By Luis Sandoval
Angel “Memo” Heredia is quickly becoming a guy who is being sought after by some of the top fighters in boxing for his services of strength and conditioning. Heredia’s most notable client is Juan Manuel Marquez who shocked the world when he knocked Manny Pacquiao out cold in their thrilling war last December.
Heredia however does have a checkered past as he was involved in supplying various athletes with performance enhancing drugs. After cooperating with authorities, Heredia received immunity for his involvement and has since turned to helping athletes in a legal manner and has left PEDs behind.
Even with Heredia turning a new leaf, many still suspect him of foul play and most point to Marquez’s significant physical change since working with Heredia and his knock out of Manny Pacquiao. Both Marquez and Heredia have denied doing or using anything illegal and credit hard work and preparation for their results and success.
BoxingScene caught up with Heredia at the Mayweather Boxing Club as he and his newest fighter Jean Pascal where in attendance. Heredia informed BoxingScene that his fighters will indeed begin participating in random drug testing for their upcoming fights in hopes of clearing any misconceptions and USADA will be the agency of choice.
“Yes, Juan Manuel Marquez is going to get involved. Brandon Rios I'm going to get involved. [BJ Flores] is going to get involved. [Jean] Pascal is going to be involved; not with USADA (United State Anti-Doping Agency) but with this other agency that they do random blood testing. So I'm trying to work with USADA so we also test not just those that can afford it but also those who cannot afford such expensive testing. So it's not up to me at the end of the day, it’s up to USADA to elaborate on that [with] maybe the commissions, maybe with the promoters. My job is to push it and mention it to them and perhaps they can take over from there” Heredia would inform.
Another agency that has emerged and has also been used to administer random style drug testing is VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Association). Angel was asked if he would ever consider using VADA who is the agency of choice of his rival Victor Conte.
“The problem is at one point I thought of it but then you got Victor there and all his other puppets that pretty much bring biased and I just don't' want to be in a position where I have my boxers being tested and he's behind that because he just brings a lot of biased to it. I just don't feel comfortable and besides VADA does not have the experience. At the end of the day VADA, USADA and WADA, they are all the same. They use accredited labs. There are no different protocols [as] Victor has said [and] openly said VADA is the best and detects everything. It's nothing like that. It's the same protocols, the same everything it’s just that he wants to give publicity to VADA. VADA is not a bad thing but he has been misleading the people” Heredia said.
Heredia and Conte have been involved in an ongoing Twitter war which doesn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. In the meantime, Heredia is concentrated on getting all the fighters he works with to participate in random style drug testing with USADA being the agency of choice.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to BoxingScene Radio, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
