Charlo twins take hard stance on PED use in boxing

Confession: I loved the performance by the Charlo twins at the Wednesday media workout at the famed and fabled Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn.

I use the word “performance” because these guys have it, they are born to perform and entertain. And by “it,” I mean they have that something special which makes you want to watch them and see what they do and say next.

A portion of the “it” which can be defined is the fact that they are unpredictable. One doesn’t know if they will zig or zag, or tell you to eff yourself for inquiring which way they might go.

It’s entertaining — because the worst sin, arguably, from my perspective as a journalist-reporter, is for a subject to be boring. Boring wasn’t on display at all when the 154-pound ace Jermell Charlo and the 160-pound interim champ Jermall did Q-and-As at Gleason’s.

The thing that leapt out for me, mostly, was the surprising tone Jermell took regarding PED testing. Last month the twins drew heat when it was disclosed they missed a scheduled PED test. They were traveling to fulfill promotional obligations, they explained. Then, Jermall’s foe for the Saturday face-off at Barclays Center, Willie Monroe Jr, tested positive for excessive testosterone, and he was yanked from the card. Matt Korobov is subbing in for him.

Jermall took the opportunity to defend himself and his brother, because they took slings and arrows for missing a test set by VADA. ‘Mall then took aim at those cutting corners, using banned supplements.

“Cheaters never win,” he said, lifting up his shirt to show a majestic six-pack. He said Victor Conte and company, who have advised Monroe, have been busted too many times, and generally had a viciously intense tone. He swore, he rocked back and forth as he tried to contain the fury.

Jermell was even more expansive on the subject of PEDs and cutting corners.

“They should suspend him from boxing. Monroe shouldn’t be allowed to come back to (boxing). This is my life we’re putting on the line, my brother’s as well. I’m glad they was able to catch this beforehand. It sucks that someone would cheat, and they know that they’re cheating. We haven’t heard anything from Willie saying anything about testing. It’s ugly, it’s bad business for the sport.”

He then said that he and his brother didn’t deserve scorn for missing a WBC Clean Boxing Program VADA test.

“There’s nothing we can do if we’re not there,” he said. “We need the sport to be cleaned up.”

He wants the penalties for cheating to be harsher, he repeated.

“Take all his bread. Take them away from the sport, they shouldn’t be allowed back, they should be banned for life, and probably sentenced to a jail sentence or something, make them do probation or something. This is life-risking. Yeah, send their ass to jail!”

Didn’t see that coming, did you?

They zigged AND they zagged.

So, discuss amongst yourselves what you think all this means. For those that cast judgment on the twins because they missed a test, this give you pause for thought?

Listen, this is a changed society. Sizzle sells — scandal and beefs and rifts draw attention. Good news stories do, too, we all see those heart-melting memes floating around every day, going viral. But there’s no better way to get attention than by talkin’ smack and getting contentious. It’s drama, it’s the stuff of life.

Yes, too much of that can be draining. (See: Trump, Donald, and the attention placed on his behavior and the state of this administration, the 24/7 nature of the dramatics is too much.) But a good dose of that, combined with solid outings in the ring, preferably in fights capped by KOs, to remove shitty judging from the mix — well, I think you have to have both Charlos on your Must-Watch right now, very much so heading into the new year.

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