Regarding A “Retroactive Therepeutic Use Exemption”

Published

10 years ago

May 21, 2015

Analysis, discussion, commentary and opinions still fly about weeks after The Fight of the Century, in all its glory and lack thereof, unfolded in Las Vegas.

The financial results are in, and all agree, the event was a rousing success from that standpoint. About 4.4 million pay per view buys were activated, the gate at MGM Grand tallied over $71 million, the boxers will gross between $150 and $200 million each.

Bigger picture, things are not as uniformly rosy. The action was fair to middling, vastly disappointing to some uneducated to the Mayweather Method of winning, which means doing so in risk averse fashion, paying as much or more attention to defensive adeptness than offensive output.

Lawsuits are at 30 plus and counting, targeting Manny Pacquiao for entering a bout with a bum right shoulder, after suffering an injury less than a month before the clash, which had him pondering pulling out.

One element of the drama which continues to be discussed comes as a result of a story by the dean of fightwriters, Thomas Hauser, the Muhammad Ali biographer and prolific author. Hauser dropped a story on Boxing Scene on Tuesday which contained a tidbit which had eyebrows raising in many circles. The story was titled “The Big Lie” and in it, Hauser reported a previously unreported fact about the PED testing for the super-fight. Here is the portion of the Hauser story which stood out most for me:

In early March, USADA presented the Pacquiao camp with a contract that allowed the testing agency to grant a retroactive therapeutic use exemption to either fighter in the event that the fighter tested positive for a prohibited drug. That retroactive exemption could have been granted without notifying the Nevada State Athletic Commission or the opposing fighter’s camp.Team Pacquiao thought that was outrageous and an opportunity for Mayweather to game the system. Pacquiao refused to sign the contract.Thereafter, Mayweather and USADA agreed to mutual notification and the elimination of retroactive therapeutic use exemptions. A copy of the final contract contained a section entitled “Therapeutic Use Exemptions,” which states: “Mayweather and Pacquiao agree that both athletes shall be notified within 24 hours of either of the following occurrences: (1) the submission by either athlete of a TUE application; or (2) the approval by USADA of a TUE application submitted by either athlete. Additionally, any modifications to an existing TUE by either athlete shall be communicated to the other athlete within 24 hours. Notification shall include: (1) the date of the application; (2) the prohibited substance(s) or method(s) for which the TUE is sought; and (3) the manner of use for the prohibited substance(s) or method(s) for which the TUE is sought.”

That phrase, “retroactive therapeutic use exemption.”

Hauser wrote that he had in his possession a copy of the “final contract” which laid out particulars if in fact either boxer applied for an exemption, which would be the case, we can presume, if either man tested positive for a banned substance, but wished to proceed without penalty unimpeded, to be able to participate in the fight.

Boxing hasn’t had as much experience in this “therapeutic use exemption” realm as has mixed martial arts, but there have been occasions when fighters have asked for permission to be able to use a substance, one which might be seen as a “PED,” with the OK from a physician, because, they maintain, they have a legitimate medical or physical need to use said substance, which would over-ride the potential performance enhancing property of that substance.

By way of example…Lamont Peterson tested positive ahead of his May 2012 rematch with Amir Khan. He showed an elevated level of testosterone in his bodily fluid. The scrap was cancelled, and Peterson explained the issue, in a story which ran on Boxing Talk. He said he was feeling fatigued, went to get checked by a doctor, and the doctor said he “had low free testosterone.” The boxer then took “testosterone pellets,” but was flagged. He was informed that some commissions will allow a TUE, or therapeutic use exemption, but stated that he didn’t know that an allowance could possibly be made for him, and also that he didn’t think he was using anything “performance enhancing.”

Back to MayPac…

That phrasing, that seeming desire to insert what seems like a contractual loop-hole to override a positive sample, struck me as at best curious. I reached out to Mayweather publicist Kelly Swanson, and emailed a request for comment or clarification regarding the matter. I received no response.

I also reached out to the testing agency Hauser mentioned, USADA, on Tuesday evening, and they told me they would furnish a reply, and I will insert that when it arrives. (UPDATE ALERT: A reply from USADA arrived Thursday at 12:45 PM ET):

Here is the USADA response:

The information in Mr. Hauser’s article concerning the final contract for USADA to run the anti-doping program for the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight is inaccurate.

The final contract signed by both fighters was clear that any TUE that was granted would be sent to the opposing fighter within 24-hours and that the granting of TUEs would be determined by USADA in its sole discretion in accordance with the WADA International Standards for TUEs, which includes retroactive TUEs. Any approved TUE will also be sent to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. TUE processing is a normal part of all international anti-doping programs.

I wanted to compare and contrast methods of operation and standards, so I reached out to Dr. Margaret Goodman, who heads up VADA (The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association) to see where her organization stood on the TUE issue. She sent this explanation which is contained in the VADA policy statement:

6. An application for a TUE will not be considered for retroactive approval except in extremely rare cases where:a. emergency treatment or treatment of an acute medical condition was necessary, orb. due to exceptional circumstances, there was insufficient time or opportunity for an applicant to submit, or VADA to consider, an application prior to doping control.The Athlete MUST inform VADA as soon as possible by fax or email if one of these circumstances occur. A TUE will not be considered for retroactive appeal if there is a failure to timely inform VADA of the exceptional circumstances.

The issue of testing has attached itself to both these fighters for many years. Mayweather barked for many years at Pacquiao to “take the test,” and also had to publicly apologize and make a payout to Manny for insinuating he was on PEDs. Pacman’s trainer Freddie Roach has a suit lodged against him by former Pacman strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, whom Roach accused of giving Manny “shady” drinks. Mayweather in the leadup to MayPac boasted that he’d gotten under Manny’s skin by hiring Ariza, and has credited Ariza with being most instrumental for Manny’s success, more so than Roach. So, there is ton of water under this particular bridge…

I don’t pretend to be anything resembling an expert on PEDs and testing and regimens and protocol. Victor Conte, who runs a supplement company and advises a bunch of athletes, is; he’s been on the dark side, as a peddler, and now, he maintains, he’s seen the light and wants a clean sport, and clean athletes doing their thing on even playing fields. He is a proponent for how VADA does testing and has been quite public about not caring for the USADA way. No surprise, he took aim at USADA after learning of this development in the Hauser story. “In my opinion, the request for a retroactive TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) clause by the Mayweather camp was suspicious and should never have been granted by USADA,” Conte told me. “Plain and simple. The fight took place under the jurisdiction of NSAC, not USADA. The fact that USADA did not inform the NSAC of the Pacquiao injury presents serious questions” about their ties to Mayweather, he continued. Conflicts of interest can pop up, he told me, if a testing agency is being paid by one of the athletes, or by one of their cohorts. “USADA’s primary role in boxing is to serve as an independent entity and protect the health and safety of the two fighters,” he continued, and it is clear he isn’t of a mind that their independence is unquestioned.

My take: This issue is a sticky one, a controversial one, and one that is mutating. Boxing, but of course, is a sport unlike any other. It shares, with MMA, the status of being a one on one endeavor, which makes testing and subsequent potential issues of punishment, which could include cancellation of an event which has been in the planning stages for many, many months. People find it hard to fathom the possibility that the May 2 Mayweather-Pacquiao bout could have been cancelled, for whatever reason, at the 11th hour. Certainly, the discussion following the disclosure that Manny Pacquiao came in with a bad shoulder attests to that; “what did you want him to do, risk being called a wimp if he pulled out?” many folks said. Never mind the immense expense that has already been outlaid and the procedural nightmares which would ensue if refunding had to be performed, for the tickets to attend, the hotels, the airlines, etc. We do understand the “show must go on mentality.” But if that is the prevailing mindset from all parties involved, and to that end, a positive test for a PED couldn’t possibly result in the cancellation of an event, then what sort of teeth, so to speak, does the testing process really possess? If language is going to exist which would conceivably nullify any positive test, and allow an offending substance to be rendered acceptable through an exemption, shouldn’t that construct be made public? Don’t all parties involved, the fighters, the organizers, the fans, deserve that, at minumum? We need more transparency, more uniformity, if the testing procedures and post-positive protocol can be agreed upon and applied uniformly.

Wording is important, and phrases like retroactive therapeutic use exemption don’t do well in passing the smell test, if you’re not a lawyer, whose reason for vocational being maybe rests on such wordsmithery and loopholery. That fight was a let-down, beyond monies being made by a select few; what say some greater good comes from it, and better PED testing policies, free from iffy such language, are the norm when the next “super fight” comes around.

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Michael Woods

Steven Navarro is the TSS 2024 Prospect of the Year

Published

3 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Steven-Navarro-is-the-TSS-2024-Prospect-of-the-Year

“I get ‘Bam’ vibes when I watch this kid,” said ESPN ringside commentator Tim Bradley during the opening round of Steven Navarro’s most recent match. Bradley was referencing WBC super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, a precociously brilliant technician whose name now appears on most pound-for-pound lists.

There are some common threads between Steven Navarro, the latest fighter to adopt the nickname “Kid Dynamite,” and Bam Rodriguez. Both are southpaws currently competing in the junior bantamweight division. But, of course, Bradley was alluding to something more when he made the comparison. And Navarro’s showing bore witness that Bradley was on to something.

It was the fifth pro fight for Navarro who was matched against a Puerto Rican with a 7-1 ledger. He ended the contest in the second frame, scoring three knockdowns, each the result of a different combination of punches, forcing the referee to stop it. It was the fourth win inside the distance for the 20-year-old phenom.

Isaias Estevan “Steven” Navarro turned pro after coming up short in last December’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Lafayette, Louisiana. The #1 seed in the 57 kg (featherweight) division, he was upset in the finals, losing a controversial split decision. Heading in, Navarro had won 13 national tournaments beginning at age 12.

A graduate of LA’s historic Fairfax High School, Steven made his pro debut this past April on a Matchroom Promotions card at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas and then inked a long-term deal with Top Rank. He comes from a boxing family. His father Refugio had 10 pro fights and three of Refugio’s cousins were boxers, most notably Jose Navarro who represented the USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was a four-time world title challenger as a super flyweight. Jose was managed by Oscar De La Hoya for much of his pro career.

Nowadays, the line between a prospect and a rising contender has been blurred. Three years ago, in an effort to make matters less muddled, we operationally defined a prospect thusly: “A boxer with no more than a dozen fights, none yet of the 10-round variety.” To our way of thinking, a prospect by nature is still in the preliminary-bout phase of his career.

We may loosen these parameters in the future. For one thing, it eliminates a lot of talented female boxers who, like their Japanese male counterparts in the smallest weight classes, are often pushed into title fights when, from a historical perspective, they are just getting started.

But for the time being, we will adhere to our operational definition. And within the window that we have created, Steven Navarro stood out. In his first year as a pro, “Kid Dynamite” left us yearning to see more of him.

Honorable mention: Australian heavyweight Teremoana Junior (5-0, 5 KOs)

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The Challenge of Playing Muhammad Ali

Published

11 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Thomas Hauser

There have been countless dramatizations of Muhammad Ali’s life and more will follow in the years ahead. The most heavily marketed of these so far have been the 1977 movie titled The Greatest starring Ali himself and the 2001 biopic Ali starring Will Smith.

The Greatest was fictionalized. Its saving grace apart from Ali’s presence on screen was the song “The Greatest Love of All” which was written for the film and later popularized by Whitney Houston. Beyond that, the movie was mediocre. “Of all our sports heroes,” Frank Deford wrote, “Ali needs least to be sanitized. But The Greatest is just a big vapid valentine. It took a dive.”

The 2001 film was equally bland but without the saving grace of Ali on camera. “I hated that film,” Spike Lee said. “It wasn’t Ali.” Jerry Izenberg was in accord, complaining, “Will Smith playing Ali was an impersonation, not a performance.”

The latest entry in the Ali registry is a play running this week off-Broadway at the AMT Theater (354 West 45th Street) in Manhattan.

The One: The Life of Muhammad Ali was written by David Serero, who has produced and directed the show in addition to playing the role of Angelo Dundee in the three-man drama. Serero, age 43, was born in Paris, is of Moroccan-French-Jewish heritage, and has excelled professionally as an opera singer (baritone) and actor (stage and screen).

Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. The play is flawed. There are glaring factual inaccuracies in the script that add nothing to the dramatic arc and detract from its credibility.

On the plus side; Zack Bazile (pictured) is exceptionally good as Ali. And Serero (wearing his director’s hat) brings the most out of him.

Growing up, Bazile (now 28) excelled in multiple sports. In 2018, while attending Ohio State, he won the NCAA Long Jump Championship and was named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year. He also dabbled in boxing, competed in two amateur fights in 2022, and won both by knockout. He began acting three years ago.

Serero received roughly one thousand resumes when he published notices for a casting call in search of an actor to play Ali. One-hundred-twenty respondents were invited to audition.

“I had people who looked like Ali and were accomplished actors,” Serero recalls. “But when they were in the room, I didn’t feel Ali in front of me. You have to remember; we’re dealing with someone who really existed and there’s video of him, so it’s not like asking someone to play George Washington.”

And Ali was Ali. That’s a hard act to follow.

Bazile is a near-perfect fit. At 6-feet-2-inches tall, 195 pounds, he conveys Ali’s physicality. His body is sculpted in the manner of the young Ali. He moves like an athlete because he is an athlete. His face resembles Ali’s and his expressions are very much on the mark in the way he transmits emotion to the audience. He uses his voice the way Ali did. He moves his eyes the way Ali did. He has THE LOOK.

Zack was born the year that Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta, so he has no first-hand memory of the young Ali who set the world ablaze. “But as an actor,” he says, “I’m representing Ali. That’s a responsibility I take very seriously. Everyone has an essence about them. I had to find the right balance – not too over the top – and capture that.”

Sitting in the audience watching Bazile, I felt at times as though it was Ali onstage in front of me. Zack has the pre-exile Ali down perfectly. The magic dissipates a bit as the stage Ali grows older. Bazile still has to add the weight of aging to his craft. But I couldn’t help but think, “Muhammad would have loved watching Zack play him.”

****

Twenty-four hours after the premiere of The One, David Serero left the stage for a night to shine brightly in a real boxing ring., The occasion was the tenth fight card that Larry Goldberg has promoted at Sony Hall in New York, a run that began with Goldberg’s first pro show ever on October 13, 2022.

Most of the fights on the six-bout card played out as expected. But two were tougher for the favorites than anticipated. Jacob Riley Solis was held to a draw by Daniel Jefferson. And Andy Dominguez was knocked down hard by Angel Meza in round three before rallying to claim a one-point split-decision triumph.

Serero sang the national anthem between the second and third fights and stilled the crowd with a virtuoso performance. Fans at sports events are usually restless during the singing of the anthem. This time, the crowd was captivated. Serero turned a flat ritual into an inspirational moment. People were turning to each other and saying “Wow!”

****

The unexpected happened in Tijuana last Saturday night when 25-to-1 underdog Bruno Surace climbed off the canvas after a second-round knockdown to score a shocking, one-punch, sixth-round stoppage of Jaime Munguia. There has been a lot of commentary since then about what happened that night. The best explanation I’ve heard came from a fan named John who wrote, “The fight was not over in the second round although Munguia thought it was because, if he caught him once, he would naturally catch him again. Plus he looked at this little four KO guy [Surace had scored 4 knockouts in 27 fights] the way all the fans did, like he had no punch. That is what a fan can afford to do. But a fighter should know better. The ref reminds you, ‘Protect yourself at all times.’ Somebody forgot that.”

photo (c) David Serero

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – MY MOTHER and me – is a personal memoir available at Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/My-Mother-Me-Thomas-Hauser/dp/1955836191/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5C0TEN4M9ZAH&keywords=thomas+hauser&qid=1707662513&sprefix=thomas+hauser%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1

In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2024

Arne K. Lang

L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year

If asked to name a prominent boxing trainer who operates out of a gym in Los Angeles, the name Freddie Roach would jump immediately to mind. Best known for his work with Manny Pacquaio, Roach has been named the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America a record seven times.

A mere seven miles from Roach’s iconic Wild Card Gym is the gym that Rudy Hernandez now calls home. Situated in the Little Tokyo neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, the L.A. Boxing Gym – a relatively new addition to the SoCal boxing landscape — is as nondescript as its name. From the outside, one would not guess that two reigning world champions, Junto Nakatani and Anthony Olascuaga, were forged there.

As Freddie Roach will be forever linked with Manny Pacquiao, so will Rudy Hernandez be linked with Nakatani. The Japanese boxer was only 15 years old when his parents packed him off to the United States to be tutored by Hernandez. With Hernandez in his corner, the lanky southpaw won titles at 112 and 115 and currently holds the WBO bantamweight (118) belt. In his last start, he knocked out his Thai opponent, a 77-fight veteran who had never been stopped, advancing his record to 29-0 (22 KOs).

Nakatani’s name now appears on several pound-for-pound lists. A match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue is brewing. When that match comes to fruition, it will be the grandest domestic showdown in Japanese boxing history.

“Junto Nakatani is the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained. It’s easy to work with him because even when he came to me at age 15, his focus was only on boxing. It was to be a champion one day and nothing interfered with that dream,” Hernandez told sports journalist Manouk Akopyan writing for Boxing Scene.

Akin to Nakatani, Rudy Hernandez built Anthony Olascuaga from scratch. The LA native was rucked out of obscurity in April of 2023 when Jonathan Gonzalez contracted pneumonia and was forced to withdraw from his date in Tokyo with lineal light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji. Olascuaga, with only five pro fights under his belt, filled the breach on 10 days’ notice and although he lost (TKO by 9), he earned kudos for his gritty performance against the man recognized as the best fighter in his weight class.

Two fights later, back in Tokyo, Olascuaga copped the WBO world flyweight title with a third-round stoppage of Riku Kano. His first defense came in October, again in Japan, and Olascuaga retained his belt with a first-round stoppage of the aforementioned Gonzalez. (This bout was originally ruled a no-contest as it ended after Gonzalez suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. But the referee ruled that Gonzalez was fit to continue before the Puerto Rican said “no mas,” alleging his vision was impaired, and the WBO upheld a protest from the Olascuaga camp and changed the result to a TKO. Regardless, Rudy Hernandez’s fighter would have kept his title.)

Hernandez, 62, is the brother of the late Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez. A two-time world title-holder at 130 pounds who fought the likes of Azumah Nelson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chicanito passed away in 2011, a cancer victim at age 45.

Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez was one of the most popular fighters in the Hispanic communities of Southern California. Rudy Hernandez, a late bloomer of sorts – at least in terms of public recognition — has kept his brother’s flame alive with own achievements. He is a worthy honoree for the 2024 Trainer of the Year.

Note: This is the first in our series of annual awards. The others will arrive sporadically over the next two weeks.

Photo credit: Steve Kim

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