Yuriorkis Gamboa among major athletes linked to Miami drug clinic

Cuban fighter Yuriorkis Gamboa has been linked to a possibly major drug scandal in Miami, as the Miami New Times names Gamboa among many star athletes -- including baseball's Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez, and Melky Cabrera, among others -- as a client of Biogenesis, an anti-aging clinic.

While the full report is more than worth a read, this particular bit on Gamboa is of obvious interest to boxing fans:

In the 2009 notebook, Bosch outlines an extensive program he was shipping to Gamboa. In addition to protein powders and calcium/magnesium/zinc compounds, he included a six-day-a-week HGH regime, IGF-1, and a cream with 20 percent testosterone.

What's more, Bosch even notes that Gamboa's next bout is scheduled against Brandon Rios the following April and writes, "Start clean-up Dec. 1" — presumably giving the boxer enough time to pass doping tests. (The fight against Rios was later canceled, but Gamboa won two other fights by TKO and KO that January and February.)

Now, let me say this right off, as I'm sure many of you have noticed: The timeline here is out of wack. Rios and Gamboa were scheduled to fight in 2012, not in 2009 or 2010. Whether this is just a mistake in reporting or means something more, I do not know. But obviously what's reported here has some flaws.

I doubt any of this, if true, is of any surprise to fight fans, or sports fans in general. We know that athletes in every sport are doping, from the elite level to the bush leagues. It's just a reality.