When Floyd Mayweather first demanded random blood testing as part of a proposed fight against Manny Pacquiao, many were critical of the idea.
An idea that was once a laughing stock though is spreading, and more and more high profile fighters are demanding the same as Mayweather.
Russian heavyweight challenger Alexander Povetkin recently called a press conference asking Wladimir Klitschko to adhere to random blood and urine testing ahead of their eventual fight. Povetkin is the mandatory challenger to Wlad, although the younger Klitschko is thought to be taking on David Haye before Povetkin gets a look in.
An interesting difference between Mayweather and Povetkin though is that Povetkin is firmly a challenger to Wlad, and doesn’t really have any leverage at all to make the testing happen. Mayweather and Pacquiao are of course both sufficiently high profile enough to walk away from fighting each other if they can’t agree with testing protocol.
If Wladimir simply says no, then Povetkin can either fight without the testing or not have his shot at the title. Some have questioned whether this tactic is simply a way for Povetkin to avoid fighting, and probably losing to Klitschko, when he can instead wait around another couple of years until he retires.
The second high profile fight that will now feature random drug testing is Andre Ward vs. Allan Green as part of the super six tournament. Ward, a former Olympian himself will be familiar with the testing anyway, and says he feels the same as Floyd Mayweather on the issue.
Also interesting will be what happens if another fighter won’t agree to the testing in the future. Given the tournament format the fight will need to take place for the competition to move forward. From the sounds of things, Ward isn’t as hard line as Mayweather about the testing, but should the situation arise it will be interesting to see how the various promoters and fighters will handle it.
There is also talk of several athletic commissions adding blood testing to their policies to some degree, and eventually all title fights might require random testing. Ironic since Mayweather himself doesn’t want to fight for titles anymore.
