Boxing is losing credibility without a drug-testing system.
Performance-enhancing drugs are more dangerous in boxing than elsewhere.
The sport needs a drug-testing regimen to save itself financially.
"...the fight that was "supposed to save boxing" was canceled because both sides couldn't agree on a fair drug-testing schedule. "

In 2000, a post-fight drug test showed that IBF, WBC and WBA light-heavyweight world champion Roy Jones Jr. and his opponent Richard Hall both tested positive for androstenedione, a substance banned by the International Boxing Federation. In the following weeks, it was announced that Roy Jones Jr. would be able to keep his titles, and furthermore, he would not be suspended by the IBF for failing the mandatory drug test.

In 2005, James Toney defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title, but later tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. Toney only received a 90-day ban from the American Boxing Federation.

And just last year, the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao that was “supposed to save boxing” was canceled because both sides couldn’t agree on a fair drug-testing schedule.

There is no doubt that in a troubled sport like boxing, the time for drug testing has come. In fact, it’s the only way to convince spectators that the sport is clean and that the fighters are legitimate.

The drugs

The drugs that fighters are suspected of using include human growth hormones (HGH) or tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), which are used to aid movement up and down the weight divisions.

Testosterone is a common drug used by fighters to aid with the intensity of training and improvements in speed and power.

Among the greatest concerns that physicians in boxing have acknowledged is the use of nandrolone by fighters. Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid used to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and to aid in the growth of blood cells in bone marrow, but boxers often use it to grow muscle mass and aid in physical recovery from workouts.

Other potentially harmful drugs that boxers use are erythropoietin (EPO) and androstenedione. These steroids are known to increase body mass, oxygen intake and the ability to recover more quickly after training.

The tests

The difficulty with drug testing in professional boxing is that boxing organizations consider themselves private entities that exist outside of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) jurisdiction. This is largely due to the regulations in the United States, where there is no government control and no Olympic committee control for drug testing in the sport of boxing.

Blood tests for illegal drugs and banned substances are not required by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Furthermore, in Nevada, a fighter is not required to submit to a blood test that screens for HIV and Hepatitis B and C, as well as other blood-borne diseases, as part of the requirements for obtaining a boxing license.

It wasn’t until the fight between Mayweather and Shane Mosley that strict testing rules have been applied for a large pay-per-view event. According to Golden Boy Promotions, both fighters agreed to undergo an unlimited number of random blood and urine drug tests leading up to world title fight in Las Vegas. The "Olympic-style" drug testing is being heralded as a new standard for drug-testing procedures in the sport, and the hope is that more U.S. state boxing commissions will show a willingness to work with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in the future.

As for Mayweather, his hiatus from boxing is also suspicious..."
The fallout

Boxing is still feeling the effects from the cancellation of the biggest payday in its history, where unbeaten Mayweather's proposed fight with Filipino superstar Pacquiao was annulled because of a drug-testing dispute.

According to Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, blood testing is seen as invasive by some fighters, and there are actual risks of bruising and possibly nicking a vein. Pacquiao felt that blood testing 21 days before the fight was acceptable, but not the 14 days that Mayweather was proposing.

Dr. Margaret Goodman, the chief ringside physician for the state of Nevada until 2005, says that testing for human growth hormones, performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, and erythropoietin (which are used in blood doping) are best detected if blood and urine samples are taken moments before and after a fight.

According to Victor Conte, a physician for the United States Olympic sprinter team, both Mayweather and Pacquiao should be suspected of using drugs because of their accomplishments in the sport. Both began their campaigns at 106 pounds when they were 16 years old, and both have fought at 147 pounds, with Mayweather fighting at junior middleweight for Oscar De La Hoya’s title in May 2007. Conte is very suspicious of Manny Pacquiao because of stories coming out of his training camp that describe Manny training five to six hours nonstop. As for Mayweather, his hiatus from boxing is also suspicious, says Conte, because athletes have been known to take performance-enhancing drugs during their off-seasons, which allows them to maintain gains even when they cycle off the drugs.

The consequences are greater


According to ESPN’s color commentator Teddy Atlas, the time for drug testing has come in boxing. “Look, someone using PEDs [performance-enhancing drugs] in baseball, you hit more home runs; in football, you tackle better. In boxing, you’re throwing fists at another man’s head, and PEDs put that opponent in much more danger, and boxing is a dangerous sport to begin with,” says Atlas.

boxing needs drug-testing for credibility


At the moment, fighters get tested before a fight and after a fight, one test for performance-enhancing drugs and one for recreational drugs. The problem with this system is that these athletes have medical advisors who understand that all you have to do is taper off the different species of drugs. The public knows this, and that’s why boxing is losing credibility for not implementing a strong drug-testing procedure with strict rules for those who test positive.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has taken steps toward a better regimen by instituting random drug testing, but fighters are given an advance notice of up to 48 hours before the tests.

A more effective drug-testing program in boxing would go a long way in ensuring a level playing field for all major bouts and could restore confidence in an already weakened sport.