Expert opinions vary at drug-testing forum -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

By STEVE CARP, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

It didn't have the drama or trappings of a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill, but the Nevada Athletic Commission's forum on drug testing Wednesday provided frank discussion about the effectiveness of catching cheaters inside the ring.

If you believe Dr. David Watson, the NAC has its act together. Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said he thinks the commission can do a lot more to beef up its protocols. Dr. Robert Voy, a former chief medical officer for the United States Olympic Committee, said he thinks the NAC is doing an adequate job given its resources but that it has room to improve.

"(Nevada) can do better," Tygart said. "Frankly, it's inadequate. You deserve better. Your athletes deserve better."

Watson, who works for the NAC as a ringside physician, said: "I think the commission is doing an outstanding job of staying on top of this issue."

Said Voy: "The commission should be congratulated for testing (for steroids). However, the protocol is troubling to me. You have to have a very tight process. The athlete has to be assured there are safeguards in place to protect the athlete from tampering."

NAC executive director Keith Kizer said the purpose of the forum was to give the commissioners an opportunity to learn from experts in the testing field and stay ahead of the curve.

"We rely on the experts," Kizer said. "We were able to have a nice, open discussion, and this commission has never been afraid to change its rules. The commission wants to make the best regulations to ensure the safety of the fighters and the integrity of the sport."

Tygart recommended the use of more blood testing for performance-enhancing drugs such as human growth hormone and other designer steroids. He also suggested the NAC consider changing labs, using USADA's testing facilities in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The commission currently sends its drug tests through Quest Diagnostics, with facilities in Las Vegas.

"Blood testing is something the commission wants to look into," Kizer said. "But you just want to make sure the tests are accurate and you don't put the fighter at risk."

Voy said that anytime blood is drawn from a person, the potential for risk exists.

"Taking blood is an evasive procedure," he said. "There's always risk. It can be dangerous. However, I don't think taking blood close to a competition puts the athlete at risk."

That was Manny Pacquiao's contention when he refused to submit to random blood testing to make a proposed fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in March. Pacquiao since has said he would be willing to have his blood drawn within 14 days of a fight.

But Tygart said that still creates a window of opportunity for potential cheating.

"If you're going to have a window, keep it as short as you can," he said.

When Mayweather fought Shane Mosley on May 1, both fighters agreed to Olympic-style random drug testing, which included taking blood and urine samples. USADA oversaw the protocols for the drug testing, and the last blood tests administered to the fighters came 18 days before they entered the ring.

However, Tygart said the threat of testing the fighters remained in place during that period, which served as a sufficient deterrent had either considered cheating. Both fighters were tested eight times, and each tested clean on every occasion.

Kizer said any changes the commission makes to its protocols for drug testing will come with the fighters' best interest in mind. "You don't do drug testing for public relations," he said. "You do it for health and safety."

■ FUNEKA SUSPENDED -- Lightweight Ali Funeka took a banned substance to reduce swelling in his legs from his long flight from South Africa to Las Vegas in March. But that didn't get him off the hook with the NAC, which suspended him for nine months, fined him $35,000 and ordered him to pay back an additional $15,625 he received from his opponent, Joan Guzman, who failed to make weight when they fought March 27 at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Funeka took hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, which is banned in Nevada. The drug was given to him by his physician, Dr. Mark Blumberg, who admitted he didn't know its use was against NAC rules.

Funeka lost a 12-round split decision to Guzman, and his record remains 30-3-3.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.

Source: lvrj.com

Tony Martin reflects on training Mark Melligen, memories from the Philippines, and life in Las Vegas -- Examiner

By Chris Robinson, Examiner.com

A few days ago Welterweight hopeful Mark Melligen was spotted training rigorously at Floyd Mayweather’s personal gym in Las Vegas. The Bacolod City native is getting ready for a do or die rematch against Michel Rosales, the same man who beat him last November, and his preparation for the contest spoke of the importance of the clash.

What should be noted is that Melligen’s trainer Tony Martin is taking the contest just as personal for a variety of reasons. The mild-mannered Martin has put a lot of time into bringing out the best in young Melligen and only in getting to know his full story does everything start to fall into place.

“I can’t divulge too much but I was born in London in the East end of London,” Martin said of his childhood. “It was quite a tough area. I was always getting into problems when I was young. I was getting into forms of street fights and it was eventually a policeman who got a hold of me and said ‘If you keep this up son you are gonna spend your life behind bars’.”

Despite being apparently rough around the edges, Martin would take the officer’s advice and set foot into a boxing gym for the first time. Little did he know how much that move would impact his life on many fronts as he would soon begin immersing himself in a completely new world, one full of growth, discovery, and much travel.

“He told me that I had so much aggression and that I had to take it in the ring,” Martin reflected. “Of course I took it in the ring and boxed amateur but my mother didn’t like it. I had to finish my studies and graduated as an engineer and I went around the world. I met my wife 25 years ago and we decided to get married and later moved to the Philippines. I never left there. My first involvement in the boxing world was when I worked with the Governor and I started training fighters. I remember approaching Antonio Aldeguer at the ALA gym and we started working together and became good friends.”

Martin notes that he spent about twenty years in the Philippines and it is obvious that he wouldn’t trade his experiences for the world. His relationship with ALA continued to flourish and he is now the director of overseas operations as well as serving as their chief trainer in Las Vegas. Looking back on those years in the Philippines Martin can’t help but to crack a smile and reminisce.

“Fantastic,” Martin claimed. “I can’t explain it. It’s like telling people who look at a third world country and say ‘I wouldn’t want to be there’. But until you go there you have to actually be there to realize what it’s all about. There is a different culture there and they are very kind people. They are very nice and they will give you everything they have. After my time here, maybe in another five years I may go back there.”

When asked for his thoughts on the evolution of boxing in the country Martin reveals that there has always been an abundance of talent in the Philippines but that the fighters from the country never had the right platform to display their skills. That all changed, however, once Manny Pacquiao broke onto the scene, as fellow pugilists soon had a path to follow.

“At one time in the world there was a lot of dirty promoters and managers in the Philippines who were short selling boxers and sending them overseas to places like Japan and Thailand,” Martin said. “They were getting beaten badly. Over the years people have come up like Antonio Aldeguer’s gym, ALA Promotions, Rudy Salud, and lots of others in the outside regions of the Philippines. Understand that sometime ago Americans used to think that Philippines boxers were useless and they have nothing to offer. Now that Manny has come up and others have followed him, they have realized these guys can fight. They have been given the right chance to prove everything.”

One of the brighter spots for the country as far as the boxing world is concerned is 24-year old Melligen, who sports a 18-2 record with 13 knockouts while fighting six of his last seven bouts in the States. Looking back on his union with the southpaw fighter Martin speaks of the steps that were taken to help bring the fighter along.

“Well this goes back to the ALA gym,” Martin claimed. “I’ve been training boxers in the ALA gym for so many years and Mark came to my attention two years ago. Tony Aldeguer told me this guy had a prospect and he would like for him to have more experience so he decided to bring him out here. So the first fight we had was in Colorado and after that fight we approached Top Rank and we asked Mr. Arum if he would be interested and he said ‘yeah’.”

Based in Las Vegas primarily for the last four years, Martin found it fitting to bring Melligen into town to further hone his skills. After touching base with a former champion in the area everything was lined up for the fighter to ply his craft in one of the most sought after gyms in the area where top level sparring is never hard to find.

“I knew the Mayweather Gym and I asked [Cornelius Boza Edwards] if we could train and Mark started training here,” Martin noted. “He sparred with Floyd a couple of times. Then he sparred with Devon Alexander, [Marcos] Maidana, in preparation for his fights. Floyd is a master and he is hard to hit but sometimes Mark is elusive as well. Maidana is strong as a bull and if you get punched by him you know it. Devon Alexander is a nice kid and we enjoyed sparring him for two weeks.”

What hasn’t’ been covered is the fact that Melligen wasn’t in the right frame of mind prior to his first bout with Rosales. Just moments before entering the ring Mark was shook after seeing his good friend Z Gorres collapse in the ring after his win over Luis Melendez. Gorres would be rushed to the hospital to have surgery performed to remove swelling of the brain and his career is now over. When Melligen meets Rosales for the second time Martin feels we will be seeing a completely different man in the ring.

“After the last fight with Gonzalez we approached the matchmaker Brad Goodman with Top Rank and asked him if we could have a return against Rosales to redeem ourselves. To prove to everyone that he was lucky that night and also the fact that it won’t be the same Melligen that Rosales met last year. He is totally focused now and he knows Rosales’ moves and he has the capabilities of stopping Rosales. We’re really looking to make a statement.”

Source: examiner.com