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BORGES ON BERTO Berto's Penalty For PED Use? A Summer Off

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BertoPreparesForOrtizII Blevins5Why bother?

That, more than anything else, seemed like the proper way to look at the California State Athletic Commission’s recent decision to license former welterweight champion Andre Berto only 2 ½ months after he tested positive for the performance enhancing drug norandrosterone, a result that came from his own insistence on random drug testing before a scheduled rematch with Victor Ortiz.

Those events not only called into question what Berto has been up to but also either his sanity or his intellect. Here’s a guy who accused Ortiz of using PEDs after Ortiz dethroned him by twice getting off the mat to drop Berto twice… and then he comes up dirty himself?

That positive test led to the cancelling of the rematch and soon after to Ortiz being knocked silly by Josesito Lopez in a stunning upset. Yet that outcome wasn’t half as stunning as the disgraceful decision by the CSAC to re-license Berto only months after he lost his license in Nevada.

What, in the end, was Berto’s penalty for being found guilty of having PEDs in his system? The summer off, that’s what.

That’s boxing. It’s also why it is today looked down upon by the general sporting public. One understands boxing is the black-eye business but why so often does it have to administer them to itself?

“As someone who truly believes in clean sport, I have never used any type of performance-enhancing drugs,” Berto said in a statement after his licensing was announced. “Everything I've achieved was the result of hard work and determination.’’

Sure.

If Berto was still an Olympian he would have been suspended for a year regardless of his claims of tainted supplement usage, which is difficult to prove but easy to claim. How one proves someone took an illegal steroid by accident is beyond me but the CSAC declared itself well satisfied and Berto is back in business less than three months after testing positive.

“I am excited that this whole situation is behind me, and I look forward to returning to the ring soon with another exciting performance, so stay tuned,” Berto said.

No thanks.

Dr. Margaret Goodman and others who believe the use of PEDs in boxing is becoming an epidemic that is also a health hazard both for the user and for his opponent could not be blamed if they simply threw up their hands and walked away. What the CSAC ruling made clear is that PED testing in boxing is a joke and will remain so until someone is severely injured by an opponent who tests positive and the state is sued for millions for failing to protect the guy from assault with a dangerous weapon – in this case a syringe.

Berto’s positive test resulted from a random urine test conducted by Goodman’s Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. VADA was overseeing drug testing because that’s what Berto and Ortiz agreed to before their September rematch. Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) submitted to a random urine test on May 2 and both his “A” and “B” samples came back positive. When the fight was cancelled Berto insisted the positive test was the result of some contaminated nutritional substance he was taking and not the use of PEDs, a familiar excuse that ranks up there with contaminated B-12 shots and my dog ate my homework.

Never have so many guys happened to stumble across contamination since the Russians had to clean up Chernobyl. That’s the claim over and over again from every professional athlete who comes up dirty regardless of the sport or the PED found to have mysteriously wormed its way into his or her system without notice.

Truth be told, Berto was caught only because Goodman was using a more stringent and more sensitive test than what would be used by most testing organizations, including US Anti-Doping Agency, unless the first sample came up positive by a less profound test.  

Berto was under the dietary supervision of Victor Conte, the disgraced former steroid distributor who was at the center of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) Federal prosecution that sent him to jail and tainted the names of a wide range of professional athletes including Barry Bonds, Marion Jones and Shane Mosley. After Berto came up dirty, Conte, who is now a vocal opponent of steroid use and a Goodman ally in the fight against PEDs, denied any involvement, claiming Berto admitted taking supplements not administered by Conte or recommended by him.
According to Berto’s statement, his positive test “revealed extremely small amounts of a banned substance that were inconsistent with any performance-enhancing effect and were much more consistent with contamination of an otherwise acceptable food or supplement.”

Says who? Maybe the extremely small amounts were all that was left of a fast-working drug that passes the system quickly after doing its dastardly work? Beyond that, if the testing system and enforcement were legitimate the penalty would be automatic unless you could prove beyond reasonable doubt that the source of the PED was something other than your own hand or others in your employ.

How do you prove Berto’s assertions? Why didn’t he have to have more than a doctor whose ads boast of being able to provide clients with a fountain of youth as his defender? And why should the onus not be totally on him to prove he was clean once a legitimate testing process (which even Berto didn’t try to argue against) comes up with a positive result?

If that’s how commissions paid to protect fighters and administer a clean sport treat positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs why not just give up the testing altogether, stop the farce and let everybody do what they’ve always done in boxing…which if you’re with the right guy, is just about anything you want?

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Canelo vs Berlanga Battles the UFC: Hopefully No Repeat of the 2019 Fiasco

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If one happens to be fan of both traditional boxing and MMA, then one has a choice to make this Saturday. Canelo Alvarez will be in action at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas defending his lineal 168-pound world title against Edgar Berlanga and two miles away in a competing Pay-Per-View card, the first-ever sporting event will be staged inside The Sphere, a UFC card bearing the title Riyadh Season Noche 306.

This won’t be the first time that a boxing card featuring the red-headed Mexican superstar went head-to-head with a UFC event. On Nov. 2, 2019, Canelo Alvarez fought Sergey Kovalev at the T-Mobile and 2,500 miles away, MMA stars Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal locked horns at Madison Square Garden. Both cards were PPV. Alvarez vs Kovalev was live-streamed on DAZN; Diaz vs Masvidal on ESPN+.

We don’t know which event generated the most profit, but the way things played out, this was a symbolic win for the UFC. On this night, the venerable sport of boxing and its adherents were reduced to a second-class citizen.

The fault lay with the nitwits at DAZN. They thought it prudent to postpone the start of Alvarez-Kovalev until the Diaz-Masdival fight was finished. What resulted was an interlude that dragged on for a good 90 minutes after Ryan Garcia knocked out Romero Duno in 98 seconds in the semi-wind-up. Then came the ring walks, the National Anthems (there were three), and the long-winded introduction of the combatants. When the bell finally sounded to signify the start of the bout, it was 10:18 inside the arena and 1:18 am for the bleary-eyed folks tuning in back in the Eastern Time Zone. The backlash was fierce.

The competing shows this coming Saturday coincide with Mexican Independence Day Weekend. One might assume that this will give the PBC promotion at the T-Mobile a leg up as Canelo Alvarez is a must-see attraction within the Mexican and Mexican-American communities. However, the UFC card has something going for it that T-Mobile lacks. The venue is itself an allurement. The newest addition to the Las Vegas skyline, The Sphere has the WOW factor. Even long-time Las Vegas locals, supposedly jaded by a surfeit of architectural wonders, are mesmerized by the constantly changing light show on the exterior of the big globe. Inside, visitors will find the world’s highest resolution LED display.

Customizing the interior for UFC 306 was an expensive proposition. UFC honcho Dana White has pegged the cost at $20 million and concedes that without Saudi money it would not have been feasible. He says that Saturday’s show will be “one-off,” not merely the first combat sports event at The Sphere, but also the last because it would be too expensive to replicate. If that be true, attendees are advised to keep their ticket stubs. Years from now, they might command a nice price in the sports memorabilia marketplace.

The T-Mobile has Canelo, but The Sphere has Alexa Grasso who, akin to Canelo, hails from Guadalajara. Ms. Grasso, 31, just may be the second-most-well-known fighter in Mexico. In addition to holding the UFC flyweight title, she is an analyst for the UFC’s Spanish-language broadcasts.

Grasso will be defending her belts against Russia’s Valentina Shevshenko in the co-main. In the featured bout, bantamweight belt-holder Sean O’Malley will defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili.

The T-Mobile card on Prime Video comes with a suggested list price of $89.99 for U.S. buyers without a Prime Video account. That tab has been widely assailed as a rip-off. “It’s gouging fight fans, plain and simple,” says Kevin Iole who covered both boxing and MMA for Yahoo. (For the record, the UFC show on ESPN+ comes with a list price of $79.99, $10 cheaper if bundled with an ESPN+ subscription. The UFC folks are holding their breath that the event can be translated to the small screen without compromising the clarity of the picture. The logistics are daunting.)

The main bouts on the UFC card will be far more competitive based on the prevailing odds, but when it comes to combat sports, this reporter is a traditionalist. Agreed, that can be interpreted as an old fuddy-duddy stuck in his ways, but in my eyes boxing, a sport that rests on a far more arresting historic foundation, trumps the Johnny-come-lately that is the UFC.

Check back later this week as TSS West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila offers up a closer look at Alvarez vs Berlanga and some of the supporting bouts.

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Niyomtrong Proves a Bridge Too Far for Alex Winwood in Australia

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Today in Perth, Australia, Alex Winwood stepped up in class in his fifth pro fight with the aim of becoming the fastest world title-holder in Australian boxing history. But Winwood (4-0, 2 KOs heading in) wasn’t ready for WBA strawweight champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, who by some accounts is the longest reigning champion in the sport.

Niyomtrong (25-0, 9 KOs) prevailed by a slim margin to retain his title. “At least the right guy won,” said prominent Australian boxing writer Anthony Cocks who thought the scores (114-112, 114-112, 113-113) gave the hometown fighter all the best of it.

Winwood, who represented Australia in the Tokyo Olympics, trained for the match in Thailand (as do many foreign boxers in his weight class). He is trained by Angelo Hyder who also worked with Danny Green and the Moloney twins. Had he prevailed, he would have broken the record of Australian boxing icon Jeff Fenech who won a world title in his seventh pro fight. A member of the Noongar tribe, Winwood, 27, also hoped to etch on his name on the list of notable Australian aboriginal boxers alongside Dave Sands, Lionel Rose and the Mundines, Tony and Anthony, father and son.

What Winwood, 27, hoped to capitalize on was Niyomtrong’s theoretical ring rust. The Thai was making his first start since July 20 of 2022 when he won a comfortable decision over Wanheng Menayothin in one of the most ballyhooed domestic showdowns in Thai boxing history. But the Noongar needed more edges than that to overcome the Thai who won his first major title in his ninth pro fight with a hard-fought decision over Nicaragua’s Carlos Buitrago who was 27-0-1 heading in.

A former Muai Thai champion, Niyomtrong/Freshmart turns 34 later this month, an advanced age for a boxer in the sport’s smallest weight class. Although he remains undefeated, he may have passed his prime. How good was he in his heyday? Prominent boxing historian Matt McGrain has written that he was the most accomplished strawweight in the world in the decade 2010-2019: “It is not close, it is not debatable, there is no argument.”

Against the intrepid Winwood, Niyomtrong started slowly. In round seven, he cranked up the juice, putting the local fighter down hard with a left hook. He added another knockdown in round nine. The game Winwood stayed the course, but was well-beaten at the finish, no matter that the scorecards suggested otherwise, creating the impression of a very close fight.

P.S. – Because boxrec refused to name this a title fight, it fell under the radar screen until the result was made known. In case you hadn’t noticed, boxrec is at loggerheads with the World Boxing Association and has decided to “de-certify” the oldest of the world sanctioning bodies. While this reporter would be happy to see the WBA disappear – it is clearly the most corrupt of the four major organizations – the view from here is that boxrec is being petty. Moreover, if this practice continues, it will be much harder for boxing historians of future generations to sort through the rubble.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 295: Callum Walsh, Pechanga Casino Fights and More

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Super welterweight contender Callum Walsh worked out for reporters and videographers at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. on Thursday,

The native of Ireland Walsh (11-0, 9 KOs) has a fight date against Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski (22-2-1, 6 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 20 at the city of Dublin. It’s a homecoming for the undefeated southpaw from Cork. UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card.

Mark down the date.

Walsh is the latest prodigy of promoter Tom Loeffler who has a history of developing European boxers in America and propelling them forward on the global boxing scene. Think Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and you know what I mean.

Golovkin was a middleweight monster for years.

From Kevin Kelley to Oba Carr to Vitaly Klitschko to Serhii Bohachuk and many more in-between, the trail of elite boxers promoted by Loeffler continues to grow. Will Walsh be the newest success?

Add to the mix Dana White, the maestro of UFC, who is also involved with Walsh and you get a clearer picture of what the Irish lad brings to the table.

Walsh has speed, power and a glint of meanness that champions need to navigate the prizefighting world. He also has one of the best trainers in the world in Freddie Roach who needs no further introduction.

Perhaps the final measure of Walsh will be when he’s been tested with the most important challenge of all:

Can he take a punch from a big hitter?

That’s the final challenge

It always comes down to the chin. It’s what separates the Golovkins from the rest of the pack. At the top of the food chain they all can hit, have incredible speed and skill, but the fighters with the rock hard chins are those that prevail.

So far, the chin test is the only examination remaining for Walsh.

“King’ Callum Walsh is ready for his Irish homecoming and promises some fireworks for the Irish fans. This will be an entertaining show for the fans and we are excited to bring world class boxing back to the 3Arena in Dublin,” said Loeffler.

Pechanga Fights

MarvNation Promotions presents a battle between welterweight contenders Jose “Chon” Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) and Ivan Redkach (24-7-1, 19 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 6, at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. DAZN will stream the fight card.

Both have fought many of the best welterweights in the world and now face each other. It should be an interesting clash between the veterans.

Also on the card, featherweights Nathan Rodriguez (15-0) and Bryan Mercado (11-5-1) meet in an eight-round fight.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. First bout at 7 p.m.

Monster Inoue

Once again Japan’s Naoya Inoue dispatched another super bantamweight contender with ease as TJ Doheny was unable to continue in the seventh round after battered by a combination on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Inoue continues to brush away whoever is placed in front of him like a glint of dust.

Is the “Monster” the best fighter pound-for-pound on the planet or is it Terence Crawford? Both are dynamic punchers with skill, speed, power and great chins.

Munguia in Big Bear

Super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia is two weeks away from his match with Erik Bazinyan at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. ESPN will show the Top Rank card.

“Erik Bazinyan is a good fighter. He’s undefeated. He switches stances. We need to be careful with that. He’s taller and has a longer reach than me. He has a good jab. He can punch well on the inside. He’s a fighter who comes with all the desire to excel,” said Munguia.

Bazinyan has victories over Ronald Ellis and Alantez Fox.

In case you didn’t know, Munguia moved over to Top Rank but still has ties with Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. Bazinyan is promoted by Eye of the Tiger.

This is the Tijuana fighter’s first match with Top Rank since losing to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last May in Las Vegas. He is back with trainer Erik Morales.

Callum Walsh photo credit: Lina Baker

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