UKAD has confirmed super bantamweight Kid Galahad has been suspended for two years following a positive test last year?
?After that ban, a lesser kid would have packed the sport in but you?d never get that from Barry.??Dom Ingle, Kid Galahad?s trainer
?I?m always highly cynical when I see a guy who gets faster when he gets older.??Max Kellerman
?Me, I?m not the suspicious sort. So when Juan Manuel Marquez is miraculously transformed at age 39 into a polished man of steel who can laugh off tremendous shots to the head, leap tall buildings at a single bound, and punch harder and faster than he did a dozen years ago, I applaud his accomplishments.??Ivan Goldman
The Kid
United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) has confirmed super bantamweight Kid Galahad (18-0), real name Barry Awad, has been suspended for two years following a positive test last year, and disqualified from his victory over Adeilson Dos Santos, which the Sheffield fighter won on points.
The 25-year-old Qatar-born Kid was found to have illegal levels of a metabolite of stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, after being tested after his fight on September 20 for which the Kid initially blamed his brother for spiking his drink as a joke?still another trite and tiresome excuse from a boxer found using.
UKAD Chief Executive Nicole Sapstead said this:
?Kid Galahad is one of the country?s leading boxing talents and through his own actions he has jeopardized his promising career, and his reputation.
?All athletes, at all levels, need to understand the importance of Strict Liability?they are solely responsible for any banned substance that is found in their system, regardless of how it got there or whether there was an intention to cheat or not.
?The principle of Strict Liability can be challenging for an athlete. They have to ensure that they understand the anti-doping rules and that their family, friends, coaches and athlete support personnel understand them too. They need to be aware of the risks their career faces if they test positive, and manage that risk at all times.?
This kind of discipline should be applied in the U.S. and taken even further so that confirmed repeat offenders are denied entry to the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) and other such organizations assuming they otherwise would be considered.
Baseball seems to have gotten it right with Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, etc. Maybe, it?s time for boxing to take the extra step.
Larry Merchant nails it as follows: ?Well, it (PEDs in boxing) is an issue. And the real issue to me is whether, in the equation of risk and reward, that boxing makes sure the reward is too low or the risk is too high when you get caught. And that?s the only way to discourage PEDs, to reduce the reward for it. [Lamont] Peterson hasn?t fought in well over a year. We need more guys who are willing to voluntarily submit to the most rigorous drug-protocols. And those who don?t and who get nailed need to find out that it wasn?t worth the risk. I?m not sure that the boxing commissions have stepped up to that responsibility yet.?
