I was joined the line by Nathan Dowie and Riku to speak about all this weeks big boxing news including Jamel Herring picks up a World Title, Hughie Fury and will he ever fulfil his early potential . We also spoke about AJ/Ruiz as well as all the rest of the goings on in the Heavyweight Division.
Tag: drug cheat
Beat To The Punch Ep17
I was joined by Riku on the line to talk about all this weeks boxing news and views including Crawford/Khan,Garcia/Granados, Matchroom UK card. We also spoke about Jarrell Miller’s failed drug test’s and the problem in boxing. Tete pull out of WBSS/WBSS to Sky Sports , Whyte/dubois is on , This weekends Previews and much more .
Drug Cheats ~ Hero’s and Villains
Most of my readers won’t know this but my father is blind , but any of you that do know my old man will agree that he is one of the most amazing people you will ever meet. From cycling on his tandem to mountain climbing he has done it all but his real passion is weight lifting. My Dad is in the gym most days of the week and just approaching 59 years he is still one of the strongest and fittest men in his gym. My “Old man” has told me how so many young guys have come and gone over the years and how others who have trained with him have got noticeably bigger and stronger over short periods of time, and with him not being a man to hold back his words thats usually where his relationship with these guy’s bitterly ends. You see my Dad maybe blind but he can see a cheat a mile away. For him training is all about the hard work and dedication so when people who ask to train with him take shortcuts and cheat he takes this as a personal insult. As is so often the case my Dad’s strong feeling’s on doping has passed down to me .
Now my hatred for drug cheats has served me well and led me to hammer those caught doping at any opportunity. When Louis Ortiz failed a drug test for the second time I was only to happy to take my pound of flesh off of him. When Alexander Povetkin failed his drug test just before he was due to face Deontay Wilder I wanted a lengthy ban, when he failed another I wanted him out of the sport for life. Yeah things were good sitting back and taking aim at these fighters I felt no attachment to but that all changed in February when one of my favourite boxers in the sport, Saul Canelo Alvarez tested positive for Clenbuterol on two separate occasions.
Now like all dopers Canelo denied any wrong doing blaming the failed test on the notorious contaminated Mexican beef. Now I never bought into this excuse no mater how many times the WBC tried to force it down our throats. Now seeing Canelo coming into this fight with GGG he is noticeably smaller, now I never knew what Clenbuterol done to the human body until i seen Canelo in a picture recently and that for me has removed any doubt that he cheated. As a fan of his boxing style and ability it really has left a sour taste in my mouth. On Saturday night if GGG wins then boxing wins, but what about if Canelo wins ? Will he get the credit for being the first man to beat GGG ?, I seriously doubt it, will it clear his name and legacy ? Nope , will he be remembered for it ? I don’t think so …….which got me thinking .
One of my favourite fighters of all time is Evander Holyfield, for me he is a modern day legend of the sport. Holyfield was involved in some of the best fights to take place in my lifetime and to this day I still go back and watch them, we even have one on our Casuals Corner. What boxing fans like to do is overlook the fact that “The Real Deal” is a drug cheat. When people talk about the Klitschko’s it is often met with “yeah Vitali was the better brother” and people will point to how Vitali was schooling Lennox Lewis until the fight was stopped prematurely due to a cut, another modern day great, another drug cheat. If you didn’t know Roy Jones Jnr was a drugs cheat you would never hear a boxing fan tell you instead they would go on about how he is one of the best fighters ever to grace the squared circle.
We as fans pick and choose when we want there to be a hardline zero tolerance of PED enhanced boxers and when we give them a pass. The truth of the matter is that boxing can be a popularity contest outside the ring which see’s us turn a blind eye all to often. It would seem that we only want a hardline when it suits us which really makes us no better than the law makers of the sport.
Steven Donnell
Canelo Vs GGG , DjayBoxing “best to the punch” Podcast
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There Is No Such Thing As Superhuman’s , Only Super-Doping Programmes
This week has been a damming week for sport but not to much of a surprise for a born again pessimist like myself . Earlier this week the UK Government published it’s report into doping and it indicated some of the biggest names in UK sport are suspected of being cheats . The Parliamentary Digital , culture , media and sport select committee came to the damming conclusion that Team Sky (Cycling Team) cynically abused the anti doping system and allowed its athletes to take PED’s , it also claims there is a strong possibility that Sir Bradley Wiggans was also on PED’s in his time with Team Sky . It doesn’t feel to long ago since the fairytale story of Lance Armstrong was proved to be just that …A fairytale .
It was announced this week that superstar boxer Canelo Alvarez test sample came back with trace amounts of clenbuterol , a banned substance . The weirdest thing about this story was that VADA and WBA had verified and accepted Canelo’s story of ” Contaminated Meat ” right away and took the harsh stance of making Canelo finish his training camp in the US (did you sense the sarcasm) . Now i do accept that Canelo may well have ate contaminated meat as it is a confirmed epidemic in Mexico with sportsmen failing tests in every sport including Mexicos U17 football team . Surly if there is a history of contaminated meat in Mexico that makes Canelo and his team more responsible for making sure he is eating the best organic meat around , even import it like Deontay Wilder had done when getting ready to fight Alexander Povetkin in Russia , ironically a fight that was cancelled due to Povetkin failing a drug test . Canelo’s sample came back with 0.8 and 0.6 trace amounts of clenbuterol in his system which doesn’t sound a lot but when you think a cyclist received a two year ban for having 0.5 in his system it really doesn’t look good for boxing .
Also this week we seen Former Olympian Tony Yoka receive a one year suspended ban for missing multiple drug teats . When i read this i have to admit i felt a little dejected , what is the point in that ban . I have yet to see one athlete that has been caught doping that holds there hands up and admits it , there is always some excuse which deflects blame and even makes them the victims . Tony Yoka missing a drug test has to be an admission of guilt the same way that Rio Ferdinand got a lengthy ban from the FA for missing a test whilst playing for Manchester Utd , Yoka needed to get lengthy ban . Another thing that doesn’t sit right with me is on Saturday night we seen Luis Ortiz fight for the WBC Heavyweight title a few months after failing a drug test by testing positive for a drug known to mask doping , of course Ortiz claimed it was medication for high blood pressure that he forgot to declare to testers . This case got even more bizarre when the WBA stripped Ortiz of his title and gave him a ban but the WBC said he didn’t have a case to answer ….very strange .
There are some fans out there who still believe in “Superhumans” people who will take away from the MPs investigation by saying ” who would Trust an MP ” and then there is those who say “clenbuterol isn’t even a steroid ‘ neglecting to acknowledge its on the banned list , those who say ” Ortiz has High Blood Pressure ” and dont care that he never declared he was on medication on the banned list , something all pro athletes MUST DO . If you are one of these people this is something you should take onboard , There is no such thing as a Superhuman there are only Super Doping Programmes .
Boxing Has A Chance To Right A Wrong With Ortiz
So another month passes and boxing has again managed to embarrass itself , yes I’m talking about WBA Champion Luiz Ortiz testing positive for banned substances for a SECOND time in a test conducted by VADA/WBC as he was preparing to take on Deontay Wilder . In this article i hope to show people that this man is not ” Innocent ” or ” A victim ” here , a theory that has gathered some pace on social media .
Ortiz’s Past :
This is not the first time Luis Ortiz has tested positive for banned substances , back in 2014 Ortiz tested positive for steroids after he fought Lateef Kayode ….now let that sink in , he tested positive for steroids after a fight , so to put it another way , Ortiz was loading his gloves with muscle illegally to hurt a fellow a pro . Now let me take you back to the Roberto Duran vs Davey Moore undercard where a young prospect Billy Collins jnr fought a very decent gate keeper in Luis Resto . Resto didn’t just stop the youngster he ripped that boy apart only for Collin’s father to notice after the fight tha Resto and his trainer Panama Lewis had took the padding out of Resto’s gloves . Resto went to prison for two and half years and Panama got a lifetime ban from boxing , whilst Billy Collins fell into deep depression and took his own life . So using logic and any sort of moral compass we should expect anybody cheating like this to face a lifetime ban , maybe criminal charges ? No Ortiz got an 8 month lay off , which is an insult to clean athletes and shows complete disregard for boxers safety. For me it doesn’t matter what side of the glove is loaded , you are going out there to hurt another human being illegally .
What did he test positive for this time :
Now to be fair to Ortiz this time he has NOT tested positive for a PED, instead he has tested positive for chlorothaizide and hydrochlorothiazide , substances that can be used to mask or hide the use of PED’s . Now both of these substances can be found in a lot of different medications and in this case Ortiz claims it is from his Blood Pressure mdeication and this is all a complete misunderstanding . Nope sorry i don’t buy this , Luis Ortiz is an apparent professional athlete getting ready to fight for the WBC Heavyweight title ,who work in partnership VADA in an attempt to clean up boxing . Knowing what the WBC are trying to do why would Ortiz not declare ALL and ANY medication he had took , especially already being part of “Boxing’s Hall of Shame” , surly he should be extra carful , and for that reason i personally will not give him benefit of the doubt .
What should happen next :
Well boxing has a chance to right a wrong here and kick Ortiz out of the sport for good , now i might hear some say ” that is harsh after all it could be an innocent mistake ” . Well that might be , but a FAIL is a FAIL and we will never know if he is innocent but if we look back to the case in 2014 , he was willing to juice up and hurt someone so can we really afford to take the chance and hope he is telling the truth .I’m with Tony Bellew here who has consistently called for drug cheats to be banned for life . A zero tolerance approach to doping is what boxing needs , the sport has to get serious about getting this cancer cut out . 
Just to finish up i think we should spare a thought for Deontay Wilder who again has been let down by a fellow pro . Only last year he went to Russia to fight Povetkin only for the Russian to test positive . This Ortiz fight was his second attempt at legitimising his career and its happened again, another camp paid for , another load of unhappy fans to deal with . Wilders biggest mistake in his career maybe winning that WBC belt due to there clean boxing programme .
Steven Donnell
djayboxing 