`Big Baby’ Mess is Proof of Bigger PEDs Problem Than Most Would Care to Admit

Published

5 years ago

April 22, 2019

And then there were 71 … or maybe 710, if the alarmists are to be believed.

With the three positive tests that have served to knock Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller out of his scheduled June 1 challenge of IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden – hopefully, we won’t see Miller in any bout for the foreseeable future – the ugly head of performance-enhancing drugs has again arisen in boxing. Until more drastic steps are taken to correct the problem, such as longer suspensions, hefty fines and even permanent expulsion, cheaters who think they can get away with creating an edge for themselves through chemistry will forever conspire to erode the public’s faith in the notion of legitimate, unsullied competition in the ring.

Almost as disturbing as Miller’s flagrant flouting of the rules of boxing, as well as of common decency – hey, it’s hard to argue that a mistake was made when you test dirty three times in quick succession, and for three different banned substances – is the fact that another certified PEDs violator, Manuel Charr, was quick to nominate himself as the most logical available candidate for replace “Big Baby” in the corner opposite Joshua six weeks hence.

“I have been training since January,” the 37-year-old Charr (31-4, 17 KOs) said when his hoped-for window of opportunity opened after Miller’s boxing license was pulled by the New York State Athletic Commission, itself hardly a bastion of competence and integrity. “I was tested by VADA and can prove that I am clean. I am ready, willing and able to challenge Joshua on June 1 at the Garden.”

But, to my way of thinking, Charr’s claims to have scrubbed off any lingering taint from his recent PEDs past is coming too soon to merit consideration for a high-interest, well-paying (Miller was to make a career-high $4.875 million for the dream shot he may never get again) gig against Joshua. It was barely a year ago that Charr, just a few days before a scheduled fight for the “regular” WBA championship against the aged Fres Oquendo in September 2018, tested positive for Drostanolone and Trenbolone, both banned substances. The fight was called off, and rightly so. If the powers that be were truly serious about eradicating the PEDs problem, a dirty fighter would not be in the mix for a world title bout, and maybe any fight, little more than a year after twice testing positive.

To determine to my own satisfaction how deep the issue goes, I did an Internet search to find out how many fighters had worn or are wearing the scarlet letter “D” for drug violations. The criteria for such a designation is four-fold: 1. Fighters who had been suspended by a sporting body (an international governing body, a national federation or a professional league) for illegal PEDs and/or banned drug use; 2. Publicly admitted such use; 3. Been found to have taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs by a court of law; 4. Been suspended by a sporting body for failure to submit to mandatory drug testing.

There are now 71 names on the list of fighters who met one or more of criteria, 18 of whom are heavyweights. But it’s not just the number of miscreants that is disturbing; it’s the level of their achievement in the sport that casts a long shadow not only in the here and now, but into the future. With the addition of Miller, the Who’s Who of tainted heavyweights includes Evander Holyfield, Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury, Tommy Morrison, Francois Botha, Roy Jones Jr. (OK, so he had only one fight as a heavyweight, but it was for a world title and he won), James Toney, Shannon Briggs, Chris Arreola, Alexander Povetkin, Luis Ortiz, Dillian Whyte, Jameel McCline, Bermane Stiverne, Erkan Teper, Mariusz Wach and Andrzej Wawrzyk.

That’s quite a group. It features eight fighters who were heavyweight champions, six more who fought for the title and still another, Miller, who was to have fought for the title until he got caught, in a manner of speaking, holding a dripping syringe.

Boxing greatness, of course, is much harder to tarnish that than in baseball, where Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro have been denied induction into their sport’s Hall of Fame because of proven or even widely suspected PEDs use. Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson also have been denied enshrinement in Cooperstown, N.Y., because of gambling, a vice, including the throwing of fixed fights, that hasn’t kept several standout fighters out of Cooperstown’s equivalent place of honor in Canastota, N.Y. Holyfield and Vitali Klitscko have plaques hanging in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and Jones and Toney almost certainly will have theirs on those hallowed walls as soon as they become eligible, with Fury also a strong candidate for eventually getting there.

But it isn’t the names of fighters who have been associated with PEDs that is as much a concern as the names of countless others that might have crossed over onto the dark side and never been caught. Consider some downright scary numbers. On Sept. 7 on this website, Thomas Hauser authored a story entitled 1,501 Tests, One Reported Positive? What’s Going On With USADA and Boxing? By comparison, Dr. Margaret Goodman, president of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), reported that close to 4 percent of the tests for illegal PEDs conducted by VADA came back positive. That 4 percent benchmark if applied to the 1,501 tests conducted by the USADA would have resulted in 60 positive tests results.

Although testing for PEDs is more extensive and accurate than ever, it is also true that whenever a better mousetrap is invented, the mice get smarter when it comes to making off with the cheese. New drugs, less easily detectable, are constantly being whipped up in basement laboratories by enterprising chemists, who also busy themselves concocting better masking agents. Victor Conte, disgraced founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) that was a focal point of the late-1990s/early 2000s baseball PEDs scandal, spent four months in 2006 and upon his release he became a crusader not only for cleansing baseball of the scourge of PEDs, but all sports. Whatever victories are achieved on that front, however, are matched by setbacks elsewhere. It should be noted that Conte once noted that boxing, more so than other sports which are more stringently regulated, was the “wild, wild West” of PEDs, a frontier that has yet to be fully tamed.

The task confronting the most relentless and vigilant members of the clean-up crew need only to point to Alexander Povetkin as a reason why fighters like Miller feel it is worth the fairly slim risk of being detected to go the PEDs route.

Povetkin, a Russian, was to have challenged WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on May 21, 2016, in Moscow until he tested positive for a banned substance, Meldonium. A follow-up, or “B” test, also conducted by VADA came back positive as well and the fight was scrapped, much to the consternation of Team Wilder. The super heavyweight gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Povetkin is regarded in some circles as almost a petri dish of chemical enhancement because of Russia’s tacit, and possibly outright, involvement in PEDs in quest for nationalistic glory through sports. Consider the 2014 Winter Olympics staged in Sochi, Russia, the most expensive Olympiad ever at a staggering cost of $51 billion and the pet project of Russian president Vladimir Putin. So pervasive was Russia’s involvement in PEDs that all 389 Olympic athletes from that country initially were banned from competing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics, although the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) eventually relented and allowed 271, including all 11 boxers, to participate.

Despite Povetkin’s twice testing positive, he was given a virtual slap on the wrist by the WBC, which cut his indefinite suspension for doping to one year before reconsidering again and giving him a get-out-of-jail-even-earlier card. Povetkin, a former WBA heavyweight titlist, stopped Johann Duhaupas in six rounds on Dec. 17, 2016, tacked on three victories after that and he again fought for the world championship on Sept. 22 of last year, losing on a seventh-round TKO to Joshua in London’s Wembley Stadium.

Possibly believing that whatever masking agents he might have used would fool VADA testers, Miller – who had weighed 300-plus pounds for his three most recent fights – instead drew a triple whammy. His first failed drug test was for GW1516, which is said to increase aerobic power and endurance in the obese and elderly. Seeing as how Miller doesn’t turn 31 until July 15, it is reasonable to conclude his objective had more to do with his high body-fat percentage than the number of candles on his next birthday cake.

Miller at first vehemently denied partaking of any performance-enhancing drug, but when a subsequent re-testing came up positive for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Erythropoietin (EPO), he changed tactics and basically begged for forgiveness in the court of public opinion and from whichever drug-testing entities and sanctioning bodies might be disposed to cut him a Povetkin-sized break.

“This is your boy, `Big Baby’ Miller here,” he said in a video posted on social media. “A lot can be said right now. I gonna get straight to the point. I messed up. I messed up. I made a bad call. A lot of ways to handle a situation, (but) I handled it wrongly and I’m paying the price for it. Missed out on a big opportunity, and I’m hurtin’ on the inside. My heart is bleeding right now.

“I hurt my family, my friends, my team, my supporters. But I’m gonna own up to it, I’m gonna deal with it, I’m gonna correct it and I’m gonna come back better.”

No doubt Miller is sorry – that he got caught. He had been caught doing PEDs before, in 2014, when he was into kickboxing. He sure as hell wouldn’t have been sorry had he somehow masked his PEDs to get past the VADA testers and, as a better boxer through chemistry, upset Joshua. He would have accepted any praise and rewards as his just due.

Here’s hoping Miller, a Brooklyn native, gets hit with a minimum two-year suspension that sticks, and he comes away with the realization that just because a lot of people cheat and cut corners that doesn’t make it right.

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, told ESPN that his fighter will go ahead and make his U.S. debut as scheduled on June 1 against a yet-unnamed opponent whose qualifications must include one absolutely essential attribute.

“It worried me that fighters feel the only way they can beat AJ is by taking banned substances,” Hearn said. “One thing we know is Miller is out. AJ’s new opponent for June 1 will be announced (this) week. Clean fighters only need apply.”

Here’s hoping also that there is a lesson to be learned here, and more fighters come to understand that PEDs are not their ticket to dream fulfillment. Sometimes the flip side of a dream is a very real nightmare.

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TSS News Wire: Jarmall Charlo Defrocked; Ryan Garcia Partially Vindicated

Published

30 mins ago

May 8, 2024

Arne K. Lang

TSS-News-Wire-Jermall-Charlo-Defrocked-Ryan-Garcia-Partially-Vindicated

Jermall Charlo is in hot water again and this time it has cost him his middleweight title.

In a story first reported by TMZ Sports, Charlo, 33 was arrested shortly after 6 pm on Monday, May 6, in Pearland, Texas, after crashing his Lamborghini into another vehicle. After a verbal altercation with the driver of the other car, Charlo left the scene, ignoring police sirens to pull over, until he was boxed in at a red light. Charlo was arrested, failed a sobriety test at the police station, and was charged with three misdemeanors including Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).

This wasn’t the first time that Charlo was in trouble with the law.

In August of 2021, he was arrested on the allegation that he stole from a waitress (he absconded with her tips) following a 2 am dispute at a private martini bar and social club in San Antonio. The case was dismissed on grounds of insufficient evidence. In February of 2022, he was arrested for the alleged assault of a family member during a family gathering the previous September in Fort Bend County, Texas.

A two-weight world title-holder with an undefeated record (33-0, 24 KOs), Charlo last defended his belt in on June 19, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, winning a unanimous decision over Juan Macias Montiel. His last outing came in November of his last year in Las Vegas where he won a 10-round decision over Jose Benavidez Jr, the older brother of David Benavidez. For that match, his first ring appearance in 29 months, he carried 166 ½ pounds.

In February of this year, it was announced that Charlo would fight Canelo Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend, but the promoter, PBC, had second thoughts and the assignment went to Jaime Munguia. The presumption was that a second straight fight between Canelo and a Charlo would be a tough sell after the lackluster performance of Jermall’s twin brother Jermell Charlo vs. Canelo in September of 2023.

Jermell has also been in trouble with the law. This past December, he was accused of assaulting a family member. The alleged victim wasn’t identified, but after Jermell was released on bond, his wife, the former Chayne Westwood, filed for a restraining order. Jermell, reports Jake Donovan, has a May 20 court appearance.

Upon learning of Jermall’s latest arrest, the WBC took swift action, stripping him of his title.

“The WBC Board of Governors has decided to confirm Carlos Adames as the WBC reigning middleweight champion…The WBC will closely work with PBC in securing the best course of action to attend to Jermall’s needs at this moment in time. After a thorough evaluation of the situation and understanding of the facts and times the WBC may rank Jermall at Super Middle weight,” said the organization in a press release.

A 30-year-old Dominican with a 23-1 (18 KOs) record, Adames last fought in June of last year, scoring a ninth-round stoppage of Julian Williams in a bout framed as a WBC interim world middleweight title fight.

Ryan Garcia

It’s old news that Ryan Garcia tested positive for the banned steroid Ostarine prior to his stunning upset of Devin Haney in Brooklyn on April 20. Moreover, there was evidence of another banned substance, 19-Norandrosterone, but the trace of it in his urine specimen was so small that the testing agency, VADA, needed more evidence to ascertain whether it should be included in its report.

Yesterday (May 7) VADA clarified that the steroid was not present in a second test. As Dan Rafael noted, some banned substances have a threshold whereas others, such as Ostarine, do not, which means that any amount, no matter how minute, is grounds for some sort of punishment.

Talking with ESPN.com, Garcia’s attorney Darin Chavez said the Ostarine was “in the billionth of a gram range that provided Ryan Garcia with no performance enhancing benefit whatsoever.” Chavez reported that the “B” sample, at Garcia’s request, would be opened and analyzed on May 22 with Garcia in attendance. The “B” sample, notes ESPN boxing writer Mike Coppinger, is a safeguard to ensure there was no lab contamination or other error involved in the test that produced the original finding.

Garcia has subsequently claimed that he drank alcohol and smoked marijuana in the days leading up to and including the very day of the fight. “I got in there high as f*** and I beat his ass,” he told podcaster Bob Menery.

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Luis Nery is Devoured by a Monster in Tokyo: Naoya Inoue KO 6

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Luis-Nery-is-Devoured-by-a-Monster-in-Tokyo-Naoya-Inoue-KO-6

In March of 1988, three days after the official opening of the Tokyo Dome, Mike Tyson christened the arena for boxing with a second-round stoppage of Tony Tubbs. The announced attendance, 51,000, was a record for a boxing match in Japan that would stand for 36 years. A multitude somewhat larger (the exact tally isn’t yet official) was on hand today to witness their hero Naoya “Monster” Inoue get off the deck to humble Tijuana import Luis Nery.

A former two-division world title-holder, Nery stunned the faithful in the second minute of the opening round when he put Inoue on the canvas with a sweeping left hook. It was the first time that the ‘Monster’ had ever been knocked down and (shades of Tyson-Douglas!) it appeared for a moment that another monster upset was brewing in the building that locals fondly call the Big Egg. But Inoue returned the favor in round two when he caught the lunging Nery off-balance and put him down with a sharp left hook and was in control of the fight from that point on.

Inoue produced a second knockdown in round five with a short left hook and closed the show in the following round with a vicious right hand that snapped Nery’s head back and splattered him against the ropes. Referee Michael Griffin waived it off without a count. The official time was 1:22.

Inoue, who won his first pro title in his sixth pro fight, improved to 27-0 (24 KOs) while successfully defending his unified 122-pound title. It was his eighth straight win inside the distance, a run that began with a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney at the MGM Bubble in Las Vegas. Luis Nery, who lost for only the second time in 37 fights, was 2-0 in previous visits to Japan, stopping Shinsuke Yamanaka twice, the second KO of which rucked Yamanaka off into retirement and established Nery’s reputation as a bully.

There were three other world title fights on the card, all of which went the full 12 rounds.

In a mild upset, Yokohama southpaw Yoshiki Takao won a world title in his ninth pro fight, overcoming Australia’s Jason Moloney (27-3) to capture the WBA bantamweight belt. Moloney mustered a big rally in the final round but couldn’t seal the deal. There were no knockdowns but Takao had a point deducted in round two for low blows. The scores were 117-110 and 116-111 twice.

Takuma Inoue, Naoya’s younger brother, successfully defended his WBA world bantamweight title in his second title defense with a unanimous decision over Osaka’s Sho Ishida (34-4). Takuma, who improved to 20-1, is a good technician but with only five stoppages to his credit, lacks the firepower of his celebrated brother.

In a rematch, WBA super flyweight title-holder Seigo Yuri Akui scored a unanimous decision over countryman Taku Kuwahara. The scores were 118-110 and 117-111 twice.

Akui (20-2-1) was making the first defense of the title he won in January with an upset of long-reigning title-holder Artem Dalakian. In their previous meeting at adjacent Korakuen Hall, Akui saddled Kuwahara (13-2) with his first defeat, scoring a 10^th-round stoppage.

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Canelo Alvarez Turns Away Jaime Munguia to Remain Undisputed King at 168

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2024

David A. Avila

Canelo-Alvarez-Turns-Away-Jaime-Munguia-to-Remain-Undisputed-King-at-168

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez remains Mexico’s top fighter and the undisputed super middleweight world champion with a resounding victory by unanimous decision over the hard-charging Jaime Munguia on Saturday.

If Mexico had a monarchy Alvarez would be king.

“I am the best Mexican fighter,” said Alvarez.

An announced crowd of 17,492 saw Guadalajara’s Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) patiently analyze the battle plan of Tijuana’s Munguia’s (43-1, 34 KOs) and then unravel it methodically every round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

It was a battle for Mexico that pitted two dangerous fighters with Munguia entering the prize ring undefeated and hungry to establish himself as Mexico’s new power. He just wasn’t ready.

After Munguia opened up quickly behind a solid jab and combinations, Alvarez calmly blocked and parried the Tijuana fighter’s attacks for three rounds and then it happened.

After success in the first three rounds Munguia opened up with another attack in the fourth that Alvarez calmly timed and snapped a right uppercut to the chin that floored the Tijuana fighter for the first time in his career. He got up from the knockdown and was able to stave off a further Canelo attack.

The momentum suddenly changed and for good.

Alvarez stalked Munguia every round with a more aggressive approach and sometimes set traps for counters. Though the Mexican redhead found success he was unable to floor the taller Munguia again. But he did come close including the seventh when a left hook to the body visibly hurt Munguia. He survived.

It must have been frustrating for Munguia whose improvement in his boxing skills have been noticeable in his last three fights. Even in this fight his ability to defend and return fire against Canelo’s clever moves was a vast improvement over his career three years ago. But its not enough when battling one of the best fighters pound-for- pound in the world.

Four-division world champion Alvarez strategically proved his skills are another level that only a few today possess. It was a valuable lesson for Munguia to learn the same lesson Canelo received against Floyd Mayweather a decade ago.

Experience counts.

“He’s a fighter with a lot of experience,” said Munguia who had hoped his youth and stamina would help against the 33-year-old Alvarez.

Canelo said Munguia was a great fighter and very strong.

“I take my time,” said Alvarez “He’s strong but a little slow I saw every punch.”

Though it was the fifth consecutive fight without a knockout, Alvarez was satisfied with the unanimous decision to keep the WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF super middleweight titles. It was the first time two Mexican super middleweights fought for all the titles.

Alvarez said this win again proves he can fight whoever he chooses after fighting boxing greats like Miguel Cotto, Mayweather and other champions.

“I can do whatever I want to do,” said Alvarez.

Other Bouts

Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) floored Fabian Maidana (22-3, 16 KOs) in the third round but found the hard-punching Argentine too tough to finish off. Instead, he used a steady stream of jabs to win by unanimous decision after 12 rounds.

A touch left followed by a rifle right cross dropped Maidana. Instead of giving up, the younger brother of the great Marcos Maidana unleashed his own big blows to force Barrios into a more careful strategic fight mode. Especially after one or two blows caused a swelling on his right eye.

But Maidana never could find the antidote for Barrios’s jab that won the majority of the rounds for the San Antonio, Texas fighter. After 12 rounds all three judges scored it 116-111 for Barrios who keeps the interim welterweight title.

After a sluggish start, Brandon Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) found his footing midway through the super bantamweight match against Jesse Magdaleno (29-3, 18 KOs) and ended the match with a one-punch belt to the body to win the battle of former champions.

Magdaleno took the lead in the fight with clever boxing but slowly Figueroa cranked up his punch out-put and while during a furious exchange the fighter from Weslaco, Texas connected with a left to the body. Magdaleno could not beat the count at 2:59 of the ninth round.

Figueroa retains the interim super bantamweight title.

Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) used a power jab to separate from Venezuela’s Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KOs) to retain the WBA welterweight world title by unanimous decision.

Despite two years from a ring appearance, Stanionis was able to out-work Maestre, a 37-year-old who was fighting for his first world title. Both had faced each other years ago as amateurs.

No knockdowns were scored but the fast-paced fight was won by the busier Stanionis whose jab was his primary weapon. All three scores favored the Lithuanian fighter 117-111, 118-110, 119-109.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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