Regarding Pre-Fight PED Testing, Has Anyone Considered...

[Doctor_Tenma]

I think they might have inside info that a lot of fighters are using some PEDs, and hence they are worried. Either that or Arum has a few ppl in his pocket (but Golden Boy should be able to bribe people too, so the latter does not seem likely)

Either way, when the NSAC brought in an "expert" whose main problem was the possibility that fighters got an infection, because needles might be REUSED, I knew right there there was an agenda. Even junkies have access to free needles these days. That stuff is NOT expensive.

I remember that article. People skipped the "Reuse needle" part, I can't believe they even mentioned that. I mean that goes for everyone.

[Doctor_Tenma]

We all have to admit, when it came to drug testing, alot of ****** people came out. I mean, Margaret Goodman, a former NSAC medical advisor came out and said that USADA doesn't test for xylocaine. The weird thing is, Nevada set the rules for numbing agents. It's like they are doing everything in their power to degrade OSDT.

[Mr. Ryan]

wMute could be onto something. I remember a while back that Evander Holyfield was under su****ion after several questionable purchases of banned supplements.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=7773

He outed Mike Tyson in the article. Imagine what would happen if we had a Steroid-Gate in boxing nowadays? I really do think that a lot of top guys, and when I mean top guys I mean THE top guys, in boxing have used some things. The rumors I've heard have been pretty crazy, and the things that I can confirm have been eye-opening as well.

[Shabba Rank$]

So basically, if either guy tests positive for a banned substance, neither guy will have much of a sport to come back to because of how big the media spectacle would be.

Whether intended or not, any party involved in such a cancelled fight over a positive test would feel the sting of diminished consumer confidence.

Rafael Palmeiro testing positive for steroids after getting 3,000 hits was a bigger blow to baseball than Jorge Piedra testing positive.

I think this is the main reasoning behind the commission's unwillingness to completely submit to Mayweather's demands. Not that they have any inside evidence about fighters on roids, but what if? And not just in this fight, but other fights as well.

But on the flipside the fighter's would know that they are going through OST right? So wouldn't that halt them from taking the PED's in the first place?

[wmute]

My thinking is this: If a fighter tests positive for a banned substance, then wouldn't the integrity of the fight already be jeapordized. I'm no steroid expert, but I don't know of any elixirs that could drain steroids and their positive effects out of a fighter.

So say Marvin Hagler is fighting Sugar Ray Robinson and Hagler tests positive before a fight but they agree to go on anyways. Hagler wins, by knockout. They didn't protect anyone from injury by allowing it to go on, right? Do you rule it a no contest, since one fighter came into the fight with an unfair advantage that everyone knew about?

In a just world, when Margarito was found with plaster in his wraps, he should have been taken out in handcuffs and booked on conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon.

Knowing how many fans bought tickets, the powers that be wouldn't allow that to happen. The fight continued and punishment was meted out afterwards.

Though, it could argued that Mosley ending his welterweight title reign in such punishing fashion was also a part of justice.

I understand the line of logic, but then we should get rid of a lot of rules, because they might hinder the ability of the sport to generate money... in the short run.

In the long run, when most sports have better drug testing procedures than pro boxing, you might have the opposite effect. The sport of boxing becoming a circus and losing its appeal, or becoming a freak show (professional wrestling).

Back to my original post. When a fighter agrees to fight an opponent coming in overweight, he is giving him an advantage. Sometimes the fight will happen (most of the times), and sometimes it won't.

It's the same here. With a big difference. Fighters/Trainers/Managers have a choice weather to take drugs or not. Sometimes making weight is simply not an option.

Furthermore, a guy caught cheating and hence having a fight cancelled, would get a much worse deal than Castillo did in terms of lawsuits (just the fact that -unlike with weight- prosecutors could and would be raising charges for a violent crime would make it a LOT worse). If ppl believe the drug testing will work, they won't cheat. And if they cheat and they get caught, they will accept whatever is offered to them to minimize the consequences.

[wmute]

wMute could be onto something. I remember a while back that Evander Holyfield was under su****ion after several questionable purchases of banned supplements.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=7773

He outed Mike Tyson in the article. Imagine what would happen if we had a Steroid-Gate in boxing nowadays? I really do think that a lot of top guys, and when I mean top guys I mean THE top guys, in boxing have used some things. The rumors I've heard have been pretty crazy, and the things that I can confirm have been eye-opening as well.

I think that this is part of the reason why no one even dreams of year round testing. A lot of ppl would be caught with something.

But with the timeline of big fights these days, fighters would have the chance to cycle out of stuff before hitting camp and testing starts. It should be feasible to have a cleaner sport, and not lose too much money in the process, I hope better testing becomes practice, even if slowly and step by step.

That being said, if there are a large enough number of top fighters cheating, and their promoters must of course know about it can generate a lot of pressure on any of the state commissions (they would be lobbying for their right to win unfairly...). No state commission is going along with changing testing, for fear of losing fights to their more lax neighbors.
It's definitely one of the cases in which we would need a strong unique commission.

[jltsmae]

If a boxer will be tested positive of illegal substance, then he should be hanged in the middle of the ring during the supposed to be fight night and let the boxing fans slap / punch him.

[led]

so this thread concludes that OSDT could result to utter bigotry and a real bad to the sport of boxing?

[TheSurgeonMDMPH]

lets be clear. ur stance is that osts r bad for the sport? this is puzzling.

[mcdoodledoo]

I see what you're getting at and it's a point that I hadn't thought of or discussed in the slightest. I do agree that in massive money making fights, there would be an incentive to hide the positive drug test and go ahead with the fight. But if it were to be revealed afterwards, there would be huge uproar from the fans of the game and the general public, feeling conned out of paying for a PPV were one guy was cheating. But if they revealed it before hand, people wouldn't pay for it and there would a feeling of disappointment amongst the fans.

So pretty much, either way, there is always going to be uproar and disappointment if a fighter tests positive. This means that it's up to the promoters and networks like HBO to decided where this new testing is going to go, as it is them that are putting the money into the sport. And then this is a problem in itself.

It's an interesting predicament, as I think all/most fans want better testing in the sport, but if rumours of fighters using drugs becomes confirmed, it will be the fans that lose out, losing respect for the fighters and the sport. Good topic and one that has opened my mind further!