Drug testing in the sport of boxing is an issue which fans and fighters alike feel strongly about. Some think that the athletic commissions should be the ones who make up the rules about the testing, and that no one else should interfere. Others think that a fighter has the right to demand extra testing if he thinks the commissions aren’t up to the task. On the one hand, the current testing doesn’t really work that well. Plenty of steroid users continued to use banned substances for substantial periods of time before being caught, despite frequent testing, and there are undoubtedly some who are never caught. For example Shane Mosley was never actually caught using anything illegal, and was only found out to have been using steroids when the Balco scandal took place. Of course the opposing argument is that one of the main purposes of the athletic commissions is to take care of the testing. If they deem extra testing necessary for any particular fight, or feel that the current level is inadequate, then they are the ones who should be demanding the extra testing. After all if the fighters were the ones who were taking care of the testing, what would be to stop two fighters agreeing to no testing at all and both taking banned substances.
The NSAC seal (Photo:NSAC) The latest instance of drug testing in boxing being a grey area between fighters and commissions was the situation between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. In short Mayweather wants extra testing and the commission doesn’t see any need for it. Pacquiao and his representatives on a recent conference call said that they still wanted the fight to go ahead, but that they would only agree to testing that the commission demanded, not Mayweather. Bob Arum: “The Nevada commission has in place, random testing and urinalysis, and they did it while the fighters were negotiating. No one is arguing against random testing. No one is arguing about urinalysis because it is not invasive. That’s already in place. The question is about blood testing and it’s not for you or me or anybody else to decide how important it is other than the applicable state where the fight is being held. Do I feel that random testing is valid? Yes, of course. Nevada has random urinalysis.” The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which is often regarded as the highest authority for sports such as boxing and MMA currently does not see any reason why extra testing should be implemented. Although they admit that urine testing is not always effective, blood testing is both invasive and not much more effective anyway.
Who should determine the drug testing in boxing? The athletic commissions The fighters
View Results poll by twiigs.com Ben Davies, Pittsburgh PA: “I don’t see why fighters get involved in the testing process anyway, if they think an opponent is doping, they should just not fight them and leave it at that.starting a one man campaign to clean up the sport just wont work” Gary Bushell, Pittsburgh PA: “Mayweather should be able to demand extra testing if he thinks the commission isn’t doing its job right. It might be their job to do the testing, but no one ever said they were good at it” Warren King, Pittsburgh PA: “The way the testing is done at the moment, any fighter who wants to can take steroids and cycle off of them when the testing comes around. Not to mention there are masking agents for most steroids now anyway, so they can probably take them right up until the fight. It might not have been Mayweather’s fight to take up all of a sudden, but the commissions need to do something about their testing before every fighter starts to take steroids just to be competitive.” If you want to have your say, and have your opinions featured in a future article feel free to Contact me with your comments about anything boxing or MMA related.
