Comments Thread For: Ryabinsky Intent To Clear Povetkin, Reschedule Wilder Bout

[Money Shot]

Povetkin did nothing wrong and Wilder ran away and spouted off a whole load of BS. Absolute no defense should be allowed other than Povetkin. There is a strong case to strip Wilder tbh. Povetkin was clean.

[{Darko}]

I saw that. But does anyone wanna suggest that passing 80% of your PED tests is good enough? For me PED testing is pass/fail. And once you test dirty you failed no matter how many clean tests you have.

Unless you are Mexican meat eater anyway it seems.

according to wada's own rules he passed all of them

[Fetta]

according to wada's own rules he passed all of them

I think that rule is for tests collected before March 1 which these were not

[Eff Pandas]

according to wada's own rules he passed all of them

I think that rule is for tests collected before March 1 which these were not

This.

And I mean just logically if he "passed the test" why did the fight get canceled? Did someone forget to tell the WBC guy this important info?

[Dr Rumack]

I saw that. But does anyone wanna suggest that passing 80% of your PED tests is good enough? For me PED testing is pass/fail. And once you test dirty you failed no matter how many clean tests you have.

Unless you are Mexican meat eater anyway it seems.

In this case it might. That's what's so tricky about it.

Normally the reaction to this would be "That motherfucker's on meldonium. Ban his ass." But we already know that Povetkin (and half of Russia it seems) was on meldonium. In weird way, Povetkin's problem here isn't that he tested positive for meldonium. It's that he tested negative for it twice first, which suggests that it entered his system after the WADA ban too effect.

Being well within the legal limit is significant too. Firstly, WADA must have put a threshold level in place for some reason. Maybe because they knew lots of athletes were taking it and it takes months to clear their systems? And secondly because being within that limit means he hasn't technically done anything wrong. If you do a breathalyser test and your 15 times lower than the legal limit, the law can't touch you.

Whether has any weight in the court of public opinion or not I don't know. But it has weight in the actual court. Unless VADA come out and say there was no chance the earlier tests were false negatives, the WBC might not have a legal basis to act against him.

[Eff Pandas]

In weird way, Povetkin's problem here isn't that he tested positive for meldonium. It's that he tested negative for it twice first, which suggests that it entered his system after the WADA ban too effect.

I obviously agree with this. I also see that fact that Povetkin is the only guy who's had this situation arise as super sketchy when there are so many cases of it thats popped up since its been banned.

Being well within the legal limit is significant too.

People keep saying this, but if this test was within the "legal limit" why did the WBC guy cancel the fight?

Unless VADA come out and say there was no chance the earlier tests were false negatives

This would be very helpful with a lot of things. I don't know if VADA has just taken a let the results speak for themselves approach or what, but it seems like outside of Goodman doing some random basic info type interviews VADA never really talks to the public at large. They are sending out emails to promoters & fighters about positive tests & thats the end of their work day.

[Dr Rumack]

I obviously agree with this. I also see that fact that Povetkin is the only guy who's had this situation arise as super sketchy when there are so many cases of it thats popped up since its been banned.



People keep saying this, but if this test was within the "legal limit" why did the WBC guy cancel the fight?



This would be very helpful with a lot of things. I don't know if VADA has just taken a let the results speak for themselves approach or what, but it seems like outside of Goodman doing some random basic info type interviews VADA never really talks to the public at large. They are sending out emails to promoters & fighters about positive tests & thats the end of their work day.

I think such agencies are right to steer clear of interpretation, as interpretation can quickly turn into advocacy. The good thing here is that VADA are reporting to the WBC. While hardly a bastion of integrity, they are less obviously conflicted than the promoters involved in the event.

They didn't actually cancel the first fight. Ryabinsky is right about that. They just postponed it pending further investigation. It was Wilder's team that made the leap to "the fight's off".

“Keeping the priority of safety and also the principle of justice, the WBC will continue the investigation into the case. Consequently, the event scheduled for May 21 in Moscow is hereby officially postponed.”

It's a tough case for the WBC to get handed so soon after venturing into this territory. But it will be a good gauge of where they stand.

[Eff Pandas]

I think such agencies are right to steer clear of interpretation, as interpretation can quickly turn into advocacy. The good thing here is that VADA are reporting to the WBC. While hardly a bastion of integrity, they are less obviously conflicted than the promoters involved in the event.

They didn't actually cancel the first fight. Ryabinsky is right about that. They just postponed it pending further investigation. It was Wilder's team that made the leap to "the fight's off".

I know what the WBC guy said, but cmon he canceled the fight lets not focus on the words more than the actions. If it ends up re-scheduled at some future date fair enough, but that was a cancelation not a postponement. I mean the fact that Wilder has a voluntary up next as okayed by the same WBC guy says the fight has been canceled at this point. You don't have a whole different fight when a postponement is going on.

It's a tough case for the WBC to get handed so soon after venturing into this territory. But it will be a good gauge of where they stand.

I for sure agree with this. They actually got a lot on the line with their Clean Boxing Program thats on tap that'll be doing 24/7/365 testing of WBC ranked fighters. If they don't suspend or give some sort of punishment (even a weak punishment like 6mos) to Povetkin this Clean Boxing Program will be seen as much ado about nothing in my eyes & I imagine many others eyes.

[////]

So this drug is so strong, that it has traces even 7 months after you stop using it, Gawdam, that's gotta be a world record or something.

The effects of meldonium have been compared to caffeine and there is ongoing debate whether it should even be banned.

And yes it's normal to find minor traces several months after taking it.

Google it up.

All the he tested dirty the fight is cancelled stuff have come from Wilder and DiBella. All anyone else has said from VADA to WBC is that they were investigating the trace amounts.


Mountain out of a molehill.

[Vinnykin]

I just read about the swimmer Yuliya Efimova that his promoter mentioned. She has admitted taking the drug until December, passed a test in January conducted by the FINA but failed in February???

"Efimova tested positive for meldonium in February. She was tested by FINA out-of-competition agents in January this year: it is believed that the January test was retuned negative. What that means to the process remains to be seen."

"A second issue for Efimova is the information supplied to Russian media by her agent, who states that the swimmer tested positive no less than four times for meldonium, twice before March 1 and twice after it."

The FINA have taken a similar stance and have placed her in suspension until an investigation has been carried out.

In my personal opinion, I don't believe Povetkin stopped taking it in September before his fight with Wach. I think he took it right up until that fight in late November and tried to push his luck. I don't think he was taking this drug, or microdosing as some people have claimed in the build-up to the Wilder fight. The press around this drug since the start of the year, with Russian athletes being caught in January/February/March (literally hundreds) means only an idiot would try and take a drug being specifically focused on.

The fact WADA are conducting research means that NO ONE knows how long this drug can stay in the system, or can trace amounts be flushed out or triggered after a negative test. Most of these drugs get released without any long term research done on them. No noticeable effects is all they look for before being greenlit, doesn't mean it can't hide for months and be triggered by another drug (chemical reaction)

It's obvious by how little they know of the drug that even their testing might be totally inaccurate and insufficient