in there with another normal athlete who has a T/E ratio of 3:1 or even greater. Suddenly, the question of performance enhancing drugs in sports moves from the lens and perspective of cheating to an entirely new premise of leveling out the playing field.

According to Dr. Johnny Benjamin of mmajunkie.com, a noted medical combat-sports specialist, in his April 5, 2012 article titled, “Medical Beat: What are T:E ratios? And why do cut off limits vary?” ethnicity and other variables can play a role in T:E ratios.

Most men have a ratio of T to E of 1:1, which means normal men have equal amounts of T and E in their blood. There is some normal ethnic and time of day variation in the normal T/E ratio (as low as 0.7:1 and as high as 1.3:1).

Statistics reveal that a ratio of up to 3.7:1 will capture 95 percent of all normal men, and a ratio of up to 5:1 will capture greater than 99 percent of all men. That’s why the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) allows up to 4:1 (so its test is at least 95 percent accurate) and the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the NCAA and some others allow up to 6:1 (for 99 percent accuracy).

Flashing back to Helwani’s January 2015 article, he would go on write about Jon Jones’s flagged urinalysis sample:

So on Dec. 4, Jones’ T/E ratios came up as .29 and .35. Jones actually took two drug tests that day because, according to Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett, his first urine sample was “watery.” On Dec. 18, his T/E ratio came up as .19. Clearly, all three ratios were below that of the average male.

When our baseline is a 1:1 ratio, punching that information into the calculator still returns a result of one when you attempt to divide 1 by itself. Notice where Jon Jones’s decimal point is, we aren’t talking about 2.9 here. We are talking about 0.29, followed by 0.35 and incredibly on December 18 he tested out at 0.19. Jones was on his way to ruling the women’s UFC light heavyweight division until his dying day with those kinds of results. Helwani later writes, “by contrast, Daniel Cormier, Jones’ opponent at UFC 182, had a T/E ratio of .4 on Dec. 2 and .48 on Dec. 17. Cormier passed both those tests.” Even Daniel Cormier’s numbers are well below the 1:1 ratio considered as the baseline for normal testosterone to epitestosterone molecule production according to the WebMD synopsis originally provided by Helwani. While Jones’s test was the more suspicious between the two, there is no question Cormier is testing well below the normal threshold by regulatory body standards.

The World Anti-Doping code provides leeway up to a 4:1 ratio, the Nevada State Athletic Commission 6:1 according to Helwani and both Jones and Cormier are testing out with their decimal points on the wrong side of the calculations. Instead of testing for a high testosterone to low ratio epitestosterone, their decimal points are on the wrong side of the dotted line. In my opinion, both athletes have curiously low T/E ratios, however with Jones being the more questionable between the two he seemed to get the vast majority of negative publicity surrounding the testing results. In a seemingly real-life Jedi Mind trick, Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennet was quoted by Helwani as stating that, “there’s no problem with Daniel, trust me.”

Putting things into perspective here, according to an April 5, 2012 article by Jesse Holland of mmamania.com titled, “Report: Alistair Overeem T/E ratio comes back a whopping 14:1 following failed drug test” manipulating an athlete’s testosterone to epitestosterone ratio is a known performance enhancement technique in competitive sports and one which is exploited by athletes in combat sports.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight number one contender Alistair Overeem, who flunked a surprise drug test in advance of his UFC 146 title fight opposite Junior dos Santos on May 26 in Las Vegas, has returned a staggering testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 14:1 in his failed urine test, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Keith Kizer.

Holland would go to write, “by comparison, Chael Sonnen’s T/E ratio following his failed urine test in the wake of his middleweight title fight in the UFC 117 main event back in October 2010, was 16.9:1.” Let that sink in for a second, 16.9 molecules of testosterone per one molecule of epitestosterone. In a universe where 1:1 is considered the baseline normal ratio, that’s simply unfathomable. Those are the kinds of numbers that would make Lance Armstrong blush. And according to Nevada State Athletic Director Bob Bennett Daniel Cormier competing at .40:1 and .48:1 isn’t a problem? “These are not the droids you’re looking for,” echo’s Obi Wan Kenobi in a galaxy, far, far away.

Yet, Jon Jones’s .29:1 and .35:1 ratio is a problem? With a third test ordered for Jon Jones and Jones only on December 18th with an astonishingly low .19:1 T/E ratio result obviously raising red flags on top of red flags. These are the T/E ratios I would expect from an adolescent child, yet they are the results of performance enhancing drug tests for two of the world’s leading mixed martial arts champions?

Astonishingly, in a July 1997 report by Werner W. Franke and Brigette Berondonk, “Hormonal doping and androgenization of athletes: a secret program of the German Democratic Republic government” published at Clinical Chemistry we find a wonderfully insightful and behind the scenes look at the world of pharmaceutical based athletic performance enhancing drug use. Describing the East German Democratic Republics (GDR) state sponsored doping program, Franke and Berondonk wrote of one of the GDR symposium’s goals to evade increased scrutiny by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by administering, “testosterone as well as dihydrotestosterone by nasal spray, especially in those events in which the psychotropic effects of testosterone, such as increased aggressiveness, are considered important, as well as to evade the doping tests.”

In a fascinating and insightful look at the corruption within the regulatory bodies, Werner and Berondonk describe how situations deemed embarrassing or too damaging for some nations, regulatory bodies, promotions or athletes were simply covered up.

Finally, however, even when an athlete of the GDR, or another socialist country, was tested at a risky moment, i.e., when her or his urine was expected to still contain metabolites of synthetic steroids or an above-normal T:E ratio, there was no reason to panic. From the written records, it appears that, usually, one of the members of the international doping control committee was able to clear away the sample. For example, the Stasi reports from Höppner, who served many years on control committees, describe when and how he covered up certain drug-positive cases and arranged falsely negative findings, often after consultation with a ZK member; if worst came to worst, he acted directly by carrying out a urine exchange.

It’s unreal that Jon Jones has tested positive, again, yet reportedly for residual amounts from a previously failed test which he has already been sanctioned for. Contributing to the madness is the fact Jones is reportedly unable to be sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, so the UFC has moved the entire show to just outside Los Angeles, California where Jones can be sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission. The logistics involved for this kind of move, the money lost, and tremendous burden put on nearly everyone who had planned on attending the event in Las Vegas, with flights and hotels booked etc. is simply mind blowing.

There is plenty of blame to go around here. While Jones is the obvious target, how is it just days before the fight with Gustafsson this trace amount of Turinabol was only now discovered? If anything, this latest embarrassment for Jones only shines the light on the ineptitude of regulatory bodies and their administrative policies which ultimately lead to public relations nightmares just like this latest positive test by Jones for a performance enhancing drug he had been previously sanctioned on over a year ago now. Its time for additional oversight and reform in the combat sports entertainment industry.

Posted on 10/09/2018

By Jake Donovan

The majority of boxing fans may not be familiar with Walter Kautondokwa, but the outcome of a key item in the Massachusetts Boxing Commission (MBC) on Tuesday could change that in a hurry.

Kautondokwa—an unbeaten middleweight knockout artist from Namibia—will be among the interested observers as Billy Joe Saunders will learn the fate of his license status ahead of a planned October 20 title defense versus Demetrius Andrade. The bout is due to headline at
TD Garden in Boston, but that status is very much up in the air due to the unbeaten Brit showing trace amounts of the banned substance Olixofrine during an August 31 drug test administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA).

Photo Credit: Billy Joe Saunders Twitter Account

In the event he is denied a license, Saunders will also be stripped of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title. Andrade, Saunders’ unbeaten mandatory challenger will vie for the vacant title versus the next highest-rated contender, which is where Kautondokwa enters the picture.

Test results were first revealed to the public on September 27, via a breaking news entry from ESPN.com senior writer Dan Rafael. The subject has now made its way to the MBC agenda for its next monthly meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at its headquarters in Boston.

It was also cause enough for event promoter Eddie Hearn—whose Matchroom USA outlet promotes Andrade and will present the show on the subscription-based DAZN USA app—to immediately secure a back-up plan to ensure the October 20 card goes uninterrupted.

“We signed an agreement with Matchroom on September 28 to step in and take the fight in the event Saunders is not (licensed),” Nestor Tobias, Kautondokwa’s manager and a former boxer informed BoxingInsider.com. “(Such short notice) is of course never enough to prepare for such a big fight…but we were already in the gym training.”

Kautondokwa (17-0, 16KOs) has not fought since registering a 5th round knockout of Argentina’s Billi Godoy in his hometown of Windhoek, Namibia, where the bulk of his five-year career has taken place. As far back as his knockout win over Obodai Sai last June in Ghana–his one career bout outside of Namibia—he has lobbied for a shot at Saunders.

Now he could wind up taking his place.

For the moment, Saunders (26-0, 12KOs) is sticking to the story that the substance ended up in his system due to his taking an over-the-counter nasal decongestant to clear his sinuses. Whether or not it’s true is less significant than the fact that athletes are held fully accountable—especially in this day and age—for anything they put in their body.

It is why all VADA forms include a section requiring athletes to disclose any medications they are currently taking, or have taken close enough to where a test soon thereafter would return such results. Even if the decongestant was inhaled after such forms were submitted, Saunders and his team are still obligated to inform testing officials of such a development.

No greater lesson was learned than with the postponement of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’ planned May 5 rematch with Gennady Golovkin. The bout was pushed back by more than four months after Alvarez was handed a modest six-month suspension for trace amounts of Clenbuterol found in his system during two separate tests in February.

Alvarez’ handlers presented all of the necessary documents and receipts to validate the theory that he consumed the banned substance through contaminated meat, a years-long epidemic in his native Mexico. The Nevada State Athletic Commission seemed sympathetic to his plight, but in the end still held the wildly popular boxer accountable and thus denied him the right to fight for six months dating back to the date of the failed test.

Alvarez, of course, returned in September in claiming a narrow decision to end Golovkin’s eight-year run of holding at least one middleweight title. Still, the preceding suspension sent a message that nobody in the sport is above the rules—a lesson that Saunders could very well learn on Tuesday.

Kautondokwa and his team aren’t necessarily rooting for such an outcome, nor are they accusing Saunders of cheating, intentionally or otherwise. At the same time, they remain very curious to see how the Massachusetts board handles the situation.

“It is never good to hear that a boxer has tested positive for drugs, it is not good for the sports of boxing but these things do happen,” Tobias notes. “We are happy that doping agencies are making a concerted effort to curb down such boxers and athletes around the world because it is not fair on their fellow sportsman and women with who they are to compete against.

“Saunders has been a great champion, whether or not he really used a banned drug will be up to the Commission to decide. All we are saying is that there should be zero tolerance to any athlete found guilty or failing drug test irrespective of how big they are. If the results prove that he is, than it would only be fair to strip him of the title like it would have been with any other (champion).”

Such a scenario is precisely what the World Boxing Organization (WBO)—whose title Saunders has held since a Dec. ’15 points win over Andy Lee—has insisted would be the case should the MBC deny the Brit a boxing license. WBO President Francisco ‘Paco’ Valcárcel has made it abundantly clear that the title would become vacant under such circumstances, leaving Andrade and Kautondokwa to compete for the vacant strap.

Andrade (25-0, 16KOs) would have the advantage of a full training camp in addition to being the far more established pro. The unbeaten 30-year old from Providence, Rhode Island—less than an hour from Boston—was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Boxing team and is a former 154-pound titlist in the pro ranks.

However, he has also been grossly inactive for the lion’s share of his optimal prime. In fact, the 6’1” southpaw will have been out of the ring for exactly 52 weeks come fight night, having been out of the ring since a 12-round points win over Alantez Fox last October.

Still, he’d remain a heavy betting favorite and for good reason. This much isn’t at all lost on Kautondokwa, who would be making his U.S. debut in addition to the massive step up in competition just ahead of his 34th birthday.

“Andrade is slick, very experienced and unbeaten. He will be fighting at home, had enough time to prepare for the fight, and is clearly the better known name, so everything will be in his favor going into a fight with Kautondokwa,” conceds Tobias. “But that is exactly the position we want to be in.

The pressure will be on Andrade and not on Kautondokwa. We will take full advantage of our underdog status.”

Of course, none of that matters until a final decision is handed down Tuesday afternoon in Boston. But just incase, boxing fans can at least rest assured that Plan B is not only already in place, but game for the cause.

Posted on 09/27/2018

By: Michael Kane

It’s not been a great few days if you are Billy Joe Saunders.

First he was fined £100000 by the British Boxing Board of Control for a video he posted in which he appeared to offer a woman money for a sex act then told her to punch a man walking along the road, which she did, Saunders then drove away laughing.

Photo Credit: Billy Joe Saunders Twitter Account

Now there are reports he has failed a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association drug test.

The reports suggest he tested for the banned substance oxilofrine, which is a stimulant. ESPN’s Dan Rafael was the first to break the news.

Saunders, the current WBO middleweight champion, is due to defend his belt against Demetrious Andrade om October 20th. However this news will put that bout seriously in doubt. Saunders could also face being stripped of his title.

Oxilofrine is a stimulant that can increase performance as it helps to burn fat, it could increase adrenaline production, endurance and help with the oxygenation of the blood.

Several athletes have tested positive for the drug in the past.

It seems Saunders has taken to Twitter to laugh the claims off,

😂 some shit 😂

— billyjoesaunders (@bjsaunders_) September 27, 2018

Posted on 04/03/2018

By: Jeandra Lebeauf

After weeks of speculation, the anticipated rematch between Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez and middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is off as a result of Alvarez testing positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol.

Photo Credit: Canelo Alvarez Twitter Account

Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez made the official announcement on Tuesday.

“Let me begin by informing all of you that at this point unfortunately we are going to have to cancel the May 5th rematch. As you all know there is a hearing date of April 18 and it’s extremely unlikely that this matter can be resolved by then properly. And obviously we need enough time to promote a fight of this magnitude.”

With Oscar De La Hoya at his side, Alvarez defended himself through a translator by reiterating that he is a clean fighter, having been tested over 90 times over a 12-year span, and that the positive test was the result of eating contaminated meat in his home country of Mexico.

“I am truly shocked about what has happened and for those who have doubts and suspicion about my integrity, I have always been and always be a clean fighter.

I want to apologize to HBO, Tecate and Hennessy and all my other sponsors, the media and to everyone who is involved in the promotion of this event, and especially to the fans. I respect this sport. I will always be a clean fighter.”

Despite pledging complete transparency during the course of the investigation, his attorney Ricardo Cestero limited the number of responses to media inquiries due to the pending investigation. Joining the panel was Dr. Miguel Angel Nazul of the Mexican Federation of Sports Medicine who says contaminated meat is a widespread problem throughout Jalisco, Mexico City and other areas.

Alvarez concluded the press meeting by describing the day he found out about the positive test and what he will do going forward to prevent positive testing.

“I got a call from Eric Gomez and he called me and I answered and he said I tested positive in some test and my first reaction was no, there has to be a mistake, something is wrong.”

“It saddens me people are accusing me of doing something improper. I am proud of the career I’ve had. From here on out, I will take precautions before future fights and make sure this never happens again.”

Posted on 04/03/2018

By: Sean Crose

“I am sad and feel powerless,” Canelo Alvarez told the media on Tuesday, “that this fight cannot happen now.” And with that, all remaining hope for the superfight between Canelo (49-1-2) and middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin (37-0-1) going down this spring vanished. Canelo tested positive on two occasions this past February for having the banned substance Clenbuterol in his system. He was subsequently suspended (albeit temporarily) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, leaving the Las Vegas based Golovin rematch (the two men first fought to a controversial draw last autumn), which was scheduled to occur on May 5th, in serious doubt.

Canelo took the opportunity Tuesday to argue that he never took a banned substance intentionally. “I have always operated as a clean fighter,” he said. “I have always taken clean substances.” He’ll have a chance to argue his case before the Commission on an April 18th hearing. If the Commission decides to be firm, the Mexican star can be suspended for six months or more. Other states are apt to follow the Nevada ruling, whatever it should be, meaning that a suspension would likely carry over throughout the United States, where Canelo has proven to be most successful as a prize fighter.

“I will do whatever I need to do,” he said, “to demonstrate I have never taken this substance (intentionally).” Seeing his reputation as an honest player in a dirty game take a serious hint, Canelo took time to lament his situation. “It saddens me that people are accusing me of doing something improper,” he claimed. Canelo also said that he was going to henceforth be more mindful about what goes in his body. “From here on out, I will take increased precautions to ensure this will never happen again,” he said.

Team Canelo made it clear during the conference that they still wish for a Canelo-GGG rematch to go down, perhaps in August or September. As for Golovkin, it looks as if he’s preparing to face another opponent on May 5th. Names such as Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (27-2), Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (25-0) and WBO super middleweight champ Gilberto Ramirez (37-0) have all popped up. Golovkin’s promotional company has also requested a permit for May 5th at the MGM Grand in Vegas (the Canelo rematch was supposed to take place at the T-Mobile Arena). As of press time, no opponent for Golovkin had been announced.

Golovkin has unleashed on Canelo through the media since news of the drug tests broke. He’s accused his opponent as having cheated before and has also stated that Canelo has been unfairly supported by the powers that be. On Tuesday, Canelo’s response was restrained. “What Golovkin or his team say does not bother me at all,” he said. ”They’re not experts, doctors.” Canlo had a doctor on hand who stated the levels of Clenbuteral that Canelo tested for were in line for levels of those who have consumed contaminated meat. Intent, however, did not come into play in regards to the Commission’s handing down of a suspension.