Andre Ward Endorses Olympic-Style Drug Testing for Boxing
by Scott Christ on May 16, 2011 9:23 PM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Just after his win over Arthur Abraham on Saturday, former Olympic gold medalist and current super middleweight top dog Andre Ward endorsed Olympic-style drug testing for professional boxing, days after the topic was brought back into the boxing mind following a weak hoax against Manny Pacquiao.
"I think it is [necessary for boxing]. I would welcome it. I think it's great. That way there is no confusion about who's playing on an even playing field. This is a dangerous sport. You hear whispers about guys, what they're doing and not doing. You have to figure out who's going to pay for it, but once we get past that - I think it should be something that's implemented in every big fight," Ward said.
Truth be told, I don't think anyone really disagrees. The current testing systems that boxing commissions use are antiquated at best and known to be a joke at worst, well behind the curve as far as detecting "designer" performance-enhancing drugs.
And the issue is not about Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Shane Mosley, either. Pacquiao has been accused by the entire Mayweather family, and Mosley re-entered the discussion last week, a discussion he's been a major player in in the past. Mosley admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs for a 2003 fight against Oscar de la Hoya, and was a BALCO client.
In 2010, Mayweather and Mosley underwent Olympic-level drug testing for their fight, with both testing clean. The random testing was chronicled on HBO's "24/7" series for the fight.
But while Mayweather seems more intent to bring the testing to the sport for personal reasons (he's not exactly championing the cause for any other fights, other than to say, "Yeah, those should have it, too"), Ward's endorsement rings a little truer, because he hasn't been slinging the mud prior to the suggestion.
The truth is, these are not whispers just against Manny Pacquiao, or talk just about Shane Mosley or even those who have tested positive for something in the past (Mosley never failed a test). It's 2011 and the professional sports world has been infested with performance-enhancing drugs for decades at this point, and in recent years it has gotten particularly bad. There is an entire era in Major League Baseball that many now just write off as the years dominated by a bunch of "steroid freaks." And even if no fighters were saying anything, it would be time for these commissions to step up to the plate and demand better of themselves. That's the real deal here, but does anyone expect it to happen?
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You can’t mandate it for low level fights. It’s not practical for a fight where both fighers make 500 or so to spend 500 on drug testing, so it would have to be restricted to major fights. You could make a rule saying all title fights require drug testing or even majorish fights (purses over 10k say). That being said, they won’t do it, that would require effort and the status quo works so well.
by journeyintosound on May 16, 2011 9:54 PM EDT reply actions
Yeah the lowest levels kind of have to go on as they are — I don’t even know if $10k purses would fly. Maybe $25K-plus. But a step at any point is a good step, IMO.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on May 16, 2011 10:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Who pays for the current tests? Are they paid from the fighters purses or are they paid by the commissions or promoters? And by the way, who pays for the tests in other sports, for example who pays the bill of the tests from the olympics?
Maybe a way to increase the coverage in boxing would be to link the requirment of the test to the overall cost of the card and not necessarily the purse of one particular fight. So if say the cost of the putting together a whole card exceeds say 30K (or whatever number you like), then mandate that all fighters on the card get tested. This could be a good initial step.
A better option for the long term, given that for these tests to work as they are intended they should be applied year round, would be for the commissions to ask both fighters and promoters for a fee (tax) proportional to their yearly profits to pay for tests year round, even if the fighter does not have a fight scheduled.
for a fee (tax) proportional to their yearly profits to pay for tests year round,
Seems to me your idea is a real good one, and would do a lot more for the sport than another cheap naugahyde/fool’s gold designer disaster (“for a small sanctioning fee, of course” (Rafael)). Those belts and sanctioning body fees that they pay are as high, I believe, as the medical costs mentioned above.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Ward is in fact a great person to champion this campaign.
His recent Olympic gold medal and a career without controversy puts him in a great position to highlight the issue.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
a career without controversy
Somewhat true….
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/04/sports/la-sp-victor-conte4-2009dec04
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on May 16, 2011 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m at least slightly objective sometimes…..
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on May 17, 2011 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions
It was you or wikileaks Waldo.
We’d of picked up on it soon enough.
Better that it be you. Lol
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Oh just call me Julian…..
Merde, my cover!
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on May 17, 2011 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Thats all well and good but you can't get it going across the board
I think ive just grown numb to the whole PEDs thing honestly. I just figure everyone dose it becasue tons of people have been caught. Also people where doing peds back in the 70’s in MLB its just now that people have made a stink of it.
Twitter @MaZZM
http://www.mazzznet.com/
Yeah beyond numb about the issue. I personally think that the people who get caught are the ones that don’t know how to cycle or cheat properly. NO, I’m not trying to throw a blanket indictment on everybody else but I do find the MLB witchhunts and the media frenzy surrounding the shock when 3 or more Yankees veterans get caught to be a bit laughable.
It’s good that Ward is saying something but in the end, will the change actually happen?
I tend to be biased towards strikers . . . exciting strikers.
- - - - -
VEe is ANIMated!
by VeeisAnimated on May 16, 2011 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions
I personally think that the people who get caught are the ones that don’t know how to cycle or cheat properly.
Pretty much. The people caught by boxing’s current testing system in particular are damnfools.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on May 17, 2011 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
They weren’t the brightest either when they got into this game I’m afraid.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Not necessarily true. Dr. Klitschko, Gene Tunney, Ali, and on and on. Bute and Maravilla aren’t idiots, JMM is a certified accountant, some guys like to be prizefighters.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Like some people like to be
porn stars. Not all of them are dumb either.
by tacklerford on May 17, 2011 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Smart people do dumb things all the time. Including some of the guys you listed there.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on May 17, 2011 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Coming from a guy who's fitness consultant is Victor Conte
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Yeah see the article I posted above…
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on May 17, 2011 1:36 AM EDT up reply actions
I recant my statements above.
I forgot Andre uses Conte. He’s not the right spokesperson.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Well, I can see where it might make him more the right spokesperson. I wonder if he knows what he’s taking, and if he’s had himself tested. I think he’s sincere, and I think a lot of those guys in the hands of what seems to be almost a conditioning Svengali ared duped. They have to partly let themselves be duped, but I think they’re in the hands of a master, which is why his presence in Donaire’s entourage scares me so much.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Well, I can see where it might make him more the right spokesperson. I wonder if he knows what he’s taking
I think in here lies the problem. Ward mentions in the article that Waldo provided that he reads the labels on every bottle that Conte gives him to be sure that what he is taking is legal. Not to sound like a smartass but I highly doubt that if there were something illegal in the product they would simply put it on the label “HGH, do not take before a blood test”, so unfortunately unless the athlete is also a chemist that can directly test the content of the substance he will have to trust that he is taking what he is being told he is taking, and giving Conte’s past that would be a very hard thing to do for me.
Good point. He should hire me to do that, I’m a chemist. I wouldn’t mind being on team Ward :-)
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on May 17, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions
There are several boxers who work with Conte
Donaire, Ward, Chambers, and I think a few others. If they want random drug testing, they are either very confident in Conte’s ability to beat that type of system, or they are really confident that he’s on the up and up now.
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