By Phil D. Jay

Former IBF light-heavyweight champion Clinton Woods wants a complete overhaul of the drug-testing system in the United States after claiming that steroid abuse across the Atlantic has been common-place for years.

The 40 year-old, who lost his title to the latest US fighter to test positive, Antonio Tarver in 2008, believes that the US boxing authorities are beginning to get it right as the testing is used more and more in the sport.

“It’s always annoyed me how rife American boxing is with drugs and steroids, but at least they are cracking down on it now and people are being caught. The trouble is that people there will only get fined pocket money,” Woods told thestar.co.uk.

On the loss to Tarver, Woods stated: “Did he have steroids in him when we boxed? I wouldn’t know. But in fairness he didn’t beat me because of anything like that, I just underperformed.

“I’d like to see random tests to keep everybody clean. No decent boxer would argue with that,” he added.

Tarver, 43, becomes the third world champion this year to be found to be using performance enhancing drugs, joining Lamont Peterson and Andre Berto, although all three have yet to be formally charged or sentenced pending enquiries.

Phil D. Jay covers boxing for worldboxingnews.net

Tags: Antonio Tarver