The suspicious banning and subsequent overturning of Lucas Browne

It was discussed at the time. I maintain what I said then, he was completely stitched up. There is absolutely no way a HW is going to use Clen as a PED of choice, it brings so many negatives that far outweigh the one benefit, it's about the single worst choice possible. Not to mention he was clean until arriving in Russia, taking Clen a few days before a fight would literally do nothing but give you the shakes and a sky high heart rate. He was not supposed to win, they tried to cheat him during the fight (when round 6 was allowed to continue for an extra 15 seconds when Browne got hurt and dropped, then the following round was called 50 seconds early when Chagaev was hurt), and then they instead cheated him after the fight. I think the circumstances suggest he was stitched up. No logical reason for a heavyweight to take that, especially considering he was clean until he got to Chechnya. His hosts stacked the deck against him in every way they could. Remember how he got hurt late in one of the rounds so they let it run an extra minute for Chagaev to try and get the finish? He has no realistic chance against Wlad/Joshua/Wilder but showed a lot of heart and will in that fight so I'm glad they weren't able to take it away from him. Lol great minds lads

Surprised nobody has brought this up. As most of you know after beating Chagaev for the WBA regular title Browne was stripped and banned after testing positive for clenbuterol post fight. Browne was outraged and took legal action against the WBA. He was then cleared of charges due to "exceptional circumstances"; he had a random test from VADA 6 days before the fight, right before he entered Russia. The test came up completely clean. This is the statement the WBA made regarding the overruling: “It is unlikely Browne intentionally or voluntarily ingested clenbuterol in a single small dose in the days leading up to the bout as the amount would not have gained any advantage, especially for the heavyweight division” Now he is back in contention for the title and retains a place in the WBA top 5. Doesn't this seem extremely suspicious? Shouldn't there be an investigation into where Browne stayed and what he ate when in Russia? It sounds like the WBA caved when Browne pushed back, which combined with their statements, makes it seem like they know there is more going on. What do you think? Should other boxers be extremely cautious when fighting in Russia? It's not Russia so much as semi-autonomous ethnic regions like Chechnya that fighters need to steer clear of in future. I've not heard of any particular scandals going on in Moscow or other places more in the mainstream (the issue with Guillermo Jones I believe was legitimate). Fighting in Russia is not a problem. You just need to be aware that like any large country it's got its good spots and its incredibly dodgy spots.

There are a lot of rumors that if you score an upset in Russia you are going to fail a drug test, but no one can prove anything.

It was discussed at the time. I maintain what I said then, he was completely stitched up. There is absolutely no way a HW is going to use Clen as a PED of choice, it brings so many negatives that far outweigh the one benefit, it's about the single worst choice possible. Not to mention he was clean until arriving in Russia, taking Clen a few days before a fight would literally do nothing but give you the shakes and a sky high heart rate. He was not supposed to win, they tried to cheat him during the fight (when round 6 was allowed to continue for an extra 15 seconds when Browne got hurt and dropped, then the following round was called 50 seconds early when Chagaev was hurt), and then they instead cheated him after the fight.

For an investigation, that takes resources and is most likely going to go nowhere. Regarding Russia, if you've followed any of the political scandals going on over there you pretty much know the answer to the 2nd part. As the movie says, "Forget it Jack, it's Chinatown."