Kovalev vs. Pascal: No Drug Testing Agreement

by David P. Greisman

A month ago, with the fight between light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal already signed, the headlines began to reflect a back-and-forth over drug testing.

Pascal wanted stringent testing for both boxers. Kovalev’s promoter, Kathy Duva of Main Events, said that while she was generally against what she referred to as promoters trying to act as regulators, she was willing to go forward with more stringent testing if Pascal paid for it — and if the agency was the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, or VADA.

It appears that there was never any resolution. Drug testing came up multiple times during a Feb. 24 media conference call for their March 14 fight in Montreal on HBO. Kovalev is not undergoing more stringent testing, while a Pascal team member says his guy is already being tested under a regimen in place.

“We had been approached by the Pascal camp about doing drug testing. We agreed to go to the people at VADA and do the testing. Jean Pascal said that he did not agree to go to VADA,” Duva said during the conference call. “He had originally offered to pay for it. He wasn’t going to pay for VADA. So we decided that since he didn’t want to pay the lower fee for the much more credible organization, then he must’ve not been serious about that, so there will be no drug testing.”

Greg Leon, the CEO of Jean Pascal Promotions, then responded.

“First things first, VADA didn’t come into the game until the 11th hour,” Leon said. “I was negotiating with Main Events’ attorney, Patrick English, and we were trying to land in a place that Pascal originally planned on, which is the protocol that he’s had in place since 2013. Out of the two athletes on March 14, only one of them has been tested randomly over 10 times, and that’s Jean Pascal. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t land on a mutual organization, but it is what it is. Main Events shouldn’t be caring what Pascal is spending on a test if he’s willing to pay for all of it.”

Leon said Pascal “does WADA-compliant testing” with the results reported to the promoters and the athletic commission.

“It’s a shame Main Events wouldn’t allow us to pay for the protocol that’s been in place for Jean Pascal since 2013,” Leon said.

Duva responded: “And our position is Sergey Kovalev is the champion of the world, and he will choose the protocol or we won’t do it.”

This wasn’t the first time that drug testing had come up from Jean Pascal after he’d already signed a contract for a fight. He’d also famously called for Bernard Hopkins to “Take the test!” for their rematch in 2011.

Drug testing came back up again later in the conference call, with a question asked of why Kovalev should give in to Pascal’s demands, and why Pascal wouldn’t go for VADA.

Also referenced was that Pascal works with someone tied to performance-enhancing drugs in the past. The name wasn’t said, but that person is conditioning coach Angel “Memo” Heredia, who works with several boxers, including Juan Manuel Marquez. Heredia has had a long feud with another person now working in boxing who was involved with helping athletes cheat in the past, Victor Conte of the infamous BALCO scandal that implicated major athletes in baseball and track and field.

Conte and Heredia have feuded for a long time on Twitter and in interviews, with Conte regularly calling on Heredia to have his fighters undergo more stringent testing. Heredia, meanwhile, has said he does not trust VADA. Conte has spoken well of VADA since it was getting off the ground and has sponsored boxers undergoing VADA testing. VADA’s president, Margaret Goodman, has said Conte has no role with the organization but has helped educate her on the topic of performance-enhancing drugs.

“It wasn’t a matter of caving in to demands,” Leon said. “They said they had no problem with drug testing if we agreed to pay for it. We agreed to pay for it, then it became company-specific. Why did it have to become company-specific if we were paying for it? I can answer every question you have with a question. We’ll just dance around in circles.”

Pascal said the drug testing disagreement is behind him.

“I wanted to make the test to show the world that I’m a clean fighter, that Kovalev is a clean fighter as well,” Pascal said. “But most importantly, it’s that we are in a clean sport, because I really, really believe that it’s a clean sport. I wanted to show the world that we’re champions but that we are clean at the same time. Right now I’m not worried about anything. I’m just focusing on my task, and my task is to train well and win my fight on March 14.”

But he is nonetheless disappointed.

“When you have nothing to hide, you take the test,” Pascal said. “You don’t come up with like a specific agency to make the test. Why you want to have a specific agency to make the test when you know I’m the one who’s paying for it? You’re not paying for it. I’m the one who’s paying for it. Any agency in the world can make the test. I don’t care. But why Kovalev only want to deal with one specific agency? But it is what it is, and right now I’m just moving forward, and I just hope that Kovalev is clean.”

Duva responded:

“I’d to put this to rest, once and for all. He [Kovalev] is clean. He is quite clean. He was willing to take a test in VADA, the only agency that’s ever actually reported anyone having taken drugs and having them penalized for it in boxing.”

VADA was the agency that caught Lamont Peterson having tested positive for synthetic testosterone ahead of his rematch with Amir Khan, caught Andre Berto for a banned substance ahead of a Victor Ortiz rematch, and caught Brandon Rios for a banned substance following his bout with Manny Pacquiao.

USADA caught Erik Morales for a banned substance ahead of his rematch with Erik Morales and then continued to test. It was the state athletic commission for that fight in New York that had jurisdiction and allowed the bout to continue despite the positive test.

“He was willing to go to that agency [VADA] which is above reproach, and for some reason the Pascal people, who were told they could go to any agency he wanted but that Sergey was going to go to the one that he knew was the highest caliber and without any clouds or questions about whether it reported the results properly or took the tests properly, he was willing to go to that agency, and they said no. End of story. We’re not going to talk about it anymore.”

Pascal then claimed that VADA is seen as having no credibility because it only works with boxers and not with athletes in other sports.

“Jean, that’s not true,” Duva said. “Please don’t say VADA has no credibility.” (Note: VADA has also done drug testing for mixed martial artists.)

Responded Pascal: “They only test boxers. They don’t test any other sport. We are willing to deal with a real agency …  so with that VADA bullsh*t, just leave it alone, because they’re not credible, because they only test boxers. And plus, VADA is with Victor Conte. Victor Conte is…”

Pascal then got cut off by someone else on his team. The topic didn’t come up again on the call.

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