The dangers of boxing -- GMA News

By Chino Trinidad, GMA News

As a sportscaster learning the ropes, Vintage Sports gave me my first boxing commentating assignment in 1995 alongside the late Romy Kintanar.

It was an assignment like no other as it gave me a rude awakening on the dangers of boxing.

Brian Viloria being taken to the hospital after collapsing following his fight with Colombian Carlos Tamara last Jan. 23 at the Cuneta Astrodome. GMA NewsTV grab

In the main supporting bout of that fateful fightcard promoted in a basketball court in Sampaloc, a young fighter from General Santos City named Eugene Barutag faced a veteran journeyman in Randy Andagan of Biñan, Laguna.


Barutag's sad tale

The young Barutag, who joined a then 17-year-old Manny Pacquiao as a stowaway from GenSan, was winning the bout in the first four rounds and actually was close to knocking out the veteran Andagan. But faulty officiating by referee Nestor Olivetti robbed Barutag of an early stoppage.

As the fight progressed, Andagan got his second wind and turned the tables on Barutag, who at the end of a brutal eight-round battle, collapsed in his corner.

Chaos ensued as people atop the ring tried to revive the unconscious Barutag.

In the absence of a competent ring physician and a standby medical team, I ended up commandeering our service vehicle and brought the fallen Barutag to the Jose Reyes Hospital, where hours after collapsing, Barutag was pronounced dead.

Angered by how the then Games and Amusements Board (GAB) failed in its duties to save the life of Barutag, I declined to take on another boxing assignment.

In the absence of an immediate response from the GAB, I feared for the lives of boxers I was covering as a sportscaster.

Years after that fateful night, Kamao, a feature on ring deaths by Jessica Soho gave me the opportunity to tell the story of the tragedy that was Barutag.

I remember that interview clearly as I decried the lack of know-how and the lack of a standby medical team from the GAB and the promoters of that fight held Dec. 12, 1995 that featured a young Pacquiao in the main event.


Back as boxing commentator

After a three-year hiatus from boxing, I resumed my duties as boxing commentator.

By this time, the GAB began instituting reforms to safeguard the welfare of the fighters. An emergency team was made mandatory by the GAB for its sanctioned fights.

It was at this point that Pacquiao's future began to unfold. And as they say, the rest is now history.

But in the midst of Pacquiao's worldwide fame, ring tragedies struck our Filipino gladiators.


Tragedy in Pacquiao era

In 2007, Lito Sisnorio, who was hoping to earn enough money for the birth of his child, took a fight in Bangkok against veteran Chatchai Sasakul, who Pacquiao knocked out in 1998 to wrest the WBC flyweight title.

Sisnorio, who was coming off a long lay-off, was knocked out cold by Sasakul and never made it back to the Philippines alive.

Last Nov. 13, 2009 in Las Vegas, Z "Buchoy" Gorres was all set for a breakout performance that will pave the way for a world title shot as he dominated the first nine rounds of a scheduled 10-rounder against Luis Melendez.

In the final minute of the 10th, Gorres caught a wicked right from Melendez.

Though he was able to finish the fight and won by a unanimous decision, Gorres collapsed in his corner.

Gorres is now recuperating in Las Vegas after doctors performed a successful craniology to save his life.


Viloria's 'nightmare'

Fast forward to 2010.

Brian Viloria fought gallantly as he defended his light-flyweight crown and was actually dominating until the eighth round.

It was at this point that the durable Carlos Tamara of Colombia turned up the heat and landed telling blows against the IBF champion that led referee Bruce MacTavish to stop the fight with 1:15 remaining in the 12th and final round.

A visibly-exhausted Viloria left the ring and passed by me and my GMA News crew.

Moments later (2:37 p.m.), the medical team on standby at ringside was called to the locker room of Viloria who had collapsed and lay unconscious as his cornermen desperately tried to revive the former champion.

The ambulance initially brought Brian to the nearby San Juan de Dios Hospital. But the hospital’s lack of facilities forced those close to Viloria to transfer him to the Makati Medical Center, where he was immediately scanned for possible head injuries.

Former IBF light-flyweight champ Brian Viloria at the Makati Medical Center. GMA News TV grab

After a CT scan ordered by Dra. Regina Macalintal tested negative for any head injury, Viloria was declared out of danger at 4:30 p.m.

Years after experiencing the lows and the highs of Philippine boxing, I often ask myself why I continue to be around boxing.

I got my answer on Monday.

While recovering at the Makati Medical Center, Brian Viloria put the dangers of boxing in perspective.

"It's something you have to prepare for. As a fighter, it is something we prepare for. We know it can happen. You know the spectrum. You can be OK or you can die from it, just like in anything else. As long as you accept that, you will never be afraid." - OMG, GMANews.TV

Source: gmanews.tv

***

Check out Cebu inmates latest performance of Michael Jackson's "They Don't Really Care About Us".

Michael Jackson's Choreographer Teaches Dancing Filipino Prisoners 'This Is It' Routine

Kell Brook challenges for WBO title at Echo Arena -- Liverpool Echo

By Nick Peet, Liverpool Echo

BRITAIN’S 2009 Young Boxer of the Year Kell Brook has been added to the March 12 ECHO Arena bill, headlined by the British super- middleweight derby day title fight between Paul Smith and Tony Dodson.

Outstanding Sheffield stylist Brook will challenge for the interim WBO welterweight title currently held by Poland’s Krzysztof Bienias.

The fight will leave the winner within touching distance of WBO world champion Manny Pacquiao.

Brook, unbeaten in 20 starts with 13 KOs, was due to box on the last King’s Dock arena card in October, defending his British title against former champion Michael Jennings.

But Brook was forced out through illness and while his Manchester rival did feature, he damaged his hand in a routine contest which rules him out this time.

So Brook, 23, who still carries the Lonsdale Belt, moves onto international level for the first time.

The fight was originally due to take place at Wembley Arena next month.

But light-heavyweight Nathan Cleverly’s European title fight has switched with this, undoubtedly in an effort to keep the Welsh champion away from Liverpool’s own light-heavy hope Tony Bellew.

But Brook’s appearance is a massive boost to the Liverpool card, as he is widely acknowledged as one of the finest prospects in the country.

Birmingham light-middle Thomas Costello has also been added to the nine-fight ECHO Arena show which, along with Smith, Dodson and Bellew, also features younger Smith’s Stephen and Liam and classy welterweight Joey Selkirk.

Tickets are on sale now from the arena box office.

Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk

***

Check out Cebu inmates latest performance of Michael Jackson's "They Don't Really Care About Us".

BALCO founder Conte says now he's one of the good guys -- Philly News

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ, PhillyNews.com

WHEN IT COMES to performance-enhancing drugs, a central figure in a scandal-plagued era contends the real villains are sports fans who want to believe in the concept of all-natural heroes, but maybe not so much as to demand rigid testing procedures that would provide more hard evidence as to whether their favorite football or baseball player is dirty.

As the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), Victor Conte is an ex-con widely regarded as the serpent who offered all those world-class athletes a tempting apple enriched with anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, erythropoietin (EPO) and designer drugs that came to be known as "the clear" and "the cream." His clients included disgraced Olympian Marion Jones, champion boxer Shane Mosley and San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, he of the literally swollen head and cartoonishly inflated biceps.

Now, he wants to help remove performance-enhancing drugs from sports, Conte says in an interview with the Daily News. He knows it is not going to happen easily.

"Until those who make the majority of the financial gains from sports develop a genuine interest in reducing the use of PEDs, it will continue," said Conte, who served a 4-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering in 2005.

Like many Americans who get their daily episodes of sweaty soap opera on ESPN, Conte watched with interest recently when Mark McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals' new hitting coach who never tested positive for PEDs, yet has been convicted in the court of public opinion, tearfully owned up to his steroid-soaked past. "Looking back," he said in a statement, "I wish I had never played in the steroid era," adding that it's time to "move on from this. Baseball is great now."

A few days after he confessed to what most people already suspected, McGwire was greeted by thunderous applause from a ballroom packed with 2,500 red-clad Cardinals fans whose sense of outrage apparently extends only to ballplayers wearing another team's colors.

Conte, however, sounds a warning that there is still too much money to be made, too much attention to be grabbed and detection too easy to avoid for druggies to turn over a completely new leaf. Whenever someone invents a better mousetrap for testing, smarter rodents are sure to come up with a more foolproof method for snatching the cheese and getting away with it.

"It's a cat-and-mouse game, and the mice usually find a way to stay a step ahead of the cat," Conte said. "Anyone who believes [McGwire] is naive. The use of performance-enhancing drugs is still rampant. Baseball and football have testing programs, but they're inept. Boxing's program is completely worthless."

As proof that the average fan talks a better anti-drug game than he's willing to play, Conte cites a poll of track and field fans in Europe, where sprinters and shotputters are much bigger stars, at least between Olympics, than they are in the United States. Asked whether they would rather see a certifiably clean 100-meter dash guy clocked in 10.2 seconds, or a steroid-fueled one break the world record (the current mark is 9.58 seconds), a majority of respondents gritted their teeth, fessed up and admitted they would rather see the faster guy on PEDs.

With testing programs that cast limited nets and catch an occasional fish but let many whoppers escape, Conte thinks the get-tough posturing in most sports is mostly for show. Cheaters will continue to cheat, but more carefully, Conte says, while those charged with the responsibility of flushing them out go only part of the way to fix the problem.

"I said on ABC's '20/20' that I believed 50 percent of baseball players were on steroids and 80 percent were using stimulants [at a time when aging superstars Bonds, McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens and others were defying the natural laws of diminishing returns]," Conte said. "Maybe it's a little less now, but a reduction is not the same as elimination."

To buttress that argument, Conte notes that an 2008 agreement between the players union and Major League Baseball allows offseason testing of up to 375 players over a 3-year period, or roughly 31 percent of those on teams' 40-man rosters. Previously, only 60 players were tested in the offseason. All major league players are randomly selected for steroid testing twice during the regular season.

Conte realizes he forever will be a pariah to many, but he insists he's now on the side of good and virtue. He says he's available to pass along his expertise to those truly committed to ridding sports of PEDs.

The response thus far has been, frankly, underwhelming.

Conte, who was sued for defamation by Shane Mosley, was alerted by a New York Daily News article that reported the World Boxing Council was conducting an investigation into Mosley's use of PEDs. Conte says he contacted WBC attorney Robert Lenhardt, who was involved in the probe.

"I sent him e-mails and documents," Conte said. "All I got back from him was an acknowledgment, 'We're in receipt of this information. Thanks.' It became apparent pretty soon he had no interest in following up."

Lenhardt responed to Conte's claims in an interview with the Daily News. "The WBC believes it is one of the early leaders in all of sports in putting in anti-doping regulations," Lenhardt said.

"Did Mr. Conte send information to the WBC? I can confirm that he did. But the WBC recognizes that these matters [Mosley's defamation suit against Conte] are currently being litigated in the U.S. court system, so there has been no determination [of their validity or usefulness] in advance of the outcome."

Conte also claims to have met with other anti-doping organizations.

"I also met with officials of USADA [United States Anti-Doping Agency] face-to-face. I reached out and wrote an open letter to WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency]. I flew to New York and met with Dick Pound [president of WADA].

"But the new regime at WADA, headed by Australia's John Fahey, don't want to listen to me because I'm a bad guy. Fahey said he'd rather get his information from medical doctors than from a convicted felon."

Typical of what some could say is a "don't-call-us, we'll-call-you" attitude toward Conte by the anti-doping establishment is this response by Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of USADA, who said: "For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would associate with someone like this who's made so many mistakes in the past."

Conte also offered his services to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which sanctioned the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. megafight scheduled for March 13 that fell apart over a drug-testing dispute. He was told thanks, but no thanks.

Keith Kizer, executive director of the NSAC - which requires urine testing, but not blood testing - said he is confident his state's policy is comprehensive enough to get the job done.

"I'm very pleased with it," he said. "We actually had some experts from the U.S. Olympic Committee and USADA come here 8 or 9 months ago to talk about our drug-testing policy. They didn't have a problem with it at all. Certainly nothing about blood testing came up.

"I hope you'll forgive me if I don't put a lot of stock into what Victor Conte has to say. The NSAC is known not just for drug-testing, but for being very proactive in all aspects of regulation. Almost 2 years ago we instituted out-of-competition drug-testing, to be even better at detection. Keep in mind, though, that our ultimate goal is not to catch people; it's to keep them from using in the first place."

Conte said such satisfaction on Kizer's part is indicative of boxing's status as the "wild, wild West" of PEDs, an outlaw hole-in-the-wall enclave where only the dumbest and least discreet violators ever are brought to justice.

"I believe there's widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs in boxing, and there has been for decades," Conte said.

"If they were really interested in cleaning it up, the first step would be to establish a protocol where inspectors begin to test fighters up to 2 months before a bout. Blood and urine testing would be done randomly."

But what about Pacquiao's aversion to "invasive" testing standards demanded by Mayweather (who also would have submitted himself to them) that have never previously been instituted in boxing?

"For psychological reasons, some athletes are going to complain about having blood drawn," Conte said. "They don't like needles. But to take a very small blood sample would have an extremely minimal to no effect physically.

"I think you could do blood testing up to 5 days prior to a fight with no physical detriment to a participant. Even 10 days would be OK. But as soon as you go to 14 days or longer, that's enough time to use EPO and build up your red blood cell count. At 24 days, there's all sorts of things that can be done with thyroid medication, fast-acting forms of insulin, EPO, testosterone."

Conte said it is "suspicious," the way Pacquiao, 31, has gained lean muscle mass while retaining and even seemingly improving his power and speed while bulking up from 106 pounds to 147. Pacquiao is not known to have ever failed a drug test.

"But it's difficult to make any kind of allegations against him because the drug tests he's had to take are worthless," said Conte, who pointed out that Marion Jones tested negative 160 consecutive times until she admitted to using PEDs, rather than risk more substantial jail time, while under oath and testifying before a grand jury. Jones subsequently was stripped of her five Olympic medals from 2000 by the International Olympic Committee.

But isn't the fact that Jones, McGwire and others were exposed, by whatever means, proof that a legitimate attempt is being made to purify the games people play?

"It's nothing more than propaganda," Conte said. "They want to be able to say, 'Hey, we test. We're trying.' " *

Source: philly.com

***

Check out Cebu inmates' newest performance of Michael Jackson "They Don't Really Care About Us".

Michael Jackson's Choreographer Teaches Dancing Filipino Prisoners 'This Is It' Routine

Weekend Review: Big nights for Gamboa, Lopez, Tamara -- The Ring

By Michael Rosenthal, The Ring

BIGGEST WINNER

Yuriorkis Gamboa: I don’t want to anoint Gamboa the next great fighter after his two-round demolition of Rogers Mtagwa on Saturday in New York City, particularly after writing that we make snap judgments too often. That said, WOW! Gamboa looked like a complete package at least on one night, showing the speed, power and poise of a true star. His punches were accurate and extremely punishing, the result being three knockdowns. Yes, Mtagwa’s aggressive style was made for a puncher like Gamboa. Still, the Tanzanian is a very rugged fighter who had given Juan Manuel Lopez hell in his previous fight. Gamboa’s performance was simply spectacular.


BIGGEST WINNER II

Juan Manuel Lopez: Lopez didn’t dazzle the crowd or television audience quite the way Gamboa did but also turned in a very impressive performance. The Puerto Rican star dominated a slick, experienced southpaw even though he was moving up in weight, which is saying a lot. Lopez patiently and methodically broke down the Californian and then took him out with two devastating rights in the seventh round, an emphatic end to a great night. Just like that, Lopez regained any ground he might’ve lost in his narrow victory over Mtagwa in October and set up a fascinating matchup with Gamboa – if and when it happens.


MOST FRUSTRATING

Lopez vs. Gamboa: Promoter Bob Arum urged those of us who would like to see Lopez and Gamboa fight immediately to do something unnatural and possibly illegal to ourselves. He said those people can, “Go (expletive) themselves.” I understand that Arum wants his two young featherweights to build their reputations, which would make for an even bigger showdown later on. However, what he’s saying is that he wants safer fights for Lopez and Gamboa. Is that what boxing needs? Safer fights? I love the idea of two young, immensely talented, undefeated fighters facing one another while they're hot rather than hoping they’ll get hotter. Maybe it’s just me. By the way, after Gamboa’s performance on Saturday, I don’t see him losing to Lopez.


MOST DISAPPOINTING

Rogers Mtagwa: Everything that Mtagwa built in his sensational performance against Lopez came crashing down against Gamboa on Saturday. He was outclassed, overmatched and overwhelmed against a far superior fighter. Mtagwa shouldn’t be written off but that was a giant step backward. Perhaps his poor performance lends credence to the notion that Lopez was weakened because he had difficulty making 122 pounds, meaning maybe Mtagwa wasn’t as good as he looked that night. Also, Mtagwa weighed only 122½ for the 126-pound fight. He’ll probably go back down to junior featherweight and try to rebuild.


MOST DETERMINED

Carlos Tamara: The thing that struck me about the Tamara-Brian Viloria fight on Saturday in the Philippines was how fierce and fresh the New Jersey-based Colombian was in the final round of a taxing fight, the round in which he stopped Viloria and took his junior flyweight title. To me, Tamara looked like an incredibly determined fighter who was thinking: “I’m just not leaving this ring without that belt.” Those who have followed Tamara knew going in that he was no pushover. He’s experienced – having fought once before for a major title – and tough. Now everyone knows how formidable he is.


MOST CRUSHING

Brian Viloria losing: Viloria was told by Sugar Ray Leonard after he first won a major title that holding onto the belt will be much harder than winning it. The former U.S. Olympian had another harsh reminder of that Saturday in the Philippines. Viloria worked very hard to regain his status as an elite fighter after struggling in 2006 and 2007 and succeeded, stopping Ulises Solis to regain a title. Now this. Viloria rebuilt once before; he can do it again if he wants to. The good news is that he’s apparently OK. He collapsed in his dressing room after the fight and was rushed to a hospital, where doctors reportedly determined he suffered no permanent damage.


MOST-DISTURBING SILENCE

Mayweather-Mosley negotiations: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley’s representatives have been in talks for about a week and there’s no sign of a pending announcement. A report several days ago indicated that negotiations were going well. A more-recent report, on Examiner.com, cited a source close to Mayweather saying the fighter might be balking because he would make much less money fighting Mosley than he would’ve made fighting Pacquiao, whom Mayweather apparently deems the more beatable of the two. I hope that source is wrong. If he’s not, Mayweather will have the distinction of spoiling two huge events in a span of about a month. He might never live that down.


MOST DISTURBING NEWS

Erik Morales coming out of retirement: The former Mexican star was a great fighter, probably a first-ballot hall of famer. I miss his fire and unusual ability. However, the man has lost his last four fights and five of six, including two knockouts by Pacquiao. I was never more certain that a fighter should retire after his final fight, a decision against tough, but limited David Diaz in August of 2007. Now, ESPN.com reported, he will face Jose Alfaro in a welterweight bout on March 27 in Mexico and plans to fight beyond that. I support his right to fight if he meets the medical requirements but I don’t like it, which is the case whenever a badly faded star refuses to face reality.


TOUGHEST MANDATORY

Amir Khan fighting Marcos Maidana: I believe Khan is the most-talented 140-pounder in the world but I still wonder about his chin, which dramatically came into question when he was knocked out by Breidess Prescott in 2008. So who does the Briton get to defend his title against on April 17? One of the biggest punchers around, Marcos Maidana, who pounded the spirit out of another hot young prospect in Victor Ortiz last year. The Argentine has 26 KOs in his 27 victories. Khan probably will win because of his superior boxing ability but the odds say he’s going to get tagged once or twice. It will be fascinating to see what happens. This fight isn't set in stone. Khan is trying to get an exemption from the WBA to fight Juan Manuel Marquez first.


MOST UNSETTLING

Antonio Margarito possibly regaining a license: The Mexican slugger has the right to reapply for a boxing license after the minimum one-year suspension he was given in California for having loaded wraps. Arum, his promoter, is confident Texas will license Margarito to fight on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard on March 13 in Dallas. I also understand that Arum doesn’t want Margarito to re-apply in California, where the promoter doesn’t feel his client was treated fairly. If Margarito didn’t know trainer Javier Capetillo inserted the illegal pads in his wraps, as he claims, then I think a one-year suspension is sufficient. If he did know, then the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. And I, as well as most fighters I talked to, believe he had to know. Arum reportedly wants Pacquiao to fight Margarito this year.


BEST QUOTE

Arum, on a potential Lopez-Gamboa showdown: “I want to hear you guys ask me that question [about when they’ll fight] over and over and over. Because then I know they’re taking care of their business and we’re doing our jobs. They’re terrific young fighters and terrific kids, but this fight is going to be huge one day. If I just threw them in there now, yeah, you’d love it and it would be a great fight, but it wouldn’t do the kind of business it’s going to do a while from now. Believe me when I tell you, down the road a fight between these two guys is going to be huge. You watch.”


Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com

Source: ringtv.com

Freddie Roach exclusive: secrets behind Manny Pacquiao’s incredible physique -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk

The third part of an exclusive Telegraph Sport interview with Freddie Roach, the LA trainer insists that Manny Pacquiao’s great physique has been built on “sports science and hard work”


…that Pacquiao needs five meals a day and five protein shakes a day while in training camp because he loses weight so rapidly…


…and asserts that Floyd Mayweather “has never been the bravest of fighters”…

Roach acknowledges the great work done over the past two years by conditioning coaches Alex Ariza and Teri Tom, who have created a dynamic programme for Pacquiao based on sports science technology.

Roach revealed that the ’secret’ to Pacman’s great physique is the science, nutrition and work ethic combined, a combination of analysis, genetics and sweat and spit. The marriage of old school, and sports science. “Manny Pacquiao’s strength and physique have been built by science and hard work, yes. But there is a real hard work element there. We have to keep weight on Manny, not off, in training camp. He loses weight so fast and gets in condition so rapidly. He responds so quickly – because his work ethic is so incredible. You know – you’ve seen him train many times,” he told me.

“When Manny Pacquiao trains, we have to keep feeding him – five meals a day and five protein shakes a day. When we get closer to the fight we start cutting back on the work because we want him at the weight.”

“I don’t want him at 147 coming into camp. I want him at 155 coming in. You always have to have something to work down to. If you are on weight the whole time…for me that doesn’t work. People say it’s the way to go, but it’s not logical…”

“You need to to come down to your peak weight…”

Roach also re-asserted that Mayweather may be unable, mentally, to walk around with the prospect of a loss on his unbeaten record:

“It is always been a factor. He’s never been the bravest guy in the world. When [Antonio] Margarito was the toughest guy out there, Mayweather wouldn’t fight him. He was offered 8 million dollars a couple of times and he never fought him…never will. He picks and chooses his opponents. He picks the right guys, with the right styles. There is so much controversy in getting a fight together between Mayweather and Pacquiao because they are trying to come up with all these ‘Mayweather Rules’. Either they were trying to get inside Manny’s head, or my head, or they really don’t want to fight us…. Period.”

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

***

Q&A With WADA's Gary Wadler on Random Blood-Testing in Sports -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Gary Wadler, a New York-based internist with special expertise in the field of drug use in sports, is the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Prohibited List and Methods Subcommittee.

FanHouse asked Wadler to address some of the issues raised during the recent demise of a potential megabout between WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king and seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts), and five-time champion, Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs).

Mayweather-Pacquiao was slated for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but the negotiations reached an impasse over random blood-testing.

The Mayweather (pictured above, right) camp wanted testing throughout the fighters' training leading up to the fight as well as after; Pacquiao wanted to be tested no closer than 14 days of the bout and after, which the Mayweather camp said it later agreed to.

Still, the talks fell apart.

In many ways, Wadler echoed the sentiments from a Jan. 9 FanHouse interview with Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency whose organization initially was brought in to oversee the Olympic-style, random blood-testing that was at the center of the Mayweather-Pacquiao controversy.

Never before has random blood-testing been used in boxing, which uses only urinalysis to detect the use of steroids and other illegal drugs.

Wadler also address other sports, however, making it clear during this Q&A that his position is that all sports -- professional and amateur -- should employ random blood-testing along with urinalysis.

FanHouse: How could boxing be helped by blood-testing?

Gary Wadler: I don't think there is any sport that is inherently immune from doping. The issue is not so much the sport of boxing as the doping. People in agencies who are not particularly enamored of aggressive anti-doping efforts are throwing in roadblocks, and one of the roadblocks that has been thrown in over the past has been the issue of taking blood.

That's not a new complaint. Some 20 years ago, there were people who felt that giving blood was a dangerous thing in terms of getting an infectious diseases. But of course, they had it backward. You have to get blood not take blood to get an infectious disease.

There have always been groups out there who have resisted blood-testing. But I must say that in the last number of years, that has sort of faded into the background. But this Pacquiao-Mayweather thing is the first resurfacing of it that I'm aware of in a while.

I'm not in the testing end of the business, I'm in the list end of the business, but it [Mayweather-Pacquiao] sort of awakened the argument about blood-testing.

Having said that, when I was testifying before congress, the point I made about Major League Baseball and The National Football League is that they ought to do blood-testing to enable the testing for things like human growth hormones, and, of course, they have resisted.

And to this day, they have resisted for a variety of reasons that are unclear. The argument, apparently, in the Pacquiao case is that it has resulted in the diminished performance if he's deprived of having all of his blood.

My comment is that the amount of blood that needs to be taken is so insignificant as to have no meaning in terms of performance at all. Virtually zero if not absolutely zero I thought that that was something that needed to be said -- that you can't use the argument that if you're taking a tube or two tubes of blood, now you've weakened me so that I can't any longer perform at an optimum level.

I felt that was fallacious reasoning and a disingenuous argument. I think that argument still goes on.

FH: Should boxing and MMA be policed similarly?

Wadler: I think that there should be a standardized list that applies across all sports, and that's how I think that you should view that. One of the problems in boxing of course is that there are all of these different governing bodies, which I can't even begin to name.

And they all come with a different menu. And if if blood-testing is going to work, you can't have all those different menus.

You have to have a standard menu across all sports, and I think that has to be consistent, and everybody has to know what the rules are and what the prohibited substances are, and what the testing requirements are.

The key is standardization so that everybody knows the rules and they all have the same rulebook. You can't have one set of substances banned in this sport, and another in another sport, and another in another sport. There are too many variables that it makes it difficult for the athletes to even know the rules that they're operating under.

FH: Do you see any problems with a fighter or fighters dictating a timetable for being randomly blood-tested before or after a fight?

Wadler: There's not only a question of the drugs, but the mechanisms used to subvert the test itself. You can manipulate any drugs. There are lists of methods and techniques to evade detection, because that's really what you're asking.

You have to understand the issue is not that the EPO itself does not enhance performance by having it in your body. EPO has to result in increased red [blood] cells, and that takes time.

EPO is just a marker of the manipulation. It's 'I'm trying to increase my red [blood] cells using a substance called EPO, or one of the related substances.'

The real issue is 'What's the red [blood] cell count at the time, and what's the time sequence.' If you give somebody EPO, the life of a red cell is 120 days, so we're talking about a long period of time. The bottom line is 'What is the red cell count.'

You want to look at a series of numbers and not just the EPO. So if the red count is going up -- say your red count was normally 45 percent, 45 percent, 43 percent, 44 percent, 46 percent, over a period of weeks and months for years. And then, suddenly, it's 52? That would run a red flag in that circumstance.

So it's not a single test or a single substance -- and red cells are really important in that regard. It's the so-called biological passport. And that's the method into which we're moving more and more.

FH: If a boxing commission or commissioner came to you and asked you what methods to use in order to improve their drug-testing process, what would you tell them?

Wadler: I would tell them to sterilize the system using exactly the testing protocol called for under the World Anti-Doping Code, which is what USADA uses for example.

I would tell them that, within the united states, contract out to USADA, or establish some sort of relationship with USADA using the prohibited list of the USADA, which is the WADA list.

Using the testing protocol, the where-about protocols, and the protocols that are part of USADA and which are enunciated in the world anti-doping code.

I think that they should externalize and contract [the random blood-testing] out to an independent, transparent and accountable entity which has no vested interest in the results, and that's the way that it should be done.

I don't think that it should be a political debate. Anybody who is participating in competitive athletics wants to be
assured of a level playing field.

And to me, part of having a level playing field is to have a first-class, anti-doping program.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

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Les to take on Echols in April -- Tweed Daily News

Tweed Daily News

RISING Gold Coast boxing star Les “Lock and Load” Sherrington (25-5, 16 KOs) will make the first defence of his WBF interim world super middleweight championship at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on April 24.

Sherrington will defend against former IBF and WBA world title challenger Antwun “Kid Dynamite” Echols (34-12-4, 29 KOs) from the United States in a much anticipated shootout.

The 27-year-old Australian was in hot form last year, winning the PABA title in May and then easily accounting for veteran contender Shannan Taylor to annex the WBF interim honour to climb to number 14 on the WBA rankings.

Echols, too, is no mug, generally regarded as one of the better fighters not to wear a world championship belt over the past decade. He went the scheduled 12 rounds against Anthony Mundine for the vacant WBA super middleweight title in 2003.

He is a former two-division holder of the highly-regarded United States Boxing Association and North American Boxing Federation titles and has on three occasions fought for a major world crown.

He gave future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins two tough bouts.

“Against Echols, Les will need another first-class performance,” promoter Jamie Myer said.

“Anything less could spell disaster for him as he needs a win to put himself in a position for a tilt at the prestigous WBA crown (held by California’s 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward).”

Sherrington is on a six-bout wining streak and has lost just one of his past 16 outings.

However, apart from Taylor and Wiliam Gare – who defeated him in South Africa – the Townsville-born boxer has not faced anywhere near the level of Echols.

With four of his losses being by knockout, albeit all in his first 14 starts, Echols’ camp will no doubt fancy its chances for a quick victory.

Echols’ record shows he is dangerous from the start.

He has scored six first-round knockouts and boasts wins over ex-IBF super middleweight champ Chales Brewer (KO 3), Richard Grant (KO 3) in a world title eliminator, Brian Barbosa (KO 9) to win the USBA and NABF unified titles, and unanimously out-pointed world title challenger Karem Salam.

Source: tweednews.com.au

Eddie Chambers to Face Wladimir Klitschko on March 20 -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Philadelphia's "Fast" Eddie Chambers will face Wladimir Klitschko on March 20 at the Esprit Arena in Duesseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, according to the Associated Press.

Since a fifth-round knockout loss to Lamon Brewster in April of 2004, the 33-year-old Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) is 11-0 with eight knockouts.

Chambers sparred with Klitschko in preparation for the champion's November 2006 seventh-round knockout of Calvin Brock, whom Chambers defeated by split-decision in November of 2008.

"Wladimir's very professional and a little rough, actually. I had to go in there and really get back with him in a lot of things. You can see why he's the world champion. As one-dimensional as he seems, and as straight up as he fights, it might seem like he doesn't look all that impressive with a lot of the things that he does," said Chambers.

"But he's a big, strong guy who is very difficult to get to if you don't have the right idea about it. When I was in camp with him, I had the wrong idea in what way to get to him and to deliver my offense. I had a tough time at times, and there were times where I had pretty good times," said Chambers.

"There were good days, there were bad days, days where we went back and forth. But now, I think that I have a better understanding on the style that I need to have and how I should go at him," said Chambers. "Not only that, I'm just in a better mental attitude, better shape -- definitely in better shape -- and I'm a completely different fighter now than I was at that point."

No American-born heavyweight has held a title belt since June 2007, when Shannon Briggs was briefly WBO king. John Ruiz held the WBA title in 2005, and in 2006, Rahman and Byrd, respectively, were champs in the WBC, and, IBF.

England's 6-3, David Haye (23-1, 21 KOs) recently dethroned Russia's seven foot Nicolay Valuev to become the WBA king, this, despite being at a 98-pound disadvantage against the 316-pound Valuev.

The 29-year-old Haye is expected to defend his title perhaps on April 3 against the 38-year-old, John Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KOs), a former two-time world champion.

"Once you get inside those ropes, the fight and the opportunity that is presented in front of you is first and foremost. Being that America hasn't had the title in a while, and being among the only American hopefuls, and just thinking about all of this pressure and things that are on my shoulders, you know, this pressure comes with the territory," said Chambers.

"If you're not ready for this kind of pressure, then you shouldn't be a heavyweight champion or a heavyweight boxer who is on the verge of being a champion, because it's just going to be too much for you. For me, the only thing that matters is what goes on in that ring that night," said Chambers. "So all of the pressure and things like that, I welcome it. I've been going down this road for a long period of time, and I intend to continue that trend in this next fight."

Wladimir Klitschko calls Chambers (35-1, 18 KOs), currently the best U.S. heavyweight, adding that Chambers "is not No. 1 in the world rankings for nothing,"

"At the time I was sparring with Klitschko, I was undisciplined and I wasn't doing the things that were necessary to improve, and getting satisfied with what I had become," said Chambers. "When you're satisfied, and you're comforable, that's not a recipe for continued success. Once you get comfortable, you need to retire. Once I started working on those extra things, I think that I improved both mentally and physically."

The 6-foot-1, Chambers has won five consecutive fights, two of them by knockout, since a January 2008 loss to 6-foot-2, 30-year-old Russian Alexander Povetkin (18-0, 13 KOs), in Berlin, Germany.

In his last fight, on July 4, Chambers handed Ukrainian, Alexander Dimitrenko, his first loss in 30 bouts before a crowd partisan to Dimitrenko in Hamburg, Germany..

Chambers defeated Dimitrenko by a 12-round, majority decision, taking scores of 117-109, and, 116-111, on two judges' cards, with the third having it a draw, 113-113.

Chambers floored Dimitrenko once with a body shot, and then, dropped him on another occasion "with a hook that knocked his mouthpiece over the top rope and into the second row," said Chambers' manager and trainer, Rob Murray.

"So Eddie has no fear of fighting a big guy, because we've fought before," said Murray. "We have no fear of going to Germany, because we've gone over there before. We've gone over to Germany and lost, and then, we went back over there and won."

Since then, Chambers said many of his fans have told him that they believe that he could be the one to regain a heavyweight crown for America.

"I hear that a ton from my fans. They're like, 'You're the only one who is gonna do it.' It was important for me to go over there to Germany and show my skills," against Dimitrenko, Chambers told FanHouse in October. "Beating Dimitrenko, you know, I realize what it did for the United States and our hopes of having a world champion again."

Chambers' winning streak includes a majority decision over former world champ Samuel Peter of Nigeria on March 27-- two days prior to Chambers' 27th birthday. But it was beating Dimitrekno which set up Chambers as mandatory challenger to 6-foot-6 Klitschko.

Chambers was in more superb condition against the 6-7, 254-pound Dimitrenko, weighing in at 208.

"Dimitrenko is very similar to Klitschko," said Chambers. "And I'll probably have to go to back to Germany to beat him."

How right Chambers was.

"We've been watching Klitschko for over five years. I prepared Eddie when I had him sparring in the camps of Hasim Rahman, Monte Barrett, John Ruiz, Wladimir Klitschko. Every champion or every contender that I could find, I put Eddie into camp with," said Murray, who became Chambers' lead trainer following the loss to Povetkin.

"We've been preparing for this a long time, and we're used to challenges. The greatest challenge that I had to face was cancer, with my team. And we fought this challenge back," said the 65-year-old Murray.

"This is a fight, not the major challenge that had my life on the line with cancer," said Murray. "My team understands that. We're a team, and we fought that back together."

Murray, who once co-managed legendary Hall of Famer, Bernard Hopkins, and, also, guided Steve Little to an upset of Michael Nunn in in February of 1994, handing Nunn only his second loss in 44 bouts on the way to earning the super middleweight (168 pounds) title by split-decision.

"I trained Steve Little, and he was a 40-to-1 underdog and yet he won the super middleweight championship. Yes, the Klitschkos look like insurmountable talents because of their size, but we've basically studied guys who are big," said Murray.

"In the NFL, the defense back is 180 pounds, and yet, he's the last line of defense. You know, quickness, agility and those particular things really play into this," said Murray. "This is not a situation where we're just grateful to have this opportunity to have this opportunity to have this opportunity to win the heavyweight championship of the world, because that's what we plan on doing."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Khan dismisses talk of Hatton fight -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

Ricky Hatton should retire from boxing and focus on his other interests, according to Amir Khan. The WBA light-welterweight champion has dismissed the possibility of a bout against Hatton, insisting that his "dream fight" would instead be against Juan Manuel Marquez.

Following Khan's move to Golden Boy Promotions after leaving Frank Warren's stable, speculation about a clash between the two Brits had been rife - but now it seems off the agenda. "I think that Ricky should just call it a day now," Khan told the Manchester Evening News. "He's known as a British legend in boxing and I think he should just chill out now.

"He's made his money and he's made a good name for himself. He's got his own gym so he can just look after that and he's got his own promotion company as well."

As he stated on joining the US-based Golden Boy, Khan is determined to raise his profile in America - and a meeting with the Mexican could be the ideal way to announce himself there. "It is my mission to fight men like Marquez and that would be my dream fight in America," Khan said to the Daily Star.

A mandatory defence against Marcos Maidana is first up for Khan, but the Bolton man's trainer is looking for a bigger name in the shape of Marquez.

"Maidana is not well known enough and there is not enough money in the fight," Freddie Roach said. "If it gets built up it could be a real big fight so the thing is we are going to fight someone else and they have asked me if we would fight Marquez and I said: 'Yes, we will fight Marquez'".

Source: espn.co.uk

Sugar sweet: Mosley camp says Mayweather talks 'cordial' -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

It’s the usual fight before the fight.

Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather representatives are squabbling over how to split all the revenue for the All American matchup of two top tier welterweights. Both sides are still working towards a May 1 or May 8 Las Vegas date.

“Talks are ongoing and the talks are completely cordial,” a source in the Mosley camp reported to me Monday. “There are no huge issues.”

That’s a mirror quote of what Mayweather adviser Laughing Lenny Ellerbe told the Los Angeles Times a few days back. In fact, Ellerbe also used the adjective “cordial.”

While a source inside Money May’s camp informed over the weekend that L’il Floyd has questioned whether it’s smart business for him to take a much smaller yet still rich purse for a dangerous bout against the still formidable at age 39 Mosley, I now don’t place too much emphasis on any lingering doubts Mayweather may harbor.

At some point, it behooves Mosley, Mayweather and promoter Golden Boy, which still has the golden “output contract” with HBO, to dance to the music requested by the prime cable network’s boxing bossman, Ross Greenburg.

When the Manny Pacquiao-Mayweather talks crashed over random blood testing, there was little Greenburg could do. He still salvaged a hot property for his employer by getting all over the Pacman-Joshua Clottey “Event” set for March 13 at the sparkling, new Dallas Cowboys stadium Jerry Jones had built in Arlington.

Greenburg has to be pleased seeing that, on the first full business day (Saturday) at the Cowboys box office, 20,000 tickets went out the window. And the Top Rank promotion has yet to officially announce the return on the show of Mexican star Antonio Margarito and to begin implementing a sales drive in northern Mexico, centered about Monterey, which is a Cowboys football hotbed.

If the promotion continues en fuego, who is to say there might not be 50,000 rear ends parked in the mammoth stadium’s seats, providing a dramatic backdrop for the PPV telecast.

Now if HBO gets to dress up Mosley-Mayweather, the prime cable network has gained two huge attractions and lost only the mildly interesting Mosley-Andre Berto bout.

Obviously the unbeaten Berto, who withdraw from the Jan. 30 Mosley date due to turmoil in his family’s homeland of Haiti, is not the ratings magent that bigger, longer established stars like Shane and Floyd are.

That’s why Mosley-Berto was scheduled for regular HBO and not PPV TV.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

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